The Kim Doyal Show

The Future Of The Podcast Is Something I've Been Thinking About A Lot Lately.If you've been wondering what's up with the podcast… join the club. After doing this for so long, I was really thinking that maybe it was time to turn the page and put it to bed.But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that that decision wasn't coming from the right place.The last thing people would say about me is that I'm indecisive.In fact, I've probably made a lot of decisions quickly that could have used a little more processing time to weigh the pros and cons, but that's really not how I operate, so I'll leave that one alone.The past 6-8 months have fascinated me when I step back and examine what's happened and how my mindset has shifted (read ‘grown').Transform Ideas Into Action – Subscribe To The SPARKI attribute this to a few things:Experience – having been in this game for a long time, I know enough that in times of uncertainty or the need for clarity, it's best to be patient.Age – there is something so freaking delightful about getting older and caring a whole lot less about what other people thinkLife changes—The move back to California in February 2023 was right for me, and now I'm heading back to Costa Rica. People have asked how long I'll stay there, and I honestly don't know. I want to stay put for a while (which, to me, is 3+ years). Ultimately, I'd like to buy there, but we'll see where the economy goes.A little history about the podcast:I started podcasting in 2013 when I was “The WPChick” and the podcast was “The WPChick Podcast.”There were maybe 5 other WordPress podcasts at the time, so getting some traction was pretty easy. I alternated between solo shows and interviews, which was a smart strategy because it really grew my audience.I think the years between 2019 and now were so challenging personally that to host interviews and truly show up for other people felt like a lot of work… work that I didn't really have the energy for… until now.During that time, I went through some extremely challenging situations with my son, and then my Mom passed away unexpectedly in 2019, and my world was turned upside down.Then, we all know what happened in 2020, when I decided to move to Boise, ID, followed by a move to Costa Rica in 2021.So… needless to say, the last 5 years have been a lot (with other things happening in the background, but I'll save that for my therapist).Here's the thing with all of this: To some people, this may not seem like a lot, and to others, it may seem overwhelming. I've been so incredibly hard on myself for things I've done, not done, not done enough of, woulda', shoulda', coulda'…. the judgment is what's really gotten in the way.None of us get through this life unscathed, without messing up, losing people we love, and without challenges and struggles.That's life.It really is how we handle what happens to us that makes all the difference.SO… all that...

Before we get too much into discovering and defining Your ONE Thing, I want to preface this by saying that it isn't about only doing or having ONE thing.Even though that level of focus is pretty amazing (and is something I'm working towards, it's a process).This is about creating the ONE thing you're known for.Not a niche (swear I'm not anti-niche, I'm anti-ONLY-niche), but more of a brand philosophy and mantra that people associate with you and your business.And if you're a personal brand, ideally, people associate your ONE thing with YOU personally.I'm hosting a free workshop next week, so I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek and preview what we're going to cover and why this is crucial to differentiate yourself in a very noisy world filled with AI content.And for what it's worth, I LOVE AI and use it all the time.But what sets you apart is who you are.If you have even a little understanding and knowledge of copywriting, marketing, direct response, and content, you can use AI pretty easily and get decent output.What AI can't do is be YOU (and hopefully not in my lifetime because, let's face it, that's a little creepy to even think about).You can absolutely train it to sound like you, write in your voice, use the type of language you use, but you still have to train it.That's where Your ONE Thing comes in.I have a 6-step framework for “Your ONE Thing” – so let's jump into it.Be sure to register for the FREE workshop here. The LIVE Workshop is on Wednesday, May 15th at 11:00 PDT. It will be recorded, but you need to register.If you get this after the live workshop, you can register and watch the on-demand workshop for free with the same link (and my goal is to run this live more than once while I continue iterating and refining everything).Your ONE Thing FrameworkHere's the 6-step framework, with more detailed explanations below:Core Discovery DiveAudience AlchemyIdea IncubatorReality CheckIdentity ImprintLaunchpad Lift-OffLet's dive deeper into each one.Core Discovery Dive (self-assessment & reflection):This is the self-assessment and reflection step of the framework. You're going to want to dive deep into the core of your personal and business identity to uncover the unique elements that define you. Self-awareness is key here. This step also requires a certain level of courage and commitment to showing up genuinely as yourself and letting go of what people think.Understanding your strengths and passions will make creating more authentic and engaging content much easier.Audience Alchemy (market and audience analysis):This involves a combination of market research and analysis and knowing your ideal target audience, including psychographics (which are just as valuable, if not more valuable, than demographics).You want to hone in on what excites them, their desires, and the specific problems they have that you can solve uniquely.Understanding market trends and audience preferences can help refine your unique selling proposition to meet your audience where they're at.Idea Incubator (ideation & concept development):This is where we will start brainstorming potential “ONE Things” for you and your business. I love all the steps, but this is probably my favorite. There are a couple of different methodologies for doing this, including the SCAMPER method (which I just discovered) and my Umbrella method.The Umbrella method is an easier place to start, and then, as you get clearer, you can iterate and move on to the SCAMPER method if you want to go deeper.Reality Check (validation and testing):This is where the...

Today, I'm coming to you not from my usual studio setup but rather from the driver's seat of my car. This freestyle episode is all about embracing what I like to call "sacred simplicity" in both our personal and professional lives.06:41 A Busy weekend led to a much-needed rest.09:11 Appreciate health because it can be fleeting.11:52 Woman shares emotional video, regrets, seeks comfort.15:21 Working for a year, not just privilege.18:40 Experiences shape us and make us strive for self-actualization.21:27 Regret over past, compassion for self, insignificance.24:04 Prioritizing joy, learning, and mastering paid traffic.27:10 Uncertainty about shift, preference for simplicity explained.32:50 Tangible benefit motivates discussion of white labeling.33:43 Offer writing, content, SEO services, validate organically.39:07 Discussing lead gen and content strategies for ads.40:42 Optimize traffic ads, capture leads, and test.43:45 Focusing on quality work and living with ease.A Time of Transition and ReflectionI'm currently in a season of significant change, counting down the months until my move to Costa Rica. As part of this transition, I've been tackling the task of decluttering and sorting through years of accumulated belongings at my dad's house, now up for sale. This process has been both physically demanding and emotionally revealing. It's amazing what we hold onto over the years, isn't it?During a weekend dedicated to clearing out my storage unit, I realized that some boxes hadn't been opened since my move from Boise in March of 2021. Items were still labeled "go through before Costa Rica," a reminder of postponed decisions. Yet, this clean-up wasn't just about sorting through physical objects but also about reassessing what's essential in my life. This is where the concept of sacred simplicity really comes to life—finding clarity and joy in the essentials, shedding the excess that no longer serves us.The Refreshing Break from Digital ClutterThe physical labor of sorting and moving boxes provided a much-needed break from the digital clutter of my daily life. There's something profoundly liberating about stepping away from screens and focusing on physical tasks. It allows for a mental reset, which is increasingly rare in our hyper-connected world.This disconnect from digital work brought a surprising freshness to my thoughts. It reminded me of the importance of balance and taking time to enjoy simple pleasures—like the perfect weather we had, a crisp 76 degrees of pure sunshine. It was a reminder of the beauty of living in the moment and appreciating the small, simple joys that life offers.Learning from Vanessa Lau: A Lesson in Sacred SimplicityDuring this time, I watched a video by Vanessa Lau, an influential content creator who recently returned from a sabbatical. Vanessa chose to step back at the height of her career to prioritize her well-being—a decision that resonates deeply with the concept of sacred simplicity. It's about making life choices that honor our deepest needs and values rather than constantly pushing for more.Vanessa's courage to choose herself over perpetual business growth is a powerful testament to the strength found in simplicity. It's a reminder that sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves and our businesses is to take a step back, reflect, and recalibrate.Sacred Simplicity in MarketingIn the realm of digital marketing, sacred simplicity can transform how we approach content and engagement. It's about stripping back the unnecessary and focusing on what truly matters—connecting with our audience in authentic and meaningful ways.For instance, my philosophy of "Everything is Content" is an embodiment of this simplicity. It's about seeing the...

I Think It's Safe To Say Most Content Creators Are Using AI For Content Creation These Days.But I thought I'd go deeper, specifically, with how I'm using it.There are a few different ‘camps' when it comes to AI and some of them are totally over my head.In other words, I'm not sure that I really care how it works, what LLMs are doing, which companies have completed a new round of billions of dollars invested, or whether Nvidia or AMD is producing more chips.All I care about is how I can use it in my business to do one of two things (I'll go deeper with each of these below):Get clarity and createCut down the time it takes to complete thingsI haven't gotten into much in terms of automations or having AI do tasks I don't want to do, but that's mainly because I don't have a significant need for it right now.My primary focus with AI right now is on using it for content creation.I write all of my podcasts, blog posts, and emails. In other words, none of this is generated by AI (probably obvious, but you know what they say about assuming).I've created one post with the help of AI (you can read that here) because I wanted to test creating an outline, seeing what the output was, and then adjusting from there. It was a good experience and process, and I'll use it again for a couple of more in-depth tutorial posts I'm working on.For example:I'm in the process of moving from ConvertKit to beehiiv (at the time of writing this post).As beehiiv continues to grow, I know a lot more people will be making this move, and I think it's a great way to get traffic to the site, attract new subscribers (people making this move are definitely my target market), and make some affiliate commissions along the way.Here's the prompt I used to start this post:Good afternoon! I'd love your help writing an epic blog post (that I'll create a video for as well) on the process of moving an email list, subscribers, newsletter, and automations from ConvertKit to beehiiv. Is this something you can help me with? I want this to be super clear, easy to understand and highly optimized for SEO. I'll convert the blog post into a PDF that people can download as well. What do you need from me to get started?By the way, that's one of my favorite ways to start a conversation with ChatGPT (yes, I call them conversations).I give simple context about what I want to accomplish, then ask what it needs from me to get started to accomplish what I've asked for.I don't want to get into the weeds with detailed prompts (I think I may start doing some video on this), but I want to give you an example of how I'm using it) – but the initial question of “what do you need from me” will help you get the best result possible.OK, let's look at the first of the two bullets I mentioned first.Using AI For Content Creation To Gain Clarity And CreateFirst, I treat ChatGPT (or Chatty as I call her) as more of a partner than a tool, which is why I write in a conversational manner as opposed to simply imputing prompts.I find the entire...

Organic traffic still works.It's not that I thought it didn't, but in many ways, I think I had resigned myself to thinking it was so much harder than it used to be.In some ways, it is harder, but in other ways, we have so many tools at our fingertips (AI) that there's no reason you can't test and try things much faster. You can get data in 90 days that will tell you what's working.Depending on how long you've been online (i.e., you're not starting from scratch), you may get results much faster.For me, I've seen some pretty fun results in only a few weeks.Let's get into it.After 16 years online, you would think I would have learned to “never say never”… but here I am, changing my tune.Fortunately, I'm pretty transparent about these little lessons I go through and have no shame in sharing that I've changed my mind.Ideally, when we know better, we do better, right?Mind you, things change so quickly online (especially with AI now) that we better learn to be comfortable changing our minds and trying new things (once we have the fundamentals in place, anyway).The best part of what I'm experiencing right now is that this is all happening because of ONE thing.And I'm on a mission to help you figure out your ONE thing.And no, this doesn't mean you only have ‘one thing' in your business (I'm speaking to all of you multi-passionate entrepreneurs who, bless you, can manage multiple offers, directions, or businesses).I'm talking about starting with one core content idea that is part of your foundation.For Now, Let's Call This “One To Many.”Let me back up a bit and explain how this relates to organic traffic still works.I won't go too deep into my journey, as I've shared it multiple times on the podcast. You can get a snapshot of that on my About page.Over the last 16 years, I spent the first 10 years as ‘The WordPress Chick,' pivoted to my personal brand, started focusing on content marketing, launched a content planner (with a strategy, not a fill-in-the-blank), added email marketing and newsletters to the mix, and have come back to content marketing as my core focus.My ‘complementary' categories to content marketing are email & newsletters and using AI for content marketing.Now, let's talk a bit about social media.Which I've always had a love/hate relationship with.Because of the clarity I've gained with my ONE thing (for now, let's call it Core Content), I've jumped back in full force and am happily gaining some traction and, thankfully, traffic.I attribute the results I'm getting to a few things:Not starting from scratchHaving a presence on most platforms (regardless of recent engagement)LOVING what I'm doing againThis isn't to say you can't start from scratch and get results because, of course, you can.It just might take a little longer.But here's the thing: time is going to pass whether you do the work or not, so you may as well do it now.And the work I'm referring to is creating, publishing, and promoting your content.Which will always differentiate you from people who want to do things quickly and easily. Especially with AI…I LOVE using AI in my business – but I also know what I'm doing, who I'm talking to, how I want to serve them, and what my business goals are.I'm not under any illusion that AI can replace my voice.What it can do is help me...

There is something so absolutely freeing about getting older.I was texting with a friend in Costa Rica the other day to set up a time to chat. I had been hoping to go down in April to bring some stuff down before my move in July, but with my Dad selling his house, I decided not to.In our text conversation, we both said that we would put it on our calendars and put sticky notes everywhere so we didn't forget. Last time we set a time to chat, we both spaced.I don't think much about how much time and energy I've spent worrying about things that don't matter. That's a complete waste.I do, however, make conscious decisions every day to choose my thoughts. To make today different than yesterday.I was listening to a video with Dr. Joe Dispenza (who is amazing, by the way, if you're remotely interested in neuroscience and being able to change your life with your thoughts), and he was saying that the hardest thing to do is to make sure you don't think the same thoughts you had yesterday.

Someone Has To Go First.I don't remember where I heard that (or read it), but it certainly struck a nerve.I wrote it down because I knew it would be a podcast episode the minute I read it.Before we go into that, though, let's do a quick catch-up and recap, shall we?I'm kind of tripping out that we're almost halfway through March already.Mind you, I'm not complaining. I looked at the weather for the next ten days, and after a couple of days of potential showers and clouds, it's all blue skies, sunshine, and warmer weather (mid to upper 60s).I feel like I've been quiet lately because I had the “Everything is Content” episodes ready to go (even if the last two didn't go out when I had hoped).I'm going to do a full break-down of Everything is Content now that I've:Published the email series and blog postPublished the email series as videos and podcast episodesRepublished the series on MediumI hosted my first live workshopI am about to offer the first live cohortThis is all part of a long-term strategy for me, and hot damn if it isn't working.The gas is about to be poured on this using Laurel Portié's $ 5-a-day ad strategy, and I'm beyond excited to see how this all unfolds.On the personal side of things…I shared that I'll be moving back to Costa Rica this summer sometime last month (maybe that's why I'm tripping out that it's mid-March already), and as the time gets closer, I'm getting more and more excited.But there's a lot to do in the meantime.My Dad has finally decided to list his house for sale and is looking at moving down to the city where my siblings live (the same city where I raised my kids). We're hoping to get the house up for sale before the end of the month.Which means decluttering and getting the house ready for staging, photos, and viewings.Keep in mind there are 56 years of stuff in this house.

