Podcasts about social slowdown

What happens to your business when you take an extended break from social media? Will it fall apart? Wither on the vine? What if the answer is…not much? Meg Casebolt is an SEO expert and the founder of Love at First Search, an agency that helps online businesses get found in search results, and to turn new readers into leads, subscribers and sales. Meg's business used to be super active on social media, until a few years ago when she took a 100-day social media break. Kind of by accident. That's when Meg discovered that even though social media had been taking up a ton of her time, it wasn't contributing much to her sales. In this episode, we discuss Meg's new book, Social Slowdown, which examines the intersection of entrepreneurship, social media, and mental health, and explore creative new ways to engage with your audience and find clients without relying on social media. More from the episode Meg explains the difference between social media and SEO. (As well as answering the question, what is SEO, actually?) Brownies vs. Painkillers: How to determine what problem your work solves. The pro and cons of using social media for your marketing. How to set healthy boundaries around your social media usage. What are some effective networking strategies for introverts? About Guest Meg Casebolt is a digital marketing strategist, SEO specialist, boy mom, productivity nerd, and bibliophile. Meg's been helping business owners create beautiful, search-friendly websites and strategic content for the past 6 years. Connect with Guest https://loveatfirstsearch.com/ Additional Links https://www.socialslowdown.com/ Social Slowdown: Take a social media break,... by Casebolt, Meg (amazon.com)For full transcripts, show notes, and more episodes, head to https://jessicaabel.com/acpod/

Market your business without social media and improve your mental health. It is possible to grow your business without social media. You can market your business without social media and build a successful, sustainable business. Is investing in social media worth it? At first, Meg used a Facebook group to market her business, get clients, and serve her community. But then she realized that because of the algorithm she was losing money on the Facebook group. When she evaluated the metrics, she was losing money. So you let her social media manager go and forgot to post. Maybe not the best strategy, to just walk away without an announcement, but when she did, nothing changed in her business. She continued to attract clients and make money. The bottom line, Meg created content for people who already knew her instead of for an algorithm. From there Meg did an experiment, which is what marketing is, experimenting to see what works to attract clients. Meg mentioned that Robyn and Meg were introduced by Michelle Mazur. Learn more from Michelle by listening to episode 119. There is more to digital marketing than social media You can market your business without social media. There are many other ways to market your business whether you are an online business or brick-and-mortar business. And if you decide to leave social media, invite your followers to join your email list to stay connected and continue to learn from you. The effect of social media on mental health When you are bombarded with bro marketing and the glamorous life of success so many people post about, you can become intimidated. Comparison and imposter syndrome can result in fear, doubt, anxiety, and depression. Keep in mind also, that when you spend a lot of time on social media and give a lot to your audience, when they become a paying customer, they will expect much more from you. Set boundaries so that followers will recognize your expertise and respect your time. Boundaries are key for time management and maintaining a healthy mind and positive mindset. The more followers you have, the more demand on you and your time. Keep that in perspective as you set goals to grow your follower counts.   Read the full show notes and access all links and additional resources.    Download the free eBook, 10 strategies to grow your business without social media. Website for Meg Casebolt  Social Slowdown by Meg Casebolt

Do you have to be on social media to market your business?  If you're becoming more and more disenchanted with social media, know this, you're not alone.  The number one question I'm asked these days, is there an alternative to marketing on social media?  My clients are requesting marketing strategies that don't have a social media component. Because let's face it, the platforms are demanding more and more of our time than ever before.  Whether it's creating Reels or the constant cycle of content creation, it seems never ending and the return investment is questionable.  It's gotten to the point it's making so many people wonder if social media is worth it.  And this is why I wanted to have Meg Casebolt on the show today to discuss this topic. She's noticed this trend too, and her podcast, the Social Slowdown discusses some alternatives. In this episode you'll hear: The op alternatives to social media marketing The impact of societal pressure and FOMO on social media usage How to balance automation and personalized outreach in marketing strategies The shift towards evergreen content creation and relationship building in marketing efforts  

In this chat with Meg Casebolt, SEO strategist, podcaster and author of the new book, Social Slowdown, we identified how SEO should fit into your marketing strategy and much more. And if you like what you hear, we'd love it if you write a review, subscribe here and sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.

Learn about the importance of making intentional choices and setting specific times to be online to alleviate the pressure to constantly perform from this conversation with Meg Casebolt. We explore the societal shift towards a digital focus and the benefits and challenges it brings. Meg shares her personal experience of taking 100 days off social media and how it affected her mental health. We explore the power of genuine relationship building, as well as the pitfalls of transactional networking. If you're craving deeper conversations, this episode is for you. Join us as we unpack the costs of social media and explore alternative marketing approaches that go beyond the superficial. Mentioned in this episode:Nicole Kalil's F*ck Social Media podcast episode: https://bit.ly/46lRba9The Confidence Code: https://bit.ly/3srbmE4The Female Brain: https://bit.ly/44yccMwMeet our guest: Meg Casebolt is an author, podcaster, and SEO specialist who has spent the last two years delving into the impact of social media on online marketing and its effects on mental health. Her first book, "Social Slowdown," explores the misconception that social media is synonymous with digital marketing and challenges the traditional approach preached by industry leaders. With a passion for connecting with like-minded individuals, Meg is dedicated to spreading awareness about the detrimental effects of social media and advocating for a more mindful and balanced approach to marketing. And, if that's not enough, Meg is also a fellow ADHD-powered entrepreneur. Connect with Meg beyond this episode: https://bit.ly/45LmDNUBuy a copy of her new book: https://bit.ly/45w6MTQCheck out her website: https://bit.ly/45LmDNUListen to her podcast: https://bit.ly/3R1HzMxGoing, going, almost gone… If summer is a little slower in your business, it's the perfect time for my Boss Up Bootcamp short-term options. Whether you need a Strategy Day, an Accountability Day, or a Brainstorm to Breakthrough intensive, don't wait. They are only available until September 15th. Kinda like summer camp, but without leaving home or S'Mores. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/43XxovI then, schedule a free 30-minute consultation here: https://bit.ly/3qrJ9YQ My favorite place to connect online is Linked In, click here to subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter: https://bit.ly/3MAalSpFor the time-crunched, or impatient, here's the TLDL version:00:04:26 Social media lacks depth, and rewards quick content.00:09:36 Social media seems free but has costs.00:14:45 Gaslighting of those seeking success online.00:22:07 Relationship-based marketing boosts business through referrals and networking.00:27:38 Society has gone digital and stayed connected online.00:35:39 Trends: decrease in anxiety, intentional choices, finding clients off social

Learn about the importance of making intentional choices and setting specific times to be online to alleviate the pressure to constantly perform from this conversation with Meg Casebolt. We explore the societal shift towards a digital focus and the benefits and challenges it brings. Meg shares her personal experience of taking 100 days off social media and how it affected her mental health. We explore the power of genuine relationship building, as well as the pitfalls of transactional networking. If you're craving deeper conversations, this episode is for you. Join us as we unpack the costs of social media and explore alternative marketing approaches that go beyond the superficial. Mentioned in this episode:Nicole Kalil's F*ck Social Media podcast episode: https://bit.ly/46lRba9The Confidence Code: https://bit.ly/3srbmE4The Female Brain: https://bit.ly/44yccMwMeet our guest: Meg Casebolt is an author, podcaster, and SEO specialist who has spent the last two years delving into the impact of social media on online marketing and its effects on mental health. Her first book, "Social Slowdown," explores the misconception that social media is synonymous with digital marketing and challenges the traditional approach preached by industry leaders. With a passion for connecting with like-minded individuals, Meg is dedicated to spreading awareness about the detrimental effects of social media and advocating for a more mindful and balanced approach to marketing. And, if that's not enough, Meg is also a fellow ADHD-powered entrepreneur. Connect with Meg beyond this episode: https://bit.ly/45LmDNUBuy a copy of her new book: https://bit.ly/45w6MTQCheck out her website: https://bit.ly/45LmDNUListen to her podcast: https://bit.ly/3R1HzMxGoing, going, almost gone… If summer is a little slower in your business, it's the perfect time for my Boss Up Bootcamp short-term options. Whether you need a Strategy Day, an Accountability Day, or a Brainstorm to Breakthrough intensive, don't wait. They are only available until September 15th. Kinda like summer camp, but without leaving home or S'Mores. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/43XxovI then, schedule a free 30-minute consultation here: https://bit.ly/3qrJ9YQ My favorite place to connect online is Linked In, click here to subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter: https://bit.ly/3MAalSpFor the time-crunched, or impatient, here's the TLDL version:00:04:26 Social media lacks depth, and rewards quick content.00:09:36 Social media seems free but has costs.00:14:45 Gaslighting of those seeking success online.00:22:07 Relationship-based marketing boosts business through referrals and networking.00:27:38 Society has gone digital and stayed connected online.00:35:39 Trends: decrease in anxiety, intentional choices, finding clients off social

