What the heck do people mean when they say certain things about creating content? This is what we are continuing in today's episode. So if you have not listened to Episode 330, then maybe you can pause this episode first or you can listen to it and then go back and listen to that one. There's really no chronological error if you listen to these out of order, but just so you're aware, this is part two of a mini series that I'm doing about content definitions that you
need to know. So in the first episode, which is episode 330, we shared the first four content definitions that I think is really important for you to know. And today, we are going to cover the next six definitions that all content creators should know and understand in 2022 and beyond. So let's get right to it. Welcome to the profit podcast where we teach entrepreneurs how to start launch and market their podcast. I'm your host, Krystal, Proffitt, and I'm so excited
that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Because if you've been trying to figure out the world of podcasting, think of this show as the time saving shortcut you've been looking for. So let's get right to it, shall we?
So because you're listening to the rest of this episode, I'm just going to assume that you've already listened to Episode 330. And I'm not going to repeat everything that I said there. But it does have the first four definitions that you should know, as a content creator, actually define content creator, that's one of them. But today, we're going to cover the next six. So between these two episodes, these are really the 10 definitions that I want you
to understand. As you start your podcast, start your YouTube channel, create a blog, or just become a content creator. And we're just gonna dive right in because we have a lot to cover. And I want to make sure that we can go pretty in depth on this
information. But like I mentioned, in the last episode, I'm going to have tons of resources in the show notes from previous interviews that I've done podcast episodes, YouTube videos like this is just going to be chock full of a bunch of resources, that if you're raising your hand, and you're like, I don't really want to say out loud that I don't know what things mean, when people mentioned them on podcast, or I see them in a YouTube video, like this is the safe space for
you to ask those questions for you to raise your hand and say, Oh, I don't really understand what that means. Because this is what happened to me. And I learned all of these things through creating content being on this journey for a while. And so let's just clarify, there are no dumb questions left, because I've asked them all. Okay, I've asked all the stupid questions. And here we are today. So let's dive right in.
Number one, the first definition that we are covering here today is a lead magnets. You probably know what this is based on what other people talk about. Now, the reason why I say it like that is because you're like, oh, yeah, that's, that's like a free resource or a value added freebie. Like there's a bunch of different ways that people use this term. But let's just break it down for what it is. You are offering something of value to your audience in exchange for
their email. That's like the simplest that I can make it and it's really important that you understand this because growing an email list is one of those things that has just been oh my gosh, it's it's one of my favorite parts of my business is emailing my list every Friday, there's going to be a link in
the show notes. If you're not if you're like Krystal, what email list if you're not on my email list, you don't get an email from me every single Friday, then don't worry, go to the show notes, KrystalProffitt.com/episode331. And if you scroll all the way down the bottom, you're gonna find a way to get on the email list and start getting updates
for me on a regular basis. But there's a few reasons why these are important as a content creator and why you need to understand what lead magnets are, are freebies free resources, value added resources, because this is a way for you to connect with your audience outside of you just creating content. So I could get into all the reasons why having an email list is super
important. But you know, you know these whether it's consciously or subconsciously think about all the times that you know, Instagram has gone down Facebook's gone down YouTube has been messed up like there All these different areas where you could be creating content on one specific platform, and then it goes into radio silence and something shuts down? Well, having an email list is something that is
really important. And you'll hear people talk about, there's like, oh, you need an email list, it's so important to have an email list. But then you have people like me, I'm standing up in the back of the room with my hand up, and I'm like, but how do you get people on an email list? How do you even make this happen in the first place? I was so confused, so lost about this. It's something that I honestly spent years trying to understand
why I needed to have one. When I first started my blog, I didn't have an email list. I was like, I don't need that. What do I need that for? I don't have anything to sell, I don't have anything to offer, what the heck am I going to talk to these people about because I don't even know what I'm doing was very much. In a, I mean, I'm thinking back to the early like early blogging days before I officially had an email list.
