February 24, 2025 • 40 mins
Content Is Connection. And Connection is Currency.
In this episode of Powerful Women Rising, I'm joined for the second time by my friend Emily Aborn. She's a fantasic copywriter, funny meme enthusiast and the the voice you hear at the beginning of every episode of this podcast!
We discuss ways to make content creation simple AND fun. Even if you think you hate content creation or that you suck at it, Emily has practical tips you can start using today to create more authentic, engaging content that resonates with your audience and gets results.
What We’ll Cover:
- How creating content in four specific categories makes the process easier and more streamlined.
- The secret to understanding your audience and using specificity to stand out.
- How to stay consistent with content creation without burning yourself out.
- The art of repurposing content to maximize your reach.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed, stuck or unsure what to say when creating content, this episode will help you simplify the process and create content that truly connects and converts!
Links & References:
- Join us at our next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event!
- For even deeper connections, check out the Powerful Women Rising Community!
- Connect with Emily on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyaborn
- Listen to the Content with Character podcast!
- Check out Emily's first interview on PWR episode #30 - Increase Visibility and Sales Using Curiosity Marketing
Loved the episode? Here are four ways you can show your support:
1. Buy me a coffee to show your appreciation!
2. Leave a five-star review
3. DM me on Instagram and let me know
4. Share it with a friend!
Connect with Your Host!
Melissa Snow is a Business Relationship Strategist dedicated to empowering women in entrepreneurship. She founded the Powerful Women Rising Community, which provides female business owners with essential support and resources for business growth.
Melissa's other mission is to revolutionize networking, promoting authenticity and genuine connections over sleazy sales tactics. She runs an incredible monthly Virtual Speed Networking Event which you can attend once at no cost using the code FIRSTTIME
She lives in Colorado Springs with two girl dogs, two boy cats and any number of foster kittens. She loves iced coffee, Taylor Swift, and Threads.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melissa Snow (00:02):
Hello Emily, Welcome back to the podcast.
Emily Aborn (00:05):
Melissa, thanks for having me.
Melissa Snow (00:08):
Yeah, part two.
I think you're only the secondperson who has come back for
part two.
Emily Aborn (00:13):
This truly feels like an honor.
I will be writing this in mydiary tonight.
Dear diary.
.
.
Melissa Snow (00:18):
I bet you will.
So if people didn't listen toyour first episode episode, or
maybe somehow they forgot whoyou are, I don't know how they
could possibly do that.
But tell everybody a little bitabout you and what you do
before we jump into today'stopic.
Emily Aborn (00:35):
Okay, a little bit about me and what I do.
So, like you, I have aproclivity for animals and I
have a dog, clyde.
I live in New Hampshire, wherewe probably get a similar amount
of snow to you, but it justgoes on for longer.
And I'm a copywriter by day, soI write.
I always have to explain what acopywriter is, just in case
(00:59):
people do not understand what itmeans.
So it's basically the wordsthat are on websites and also in
blogs, and typically with thepurpose of telling customers and
clients who you are and whatyou do and what makes you so
fantastic.
So I get to have that job forother people.
Melissa Snow (01:16):
Love it and thank you for explaining what a
copywriter does, because, realtalk, when I became an
entrepreneur, we get in thesespaces when you start networking
and stuff that everyone justassumes like everyone knows all
the things.
It was like two years into myentrepreneurial journey when
someone said something to meabout business insurance and I
was like you, do you who what,do what?
And I legit thought acopywriter like helped people
(01:39):
copyright their, their materials.
Emily Aborn (01:41):
Like get the little C yeah.
Melissa Snow (01:45):
So good to know, okay, so today we're talking
there's a lot to talk about whenit comes to writing, copy and
creating content, so we're justgoing to touch on a little bit
of it today.
But I really want to focus oncontent creation for people who
don't love content creation, orcontent creation for people who
(02:07):
think that they're not good atcontent creation.
I was actually just having thisconversation in a mastermind
this morning and I was tellingthe women there I'm like, first
of all, stop saying you're notgood at stuff.
Like no one is just likenaturally good at these things,
right, even if you're a reallygood writer.
Content creation is a verydifferent thing and so much of
this is figuring out, like, whatis the way that works for you
(02:30):
and what is going to be best foryou and your strengths and what
you like and what you want todo.
So before we jump into thatpart, let's be specific about
when we're talking about contentcreation.
Is that the same thing ascopywriting?
Is that something different?
What is content creation?
Emily Aborn (02:48):
That is such a great question and it's a yes
and it's a yes and no.
So sometimes the copy on ourwebsites will be more of that
kind of like informationalnurturing, just kind of like
broad, helpful, helpful contentfor people.
So it might answer somebody'sproblem with a blog or something
(03:10):
like that.
So they are one and the same,but I always think of content
more like less of a salesapproach.
You're doing less to convert aperson or guide them to take a
next step, and it's just alittle bit more of a building
block, I guess, for yourbusiness.
So yes, and they are kind ofone in the same, but typically
(03:33):
copywriting focuses more on thesales piece, so it does tend to
be a little bit more promotional.
And consider some of thosepsychological elements where
you're trying to get somebody todo something for you.
Does that make sense?
Melissa Snow (03:46):
It does.
So.
Content creation, would you say.
Is that a little bit more about, like, showing people who you
are as a person?
It's more about sharing stories, nurturing your audience,
connecting with them, thingslike that.
Emily Aborn (04:01):
Connection, I think , is the key, and I sort of put
it into like four buckets.
So you will still pull in thatsales piece, right, you're still
going to have promotionalcontent.
But I think of it as kind oflike educational or helpful,
personal and also like thebehind the scenes of your
business, or sorry, not thebehind the scenes, but like the
(04:22):
foundational stuff of yourbusiness.
So that would be where yourclient stories come in, where
you're like who, what, where,when, why, like that kind of
just basic information, like atthe at the top of this episode
when we defined what acopywriter is.
That's just like the foundationof my business.
So foundational, personal,helpful and then promotional are
kind of how I categorize them.
Melissa Snow (04:47):
Okay, I really love this topic too, and I think
we talked about this the lasttime you were on the podcast,
because a lot of times when Italk about networking, people
think I'm talking about likegoing to networking events or
being part of a networking group, and that is part of it.
But I also always say thatnetworking can be done anywhere
that you are creating aconnection with another human
right.
So even if you are writing ablog post or you're posting
something on LinkedIn orsomething like that, content
(05:10):
creation has a lot to do withconnecting to other humans,
right?
Definitely.
Emily Aborn (05:15):
I think that's exact and that's a piece I think
a lot of people miss.
So I always like to think, Ialways say, like know thyself
and know your business and knowthe person on the other side
that you are looking to talk to.
Like content to me is veryconversational, it's very like
engaging and it truly is that.
It's creating a bridge betweenyou and the person on the other
(05:37):
side.
So you do have to know yourself, you have to know your business
and you have to know who thatperson is on the other side.
Or else you're just kind ofspeaking to quote, unquote
everyone Right, or I work withanyone who, like that doesn't
actually work.
Melissa Snow (05:53):
Yeah, I agree, and it's interesting how often I
ask people when I do thesevirtual speed networking events
in the con, in the contact sheetthat they fill out with the
information of how people canget in touch with them and stuff
, one of the things that I askis, like who's your ideal power
partner or referral partner?
Who do you want to connect withindustry wise?
(06:14):
And it's so interesting howpeople don't know how to answer
that question.
Or when you ask them likewhat's your ideal client?
They're like anybody, everybody, anybody who wants to buy or
sell a house, like some I've had.
I've heard people say anyone whohas skin, because you sell
skincare products, right andlike it's clever and that part
makes me laugh.
But it's really important to behoned in on specific people
(06:40):
that you're talking to, notnecessarily like Jane down the
street, but like the problemsthat that person has, but like
the problems that that personhas, the stage of business that
that person is in, or theirrelationship or whatever it is
when you're creating content.
So can you talk a little bitabout the importance of knowing
who your audience is when you'recreating content?
