Mediavine On Air

When you work in an industry as new as influencer marketing, it can definitely feel like the wild west.

Although the FTC is passing down regulations for content, there are still so many questions: How do you find the right brands to work with? How do you properly disclose the influencer/brand relationship? How much do you charge for sponsored work?

Luckily, there's Danica Kombol and the Influencer Marketing Association. The IMA is on the scene to drive growth in influencer marketing, advocate on behalf of influencers, marketers and consumers by ensuring ethical standards are met and serve as the go-to resource on best practices, measurement standards and trends.

Listen in today on Episode 33 of Mediavine On Air, as Danica joins Mediavine's Senior Director of Marketing Jenny Guy to discuss the state of the influencer industry and how the IMA is here to support our work.

Helpful Resources

Influencer Marketing AssociationDanica's Website"How To Properly Disclose Sponsored Work" ArticleHashtag Legal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyxRWbkBRqo

Transcript

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hello, everybody, welcome. Hard to believe as it is Wednesday, November 20. We are a week and a day away from Thanksgiving, and we are into our final two episodes of Teal Talk in the decade. What the heck? I am Jenny Guy. I am Mediavine's marketing manager, and I am the host of Teal Talk. And I think everybody knows that when we work in the relatively new and ever changing influencer industry that we work in we can struggle to know where to turn when we have questions about things like legalities, pricing ourselves and our work, what are the best practices, and my guest today is an incredible resource for anybody who is involved in the influencer marketing industry.

Danica Kombol is the CEO of Everywhere Agency, which she founded in 2009, as well as the founder and CEO of Everywhere Society. Everywhere Agency's purpose is helping brands build better stories through social media. She brings her extensive background as a television producer and public relations executive to her work with influencers and brands. You'll recognize Saturday Night Live, Kids in the Hall, and VH1 among the shows she's worked on. We've heard those names. She's also a blogger herself on her site Danica.me and the founder and CEO of the Influencer Marketing Association, which she founded in 2018 as the official Trade Organization committed to protecting the authenticity and ethics of influencer marketing. We could continue talking about all of her accomplishments and awards for quite some time, but then we'd be out of time to actually talk and answer your questions. So I'll conclude by saying she's a frequent conference speaker in the influencer space, and she resides in Atlanta. Danica, thank you so much for joining us today.

DANICA KOMBOL: Yeah, thanks for having me, Jenny. I'm really honored that I get to come in before the end of the year and be part of Mediavine and know what an incredible support you are for influencers and how valued you are to influencers, so comrades in influencer love.

JENNY GUY: Absolutely, we love influencers here at Mediavine. And you love influencers, and you've been involved with them for so long, which, actually, is a perfect segue into my first question that I wanted to. But guys, just a reminder, if you have any questions for Danica, please just put them in the comments, and we will get them asked. But let's start out here. Without being offensive, you are definitely an OG in the influencer industry.

DANICA KOMBOL: Drop the mic. Love it.

JENNY GUY: Yes, and you've been-- so how long have you been involved in working with the influencer industry, and how did you transition? I listed some of those amazing programs that we all recognize that you've worked on as a television producer. So how did you make that transition to here?

DANICA KOMBOL: OK, so two questions,

A well-told story can stay in someone's mind for their whole life.

As a blogger you want to find the right balance between telling and selling your story.

Gee Nonterah from the Create and Prosper Podcast joins Jenny Guy, Mediavine's Senior Director of Marketing, in a conversation about communicating your story in a way that is both relatable and profitable.

She offers some great tips for creating a community of superfans that you can start implementing today!

Helpful Resources

Repurpose Like A Pro: Mediavine On Air Episode 4Gee's YoutubeGee's InstagramGee's WebsiteGee's Podcast

https://youtu.be/Ez8zX6gar7U

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Guys, it is already November. It is November 5, Thursday to be exact, which means that the holiday season is practically upon us, and this dumpster fire of a year is almost over. Can you believe it?

This is Teal Talk, and I am your host, Jenny Guy. I'm Mediavine's Director of Marketing. And I have a very important and seasonal question for you. Where do you fall on the Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah scale?

