Steal This Simple System to Stand Out Online

Courtney Elmer 0:00  

Welcome back, you're listening to the System's Made Simple™ Podcast. This is episode 145. And today we're talking about the visibility business system that you can install within your business. That's going to help you win the organic marketing game to win it to position you as a recognized authority in your space and help you start getting the attention on your business that you deserve. 

[INTRO]

Courtney Elmer

So throughout this episode series, we've been talking a lot about the biggest mistakes that overlooked entrepreneurs make that contribute to low audience engagement, the inability to find an organic marketing strategy that actually works for you, and to your inability to generate leads as consistently as you want to. If you've experienced any one or more of those things, then you don't need me to tell you, all of these lead to that uncomfortable, frustrating feeling of being overlooked in the online space. You see these other influencers out there who are getting the likes, they're getting the engagement.

Courtney Elmer

And you know, what you have to share is equally valuable, that for some reason, it's just not clicking with people. And I've been there it is so frustrating, so frustrating. And this is why I'm lifting the curtain inside this series to reveal to you the steps that we took within our own company to change it. So in case you missed it. In the last episode, we talked about why social media is the worst way to grow an engaged audience. And we also talked about this surprising reason that you might be tanking your engagement right now, without even realizing it. So if you missed that episode, that was episode 144. 

Courtney Elmer

And in the episode before that, we talked about the three sneaky mistakes that are causing you to get overlooked in the marketplace that are causing people on Instagram people on Tik Tok people on whatever social media channel you hang out to follow others over you. And that was episode 143. So if you still need to catch up on those episodes, I strongly encourage you go back and listen, because we're going to continue our business system conversation today. 

Courtney Elmer

And in order for what I'm going to share with you today to be effective for you and meaningful for you, you've got to make sure that you've got the knowledge and the know how from those episodes under your belt first, because today we're talking about the biggest mistake at all that contributes to you being overlooked in the online space. And that is not having a visibility business system in place within your business. 

Courtney Elmer

A visibility business system is something every visionary leader has, they might not call it that. But they have one think of any influencer that you look up to? Do they show up consistently online? Are they in your inbox? Are they in your Instagram feed? Are you seeing their ads in your Facebook newsfeed? Have you heard them on podcast interviews? Or maybe you listen to them on their own podcast week after week or sometimes multiple times every week? Have you read articles or content that they've written? Do you watch them on YouTube? Would you say that they show up authentically? 

Courtney Elmer

What I mean by that is, do you feel like you know them, even though you really don't. But what they share feels personal like they're talking to you. They're relatable. They're very real. Alright, so imagine someone in your mind right now that you admire and that you look up to. Now imagine if you went a month or more without seeing them in your feet. All of a sudden they stopped emailing you. They start putting out podcast episodes. You hadn't heard from them on any channel.

Courtney Elmer 4:45  

And you just start to wonder what's going on? Where have they been? Are they still in business? Why haven't they sent you anything? Do they have an accident happened? Something medical going on? Are they sick? Why haven't you seen much of them? There's very pop other podcasts out there by James Wedmore. Maybe you know him, maybe you listen to his show. And this summer, he stopped producing episodes. 

Courtney Elmer

And I remember in an online thread that we have with several coaches in the online space, someone brought up that question. They're like, Hey, by the way, for those of you that listen to James's podcast, y'all know what's going on. I haven't seen him release a new episode a couple of weeks, and I'm kind of starting to worry, like, did he quit? Is he not podcasting anymore, I love his show what's going on. And then few weeks went by, and now he's back. And sure, everyone is entitled to take a break. But it left his audience wondering. And your audience does the same. 

Courtney Elmer

When they don't see you, consistently. Every visionary leader needs a platform where they can publish content on a regular basis. regular basis doesn't have to mean daily. But it has to be a platform where they are continually connecting with their community. And if you want more sales and clients, you got to be more visible, chances are you've heard that before. But let's unpack that What does visible even mean? more visible than what more visible compared to whom? We know logically, of course, we need to be visible in our business to be seen as a trusted authority or a leader. 

Courtney Elmer

But knowing it isn't enough. If it was, everyone would be seen as a trusted authority, because everyone would be showing up easily and consistently. And then ironically, no one would stand out. That's a whole other issue. But because not everyone is seen as a trusted authority or leader, then the question becomes, well, how can you then become one of the few who is seen as the go to expert in your space? And the simplest answer that I can give you here is that you must, you must have a plan, a business system in place, for staying consistently visible to your ideal audience, because this is the number one thing that most people aren't doing. But what I'm going to say next might surprise you. 