Emily Aborn (06:58):
Yeah, and I would venture to say you can talk to
Jane down the street, becausethe more specific you can be,
the more actually universal itends up being.
So let me I'll give you alittle example of what I mean by
that.
That's not a phrase by me,that's like a famous writer that
said that and I can't rememberwho said it.
But like, if you imagine anapple, okay, I'm like Melissa,
(07:19):
imagine an apple, I don't knowwhat just popped into your head.
It could have been a Cortland,a Granny Smith, like a Yellow
Delicious, who knows.
But if I tell you to close youreyes and imagine a slightly too
tart Granny Smith apple, theinside of your cheeks start to
pucker up, because most of uslistening are familiar with a
Granny Smith apple and it's sospecific that it creates that
(07:42):
feeling.
So I think that when we do getspecific, it's okay because it
actually helps it to be a moreuniversal experience.
And I can't even tell you howmany times I've been thinking of
a person like I'll sit down,write my email.
I'm like this is for Christy,right, and I'm sitting down and
writing this email to Christy.
Somebody else responds.
Well, christy responds and sayslike oh, my God, that was me.
(08:04):
Somebody else responds and says, like, are you in my head right
now?
So the the point is a lot ofthe, a lot of the specific
things that we all encounter ona day to day, the specific pains
and challenges, those areactually universal experiences.
We may not want to think thatthey are, we may like to think
we're special, but but we tendto have more in common than we
(08:24):
do different.
So I actually really like beingspecific with people and I will
think of If it's hard for you.
Defining your ideal client canbe challenging and especially
for business owners that haven'thad their businesses for a long
time.
They're like well, I reallywant to start working with an
elevated level of client or I'mnot attracting the kind of
(08:45):
clients that I want to beworking with.
So put yourself in the shoes ofthat next level person right,
and go through their day.
How are they waking up?
What are they putting in theircoffee?
If they have to leave theirhouse, what time are they
leaving?
Are they going to meet a clientor a friend?
What kind of coffee shop arethey going to when they meet
that person?
So going through their actuallife and seeing it through their
(09:08):
eyes can be a helpful and alsofun experiment.
If you get stuck, your friendchat GPT or these other AI tools
are actually really good atcreating a scenario of an ideal
client's day.
Before Melissa and I startedthis conversation, we had chat
GPT describe what my life lookslike and it just went through
(09:30):
like a very specific day in mylife, basically, and it was very
accurate.
So you can also use some ofthese AI tools, I think, to get
a good picture.
But don't just stop with likewhat did they like to wear and
where did they like to go forcoffee.
Think about what is reallybothering them when it comes to
what you offer and how that'sholding them back from where
(09:53):
they want to be.
And I am pretty cognizant ofpain points.
We see them all over theinternet.
They drive me bananas.
Honestly, I'm like we all knowwhat pain we're in, okay.
So I like to put it like takewhatever pain point you think
your client has and turn itright around and create a
(10:14):
benefit out of it.
So like, take a pain point andI'm just going to say, nope,
here's the benefit that you'regoing to get.
So if somebody is like, let'ssay, you have stomach aches
every single day of your life.
That's like one of your painget.
So if somebody is like, let'ssay, you have stomach aches
every single day of your life,that's like one of your pain
points.
So how can I make that abenefit?
My product will make sure thatyou go through your day with
(10:34):
ease and a calm tummy.
I'm like, oh great.
So that's kind of I don't knowif I actually answered your
question.
Melissa Snow (10:44):
No, you totally did, cause I was asking you
about the importance of knowingwho your audience is and knowing
who you're talking about, andthat totally makes sense and I
think it helps to.
Sometimes I'll ask myself thisis my old coaching days coming
in, when you ask the client,like they answer a question, and
then you're like but why, butwhy, but why.
Right After the third why, it'slike okay, now we've gotten to
(11:05):
the real issue.
And sometimes I think that'shelpful in creating content too,
because you look at, like whatare they struggling with?
What is their challenge?
Whatever, and it's usuallysomething very generic, right,
like they're lonely, they wantto lose weight, they need to
make more money in theirbusiness, but why, you know.
And then you get to those veryspecifics of like they've been
(11:27):
at this for X number of years ormonths and their husband is
asking them every day what'shappening, what's going on.
Their kid wants to do thisafterschool activity, but
they're not sure that they canafford it.
Like those really specificthings, I think that's what
really speaks to somebody, asopposed to just like are you a
business owner that wants tomake more money?
(11:48):
It's like I mean, that's all ofus.
Emily Aborn (11:51):
Yeah, oh, you said that really really well and I I
totally agree.
Like keep asking the but why,or but why, yeah.
Melissa Snow (12:00):
And I think sometimes people are reluctant
to get that specific becausethey feel like they're leaving
other people out and like if I'monly talking about this one
specific thing, then people aregoing to like it's going to
exclude a lot of people.
So I liked what you said aboutbeing more specific.
Actually makes it more likeuniversally recognizable.
Emily Aborn (12:21):
And to that point, another way to kind of like
quell that fear.
You can't speak to everybody inone post all the time, like if
you even think about just tryingto make everybody in your life
happy all the time, good luck,but you can't speak to everybody
in one post all at a time andyou have a lot of time.
Content creation is a long-termgame Business ownership
(12:44):
long-term game.
You can talk to that persontomorrow in a post or in an
email.
So use that specificity to youradvantage, rather than being
like but I'm leaving this personoff the table.
Be specific with them tomorrowand then they'll feel seen,
heard and understood.
Or save that for an email.
The other factor is not allforms of content are where your
(13:08):
ideal client is showing up.
So some of your clients mightbe reading your emails, some
might be listening to yourpodcast, some might be looking
at your social posts, some mightbe doing none of that and might
just read your website once andthen decide to hire you.
So, thinking about where yourclient actually is and where
they might be in different kindof stages of the decision-making
(13:28):
process, that can also help youto speak a little bit more
specifically on those variousplatforms.
Melissa Snow (13:34):
Yeah, that's such a good point.
I want to go back to what yousaid about how you can speak to
different people different times.
So if you're not talking tothem today, talk to them
tomorrow.
And I think one of the things,especially for our friends here
who don't love creating contentor who think that they're not
good at it, one of the things Ithink that keeps them stuck is
they think they're putting toomuch out there.
(13:55):
They think they're creating too.
They're afraid of creating toomuch content, of being like
salesy or annoying, or peopleare going to see like, oh, she
posts every day.
It's so annoying.
And so I think that's whysometimes we try to fit
everything into one piece ofcontent, because then we can
just post our one piece ofcontent, we don't have to bother
people for the rest of the weekand we're good.
(14:16):
So can you talk a little bitabout like, how often should we
be creating content?
How often should we be puttingcontent out into the world?
Emily Aborn (14:27):
Okay, so there's no easy answer for that,
unfortunately, but I do want tosay that in today's day, let's
just use social media content asan example.
Most people are not seeing yourposts the first time, and so I
always encourage people.
It's not repeating yourself,it's consistency, and it's also
(14:50):
repurposing things in differentways.
You could post every, you couldpost three times a day.
I still don't think you'd bebothering people, because 30% of
the people wouldn't even see it, and surely they wouldn't see
it that first time, so Iwouldn't too much worry about
creating too much content.
(15:10):
I am a very loquacious person.
I produce a lot of content andI just had a moment, actually at
the beginning of this week.
I'm like I'm a lot, like I am alot, and you know what, if
somebody doesn't want to listento every single episode that I
create or read every singlething that I put out, they don't
have to, and I actually that'ssomething I have to do because
(15:33):
it's inside me and like I don'treally have, like I don't have a
choice.
I have to do because it'sinside me and like I don't
really have, like I don't have achoice.
I have to generate things whenI get ideas, and so I don't.
I have to stop worrying aboutwhat the experience is on the
other side.
But basically, I really don'tthink if somebody is annoyed
they can unsubscribe or unfollowyou.
You know what I mean.
But I don't think that thelikelihood of that is high, just
(15:53):
simply because I don't think alot of people are looking at
every single piece of contentthat you create.