And you all there was just so much, I was gonna say that whatever the opposite of clarity is, there was muddy waters, across my content creation journey. And it all really started with not understanding how to get people on my email list. And that's where your lead
magnet comes in. So when it comes to a lead magnet, you can have I mean, like the sky's the limit, I have seen and I have opted in to some really creative things that people have put together, whether it's taking a quiz and getting quiz results back, you know, because you'll get to some of these quizzes that you take. And then it's like, Oh, if you want your results, you got to give me your
email list. And depending on how invested I am in it, sometimes I will and sometimes I won't just be totally honest with you. Sometimes I just take the quiz just to see what it is. And sometimes I'm like, Oh, I don't really already knew all this stuff, I don't really need my results. Anyway, other times, lead magnets can look like a free training, like, I have done this where I've had my five day
podcast boot camp. And it's literally a five day series that you get an email, one one a day for five days, and it links to a YouTube video. And it's totally free. And I put this together. It's awesome lead magnet, by the way, we're gonna link to that in the show notes, the five day boot camp. It's been a few years since I first created it, but it's still very relevant, and still really awesome. It's value packed. So if you're brand new to my community, and you're like, dang, like this whole
video series is totally free. I wonder what her paid stuff is like, right. So that's really the mentality. And so that can kind of give you an idea, a free ebook, or maybe a link to a podcast playlist on your website, you could have like a website or a web page that's not public, like not everyone can just find it. And then you could send people there, that's another cool thing. Or it could be a PDF that has clickable links, they're like the sky's the limit when it comes to
creating a lead magnet. But the other thing I wanted to talk about, when it comes to sharing your lead magnet across any type of content you're creating, it
has to have a readable link. And by that I mean, don't create something and then say, Okay, next, I want you to go to Krystal proffitt.com, forward slash a really long URL that's going to take someone forever to remember, and it has lots of spaces and dashes and weird symbols in it, you're never gonna remember it, you're never gonna, like be able to say it, and your listeners or whoever is watching or consuming your content, they're not gonna go click on it, because they're
like, oh, that I'm gonna get, um, I'm gonna get a virus on my computer just thinking about that URL. So you have to use a tool that's going to make it easier for you to share. For me, I use pretty links on my WordPress website. It's a plugin I like to use. Bitly is another app that you can use that will shorten your URLs to make them pretty. And it is so important.
So so so important. It's how I can remember off the top of my head, the different free resources that I have, it's because I've converted them into something that's easy to say. Now, no, we just spent a lot of time on this very first definition, but it's important to know and understand. And I also have another resource for if you want to grow your email list, you want to know more about that I have a resource that I'll link to in the show
notes. So again, it's KrystalProffitt.com/episode331. We're gonna find all the things that we talked about today.
Alright, so number two, calls to action. You've got to understand what this definition is. Basically, it's what is your next step? You're listening to this podcast episode and at the very end, I'm going to To tell you to go to the shownotes. That's legitimately what I want people to do. When they listen to this podcast above and beyond subscribing and coming back and sharing it, like, I want you to go to my website. And this is like, we're gonna get meta here for a second, because I often don't preach about what I'm doing in the moment. But when I tell you to go to the shownotes, this does a few things. It gets you to my website, which hopefully you'll click around, and maybe you're interested in working with me, or taking one of my courses or learning more about my book or trying to understand like, what the heck does this chick really do? And you'll learn about me and what I do by going to my website. Another thing is, you are actually helping me by getting more traffic, more eyes on my site that helps my SEO. Now I've been talking a lot more about search engine optimization. And I've had a lot of you reaching out to me saying, Krystal, will you please help me understand this better, I want to know more about it. Well, the more people that visit your website, the better your it, your website is going to rank in Google and all the other search engines. So that's another reason why I always say my show notes, I want you to go there, not only is it going to add value to what you're learning about and offer more resources, but it's also going to get whoever's listening to my podcast, to really understand that I'm trying to offer as much value as possible, while also getting a lot of value. To it's like a it's a win win, right? I was thinking of Michael Scott, on the office, it's a win win win, right? It gets you the resources that you need, it helps boost the SEO juice for my website, as well as get you to have more opportunities to work with me and learn from me through my emails or courses or whatever it is, calls to action. Super, super important. I'm going to link to a resource in the show notes that is 25 calls to action is a free resource. I think I created this 2019. And it's still super, super relevant. There's actually I could probably expand it to about 50 calls to action. Now. Maybe I will maybe in 2022 We'll give it a facelift. But for now, there's 25 calls to action that you can make. It's originally from your podcasts, but you could look at these as from your Instagram, if you're doing Instagram lives or from your email newsletter, or from your podcast, your live stream your YouTube videos. Like there's so many different ways that you can use calls to action, but it's the next step. What is the next step that you want people to take with you. And that is why calls to action are so so
important.