Have you already decorated? Are you listening to the music already? Are the Hallmark movies on repeat like they are for some of the Mediavine teams?

Say hi to us in the comments. Weigh in. Tell us where you fall, because it is a super important and polarizing topic.

I personally am of the opinion that whatever you want to do in 2020 is perfectly valid. If you want to do Christmas before Halloween, yes, do that. If you want St. Patrick's Day in November, fantastic. If it provides you and yours with a modicum of joy this year, I say just go for it.

I'm also in favor of normalizing full celebrations for random holidays. So in that spirit, I would like to say, Happy Men Make Dinner Day! Did any one know that was a thing? Because it is. I did research on all the random holidays.

Today is Happy Men Make Dinner Day. Yes, it's a thing. We're going to share the link in the comments. It is the first Thursday in November, and there are rules. And to make things more inclusive, I'd like to change it from men to whichever partner doesn't normally cook.

And if you normally cook for yourself, order from a locally owned restaurant. I don't know. Just celebrate. Celebrate your life. Have a great Thursday. That's what we're here for.

I know I'm celebrating today because, one, we don't have to talk about anything that's happening in our nation for an hour. My guest and I were just talking about that. But I am very much celebrating because my returning guest is the wonderful Gee Nonterah.

She shared so much good stuff during your Summer of Live episode on repurposing content. And we kept having to rush through certain topics, and we didn't have time. And we kept saying, we'll talk more about that later. And she was kind enough to come back and talk about the concept of story selling and email marketing, which we will go into more in a second. But hello, Gee! Welcome back.

GEE NONTERAH: Hi. I'm so excited to be back.

JENNY GUY: I'm so excited to have you because you're awesome. I'm going to read her bio because she is an impressive lady. She is a former registered nurse and medical scientist turned blogger, freelance writer, and YouTube creator. She is the host of The Create and Prosper Show which helps bloggers and writers create amazing content and build profitable businesses. She started My Online Biz Journey in 2014 to chronicle her journey into online business and succeeded in using that blog to attract clients for a social media content creation business.

You can find her currently on geenonterah.com where she's passionately helping her audience make a living and build a powerful and authentic personal brand with their writing. When she's not creating amazing content, she likes to watch spy movies. What up? All right, Gee, hello.

I'm going to start out with a question for our audience. Tell us,

Q4: It's heeeeere.

And it can be a ghoulish time for content creators. But never fear: The Mediavine Support team is here to guide you to scary good earnings this year.

On this episode of Mediavine On Air, Ghostess with the Mostest Jenny Guy is joined by devilishly good Director of Support Heather Tullos. She's bringing all her top RPM-raising tips to ensure all treats, no tricks for the holiday season.

You don't want to miss it!

(Editor's note: this episode and transcript mentions autoplay settings in the Mediavine Dashboard. Autoplay options have been retired as of February 2023. See this article for more information.)

Helpful Resources

Heather's Presentation + Helpful Resources SlideHow To Set Up Universal PlayerAd ViewabilityMediavine Ads and Core Web Vitals FAQ

https://youtu.be/gg9s13g_9BY

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hello, and welcome, foolish mortals to another episode of Mediavine's Teal Talk. I am your host, your ghost host, Jenny Guy. Today is Tuesday October 26, which means that it's Scorpio season, and Halloween is Sunday.

You might have noticed that things look a little bit different around here today. We are going all in on celebrating the spooky season, and we're so glad that you're here to celebrate with us. If you are here with us live, there are some hair-raising prizes for you to win this episode. So make sure that you're paying attention, and all will be revealed in good time.

Again, welcome. We are so glad that you are here. And speaking of the spooky holiday season, it also happens to be Q4. And if you've been a content creator for any length of time, you know that Q4 can be a little spooky for us. It's marked by increased advertiser spend and a slew of influencer marketing campaigns.

So it has the potential to be the craziest and most lucrative time of the year. But how do you ensure that your Q4 is all treats and no tricks this year? Leave it to my guest for today. Morticia Addams, Director of Support, Heather Tullos, is here. After running a successful blog for the last 10 years, she transitioned to helping build and lead the Mediavine support team, kicking all the ass and taking all the names, while rescuing all the dogs.