You know which?
I wish they were.
Melissa Snow (16:03):
And if they are, it's probably because they want
to see it.
They're never going to be.
Emily Aborn (16:07):
Exactly.
I got to tell you.
I had a recent experience whereI was trying to make a decision
and one of the people I waslooking at to make my decision I
was getting a tattoo and Iwould hang on every word.
I'm like this chick needs toproduce more stuff so I can read
more about her and see morepictures.
I wanted her to keep oncreating things and, yes, that's
(16:30):
a visual example, but still Iwanted to know as much about her
as I possibly could.
She could not post often enough.
She could post a picture ofherself and tell about herself
every single day and I'd beeating it up.
So think about that tooSomebody out there is trying to
make a decision on you and youdon't know if that's not their
experience on the other side.
Melissa Snow (16:51):
Yeah, absolutely, and I love what you said about
letting people be responsiblefor their own Like.
I'm just putting the stuff outthere.
You don't have to listen to it,you don't have to read it, you
don't have to like it even.
But yeah, that's on you.
I'm just putting it out therein case you're interested.
Emily Aborn (17:08):
So let's go back to the frequency piece for your
own self, okay.
So like we put everybody elseaside, like I don't care what
they want me to do, forfrequency, I think the most
important thing is to beconsistent, and that's for two
reasons that is for the personon the other side, and it's also
for yourself.
I think that consistency provesto yourself, first and foremost
(17:28):
, that you are, you know, aperson who follows through on
what you say for yourself, and Ithink that's huge.
Upholding a promise to yourselfis one of the biggest acts of
self-care or self-love.
It's like I got my own back, soI would choose how frequent you
want to produce things inknowing how consistent you can
(17:52):
be.
Your life is happening allaround you.
You're not just sitting there.
You're probably working withclients, I hope, and you're not
just sitting there creatingcontent all day long.
So how much do you actuallyhave the capacity to keep up
with on a regular basis?
That's first and foremost whereI think it needs to start, and
then that can kind of determineyour cadence from there.
(18:14):
And there's also a lot showingthat on Facebook, for example.
When I post less, for somereason, my engagement with it
goes way up.
If I'm posting more, it goesdown.
Instagram it's like hit or miss.
So you have to Again thefrequency.
Don't let something outside ofthat define what that is for you
(18:37):
.
Let it come from inside, basedon what you actually have
capacity for, and then can stickwith time and time and time
again, even when life throws youcurveballs, because it's going
to.
Melissa Snow (18:49):
Yeah, and consistency is not the same
thing as constancy.
Emily Aborn (18:53):
Correct.
Melissa Snow (18:54):
Yeah, it does not mean we have to be posting all
the time Right, it does not meanwe have to put out a podcast
episode every single day.
Emily Aborn (19:02):
It just means Not even every week.
If that's not the right one foryou, it could be every month.
You know you have you get todefine that, I think, for
yourself.
Melissa Snow (19:11):
Yeah, I dragged my feet for so long on starting a
podcast, my first podcast, likeyears and years ago, because I
was like I don't, I can't comeup with stuff to say.
I remember I can't remember whoI had this conversation with,
but I was like I can't come upwith like 25 to 30 minutes worth
of stuff to say every singleweek and they were like who
wants to listen to 25 to 30minutes?
Emily Aborn (19:36):
And I was like I know, I'm sorry I broke your
little heart, but yours aregreat, cause you talk real fast
and you get it all in there.
I do.
Melissa Snow (19:40):
You've got like a 50 minute podcast in 20 minutes
but this is actually.
Emily Aborn (19:44):
That's another great point.
I had someone recently she sheheard I did a solo show and she
was like, oh, it must be soshort, then Right, like five, 10
minutes.
I'm like, no, it's not, it'sshort ish.
But it's like again, I don't.
I will listen to a three hourpodcast episode if the content
is good, and I think that's alsoimportant to remember is like
(20:09):
if what you're generating isgood and it's helpful and it's
coming from the right place,then people will will consume it
from start to finish, whetherit's 10 minutes or 40 minutes.
Melissa Snow (20:18):
Yes, absolutely, and I just remember that being
like oh well, it's up to me, Ican create a podcast where every
episode is seven minutes long,if I want to.
It's just the consistency,right?
I don't want to put out apodcast where the first 30
episodes are seven minutes longand now all of a sudden, here's
one that's 45 minutes long.
People are like wait, what justhappened?
So I mean, making that changewould be different, but just
(20:42):
like the randomness would be notas consistent.
So, okay, so we, I'm gonna.
I'm going backwards here alittle bit, but I think this is
an important question, becausesometimes I talk to people who
are in specific industries, likeI think there is a lot of
(21:02):
confusion among content creation, where it's like I'm creating
content because I want to be aninfluencer.
I'm creating content because Iwant 15,000 followers on
Instagram, because somewhere inmy mind I think that means I'm
going to like also have thatmany clients.
And I think sometimes there arecertain industries where they
(21:25):
think, yeah, I got to createcontent.
Right, you see coaches creatingcontent all the time life
coaches, business coaches,health coaches all the coaches
Like they're one of the onesthat you see creating a lot of
content.
Then there's others likebookkeepers, or I have a client
in the Powerful Women Risingcommunity who is like a
financial strategist and she'slike yeah, my people don't, I
(21:48):
don't, I don't get clients fromcreating content.
Like that's not, we don't dothat, or like construction
companies, so should, not,should.
But do you recommend people inevery industry create content?
Or are there some people whoit's like yeah, you can be a
business owner and also notcreate content?
Emily Aborn (22:09):
I think that we should define content.
So content could be anything.
Honestly, it could be as simpleas a wrap on your truck, like
on your vehicle.
So I think that's an importantdistinction.
It does not need to be a blog,it doesn't need to be a podcast,
it doesn't need to be socialmedia.
And I do think that there is anelement where it's like find
(22:29):
where your people are actuallyspending their time and make
sure you've covered all yourbases on that.
So, for example, my husband is apainter and he doesn't need a
ton of work.
He doesn't need a ton of work,but every time he makes a
Facebook post, he gets a client.
(22:53):
So we've now realized this andhe's like oh, I actually do need
to have a little bit of there,there, some presence there,
because I don't want to just beshowing up randomly and making a
post every 6 months or whatever.
And I think the same and alsothinking about like well, are my
customers using any of thoseplatforms or tools to like vet
me or to check me out?
And then just considering whatthat experience is like I'm not
(23:14):
even saying, get that, you haveto create anything, but just
like knowing, are they usingthese tools to find me?
Or, conversely, are people whorefer you often using these
tools and, if not, where arethey spending their time?
So I think that's a good placeto start and then thinking of
like well, if my clients are noton social media, for example,
(23:36):
and they're not listening topodcasts, and content doesn't
help me are they reading blogson my website?
And I think that there isprobably some element of content
that every single businessowners clients are consuming and
it's up to us to figure outwhat that is.
Melissa Snow (23:51):
Yeah, I love the idea that content is so many
different things.
It's like networking, right somany different ways to do it,
and so find not only what youlike.
Like I was just having thisconversation with somebody that
was like I have this Facebookgroup and I've had it for years
and I've gotten one client fromthe Facebook group and blah,
blah, blah, blah.
And finally I was like why doyou still have this Facebook
group?
(24:12):
What are we doing here, and sobeing really clear on like, what
is it that you like to do andwant to do, but then also, where
are your ideal clientsconsuming that content?
I think is really important.
So that kind of segues into thenext question I was going to
ask you, which is about how tosimplify or avoid
overcomplicating things when wedo content creation, because we
(24:34):
talked a little bit about likebefore we started recording the
shiny object syndrome wherewe're like we need to create
content on all the things.
Right, I'm going to write abook and have a podcast and I'm
going to post on all the socialmedia things and we get really
excited, especially people likeyou and I.
We want to do all the thingsall the time.
So what suggestions do you havefor people who want to keep it
(24:56):
simple or avoid overcomplicatingtheir content creation?
Emily Aborn (25:00):
Awesome.
So one you just kind ofanswered.