Okay, number three. So we talked about lead magnets, calls to action. Number three is your content calendar. I talk about my content calendar a lot. I talk about it not as much on the podcast as I do on my YouTube channel, because that's where I can do a lot more the demonstration of app because I mean, it doesn't help for me to sit here and talk you through all the different ways that I use asana and Google Sheets because you can't see it. But a content calendar keeps me sane.
Bottom line, because what it is is and this is the way that I have created my content, calendars, there's two tools that I use. That is asana and Google Sheets. And I use the they're both free. By the way, I use the free version of Asana, and I use free Google Google's free. And I will use these two together to keep track of podcast episodes, my YouTube content as well as handling the deadlines of when everything is
due. So and this may be overkill, and you're like oh my gosh, because all your What are you even doing that sounds like way too much work. But it's what works for myself. I go into a sauna on a monthly basis. I have an entire board if you will, or it's a project that is dedicated to creating the content that I create for profit media. So it is my weekly newsletter. I just talked about my email every Friday, I have a notification that says hey, your newsletter is due today. You got to get it
done. And you got to check it off whenever it's finished. I have tasks that remind me about my podcast episodes, my YouTube videos as well as the posts that I put in our Facebook group. And I mean, the potty report episodes like there is a task in my Asana for an entire quarter. This is what also helps me have the ability to batch content. I'm actually recording this episode right now. I'm batching the two episodes that I did so 330 and 331. Like spoiler alert, I'm recording these both in the
same day. And the only way that I was able to do this is by knowing that this content was coming, I saw I had a gap in my schedule where I had a few hours for free. And I was like, Man, I'm gonna batch I'm gonna knock these episodes out. That way, it's really good. And I sound really fresh today. And I'm just doing a lot of recording. And so the only way I could batch this content is by knowing what was
coming. So a content calendar keeps you on track, it helps you make sure that you have the right episode numbers, y'all I'd be so lost, I don't even know we wouldn't even have episode numbers if I didn't have a content calendar. Because it was, it's what keeps me sane.
And if you have a team or you want to have a team, whether it's a virtual assistant, or you know, an executive assistant Content Manager, whatever that looks like for you, having a project management tool, like Asana, or Trello, monday.com, these are all the different platforms that I have heard of a sauna is the main one that I have used. And it just makes my
life so much better. Because I don't have to remember what is due, I can just log in, and it's like, boom, here's what you need to do this week, and then I just get to work. So a content calendar is a must have, however you set that up, I'm going to link to a lot of resources on how I use a sauna for my content calendar specifically for the podcast, and it will be super, super helpful.
