WeHey, lovely, welcome back to the podcast amazing to have you here. I hope that you're having a good week and that you're enjoying whatever it is that you're doing, because I know that as I'm recording this, we're going to be in still school holidays here in Australia. And so we're doing the juggle, we're doing the business juggle, and a lot of times the mum juggle, or just you know, whatever else is going on for you. So I am so glad that you're here and I'm excited to share today's episode with you. I have got Mel Daniels on the podcast. She's actually one of my gorgeous clients. So Mel Daniels is a content strategist, coach and speaker who loves to understand why her curiosity has led her on an interesting life journey from academic achiever to corporate leader, Mama extraordinaire. And now business owner. Mel's purpose is to teach and empower women who want more from their business on how to use content in a powerful way. She gives them the confidence they need to become more visible, seen as the expert that they are and inspired to take their business to the next level. And so today, she's going to be sharing the four content creator archetypes as well as her content plan. So I know especially if you're a planner like me, at the beginning of the year, I think it's really important to think about what your content is going to be this year so that you become known for whatever it is that you want to become known for. And that you have a strategy around it. And so the four content creator archetypes that Mel talks about is kind of maybe your style, like what's your style of content creation? What's good about it? What can you be aware of that my you know, stop you from doing what you want, or getting the most out of what you could create. And so today's episode, I think is super useful for anybody. Because at the end of the day, as Mel and I talk about, we live in a world all about the content you're creating, whether it's blogs, videos, socials, whatever it is, it is all about the content. So this is a really important topic, and one that you need to be thinking about in your business at a more strategic level. So I'm excited to introduce Mel to you and dive into this episode. The other thing I want to let you know is that we have updated BBA, which is now bold Business Academy, calm and join us if you are ready to get your systems, strategies and structures in place as well as your mindset to be able to build and grow your business. BBA is the place for you. Clients have tripled their profit. They have sold out programs, they have been able to leave their jobs, they have been paying themselves more. This is a program for you if you need to get all of that in place. So come over to Suzanne chadwick.com forward slash BBA. And make sure you come and join us. But listen, without further ado, let's dive into this week's episode. Mel, welcome to the brand builders lab podcast.

Thank you so much, Suz, thank you so much for having me. It's such an honor to be here.

My pleasure. My pleasure. There Malik you and I were talking a while ago. And I find this so interesting is that we were talking a while ago you were explaining a number of I guess, frameworks and thought leadership that you talk to your clients about. And one of the things that you explained to me was the archetypes the content creator archetypes. And as somebody who comes from a branding background, I was like, Mel, tell me more about this. And you said it's not something you talk about that much or you talk about it as superpowers, which I thought was really interesting. And so I thought I wanted to have you on the podcast to talk about the content creator, creator archetype, which I'm excited to have you here talking about today.

Awesome. I can't wait to dive into it.

Sounds good. But listen, for my listeners who don't know you. Can you give us a little bit of a background on mal who you are, what you do, who you do it for and how you got here, just in a nutshell Mal, you know how easy Exactly.

So Hi everyone, I'm Mel Daniels and I call myself a content strategist. And I empower women to really grow their business and lean into using powerful content to connection, nurture and convert their ideal client. And I love to do that through one on one work with my clients as well as my beautiful membership as well. But I haven't always been a content strategist, Suze, as you know, my journey has been about six years in the entrepreneurial space, I actually started as a virtual assistant. And that was kind of I consider that an accidental entrepreneurship. I never really had any role models in that space. And I never really understood what it took to own a business. And I kind of fell into it, like a lot of women do. I kind of look at it my working life in like three different sections. One is that corporate life, which I absolutely loved. The next is my full time, mom life, once again, I absolutely loved and then these entrepreneurship journey, which I have absolutely loved as well. So like, I have just been so so fortunate in terms of really embracing the changes in my life, and the different directions and the challenges that are thrown up at me and have really just run with it. And I've loved every single different section of my working life.

