190 | Disrupting the Marketing Industry and the Truth Behind Building a Personal Brand with Alex Cattoni of Copy Posse
Disruption can mean straying true to yourself - tune in to learn more!
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:
Today on the Podcast we have an incredible and brilliant guest, Alex Cattoni, the founder of Copy Posse, a community of over 300,000 copywriters and entrepreneurs around the world! We talk about how building a personal brand or business takes time and consistency as well as a focus on creating genuine connections and providing value to your audience.
Alex’s mission is to re-defining modern marketing, build an empathy empire. Since launching the Copy Posse in 2020, Alex has been featured on Forbes, Mind valley, and Foundr. She is a 5-time speaker at Ad World and was crowned 2022 Marketer of the Year by DigitalMarketer.
Connect with Alex:
Instagram: @copyposse
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@AlexCattoni
Website: copyposse.com
Transitioning from Behind the Scenes to Personal Brand
Alex initially worked behind the scenes in marketing before starting her personal brand. The transition was daunting but ultimately empowering.
Fear of Judgment
Alex was initially afraid of judgment and criticism when putting herself out there. Many entrepreneurs struggle with imposter syndrome and fear of what others will think.
Building a Community Takes Time
Initially, friends and family supported her content, and they can be strong initial advocates. However, their interest may wane over time as they're not her ideal audience.
Building a community or brand takes time and persistence. It took Alex six months to gain her first 1,000 subscribers on YouTube. Long-term success requires dedication and patience.
Evolving Marketing Landscape
Marketing has evolved significantly. Audiences are more discerning and want to connect with authentic creators. Building trust and community are essential.
The pendulum in marketing is moving from direct response marketing to community and brand building. People are putting their money where their values align, making genuine connections crucial.
Longer Buyer Journey
The buyer journey is longer now as people take time to build trust with brands. Alex's customers often take 60 days or more before making a purchase.
Focus on Value Creation
Smaller brands should prioritize creating value for their ideal customers. Offer free, genuine content that resonates with your audience to build trust and a loyal following.
Define Your Goals & Stay True to Your Brand
Start by defining your business goals and what you want to achieve. Your strategies will depend on your specific objectives.
Maintain authenticity in your brand. People connect with real stories, values, and missions, so be yourself and share your unique perspective.
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transcript
[00:00:00]
[00:00:00] Danielle Wiebe: Alex, welcome to the Business Babes Collective podcast. I am so thrilled to have you on the show today.
[00:00:06] Alex Cattoni: I'm so excited to be here. Thank
[00:00:08] Danielle Wiebe: you for having me. So tell everyone a little bit more about you. What has your journey been like in this crazy world of
[00:00:16] Alex Cattoni: entrepreneurship? Oh, gosh, it's how far do I go back?
[00:00:20] Alex Cattoni: I am Alex, as you said, I have a company called copy posse, which actually started in about late 2019, early 2020 officially with my very first product launch, but I essentially am a copywriter and marketing strategist and help. Business owners ignite their businesses through the power of copy and marketing and positioning.
[00:00:45] Alex Cattoni: And I actually did that. Long before I started the Coffee Posse, I have a, about a 10 year, now it's longer than that, but over a decade long track record of working in the marketing world. Got my start in 2008 at Mindvalley, which is a [00:01:00] publishing company that many people have heard of, and was an intern there actually.
[00:01:03] Alex Cattoni: So I went from being a very studious, college student thinking I was going to be a lawyer to having a bit of a existential, Oh my gosh, I don't know if this is what I want to do, which I think every single entrepreneur can relate to. I've just been going to school for years to study something that I don't think I want to do.
[00:01:22] Alex Cattoni: So I was on the brink of applying to law school and thought, you know what, I'm going to, I'm going to travel a little bit. And that's when I discovered Mindvalley and got into marketing and all of that. So talk about a hard left turn. But as soon as I realized that you could make money doing that, I thought this is like a dream.