Seriously though, adopt, don't shop. Heather, welcome back. I mean, Morticia. Excuse me. I'm sorry.

HEATHER TULLOS: Hello. Hello, Cruella. You look amazing.

JENNY GUY: As do you look incredible. You look like you're in gray scale, and I am dying. OK.

So friends, as I said, pay attention. Make sure you're paying attention to the screen. I won't tell you why, but you just need to be doing it, and also paying attention to everything that Heather is telling you. She's going to give us some of her top tips.

If you have questions for the Mistress of Support, please drop them in the comments. She's going to, like I said, share some top tips and a presentation to start us off. But we will definitely be opening up the floor for your questions later.

All righty, folks. I'm going to turn it over to Heather. We're going to get this presentation going, and let's do it.

HEATHER TULLOS: Hi, everybody. It's me. I feel like you know me. Today, you might not know me as well.

[LAUGHTER]

And in case nobody told you, Halloween is my very favorite holiday. So I'm super excited that I got to work with our excellent marketing team to put this presentation together. Also, shout out to Rosie for this beautiful presentation. I cannot take credit for any of it. Yeah.

So we're going to talk about making more in Q4. I feel like it's a popular topic. We've had a lot of changes in the last year. The approach to how you're going to make some more money might be a little different than it was in years past. Some of our advice has changed.

And so let's talk through some of the differences and some of the ways that we're going to help you make some more money. Hopefully, I will give you a few tips and tricks that you didn't k...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused not only economic, environmental and health impacts on the world; but emotional impacts as well.In this episode of Teal Talk originally recorded in April 2020, Litsa Williams and Eleanor Haley from What's Your Grief discussed the different ways people grieved the worldwide shutdown, and provided evergreen practices for how to cope.

We were also joined by then Head of People Operations TQ Evans. Since this recording, TQ passed away after a long battle with colon cancer in April 2021.

Her light shines bright in this episode as she relayed how her family and her coped with the problems of the world -- and her spirit shines through Mediavine as we cope with her loss, and continue to honor her memory.

We love you TQ.

Helpful Resources

What's Your Grief?Eleanor and Litsa's Blogs on Grieving...Remembering Chief Diversity Officer Tonquise "TQ" EvansAnnouncing the Tonquise “TQ” Evans ’03 Endowed Scholarship...MBU Empowers Campaign"Leading with Heart" Blog Post

https://youtu.be/KdD-n6bsEOk

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hey, y'all. It is Thursday, April 23. It is approximately day 473 of quarantine, for those keeping track. This is Teal Talk, and I'm your host Jenny Guy. I'm the director of marketing at Mediavine, and, more importantly, I have finally fulfilled my childhood dream in this quarantine and become a carbohydrate. And that's when I'm not getting really emotional over all the new COVID-19 quarantine commercials, so that's fun.

So welcome. Say hi to us in the comments if you're hanging out.

[MOWER STARTS]

Oh, and good, the lawn service is starting, so that's perfect. And we said not to come today, so good good good. Tell us how you're holding up at this point because it is not an easy time right now. I also wanted to-- I told all these awesome ladies before, I am wearing a dress on the top, and then I am wearing lizard pajama bottoms on the bottom. So I am the definition of a mullet, I am business on the top, party on the bottom.

So now that we've gotten all of that out of the way, we have people working from home and teaching their kids for the first time. We're cooking all of our own meals and producing more dirty dishes-- than, I mean, I never even thought-- it's unbelievable how many dishes there are. It's insane. And we're reconfiguring milestone celebrations, and missing family, and worrying about the state of our wallets and the world, and in light of all these bizarre firsts and struggles, we brought on some experts to help with work-from-home wellness and mental wellness in general. And I'm so glad they're here, I'm going to introduce them.