I love that. And so from VA, yes. How did you get into content creation? What was that sort of journey? Yeah, so

I fell into being a VA just simply because I knew at that stage that I didn't want to go back to the corporate space, even though I loved it so much. I enjoyed the the culture, the people, what I did everything about it, I knew that my life had changed, my values had changed, things had changed in my life. And I just knew that going back to that corporate space at that moment in time, was not the right thing to do. So I actually ended up working for a friend for a little while, who was a lawyer, and she just needed some help to get through a really busy period. And it just really made me see how much a women in business, especially when they're solopreneurs really do need that support that they can trust and rely on. So that's how my VA business was born, I knew that I didn't want to go back to that corporate space. And I saw an opportunity, which I could apply my skills to at the time. But as I continued on that virtual assistant journey, I could see that women were kind of taking bits and pieces of content strategy from all different people. And they would really just jump on the latest trends when it came to content. So you know, someone would say to them, oh, you know, Instagram reels are the being of the moment. So, you know, bam, there'll be like, Mel need to do this need to do this, or, you know, someone had told them that they need to send an email every week. So I'd be like, Mel, I need to send an email. Can you help me with that? So I was beginning to see how women that I was working with were kind of taking this piecemeal approach to content. And the result of that was there was no consistency for their ideal client, there was no journey for that ideal client. And they didn't get the results that they actually wanted. So I started specializing in that content space, and really began to observe more and research more around what are the elements of content strategy? And what makes a content strategy is successful for one person, and not another person as well?

Yeah, so good. I love that. Amazing. And so now, when you work with your clients, you've like you said, You do one on one, and you've got the membership as well, which is fantastic. And so let's talk about these archetypes. What are the four archetypes and how did you come up with them?

Yeah, so from all of this observation, I really began to see that different people had different personality traits and different ways of approaching things. So just like any other, you know, learning style quiz that you do, or personality quiz, it's really around understanding what your strengths are, and working with them. And then also understanding our weaknesses as well. So this is this is not about putting us in a box or being judgmental. These things are really around a deeper understanding of who we are as a person, and how we can really bring out the best in us. And the best in what we do in this case is with content to really support us and become more visible and more consistent with our content creation and our content strategy as well. So it really just came about from that observation piece. Really just seeing how different people work and just, I love to know why suits I just really love to know, why is the crux of what I do. You know, I really just love to understand why things work and why things don't work for some people in and that's how the archetypes really came to light.

I love that and I mean I'm coming from a brand background I love the brand archetypes, like the magician and the sage and the caregiver and all of that. And like you said, it's not about putting people in a box, it's almost like helping you to think in a more creative way around the areas that you might be strong in, or the things that you identify for yourself as how you want to be. And then giving some structure around that and saying, Well, for me, I'm the sage and the magician when it comes to brand archetypes. And so it's about creating, you know, or taking fact and strategy and, you know, key things that you can learn, and then helping clients to see what's possible for themselves. So that sage and magician, and so when you were talking about the four content archetypes, and I think you've got a quiz as well that people can do to understand what that is, which we can share a little bit later, we'll have a link in the show notes as well that you can grab. And so let's go through what these are. And then I because I want to see what mine is as well. Now,

I think I know where to go. The very first one is me, is the control freak. And I call them the precision planner. So these people really nice

way to put it now the control plane slash precision planner. Yeah.

So yes, the precision planner is who they are as an archetype. So these people love to do list, they love to be organized, because it helps them feel good. It helps them feel good, because they feel like they're in control. They have a certain amount of certainty in their life, and they know what it takes to get to the end goal. So they really love to from a content perspective, they're really into obviously planning, planning out their content, and scheduling it as well. These people are typically more likely to batch create their content, I know that batch creating their content is not something that you know, everyone does. And that's, that's for a reason. Because not everyone is built to batch create their content. These people really love a good notebook. And have probably got a stack of them feeling a shelf behind them somewhere. I know that I definitely do. And when it comes to launching and their content for launching, it's really planned down to the minute it's like full of all of those activities that every expert that they follow suggest that needs to be included. And sometimes that can be a little bit to their detriment, because it doesn't allow that wiggle room. And when things don't go to plan, they kind of get a little bit freaked out. So that is totally me. That is totally the precision planner. And like I said, though, that sometimes these people can be a little bit too organized. And they can be a little bit too structured. And I know that I'm definitely like this. So I need to really learn that it's okay to have a little bit of wiggle room in my schedule for some of that spontaneity, some of that in the moment type content, things that are happening right now, and sharing more of me as a person. So people can really get to get to know me. And I can only do that through that content that is a little bit more personal, has a little bit more spontaneity as well. Yeah, so. So that's, that's kind of like the precision planner in a nutshell.

