How to Create Content That Actually Converts Into Clients with Britney Gardner

Kathi: Hi, I'm Kathi, back with Organized and Energized. I'm here with Britney Gardner. And let me tell you what: few marketers truly marry their creative and analytical sides. With a visual background in photography and graphic design training under the top copywriters in the country, Britney Gardner pairs creativity with her strategic mastermind personality. She also hosts a show, The Know Like & Trust Show, and she's the creator of the Be Seen Method. Today, we'll learn a few tricks and tips from Britney to see what she does to grab the ideal client and also to keep her work-life balance under check. So, thanks, Britney. Thanks so much for coming on.

Britney: Well, thank you so much for the opportunity. I appreciate it.

Kathi: Yeah, absolutely. So, you have a varied background. Talk to me about what you did prior to becoming an entrepreneur.

Britney: Actually, there's not actually an answer to that. I started my first business at the age of 20. I've been a photographer since then, and I ran that business for over a decade. I was a wedding and portrait photographer and went the normal route. I got married, had a family, and didn't want to give up my weekends to clients all the time. And I moved into, originally, branding photography, and it was natural progression. I knew a lot of business owners. They needed branding photos. The online digital age was coming in hot, right? And they all needed good photos for their website. But they immediately came to me after they got their photos, and they're like, "These are so amazing. I love all my pictures. What do I do with them?" And that is how I ended up doing what I am doing now. So, I've had a few business shifts along the way, some intentional, some just meeting the need of the marketplace. But the reality is we do need to create content as online business owners. And my mantra is authentic automated marketing. Yes, be you. Be real and genuine. That's so important. But also, that doesn't mean that you have to be creating and constantly churning out new content. You can figure out what works, start to automate it, get your life back under control. There's that life balance thing right there, right? And not be on that content creation hamster wheel for the rest of your business.

You can figure out what works, start to automate it, get your life back under control.

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Kathi: Sounds like you're a serial entrepreneur through and through, similar to myself. I love it. And I was in the bride industry as well when I was doing event planning and when I started as a pro organizer. So, yeah, you step away from a little bit of that mayhem and focus on things better, right?

Britney: Yeah. Yeah.

Kathi: So, what specific challenge? You talked a little bit. Okay, so they have their headshot, then they're like, what do we do? What do you do now? What did you morph your business into? And what's the specific challenge that you help your clients overcome?

Britney: The specific challenge I am focused on today is creating content that actually converts into clients. And I do say converts into clients intentionally there, because there is, especially with the big gurus in the industry, this huge push to create and do all the things and be in all the places and build your audience up. And those all have a place. I'm not going to say they don't have a place. But also, I'm not really all that interested in racking up likes on Instagram. I love my Instagram. I enjoy it. It's my chosen place to hang out most often. But likes mean very little, is what I have found out, right? The reality is the content that actually leads to clients in my business, butts in seats, if you will, right? It's almost always the content that didn't get a lot of likes and certainly didn't get a lot of comments. So when I actually track back, the posts that look like they got very little love are usually the ones that ended up getting meetings, and then those meetings moving on to the booking phase as well, if it was a good fit. And the reason I started analyzing this, the reason is, the kind of content that leads to clients is usually the kind of content that makes your audience think very differently about their problem. And we humans tend not to be very verbose when we are thinking. We also get a little uncomfortable at times, and that often means that we don't want to be seen as commenting or liking a specific thing if we're feeling uncomfortable about it.

The kind of content that leads to clients is usually the kind of content that makes your audience think very differently about their problem.

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Kathi: Oh, that's so interesting. I can totally see that point, but I've never considered it. Because I'm like the content queen. I just spew content everywhere. I make content. I can't stop myself. But knowing what is good and what is not, I would totally think that the things that people are liking are what's going to convert into clients and sales. So, really, really smart stuff you have there. So, you've been doing this for a while, basically your whole entire adult life. When you feel burnout, what do you do to recharge yourself? What's your secret for getting renewed energy?