[00:01:37] Alex Cattoni: Like my dream of being. Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, sort of cute, was coming to life, but I was an intern at Mindvalley then left the company in 2011 as the creative director, and then I started my freelance business working completely behind the scenes for other companies, so for eight years I was anonymous, basically a ghostwriter for personal development [00:02:00] brands online before I ever started the copy posse.
[00:02:03] Danielle Wiebe: I would love to know what was that transition like from being behind the scenes to being very forefront of your brand and becoming like a personal brand because we met when you were still marketing for other brands. We met because we live in the same city.
[00:02:21] Danielle Wiebe: And so that's originally how I met you. We connected. I've always loved what you were doing and loved your heart for community. You hosted this event that I got an invite to, which was really amazing. And so that's when we connected and then fast forward a few years, you started your YouTube channel.
[00:02:41] Danielle Wiebe: You really started to be the forefront of your brand. So what was that like for you? Was that. This decision that you made of, okay, I'm going to step out. And was that outside of your comfort zone or was that something that kind of came naturally?
[00:02:54] Alex Cattoni: Oh man. I feel like it's yes and no and everything in between, I [00:03:00] had been behind the scenes in the marketing world for so long and I had gotten so used to writing for other people.
[00:03:05] Alex Cattoni: And I think at one point I just hit this. Law where I was going through the motions doing the work and was really passionate about marketing. But you know, when you're, When you're working for other businesses, there's only so much control you can have over the narrative and what's being put out there.
[00:03:20] Alex Cattoni: And to be honest, I was starting to get a bit jaded by the marketing world. I really clearly intuitively felt that marketing was moving in one direction. And I was so tired of working with clients that were still stuck in this old school way of thinking. And then I would die a little bit inside every time I had to write.
[00:03:37] Alex Cattoni: For a voice that wasn't my own. And ironically, for years, I would have people in the industry who are quite, big names and have quite a large brands. Tell me why don't you have your own personal brand? Like you're so outgoing. You love, community, you love all of that. And it was true.
[00:03:56] Alex Cattoni: And they would always say why aren't you doing? Something with your own [00:04:00] brand or business. And to be quite honest, I was absolutely terrified. It was so much easier to hide behind the, no, that's not me. I don't want that. I don't want to, I don't want a personal brand. I don't want people to know who I am.
[00:04:13] Alex Cattoni: I like my privacy. I like my freedom. And that was true. Absolutely. But I, you know, I just reached this point where I thought, what am I doing? Like I even questioned maybe going back to school. Cause I just. Really gone through this phase of coasting and finally decided, you know what? I want to see a change in this industry.
[00:04:33] Alex Cattoni: And maybe no one will listen, but let me start my YouTube channel and talk about that. And I don't think it's anyone's intention. At least I don't think it should be anyway, when you're starting a business, it should never be about. The number of followers you have, or of course, in the beginning, when I started my YouTube channel, I thought about it.
[00:04:50] Alex Cattoni: Oh wouldn't it be cool to build a bit of a brand, but my, there was no strategy. It was, It was like, I have something to say, and I'm really going to say it. Loud and proud. The [00:05:00] people who resonate with me think it's cool and want to learn more than like I've done my job. And that's awesome. And so it was very organic process, but also absolutely terrifying, as they say, new level, new devil.
[00:05:11] Alex Cattoni: And as soon as you decide to put yourself out there. It opens up this whole new can of worms of, of, of really like, I realized I never thought I was a people pleaser. I am the biggest people pleaser ever. Like I never thought I cared about what other people thought until I started putting myself out on the internet, because it's easy to say I don't give a crap what people think when you're just hiding in your own little bubble, you know?
[00:05:30] Danielle Wiebe: yeah. And so do you think that was like a part of it too, where you were afraid of maybe putting yourself out there because you did have this like comfort level of being behind the scenes and being able to do good work, but not having that public potential critique or opinions about what you have to say, right?
