#44 Content Creation that Converts with Afton Brazzoni - Fempreneur Interviews
In this episode we chat about everything content creation - from what it is to how it will help you grow your community and income when combined with a clear message and purpose.
Afton's journey to owning Scribe National, her very own B2B writing firm, began with a degree in journalism. She quickly saw that the world was going digital and decided to "cross over to the dark side" into public relations. Her advice to new Fempreneurs is:
"Sometimes the path is not going to be clear and it is going to take you to some amazing places."
Buckle up because you're going to get a TON of inspiration for writing your next powerful hook or call-to-action (CTA) and ideas for ways to turn your story - YOUR WHY - into leads! If you're confused about what to say on social media and in blog posts and videos to attract the people you want to serve, this episode will have you off and running in only 36 minutes!
Learn more about Afton at scribenational.ca and on Instagram @aftonbrazzoni!
If you're looking for a community of Fempreneurs and a marketing education system THAT WORKS, get in touch with me at fempreneurland.com and on Instagram!
Every Tuesday a new episode of the Fempreneur Marketing Podcast drops! Subscribe:
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Until next time,
Lyndsie Barrie
Author and Founder, FempreneurLand.com
Lyndsie: Hello Fempreneur! Thank you for listening to this podcast episode. Pretty soon you're gonna be thanking Afton Brazzoni! That's who I'm interviewing today. You're gonna be thanking her for her awesome content creation inspiration and the how twos that she's going to share in this episode. So grab your pen and your notebook and let's dive in.
You are such a wonderful lady. I really enjoyed getting to know you. And every time I have the pleasure of spending some time with you, I learn more about you. So I'm excited for you to share some of your business building story today with other Fempreneur! Tell us who you are, what your business is and how you got it started?
Afton: Yes, absolutely. So as Lindsey mentioned, I'm the founder of Scribe National and we are a content marketing studio based in Cochrane, Alberta. So Yeah, yeah, I know lots of lots of the folks watching are probably from there as well, which is a great great community, so going back really to starting my business just over a year and a half ago. Now it was something pretty unexpected. I'm definitely not one of those people who can say that they always wanted to be an entrepreneur or always had, you know, an entrepreneurial drive. But what I did always have was certainly, you know, the passion to write and just really wanting to write as frequently as I could. It was in a marketing role with a great company and, you know, just just wasn't getting to write a ton. I would always freelance on the side, always get to work with really interesting clients and tell really interesting stories. And eventually it just came time to want to do that full time. And so that was really the one of the reasons behind Starting Scribe National. I'd say the second thing was that there is a gap in the marketing industry today, and so what I often see is people have, you know, amazing websites, amazing social media profiles, but there's just sort of that lack of attention to detail in their writing. And that's something that we bring and that I really wanted to bring forward a subscribed national. So, yeah, I think that, you know, kind of covers. Why? Why? I mostly started it. And it's been great. So far.
Lyndsie: Good for you. So when you started your business, did you find some key challenges that you had to overcome or some key things that maybe you didn't expect that you'd like to maybe prepare others from printers who are new to to be able to position themselves better to overcome those challenges?
Afton:Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, like, to be honest, I'm still experiencing them because I am only a year and a half in and I think the biggest thing for a lot of people. And I know I've talked with others in your community as well. Lindsay about this is like when you start a business, your zone of genius is the business. And so there are so many other things that you have to do as the business owner that are not related. So in my case, like marketing and writing, Sure, I can do that all day. But when it comes to things like cash flow, planning or legal or accounting, there are just, like so many things. And I think the challenge is kind of, you know, being able to be patient with yourself and having the faith that, you know, you will work through it. You just have to surround yourself, obviously with the right people. Whether that's you know, professionals in the field. Like I actually did end up getting a lawyer and accountant. All those things, and even just actually other women entrepreneurs, which I mean, I know I don't have to tell you this, but it's huge because there are so many questions and so many unknowns as you kind of navigate a path that you've never really walked before. And so doing that by yourself just isn't ideal for many reasons. I think I think challenges are always going to arise. And like I said, I'm still facing them, and I expect to face more, because again, it's just you don't know what you don't know. But as long as he has people that you can talk through those things with, I think that's huge.
