Why no one sees your IG content
We’ve all been there. We’re inspired to get back on the content train so we jump on Instagram and fire out 11 reels, 5 carousels and 83 stories over 7 days and guess what happens?
Yeah pretty much nothing.
I’m seeing so many Threads right now where creatives are complaining and frustrated about their posts not reaching their audience. So here’s some thoughts about how we can create content that gets seen.
The first thing we need to do is actually choose our goal. Ask yourself, WHY are you creating content?
If it’s just for likes and giggles then by all means jump onto whatever silly trend is making its way round on TikTok right now. But more likely, you have a specific business goal.
It probably looks something like this:
- Find more clients
- Sell your services/products
- Grow your influence
- Create positive connections
Once we have our goal in mind, we can now be strategic about how we approach.
Don’t see content as just one piece at a time. Because one piece of content won’t do much on its own. It’s about building an overall strategy that moves you towards your goal.
This helps us not get discouraged with the results from just one post and also have some metrics for understanding what success actually looks like.
Before I keep going, you might want to grab a freebie I created recently that outlines my entire sales process that I share with paying clients. I talk about content about also plenty of other important things in growing your business. Head to digitalrabbi.co/sales to get it now.
Who are you trying to reach?
This is the age old question and conversation that we all seem to struggle with so much. People were telling me to “niche” for ages and I resisted until I heard it explained in this way.
We need to move from being order takers to trusted experts. So let’s say you do graphic design and you’re producing some promo for a client. What so often happens is that the client starts to ask for certain changes and because we’re nice and they’re the client, we just start to do what they tell us to do.
And of course the client isn’t a designer. That’s why they hired you. And so it looks rubbish and the client isn’t happy. And we’re frustrated because we think it looks rubbish too.
That’s the problem with being an order taker. A trusted expert is able to lead the whole process and the client which creates better results and a much better work experience. It actually starts really early in the sales process with how we position ourselves.
We need to position ourselves as an expert.
How can we do that? We need to stop talking about lots of things.
Now I’m someone who has a lot of different skills. I’ve been fortunate to grow a wide range of abilities over the years.
I do copy.
I design.
I make websites.
I teach.
I speak.
I make music.
The list goes on. The problem isn’t that I can do all of those things. The problem is that if I mention all of those things, it’s human nature to assume that I must be blagging a bit.
Whereas when you meet someone else and the only thing they do is create websites, you immediately move towards expert status.
Here are some other ways we can move towards being perceived as an expert, not an order taker.
We can provide a specific service for a specific person.
So now we don’t just do websites. We make websites for crunchy mums (apparently that’s a thing now lol – it’s just mums who are super into organic/natural/homeschooling etc).
Or websites for personal trainers.
If I were in your target audience, then you immediately have so much more credibility than just a generic web designer or a generic creative.
So let’s pull it back to creating content on Instagram.
If we can create content as specific as above, then we’ll begin to attract our ideal audience.
Think about the thousands of reels we watch and swipe because they’re boring.
It’s tough to cut through and the easiest way to do it is to be hyper relevant.
Instagram is now incorporating SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which actually means that specificity is even more powerful.
So press pause on your content game and ask these important questions:
- Who is the one person you are trying to reach? Write it down, get specific and target every piece of content towards them.
- What is the one thing you want to be known for?
- What sort of things should you post to become known for that one thing?
- What are some ways you can demonstrate your authority in those areas?
- How do people who are close to you see you? What qualities would they highlight that others online might not be aware of?
I hope you’ve found this helpful. This is by far the most significant change you can make with your content so don’t skip it.
Don’t forget to download the free sales guide which has my entire sales process I teach to paying clients in a neat little 14-page PDF. Head to digitalrabbi.co/sales to download for free.
16 hour days are for idiots
The story of most entrepreneurs starts with a frustration of the 9-5. Or in London (where I live) the 8-6. Add in a commute and you have a few quick moments to grab some questionable food, scroll past a few memes and get ready for the grind to repeat the next day.
Until one day you wake up and wonder to yourself. What the heck am I doing spending all this time working for someone else when I could slave away from day to night on my own projects.
Well no, perhaps that’s not the thought that crosses our mind.
We imagine this carefree life where we lie in, take an extended lunch and finish early whilst our business accumulates wildly passive income. All whilst you swan around in Bali.
Now neither of these two extremes are healthy.
We all know that passive income isn’t passive. Despite what the content creator influencer types are telling us – they’re spending tons of time very actively creating passive income.
And whilst sunning ourselves endlessly with the occasional mocktail sounds delightful, in actual fact it’s very boring.