[00:05:51] Danielle Wiebe: Do you feel like that was a reason why you didn't start something like that
[00:05:56] Alex Cattoni: sooner? Yeah, I think it was twofold. I think part of me[00:06:00] Was afraid of being judged or being criticized, cause the people who I had learned marketing and copywriting from were mostly men.
[00:06:09] Alex Cattoni: And I really, I had this little, my little girl voice inside saying who the hell do you think you are putting yourself out there? To compete with all of these other people who are teaching this, who in my mind, I thought it was like marketing legends, the old boys of the marketing world.
[00:06:23] Alex Cattoni: And. And it's funny because I know I did ruffles and feathers. I've had some of them reach out to me after the fact and say, I'm not going to lie when I first started seeing your content, it like, like it triggered me and I didn't think you knew what the hell you were talking about.
[00:06:37] Alex Cattoni: And that was really triggering. And, kudos to those guys who have since owned up and say, I realized it was all just ego and, easy for me to tear you down because you were up and coming and you were, yeah. You were sharing, from the heart, but I, they felt that I was disrupting the industry, which obviously was my goal from the beginning.
[00:06:56] Alex Cattoni: So it's funny how oftentimes the things we're the most afraid of are [00:07:00] ultimately what needs to happen in order to change the paradigm, not just within our own brains, but within, whatever change we're trying to make, because we all start businesses for wanting. To create change. So it's I wanted to bring down the old school, douchey marketing world single handedly, but then was absolutely afraid and terrified of doing it.
[00:07:18] Alex Cattoni: But then the other side of me, was afraid that I would try and fail because I had built up. Really great reputation in the small circles that I ran in, who knew me as being this great marketer and who who am I to then all of a sudden start teaching it and then what happens if I fail and then everyone knows I've been a fraud this whole time, you know, that imposter syndrome coming up they think I'm a great marketer and then I'm going to try to do it for myself and it's not going to work and then they're going to know that I'm not a great marketer, and so it was just a lot of those like dark. Dark thoughts that would creep up, for, to be honest, for well over a year before I actually even pulled the trigger and started doing it. Wow.
[00:07:59] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah.[00:08:00] I think that anyone who's built a business of any level can relate to that feeling of who am I to do this?
[00:08:08] Danielle Wiebe: Who am I to put myself out there like this? What are my friends going to think? What are my peers going to think? What are the people that I have either worked for or worked with going to think?
[00:08:19] Danielle Wiebe: Fear of failure is one thing like you talked about, but the fear of what other people think, especially the people that are your peers or that know you really well. Cause it's. One thing to put yourself out there and build a community, build a new community of people that are going to learn from you, who actually want to hear what you have to say but it's like those people that, you know, really well, or that know you really well, that's like the scariest,
[00:08:45] Danielle Wiebe: this is making me think of when I started hosting events. And I remember I kept it a complete secret from everyone in my personal life.
[00:08:53] Danielle Wiebe: And I had this like little secret life of creating this community and didn't tell anyone for a while. [00:09:00] And then it got really weird. I'm like, okay, I have to start like actually telling people. And I was like, okay, whatever, like they're going to think what they want to think. But at the end of the day if it's important enough, if you have this.
[00:09:11] Danielle Wiebe: Idea, or you have this mission or what you want to create, then ultimately it's worth it. And a lot of those people come back around, I think too, and they end up supporting you in the end, but it
[00:09:22] Alex Cattoni: is. And you realize that what they're saying is totally a projection of their own insecurities. And so to your point, I remember when I decided to start my YouTube channel, all I had.
[00:09:35] Alex Cattoni: Was my personal like Facebook and Instagram account, like many people when they're just starting. So I really was starting from scratch. Luckily I had experience in the industry, so I did have some incredible peers and people who I had gotten to know over the years, but I had no quote unquote audience, I had friends and I remember just being so scared.