But I love that. It's kind of like, this is how the precision planner works. So batching planning notebooks, you know, launch is all planned, etc. And that's amazing. Because when you're organized, especially if you're somebody who just works better in that way, then that's a great thing for you. But then the things just to be aware of is like you said, the spontaneity, the wiggle room, maybe bring some more personal stuff to it. So I love that you've you've got that structure, but then these are some things you can also think about, and how you can implement them or inject them into the, you know, the rigorous plan that you've created as well. So I think that that Yeah, I think that that's really helpful too is what else could we think about if that's our particular style?

Yeah, absolutely. And so just for another example suits for the precision planner is because they like to do things on a schedule, but they need to add that little bit more personal side to things or that little bit of spontaneity, then think about perhaps using the spontaneity through a Facebook or Instagram Live, but then scheduling it for once a week. So it's actually in your your content calendar in your planner to do so that kind of you know, really helps you read that side of your your personality but at the same time it helps you be a little bit more spontaneous because you have Bringing that live element to your content

as well. Awesome. Yeah, I love that. What's the next one?

Okay, the next one is the person that has all of the good intentions. And I call them the collector. So these people are all about the shiny things, they have the best intentions in the world. And they really love to learn SUSE really, really love to learn. The problem is that they get stuck in this learning cycle. And they never actually implement it. It's always about one more qualification, one more course, one more thing, and then I'll be able to implement it. So it's, it's about, you know, really wanting to be successful in your business. You're so desperate, you're so desperate to, you know, do all the right things and learn from all the people. But you find yourself actually downloading lots of freebies, attending all the free webinars, buying courses that you never ended up finishing, you're the kind of chronic consumer and Suze, you coined a phrase just recently, which I absolutely love. And that's the disposable digital economy. And I just think that these people are definitely part of that.

Yeah, I mean, I want to talk a bit about that now, because I think it's an important topic to talk about. Because there's really a couple of things that are happening. I think, when somebody's in that collective phase, and there is that lack of self trust. It's, it's like you said, it's the belief that I'm not there yet. So it's almost like a bit of imposter syndrome, lack of self trust, believing that everybody else has got the silver bullet, or the answer that if I just, if I can just find that one being that one, cause that one, download that one, then everything will be fine. Everything will be great. And so let's talk a little bit about how collectors can move out of that.

Yeah, okay. So because they're just so indecisive when it comes to their content strategy. So they don't know which social media platform to be on, they don't know, you know, whether to choose a podcast or video blog or any of those things, it kind of sends them on a bit of a roller coaster ride with their content. And that means that they will show up with gusto because they are so enthused by the thing that they have just learnt. But then because they're distracted by the next shiny thing, they move on to that next strategy or that next tactic and feel disappointed, because they feel like nothing's actually working for them, because they're on this constant, you know, roller coaster ride of trying to find the new thing. So I really think that, that takes away their focus from doing what they're doing really well already. And it's kind of like what you said, it's really more of a belief in yourself that you have the thing, you are amazing, you are a unique individual that has this beautiful service that you're bringing to the world. And you know how to create content, you know, the best way to create content in yourself. So it's just having that faith and trust that you can actually do it. And that will then result in kind of like a leveling out of your energy, because at the moment, they're all in, and then they're all out. And they're all in and they're all out and the the impact of that because they're doing Yeah, it's 100% exhausting for them. And their ideal client as well, because their ideal clients going oh, she's here. Oh, she's not there. Where is she? Oh, she's here again? Yes. So it really does have an impact on both both sides of that content story.

Yeah, absolutely. And I just think that it's such it's a double edged sword, because you're potentially trying to learn new things, but then you're not giving yourself the space to create new things that would then attract the clients that you want. And for you to then develop your own thinking thought leadership ideas as well. And so I think the one thing I would say to the collector, is if you allow yourself the space to stop consuming, and actually just give yourself the space to think about what you already know what you believe what you want to share, then you will have that content, like you were saying, without all of the noise of everybody else's ideas, thoughts and how they think that you should be. And so it's just kind of giving, like saying, all right, I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna stop consuming. And I'm going to allow myself a week, two weeks, three weeks a month, where I'm just going to share my thoughts with my followers on a regular basis. And I think sometimes we think it has to be big. Like it has to be an hour it has to be, it can just be little snippets of what you think you can help your clients with, and just taking those small steps without all of the noise around you. And I think that that and really build a lot of self trust and confidence. And obviously courage as well to do that, when you give yourself the space. And I think so often, we just don't give ourselves the space to hear our own thoughts.