Why do you think the super rich make such terrible life decisions? They’re bored of course.
An escape to paradise can be fun for a few weeks. But after a while you’ll crave the normality of home-cooked meals, church community (yes even the weird sort of friends you accumulate along the way) and the ordinary daily rhythms.
Whilst so many are trapped in the endless demands of the corporate life, just as many make the jump to start their own business only to find that their new boss is even worse.
Yes that’s you of course. Instead of enjoying and embracing the flexibility, left to our own devices we tend to overwork and never stop really.
Which leads me to my conclusion.
16 hour days are really for idiots.
(Bless you if you’re working 16 hour days – I’m not really calling you an idiot. But I am making a point that it’s not super clever. And not being super clever can sometimes be described as being slightly idiotic. Ok I take it back, I just might be calling you an eejit).
Who wants to work all day? Life is so much more than work. And by the way, I absolutely LOVE my work.
My favourite moments of this year have been:
- Playing chess with my 9 year old daughter
- Going on a mini skiing trip with my wife and friends
- Playing ridiculous games (remember spoons?) until late at my friend’s house
Can you see the thread?
All of the best moments in life involve other PEOPLE.
Money can enable us to create great experiences and level up our quality of life.
But true freedom is the ability to be present with the people we care about.
This is where the paths of the corporate robot and the adventurous entrepreneur often converge. Neither of them know how to switch off.
And both are trapped by work instead of released by it.
But what if you could build a business that makes legit money AND figure out how to unlearn your toxic work/life behaviours.
Wouldn’t that be worth fighting for? What about investing in?
That’s exactly the life I’m living right now. I work hard. But I enjoy this beautiful thing called freedom.
Would you like to live that sort of life? That’s exactly what my coaching services are about. Find out if you’d be a good fit for coaching by clicking here.
Your business life is your personal life
Hot take coming up. Can we really call someone successful if their personal life is in shambles?
This post is genuinely not about judging anyone. Life is complex and we can experience all sorts of hardship and pain when we least expect it.
So let’s start with me.
I haven’t burned out personally but I’ve been on the trajectory towards it. I’ve made many mistakes where I’ve let others down and myself. There are seasons of life where I look back and regret or even cringe.
We’re all human and imperfect. But I see a worrying trend online and in today’s culture that I do want to talk about.
I’ve noticed that many of the people I admire and follow online for their business wisdom or creative insights often reveal that the rest of their life isn’t doing so great.
If it’s not said openly, it’s kind of obvious when you read behind the lines.
Of course worst case scenario, it’s revealed in a big way through some sort of public failure.
I still think we can learn from people who are imperfect. And I always look for kernels of truth from those who are further ahead than me in an area.
But I wonder if it’s time we stop glamorising and idolising people who have only succeeded in ONE particular aspect of life?
- Business is one aspect of life
- Relationships are another aspect of life
- Spirituality is another
- Fitness and nutrition
- Parenting, marriage etc
We make a fatal area when we assume that one area of success represents all areas of a person’s life.
We consult <insert celebrity here> for their input on <insert topic of the day> even if it’s nowhere near their expertise.
- Musicians know music
- Artists know art
- Business people know business
Here’s the problem for me.
I don’t want to succeed in business but fail in my marriage.
I don’t want a ton of influence on Instagram but lose connection with my kids.
I don’t want to get flown out to speak at conferences whilst my own soul is depleted.
I don’t want success in one area. I want it in all areas. I want health. I want balance.
I want to have influence and wield power but I also want to protect myself from the darkness of it all.
I definitely don’t want to sacrifice one area on the altar for success in another.
Not everyone who is succeeding is doing it in a healthy way.
I’m at different places across the different areas of life that I’m growing in. For example, I’m well versed in communication. And I’m relatively new to fitness.
The important thing is that we’re aware of our need to succeed as a complete human being.
We may fail because of course we are imperfect. (And if you’ve already failed then there is grace for you too).
But let’s get honest about what we want and what we should value.
It’s holistic health and success.
We don’t want to partially win. We want to truly win.
Here are some practical ways we can succeed across all areas, not just some.
1. Build slowly
Ah yes, the S word. Why would we want to get things slowly when we can get them quickly? Because in most (not all) scenarios, success that comes quickly often ruins us.
- The lottery winner doesn’t have the fiscal capacity to manage his newfound wealth.
- The young superstar musician hasn’t yet developed the character to resist being treated like a god.
Pride comes quickly to us when we succeed too quickly. Wealth can ruin us. Having wealth is good as long as your relationship with it is healthy.