What would you do if you didn't have access to social media for a day? How about a week? What about three and a half months? How would that change your daily habits? How would it change where you turned for information. How would it affect your business?  Now, certainly for you social media content creators and brands that rely heavily on social media creators and content to drive customers, I'm sure if could be catastrophic. But really? Are there no other alternatives? Don't get me wrong. I'm not here to advocate for a social media shut down, but someone did it recently and lived to tell. Meg Casebolt is a B2B SEO consultant. For a long time, she followed the crowds to social media, leveraged it for her business and her clients and did what we all do.  Now, SEO is a different discipline from social media. But it still requires creating content, promoting that content and staying relevant in the online world. That can imply staying connected on social media, too. But the perfect storm of social media fatigue, mental health concern and simply being too busy running all the other aspects of her business led Meg to do something amazing. She took a 100-day detox from social media. Cold turkey. No Facebook. No Instagram. No Twitter. No TikTok. No LinkedIn. And guess what? Her business not only survived, but thrived. Her mental health issues subsided. She was happier. She reconnected with previous clients, worked referrals, grew her business.  She created the Social Slowdown Podcast from all she learned. There, she leads business conversations around the reality of not using social media as a primary tool. Business does go on without it. Meg took a lot of the conversations from that podcast and has now shaped it all into a book called The Social Shutdown as well. It documents her experiment to leave social media for 100 days and not show a negative impact on her business.  She's here today to share those insights with us and talk about the reality of social media, where it fits and how we all … creators included … can perhaps look at social content and channels in a more healthy light for us and our audiences. I know you're skeptical, but trust me. This conversation is worth hearing. This episode of Winfluence is presented by CIPIO.ai. We are helping brands transform their digital marketing with user-generated content videos and images at scale. Come see us at CIPIO.ai. If you want me to personally show you the platform and how we can solve your digital marketing performance problems with high-performing UGC, just go to jasonfalls.co/cipio … fill out that form and I'll personally set up time to chat with you. Find show notes for this episode at jasonfalls.co/megcasebolt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week I launched my new book, Social Slowdown: Market Your Business Without Sacrificing Your Mental Health.So for this week's podcast episode, I figured I'd give you a sneak peek into the book with an audiobook version of the introduction.If you want to read the whole book, you can get it for just $3.99 for the Kindle, or for $9.99 for a paperback copy - OR you can get a signed paperback for $20.About this book:In a digital world dominated by social media, Meg Casebolt made a bold decision that would challenge the status quo. Seeking respite from the incessant noise and distractions, she embarked on a 100-day social media break, uncertain of the consequences it might have on her business.To her surprise, Meg discovered that her hiatus had no detrimental impact on her thriving SEO marketing agency. Curiosity piqued, she delved deeper into the experiences of fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners who shared their secret desires to break free from the clutches of social media's grip.Driven by a desire to understand the dangers lurking beneath the surface, Meg embarked on a profound exploration of the hidden perils of social media. With meticulous research and personal anecdotes, she unraveled the insidious links between addiction, depression, anxiety, and patriarchal oppression that often go unnoticed in the digital landscape.Meg, in her wisdom, realized that boundaries were the key to reclaiming control and finding balance in the digital realm. Drawing from her own transformative journey, she shares five invaluable strategies to establish healthier relationships with social media—ways to protect your mental well-being, safeguard personal privacy, and nurture genuine connections in an era of superficiality.But Meg doesn't stop there. She extends a lifeline to those yearning for liberation from the clutches of social media's alluring yet detrimental embrace. With passion and expertise, she unveils a comprehensive array of 20 marketing alternatives—innovative, impactful strategies that can catapult businesses to success while enabling them to ditch social media for good.Join Meg on an eye-opening odyssey as she dismantles the myths and illuminates the shadows surrounding social media. Through her empowering words, she invites entrepreneurs and small business owners to embrace a new paradigm, one that champions mindful engagement, authentic connections, and unparalleled growth beyond the constraints of the digital universe.This book is an invitation to reimagine the future—a future where you can thrive without surrendering your sanity to the endless scroll. Are you ready to embark on this transformative journey and discover the untapped potential that lies beyond the confines of social media?Support the show

Ohhhh gosh y'all...You're probably wondering why I'm releasing a podcast episode today instead of Tuesday, and if you pre-ordered the Social Slowdown book, then you already know that we ran into some ~technical~ issues.Well, I'm here to be fully transparent about what went awry. If you're listening to this episode on July 27th, 2023, - then today is the day that my book's pre-orders were SUPPOSED to go live. But as we all know too well, being a business owner comes with its own obstacles.In this episode, I talk about the pre-publishing errors I encountered with the Social Slowdown book, what I learned from this experience, and the reality of making mistakes as a business owner. Get a signed paperback copy for $20Download the Kindle version for $3.99Support the show

This week's episode features SEO strategist, and fellow 90's music junkie, Meg Casebolt. After cutting social media almost entirely, Meg moved to a 25-hour workweek to spend more time thinking about creative and big-picture ideas for her business, as opposed to an arbitrary follower count. Meg and I discuss how driving the right people to your website is much more important than engaging with everyone on your social media. Meg and I discuss:  The expectations vs reality of social media marketing Why web copy should be written to solve a problem or answer a question Why social media is not a discovery tool, but a connection tool Knowing your audience and how they prefer to consume your content Using the Customer Awareness Spectrum Focusing on depth of searches, rather than breadth Want to learn how to still drive sales while returning social media to its rightful place as a fun refuge from your busy day to day operations? Tune in on your favorite listening app, on the website, or watch it on YouTube! About Meg Casebolt Meg Casebolt is the founder of Love At First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. Meg loves to help businesses spend less time trying to hack the algorithms and instead create SEO content that attracts your ideal audience to your website while helping entrepreneurs cut their dependency on social media for their business visibility.  Connect with Meg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveatfirstsearch/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megcasebolt/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdWexUUZ_40SPeXvG-nJq Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/loveatfirstsearch/ Website: https://loveatfirstsearch.com/ The SEO Starter Kit: https://loveatfirstsearch.com/start Podcast: https://www.socialslowdown.com/ Meg's Book: The Social Slowdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I hired Lacy Boggs to help me write the first draft of the Social Slowdown book, and today she's here with me to talk all about the writing process.We also talk about:Book launch strategyHow it felt to work with a ghost writerThe difference between a ghost writer and a co-authorThe book publication processThought leadership Lacy Boggs is a content strategist, author of the bestselling Kindle ebook, Make a Killing With Content, and the mastermind behind the podcast, "Ace Stone, Marketing Detective.” As director of The Content Direction Agency, she helps small business owners create and implement content marketing strategy that feels like a playground for ideas and results in deceptively powerful nurture content to create massive growth. The Social Slowdown book is available for pre-order for only $3.99 on Amazon!Learn more about Lacy BoggsSupport the show

Did you hear?! The Social Slowdown book is coming out on July 27th, 2023! If you didn't already know, I wrote a book, taking all of the best bits and pieces from this podcast and putting them together into an easily digestible format.In this episode, I explain WHY I wrote this book and what you can expect from it.You can pre-order the e-book for $3.99 or the paperback for $8.99 on Amazon.For the full show notes, transcript, and more info, visit https://www.socialslowdown.com/social-slowdown-book-coming-soon/Support the show

