There is one struggle that most online entrepreneurs will wrestle with, and that is traffic. In this episode, we're going to walk through how to find your sweet spot, the intersection of what you're good at and what the market needs, not what you think it needs. So if you're a beginner or just want to review the basics about marketing and your brand to strengthen your message, then this is for you. Stay tuned. I'm truly honored that you're here, and I'm going to do the best I can to make every minute worth your time. We're going to talk about branding. Why? Because we're trying to generate leads. And so much of that isn't just throwing things up there and hope that people see it and click. We need to start from the very beginning with the branding, with the messaging. So we're going to talk about branding, not about a logo or a color palette, but the real kind. Branding is how people experience you. It's how they feel when they see your name or read your posts or hear your voice. When you're starting from scratch, your brand isn't built by chance. It's built with clarity. This clarity becomes your message, your story, and ultimately your magnet for the right people. It's not so much what you know, it really includes who you are. And that's the one thing some people don't realize. So we're going to talk about your sweet spot. Your sweet spot is more than what you're good at. It's where your skills, your purpose, and your audience's needs all intersect. And you know what? It all starts with a story. I know it's hard to believe, right? But why is it that you decided to start an online business? What was the trigger? Or in other words, the inciting incident? Think back. What was it that caused you to want to start an online business? Now, when we think of the inciting incident, we think of it as a three-act play. You have the protagonist, which would be you, that is introduced. There's a setup or a scene or a situation, a moment in your life, right? And something happens. And that something could be a turning point for you. And then it moves into act two, where there's layers of obstacles, internal or external challenges, right? The stakes are very, very high. But somewhere in the story, there's a resolution, there's a breakthrough, there's some kind of transformation. You've gotten to the other side, and now you want to share that with others. That story is the beginning of your brand story. The reason why you're online, the reason why you're passionate about making this work. It becomes part of your sweet spot. And there could be different reasons why you start a business. Sometimes a desire to be online can fall into one of five buckets. It could be creative-driven work, belief-driven work, vision-driven work, skills-driven work, or interest-driven work, or perhaps maybe even a combination. So let's break this down. Creative-driven work could be someone that is very much into the arts. Maybe they want to teach piano, or maybe they're a painter, or maybe they love pattern design, or crochet or knitting, and they're very creative with this and they want to share this with others. Belief-driven work could be maybe someone that is very much in the health space, and they believe that this particular system or this method that they have will help people have a more fulfilling life. So it's very belief-driven. Or maybe it's vision-driven work. Now, this might align with the dreamers, the ones that think out the box, and they know that what they want to create, there may be some obstacles, but they are so determined to get over those obstacles because they have a vision that they want to see become a reality. An example of vision-driven work could be something related to the environment or youth development or social justice, like access to clean water, or maybe social media awareness in youth, or maybe even food safety and transparency. A lot of times you see these as nonprofits. And then we have skills-driven work, which would be people that have a specific unique skill. For example, I am a copywriter. That's a skill that I have. Other people, there might be service providers that provide other types of services, like graphic designers. There's different types of services that they provide, and so they want to put that online. And then you have interest-driven work. The best example I can give you for interest-driven work is Pat Flynn. He and his son got into Pokemon and he became really obsessed with Pokemon and decided to have it on YouTube and created all kinds of videos and it went viral. And he's having a great time because it's kind of like a hobby. So this is his interest, and this is where he has really excelled really, really well. And it's not the only thing he does, but it's one of the things that's interest-driven because it's a hobby. So you can see everyone has a different purpose. And to find your sweet spot, you got to figure out what's driving you. Why is it that you want to create this business? So you might wonder, well, why does it matter to find our sweet spot? That story I was talking about earlier, it kind of gives you the why, and the why will produce the what. So it's important to get clarity. So if someone to ask you what you do, you'll be able to answer them very, very clearly. It also is going to help you with the website copy. It's going to make it easier to write it because you'll understand what's driving you to create this. It also will help set you apart because lots of people have similar skills and similar talents, but you have your own unique story of what drives you. So that all becomes part of your brand. So once you have your brand story, you know why you want to create this business. The next step is to figure out whether or not there's a demand for it. So there's a series of questions you can ask yourself. The first one is, is there evidence of past success online? So is somebody else doing what you want to do? That's a good thing. Competition is not a bad thing. That's actually a good thing. It shows that people are interested in buying. Number two, is a solution on the rise or is it a trend? Sometimes things are just a trend and it's not really something that is escalating and has longevity. For example, when AI first came along, I thought, hmm, is this a trend or is this something that's going to continue? Obviously, it's continuing, it's not going away. But some things can be very trendy, and we don't want a short shelf life. We want something that's sustainable. Number three, are your prospects aware and engaged? This is important. You need to consider whether your potential clients are looking for the solution that you have. Or is there an element of education needed? It doesn't make it harder. You just have to create a longer runway so they understand why they need what you have to offer. But if they are very much aware and they are engaged and they are in need, then that's much easier because they're already looking and you just step in and let them know that you have the solution that they need. Number four, will this be offered as a B2B or B2C? And by that I mean, are you working business to business with other business owners or are you working business to consumer? Now, some people say, well, it's both, right? You need to start somewhere. Which is the low-hanging fruit? Is it B2B or B2C? It's not that you're going to exclude, but it's going to help you with the messaging and the copywriting. Number five, do they have the resources? In other words, it's not just the money to invest, but also the time. This is going to determine how you set products up for them. So you need to figure out are these really, really busy people or are these people that have more money and less time, or more time and less money? And that's going to help you shape your products and services. Number six, can I reach this market? How are you going to find them? How are you going to get in front of them? Where do they hang out? All of these things are important to consider when you're building your brand. The last question is will my offer ease their struggle, reduce anxiety, or calm their worries? Everyone has internal and external struggles. Maybe your offer is going to help them externally with something, but that will have an internal benefit as well. So we look at both. We don't just look at one, we look at both. What's the external struggle? And is there an internal struggle? Because then the internal struggle will turn to an internal benefit, and the external struggle will turn out to be an external, tangible benefit. All of these questions help as we're shaping our brand. So why is this important? This is what I love to tell clients. You don't want the prospect to understand what you're offering. You want the prospect to feel understood. And there's a big difference. I'll say that again. You don't want the prospect to understand what you're offering. You want the prospect to feel understood first. Then you can explain all of the benefits and the wonderful things you have for them. So as we're working with our brand, this is where the value solution comes in. You've heard it probably name different things, but this is when you begin to create that formula to be able to show the transformation that you provide. And it usually starts with I'm and you give your name A and you give a description. Like I could say, I'm an AI marketing strategist and certified copywriter. So you're saying who you are. I'm Marissa Shanrick, your title, certified copywriter and AI marketing strategist. That is your brand identity. And then you move into your unique audience, and I help, and you explain who that audience is. Then you transition into what you help them create or do, which is a solution. And then you transition to the outcome. So they can and you explain the transformation. And remember, it can be an internal transformation or external transformation. Sometimes when we say, so they can blank and blank and blank and blank, is because we don't really have it dialed in what the transformation is. So we have to use a whole bunch of adjectives. If you find you need three adjectives to explain the transformation, go back and see if you can make it very succinct. If you had to choose one, what would it be? So as you're developing your brands, really important to figure out what kind of products you're going to sell. So we talked about your story, we talked about your audience, we talked about the questions you need to ask yourself to see if it's really something that is in demand out there online. But then you also want to look at the product, like what you're going to sell. And there's some key areas, there's six categories that I want you to consider. The first one is the product model. So what is the model of your business? For example, is it going to be one-on-one, very intimate, whether you're a service provider or a coach, or is it going to be a small group setting like group coaching, or is it going to be digital course where you create it and sell it? So you're looking at the product model and determine how you're going to execute the product. One-on-one, small group coaching, digital course. Another bucket is a delivery. Now, the delivery, depending on what you choose as a product model, is no-brainer, but the delivery options would be video, audio, PDF, or live. So depending on what you choose, how are you going to deliver it? And then the involvement. This means how you're going to be involved. Is it do it for you, like for service providers that actually do it for the customer? Or is it do it with you, where you guide them and you don't leave them completely on their own, but you're there guiding them? Or is it do it yourself where they buy a course and they're able to go at their own pace and consume the content and get the transformation that they need. So so far we have the product model, we have the delivery, we have your involvement, and then the speed and convenience. That's really about your commitment. Like how often is this going to happen? Like that could be how often you offer the product, that could be how often you show up within the product. All of this involves your commitment. If it's something like a digital course, obviously you create it once and you're able to sell it without having to be present. Whereas group coaching, there's going to be more commitment. So what is the commitment? Is it weekly? Is it bi-weekly? Is it monthly? Is it for a short period of time within the first maybe 90 days? And then after that, they're on their own. You're going to have to figure out not only your commitment, but also convenience for your customers and the speed. Are there going to be replays? How quickly are those going to turn over? Do you need help and support with that? So we've got four buckets so far: the product model, the delivery, the involvement, the speed and convenience. The last two is the level of support. What kind of support are you going to have for them? Is there going to be text, like some kind of platform that has a chat or a text? Is it going to be email support where they can email you at support at blank? Will there be Zoom calls or some other method where they can communicate and get support? And then lastly, the last bucket is the end result, the transformation. Are you going to have a success path for them so they can kind of track to see if they're moving right along and getting closer to that transformation? How are you going to help them know they received that transformation? Are they going to get some certificate at the end of a course? Or are they going to be able to complete a process and know that that's how they were able to reach the transformation? All of this is so important in finding your sweet spot. It really starts with you, what you want to offer. You validate, you do some research to see what the demand is. You really understand your audience and then you think about your product before you start putting content out there because all of these questions have to be answered. So to help you with your marketing, I'm going to have two more podcast episodes that'll be kind of the sequel to this one where we're going to continue with branding and your business so that you can hit the ground running in the coming year. And to support you, I would love for you to take a quiz that I just created. And this quiz is going to help you find your marketing strength. It'll identify your marketing archetype and it'll have a report. And after you receive the report, you'll get an email with a special ebook that's titled How to Create Effectively Generating Content. And I think the combination of this ebook with the podcast is really going to help you kind of review all of your business assets and see maybe where you might need to tweak, maybe something that you've overlooked, or maybe something that you need to double down on. So I hope you found this podcast episode helpful. I would love it if you would leave a rating and review. Inside of the show notes, you will find a video that shows you exactly how to leave a rating and review on your desktop or on your phone. It would be really helpful and I'd really appreciate it if you leave a rating and review. I will ask every time. And if you do, I'll give you a shout-out on the podcast. And by the way, a big shout out and thank you to Elijah Mark, who left a five-star rating and a review. He said Marissa has a gift of taking all the noise from the world of AI and making it a beautiful musical masterpiece that enables the listener to take action on what they learn from her teaching. If you are confused by all the different voices out there talking about AI and technical jargon and fast-paced tutorials, then you will really benefit from Marissa's approach with the heart and voice of a teacher. Each episode will give the solo business owner some tools, actionable steps, and encouraging support to use AI in meaningful ways to move your business forward. Elijah, thank you with a big emoji heart. I really appreciate that review. That was awesome and so generous. So if you haven't left a review yet, I would love it if you take a moment to leave a rating and review. So until next time, take care.