Master SEO & Overcome Imposter Syndrome w/ Meg Yelaney

This transcript is machine-generated and has not been edited for errors.

0:00Meg YelaneyTake advantage of the intimacy that you have. Message new followers welcoming them. Genuinely. Don't pitch them. Don't try to sell 'em on anything. But just like, thank you for being here. I appreciate it. How can I help you? How can I serve you? What kind of content do you want? Cuz I think you have such an advantage when you actually are beginning, if you can go into it with that mindset.

0:20Brittany HerzbergHello and welcome to the Simple and Smart SEO show where we provide

0:24Crystal Waddelltips and advice to improve your website's

0:26Brittany Herzbergsearch engine ranking. I'm Brittany Herzberg, SEO copywriter for Holistic Health and Wellness Pros who want to show up as the answer to a Googled question.

0:35Crystal WaddellAnd I'm Crystal Waddell, an e-commerce seller and content creator.

0:38I help business owners communicate the value of their products and services through content so you can make more sales and grow your business.

0:44Brittany HerzbergWe are business besties who love learning and sharing what we've learned. So what are we waiting for? Let's jump in. All right, welcome back. We are here with the one and only Meg Yelaney Crystal.

0:57Meg say hi. Hello.

1:00Crystal WaddellHello.

1:00Brittany HerzbergHi guys. Hi guys. We are gonna do like a little bit of a fun spin on today's episode Crystal and I have at least I have gotten messages like people wanna know more about us and I was like, who better to have on for this? Fun little segue: Meg who's as before we were recording, she was talking about how she's a very open book and she just like shares and I really love it.

1:21I responded well to it and I think Crystal did too cuz we've both been through some of Meg's training. So we're excited to dive in. What we're gonna be focusing on for like the SEO topic part of things is gonna be what to do and like where to focus your energy and attention when you're a newer business owner, especially in this crazy online space.

1:38So, you, if you're watching the video, if this ever gets out on YouTube, crystal was just holding up the, the

1:44Meg Yelaneytraining. That makes me so happy. There's a binder. You are my favorite person.

1:47Brittany HerzbergOh, you went next level. I love it.

1:51Crystal WaddellSee the work.

1:52Meg YelaneySee, thank you. Cuz you know, you know how much we put into that and I'm like I want people to treat this like they paid for it and

2:00that you just made my day.

2:01We could be done Now it's fine and thanks

2:03Brittany Herzbergfor joining us. Mine is technically in a file box in my very packed up car, but Crystal gets the extra points for the binder cuz I don't have a binder picture. Extra points

2:10Meg Yelaneyfor the binder. But you still get points. Stupid. You don't worry. . Oh my god, it makes you happy.

2:14Thank you for that.

2:15Brittany HerzbergIt's awesome. No, I love this workbook. So side note, if you ever take one of Meg's trainings, please print out the workbook because it's beautiful and you, it's like a keepsake almost .

2:25Meg YelaneyWe have fun with it. We take pride in those workbooks. I didn't actually do one for my last workshop cause it was a little bit more last minute and I was like, something feels off.

2:32What do I feel like naked? And I was like, I don't have a workbook. It's a, it was okay everyone. Nothing's

2:37Brittany Herzbergdownloaded. We had nothing to download. Meg, I was getting lots of screenshots and I was like, do this, do this, do this. .

2:43Meg YelaneyYeah. I was like, dang it, this is why I do my workbook. So yeah,

2:46Brittany Herzbergthey're very appreciated.

2:47Okay, before we get in, like too far down, all over the rabbit holes, who are you? Why do people love you like me?

2:53Meg YelaneyCrystal. Hi. Hello. Well, I'm, I'm so excited to be here cuz I just feel very like, safe with you guys. I feel like I can fully be

3:00myself and yeah, so thank you for just having me honest. This's gonna be a lot of fun.

3:03My name is Maggie Laney. I have been in business in one way, shape, or form since 2011. The end of 2011 is when I signed up for my first network marketing company. Signed a couple clients and then nearly didn't do anything for a while. Like a lot of people do, and beginning of business. And I was like, why is this not growing?

3:19Because I didn't do anything and I kind of like convenient worked it. So I'd work it when it was convenient between background work, cocktail waitressing, just trying to make ends meet pursuing acting and musical theater in la And it wasn't. The actor starving artist's. Life wasn't fun. And I realized after seeing so many people have so much success in the company I was with, I was like, what am I doing?

3:43I'm sitting on a gold mine. This is silly. And so after an event and after a almost, I shared this recently on social media almost getting frostbite on doing background work, I was like, this is it. I cannot do this anymore. This is so silly. And so I just went all in and about a

4:00year-ish later, a year and a half, I was able to quit all my side jobs and just support myself with my network marketing business.

4:07And I actually ended up acting a lot more. It supported me. I was able to like audition with not so much stress cause I didn't need the money. I had something else supporting. and then fast forward we had some really banner years. We were bringing in consistent six figures each year. And man, I missed those days of no overhead.

4:24It was wonderful. It was wonderful. They're pretty good. I think back to that, I'm like, wow, we didn't know how good we had it. We was like literally no overhead in that business, . And then I was like, felt really restricted and just, I love the company and they were great, but, and I still use a lot of the products today, but I just was like, I wanna do so much more than I can.

4:43I, I don't wanna have to sign someone on as a client or a distributor. And I learned so much as you do and, and grow. And I wanted to just help more people. So I started my own company in health and wellness qu pretty quickly. Realized that was not what I was meant to do. Mm-hmm. , the reason I did so well in

5:00the network marketing was the business aspect.

5:02I went to school for business. Just I, in acting you, you're marketing yourself all the time. It didn't, wasn't a surprise to most people. They were like, yeah, why, why did you do that? That was silly. And then went all in on business coaching. I would say beginning of 2018, I, I did it behind the scenes.

5:17I actually had quite a few private clients in 2017, but I just didn't like fully talk about it publicly and have been doing that ever since in many iterations, which I'm sure we'll talk about. But I've been in this world for quite a while and it's been very interesting to see how much it's changed since then.

5:33That's been a whirlwind, so I can only

5:35Brittany Herzbergimagine what that would've looked like. And just for anyone listening, Meg is also my business coach, so she, she knows some things like I know some of her behind the scenes things. It's really cool. It's been amazing to, to work with you on a one-to-one capacity and it was absolutely what I needed.

5:48And then, like we've said, crystal has the workbook cuz she's done some of the trainings as well. . Love

5:52Meg Yelaneyit. It makes me happy. So were you serious that you got frostbite ? Yes. So I didn't get, I didn't get it, but I was

6:00this close to getting it to the point where, so basically I did background work on film and television and for those who are new to that, it's those people in the background who are blurs, right?

6:09They get paid, they actually get paid decently. Well when you're in the union too. But living in New York, it was dead of winter and it was literally a day that schools were closed. Schools were closed, but we still had to go to set. And I will never forget this cuz I was living with my mom at the time, thank you mom, for letting me save some money,

6:27And she was like, please don't go. Please don't go. I will pay you your day's rate. Like please don't go. And I was like, it's not about the money. I will get like blacklisted. Like if you don't go, you're in trouble if you, if you don't show up. So I was like, I have to. This is, I'm supporting myself. And so I went and about like an hour or two hours after, I was like, I can't feel my fingers anymore.

6:46And I, I told the guy like, I can't be out here anymore. And he said, yeah, this is ridiculous. Everyone go inside. Mm-hmm. . And then we got like 50 bucks for it being cold. That's what we got. Extra . And I was just like, What am I doing with my life right now, ? It was just one of those

7:00moments I was like, this is not it.

7:01This is not it. So yeah, it was, it was a

7:03Brittany Herzbergclose call. . Oh my gosh. I remember reading that email. I was like, what in the world? Because I didn't in new aspects, but I didn't know, like it

7:11Meg Yelaneywas that crazy. And I think the funny, like I love tv. I'm not one of the entrepreneurs who doesn't watch any tv. I, I more power to those people, but I, I love a good Netflix binge once in a while.