Raise. Yes, I 100% agree with that. And I think that when we do give ourselves that time and space as well, amazing things happen. Absolutely amazing things happen. And when the collective thinks about their time, their energy and the resources that they have available to them, as well as giving themselves that time and space, then that is just really going to lean into their strengths and produce amazing content for their ideal client as well.

Yeah, so I go, I love that collectors, you've got this, we believe in you, we could do it. Go girl. Awesome. What's the next one?

Okay, so the next one is those people who like to go with the flow. So this is the free spirit, these people, and creating content is more about the feeling, how it feels for them, and the divine downloads that they get from the universe, rather than the process of creating the content. So they would probably be much happier outside in nature than tied to a desk and really not that much stresses them out, because they really take each day as it comes. And then not worried about the future and how it will happen. And the strategic side of things, they're more in tune with themselves. And kind of like they go with the flow attitude really can serve them well, as that content that they create is really deep and really meaningful and really resonates with your ideal client. The problem is, there's just not usually a lot of it. So usually, if they're waiting for that, you know, inspiration to be able to create the content, then, you know, we haven't been inspired 100% of the time. So obviously, they're not going to be inspired that often. So it really does mean that it's a real hit and miss when it comes to that their content creation. They're really, really great at connecting with people. But if we're thinking about that client journey, and using our content to take our client on that journey, from, you know, not knowing anything about us all the way through to becoming a raving fan, then just being stuck in that connection phase, the beginning phase of our of our client journey is not going to help them convert. So they tend to be the people who build relationships really well, but not necessarily make the sales that they could actually make with their content, because they're not using it strategically or proactively to move their ideal client through that client journey. So they really believe that flow and structure are mutually exclusive. And I, which is not, can I just put that out there, they're not not mutually exclusive. Having a structure or a plan in place is the most freeing thing that you can possibly do. Because it means that these people who love to create in the moment when they're inspired, can create, in that moment back create content, that turns out to be far more powerful, because they know where they're trying to hit with their content, and they know what they're trying to achieve with their content. So I really encourage those people who see themselves as free spirits, or as an interesting side note says, Of all the people who've done my quiz, 40% of people think that they are free spirits. And I find that really interesting. I find that really interesting because it's is it a description of how they create content? Or is it kind of a little bit of an excuse, because they're not consistent? Food for thought, food for thought people? Yeah. So I really encourage the free spirits to tap into your flow, when it happens. Tap into that inspiration, but be prepared with a plan. So you know, you can really make the most of that inspiration and feeling in a flurry and not just create maybe one social media post but create a couple of pieces of core content, create more things when you are in that state. Another thing that I'd really love to recommend to people who consider themselves free spirits. Whether that's true or whether it's an excuse is how do you put yourself into that position of inspiration. Can you change something in your environment? Can you do something that it causes you to be inspired? Not just sit there and wait for it to happen? But you know, perhaps it's you know, after you've been for a walk out in the sunshine? Perhaps it's you know, playing your favorite song or putting on your amazing candle or whatever it is. Is there a way to actually put yourself into a flow state so that you can create more content and be more consistent for your ideal client as well.

Yeah, I love that, you know, I'm all about that. I just like I'm like, it's up to us to create the state that we want to be in as well, a lot of the time. Now, now, I want to dive a little bit deeper into this, because I know that your ideal client, you talk about heart centered entrepreneurs, they are definitely more free spirits. And this is something that they struggle quite a lot with. So these are very much a lot of the time not only, but a lot of the time, the type of clients that you want to work with, and that you attract as well. And so I think that, you know, they just do they just find it a bit exhausting. Do they just like, it's like, they feel like they should, but they don't want to, like, what, what are they thinking when it comes to them creating that content, because they want the outcome, don't they? So they want the outcome that consistent content brings, but because they're kind of like, and I've had clients that isn't positive, like I don't like structure, I don't like too much planning. Like, I feel like it really, you know, detracts or takes away from my ability to be spontaneous, or my ability to be creative, is what I've heard people say as well. And so what would