As we wrap up our incredible journey through the "Everything is Content" series, I want to take a moment to reflect on the profound concept we're diving into today: zigging when everyone else is zagging. Throughout this series, we've explored various facets of content creation, but today, we're tackling the essence of differentiation and the power of personalization in our content strategies.Imagine walking into a room full of people all moving in unison, like a perfectly choreographed dance. Now, picture yourself moving to a different rhythm, creating your own steps, and standing out. That's what we're talking about today. In a world saturated with content, being the one who dares to be different isn't just brave; it's necessary.Why do we zig when others zag? Because, at the core of every successful content strategy, there's a unique voice, a distinct perspective, and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. It's about finding what resonates with you and, by extension, connecting more deeply with your audience.During this series, we've established that all platforms work, all strategies can be effective, but the magic happens when you align your content creation with your personal passion, consistency, and the joy of sharing your story. This alignment isn't just about being different for the sake of it; it's about embracing what works for you and amplifying it.Let's debunk a common myth: the idea that certain marketing strategies or platforms are "dead." You've heard it before – "Email marketing is dead," "Blogs are out," "Social media is oversaturated." Here's the truth – for every strategy declared extinct, there's someone out there proving it wrong, thriving and creating impactful, meaningful content. The key is not in the platform or the strategy itself but in how you use it to convey your unique message and connect with your audience.Consider this: While some may argue that ad costs are soaring and traditional methods are fading, I've seen friends launch successful businesses solely through Facebook ads, targeting cold traffic with innovative, low-cost strategies that captivate and convert. Their secret? Understanding their audience, refining their offer, and staying true to their vision.Moreover, the debate between long-form and short-form content, between videos and podcasts, between blogging and microblogging, often misses the point. The medium is just a vessel; your content's heart and soul come from your personal experience, your voice, and your passion.So, how do you find your unique path in this crowded content landscape? Start by choosing one or two types of content that feel natural to you. Commit to creating consistently, whether it's through Instagram reels, blog posts, podcasts, or any medium that sparks joy in you. Give it time, be patient, and watch as your unique voice starts to resonate with an audience that's been yearning for something different, something authentically you.Remember, the goal isn't to churn out content for the sake of visibility. It's about creating content that matters, content that makes a difference in someone's life, even if it's just one person. As we've explored throughout this series, "Everything is Content" isn't just a catchy phrase; it's a mindset, a reminder that our stories, experiences, and insights are valuable and deserve to be shared.As we conclude this special series, I invite you to join me in embracing the power of personal content creation. Let's not just follow the trends; let's set them. Let's not just create content; let's create connections. And most importantly, let's remember that in a world where everyone is zagging, the ziggers are not just seen – they're remembered, celebrated, and followed.Thank you for joining me on this journey. Here's to creating content that's as unique as you are, to finding your voice in the cacophony, and to the incredible journey of zigging when the world...

Kim [00:00:00]:Hey, guys. Welcome back to part 4 of this special series called Everything is Content. First of all, thank you so much for listening this far this week. And if you haven't listened to the first three, I highly recommend them because they all kind of build on each other. But today, we're gonna talk about documenting. We're gonna talk about documenting with a little bit of a twist. And if you've not registered yet, I am hosting a live Everything is Content workshop next week, March 6th at 11 AM Pacific time. Or if you can't attend live, of course, there will be a recording.Kim [00:00:32]:And if you've reached this or listened to this, after March 6th, you can still get the on demand workshop. Alright, guys. That's it for now. Let's jump into today's episode. Hey there, it's Kim Doyal, and welcome to my show, where digital marketing meets real stories, experiences, and strategies. You'll get a behind-the-scenes look at what's working and not working in my business, as well as other experts who show up and share their stories. As much as I love talking about marketing principles and tactics, we'll dig a little deeper with mindset and explore what's required to create a business you love on your terms that also supports your life. I wanna help you understand the why behind the how.Kim [00:01:13]:Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just dipping your toes in, remember that marketing is a journey, and the goal is to enjoy it. My desire is to guide you on your journey and remind you that no matter what life throws at you, you've got this. Alright, guys. Welcome back to video 4 of the everything is content series. Now today, we're gonna talk about documenting, but with a little bit of a twist. And I believe I I I'm gonna quote Gary v as saying document, don't create. I don't know if he's the originator of the statement. I'm gonna assume he is, but, and to some extent, I agree.Kim [00:01:49]:But unless you're you're somebody like Gary v or you have someone like Gary v. What was his his video guy's name was d rock? I don't know if he still does. I'm assuming he does, because he's pretty he's consistent. Right? When he believes in a philosophy, he's he sticks with it, and it's worked well for him. And I like him. He's a nice guy. I met him in an elevator one time, you guys. Just me and him.Kim [00:02:13]:He took a selfie. I didn't have my phone, and he emailed it to me. So he really is a nice person in real life, too. Anyways, for me, my day-to-day life looks a little bit boring. Even when I was in Costa Rica, and moving back there, I intend to be a little more interesting regarding what I share behind the scenes. But, you know, my day-to-day looks a little bit boring. So the only difference might be what I wear unless I decide to record 4 or 5 videos in a row, all in the same hoodie, but so be it. You know, people would be bored watching that.Kim [00:02:48]:So I wanna give you an example of something I'm documenting, and then the twist that I intend to put on this piece of content directly becomes it's because it's gonna become a profitable asset. And so I recently shared with my email list that I will move from Convertkit to Beehive for my email marketing. I made this decision just a couple of weeks ago, and I shared in an email that I was gonna do it, and that it would be done in phases. And so I'll go way more in-depth into the post but I have loved beehives since they first came out, but it didn't have the capabilities of doing a lot of stuff that you need email marketing to do. Like, I mean, you could do a solo broadcast, but at the same time, the tagging and the segments and automations and stuff. However, a lot of that is changing, and it just was not a full-blown robust email service provider. And out of the gate, it was incredible to publish newsletters, but there were just too many...

Unleashing the Power of Content Karma in Your StrategyEmbracing the Concept of Content KarmaHey, everyone! Welcome back to the third installment of our "Everything is Content" series. Today, we're diving into a concept I'm super excited about—let's call it "content karma" for now. It's inspired by Matthew Dicks' enlightening book, "Storyworthy," which revolutionized my view on storytelling and content creation. The idea is simple yet powerful: We're all storytellers, and by harnessing this innate skill, we can endlessly craft engaging content.Why Highlighting Others Works WondersHighlighting and sharing others' work has been a cornerstone of my journey, especially during my early days as the WordPress Chick. By focusing on what others were doing, I not only carved out my niche but also discovered a formula for content creation that felt both comfortable and authentic. Launching a podcast became a turning point, allowing me to amplify others' voices and, in turn, my own. This approach is not just about creating content—it's about building connections and community.A Project Close to My HeartI'm currently working on a special podcast series aimed at amplifying women's voices in finance and entrepreneurship. The goal is to share their impactful messages with my audience, much like how we share our favorite novels or movies with friends. This project will result in a rich tapestry of content, including podcasts, videos, blog posts, and social campaigns, all designed to spread their invaluable insights.How You Can Make Your Own Value DepositsCreating value deposits, or what I like to call "content karma," is about sharing, highlighting, and promoting the work of others. Here are some ways you can start making your own deposits:Roundup Lists: Compile lists of people, tools, and resources that have influenced you.Mentors: Share the work of both official and unofficial mentors whose teachings have impacted your journey.Content Sharing: Promote content that resonates with you, whether it's through newsletters, social media, or personal recommendations.Engagement: Actively engage with others' content to help increase its visibility.The Ripple Effect of GivingBy focusing on giving rather than receiving, you create a win-win situation: your audience gains valuable insights, and you help boost the visibility of others within your community. This ethos of goodwill, or content karma, ensures that your efforts will eventually come back to you tenfold.Looking AheadAs we continue our series, remember that in the realm of content creation, everything—and everyone—is worth celebrating. Stay tuned for our next discussion on documenting with a twist, and let's keep spreading those value deposits far and wide.

Telling Your StoriesWhen Content Becomes Personal: My Journey Through StorytellingI'm thrilled to dive deep into a topic that's close to my heart and crucial for creators, coaches, and course creators everywhere: the power of personal storytelling in content creation.In the world of copy and content, there's a prevailing notion that it's all about the reader, not about us, the creators.But let's face it, that's only half the story.The truth is, we're in the business of connection, of building relationships with our audience through the stories we share, the experiences we recount, and the vulnerabilities we expose.I've Always Believed In The Magnetic Pull Of Personal Stories.They're the threads that weave the fabric of our connections, making our audience feel seen, heard, and understood. That's why I've anchored my content creation around a core content value: making people feel better for having engaged with my content.Whether through learning something new, enjoying a moment of levity, or feeling a heart-to-heart connection, it's about enriching the lives of those who stumble upon my work.Take, for example, my journey through one of life's harshest realities: loss.In 2003, life threw me a curveball that would forever change my trajectory. I was widowed at 32, left to navigate the world as a single mother of two small children (my kids were 6 & 2 when their Dad died).This part of my story, a marker of my resilience and transformation, was something I initially kept close to my chest, mentioned briefly on my About page, yet it was a pivotal chapter in my life.It wasn't until 2017, on the anniversary of my husband's death, that I chose to share this deeply personal story with my audience in an email titled “In Loving Memory and a Personal Message of Hope.”The outpouring of responses was overwhelming, a testament to the power of vulnerability in forging deeper connections. This experience taught me a valuable lesson: our stories, no matter how often we've shared them, are always new to someone in our audience.They Provide Hope And Remind Us That We're Not Alone In Our Struggles.But sharing personal stories is not about airing every detail of our lives; it's about finding the balance between personal and private. It's about sharing those moments that illuminate our humanity, that make us relatable, that show we're more alike than we are different.For instance, a seemingly trivial incident like falling down the stairs while distracted by my phone became a metaphor for the importance of staying present, of paying attention to what's right in front of us.The ‘falling-down-the-stairs' story I shared with my audience wasn't just a humorous anecdote; it was a reflection on mindfulness in both life and business.You might be wondering, what was the whole point of that email?Sure, there was a pivot and a call to action—though I can't quite recall what it was, whether it was to click through to a podcast, a blog post, or an offer. The real value, however, lies in the fact that we're all human.I don't take myself too seriously, and that aspect of my personality makes me more relatable and approachable.Sharing personal stories and experiences is invaluable because, like many of you, I find myself far more creative when I'm inspired or feel a genuine connection. While keyword-based articles, how-to guides, and case studies certainly have their place in content creation—a place that's not disappearing anytime soon—I believe their presentation will evolve with AI.It's crucial to remember that you are the differentiator in everything you...

Hey, guys. What's going on before we get into today's episode? This is a special series that I'm doing this week. It's a 5 part series based on Everything is Content. Now you might remember, I don't know, a month and a half ago, 6 episodes or so ago, I did an episode on Everything is Content 2.0. And I'll link to that in the show notes for this. But I'm actually hosting an Everything is Content workshop, and so this is kind of a preview for that. This was a 5 part email series that I have since turned into videos, and now I'm doing this as a podcast. So you'll get a taste of the 5 part framework.I know this sounds a little meta, and we're getting a little into the matrix here, but I watch how I do this, but this is a taste of the framework itself. And again, you can go to kimdoyal.com/eicworkshop if you wanna join me in the live workshop I'm doing. It is on Wednesday, March 6th. So, depending on when you're listening to this, if if that date has come and gone, then I'm gonna be continuing to either do this live or you'll be able to just get the workshop itself. Again, go to kimdoyal.com/eicworkshop. Alright, now here is part 1 of Everything is Content. Hey there. It's Kim Doyal, and welcome to my show where digital marketing meets real stories, experiences, and strategies.You'll get a behind-the-scenes look at what's working and not working in my business, as well as other experts who show up and share their stories. As much as I love talking about tangible marketing principles and tactics, we'll dig a little deeper with the mindset and explore what's required to create a business you love on your terms that also supports your life. I wanna help you understand the why behind the how. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just dipping your toes in, remember that marketing is a journey, and the goal is to enjoy it. My desire is to guide you on your journey and remind you that no matter what life throws at you, you've got this. Hey, guys. What's up? Kim Doyal here, and I'm doing a 5 part series called Everything is Content. Now, I came up with the hashtag Everything is Content back in 2016.I'm not going to repeat that whole story here. Still, if you want a little more behind-the-scenes of how that came about, I did a whole podcast episode recently, and it was Everything is Content 2.0, which is an easy guide to getting started, you know, got to use those, what you call it, good headlines, right? But this is all based on a 5 part email series where I'm giving actual examples of everything as content to show you how you can apply this to your own business and how it can translate into conversions, whether that's leads or sales. Now, we're going to go a little bit deeper with this. I'm also working on an ebook that I hope should be done within a month or so. I might do an audio version because I clearly love doing this, but these are what I do with this, so let me back up a little bit. So, Everything is Content is based on the idea that I'm one who I hate keyword research. I know there's value in SEO. I'm not negating that at all, but with AI, I feel like that's kind of a race to the bottom, and who knows where it's going to be a year from now? But my whole goal with Everything is Content is to get people just to start creating, right? And seeing that there are content ideas all around us that fit under this umbrella in our business.You don't need to only talk about email marketing or for me, email marketing or content marketing. Right? Or I love using AI for content, but not necessarily to write for me. There's a whole other marketing element that I use it for. But sometimes I want to talk about, hey, guess what? I'm moving back to Costa Rica. I am. Or, you know what? This is what I do when I feel out of alignment. Or, this is how I ground myself each day. So, all of those are under the umbrella of who I am in my business.That's where everything is content comes into play. All of our...

00:00 Sending random rants, reconnecting with authenticity. China.05:31 Embracing ignorance, shifting perspective, and embracing fun.09:13 Balancing organic and paid traffic for brand.11:49 Challenges with apps integration, user demands, burnout.15:38 Frustration with big companies and their rules.17:23 Generic ebook platform with AI and marketing features.22:43 Seeking genuine connections, not just building tools.23:53 Favor real connections over forced opt-ins.29:14 Long journey to clarity and productivity.32:46 Custom GPT creation for sales page writing.33:34 Task manager helps stay on track, API potential.38:28 AI tool not useful, unclear beneficial use case.42:15 Draft article based on conversations, structure content.44:29 Focus on actionable, personalized content for improvement.49:51 Simplify your website strategy, focus on writing.51:10 Newcomers face overwhelming and confusing landscape.53:54 Big platforms need better customer support. Thanks!Kim [00:00:00]:Hey there. It's Kim Doyal, and welcome to my show where digital marketing meets real stories, experiences, and strategies. You'll get a behind-the-scenes look at what's working and not working in my business, as well as other experts who show up and share their stories. As much as I love talking about tangible marketing principles and tactics, we'll dig a little deeper with mindset and explore what's required to create a business you love on your terms that also supports your life. I wanna help you understand the why behind the how. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just dipping your toes in, remember that marketing is a journey, and the goal is to enjoy it. My desire is to guide you on your journey and remind you that no matter what life throws at you, you've got this. Hey.Kim [00:00:44]:What's going on, everybody? Welcome to another episode of the Kim Doyal Show. It's been a while since I've done a I was gonna say live interview, but it's live for us. So we'll go ahead and run with that. And I'm excited because I think this conversation is gonna go in directions that neither of us are really aware of, but it's gonna be really fun. My guest today is Addison Best. So first of all, Addison, thank you so much for being here.Addison [00:01:06]:Well, thank you for having me, Kim. It's I think we talked about a little bit before this started. I haven't spoken to anybody in, I feel like, a decade. I used to have an English learning podcast with my brother, but that was all audio. Now, I'm just looking in my camera, and I feel like a deer in headlights, and I'm just kind of like, oh, wait. This is how I look? And I'm kind of freaked out, but I'm gonna try to calm down and carry on, I guess.Kim [00:01:30]:Yeah. Well, you know what's funny is it's almost like because I wanna do the eye contact thing, I'm like, well, I'll just go ahead and look at the camera and not worry about seeing myself or whatever. But, yeah. No. This is gonna be fun because first of all, for a little backstory about, you know, Addison had reached out to me. And this just goes to show you guys in the fall, and I was not getting the notifications from Gravity Forms. So it was like, oh my god. I've missed all these but before we get into a lot of the meat of what we wanna talk about, which we're gonna kinda go down this AI and and the impact it has on content and email, I love the backstory, Addison.Kim [00:02:12]:So if you could share your backstory with listeners, that would be great.Addison [00:02:14]:Well, it's funny. Yeah. I've been sending Kim, random emails that are kinda rants recently, so I didn't even know if she was getting it or she thought this guy's a bit nuts or whatever she was thinking. But I do it anyway because I'm trying to get back to my