In this episode of the Humane Marketing podcast, I talk to Meg Casebolt, founder of Love At First Search, about search engine optimization (SEO) and specifically about Cornerstone content. We discuss the basic steps to optimize a website for search, using empathy in keyword research, whether to aim for high traffic or low competition keywords, how to write Cornerstone content, the length and structure of the content, and how fast to expect results. We also touch on the evolution of search with the arrival of AI and so much more. Meg Casebolt is the founder of Love At First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. Meg loves to help businesses spend less time trying to hack the algorithms and instead creates SEO content that attracts your ideal audience to your website while helping entrepreneurs cut their dependency on social media for their business visibility. It was never her vision to run an agency, but as her reputation grew, she made the decision to build a team of women that could support these mostly women-owned businesses in a powerful, feminist way - to help them climb the ranks and get their digital voices heard in a crowded marketplace. Today we're talking about websites, or more specifically about generating traffic to our websites. Meg and I also discuss: How SEO is combining the tech with the human need Basic steps to get your website optimized for search Keyword research - myths and truths How we can use empathy in our keyword research Whether to write content for the keywords or for our people How Meg thinks search will evolve (with the arrival of AI) And much more Ep 163 transcript [00:00:00] Sarah: Hello, humane marketers. Welcome back to the Humane Marketing Podcast, the place to be for the generation of marketers that cares. This is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non-pushy. [00:00:23] I'm Sarah z Croce, your hippie turn business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and marketing impact pioneer. Mama Bear of the Humane Marketing Circle and renegade author of marketing like we're human and selling like we're human. If after listening to the show for a while, you are ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like-minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what. [00:00:52] Works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. If you're picturing your [00:01:00] typical Facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. This is a closed community of like-minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together once per month in a Zoom Circle workshop to hold each other accountable and build their business in a sustainable way. [00:01:16] We share with transparency and vulnerability what works for us. And what doesn't work so that you can figure out what works for you instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. Find out more at humane.marketing/circle, and if you prefer one-on-one support from me. My humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. [00:01:47] I'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my own. Almost 15 years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. If you love this podcast, [00:02:00] wait until I show you my mama bear qualities as my one-on-one client can find out more at humane.marketing/coaching. [00:02:10] And finally, if you are a marketing impact pioneer and would like to bring friends back, podcast, have a look at offer conversation on my website, website Promotion Humane, and I'm talking to Casebolt about seo. Search engine optimization and specifically about cornerstone content, which Meg will explain in this episode. [00:02:34] If you're a regular here, you already know that I'm organizing the conversations around the seven Ps of the Humane Marketing Mandala. But if you're new here, you probably don't know what I'm talking about, but you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven Ps of marketing at Humane. [00:02:54] Dot marketing slash one page. That's the number one in the word [00:03:00] page. And this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different piece for your business. So it's not a blueprint where it tells you what to do, but it really invites you to think for yourself and, uh, think about these different peas for your business. [00:03:19] So here's a little info on Meg. Meg Case Vault is the founder of Love at First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. Meg loves to help businesses spend less time trying to hack the algorithms, and instead creates SEO content that attracts your ideal audience to your website while helping entrepreneurs cut their dependency on social media for their business visibility. [00:03:45] It was never her vision to run an agency, but as her reputation grew, she made the decision to build a team of women that could support these mostly women owned businesses in a powerful feminist way to help them climb the [00:04:00] ranks and get their digital voices heard in a crowded marketplace. So today we're talking about websites or more specifically about generating traffic to our websites. [00:04:11] We address how. SEO is combining the tech with the human need. Basic steps to get your website optimized for search keyword research, myths and truths, how we can use empathy in our keyword research, whether to write content for the keywords or for our people. How Meg thinks search will evolve with the arrival of AI and so much more. [00:04:39] So, are you ready for seo for Humane Marketers? Well, then let's talk to Meg. Hey Meg, good to speak to [00:04:47] Meg: you. It's so good to be here with you. Thank you for having me, Sarah. [00:04:51] Sarah: Thanks. We just recorded another episode where I was the guest on your podcast and now you're here. I just love doing those. It's, it's when you [00:05:00] really get a feel for the human, you know? [00:05:02] It's not like, oh, we're just pitching each other for being a podcast guest, and then we never speak again this week. Like, yeah, we get to know each other a little bit, [00:05:11] Meg: so, And I think when you find somebody that you resonate with, the reciprocity comes naturally versus more of a, you know, well, you know, you scratch my back, I scratch, yours doesn't feel good, but hey, this, we have different things to say to different audiences, but there's a lot of alignment in there, so let's talk to both of these different groups. [00:05:30] It feels really good, you know? [00:05:32] Sarah: Exactly. It's not just like, oh, because. Yeah, you pay me now. I pay you back. [00:05:38] Meg: Yeah, that's true. Collaboration versus reciprocity, right? Yeah. Yeah. [00:05:43] Sarah: Mm-hmm. So your business is called, uh, love at First Search, and I just want you to start there and, and explain what that means. Well, I kind of gave it away in the intro, but still, uh, tell us, you know, how he came up with [00:06:00] that and. [00:06:01] And just, yeah, the word love already gives it away. Right? So like, tell us, give us more info [00:06:07] Meg: on that. Sure, so love it. First Search is a search engine optimization firm where we're helping small businesses mostly to be found on search engines like Google or Bing, but also YouTube is a search engine and any podcast, wherever you're listening to this podcast, that's also a search engine. [00:06:26] So we're talking a lot to content creators, um, about how to bring in people who. Want to hear your message, how to create content that makes them feel. Seen and valued and appreciated and understood. Uh, a lot of search engine marketing is like a numbers game. It is what is the keyword that you can that has the right amount of search volume, and also it has the low keyword difficulty and not too competitive in terms of our AdWords numbers. [00:06:59] And like, [00:07:00] there's a lot of metrics around it. Um, And I've had several clients come to me and say, I tried search before and my consultants all tried to push me in a direction that didn't feel good. Um, and so what we are trying to do at Love at First Search is show up in the search results that feel like we understand what our clients need from us, not just what is the most obvious opportunity we want it to feel relevant. [00:07:30] To what people need versus just kind of a spray and pray approach to marketing. [00:07:36] Sarah: Yeah, I love that. That is such a more human and humane way of explaining just, just the word s e o alone. Right? If you hear that, and I know that there's a lot of people. Who have never heard of seo, right? Mm-hmm. They have their websites, they're coaches or healers or, or consultants even. [00:07:58] Uh, and so [00:08:00] whenever we use an abbreviation that assumes that they are supposed to know what it means, but they don't, and then they feel really embarrassed and they're like, oh, I, should I be doing that? What's that? Mm-hmm. Right? And so the, the way you explain it makes so much more sense. Also for people who, who are in humane business because it's, it's not just, it's not just a keyword. [00:08:25] It, it is about this idea of resonating with ideal clients, right? So, yeah, I love [00:08:31] Meg: that. And I think a lot of times when people think about surge engine optimization, about s e o as a marketing tactic, um, they see it as a mass marketing tactic of how many people can I get in front of? Um, but. As we know from the ways that kind of the pendulum is swinging in the digital marketing world, it's not necessarily about quantity anymore. [00:08:55] Um, if you're running, I mean, it is for specific, some specific types of businesses. If you're [00:09:00] running sort of more of a blog or content platform type of business where the number of podcast downloads that, that you get impacts your sponsorship packages and the number of paid views that you get impacts your, you know, cost per visit, like, There is a place for those kinds of businesses where you can be a, a free resource because you have these, these backup monetization options. [00:09:24] But for so many of us, that's not how we're getting paid. We're getting paid because we are service providers or we sell very specific products to a small group of dedicated people. [00:09:39] Sarah: Hmm. Yeah. [00:09:40] Meg: And often the solutions that we're helping our, our audience with are not mass market solutions. We're not Nike trying to sell shoes to everybody. [00:09:50] We're like, I wanted to sell, you know, shoe insoles to joggers who, uh, have planter fasciitis, right? Like we get really [00:10:00] targeted down and we solve. Problems that people have. So why not? When those people are having those problems, why not be the ones that show up and help help those people in your audience to feel like they're understood? [00:10:15] Sarah: Yeah, that is such a good point that you, that you mention people are humans, right? Because what we usually hear is traffic or generating traffic. But when you think about traffic, you either see like, you know, a huge traffic jam on a highway and what you see there is cars. You don't see humans or on the internet, you think of traffic. [00:10:43] I don't see humans, when I think of internet traffic, I just, right. See like. Empty nothing. You know, it's like maybe wires or, or something like [00:10:51] Meg: that. And so much of the, the noun choices, the word choices that are used in the mass marketing approach and, uh, you've said like hype marketing or [00:11:00] bro marketing, like the, the phrases and choices that we make are traffic and users and page views and visitors. [00:11:09] They're, it's very, um, The leads, right? Like they're not, they're prospects. Um, especially when we get into like really metric space where it's like, these are the marketing qualified leads and these are the sale qualified leads. And they're not even people anymore. They're just s qls. Right? Like, and there's, there is a place for trying to figure out where your marketing resonates and where people may or may not fit for your messaging. [00:11:32] Right? But when we start to zoom out that far, we lose sight of Sure. You have. Hundred thousand users on your website. Every single one of those is a human sitting at a computer scrolling through your [00:11:49] Sarah: words. Exactly. Yeah. So you talk about using empathy in keywords, and so that already is kind of like I. [00:11:58] Feels like an oxymoron. It's like [00:12:00] what? Empathy keywords, how does that go together? I'm, I'm seeing like spreadsheets with empathy and I'm like, Hmm. How does that work? So tell us how that works. [00:12:10] Meg: Uh, I think, I think the core of how we need to do marketing better is not just, you know, look at the spreadsheet and figure out the easiest solution, but truly understanding. [00:12:26] Why our businesses exist, what they do for our audience, and like how we can really start to have that connection with them. And a lot of times, I don't know exactly how to explain this. Let me, you know, a lot of times when people are having some sort of problem or issue, they don't necessarily want to ask their friends for help. [00:12:53] They don't want to go on Facebook. Um, if, if you're a health coach and you're helping clients who have [00:13:00] Crohn's disease, Then they have a lot of symptoms that are not things that you want your friends to know about. We'll just leave that as like a nice clean answer there. Um, but when people have those kinds of problems, they go to search engines and they go like, I'm having a constant stomach ache. [00:13:19] Right? That's the nicest, cleanest way to say it. Um, there's a lot of poop keywords out there, so I'll try not to get too heavy in that. But, um, you know, the. They don't want people to know, but Google feels like a safe place to get slightly unbiased answers to questions that you don't wanna go on Facebook and say to people like, I'm struggling in my marriage and I'm thinking about getting a divorce, or, my child is struggling with this and, and like, there's a lot of pride that people have and they want to present themselves to their friends, to their, their networks as having it all together, but, When it comes to search, that's a safe place to ask the questions [00:14:00] that you don't feel safe asking in other places. [00:14:02] Sarah: Yeah, it, it reminds me of an exercise we do in the marketing, like we're human program where we look at the empathy map. Yes, you've seen this, right? Mm-hmm. Where you think about your ideal client and you, um, think of what they say, think, feel, and do. Mm-hmm. I don't know if I got the order correctly, but, but yeah, it's exactly that. [00:14:24] It's like, what are they thinking or, or what are they Googling would be a good way also to, to say it, right. What are they Googling? But they're never gonna say that in a first session with you, right? Mm-hmm. It's like, it's the embarrassing things that. If you then, and I guess what you're saying is where the empathy shows up is if you then write a post that in addresses that issue with empathy, not with