7:20Oh yeah. And it was orange Is The New Black, which is one of my favorite shows. And so I was so excited and so I was like, oh man, this is such a letdown, . I was so far behind anyone. I didn't get to see anything. I was so in the blur and freezing my butt off. So it was fun.

7:35Brittany HerzbergI'm glad you survived that. And now, okay, so now tell people a little bit more about like, why people like me know you, cuz you've been so transparent that you have shared a lot of really cool stuff.

7:45What is that

7:45Meg Yelaneything? Yeah. Yeah. So I, I feel like when you say that, you mean like the, the marriage stuff, the personal stuff? More the relationship

7:52Brittany Herzbergand business. Yeah. .

7:54Meg YelaneyYeah. So I, I forget that. Like we all got connected later on. It's so funny. Mm-hmm. , I feel like I've had two lives in

8:00this industry, like before.

8:02Covid, which I think a lot of people feel that way and then after. Yeah. And for me it's not because of Covid actually, it's because of what was happening during that time. So in January of 2020, my husband and I separated. I asked for separation at the beginning of the year. We separated for six months, and then we got back together June, 2020.

8:18So we didn't know the pandemic was upon us when we separate it, obviously. And that threw a wrench in it. We were gonna start dating and we couldn't because we had to be quarantined. And he was staying with his nana, who's older. I was staying with my mom, who's older, and we're like, all right, there's, we can't see each other at all.

8:32Right? We have to be really strict about it. And we just, were like, we can't work on this this far apart forever. We gotta try this. So we, we got an apartment kind of sight unseen, like we saw it online, but we couldn't go see it. Mm-hmm. ended up working out wonderfully. We loved it. It was a great place. And since then, since we got back together, just really had to take a deep look at my business.

8:53Because my business didn't cause our issues. They existed way before that. But as you guys know, entrepreneurship

9:00brings everything to light. It's like, Hey, didn't wanna deal with this? Now you will like, you're gonna have to deal with this thing from your childhood. You're gonna have to deal with this thing in your marriage.

9:08And it just brings it all forward and it exacerbated a lot. And I almost used my business, not almost, I did use my business as an escape. And it was wonderful. In many ways, massively increased our revenue. Like it was really great in so many ways, but it was also very unhealthy in so many ways. And I just like realized after the f.

9:25The six months back together near the end of 2020, something's gotta change. Like I can't keep up this pace, I'm exhausted. I'm not giving him any attention. And when I am with him, I'm like a zombie cuz I'm so tired. Mm-hmm. . And I just realized it wasn't worth it. Like, I, I don't care anymore. That's not my number one, my first priority is my relationship and my business is second.

9:45And I really drastically changed a lot, had a lot of ego deaths in the, in that time period . So yeah, it was, it was kind of wild. But I'll, I didn't share about it until about a year after we got back together. So I think it was like April, 2021

10:00because I w we were in it, we were in the thick of it. I wasn't ready to share personally.

10:04And I also didn't wanna share when we were still kind of rocky, like the first six months back it was like, Hmm, what's happening? You know? Then we bought our house. we're official and then we got our dog and I was like, okay, , now we're really married cause I cannot have this dog in with me all the time.

10:21So, so that's when we really started to share, when we felt like really confident and it was very well received and it was wild how many people were experiencing similar things and we're so grateful that someone like normalized it and brought it to light. So it's been a journey ever since. Yeah.

10:39Brittany HerzbergAt least for the business aspect of things.

10:41I am like, so in the thick of, as, you know, figuring out how to stop being like 80% business, 20% life and being more like, yeah, 20% business, 80% life or even more than that. And it's kind of like weird to figure that out. But it's also great to be able to see someone who's on the other side of it and I'm like, I can get there.

10:59Like she did

11:00it. I could do. .

11:01Meg YelaneyYeah. I appreciate that. And you know, it's something I think like I, we've talked about this before, but the word balance is, so, it's like, what does that mean, you know? Mm-hmm. . And what we've noticed is we go through seasons and I used to think it was like the amount of time you spent with someone, like that's indicative of your quality of relationship and all that.

11:24And what we realized was it wasn't the amount of time, it was the quality of the time. Mm-hmm. . And like my husband plays poker professionally. There's days where he's playing 12 hours a day. I don't see him for like two weeks straight. I mean, he'll sleep next to me for a few hours, right? I wake up at like five, he goes to bed at three.

11:39We're literally in bed for two hours together, sleeping and then RIN to repeat. And, but we don't feel any less connected because now we have the quality time we spend together, the things we do in between. That really matters. And so like I'm in a really busy season of work right now. I'm working more hours than normal, but I'm loving it.

11:56It's like a really fun, like when you're so excited about what you're doing and he's

12:00in a busy season of poker, so it's kind of working out perfect. Mm-hmm. and it's like we still feel so connected and we're still, our marriage is still number one. It's just the time doesn't look like that. And so that's a big thing.

12:11I used to think like, oh, I have to spend so much time with my partner for it to matter. And it's like, no, it's the quality and the intention behind it. Yeah.

12:18Brittany HerzbergYeah. I can vouch for that too because I've noticed that like I've been, it's been an interesting transition like period, but it's like, okay, when I'm working I have been so much more dedicated and focused and that allows me to be able to turn off my work brain and turn on my like life brain and like being a good girlfriend and like showing up as a normal human, whether it's like with Daniel or with friends.

12:37It's like, okay, I can be present. So it's being present for me, whether it's being present for business or being present for like life. . Mm-hmm. .

12:45Meg YelaneyTotally. I love that. How about you, crystal ?

12:48Crystal WaddellWell, I think it's, you know, this is a good conversation because I'm, I can't think of at least like from the female perspective, one female business owner that I've ever spoken to who hasn't experienced

13:00some level of this.

13:01You know, I mean, it's not, it's not even uncommon to women in the workplace, you know? Like when I totally, I remember before I had my son, I was such a jerk. I was teaching at a middle school and one of the English teachers had a baby. and she came back to work and she was like, I just missed my baby and I just wanna be with my baby.

13:22And I'm like, well go bath your baby

13:23Meg Yelaneythen. You know, like,

13:25Crystal Waddellwhat? You know, ? Cause I'm like pretty direct sometimes when I'm focused on different things. I didn't tell her that this was all in my head. , . And then you fast forward like four years and I had my son and our situation was a little bit different because from hers, because she was military, her husband was military, you know, they had the finances to support her staying at home and that type of thing.

13:47But for me, my husband and I are both teachers and our pay scale at that time, like we were, we hadn't had a raise in nine years . So it was really ugly, you know? But we were like

14:00super frugal people, like super chill, laid back, like, I still have clothes from 10 years ago or whatever. You know, it's like not a big deal to me.

14:07But when I had my son, you know, there's a part of me that didn't want to be reduced to just a mom. You know, I was like, oh. But there was also a part of me that just fell in love, you know, from the moment I was like, I mean, after I gave birth, I've told people this before, like my husband's in the room and I'm like, did you see that?

14:27You know, like we're like high fiving and stuff. It was awesome. . And that's why I haven't had another one because it was all so vividly clear. But it was, it was just wonderful, you know? Mm-hmm. . And so I embraced this idea of like, okay, well I'm gonna be a stay-at-home mom or whatever, but then I got it in my head that like, people were judging me , you know?

14:46Mm-hmm. for like, my decisions and were broke, you know? And I didn't wanna go on welfare, so,

14:52Meg Yelaneyand my parents are kinda like, well go back to work, you know? That's where I get it, you know, . Yeah.

14:56Crystal WaddellSo so anyway, it's just, it's just interesting, you know, there's

15:00these different things, whether it's our families or our work or whatever.

