Amplifying Women in a Male-Dominated Space KDS: 114

Internet marketing has always been a male-dominated space.I was super hopeful when I shifted more to the ‘Creator Space’ – but I don’t think it’s much better. I spent ten years in the WordPress space, and for the majority of that time, it was a male-dominated space as well (it seems to be getting better). Before you think this will be an anti-man or ranty episode, let me assure you that it’s not. Much like Mother Teresa’s quote about not attending a march against war but instead attending a rally for peace, that’s what I want to do here. Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane first, shall we? When I started my business in 2008, I was very aware that internet marketing was predominantly male. I was also very new, so, to be fair, I didn’t really know where to look for the women when I was getting started. Once I did, I started a Facebook Group called “The Women of Internet Marketing” and even made a movie called “Women in Business, 2.0” (the movie was in 2010 – and no, you can’t find it. It was a unique experience, to say the least). So, this desire to support and highlight women isn’t something new for me. I’ve always wanted to, but I think somewhere along the way, I got a little disheartened and sort of fell into the “if you can’t beat em, join em” mentality. I was also super nervous about alienating some of my audience, which has always been pretty split 50/50 between women and men. However, when I realized that the majority of my customers (i.e., people who actually BUY from me) are women, I let go of that. There’s also something that happens to women when you turn 50… And I know, I can’t speak for all women, but the women I know and from a LOT of things I’ve read, when women turn 50, they stop caring so much about what other people think. We’ve raised our kids, are established in our careers (or starting new ones), and finally feel like “YES! Now it’s MY turn.” I also think a big turning point for me was when Roe v. Wade was overturned. I never in a million years thought I’d see that in my lifetime. I’m not going to get political here, but let’s say it lit a fire in me. And let me be crystal clear… this isn’t just for women over 50. This is for any woman who feels a strong pull to create a business and life that works for HER. It might be using your voice (like I’m doing here), maybe it’s writing a book, creating an e-commerce store, becoming a course creator, ad manager, social media manager… You get the point. This episode is specifically for the entrepreneurial woman who is in this for the long haul. You Can’t Unring a Bell Once you start noticing things, you can’t “unnotice” them. Here’s a little exercise for you. Next time you see a round-up post or listicle that highlights a list of people, count the number of men to women. It’s usually about 20-30% tops… if they’re even included. This is why I feel SO strongly that it is up to us… as women, to support and amplify each other. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t read, recommend, follow, or support good men doing good work. What I am saying is to start “choosing awareness” and see if this resonates with you. The flip side of that is true as well… You don’t need to support a woman simply because she’s a woman. Let’s move on.How to Amplify Women in BusinessThe first thing I’m going to do here is target women. Both organically (with episodes like this) and with paid traffic. Let’s talk about organic marketing first. I subscribe to a lot of different newsletters and email lists (don’t we all, eh?). I’ve started a Google sheet where I’m listing the women I subscribe to, what they do, and their website. From there, I’ll be doing the following:Social media postsCreating contentHighlighting...