shaming, of course. [00:14:54] Mm-hmm. Then they feel heard and seen because they just found a. The solution and [00:15:00] they found the human who offers that solution. [00:15:03] Meg: Yeah, sometimes it's not even like the post absolutely can be empathetic and that will help with the conversion, but just seeing the name of the post show up in those search results can sometimes be a validation of the experience. [00:15:16] Mm-hmm. You know, I was talking yesterday with a play therapist in Virginia and some of her keywords will be very obvious, like, Play therapy, Virginia, right? Like her specific town. Um, she's works specifically with adoptive families, so it's like play therapy for adoptive children. Um, so sometimes the keywords can be very clear, but we also tried to get to the empathy of it. [00:15:37] What are the problems that these children are exhibiting? That they're getting the calls from school saying Your child seems to have anxiety, or the preschooler is biting. What are those things that they, the, the parent doesn't know where to go. The parent doesn't know what to do next. Or the, they're, they're like, oh, my kid's [00:16:00] about to get kicked outta preschool cuz they're hitting and bit, what can I do to help them? [00:16:03] Right? Like when people have problems they go seeking solutions. And if you can be that port in the storm, that safe place to say, I know what to I'm, yeah, my kid bit too. I know how to help them work through that. I know how to help you as a parent, work through it with them. You're not alone, because just by the fact that this is showing up in those search results, it proves that I've been there. [00:16:30] Mm-hmm. And I can help you with it. There's a certain amount of connection that happens in just having your experience acknowledged. [00:16:38] Sarah: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. From there, you then, So, so now we're kind of, kind of learning, okay, to do keyword research, but coming from this place of empathy, right? Mm-hmm. So all of a sudden it doesn't just feel like this left brain analytical mm-hmm. [00:16:57] Uh, activity because we're bringing in the right brain [00:17:00] and actually thinking, well, what would they be searching for? How can I really show empathy and help them with their problem? So we're doing the research, uh, the keyword research. What's the next step? So how, or, or maybe already still like. You talked quickly before, volume and, uh, difficulty of, of competition and all that. [00:17:25] Tell us what we need to look for, uh, in these keywords. [00:17:29] Meg: Well, so let's define keyword research before we leap too much into sort of the strategy behind it. Right. So when we, keyword research is another one of those phrases that can feel overwhelming because people go, oh, that's a lot of spreadsheets. Um, keyword research is. [00:17:44] Figuring out what people are typing into Google. That's it. And those phrases that you sit down and you type in, or you know, most of us are doing it from our phones now sometimes us are speaking into Siri for it, right? But, [00:18:00] um, whatever you are asking, Google is your keyword. So it doesn't have to be one word, it can be a phrase, it can be a question, it can be a statement. [00:18:10] Um, anything that you can search is a keyword word. Now the next step, like you said, is to figure out for not necessarily every page on your website, but every page on your website can be found for different keywords. So it's not that you have to be found for, you know, humane business coach, and that is the only phrase and you have to put it on every page of your website so that people who are looking for that can find that one phrase and you have to put all your eggs in that basket. [00:18:42] Um, this is not the Lord of the Rings. There is no like one keyword to rule them all. This is an, and one of the reasons I love SEO and I feel like I can talk about this with you, is like it's an abundance mindset. Mm. Mm-hmm. This isn't a scarcity thing where like, I have to be found for SEO consultant or nobody [00:19:00] will ever find me. [00:19:01] This is what are all the different on-ramps to this highway that different people need at different points, but the destination is the same. Right. Yeah. So you can, you can be found for that one phrase of humane businesses or gentle marketing. Like you can have those sort of branded search terms where you have spent time to build a brand around the titles of your books and the titles of your business and the, you know, your community name. [00:19:30] Like those are branded search, but we also have search terms that are just like, what do people need from us? What questions do they ask and each of those concepts each, I call them keyword clusters, but each of those search intents can go to a different page of your website. It doesn't all have to filter in through your homepage. [00:19:56] Your copy doesn't have to convert all from right there. You have [00:20:00] the opportunity to create infinite number of entry points. So every podcast episode that you record can be found for a hundred different search terms. How cool is that? It's very cool. [00:20:14] Sarah: It's very cool if you, if you, if you know how to do that keyword research. [00:20:20] Mm-hmm. Because I think also maybe what you need to explain is this idea of, you know, the volume and the, the difficulty of actually ranking. Because 15 years ago when I started out, it was relatively okay. You know, you could rank. Highly, pretty not, I'm not gonna say easily, but it was definitely much easier than today. [00:20:44] Today we have so much content out there. You do have to have a certain knowledge about, you know, what do people search, how much do they search for that? And then also how much content does already exist. [00:21:00] That is. Optimized, I think you would say for that keyword word, right? [00:21:04] Meg: Yeah. You just nailed the, the three big things is what do people search for? [00:21:08] How many people search for it and how many other people have written about it. Um, and that's where some of those search metrics come into place is figuring out, not just like, what are people saying, but if I were to target this idea, could I actually show up for it? Right? And so sometimes people aim too high. [00:21:30] And they go, I'm gonna try to be found for online business without that recognition of, but why? Mm-hmm. I'm like, why that phrase? Oh cuz I'm an online business coach. Um, okay. Cool. But what do you, what do you help people with? What do you do differently? What are your what, how, what about your approaches different? [00:21:50] Um, we have a student right now in one of our programs who is, she calls herself a, a conscious business coach for changemakers, which is not a phrase that. [00:22:00] Anybody would know to look for, right? Um, but she does really well in a post that she has about why she doesn't do discovery calls and how you can run, uh, a more, um, streamlined and better feeling business if you have an alternative to discovery calls. [00:22:16] And the phrase that shows up is alternative to discovery calls. Hmm. [00:22:22] Sarah: Wow. Go figure. Yeah, [00:22:23] Meg: sometimes it doesn't have to be, you know, hundreds of thousands of people searching for a keyword. But those people who are going to Google after doing another discovery call that tanked, and they're going, oh, how do I stop doing discovery calls? [00:22:37] And they find her website. But [00:22:38] Sarah: here's the question. How did she come up? Like how did she think of. Using that as a keyword, or was that just a fluke? And then she noticed, and [00:22:49] Meg: sometimes it's a fluke, right? Sometimes you stumble into a phrase and you sudden, and you can use the metrics to figure out what that is. [00:22:58] I'd be happy to teach people how to go into their [00:23:00] Google search console and go, you know, there are ways to know exactly what every single phrase is that people find you for, but sometimes. In her case in particular for Caroline, it was like, I just know that people would come into that and then go to my contact form and then say, I found you through this blog post. [00:23:17] Nice. It doesn't always have to be this like automated user flow. What's the conversion rate from each landing page? It's important information. Yeah. But sometimes you can get the same information from a conversation. Yeah. [00:23:32] Sarah: So [00:23:33] Meg: nice. And then if you're trying to figure out what to create next that might attract those ideal clients, like listen to your ideal clients. [00:23:42] What else don't they like about what's happening in the online, in her case, in the online or your case too? Probably. Like what's, what are those things that they don't like? Okay. Create blog posts or podcast episodes about your unique approach to it, right? Yeah. [00:24:00] And your content can come either from, you know, the key being keyword driven. [00:24:07] Which is making sure that you know that exact phrase that people are looking for and then putting it when you're, when you're publishing the document for the first time, you can say, okay, I'll put this in my SEO title and my, my blog post title and my subheadings and my alt text. Like there's a way to do it that way, but I find that for a lot more of my kind of heart-centered marketers that I work with, it can be easier to create something. [00:24:33] Think about what would people search. If they needed this, include some of that thought process into the post and then hit publish and wait and see what happens. [00:24:45] Sarah: Hmm. Okay. [00:24:47] Meg: It doesn't always have to be driven from the keywords. It can be what resonates and then how can I optimize what's already working? [00:24:56] Sarah: Right. Yeah. So, so flipping it on its head [00:25:00] and starting. Instead of starting with the strategy, starting with the empathy, because you're writing content that your ideal clients, uh, will resonate with, and then seeing, okay, this works. This one doesn't. Let me take the one that works and make it even better and more optimized for the, the search [00:25:19] Meg: engine. [00:25:20] Exactly. And it can also, if you, if you, if, if that approach. Resonates with you, then it can also feel a lot more connected to the needs of your clients and take away some of that perfectionism. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because there's absolutely a feeling when you have some sort of like, I'm gonna spend so much time writing these blog posts, and I wanna make sure that they show up and search results right away, and if I don't get it right, then what's the point? [00:25:49] Right. But if we're creating for our audience first and then optimizing for search second, then you know what it, [00:26:00] this is everything about marketing is the 80 20 rule, right? The Pareto principle, that 20% of your work creates 80% of your results. So if you publish things and you also send them out to your newsletter and you, you know, share them wherever your audience is and 20% of them bring in search traffic, then maybe that's. [00:26:21] That's actually very normal. Um, but then when people land on the pages that are working for search, then you can link to them to the other ones that are still valuable, that are still important, but are still part of your unique approach to things. And once people arrive on your website, then they can go explore that information. [00:26:40] We don't need to be found for every search result. We need to be introduced and then let your website tell your story. [00:26:49] Sarah: Basically what you're saying is you, you don't need every page or every block post to bring you, you know, all this traffic because if you just have one or [00:27:00] two or three or, or I know, obviously the more the better. [00:27:03] But if you just have a few that really work and. And they can really work. Like, they can really work. Some of them is like, oh my God, you know, all of a sudden you're like getting tons and tons of new signups to your, to your, uh, freebie or whatever. Mm-hmm. So, so yeah, that's enough, right? It's, and then like you said, you just link it to your other blog posts so that, um, so that people could still discover more, more content. [00:27:31] I guess that also leads us to this idea of. Cornerstone pages because that's another thing you mentioned when we, uh, exchanged by email. Um, so yeah, was what you described already, maybe an example of a cornerstone page where you linked to other. [00:27:49] Meg: Not, not quite. There is, there is what it is. Something relevant there, so. [00:27:53] Mm-hmm. Um, what we were talking about earlier with some of these metrics around, you know, there are certain amounts of keywords [00:28:00] that a lot of people are looking for, but other people have talked about, so it can be harder to rank for those terms. Right. Um, It can be really helpful if you're in that boat to create a longer piece of content that shares everything that you've created on a topic. [00:28:16] So you know, you might create a, a piece of cornerstone content called the Humane Approach to Online Business Marketing. The ultimate, well, you can almost think of these as like ultimate guides. Everything you need to know about this topic, humane marketing, one-on-one, whatever we wanna call that post, right, where you've talked about humane marketing on. [00:28:39] Every page of your website, right? Every single one. Well, maybe this is not maybe the right phrase for you because it is your domain name, so it'll go to your homepage. Well, we can talk about that. I'm, I'm spitballing here a little bit. Um, but let's, let's think about that core value that you have or that core idea, that category that you're talking about. [00:28:56] There. There can be a point where you can create an outline of what [00:29:00] are the, the framework, what are the principles that I'm talking about all the time, and what have I already created that supports this? Mm. And then you can create one ultimate guide that covers all of that. And if we're talking about a phrase like humane marketing, gentle marketing, ethical marketing, that's sprinkled throughout your website, Google doesn't always know like, what is the right page? [00:29:28] Mm-hmm. To share that information. Um, But if you have a guide on your website that's longer, that links to all those other things and that all those other places around the website where you've talked about that, it links back to that guide, that cornerstone content. Sometimes it's called silo content. I. [00:29:48] Then that is a clear indicator to Google that that is the place on your website for that term. And you can rank for terms that a lot of other people have talked about. If they haven't gone [00:30:00] into the level of detail that you have in that guide, then you can like, Jump up ahead of them in those search results because you've created something that is better quality that positions you as a, an