You said, like choose where youactually want to spend time and
be and that you can show upregularly.
And I totally agree and I'deven say like if a platform is
genuinely not for you, even ifyour ideal clients are on there,
you still don't need to chooseit.
I'm sure some of my clientssomewhere maybe I don't know are
(25:20):
on TikTok threads.
I don't do those things becausethey're not fun for me and I
don't need to add that clutterto my life.
So choosing what works for youis key.
But then let's break out thosefour pieces I talked about at
the beginning and I'll tell youactually how I like to think of
them in my everyday contentcreation.
And then I literally it's justthat easy, it's just I pick one
(25:43):
of these four things, this ishow I do it and boom.
So the four are I'll use agarden analogy okay, so we'll
start with the soil and that'sthat foundational piece.
That's like the who, what, why,where of your business and also
of your clients.
So it's just like all that realbasic stuff, the information
(26:03):
that you have to share aboutyour business, like at its core.
Then you have the water, whichis like that educational content
, helpful tips, resources,anything that would help them
along their journey, or thingsthat you can give them as like
quick educational wins.
Then sunshine, and this istotally the fun cat.
(26:27):
It's just throw away funpictures of your dog, pictures
of your cat.
You and I do this in ourInstagram stories.
We just have fun in ourInstagram stories.
It is the sunshine of our brandand I do it in other places too
.
But that is just like where youget to actually show your
personality.
And then there's thatpromotional piece and that's
(26:48):
where you're actually selling.
Now notice, if you have all fourof those, you're not always
sharing photos of your dog.
You're not always sharingeducational tips.
You don't need to come up witha new educational tip for your
client every day.
You can break those out andlet's say you're just doing four
pieces a week.
You just choose one of those inthose categories per week and
(27:10):
there you go.
That's the easiest way I knowto make it feasible for myself.
I like to give myself moreguardrails than that.
So each month I'll create likea theme of what I'm going to
share, so that way everythingI'm creating falls into that
theme, and then I also am notlike then I'm not running around
(27:35):
with shiny objects.
Like just today in a call I gota really good idea for like a
post because a client had saidsomething and I jotted it down.
I'm like, okay, I will put thatinto the right month that it
fits in.
It doesn't all need to be actedon right now just because I got
the idea.
So I kind of like to give mymonths a theme and then I sort
(27:55):
of fit everything into that andthen additionally, repurpose
everything that you're using.
This is my biggest tipRepurpose everything.
Your website copy Fantastic.
Take it and go through it andfind how you can reuse it
someplace else.
Could you also use it onLinkedIn?
(28:17):
Could you also turn it into asocial media post?
Could it be an email or theintro to your podcast.
Repurpose everything thatyou're doing into other ways and
you will save yourself so muchtime.
So Melissa and I both havepodcasts.
I take my podcast and I justturn that into content for the
rest of the week, like bada,bing, bada, boom.
(28:39):
So I sit down once, get thetranscript and then I'm like, oh
good, now I have a week ofthings that I can talk about and
I don't have to lift a fingeragain.
It's lovely.
So I can't tell you enough howbeneficial it is to repurpose
and it also brings, like this,cohesion to your content, like
everything just ties together.
People don't really know why,but it all just kind of goes,
(29:02):
you know.
Melissa Snow (29:02):
Yeah, those are great ideas.
I you just gave me ideas Ihadn't even thought about before
.
Emily Aborn (29:07):
Oh good, Jot those down and save them for next
month's theme.
Exactly.
Melissa Snow (29:13):
So you know that one of my big values in my
business is about authenticity.
It's about being yourself,showing up as yourself.
That's not always easy.
Authenticity it's about beingyourself, showing up as yourself
.
That's not always easy.
Sometimes it's very scary, butI talk a lot about the
importance of showing up asyourself and saying what you
want to say, even if it's notwhat's popular, and not feeling
(29:35):
like you have to put on thatmask of like look at me, I'm the
super successful business ownerand everything is perfect Like.
The example that I use a lot oftimes is a mastermind call.
I was running once in thepowerful women rising community
and we were like halfway throughthe mastermind and I reached up
to like scratch and I felt thetag on my shirt and I was like
my I just said out loud.
(29:56):
I was like my sweater is onbackwards and everybody just
kind of stopped talking and Ijust like pulled my arms out and
turned my sweater around wewent back on with it, so you
don't have to be quite thatweird.
But showing up as yourself, Ithink, is a big part of content
creation and that piece that wewere talking about in the
beginning about using it as away to connect with your
(30:19):
audience.
So what tips do you have forpeople to show up more
authentically in their content,especially if they might be like
nervous or uncomfortable doingthat?
Emily Aborn (30:30):
Yes, I love this question.
So one is just remembering that, like authentic and and sharing
your personality doesn't meanyou need to share everything.
Like you are still allowed tohave your private arguments with
your spouse or your dog or yourhouse plant and you don't need
to post those online.
Melissa Snow (30:48):
So I think that you do not have to take a
picture of yourself crying andpost it for us all to see.
Emily Aborn (30:52):
Exactly so.
That's not authenticity, that'snot vulnerability.
You don't need to show allparts of your life, and I think
that that's important to say,because some people that's the
part that they are like, oh Ican't get personal, because they
think personal is their mostvulnerable moments.
But I would choose five piecesof you that you are comfortable
(31:15):
sharing.
Maybe it's books that you liketo read, maybe it is your dog,
maybe it's what you like to doon the weekends or a hobby
that's way too expensive andthat's how your business, that's
why you need to have a business.
So sharing those kinds ofthings I also love.
I personally think thatbringing more of your personal
stories in is fantastic, andanytime you can draw it back to
(31:37):
a business lesson great.
But sometimes stories are justfantastic to tell stories, so
know.
So don't shy away from personalstories.
And then I also love bringinglike just letting yourself dance
to the beat of your own drum,so like if you see something and
it is a shiny tactic that youshould be doing, or a framework,
(31:58):
if anything I said you're likethat's stupid, don't do it.
You don't have to do whatanybody else is telling you to
do.
You don't have to batch yourcontent and write it all at one
time.
You don't have to post on thisplatform or the other platform.
Dance to the beat of your owndrum.
That's how you start, I think,unlocking a little bit more of
that authenticity, just honoringwhat you actually want to do
(32:22):
and don't want to do in thisrealm.
And then lastly and this islike my, I would like die on
this hill.
I don't know how that phraseeven oh, I'm terrible at phrases
, by the way, I can't say anyphrases.
I think this is the hill Iwould die on.
Be conversational.
So remember, when you arereading something that somebody
(32:44):
else wrote, you're one personreading what one other person
wrote.
Even if you're speaking to anaudience, you're still only ever
speaking to one person at atime.
So just be conversational.
And that's where I love toencourage people that are like
I'm not a good writer, I'm likegood, because good writers can
get way up in their head andlose a lot of that
(33:07):
conversational element.
Good writers are really good atmaking a five-paragraph essay
in school, but that is not whatthis is.
I just want you to talk to melike a human, like in Melissa's
words, not like a salesy weirdo,right?
So talk, to use your content asa way to just be conversational
(33:28):
, like that is what you want itto be.
You want it to be aconversation, a two way street,
so invite that in.
Melissa Snow (33:35):
I love that.
That's really good.
If you can talk to a human, youcan create content.
Emily Aborn (33:42):
And if, yeah, and if, and that's a good.
Actually, I love this because,if talking is better for you, a
choose things that allow you toto use that voice of yours, but,
b you can also record yourselfsaying things and then
transcribe it and use the.
You know, clean it up a littlebit, obviously, because these AI
tools are still not perfect,but you can just go ahead and
(34:04):
speak what you want to speak andthen transcribe it and use that
.
I think that is I've done thattoo, and I have to actually like
play it back for myself, butI've done that to help me write
out something that I'm stilljumbled up about, and it's
really, really helpful.
Melissa Snow (34:20):
I like to do it when I'm out taking a walk by
myself, and then I walk bypeople and they're like who's
she talking to?