First, I'm with Mediavine's Director of People Operations, TQ Evans. TQ joins us live from her home in Richmond, Virginia. She has been the director of People Operations with Mediavine for nearly two years. She's got a master's degree, along with several other professional certifications in HR management and leadership, and that means a lot of initials behind her name. Her background specialty entails partnering with small to mid-sized startups and successfully building and teaching their people-ops team from the ground up. She also is a birth doula, a wife, a mom of four human kids, and a new mom to three backyard hens, fondly named Aretha, Gladys, and Patti. She is an avid urban gardener, has a passion for health and wellness, and, most recently, is the recipient of the unofficial Neighborhood Quarantine double-Dutch Award. What is that? Hi TQ, welcome.

TQ EVANS: Hi Jenny. I look forward to getting into that-- oh, do you want me to tell you now?

JENNY GUY: Yeah please, what is that?

TQ EVANS: Oh yeah. So I started just doing different activities with my neighbors, like virtual activities. And we're taking it back to-- we're all 80s babies, and we did jump rope, double-Dutch. So my neighbors and I started-- we bought hula hoops and all these things,

Big thought of the day: You can circumvent social media algorithm woes by shifting your focus to BUILDING A COMMUNITY on these platforms. On this episode of Teal Talk S4 originally recorded back in September, Jenny is joined by Paul Gowder, founder of the website Powwows.com. By implementing his engagement strategies and forming genuine personal connections with his followers, Paul sparked the creation of a Pow Wow Nation, tens of thousands strong. In Mediavine On Air Episode 29, Paul will share ways to grow community through social media and then how to expand beyond the walled gardens. You don't want to miss it!

Helpful Resources

Helpful Resources SlidePowWows.comPaul's WebsitePowWows.com Facebook Page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iySNpkEEBqw

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hey, guys. How is Tuesday treating you so far? Is it fall-like in your neck of the woods? In Oklahoma, it has gone back to the mid to upper 80s with some 90s sandwiched in there for fun, so the only place I can wear fall fashion comfortably is in air conditioning.

So a big welcome to you from my home, a.k.a. the meat locker. This is Teal Talk, and I am your host, Jenny Guy. It is so great to see you today.

Is anyone else also in absolute shock that it's October later this week? Does that feel wrong? Like, how did that happen? Isn't it still 2020? Paul, like, are you continuously--

PAUL GOWDER: The whole last two years, you can't really tell where we are in time, yeah.

JENNY GUY: It's wrong that I'm aging, but I can't tell you what's happened or any of it. It's so bizarre. It's so, so bizarre.

But the good thing, the silver lining-- I don't know if anyone else-- I love fall. I think it is-- it's one of my favorite seasons. And on top of that, I don't know that there are any content creators that don't love Q4. It is such a wonderful, magical time for us for a number of reasons, and we've got a lot of really exciting programming planned for you guys coming up to help you make the most of this time when advertising spend is going to be at its peak for most of the niches that we work with in the lifestyle spectrum, just to make sure that all of that top content that is going to have eyes on it is performing at its max. So we will have all of those things happening and coming your way in the coming weeks.

And then this week, keep your eyes peeled for our earnings calendar, which is coming out to let everybody know how to maximize those days when spend is traditionally higher. So we'll be sharing that shortly.

But for today, what we're talking about is a different way of looking at social media. And we're very excited to have Paul Gowder with us here. Rather than talking about trying to go viral or trying to beat the "A" word that we talk about so often, with Facebook particularly, the algorithm word, we're going to come at this from a different direction and come at it from the building of a community. And I am so pleased to have Paul Gowder with us today.

He is the founder of Powwows.com. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and again in 1996 with a master of public administration. Paul enjoys traveling with his wife and daughter, including over 30 trips as a family to Walt Disney World. That is something I can get behind, 10 out of 10. Have you been in the last, strange 18 months?

PAUL GOWDER: Several times, yes.

JENNY GUY: Yeah?

PAUL GOWDER: Yeah.

JENNY GUY: Hey, that's awesome. And is Galaxy's Edge as amazing as everyone says it is?

PAUL GOWDER: Rise of the Resistance is the best thing Walt Disney World or Disney Company has ever built. It's unbelievable. But I mean, you can see, I'm a Star Wars person, so it's--

JENNY GUY: Yes.

PAUL GOWDER: --incredible.

JENNY GUY: I have been admiring Paul's background for a while now, and I'm dying to go to Galaxy's Edge. So what we're going to do, guys,

What do you know about virtual assistants?