Be mindful of your capacity to handle things and cautiously build the future. Yes, there are moments for accelerated growth and you’ll know when to maximise them. But don’t covet overnight success. It’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Just ask famous people who can’t go out for a coffee without being mobbed.
2. Work on your inner life more than your external life
The externals are where the fun is. Money. Influence. Impact etc.
But the internals are what sustains the fun.
- There’s no point having more high paying clients if you can’t respond to emails on time.
- There’s no point having money if you have persistent back pain (cos you never move from your desk).
- There’s no point being known if you can’t sleep at night because of the incessant stress.
Build the back end of your life and the front end will flourish.
Build your character and your gifting will thrive.
Build the systems inside your business and you’ll make more money.
Whenever we try to do more than who we are, we compromise in an area. It may be slow or gradual but it is inevitable.
3. Face your weaknesses
The reason we fail in an area is because we don’t focus on it. And we don’t focus on it because it’s not our sweet spot.
When I started my first business teaching music, I noticed that students would frequently skip over the most difficult part of the piece.
That meant that they practised the easiest bits over and over. And rarely touched the difficulty ones
And of course they got better at the former and never improved at the latter.
But when you hear someone play a song, which bit do you notice more? The bit that sounds good or that awkward mistake?
If we can make the decision to face our weakness, we will always find ourselves growing. And the good news is that these basic growth areas will actually have a disproportionate impact on everything you do..
The impact of moving daily if you never exercise is huge. Much greater than the regular fitness guy who starts wants to go to the next level. Newbie gains are a thing and it translates into all areas of life.
So what are you genuinely weak in? Face it head on. Get help by delegating to others in your business. Or paying someone to help you in your personal life. Get mentored. Get stronger.
That’s all I’ve got for you. Thanks for reading this article. I want to encourage you to be an outlier to the rest of the world. Let your story be different. Dare to succeed in all areas.
Why you keep working for free (and how to stop)
It’s 2024 and it’s time for you to stop doing free work.
Now of course not all free work is bad. But let’s be honest about why most of us actually do it.
We do free work because we don’t feel like we deserve to get paid for it. Perhaps we’re trying to buy good favour and future opportunities.
Or perhaps we’re simply not sure how to ask for money.
At the root of it all is a mindset about how we see the value of what we do.
Let’s talk about this limiting mindset
Nearly always, we do free work because we actually enjoy doing it and we want to help people with our skills.
For example:
- We take photos because we love capturing moments.
- We design a brand because we enjoy the process of visually representing an idea.
- We produce a song for a friend because we love music
Break the lie
But here’s what’s going on beneath the surface. We are often actively believing the lie that if something is easy or enjoyable for us to do, then it is not really true work.
Therefore we shouldn’t get paid.
Can you see how this is so deceptive?
Work is supposed to be delightful
This stems from all sorts of programming in our childhood and even in our churches.
We’re told that following Jesus is about hardship and to get anywhere in life you have to work hard.
We associate work with pain instead of with delight. Thus we give away our best work instead of charging for it.
There is of course some degree of truth in these ideas. There is always an element of every type of work that is less interesting or requires us to persevere.
But taken to an extreme, we can falsely believe that if we are good at doing something then we shouldn’t be charging for it.
No it’s actually the opposite.
The will of God makes you feel alive
God made you with gifts and talents. In fact who you are is a perfect match for what you’re called to do. It would be strange (and definitely cruel) for God to design you any other way.
The reason you are good at it is because you are gifted for it.
And that’s exactly why you should charge for it.
When you work for free, eventually you run out of availability or resentment will build.
Neither of those scenarios is good for the people you seek to serve.
Here are some action steps for you:
1. For chronic overcommitters
Write down a list of your current responsibilities including unpaid work. Now get honest with yourself and ask which are actually outside of your capacity to do.
2. For those afraid of conflict
There will be some areas that you can immediately let go of. Pick up the phone and apologise for having miscommunicated your availability. Be honest. People understand.
3. When you’re in too deep
You may have to finish a project if you’ve dug yourself a hole. But don’t make the same mistake again.
4. If you’d like to get paid
Simply explain that you don’t have the capacity to continue this work for free. Remember when you say yes to one thing, you also say no to something else. If the work you do is truly valued by the client/friend then they’ll find a way to pay.
Some final thoughts
You can still choose to do free work just to help someone or be a blessing (I do this). But just make sure you’re not doing it from a place of fear or scarcity.
Your work is valuable so place value on it. It will save you much disappointment and pain in the future.