Emily Aborn (34:27):
You're like I'm just having an epiphany over
here, Don't mind me.
Melissa Snow (34:32):
But 90% of the time that I'm talking, I'm
talking to my dog anyway, and sopeople are always just like are
you talking to me?
I'm like, no, the dog, becausethat makes so much more sense.
All right, before we wrap up,what is the best way for people
to connect with you?
You have a podcast that isawesome.
If you think that I'm funny,you should definitely connect
with Emily on Instagram, becauseher stories are equally, if not
(34:55):
more, funny than mine.
What's the best way for peopleto reach out and connect with
you?
Emily Aborn (35:01):
Well, thank, you and thanks for having me.
Emilyaborncom is the easiestway to get ahold of me, and then
you can find all of the placesI do share content.
Melissa Snow (35:11):
Awesome, you are the best.
Thank you so much for comingback and having this fabulous
conversation with me.
I always love chatting with you.
Emily Aborn (35:18):
Thank you, me too, melissa.
Hello Emily, Welcome back to the podcast.
Emily Aborn (00:05):
Melissa, thanks for having me.
Melissa Snow (00:08):
Yeah, part two.
I think you're only the secondperson who has come back for
part two.
Emily Aborn (00:13):
This truly feels like an honor.
I will be writing this in mydiary tonight.
Dear diary.
.
.
Melissa Snow (00:18):
I bet you will.
So if people didn't listen toyour first episode episode, or
maybe somehow they forgot whoyou are, I don't know how they
could possibly do that.
But tell everybody a little bitabout you and what you do
before we jump into today'stopic.
Emily Aborn (00:35):
Okay, a little bit about me and what I do.
So, like you, I have aproclivity for animals and I
have a dog, clyde.
I live in New Hampshire, wherewe probably get a similar amount
of snow to you, but it justgoes on for longer.
And I'm a copywriter by day, soI write.
I always have to explain what acopywriter is, just in case
(00:59):
people do not understand what itmeans.
So it's basically the wordsthat are on websites and also in
blogs, and typically with thepurpose of telling customers and
clients who you are and whatyou do and what makes you so
fantastic.
So I get to have that job forother people.
Melissa Snow (01:16):
Love it and thank you for explaining what a
copywriter does, because, realtalk, when I became an
entrepreneur, we get in thesespaces when you start networking
and stuff that everyone justassumes like everyone knows all
the things.
It was like two years into myentrepreneurial journey when
someone said something to meabout business insurance and I
was like you, do you who what,do what?
And I legit thought acopywriter like helped people
(01:39):
copyright their, their materials.
Emily Aborn (01:41):
Like get the little C yeah.
Melissa Snow (01:45):
So good to know, okay, so today we're talking
there's a lot to talk about whenit comes to writing, copy and
creating content, so we're justgoing to touch on a little bit
of it today.
But I really want to focus oncontent creation for people who
don't love content creation, orcontent creation for people who
(02:07):
think that they're not good atcontent creation.
I was actually just having thisconversation in a mastermind
this morning and I was tellingthe women there I'm like, first
of all, stop saying you're notgood at stuff.
Like no one is just likenaturally good at these things,
right, even if you're a reallygood writer.
Content creation is a verydifferent thing and so much of
this is figuring out, like, whatis the way that works for you
(02:30):
and what is going to be best foryou and your strengths and what
you like and what you want todo.
So before we jump into thatpart, let's be specific about
when we're talking about contentcreation.
Is that the same thing ascopywriting?
Is that something different?
What is content creation?
Emily Aborn (02:48):
That is such a great question and it's a yes
and it's a yes and no.
So sometimes the copy on ourwebsites will be more of that
kind of like informationalnurturing, just kind of like
broad, helpful, helpful contentfor people.
So it might answer somebody'sproblem with a blog or something
(03:10):
like that.
So they are one and the same,but I always think of content
more like less of a salesapproach.
You're doing less to convert aperson or guide them to take a
next step, and it's just alittle bit more of a building
block, I guess, for yourbusiness.
So yes, and they are kind ofone in the same, but typically
(03:33):
copywriting focuses more on thesales piece, so it does tend to
be a little bit more promotional.
And consider some of thosepsychological elements where
you're trying to get somebody todo something for you.
Does that make sense?
Melissa Snow (03:46):
It does.
So.
Content creation, would you say.
Is that a little bit more about, like, showing people who you
are as a person?
It's more about sharing stories, nurturing your audience,
connecting with them, thingslike that.
Emily Aborn (04:01):
Connection, I think , is the key, and I sort of put
it into like four buckets.
So you will still pull in thatsales piece, right, you're still
going to have promotionalcontent.
But I think of it as kind oflike educational or helpful,
personal and also like thebehind the scenes of your
business, or sorry, not thebehind the scenes, but like the
(04:22):
foundational stuff of yourbusiness.
So that would be where yourclient stories come in, where
you're like who, what, where,when, why, like that kind of
just basic information, like atthe at the top of this episode
when we defined what acopywriter is.
That's just like the foundationof my business.
So foundational, personal,helpful and then promotional are
kind of how I categorize them.
Melissa Snow (04:47):
Okay, I really love this topic too, and I think
we talked about this the lasttime you were on the podcast,
because a lot of times when Italk about networking, people
think I'm talking about likegoing to networking events or
being part of a networking group, and that is part of it.
But I also always say thatnetworking can be done anywhere
that you are creating aconnection with another human
right.
So even if you are writing ablog post or you're posting
something on LinkedIn orsomething like that, content
(05:10):
creation has a lot to do withconnecting to other humans,
right?
Definitely.
Emily Aborn (05:15):
I think that's exact and that's a piece I think
a lot of people miss.
So I always like to think, Ialways say, like know thyself
and know your business and knowthe person on the other side
that you are looking to talk to.
Like content to me is veryconversational, it's very like
engaging and it truly is that.
It's creating a bridge betweenyou and the person on the other
(05:37):
side.
So you do have to know yourself, you have to know your business
and you have to know who thatperson is on the other side.
Or else you're just kind ofspeaking to quote, unquote
everyone Right, or I work withanyone who, like that doesn't
actually work.
Melissa Snow (05:53):
Yeah, I agree, and it's interesting how often I
ask people when I do thesevirtual speed networking events
in the con, in the contact sheetthat they fill out with the
information of how people canget in touch with them and stuff
, one of the things that I askis, like who's your ideal power
partner or referral partner?
Who do you want to connect withindustry wise?
(06:14):
And it's so interesting howpeople don't know how to answer
that question.
Or when you ask them likewhat's your ideal client?
They're like anybody, everybody, anybody who wants to buy or
sell a house, like some I've had.
I've heard people say anyone whohas skin, because you sell
skincare products, right andlike it's clever and that part
makes me laugh.
But it's really important to behoned in on specific people
(06:40):
that you're talking to, notnecessarily like Jane down the
street, but like the problemsthat that person has, but like
the problems that that personhas, the stage of business that
that person is in, or theirrelationship or whatever it is
when you're creating content.
So can you talk a little bitabout the importance of knowing
who your audience is when you'recreating content?
Emily Aborn (06:58):
Yeah, and I would venture to say you can talk to
Jane down the street, becausethe more specific you can be,
the more actually universal itends up being.
So let me I'll give you alittle example of what I mean by
that.
That's not a phrase by me,that's like a famous writer that
said that and I can't rememberwho said it.
But like, if you imagine anapple, okay, I'm like Melissa,
(07:19):
imagine an apple, I don't knowwhat just popped into your head.
It could have been a Cortland,a Granny Smith, like a Yellow
Delicious, who knows.
But if I tell you to close youreyes and imagine a slightly too
tart Granny Smith apple, theinside of your cheeks start to
pucker up, because most of uslistening are familiar with a
Granny Smith apple and it's sospecific that it creates that
(07:42):
feeling.
So I think that when we do getspecific, it's okay because it
actually helps it to be a moreuniversal experience.
And I can't even tell you howmany times I've been thinking of
a person like I'll sit down,write my email.
I'm like this is for Christy,right, and I'm sitting down and
writing this email to Christy.
