Feeling like Instagram changed the rules and forgot to tell us? You’re not imagining it. Engagement is down across the board, audience behavior has shifted, and what used to work just… doesn’t.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why your old content isn’t hitting anymore and how to refresh your Instagram strategy so your posts actually drive DMs, list growth, and sales in 2026.

You’ll learn:

→ the 5-step Instagram self-audit every educator needs to do now

→ how to use analytics for your business, not your ego

→ what to stop posting (and what to double down on)

→ why AI saturation has changed your audience’s attention span

→ how to stay ahead of 2026 content trends and build long-term brand relevance

Whether you’re an established educator or just building your education brand, this is your tactical playbook to cut through the noise, rebuild connection, and make your content convert again.

If you’re ready to create content that feels aligned and performs, hit play.

Mentioned in this episode:

→ Work with me through my boutique content agency Align Creative Co.

→ Join my signature program for educators Sought After Educator

→ DM me on Instagram @itsjodiebrown with “storyboard” to book a content audit or storyboard session

In this episode, we’re diving into what it really takes to be seen as an authority in your industry and how to create video content that actually builds trust and credibility over time.

As an educator who’s helped hundreds of creatives refine their messaging and become the go-to in their niche, I’ve seen one truth again and again: it’s not about being the loudest voice online, it’s about showing consistent proof of your expertise.

That’s exactly what we’re breaking down in today’s conversation with video strategist and former global educator Chris Sulimay. He’s worked with educators, coaches, and speakers across the country to help them turn their knowledge into high-impact content, and his approach is refreshingly simple.

→ Learn how to create proof-based video content that shows your authority without feeling forced

→ Discover why consistency builds trust faster than any viral moment

→ Understand how to transform your expertise into a body of work that compounds over time

→ Get practical tips to upgrade your video quality, messaging, and confidence on camera

We’ll cover:

• The real reason educators struggle to stay visible online
• The mindset shifts you need to stop second-guessing your content
• How to turn everyday teaching moments into evergreen video assets
• Why clarity and repetition are the foundation of a sought after brand

If you’re ready to move past the “best kept secret” phase and start creating videos that position you as the expert you already are, this episode will show you exactly how.

Connect with Chris on Instagram

Visit his website - https://sulimayproductions.com/

Lisa pulls back the curtain on a peer-led mastermind that actually runs on member wins, plus the simple front end and sales flow she’s using right now. If you’re an educator building offers for hairstylists or creative entrepreneurs, this is a clear, practical look at what’s working and what she’s iterating.

what we cover

→ How a peer led mastermind operates month to month with member taught masterclasses

→ The Jumpstart front end that warms a colder audience before high touch coaching

→ DM setter to discovery call sales flow, including qualification and close

→ What didn’t land with a low tier membership and how those lessons shaped the next move

→ Capacity solutions that keep depth intact with a rotating board of support

Along the way, we trace Lisa’s path from $14 cuts inside Walmart to a recognizable educator brand and community, with candid notes on cash flow, delivery, and mindset.

tactics you can try this week

→ Track member wins and turn them into next month’s trainings

→ Test a DM setter to prequalify leads and set calls with the right people

→ Create a bridge offer that onboards new buyers to your existing assets

→ Add a rotating board of support to increase touch points without hierarchy

→ Audit anything that feels heavy and sunset what is not landing

why this matters for educators

Strong offer structure and simple sales systems reduce churn, protect your capacity, and keep your mastermind valuable. This episode gives you examples you can adapt for hairstylists and creative educators without rebuilding your whole business.

time stamps

→ 00:00 Meet Lisa and Stylist Soul Tribe

→ 06:45 How a peer led mastermind actually runs

→ 14:20 What didn’t land with the low tier membership

→ 21:10 The Jumpstart front end and why it converts

→ 28:00 DM setter and discovery call flow

→ 36:40 Capacity, board of support, and member experience

→ 45:15 Identity, intuition, and fast messy action

→ 52:10 Takeaways for sustainable educator offers

resources

→ Connect with Lisa on Instagram @lisahuffhair

Get 30 days of Kajabi for free

I’m sharing the five tools I rely on to create, deliver, and optimize my programs so I can spend less time troubleshooting and more time teaching. If you’ve been piecing together emails, payments, replays, and course portals, this will help you simplify your backend and make better decisions with real data.

