Lisssten! I’m delighted to share my debut podcast episode with you. I had the privilege of being a guest on the “Ready, Set, Collaborate!” Show with Wanda Pearson, and you’re in for an incredible experience!
In this exciting and informative chat, I unpack the significance of a well-strategized content plan and collaboration in achieving business goals.
Expect to learn:
✅ The critical role of content strategy in engaging target audiences and driving your business forward.
✅ How to tackle common marketing challenges such as perfectionism and consistency.
✅ My enlightening advice for women founders to understand your Why, Who, and What.
✅ The need for tracking and measuring marketing efforts for continuous improvement and growth.
✅ The importance of integrating collaboration into your marketing strategies.
Use this moment to acquire these valuable insights. Whether you prefer video, audio, or a full transcript, I got you covered below👇🏽 This show might be what you need to arm yourself with the essential tools to excel in content marketing and cultivate fruitful collaborations this quarter.
Video
Audio
Transcript
Wanda (00:02):
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Ready Set Collaborate podcast with Wanda Pearson. And I am so excited to have my girl, Charlene Baker, SlayYourContent on my podcast. And it’s just so exciting to get professionals, these guests that can tell you a lot about how you can get your content together, marketing together. And I was just excited to get Charlene on my show. So she’s actually our last guest on our marketing content strategies, and I wanted to bring her on. So Charlene, say hello to the audience.
Charlene (00:37):
Hi, first of all, thank you Wanda, so much for having me on. Super excited and stoked to be here. And yeah, it’s a blessing to be in front of your audience, so thank you for thinking of me.
Wanda (00:48):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. We ran into each other. We may not see each other in a couple of years, but when we run into each other, it’s like we never stop talking.
Charlene (00:55):
Listen, we pick right back up, right?
Wanda (00:59):
Never stop talking. But I am so excited to have you on here and really to teach me some ideas as far as your content and how to get more content. I have a marketing manager who actually helps me do a lot of things, but I am always open to any kind of education I can get from everybody. But thank you. Thank you for being here on the show. So let me tell you a little bit about Ms. Charlene Baker. So ever find your family scratching their heads asking. So what exactly do you do?
(01:30):
Lots to laugh. Ha. Charlene gets that a lot, but the clients she serves are crystal clear on the impact and transformation content marketing has on their business and she must get her hands on more of them. Sorry, I’m tongue tied here. You’re good. So introducing Charlene Baker, founder and lead content strategist of Slay Your Content, a marketing agency with a mission to turn organic content strategy into five and six figure demands for women led companies. Charlene’s Passion is helping these influential brands get their message brilliance and transformation in front of those who need them the most, where they’re serving as their fractional content marketing director, coaching them through their content challenges or leveraging partnerships to expand their impact. Charlene wants to get their gift out to the world. Hey, I’m saying her why is her? Why to create VIP experiences for her family to ensure her special needs kiddo Joshua never has to want in his life. I love that. And to generously give to organizations supporting women and children. This is what drives Charlene daily. I can understand that Charlene lives in metro Atlanta with her amazing husband Brian, and beautiful boys, Joshua and Caleb. They love good food travel and the Pittsburgh, well, you go ahead girl. You mess. I’ll tell you, I’m a Chicago, well, no, I’m not a Chicago Bear Steeler, so I’m going to leave that one alone.
Charlene (03:07):
I was going to say, listen. So I grew up as a Packers fan. My dad is a Packers fan, and so he absolutely does not like a Chicago Bear.
Wanda (03:18):
I don’t know when the last time they’d been there. Good. Anyway, so we were in New Jersey with the Giants, then we went to Atlanta. Well, let me leave that one alone, the Falcons. So we going to leave that one alone. But welcome to my podcast, Charlene. I really appreciate it. So I know I just told a little bit about yourself, but tell us a little bit more about you.