[00:09:56] Alex Cattoni: And I had published my first YouTube video and I didn't [00:10:00] tell anybody, cause I just was hoping that the YouTube algorithm would just send me people. And what you don't realize is that while there's maybe one or two people who are going to be like, what in the hell is that, person think they're doing?
[00:10:15] Alex Cattoni: How dare they put, dis How dare they believe in themselves enough to start a business, right? 98 people are there cheering you on, resharing your stuff. And I think that's the thing that we don't realize is that our friends and family want to believe in us, want to support us, want to advocate for us.
[00:10:30] Alex Cattoni: And in the beginning, my business was definitely riding on the waves of. Friends and family loving and sharing my stuff because they wanted to believe and support me. So I feel like even in the beginning, I remember getting 200 views on my first video after I did finally like bite the bullet and decide, okay, I'm going to share this with my friends and family when they had no idea that this was even something I was going to pursue.
[00:10:53] Alex Cattoni: And. I was getting so many comments and it felt so good because I got all these subscribers right away. And then I thought, Oh [00:11:00] my gosh, if I extrapolate this out, right? Cause that's what you do. You get the initial buzz going and then you think, if I got 200 subscribers for every video, then in no time I'm going to be at, this many.
[00:11:11] Alex Cattoni: And I remember thinking that that's how it worked. But then you go through like the crickets phase where your friends and family have shown their support. And then they're like, we're not going to like and watch every single one of your videos. We don't even care about copywriting or whatever the video was on.
[00:11:26] Alex Cattoni: They're not your ideal client. Yeah. And then you realize like, it's not so scary, you know? and then, you know, I had one, one of my really good friends came up to me at a party once. And it was like, I was probably on like month four of creating a video every single month. And it took me six months to reach a thousand subscribers on YouTube.
[00:11:42] Alex Cattoni: So I had 200 in my first video and then it took me. Like another five and a half months to reach to get 800 more subscribers because my friends and family had all liked it and subscribed and there was nobody else for a while, you know, um, but my friend came up to me at a party and he's like, Hey, how's it going?
[00:11:58] Alex Cattoni: And I was like, good. He's like, [00:12:00] yeah, you know, I see you putting up those videos, like good for you. Kind of That like cute, like you can do it. But then he's like, yeah, like you're not, you're not getting many views. And he wasn't meaning it to be rude. I really did at the time interpreted as Him genuinely asking like, is it like, is this working for you?
[00:12:16] Alex Cattoni: Is this what you wanted? Like, What did you expect? And what's hilarious now is he's finally now starting his YouTube channel. And you could tell that everything that like he was projecting onto me was his own fear of getting started for me to give up then. And then I could have said, yeah, I tried to start a YouTube channel.
[00:12:34] Alex Cattoni: It didn't work. Wow.
[00:12:36] Danielle Wiebe: Oh, that is so good. It's such a good reminder because I think this happens, I feel like a lot in the entrepreneurial spaces okay, you think of this idea, you start to pursue it and it's just taking too long in your opinion, right? You're like this, I should be at.
[00:12:57] Danielle Wiebe: This many subscribers in this many [00:13:00] months, or I should be at this level of income in this many months or years. And then when we don't hit that, it's like, Oh, obviously it doesn't work for me. Or obviously this strategy doesn't work, or obviously I'm not good enough. And yeah, sometimes we just need to give it more time.
[00:13:15] Danielle Wiebe: And I think it's hard too, because we see people, usually when we start to notice. The success that other people are having, we're seeing them at this place where they've already put in the time and effort, they've already put in the reps and they're at the season where we talked about this on another podcast interview, but They're in their harvest season when you're in your like planting season, like, why am I not seeing any right thing?
[00:13:43] Danielle Wiebe: And yeah, I would love for you to maybe share like, was there any moments in that kind of phase of doubting or wanting to quit or maybe even just thinking Oh, I guess this is just going to trickle along and we'll see where this goes or what was your, what was your mindset [00:14:00] in the, in those moments where things didn't seem to maybe be going as quickly as you
[00:14:04] Alex Cattoni: thought.
