The Leveraged Business: Earn More, Work Less, Grow Faster

It's the 100th episode and three-year anniversary of the show. And we are celebrating. For 2024, we're launching a fantastic new series for the podcast – all about one of the key cornerstones of success in business – resilience. I've been collaborating with a whole group of strong women entrepreneurs on this to put this together for you.

In today's episode, I set the scene for what entrepreneurial resilience means, what's coming in guest contributions on the subject, and how to develop resilient practices that fuel and sustain your business success.

Through a series of interviews with 14 of my amazing ACES business acceleration clients, we bring you a collection of inspiring and insightful ways you can foster, celebrate and leverage success in entrepreneurial resilience. There is so much passion, talent and commitment to the work they do, in reaching their respective audiences and being of true service. But importantly too is how they show up.

Collectively, these business owners all have demonstrated an uncanny ability to deal with resilience, personally and/or in how they help their clients. And together they illustrate what "success" takes from many different and interesting and valuable angles, and different lenses that stem from their own journeys, as well as the work they do with clients.

Rising Resilient is all about tackling challenges and change in your life and business with confidence, compassion and courage. A frequent theme that emerges in coaching small business owners is the rollercoaster journey of entrepreneurship. And the growth that happens is not solely because we put great marketing or sales strategies together. It's the inner growth too, the mindset piece.

Best way to ensure you don't miss this exciting new series is to subscribe to the show. Please share too with all who could benefit from an uplifting listen. Happy holidays!

For the third part of this series focused on surviving and thriving in the age of AI, we address the proliferation of online courses created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), the impact of AI on education, our writing and digital literacy more broadly, and how you can future proof online courses that sell.

AI technologies, and generative AI in particular, such as ChatGPT, has led to inevitable change in the labour market as well as the marketplace for online education. The increase in course production is leading to greater saturation and competition, which makes it more challenging than ever to stand out. The pressure is on more than ever to differentiate real education and transformation from information and knowledge delivery.

In this episode, we will look at how to future proof your online courses, exploring how creating profitable e-learning courses is actually both easier and harder with AI, and how you can position yourself for success. Join me as we embark on an exploration of how AI is reshaping the very foundations of education, from the way courses are meticulously designed to how they are dynamically delivered to learners around the globe.

The future of learning is being shaped by the boundless potential of AI, and I'm here to guide you through this transformative journey so you can position your offerings in a distinctive way to gain competitive advantage.

This three-part series is a prelude to my forthcoming book, The AI Advantage - a short monograph to accompany the larger desk reference, Leveraged Consulting in the Digital Age. The aim is to highlight both possibilities and pitfalls of AI, which I hope will give you pointers to many of the genuine ways you can accelerate your own business's profitability and growth.

If you'd like an advanced copy and are happy to provide me with feedback and possibly a review when it's published, go to http://jayallyson.com/leveragedbusiness/the-ai-advantage/ to register your interest.

Whether you're a small startup or a large corporation, understanding the disruptive technologies of Artificial Intelligence and generative AI tools like ChatGPT and how they are infiltrating our world, is crucial for staying competitive in today's market.

In this second part of 3, we unravel the transformative potential of AI in reshaping the way we market, sell, and engage with customers. We embark on a journey that uncovers the power of AI tools in redefining marketing campaigns, enhancing customer engagement, and propelling sales growth.

From predictive analytics that decode consumer behaviour to the conversational prowess of AI-powered chatbots, businesses are experiencing a paradigm shift in their approach to marketing and sales. It's a digital revolution fuelled by data, and AI is at the helm of this transformative voyage.

And I'll be sharing use cases and specific AI software of how AI-powered solutions are enabling businesses to make marketing campaigns smarter, customer interactions more personalised, and sales processes more efficient. Prepare to be inspired by the possibilities that AI unlocks for businesses of all sizes.

Grab an early peek at The AI Advantage, Jay Allyson's forthcoming book, details in the show notes at http://jayallyson.com/podcast/ai-tools-to-boost-sales/.

There's no ignoring or denying the power of AI in business. It's an incredible way to help with many of the operational parts of running a business including content, copy, processes, customer support, and more. Those burying their head in the technical sand, will lose the AI competitive advantage.

