Entrepreneur School

Welcome to the kickoff of the Summer Strategy Snack Series! These bite-sized solo episodes are designed to help you stay visible without burning out or touching your Instagram app all summer long (if you don’t want to). And this first one? It’s packed with 5 visibility strategies that don’t require a single piece of content. Yep, you heard that right.

If you’re craving ways to stay top of mind without posting, filming, or showing up with perfect hair, this is for you. These strategies are low-lift, high-impact, and rooted in relationship building — the kind of behind-the-scenes marketing that actually works.

We’ll unpack:

  • What “visibility” really means (and why it’s not what you’ve been taught)
  • 5 overlooked visibility strategies you can implement in under 10 minutes
  • How these small, intentional actions can create a ripple effect of new opportunities
  • The power of quiet marketing moves like testimonial requests, voice notes, and replying to emails
  • Why connection — not content — is your biggest summer asset

Plus, I’m sharing my own summer social media detox plan and why I’m trading reels for relationships.

>>Your Next Steps:

🔹 Grab the 90-Day Visibility Sprint Starter Kit — your mini system to stay visible all summer long (with an AI assistant built in!)

Want support building your visibility strategy?

🔹 Get Valerie the Visibility Auditor, your strategy sidekick!

🔹 Book a call to talk about working together

🔹 Follow on Instagram (just not this summer!)

>>Thanks for Listening!

If you enjoyed this episode, please help us share it by:

⭐ Following the show—this helps you stay updated and supports us!

⭐ Leaving a positive review—this boosts our ranking and helps more entrepreneurs find the podcast.

⭐ Sharing it on Instagram and tagging @entrepreneurschoolpodcast

Transcript
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Visibility is a long game, and it means you need to

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continually be making little moves all the time that help

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push the needle forward for you.

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This is the entrepreneur school podcast, where we believe you

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can run a thriving business and still make your family a

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priority. This show is all about supporting you, the emerging or

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early stage Entrepreneur on your journey from solopreneur to CEO,

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while wearing all of the other hats in your life. My name is

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Kelly Sinclair, and I'm a brand and marketing strategist who

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started a business with two kids under three. I'm a corporate PR

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girl turned entrepreneur after I learned the hard way that life

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is too short to waste doing things that burn you out on this

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show, you'll hear inspiring stories from other business

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owners on their journey and learn strategies to help you

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grow a profitable business while making it all fit into the life

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that you want. Welcome to entrepreneur School. Hello,

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hello, welcome. I have a very exciting and fun little series

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that I'm doing over the summer. I'm calling it the summer

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strategy snack series. Snack Yeah, like a bite sized mini

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series right here on the podcast where I am serving up quick and

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actionable visibility strategies that you can implement in under

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10 minutes a day before I dive in, though, I want to make sure

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that you know about and have grabbed my free resource, the 90

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day visibility sprint starter kit. It's designed to help you

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create a visibility plan that actually fits your life,

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especially during the seasons where you want to lean out but

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still stay top of mind if you're not sure where to focus or how

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to show up without burning out, this will totally help, and you

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can grab it at the link in the show notes. So what we're

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talking about in that visibility starter kit, as well as in this

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summer strategy snack series, are the kinds of things that

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don't require you to create content or post on social media

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or show up with your perfectly curled hair on camera. There are

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simple strategic moves that help you to stay visible, build

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relationships and grow your business, all while enjoying

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your summer. And speaking of summer, I am doing something a

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little wild. I am taking a complete break from social

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media. Yes, I will not be posting at all. It's my summer

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off of social experiment. And if you're curious how it's going,

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I'm going to be writing some behind the scenes, like diary

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entries to my email list, so make sure that you are following

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along there. And the best way to reach me this summary is by

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email. So if you want to reach me at all, I will not be in my

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DMs. I will be in my inbox. Kelly@ksco.ca You okay, let's

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get into today's snack size strategy. And actually, there's

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five of them, and none of these look like traditional marketing,

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which is why I wanted to point them out, because these five

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moves have done more for my visibility than any reel I have

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ever posted. Seriously, they're the quiet behind the scenes,

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things that most people overlook, but they work. You

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know, we've been trained to believe that visibility means

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being everywhere, like posting, constantly creating more

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content, and that staying top of mind means always being online.

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But I really want to challenge that, and that's because the

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truth is that visibility doesn't have to be loud. It doesn't have

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to mean showing up on Instagram every single day or trying to

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outpost your competition and beat the algorithm. What it

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really means is being remembered for the right reasons by the

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right people, and sometimes that happens in ways that look

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nothing like marketing. In fact, some of the most impactful

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visibility moves that I have ever made were the things that

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felt like simple, relationship, building, casual, natural, even

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fun. So today I'm sharing five of these exact moves. They're

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quick, they're effective. They don't require a single piece of

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content. Hallelujah. Let's get going. Okay.