you say to that? Yeah, so it's definitely a resistance to the structure and the planning side of things. But I just, I just would reiterate the fact that so many of my clients and members who are who I would consider free spirits, and who would consider themselves as free spirits have this amazing light bulb moment, they have this amazing light bulb moment when they are able to see that 60 minutes, 60 minutes, a quarter, they can get all of their ideas into a 90 day plan, 90 day content plan, super high level, super high level, not a lot of detail, not a lot of structure. But just doing that planning process. And putting the time aside and giving yourself the space to do it. Just reap so many rewards down the track so many rewards. It's like at the moment, Sue's I'm a huge meal planner, being a precision planner, I love a good meal plan. At the moment, I haven't done it, there are so many things happening in my personal life at the moment that have prevented me from giving myself the time and space that I usually give myself to sit down and plan out my meals. As a result of this, I am all over the shop, I am stressed when it comes to like 4pm, what am I going to cook oh my goodness, I don't have the ingredients have to go the shop. So I'm finding that I'm going to the shops, you know, every single day and wasting so much time when I could have saved time. And that is the beauty of planning, isn't it? And when the Free Free Spirits, think about that. They don't necessarily think about what the future is they they're more in the moment. So that's why I just really encourage them to sit and make that time and space to at least do a 90 day content plan and it makes a world of difference.

I think it's just finding that happy medium isn't it's not about being like one or the other. It's kind of like if you're if you're a free spirit, it's asking yourself, what could make your life easier? It's kind of like, do you really want to go to the shops every day? Or do you want to sit for five or 10 minutes, plan your meals, and then you know what you're going to be buying. And it's kind of the same like you said, it's like sit down in an hour a month, plan out your 90 days, which I know you go through with your clients, and then and then you're sorted. And then you kind of you've got it ready to go. And you're not feeling stressed because you don't know what you're going to post and when you're going to post it. But you've got that high level overview. So I think it's it's not about all or nothing. It's kind of finding that medium, that happy medium that works for you.

Yeah, definitely. And the free spirits can really benefit from that. Because like I said before, when they get in that flow state, they know that the content that they're going to create is going to have a purpose, they are not going to get stuck in this connect phase that they are going to be able to provide content for their ideal client to move them through that client journey, so that they can eventually convert them. And that is the beauty of planning.

Yeah, I love planning, you know that. I know. I'm a planner. And then what's our fourth archetype?

Okay, our fourth one is the quiet one in the corner. So they're the observer. So the observer is usually an awesome entrepreneur. They are so good at what they do. Their service is life changing the transformations that they provide are out of this world, but the problem is no one necessarily knows about it, because they're quietly sitting in the corner. not watching everyone else. So they usually get clients through word of mouth, rather than any planning or any thought around their content marketing at all. But that's okay. You know, their clients experience amazing results, they have the sales, their clients absolutely love them, but they just are never going to necessarily be that go to person that thought leader, the person that someone thinks about when they think about, you know, whatever it is, they're not going to be that person. So you know, they're happy there, things are quietly ticking along. And things are going a little bit, you know, going quite well. But when they think about content, things like a Facebook Live, or posting a selfie of themselves just absolutely makes them feel really queasy, they want to actually puke because that's just like way out of their comfort zone. They're such a perfectionist at heart, as well. And that really stops them from testing their content. And we all know that it's about testing, and tweaking and trying new things, but they'd much rather be safe and really have things are perfect before they put them out in the world. The problem with that is we all know that perfectionism leads to procrastination, and procrastination just means that you hide and you don't do the things that you need to do. And it's really leaves the audience wondering where they are, and how you can actually help them because they're not quite sure.

Yeah, that's a hard one, isn't it as well, because I think that, you know, I think I've heard a lot of people talk about if, you know, they're an introvert, or if they're shy, things like that. And that, you know, I do always say that the people I love the most, like Brene, brown and Amy Porterfield like they're all self proclaimed introverts, who I think, you know, it's almost like a little bit, the observer in the free spirit, where they are amazing at what they do, but then they just find times when they can, when they are inspired, and when they you know, are going to be on and then they try and do as much as they can then and then the rest of the time. They're just like, in the back, doing their own thing not engaging, and all the rest of it. So I think that's a really interesting one as well. And I think my question around this smell is how did people evolve? I guess, within that archetype, too. So if somebody is an observer, do they do? Do they want to try and get to being a collector? Or well, a free spirit or a precision planner? Like, is there an evolution here where we can take a little bit of each one? What's What's the perfect mix? is my question. Now, what's the perfect mix,