Courtney Elmer

So listen closely to my voice right now. Because being visible in your business does not mean being everywhere at once. Nor does it have to mean creating content every day. What it does mean is showing up intentionally and consistently, in support of your greater vision in a way that deepens the relationship you're creating with your ideal client and customer. If you're someone who's married, look at your spouse, you don't spend every waking hour together. But you do intentional things consistently, to nurture and deepen your relationship. 

Courtney Elmer

This is why my husband and I know each other so much better 12 years later, than we ever knew each other before. Even we were dating, even when we were in that stage of exploring and learning about the other person. But the relationship has deepened because of the intentional, consistent nurturing that we've done over time to deepen. So in order to show up consistently, you first have to define what that means to you. What does it mean to show up consistently, and show up? How. So often people don't define this for themselves. They look at someone else's definition of what it means to show up consistently, and they see other influencers who post 1234 times a day. 

Courtney Elmer

And they're posting to stories, and they're posting to the feed, and they're posting to Facebook, and they're running ads, and they're on Twitter, and they're on multiple platforms. But that's not everybody's definition of consistent. So you got to define what that means for you. And here are some questions for you to consider to help you do that. First, you have to ask yourself, how often is it daily? Is it weekly? 

Courtney Elmer

The next question is, on what platform? Is it a platform owned by someone else? Meta? Or is it a platform that you own, like an email list or even a podcast? The next question to consider is what kind of content Am I showing up with? Is it short form content, like on social media, or longer form, like an email or a podcast? And most importantly, the most important question you can ask yourself is, why are you showing up?

Courtney Elmer 9:44  

This is the biggie because this is going to be the thing you go back to on the days that you just don't want to. I was just having a conversation with someone and sharing with them. Why I started this podcast the one that you are listening to right now. And it was because I wanted a deeper connection with you. I wanted a deeper connection with my community, and with the people in my community and with what you're struggling with, and with your goals and your dreams and your desires, I wanted to develop and deepen that relationship with you. 

Courtney Elmer

And it was something that I felt like I just couldn't do on social media, not to the degree or the extent that I wanted to. And there have been many times in the production of this podcast where it would have been easy to hit the pause button, it would have been easy to say, All right, we're in a really busy season right now let's pause on production on the podcast. And we can focus on some other stuff. And I'll come back to it in a couple months time. But at the time of this recording, this podcast has been in existence for almost three years. And we have never missed a weekly episode. Because I know why I'm showing up. I'm showing up here for you.

Courtney Elmer

Because I value our relationship. And that's the thing that keeps me going. So you've got to figure out what that is for you. Now, if you've taken some time to consider those questions, maybe some answers popped into your mind right away as I was sharing those, maybe you need to pause this and sit down with it and really examine and explore each of those things. I want you to evaluate your answers. Now, if you answered similarly to how I did, when I asked myself this, in a perfect world, I said I would show up weekly, with no makeup, it wouldn't be live, I could be in my pajamas. If I wanted to.

Courtney Elmer

I wanted to show up with long form content, because I didn't have a huge amount of time. So I needed a content strategy with a long lifespan content that I could create once and that people could benefit from for years to come. Obviously, I wanted it to be on a platform that I owned, because again, I was short on time and long on to dues and I did not want to waste my time growing a huge following only to have Facebook, or Instagram disappeared tomorrow, or for my account to get hacked or for something to get shut down. And to not have access to that following that I had spent so much time building. And my why was what I just shared with you that I wanted a deeper connection with you and 500 word captions on Instagram, just weren't cutting it.

Courtney Elmer

And that was back then now we're looking at a line or two of text and 15 second videos. So maybe you answered similarly to me, maybe you didn't. But before we can continue, you have to answer those questions because a good visibility business system is not cookie cutter. It's not me telling you, okay, do this. And this. And this. 

Courtney Elmer

When we work with clients in our business system program, they know we are custom fitting these business systems, to their business, and to their specific and unique goals. This is totally opposite of what most people out there doing when they teach about a business system. And I'm putting that in air quotes. Because what a lot of people are teaching when they teach about a business system is they are teaching project management software. They are teaching how to organize the backend of your business. And they are teaching a one size fits all approach to a business system.

Courtney Elmer

But I see business systems differently. Business Systems are not one size fit all they are not cookie cutter. A business system should be tailored to you. Because this Business system is only going to be able to work as optimally as it can work if it's designed to work for you, and the way that you uniquely work. So if you're with me on that, let's continue and talk about a visibility business system. 

