Cocktails & Content Creation

Episode 14: The Brand Photographer Method

Welcome to episode 14 of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! For this episode, we’re talking about our co-host, Jessie Wyman’s own course, The Brand Photographer Method. It’s a course that teaches photographers how to make the leap from wedding and family photography to photographing entrepreneurs and brands. We’re also talking about all things branding photography and why everyone could use a session!

In our 14th episode you’ll learn:

• What is brand photography
• Why it’s even a thing
• How adding it into your marketing program can save you time and uplevel your content
• How prepping for a brand shoot is much different than weddings and families
• What Jessie’s planning process looks like
• Plus where she gets most of her clients

About The Brand Photographer Method:

The B.R.A.N.D. Photographer Method was designed to help its students build an efficient business AND create the boundaries they need to have a fulfilling personal life. Group coaching and the BPM community gives students the accountability and feedback they need so they’re never left spinning their wheels. BPM students are making smart, realistic decisions about how to price and package their services, market and attract new clients and nail branding shoots so they can build strong brand photography businesses that support the kind of year-round lifestyle they want to have.

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Links & Resources:

• The Brand Photographer Method
• Jessie Wyman Photography
• @jessiewymanphotos 
• @thebrandphotographermethod
• Get on the Online Workshop Waitlist for the Brand Photographer Method
• Jessie’s Shoot Planning Guide

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 13: Social Media, The Advertising World & the Black Lives Matter Movement

Welcome to the thirteenth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! For this episode, we’re discussing social media, the advertising world and the Black Lives Matter Movement with influencer and Digital Advertising Manager, Alexa M. Johnson.

In our thirteenth episode you’ll learn:

• Why social media may not be the best outlet for the Black Lives Matter movement
• How the advertising world can do better by people of color
• Why change in the advertising industry needs to come from the top down
• Why white people shouldn’t be asking our black friends to explain racism
• Why hiring for diversity’s sake as well as holding diversity meetings does not help the problem

About our Guest:

Alexa Johnson runs the affordable fashion and lifestyle blog Alexa M. Johnson. When she's not blogging, she’s working at her 9-5 is working as a Digital Manager at a PR company in Boston, MA. She is also the founder of The Essentials Box, a turmeric facial scrub that is natural and gentle on skin, and a contributor to Darling Magazine.

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Links & Resources:

• @alexamjdotcom
• alexamjohnson.com
• The Essentials Box
• “My Experience in the Advertising Industry as a Black Woman” 
• Alexa’s Articles for Darling Magazine

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 12: 3 Things You Should Know before you Create Your Content

Welcome to the twelfth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! For this episode, we’re talking about three things that you should know before you create your content. Jenessa MacKenzie of The Elevated Entrepreneur is going to share what every creator should think about when they produce their content.

In our twelfth episode you’ll learn:

• Why you need to know your audience before you even get creating
• How knowing yourself and your “why” is essential to getting your message across
• The best kind of content that you can produce to connect with your ideal audience and how to get them to know, like, and trust you through this content

About our Guest:

Jenessa MacKenzie is a Business Mindset Coach & Brand Strategist, and host of the Elevated Entrepreneur Podcast. She transforms struggling entrepreneurs into empowered CEOs by helping them tap into their true selves, so that they can create and grow powerful brands that attract their soulmate clients and make sales fun and easy. She specializes in supporting entrepreneurs who are ready to end their battle with self-sabotage, regain their confidence and create the business and life of their dreams.

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Links & Resources:

• The Elevated Entrepreneur
• The Elevated Entrepreneur Podcast
• Jenessa MacKenzie on Facebook
• The Elevated Entrepreneur on Facebook
• The Elevated Entrepreneur on Instagram
• The Elevated Entrepreneur Podcast on Instagram
• Jenessa MacKenzie on LinkedIn
• Jenessa MacKenzie on Pinterest
• Jenessa MacKenzie and the Elevated Entrepreneur on YouTube
• Join the Elevated Entrepreneur Membership
• Download the Soul Client Attraction Workbook

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 11: Should You Go Freelance?

Welcome to the eleventh episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! For this episode, we’re talking about going freelance, a huge subject that many content creators face at some point in their careers. And we’re chatting about it with Mia Scharphie, who coaches women at all points of their careers whether they’re working the 9 to 5, thinking about going freelance, or have established their own business.

In our eleventh episode you’ll learn:

• What going freelance really means and why it isn’t just about being able to “be your own boss” and “name your own workdays and salary”
• Why a huge step to going freelance is combating your inner critic as well as how to overcome those insecurities by pushing yourself to venture outside of your comfort zone
• Why you should have a long term vision with short term approaches to really understand what steps you need to talk to get there 
• How to rely on relationship building to get clients within your existing network 
• Why having a business bestie for accountability and to bounce ideas off of can be a huge help in your freelance career
• Why your first step to career happiness may be checking in with your boss before you make the jump to freelancing
• Why you should set boundaries with your clients, even when you’re just starting out

About our Guest:

Mia Scharphie is a creative agent of change, a do-er, and a big-picture thinker. She founded Build Yourself to help women in creative fields, design and engineering move past the obstacles that hold them back in their businesses and careers, and to make their industries and workplaces better places for women's talent.