there is no perfect mix you you are who you are, right and, and whilst these archetypes are kind of like a guise to highlight your strengths and highlight your weaknesses, and just give you opportunities to learn and grow and become a different person, or, you know, a different version of yourself. But I really think that when you look at the strengths, and you lean into your strengths, when it comes to content creation and strategy, that is where the true gold lies, truly it is. So it's not about changing an observer, it's about understanding, you know, what are the small things that I can do to really magnify my strengths, but then, you know, help me improve or help me change a little bit in terms of my weaknesses, as well. So you know, for the observer, it's just those little steps, it's starting to do things being a little bit more courageous, increasing their confidence. And it's little things like, you know, participating in Facebook groups, or, you know, just doing that selfie once and not wanting to puke. So, it's those little steps that you can help yourself to be the very best, but on the flip side, you know, because they're the observer, they can really use other people's, who they follow the people that they really love the people that they resonate with, they can use their content for inspiration, or they can use their strategies and tactics as inspiration for their own business, and then implement it themselves. So get it's not really we're not really aiming for perfection here. We're just aiming to really lean into our strengths.

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. So which one was I?

Oh, the precision planner for sure. So

I feel like I'm a bit of a precision planner and a free spirit, because I am quite spontaneous when it comes to the content that I create, like, I know what I want to create. And I've kind of got that structured and then I've got some a lot of planned content, but then my reels and my lives and that it's just really if I'm feeling it on the day, most mornings, I will do a post. So it'll either be a real or a post that I've created that sitting in my drafts, just depends on what my energy is on the day. But yeah, that that's worked really well for me at the moment. But I do definitely want to think about planning and obviously scheduling over the holidays, not too much, but just a bit as well, which just makes me feel like, I've got stuff happening, but it's not taking really any effort or brainpower when I'm on holidays as well. What are you doing for your content over the holiday period, now,

I'm scheduling it, of course, being a precision planner, but but being a precision planner, I am very conscious that I'm gonna allow myself that little bit of wiggle room to share the things that I am doing, like I plan on doing a little bit of more planning over the holidays. And so, you know, I will share that I will share that process, I will share how I'm getting into that state of planning. So yeah, it is about leading into what I love to do. And that scheduling, but also embracing that wiggle room.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So good. I love it. And so one thing that we do want to talk about as well, is you talk about the Content Creation Blueprint. And so how do we use our archetype or understand our archetype in relation to the Content Creation Blueprint?

Okay, so understanding your archetypes is all about just knowing who you are as a person. So how does that actually help the content creation, I'm not going to sit here and tell everyone that they have to batch create, batch create their content, or they have to do things a certain way, because that's just going to feel wrong to some people, like the Free Spirits are gonna go, well, Mel, no, no, no, no, no batching for me, and I say, great, you don't need to do that, you just really need to understand that you are these beautiful, unique individual who comes to the world and comes to content creation in a certain way. And so therefore, providing yourself with the best support you possibly can. And surrounding yourself with a framework that works uniquely for you, is the key. And whilst there are four different things that you need to think about how you actually come to these, or how you implement it, is really up to you. And, and this is, you know, how my approach to business in general is listening to those people who I really resonate with in terms of their values and their beliefs. And knowing that what they put out into the world is going to really, you know, apply to me, because I resonate with them. So it's just picking those things that I think, Oh, yes, I really resonate with that and implementing it. And so that's why I really encourage people to do the same thing with with their content once they know their archetype. And they can understand that they need to support themselves in a very unique way, then you can implement it however you feel most comfortable with. So there's kind of four different parts to the blueprint. And that's being prepared, it's having that plan in place, is producing your content and then having a process around it. So how you implement those four things will really depend on your archetype, how you like to work, what's going on in your life at the moment as well. And then you can really start to support yourself in a way that feels right for you.

Awesome. And so give me an example. Like for you, how do you take yourself through those four stages?