15:03I just feel like women are often put in these positions where we have to make choices that not everybody has to make. And it's sometimes it's just not so cut and dry or black and white as do this or do that. Yeah. Because life is full of nuance, so, yeah. Yeah. Just wanted to share. .

15:19Meg YelaneyI love that. And if I could chime in, like something that you just reminded me of, I think it's such like, such an important conversation, is the fact that a lot of times we hear this narrative for women, like, you can do it all.

15:32Yeah. You can be a mom and be a such a successful business owner of stuff. And I'm like, yes. And , like, it's not gonna be equal. And I think I always bought into that. And then I like have tons of friends who are in the business who are moms and all that, and they're like, oh no, that's, that's not how it is.

15:49And when you can't do it all because you're having a tough season, you feel like a failure. And you're like, what's wrong with me? She's doing it all. She's not actually, she's

15:56Brittany Herzbergnot, she's not. But we don't know that unless she talks

16:00about

16:00Meg Yelaneyit.

16:00Crystal WaddellYeah, yeah. Yeah. And the thing that really stuck out to me that you said Meg, was just the, the, the issue here is the quality of the time.

16:08Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Because, you know, I used to think, oh yeah, work life balance, but it's like, you know, even when I was a teacher, , there was no work life balance. Mm-hmm. , even when, you know, before I was married, like I loved to work, you know, like I was designing Bolton boards at home, you know . Mm-hmm. I'm one of those people, like, I just love whatever I'm doing.

16:24I'm in it, you know? Mm-hmm. And I coached high school volleyball, and I mean, my husband and I were, we coached together. and it was one of the best and worst times because again, I didn't wanna be just a mom. So the opportunity came to coach this varsity volleyball team, and I thought, okay, that's an identity I can grab onto , you know?

16:42Mm-hmm. . And it almost killed me, you know? It really almost killed me because I have like some emotional regulation issues or something, you know. But I remember I, we had this Jimmy v moment in the game where, you know, our teams were very good. We won like some championship type stuff, like at the league

17:00level and that type of thing, but I'm looking for someone to celebrate with because we just won.

17:04You know what? I'm like you know, I'm looking for my players. And then I looked to my left and there's my husband, and it was like, God just gave me like this certainty in that moment that I was like, why am I looking everywhere? Hmm. This is, this is where, this is where it's at right here. And whatever loneliness I felt up until that point, like really, you know, was healed in that moment.

17:28So it was, it was pretty special. So it wasn't, again, it wasn't all bad. There was some really great times. . Yeah, I love that in coaching.

17:35Brittany HerzbergYeah. I got chill. You were saying that story, that's really powerful.

17:38Meg YelaneyI like pictured you in a gym playing volleyball. Yeah. Or coaching. Coaching volleyball. I don't know why I like vividly could picture that

17:45Yeah.

17:46Crystal WaddellYeah. That's cool. That's a pretty intense coach. So , that's probably why, you know how you said when you get really into it. But yeah, so those are the moments that, you know, I've kind of had to, you know, check my own heart and my own

18:00ambitions. Mm-hmm. , not necessarily because I'm, no, I'm not ambitious any longer, but I was having competing priorities that really, there was no competition there, right?

18:10Mm-hmm. , I was forcing the competition. . So I see that surface in business as well sometimes. Yeah, totally.

18:18Brittany HerzbergTotally. ,

18:19Meg YelaneyJake .

18:21Brittany HerzbergWell, as you were talking about just what you wanted to do and, and thriving when you're in work, I immediately remembered there was at least one semester in school, maybe two, where I had three part-time jobs.

18:33I don't remember exactly what they were. And I was taking six classes, three were online, three were in person. So talk about, I had a really, really bad first relationship and I think from that point on, I was like, work, that's my identity. This is what I do, because I didn't wanna deal with the stuff.

18:48Mm-hmm. . So I, you know, three part-time jobs, three online classes, three in-person classes. I don't know how I did it. Looking back and. Need to mm-hmm. , but just to know that like I

19:00can put myself at that level. I can push myself that hard. That's wonderful. Kind of in a way, I guess, but also like I never wanna get back to that point.

19:08So there have been a lot of moments recently where I'm like imagining that, remembering that and just being like, Nope, , we're gonna go hardcore the other way.

19:16Meg YelaneyYeah, for sure. It's tricky. I think the word identity that you guys both use is so huge and it's like, I remember reading Atomic Habits and he, James Clear talks so much about, that's when your habits change is when you take on an identity.

19:29Like, I am someone who exercises, I am someone who does this. You know, like whatever it is. And it's, it's wild how much that that really is even in business. It's like once you take on this identity, It's so hard to let go of it, and it can be really dangerous if that thing goes away. You're like, who am I?

19:47What's going on? Crystal's

19:49Brittany Herzberggot a good story about that one. Yeah.

19:50Crystal WaddellOh my gosh. Well, and you know, again, I, I, I feel like I've had this like type of identity crisis several times in my life. You know, like one of them was, you know, with career and it

20:00was with the baby, and then it was like back when I played BA high school basketball, I was an athlete, you know, I mean, that's what everybody knew me as.

20:08You know, the only reason I didn't drink alcohol was because I was an athlete, you know? Mm-hmm. . And then I blew out my knee and my entire identity was wrapped up in that, and it was at the state tournament. It was the end of my junior year. The college letters kind of slowed down, you know, everybody was kind of watching, like, is she gonna come back?

20:25Is she gonna make it? Or, you know, like, what's gonna happen? Is she gonna implode? And yeah, actually she imploded for like a decade, but it was just really unfortunate because that was my identity. I was like, if I'm not an athlete, then who am I? You know, if I'm not a basketball player, then what do I do?

20:40You know, that had always, you know, my, my idea of success had always been working towards something, practicing at something and striving towards something. And it's still something I have to kind of battle in and of today. Mm-hmm. . But I I interviewed a guy and I'll, I'll have to link to his podcast cuz I, I feel so bad, I can't remember his name right

21:00now.

21:00But I interviewed him for a podcast that I plan on starting for my business. Collage and Wood about Athlete mental health. Mm-hmm. and may is af or is Mental Health Month, you know, and so I always talk about Athlete Mental Health in May and we were talking about this, this whole idea of identity and he, he coaches kids like mindset with, you know, getting through injuries and that type of thing.

21:22And he has this amazing little activity that he does that's very simple that he has 'em, get a piece of paper and draw a circle and divide it up. into the parts of themselves. Hmm. And I thought, well, dang , if that isn't a good activity for all of us, .

21:41Meg YelaneyYeah. I

21:42Crystal Waddelllove that because it's like, then you get to see like how you define yourself and you know, my, my faith is now my identity, you know, every time I kind of fall apart, like I just go, you know, I'm, you know, heavily into my faith.

21:55And so it's like, okay, I have to remember like who I belong to, all that type of stuff.

22:00But iden identity is just so critical, you know, in mental health. Mm-hmm. , whether you know it's sports or it's business or it's family, it's like, yeah, who am I? And where do I fit? So yeah,

22:11Meg Yelaneytotally. Oh, I love this conversation.

22:14I know. I think it's so huge for business owners too, because like you said, if that thing goes away, like that happened to me at the end of 2020. That was a huge part of my ego death was like I identified as someone, and it sounds silly now, but, but I don't wanna downplay it because it was something I worked really hard for.

22:30I identified as someone who made a certain amount of money. Mm-hmm. . And I was like, this is who I am. This is what I'm known for. And now that I got rid of that, I was like, I need to take a step back. I was like, oh, am I gonna be taken seriously and all these things. And I'm like, course you will. But at the time you think that's your only worth or whatever it is.

22:48And it was, it definitely rocked my identity for a long time. And it's been like a two year journey. Honestly. I feel like I've just come to terms with, with everything and been like, no, there's so many other parts of you and there's so many other great

23:00parts about your business and how you help people.