Lyndsie:Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So you've covered who you felt called to serve and why you've covered some of those key challenges getting started finding people to talk to. I just want to touch on something that I think is very interesting because as entrepreneurs, I think what makes us entrepreneurs is that we have some leadership tendencies where natural born leaders often, and, I think, the biggest downfall that natural born leaders face. And I know this is something that I still struggle with, asking for help and admitting when you don't know something. And I think that's why, like, the Defend printer community is just exploding and like the temperature line because it's never been easier to ask for help and to feel so comfortable asking for help, right? As an entrepreneur, you don't have a team that you trust that really understands you. It's so hard, first of all, to figure out who to go to for help, and then it just feels weird. I don't know this. Help me do this because you think you have to happen altogether when you're an entrepreneur. Have You felt like that?
Afton: Oh, yeah. I mean, and I even felt like that before I was an entrepreneur like I was notoriously in enrolls where I was an employee.
Lyndsie: So it's got the questions that I want to ask all. And of course, I like to veer off a little bit. And what questions?
Afton: Yeah, that keeps it interesting. And I'm totally okay with that.
Lyndsie: No, I think you've already kind of covered. Like who? You're niches. Those key steps you took to get started. The biggest challenges you had to overcome. So what would you tell your 10 year younger self back before you maybe even thought about starting a business? Like, what Would you tell that afternoon?
Afton: Yeah. I mean, I think at that time, you know, I had just gone back to school, actually. So I had done a journalism degree at university, and then that was a really interesting time to try to go into journalism because so much was changing. Everything was becoming about digital and about social media. And, the industry was really just trying to grapple with how to actually navigate that. So I decided to go back to school to study public relations, which is what a lot of journalists were doing. It was known as crossing over to the dark side. But really, it just, you know, it did seem like a much more stable thing to do, which was attracting a lot of people. I think I would just tell myself 10 year ago that, you know, sometimes the path is not going to be clear, and it is actually going to take you to some amazing places that you just have to kind of roll with and see what happens. Because I really always thought like I would either be working in the newsroom or, you know, that I would be working for a large company in public relations. And what ended up happening was that it actually ended up going into a bunch of different marketing roles. I think just kind of being able to go with it And and just knowing that, like at that time, I was you know, I was always studying. I was always working, and so I would also just say, like, it's gonna pay off. It's going to be alright, because trying to get those first those first roles in the field and, like those first steps into your career can be really, really challenging. but, you know, it does all come together in the end.
Lyndsie: Awesome to hear that. Because, yeah, I still feel like I'm in that face some days where I'm like, I just keep putting 1 ft in front of the other, and I just keep trusting. And I think that,a lot of people tell me that I have that, you know, throw things at the wall and see what sticks, and I definitely do that. But it can be scary. So trusting that you're doing the right thing. Like how you sort of talk yourself off the ledge of maybe those days when you feel blocked days when you feel like you're not sure if you're doing the right thing. Like, how do you deal with that?
Afton: That's a really good question, because I definitely have those days. And I think, honestly, sometimes it's like taking a step away. Yeah, and I think especially when things Because when I started my business, I have to say I was really fortunate, and it has been going very well. And then, you know, sometimes you have a week where, exactly like you described it does make you sort of question things or you don't really know if you're making the right decisions or what decisions you should be making. And I actually at those times think that it's like instead of powering through, which would be my natural tendency, I would actually step away and maybe, you know, go for a hike with my husband and my dogs. Actually, we went on a couple of afternoon hikes last week, which is not something I typically do during the week. I'm typically at my desk, but, you know, it just needed to happen. And I feel so much more, driven and focused and, you know, ready to go this week for doing that. And I think you just have to do that.
Lyndsie: Good. I love that. Yeah. For those of you watching and listening who aren't getting outside every day, and you aren't setting aside time for yourself to shut off and to just see what the universe brings into your mind. Oh, I can't emphasize that enough like, yeah. Captain's Point getting inside and walking It's like huge, nice and driving. I mean, obviously, it's not exercise for me like driving long distances myself. Yeah, ideas are amazing when you make space, right?
Afton: Yeah. It's so true. Just either walking or, you know, driving and just cranking the music. And I'm sure, you know, there are viewers from all over the place, but in Cochran, we're so lucky to live in such such a beautiful environment. And I think it is those things where you just sort of step out and realize that, like, Yes, obviously your business and your community is very, very important. But there are bigger things, you know, outside of that. And sometimes we get too in our heads.
Lyndsie: Yes. For those of you who are watching live right now and you're thinking, hell, yeah. Top that heart button 16 times. So what's that you're agreeing with us and that this is resonating with you? Thanks for joining us Live. A few of you have been on here. I really appreciate seeing all your names coming up. I'm so I'm hoping that those of you who aren't super familiar with Captain are gonna definitely. You know, go over and follow. I have the privilege of being in your workshop at the conference at the Temperatures conference in January. And I know I ended up with, like, a whole page of awesome content ideas and just more clarity around how to deliver the messages that I wanted to get out there so highly recommend following afternoon and getting in on anything she's offering.
Lyndsie: So I guess what would be something that you really want some printers to know about, You know, maybe a tip or a trick to help them with their content strategy. Maybe they don't even know what a content strategy is like. Can you just teach a little bit for a few minutes?
Afton: Yes, I would love to. So, yeah, going back to you know, just taking that moment to pause before you start creating content is really, really important. And sometimes you know, we always want to be doing and we always want to be an action which I actually highly recommend for business. But what I would say is that there are some foundational things you can do, some foundational pieces of a content strategy and those being, you know, really outlining your audience persona. So, like, who is your target market? Maybe there's a couple different audiences you have. It's best to have a smaller number for sure thinking about them and thinking about how every piece of content you create should be created as though you are speaking directly to that person. And I mean, this is something that Lindsay does really, really well in all of her marketing. So I mean, you can even just check that out to get an example of what I mean. But when you read her content, you know, as if I'm a printer, you know that she is speaking to you. And so that's what, like, no matter who your audience is, I mean, my primary audience is a marketer at a B two B tech company, and so I'm always trying to think OK, well, what does this person need? What challenges are they having? How can I solve their problems? And so you always want that right up front, your content strategy and also recommend doing a little bit of a content analysis of your competitors. So what kind of content are they putting out there? Were they not put out there? What's maybe an opportunity for you to fill a gap? And then, of course, you know, there are There are quite a few things. I'm just thinking of some of the top ones. You definitely want a content calendar. And so this is actually something I have recently created. A free resource, of a content calendar template that you can, you know, basically Just copy. It is on my website as well. Subscribed national dot C A. You can get that there huge benefits to having a content calendar. I was actually talking with a client of mine about this yesterday, but it will. So it will just save you so much time. It will help you be strategic about what you're putting out there. It will help you ensure that you're speaking to all of your audiences and kind of those people who are just getting to know you. Those people who are, like, deep into it with you and want all that education. You've got to speak to them, Obviously, a lot. And then those people who are, you know, ready to buy. So you want content for people at every stage is, uh, every stage and the calendar can, you know, it can really help you just not have to think about that. You just plug it in and yeah, uh, what else can I say? I would Yeah, I would just say that as a content strategy. It may seem daunting, but it really will, in the end, help you have more effective marketing, more impactful marketing because it's done in an intentional way. So that's really what we're always trying to create.
Lyndsie: Right? And that's one thing that I've been saying over and over again and I will not stop is that people are craving connection now more than ever. So when you can sort of leave in and correct me if I'm wrong. But if you when you can leave in some invitations in your content, marketing two live events of what you're doing this live workshop, like for me it's always come into the temperature line. You're going to actually hang out, live not specifically, but live in real time with other entrepreneurs How often are you doing live events? Often where you bring women then you don't know who and all that. How often do you do that? Typically.
Afton: So the first was actually the temperatures conference, and it was so amazing that I was like, Okay, I need to do this a lot more frequently. I had another one last month, which went really well, so then they'll be the one on March 9th, I'll run one, probably like on my own again in April and then in May. I think I can announce this. I'll be doing a live, well digital live event with Alberta women entrepreneurs, so people will be more connected. Me there. Yeah. So I will, uh, That one will be a little more focused on content creation itself, but I will again spend the beginning just really trying to reinforce the people. You do need to have some foundational things in place before you before you create content. I'm gonna try to kind of, you know, keep the once a month cadence sort of going because, like, I agree with you, it's so important and you meet new people all the time through these things, Which is fantastic as well.
Lyndsie: I want I'm not saying that you that you have agreed to this yet, but I'm really hoping to get after them to teach a two or three part series in From From Ireland for members at some point, which I think would be fantastic, because I know all the goals that are in Ireland would love to, we're still checking other things you're doing outside of from three on two. But I do really enjoy when you're teaching from Fempreneur!specifically because I just find, like, for me as if I'm Fempreneur like, so powerful and such, curated material about you, you know, like for the conference. It was just like how female entrepreneurs could take You know what I do and use it. So Oh, here's another question that I thought of earlier. Do you mind kind of explaining to us how you work with clients like you have different packages? You have different ways of helping them. Like, how does it actually look for? For those watching right now for like, God, yes, I need help from often, but, like, what does that look like? Like, you know. Can you tell us growth?
Afton:Yes, I would love to. So, yeah, there are a few different ways to work with us. We do have packages which I think you know are always the best way because it does give you, like those have been created with the comprehensive suite of services in mind that you need. So the first one is called the B two B foundations package, and this would be, you know, if you are. It's usually for someone who owns B to B companies. So, for example, there was actually a gentleman here in Cochran who we recently did a lot of this work for. He owns a business called Connect for Commerce, where entrepreneurs can buy and sell businesses. Get advice, things like that. So check that out. But essentially, he was in need of written brand development, which I'm going to be discussing in my March 9th workshop and a content strategy. And so those are two of the foundational things you get in the B two B foundations package. You also get a sales page, and you also get your first couple of blog posts for you as well. So it's really set up for, like, someone who is either starting a business or someone who has a business but hasn't actually done this work yet and just wants to, you know, get their marketing up and going with these elements. The other thing we do is the B two b brilliant package, and so that is for a business who already has basically a content strategy in place. And they just don't have enough hours in the day, you know, which is so often the case, and they want someone to do their content marketing for them. And so what that package includes is a few blog posts a month, one case study a month and you know, those customer case studies are huge, because if you sell to other businesses, you really need to show them how you've helped your customers get results. And case studies are one of the primary things we do for our clients, and it's such a great storytelling vehicle. So that's included. And then the final thing that's included would be, an e book or white paper. So, you know, if you want to put together either something like a how to guide, uh, generally 10 pages or more, or like a more academic paper on a topic. We do that as well.
Lyndsie:Wow. Okay. And so what about visual stuff? Like you're not posting on instagram for these businesses, right?
Afton:We do not offer social media services.The reason I would say for that is because I'm really about being excellent at what we do, which is writing and content can absolutely do that. And I mean, that's one thing I would highly recommend because when we write a blog post for someone, we don't want that to just sit on their website and never go anywhere. People need to see a marketing message 5 to 7 times before they remember it. So for any content that somebody produces, like, you know, take little key highlights out of those blog posts, post them as instagram Post, post them on LinkedIn if that's where your audience is. you can even repurpose blog post content as videos. And I would recommend people do all of this because who wants to, like, create a new piece of content from scratch every single time when it's just not necessary.
Lyndsie: Wow, Can you talk for a minute about the importance of blog posts when it comes to Google s CEO and just all like you might want to share? Why are these meaty blog posts so important for marketing?
Afton: Yeah, I'd be happy to. So content marketing, it has been shown to generate three times as many leads as paid ads for about 60% less of the cost. And the reason why this is is actually I think going back to something you said Lindsay earlier about People wanting connection. People want community people don't you know, generally, they don't want to be sold to, and it's not that they don't want to be sold to, but it's that they don't want it to just feel entirely transactional. And so if you are taking the time to build that know like and trust factor with your audience, you know, marketers always talk about that. If you're taking the time to write blog posts for them to educate them about your products and services, to give them information that they can actually take away and use, you know how much more effective is that at building a relationship, then simply slapping and add up there, telling them to buy something from you and I and I do advertising my business, so I'm not knocking it or saying not to do it. I'm just saying that content marketing is, you know, it's proven to be better at building relationships. It's proven to be more cost effective and at the same time your audience is going to learn something which is really what you want, because the more educated your buyers are, obviously the better. That is for you as well. So you know, huge benefits, and I really couldn't talk about it all day!