Courtney Elmer

What is a visibility business system and why do you need one of this visibility business system is an outward facing mechanism. Meaning it's the part of your business that people will encounter it is outward facing, it's not something that happens in a vacuum on the back end of your business. It is a living breathing thing that people encounter when they encounter your brand.

Courtney Elmer 14:34  

A business system that is an outward facing mechanism to establish your brand presence and your thought leadership. And when you do it right. It increases sales and clients because it increases know like and trust in you and it drives desire and demand for what you offer. But it doesn't look the same for everyone. And this is so important and it should be freeing and liberating. And to know that you don't have to fit yourself into a box and be like the other influencers, to get the results that you want. Social media in and of itself is not a visibility business system. A podcast on its own is not a visibility business system. An email list on its own is not a visibility business system, PR Media YouTube channel on its own is not a business system, on and on. 

Courtney Elmer

All of these are pieces of a greater whole, they are all parts of a greater business system, which has one sole purpose, helping you expand your brand presence, drive the right kind of leads and traffic to your business consistently and on autopilot, meaning without much of your daily effort and set you apart in the online space as a respected expert in your niche. These are the boxes that a well oiled visibility business system must check. Because your customers buy things to solve problems. Why did I hire a personal trainer? Because I wasn't getting the results I wanted in the gym, and I didn't feel comfortable in my body. And that was painful to me.

Courtney Elmer

Looking back a few years why did I invest $20,000 Learning how to set up an evergreen funnel in my business. Because I hated the stress and the migraines that were concurrent, in my mind with live launching. Why did I pay the extra money when I bought my car in order to have the little light on my side mirror light up when there's a car in my blind spot. Because I just had a baby. And I wanted every safety feature in the book. People buy things to solve problems, period.

Courtney Elmer

But sometimes your people are not even aware that they have a problem. And it's up to you to help them become aware of it. And the tools that I gave you in the previous two episodes about teaching what and why content. And pointing out the real causes of the problems your ideal client is experiencing back in episode 143 and 144 are designed to help you do that. 

Courtney Elmer

The other thing you need to remember is that based on recent data, a person has to spend seven hours or more with you before they make a buying decision. So these are the two criteria. First, in order for someone to make a purchase, they have to know they have a problem. And they have to want to get that problem solved. And they have to be convinced that you are the person to help them solve that problem. And I don't know about you, but if you ask me seven hours as a whole lot of Instagram rails or tick tock videos, but it's one book. It's just a few podcast episodes. 

Courtney Elmer

You're listening to me right now, how many episodes of this show Have you listened to and gotten value from? Or any podcasts that you've listened to any host that you love? Considering you've listened to? Oh, I don't know, say five episodes or more? If those episodes average about 45 minutes each? Would you buy from them? So the question you need to be asking isn't what's the best organic marketing strategy for my business? That's not the question. 

Courtney Elmer

The question is, what's the marketing strategy that's going to involve the least amount of my upfront time, deepen the relationship with my audience in the shortest amount of time, and have the highest payoff for me over time, in terms of the leads and sales I can generate from one piece of content? And looking at it through that lens, it should become pretty easy to answer the questions that I'm asking you here today. What's really the better use of your time trying to force social media to work for you. Or looking at other more leveraged ways to achieve the results you really want. Consistent lead flow.

Courtney Elmer 19:13  

People tend to think that social media is essential to business because that's what the marketers sell you on. Of course, they're marketers, they want you to buy their stuff, and you're buying it. Or at least you have been until today, hopefully, because thinking you'll be successful by posting a gazillion times per day on Instagram. It's kinda like thinking you'll find true love if you just show up at the same bar every day, 10 times a day. It's just not an effective strategy. Okay, so now that your wheels are probably spinning, chances are you're thinking something like, okay, Courtney Elmer, I'm with you. 

Courtney Elmer

But how can I show up consistently, use my time in the most leveraged way, and get an immediate and long term return on my investment of that time and keep my name in front of people without having to be physically present online every single day. My short answer, you ready for this? A podcast. Now podcast is just a piece of our visibility business system. But it is the number one business system piece that I recommend you install first, if you want to grow your business and be seen as a recognized thought leader in your niche, the reason is because it checks all the boxes. It is easily batched. 

Courtney Elmer

It takes me just a couple of days a month to create content and I am done. Anything else I do beyond that is up to me. And the content that I do create can be repurposed in a multitude of ways and distributed to my community. A single podcast episode becomes our weekly email for the week, three to five posts on Instagram, my behind the scenes content for Instagram stories. My pitching strategy to get me on other people's shows the inspiration for any media articles that I write, and so much more. It's also a very low upfront investment of my time, I spend about an hour creating an episode. And that episode is evergreen, it pays off for years. 