Hiring one can be a vital resource for an overworked content creator, and becoming one can be an untapped revenue stream for another.

For the season finale of Teal Talk S3, we welcome Kayla Sloan, expert VA and creator of the well-known course $10K VA. She is on hand to talk "Everything VA", whether you're interesting in hiring or becoming one.

Make sure to tune into our 28th episode of Mediavine On Air below, or scroll down to watch the original video and read the transcript!

Helpful Resources

Kayla's 6 Figure Systems5 Steps To Become A VA WorkshopKaylaSloan.comNegotiating Contracts with Jamie Lieberman | #MVCON19 ChicagoGrayson's free WordPress courseHow To Hire A Freelancer — Answers the basic questions about hiring a freelancer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyLeK9tFj-U&t=1s

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hi, y'all. It is Thursday, May 21st. And believe it or not, we are heading into Memorial Day weekend. What does a holiday weekend look like during coronavirus? Well, buckle up, buttercups, because we are about to find out. Welcome to Teal Talk. I'm Jenny Guy, your host and the director of marketing for Mediavine.

And I asked this right as we were getting started, but for those that are trickling in and joining us now, hello. Post in the comments and tell us what you're doing for this holiday weekend during the pandemic. How is it different from what you'd usually be doing for the official kickoff this summer? If it's changed at all, let us know in the comments.

And then in news of other hard to believe milestones, today's episode of Teal Talk is the 17th in our second season, as well as our season 2 finale. What? That's crazy. We have had almost 80 lives since we started producing these a little over two years ago, on every topic under the sun that's relevant to content creators.

I get to talk with super smart experts about SEO and beanie babies and learn, and it's honestly, it's the best job. And we wouldn't be here without the support of my team, and you guys are awesome audience. So thank you from the bottom of my black little heart for watching. I appreciate it.

And enough with the feelings now because my boss hates sappy stuff. So let's get onto the topic du jour. What do you know about virtual assistants? Have you been one? Are you trying to hire one? What is your experience in this area? My guest here today is here to help us with everything VA. She knows all the things, and it's past time to meet her.

Kayla Sloan is a business coach for virtual assistants and a business systems and outsourcing expert. Kayla has been working with successful entrepreneurs since 2014. Her one-on-one consulting program Six Figure Systems helps online business owners scale with systems and building a virtual team. She's also the founder of 10K VA, her flagship program where she teaches virtual assistants how to earn up to $10,000 per month working online. Welcome. Thank you for joining us, Kayla.

KAYLA SLOAN: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

JENNY GUY: We're excited, too, to have you. We chose this topic because we were looking for things that we hadn't covered and that might be interesting to people during this very strange time that we're in.

So starting out, everyone in the comments, post in the comments. Tell us about your experience as a VA or hiring a VA or anything VA. And if you've got questions for Kayla, shoot us a comment, and we will make sure to get you taken care of immediately, or as quickly as we can.

So as I said in the intro, VAs are kind of your thing. So let's just say, why do you love them so much? How did you get into the VA life? Tell us a little bit about your experience.

KAYLA SLOAN: Yeah, so my experience was that I kind of got into the VA thing, so to speak, a little bit on accident, actually. I started blogging back in, I think it was 2013,

When you're a digital content creator, you're very much a one-man (or woman) band.

From video to SEO and copywriting to social, there are so many 'crucial' skillsets you're expected to have that it can be next to impossible to decide where to focus your valuable (and limited) time.

Well, we've got one word for you: PHOTOGRAPHY. This skill is relevant in almost every blogging niche and stepping up your photography game has benefits in so many other areas of your business. Plus, it's FUN!

Jennifer Borget is a content creator and well-known photography expert. In fact, she teaches for Canon. She came by for an episode of Teal Talk back in February 2021 to break down her process and offer up some advice on how to improve your photo taking skills.

Make sure to catch today's Mediavine On Air episode and check out the video interview below!