Somebody else responds.
Well, christy responds and sayslike oh, my God, that was me.
(08:04):
Somebody else responds and says, like, are you in my head right
now?
So the the point is a lot ofthe, a lot of the specific
things that we all encounter ona day to day, the specific pains
and challenges, those areactually universal experiences.
We may not want to think thatthey are, we may like to think
we're special, but but we tendto have more in common than we
(08:24):
do different.
So I actually really like beingspecific with people and I will
think of If it's hard for you.
Defining your ideal client canbe challenging and especially
for business owners that haven'thad their businesses for a long
time.
They're like well, I reallywant to start working with an
elevated level of client or I'mnot attracting the kind of
(08:45):
clients that I want to beworking with.
So put yourself in the shoes ofthat next level person right,
and go through their day.
How are they waking up?
What are they putting in theircoffee?
If they have to leave theirhouse, what time are they
leaving?
Are they going to meet a clientor a friend?
What kind of coffee shop arethey going to when they meet
that person?
So going through their actuallife and seeing it through their
(09:08):
eyes can be a helpful and alsofun experiment.
If you get stuck, your friendchat GPT or these other AI tools
are actually really good atcreating a scenario of an ideal
client's day.
Before Melissa and I startedthis conversation, we had chat
GPT describe what my life lookslike and it just went through
(09:30):
like a very specific day in mylife, basically, and it was very
accurate.
So you can also use some ofthese AI tools, I think, to get
a good picture.
But don't just stop with likewhat did they like to wear and
where did they like to go forcoffee.
Think about what is reallybothering them when it comes to
what you offer and how that'sholding them back from where
(09:53):
they want to be.
And I am pretty cognizant ofpain points.
We see them all over theinternet.
They drive me bananas.
Honestly, I'm like we all knowwhat pain we're in, okay.
So I like to put it like takewhatever pain point you think
your client has and turn itright around and create a
(10:14):
benefit out of it.
So like, take a pain point andI'm just going to say, nope,
here's the benefit that you'regoing to get.
So if somebody is like, let'ssay, you have stomach aches
every single day of your life.
That's like one of your painget.
So if somebody is like, let'ssay, you have stomach aches
every single day of your life,that's like one of your pain
points.
So how can I make that abenefit?
My product will make sure thatyou go through your day with
(10:34):
ease and a calm tummy.
I'm like, oh great.
So that's kind of I don't knowif I actually answered your
question.
Melissa Snow (10:44):
No, you totally did, cause I was asking you
about the importance of knowingwho your audience is and knowing
who you're talking about, andthat totally makes sense and I
think it helps to.
Sometimes I'll ask myself thisis my old coaching days coming
in, when you ask the client,like they answer a question, and
then you're like but why, butwhy, but why.
Right After the third why, it'slike okay, now we've gotten to
(11:05):
the real issue.
And sometimes I think that'shelpful in creating content too,
because you look at, like whatare they struggling with?
What is their challenge?
Whatever, and it's usuallysomething very generic, right,
like they're lonely, they wantto lose weight, they need to
make more money in theirbusiness, but why, you know.
And then you get to those veryspecifics of like they've been
(11:27):
at this for X number of years ormonths and their husband is
asking them every day what'shappening, what's going on.
Their kid wants to do thisafterschool activity, but
they're not sure that they canafford it.
Like those really specificthings, I think that's what
really speaks to somebody, asopposed to just like are you a
business owner that wants tomake more money?
(11:48):
It's like I mean, that's all ofus.
Emily Aborn (11:51):
Yeah, oh, you said that really really well and I I
totally agree.
Like keep asking the but why,or but why, yeah.
Melissa Snow (12:00):
And I think sometimes people are reluctant
to get that specific becausethey feel like they're leaving
other people out and like if I'monly talking about this one
specific thing, then people aregoing to like it's going to
exclude a lot of people.
So I liked what you said aboutbeing more specific.
Actually makes it more likeuniversally recognizable.
Emily Aborn (12:21):
And to that point, another way to kind of like
quell that fear.
You can't speak to everybody inone post all the time, like if
you even think about just tryingto make everybody in your life
happy all the time, good luck,but you can't speak to everybody
in one post all at a time andyou have a lot of time.
Content creation is a long-termgame Business ownership
(12:44):
long-term game.
You can talk to that persontomorrow in a post or in an
email.
So use that specificity to youradvantage, rather than being
like but I'm leaving this personoff the table.
Be specific with them tomorrowand then they'll feel seen,
heard and understood.
Or save that for an email.
The other factor is not allforms of content are where your
(13:08):
ideal client is showing up.
So some of your clients mightbe reading your emails, some
might be listening to yourpodcast, some might be looking
at your social posts, some mightbe doing none of that and might
just read your website once andthen decide to hire you.
So, thinking about where yourclient actually is and where
they might be in different kindof stages of the decision-making
(13:28):
process, that can also help youto speak a little bit more
specifically on those variousplatforms.
Melissa Snow (13:34):
Yeah, that's such a good point.
I want to go back to what yousaid about how you can speak to
different people different times.
So if you're not talking tothem today, talk to them
tomorrow.
And I think one of the things,especially for our friends here
who don't love creating contentor who think that they're not
good at it, one of the things Ithink that keeps them stuck is
they think they're putting toomuch out there.
(13:55):
They think they're creating too.
They're afraid of creating toomuch content, of being like
salesy or annoying, or peopleare going to see like, oh, she
posts every day.
It's so annoying.
And so I think that's whysometimes we try to fit
everything into one piece ofcontent, because then we can
just post our one piece ofcontent, we don't have to bother
people for the rest of the weekand we're good.
(14:16):
So can you talk a little bitabout like, how often should we
be creating content?
How often should we be puttingcontent out into the world?
Emily Aborn (14:27):
Okay, so there's no easy answer for that,
unfortunately, but I do want tosay that in today's day, let's
just use social media content asan example.
Most people are not seeing yourposts the first time, and so I
always encourage people.
It's not repeating yourself,it's consistency, and it's also
(14:50):
repurposing things in differentways.
You could post every, you couldpost three times a day.
I still don't think you'd bebothering people, because 30% of
the people wouldn't even see it, and surely they wouldn't see
it that first time, so Iwouldn't too much worry about
creating too much content.
(15:10):
I am a very loquacious person.
I produce a lot of content andI just had a moment, actually at
the beginning of this week.
I'm like I'm a lot, like I am alot, and you know what, if
somebody doesn't want to listento every single episode that I
create or read every singlething that I put out, they don't
have to, and I actually that'ssomething I have to do because
(15:33):
it's inside me and like I don'treally have, like I don't have a
choice.
I have to do because it'sinside me and like I don't
really have, like I don't have achoice.
I have to generate things whenI get ideas, and so I don't.
I have to stop worrying aboutwhat the experience is on the
other side.
But basically, I really don'tthink if somebody is annoyed
they can unsubscribe or unfollowyou.
You know what I mean.
But I don't think that thelikelihood of that is high, just
(15:53):
simply because I don't think alot of people are looking at
every single piece of contentthat you create.
You know which?
I wish they were.
Melissa Snow (16:03):
And if they are, it's probably because they want
to see it.
They're never going to be.
Emily Aborn (16:07):
Exactly.
I got to tell you.
I had a recent experience whereI was trying to make a decision
and one of the people I waslooking at to make my decision I
was getting a tattoo and Iwould hang on every word.
I'm like this chick needs toproduce more stuff so I can read
more about her and see morepictures.
I wanted her to keep oncreating things and, yes, that's
(16:30):
a visual example, but still Iwanted to know as much about her
as I possibly could.
She could not post often enough.
She could post a picture ofherself and tell about herself
every single day and I'd beeating it up.
So think about that tooSomebody out there is trying to
make a decision on you and youdon't know if that's not their
experience on the other side.
Melissa Snow (16:51):
Yeah, absolutely, and I love what you said about
letting people be responsiblefor their own Like.
I'm just putting the stuff outthere.