Courtney Elmer

How many times have you listened to a podcast and you've gone back to Episode One? It also checks the box of compounding returns, meaning that one episode might generate leads for me every time someone new listens to it. Now multiply that times 100 episodes, times 200 episodes times 500 episodes. And I own the content on the platform. The content is mine. It is distributed online via podcast host but they don't own it. I do. And it is a great and very leveraged way to build our email list, which I own as well. 

Courtney Elmer

So if you recall in the last business system episode, we talked about the long term lead generation strategies, specifically an email list and a podcast. These are the two biggest assets you could have within your visibility business system. And what if you could use one to grow the other? Call it double dipping, call it a smart investment of your time, call it whatever you want. But I am all for leveraged ways to generate leads in my business, particularly when relying on organic marketing, which takes longer in general to grow than paid marketing. Take a look at any thought leader you admire. 

Courtney Elmer

A few of my favorites include Adam Grant, Alex Hormoz, Z. Nedra, twap, and so many more. Why are they so successful? The answer is not because they post more than you are short more consistently than you. And it's not because what they have to say is more valuable than what you have to say. It's simply that they've made the choice to use their voice to grow their business. Think about it. What do most of today's recognized thought leaders people like Amy Porterfield, Jenna Kutcher, Russell Brunson, Tim Ferriss, what do they all have in common? 

Courtney Elmer

They all teach different things. They all have different backgrounds, different areas of expertise, but what is the one thing they have in common? A business system and a podcast. But do you know why? The reason is, is because today's online leaders know that being the host of a top ranked podcast is one of the fastest, most impactful ways to use your time if you want to increase sales to your products or your programs, and be seen as an expert within your niche.

Courtney Elmer 24:03  

Now, prior to 2020, pre pandemic, podcasting was one of the most underrated marketing strategies out there. But that is changing and it's changing quickly. Here are a few quick stats about the trends that we're seeing in the industry right now. There are only about 850,000 active podcasts today, compared to 1 billion accounts on social media. You want to talk about competition. The simple answer is quit fishing in the same hole as everyone else. Go where there's just a crack in the ice and make yourself a big friggin hole. 

Courtney Elmer

There are over 160 million listeners in the US alone, actively looking for podcast to listen to. I just saw a stat this week. That said that more People listen to spoken audio now than ever before to learn and gain knowledge and insight. That is up 212% Compared to 21%, just a few years ago. There are even more Americans now who listen to podcasts than who watch Netflix. And the podcasting industry is projected to grow by 27 and a half percent over the next few years. Which means that the window of opportunity with podcasting is closing very fast. 

Courtney Elmer

And if you want to succeed in the podcasting space, you need two things. You need the right positioning and a business system for generating leads long term from your show. And you need to be on the front end of this growth curve. A properly positioned podcast can be the cornerstone of your visibility business system, it can funnel people to your business and drive more sales to your business for years to come years. And unlike what many people might tell you, there is very little competition right now in the podcasting space. Very little comparatively speaking. But that is changing.

Courtney Elmer 26:23  

So this episode is not about how to start a podcast, but I will say this, you've heard that old Chinese proverb right. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the next best time is today. Same thing, the best time to start a podcast is right now. So if you are interested in learning how you can install this powerful organic marketing tool within your business system, and lay a strong foundation for a vibrant, thriving visibility business system, then d me the word workshop on Instagram right now you can find me there @theCourtneyElmer.

Courtney Elmer

I can show you how to get insider access to the business system training that I am teaching Live This Week, where I'm revealing the three ingredients you need to launch and leverage a profitable podcast. So you can go from being an overlooked entrepreneur to a recognized thought leader in your niche. If you're listening to this episode in real time, we kicked the training off yesterday. And there are no replays being offered. But because your listener here on the podcast, you have a special place in my heart. So I am going to show you how you can get access. When you DM me the word workshop on my Instagram right now. Make sure to join me back here next week. Because coming up next week on the show, we have one of the most popular and most prolific podcasters of all time joining us Jordan Harbinger .

Courtney Elmer

And Jordan is joining us next week to unpack the surprising myths about success. And the simple step that you can take right now and every day to guarantee your success whether it be in podcasting, in business systems or in life. I cannot wait to bring this episode to you. And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for joining me for this special episode series. I'm very active in my DMs on Insta. 

Courtney Elmer

You can follow me @theCourtneyElmer and send me a quick message to let me know what your biggest takeaway from this business system series was because that will help inform my content that I create for you here on the show in the future. Alright, that's all the business systems info for today. Join me back here next week. And until then, go in your EffortLESS Life®.