Great, yes. So as a precision planner, and loving to be, you know, organized, it's really, for me, it's about giving myself the time and space, first of all, to brainstorm so that that's part of the Prepare phase phase. And I really encourage everyone to do this, as well as getting all of the ideas out of your head without judgment. So actually do this once a year. I just done it ready for 2023. And that is really understanding what are all my all some people call them pillars or foundations. When it comes to content. I just like to think of them as themes go as broad as possible, rather than narrowing myself down into certain pillars. I really think of all the themes, how do I deliver my service? Who do I deliver it to? Why What are the outcomes? What are the transformations? What are the things going on in my business that I can share with other people? So these are all the things that I could possibly talk about. And then it's starting to take that and think strategically and powerfully about your content by putting it into the next phase, which is the planning phase. So that's really about coming up with what I do a whole year but you know, that's just nerdy precision planner me 90 days.

Well, how's that? Yeah, let's go with 90 days. Is 90 days. So some people it could be 30 days. But yes,

yes, absolutely, absolutely. Because I would much rather someone go 30 days is more achievable for me. So therefore I will do it. Rather than going, what the heck Mel does a whole year, I can't possibly do that I'm not doing it. So yes, do whatever feels right for you. But it's around doing that higher planning. So that the next step, which is the produce phase, that actually creating your content, the blog, the podcast, or the video becomes much easier, you have all of the ideas already. So for me, because I like to batch create, it means every month, the beginning of every month, I will sit down and do all of my core content. So that's all of my blogs, and all of my podcasts that I do, I will sit down and do them at the beginning of each month. And because I do it in a way that is structured, it means that I can be more consistent, and it's far more easier for me to actually produce it. And then because I have the last step, a process around it, I love a good process. I am so process driven. And that comes from my corporate background, right, I was in a banking, banking industry. So they're all about the procedures and the the processes, I just love it. So having a definitive process around all of my content means that I can take my core content, and reimagine it into lots of different pieces of content into all of my social media into all of my email marketing. And it also means that when I outsource more of my content creation, so I have a beautiful team that helps me at the moment, that outsourcing process just works like a dream, because I know exactly what I need to do. They know exactly what they need to do, and it gets done. So that's how it gets out into the world. So that's kind of like the process that I go through with that blueprint. But obviously, you know, the Free Spirits wouldn't want to batch their content, the Free Spirits wouldn't necessarily really love the process side of things. But you know, even perhaps the free spirit might like to record audio record their processes, it doesn't have to be written in a in a document, perhaps it's just an audio or perhaps it's a video. So it's just really finding those ways that you feel most comfortable, that's the most easy for you, and then implementing it. But I really do believe that no matter what your archetype, those four things are prepare plan producing process are absolutely the key elements of a framework to support you to be the best content creator, you can.

I love it, I think it's so good. And I think that, you know, as you were talking about for the year, I'm sitting here, as we're recording this looking at my annual calendar, which I love, I love it more than I can tell you, which is a bit sad. But anyway, that's okay. And for me, I kind of feel like I do the high level, but leave room for the spontaneous as well, where I'll take a look at well, you know, if I've got retreats, or launches or, you know, coaching weeks, or whatever it is planned out in my annual calendar, then I can look at the content that I'm sharing around that, that would help me to promote it in a way that I want. So for example, I always have done like a four to six week runway during launch periods on the podcast, and then in my socials as well. But that's not happening all year round. So I kind of might have, you know, say five months where I know exactly what content I'm going to be sharing or six months, I know exactly what content I'm going to be sharing at different times of the year because of my sales and marketing schedule. But then the rest of the year, I can just kind of free spirited, you know, talk about whatever I'm loving at the time, or I'm inspired to share at the time. So I think that it's just, you know, if you do want to grow your business, if you do want to give yourself room, then I think that finding that that kind of you know, rhythm that works for you, is so important. And sometimes I'm just gonna say it. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up and do some stuff that you don't want to do at times that you don't want to do it. But if it means freedom for the longer term, because you're like, you know, something, I don't like doing my finances, but I'm gonna sit every Thursday and I'm gonna do it and I don't like doing my admin but I'm gonna sit and do it. And maybe I don't love planning my content, but you know, something, I know the benefit of doing it, like, let me do this. Let me do it in a way that that works for me. And then at least it's gonna give me all of this time freedom later. And I think that the more that you can do it, the more you'll figure out what you enjoy doing and how you enjoy doing it. And then hopefully the love for it or the tolerance for it grows so that you can create content that matters, because at the end of the day 100%, we are in a content driven business world, where people will find you through your SEO on your website, and your blogs, and podcasts are still the rage. And I'm sure we'll be for a long time, and social media. And so if we want to use those channels, we've got to work out how to make content work for us, and how we use it in a way that benefits our business that connects with our clients. And that does what we want it to do as well. So, you know, always a little bit of tough love there, do what works for you find what works for you, but also, like get out of your own way and like make it happen so that you can grow the business that you want.