authority on that topic, and that proves to Google that you know what you're talking about. [00:30:16] And so that's what we're talking about with cornerstone content. And I often talk to podcasters who are like, I have a hundred episodes talking about this particular topic. And I'm like, okay. Create, you know, an overview guide. Basically take take a, a. Piece of thread and tie a narrative through the most important things that you're talking about. [00:30:36] Mm-hmm. Um, for my podcast, we created a cornerstone guide called, um, mental Health, entrepreneurship and Social Media, because nobody's talking about those three pieces together. Right. Yeah, [00:30:49] Sarah: I love that. And so did you research whether there is search volume for mental health and social media? [00:30:57] Meg: Yeah, so it was conversations that I was having [00:31:00] on the podcast already with therapists and social workers and you know, like I was having those conversations already. [00:31:07] The content was already created. Mm-hmm. And I knew that it was a topic that we wanted to discuss more. And I was starting to see some of these keywords show up in our metrics around mental health and entrepreneurship or around social media. Anxiety was a phrase that we targeted for that particular page. [00:31:25] Um, And so we wrote a longer post that was just like, here are the entrepreneurs that we've interviewed who talked about anxiety. Here are the ones that, uh, and, and here are the mental health professionals that we've interviewed. And we took poll quotes from their episodes and then linked to those episodes. [00:31:41] So if people are looking for that, they, it's basically like, almost like a playlist, right, of what's already been created. But instead of just a list of hero, the things that we've created in this category, we're telling a story in that post. So here's what [00:31:56] Sarah: I just finished, um, is, uh, a hugely [00:32:00] long, uh, post about humane marketing words we love. [00:32:04] Ooh. And so it goes through all these wor words like abundance and intuition, integrity and conscious, like all of these words that I use all over the book. And then I linked, yeah, to. Podcasts or, or, or blog posts or so. So would that be an example of a, uh, cornerstone page? Totally. Even though there, there's probably no search volume for humane marketing words yet, right? [00:32:33] Meg: So ye yes and no. So the thing about cornerstone content is that it is a guide in one place. And in your case, it's almost like a thought leadership. Mm-hmm. Piece of cornerstone content so that when more people become aware of these terms, um, they can then, like Google will already know that it exists. [00:32:52] You're ahead of the curve, hopefully. Mm-hmm. Um, but the great thing about it is that. Now it exists. [00:33:00] Right. And sure, Google can find it and they can send you traffic for it, but it's still an incredibly powerful asset in your business, right? [00:33:08] Sarah: Yeah. It's thinking of using it like in the menu bar, um, like as a start here or [00:33:13] Meg: something like that. [00:33:14] Mm-hmm. I would say a start here button, I could say, I could see you calling it almost like a, a term glossary. Mm-hmm. Like a humane marketing term glossary. Like what? What is it? It's use that people might need from it. They might go, oh, what are all these terms? Like how would you define these things? [00:33:29] Right. Um, So you could include it on your homepage and say, come check out our humane dark marketing glossary. Mm-hmm. To give people that idea of what is that resource for them? Right? Yeah. Um, but then also every page on your website that is linked from that, that glossary, you can then link back to it. Mm mm-hmm. [00:33:51] So if somebody listens to your episode about abundance, And then goes to the show notes, and then checks out the glossary, and then [00:34:00] goes and listens to the one about, uh, consciousness. Right? Like it can be a, a piece of, sometimes they'll call it hub content, right? Yeah. That it doesn't have to just be there for Google. [00:34:11] It can be a really great navigation tool. Um, and maybe, I mean, maybe you wanna turn it into a downloadable PDF that people can have as a [00:34:20] Sarah: guide. Right. Yeah. That would be another option. Exactly. I saw that's that's what you have because it's so long. Right? It's like, well, well you want a PDF of [00:34:29] Meg: that? Yeah. [00:34:30] When people get to, we have a cornerstone guide on the Loveit first search website. No, I was talking about the podcast, um, cornerstone a minute ago. But we have one on our loveit first search site that is just like, here's our 15 step approach to creating a really search friendly website. Um, And the, the post itself is 7,500 words. [00:34:48] It is a short novel. Um, it's a novel. It's, it's a novel. It's a blog post novella. You don't have to write that much. I, this is what I do. Right? Like, this is what we do best. Um, yours does not. [00:35:00] Absolutely. It can be, it can be. I. 1500 words and still be considered cornerstone content. Right. So don't feel like that's the norm. [00:35:05] Mm-hmm. Um, this was a labor of love that we put together last year. It took me 50 hours to create That's not normal. Yeah, right. But knowing that it is a 7,500 word blog post, our calls to action on the cornerstone guide for the first third of it, for the first like 2000 words is like, Yeah, this is really long. [00:35:25] Do you just want me to email this to you? Do you want me to, to just, so we send it as a pdf d and then we send follow up emails that, you know, we turned it into an automated funnel to make, to break it down and make it feel more reasonable to consume, um, where we break it into a three, sort of like a three act process and then provide those. [00:35:45] Like resources in those documents and each one has a video. And so we created it into more of an opt-in guide. But that's not, not everyone has to go to that level of extreme. Right. But our, our opt-ins are insane on it. It's like, uh, our op, we get a [00:36:00] 7% opt-in rate when people land on that guide. Because it has value. [00:36:05] It doesn't always get surge traffic because there's so much on the internet about web design, but when people land on that page, they join my email list, they join my programs, like it converts very well for us, and it's. It tries to meet people at every stage of that process and let them choose where they are in that process and not feel like you have to start from step one. [00:36:26] So there's a lot of, you know, when you're creating a guide based on your approach or your framework, it can be hard to figure out how to organize it. But what you just said about having a glossary, like that's, that's a way of proving that you are using these terms and sharing where they fit on your website and allowing people to go exploring in a way that feels good. [00:36:48] Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. No, I really like this idea of, of first helping your clients, but then also hopefully helping your, uh, helping the search engines, right. [00:37:00] Understanding, more learning about your unique approach. So, so yeah. That, that really feels good. Um, can you have more than one cornerstone content? Yeah. Or is that just like, you have to have one piece and that's it. [00:37:16] Meg: No, anytime that you have sort of a core idea mm-hmm. You can create cornerstone content around it. Um, some people, and again, this comes back to like, do you start from the keywords or do you start from the content, um, you know, the chicken or the egg of all of it. Some people who have been creating for a long time, they could go through, audit their content, maybe just kind of note like what are the, the themes that continue to show up? [00:37:41] Right. And come up with an idea for a cornerstone guide. Um, And then those people who already have all that content might then create an outline and say, you know, based on what's here, I can see the the gaps. I can go create more content, I can build this up. Right? And then there are gonna be the [00:38:00] folks who are like, I already know that I wanna talk about, you know, mental health and social media. [00:38:04] So here are the topics that I wanna talk about, and I'm gonna go create each of those. Podcast episodes. I'm gonna go seek out the guests that I need. I'm gonna create the guide in order. There's no right or wrong way to create these. It's just more of take the building blocks. And build a wall. Mm-hmm. [00:38:22] Sarah: Yeah. What I like most about talking with you just now is that you, you hand out these permission slips as well. It's like, no, you don't have to start with the keyword research because, um, before we started, Talking, I, I went on to Neil Patel again and saw all his videos and I'm like, I just, no, I can't go back there. [00:38:46] Like, it's [00:38:47] Meg: just, it's so prescriptive. It's so, it's so [00:38:50] Sarah: prescriptive and it's just like all this Yeah. Kind of masculine energy and Yeah. Spreadsheets and all. I'm like, it's just not for me. [00:39:00] But to hear you say, well, you can start it with the content and then start to optimize it. That, yeah, that feels really, really good. [00:39:08] So thanks for handing us, it's so [00:39:11] Meg: slip, it's so clear that I'm neuro divergent. Right. Like that there are all these rules and as, as an industry, it's very much a like linear approach to the way of doing things. And my brain is just not linear. Mm-hmm. And I don't want it to be linear. And there are a lot of rules out there that are like, Here, do this checklist, follow this plan, get these results, re improve on the results. [00:39:34] And I sit down to do the plan and I'm like, but I don't wanna, [00:39:38] Sarah: no, it's like, I'm a rebel. I don't wanna follow your, your silly [00:39:42] Meg: rules. Yeah. And like where is the space in that for inspiration? Where is the space in that? For intuition? Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes the best, the best content that you create is not the stuff that's in the plan. [00:39:53] It's the stuff that you stumble into because you're following your gut. Yeah. [00:39:59] Sarah: And we [00:40:00] talked earlier on, on your show about, you know, chat C p t and, and AI and all of that. Imagine now with how easy it is to just tell chat. C p t, write me a blog post St. Six steps for blah, blah, blah. And we're gonna have be bombarded while with all this like, inhumane, boring content that just feels like, you know, the same guy wrote it. [00:40:26] Um, and so imagine now, You showing up with your content. That starts from within. That starts from the heart, and sure. Once you posted it, you're gonna pay attention to some keywords, but it doesn't start with that. How different is that gonna feel? Right. To the reader? It's completely different. It really is. [00:40:47] Meg: Yeah. And that's what can set you apart, right? Yeah. That's where, that's where all of this empathy comes into play is right. You can sound like everyone else, but the thing that's going to set you [00:41:00] apart, the, and you, the thing that's going to make your quality matter more than someone else's quantity is your humanity, right? [00:41:10] Sarah: Yeah. Mm. That's a nice line, I think to end mic drop. Yeah. Wonderful. Well, this has been, this has been really joyful and fun. Thanks so much for hanging out. Please do tell people where they can get that really, really long. PDF that they need to download. [00:41:33] Meg: You don't have to go download it. You can just go browse around. [00:41:36] You don't have to. That's the other thing about me. I'm like, you don't have to do anything. I'm very like rebellious in nature. Um, if you would like to find out more, you can head over toLove@firstsearch.com. We have an SEO starter kit right there that can help you start to get at the I your head. [00:41:50] Wrapping around this idea of keyword research. You can check out our SEO website guide, which is that long. Forum guide of, you know, pop in wherever you are in the framework and [00:42:00] figure out where it makes sense to, uh, to optimize your website. Um, whether you're creating it from scratch or it's been up for years, there are steps in there that make sense based on where you are progressively. [00:42:11] Um, we also do have a podcast and you can come listen to Sarah on the podcast cause we just recorded that. Um, that is called the Social Slowdown Podcast, so you can find that on whatever podcast device you're listening to or social slowdown.com. [00:42:24] Sarah: Wonderful. I always have one last question, and that is, what are you grateful for today or this week? [00:42:30] Meg: I mean, today you and I had to push things around because my, my elder son has been struggling in school, and so the school actually brought in a clinically trained psychologist to observe him in class and help us come up with ways to support him both in the classroom and at home, and that's a really powerful thing. [00:42:50] Too. Now I'm getting a little choked up, but you know that feeling of, of. Having somebody that you care about, be seen and supported. Um, and for me, that's [00:43:00] a huge amount of gratitude of being, being supported as a parent and knowing that my kid's getting what he needs. [00:43:06] Sarah: Yeah. What a wonderful service that, yeah. [00:43:08] School is offering. [00:43:09] Meg: That's great. Yeah. And it turns out, um, it's occupational therapy. It's sensory, sensory inputs. So I'm like, okay, I guess we'll be doing more army crawls in the morning before you go to school. That's the answer to all of it. [00:43:22] Sarah: Thanks so much for sharing. Thanks for being here, Meg. And uh, yeah, we'll talk again, [00:43:27] Meg: I hope. [00:43:28] All right, talk to you soon, Sarah. Thank you so much. [00:43:32] Sarah: I hope you learned a lot in this episode, specifically how you can use empathy in our seo. I find that so empowering. Please have a look at me's work atLove@firstsearch.com, and check out me SEO starter Kit atLove@firstsearch.com slash. Start also check out Meg's podcast called The Social Slowdown, where I was a recent guest on and we [00:44:00] talked all things humane marketing. [00:44:02] If you are looking for others who think like you, then why not join us in the Humane Marketing Circle? You can find out more at humane.marketing/circle. You find the show notes of this episode@humane.marketing slash 1 63 on this beautiful page. You'll also find a series of free offers, such as my Saturday newsletter, the Humane Business Manifesto, and the free Gentle Confidence mini course, as well as my two books, marketing like we're Human and selling like we're human. [00:44:38] Thank you so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares. For yourself, your clients, and the planet. We are change makers before we are marketers. Now go be the change you want to see in the world. Speak soon.