23:02They don't care the number of dollars in your bank account today, like at all, you know? So I love

23:06Brittany Herzbergthat you just brought that up. Yeah, no, sorry. They just wanna know if you're there for them and can actually help them. Yeah. And this is making me think of kind of a, a flip on the identity spin because I had been known as a massage therapist 2020 hit.

23:22I ended up watching a webinar, realized I really love copywriting, and was like, okay, let me like go down this, you know, path and be a copywriter. And my intention was one foot in massage, one foot in copywriting. . Mm-hmm. . That may still come back to be my intention, but at some point I was like, I'm confusing people.

23:39Like I always go back to think about my Instagram profile. Mm-hmm. , because that was like my pivotal moment that like, I'll always remember because I was like massage copywriting and trying to straddle the line. But because I was doing that, I was confusing everyone. Yeah. And I wasn't really getting the leads that I wanted to get.

23:54Why? Because I was confusing them. I wasn't owning it. I wasn't being like, okay, this is who I

24:00am and how I can help you. And as soon as I made that switch with my content, with my bio, with feeling like what I think about is when I was in massage school. We had two semesters where we would work on people.

24:12They could come into our school and we would give them massages, they would pay. It was, you know, the whole deal. But we were also kind of being monitored to make sure we knew like proper technique. And we were like working with the client appropriately, all that stuff. And I had this one guy come in and he assumed that I had been a second semester student and I was so flattered.

24:31Mm-hmm. , I was like, no, I'm in my first semester. You know, da da started telling you my story. But I reflected back on like, why I did that. That person needed to feel comfortable with me. Hmm. That person needed to feel like I had their back and like I wasn't gonna come in there and just like ruin their life, traumatize them, whatever, whatever horrible story that we can spin there.

24:51So I needed to feel confident, even if I didn't know everything, like I could at least make them feel comfortable. Mm-hmm. . So I realized that I needed to take that into the online

25:00world. and I needed to not fake it till you make it, but I needed to present that. I needed to show up as that person and kind of like own it and claim it before it felt good to me.

25:08Mm-hmm. to own it and claim it. And that has really, you know, propelled me forward. Mm-hmm. . I love that. That's amazing. Yeah. So, for anybody who is listening and is newer to the online business world, tell us a little bit about like, how you're working with them and, you know, any thoughts that come to mind there?

25:27Meg YelaneyYeah. Oh my gosh. When you're in like the beginning stages of online business, it's just, it can really shake you because the majority of the people that I've worked with, they either have. Perfected the skill in their nine to five or in their life outside. So they're like, I'm a pro here. This feels weird to be a beginner, right?

25:45Like, I actually know way more than most of these people promoting themselves online. You know, I remember having a client who, we had a v i P day and she was a business coach. She had real in-person actual businesses for years. Like she knew more about business than

26:00anyone else who, , I knew marketing themselves, but she had so much imposter syndrome.

26:04Mm-hmm. , she's like, but I'm new to online. I'm like, you're not new to business . Like, you know, more than all of these people. But it's like wild what that does to us. So I think the biggest thing is to like, just write like down why you're more than capable and qualified to do this. Just cuz it's an online space doesn't mean anything, right?

26:21Mm-hmm. , you're probably more than qualified, more qualified than a lot of people you see out there. You don't know actually what their credentials are or their experience. Right. So that's the first thing. Cause I just see that stop so many people. And then second too, I was just having a conversation with some.

26:33Today who I was doing market research with. You're never too advanced to do market research. Oh, no. I always do it to this day still. I'm like, Hey, we're ramping up for a launch. Let me really get to know this person again, because the longer you're in business, the more removed you are. Mm-hmm. If you're, mm-hmm.

26:47Like I'm marketing newer, newer business spending. Oh my gosh. Beginning BA business owners, you got it. cannot say this word. That was 10 years ago. Like, I think I remember that, but I gotta get in it with them.

27:00And she was saying like, the comparison is so real. She'll see someone who has been in this business for five years, four years, three years.

27:07And she's like, why are they gonna choose me when they have that person? And that like breaks my heart that that stops people cuz I'm like man, that's why they'll choose you. One of the reasons is you could have this more boutiquey feel versus someone who's now huge and can't have that one-on-one touch with each follower.

27:24So as you're in your beginning stages, I would say the biggest thing is take advantage of that. Take advantage of the intimacy that you have. Message new followers welcoming them. Genuinely not, don't pitch them, don't try to sell 'em on anything. But just like, thank you for being here. I appreciate it. How can I help you?

27:39How can I serve you? What kind of content do you want? Cuz I think you have such an advantage when you actually are beginning. If you can go into it with that mindset. Totally.

27:48Crystal WaddellI think that's such a, a great tip. You know, I, I forget to say, hey, you know, because I'm so like worried about

27:54Meg Yelaneybots for the most part.

27:55Crystal WaddellYeah. I said I forget to say thank you to people, you know, and just, you know, ask

28:00'em questions about themselves. But I wanted to bring up Clubhouse because in that period of time, over 2020, yeah. I remember, you know, being on Clubhouse all the time, you know, and I would, I would listen, I would try to make friends.

28:13Mm-hmm. , and I was like, I got myself a spot on a morning show and it was so great. And all these people were like, wow, you know, so much. You know? And I'm like, , I do,

28:23Meg Yelaneyyou know, because

28:24Crystal Waddelleverything I knew was from experience, you know? And I'm like, yeah, well, does anybody else use the product? You know, like, does anybody else fill out the binder?

28:31Because you could know it too, you know, . So that's why I forget that I'm special because I'm like, everybody else has access to the same stuff. Why am I so special? You know? How do I know any more than anybody else? . But the fact is a lot of people don't put it into practice, you know? Mm-hmm. , so I don't know what you call that, but I remember, you know, like in terms of Pinterest, like I'm been using Pinterest for my business even through the time I was a teacher.

28:54So it's been like almost 10 years I've been using Pinterest and I've seen it go different directions. I

29:00get in these rooms with people teaching other people about Pinterest and I. Why are you saying that , you know, like that makes sense. Like this is what you should do and you know, but then the other people would get mad at me like, this girl thinks she knows whatever.

29:13And I'm like, no, I don't. I really don't. Like, don't be mad at me. So I, I went in with knowledge, but no confidence. , and then I left kind of that whole area because I was like, look, I'm now like the resident expert, but I don't work for Pinterest. You know? Like I work for Crystal. Yeah. And I need to really get back to, you know, on Crystal's business or whatever.

29:31But I just think it's interesting because even now, you know, because back then Shopify and Pinterest had just started their partnership and their integration. And so I'm telling everybody, if you're an e-commerce seller, you need to use Pinterest and become a verified merchant. And that people are like, what are you talking about so hard?

29:49And I'm like, not my Shopify, you know, it's like three years ago. Yeah. And now, now it's, you know, people are like doing it and a little bit more like receptive to it, and I'm thinking, oh my gosh, this

30:00was available three years ago. Mm. But I didn't have the confidence to go out and bring the people together, you know?

30:07And so it's like, how, how would you, you know, I guess coach somebody to grow in their confidence of what they know, you know? Mm. I don't think I'm the only one that's probably felt like that. ?

30:19Meg YelaneyNo,

30:19Brittany Herzbergactually, I, I just messaged Meg the other day because I was like, Hey, do you know, I think it was a conf or a confidence coach that I even asked you about for someone else.

30:27Mm-hmm. .

30:27Meg YelaneySo yeah, you're not alone. Oh my gosh. It's, it's wild. And it's funny when I talk to people like, well, like yourself, like, Hey, tell me everything you know about Pinterest. Tell me everything you know about clubhouse. Tell me everything you know about whatever it is, right? Whatever you're selling. And relate it to your offer.

30:41And you'll have like this whole laundry list of things. And if you had a client come in today, you'd be like, oh yeah, I can totally help them. But we look at, we look at I, this is what I see at least from the people I've talked to in the beginning stages, is they look at all the shiny Instagram profiles or whatever platform you're on and they're like, but

31:00so-and-so has 50,000 followers.