[00:14:05] Alex Cattoni: Yeah, I think like probably any journey into entrepreneurship, like some days I would feel like even now, some days you're like, I'm a genius,
[00:14:16] Danielle Wiebe: like you literally just think that like you have
[00:14:19] Alex Cattoni: cracked the code, like it's all working, everything's flowing. And then there are days where Yeah, where you're just
[00:14:27] Danielle Wiebe: genuinely like
[00:14:29] Alex Cattoni: everything all my success up until this point must have just been a total fluke now's the moment where it's just all gonna disappear and it's like it's so funny how you can experience such highs and such lows.
[00:14:42] Alex Cattoni: And I think this is really where it goes back to to your point of sometimes things can take longer, and it's really understanding. And I don't want to get too woo woo, but like, you really start to learn how to understand what's a great intuitive decision, [00:15:00] what's an alignment, or what's a sign to change directions.
[00:15:03] Alex Cattoni: Cause I don't really believe in failures. I believe in lessons and I believe in information. And I believe that if something isn't working and it happens all the time, like I apply a mark, let's apply a marketing. Lens to this because in marketing, if something doesn't work, you're like, that was interesting.
[00:15:20] Alex Cattoni: I wonder why that didn't work. Let me go back and figure out like, was the offer, right? Was the audience, right? Let's understand what was holding people back. Like we can look at it so objectively yet when it's in our own business or in our own reality, it's everything is terrible.
[00:15:35] Alex Cattoni: Everything is our fault. Everything is as worse as it could possibly ever be because we take things. So personally, and so I try as much as possible. And I am not good at this at all because I really still struggle with the same, internal turmoil that a lot of entrepreneurs do, but I really try to understand that like, when things aren't going well, that it's information and it's a lesson and it's an opportunity to investigate and let let's problem solve, let's be creative here and [00:16:00] figure it out and staying really connected to the reason why I started it in the first place, you know, if I ever hear anyone say.
[00:16:08] Alex Cattoni: Oh, I could start, for example I could start a YouTube channel, it seems easy enough and you're like, okay yes, and are you willing to, stick with it when times get hard, are you willing to, because it will, it just will, I think gone are the days of that very immediate ROI type of marketing strategy that used to work so well with a less savvier market and less options available time to really okay, is this what I want to talk about?
[00:16:40] Alex Cattoni: Would I be happy to talk about it to a room of one person for months if I knew that it was really helping that one person?
[00:16:49] Danielle Wiebe: That's really good. That's really good. And it actually just. Really? I feel like there's so many things you're saying. I'm like, Oh, it's bringing me back to like, when I started to, and I [00:17:00] think if I would have gauged the success of building a community, if I would have gone with those first few events, it was like we were pulling teeth to maybe get like 10 people at our event, and it's I think sometimes it's so easy to Look at what other people have built. For example, people probably look at you and they're like, Oh my gosh, she has, hundreds of thousands of subscribers and followers and all that kind of stuff. And yeah, it must, it's, that's just come naturally to her.
[00:17:29] Danielle Wiebe: But like you said, like you took you six months to get those first, thousand subscribers. And I think it's just important I think it's almost. In a way, a good thing that maybe it's a little bit more challenging to build up a community because it's the right people, then that will be able to thrive long term and the people that actually care about what they're doing, rather than like people that just want to make quick money right like you have to be.
[00:17:59] Danielle Wiebe: Really [00:18:00] passionate. Like I think back to when, yeah, when we were hosting events and hardly getting any, anyone at our events and we'd barely cover our costs and all those things, but it's I still really badly wanted to build this community. And it was like, okay. I'm going to do it anyways. And it's I think as an entrepreneur, you need, you actually need to care about who you're serving now to weather those storms.
[00:18:24] Alex Cattoni: That's absolutely like 1000%. Exactly.
[00:18:27] Danielle Wiebe: So I would love to know when it comes to marketing today, because as you said, like it has, changed. And so I would love to know your perspective how has the landscape of marketing changed?
[00:18:39] Danielle Wiebe: What is different now than maybe 10 years ago when you were getting started in the industry, in what ways has it become more difficult? And then also, yeah. In what ways is it. And what are people looking for as far as who they are trusting online and who they're buying from?[00:19:00]
[00:19:00] Alex Cattoni: Yeah, that's such a great question. The market has changed so, so much. And I think one of the biggest things that has changed is the market has gotten smarter and smarter in terms of. Understanding marketing, understanding navigating the internet, understanding that when they get an email from a brand, it's not really them getting a personal email.
[00:19:27] Alex Cattoni: Like the market has gotten so smart. And I think that's a really great thing because they are taking now more time to weigh options and decide where they're putting their money. And. The way I see it is the pendulum is swinging away from just the people who are really great. I like, I call these, there's these two groups of people that I think of on the internet, right?
[00:19:56] Alex Cattoni: There's the promoters. They're the people who are really great at like direct [00:20:00] response, copywriting, and they're really great at media buying. And they're really great at understanding how the mechanics and the mechanisms of marketing work to get attention and. And sell and then you have the creators and you and the creators have started because they have a message and they've started because they care about something and they're passionate, and it used to be that the promoters people who literally would have no interest in the subject matter, see an opportunity in the market.
[00:20:33] Alex Cattoni: Oh I see an opportunity because there's a lot of search traffic for the term anxiety. I'm just going to create a product and sell it and help people with their anxiety. You know what I mean? It's okay, like that's a really, very prevalent, serious topic. But it would work because there were no one, there was nobody else out there targeting that same, audience with the same marketing.
[00:20:54] Alex Cattoni: And then what happen in, in more recently is all these creators are coming in coming up on the scene and they're sharing really amazing [00:21:00] free content from a super, genuine place. So My world is definitely coming more from that like direct response marketing background and understanding the principles that really work well and knowing what's powerful with marketing, but have always been, this.
[00:21:14] Alex Cattoni: this creator at heart and loving brand building and community building and going, how do I empower those people with the tools over here that they need to really then take over the internet? And so is it getting harder? Yeah. You talk to the direct response marketers. They're going to tell you it's getting harder.
[00:21:31] Alex Cattoni: They used to be able to convert. traffic within a day and make an ROI because people bought whatever they saw on the internet and they believed in it, now they're like wait, why would I buy from this random ad that I have no idea who this person is or what their business or brand is all about?
[00:21:47] Alex Cattoni: Wait, what are their values? Do I even care? Do I want to support a business like that versus someone Instagram for six months. I really love the way that they add value. I love the emails they sent to their list. I'm going to go buy [00:22:00] from them. And so yes, it's getting harder for a lot of people, but guess what it also means.
[00:22:04] Alex Cattoni: It means that those of us who actually take the time to care about our communities, it's getting easier. The biggest. Difference or I should say the biggest reflection of that is in the time it takes for someone to buy. So old school direct response marketing would say if a lead doesn't convert into a customer within seven days, they're dead, you know, buy, die, or unsubscribe.
[00:22:24] Alex Cattoni: Like, Oh, so aggressive. Like, Like I can't even, you know, you're like, what about all these people who just didn't, they just weren't ready to buy from you. You're just going to let you're just going to let them write them off. Write them off. They're useless to me. And then I look at my metrics and the average copy potsy customer buys after 60 days.
[00:22:41] Alex Cattoni: And I have people who literally hung out on my list for a year. Regularly customers tell me this, that they were, they've been on my list or they've been following me for over a year before they ever purchased anything. Yeah. Is it getting harder for some hell? Yeah. But I also think it's like the pendulum is shifting the other way.