Lyndsie: I love that. I love that because oh, and that's one thing I don't have. I don't have a lot on the temperature land website yet. Of course, we're in the process of transitioning from y I see temperatures defend our land, but, I don't have a lot of blog posts on there. I mean, obviously I have a whole book full of that. But that is like I just wanted to like Like, I just want to tell a story for those of you who are watching, listening to bolster what Afghans saying like So when I started marketing myself as a financial consultant because I never thought I'd be doing all this marketing stuff, this is totally not. But I thought I was going to do it when I grew up. But I started writing a book !
Lyndsie: To Afton's Point. I started taking that little chunk of my writing and I didn't have a website. All I was doing was posting them as linked in. It was huge. And then I launched my website and my mail. Chin and I had an email list of over 300 people within months and I had tons of website traffic as I started to drive the traffic from Lincoln to my blog. And it was, it was just really cool to see the community form around me sharing, You know, a lot of the content that I was sharing was going to be part of my book. And it was how it wasn't like pumping my own tires. Come work with me. Come by for me. It was like you said it was educating them. It was like If you're gonna shop for someone to help you with your money with your investments with your life insurance, whatever it may be, here are things you need to know about them before you see any contract right before you buy from them because they're going to be part of your life forever. If you buy this product that you're going to have forever from them, So you want to know how they are compensated, right. Like who is their target market like? Are they gonna meet with you once or twice a year? You need that like so I walked them through that education side of the business that I was in so that they can make educated decisions. And if that happened to result in them working with me, Cool. But in the meantime, I had so many people going on out there that it was insane. What about back to your public relations and traditional media background? Do you help people lead TV interviews, radio interviews? How do you know? Do you have any connections with newspapers? Things like that.
Afton: And I actually, that reminds me. I will say something about blogging and s e o after this, too, because you just mentioned that. But yeah, so with the PR. So when I first started describing National, we were an integrated marketing communications studio. And since then, we've really niche down. And so we really are only focused on content, marketing and strategy because we just know, we shine at that and we want to do that at such a high level. But what you know, I do have obviously, as a former journalist, and I, uh, did a little PR for myself about two years ago Now I wrote a book about dogs and got it on national television. But what I would say about PR is that it is an excellent way it is to grow your business. It is something that everybody should be doing. There are super easy things you can even do to get started. So there are press request lists that you can sign up to for just to get emails. One of them is called Haro. It's HARD TO. And if you sign up to that, you'll receive emails that are basically our calls from journalists looking for experts on topics to speak about, you know, and it's free and like, this is a great way to you know, amp up your image. All you have to do is obviously provide a valuable response. It's not going to be a guarantee that it's going to be published, but I think PR should be a part of every single one of our strategies. 100%.
Lyndsie: That's the reason I mentioned. That is because, after my book came out, I ended up being interviewed by the Cochran. I think it was the Cochrane Eagle and that article because, of course, those words instantly become a blog that have your business name, your website, your name all over the place that became like when someone googles financial Advisor Cochran. I came up first, and what came up was an article about how I was educating teens about money and I was a financial advisor like it was that wouldn't have happened had it not been for, like, traditional media right now.
Afton: And that's that's the whole thing. And that's, like, literally exactly the story. Lindsay just said, this is what you want to be doing. You know, you want to be like putting yourself out there as someone who genuinely wants to serve. And I know you have talked about this before. There's a business coach that I love who talks about this. You have to come from a place of service because, like, what else? What else are we doing it first of all, if we don't And, I just think that that is how you're going to move the needle on growing your audience because you are putting out that educational content, and that's why content marketing is such a great fit. I just want to know what they mentioned. Lindsay had brought up the CEO and so, you know, sort of the technical side of content marketing.