Why this matters for educators

→ Clean systems free up creative energy and improve the student experience

→ All-in-one delivery reduces manual tasks and broken zaps

→ Centralized data helps you decide with numbers, not emotions

→ Simple, reliable tools make consistency possible long term

The five tools I use and how

→ Kajabi for sales pages, checkouts, email, automations, course portals, replays, and evergreen analytics so I can see page views, opt-ins, purchases, email opens, and watch time in one place

→ Google Workspace for Docs, Sheets, Forms, Gmail, and Calendar so curriculum drafts, templates, intake forms, and launch tracking stay organized and shareable

→ Zoom for live workshops, group coaching, and reliable recording so I can capture clean replays and pair them with transcripts

→ Fathom with Zoom for automatic notes and transcripts so I can quickly pull action items and summaries

→ Descript for recording, editing, polishing replays, building lessons, screen recording feedback, captions, chapters, and pulling quotes so editing feels like editing a doc

→ ChatGPT for formatting show notes and lesson descriptions and turning my words into finished assets without losing my voice

What you’ll learn

→ How an all in one platform like Kajabi reduces friction across sales and delivery

→ The way I use Google Docs and Sheets to plan curriculum and track launches

→ Why Descript replaced multiple tools and cut editing time dramatically

→ Where AI fits as an assistant for formatting and repurposing your own language

→ How to decide whether your funnel needs fixes or just more traffic

Timestamps

→ 00:00 Welcome and why tools are not the strategy

→ 03:10 From pieced together systems to an all in one platform

→ 09:20 My Kajabi workflow for offers, emails, and analytics

→ 14:45 Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms for templates and tracking

→ 20:05 Zoom and Fathom for reliable delivery and transcripts

→ 24:30 Descript for editing, chapters, captions, and repurposing

→ 31:40 Using ChatGPT to format show notes and lesson descriptions

→ 36:10 The thread that ties my stack together and next steps

Links mentioned

→ Try Kajabi with a 30 day trial - https://app.kajabi.com/r/92JKzNns/t/28z7lmwk

→ Descript for recording and editing

→ Fathom AI for transcripts and recaps

Free up your focus

→ Build your stack to reduce manual tasks, protect your energy, and deliver a polished student experience

→ Start with one upgrade at a time and connect tools only where it truly saves time

If you loved this episode

→ Send me a DM on Instagram @itsjodiebrown and tell me which tool you’re upgrading next

→ Share this with an educator friend who needs a simpler setup

→ Leave a quick review so more educators can find the show

If you’ve ever wanted to peek behind the curtain of a brand being built in real time, this episode of The Sought After Educator Podcast is for you. Tyler, founder of Styx Hair, shares how he turned a clear vision from my Escape to Elevate retreat in Spain into a thriving stylist-owned extension brand that’s reshaping the hair industry. We talk about brand foundations, direct response marketing, paid ads for educators, and why focusing on conversion instead of vanity metrics is the secret to sustainable growth for hairstylists and beauty educators.

→ Hairstylists and educators ready to grow a profitable brand that actually sells

→ Creators shifting from business coaching to e-commerce and looking for clarity

→ Beauty pros who want to understand how marketing systems, funnels, and content strategy work together to scale

→ Why “impact first, income next” is the foundation of every strong educator brand

→ How Tyler pivoted from education to launching a stylist-owned wholesale hair extension company

→ The real difference between engagement metrics and conversion metrics on social media

→ How to use direct response content and simple paid ads that convert

→ What it takes to build brand resonance and trust in a crowded beauty market

→ Why patience, persistence, and authenticity beat viral content every time

You can buy visibility with ads, but you can’t buy brand resonance.

Conversion content rarely tops engagement charts—and that’s exactly why it works.

Clear messaging and strong brand foundations make every ad perform better.

The shortcut is consistency, not virality.

We revisit how Tyler joined Escape to Elevate to clarify his vision, then launched Styx Hair, an e-commerce brand that has quickly scaled to thousands of verified stylist accounts. You’ll hear how he identified a gap in the hair extension market, used direct response marketing to cut through the noise, and built a profitable educator-led business without chasing likes.

This episode is packed with practical lessons on educator marketing, e-commerce strategy for beauty professionals, and the mindset that helps you grow a brand that lasts.

Tyler, founder of Styx Hair — a stylist-owned extension company helping professionals earn more and deliver consistent quality.

→ Instagram: @styxhair

→ Website: styxhair.com

→ Instagram: @itsjodiebrown

→ Listen to more episodes of The Sought After Educator Podcast at itsjodiebrown.com/podcast

If this episode gave you clarity or inspiration, follow the show and leave a quick review.

DM me “conversion” on Instagram @itsjodiebrown if you’re ready to refine your messaging, elevate your marketing systems, and become the sought-after educator your industry needs.

Social media doesn’t have to run your life. In this episode of the Sought After Educator podcast, I’m sharing the exact tools I use for my own content and for my agency clients that make showing up online so much more doable. These are the systems that cut out hours of manual work, help you create polished videos, and ultimately improve how your audience experiences your content.

You’ll learn:

→ Why I rely on ManyChat to move people from Instagram into my funnel while delivering a smooth, white-glove experience

→ How I use Descript to repurpose long-form content into shorter, high-impact clips

→ Why InShot is my go-to for quick mobile video edits and how Instagram’s new Edits app is starting to compete

→ How Captions makes it easy to add subtitles and even script face-to-camera reels

If you’ve ever felt like social media was eating up all of your time, these tools will help you cut through the noise and focus on what really matters: teaching, serving, and building a brand that lasts.