Helpful Resources

Cherish 365Jennifer's Free Canon ClassWork With Jennifer...Alt Text SEO — Find out many reasons why alt text is importantNational Day CalendarNavigating the New Instagram — LaShawn Wiltz Teal Talk EpisodeHow Many Images Should You Have in a Post?Jennifer recommends the app, Snapseed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skL1Jwb3Djo

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Happy Thursday. It is February 11. And since the last time we talked, that lovable groundhog/jerk-face Punxsutawney Phil gifted us with six more weeks of winter.

JENNIFER BORGET: Dang.

JENNY GUY: That revelation brought a great big duh from me because winter is on full display right outside my window here in Oklahoma, and I am not a fan. What is the weather like in your neck of the woods?

Say hi in the comments and tell us why you think cold weather is stupid, or if that's just me. Maybe you love cold weather. I don't want to hate on you if you love cold weather. Just say hi, and tell us what the weather's like.

Thank you for joining us for today's episode of Teal Talk. I'm Jenny Guy. I'm Mediavine's director of marketing and your host on this show, all about the business of content creation. Sometimes we're asked how we come up with so many different topics and guests for the show.

And the truth is, there is never a shortage of relevant topics for content creators because there are so many things that you guys are expected to know about. And all of them are essential. SEO, copywriting, video, taxes for small business owners, first party data, the list just goes on and on and on.

And as content creators ourselves at Mediavine, we are very well aware that it can be overwhelming to decide where to focus your limited time and energy. However, dedicating time to our topic today is a no-brainer.

Photography is relevant to pretty much all digital content creators regardless of niche. Improving your images pays dividends on your website and social media, which leads to more traffic which leads to more revenue. But how do we get those improvements? My guest today is the perfect person to show us the way.

Jennifer Borget is a former journalist turned award winning digital creator. At Cherish 365 she chronicles her life as a mom of three, covering everything from parenting to education to home to diversity and inclusion, all through the lens of encouraging others to cherish every day. Welcome to Teal Talk, Jennifer.

JENNIFER BORGET: Hi. [LAUGHS]

JENNY GUY: Thank you so much--

JENNIFER BORGET: Hi, Jenny.

JENNY GUY: --for coming.

JENNIFER BORGET: Hi, Jenny. No, thanks for having me. I'm really excited.

JENNY GUY: I'm so excited, yep.

JENNIFER BORGET: And you're always so informative so honored to be on this end. [LAUGHS]

JENNY GUY: Well, we're honored to have you. We couldn't ask for a better expert. If you guys have questions for Jennifer or me, post them in the comments. We will make sure that we mention them to her. OK, before I start quizzing Jennifer, I have a question for the audience that will help us guide this conversation.

Content creators, we're hurtling towards magical Q4, so it's the perfect time to make sure we're in a mindset for success. 

On the Teal Talk season 4 premiere, Jenny is joined by Jessica Formicola, a site owner and former psychotherapist, college professor and coach. Jessica is bringing all of her expertise to this episode to ensure we're blogging like the business owners we are. 

Whether it's diversifying income streams, putting together business plans or delegating and hiring staff, Jessica is bringing her data-driven, work smarter not harder approach.

Make sure to catch Episode 26 of Mediavine On Air!

Helpful Resources

Helpful Resources Presentation SlideSavory ExperimentsBrand Like A Boss Course"Affiliate Marketing Content That Sells" Article

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alt0dg44BdY

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hey, everybody. Welcome to the season premiere of Teal Talk.

[IMITATING TRUMPET]

It's very exciting. This is kind of an anticlimactic. I guess I was a trumpet. I'm not really sure what I was going for there.

But I'm your host, Mediavine's Jenny Guy. So excited to welcome you to another wonderful season of our show about the business of content creation. Our fourth season, as hard as that might be for all of us to believe, it is the truth. Another thing that is also true and hard to believe, it is already September 14. How? How is it our-- how?

Football has started back up. Homecoming is around the corner. I am constantly being encouraged to purchase a shacket. I don't know if I'm alone in that. All of which begs the very important question, have you broken the pumpkin seal yet?

Say hi in the comments, and tell us the date that it becomes appropriate in your mind to start ordering all of the pumpkin drinks. Tell us hi. OK, in other news-- and speaking of the year flying by, I got an email yesterday that informed me that it is only 48 days to Halloween and 73 days to Thanksgiving.