31:01So that must mean they know 50,000 times more than me. Cause I have 1000 followers. And even though we were told that doesn't equal. money, et cetera. We still kind of think that. I think back in our, in our heads we're like, oh, there must be something valuable. Mm-hmm. , they have all these followers. Why would people follow them?

31:18And the truth is though, like people can follow them because they had a real go viral. Mm-hmm. . And it actually had nothing to do with their business. That happened to me. I am one of those people, . And, and not that it negates any, you know, anything less than what you're doing. I don't know why my hand just raised.

31:35That was weird. said,

31:37Crystal WaddellI'm one of those

31:37Meg Yelaneypeople. Oh, that's true. What do you mean?

31:40Brittany HerzbergYou're like, when you No, that

raised,

31:42Crystal Waddellraised your hand and you said, I'm one of those people. Oh, zoom recognized the hand. Oh. Oh, that's, wow. It does that. Yeah.

31:51Meg YelaneyFor everyone listening, we're raising our hand and zoom's raising our hand.

31:54I was like, it doesn't . That's so cool.

31:57Brittany HerzbergZoom. Mm-hmm. . It didn't like me. That's.

32:00Meg YelaneyThat's amazing. That's but basically I, I would say like, try to remember that the number of followers does not necessarily equal that they're more experienced or they're more knowledgeable or anything like that. They just got started sooner.

32:13Possibly. They might have had something go viral. They might have had a shout out. And when I said they might have gotten started sooner, they might have done that and put in the work, which means you can do that too. Mm-hmm. . And so I would really write down why, what is all the proof or the evidence that you are great at what you do, whether it's experience, whether it's client testimonials, that is a huge one.

32:32Even if it's been free clients or friends or family you've helped, like write that down. If you've screenshots, have a folder on your phone and literally look at that every single day before you go to post, before you go to put yourself out there to boost that. Like, oh yeah, I am great at this. I've gotta remind myself of that.

32:49It's such a, . Easy thing to do, but we forget to do it sometimes. But that's really helped a lot of people boost their confidence. And then second is try to limit the amount of people you follow. Like purely

33:00like not following people and not comparing constantly. The, I talked about this two days ago on a podcast and I said like one of the biggest things that helped me with my growth, I had a really big growth year.

33:11It wasn't fast cuz I had like four years of business before that. I always wanna make that clear. It wasn't overnight, but it was a really big growth year. I didn't know what anyone else was doing. I was like, so in my own world, like very naively. So when people would come to me and say, oh, do you see what so-and-so did?

33:25And you know, almost have a little go gossip because. It's the world . I'd be like, I don't even know who that is. Like genuinely I'm not, I really don't know who that is cuz I'm so laser focused. So I didn't compare cuz I wasn't watching. So I'm not saying you have to like totally get off the apps or anything like that, but just like as you're scrolling, if you're noticing that tinge come up, like of jealousy or all this questioning, just put it away for a bit.

33:50Crystal WaddellI think what's interesting there is that, you know, once I got off of Clubhouse mm-hmm. , I really did experience a, you know, like, it was like a

34:00blast off type thing. Yeah. Because instead of trying to like convince all of these people and like pull them along with me. Yeah. You know, the few clients that I did pick up from Clubhouse, I was like, oh, let me focus on them.

34:10Then off we went. You know? Yeah. And so it was, it's kind of an interesting thing that you're right. Like if you stop looking at, you know, whatever. You know, whatever it is, whether it's a person or an app or whatever, that's kind of holding you back in a way, I guess. Mm-hmm. from, you know, accomplishing. Yeah.

34:26Then you're, you're free. You know, because I didn't have to constantly defend myself of, I know this is true, you know, I could just do

34:33Brittany Herzbergit. and I'll say we still have people, both of us still have people from Clubhouse, from our clubhouse days because Crystal was my invite into that world. We still have people coming to us for podcast interviews for like booking services with us.

34:47So like it's not like it was wasted time or anything like that. Oh, absolutely. Mm-hmm. . And on that note, just thinking back to like what I did and how I was on social media at the beginning, I wanted to mention this in case there's anyone listening who feels like this as well. I

35:00was so focused on making connections and living in the dms and just like hanging out with people and writing nice little responses to them.

35:07This kind of touches on what we were doing earlier, what we were saying earlier. I was so focused on that I wasn't telling them anything about how they could work with me. I wasn't building my authority at all. I was like, why? . Why is nothing happening here? Like, I don't understand it.

35:23Meg YelaneyYou're friend zoning

35:24Brittany Herzbergyourself.

35:24I was friend zoning myself, and you've talked about it with me so many times where it's like you have too many friends. You have more friends. Brittany, in the nicest way, and like Brittany, you're not allowed to have anymore . Right. In the totally real way because I will, I will go over and hang out on Instagram.

35:36I think it's probably because it's safer. It's a way that I can procrastinate. It's a way that I can like ignore my perfectionist tendencies, but I also genuinely love connecting with people. It's how I met Meg. It's like, I mean, it's what I do. Yeah. But, or, and rather, I can do that, make time for that, carve out time for that, and I can make sure that I'm like, Hey, this is what I do in case you want some help.

35:56Like here's, here's what I do totally. And here's how I can help you. Yeah. So

36:00if you find yourself listening to this podcast and being like, oh, that's me too. Maybe just what's worked for me is getting a little more strategic with the time that I spend on those platforms. And really, for me it's only Instagram and Voxer , but it's Instagram for social media.

36:13Mm-hmm. . So I will like set a timer. I will like go and do that. And I'll catch myself if I have those thoughts of like, why are you on here right now? Like, we've spent 20 minutes, what are you doing? I'll just be like, okay, we're done. Like go over and

36:24Meg Yelaneydo work. . Yeah. It's kind of that, I know I mentioned this to you in Boxer, but that book, eat That Frog, it's really, it's kind of like that.

36:31Like do if you, cuz I agree. Sp having forming relationships in the dms, networking huge way to grow your business, I think it's very valuable and you're such a super connector. It's incredible , but a lot of people do find that where they're like, oh wow, I've. Been spend so much time on this, I haven't actually like talked about what I do or, or put out an educational pose or help people in that way.

36:51So if that's the hard thing for you, do that first and then be like, okay, I got that outta the way. I've shown my authority. I can go network all day and have fun the rest of the day. It's

37:00like just getting that thing out of the way helps too. . Yeah. And

37:03Brittany Herzbergdon't forget the social proof, because that was another thing that I also Yeah.

37:06So I'm in Marisa Corcoran's, copy Confidence Society. We had her on the show recently. And one thing that you do is you figure out like your copy character, which I think of as like your business character. And I love it. Love it. For me, it's like, this is who I am when I show up for work. Like this is what I do.

37:18This is like kind of my touchstones for it. And where was I going with that? Oh, I'm a relentless cheerleader. Like that's my driving one. Yes. And one of the big weaknesses we'll say for that character is that you don't, you value your clients, but you don't value yourself. And I think for me, as part of that, Cheryl's cheer testimonials, but I won't really link it back to like, here's what we did, here's how I helped them.

37:42I wasn't great at that in the past, like I've recently gotten better with that. But make sure you're shouting out your people and tying that back into like what you did and how you worked with them and why you're so wonderful. .

37:54Meg YelaneyYeah. It's, I think sometimes the reason I do that too sometimes, and it's cuz I wanna make it clear that

38:00they did the work right?

38:01Especially with coaching. Like, you can't give people results, they go do the work. So it's like, no, they did it, but you had a big part of that. And I, I have to own that too, a little bit more. And it's, it's important. And honestly, I, I get kind of jealous sometimes when I see people making these big claims even.

38:15always agree with the way they do it. I'm like, you know, they're so confident in, in their skillset, even if I don't love the way they did it and I wouldn't do it that same way. Like, you gotta give that to them. At least , like, they're like, I did this, or you know, at the end of the day it's, it's so important.