Next time, I’ll be sharing part two, where I break down the tools I use to actually create and deliver my education programs—everything from workbooks to hosting platforms to how I organize my student experience.

Make sure you hit subscribe so you don’t miss it, and if today’s episode helped you, tag me on Instagram @itsjodiebrown or send me a DM to let me know your biggest takeaway.

Many creative and beauty educators are working nonstop, but their education business still feels stuck. The issue is often not strategy, but identity loops that keep you repeating the same cycle.

In this episode of the Sought After Educator Podcast, Jodie Brown shares the five most common identity loops that stop educators from building sustainable momentum:

→ The humble expert who relies on reputation instead of clear brand positioning

→ The content hustler who posts every day without creating demand or conversions

→ The strategy hopper who chases new courses and templates instead of building structure

→ The best kept secret who struggles with visibility and relies only on referrals

→ The burnt out multi passionate who builds everything on adrenaline instead of systems

You will learn how to spot these patterns, why they show up in your business, and how to shift into clarity, structure, and a visibility strategy that actually converts.

This episode will help you:

✔ Understand the identity traps that keep educators invisible online

✔ Learn why brand clarity and a signature offer matter more than posting nonstop

✔ See how backend structure and client journey mapping support long term growth

✔ Build visibility strategies that connect to sales instead of just reach

If you are ready to move from being a hidden educator to becoming sought after in your industry, this conversation will give you the tools to start shifting today.

👉 Connect with Jodie on Instagram @itsjodiebrown

Learn more about The Sought After Educator Accelerator

Welcome to the very first episode of The Sought After Educator Podcast. If you’ve ever felt like your education business has moments of momentum but struggles to stay consistent, this conversation is for you.

Inside this episode, Jodie shares the three essential phases every educator needs to grow a sustainable brand that’s known, trusted, and profitable:

→ Align: clarifying your brand, message, and method so you create demand instead of just blending in

→ Anchor: building the backend systems and client journey that turn attention into traction and sales

→ Attract: creating visibility and content strategies that actually connect, convert, and feel easier to sustain

You’ll learn why so many educators burn out from doing everything manually, how to diagnose where the real breakdown is in your funnel or marketing, and what it takes to create an education brand that stands out in today’s crowded online space.

This episode is packed with actionable insights that will help you:

✓Cut through vague, overused marketing language

✓Build a system that sells without relying only on Instagram stories

✓Understand the data behind your funnel so you can make smart decisions

✓Create content that connects to the lived experiences of your students

After listening, you’ll have a clear roadmap to start building your own sought after educator brand. One that grows sustainably, attracts the right people, and creates the kind of impact you’ve been working toward.

Resources + Links:

DM Jodie on Instagram: @itsjodiebrown

Check out The Sought After Educator Accelerator

The Sought After Educator Podcast is here.

Formerly known as The Visionary Rising Podcast, this show has been reimagined to give beauty and creative educators the exact strategies, clarity, and behind-the-scenes insights you need to become the go-to expert in your industry.

Hosted by Jodie Brown, marketing mentor, retreat host, and agency owner, this podcast dives deep into the three pillars every successful educator needs:

→ Brand identity that sets you apart

→ Backend structure and systems that scale

→ Content and visibility that convert

Along with practical strategy, you will hear deep dive interviews with sought after educators across the beauty and creative industries. These conversations go beyond the basics and give you the real stories, lessons, and perspectives from educators who are building lasting brands and thriving businesses.

Whether you are a hairstylist educator, coach, photographer, or creative expert building an online education business, each episode is designed to help you build authority, attract your ideal students, and grow with confidence.

If you have been searching for marketing for educators, content strategy for beauty and creative entrepreneurs, and real talk about building a sustainable education business, you are in the right place.

The first full episode of The Sought After Educator Podcast drops Monday. Make sure you are following so you do not miss it.

BIG NEWS!!!

This is a quick update to let you know that the Visionary Rising Podcast is getting a brand new name and a full makeover... and I couldn’t be more excited to bring you along for it.

Based on your feedback (and my vision for the future), we’re evolving the show to go even deeper. The next chapter will be more intentional, strategic, and fully focused on helping you build a brand and business as a sought-after educator.

Here’s what you need to know:

→ The podcast is getting a new name and direction

→ I’ll be taking a short break

→ We’re back in September with powerful new episodes

→ You don’t need to do anything... just stay subscribed right here

In the meantime, it’s the perfect chance to binge the archive, revisit your favorite episodes, and come DM me if you’ve got any guesses or requests for the next version of the show.

→ Let’s chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjodiebrown

→ Share the show with a friend who’s building their own education brand

→ And hit follow so you’re the first to hear the new drop in September

Thanks for being here...what’s coming next is going to be so worth the wait.

XO Jodie