Simplifying your business to increase sales might seem counterintuitive, but it's far from it.The funny thing is if someone had told me five years ago that I wanted to simplify my business, I'm pretty sure I would have disagreed with them.I was reminded of this last weekend while working on my new site.I'm using KadenceWP (which I absolutely LOVE), and because it's been a long time since I've done a new theme, I forgot about the domino effect that happens when you start touching things.The domino effect is when you touch one thing; it creates a ripple effect (and multiple dominos start falling that have to be dealt with).Here's what I mean:I started with the homepage of my site and have two areas that highlight what I do and how people can work with me.The problem with these is that since they're only highlights, there's a learn more button that people click on to go deeper.So everything from the homepage that has a “learn more” button needs an additional page (I know, I'm stating the obvious, but go along with me).I've been working on the site for a while, so it's been a process. I didn't create a sitemap first (which would have solved some of this), but I also have a lot of pages and content on my site that I need to go through to delete or update.I've also gotten some much-needed clarity about my business over the last few months, so things have changed slightly.It wasn't until listening to a podcast after working on the site (and internal pages that need to be linked to) that I realized I was probably making things more complicated than they needed to be.I was listening to the podcast episode on the ‘Get Paid Podcast' with Clair Pelletreau. She was interviewing a woman I hadn't heard of named Kirsten Roldan.First, I LOVE discovering new people (anyone else go down the rabbit hole when they listen to podcasts?), and I LOVE this woman. She made $350k in her FIRST year in business!Transform Ideas Into Inspired Action: Subscribe to the SPARKYes, it was her first year.The two things I love about her:She wants people to find peace in their business and stop complicating thingsShe does that primarily through teaching email marketing and business systemsShe had me at email.When I went to her website to check things out, I realized she only had a few offers.She has an agency (first offer, DFY) and two primary offers.That's it.Talk about simple, right?Which made me think about my site and offers.I do coaching and have courses. Easy enough, right?Well… I'm not so sure.All the courses I'll be listing are already created and are relative to everything I do (email, content, newsletters, AI).And I'm only selling things that are recent-ish.But…the bigger question is whether or not this aligns with my bigger goals and where I want to be a year from now.Because of this, I realized I needed to edit the homepage… again.This isn't a big deal because I'm essentially combining two things (Newsletters & Email Marketing) and combining them into one (I know, duh).So, it...

There's nothing like pissy internet trolls to help you get crystal clear about who you engage with and that you don't owe anybody anything.Not to mention the joy of choosing to block these people from your life.My friend Karen Michaels (a brilliant social media strategist) repeatedly repeats that it's vitally as important to curate your feeds as it is to post and engage.I won't get into a bunch of details here- because the entire exchange was, quite frankly, a little wackadoodle. I re-posted something on Facebook about the Barbie snub of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie not being nominated for Best Director or Best Actress.The FB repost was a quote from Bette Midler.To which a friend replied that it was typical of Amercians to lie and omit only to advance a narrative.Um… excuse me?What I should have done was delete him and block him immediately. But because this person was a “friend” (we've had actual conversations on Zoom, I've interviewed him, etc.), I was pretty respectful in my response.Why a white male from Canada has a dog in the fight when it comes to American women feeling this was unjust (and just a little bit ironic considering the context of the movie) is beyond me.Little fact for you: In the 100 years of the Academy Awards, only EIGHT females have been nominated for director, with only three winnings.Either way, it was a ridiculous exchange and out of left field. After I deleted all of his comments and blocked him, all I could think was that this person must have something deeper going on and decided to pick a fight.I'm all for differing opinions, provided you can be respectful.Transform Ideas into Inspired Action: Subscribe to the SPARKThe implication was also that because the movie received other awards, people (i.e., women) shouldn't be upset.Here's the thing: I'm at a point in my life when I'm done trying to appease idiots. I don't need to justify or explain myself to anyone.That being said, I'm pretty sure social media isn't the place where meaningful change is going to happen, especially with someone shows up just to be a dick.It makes me think of the Maya Angelou quote:“When someone shows you who they are the first time, believe them.”Maya AngelouHere's another internet troll story from last week that happened with a friend.I'm going to be a little cryptic since it's not my personal story, but you'll get the gist of it.A friend posted on Twitter that he was deleting a large quantify of cold subscribers from his email list that had come through one specific growth strategy, then asked if people could guess what it was.Someone from a company that sells this growth strategy jumped in with what appeared to be an attempt at a diplomatic reply, only to end up basically blaming the issue on the creator/business owner not having a good onboarding sequence.Sigh.Huge opportunity missed for creating a conversation about doing better.My friend is pretty brilliant when it comes to email marketing, growth, data, and automations.By the way, the growth strategy that was called out was referral programs.I'll go on the record now and say that if these programs don't improve, in other...

There is nothing like a little avoidance to force your hand on getting some much-needed clarity.Especially when the priority is cash.Let me back up a little and share what brought me here.I spent a lot of last year trying to remove things from my business, or so I thought.On one hand, I created some incredibly solid habits that have stuck, but I feel like I still haven't moved the needle on things that will have the biggest impact on my business, at least not as much as I had hoped.And honestly, who's to say what's enough?Could I have done more?Sure.We always can.But I also know that last year was a lot. Being back in California, my Dad's health challenges, and more time with family & friends (which was great, but when everything is a 2-hour drive, one way, it can throw your schedule for a loop), and my own recovery from back surgery made for a long year.So, even though my goal was to simplify and remove things, I can't say I was super successful.I've accepted the fact that part of who I am is about exploring new ideas. This is fine, provided I keep the new ideas in the “exploring stage” and not in the “pivot and implement” stage.The two things (outside of life in general), that threw me off my path were AI and then hosting the retreat in Costa Rica.Neither of which I regret. Both were totally worth it, but both brought up deeper questions and a certain amount of evaluating what I want my business to look like.But let's not go sideways with that.This episode is how I realized I was more frustrated than I thought and how I found the much-needed clarity I didn't even know I needed.Which will lead to more cash flow.Avoidance At Its FinestUnless I'm out of town or have other plans, I usually do a little work every Sunday just to get ahead of my week.I look at my calendar, plan my week out, and try to get ahead of a few things if I'm in the mood.This past Sunday started out like every other Sunday that I chose to work, but after my first cup of coffee, I couldn't get into any sort of rhythm.I found myself going from thing to thing and then from one idea to the next.Then, I had the brilliant idea that I should “create a plan.”I know you know what kind of plan I'm talking about. One of those “big picture” plans that looks pretty, presents itself as the ultimate organization for a “beautiful mind,” and represents all things fabulous about your business.But in reality… it's just a HUGE distraction.It's the epitome of activity disguising itself as productivity.Even though I wasn't sure what to do next, there was no fooling me this time. I knew that would be a waste of time, and I wouldn't be any clearer on what was going on.So… what did I do?I stepped away from everything for a while.Then it hit me.I didn't need to make a plan to accomplish everything; I needed to do a brain dump, pick my top 3 priorities, and then make a list of things I could “put aside” for a while.Here's what that looked like:Here are the categories of my brain dump:WebsiteContentHigh LevelPaid TrafficCoursesCoachingCommunityPrioritiesHopefully this won't be too boring, but I'm going to share what I scribbled under each of these and will go into more detail in the podcast, and then I'll explain the three priorities.Website:Switch to my new theme (Kadence, which I LOVE)Finish copyAdd shopUpdate coaching & courses pagesNew tools & resource pageCheck SEO & Google indexing, update older content for SEO (if relevant to current content)ContentPodcast: schedule...

Choose one primary marketing objective.And it should be email; the rest is just icing on the cake.But, before we get into that…One thing that has me really excited about the New Year and 2024, in general, is that there seems to be a broad desire in the marketing space for things to change.Hallelujah!A few things have contributed to this.The last 3+ years have been a little nuts across the globe, which in turn has made people feel weary. Of course, it's not all been gloom and doom, even if we have to make a conscious effort to seek out what's good (which is totally worth it).But I think we can all agree that it's “been a lot.”In terms of the digital marketing/creator space, the bottom line is that the space has matured.People are more educated about how everything works; they're burnt out from hype promises, big launches, and the idea that you have to strive towards millions (and no judgment if that's what you want, ya' girl does, but you won't see me driving any lambos or posting pictures of mansions).With a massive distrust of government and media, we're learning to rely on ourselves.Which is a beautiful thing because that's where real strength comes from.I've seen a lot of New Year's posts about people wanting to remove things as opposed to “kicking ass and taking names” (something I've said myself on more than one occasion).Every year, I choose a new word. I chose my word for 2024 in December of last year. This is something that's sacred to me and isn't something that I have any desire to share, but rest assured it's a positive word.This year, I've also chosen a “money” word.I was listening to a podcast episode with Kendall Summerhawk yesterday, and she explained how she does this and what her word is/has been. She suggested the first word that comes to mind (and it's ONE word, not a phrase or sentence).The first word that came to mind for me?EaseWhich is something I want across all areas of my life.You might be thinking that this is something most people want – and to a certain extent, I agree. Of course, most people want more ease.But more often than not, they don't want to change anything or do anything to achieve it.My therapist said she read something that said that 90% of people don't want to change.

Lessons Learned and Finding My Voice Again resonated much more than doing a typical year-in-review post (at least how I've done them in the past).And for what it's worth, that's kind of the theme for this next year: both with business and my life.In other words, doing things differently.Initially, I was excited to do a year-in-review podcast. I've always enjoyed doing my look back on the year and seeing what worked, what didn't, and how that would impact the coming year.So much happened in 2023 that much of it feels a bit like a blur.In so many ways, the year really felt like “a lot.”The contrast I experienced in moving back to California from Costa Rica felt overwhelming at times.The first contrast might seem obvious, and that was the weather.Having grown up and spent the majority of my adult life in the Bay Area, I didn't think it would have such an impact on me, but it did. It didn't help that I moved back during a crazy, heavy winter with massive snow (I've been at my Dad's since moving back, and it's about an hour southeast of Lake Tahoe).Beyond my short stint and one winter in Boise, Idaho, I've never lived in the snow.I have zero intention of doing that again when I leave here.I also forgot how incredibly dry it is here. Costa Rica is humid, but it's not like Orlando. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I acclimated to that climate after a while. Not to mention, my skin felt fantastic.As much as I missed the seasons (to the extent that Northern California actually has seasons), winter is the season I like the least.Snow is pretty, and I love how quiet it makes everything, but I'd be fine if my only experience of snow moving forward were a weekend visit.The Biggest Adjustment of AllPeople.My Dad will be 80 this year, and his health isn't all that great. You wouldn't look at him and think so, but he has a handful of issues (his heart is the main issue) that are somewhat serious. His health and missing family are the primary reason I moved back.The secondary reason was that the last year there was more trying than I realized. I had visitors every month for nine months, with only one month break during that time.As much as I was super appreciative that people came to visit, it interrupted my life and work in a way that impacted my income and my energy (again, hadn't really realized this while I was experiencing it). All my guests were people who were close to me, so it wasn't like they were difficult.This just validated what I already knew about myself, and am going to be firm about in the future. I require a good chunk of time to myself. Boundaries are key for me – regardless of whether they make sense to other people or not.It took a few “come to Jesus” moments with my Dad also for him to “get” that just because I'm at home working doesn't mean I'm available for midday chats, errands, questions, or whatever else he thinks of. That being said, it's a good thing I did come back.We had three trips to the ER this year (all via an ambulance) because of his health. My siblings are both two hours away so my Dad would have been on his own until...

Do you want to Grow and scale in 2024?This episode is for you.I know you might be thinking, “Um… duh Kim, who doesn't.”But I will take this in a different direction than you might expect. At least compared to trite advice, you might see popping up at this time of year.Like everything I'm doing moving forward, this episode is going to be a mix of things that speak to both the tangible (tasks) and intangible (thoughts, beliefs, mindset).I'll share the only way to grow and scale in 2024; then I'm going to share a story with you that was the inspiration for this episode.The point of sharing the inspiration is to piggyback on the last episode, “Everything Is Content, 2.0.” I want you to start finding content ideas and inspiration from all areas of your life.So first, here's the ONLY way to grow and scale in 2024:Take complete and total responsibility for everything in your life.Doesn't sound very exciting, does it?Contrary to how that might feel when you hear it, I promise you that when you truly step into owning responsibility for everything in your life, it creates massive freedom, which then opens all kinds of doors.Besides showing you that “Everything Is Content,” the story that led to the inspiration for this episode is also an example of me walking the walk.Because it's going to be much less about the contrast that showed up and much more about how I caught myself playing the victim, feeding old beliefs, and then stopping that bullshit as soon as I realized what I was doing.Here's what happened.I recently had a conflict with someone I love very much.It went sideways, some heated things were said, and then a resolution was reached (sounds so formal, but truly, the details aren't what matters here).Like all of us, I did the normal regurgitation of things in my head.You know what I'm talking about… “I should have said this, yea, but, if only, blah, blah, blah.”After having returned home from the holiday and a fairly good night's sleep, although not enough, I found myself rehashing things within minutes of waking up.Two things to note here: even though I was home and had slept pretty well, it was less sleep than I needed, and I was pretty worn out from the previous four days. Because I woke up earlier than I wanted to, in some ways, I ‘woke up on the wrong side of the bed.'The house was pretty cold (52), so I got to work to get a fire going right away after getting the kettle going for my coffee (I use a French Press and enjoy this slower process of brewing my coffee in the morning).While I was doing all of this, my mind started going a million miles a minute.Replaying the conflict, wishing I had said things differently (or not at all), and really working myself up.It only took me about 30 minutes, but it was like someone had splashed cold water on my face.I instantly thought, “What the hell are you doing to yourself?”Which was then followed by a firm and resounding “Fuck this!”I realized how quickly my ego had jumped in to take the wheel, and I was feeding that little shit as though I was a helpless victim to what was going on in my own mind (humans really are fascinating creatures!).I'll come back to this realization in a moment, but before that, I'm going to get a little meta here, and I want to share why this victim realization was so powerful to me.The first time anyone called me a victim was in 2011.It was my therapist/mentor (who I still speak...