Yeah, 100% Suze, I think you've definitely hit the nail on the head that we are all in the business of content creation. 100% We are. And whether we love it or not content is the way that we take our ideal client from not knowing anything about us all the way through to becoming that raving fan, it is the mechanism. So as soon as we acknowledge and accept that, and then find the way that best works for us, then that is when we're going to become far more successful in our business.

Yeah. Mel, and I just given you some tough love this morning, whenever you're listening to us. But yeah, I mean, even for me, I'm starting to look at, you know, I have spent quite a lot on ads in the past and what worked in 2020. And 2021, has not really worked as well in 2022, because the market is always changing. So now it's really looking at okay, if the podcast for me is my is my master content, then where else what else can I do and get get out of it? And so now we're like, Okay, well, let's use all of our videos on YouTube, as well as obviously have the podcast to then create the content and maybe hire somebody, instead of spending more on ads, let's actually spend that money on hiring somebody who can do all of the video editing to go across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc. From the YouTube as well. So I'm really also just rethinking my content strategy, whilst not changing what my master content is. It's more about how do I get more out of it? And then how am I making commercial decisions around my budgeting and my operating expenses and my team to get more out of it as well. So I think it's not always about doing more. It's about doing things smarter and actually thinking, what do I need to do right now? What do I think could work really well, let's test it, like we were talking about, and see whether that's more like a better place for us to spend more of our time and money, resources effort. But it doesn't require more from me. It just requires me being a bit more strategic with who I have helping me.

Yes. And that really leans into the process side of that content creation blueprint. It's about the reimagination. How can I make my core content go further? Rather than having to be on this constant content hamster wheel of creation, constantly creating new stuff? What can I do? How can I reimagine it in ways that meets my ideal client where they need to be right now and where I need to be right now? And what time energy and resources I have available to me as well. But the minute we have that process bit, that reimagination piece, and we could do a whole other episode on reimagination and repurposing I

think this next time now next time, next time, but yeah,

just really understanding that piece can help you create more content in less time because you're doing less?

Yeah, absolutely. Even this morning, I did a live and I recorded like I did the voice recording for the podcast as well. Because I'm just like, I'm not like I'm really conscious that social can be a bit of a vortex. Like you create all of this great content, and it just gets sucked into the vortex. And then just a lot of people don't utilize it. And I'm just like, I just don't want to do that. I just want to I want to get more out of everything that I'm doing. And make sure that I'm using utilizing as much as I can. So I think just ask yourself the question, as well. How can I get more out of what I'm doing when I am spending time creating quality content? And then what else can we do with this? And I think that's such a that's such a great time saving and strategic thought and question to ask.

Perfect, awesome.

Amazing Mel. I have loved this conversation. I'm all for the archetypes I've heard I think they're really interesting. And I do love your content. Put The Asian blueprint as well, I think, you know, I'm all for the models and the blueprints and the archetypes. It's just the best. I just wait. I think it makes it really easy for people to understand when we can put structure around things as well. So for my audience who want to find out more they want to do the quiz, they want to find out about your membership, which is called the content effect. Amazing, then obviously, all the links will be in the show notes. So make sure you head over there. But where's the best place to connect with you on socials?

I'd love to hang out on Instagram. It's at Melde at business is my handle. So come and say hi. I would love to know that you listened to this episode and what you got out of it as well.

Yeah, so I got let Mellon I know which content archetype you are, if you're game enough to share it with with us, but so so good. all of Mel's links will be in the show notes. So make sure you head over there. Go connect with her. Find out about all the things that she does as well. But Mel, thank you so much for being on the podcast today of love this chat.

Thank you so much for having me Suze. It's just been an absolute pleasure being here.

So good. I love that chat. But listen, if you've got any questions, send me a DM at CS Chadwick on Instagram, make sure that you come over and follow me there. Otherwise, we'll see you next week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai