How to Generate Consistent Leads for Your Small Business | Scott Voelker

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If you're a business owner feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and ready to grow, you're in the right place.
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Welcome to Small Business Pivots, where founders share insights, stories, and pivots that lead to sustainable growth.
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I'm your host, Michael D.
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Morrison, a business coach helping business owners get unstuck and grow.
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Hi, welcome to another Small Business Pivots where we have special guests from the round around the world.
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And if you've ever listened or watched the podcast before, you know that I feel like no one can introduce themselves or their business like the business owner.
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So, Scott, for those that are listeners that have haven't heard of you, don't know of you, if you can give us a little bit of background who you are, where you came from, that'd be great.
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Yeah, man.
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Well, I appreciate you having me on, Michael.
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This is really cool.
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Yeah.
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So uh I'll give you the snapshot version of it, but I've been doing this now for 18 plus years.
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I'm 54 years old, three kids, fully grown, just became an empty nester and uh and built multiple businesses over those 18 plus years.
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Started in a photography business, then went digital business back in 2005, turned that into a six-figure, my first six-figure online business, then transitioned to e-commerce, started teaching that, grew a seven-figure business there and sold one.
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And then here today, we are pivoting into about two years ago what really got me started, which was building audiences through content.
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But at that time it was YouTube and it still is YouTube to this day, but not being YouTube famous, it's actually taking small audiences and leveraging those audiences in a positive way that that make uh your your business grow.
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So that's kind of where I'm at today.
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But yeah, man, I've been married 30 33, no, 32 years.
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Oh, yeah.
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32 years.
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Well, I only know that because my daughter's 31, and I know that she was born around that.
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So I'm like, I'm gonna thank God for those kids.
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Yeah, yeah, you're not kidding.
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You're not kidding.
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But that that's a that's a snapshot, man.
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That's where I'm at right now.
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So yeah.
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Fantastic.
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Well, let's just go ahead and get started because a lot of our listeners are small business owners, they've done plenty of pivots.
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A lot of them are still stuck, though.
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They haven't quite gotten over that hump.
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So when you mentioned pivots from one industry to another, what was that final conclusion that said I need to pivot?
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Because I know a lot of people stay stuck.
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We hear that a lot of just keep grinding, keep grinding, it'll cut it'll but no, not all the time.
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You do need to so what were some of those lessons you learned that maybe you should have done it earlier, maybe you did it right on time, just kind of share what those were like.
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Yeah, sure.
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Uh, you know, I I think it does happen.
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There, there's a couple different things that I see.
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It's like you can keep hustling, as you know, Gary V would say, right?
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Like the hustle culture, like you can keep hustling, but if you're hustling against the wrong thing and it doesn't truly feel good and you're only chasing the money, I think that there can become a trap.
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And then you're just never going to get unstuck because you're just you're spinning your wheels, right?
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So I think the the thing for me over the years, it's always come down to what I have done.
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Like if you're trying to just create a business or or take your business and grow it, but you're you're not really sure what the next move is.
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You also have to ask yourself, like, why are you doing what you're doing?
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Because sometimes it can be internal.
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I've found a lot of times my growth stopped because I didn't love the journey that I was on anymore.
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And I kind of pulled back.
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So I'll just give you an example.
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So my wife and I were photographers years ago, and we turned that into a business, and it kind of was a natural progression because I was doing it.
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So I've always only taught what I was already doing or what I had some success at.
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So we built a local brick and mortar business.
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I started to teach people online using YouTube back in the day when YouTube was only two years old, and basically, you know, started teaching people how to start a photography business from scratch, even if they didn't go to college.
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And I loved it because we were doing it.
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But then as we started to build the online business, we stopped doing the thing that I was teaching.
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And I was like, this doesn't feel good.
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So then it just naturally came to like, okay, well, now what?
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And as you're kind of going through that now what stage, you're still doing the thing because you're like paying the bills, right?
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But you're still that entrepreneurial brain's like, what else could I be doing?
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What else am I interested in?
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And at the time I was interested in e-commerce a little bit because Amazon was starting to become on the scene.
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And I started to dabble in the e-commerce private label thing.
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And I did, and I had a little bit of success.
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So I'm like, all right, well, I probably should focus more on this.
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And I did, and then I stopped focusing on this.
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And that's how that progression kind of happened.
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That was like my first major pivot, I should say, because my photography stuff online, I probably did that for about seven years.
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I had a membership site, I had, you know, coaching, you know, the whole thing.
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And then I transitioned out of that once I got the other thing up to where I felt I could kind of pivot and kind of leave my job, if you will.
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So that was like the first pivot.
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Yeah.
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Fantastic.
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Well, I asked this next question because I just got an email today from one of our clients we work with basically saying they've had enough, they're ready to sell their business, right?
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Okay.
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So what keeps you going for those that feel like giving up, or maybe they need to, maybe they don't.
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What keeps you going?
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Yeah, that's great too.
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Cause I actually did that.
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I actually sold a business.
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So I again, not another pivot, right?
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So built the e-commerce space, or I was in the e-commerce space, I built that business.
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And as I'm building that business, I'm also teaching how I'm doing this thing.