I came up with Everything Is Content back in 2016.I turned it into a hashtag: #everythingiscontent, and now you can find that hashtag used across social media. Was I the original creator of that hashtag? Who knows, but when I started using it, you couldn't search it.I created it because I discovered how incredibly true it was.This was after I had been writing as The WordPress Chick for eight years and knew I was moving towards pivoting to my personal brand.Two primary factors contributed to growing my personal brand, even before I made it official. Both were because of writing:My podcast (The WPChick Podcast => The Kim Doyal Show)My ‘almost daily' emailsI'm going to go more in-depth with both, so sit tight.I've said this before, and it's a hill I'm willing to die on

My friends and I recently revived something we used to do years ago.But first, a little backstory about these friends…These are my high school friends, and still, to this day, are near and dear to me. I've known one of them since kindergarten, another since 6th grade, and the rest are all from my freshman year in high school. So these are lifelong friends.By this stage in life, we've been through a lot together.Graduations, careers, marriages, children, loss, heartache, joy, moving… you name it.There have been times when we've been super close and incredibly active in one another's lives and times when life was so busy that it felt like a challenge to have dinner together.This is just life.I get that, but I always miss them when I haven't seen them in a while.So… the thing we recently revived was our “ornament exchange.”My Mom used to do this when I was a child, so in my early 20s, I started an ornament exchange with my girlfriends. The original ornament exchange was handmade ornaments; we made one for each person.This way, you'd leave with 6-10 ornaments, which was great when we were all starting our homes and didn't have kids.As life got busier, we changed things up and would bring one nice ornament (and we started buying the ornaments).I don't remember when we stopped doing this, but after finally getting together for dinner in October, we decided to revive it and make it happen.Even though not everyone could make it, it was soul-filling for me.However, I was struck by something.We did the normal catching up that you do when you haven't seen each other in a while (although this was less catching up since we saw each other a couple of months ago), and then, as the night progressed, the conversations got deeper.I felt deep sadness for some of the things my friends shared.Partly because of what they had to go through (or are going through) but also because they hadn't shared what they were experiencing during the most challenging part.And I know I've done the same thing.This is what being busy can do to us.And while I can't speak for my friends, I'm sure there's a piece of truth to this for them as well.And that is that you don't want to ‘bother' people when you're in the middle of something challenging, especially if you haven't talked to or seen them in a while.The crazy thing is that I know I could pick up the phone and call any of these women if I were in a crisis, and they'd all be there for me. No questions asked.And the same is true on my end.There is SO much power in sharing, being vulnerable, and telling our truths.The only way to do this is to get beyond ourselves… and remove the ego.This brings me to how this plays a significant role in our business and marketing.I talked with another friend I hadn't talked to in over a year. This is a woman I connected with years ago online. She's on my email list, worked with me, and bought some of my courses.Over the years, we became friends (this happens with many of my coaching clients).She's in Europe; I'm in the States… It never ceases to amaze me that I have people I consider dear friends worldwide.Anyway, we've been friends for years, and she's seen my transition from the WordPress Chick into my personal brand.She said something when we were talking that I realized was kind of a superpower of mine. She also said she uses me as inspiration on her own journey, which I know is part of my purpose in this lifetime (to inspire).She's in a place where she's pivoting her business and said that I was constantly pivoting (and bear with me here – I'll explain more of my pivots in a second), and I never seemed to care.This idea that we're supposed to pick one thing and only do that forever is...

Kim [00:01:22]:Welcome to another episode of The Kim Doyal Show. I always say I'm very excited about my interviews, and it's true because I only talk to people I know, admire, and respect, and this is actually our 2nd time talking. But The 1st conversation I had with my guest, Marco Schmidt, which I'll do an official introduction in a minute, it was like I felt like we could have talked for hours. I'm like, we need to do a podcast episode. So here we are. So, first of all, welcome my guest, Marco Schmidt.Kim [00:02:05]:Marco, thank you for being here today.Marko [00:02:08]:Oh my god. Kim, it's Such a pleasure to be here, and it's really true. I mean, every time we connect, I just feel like, oh, wow, sister. You know? We're doing crazy cool stuff together. Even though we're operating in different places, we're still, like, in the same universe.Kim [00:02:22]:Totally. Totally. And we connected just through Twitter and then saw each other in a Kavon co cohort.Marko [00:02:30]:Right. Yeah. Yeah. We both love Kavon Chung. He's He's such a super cool guy in terms of bringing community together. And so and then, yeah, we've, like, had, you know, tons of, like, back and forth on Twitter and stuff like that, and I just love what I do. And so yeah. Super happy to be here.Marko [00:02:45]:Thanks.Kim [00:02:47]:Thank you. So I love hearing the backstory. So for the audience's audiences, I've got plurals now. But for the audience, can you share your backstory and what brought you to where you are today? And then we'll get into your business and what you're doing today.Marko [00:03:01]:For sure. I'm happy to talk to all of your audiences.Kim [00:03:07]:You know what?Marko [00:03:07]:Hey. Look.Kim [00:03:08]:Swear to god. Yeah. I sometimes my my mouth cannot keep up with my brain, but go ahead.Marko [00:03:14]:And vice versa. Right? I mean, sometimes I find my mouth saying something that my brain is going, no. No. No. Anyways, my backstory, probably it Started in some ways with dropping out of high school to join the circus. And, you know, it's like one of those things. I was one of those accelerated kids I was, like, always in the smart classes and got to do, like, the crazy fun things, you know, like going to the factory and seeing how they printed newspapers or, You know, bringing odd guests in and stuff like that. And by the time I got to high school, I had really thought high school is gonna be super fun, like college, like, really exciting, and it was Boring.Marko [00:03:51]:It was super boring. I lasted for almost 2 whole years, and then I dropped out to start doing circus work and play in a rock and roll band. And, I actually moved out of my parents' house and, you know, it's like the great thing is is that I already had skills. I already knew how to, like, you know, hustle and sell things, and, I learned how to paint houses. I I did a bunch of things. So I was Financially self sufficient when I moved out, and it always gave me this sort of independent attitude that I don't have to work for the man. And I have to say, here it is, you know, all these years later. Part of what I do as a coach is, like, working with people who are super skilled at what they do, You know, who are experts and seasoned, but they're afraid to let go of the weekly paycheck or or their corporate affiliation.Marko [00:04:37]:They they know they're not getting paid what they're worth. They know they're being lighted. But they don't have that background that I have of, like, being able to...

The digital marketing and creator space is one where you can go from feeling excited and inspired to jaded and exhausted in only a few weeks.I'm going to stay away from the advice we've all heard about productivity and routines because I agree with most of it… and that's not what this is about.Plus, I don't subscribe to the idea that there's “one” right way to do anything.There's only a “right way” for you.In the 15.5 years I've had my online business, I've had periods of extreme focus and consistency and other periods when life has knocked me on my ass. In those moments, I simply did the best I could.Albeit not without some self-judgment, which is something I'm always working on.I now understand, at a deep level, that self-judgment will come up… that's part of being human. My goal now is not to feed it. As my mentor often says, acknowledge it, bless it, and move on.In other words, don't feed it.The best way not to feed self-judgment is to ensure I'm true to myself.This can be tricky in the digital marketing and creator space.Here's what I mean:I have zero use for regurgitated content from 20-something men who have done listicle posts about the creators, books, or gurus who have inspired them the most on their journey.Why?Because they consist of lists made up entirely of the same men.Over and over and over again.

I did it! My First Live Retreat is in the books!It was everything I hoped for and some huge a-ha moments for me personally.I'm going to share how it came about (Finally! This has been on my list of things I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember), taking imperfect action, the work involved, the event itself, and how I'm feeling a few weeks later.Even if you don't want to host your own retreat, I'm hoping this will give you some insight and clarity into how your business should support your personality, strengths, and how you want to feel.I had some huge epiphanies that, in all honesty, really surprised me.Including, "Do I really want to do in-person events?"

Kim [00:00:00]:Hey there. It's Kim Doyal, and welcome to my show where digital marketing meets real stories, experiences, and strategies. You'll get a behind the scenes look at what's working and not working in my business as well as other experts who show up and share their stories. As much as I love talking about tangible marketing principles and tactics, we'll dig a little deeper with mindset and explore what's required to create a business you love on your terms that also supports your life. I wanna help you understand the why behind the how. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just dipping your toes in, remember, marketing a journey, and the goal is to enjoy it. My desire is to guide you on your journey and remind you that no matter what life throws at you, you've got this. Hey.Kim [00:00:44]:What's going on, everybody? Welcome to another episode of The Kim Doyle Show. Really excited about the conversation with my guest today. Adore her, but also the topic of conversation. And, of course, we are going to talk about online marketing and her business. But, my guest, Lynn Jericho, is in a spiritual space, which is very near and dear to my heart. So first of all, Lynn, thank you so much for being here today.Lynn [00:01:08]:It's great. I'm really looking forward to it, Kim.Kim [00:01:12]:Thank you. So I love doing this. And so before we get into questions and business and and everything, I wanna hear your story. Like, what brought you To creating your business, which is imagineself.com. And we're gonna get into that. Of course, everybody, all the links will be in the show note. But, You know, let's you don't have to do the life story, but, you know, the trajectory that brought you here to what you're doing today.Lynn [00:01:37]:Alright. Well, I've where I'll begin is, looking for a school for my kids, And I discovered a school called Waldorf, which a lot of people know us around the world. It's the The hottest education program in China right now, which is interesting, but this is back in the eighties. And I found this wonderful school and loved what it did for my children, got very involved with what was behind it In terms of this picture of how the human being develops and I was off and running. It just made such sense to me. I got it so quickly, And I started sharing it with people. So in the early nineties, I started giving talks and workshops And advertising in the local newspaper, that sort of thing. And, And I was working and I was working on writing a book.Lynn [00:02:38]:And then, 2004, I was in front of, the big tree at Rockefeller Center in New York City, And it was so electric, and This is an electricKim [00:02:54]:So you're talking about the Christmas tree?Lynn [00:02:56]:Yeah. The environment. Alright. Man I mean, Manhattan Christmas is just a wonderland, but it's all electric. There's nothing real, unless you have a couple of good credit cards. So, anyway, I went home and I I sent out an email to my list on Gmail, which was about 260 people. And I talked about the holy nights, which is a a path of going inward between December 25th and January 6 between Christmas evening and, epiphany. And so that was my first Digital gesture.Lynn [00:03:41]:I I just thought I was a spammer. I mean, I I was terrified. Preston, because I said I'm gonna send you a message every day with an inspiration for what you can think Or work with or contemplate or meditate. And instead, I started getting all these emails, please put me on your list. I want these messages. So the 250 people were sending it out to friends, and it really grew. And then 2 years later, I decided, to do a video on what is this inner Christmas all about. And I was working on a...

It seems I've been having a lot of these moments lately.If you haven't seen Jerry Maguire, it came out in 1996. Long story short, Jerry Maguire is a successful sports agent who has his own “Come-to-Jesus” moment, writes a manifesto, distributes it to the agency he works for, and all hell breaks loose in his life.Ideally, these moments don't cause everything in our lives to unfold.But they're pivotal moments.Turning points, if you will.The first moment I had that was really more of a “Come-to-Jesus” moment was when I decided to focus my business on serving women.I've wanted to do this for a long time but haven't really had the courage.Until now.Before I get into this recent epiphany (that's a hell of a lot shorter than writing out “My Jerry Maguire, Come-to-Jesus Moment”), I know exactly what has contributed to arriving here.Focus.Without a doubt, the focus I've applied over the last four months has created space for me to get clearer on what I truly want.What I want my life to look like, the work I want to do, and who I want to do it with.Choosing to focus on serving women felt like a huge fork in the road for me. I have a lot of men on my list and in my audience, and I was incredibly nervous that I would be cutting my audience in half.Here's the kicker, though… even though men have purchased my products, most of my customers are women.This is also why I'm investing in paid traffic.I'll always do organic content (which is where my Jerry Maguire moment came from), but being able to target exactly who I want to target?That's gold.OK, let's get into my “Jerry Maguire, Come-to-Jesus Moment.”I love the phrase, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”The beauty of this is that the teacher doesn't necessarily have to appear as a person. It can be an article, a video, or a specific message you start to see repeatedly.I subscribe to a lot of email lists, and YouTube channels and read a lot of articles in the digital marketing space, and it's easy to pick up on trends.Sometimes, I get an inkling of a shift happening, and other times, it takes a little longer.The first inkling I had of a shift happening was from the YouTuber creator Jessica Stansberry. She has a YouTube channel called “Hey Jessica!” and decided to launch a second channel just under her name.She's been online for about 12 years (I think) and started out doing a ton of “how-to” videos. Months before she decided to launch her second channel, she did a video where she was telling viewers to STOP doing so much how-to or creating content based on keywords.(This is where she hooked me; I hate creating content based on keywords or doing anything based on keyword research).Then, she launched her new channel because she wanted a place to do different content. Lifestyle, vlogging, and sharing her journey. That channel has almost 2k subscribers in less than a few months (and yes, she has her previous channel and existing audience where she can promote the new channel, but it wouldn't be growing if there wasn't valuable content).Then I saw this FB post from Adam Linkenauger.It's a long post, so I've copied and pasted it here, along with the image he included showing he knows a thing or two about YouTube:Post:“YouTube isn't about keywords or SEO.Forget that crap.I could care less about the “search engine”, as ranking for keywords is small potatoes on the platform today.The first step is JOINTLY pleasing your subscriber base AND the algorithm.Understanding the traffic sources and the depth of strategy that comes with increasing clicks and keeping viewers watching longer.Where viewers come from drastically can change your thumbnail strategy, your headline strategy, and the content strategy depending on whether...

Staying the Course in your business can be challenging on any given day, let alone when the world feels like a dumpster fire.I won't go sideways with this episode about all of the challenges people are facing in the world right now. We're all aware that things are not what they used to be, and there's a lot of uncertainty.This is why it's vital that we tune out the noise and find ways to ground ourselves.I stopped watching the news about 15 years ago (when it felt like actual news, not entertainment or propaganda).Even back then, though, it felt like the focus was on the negative.I remember years ago, I would go straight to the gym after taking the kids to school, and if I were on the treadmill or elliptical, I'd pop on Good Morning America.Harmless enough, right?Most of that was lifestyle and entertainment, but there were news segments or teasers about the news, and even if I weren't aware of it, some of that would still sink in.Once I got my first iPad and realized I could actually read while working out, I stopped watching the news.Fast forward to today, and the only bits of news I get are from social media (not intentionally, but maybe TikTok because they show you content based on what you watch).I don't go too far down that rabbit hole because before I know it, I start feeling either angry or depressed.There was a time when I took a very neutral stance on what was happening politically because of this. All it did was make me miserable (and again, I promise this isn't a political post; this is all for context).My intention was, and still is, to be the best human being I can be, to be kind, do good work, and love with my whole heart. All while creating a life that fills my soul to the very depth of my being.With all of the upheaval over the last few years, something in me has woken up.And you can't “unring a bell,” so to speak.My sense of responsibility to the world I live in feels deeper.I'm sure this is a combination of my age, my children are grown and on their own (so I have more bandwidth), and some of the loss I've experienced.You hit a point in life where you realize, “If not now, when?”We're living through some amazing and challenging times right now.The first and most important place to start is with ourselves.So, I've been contemplating this question a lot.Get the SPARK in Your Inbox every week!“How do I stay the course when everything around me feels like a dumpster fire?”Now, to be honest, I'm not actually using the phrase “when everything around me feels like a dumpster fire” when I'm thinking about the question of how to stay the course.That was strictly for the sake of the title of this episode.Words have power, and I try to choose them carefully.The question of staying the course, though, is 100% accurate. I'm asking from a place of curiosity and a true desire to keep myself in alignment.To answer this question, let's approach it from two angles: the internal and external side of things.The Internal Side of Staying the Course.In some ways, the internal side of this is easier because it's something we actually control.In other ways, it's harder because it takes conscious decisions, effort, and massive boundaries to anchor in behaviors and beliefs that support staying the course.And any time we