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So the first one is to ask for testimonials from

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collaborators. So for example, if you are part of a bundle or a

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summit, or you're on a podcast, or you do a list swap or

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something with another person, reach out to that person and ask

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for testimonial of what it was like working with you. This

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gives you credit credibility to use to leverage for future

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opportunities. These So, for example, I was recently in a

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very exciting summit, the AI unlocked summit with Gemma

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Bonham Carter, who is a mentor of mine, and somebody who I

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really respect and admire in the industry. And after the event

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was over, I followed up with her and sent her a thank you

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testimonial about the event from my perspective as a speaker. So

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I gave her something that was valuable to her, and I requested

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a testimonial about my talk on her event, which she kindly did

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provide. So now I have a great testimonial about my speaking

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and the value that I added as a contributor to that event, which

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gives me social proof opportunities for future

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collaborations. So many valuable pieces there I can even just put

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it on my website, on my like media page. Why This Works is it

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really shows credibility, and it keeps you Top of Mind with the

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host. So think about it. In her case, I think she had, oh, I

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don't know, she had, like 60 or more different speakers on that

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event. So for me to stand out. That takes a little bit of extra

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effort, right? And that's the point is to to want to, like be

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a memorable contributor, to be a memorable part of the event. And

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so this is an easy action for you think about some of the

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things that you have done. And again, I love that this is a

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visibility strategy that is not about directly reaching your

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target audience, but about making connections with other

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collaborators who can help you to do that. So make a list of

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three people that you could follow up with and put that on

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your list for this week, or one per week for the next three

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weeks. Whatever you're going to do that follow up is going to

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take you less than 10 minutes, and it will make a huge impact

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in your ability to continue to leverage your collaborations and

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build more relationships that help you reach your audience.

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So number two, this is one of my favorite ways to connect with

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people, is reconnecting with voice notes. So if you are in

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the online business space, you probably have Voxer, which is an

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app that allows you to sort of walkie talkie people and connect

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and just like, leave audio notes. But this is one place

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where I do sometimes use Instagram to send voice DMS, but

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this is where you can have casual check ins, which is

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somebody that you met at an event in the past, somebody that

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you met at a networking thing, or you went to a conference and

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met again. I'm talking about collaborators, partners,

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potential people who you can work with and do fun, exciting

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things to help you to grow your visibility. For me, this kind of

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casual check in has led to podcast invitations, event

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plans, other potential collaborations, speaking

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opportunities, all of those kinds of things, just because I

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stay in touch with people. Because Ken visibility, this is

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something I've said time and time again on the podcast.

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Visibility is a long game, and it means you need to continually

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be making little moves all the time that help push the needle

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forward. For you, why this works is it's warm, it's human. It

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stands out when everybody else is just sending texts. When you

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send a voice message or even a video message, maybe you like

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Marco Polo, or you like to use video messaging, which you can

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do on LinkedIn, you can do on Instagram, lots of the direct

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message features in the variety of social media tools will allow

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you to do this as well. So the action for you that I want you

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to take is to think of two people who you haven't talked to

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in a while and just send them a thinking of you voice note. Ask

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them what they've been up to, just say you're willing to

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support them in any way that you can and see where that leads.

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Now, of course, this has to be genuine for it to work. Some of

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these things, I feel like we think, Oh, that sounds, you

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know, self serving, but as long as you genuinely care about the

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person that you're talking to, and you genuinely are willing to

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help them out and support them, that is how you build a

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relationship. So it's absolutely a great idea, and it makes sense

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to ask,

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Okay, so the third little bite sized piece here is

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to make a warm introduction. So this is thinking about who you

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can connect connecting to. Two of your business friends,

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connecting a client with another potential collaborator for them.

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Who do they need to know? I recently spoke at an event and

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met somebody who wanted, who wants me to host a workshop for

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them. And so this is somebody who lives in my you know, close

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geography, and she wants me to do an AI marketing workshop,

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which I will be doing this summer, and she already had the

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idea to make it collaborative. So She's inviting a number of

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similar practitioners to come to this event, and these are people

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that they kind of work within a collaborative health and

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wellness network. And because I am, you know, I know people in

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the area, I offered to introduce her to another similar

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practitioner within that area as well, so that they could build a

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relationship, which could lead to referrals for clients to

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support them in the mission that they have. So this is kind of

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like the way I think about being a connector. It's all about

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building reciprocity and trust, like who needs to know who that

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you know, either in person or online, that is somebody who's

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going through something similar, that shares an audience that you

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can really kind of facilitate a win, win relationship with, and

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that puts you in a position of being a connector, which is

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something that people really appreciate. So this is an easy

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action. Think about write down who could you introduce this

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week?