Meg Casebolt is the founder of Love At First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. Meg loves to help businesses spend less time trying to hack the algorithms and instead creates SEO content that attracts your ideal audience to your website while helping entrepreneurs cut their dependency on social media for their business visibility.

I know you think we've talked SEO to death, but the field keeps changing and there are different approaches. My guest Meg Casebolt explains many people think think SEO is incredibly complex and you need to have an expensive team come in to fix your website for it.  They also assume you must produce boatloads of content to be successful. She doesn't think either of those things is true.  Today, the trick is not quantity, but content which clearly defines who you serve and how you help that audience.  About Meg Casebolt Meg  is the founder of Love At First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. She loves to help businesses spend less time trying to hack the algorithms and instead creates SEO content that attracts your ideal audience to your website while helping entrepreneurs cut their dependency on social media for their business visibility.  

If you're building a business, you may be feeling burned out with the social media hamster wheel that requires you to be constantly churning out posts (that are here today and gone in a matter of hours). Or maybe you never really loved social media anyway, but you're wondering "how else are people going to find me?" How are you supposed to get in front of the people who you can help, and the people who will become clients? Well, the strategy that my guest and I get into today has nothing to do with social media, and in many ways is far more effective than social media. For one thing, this strategy will help you get in front of people at the exact moment that they're looking for the solution you provide. This strategy also has a way longer shelf life, meaning the effort that you put in now will continue to pay off for a long, long time… like we're talking months or years, rather than the hours that you get with a social media post. My guest today is Meg Casebolt, the founder of Love At First Search and the host of the Social Slowdown podcast.  Meg specializes in helping businesses spend less time trying to hack the algorithms and instead create SEO content that attracts their ideal audience to their website while helping entrepreneurs cut their dependency on social media for their business visibility.  Meg's clients are entrepreneurs who are too busy changing the world to worry about things like website conversion rates and search traffic. I think you're going to love sitting in on my conversation with Meg! Full episode notes: https://drkimfoster.com/142