Loyalty to platforms and tools is crushing your growth.This was a huge epiphany I had while listening to a podcast recently (I was listening to Jenny Blake's “Free Time” podcast, which, by the way, is one of my favorites).The podcast episode I was listening to was “Why I Migrated My Three Email Lists to Substack (BFF Bonus Replay),” episode 222 (highly recommend).Many of you who have been with me for a long time (thank you) know that I love finding cool tools to check out and share.You've also probably noticed that over the last year, I've also talked much about streamlining my business.In fact, I'm tired of doing the tech.All I want to do is create and serve my audience – whether that's coaching, courses, a community, or creating and sharing valuable content.In late 2022, I contemplated moving from WordPress and going all in with ClickFunnels 2.0. Well… that was a bust. ClickFunnels 2.0, after a year-long delay in their launch, didn't have all the features I wanted to use, and it seemed silly to go to the trouble to move when I'd still need WordPress.The primary reason for wanting to make that move was simplicity.But it was also because I hate WooCommerce, which is what we used to launch Create It – The Content Planner.ClickFunnels 2.0 had promised their version of Shopify (for lack of a better explanation), and I thought, ‘Great! That solves everything!'So, stick with WordPress I did.Get the SPARK in Your InboxThis is where the phrase, “better the devil you know,” comes into play.As much as I don't like WooCommerce, I know how to use it and have developers who know how to use it.I love WordPress for the primary feature it was created for, which is blogging.The reason people end up looking for other platforms is that they don't want to piece a bunch of different things together (or Frankenstein, as some people say).As someone who can do a lot of this (although the less I do it, the less I remember how to, not to mention the less I want to do it) and has a developer who can do it, it all comes down to what I WANT to do.And screwing around with tech isn't something I want to do anymore.Circling back to the episode of Free Time I listened to that gave me my “a-ha” moment.Jenny Blake is a well-known author, has a large audience, and also has a very public dislike of social media. Her whole stance on social is that it isn't good for her. And that's the point, isn't it?I was intrigued to listen to this episode because I've been thinking of moving the newsletter for Create It (which is called “Creator's Weekly” and is fabulous – I don't write it, my daughter does) over to Substack.Now, before you think I've lost my marbles, you might be wondering about my very public love of

Reframing Content Marketing and social media is something I have to do occasionally.Otherwise, I'd probably lose my mind a bit.My challenge is that I enjoy doing it, but it can also feel like a chore.Before we get into that, let's do a quick catch-up.This is the first episode of September, and I can't believe we're down to only four months left in 2023. I've been back in California for eight months now, but it still feels a bit like I just got here.This past weekend was Labor Day weekend in the States, and it actually felt like fall! Since I spent the last two fall seasons in Costa Rica, I'm going to soak up every bit of the “fall feels” that I can.And that's with a trip to Costa Rica for almost a month (and I've got another one planned for January… woohoo!).It was a rainy, cool weekend; I enjoyed some pumpkin spice coffee and scents (candles & plugins, what can I say) and made sure to take some downtime to simply enjoy the moment.That was a little fall teaser as the sun is back (which I also love), and it will progressively be getting warmer again, but it doesn't look like we have any heat waves in the near future (working back up to the low 80s).One thing I did for myself this weekend was spend a good chunk of time going through some training I've invested in.It was Laurel Portié's $7 FB Ad Strategy program (I literally cannot believe the value of this…), and then I picked up Joel Erway's “Power Offer Workshop” (which is only $27)- which was recommended by Laurel in her program.I probably spent five hours on Sunday going through the training and taking notes (I retain things much better when I write them down). I had a couple of major takeaways from the training I've gone through that inspired this episode.First, Laurel Portié is a breath of fresh air.The woman is incredibly smart; she's extremely generous with her time and knowledge, and she's made me think of advertising in a whole new light.Not many ad people talk about driving traffic to content for validation (Amanda Bond does as well), so when she started referring to Power Content, I was super intrigued.Subscribe to “the SPARK” for Weekly strategies & inspirationLet's look at Reframing Content Marketing firstI have always been a huge fan of content marketing.It took me a while to find my groove (the podcast really shifted everything for me), but once I did, I fell in love with the process and mastery.It's changed a lot over the years and will continue to with AI, but I'm here for all of it.In a conversation with my friend, Jason Resnick, last week, I told him how frustrated I get...

Internet marketing has always been a male-dominated space.I was super hopeful when I shifted more to the ‘Creator Space' – but I don't think it's much better.I spent ten years in the WordPress space, and for the majority of that time, it was a male-dominated space as well (it seems to be getting better).Before you think this will be an anti-man or ranty episode, let me assure you that it's not.Much like Mother Teresa's quote about not attending a march against war but instead attending a rally for peace, that's what I want to do here.Let's take a little stroll down memory lane first, shall we?When I started my business in 2008, I was very aware that internet marketing was predominantly male.I was also very new, so, to be fair, I didn't really know where to look for the women when I was getting started.Once I did, I started a Facebook Group called “The Women of Internet Marketing” and even made a movie called “Women in Business, 2.0” (the movie was in 2010 – and no, you can't find it. It was a unique experience, to say the least).So, this desire to support and highlight women isn't something new for me.I've always wanted to, but I think somewhere along the way, I got a little disheartened and sort of fell into the “if you can't beat em, join em” mentality.I was also super nervous about alienating some of my audience, which has always been pretty split 50/50 between women and men.However, when I realized that the majority of my customers (i.e., people who actually BUY from me) are women, I let go of that.There's also something that happens to women when you turn 50…And I know, I can't speak for all women, but the women I know and from a LOT of things I've read, when women turn 50, they stop caring so much about what other people think.We've raised our kids, are established in our careers (or starting new ones), and finally feel like “YES! Now it's MY turn.”I also think a big turning point for me was when Roe v. Wade was overturned. I never in a million years thought I'd see that in my lifetime. I'm not going to get political here, but let's say it lit a fire in me.And let me be crystal clear… this isn't just for women over 50.This is for any woman who feels a strong pull to create a business and life that works for HER. It might be using your voice (like I'm doing here), maybe it's writing a book, creating an e-commerce store, becoming a course creator, ad manager, social media manager… You get the point.This episode is specifically for the entrepreneurial woman who is in this for the long haul.You Can't Unring a BellOnce you start noticing things, you can't “unnotice” them.Here's a little exercise for you.Next time you see a round-up post or listicle that highlights a list of people, count the number of men to women.It's usually about 20-30% tops… if they're even included.This is why I feel SO strongly that it is up to us… as women, to support and amplify each other.I'm not saying that you shouldn't read, recommend, follow, or support good men doing good work. What I am saying is to start “choosing awareness” and see if this resonates with you.The flip side of that is true as well…You don't need to support a woman simply because she's a woman.Let's move on.How to Amplify Women in BusinessThe first thing I'm going to do here is target women.Both organically (with episodes like this) and with paid traffic.Let's talk about organic marketing first.I subscribe to a lot of different newsletters and email lists (don't we all, eh?). I've started a Google sheet where I'm listing the women I subscribe to, what they do, and their website.From there, I'll be doing the following:Social media postsCreating contentHighlighting...

Trusting yourself in business feels like it should be easy.After all, you've started your business because you wanted to do something different outside the norm.You knew there was something else you were supposed to do with your life.Or, maybe you started your business because you needed to.Maybe you were let go from a job, could not find a job that justified the cost of daycare/commute, etc., or knew that if you didn't start something for yourself, your mental health and quality of life would continue to decline.My reasons for starting my business were sort of a combination of all of the above.I had been working full-time in retail management most of my adult life, and after losing my husband in a car accident at 32, with a six-year-old and a two-year-old at home, I knew something needed to change.Prior to that job, I had tried a handful of entrepreneurial things, but it wasn't until I discovered what people were starting to do online (first discovered this space in 2006) that I knew “this was it!”I had no idea what that looked like, but something lit up in me and grabbed hold of me.I lost my husband in 2003 and started my business in 2008.The five years in between were some of the hardest years of my life. It's too long to go into here (we'll save that for another podcast episode), but if I could go back and tell myself anything during that time, it would be to be gentle with myself.On top of grieving, I was in massive judgment of myself all the damn time.My therapist used to say I would “get myself coming and going.” No matter what I did, it wasn't enough.Learning to listen to our own intuition and trusting ourselves are incredible gifts you give to yourself if you're willing to do the work.Rise Above the Noise: Subscribe to “the SPARK”Intuition in ActionUntil probably 12 years ago, I don't think I ever would have considered myself “intuitive.” In fact, I was probably a little judgmental about that word and associated it with people who were a little “out there.”Regardless of how you define intuition or your perception of it, we're all intuitive.We just haven't learned to tap into our intuition or trust ourselves with it.A simpler, maybe more acceptable way to talk about intuition is learning to trust your gut.I'm going to try to mesh the tangible with the intangible here if you will – because in order to grow and scale a successful business, you need both.And I'm on a mission to bring more of this language and discussion into the marketing space.Here's a great example from the first year I was in business.There was an internet marketing who I had discovered prior to starting my business. I had been listening to a CD set by Mark Victor Hansen (co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books) about becoming a speaker.This internet marketer was talking about how he was making money with the internet with niche sites, affiliate marketing, and teaching.I didn't understand half of what he was saying, but I was fascinated.So when I finally made the leap into starting my business in 2008, I sought out this marketer and signed up for his coaching (which was 5k and the most I had ever spent on something like that).Part of his coaching was coming to his house for a private retreat with a few other coaching clients.By the time I went to this retreat, I had been in business...

Creating A Black Friday Cyber Monday Offer can be exciting, intimidating, and a little cringe-inducing.It all depends on how you approach it.I've been on both sides of the coin and somewhere in between when it comes to creating a Black Friday Cyber Monday Offer.As someone who spent way too many years working in retail management, I had a pretty negative feeling about Black Friday for many reasons, mainly because I usually worked that weekend. I would have rather been enjoying time with family or kicking off my own holiday season.Once I was out of retail, though, I promised myself I'd never go into a store that weekend… and for the most part, I haven't.I may have gone once or twice with my Mom and sister, but that was more about doing something with them as opposed to shopping.For the sake of all of our sanity, I'm going to stay away from the argument that addresses the ‘for or against' Black Friday Cyber Monday.It is what it is, I don't see it going anywhere, and there's no point getting worked up about it.What we'll focus on is how to create a Black Friday Cyber Monday offer that aligns with who you are, how your support your audience, and what you can create that feels good for everyone.Rise Above the Noise: Subscribe to the SPARKShould you Create a Black Friday Cyber Monday Offer?This question might seem a little contrary to the topic of this episode (because obviously, I think you should), but there are a handful of things you should consider before deciding whether you should create a Black Friday Cyber Monday Offer.First question: Do you want to?Before you call me Captain Obvious, what's really important about this question is getting clear on your “why” behind the answer.Many people say they don't want to because they're “anti” the whole concept. I'm sure you can come up with many reasons why you or someone else might be “anti” running offers over this weekend. Fair enough.Just make sure you're being completely honest with yourself.Putting together the right offer for the right reasons and for the right people takes work.You also need to go into it with the right expectations.If you've never run one of these offers or created any type of similar marketing campaign, there's going to be a learning curve, but more on that in a minute.Second question: Do you have an email list?Unless you sell on social media ONLY (and have data that supports how well your social audience responds to offers), you have to have an email list.I don't care if it's 500 or 5000.Every single business needs an email list. This is the one source of traffic you control. And yes, if you don't have one, it's not too late to build one so you can send an offer over the Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend.Last question: Are you willing to do the work?I might sound a little like a stern parent here, but if you're not willing to put the time and energy into this, then don't bother.Can you half-ass it and make some sales?Sure, but with enough lead time and effort, why not go all in and do it correctly? There are no guarantees of how it will go, but keep in mind that regardless of how well your offer does, you're most likely going to make some sales and will gather massive data.And more than likely, you'll end up with an offer you can use later with another campaign (different season, sale, special, etc.).

The ONE question you can ask yourself is a game changer.This was one of those questions that brought massive clarity in the span of about 1 minute. We're going to get into that in a minute, but let's do a quick catch-up and recap from last week.First, if you missed last week's episode, I officially announced my first-ever Women's Business Retreat in Costa Rica!The IGNITE Mastermind is happening this October 24th – the 28th. My dear friend and amazing branding expert, Liz Weaver, is co-hosting this with me.We're just now getting around to promoting the event, but we only have four spots left, so if you're interested, be sure to head over to IgniteMastermindCR.com for all the details. This is the lowest price this event will ever be. We've set this up as an all-inclusive event (food, lodging, airport transportation, retreat workshop, and a catamaran sunset cruise). All you need to do is get yourself there!We've even hired a professional photographer so you can get some gorgeous headshots in this amazing location (a luxury beachfront home).Click here to learn more about the IGNITE Costa Rica retreat.Get the SPARK in Your Inbox!Is it me, or does it feel like this summer has completely flown by?Maybe it's because it was so cold when I moved back in February that winter felt like it was never-ending. Now that we have warm weather and longer nights, it feels like it's going to be time for all the pumpkin spice everything.Mind you, I've missed fall the last couple of years in Costa Rica, and I am one of those nutty pumpkin people, so I'm looking forward to enjoying all the coziness that fall brings.Halloween decorations and candy are showing up in stores already.When I was younger, I loved seeing this (I mean as a young adult, not a child). Maybe it was because it was forced on me by being in retail for so long.By mid-August, I was already getting pumpkin-spiced candles for the house.The older I get, the faster time seems to be moving, so I'm not in a rush to have seasons come and go too quickly anymore (although I'll probably be ready for summer by the end of January, haha).Every month of the summer feels like it's been a little busier than I'm used to (or at least what I remember). Being back in California with family has been wonderful, but it also means my calendar is a little fuller.When I start feeling a little squeezed, I remind myself that I always get everything done.My goal is always to stay present and focused.When I keep things simple (my three things), I always complete them, do better work, and enjoy my day more. Novel idea, isn't it?Sometimes this is harder than others, but oddly enough, I find that slowing down helps me do this. The more I try to squeeze into a day, the faster the day goes.My challenge to you as we wind down the rest of 2023 is to choose to be present.To quote Maya Angelou:If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present. Gratefully.Get the SPARK in Your Inbox!Moving on.The ONE Question to Ask YourselfI heard this in a video I was watching...