Over the next three episodes, you'll get my leveraged business perspective on all things generative AI and how small businesses and entrepreneurs can use ChatGPT and other AI tools to get more done in less time without necessarily outsourcing or hiring anyone.

Artificial intelligence is not going to replace you anytime soon. Because your business is all about leveraging YOU. Your energy, perceptiveness and insights are what makes you and your business stand out from an increasingly competitive marketplace and become seen, respected and successful. But AI and the likes of generative AI tools like ChatGPT for textual output and Midjourney for images, can take a big chunk of the heavy lifting off your desk.

AI is more than just a buzzword; it's a strategic imperative for businesses of all sizes. It empowers organisations to tap into the wealth of data at their disposal, extracting valuable insights that drive innovation and competitiveness. From automating routine tasks to offering predictive analytics, AI has the potential to revolutionise business. There's also a huge impact on the production of content, on the writing of copy, and on creation of courses, which we'll look at in the later episodes.

As we delve into the intricacies of AI in business, keep in mind that this is your gateway to understanding the limitless possibilities that AI presents. The world of entrepreneurship and consulting is on the cusp of a technological revolution, and by embracing AI-driven strategies, you're not only future-proofing your business but also positioning it for sustained growth and prosperity.

In this first episode, we'll unravel the multifaceted world of AI applications, from customer service chatbots to data-driven marketing strategies. Then in parts 2 and 3 we'll tackle more specifically the risks and returns of particular tools like ChatGPT to help you write content, copy and course materials.

Join us as we explore how small businesses are leveraging AI to stay ahead in the ever-changing business landscape.

You can find all the resources and links mentioned in the episode on the show notes page at http://jayallyson.com/podcast/business-use-cases-for-ai-and-chatgpt/.

When you're looking at content and copy in your marketing, have you ever really thought about the job each is doing to drive sales across the customer journey?

Defining the purpose, audience and occasion for everything you communicate is super powerful for connecting with your target audience and building trust.

Ever wondered what's the difference between content and copy? And how to use them in harmony to build authentic and effective customer relationships?

Now you might already be creating content in a very intentional way - see previous episodes 93 and 94 on elevating your content marketing - but in my experience many businesses (maybe MOST businesses in fact) are not necessarily getting leads and sales from all that effort - which is pretty demotivating to keep on doing it, right?

The reason is that most businesses are not creating content in a way that drives the flywheel of their customer journey. There's very little copy running through all that content.

Let me put that another way, most business are not following a strategy where their content loops back to what they're selling. And they're not creating a strong demand narrative to move people from consuming content to following you, engaging with you and taking action towards working with you.

Instead of just posting content whenever you feel like it, think of your content and copy working in harmony to get people engaged, educated and then enrolled into your program or service.

And you're in luck :-) This episode (and its accompanying blog article) is intended to help you do just that, so you can drive sales across the customer journey more effectively.

Don't forget to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts via https://pod.link/1537508136.

And finally, if you're finding the content valuable, I'd very much appreciative if you' would leave me a review. (Because I get messages with lots of lovely feedback, but even better if you'd hop over to iTunes (Apple podcasts or wherever you listen) and write a review - a great rating and one sentence is plenty.)

If you're feeling the end-of-summer blues, I hear you – I'm noticing my mood is lower than usual. It can be challenging with our social and work interactions to rise above it.

The end-of-summer blues is a real thing. The change in temperature, light going from summer into fall (autumn) can affect us more than we realise. It marks the end of a season filled with warmth, sunshine, and outdoor activities and the start of shorter, darker days and more time indoors.

As you might be feeling a little of this too, I thought I'd drop you an impromptu checklist to share some ideas on how to cope with the end of summer blues - prevention and treatment :-) Here are some strategies you can use to cope with the end of summer blues and transition smoothly into the new season.

For those interested in understanding our 5 element personal archetypes and how to embrace seasonal living to feel good all year round, I fully recommend this 'Foundations of Seasonal Living' six-week online program with practitioner mentor Jo Hafey.

In this second episode focusing on content marketing, we explore ways to elevate your content performance, moving onto the heavy lifting part, and that's to use content planning practices to increase organic traffic and generate targeted leads.