This is the final episode of the Social Slowdown Challenge series, and I'm here with Sheena McKay, our Community Manager + Customer Support Manager to recap the Social Slowdown Challenge. In this episode, we discuss:How people behaved during the challengeOur expectations vs. reality of the challengeWhat went well, and what we'd do differently next time aroundMajor themes we found throughout this challengeIf you want to go back and participate in the free podcast episodes we released, you can do so here:Day 1: Debrief Your 2022 MarketingDay 2: Your 2023 Marketing Vision & StrategiesDay 3: Choosing Your Marketing IntentionallyDay 4: Maximizing and Managing Your Marketing Time with Megan FlattDay 5: Boundaries, Self-Compassion, and External ValidationSupport the show

Our guest today is Meg Casebolt, founder of Love at First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. I think the key words are “love” and “slow,” and let's see if I'm right. Meg's been very successful with a long-term search-engine optimization strategy she uses for her clients. One example that you should find interesting: Meg's client Sara Frandina showed up third for the keywords “conversion copywriter” -- and this was organic, not an ad -- yesterday when I searched for that term on Google. Third on the first page of organic search for “conversion copywriter.” Not too shabby! You may remember legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga had a huge success with the headline “Get Rich Slowly.” Well, Meg's approach is similar. She doesn't go for the black-hat tricks and other gimmicks popular among some marketers. “We don't believe in quick-fix formulas that promise the world—but break your heart when you see they don't work,” she says. One key element of Meg's long-term, long-lasting approach: The strategic use of empathy in keyword research. Empathy, which could be seen as an appropriate expression of love. It's an approach I've never heard of before, in the specific way Meg talks about it. So I was very excited to talk with Meg about it. She began with a great example -- a stark contrast between a bad example of empathy (that is, hardly any empathy at all) and the good use of empathy. This was for keywords in weight loss. From there, Meg shared her four strategies for coming up with a comprehensive empathy-based keyword strategy: 1. Empathize with your customers' journey to find an answer 2. Understanding the WHY / Setting yourself apart 3. Providing a solution 4. Be empathetic when developing content This was a very valuable look at how to thrive in today's content-based search engine environment. Meg's website is: https://loveatfirstsearch.com/ Download.

The Social Slowdown Challenge begins next Monday - so consider this "Episode 0" of the challenge...In this episode, I'm going over a few things I want you to take note of before we actually start the Social Slowdown Challenge.After listening to this episode, take a few days over this weekend to do some digging and sleuthing and really just notice your behavior when it comes to social media and online marketing.What is the Social Slowdown Challenge? The Social Slowdown Challenge is a free challenge that will help you  explore your business relationship with social media.How does the Challenge work?Every morning from January 23-27, we'll release a 20-30 minute podcast episode.If you're already subscribed, it'll show up in your existing feed; if you're not, subscribe now!If you just want to follow along with the podcast prompts, that's awesome.Or if you want to delve deeper, join the free challenge to be part of our online Circle community, come to daily roundtable Zoom discussions (every weekday at 12pm EST), download free worksheets, and more! Relevant info from this episode:RescueTime: Fully Automated Time Tracking SoftwareSupport the show

The FREE Social Slowdown Challenge starts next week!! (If you're listening to this in January of 2023)In this short episode, I'm talking about what to expect for next week's Social Slowdown Challenge. I go a bit more into detail on the logistics, expectations, resources and more.The Social Slowdown Challenge is a FREE challenge we're offering from January 23-27, 2023 to help you explore your business relationship with social media and learn how to be more intentional with your time and energy.You can opt for the free podcast episodes that we'll be releasing every morning from Januar 23-27 right here in this podcast feed, or you can delve deeper and join the free challenge to be part of our online Circle community, come to daily roundtable Zoom discussions (every weekday at 12pm EST), download free worksheets, and more! Head to socialslowdown.com/challenge to learn more and join the challenge!Support the show

As of January 2023, we're archiving all of our Instagram posts and shifting to a 9-grid strategy.In this episode, Jocelyn Koury (our Content Marketing Coordinator) and I talk about some of the changes we're making in 2023, how we've decreased our dependence on social media over the past year, and how you can participate in a challenge we're running from January 23-27. This episode will give you insight into:A "behind-the-scenes" of what Love At First Search is doing to decrease our dependence on social mediaHow you can make better use of your time on social media, or getting off of social all togetherHow running a service-based business has differed over the past year from a product-based business when it comes to social media The 9 things we're adding to our Instagram grid as we archive all of our other postsFor the full transcript and show notes, visit https://www.socialslowdown.com/sunsetting-your-social-media-with-jocelyn-koury/Relevant links:Join the Social Slowdown Challenge, January 23-27, 2023Never miss an episode! Sign up for the Social Slowdown email newsletterLearn more about Jocelyn and The Cozy TangerineSupport the show

In episode 9 of the Social Slowdown podcast, Lacy Boggs mentioned she was going to start a fiction podcast about business and marketing - Ace Stone, Marketing Detective. And she did just that! The first volume of her podcast is live, and she's here today to talk to us all about it!Lacy Boggs is a content strategist, author of the bestselling Kindle ebook, Make a Killing With Content, and the mastermind behind the podcast, "Ace Stone, Marketing Detective. As director of The Content Direction Agency, she helps small business owners create and implement content marketing strategy that feels like a playground for ideas and results in deceptively powerful nurture content to create massive growth. Other episodes with Lacy Boggs:Ep. 9: Scaling up & Down as Your Business Evolves With Lacy BoggsEp. 18: Invisible Audiences With Lacy BoggsEp. 35: Nature Hike Through Customer Awareness With Lacy BoggsOther relevant links:Listen to the Ace Stone Marketing Detective podcastMore about Lacy and The Content Direction AgencySupport the show

Natalie Taylor, a multi-six-figure launch expert (with no team or course!) specializes in launch strategy and copywriting for online course-based businesses, so in this episode of the Social Slowdown podcast, Natalie and I are talking all about launching, webinars, workshops, programs, and: Ways you can simplify/streamline funnel activity when running webinarsHow you can launch without having to go live on social media all the timeIf you NEED to launch, and if not, what are some alternatives?And Natalie is launching Launch Lemonade soon so make sure to head on over to launchlemonade.com to sign up for her waitlist. Relevant Links:The Missing Ink with Natalie TaylorLaunch LemonadeBig Brand EnergyEp. 15: Shoulder Tapping: Using Personal Outreach to Grow Your Audience With Megan FlattSupport the show

2021 was the year I started my YouTube channel! And in 2021, I posted 76 YouTube videos.In this episode, I share with you my tips and suggestions on how you, too, can efficiently create YouTube videos, and how to go about creating a content strategy.This episode will cover:My takeaways from a year on YouTubeTips to help you produce your own youtube videosHow I'd do things differentlyRecommendations for if you're thinking about starting a YouTube channelHow you can strategically plan your YouTube content and analyze whether or not it's worth it for youPlease note that this episode was originally posted as a YouTube video, which is why you may hear some fun sound effects that you don't normally hear in Social Slowdown episodes. Click here to watch the YouTube videoSign up for our newsletter so you never miss an episode!