The Cost You Pay isn't necessarily in dollars…It's much greater.But before we get into that, let's do a little recap of the last week.In last week's episode, I talked about ‘burning the boats' and simplifying everything in my business. Sharing that and getting the podcast published was the fuel I needed.There is something about putting stuff out there that lights a fire in me.I love setting up some sort of accountability that keeps me on track.Whether it's to a mentor, a friend or publicly putting it out there – it works. I used to judge myself because I always felt like it was weak to need that (this was many years ago), but now it feels like a superpower.I know what works for me, and I'm running with it.I also did something last week I've been putting off for far too long – I got back in front of the camera! Go me!And here's the truth… which I'm guessing most women will be able to relate to: I was having a really good hair day and basically told myself, “Girl, your hair is on point today. You need to record a video.”Whatever it takes, right?So, I raised my desk, decided on the topic, and hit record. I posted the video to both my Facebook business page and personal page. Then I posted it to the biz page first and then to my personal page. On the personal page, I asked people to tell me where they saw it first.I got more comments on my personal page than on my business page, but it's all a process.Subscribe to the SPARK hereHere's the crazy thing…After having a conversation with my friend, Emma Hersh, and my experiment posting the same question on Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook – I've decided I'm going to focus on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.Emma was great and sent over some data she found, and let me tell you, Facebook is NOT dead. Gen Z may not be there, but my audience is.Then the next day, I came across a Gary V video (and I haven't watched or listened to him in a long time), and he said the three platforms people should be focusing on are: Facebook pages, YouTube shorts, and TikTok.So that felt a little confirming.That being said, I say show up where you feel most comfortable, create what you enjoy creating, and go all in.Because I've made the commitment to do more video, it's easy to repurpose what I'm doing across all three platforms.So, that being said, here's where you can follow me on all three. And bear with me as I start reworking my profiles on these platforms:Facebook business pageYouTubeTikTokHere we go, friends.The Cost You PayI get super giddy when I come across someone new who inspires me.You've heard me talk almost non-stop about Dr. Benjamin Hardy and the books he's written with Dan Sullivan. I had come across Ben Hardy last year, but for whatever reason, I wasn't quite ready for that work.Clearly, that's changed.Well, last week, I came across someone I had never heard of, who is killing it, and I have been bingeing her content. What I love about this woman is that she's not in the BS guru internet marketing/creator space.I won't go sideways ranting or throwing shade at anyone here, but I think you get my point.The people who are unrelatable, keeping themselves at arm's length from their audience, and whose message feels tired (or is this just me?)Anyway…I'm referring to Tiffany Carter of

Well, it might seem like my best-laid plans for the podcast have gone sideways, but I assure you it's anything but.I won't go into much detail about life with this episode, but the last couple of months have been super busy with family stuff, and I've been quietly working behind the scenes and, for lack of a better description, have been “burning the boats.”This episode is for anyone who has or has had that niggly feeling in their gut for far too long about making a change in their business. It could be niching down, a pivot to something entirely different, focusing on a different audience, or adding something brand new.Whatever it is, my goal with this episode is to both inspire you and give you a few things you can do to get the ball rolling.One thing to remember: this is going to look completely different for each individual. Don't compare your pivot to anyone else's.On one hand, the burning of the boats feels like it's been years in the making. On the other hand, I made this decision fairly quickly because of the level of focus and structure I've implemented.Burning the BoatsThe first time I burned the boats in my business was when I pivoted from “The WPChick” to my personal brand. This was back in 2018, and I knew it was time.In fact, it was probably time a few years prior, but I didn't have the clarity or the courage until 2018.During the last few years as The WPChick, I felt very limited.I didn't want to:Create any more how-to WordPress tutorialsDo anymore client work, no more websitesContinue creating content about plugins or themesI changed my tagline on my site to “A Place Where WordPress and Marketing Collide,”… which I loved, but at the time, the WordPress space was so anti-marketing (God forbid you made a living in that space outside of service work), and I didn't feel like dealing with the trolls (I had my fair share in that space).What I loved doing was creating content and marketing.The more I learned about marketing, the more I enjoyed it.In many ways, I held myself back when I was The WPChick. Because there was such a self-righteous anti-marketing stance, I avoided trying things or going deeper with marketing strategies. I'd do the surface work and get some results, but not the results I truly wanted.I tried to please everyone but myself.If I could go back and tell myself anything, it would be to only pay attention to people who were already where I wanted to be.Here's another way to look at his:Never take advice from someone you wouldn't trade places with.– Darren HardyI've spent far too much of my life worrying about what other people think.This might come as a surprise to people who don't know me very well or to those who I haven't allowed myself to be vulnerable with, but I'm over it.This is probably one of my favorite things about getting older… as you start to realize that your time on this earth is actually finite and you may have less in front of you than behind you, you realize it's time to stop playing small.Or, as Brené Brown shares in her article, ” The Midlife Unraveling,”…I'm not screwing around. All of this pretending and performing—these coping mechanisms that you've developed to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt—has to go. Your armor is preventing you from growing into your gifts. I understand that you needed these protections when you were small. I understand that you believed your...

Women Over 40, it's your turn.Recently I was at my niece's high school graduation party.A handful of my sister's dearest friends came to celebrate my niece as well, and it was wonderful to see all these women. All were friends she's known since childhood, so I've also known them all for 35+ years.In a conversation with one of her friends, we started talking about my sister's birthday this year (she'll be 50, and I'm just about to turn 53 as I write this). As we were talking about this, her friend (who is 48) was saying that she's “not looking forward to turning 50 at all.”My response was so immediate and natural that I didn't think about it before I said it.“I absolutely love being over 50! I am so happy with who I am at this stage in my life. It just gets better.”She looked at me, a little surprised, and said, “Really?”It wasn't coming from a place of judgment at all… it was genuine curiosity.Anyone over 40 can probably think back to when you were in your 20s, and 40 seemed so far away. And old.

Well, I've officially been back in California for four months.Let me just say it's been an adventure.I won't bore you with all the details, but here's a little gist of how the first few months went:I returned to some crazy cold weather and snow like we hadn't seen here before. I officially don't like the cold anymore and was pretty miserable (I know, #firstworldproblems).I got sick a couple of weeks in, and with the weather, that seemed to stick around for a few weeks.I was still healing from my back surgery last OctoberI had to adjust to living with someone else… who is pretty chatty. Once my Dad got it in his head that I was working and not to come in and chat with me throughout the day, things seemed to flowA few weeks ago, I ended up with Shingles… my first time getting them, and fortunately, it wasn't a bad case. The pain is still there but lessening every day.Those are just the niggly things that came up all while trying to adjust to life back in the States.I've had a few a-ha moments as well, which is what I'd like to focus on with this episode as I share the future of the podcast (I never intended to take four months off!), what's been born out of this unplanned little sabbatical of mine, and why I'm incredibly excited about the rest of this year.My original thought in moving back to the States was that since I was moving back, I might as well stay in Northern California, where all my family & many of my friends are. Then I wasn't so sure.I'm staying at my Dad's right now (he's got a pretty big house and has loved the company since my Mom passed away) and had thought I'd be here 3-4 months tops. My Dad is about an hour southeast of Lake Tahoe and about an hour from Sacramento, in a cute little remote town. It kind of feels like Tahoe up here, and he has an acre of property with plenty of pine trees.While it's beautiful, one of the things I was looking forward to in coming back was the conveniences, which isn't necessarily the case being this far out. Mind you; everything is much more convenient than it was in Costa Rica.Then I went to Costco on a busy Saturday afternoon with my Dad and realized that, holy hell…this was not for me either.Don't get me wrong, I love Costco, but having worked for myself for the last 15 years, I haven't really needed to go on a weekend in a long time, and I always wear AirPods and listen to something while I shop.I was so overstimulated by the time we left (and then went to a huge nursery, which was also incredibly busy) that I could have skipped dinner and just gone home.It was definitely a case of “been there, done that' – meaning suburbia and the big box retailers. I have zero judgment about it for anyone else, but I've realized it's not for me.I keep joking that “Costa Rica broke me.”

Kim Doyal 0:01 Welcome to F the hustle. I'm your host, Kim Doyal. You want a life that is meaningful and exciting. In this podcast, we're going to talk about launching and growing an online business that fits your lifestyle. After the hustle is all about doing good work, building real relationships, and most importantly, creating a business that supports where you want to live your life. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your life today to create something that sets your soul on fire. And yes, that includes making a lot of money. So we'll be talking about selling, charging, what you're worth, and help earning more means helping more people. My goal is to help you find freedom and create a business on your turn. Hey, what up what up? I am super excited today. My guest needs no introduction, but I will introduce him. We're not going to do the typical rewind of tell us about your backstory, because he's been on the show a few times. My guess is my good friend Jason Resnick. Jason, thanks for being here today.Jason Resnick 0:58 Yeah, thanks for having me, Kim. Um, I can talk nerdy about email all day long. So I'm happy to be here.Kim Doyal 1:06 Yeah, and I always feel a little guilty when I'm like picking your brain on our other calls. I'm like, like, I should be paying for this. But I'm grateful for everything. So I have to explain to the listeners, viewers, why I asked you to do this, because it was kind of funny how this whole thing started. So for those of you who are not familiar, Jason and I ran an experiment last year, we have, we had a newsletter called Get deliberate, where every single issue of the newsletter was an experiment on growing your email list and adding subscribers and we did it from scratch with that brand. And so we kind of hit a point where it was like, I don't know, have we covered a lot, I think 40 Something issues of that. And so we put it on pause the contents amazing, we're going to repurpose that repackage it somehow at some point this year, but this is what happened. So we have we Jason and I both use ConvertKit. And by the way, Jason has nurture kit.com where he's, he is a ConvertKit, expert, duck, duck nurture. kit.co Sorry about that. And of course, res.com but and I'll have all the links in the show notes. So just stay focused on the show. So here's the story behind the evolution of this experiment and conversation that we're gonna have today is that so Jason and I both use ConvertKit. And then we use ConvertKit. For deliver it? Well, because of that we know ConvertKit sends you a weekly summary of sales and conversions that you've had with with your email marketing, once every week, because deliver it was linked to Jason's account and my app and my personal account, we each had it linked. So I was getting these emails, it's like, here your ConvertKit sales, and every week it was I don't know, do you mind me giving numbers through automations? Okay, all right, you know, 1200 $1,500 every single week, and I'm like, well, this isn't my shit. Excuse the language, but it was just like, What is he doing? Because, honestly, Jason, so I have a follow up sequence. And I offer something at the end of it through one, one lead magnet at the same time. There's so many other things that can happen. And it took me way too long, if I'm being brutally honest, to implement that. Because, you know, I just, there's always so much to do is how it feels. And I've had my account, I don't know how long at this point. I'm like, I need to go in and clean up and do this and whatnot. And then I get into everything is liquid, and then I want to do coats. Right? But you've totally simplified that. So for everybody. I just wanted to explain, like Jason lives, breathes, implements, just does all the things. He's not just talking to talk. And I witnessed it firsthand. So I'm like, Alright, this is a priority for me this year with with my personal brand. And of...

Goodbye, Costa Rica.For now.I've been pondering this decision for a while now, even though I said I would stay for two more years at the end of my 1-year lease last year.Many factors have contributed to my decision to move back to the states, but the biggest one is family.My Dad is 78, and while he's already had some health issues, they seem to be compounding or worsening. Most people who know him would probably look at him and not think twice. Still, after spending so much time with him over the holidays (I hadn't seen him for a year in person – he was going to come to Costa Rica, and I got Covid the day he was to fly down), I've been reminded that time is precious.I never saw my Mom age since her passing at 71 was unexpected. Even though I watched all four grandparents age, it's an entirely different feeling when it's your parent.Maybe because, secretly, it means I'm aging too.I noticed a significant slowing down with my Dad, which I'm sure is partly due to age and health concerns. My aunt also had some health challenges this year (my Mom's younger sister, who I'm incredibly close to), and I want to be closer.Get #FtheHUSTLE in Your InboxOther factors that contributed to saying Goodbye, Costa RicaI've had my own fair share of challenges this year (don't we all), and being in a foreign country steps things up a bit.Having to take my dog in for surgery on both back knees – and then a second time, because something happened to one of the knees, was a little traumatic (I felt like I'd failed her)- then to have surgery on my back?It was a lot in a short period of time.I also had visitors every month through August, except for February, and while I wouldn't trade it for anything (I also had some incredible experiences), it was a little hard to start and stop so much (with work).Having just launched “Create It,” I'm pretty head down with my business right now (the new content planner). I think it will be easier to manage things in the states than here. This might sound a little strange since it's a digital business, but here are a few reasons why:Shipping: we're shipping the initial orders and will hopefully switch to a distribution service by the second quarter, but we'll be the shipping department (my daughter and me).Events: with the world opened up. I'd like to get back to networking and traveling to events. I'm looking at joining an e-commerce mastermind to scale the new brand, and there are quarterly events, which are much easier to get to from the states.Another factor that I kind of can't believe I'm sharing here (although why not? I share everything else, and knowing me, I've probably mentioned it in another podcast) is the dating scene.It's pretty non-existent.I've shared before that the area I live in, while amazing, feels more or less like it's made up of retirees and families (because of the proximity to the international schools).I've had my fair share of younger Tico's ask me out (when I was getting out and about more, haven't done a whole lot of that over the last 4+ months with my back), but that's not my jam (as flattering as it may have been haha).When I had started thinking about moving back to the states, I had originally been thinking of Oregon or Washington, so I was still close enough to drive to see family.Then it seemed silly to move back to be closer to family and not actually be close (I know, I'm a genius). So it's back to Northern California, I go. I'll land at my Dad's for a few...

This isn't my official year-in-review podcast episode (I'll record that in January), but I'm starting to look ahead at what I want for 2023.Both business and life.We're about to enter December (or, depending on when you're listening to this, we're already there), and I head back to California in a few weeks.The new planner, Create It, is done and off to the printer, so I can catch my breath for a minute and regroup.I've worked almost every day since the week off after my back surgery. Still, now that I'm starting to feel a lot better physically, my mental energy has shifted as well (nothing like being resistant to what is… although I've stopped saying my back is taking longer than I'd like. My only answer now is that my back feels better and better every day).Not that I could do much else…It's been raining almost every day (although, as I write this, there are bright blue skies outside… I'm hoping they stick around so I can take the dogs to the beach this afternoon).Let's get into today's episode…Launching a New CompanyI went into a lot of detail in the last episode that announced Create It, about the planner itself (as well as my decision to do this).I want to go a little deeper about my vision for Create It Company, why I decided to start another company separate from my personal brand, and how I see them fitting together.My first “real” entrepreneurial endeavor was the scrapbook store I opened with a business partner back in 1998. This was at the beginning of the scrapbooking craze, and I had just been laid off from my district manager position.Even though I didn't necessarily have the capital to do it, I would have opened another store (and can I say amen that we didn't). I had BIG visions for that store (and we could have killed it online had I known what I know now … hindsight is 20/20, isn't it?).My business partner didn't.It was more of a hobby for her, whereas I needed it to bring in an income.In many ways creating a physical content planner brings me full circle. Even at the Scrapbook store, I taught classes… so much of what I do today has been a part of my journey long before coming online.I'd like to see how far I can take Create It.Not just the planner, but the company.Which is why I needed to do this on my own.I've been fortunate to partner with amazingly talented people, but any time you bring on a partner, you're giving up control.And as crazy as I make myself, I'm much more willing to take risks, even when I have no idea how it will happen.The idea of giving up on myself feels like a death sentence.I have zero intentions of “retiring”… in fact, I see myself creating more as I get older.One of my goals with Create It Company is to scale it to the point where it doesn't need me. And who knows, maybe even sell it for a nice exit, but that's getting ahead of myself.Plans for the CompanyIn addition to hiring people (again, I went into much more detail about this in the last podcast episode), we have many more products planned for the brand.I don't want to give them away too much here, but here are the categories of products we're looking at:More planners (beyond the content planner)Stickers (physical & digital)PensCard decksLots of training courses (with guest experts)Monthly content prompts and template subscriptionConsulting on planner creation and publication (helping other people produce planners)To do this, I will need a little help and guidance in the e-commerce space, which is where my friend Trey Lewellen comes in.Trey is a master at e-commerce.So I'm looking at joining his mastermind in January.Obviously, organic content and social media will be a big part of our growth strategy, but so will paid...