38:30Like, we've gotta make that link. Exactly. Yeah. And something just really quick to go back to the beginning, that just reminded me cuz I'm, I'm doing a workshop on it in a few weeks. That's probably why it's top of mind for me, is something else that'll help your confidence is knowing exactly what you do with your clients once they come in.

38:45And I know that might sound like an obvious thing, but I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who are like, okay, well everything's super custom. So I, I don't know how to explain it. And then when people ask them, they're like, it's just really great. You're gonna feel awesome. And it's very vague versus like,

39:00okay, but how do we make this.

39:01Intangible thing, right? We're all, if you're don't have product tangible, like I think copy that's a little bit easier. But even that, how do you still make that like their, how does that help their bottom line? Why do they even need that? And so I noticed if you can like walk through three to five steps that you take your clients through from when they enter to exit and then go, how do I do it a little differently than say the next person or the next person That's gonna give you so much more confidence and something to talk about on your social media too.

39:28Mm-hmm. ,

39:28Brittany Herzbergfeel free to dive into that anymore if you want to. Cuz I'm over here. Like I, I know that you and I have talked about that and it's something that I've, I feel like I've gotten my framework done, but my process, yeah, I think that's like notes for you for coming off,

39:40Meg Yelaneylike boxer coaching . No. Super helpful.

39:43This is great cuz I'm actually, I'm crafting this workshop now. I'm running it in a few weeks, so it's very timely. I'm like, everyone bring me all the questions so I can make sure I'm, I'm getting it all in there. And I actually, I'm using, I have three clients in particular, I'm making a post in a few days and highlighting them because all three of them have created

40:00a method, you could use the word method, framework, process, all interchangeable in the way I'm thinking of it.

40:05They've created a method that they've become so known for that people literally are like, Hey, I, I wanna hear more about one of my clients. She really focuses on helping fitness coaches at our parents specifically, and she has the mama method. We do it differently. Mm-hmm. because she could not find I'm sure Crystal, you can relate to this.

40:25Like, she's like, I can't find someone who is, who is making really incredible money and bringing in a really great revenue for their family. is is a mom and has a family and it's like all these people like jet setting and traveling the world, . And of course they have all the time in the world. She's like, I have two kids.

40:43I'm tired of all this stuff. And she's had so much success and she's really narrowed it down to like very focused moneymaking activities and she's got this great method. I'm like, let's put it into something that they get and they can understand. And now it's like people are coming out of the woodworks for her mama method.

41:00And then I have another client former client, one of my best friends, her name's Eve, and she's created this macro mentorship method. It's called Really helping macro Coaches become just so great at what they do. Like very confident in their skillset with a very specific framework that she teaches.

41:15People literally come outta the woodworks and this stuff took years. It didn't happen overnight, obviously, but it just helps them go, wow, I know this is a unique solution that my client hasn't been presented in this way. Right? Otherwise, it's like we're all solving the same problems and we're all helping them get to the same goals.

41:32How are you gonna stand out? So it increases your confidence and it just like, kind of signifies you as like, oh, you're that person who's gonna help me with that, that specific thing within that generality, if that makes sense.

41:44Crystal WaddellMm-hmm. . Okay. So I have kind of a two-part question here. Yeah. Because I, well, I'll just start with the first part.

41:52When when you're coaching. and you're not, I mean, because it's like, I think it was Marissa who was like, you should be

42:00like an Etsy coach, or whatever. And I'm like, Hey, that would be great. I mean, I'm not certified. Do I just call myself an Etsy coach, you know, or, or a handmade seller coach or whatever, because you know, I, I have the problem of sharing information and saying, Hey, this is what I'm doing.

42:14This is how it's working. You should do it too. And I get people who are like, oh, can you do it for me? Mm. And that's been new over the last year or so. And so there I was just like, your girl that you're talking about. Like, well, you know, it's a, a multi-step process and it's, you know, specific to the person and Yeah, I really can't tell you what you're gonna get out of it, but I, but I just told you what I got out of it, so.

42:36Yeah. You know, it's, it's weird that to think of it like that I can do it for myself, but doing it for other people makes me a little bit uncomfortable. Yeah. The other part of it, I think is the coaching side of it. Mm-hmm. , I feel a little bit more co I feel more confident in, because I control that. and the people control their output.

42:56Yeah. You know what I mean? And, and so it's, it's, I don't

43:00know, it's like a mixed bag because it's like, I wanna share information with people, I want them to apply it. I want them to experience success with it, but I can't control what they do with it. Mm-hmm. . Totally. And so, you know, I've hedged into things and then I'm like, oh, we know if I like that.

43:13You know that feeling. So I don't know if you can speak to that or if that's, .

43:18Meg YelaneyYeah. Issue you've heard before. No, I'm so glad you brought that up. I got a question the other day that I think is related to what you're saying. It was like, I have a custom offer. How do I have a process? It's so different per person.

43:28Everyone's so different, right? And you can't control the results. And that's, I'm so glad you brought that up. Cause in coaching, that's the biggest thing. It's like you could have the best lead process I could give. And I mean I've coached hundreds of clients in this group program and yes, we have so many success stories, but we also have people who didn't have success.

43:45Every program has that. Every program, not everyone wants to admit it, but it's just the truth, right? Mm-hmm. and they followed the process and we encourage them to tweak it to be their own. And we helped them make it their own and it still didn't result in what they wanted to necessarily. That's always gonna

44:00happen because you can't control what happens.

44:02So that's something like going into setting your framework or making your process or communicating it, I always say, and you'll see these disclaimers on people's websites, they should be there at least, like results may vary. You cannot guarantee blah, blah, blah, blah. And that's just cuz it's so true. . And of course we wanna show the highlights.

44:18So if you can go into it going like, what I can control is how I show up for the client is, the work I do is the quality. Everything else. I can't control what happens with the Instagram algorithm or something glitches one day or like recently the, I use show it my website, it was down for a day.

44:37Mm-hmm. , I couldn't control that. I wasn't in the middle of a launch or anything, but I was like, oh my gosh, my website's not working. Like there's so much we can't control that you really have to focus on, here's my process that generally works with most people that I customize, obviously based on the person, if it's one-on-one and I have to go in knowing the end result.

44:55I can only do so much. I can only do that process. That really, there's so many other factors. Does that make

45:00sense? Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. .

45:00Crystal WaddellWell, it makes sense, but that leads into that second part of like Yeah. There's so many other factors. Yeah. So like our friend Erin has been on the show and she's a copywriter, and I'm, I'm very good at technical seo.

45:12Mm-hmm. And very good at, you know, key wording and, you know, getting traffic. Yeah. But when, when people get to the page, then there's that conversion element Yeah. With seo. And so it's like, okay. . Yes. Step one is getting the traffic there, you know, and that's, that's its whole, you know, that's a monster by itself, that you have to eat one bite at a time.

45:34Yeah. But once you get that technical piece done, then there's the element of on page that is copy. Mm-hmm. and product descriptions for e-commerce and, and headlines and, you know, making sure your alt text is, you know, optimized for searches. Well, there's all those other things. So it's like there's a step one and then there's a step two.

45:53And beyond that there's, it's like step 3, 4, 5, and six. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. , there's always something else that can contribute to a

46:00person's ability to convert. Yeah. So where can you focus when you know, That, you know, the, the steps continue to walk on.

46:10Meg YelaneyYeah, it's a great question. I would say, and this is something, I mean I definitely find myself cuz I'm like, oh my gosh, there are so many steps.

46:17Like we've gotta do, we've gotta create the great content to get them in or the SEO to get them in. But then we've gotta make sure that where they're going actually nurtures them the right way and then sells them into the office. There's so many parts. So personally I recommend, I'm focusing on one at a time.