Britney: Yeah. It's not working. It's stepping away from my desk entirely. So for me, renewing myself can be reading a good fiction book. I do enjoy reading nonfiction as well, but that's not renewing to me. That's a growth situation, right? It's going and chopping some vegetables. Literally just chopping some vegetables can do it for me. So long as I'm not stressed about making dinner in a 15-minute time block, I find that to be a very zen activity. And doing those kinds of things, they always lead me to thinking about solutions in my business. So I found, at least, that burnout often is because I'm up against the wall on a problem, and I'm feeling stressed about solving it, and it's not coming to me. So when I step away and I give myself some space to think about it when I'm not actually having to think about it, I tend to find those solutions. And that high, that little endorphin kick of figuring something out, tends to renew me better than anything.

Kathi: Yeah, I love that. Step away, step away, everybody. And some people get so mired in their muck that they're like, I can't step away because it's going to fall apart and everything will go boom. But you don't have the solution if you don't step away. And same thing, cooking meals and chopping vegetables. I love doing a meal as long as I have a lot of time to eat it afterwards. I hate prepping a meal and then saying, oh, got a movie in half an hour, got to eat. It's like, no, no, I killed the whole buzz. Right?

Britney: Yeah. 100%. I don't like the time stress around it. That's not fun.

Kathi: Right. No time stress. Just cook and have fun. And I know you have kiddos, too, and that probably helps you renew at the same time. For sure. So, what would you say is the big lesson that being a business owner has taught you as an entrepreneurial woman?

Britney: The biggest lesson. I said this six years ago on one of the first podcasts I was ever a guest on: that I never understood I would cry more about my business than I would about being a mom. I don't know if that's actually true today. Six years ago it was. But beyond that, that's such a hard one, because it changes. It really does change. I might have answered that differently a month ago.

Kathi: Absolutely. Yeah, I'm with you on that. We all have our life lessons that we learned. My big one is know how to say no. Know when to say no and who to say no to and how to say no with grace. That's a big one, because you can't be all things for all people, for sure. Any reflection on that?

Britney: No, I was just going to say, yeah, learning how to say no to the wrong situation and the wrong people are two different skills. And when you put them together, I feel like things even out a ton.

Kathi: Yeah. And how to say no, I think, is very super important too, without offending, for sure. So, okay, let's get organized now. What do you do, my friend, to keep your life organized and your business organized? You can talk life, business or whatever you want. What's your favorite hack?

Britney: Yeah. I am fairly good at organization, and I just moved and had to reorganize all the house stuff. Our old master bathroom had two sinks and a whole bunch of drawers. Our new one has one sink and only two tiny drawers. That makes you re-evaluate the purpose of things in your world, right? But I think most of us are probably pretty good at figuring out where to put something in our house, but maybe not as good at that as where to put something in our business. And for me, especially speaking from a content perspective, because that's my expertise, staying on brand seems like it's very difficult for a lot of people. When you're out there on social media, out there in Facebook groups, things like that, right? You're like, "No, that person was just talking about this other thing last week, and now they're talking about this. What is going on here?" Right? And I really like for myself to use a few different content buckets. If what I want to talk about today doesn't fit in one of those buckets, it is not on brand for me. It does not represent me well, and it's only going to lead to confusion in the marketplace. And let's face it, it is a noisy, noisy world out there, especially online, right?

If what I want to talk about today doesn't fit in one of those buckets, it is not on brand for me.

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Kathi: We don't need confusion. It really is. So for those who aren't familiar with buckets, how would you describe that? Because I love the bucket idea.

Britney: Yeah. I like to call them buckets because content is an ever-growing thing, right? So you create some topic ideas, you put them in topic bucket A, B or C. I like to do three different ones. And as you use that topic, maybe it stays in there because you can expand upon it in the future. Maybe it comes out because you've completed that topic. So I like to use that as the visual. I have heard other people describe them as content pillars as well, and that's also a really appropriate way to describe them. I use the visual that works for me, and you can use the visual that works for you. But the idea is they are three themes within your business. And you can organize it by things that help people know you, things that help people like you, things that help people trust you. I've heard other people talk about one that helps you shine, one that helps you sell, and one that helps you set up your authority. You can base it on your core values, if you're more of a touchy-feely kind of business. It really just depends on what feels good to you and allows you the creativity to create great content and stay on brand.