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So it's always like a parallel.
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And so I built up the business and then I sold it.
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Well, after I sold it, I'm like, oops, here we are again, back to the photography thing.
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I'm not doing it anymore.
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So it kind of feels weird teaching it.
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I think a lot of times you have to ask yourself, where do you truly want to go?
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Like for me, I'm 54 years old.
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I've had those moments, but recently, I'd say in the last three years, it's kind of like, all right, what do now what do I really truly want to do with my time?
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You know, I still want to, I still want to work.
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I don't, I'm never going to retire because I feel like I am kind of semi-retired because I do what I want to do anyway.
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But it it still comes down to like everyone's trying to, this is the way I always see it.
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People are trying to strive towards a revenue number, but the revenue number is just a marker.
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And once you hit it, then sometimes it's like, all right, cool, but I'm not like fulfilled.
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And I think then fulfillment comes into it.
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So I think if you're stuck, you got to ask yourself some real deep questions.
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Like, what are you truly trying to do?
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And if it's not working, you have to ask yourself, is it because you're not believing in it enough and you're not passionate about it enough?
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Or is it just because the business is not there anymore because AI, you know, has agents now?
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I don't know.
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You know what I mean?
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Like, so you have to ask yourself those internal questions.
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And that's what I've done.
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And it's not easy because it's like sometimes you feel lost.
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You're like, man, I've got this success I've done over here, but I'm not loving it.
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I'm not liking this.
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I don't want to be known for like the Amazon guy, right?
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I don't want to be known for that.
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So I think it comes down to getting internally and asking yourself, like, what do I truly want to be doing in my life?
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Um, not just for money, but with my time.
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Yeah, those are all great points.
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And so as we pivot from one industry to another, yeah, it's almost like starting over.
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Yeah, 100%.
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And so we have to have leads, which is kind of what your profession is.
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So let's talk about leads because I don't know if one business, this is Q3 of 2026, yeah, we're recording.
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I don't know if one business right now that's not just needing leads.
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We'll just put it in that.
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Yeah, well, yeah.
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And I mean, every business, I mean, the fuel is leads, right?
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Like everybody needs attention.
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I don't care if you're a brick and mortar and you got to get someone to come in the door, that's a lead, right?
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We need someone to raise their hand and go, I'm interested in getting in shape.
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Okay, cool.
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I've got a gym.
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Come on over here.
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It's the same thing online.
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And the thing is that I've learned over the years, and it's been the same thing that I've done.
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It's just it's changed because of the platforms have changed, right?
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Like the mechanisms have changed.
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But the same thing has changed, has not changed.
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And that is, what can I put out there into the world to get attention?
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But the attention, not about like, let's go viral.
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It's like to get the attention of the person that actually needs what I can help them with, right?
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Like, what is the thing?
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So for us, and even going back all the way back into 2005, I believe it was 2005, is I create videos that I put up on YouTube and they attract the right person.
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And again, it's not about going viral.
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Like my first business, I only had 16,000 subscribers on YouTube, but I did multiple six figures for seven years in a row, right?
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So it's not the everybody thinks it's the viral thing.
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It's not.
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So that audience was built off of me showing up, teaching freely, giving it all away, and then offering what we call a lead magnet.
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And everybody pretty much knows what that is, right?
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It's like something that we could give as a freebie just to say, hey, try this thing out, you know, maybe this will help you.
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And it's just a way for someone to get to know, like, and trust you.
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And once they become part of your world, now you have email, and that's what I've been using for 18 plus years, all the way back to A Weber.
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If anybody remembers, remember, remembers that little little platform, a little email autoresponder.
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So that, so once we get their attention, it's it's not just getting their attention, it's then keep following up to give them more value.
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And now with YouTube, yes, YouTube, we use the platform because it's a discover, you know, discovery platform, right?
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People come on there, they go on the browse now.
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I mean, when we started, it was all search-based.
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Now it's still search, but it's a primarily browse, discover, suggested, all those things.
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I mean, think about it.
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If you go on there and you look up, my dog just had knee surgery, looking up knee surgery for dogs.
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I'm gonna start getting fed these videos now with all of these other related videos.
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That's what we can do with that platform.
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But even more than that, we can now also use those, I call them assets, video assets.
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We can now take those and we can bring them into our marketing.
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We can bring them into our emails and say, hey, there's a question that came up.
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One of my clients asked the other day, and I wanted to share it with you today.
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Oh, actually, by the way, I shot a quick little video and it shows you exactly what I shared with them.
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And now all you're doing is you're building that relationship with that person.
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I mean, I just had a client that just joined our program after 18 months, right?
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They've been on our list for 18 months, but been getting steady, you know, steady, as I call it steady leads, but basically getting that steady content and we build that no like and trust.
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And when I get on the call to talk whether we can work together or not, they already know me, right?
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There's no like, you know, I'm skeptical, I don't know who you are.
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You know, it's like they already know me.
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Like, hey Scott, how's your kids?
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You know, we talk about that because they know I have kids, grandkids, the whole thing.
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So the the leads thing, and we all call it leads, but it's people.
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It's people that we're connecting with, that we're genuinely going to show up, give them something of value.
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Usually it's content.
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And then from the content, we strategically put something in there that says, Hey, if if you want to know a little bit more about this, I have uh a playbook that shows you exactly how we get our steady leads from YouTube.
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If you want it, just comment playbook and we'll send it to you.
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Like that's that's the offer, right?
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That's the pitch.
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But yeah, that's what we're doing now because I've been doing it for years.
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All the businesses I've ever built have all been built off of that model.
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Put out a piece of content, and I'm not talking like uh shorts, even we don't do shorts, it's all long form.
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It's like six to eight minute videos.
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Sometimes they're 20-minute videos, but usually six to eight minutes.
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The shorts is like you got a doom scroller.
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We're not after the doom scroller, we're after someone that's gonna buy in and want to live just like this podcast.
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Someone's listening to you, they're gonna listen in their ears, probably on a on a jog, on the treadmill, like whatever.
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Um, and there's so much deeper of a relationship that can be built.
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So I think that answers your question.
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Did I not?
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I went off on a little bit of a tangent.
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Oh no, no, that that was great.
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That was great.
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So good.
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Currently we have AI.
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Yep, most people have heard of that by now.
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Yep, but in the past, we had fax machines, we had all these disturbances, we had distractions, and so whether it's AI or something else, they're always just when people figure things out, it seems like something comes in and disrupts the whole system.
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Oh, yeah.
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Where do you feel like it is right now?
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Because you mentioned emails.
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Well, I know that emails was kind of our sacred place of being able to send whatever we wanted to someone that signed up, and now there's all these rules and regulations, and all the servers are trying to prevent so much spam.
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Where do you feel like we're at right now, as far as is the lead generation more of a seller's advantage or a buyer's?
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Yeah, I mean that's a that is a really good question.
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And I think yes, there is a lot of disturbances, and there's it seems like there always has been.
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There's all it's just now, yes, you you have ads that are coming into your your inbox, you know.
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I think it just comes down to this.
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It's like people still think I see see people doing this all the time.
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People still think that their their newsletter, right?
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Like I don't call mine a newsletter because it's not, it's an email from me to you, right?
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I think there's a difference.
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If you fall into, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be my I'm gonna have my business header up there.
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I'm gonna be all it's gonna be a nice template that I built.
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Like that there is gonna get dropped into the promo, the promotions tab.
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It's gonna get it's gonna go into the spam tab, and no one's gonna see you.
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Our whole thing is my first email that goes out, it has one link to what you what you wanted, and then it's just a direct message from me and it says, Hey, if when you get a minute, let me know a little bit about your current situation.
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I'd love to hear from you.
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And I reply, I read and reply to every single email.
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Like I do that, right?
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So, what that does is it gets us through any barriers because now people it lands in their inbox and then they do respond.
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And now we have this connection that the the servers know that we have a connection.
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So, my belief is like AI right now is disrupting the marketplace with content.
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And I'm gonna actually do a video, I'm actually putting it together right now about this topic.
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Like, yes, you can create a lot of content fast with AI, but what it can't do is it can't connect with your client or your potential client.
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And what I mean by that is is like you can I can clone myself right now.
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And you might not even hardly tell.
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But the thing is, is people do tell.
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And when they do tell, then that takes your trust and it just obliterates it.
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It's gone, right?
00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:43.039
So for me, it's like we want to show up on video, we don't want to be perfect, we would, we don't want to be scripted.
00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:48.480
I mean, we can script it a little bit, but we want to have a little bit of the ums and the ahs and the inflections and all of that.
00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:59.440
So I think with the AI, I think it's actually an advantage for us because authenticity and connection to real people is going to be so much more prevalent.
00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:06.879
And I think email is going to be the new again because so much noise is on social media, like on all the different platforms.
00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:11.120
And uh actually, Gary V had just said this the other day, which I'm not a huge, huge fan of Gary V.
00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:12.720
I mean, he's got some pretty good insights.
00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.240
He said analog is gonna be the new, the new thing.
00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:21.120
Analog is gonna be the new thing, meaning meetups in person.
00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:31.360
It's gonna be snail mail, it's going to be the things that aren't really cool, but they are gonna be cool because it's not common anymore, right?
00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:36.159
And so I think AI can actually be used to your advantage.
00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:50.879
Yes, I'm using AI in my you know, systems and processes and things like that, but I'm not gonna have it replace me, I'm not gonna have it replace my voice, or I'm not gonna create a clone of myself so I don't have to do the work.
00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:54.159
So I think there's still that connection piece that I don't think will ever go away.
00:15:54.240 --> 00:16:02.159
And I think if we can do what we're doing here, even this conversation, I think that's gonna be an advantage for people that want to embrace that.
00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:12.720
How do you stand out though, when you're being authentic on social media and emails and things, and you're just not cutting through the clutter still?
00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:20.799
Because I hear a lot of business owners, well, I spend so much time and I hand I manually write my content in this, and I'm just not seeing anything different.
00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:22.000
Any tips on that?
00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:23.519
Maybe they're I don't know.
00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:24.240
Yeah, yeah.
00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.759
No, I well, the thing is this is like I would have to get more granular with that.
00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:29.120
Like, are you talking about LinkedIn?
00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:30.399
Are you talking about like X?
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.000
Are you talking about those platforms?
00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:38.879
Because those platforms, you're gonna get way better reach on email even today than you are on any of those platforms ever.
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:44.639
Okay, because the only thing you have to really deal with with the email is getting through spam traps, right?
00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:46.639
And through the promotions tab.
00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:50.000
And there's ways to do that really, really simply.
00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:55.360
One of the ways is to in your very first email that you send to people, don't put any links in it, maybe one.
00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:56.320
That's it.
00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:05.519
Because then there's no HTML in there, there's no coloring, there's no, you know, it doesn't look like a website going through the email.
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:11.920
So that would be one thing I would say is like just send a stripped out uh email and let it be a personal one.
00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:16.559
Hey, you know, hey Michael, thanks so much for grabbing the Steady Leads playbook.
00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:17.599
I appreciate it.
00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.519
And uh, if you have any questions on it, let me know.
00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:21.440
I read and reply every single one.
00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:22.880
I'd love to hear your story.
00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.599
Like, boom, like open-ended loop, boom.
00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:27.599
And that to me will stand out.
00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:36.240
But now if we're on social media, I don't I'm currently not trying on any of the the big social media uh outlets.
00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:39.359
The only one that I'm focusing on, or actually, there's two.
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:43.519
The only one I'm focusing on for like outbound is YouTube.
00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:57.440
And the reason why is because YouTube is an evergreen platform, meaning if I put up a video today and it's relevant in two years from now, which all my stuff usually is, people will still be finding my video two years from now.
00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:01.440
If you put a post up on LinkedIn, it's probably never going to be seen again.
00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:03.359
It might be, but very, very unlikely.
00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:07.920
And then same thing with X, same thing with, you know, any of them, Instagram, you name it, right?
00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:10.000
It's like a content hamster wheel.
00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:16.960
I like depositing assets, planting these seeds that potentially can be, you know, feeding me for years and years and years.
00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:22.240
I actually just got a lead, what, like two days ago, and it was from a video that I did two years ago, right?
00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:24.319
So it's like that's my thing.
00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:27.359
And then once we are doing that, we have email.
00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.359
That's my second like outlet.
00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:33.759
So it's like email that, and then podcast, podcasting, like this right here.
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:35.359
I'm gonna go on other people's show.
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:36.720
You're gonna go on other people's show.
00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:37.839
We have our own show.
00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:38.960
So that's the other thing.
00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:41.440
So those are the only three things that I'm focusing on.
00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:49.920
And to get to numbers, if you're selling something that's five dollars, I will tell you right now, it is gonna be a hard business to grow, right?
00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.440
I'm not doing that.
00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:56.640
I used to do like widget selling, like products on Amazon and stuff for like$25,$30.
00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:59.359
But to me, it's like more premium now.
00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.599
And I think if you do that, you need less numbers.
00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.839
And when you need less numbers, then we can get those people that are gonna be opening all our emails, they're gonna be watching all our videos.
00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:12.720
There, and we don't care if it's a hundred people, 200 people, it's more concentrated.
00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:17.920
So, you know, we don't necessarily have to get those big numbers and that huge reach.
00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.759
You're listening to Small Business Pivots with Michael D.
00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:24.880
Morrison.
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:28.720
If you're ready to get your business unstuck and grow, let's chat.
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:33.759
Schedule your free session at michaeldmorrison.com.
00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.599
Now back to the show.
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.160
For the content in these videos, yeah.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.119
Are we still focused today on keywords?
00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:47.359
Are we moving over into the AEO, the answer engine optimization?
00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:53.599
You know, a lot of business owners hear all these acronyms and they don't really know what they mean and what they should be focused on.
00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.799
So when they're creating these videos, what do they put in them?
00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:58.319
What's the best route for that?
00:19:58.559 --> 00:19:59.680
Yeah, and that's great.
00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:06.160
Well, we have something that I kind of came up with over the years, and we're we're calling it the the authority binge blueprint.
00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:10.880
And what we want is we want our our potential clients to binge our content, right?
00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:19.680
That we know that if people watch more of our stuff, they're going to more likely or most likely, you know, either join our email list or join one of our programs or whatever.
00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:24.400
But so my thing is is like, I'm not trying to game the system, right?
00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:27.440
Now, are there things that we could do with SEO still?
00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:27.920
Yes.
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.960
YouTube is still a search engine, one of the largest, right?
00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.519
So if you go on there, and it just depends on what you're doing.
00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:40.640
Like, right for me, it might be like, you know, how to repair, you know, whatever, my air filter in whatever model, right?
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:42.559
You're still gonna get that search.
00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:55.039
But right now, if you want to get in browse, we have to have a little bit more of a clever title, a little bit more of like, you know, stop creating AI content if you want new clients, right?
00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:57.359
Like you'd be like, whoa, wait, what are you talking about?
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:02.960
You know, you a little bit more of a clickbaity, but yet you still want to deliver on the clickbait, right?
00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:08.559
But as far as AEO, that is something that is really interesting to me right now.
00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:13.920
And it's something that I'm I have an expert coming on that's gonna teach a masterclass for uh for our channel.
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:20.799
And I'm curious on, I don't know a lot about it, but I know it is gonna be important because a lot of the data is being pulled into your AI searches.
00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.640
And I just watched my daughter the other day.
00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:26.559
She's not using Google anymore, she's using Chat GPT to ask a question.
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:27.759
She's not going there.
00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:34.400
But so now we're gonna be able to be pulled into this engine that potentially could be there.
00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.039
But am I gonna focus a ton of time on that?
00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:38.160
No, I'm not.
00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:41.200
I'm just going to say, what does my client need?
00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:43.680
And what do what kind of questions do they have?
00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:45.279
What kind of problems do they have?
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:46.960
What kind of myths are they hearing?
00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:48.559
And I'm gonna just address those.
00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:54.720
And if you do that, you're putting out this this nice blanket of content that is for your people.
00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.759
And when one person finds a piece, they're gonna come on your list.
00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:06.720
And then once they're on your list, they will probably So we kind of keep them in this ecosystem of ours.
00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:19.039
So I don't really focus too much about that, but you're right, keywords are still important, but not to the point where you're like, I have to stress over, like, you know, like you used to back in the day with a blog post, and you're like, I gotta say it exactly.
00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:24.799
Or I mean, I came from the days of like you would buy the domain name, how to losebellyfat.com, right?
00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.000
Like you would do that stuff.
00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:32.160
That's we don't need to do that because the search engines are so smart now and they're all driven by AI.
00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:37.279
So if you try to game it, you're gonna you might game it for a day and then it's gonna change.
00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:47.119
So my default is ask yourself, what does my client that's sitting across the table from me need, or what's the question that they've been asking?
00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:49.119
Those are the videos that you create.
00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:50.640
It's that simple.
00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:58.160
A lot of us get caught in the trap of well, if it if it's not a big enough flame, let's put fuel on it.
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:04.720
So we start pouring sponsored ads and this, that, and another, and spending a lot of time and and wasting a lot of money.
00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.319
What are some suggestions?
00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:10.720
Is is yours grassroots efforts, is it that good a content?
00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.440
Do you put a little money behind it to get it boosted?
00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.640
But how does that work?
00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:18.240
Yeah, we have not ever boosted anything on YouTube.
00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:24.480
So I am proud to say that because I really truly don't think that you have to.
00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:29.599
With that being said, there isn't a little experiment I'm doing right now with Facebook.
00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:38.720
And what I'm doing is, and this is where we have our our whole slogan is kind of like, you know, get steady leads with just one simple YouTube video per week.
00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:49.680
Like I believe that if you do that, you will have in 52 weeks, you'll have 52 pieces of assets, you know, like content that your audience can find, but it also you can deliver to them.
00:23:50.079 --> 00:24:00.000
And another little fun fact is like, let's say that someone finds you on YouTube, they become, you know, maybe an email subscriber, and then, or you know what, let's back up.
00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:02.720
Let's say that someone heard you on a podcast.
00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:03.839
They weren't on YouTube yet.
00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:07.920
They did, they didn't find you on YouTube, they found you on a podcast, they joined your email list.
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:14.079
Your email list now drives them over to a YouTube video that you created three months ago.
00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:20.720
Well, now, because you sent them to that video, they watch some of it, just some of it, even a minute of it.
00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:24.000
Tomorrow, when they open their YouTube app, guess who they're gonna see?
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:24.640
You.
00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:25.599
Right?
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:32.160
So they don't even have to find you on that platform in order to see you on that platform because you can almost create this domino effect.
00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:41.359
But back to adding fuel, the one little experiment that I'm doing right now, and I am experimenting with this, is because our whole thing is like, how do we get people to binge our content?
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:48.960
Binging, meaning like how can they watch one piece and then another piece, and then three days later watch another piece and then constantly be watching some of our stuff.
00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:59.680
I have this idea that I'm testing, which is this I'm taking like six of our videos that are on YouTube and I'm uploading them to my Facebook page, right?
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.440
My my business page.
00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:09.279
And then I'm putting five dollars on the back of those, but I'm not sending them out to cold traffic.
00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:14.559
What I'm doing is I'm putting a pixel on my website, all my website traffic.
00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:20.720
So anybody that comes to my website, they're pixeled on on a Facebook pixel, a little technical here, but you'll get the idea.
00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:25.200
And then what I'm doing is I'm saying, like, okay, someone landed on my website.
00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:31.519
They might be on my email list, they might not, but I'm gonna put$5 on these videos that sit over here that I already created.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:33.200
Remember, I already created that asset for YouTube.
00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:39.599
I'm just taking those and kind of recycling them and I'm putting them up over here on Facebook and I'm putting$5 a day on those things.
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:43.279
And because it's such a small audience, it's not gonna burn through it.
00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:49.440
But it's a way for me to again be in their world and get them to binge, even if they weren't necessarily YouTube.
00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:52.400
So I am experimenting with that, and then there's some other cool things you can do.
00:25:52.480 --> 00:26:05.440
Like if people watch 25% or more of a video, you can then retarget them with another video, which I'm doing, I'm testing that to say, hey, if you're watching this, there's a good chance that you're actually someone that's been on my website, you know.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:09.200
So I kind of tell them like this is what we call the binge effect, and you're in it right now.
00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:16.079
And if you want me to help you with it with your business, just hit the link down below and we'll get on a strategy call and I'll walk you through it and we'll see if it can work for your business.
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.720
So that's only if they watch 25% or more.
00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:24.799
So there's some really cool things that you can do and not with a lot of money, but that's the only thing I'm testing with paid right now.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:30.720
That that's great to know because I know a lot of people think, well, maybe if I put more money behind it, people will finally see it.
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.720
And so that's good to know.
00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:36.000
But that leads into your company today.
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:36.400
Yeah.
00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:37.519
What does that look like?
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:38.400
How do you help?
00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:39.599
Who do you help?
00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:40.559
Yeah, yeah.
00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:41.359
Thanks for asking.
00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:50.960
Yeah, so the company is brand creators, and what we do is I say we, it's myself and my 28-year-old son who's been watching me build businesses for the last almost 28 years.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:54.079
That's actually it's been 20 years, about since brick and mortar.
00:26:54.240 --> 00:27:01.039
But yeah, so what we do is we help people, businesses, coaches, consultants get steady leads with just one simple YouTube video per week.
00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:05.680
And what we're doing is we run cohorts, so we don't just have like an open course, people come in.
00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:07.519
We like I did the course model.
00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:10.400
I don't believe people like that experience anymore.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:15.680
And you know, quite frankly, you can just go to you know AI and just say, hey, teach me this, right?
00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:19.519
But what they can't get is that one-on-one direct access.
00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:21.759
So what we do is we do cohort models.
00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:25.279
We have about eight to 10 people that were taking through our program.
00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:26.640
It's a 12-week program.
00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:34.960
And basically, we help them build out their authority binge blueprint with all of their content, which is about 20 to 25 pieces of content.
00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:56.880
And then we help them implement it and deploy it and then kind of get everything connected so that way there they understand how it works, but also how they can create a rhythm, a weekly rhythm to keep that content going out and hopefully get their authority built up to where they and also the lady that told me about AEO, she was telling me, she goes, one of the things is podcasts.
00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:58.160
That's a one way.
00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:05.599
Another you gotta have a signal, like if you have more signals out there on you, you have a better uh better chance of showing up in AEO.
00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:14.720
One of them is YouTube videos, and so that's what we're helping them do is build up their assets of videos that they can show their authority, right?
00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:36.559
Their expertise, but also get that no like and trust, build their email list, the lead, and then convert that lead into a client, whenever that is, but hopefully to shorten that cycle from if you were running cold ads, it would be get a cold lead, nurture, hopefully they buy something quick so I can replace the money or you know, replenish the money that I spent on the ads.
00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:44.000
And then, you know, so we're trying to shrink that down so people get to know like and trust us faster, but with useful information.
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:51.279
What is the average time that someone can possibly see some results for that authority?
00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:58.559
Yeah, well, I mean, it it really depends, and it just really depends on the business, the offer, the market.
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:01.440
We had uh one of our clients who get this.
00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:03.680
This is a really, really unique uh niche.
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:09.680
She helps cattle ranchers uh sell their beef more profitably.
00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:12.960
Okay, that's a pretty narrow, right?
00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:13.839
Specific.
00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:16.880
But some of them were doing like$20,000,$25,000 a month.
00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:19.200
She helps them get to$100,000 a month.
00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:24.960
And she was doing the whole, she's doing Facebook ads, she was doing you know, all that stuff, big complex funnel.
00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:28.960
And what she realized was she wasn't using YouTube, she wasn't using videos.
00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:30.400
So she started a YouTube channel.
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:31.359
We helped her with it.
00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:35.200
She got only only 109 subscribers at the time.
00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:39.359
I think her best video had maybe 800 views, which was a banger for her channel.
00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:42.000
And then the other ones were like 100 to 200 views.
00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:56.319
She signed two clients, I think it was$12,500 total from that because and get this the client said, Oh, yeah, I found your video on YouTube and I watched it.
00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:02.640
And then I watched the other one that talked about whatever it was, and she goes, and he goes, and and here I am.
00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:06.640
So that right there proves that you don't need a massive channel.
00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:15.119
So it can happen quickly, but I also just think that the way that I look at it is to me, it's you know, it's a journey, right?
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.640
It's like, but we're putting assets out there that potentially could be found.
00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:37.599
But more importantly, if you already have an audience, if you already have 200 emails, you know, on your list, you need to give them some of this stuff so that way there they potentially could want to buy sooner or get to know like and trust you versus just sending blank emails that don't have a face, that don't have your inflection, they don't have your passion.
00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:40.000
So it just really does depend.
00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:45.839
But I've seen it work, you know, really, really quick, but I've also seen it where it could take time, you know.
00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:51.039
Like I said, like I've got a client that just came in that they've been watching our stuff and getting our emails for 18 months.