Named a 'cheerleader with devil horns' by students, Mia is skilled at helping ambitious and creative women see beyond limiting mindsets to envision--and achieve--more than they thought was possible for themselves--on their own terms. Mia is a trained facilitator, who's run a research effort on women in social impact design for the Harvard Business School. She's a founding member of the Equity Roundtable at the Boston Society of Architects and was named as one of Impact Design Hub’s Social Impact Design 40 under 40. 

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Links & Resources:

• Build Yourself Workshop
• Mia Scharphie on Twitter
• Mia Scharphie on Instagram
• Mia Scharphie on LinkedIn
• Email Mia
• Mia’s Cocktails & Content Creation guide to identifying your top limiting beliefs

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 10: How Blogging Helps your Bottom Line

Welcome to the tenth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! For this episode, we’re talking about how blogging can actually serve as a big part of your content marketing strategy with our guest, Christine McShane, a creative marketing strategist who is an expert on building a blog. 

In our tenth episode you’ll learn:

• Why you should be blogging
• How blogging can build the know, like, and trust factor that you need to build your audience and following
• How it fits into your content marketing strategy
• Why and how blogging can increase your leads and sales
• How to start a blog
• Why consistency is key when it comes to building a blog and a brand
• How to come up with blog topics
• Blogging Mistakes

About our Guest:

Christine McShane is a creative marketing strategist, writer, and photographer who helps small businesses attract their ideal audience through consistent content marketing. She believes that not all content marketing needs to be big and complicated - it just needs to be the right fit for you. Using her custom process, she combines copy, strategy, and branded photography to help small business owners stand out online. 

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Links & Resources:

• Christine McShane Creative
• Christine McShane Creative on Facebook
• @ChristineMcShaneCreative
• Christine McShane on LinkedIn

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 9: How to Use Video to Grow Your Business

Welcome to the ninth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! It’s time to accept the fact that video is the future of social media. With the rise of Tik Tok, Instagram Reels and other video based apps, it’s time to jump into it. But if you’ve never experimented with video before, how do you start? That’s what we’re covering with Paige Burns and Megan Turner, founders of the Video Identity Project.

In our ninth episode you’ll learn:

• Why you don’t need a big fancy camera to get into producing your own, professional-looking videos
• How just your phone and a free app can produce awesome looking content for your social media and websites
• Why you need to make the leap to video 
• How video can actually save you time and money by incorporating it into your daily workflows
• How video can bring in more clients!

About our Guests:

Megan Turner and Paige Burns are video producers and strategists. They are also the founders and coaches of the Video Identity Project (VIP). Megan launched her production company, Poppy Plum Media LLC, in June 2018 and Paige launched hers, Main Paige Media LLC, in April 2019. They joined forces in May 2020 to create a DIY video course for business owners, now known as VIP.

Paige & Megan realized that many business owners & marketers were in desperate need of video strategy and content in the wake of a suddenly changing economic landscape. They were getting flooded with a need for video advice, consulting and production. They decided to create the Video Identity Project to fill this need and equip these people with the tools and mindset needed to create compelling and effective content. Best of all, these students could create this video content themselves!

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Next time we’ll be chatting about how blogging can help your business’s bottom line with Christine McShane. 

Links & Resources:

• Video Identy Project
• Main Paige Media
• Poppy Plum Media
• Main Paige Media on Facebook
• Poppy Plum Media on Facebook
• @MainPaigeMedia 
• @PoppyPlumMedia
• Paige Burns on LinkedIn
• Megan Turner on LinkedIn

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 8: How to use Facebook Groups to Grow Your Business

Welcome to the eighth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! We all know Facebook as a great place to keep up with your friends and share fun memes. But have you ever used it to grow your business? On our latest episode we’re talking about how you can use Facebook groups to make sales and attract clients.  Who knew?! And we’re chatting about it with Facebook group expert and Dash of Social founder, Ashley Mason. 

In our eighth episode you’ll learn:

• Why you don’t need to even create a group to garner sales
• How to leverage other Facebook groups to grow your business
• How having a separate paid group can bring in clients
• Why being active and engaged on Facebook can make all the difference
• Why offering exclusive content to your Facebook group can lead to sales

About our Guest:

Ashley Mason is a marketing consultant, TEDx speaker, and founder of both Dash of Social and Student to CEO.