Okay, number four, podcast description and show notes. This is actually not just podcast descriptions, its descriptions in general. Now, in the last episode, I mentioned briefly show notes when it comes to a blog and a website. But what I wanted to really hands on is the descriptions and show notes piece. Because it can be a little confusing whenever you are creating content. And you don't really know where to send people like you're in the moment, right? This is actually happened to me. Two episodes ago, I was talking about showing up as yourself and showing your personality. And in the moment, I thought of a resource. And I thought, oh my gosh, the episode that I did the interview that I did with Zafira, Rajan was so incredible, it was so relevant to what we were talking about in that episode. And it wasn't in my notes, I just thought of it in the moment. And so what I did is instead of trying to instead of like pausing, and like oh, like I do, like stop recording, stop, stop everything, because I remembered this thing, and I have to write it down, because then I have to tell them exactly where to go. No, use the power of saying it's in the shownotes. If you're recording a podcast or saying it's in the video description below, because if you think of something, and you know, it's going to be a powerful resource that you can share with your audience, and you don't want to jack yourself up while you're recording. It's what I do, I say, oh, it's going to be linked in the video description or check it out in the show notes. And I'll repeat the show notes. Because when I go back, I'm in the editing process, right, I'm either editing a podcast episode, or a YouTube video, I can actually put on the screen if it's a video, this is the link or I can put linked below, I can actually put the URL on the screen as well. There's a lot of different options that you have in the video, as I said in the video room, but let's be honest, I'm in the same room that I record the stuff. So it's a recording room, it's studio, we'll call it that the editing room, I always think of when people that make movies, they always talk about, you know, there's a lot of tape on the editing floor that comes from when people used to edit movies, they literally would cut the tape and they would piece it together. And they would just have scraps of film all over the floor. So whenever you're editing, or maybe you have an editor, you could send it to them and say, Hey, I said in the show notes or in the description, make sure you add these things in. Because let's just be honest, y'all, you're going to have stuff that hits you in the moment, you're going to have inspiration strike, and you shouldn't let that throw you off. And you shouldn't let it like hold you back from sharing that important resource. Just say oh, just like today, I'm like, Oh, there's the 25 calls to action freebie. I actually don't remember exactly what that call to action freebie is like the URL because I haven't talked about it in a while. It's something that we've had for a few years. So what I'm going to do is say Oh, and you can check it out on the show notes. Make sure you go to KrystalProffitt.com/episode331 to grab that free resource. So you see what I did. So take advantage of descriptions and show notes and make sure that you understand the power of them. That is number
four.
Number five, we are talking about funnels. Now. This is one that I feel like a lot of you will understand. Because if you have your own business, you want to have your own business, you probably understand a customer journey and what people are experiencing whenever they go from your free content to maybe your email list to a paid product, and maybe even to your
higher end programs. And I wanted to just mention a funnel, because the way that I look at a funnel is anything that is free is that the top of the funnel, I have a lot of free content. It's what I love. Someone recently was just like, Girl, I don't even understand how you put up so much content, you are a content machine. And I'm like, yes, thank you very much. Because I love it. It makes me happy. It brings me so much joy to be sitting here recording
this podcast for you. I batched a whole bunch of YouTube videos yesterday, it brings me joy. So I double down on the places where I find so much joy and the ability to let people learn about these things for free. Just it's the icing on the cake. So what I like to do is at the very top of my funnel, I ask, Well, what do I want people to do? And this is where those calls to action come into play. Because if I'm just putting out free content for free content sake, then that's all fine and
good. But no one's actually going to follow me on social media. Unless I ask no one's actually going to download my free resource. Unless I ask no one is going to subscribe to my podcast unless I ask. So at the very top of the funnel, imagine that's where your free content lives. It's your podcasts, your YouTube, your blog post, maybe what you put out on social media, it's your email list. Actually, no, no, let's take
that back. Let's put email in the next portion like the skinnier or not the skinnier. Yeah, the skinnier part of the funnel, I'm thinking I'm like, Wait, what is the shape of funnel, you know, and you know what it is, is upside down pyramid, all the things, but a funnel at the very top for me and my content, maybe this is the way you can structure yours as well or it's a good model to follow is all the free stuff.