Create It – The Content Planner is LIVE!BUT… before we get into that, it's been a hot minute since I posted a podcast episode, and I want to share some updates with you.I have a couple of interviews in the can and another solo show to wrap up, but this had to come first.I had my back surgery on October 1st (in Costa Rica), and my dog, who had a second surgery on one of her legs, came home the week before my surgery (after being at the vet for 5 weeks!).Having surgery in another country was an interesting experience, to say the least. I'm thinking of writing an article on Medium about the experience, but we'll see if I get around to that. I trusted the neurosurgeon completely and have no doubt the surgery was done well.The hospital stay (only one night) was another experience altogether. Not to mention there were more or less zero postop instructions or guidelines unless I asked.Fortunately, someone on my list, shoutout to Alex Smith of Fluid Junction, who had a similar surgery and became my go-to with questions and postop care. One of my neighbors is also a nurse who worked for a neurosurgeon for years in the states, so she's been a godsend too.All that being said, I'm on the road to recovery.Everything I read said about six weeks. You'd start to feel better (closer to normal), which was also true for me. I still limp a bit later in the day, my back gets sore, and I can feel pretty tired by late afternoon, but I'll take it. I'm not in any pain, and things are progressing nicely.The bonus to all of this was that my daughter came down for the week after my surgery to help out, so I got some extra time with her (and didn't have to wait until Christmas to see her).I've more or less been hanging out in my place, working, resting, and recuperating for the last 6 weeks. I go out to get groceries and a meal with friends here and there, but it's actually been pretty lovely being able to focus (not to mention it's been raining most of the last 6 weeks).Now that that's out of the way let's jump into Create it – The Content Planner.If you haven't heard, Jodi and I shut down the Content Creators Planner a couple of months ago. I shared a podcast episode about our decision to do so. You can listen to “Time for A New Chapter” here.It was during the closing of that business that I started to feel the pull to give it another go.We didn't shut it down because it wasn't a good business, but we didn't have the time for it as a team. Jodi has a successful full-time agency and is the primary person responsible for her aging parents. She has a lot on her plate.Initially, I thought I would move on and focus on #FtheHUSTLE. Not just the newsletter but the business and life framework.But that niggly feeling of “what if” wouldn't go away.What if I did a new planner?Started a new company?And did more with than one type of planner?The wheels started turning, and I knew that this was what I was supposed to do.Having successfully done this once, albeit, with a business partner, I knew I could do this again, but I had that much more knowledge and understanding of running an e-commerce business.I could take all the lessons, mistakes, challenges, and wins and do things differently.The one thing I knew had to be different this time was that I had to have a team.It can be challenging when you can do just about everything you need in your business. Between the two of us, Jodi and I had everything...

In this episode, I want to challenge you to start thinking about More Creating, Less Producing.Let me back up a little bit and explain where this came from (and yes, I'll probably be creating a framework for this). I came up with the term #FtheHUSTLE over six years ago. At the time there were so many people preaching about hustle and grind it started getting on my nerves. It made me feel like no matter what I did, it wasn't enough. And I'm a doer. I take action, I like being productive and seeing results from my efforts. All that being said, I didn't need to be bombarded with the message that I needed to do MORE or that I wasn't serious about my business because I wasn't working 24/7. And can we just zip it about binge-watching TV already? Do whatever works for you to refuel and recharge. I didn't do anything with https://kimdoyal.com/fthehustle (#FtheHUSTLE) until almost two years ago when I saw the logo in a dropbox folder and knew instantly that it was going to be the name of the newsletter (I had no idea at the time I would use it for my podcast as well). Fast forward to today, and I'm much clearer on what #FtheHUSTLE is (more on that later…and surprise, I've met with a book coach to start outlining an #FtheHUSTLE book! I started doing it with AI last year, and it didn't feel right. I want to write every word of this book). #FtheHUSTLE is subjective. Meaning it gets to be whatever it needs to be for YOU. Whether it's a shorter work week, limiting calls, more vacation time, not selling a product or service the way everyone else is telling you it needs to be done, choosing not to use social media or hiring someone to clean your house. It can be business or personal, or better yet both. It's about creating a life that allows you to be and do whatever it is you want. This brings me to more creating, less producing. I'm going to back into this because it will be helpful to hear how I'm focused on creating in a way that isn't necessarily obvious. Align, Design, AssignFirst off, Align, Design, Assign is from an amazing book I'm reading called https://www.amazon.com/Free-Time-Lose-Busywork-Business-ebook/dp/B09LBGDWF6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1663687577&sr=8-1 (“free time” by Jenny Blake.) HOLY MOLY, I love this book. Recently I shared that I got the updated version of https://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Revised-Expanded-Design-Business-ebook/dp/B09HFW3NG8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1663687606&sr=8-1 (Mike Michalowicz's “Clockwork” )because I want to remove myself from the aspects of my business that aren't the best use of my time. I'm also launching a new company (you'll hear about that in the next month, I promise) and want to make sure it's set up in a way that isn't reliant on me as the brand's voice. I will 100% be part of the brand in terms of part of the company (and obviously, using what I've created to support the launch), but I will not be the primary content creator. In fact, I'm hoping that within the first 6 months, we have a tiny, effective team (also from free time). Back to Assign, Design, Align. What hit me with both of these books and the work I'm doing behind the scenes for the new company (the naming took a lot of work, now I've moved on to the messaging and voice of the brand while having hired a graphic design company to work on the logo) is how I've had to slow down to be able to build something phenomenal. I'm going to share a few bullet points from the “Align” part of the book that resonated so deeply within me. Align is all about: Your values, your energy, your strengths Get quite enough to let the ideas bubble up Set purposeful intentions There's a difference between lower case hard work and upper case HARD WORK (big difference in how you feel just reading that, right?) How you build is as important as what you create That last one is EVERYTHING. “How you build is as important as what you create.”...

I am all kinds of excited today. It's been a challenging few weeks with everything going on with my back (and if you missed that, you can read/listen to what's going on in the https://kimdoyal.com/whats-coming-my-new-non-negotiables-fth-100/ (last podcast episode)). I did my border run to Nicaragua, which went really smoothly, but man was I exhausted afterward. Fortunately, I was smart and planned to take care of myself the day after. I didn't have any calls and allowed myself to go with the flow. Which pretty much meant working at my desk as long as possible and then moving to my bed- regardless of the time of day. I brought a cooler with my ice packs for the journey, which made all the difference in the world. Now I'm set for another 90-days. Which is so close to Christmas, but I'll still have to do one more border run before I go to California in early December. I will apply for Costa Rica's digital nomad visa after the holidays. The digital nomad visa will allow me to stay in the country for a year without border runs, open a bank account here (bye-bye international fees!), get a driver's license, and be a part of the national health care system here (called Caja). I'll pay into Caja, but I'm happy to do so. Now that all that is out of the way, I can focus on business again. I have 3 weeks until my back surgery, and it's game on! There's something about knowing you have a ‘sprint' ahead of you with an end date (even if it's just for a week) that makes it much more manageable to stay focused. Now that you're all caught up let's get into Shutting the Door on Self-Doubt.Shutting the door on self-doubt came up on a https://kimdoyal.com/why-i-still-talk-to-my-therapist-18-years-later-and-the-impact-on-my-business-fth-088/ (call with my therapis)t this morning (I've jokingly said that I will have to pay her royalties at some point  ). We were talking about a new project I'm working on, and I was sharing my challenges with naming it. If you've ever been stuck on naming something, you know what I mean (and if you haven't been stuck, can you share your secret with me?). I had picked a name (or so I thought) for my new project, and two of my dear friends in this space whom I completely trust asked me if that name was right. The whole thing came about because I had hired a couple of people to have logos made. Nothing felt right. https://kimdoyal.com/?p=129207&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=129214#cb8f20a078 (It's time to #FtheHUSTLE! Sign up here!) Instead of trying to figure it out with the existing name, my friends asked if I could use a different name. Holy lightbulb moment!!!  I solved this (and will share the name and what it is) within the next month, but I returned to a book I read years ago when I wanted to name something else. The book is called https://www.amazon.com/Hello-My-Name-Awesome-Create-ebook/dp/B07V6MFHRH/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1663013581&sr=8-1 (“Hello, My Name is Awesome” by Alexandra Watkins.) Side note: Go to her website for some before and after name makeovers her company has done. Her website is “Eat My Words,” and I LOVE the tagline on her site: “Your brand name shouldn't look like someone got drunk and played Scrabble.”  I highly recommend the book. It's pretty short (about 128 pages). She gives many examples of companies she's worked with, brands needing help, and then very specific exercises for coming up with your name. And yes, she “names names.” She has something she calls the ‘Smile & Scratch' test. I'm going to share those here with you (in hopes that it inspires you to get the book for yourself and do the exercises). Ready? The “Smile & Scratch” test by Alexandra Watkins: Here are the 5 qualities of a super sticky name (this is the smile test): Suggestive: it evokes something about your brand. Memorable: Makes an association with the familiar. Imagery: Aids memory through...

100 Episodes! Technically, it's 277 episodes if we count the 177 episodes as The WordPress Chick. I thought it was a lot more, but there have been some times over the year when the podcast went on sabbatical, and that's O.K. What matters is that I get back to it. So here we are, officially at episode 100, and it's GAME ON! Before I get into what's coming and my new non-negotiables, I need to bring you up to speed with the last few weeks. Life was a little bit of a shit showOne of my dogs needed knee surgery (on both back knees), so I had that done the first week in July. She didn't heal correctly because she pulled something out that they had done, probably just from moving incorrectly or getting off the couch (I was trying to lift her everywhere also). So, after taking her back to the vet twice (they didn't do x-rays the first time), it was determined that she'd need surgery again on one knee. Fortunately, they didn't charge me for the second surgery but wanted to keep her at the vet (she's still there at the time of this writing, which is 2.5 weeks later) so they could do physiotherapy with her to make sure she healed. I've messaged them and am waiting for them to get back to me. The day I dropped her off in Liberia (about an hour away), I started feeling like I was getting sick. Sure enough, I had a heavy summer cold, congestion, cough, and fever (tested negative for Covid twice). I had a close friend's niece come to stay with me a during that time (I said it was fine as long as she did her own thing and didn't mind being here while I was sick), which turned out to be great because she made a couple of pharmacy runs for me. The day I was taking her back to the airport, I went to get in my car and could barely walk. How I managed to drive her, there is beyond me. I was in excruciating pain (I've had two kids and would take childbirth over that pain all day long). I had to stop my car 4 times on the way home to lay down in the back seat to get some reprieve. I got a hold of a great massage therapist and asked if she had any time that day because I thought it was sciatica. In the meantime, a friend brought me a muscle relaxant and some pain meds from the pharmacy during my massage (she knows the massage therapist too). I was sobbing I was in so much pain during the massage. I took the pain meds immediately, which did nothing. I called my friend and said I needed to go to the doctor, so she & another friend's husband took me directly to the emergency in Liberia. After a CT scan and a couple more rounds of pain meds (it took forever to get some relief), it turns out I have a herniated disc pressing against my spine, compressing the nerves. Last week my same friend (who truly is an angel) took me to San Jose (my first trip there – it's over 4 hours away) for an MRI. We stayed overnight (which was fun. We found an Outback Steakhouse – an American chain – and even a Starbucks! I got a Starbucks on the way out, but actually prefer Costa Rican coffee!). We left San Jose the next day and went straight to Liberia to consult with the neurosurgeon for the results of the MRI. He said I absolutely need surgery. I had been doing a bit of research and reading before my MRI (which, holy hell, I'm way more claustrophobic than I thought!) and was determined to heal myself naturally. Until I saw the MRI image. I haven't decided yet, but I am leaning towards having the surgery. The next big decision is whether to have the surgery here or back in the states. I don't have insurance here (and if I sign up now it won't be covered because this is a pre-existing condition), or to sign up for medical back in the states and get the surgery later. It really just depends on whether or not I can deal with how I feel right now for a couple more months (insurance in the states won't go into effect until Nov. if I sign up now. It's $16k cash if I do it...

Kim Doyal 0:01 Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to another episode of F hustle with Kim Doyal. I, of course, I'm your host Doyal. And I'm just doing a little preview clip for today's show because I jumped right into it saying, We haven't you know, we haven't done anything in a long time. And it was specifically referring to today's episode, which was a conversation plan conversation between myself and Joe Hirsch, my co founder of the content creators plan. So I thought I would just do a little preview clip here. So it makes a little bit more sense. When you listen to this. We did record this on video, which will be up on YouTube. And we'll be sharing in the content creators, Facebook group, and anywhere else, that seems like a great place to share it. So that being said, kind of big announcement to make. So enjoy the episode. Welcome to F the hustle. I'm your host, Kim Doyal. You want a life that is meaningful and exciting. In this podcast, we're going to talk about launching and growing an online business that meets your lifestyle. F the hustle is all about doing good work, building real relationships, and most importantly, creating a business that supports how you want to live your life. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your life today to create something that sets your soul on fire. And yes, that includes making a lot of money. So we'll be talking about selling, charging, what you're worth, and help earning more means helping more people. My goal is to help you find freedom and create a business on your terms. Hey, what's going on? Everybody? Long time, no talk? No, see, we haven't done anything in video in a long time. So we've got a big announcement today. Of course, we are the founders of the content creators planner. I'm Kim Doyal. And of course, my cohort is God earth. Well played not passed off very well. But we're, we're excited we do have a big announcement. And I'm going to kind of pass this over to Jodi to start with the announcement. And we've got a lot to share with you. So stay for the whole video. But we do have an announcement to Jodi Hersh 2:06 make. Yeah, so the big exciting announcement is that, like all good things, CCP is coming to an end CCP being content creators planner. It's a mouthful for us. So we always call it CCP. And while we love the product, and we have loved working with everybody and helping everybody with through content creators planner, we're finding that we're both just way more focused on and excited about other things. And we're really doing a disservice to CCP, and to our audience. So we thought that we'd share a little bit with you about kind of how we got here, some of our favorite moments and highlights and things that we've learned along the way. And a little bit about what we're each going to be doing moving forward and what all of this means for you guys than our customers. Kim Doyal 3:06 And first and foremost, of course, we want to thank you all for being on this journey with us. And just so you guys know, Jodi and I love each other life is good. This is not some weird, like, oh, you know, but we're not breaking up. We're still we're still very good friends. And, you know, confidants and counsel to each other about business. So I want to do that. But a huge thank you. It's been such a fun, amazing journey. No regrets. It's, it's been wild, you know, starting something and launching something here before the world went upside down. But let's go God has prepared some really great kind of questions and take away so we're gonna jump in and say that, but again, thank you so much for being on this journey with us. So let's, let's get into your little structured thing you got to do there. I love it. Jodi Hersh 3:57 Well, why don't we do like a quick sort of like, timeline of what what brought us to here. So back in the summer of 2018 It's crazy. I was literally on a cruise. I've been on one cruise in my entire life. And I was on the cruise...