00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:52.559
So it really just does depend.
00:30:52.640 --> 00:31:01.359
But if you're in it for the long haul, this is something I think is going to definitely be something that could benefit you if you already have an existing audience really fast.
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:05.759
But if you don't have an audience, it could take a little bit longer, obviously, because you're starting from scratch.
00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:10.160
Yeah, your authority library is kind of what I reference that as.
00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:12.640
But you mentioned emails again.
00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:23.440
And so this time you said, you know, even if you have 200 emails, well, you said earlier that you personally reply in those emails or send the emails out.
00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:24.000
Yep.
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:29.680
So do you not use or recommend, you know, the HubSpot, the MailChimps, and things like that?
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:35.440
Because that's what they do is send out those templated email newsletters like you were referring to.
00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:40.240
Are those just gone and away, or should you still do that, or should one still do that?
00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:46.079
Yeah, that's I'm glad you brought that up because it's I don't want people to think I'm not using a tool anymore.
00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:48.160
I am, but there's a way that we can do this.
00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:51.920
Um it's still automated, but the follow-up is not automated.
00:31:52.000 --> 00:32:00.480
So what I mean by that is that first email that goes out that says, Hey Michael, you know, yeah, I I saw you just grab the Steady Leads playbook.
00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:02.480
If you have any questions, let me know.
00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:12.559
In the meantime, make sure that you look at page four because that's where it talks about getting clear on who your target audience is, which is the most important part of this whole thing.
00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:16.400
But again, let me know a little bit more about your business and maybe I can help you out.
00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:17.200
That's it.
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:19.599
You know, that email is automated.
00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:25.599
But if you reply, which a lot of people do, then I take my fingers and I type you back.
00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:26.160
Right?
00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:32.000
Unless you're using Whisperflow, which I am, I actually hit F9 and then I just speak my emails now because I don't like typing.
00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:33.920
But it's still automated.
00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:43.039
I'm on Kajabi, that's my platform that I I host everything on, but I've used Kit, I've used SendGrid, I've used ClickFunnels, I've I've used Infusion Soft, I've used them all.
00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:44.240
They're all good.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:47.119
Um, I've used Kit, Convert Kit, yeah, formerly.
00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:51.039
So I'm still recommending you use one of those platforms.
00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:52.240
We're still collecting.
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:54.960
So part of our process is we call it the steady leads flywheel.
00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:56.079
That's our capture system.
00:32:56.160 --> 00:33:00.079
That's where we have a lead magnet, we have a landing page, a thank you page, and a follow-up.
00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:03.920
Like that's everything kind of in that collection system.
00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:09.279
But yes, we are still collecting inside of uh of a uh tool.
00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:16.240
And then from there, we're automating that first message, but I'm not doing these giant sequences that last for like a year.
00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:18.000
I'm sending out broadcast emails.
00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:20.480
I send out three emails a week Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:23.359
I mean, everything is kind of doing what I'm saying right here.
00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:30.559
I I lead with a value, you know, based email, and then I'll have a little, a little call to action about a video that I might have created.
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:35.440
And then in my PS, it's like here's four different, here's four ways that I can help you if you're ready now, kind of thing.
00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:36.240
And that's it.
00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:37.680
And they they go out all the time.
00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:45.440
So the thing I'm saying is if you join, if you join one of these tools or you're using one of these tools, don't grab a template and make it look all fancy.
00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:47.119
Like just strip it down.
00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:53.920
Like just it's it's text-based, you're not using HTML, text-based, you're using some links in there, but nothing.
00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:55.359
I barely use images.
00:33:55.519 --> 00:34:01.839
And one of the reasons is because I don't want the image to flag the email provider to say, oh, this is a promotional thing, right?
00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:08.239
Because not a lot of people are sending images and emails as much as they are like on Facebook, um, occasionally.
00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:18.400
But if you're putting a whole bunch of links and bolds and caps and different colored texts and stuff like that, you wouldn't do that if I was if you were a friend and I'm just like, hey, you know, what's going on, man?
00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:19.760
You want to play pickleball on the weekend?
00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:21.679
I'm like, I'm not doing that, right?
00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:24.400
So we want to treat it as if we're writing to a friend.
00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:25.679
Fantastic.
00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:27.440
What does it look like to work with you?
00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:28.800
How can they get a hold of you?
00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:32.880
Yeah, well, the first thing is I always tell people just go grab some of the free stuff.
00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:37.199
And the first place I would go is our playbook, which is our Steady Leads playbook.
00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:38.079
It's 18 pages.
00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:41.039
And I also have a workshop that goes along with it that's free.
00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:44.480
So if you just go to steadyleadsplaybook.com, it'll get you there.
00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:50.719
And then just, yeah, you put your email in and you'll be kind of experiencing what I'm saying in real time.
00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:55.519
Even if you just want to model what I'm doing and you'll get that first email, you'll see what that looks like.
00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:56.800
But yeah, everything's there.
00:34:56.880 --> 00:34:59.519
And the thing is, I want to leave people with this too, though.
00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:02.480
It's like a lot of people either like, yeah, but I don't want to give everything away.
00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:04.960
Here's something I learned a long time ago.