Kathi: Yeah. And inspires you to do it. I do work or life or home: which part do you want to get organized? And those are my three buckets. And it was important to narrow it down. I totally agree with you. Because as entrepreneurs, I spew content all the time. So to keep me focused on, okay, which one am I talking about? Am I talking about your work organizing, your life organizing or your home organizing? Which one is it?

Britney: Yeah. And you know what? I don't know about you, but my life and my work spill into each other all the time. And part of that is the nature of what I do. I tell a lot of stories in my work, and a lot of times the stories are life-based. So they naturally go together. And part of it is because I have an interesting work schedule, with one medium-aged child and one younger child. I don't always get a full day of work. Sometimes, like Thursdays, I only work usually an hour or so, because that's all I have time for. So a lot of times my organization things for one will spill over into the other one, right? But it helps me stay in my lane and make sure I get things done and keep that work-life balance in as good a situation as possible.

Kathi: Would you say that your kiddos are your biggest organizing obstacle, or have you identified other obstacles to keeping yourself organized?

Britney: Oh, it's definitely not my kids. No, it's me. I mean, if we're talking about things I have to stumble across in the hallway to get out of my office, then yes, it's totally my kids. But no, actually, my kids probably keep me more organized in my business because of how I've had to arrange my schedule. Fridays are homeschool community day. So I don't work on Fridays ever, and therefore I now have to move my work to other containers. Tuesdays are usually appointments for my youngest child. And because of that, I have some defined time periods that can't move on Tuesday. So you probably won't catch me working in a public way on Tuesday. But between appointment one and appointment two, I often go to the gym and sit in the adult lounge with my laptop on Wi-Fi and just catch up on an hour of emails, right? Those roles of different hours in my week have become more defined because of my kids. And as a result, it forces me to be more organized and more efficient. I know I have to get things done within a very specific time period because of how my life is, and that was my choice.

Kathi: Yeah. I was talking to someone on another podcast about the four-hour day, trying to get everything done in four hours. When we have limits to when we're allowed to, or have the pocket of time to work, we tend to get more done. Quite honestly, if we have a whole whatever, we can work till burnout, and then you'd get a lot less done anyhow. So I love the pocketing of appointments and putting in a day just like you have. It's a good thing I record podcasts on Monday, huh?

Britney: It very much is. Yeah.

Kathi: That's perfect. So, what would you say, Britney? What would be your best piece of advice for entrepreneurs who want to create more freedom within their business or freedom within their life?

Britney: For me, the average small business owner spends more than eight hours a week on social media. And that's a fifth of a 40-hour work week, if you work 40 hours. That's a significant amount of time. So, if you're going to do that, please be productive about it. That's all I really can say. The best advice I can give my clients, or people who are in that content creation world like you and I are, is measure what you are doing. Don't post things because they rack up likes. Like I said earlier, it's not the viral post that's going to book you clients. And I love helping people. I get an immense amount of joy around helping my clients solve their problems, but I also am running a business. So I need to make sure that what I'm doing is leading to a profitable time, at least. So I measure everything I do, and that's how I found out, for both me and my clients, right? It's the content that doesn't look the most popular that often does lead to the clients actually booking appointments. So my best piece of advice is measure what you are doing. And if you're a done-for-you service provider, like an organizer, for example, that means you're going to track how many hours you're putting on each kind of client job, right? If you're a website designer, same thing. If you're a coach, how much time are you spending marketing versus serving your clients? These are all trackable things. Trackable even beyond what content works.

It's not the viral post that's going to book you clients.

Kathi: I love that. Love that. And a lot of people don't want to spend the time tracking, but that's really where the gold is, right? That's where you know where you should focus and where you should not focus.

Britney: Yeah. And again, authentic automated marketing: you can be authentic and be automated. Your tracking and measuring can also be automated if you take a little bit of time to set it up in the beginning. Like most things, a little bit of pre-planning goes a long way towards relieving anxieties in the future.

Kathi: Oh, yeah. The Abe Lincoln: for three hours of preparation, I save eight hours of perspiration. That's what he always said. My favorite guy.

Britney: Yeah, it's what it is.

Kathi: So, I know you have a valuable free resource that you're going to offer the viewers here. So, what are you going to give the people listening? What does the audience get?

Britney: Yeah. So, I have a short guide called the Content Creation Prescription. So it's the Content Rx. And in it, I talk about the kinds of content that will net those clients, like we were talking about: content that gets your people thinking about their problems differently. And I also touch on the four big content mistakes that I see a lot of entrepreneurs making out there in the social media posting realm. Those things are really easy to avoid once they've been pointed out to you. So I hope that's of benefit to your audience, because again, let's make sure that the time we're spending is productive.

Kathi: Yeah, I love that. Thank you. That's a really, really generous gift. And I'm going to devour it, because again, measure all that stuff. Just tell me. That's what I always say.

Britney: Yep.

Kathi: So, yeah, I will be reading that as well. It'll be good for me. So, what's the one question that I should have asked you that I have not asked you about yourself or your business today, Britney?

Britney: The one question. I ask this actually to a lot of people, and when it comes to that for me, it's always, hey, what am I missing here? I have a lot of clients come to me, and they're like, I want to do this. I want to do this. And I'm like, okay. Or I have a client be like, "I need to move into this area." And I'm like, "Okay." And they have it all mapped out in their head, but there's always one thing that's missing. We all have blind spots. So that's the question that you should ask someone like me, someone who's got a very strategic and creative mind, who can look at things from an overhead view but also see the little hurdles along the way. What's my blind spot? That is probably the question that will get you the most mileage.

What's my blind spot? That is probably the question that will get you the most mileage.

Kathi: Oh, that's really good. What's my blind spot? Okay, good. I'll be asking that to a few people as well. As coaches and people who do what we do, we're like the mirror. It's so easy to see blind spots in clients, but not in ourselves.

Britney: For sure. Oh, and I'm the same way. I'm a really good strategic mastermind for my clients, but I still have people I have to go to for that same thing for me, because, like you said, we don't see it in ourselves.

Kathi: No. And masters hire masters. I mean, the most successful of us, that's what we're doing. We're using people to help us, to be that mirror, to shine it back to us and say, "Hey, what about that?" And I agree with you. I was looking on your website that the things that often are tweaked are just really small, seemingly insignificant things that we've completely overlooked because we've read through them so many times and done them so many times that, oh, yeah, maybe we should have put that little step in there, huh?

Britney: Yeah. And also, it's the curse of the expert, right? So, you're really good at some stuff. Really, really good. So good that I probably am looking at you and I'm like, I don't think I could ever do that. And then you turn around and you start teaching me how to do that. But because it's so long ago that you got away from that point I'm at right now, it's really hard for you to sometimes break down the steps to get there, and you miss one step. And then I'm over here on the other side going, I don't get it. What am I missing here? And this "you" could be anyone, and the "me" could be anyone. We all do this. So, yeah, it helps having people pick up that blind side for you.

Kathi: Yeah, I love it. Okay. Well, it's been a real pleasure, and I so appreciate your time. The audio was a little bit weird, guys, because we are having a storm up in Portland where Britney is, but we only missed a couple words, I think, just a little bit. So thanks so much for your time, even during the storm, and setting aside the time. And I look forward to learning more about what you do and downloading your resource and seeing more of what you're up to. I'll be watching you, Britney. Thank you.

Britney: Oh, well, thank you so much, and thanks for making it work, storm aside. We're all in this business together, right? We're making it work.

Kathi: That's right. Okay. Have a good one. Thank you so much.