46:33And so the reason I like to start with the framework is what I've noticed is a lot of people don't even put themselves out there if they're not confident about what they're doing In once that they get someone, they're like, I have a business. Yeah. Right. It's so common. It's like I have a business, but I'm not gonna talk about it because I don't actually know what I'm gonna do when someone comes in here.

46:53I know I'm really great at what I do, but I don't know what I'm gonna do. And so then they're not even talking about it. And so they're not even getting the traction. So that's what I think that's the

47:00first place, is like, get clear on what you actually do. Otherwise you are not gonna be confident talking about it.

47:06And let's just be honest, you might not help them in the way they need to be helped. Like if you're, you might need a little bit more training. Most people out there don't, most people over certify overtrain and think they need a million things. So I'm not saying that right. . Mm-hmm. . But sometimes like the imposter syndrome.

47:23is because you might need a little bit more clarity on actually what you're doing when they come in, which you can find pretty quickly. And that's where I would start and then I would reverse go, okay, great. I'm so confident about what happens when they get in. Now let's talk about the messaging to get them in.

47:37Right? And then let's talk about what hap how do we actually, the the lead generation, you know what I mean? I, that's where I would start. It's kind of like in the middle, moving backwards, if that makes sense. Where a lot of people start it, how do I get people in and they try to start the marketing when they've gotta start it perfecting their skill.

47:51Brittany HerzbergMm-hmm. . And I would even say, I think she said it on the podcast, but Brendan McGowan, I always hear her say that you're selling the process, not the product. Yes. So

48:00I know how big it is. And she works with pre-launch. Yes. Yes. So she knows what's up with that. Like you have to know what you're talking about, what you're selling.

48:07Yeah. Really, I feel like, at least in my, how I view things, definitely the process. You have to know what you're about. Yes. Like if you don't know what you're about, I mean, that's part of the, the magic sauce like that you're selling is like going back to the, the example that you had met with your client is like, why are they gonna buy for me?

48:23Because it's you. Yeah. Because like, because they're cook with you. You're the differentiation.

48:28Meg YelaneyDifferentiation between everyone else. They could choose who's promoting the same thing, essentially. , you know what I mean? Like, at the end of the day, business coaches are promoting, I'm gonna help you make more money.

48:38That's very general, but it's just the truth. How do you do it differently? What's your unique skillset? What do you bring to the table? Right? And same thing, s e o I'm gonna help you get more eyeballs. I'm gonna help you get more leads. Great. How do you do it differently?

48:50Brittany HerzbergYou know? Right. Yeah. Crystal, I saw what you dropped in the chat.

48:53Like I, I feel like copywriting, if I may, We are speaking to the emotions. Like I had a project that I was working

49:00on recently with, it's my, it's with two guys and not that guys aren't like tapped into their emotions, but often they're not. There's like a little bit of a piece that's missing, like I'm hedging that I'm squinting as I'm saying this.

49:12If you're not working the video. . So when they were trying to help with the copy and they had suggestions, and I always appreciate suggestions, but it was like, feel confident, da da da da da. And I'm like, guys, we can't like say that. We have to imply that we have to make them feel safe. You don't just like call it out.

49:28So I would say for me, what works really well for me is like going back and talking to people. I'm always gonna tell you to go talk to your people because that's where your social proof is. That's where your copy is. Like the people can say the words better than you're ever gonna dream it up in your head.

49:42Yes. So I think, you know, something that I'm gonna be doing recently or recently coming up is market research. Doing I c a interviews. Meg, you're saying that you are doing i c a interviews. It's like we always do.

49:52Meg YelaneyIt's so great. It's so, I got so much from it and I was like, wow, I need to do more of these. I have whole

50:00transcription.

50:00Otter io is it? I. A

50:03Brittany HerzbergA i, ai, something, I don't know, Otter.

50:06Meg YelaneyI transcribed everything and I was like highlighting. I was like, this is gold. I'm just copying and pacing, and this key is not to change what they say. A lot of times people are like, oh, let me make it sound better. It's like, no, no, that's

50:17Brittany Herzbergwhat they're saying.

50:18Leave it alone. Don't change it. .

50:21Meg YelaneyYeah. It's so hard. A book really quick that I'm reading right now that is helping kind of what you were saying Crystal about, so there's something emotional that you're missing with sales is stories that stick. Have you guys heard of that book?

50:34Brittany HerzbergYou, you had it in your stories and now I wanna buy like five copies.

50:37Meg YelaneySo good. It's so good already. And I mean, we all know you, you guys are in the copywriting, SEO world. You know, stories are huge, but that's, I think, where the emotional aspect can come from. It's like you're not, they use this example of apple. And this was when like Apple iOS was having some issues like public facing.

50:58They weren't in the best

51:00light and they were, instead of having their commercial focus on like the features and the benefits and all these cool things they can do, it showed a kid it's a commercial that you can find on YouTube, but they showed a kid that was like on his phone the whole weekend of Christmas weekend, like not paying attention to his family.

51:15And then at the end, on Christmas day, he had this like huge montage of all the memories from the weekend. So he wasn't actually like on social media, he was recording and documenting and then created this beautiful memory and it was like so big for Apple cuz it associated them with like the memories you can make, right?

51:31I was like, oh my gosh, like reading this, like tearing off. I was like, this is beautiful. I haven't even seen the commercial. And I'm like tearing up and it. , you could talk about the features and the benefits and all this stuff. Same thing with sales. And I actually, I'm glad you mentioned that Crystal.

51:44Cause I wrote down a whole list of things that, like more money or sales or whatever have brought me mm-hmm. and it's like, it's never about the money in the bank account. It's like the, some of the security. And my husband was able to spend six months with his father as he was passing away that he wouldn't have been able to

52:00do if he was in a nine to five.

52:01But because of our business, he was able to have that n the once in a lifetime true time, you know, and, and a whole other list of things. And so I think if you can think about all the stories that relate to the result, cuz people aren't buying the money, they're buying what it can give them the life, the experiences, you know, same thing with the health or whatever you're selling.

52:19It's a great book. Buy It .

52:21Brittany HerzbergI really need to read that. Especially like anything, the story, I'm like, I'm in. But that's why I think case studies, like that's what drew me to that. Yes. And even recently, I gotta figure out how to work this into my messaging, but I just started realizing why I was so drawn to case studies.

52:35Like yes. I woke up from a dream where I was like, I need to be a case study copywriter. Don't ask me why I had that dream. I have no idea. But it

52:40Meg Yelaneyliterally happened very specific dream. So

52:42Brittany Herzbergspecific, like my brain was just like figuring out all the pieces and putting them together. But what would happen in my massage room, people were talking to me, I was telling them, Hey, I went to go see Bethany for acupuncture.

52:54Oh really? Tell me more about that. And I would tell them about the entire experience. Yeah. Someone would be on the table

53:00like, you know let's say it's a CrossFit person. Cause I had a lot of those. They were on the table and they're like, oh, I have such and such is happening and I'm not able to do what I once was able to do.

53:08Oh, it's, you know, you're not alone in that. I have another person, of course, I was never revealing identities, but I have another person that went through blah, blah, blah, blah. I was telling their story. , they were feeling less alone, which is a huge guiding light in my life. And it's part of what I love about working with you and what drew me to working with you.

53:24Cuz like that is such a message. It's part of why Crystal and I like, were drawn together. It's like you're not alone. There is a community, there are are other people going through something at least similar and here's what happened and here's how they are on the other side of this. Even like what I was telling you with like me feeling like I'm in very much in it, of going from like the heavier with business, lower with life and like flipping it to where I'm, you know, building the business I want around the life that I want.

53:48Mm-hmm. , like, it's great to see who, who is on the other side of that and what that looks like. .

53:53Meg YelaneyYeah, totally. I love that.

53:55Brittany HerzbergIt's beautiful. Oh my gosh. I feel like we could talk to you forever, but yeah, no, you probably have .

53:59Meg Yelaney:

54:00You probably have, I've, I've loved this. This, you guys are awesome. Like you just have such a good rapport too, like a balance with both of you in here, which it's hard to do with two co-hosts and you're doing a great job.