I'm going to be honest with you from the very beginning: I am a geek for all things SEO.I love the value it delivers. I love keyword research and the "game" of determining the best keywords and tracking them over time. I love using those keywords as I write my copy and making all the strategic decisions necessary to ensure I'm following SEO best practices.But not everyone loves SEO as much as I do. And I can understand why — SEO can be difficult to understand at first.But that doesn't mean it has to be hard to understand forever!I thought recording an SEO podcast for beginners would help the Talk Copy to Me podcast listeners understand the basics of SEO before we dive into how SEO in regard to website copy, content, and off-site optimization for podcasts and video shows.           ____________________________________________________________________________  Here's exactly what was discussed on the show:What SEO means and why all brands and businesses should consider investing in itHow SEO gives you the freedom not to rely on paid advertisements or social media performances and still attract an ideal audienceSEO allows you to attract the right people by meeting them where they're at — specifically their level of readiness, education, and interestWhy SEO is a must have for your website, podcast or YouTube channelSEO works in the long term and can potentially serve you for yearsHow search volume and competition help you make educated decisions on which focus keywords to useWhere the focus keywords belong on web pages, blog posts, and podcast and YouTube contentWhy amassing SEO content will open more doors for your businessHere are the resources that were referenced on this episode:The Social Slowdown podcast https://www.socialslowdown.com/Google's Guide: Documentation on SEO best practices https://developers.google.com/search/docs/basics/get-started___________________________________WISH YOU HAD AN SEO CHECKLIST TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR WEBSITE EFFORTS?Well, you do now! Download your free SEO website checklist here: http://erinollila.com/seo-website-checklist___________________________________Learn more about your host: Erin Ollila believes in the power of words and how a message can inform – and even transform – its intended audience. Her favorite response to almost any marketing question is "It depends!", but she'll always explain why and how you can make the best decision for your business. She graduated from Fairfield University with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, and went on to co-found Spry, an award-winning online literary journal. Erin's work can be found all over the internet and in print, and includes interviews, ghostwriting, copywriting, and creative nonfiction. Stay in touch with Erin Ollila, SEO website copywriter:Book a Copy Coaching Power Hour if you need quick SEO guidance —  https://erinollila.com/copy-coaching/Learn more about Erin's VIP days to start tackling a larger SEO project — https://erinollila.com/vip-day/Reach out Erin on Instagram  — http://instagram.com/erinollilaFind her on Facebook — http://facebook.com/erinollilacreativeConnect on LinkedIn — http://linkedin.com/in/erinollila Reach out to continue the conversation: https://erinollila.com/podcast and https://instagram.com/erinollila

I'm going to be honest with you from the very beginning: I am a geek for all things SEO.I love the value it delivers. I love keyword research and the "game" of determining the best keywords and tracking them over time. I love using those keywords as I write my copy and making all the strategic decisions necessary to ensure I'm following SEO best practices.But not everyone loves SEO as much as I do. And I can understand why — SEO can be difficult to understand at first.But that doesn't mean it has to be hard to understand forever!I thought recording an SEO podcast for beginners would help the Talk Copy to Me podcast listeners understand the basics of SEO before we dive into how SEO in regard to website copy, content, and off-site optimization for podcasts and video shows.           ____________________________________________________________________________  Here's exactly what was discussed on the show:What SEO means and why all brands and businesses should consider investing in itHow SEO gives you the freedom not to rely on paid advertisements or social media performances and still attract an ideal audienceSEO allows you to attract the right people by meeting them where they're at — specifically their level of readiness, education, and interestWhy SEO is a must have for your website, podcast or YouTube channelSEO works in the long term and can potentially serve you for yearsHow search volume and competition help you make educated decisions on which focus keywords to useWhere the focus keywords belong on web pages, blog posts, and podcast and YouTube contentWhy amassing SEO content will open more doors for your businessHere are the resources that were referenced on this episode:The Social Slowdown podcast https://www.socialslowdown.com/Google's Guide: Documentation on SEO best practices https://developers.google.com/search/docs/basics/get-started___________________________________WISH YOU HAD AN SEO CHECKLIST TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR WEBSITE EFFORTS?Well, you do now! Download your free SEO website checklist here: http://erinollila.com/seo-website-checklist___________________________________Learn more about your host: Erin Ollila believes in the power of words and how a message can inform – and even transform – its intended audience. Her favorite response to almost any marketing question is "It depends!", but she'll always explain why and how you can make the best decision for your business. She graduated from Fairfield University with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, and went on to co-found Spry, an award-winning online literary journal. Erin's work can be found all over the internet and in print, and includes interviews, ghostwriting, copywriting, and creative nonfiction. Stay in touch with Erin Ollila, SEO website copywriter:Book a Copy Coaching Power Hour if you need quick SEO guidance —  https://erinollila.com/copy-coaching/Learn more about Erin's VIP days to start tackling a larger SEO project — https://erinollila.com/vip-day/Reach out Erin on Instagram  — http://instagram.com/erinollilaFind her on Facebook — http://facebook.com/erinollilacreativeConnect on LinkedIn — http://linkedin.com/in/erinollila

Do you have to be on social media to market your business? If you're becoming more and more disenchanted with social media, know this: you are not alone. The number one question I get asked lately is if there is an alternative to marketing on social media. My clients are requesting marketing strategies that don't have a social media component because the platforms are demanding more and more of our time. Whether it's video, reels, lives, stories, the constant cycle of content creation seems never ending. And the return on investment is questionable. Which is why I wanted to have Meg Casebolt on the show. She's been talking about this trend on her podcast, Social Slowdown, and alternatives to hustling on social media platforms. Meg Casebolt is the founder of Love at First Search, an agency devoted to helping online businesses get found in search results like Google, YouTube, and iTunes and turn those new readers into leads, subscribers, and sales.  Meg lives in Rochester, New York with her husband, two boys and an 80 pound pit bull. She has an insatiable appetite for s'mores, Broadway musicals, and romance novels.  In This Episode: Why social media can't be your one marketing strategy to rule them all How the instant gratification of social media gets confused with real results How Meg's using content creation and collaboration in her marketing strategy Doing the math on how many people you really need to reach Learn more about Meg Casebolt: Love at First Search Social Slowdown Instagram: @LoveAtFirstSearch Facebook: @LoveAtFirstSearch Learn more about Michelle Mazur: Communication Rebel Three Word Rebellion Book Request a free 1:1 Chat  Join That Should Have Been Me: A Project for Exploring the Messy Middle of Achieving Success Marketing Uprising Workshop Resources: Rebel Uprising: Love at First Search with Meg Casebolt

For our third case study of the Social Slowdown podcast, I'm interviewing Leah Neaderthal, the founder of Smart Gets Paid.Leah is a sales coach for women who run B2B consulting and coaching businesses. She started her career in corporate marketing, taught herself everything she needed to know about selling, overcame "selling shyness", and created a sales approach that feels comfortable, builds strong client relationships and gets results. In this episode, Leah tells us about her decision to remove Facebook and Instagram from her phone. You'll hear about why she decided to cut back on social media, how it has affected her personally and professionally, and how she's been able to continue running a successful business without depending on these two platforms.For the full show notes and transcript, visit https://www.socialslowdown.com/case-study-leah-neaderthal/

Welcome to our second case study on the Social Slowdown podcast, where we interview someone who has taken a step back from social media and figured out how to run a successful business without depending on social media.Today I'm interviewing Jo Gifford, an author, podcaster, writer, creative thought leader, and prolific human connector. You'll hear about how Jo hustled to create a business with a huge following - and how that hustle led to burnout. She'll then talk about why and how she decided to pursue a more intentional business that brings her more joy every day.Trigger warning: In this episode, we talk briefly about the grief of losing a parent, so please proceed with caution if this topic is sensitive for you.Jo Gifford's WebsiteThe Human Connection Experience PodcastHow Radically Reducing Your Time on Social Can Grow Your BusinessWatch the YouTube clipFor the full show notes and transcript, visit https://www.socialslowdown.com/burning-down-the-machine-jo-gifford/ 

In this week's episode of the Social Slowdown podcast, I'm talking with Gina Horkey, founder and co-owner of Horkey Handbook.Gina used to work the corporate 9-to-5, but she's now making a living helping people start and grow their own freelance writing and virtual assistant businesses. In this episode, Gina gives us her recommendations for people who are trying to get their first (or next) clients without relying on social media and her advice on making connections and prospecting with potential clients.Visit the Horkey HandBook website Visit Gina's WebsiteHow to Find Qualified Leads and Pitch Your Virtual Assistant ServicesHow to Write Pitches that Get NoticedHow to Cold Pitch Like a Pro with Joe DytonFor the full show notes and transcript, visit https://www.socialslowdown.com/client-pitch-gina-horkey/

Today I'm welcoming Sophy Dale to the Social Slowdown podcast to talk about why we decided to move our community off of Facebook.Sophy works as a book coach and copywriter, but she also spent time as a community manager for Love At First Search. During her time as community manager, we hosted a community on Facebook - and we decided to switch platforms.In this episode, Sophy and I talk about why we switched, the realizations Sophy had when she was able to leave Instagram and get clients from elsewhere, and what some other platform options there are to choose from.Sophy Dale's Website: https://www.sophydale.com/ Watch the YouTube video clip: https://youtu.be/H9MrlDGTpvsRead the LAFS blog post: https://loveatfirstsearch.com/goodbye-facebook-group/Join Circle: https://circle.so?lmref=4ceCkwCircle Communities Review: https://megcasebolt.com/circle-communities-review/For the full show notes, visit socialslowdown.com

Welcome to Social Slowdown, the podcast for entrepreneurs and micro-businesses looking for sustainable marketing strategies without relying on social media. I'm Meg Casebolt, your host, and founder of Love At First Search. Before we dive into the episodes, I wanted to give you an idea of what to expect from this podcast.