So I guess what I'm saying is happy New Year. Welcome, 2022. I guess, 2022, please be kind. Our standards are very low or whatever. Really anything that you do is fairly passable.

OK, but hold up. Before we fly headlong into a new year, we have Q4 revenue to earn. The best time. There's still a few weeks remaining for content creators to get their ducks in a row for the top earnings time of the year. And part of that, let's be real, should include mental preparation.

Enter my awesome guest for our season premiere. It is Jessica Formicola. She's a Mediavine publisher with her website, Savory Experiments, and she's here to ensure that we are approaching everything that we do with a business owner mindset. Hello, Jessica. Welcome.

JESSICA FORMICOLA: Hi, I'm happy to be here.

JENNY GUY: We're so glad to have you. I'm going to read your very impressive bio. Jessica is a former psychother-- it is. I always am so-- she's the former psychotherapist turned author, business coach, photographer, recipe developer, spokesperson, TV personality, globetrotter, and contributor to parade Better Homes and Gardens, MASHED!, and The Daily Meal, food and travel.

She provides training on how to mentally transition to small business owner using strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy. These reframes will help expand your business and make more money. Yay. OK, so, incredibly impressive bio, guys. Before I jump into questions with Jessica, if you have anything you want to talk to us about, mindset shifts, prepping for Q4, all of that stuff, drop them in the comments and I will ask Jessica. But I'm going to just dive in with my stuff to kick us off.

As the host of this show, as Teal Talk and the Summer of Live, both going for four seasons now, I've had the opportunity to speak with a lot of really incredible people and read quite a selection of interesting bios. But I have to say, yours is up there as one of the most fascinating. So I like to go beyond the bio and learn more abo...

Thinking about extending your blog brand to YouTube?

Billy Parisi, founder of Billy Parisi Media and Visual Culture Inc, joins Jenny Guy, Senior Director of Marketing in a conversation about his firsthand experience in determining what works and what doesn't when it comes to growing your channel.

In this episode, Billy shares his top tips for getting started plus helpful inspiration and resources. Don't miss it!

Helpful Resources

Billy's PresentationBilly's WebsiteBilly's Youtube ChannelBilly's Recipes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvXKB65_zgU

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hey. Hello, everybody. Hi. Happy Thursday. It's May 20. And that means it is time for another episode of Teal Talk. Hello. I am your host, Jenny Guy. And believe it or not, it is rapidly approaching Memorial Day weekend and the official start of summer. Does anyone have big plans for next weekend? Does anyone have anything exciting going on? Lake? Cookouts? Tell us about it. Are our summer bods ready more importantly? Do we care about that anymore?

Personally I am in camp. So happy that vaccinations are readily available and normal things are slowly beginning to happen again. And that's all that matters to me. So summer bod or not, I'm happy about it. But I did purchase some sunless tanner just to cover my bases. Try to be a little normalcy. That's normal for me. I'm translucent.

I did eat at a restaurant the last couple of weeks. Almost cried. Went to the dentist. And it was practically a religious experience. I think the hygienist was freaked out by how happy I was to be at the dental office. But I was just very-- and don't get me wrong. I'm in no way saying that everything is peachy keen and COVID is over. I know that's not true at all. But compared to the wasteland of last summer, it feels pretty nice to have a little more security and a little bit of hope and all of those things. I don't know how you guys are feeling.

But if you're just joining us, again it is Thursday, May 20. I am Jenny Guy, the host of Teal Talk. And I would love to hear if you have plans for Memorial Day. And like it or not, the truth is the year is flying buy and with it, potentially many of our goals that we set for ourselves in January. I don't know if you're a January goal setter. But it's almost halfway through the year. And I find no shame here. I congratulate all of us for just surviving. But if one of your goals for 2021 was to grow your YouTube channel or even if you're just a little YouTube curious, today's episode is absolutely for you.

We have got Billy Parisi. And he's here to share all his top tips plus a very special offer for anyone who is ready to up their video game. So let's meet Billy. Billy, welcome to Teal Talk.