Charlene (03:45):
Yes, yes. So yep. Like you shared, I’m a believer wife, mom, amazing. Two boys, Joshua and Caleb we’re here in Atlanta. And my business journey is actually quite interesting how I started out. So I started in 2008 and I was just simply curious about how gurus were making money on their couch from the internet. So back then I was just trying to figure out this whole thing called internet marketing, which today refer to as digital marketing. And I was trying a lot of different things like network marketing, affiliate marketing, direct sales, but ended up falling in love with blogging and email marketing and so tapped into that. So from 2008 till 2014, it was like a roller coaster period. So there were periods where I was all in, I was showing up online, you saw me on the daily, and then there were times where I just played around with it because I never had to rely on it as a real source of income until 2014.
(04:53):
So 2014 was when I found out that my two-year-old kiddo Joshua, he was diagnosed with a long-term disability. And the year prior I was working at a job and I told them that the pediatrician had noticed there’s something wrong. He’s not meeting his milestones. So I need to scale back from full-time to part-time so I can take him to all these therapy and doctor appointments so we can get him caught up. So even though he had made some progress during that year, in 2014, we did more testing and found out that it would be more of a long-term situation. And my employer at the time, he was like, when are you coming back? And I shared that I would not be able to because things have changed and I need to stay on part-time. And he was like, well, we don’t do part-time here. So I ended up giving a two week resignation.
(05:46):
I had no money in the bank at all, no game plan, but I always had the skills that I had learned over the years and now it was time for me to put it forth and make it happen. And so that’s what I did. I freelance for a ton of companies as their freelance writer, as a blogger, I was a ghost writer. So I would see many of my articles show up on sites like forbes.com and on social media today. Even though I couldn’t get credit for it, I knew it was my stuff. And so it kind of validated what I had studied over the years was real. I was helping these companies become experts and industry leaders in their space. And then here we are today, I’m still doing what I enjoyed doing, but more so focusing on women-led brands.
Wanda (06:36):
I love it. I came from corporate as well. Well, initially I was a social worker working a job corps, but I came from corporate. But that corporation teaches us to meeting know how to deal with the world with our skills because the same thing happened with me. Listen, I retired after 36 years in my company and I brought that with me to do my company,
(06:58):
But I felt the same way. I was giving them my knowledge and they’re taking it and giving it to other people, and then they want to put me back down to where I was. I said, okay, it, I’m done. My financial advisor, can I retire now? So when he said yes, that’s when I just got out there and do what I’m doing, girl, as far as that. But no, I love it. I love your story and how you actually branch out. And the same thing we leaving back that big salary behind and say, okay, Lord, what am I going to do? But we know he’s going to take care of us because I said, how am I going to pay the rent? How am I going to pay the mortgage? But he always take care of us and he puts us in the right place at the right time. Right?
Charlene (07:42):
That’s right. That’s right. And to piggyback off of that, the journey isn’t easy. It wasn’t like I started out and I was successful, and I’ll share more on this probably in a bit, but there was a period where I still had to generate the client and be consistent and show up. But it was with that consistency that the results and the income started coming in. So God plus consistency, that’s your results.
Wanda (08:16):
Absolutely. Absolutely. And you’re so right about that, and it really is. You got to give because you start getting anxious and anxiety hits and the worrisome, how am I going to do this? But after you sit back for a minute and it is hard, God said, I got you. He got us and he got us to what we are doing today. And I tell you, I wouldn’t give it up for the world, not going back to corporate. I’m going to do what I’m doing, what I like most helping people. But no, I love that. So you told us a little bit how you started and why you started SlayYourContent. So how did you get that name SlayYourContent
Charlene (08:55):
Content? That’s a great question. That was a great question. So it was December, 2020, I decided to rebrand and I wanted a name that would represent an official agency and that it encompass a little bit of what I do. And so I was able to write a ton of articles, email content for these amazing brands to help them slay in their industries, to help them stand out and be unique and be different in a crowded space that we call the internet. And so yeah, my aim is to originally I started out, like I said, I was a freelance writer, did a ton of content writing, but what I realized, Wanda, is that a lot of these companies were out trying to figure out if their marketing was working. So they would put up a social media post, but there was no strategy behind it. They were just hoping that it would stick, that it would resonate. And so I shifted my focus because I’m doing all these pieces, but there was no strategy behind it. It didn’t align with their ultimate business goals. They wanted to generate revenue, but what’s the why behind it, right? They weren’t clear on who they were serving and it wasn’t documented. So I shifted the focus to content strategy so that way they can show up with intention, they can show up with a strategy knowing that what we’re doing there is an end goal and we’re all clear on what that end goal is.