Kim Doyal 0:01 Welcome to F the hustle. I'm your host, Kim Doyal. You want a life that is meaningful and exciting. In this podcast, we're going to talk about launching and growing an online business that fits your lifestyle. F the hustle is all about doing good work, building real relationships, and most importantly, creating a business that supports how you want to live your life. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your life today to create something that sets your soul on fire. And yes, that includes making a lot of money. So we'll be talking about selling, charging, what you're worth, and how earning more means helping more people. My goal is to help you find freedom and create a business on your terms. Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome back to another episode of EFF the hustle with Kim Doyal. I am your host, Kim Doyal. I'm really excited today because I swear to God, come on. I feel like my good friend come on. And we've known each other like two months or something. But this I feel like it's been a long time coming, but it hasn't we met a few months ago. My guest is C'mon Chung. Did I say your name correctly? Unknown Speaker 1:04 That's correct. Very good. Kim Doyal 1:06 Okay, I was like, you know, it's funny, I have a tent, I do this. And I'm like, Kim, you need to clarify this before you actually get on the interview. But anyway, Kibana and I connected through Twitter. And I just kind of fell in love with his content and what he was doing. I signed up for his free email course, which he's going to talk about everything he's doing. And one of the best things that I just love this is in his follow up sequence. He said, hit reply, and tell me, he said I reply to every email. And he did. And I just thought, this is friggin brilliant. I shared what he was doing. It was it was just a real fun engagement. And so come on. Thank you for being here today. Unknown Speaker 1:45 Yeah, thank you, Kim, for having me here. Seriously, I reply to 100% of my email. But sometimes like seven days, late 14 days late, like today, I was replying emails 14 days late. But late is better than never showing up. Right. So that's my, that's my way of doing things. Kim Doyal 2:04 Oh, absolutely. And you know, it's funny simply, I obviously love email. I do so much with email. I still it's kind of my almost a preferred choice of communication. But I like to get into conversations with people. I think it's, it's fantastic. So all right. We're gonna talk about everything. I love starting with the backstory. And you do this full time now you're a full time creator, and I should we should clarify for people. So our time zones are a little bit off. It's eight o'clock in Costa Rica. Where are you? And what time is it for you right now? Unknown Speaker 2:33 Well, I am based in Hong Kong is 10pm over here. But if you ask me, I am living in my computer right now. Because most of my friends are actually online, I just feel more connected to people like you, who were doing similar things where we're passionate about what we do, and it's hard to find it locally, honestly. Kim Doyal 2:56 Oh, you know, it's crazy. I was I'm from Northern California, San Francisco Bay Area, and I was out in the suburbs. So it was very, it felt very difficult for a long time. Like nobody gets what I do. Nobody understands. Unknown Speaker 3:09 I guess I feel the same way. Kim Doyal 3:12 Yeah, absolutely. And I'm a big believer online friends are friends. So how long? I'd love to hear your backstory, like I said, what got you into doing this? You know, a lot of people, you know, maybe it's just a desire or quit a job, whatever. But how did you start your online journey? What were you doing before? Unknown Speaker 3:30 So you know, the kind of life changing point for that is 20 months ago, I felt like a nobody. And I will tell you why. Because I have been in startups all my career for nine

I first came up with the hashtag #JustShowUP about ten years ago. Learning what https://kimdoyal.com/what-it-means-to-just-show-up-kds053/ (Just ShowUP )means at each stage of your journey will look different.I know mine has. My ego tells me it's taken too long, my higher self tells me it's taken exactly as long as it's supposed to take. Talk about freedom. Years ago, when I was in a mastermind, a woman was just about done writing a book when her computer crashed. She didn't have a backup of her book. Her response? “It was supposed to happen. How do I know it was supposed to happen? Because it did.” HOLY MOLY. That's a level of zen I hope to achieve (but I can guarantee you my initial reaction would have been as far from zen as you could imagine… and hopefully, I will always have a backup). I'm a little in awe that after all this time doing this. I've stepped into something that has me as nervous and excited as I was the day I started. Don't get me wrong, plenty of projects over the last 14+ years have kept me excited and motivated, but this is more than a project. It's a calling. A calling to Just ShowUP in a WHOLE new way. Creating a Movement When I first came up with https://kimdoyal.com/fthehustle (FtheHUSTLE), it was out of frustration. Now it's a passion and an obsession. Hustle and grind were being glorified by every male entrepreneur I was following. At the time, I felt like this was how I was supposed to build a business. Then it hit me… Most of the men preaching this had partners at home taking care of everything else in their life, or they were twenty-somethings with no responsibility to anyone but themselves. Piss off. At the time, I felt super defensive. I was a widowed mother with two young kids at home. I literally could not work harder than I was working. I was constantly feeling like I had to justify what I was or wasn't doing. It was exhausting. Not to mention, I wanted a quality of life too. I'm all about doing the work. Focusing on mastery, shipping, hitting publish, and showing up. But fuck me if I'm going to do it the way anyone else preaches or expects anymore. In many ways, the toxic mentality of hustle and grind has become a new version of bullshit corporate America expects from you. But guess what? This is worse. Because YOU'VE created it. You set out to create something you love that would give you freedom and quality of life. But instead, you've created something that makes you question what you're doing. At the same time, realizing that you've created this is also the moment you gain freedom. Because if you've created THIS… you can create something different. Enjoying your life today does NOT mean you don't want it bad enough. It doesn't mean you're not committed or hungry enough. No one gets to decide what matters to you except YOU. As much as #FtheHUSTLE is a clear statement, it's not really about being ‘against' the hustle as much as it's FOR what works for you. What YOU want. How I'm creating my movement At the risk of sounding trite, I'm creating it one step at a time. The first step is showing up fully with this message. I've been using #FtheHUSTLE for a while now (the newsletter is almost two years old, woohoo!), but it was more a part of my business than the business model. I'm figuring out the frameworks for using #FtheHUSTLE to create and grow a business you love while enjoying every freaking moment of your life. It's time to challenge the narrative. I swear I feel like I've “woken up” to this idea over this past year. I started looking at all the models in business, society, and government, and it finally hit me that they've all been created by one group of people. Men. Don't get me wrong; I'm not here to bash men (I love men), but it's a piss poor representation of how things should be. We have data and facts on things that work because that's what's been studied. Take Brené Brown as an...

I'm just back after having my last visitors for a while (my sister & niece were here for 10 days, it was fantastic!) and after a couple of nights of good sleep, I feel ridiculously excited about everything that's going on in my business. My first official day back to work was yesterday (July 7th), and I didn't schedule much other than a couple of calls (I did a little work while my family was here but not much). The only reason I kept the calls scheduled was because they fill me up: a mastermind call I have with two dear friends and my call with https://nurturekit.co/ (Jason Resnick )(my partner with https://getdeliverit.com/ (Deliverit)). Jason and I hadn't talked in a couple of weeks because of my schedule so we had a lot to catch up on. If I hadn't had a massage scheduled we probably could have talked longer (we schedule an hour but went about 90-minutes). It was my call with Jason that inspired this episode, so thanks, Jason! The idea for this 90-day plan was Jason's idea based on something he's doing for himself, and there's something about setting up accountability for me that just works. SO.. here we go! What inspired this 90-day sprint Planning and doing things in 90-day blocks isn't something new, I've done it plenty of times. The difference with this was instead of deciding to plan for 90-days a specific goal inspired this 90-day sprint. I've been anxiously waiting for ClickFunnels 2.0 to come out ever since I saw the preview video from Funnel Hacking Live last fall. It was supposed to be released in March of this year (2022) but didn't quite make it. They finally announced that it will be available on October 4th (which falls in line with the 90-days quite nicely. thank you Jason  ). Initially, I thought I'd just use it for funnels and products… but right now I think I'm going to move my ENTIRE business to https://kimdoyal.com/clickfunnels (ClickFunnels.) WHAAAAT?!?! I know, I know… I haven't even used the new platform yet, so let me explain where this is coming from. I moved my brand from The WPChick to Kim Doyal in 2018. Ever since I made that pivot I've gone much deeper into everything I do. This includes: Marketing (general) Copywriting Email marketing Newsletters Sales Funnels Content (what I enjoy creating) Traffic It's not that I wasn't doing these things before, but so much of what I did had to have a connection or tie to WordPress that I felt limited. I felt massive freedom when I pivoted to my personal brand. As much as I love tech and tools (I'll continue to share them in the newsletter), my heart is in entrepreneurship and growing something that makes an impact. The deeper I got into these things (more writing, creating different products, etc.), the less time I had for playing with tech. I'm grateful for everything I've learned and feel like I've got a very solid foundation when I need to do something (i.e., can't hire someone), but at the end of the day? I can't be bothered. I've never been a ClickFunnels hater. Ever.In fact, I was an early adopter of https://kimdoyal.com/clickfunnels (ClickFunnels )(and have used it on and off over the last 7+ years) and shared it with a friend (who went on to make millions in e-commerce with the platform). When ClickFunnels came out the only other tool for creating anything similar (that wasn't WordPress), was LeadPages. And still… they didn't have the entire ‘funnel' piece in place. There were a handful of WordPress tools at the time (OptimizePress) and I don't remember what else, but it all felt like a pain in the ass. There was a time when certain tools triumphed over others and there were clear choices… but not anymore. The best tool to use for anything is the one you're going to USE! Whichever tool you feel most comfortable using and gets the job done is what's most important. Then there are all the people who hate on Russell Brunson. Say what you will… I think he's brilliant...

Courage shows up in many ways.There is nothing like sharing something publicly that makes it feel that much more REAL. I've known for a long time that accountability works for me, but instead of making myself accountable to other people (meaning someone specific), I share things as a way of being accountable to myself. Being accountable to myself means putting it out into the world. Most of the time the things I publicly share get done (although not always in the time frame I hoped), but sometimes they don't. No one is knocking at my door asking me where the “thing” is that I said I was going to do. I let go of what that looked like a long time ago. The truth is that most people are too busy thinking about themselves to worry about what you said you were going to do. And the https://kimdoyal.com/copywriting-one-skill-that-will-increase-the-bottom-line-in-your-business/ (bottom line) is, it's your life. This episode is going to be another ‘processing' episode in that writing and recording this is helping me get clearer on what I'm doing and where I'm going. My intention is that there's value for you as I share this process. As much as I need it, I know someone else out there needs to hear this too. This is Who I've Always Been I've always had an optimistic, and positive disposition. My Mom used to tell me that even as a little kid I treated everything as an adventure. I was naturally drawn to the things that made me feel good and intentionally chose not to engage with things that felt heavy or dark. I didn't know it at the time, but this is what I was doing (it didn't take many horror movies for me to realize “why the HELL would I watch something that https://kimdoyal.com/of-course-im-scared-here-we-go-kds-069/ (scares) the bejeezus out of me?”). I know this might sound obvious and I believe that a lot of kids are hard-wired to be optimistic – then the longer we're in school our optimistic, cheerful, and dreamer attitude is taught “out of” us (and I'm not negating that there are plenty of children that have hard childhoods and deal with trauma, that's not what I'm talking about here). When I look back I realize how many times I made decisions based on the approval of other people (mainly my parents, who, as much as they https://kimdoyal.com/always-belong-to-and-believe-in-yourself-first/ (always believed) in me and supported me, brought their own “stuff” to the table). The more I stepped into things that made me feel good, the more I was criticized (not at home). The criticism went two ways: it was either “you can't do that” or “who does she think she is.” I did a great visualization with my therapist last week and I had two very distinct memories show up: both were times when I was feeling really good about myself and someone (an authority figure /adult) felt the need to “put me in my place.” The thought that comes to mind with this is “jealousy is an ugly emotion.” We've all had those moments where we get a sideways comment from someone that has nothing to do with us and is completely about their own shit. Here are a couple of examples (and I'm going to bullet list them here but there's a story attached to each that I will share in more depth in the podcast): Answering the phone too happily at a business I owned (my business partner leaned towards the negative side) Having a boss say “can someone else besides Kim answer”… at a work meeting (my boss wasn't being negative, but everyone else was sitting there like a bump on a log) Collaborating with a woman online years ago who made a snide comment that “everyone wants to talk to the WP Chick” Internet trolls. #nuffsaid Having a college professor make a snide remark after I gave a motivational speech (it was based on a Zig Ziglar article or phrase) that she was “ready to get her credit card out” I'm DONE playing small. Someone else's lack of ability to show up in their own life is not my responsibility Enter the...

It's been a long time since I've felt this much excitement and nervousness about my business. It's time to step outside of my comfort zone.This has been a LONG time coming… in fact, I'd go so far as to say this is what I was put on this planet to do. As nervous as I am, I know I'm going to do it. I recently shared in the FtheHUSTLE newsletter that I was going to be sharing more about mindset, psychology, and life in Costa Rica through the newsletter. What this really means is that I'm going to go ALL in with FtheHUSTLE on KimDoyal.com. I'm not going to stop talking about digital marketing, because it's what I do and is what ‘birthed' FtheHUSTLE to begin with. But there's a bigger message with FtheHUSTLE that goes far deeper than being “anti-hustle and doing the work.” It's about what you want your life to look like. I've shared a lot on the podcast throughout the years about my beliefs, mindset, spirituality, self-help, therapy… you name it. But I've held back. I've held back mainly because I was afraid of how it would be taken and I didn't know how to merge that side of me with the business side. I see a path now… and I'm freaking THRILLED. I'm going to share this (process this?) with you like this: What led me to this decision What that means for my business How I'm going to do this I'm also going to share the fears, the doubts, and how I'm working on managing my thoughts in order to achieve what I want. What led me to this decision  I've been very transparent about the transitions in my business. I've never really thought twice about it because everything fell under the “digital marketing” umbrella. I went from The WordPress Chick   outsourcing company   coaching   done-for-you podcast services   attempt at a SaaS   pivot to my personal brand   launched the Content Creators Planner   focus on Email & Newsletters (under the personal brand). Whew… Here's the interesting thing. As I was living this, it all felt like a natural transition. I would get super bored if I had been doing ONE thing for 14 years. I know this about myself. Even when I worked in retail management – I took every opportunity to open a new store, get promoted, or take on a new challenge. In the entrepreneurial space, you're supposed to niche down. Pick ONE thing and focus on it. Which I did, but nothing grabbed me enough to want to do it long-term. Something about that made me feel stuck. I think this is also why I love this space. Tech and the web move SO fast. As much as it can be challenging (you master one thing and need to learn something else), I find it exciting. I love how new opportunities present themselves ALL the time. The trick is mastering the fundamentals so you can apply them to new opportunities. I don't feel I've mastered the fundamentals, but I am always practicing them (i.e., working on mastery). Those fundamentals for me are writing (specifically for the web), publishing, sales, traffic, and lead generation. The fundamentals of each of those are study and practice. Boring, I know. But hot damn if they don't work. I shared in the last episode that a recent launch didn't go the way I wanted (https://kimdoyal.com/when-disappointment-leads-to-clarity-and-ultimately-freedom-fth-093/ (When Disappointment Leads to Clarity and Ultimately Freedom)). That was a little painful to share, but I KNEW that in order to make the transition I'm making I had to get the ball rolling. Let's back it up a little further… This probably won't come as much of a surprise, but I was one of those kids that would put on “shows” in the neighborhood. My friends and I would sing and dance and charge a quarter for people to sit on the lawn and watch (I'm cracking up writing this… I love the pure abandonment children have). If I were in California I think I'd try to dig up a picture of my cousin, brother, and me performing a routine

One of the benefits of being in business so long is that you learn to take the so-called “failures” as part of the process. But that doesn't mean you don't get disappointed. That feeling you get when you've worked hard and something doesn't go as planned or the way you hoped it would. This is when the little kid in you who didn't get picked for the team or get invited somewhere shows up again. The difference now is that you're not that child… you're the adult who chose to be an entrepreneur. Knowing full well that things not going as planned is simply part of the process. It's what you do with those feelings and results (because no matter how something turned out, you've got some data to work with. That's the beauty of an online business). I'm going to share a bit of what I've been through this past week, how I've handled it and am still handling it, and how it's leading to the birth of something new. When Disappointment Leads to ClarityI'm pretty transparent about most things in my life and business. The more I share, the more people connect with me. I also don't have the energy to be something I'm not or pretend for the sake of appearances or feeding my ego. I recently launched something that didn't go as I hoped. My initial feeling was a massive disappointment because I'd worked super hard to get to that point (this was a completely revamped version of Email Insiders, which went from a two-month cohort to a 6-month group coaching program). A few months back I shared that I had made a significant investment in my business by signing up for a program and said I'd share more about that later. Well, it's later.