Content planning is where we take the goals and objectives of your strategy, the why and the who, your aims and the intended audience to inform what types of content to create, how, where and when it should be published or posted.

In part 1, I talked through the process of getting clear on your ideal client avatar, your message pillars, and your content platform choices. Now, it's time to get the process and logistics planned out, and start creating content. There's a huge opportunity now with new AI tools like ChatGPT to produce content faster, have the technology do much of the heavy lifting for you.

Assuming you have a relevant and compelling lead magnet, both updating and re-promoting existing content, and creating and publishing new content, will significantly increase your digital presence and visibility as well as drive organic website traffic and generate targeted leads.

What we cover:

• Choosing what content to create and where to share it
• Repurposing and retargeting existing content to boost search rankings
• Using technology to create, automate and schedule content
• Best content creation practices for getting noticed in the ocean of internet material.
• How the efficacy of your content marketing plan can be tracked or measured.

Download my free Content Hacks printable from the show notes at https://jayallyson.com/podcast/best-content-planning-practices/.

In this two-part series, we are tackling a very big area of our business development endeavours, and that is developing your content marketing strategy. There's a lot I want to share with you about creating content that converts, so I'm doing it in two parts.

The focus for part 1 is about being strategic about content marketing, so you're creating content that drives engagement and sales for your business, not just churning out content in the hope it gets attention and generates leads.

Content's such a big part of our lives, and I'm not sure we're always strategic ourselves as consumers, but as business owners, the job of content can feel like a lot. So you want to be sure you're spending your time and energy doing the things that really make a difference in your business, hence the strategic part.

With a content marketing strategy, sometimes people get a little bit lost, and they start to create their online presence and start pushing out a load of content without fully being mindful of what's working and what's not.

Because when you come to create content to attract and build your audience, you need to be strategic and intentional about

• Elevate your content marketing from vision to execution • Navigate the pressure to get visible
• Think about content marketing across 7 dimensions of success
• Produce content your audience wants to devour
• Be consistent by showing up where you love to be
• Align your content with your audience's questions
• Adapt to shifting market environments.

For visuals, links and support, go to https://jayallyson.com/podcast/content-marketing-strategy/.

In this final part 3 of 3, we turn to using your ideal customer avatar (ICA) work to inform your content strategy and create customer centric content and copy. This helps align what you write about, when and where to write what, and how to connect and nurture your audience in a way that converts clicks to clients.

We've already talked about an ICA as a key blueprint for your business and really started to build out relevant details that help you write or speak to a specific target audience in a way that truly resonates.

Now, in this episode, you'll learn how to harness that avatar for content planning and copywriting. And it's going to bridge us into my next planned topics where we'll dive deeper into how you create content and write great copy, but looking at it from a more strategic angle.

Using avatar driven marketing and sales strategies, and thinking about all your marketing from your ideal customer's perspective, will help you understand more clearly what is the intention of each piece of content or copy, where it fits into the customer journey, and how to move people towards action.

If you need help in this aspect of your business, book a strategy discovery call with Jay via http://jayallyson.com/contactme/ These calls are often transformational and will save you years spinning around with fuzzy marketing that doesn't engage or connect with your ideal customers.

In the second of this two parter for defining your ideal customer avatar (ICA), we will walk through easy-to-use frameworks and an exercise to create your buyer persona. Whether you work with individuals or organisations, you'll come away with clarity and confidence in who your ideal client is and how to find, connect and sell to them.

Building a devoted, engaged following — as well as enlisting individuals in your offers — will be much simpler and a lot more enjoyable when you pinpoint precisely who your ideal clients are and what matters most to them.

You'll learn how to:

• Identify your avatar clearly in order to attract and sign up more of your ideal clients (this advice applies to all business owners, whether they are just starting out or seasoned veterans)

• Use these essential demographic and psychographic filters to identify and communicate with your best-fit prospects

• Stay away from time-wasting traps and misunderstandings that are typical of avatar work and will make your outreach and marketing ineffective

• Develop avatar-based marketing and sales methods that really cater to your target market to increase your self-assurance and success

• ...and a lot more!

To help you workshop your way through the ICA exercise to create a buyer persona, download the free step-by-step ICA worksheet, available in the show notes and http://jayallyson.com/podcast/ica-worksheet/.