[00:22:59] Alex Cattoni: [00:23:00] And those people who are really taking the time to build brand and community are the ones that are going to rise to the top because people are putting money where their values are now. And I think that's really exciting. Yeah,
[00:23:10] Danielle Wiebe: that's so good. And I would absolutely second that I, we have people all the time saying Oh, I've been following you for years and always wanted to come to one of your events or, or whatever.
[00:23:20] Danielle Wiebe: I've been listening to your podcast and finally I'm, connecting with you and it's so true. And I was going to ask you that. So thank you for answering that question. My question was going to be do you feel like the buyer journey is longer now? And based on your answer. Do you feel like when it comes to building a brand, whether it be a product or a service, do you feel that creating value for your ideal customer is even more important now, like creating free content?
[00:23:51] Danielle Wiebe: Like what is your, biggest advice for smaller brands starting out? What would you focus on? Because obviously, [00:24:00] as a large brand with a massive budget, it's do it all, do YouTube, do podcasting, do focus on this, focus, focus on that. But I guess my question for you would be, where would you put your time and attention if you were starting from scratch
[00:24:15] Alex Cattoni: right now?
[00:24:16] Alex Cattoni: Yeah. Great question. The first question I always like to ask is what is it that you want, which I know sounds You know obviously, but I think it's an important distinction to make because now I've seen it from both sides, right? I was the behind the scenes, service based, business owner where my average client was paying me between
[00:24:37] Danielle Wiebe: 50, a year, right?
[00:24:40] Alex Cattoni: Because I was working with them ongoing. Consulting, doing marketing, all of that. And then now I'm on the complete other side where I have, a large community and I'm selling programs and they're two very different businesses. So I think I have an interesting perspective in the sense that like I've seen both and there's pros and cons to both, but so many people, [00:25:00] because they're only looking at what they see, they're only seeing the people who are out there.
[00:25:04] Alex Cattoni: Doing the like dog and pony show on social media, which, Hey, I love it. I'm a Leo, I'm outgoing. I love creating content. So it's funny. I actually hate the process of creating content, but I love pouring into my community. I love sharing content in that way, sharing value in that way.
[00:25:19] Alex Cattoni: And it's worked out really well for me, but I have so many students because remember I teach copywriting and I help copywriters start their businesses. I have so many students who don't use social media, who don't. Put themselves out there in that very visible way and they're building very successful service based businesses.
[00:25:40] Alex Cattoni: So I think the question you have to ask yourself first is, do I want to go broad or do I want to go deep? You can definitely do both. broad and then go deep. You can also do what I did, which is I went deep and then I decided to leverage those skills and experiences. And then I just, went broad.
[00:25:56] Alex Cattoni: And because I had the authority and the experience, I was able to do it [00:26:00] probably quick, quicker than someone who was maybe just starting. But if you're not sure, I would say, Start by getting one customer and hanging out in the places where they're more likely to be. Social media is great in terms of flexing the muscle of being visible, of speaking about what it is that you do, about consistency, about, figuring out what your voice is, what your message is.
[00:26:25] Alex Cattoni: But, I don't think posting on social media necessarily every single day across every single platform, unless that's what you want to do, is the only way to start building a business. And I say this to my students all the time, because I love to teach content marketing because that is how I built the copy posse, but I think it's important that you really get clear on what it is that you want to do first.
[00:26:46] Alex Cattoni: If the answer is yes you know what, I really do see myself as being someone who starts with content marketing as the foundation of. of building an audience, then I would say pick, one to three platforms that you can commit to, and then stick [00:27:00] with it. YouTube is amazing.
[00:27:01] Alex Cattoni: If you're comfortable on video podcasts can be great, but you don't start a podcast and then immediately have an audience. And Instagram, I think is getting harder and harder. So as much as I love Instagram. That is probably the least powerful platform in terms of effort to reward, at least what I'm seeing now in my business.