You don't have to listen to it,you don't have to read it, you
don't have to like it even.
But yeah, that's on you.
I'm just putting it out therein case you're interested.
Emily Aborn (17:08):
So let's go back to the frequency piece for your
own self, okay.
So like we put everybody elseaside, like I don't care what
they want me to do, forfrequency, I think the most
important thing is to beconsistent, and that's for two
reasons that is for the personon the other side, and it's also
for yourself.
I think that consistency provesto yourself, first and foremost
(17:28):
, that you are, you know, aperson who follows through on
what you say for yourself, and Ithink that's huge.
Upholding a promise to yourselfis one of the biggest acts of
self-care or self-love.
It's like I got my own back, soI would choose how frequent you
want to produce things inknowing how consistent you can
(17:52):
be.
Your life is happening allaround you.
You're not just sitting there.
You're probably working withclients, I hope, and you're not
just sitting there creatingcontent all day long.
So how much do you actuallyhave the capacity to keep up
with on a regular basis?
That's first and foremost whereI think it needs to start, and
then that can kind of determineyour cadence from there.
(18:14):
And there's also a lot showingthat on Facebook, for example.
When I post less, for somereason, my engagement with it
goes way up.
If I'm posting more, it goesdown.
Instagram it's like hit or miss.
So you have to Again thefrequency.
Don't let something outside ofthat define what that is for you
(18:37):
.
Let it come from inside, basedon what you actually have
capacity for, and then can stickwith time and time and time
again, even when life throws youcurveballs, because it's going
to.
Melissa Snow (18:49):
Yeah, and consistency is not the same
thing as constancy.
Emily Aborn (18:53):
Correct.
Melissa Snow (18:54):
Yeah, it does not mean we have to be posting all
the time Right, it does not meanwe have to put out a podcast
episode every single day.
Emily Aborn (19:02):
It just means Not even every week.
If that's not the right one foryou, it could be every month.
You know you have you get todefine that, I think, for
yourself.
Melissa Snow (19:11):
Yeah, I dragged my feet for so long on starting a
podcast, my first podcast, likeyears and years ago, because I
was like I don't, I can't comeup with stuff to say.
I remember I can't remember whoI had this conversation with,
but I was like I can't come upwith like 25 to 30 minutes worth
of stuff to say every singleweek and they were like who
wants to listen to 25 to 30minutes?
Emily Aborn (19:36):
And I was like I know, I'm sorry I broke your
little heart, but yours aregreat, cause you talk real fast
and you get it all in there.
I do.
Melissa Snow (19:40):
You've got like a 50 minute podcast in 20 minutes
but this is actually.
Emily Aborn (19:44):
That's another great point.
I had someone recently she sheheard I did a solo show and she
was like, oh, it must be soshort, then Right, like five, 10
minutes.
I'm like, no, it's not, it'sshort ish.
But it's like again, I don't.
I will listen to a three hourpodcast episode if the content
is good, and I think that's alsoimportant to remember is like
(20:09):
if what you're generating isgood and it's helpful and it's
coming from the right place,then people will will consume it
from start to finish, whetherit's 10 minutes or 40 minutes.
Melissa Snow (20:18):
Yes, absolutely, and I just remember that being
like oh well, it's up to me, Ican create a podcast where every
episode is seven minutes long,if I want to.
It's just the consistency,right?
I don't want to put out apodcast where the first 30
episodes are seven minutes longand now all of a sudden, here's
one that's 45 minutes long.
People are like wait, what justhappened?
So I mean, making that changewould be different, but just
(20:42):
like the randomness would be notas consistent.
So, okay, so we, I'm gonna.
I'm going backwards here alittle bit, but I think this is
an important question, becausesometimes I talk to people who
are in specific industries, likeI think there is a lot of
(21:02):
confusion among content creation, where it's like I'm creating
content because I want to be aninfluencer.
I'm creating content because Iwant 15,000 followers on
Instagram, because somewhere inmy mind I think that means I'm
going to like also have thatmany clients.
And I think sometimes there arecertain industries where they
(21:25):
think, yeah, I got to createcontent.
Right, you see coaches creatingcontent all the time life
coaches, business coaches,health coaches all the coaches
Like they're one of the onesthat you see creating a lot of
content.
Then there's others likebookkeepers, or I have a client
in the Powerful Women Risingcommunity who is like a
financial strategist and she'slike yeah, my people don't, I
(21:48):
don't, I don't get clients fromcreating content.
Like that's not, we don't dothat, or like construction
companies, so should, not,should.
But do you recommend people inevery industry create content?
Or are there some people whoit's like yeah, you can be a
business owner and also notcreate content?
Emily Aborn (22:09):
I think that we should define content.
So content could be anything.
Honestly, it could be as simpleas a wrap on your truck, like
on your vehicle.
So I think that's an importantdistinction.
It does not need to be a blog,it doesn't need to be a podcast,
it doesn't need to be socialmedia.
And I do think that there is anelement where it's like find
(22:29):
where your people are actuallyspending their time and make
sure you've covered all yourbases on that.
So, for example, my husband is apainter and he doesn't need a
ton of work.
He doesn't need a ton of work,but every time he makes a
Facebook post, he gets a client.
(22:53):
So we've now realized this andhe's like oh, I actually do need
to have a little bit of there,there, some presence there,
because I don't want to just beshowing up randomly and making a
post every 6 months or whatever.
And I think the same and alsothinking about like well, are my
customers using any of thoseplatforms or tools to like vet
me or to check me out?
And then just considering whatthat experience is like I'm not
(23:14):
even saying, get that, you haveto create anything, but just
like knowing, are they usingthese tools to find me?
Or, conversely, are people whorefer you often using these
tools and, if not, where arethey spending their time?
So I think that's a good placeto start and then thinking of
like well, if my clients are noton social media, for example,
(23:36):
and they're not listening topodcasts, and content doesn't
help me are they reading blogson my website?
And I think that there isprobably some element of content
that every single businessowners clients are consuming and
it's up to us to figure outwhat that is.
Melissa Snow (23:51):
Yeah, I love the idea that content is so many
different things.
It's like networking, right somany different ways to do it,
and so find not only what youlike.
Like I was just having thisconversation with somebody that
was like I have this Facebookgroup and I've had it for years
and I've gotten one client fromthe Facebook group and blah,
blah, blah, blah.
And finally I was like why doyou still have this Facebook
group?
(24:12):
What are we doing here, and sobeing really clear on like, what
is it that you like to do andwant to do, but then also, where
are your ideal clientsconsuming that content?
I think is really important.
So that kind of segues into thenext question I was going to
ask you, which is about how tosimplify or avoid
overcomplicating things when wedo content creation, because we
(24:34):
talked a little bit about likebefore we started recording the
shiny object syndrome wherewe're like we need to create
content on all the things.
Right, I'm going to write abook and have a podcast and I'm
going to post on all the socialmedia things and we get really
excited, especially people likeyou and I.
We want to do all the thingsall the time.
So what suggestions do you havefor people who want to keep it
(24:56):
simple or avoid overcomplicatingtheir content creation?
Emily Aborn (25:00):
Awesome.
So one you just kind ofanswered.
You said, like choose where youactually want to spend time and
be and that you can show upregularly.
And I totally agree and I'deven say like if a platform is
genuinely not for you, even ifyour ideal clients are on there,
you still don't need to chooseit.
I'm sure some of my clientssomewhere maybe I don't know are
(25:20):
on TikTok threads.
I don't do those things becausethey're not fun for me and I
don't need to add that clutterto my life.
So choosing what works for youis key.
But then let's break out thosefour pieces I talked about at
the beginning and I'll tell youactually how I like to think of
them in my everyday contentcreation.
And then I literally it's justthat easy, it's just I pick one
(25:43):
of these four things, this ishow I do it and boom.
So the four are I'll use agarden analogy okay, so we'll
start with the soil and that'sthat foundational piece.
That's like the who, what, why,where of your business and also
of your clients.
So it's just like all that realbasic stuff, the information
(26:03):
that you have to share aboutyour business, like at its core.