BILLY PARISI: Hey, thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

JENNY GUY: Thanks for coming. It's great to see you too. OK, I'm going to read your highly impressive bio so that we can all be highly impressed. Ready? Here we go.

Branching out into the digital and social landscape after 15 years as a chef in the culinary industry, Billy Parisi is a true culinary media entrepreneur. His work has been seen on network television, online with unique views in the millions, as well as across new and emerging media channels. His company, Billy Parisi Media and Visual Culture Inc is a boutique digital and social agency specializing in cooking, food and beverage content creation that is proven through experience and analytics. Very impressive, Billy.

BILLY PARISI: Thanks, Jen.

JENNY GUY: I'm humbled. OK. If you have questions about YouTube, we have some that we were gathering in the group and on the public Facebook page. But if you have questions for Billy or me, drop them in the comments. We will get them filtered. But to start out with, I have a question for you. Everyone out there watching coming in, do you have a favorite YouTube vlogger? And if so,

So you're thinking of getting into e-commerce and asking yourself, "Where should I start?"

There are many layers to starting an online shop: choosing a platform, legal issues, finding your niche and so much more. Today, we've brought in an expert.

Lizz Porter from More Than Thursdays & Pew Pew Lasercraft joins Jenny Guy, our Senior Director of Marketing, in a conversation on how your passions can turn into products. Hear Lizz's story about how she applied her skills from blogging and product creation to running a successful Etsy business.

As always, remember you can not only listen to the podcast but watch the accompanying Youtube video and read the transcript below!

Helpful Resources

Pew Pew LasercraftMore Than ThursdaysAn Interview with Jamie Lieberman of Hashtag LegalLizz's S'mores SticksRunning an Effective Mastermind... | Summer of Live 2020Everything VA | Teal Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kODVC16qVr4

Transcript

JENNY GUY: It is Thursday, January 28th, which means it's time for Mediavine's Teal Talk, the show about the business of content creation. I'm Jenny Guy, here as always, as your host. And I know I always say this, but hosting the show is truly one of my favorite parts of this job.

Partially, because it requires me to actually put on makeup and wear a normal shirt and know the date and be a real person twice a month, which is-- it's very rare. But I do have to know those things. But mainly, this is the bigger part, because it gives me the opportunity to chat with some really incredible and inspiring people in the content creation industry.

I learn so much from our guests and from you guys in the audience, every single episode. So thank you for being awesome. I'm very grateful that this is what we get to do. On today's topic, while a lot of things have gone away over the past 11 months, I've been talking with Lizz about that, right before, my guest today. One thing that has definitely stayed around is our ability to buy things.

And while the economy and everything in that realm is grateful for this fact, my personal bank account is not. I don't know if I am the only one who is shopping more than ever now, because it's one of the only normal things that we can actually do, I feel the need to internet shop constantly. But I made a really concerted effort during the last holiday to shop small. Etsy, local businesses, there are so very many talented makers in the world.

So I wanted to ask everybody out in our audience, say hi, and tell us, what are you currently purchasing? What are you buying? Do you have a favorite small business or product line that you're loving these days? And bonus points if it is a Content Creator blogger turned product maker. Please tell us in the comments. We would love to hear all about it.

And if you have questions for myself or my guest, who I'm about to introduce, please post them there, as well. For example, I-- these earrings that I'm wearing are a custom design from our fantastic guest today. Her name is Lizz Porter. Her product business is Pew Pew Lasercraft, which makes me giggle every time I say it. And she knows firsthand that physical products can be a very lucrative revenue stream.

She is here to share all her tips and tricks so that you can explore branching out with making your own products in 2021. So let's meet her. Lizz has been a maker since before that was a thing, going back to her Girl Scout days. Blogging at More Than Thursday since 2005, she expanded into a product based business in 2018, when she launched Pew Pew Lasercraft. Got to do it. An accessory and a company for those who don't take life too seriously. Lizz, thank you so much for joining us today.

LIZZ PORTER: Thanks for having me. I'm super excited to be here.

JENNY GUY: And we're excited to have you. Where are you joining us from?

LIZZ PORTER: I am in Northern California. So I am smack in between Sacramento and Reno. So like,