And then after then it's the next portion of the funnel is whenever someone has taken an action. Now this is still for me. It's mostly all free content it is they join my Facebook group, they get on my email list. They subscribe to my YouTube channel, they follow the podcast, these are all the things that someone who isn't just passively consuming my content, but they're like, Hey, I think I want to learn from this chick. And they opt in. And there's many different ways that
they could do that. And then from there, what I want them to do next do I want them to buy one of my low ticket offers. This is the next section of the funnel for my business. This is my book started binge worthy podcast. This is my ultimate podcast, launch toolkit. These are all the affordable things that I have that are very easy for someone to hop in. And they're they're quick yeses, right there under $50. There, it's like okay, that's a no
brainer. Yeah, if I want to work with Krystal, I want to learn from her, this is what I'm going to do. And then if you go further down the funnel, this is where you find things like my course profit podcasting or affiliate launches that I do that our higher end and then at the very bottom is going to be the most expensive affiliate programs and different coaching things that I offer that not everyone is going to be a great
fit for. So go back up to the very top of the funnel, you have this broad audience of all these people that want to start a podcast, start creating content, start a YouTube channel, all those things on the outside, but then all the way down to get super super skinny at the bottom. And the VIP stuff will only be for certain people that really want to go all in and work with me learn from me and purchase those higher ticket things. And I'm okay with that. That's how a funnel is supposed
to work. So I encourage you to sit down and write out your funnel. It's as simple as like I've literally have this sketched on a piece of paper, I feel like I need to frame it because it's a pretty good funnel that I drew but it makes a difference. It makes all the difference to visually see how your content works, how you can make money and where the opportunities are with a funnel. Alright, so that is number five.
Number six, self sponsored ads. I cannot get over how important these are. And then the last Episode I mentioned briefly about dynamic content and why I love it. So, so much dynamic content is really centered around podcast episodes, though, I would be curious to see where things go in the future, if you'd be able to insert your own dynamic content into other types of, you know, video, audio, tech stuff, I have no idea how you know, advertising and doing all these other things will work in
the future. But self sponsored ads is you talking about your own product, you're talking about your own service, you're talking about what you offer your audience that is paid for, or it could fall under the category of a free resource if you're doing like a free live summit or a challenge anything like that. But the idea is, you are sponsoring your own stuff, hence the name, self sponsored content, self sponsored ads.
These have just been so crucial to me, because what I and maybe you've heard this before, if you're a longtime listener, I apologize. You've heard this story 1000 times. But there was a point in time, and it's another reason why calls to action are really important to me. When I first started listening to podcast, I was listening to this one show and they kept saying, oh, you know, we, we don't do ads. We don't do ads. We will never have ads on this podcast. We never work with
anybody else. We are just creating content for the love of creating content, we will never have ads. Do I even need to say it? Do I mean, you know what happened? Right? You one day, I turned on my podcast I was going. It's funny those things that you remember, I still remember to this day. We were living in East Texas. And I was still stuck. I was freshly staying at home. So this was like 2014 2015. And I had just put my earbuds in. I had the
jogging stroller. And I just remember listening, queuing up the podcast, starting my run. And there was an ad on this podcast. And I was so fresh. I stopped listening to that show that day and turn backs. I just realized how much of a drama drama queen this makes me sound like but it's so true. Like I felt betrayed the betrayal of the podcast listener. I was so frustrated that they had started putting ads in their show. It pissed me off. It really did.
And I feel like I've been using that phrase a lot more lately. I've been getting a little bit more ranty about like my pet peeves. You know, what really grinds my gears getting? Getting all up there and my content creation frustration, I need to coin that term, I need to like hashtag trademark. I don't remember what I said. Now what content creation frustration, I think that's what is it. But it's, you have to start if you have plans. I know many of you, you're super, super ambitious.