(10:37):
And then if they want to hire us on the back end to do the marketing for them, we can. But content strategy is what I’ve really have shifted my core focus to when serving my audience to ensure that they’re showing up online with intention that it aligns with their business goals and their revenue goals.
Wanda (10:55):
That’s great. And that actually brings me to the next question since you talked about that. What is content strategy and why is it important?
Charlene (11:02):
Yes, great question. So I’m actually going to read HubSpot’s definition real quick of content strategy. HubSpot is like the leading, they’re the industry leaders in digital marketing. So they say a content strategy is the planning, creation, publication management and governance of content. A great content strategy will attract and engage a target audience meeting their needs while driving business goals. So in other words, it is your process of consistently creating highly useful storytelling, engaging content. So whether that’s social media, your blogs, your emails, your videos, your podcasts, your newsletters, getting that in front of your ideal client and moving your ideal client to specific action through your content. Because at the end of the day, we want our content to generate an action, whether that’s responding to the social media posts, whether that’s opting into your email list, whether that’s going to the transaction, making an actual financial transaction, whatever that action is, the goal of your content is to move them in that direction. And the more that your content does this, the more successful your strategy is at the end of the day. And we want our content to position us as that leader that go-to person in the industry. We’re answering questions, we’re offering solutions, we’re addressing problems, and positioning us as that resource, as that go-to and capturing the attention of our people that we’re looking to serve.
Wanda (12:48):
Wow is so, I mean, I love it. I love it how you just explained that and tell us how, and it really makes sense because you can put that content out there, but is it going to go, where’s it going to go? Is it going to bring you clients? Is it going to help that client? So I love how you explained that. And now my next question, which is why I love this, because collaboration is actually what I like to do. Collaboration is often highlighted as critical in business. It really is. I always say collaboration is the key to success. So in your experience, why is collaboration so vital to successful marketing strategies?
Charlene (13:24):
Yes, yes. Collaboration is so key to an effective marketing campaign, right? Because it’s allowing you to get in front of audiences that you might not have had the opportunity to get in front of otherwise, right? So collaboration, I like to say it creates a win-win situation. You are showing up in front of someone else’s audience with your gifts, your talents, your expertise, your brilliance. So you are in essence blessing that audience and in turn, you are gaining a new following. It is the fastest way to build community. Why? Because whoever that influencer is that you’re partnering with, they already have trust with their audience. Their audience loves, likes and trusts them, they follow them. And that influencer is not going to take the risk of putting someone in front of their audience that’s not legit or they’re not who they say they are, right? They’re probably going to have a vetting process, but once you have access to that open door, you now have an opportunity to build a new following and in turn gain some new clients.
(14:40):
So one thing that makes us different is that we actually include collaboration and the content strategy that we build out for our clients. So whether that collaboration is like I’m doing now, being a podcast guest or guest or co-hosting a webinar with another influencer or with another leader showing up in someone else’s newsletter, whatever that looks like, we incorporate and we build that into your content strategy and we focus on your superpower. So maybe your superpower isn’t co-hosting a webinar, although we would love that to be, because as a leader, you want to show up in front of people, but maybe you are, maybe you are an excellent writer, or you want to build your SEO, your search engine optimization game up, and you want to partner with someone who has a high, what we call domain authority, or they have a lot of traffic coming to their website and you want to guess blog and have your blog appear on their website,
Wanda (15:43):
Then
Charlene (15:43):
That could be a strategy that would be a better fit if your goal is to increase traffic to your website. So as a result, you post the blog on their website, you got some links in there that directs them back to your site, and it’s a win-win. So we incorporate that collaboration should be a part of every content marketing strategy because you’re going to build slower and harder without it.
Wanda (16:10):
Awesome. Awesome. I love that. And it’s funny because when I first started getting into my own thing after I left corporate, I had no idea what SEO is. I said, what’s SEO? I said, I told my son-in-Law, my daughter, they did my website. I said, can you give me SEO? But that’s what happens when you be in corporate for so long. Like, okay, I got to get out into this world to see what else is going on. So let me ask, so can you share collaboration significantly that impacted your business?
Charlene (16:42):
Oh, yes. Yes. So 2012, I was a part of an online community. It was like an online networking community, and it focused primarily on blogging. So blogging daily, we talked a lot about different mindset strategies, and it was just like a lot of like-minded people in that community. So within that big community, there were micro communities. And so I partnered with two ladies and we started doing, it was either biweekly or monthly trainings. So we co-host webinars together, and while we were preparing for a webinar, one of the ladies was like, listen, I joined a blogging platform where they’re paying you to blog. And so remind you, this was in 2012, so this was before 2014, it’s going to tie to the story. So she was like, yeah, there’s this platform that’s paying you the blog. And I was like, okay. So I signed up for it, but I never really did anything with it until 20 when I left my job and I was like, okay, I have access to this blogging platform, let me use it.
Wanda (17:57):
That
Charlene (17:57):
Blogging platform was how I ended up paying my bills. I was getting paid blogging. It was the same company three years later where they invited me to be a contractor, a full-time contractor. So now I was making more money than I had before any job that had ever offered me, like this contract was going to pay more
Wanda (18:23):
Than
Charlene (18:23):
Any job. And then eventually that same company hired me as a full-time employee, which was amazing because they said, listen, you can still work your business. You can still do all the things, but we just love your work ethic and your expertise, and we would love for you to join our team. And I joined that team for four years, and I learned so much on the backend on how to run a company. So collaboration, had I not been in a collaboration with those group of women
Wanda (18:52):
Would’ve
Charlene (18:52):
Never known about this blogging platform. And it was my way of paying the bills when I didn’t know how the bills were going to be paid when I left that job in 2014.
Wanda (19:04):
I love it because God is always working behind the scenes. You don’t know what he’s doing to prepare you for what’s going to be, and he already know he has plans for you. I always love, my favorite verse is Jeremiah 29 11, God has plans for you not to harm you, but to help you prosper. So I love that story, and that really makes a lot. It makes sense. Let’s get into some questions about marketing. What are some of the biggest marketing challenges you face and how did you overcome
Charlene (19:34):
Them? Yeah. Well, some of the biggest marketing, I would say my biggest marketing challenge was more mindset and perfectionism.
(19:46):
When you’re working in your craft and in your brilliance, you want to show up as the best you want it done, right? Like chef’s kiss. But what happened was is that I was spending so much time perfecting, perfecting, perfecting, and by the time I put it out there, I could have finished so many other tasks on projects that would’ve generated revenue on the backend, passive revenue. So I was spending so much time perfecting one piece of content when I could have just put it out there and start working on other things. And so what my model is today is done is better than perfect. So my b plus work is someone else’s aha moment. It’s someone else’s breakthrough, right? The breakthrough they’ve been waiting for. And so just getting it done, putting it out there, and then collecting the data. One thing I want to talk about in a bit is tracking, measuring and what isn’t. So you can just continue to improve over time. But perfectionism for me was my biggest marketing challenge. I will share that another challenge that I’ve experienced, but what my clients often experience is consistency. How can I be consistent in my marketing? And a lot of times the founders are wearing all the hats, and so it’s hard for them to do client fulfillment and then show up every day online, which is why it’s so key to hire.
(21:21):
One thing we do in our content strategy is that we build out a playbook. So once you have this document, you have a step-by-step guide on what you should be doing, where you should be showing up all the things. So then you can give it to your, whether it’s your OBM, your marketing assistant, your social media manager, and now they have an actual game plan, a playbook, how to show up online and represent your company. So perfectionism, just getting over that just done is better than perfect. And then consistency, hiring someone to take that off of your plate so you can focus on what you do best.
Wanda (22:00):
Absolutely. I love that because that’s exactly what I had. I was in my office to 12, one o’clock sitting here trying to do everything myself until my girlfriend said, Wanda, you got to hire a virtual assistant,
(22:12):
Which she got to know my business. And actually she’s Leanne, she’s out of South Africa. But I like how we came together and she had the same concept that I know that she can work, and plus she’s younger than me. So then she started saying, Wanda, you got to do videos in your newsletters. I said, videos, why do I have to do videos? So she knew what I need to do to get out there, but you’re right. So having a team is so important to be able to do what you do better, and I love that. Done is better than perfect. I’m going to write that on my calendar here. Done is better than get it done is better than perfect, et cetera. Perfect it out there. We’re winding down, but I want to ask you some question. What advice would you give to small businesses or startups looking to involve their marketing efforts?
Charlene (23:01):
Yeah, I would say number one is knowing your why, who and what. So why is what is the story behind your business? What is the mission that’s driving your business to do what you do? Because the going is going to get tough, right? That’s just the name of the game when it comes to entrepreneurship. But what is the story or what is the why that will get you out of the bed and drive you to do the things you’re doing? So being clear on your why, being clear on your who. So who are the people you are meant to serve? There is an adage or a thing that we say in marketing, and if you try to market to everyone, you’ll market to no one. I think as businesses we’re like, well, we don’t want to miss anybody. So they cast out this large net and hoping whoever comes, comes.
(23:58):
But the thing is, when you are super clear on your who, then your messaging speaks directly to them. When you’re clear on not just the demographics, like household income, the sex, how many children they have, not just the demographics, but the psychographics. Like what are the pain problems and challenges that your audience has? What are their dreams? What’s keeping them up at night? What are their goals? Because when you know all of that, now you can create content that speaks specifically to their pain points, challenges, and their dreams. So knowing your who and then finally knowing your what is your offer? And not just knowing your offer because we all know what we’re selling, but how is your offer different from everyone else that’s selling the same thing that you are? How is it unique? What can you do to make it different? So you show up differently in the marketplace?
Wanda (24:57):
That sounds, I would
Charlene (24:57):
Say, your why, who and your what. And then finally the tracking. You want to ensure that you have measures in place that what’s working and what isn’t. So you can keep doing and amplify what’s working, and then whatever’s not working, you either scratch it or go back to the drawing board and improve it and perfect it because what you measure grows over time. So I would say those
Wanda (25:19):
Awesome, awesome. So why, who and what your why, who and what, why, who and what your tribe. Remember that audience, why, who and what. Why are you starting it? Why do you want to start this business? How do you want to get it out? Who’s your audience? So that makes a lot of sense. I love it. I love those tips that you’re giving to people. So what advice or how do you see your role of collaboration evolving in future marketing?
Charlene (25:48):
Yeah, so simply put, collaboration has to be a part of every business’s marketing strategy. It’s not really an option because you are going to, as I mentioned earlier, grow slower and harder. You can quickly build your business by strategically getting in front of people, not just showing up in front of anybody. Audiences. You want to ensure that the audience they serve aligns with your who. And so getting in front of them, sharing value and creating long-term partnerships, that’s where the gold is. If you can do something that’s ongoing with them and then their audience is consistently seeing you, it just reestablish and just continues to reaffirm that trust. So to answer your question, long answer, short, collaboration must be a part of your marketing strategy. It’s not an option. It needs to be a yes.
Wanda (26:54):
Yeah, I love that. And we go back to collaboration. So what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career, and how has it influenced your approach to marketing?
Charlene (27:04):
Yes. So back in the day, I think everyone, at some point, I wouldn’t say everyone, but I was a Mary Kay consultant,
Wanda (27:14):
And
Charlene (27:15):
One thing Mary Kay Ash says is Put God first, family second and Korea third. And when you do things in that order, burnout really doesn’t exist because there is a piece that surpasses all understanding. When you put God first in all the things Matthew 6 33 says, but seek he first. The kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added
Wanda (27:42):
On us.
Charlene (27:44):
And so there is a peace, there is a rest. And so anytime that I feel overwhelmed or if I’m starting to feel some anxiety maybe about a project that I’m approaching and I’m like, oh, I got to get this done by this deadline. I just go back. I rest in his presence, meditate on some scriptures, pray and not come back to my desk renewed and refreshed. So just keeping God first. That’s not even an option when it comes to mindset and all the things we go through as an entrepreneur, if you don’t have God as the center, as the source,
Wanda (28:25):
Right?
Charlene (28:27):
Yeah. You can just kind of get pulled in different Oh, yeah.
Wanda (28:30):
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I love that. I love that piece of advice. But this has been great, but I wanted to ask you, how can our listeners connect with you and slay your content for more insights and resources? So tell us how they can do that, your content.
Charlene (28:45):
Yeah, so really, really easy. If you go to www.slayyourcontent.com/newsletter
(28:54):
Join my newsletter. I send out one every week on content strategy. I love it. If I had someone sending me this, I’ll be like, oh, this newsletter is bomb. So every week it’s a different content strategy we focus on. I also highlight other women founders that are doing amazing things in their industries because I want to be a resource as well. So yes, going to slay your content.com/newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn if you search my name, I’m Charlene Baker, and follow me there. I will follow you back. And yeah, that’s the best way to stay connected.
Wanda (29:30):
That’s awesome. You have shared so many great tips and advice with us today, and I truly appreciate that. And I hope the audience realize, listen, you need to get in touch with Charlene because she can help you get your content together and she can slay that content for you to make sure that you’re getting no clients or even starting off as a new business, how you can start it off as far as what your, because content is the key to be able to get your message out there. So I appreciate you being on my podcast, girl. I tell you, I’m going to replay this back a lot of times to give me some information from you, but thank you so much for being on my podcast. Ready, set, collaborate with Wanda Pearson and people. I want to make sure that you also follow share. And like my podcast, I’m on all podcast platforms, Spotify, podcasts, pod being, we even on Audible. I had no idea we was on Audible. So you
Charlene (30:28):
Are on Audible.
Wanda (30:29):
Yeah, you
Charlene (30:31):
Are. I saw you there. Go ahead. I’m sorry. I mean cut you off, but go ahead.
Wanda (30:34):
Yes, yes. I was like, I just happened to go on. I said, oh, I’m on Audible. So you can listen in your car, you can listen to it, but make sure you can take some notes because this lady has some great information for you that you can actually put that into your who, what, and how did I say it, right? Who?
Charlene (30:54):
You had it. You had ’em all. Why, who, what? But don’t matter. Order don’t matter the order.
Wanda (31:00):
So thank you again, Charlene, for being on our podcast. So definitely make sure you connect with Charlene on Slay your content.com. Also on LinkedIn. Charlene Baker
Charlene (31:11):
As
Wanda (31:12):
Well. You’re on Facebook too, right?
Charlene (31:13):
I am on Facebook, yes.
Wanda (31:15):
Okay. Charlene Baker. And connect with her and make sure you join her newsletter. You can get some good content and marketing from her. So Charlene, thank you so much again for being on the podcast. Ready, set, collaborate with Wanda Pearson, and we look, I’m going to have you on my show again because you got some good information.
Charlene (31:33):
I love it. I love it.
Wanda (31:33):
Yes, definitely.
Charlene (31:34):
I love it.
Wanda (31:35):
Well, thank you. So audience, make sure you stay tuned for the next podcast coming out, and there’s always going to be some great guests and great information that I’m sharing with you. Thank you.
Charlene (31:47):
Yes.