[00:27:24] Alex Cattoni: LinkedIn on the other hand is great. Yep. So I think it's figuring out where your potential customers hang out. And then going there.
[00:27:34] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah, totally. And building actual relationships cause referrals, probably for the, people that are a part of your community who aren't using social, it's like building those connections.
[00:27:45] Danielle Wiebe: And that's probably how you originally started, right? Building those one to one connections and getting clients that way. And so yeah, thank you. And thank you for not giving like a. cookie cutter answer of you do this, then you do this, then you do this, then you do this. It's it's not the same for [00:28:00] everyone.
[00:28:00] Danielle Wiebe: And I think it's really important. I wanted to take out what you just said so that people don't miss that of pick something that you can commit to because if you're not going to commit to it don't. Be on that platform. If you're not going to actually invest in it, because it's like with anything, like you said, whether YouTube or podcasting or Instagram, you're just going to try to post and, but not be consistent and you're not going to grow anywhere.
[00:28:22] Danielle Wiebe: So that's extremely important to recognize. Okay we could chat forever. Um, ,, I would love to know what you are most proud of, of your entrepreneurial journey so far. Because you've been in business for a long time, you've experienced a lot, you've been able to build incredible communities and businesses.
[00:28:45] Danielle Wiebe: So tell me like, what are you most proud of?
[00:28:48] Alex Cattoni: Honestly, I think I'm the most proud of doing the damn thing, even though I was absolutely terrified to do it. And also not being afraid. To ruffle a few [00:29:00] feathers, I think when I started the copy posse. I knew that I wanted my mission to be to deduce if I the internet and I was so scared of saying it.
[00:29:11] Alex Cattoni: It's like I thought a mob of douchebags was gonna show up on my doorstep with pitchforks. You know what I mean? And then I'm I feel like I'm naming people. I'm just like, I'm just talking about general douchiness, but I was so afraid of ruffling those feathers. And this whole process of getting clear on if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it and say what I mean.
[00:29:34] Alex Cattoni: And which I think It's such a powerful lesson in business. And I think it's something that women especially, need to start doing more of we need to hear more no, no BS, like no sugarcoating it, don't be the little nice girl. Say what you mean. And being able to stand my ground with that, despite knowing that, I ruffled some feathers and now also seeing it as like a badge of honor.
[00:29:58] Alex Cattoni: Yeah, guess what? Like [00:30:00] I, this is why I'm doing this. And. That kind of gives me the strength to keep pushing through because I know I'm striking a chord with a lot of people.
[00:30:09] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah, and it gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Absolutely. I think that's what's like beautiful about, when you start to go after things that you're passionate about and that you want to make a mark wherever you do in kind of the entrepreneurial space.
[00:30:23] Danielle Wiebe: You also give permission for other people to be like, okay, she's being bold. I'm going to be bold too. Yeah. Yeah. So I love that. That's so good. Where can people connect with you? Where can people find you? Tell us all of the places.
[00:30:37] Alex Cattoni: So my website is copy posse. com. I love Instagram for connection.
[00:30:43] Alex Cattoni: So you can definitely DM me on Instagram at copy posse and I'm on YouTube as well. Just my name, Alex Katoni.
[00:30:50] Danielle Wiebe: So good. So good. And you can also connect because we are so excited to have Alex in person at our next event, which is happening [00:31:00] August 25th. So if you're listening to this in real time, you can come join us there.
[00:31:03] Danielle Wiebe: We're so grateful and honored to have you. And I'm just really honored to be connected with you, Alex. And I'm grateful for you. Thank you so much for your time and being on the podcast. And I just can't wait for our next conversation in person.
[00:31:17] Alex Cattoni: Yeah, me too. And I can't wait to see you on the 25th. And to everyone else listening, I hope to meet you there too.
[00:31:22] Danielle Wiebe: Love it. Thank you so much. Bye.