And you're just like, I want to create a YouTube channel that has hundreds of 1000s of subscribers. I want a podcast that has millions of downloads. And I think that that is fantastic. Please shoot for these big ambitious goals and dreams. But whenever you do that, you will have people knocking on your door saying we would love to sponsor you. We would love to give you money to talk about our products, we would love to give you our
product for free. And you know, we would love to have you showcase this will send you on trips, I will do all these incredible things that all the influencers talk about the amazing things that happens in
their life, right. But what happens when all of a sudden you go from never having any calls to action, never talking about anything else in your product, you're just creating content, creating content, creating content for the sake of creating content, and then you're just sharing, you're being valuable, you're doing all these things to
your community. And then all of a sudden, you're like, oh, by the way, I have 17 ads that I'm going to talk about in my podcast, because now I'm a big shot, and I'm making all this money and I'm just gonna dump all these ads on you. I've seen it multiple times go very poorly for a lot of podcasters. And unfortunately, had they actually had ads of their own or calls to action whenever they were creating their content in the beginning. I don't think things would have turned as sideways as
some of them have. So the reason why I love self sponsored ads is because you're you're sponsoring your own product, but you're also getting your audience used to listening to ads. Because I know a lot of you you're like how do I get sponsored content? How do I get someone to sponsor my show? Well, once you can prove to a sponsor like hey, I've been sponsored mound content for a year now. I always
talk about my program. I have a specific call to action, I tell them this is the URL they need to go to I tell them why it could benefit them, maybe even do it in an entertaining way. But having this experience of creating ads, it is important. I don't care if you're just promoting your own program, your book, anything like that. It is important because whenever you go to get a sponsor, you can say, oh, yeah, I've been doing
this. Yeah, I know all about calls to action, self sponsored ads, I have a whole track record. I've done this for 100 episodes. Now, look, this is all my work, you can go listen to it on the podcast, it is important. But not only that, it also builds authority with your
audience. Because if you can say, Oh, I have a program, I have a book, I have a live event I have this I have that it is establishing to your audience, the power that you have as an authority or thought leader, or someone that is really making moves in your fields, whether they buy from you or not, subconsciously, something switches in their mind, where they don't just think of you as someone recording a podcast in your bedroom closet, even if that's where you're recording
more power to you. I've done it multiple times. But it switches from, oh, this person is serious. They take what they do on this podcast really seriously, which means they're invested in what they do, which means they could help me. And maybe I should hire them. Maybe I should buy their thing. Maybe I should sign up for their free resource. So I know self sponsored ads, like I've been going on and on about it because I'm on my soapbox about it. Because it is that important. It
is that important. And I think I'm going to do another upcoming training about self sponsored ads. And I'll probably do like a YouTube series on why they're so important and how to use them whenever you're doing an affiliate launch. I think that a lot of people underestimate the power of affiliate marketing. And I have made a substantial amount of money doing affiliate programs doing affiliate launches. And I use self
sponsored ads all the time. I don't say Oh, well, this podcast is sponsored by instead, I have specific calls to action that highlight why this affiliate program, the thing that I'm promoting could benefit my audience. So stay tuned for that. Let me know tag me on Instagram, if that sounds like something that you would be really interested in because self sponsored ads, there's there's so much fun. There's so much fun. And if you're like Krystal, that sounds terrifying.
That doesn't sound fun at all. Please reach out to me, I would love to show you why I think that they are so much fun.
But let's do a quick recap for these last six content definitions that we talked about today. So we talked about a lead magnet free resource number two, we talked about calls to action. Number three, your content calendar. So stinking important. go create a content calendar if you do not have one already. Number four descriptions and shownotes number five, we talked about funnels, and number six self
sponsored ads. So I'm going to link to all the resources go check them out KrystalProffitt.com/episode331. And I'm also gonna link to Episode 330, which is the original like part one of this two part series for content definitions you need to know as a creator. But that's all I have for you today. What a fun episode. I love this little miniseries that we just did. It was a lot of fun. I'll probably do some more of these little series in the future that tie two things together really well.
But those were 10 definitions that I hope that you found a lot of new things to try as well as you understood a little bit deeper about some of these concepts that people often talk about, but don't really explain fully or what they are. So let me know I would love for you to take a screenshot and tag me on instagram and tell me what your number one takeaway was from this episode or from the previous episode. But that's all I have for you today. So as
always remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.