Starting her marketing firm at the age of 19, Ashley successfully grew it to reach six figures by the time she was 21 and took it full-time upon graduating from college. Since then, she has been featured in prominent publications such as TEDx, The Huffington Post, Thrive Global, SWAAY Magazine, and more.

Passionate about pursuing entrepreneurship at a young age, Ashley hopes to inspire others to take that leap, just like she did.

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Next time we’ll be chatting about best practices to batch your content. We’re talking the apps, systems and resources that we use to get our work done in no time flat!

Links & Resources:

• Dash of Social
• Student to CEO
• A Dash of Social on Facebook
• A Dash of Social on Twitter
• A Dash of Social on Instagram
• Ashley Mason LinkedIn

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 7: How to Batch your Content Creation

Welcome to the seventh episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! Sometimes the easiest way to create content is to bang out a bunch of it at the same time. So we’re talking about the benefits of batching your work - and the best ways to do it!

And, Kate is giving away her content calendar to our listeners! This is how she keeps her blog organized, as well as her clients’ blog posts. Fill it up with all your content for the year, switch around or rename the columns to fit your needs. Get it here!

In our seventh episode you’ll learn:

• Why organization is key to batching content
• Our favorite programs that help keep us organized
• Why a Content Calendar can be your best friend
• Easy ways to batch your content creation - whether it’s writing blog posts, taking photos for your business, editing those photos or writing up emails that you can schedule for months out!
• How repurposing your content can help with batching your work
• How batching can help you plan out your content for months ahead so you can pretty much set it and forget it!

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Next time we’ll be chatting about how to maximize Facebook groups to grow your business with Ashley Mason, marketing consultant, TEDx speaker, and founder of both Dash of Social and Student to CEO. 

Links & Resources:

• Google Drive
• Kate’s Content Calendar 
• Jessie’s blog on “Two Easy Ways to Slay your To-Do List”
• Kate’s blog posts on “Fall & Winter Wedding Guest Wear” and her favorite LBD, “My Summer Uniform”
• Asana - Project Organization App/Website
• Slack - Chat App with neat ways to separate conversations

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 6: How to Pivot Your Message in Times of Social & Civil Unrest

Welcome to the sixth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! This time we’re talking about how to pivot your message in times of social unrest. When Covid-19 hit, so many businesses had to find a new way to market their product and services - but more importantly, they had to learn ways to help their communities. We’ll be discussing how we can try to be sympathetic and delicate during times like the pandemic and major political events with Lauren Perna, communications specialist and digital marketer.

In our sixth episode you’ll learn:

• How the wrong message during times like the pandemic can send a business owner into ruin
• How small businesses and entrepreneurs can address the civil and social unrest in a way that feels authentic but doesn't jeopardize their life's work
• Why sometimes your best bet is to ask their audience how they’re doing and how you can do that in a way that is true to your brand

About our Guest:

Lauren Perna is a communications specialist, digital marketer, writer, and creator who brings a holistic approach to her projects in the marketing/communications spectrum. With her business, Lauren Perna Communications, she focuses on service-based companies, non-profits, community leaders--organizations that are formed on relationships and trust. Her mission is to help these companies tell their story online, so they can easily enhance their brand and raise their visibility.  

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Next time we’ll be chatting about best practices to batch your content. We’re talking the apps, systems and resources that we use to get our work done in no time flat!

Links & Resources:

• Lauren Perna’s Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”

Episode 5: How to Edit Your Photos

Welcome to the fifth episode of the Cocktails & Content Creation Podcast! This time around we’re chatting about photo editing tips and tricks from both a photographer’s and an influencer’s perspective. We’re talking about how to get that perfect shot from the camera, through the editing process and have it looking professional in no time! 

In our fifth episode you’ll learn:

• Why the photo editing process starts in the camera
• How to get that perfect shot right from the get go
• Why you should find your photo style or aesthetic and how to discover it
• How your aesthetic affects how you edit your photos
• Why presets can be your best friend …
• … But also why you should learn editing settings in whatever app you’re using to get your photos to pop

And don’t forget - you can get Jessie’s Lightroom Mobile preset for free! Just head here and you’ll be well on your way to professional-looking photos for your website and social media. 

Thanks for Listening!

Join our Facebook Community for more tips and tricks on how to easily create content and chat with other content creators! And make sure to follow our Instagram. 

Next time we’ll be talking about how to pivot your message in times of social and civil unrest. We’ll be discussing how we can try to be sympathetic and delicate during times like the Pandemic and major political events with Lauren Perna, communications specialist, and digital marketer.

Links & Resources:

• Lightroom
• Photoshop
• Snapseed
• Jessie's Youtube Channel
• Jessie’s Lightroom Mobile Preset Giveaway

Until next time, cheers to your next cocktail and happy content creating!

Kate & Jessie

Hosts of “The Cocktails and Content Creation Podcast”