Then you have the water, whichis like that educational content
, helpful tips, resources,anything that would help them
along their journey, or thingsthat you can give them as like
quick educational wins.
Then sunshine, and this istotally the fun cat.
(26:27):
It's just throw away funpictures of your dog, pictures
of your cat.
You and I do this in ourInstagram stories.
We just have fun in ourInstagram stories.
It is the sunshine of our brandand I do it in other places too
.
But that is just like where youget to actually show your
personality.
And then there's thatpromotional piece and that's
(26:48):
where you're actually selling.
Now notice, if you have all fourof those, you're not always
sharing photos of your dog.
You're not always sharingeducational tips.
You don't need to come up witha new educational tip for your
client every day.
You can break those out andlet's say you're just doing four
pieces a week.
You just choose one of those inthose categories per week and
(27:10):
there you go.
That's the easiest way I knowto make it feasible for myself.
I like to give myself moreguardrails than that.
So each month I'll create likea theme of what I'm going to
share, so that way everythingI'm creating falls into that
theme, and then I also am notlike then I'm not running around
(27:35):
with shiny objects.
Like just today in a call I gota really good idea for like a
post because a client had saidsomething and I jotted it down.
I'm like, okay, I will put thatinto the right month that it
fits in.
It doesn't all need to be actedon right now just because I got
the idea.
So I kind of like to give mymonths a theme and then I sort
(27:55):
of fit everything into that andthen additionally, repurpose
everything that you're using.
This is my biggest tipRepurpose everything.
Your website copy Fantastic.
Take it and go through it andfind how you can reuse it
someplace else.
Could you also use it onLinkedIn?
(28:17):
Could you also turn it into asocial media post?
Could it be an email or theintro to your podcast.
Repurpose everything thatyou're doing into other ways and
you will save yourself so muchtime.
So Melissa and I both havepodcasts.
I take my podcast and I justturn that into content for the
rest of the week, like bada,bing, bada, boom.
(28:39):
So I sit down once, get thetranscript and then I'm like, oh
good, now I have a week ofthings that I can talk about and
I don't have to lift a fingeragain.
It's lovely.
So I can't tell you enough howbeneficial it is to repurpose
and it also brings, like this,cohesion to your content, like
everything just ties together.
People don't really know why,but it all just kind of goes,
(29:02):
you know.
Melissa Snow (29:02):
Yeah, those are great ideas.
I you just gave me ideas Ihadn't even thought about before
.
Emily Aborn (29:07):
Oh good, Jot those down and save them for next
month's theme.
Exactly.
Melissa Snow (29:13):
So you know that one of my big values in my
business is about authenticity.
It's about being yourself,showing up as yourself.
That's not always easy.
Authenticity it's about beingyourself, showing up as yourself
.
That's not always easy.
Sometimes it's very scary, butI talk a lot about the
importance of showing up asyourself and saying what you
want to say, even if it's notwhat's popular, and not feeling
(29:35):
like you have to put on thatmask of like look at me, I'm the
super successful business ownerand everything is perfect Like.
The example that I use a lot oftimes is a mastermind call.
I was running once in thepowerful women rising community
and we were like halfway throughthe mastermind and I reached up
to like scratch and I felt thetag on my shirt and I was like
my I just said out loud.
(29:56):
I was like my sweater is onbackwards and everybody just
kind of stopped talking and Ijust like pulled my arms out and
turned my sweater around wewent back on with it, so you
don't have to be quite thatweird.
But showing up as yourself, Ithink, is a big part of content
creation and that piece that wewere talking about in the
beginning about using it as away to connect with your
(30:19):
audience.
So what tips do you have forpeople to show up more
authentically in their content,especially if they might be like
nervous or uncomfortable doingthat?
Emily Aborn (30:30):
Yes, I love this question.
So one is just remembering that, like authentic and and sharing
your personality doesn't meanyou need to share everything.
Like you are still allowed tohave your private arguments with
your spouse or your dog or yourhouse plant and you don't need
to post those online.
Melissa Snow (30:48):
So I think that you do not have to take a
picture of yourself crying andpost it for us all to see.
Emily Aborn (30:52):
Exactly so.
That's not authenticity, that'snot vulnerability.
You don't need to show allparts of your life, and I think
that that's important to say,because some people that's the
part that they are like, oh Ican't get personal, because they
think personal is their mostvulnerable moments.
But I would choose five piecesof you that you are comfortable
(31:15):
sharing.
Maybe it's books that you liketo read, maybe it is your dog,
maybe it's what you like to doon the weekends or a hobby
that's way too expensive andthat's how your business, that's
why you need to have a business.
So sharing those kinds ofthings I also love.
I personally think thatbringing more of your personal
stories in is fantastic, andanytime you can draw it back to
(31:37):
a business lesson great.
But sometimes stories are justfantastic to tell stories, so
know.
So don't shy away from personalstories.
And then I also love bringinglike just letting yourself dance
to the beat of your own drum,so like if you see something and
it is a shiny tactic that youshould be doing, or a framework,
(31:58):
if anything I said you're likethat's stupid, don't do it.
You don't have to do whatanybody else is telling you to
do.
You don't have to batch yourcontent and write it all at one
time.
You don't have to post on thisplatform or the other platform.
Dance to the beat of your owndrum.
That's how you start, I think,unlocking a little bit more of
that authenticity, just honoringwhat you actually want to do
(32:22):
and don't want to do in thisrealm.
And then lastly and this islike my, I would like die on
this hill.
I don't know how that phraseeven oh, I'm terrible at phrases
, by the way, I can't say anyphrases.
I think this is the hill Iwould die on.
Be conversational.
So remember, when you arereading something that somebody
(32:44):
else wrote, you're one personreading what one other person
wrote.
Even if you're speaking to anaudience, you're still only ever
speaking to one person at atime.
So just be conversational.
And that's where I love toencourage people that are like
I'm not a good writer, I'm likegood, because good writers can
get way up in their head andlose a lot of that
(33:07):
conversational element.
Good writers are really good atmaking a five-paragraph essay
in school, but that is not whatthis is.
I just want you to talk to melike a human, like in Melissa's
words, not like a salesy weirdo,right?
So talk, to use your content asa way to just be conversational
(33:28):
, like that is what you want itto be.
You want it to be aconversation, a two way street,
so invite that in.
Melissa Snow (33:35):
I love that.
That's really good.
If you can talk to a human, youcan create content.
Emily Aborn (33:42):
And if, yeah, and if, and that's a good.
Actually, I love this because,if talking is better for you, a
choose things that allow you toto use that voice of yours, but,
b you can also record yourselfsaying things and then
transcribe it and use the.
You know, clean it up a littlebit, obviously, because these AI
tools are still not perfect,but you can just go ahead and
(34:04):
speak what you want to speak andthen transcribe it and use that
.
I think that is I've done thattoo, and I have to actually like
play it back for myself, butI've done that to help me write
out something that I'm stilljumbled up about, and it's
really, really helpful.
Melissa Snow (34:20):
I like to do it when I'm out taking a walk by
myself, and then I walk bypeople and they're like who's
she talking to?
Emily Aborn (34:27):
You're like I'm just having an epiphany over
here, Don't mind me.
Melissa Snow (34:32):
But 90% of the time that I'm talking, I'm
talking to my dog anyway, and sopeople are always just like are
you talking to me?
I'm like, no, the dog, becausethat makes so much more sense.
All right, before we wrap up,what is the best way for people
to connect with you?
You have a podcast that isawesome.
If you think that I'm funny,you should definitely connect
with Emily on Instagram, becauseher stories are equally, if not
(34:55):
more, funny than mine.
What's the best way for peopleto reach out and connect with
you?
Emily Aborn (35:01):
Well, thank, you and thanks for having me.
Emilyaborncom is the easiestway to get ahold of me, and then
you can find all of the placesI do share content.
Melissa Snow (35:11):
Awesome, you are the best.
Thank you so much for comingback and having this fabulous
conversation with me.
I always love chatting with you.
Emily Aborn (35:18):
Thank you, me too, melissa.
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