00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:08.639
Give it all away, every single bit that you can.
00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:13.679
Because there's always gonna be people that still want you to help them personally.
00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:14.639
There always is.
00:35:14.719 --> 00:35:16.960
They're always you just they want you to take them by the hand.
00:35:17.119 --> 00:35:21.119
And I learned that years and years ago because I was afraid of that.
00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:22.960
I'm like, well, if I get, why are they gonna hire me?
00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:24.400
You know, it's like, why?
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:27.039
Because they want you to look at their situation.
00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:32.800
They, it's like, I can give you our blueprint, I can show you how to map it out, but then you're like, Scott, will you take a look at this?
00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:35.039
Will you tell me, is this a good, should I do that title?
00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:36.639
That title, I don't know if it's got a good hook.
00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:37.679
What do you think, Scott?
00:35:37.760 --> 00:35:38.000
Right?
00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:38.960
You're not gonna get that.
00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:42.400
AI will give you it, but you don't know if it's really me, right?
00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:47.760
So, yeah, I always tell people, give it all away, be of service.
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:58.400
And if you are of service genuinely, and you really believe, and that's why I go back to like, if you're really gonna do this thing and you're really truly passionate about it, you'll get there.
00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:08.639
But you got to believe in the thing that you're doing, and you got to believe that you're helping someone on the other end, you know, deliver a result, even if it's just learning how to play the guitar better, right?
00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:09.599
It doesn't really matter.
00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:13.599
They they want something at the end of the day, and if you can help them with that, they're gonna be a huge fan.
00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:14.400
Absolutely.
00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:21.440
I hear business owners from time to time always say, if somebody could just give me a step-by-step process, I could do this.
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:22.079
Yeah, right.
00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:29.280
And so that's what they're doing is hey, I see all this content out there, I just don't know how to put it in something that works for me.
00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:30.559
So you that's 100%.
00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:31.760
That's a great point.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:38.000
For those that want to get to know you personally better, where's the best channel to follow you, connect with you?
00:36:38.239 --> 00:36:43.760
Yeah, I mean, that's basically it because I don't do a lot of social media, I'm not on all the platforms.
00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:46.800
I have been playing around with LinkedIn, but very, very little.
00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:49.920
Um, and the only thing I'm doing there is I'm reposting some of my videos.
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:52.960
Again, I'm trying to repurpose my content, but I'm not chopping it up.
00:36:53.039 --> 00:36:54.239
I'm just putting out the video.
00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:55.679
But I wouldn't even say go there.
00:36:55.760 --> 00:37:05.519
I would just say grab the playbook and you'll be on my email list, and you can literally communicate with me through email, and I will reply to you if you were if you send me something.
00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:06.480
Fantastic.
00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:10.239
Well, we always lead leave with a question.
00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:21.760
And today's question, out of everything you've shared, which has been a tremendous amount of value, what is one thing that you would suggest or recommend each business owner to go do now?
00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:23.360
And they will be able to do that.
00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:39.360
Yeah, I think the biggest thing to do right now is to ask yourself who it is that you are helping, okay, and or who you want to help who, then what is the problem that you're helping them solve?
00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:41.920
And I don't mean all the problems, I mean one problem.
00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:43.199
One problem.
00:37:43.440 --> 00:37:48.000
I'm helping coaches and consultants get steady leads in their business with one simple YouTube video per week.
00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:50.000
I'm not, I'm not helping them with their email marketing.
00:37:50.079 --> 00:37:51.840
I can, but I'm not, right?
00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:56.559
So one problem, and then how are you going to help them do it?
00:37:56.719 --> 00:37:57.760
What is your process?
00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:00.159
What is your what is your system?
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:00.559
Right?
00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:01.360
What is that?
00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:02.079
That's it.
00:38:02.239 --> 00:38:04.159
So I would sit down and I would write that down.
00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:05.599
Who is it that I'm helping?
00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:06.559
And get specific.
00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:09.679
I help coaches and consultants and service professionals.
00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:10.960
Okay, that's who.
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:12.239
So then what?
00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:13.920
What do you help them solve?
00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:14.800
What problem?
00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:16.960
And then what's your mechanism?
00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:18.400
What is your process?
00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:19.360
That's what I would do.
00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:21.760
I would sit down with a napkin and I would write that out.
00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:23.119
Great advice, Scott.
00:38:23.280 --> 00:38:27.519
Well, I appreciate your time and insights today and wish you continued success.
00:38:27.760 --> 00:38:29.440
Hey, Michael, thank you so much for having me.
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:30.400
This has been amazing.
00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:33.440
And uh, yeah, to all that all the success for you and your audience.
00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:35.599
And uh yeah, I'm rooting for all of you.
00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:40.159
Thanks for listening to Small Business Pivots.
00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:48.559
If you're ready to get unstuck and grow, schedule your free coaching session at michaeldmorrison.com.
00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:56.079
On social media, you can find and connect with me using the handle Michael D.Morrison OKC.
00:38:56.400 --> 00:39:01.440
And if today's episode helped you, subscribe and share it with other business owners.
00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:05.039
Until next week, keep pivoting.