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Okay, number four, this one is, I don't know,

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it's kind of funny that I had to put this on the list, but it's

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replying to a newsletter. So do you have some people who you

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admire, who you want, to make sure that you are on their email

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list. Subscribe to their freebie, get in their world, get

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in their inbox. And when they send emails, respond to them. I

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tell you all the time that one way communication is, I mean,

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it's the reality sometimes when we are, you know, doing our

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marketing, like on this podcast, where I'm talking to you and I

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don't hear you talking back to me, but I'm imagining that

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you're there. And the same thing when it comes to email writing,

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right? We pour a lot of time into sending updates, sending

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tips and strategies, talking about our podcasts, whatever it

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is on our email list, well, that's where somebody is going

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to reply to you. So I do this quite a lot. Actually. I reply

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to people's emails and I build relationships with them there. I

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have an example for you. Brenda McGowan is a friend of mine now,

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and she is because I've been on her email list for quite a

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while, because I participated in some events just as a like

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learner so and I respect, you know, the way that she talks

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about she's been on the podcast actually before, and the reason

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I wish she was on the podcast is because she sent out an email

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talking about a collaboration that she had done with two of my

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other friends, and I thought, hey, if you know them and I like

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them and you like them, I'm going to reach out to you and

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say we should probably do something together, which is

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what I did. I replied to her email, and I invited her to be

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on my podcast, and now we have a Voxer relationship. We chat with

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each other about things that are going on in our businesses, and

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that relationship came from replying to an email. So people

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want to have want to know that their emails are landing in the

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right place and they're creating engagement. So think about who

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you could be make sure that you're on their email list First

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of all, and then reply to that email that you actually enjoy. I

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also did this with somebody else this week who I've been seeing

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her emails for a while. We have done podcasting together in the

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past, but we haven't connected in a long time, so I just hit

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reply on one of her emails and asked her to jump on a zoom call

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and catch up. And so that's what we're going to do. So this is

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another way to just get that one on one, visibility with somebody

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who you enjoy and want to collaborate with and build a

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business relationship with further and again, know that I'm

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not saying somebody that you want to have be your client or

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sell something to that doesn't feel like a very values aligned

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way of doing this. This is about building business collaborative

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relationships, which is, as always, my number one way of.

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Visibility growth.

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Okay, so number five, to wrap up, this little snack sized

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series, is about celebrating past clients. So I think we

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overlook the fact that, you know, once we work with

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somebody, and then we lose touch with them, don't do that. And I

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have to remind myself all the time, like somebody has already

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spent time and money investing in you and working with you,

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make sure you stay in touch and connect, following them on their

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social media, on their emails, to make sure you get news when

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it comes out, and sending them a message back. So you can again

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do that via replying to an email or sending a DM, just

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congratulating them, supporting them, cheering them on. And this

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is very much just about keeping that relationship warm, keeping

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you top of mind, which might produce a referral or some kind

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of recommendation from them, or maybe they'll remember that they

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want to do more work with you, and they'll reach out in that

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way. It's just this, this visible presence in an authentic

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and easy, conversational, relational way. So your easy

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action challenge is to think about a past client this week

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and reach out to them, whether that's a public shout out that

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they've done something exciting that you want to help share

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about for them, and they get the benefit of you doing that or

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just privately reaching out to them. Again. Visibility doesn't

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have to be loud, it doesn't have to be public, it just has to

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involve another person. That's the only difference for me.

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Sometimes we get caught up doing the busy work of our businesses,

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and we forget to actually reach out and connect. So visibility

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is reaching out, not not just showing up, right for the sake

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of it.

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So there you have it. Those are five low lift, super low lift,

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visibility moves that honestly don't even feel like marketing,

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but they absolutely are. You don't need to show up everywhere

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or shout louder or post daily to build this momentum. You just

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need to be intentional about staying connected to the people

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who already believe in you, the people who have seen your work,

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and the people who you actually want to build relationships with

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and these small actions will create a ripple effect, and they

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work even better in summer, when your energy might be lower, but

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your desire to stay visible is still real, right? And don't

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forget, if you want support in creating your own sustainable

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visibility plan, make sure you grab the 90 day visibility

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starter kit. I have put a coupon code special for you, for

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podcast listeners, in the link that's in the show notes,

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because this is the tools that I use for planning and tracking my

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own visibility, and will give you all the ideas. And of

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course, there's an AI assistant built into it that will help

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cheer you on and help you choose what to do if you are just not

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sure what to where to start and what to do this week, and what's

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actually going to help you make some moves. So check the show

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notes for the link to that.

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And next week, I'm going to give you a little spoiler. It's a

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good one. We are diving into what not to do when pitching

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podcasts. I have been receiving dozens of podcasts a week ever

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since I started this show, and sometimes I just shake my head,

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and I really just wanted to create an episode that's like,

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Listen, if you want to get on a podcast, you're doing it wrong.

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So I'm sharing some real examples of pitches that I've

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received that totally missed the mark. Plus what actually works

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if you want to get a yes and get on a show, so don't miss it. I

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will talk to you again next week.