54:09Meg YelaneyI'm like taking notes for Mike and me for our couples combos. I'm like, okay, this, we're gonna do the raise hand thing, cuz that would work beautifully. We don't do that. , I feel

54:17Brittany Herzberglike I was much more civilized today, cuz sometimes I'm like, but ,

54:21Meg Yelaneywe're constantly cutting each other off. I'm like, wait, this is a very simple and great skill.

54:25We're gonna do

54:25Brittany Herzbergthis . That makes me feel really good cuz I worry sometimes that I'm like too pouncing on a moment and too passionate. So thank you for

54:31Meg Yelaneysaying that. No, you guys are, you guys were great together. You balanced each other out really well.

54:36Brittany HerzbergThanks. Yeah. And now I'm just gonna like, you know, flush over here,

54:39So tell us about, you've mentioned the challenge and then I know you have a really killer new freebie out. You wanna tell us like all the things?

54:45Meg YelaneyYeah, yeah. So we have so much happening, so I'm not sure when this is coming out, but depending on when this is coming out, we have so many things happening in the world right now.

54:54We have a workshop coming out that's really about developing what I was saying before, your signature framework so you can really

55:00stand out in a seemingly saturated market, right? And so that's gonna be really great, totally free. It's gonna be a workshop q and a, all that at the end. And then in early April, we're gonna be running a challenge around stories.

55:11I, yes, another binder. Get another binder. gonna be a great work workbook, I promise. We're gonna have a, and this is why I'm reading stories that stick. I wanted to just a refresher. I've always been really naturally great at writing stories. It's been just a hu in the acting world. I've had to tell a story my whole life, like it's just very ingrained.

55:26But I wanted to just get, you know, more knowledge on that. And I'm gonna be running a challenge that's like how to craft your story to specifically sell your offer. So it's really building upon each other. Cuz if you do the framework workshop, you're gonna have that piece, which then we're gonna craft a story to sell that essentially.

55:44So all that's happening in the next like month, month and a half. So all free, lots of fun stuff. So if you just head overdue Megan Elaney on Instagram all that's gonna be there. I

55:54Brittany Herzbergwas gonna say just like, go follow Meg. Just like stay over there. Just like when you go on

56:00Instagram, do what you need to do and then make your fun time, like going over and checking out Meg stuff.

56:04It really does. You do, did a great job.

56:07Crystal WaddellThere was one question I wanted to ask you that I forgot to ask you in the very,

56:10Meg Yelaneyvery

56:10Crystal Waddellbeginning. Yeah. And it's about your name, like you're like hashtag pretty awkward entrepreneur.

56:17Meg YelaneyYeah. And to me, you seem anything but awkward . Thank you. So

56:23Crystal Waddellwhat, what is that?

56:25Meg YelaneyI love that.

56:26I love this question. And it's something that, it's really funny because in the beginning, b basically, long story short, when I started my health and fitness business outside of network marketing, I, everyone in the industry, all the, the fitspo, as they said back in the day, everyone looked the same, everyone acted the same, everyone took the same pictures.

56:48It was like twisting your body in this impossible way that you body can't twist to take like a really good view of your butt. That was it. That was basically how you sold your coaching, which is so ridiculous. How does that have

57:00anything to do with becoming healthier? But that's what we did. And I was a good student.

57:03I was a very good student. So I said, okay, I will follow the rules. I will make the pictures. And I was taking a video one day of myself, cuz that's how you get the best shot. Still a good tip. Still great way to get like good pictures. Mm-hmm. . And then you screenshot the best shot and I was watching the video back.

57:18I was at my friend Brian's house and I. This is ridiculous. Well, what am I doing? This is so not me. This feels so inauthentic. Why does this have anything to do with me selling my coaching? And I posted the video and made fun of it instead. And I was like, I'm not doing this anymore. And it went viral for my page at the time.

57:35I got a ton of clients from it, and I just quickly realized I, I should be business coaching. This is not what I was meant to do anyway. I think that's why. But it started like, Hey, let's just be ourselves. Like in the video, I was very awkward and I was like, this is weird. And I was like, we're all like this.

57:50Like we need to start being who we are. And so pretty much what it means is be yourself online. How do you strategically be yourself online? Like take your unique traits and use that to build

58:00your brand. Use that to be like, Ooh, when I think of Harry Potter, I think of Meg when I think of this. Sure. Do I think of

58:06Britney sends me stuff all the time. You know like little things like it associates you with that person that keeps you top of mind, that increases likability factor, and that really helps you stand out from everyone else. So it's more so like just being yourself. , but I do have many awkward moments.

58:21You just haven't seen it today, .

58:23Brittany HerzbergOkay, so on that note, you, you asked your question that you forgot, I forgot to ask you about seo. How do you define seo? There's no wrong answer. Ooh, ooh.

58:32Meg YelaneyI love this. That was a close one. I know. I mean, search engine optimization. Love it. Let's, let's go . I mean, that's what it means, honestly, how I define seo.

58:43You're, you're gonna love this as SEO podcast and I'm definitely gonna come back to you guys in a few months. I define SEO as limitless possibility and way, I'm not gonna say this very eloquently, but way less. Being on like limitless possibility, like true

59:00freedom. When I think of seo, I think of things working for you behind the scenes.

59:03You're not on screen, you're not, I gotta go on stories today, I gotta do this today, da da da da. And to be quite honest, I don't have a lot of that set up. And that's actually the reason I said I'm circling back to you guys halfway through the year is that's like a quarter three, four project for me. And my husband, I think is gonna take that over is like, he wants to learn it.

59:21Mm-hmm. And learn from really smart people. And so that's something that I'm like, man, I wish I started that earlier. I did it back in my fitness business. I did Pinterest and all that. And I'm like, why didn't I continue that? It was working so great. I was getting optins all the time and I wasn't doing anything.

59:36So SEO to me is freedom and not having to be on all the. I love it.

59:40Brittany HerzbergBeautiful. Aww,

59:41Meg Yelaneythanks Crystal .

59:43Crystal WaddellYou're welcome. I just said that I, of course I had to check her out and, you know, get her numbers before the episode and she's doing much better than she thinks she is. So

59:52Meg Yelaneyaccidentally.

59:52Brittany HerzbergSo, thank you . It's not though, because I mean, I really, we could turn this into like a four hour podcast.

59:57It's not though, because it's all about SEO is really like

1:00:00being intentional. Yeah. And really focusing on who you are, what you're about, what you wanna be known for, and you do that true. And I'm good

1:00:07Meg Yelaneyat using keywords cuz I know what my people need to hear. So .

1:00:11Crystal WaddellYeah. And that's what B always says. She says, whether you intend to have an SEO strategy or not, you have an SEO strategy.

1:00:16So yeah. Yeah. Good for

1:00:18Meg Yelaneyyou. Yay. Thanks guys. I thought I was starting a ground zero over here, so No, never, never, never. Yeah. I w I wish I start earlier. You don't need to be at a certain number of followers. You don't need to make a certain amount of money. I wish I started at zero. I wish I started right away.

1:00:33Like, think about how much you could intentionally build up. So yeah, I love what you guys are doing. I think it's so important. Thanks, man. I'm gonna be so rude. I have to go. That's okay. I do too. . Sweet. Okay.

1:00:44Brittany HerzbergI, I loved having you. This was so good. And we will have to have you back. If you ever wanna come back, we

1:00:48Meg Yelaneycan chat.

1:00:50Thank you so much guys. You were amazing. I had so much fun. Yeah. Wonderful to

1:00:53Crystal Waddellmeet you. Yeah, you too. Okay.

1:00:56Brittany HerzbergBye bye. Bye guys. Yay. Thanks for

1:01:00joining us today. If you like this info, subscribe before you go so you never miss out on something related to SEO . See you next

1:01:08Crystal Waddelltime.