Afton: I want people to kind of know about this. And this is also why you need a content strategy is because really the best way that you're actually going to generate website traffic through content marketing is by being intentional about the keywords you choose, choosing keywords that your audience is truly searching for and working them into your copy in a natural way. So if you've heard the term keyword stuffing, you know, you don't want to do that. It needs to actually be just natural and how someone would actually speak and read.But you do. There are several ways you can optimize your blog posts. And so if anyone asks questions about that, they can always reach out to me. But, blogging is great in that sense for getting found in organic search. Like Lindsay was explaining with You know, what happened with her for coming up as a financial advisor in Cochran. I mean, that's really what you want, and you don't want to have to pay Google hundreds of dollars a month to be doing this. So again, it's a long game like you're not going to maybe see results right away with these things. But that's why you do need to have a consistent and dedicated content marketing program, and then you will eventually start being found for those keywords that you want to be found for. I love it, Yeah, so that's kind of a nerdy side of it. But I'm just It's so good, though, and more business owners need to understand this. And it's so easy to take an interview like this and pull some of the keywords that you know you, the business owners are staying and then maybe make a list. So the next time you're building content, you're stumped and you know you can put your best keywords.
Lyndsie: Yeah, there's a lot of tricks. I'm sure we can nerd out forever. But I love it. This is a super fun conversation. Thank you!
Afton:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, one other thing I'd say is like, uh and you're always doing this, Lyndsie because you're always having so many conversations with your audience. But, like, think about what questions do you get asked about your business? Like, what questions do you get asked about your industry in general? Ware common problems or misconceptions that people have? All of those things are really great topics to become content because you already know that those are the things people actually want to hear about. And so what? You know, what we always want to be doing is like delivering what somebody actually wants to hear about. So if anyone stumped on content ideas, you know, you can just think about the most commonly asked questions that you get asked. And then there's your next five blog posts.
Lyndsie: Totally. Yes, that's so awesome. And that's one of the things we do in marketing school. In the second or third week. We do a survey, and the survey is designed to like you just said to get these new from printers are these temperatures who are getting better at marketing intentionally get them in the mindset of their ideal clients and what they're wondering about you or were wondering about how to get the results they want and like putting those things into words because ultimately we need to be able to fall back on that list of questions all the time in our marketing. Otherwise, we're not speaking specifically to the right people. So it's so cool that you have packages designed to help people do that because I definitely attract. I attract women who want to learn how to d i y a lot of their stuff. And then what happens when they come out of the marketing school? Is there either, like shit? I don't want to do that anymore. I want to find someone to help you with this forever because I don't like it or I feel stuck all the time or, you know, I understand. But at least I understand what they're hiring someone to do now, whereas before someone liked because you know there's people all the time, they're throwing money at social media marketing, but they don't really know what they're paying people to do or why. So it's hard to measure success. But, like with the girls that come in a marketing school, it's good for them to know that there's someone like you there that can help them with, you know, ongoing service. Or maybe just like a boot camp type package where they can really just get a bunch of content and a bunch of clarity and then run with it for a while, kind of thing, right? Yeah, really?
Afton: Absolutely. And I mean, that's, you know, that's the thing. Like, there are always gonna be people who have, you know, a knack for writing or for storytelling. And they want to do those things themselves, which is fantastic. And I say, Go to it. I would just, you know, I would just say as long as they have their strategy in place, then you know they will just be saving themselves time. And so, you know, I'm always happy to chat with people if they ever have questions about content, strategizing or creation.
Lyndsie: Is there anything you want to leave them just? It's such a good, final message for Fempreneur? Anything at all? Something that just feels on your heart to share?
Afton: I want to just say that starting a business has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. And it has actually, you know, almost changed me as a person, just in terms of confidence and just in terms of, I don't know, many of those, like, sort of deep internal things. And I know that there are others who feel the same and that to just pour their heart and soul into it. And I just want to say that, you know, like, just keep doing what you're doing and thank you for doing it. And Lindsey and I are both here. If you ever want to chat about marketing or any questions!
