Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building
Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael
Foreman, and today we're diving into something
every entrepreneur, coach, and consultant needs
to hear, how to take control of your message,
your platform, and your profits. My guest today
is on a mission to help businesses, to help business
owners escape the content hamster wheel. the
grind of posting nonstop, but feeling like nobody's
really listening. Here's the creator of the Own
Your Media framework, a system that shows you
how to magnetically attract your ideal clients
and build media assets you actually own, not
rent from an algorithm. If you've ever felt invisible
online or wondered why your message isn't sticking,
you're about to find out how to change that for
good. So let's jump in. I'd like to introduce
today Prosper. I'm not going to try his last
name because I'm going to butcher it. All right.
But I would like to welcome Prosper to my podcast
and just. Listen, we're old buddies. I was on
his podcast. We've had a very good relationship
and I can't wait to get this podcast started.
So Prosper, welcome. Give us a little bit about
your background and what brought you here today.
Fantastic. Now, Michael, thank you so much. And
just to take you off the hook a little bit, even
my little girls don't know how to say their last
name. They're supposed to live with it for the
rest of their lives. So it's one of those things.
But I really appreciate being on your show. And
I really appreciate you having been on my podcast
as well. And as you have said, that we work with
small to medium businesses to help them pretty
much own their media. And what we mean by that
is when you are creating like you're creating
right now, if you. Don't take full ownership
of this content. If you put it on any other platform,
did you know that platform now owns that piece
of content and they can do what they may with
it? Now, I came about this, Michael, I don't
know if in 2020. So while everybody else was
busy coughing into their elbows and socially
distancing, I... actually lost control of my
facebook i won't go into the details of what
happened but up until now i still feel like that
was something to do with facebook itself because
i didn't get that 2fa notification that somebody
had hacked from the outside so we tried to retrieve
the account but to no avail so i completely lost
that account but to give you context as to what
i had put in there so Maybe say seven or so years
prior to that, I just arrived in Australia. Okay.
I knew no one. And all I had done in that particular
time was try to network and at least start something
of my own. And during that time, I used Facebook
as my hub. So I'd created groups. I was doing
Facebook lives. I had a very good following.
all right, in that particular time. So to just
have all of that taken away from you with no
recourse, no explanation, nothing, it just put
me on a very low mode. So I thought all I had
built had been lost. But then as time went on,
I started creating a podcast where I just thought,
you know what, maybe this could be a different
way of getting people to tune in. And while I
was doing that, I would create it like we're
doing right now, recording on Zoom and make sure
that I saved the files and then distributed it
to different other places. So with that in mind
now, it really dawned on me that, yes, you can
create just like anybody else. But if you protect
your assets, all right, and then choose what
platform to distribute to them, you might. be
banned from a social media platform because the
algorithm has changed or they just don't like
what you're talking about and that happens to
a lot of people you are not starting from scratch
all right so i then went on a journey and i proved
the concept for myself where i'll build the podcast
that you've been on and i think we've got over
2000 episodes where i'm speaking to coaches,
consultants. And you can imagine with that massive
body of work, if all of that just gets wiped
off any platform, that will devastate anyone.
So now I'm helping people like yourself and other
people that are out there creating because every
piece of content that you create becomes an asset
and you can reuse it again so that you don't
consistently have to be repeating yourself. And
if... You now have that confidence. It grows
your, first of all, competence. And then it also
grows your credibility in the marketplace because
you've got this massive body of work that you've
created. And this is not just in business. I
don't know if you've also seen or heard how Taylor
Swift has actually become the biggest pop star
is because she owns the rights to her content.
All right. So in the music world, if you're a
pop star, whatever it is, these layers to who
owns the lyrics, who owns the sound, you might
just be the worker who does the shows. All right.
Because of your character. And that's the same
around most of the things that we do. So when
you really step back and then look at what am
I creating and do I want this to last forever,
then it will be imperative for you to own your
media. And that's the journey I'm on, Michael,
to just help people realize that aspect of content
creation. That's fantastic. And I was actually
given that very advice when I first began. So
what I do is I videotape right now through Zoom.
I import it into a program called Descript. And
I edit it and I play with it and do it. But then
that's where it sits. And I put it on my website,
I put it on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, all that
stuff. But I have all the original stuff and
I decide where it goes. So I know exactly what
you're talking about. And hopefully... I can
thwart anybody that wants to take it over, but
I don't know. Okay, so let me dive into some
questions I have picked out for you. Most business
owners think more content equals more visibility.
You say that actually keeps them invisible. What's
the biggest misunderstanding entrepreneurs have
about visibility today? Oh, absolutely. And I
think that's the biggest misconception because
a lot of gurus out there tout or sell visibility
as in be everywhere, be on YouTube, be on Spotify,
be on Facebook, be on threads or whatever, blue
sky, be on truth, social X, even always Twitter
or whatever it is that literally is just spreading
yourself too thin. All right. So you need to
figure out as a business owner. Who are you?
Who needs to know about you? And where are they
positioned on the market, on the internet? That
way you can actually start building that one
particular spot where people can come and go
and they will still know they will find you somewhere.
Because the whole thing about the internet is
you're not the only person that's out there.
All right. If I would have thought I'm the only
person that has a podcast now, I'm in your world.
And I'm like, oh, wait a minute. This is a whole
different ecosystem in and of itself. And there
I was thinking I was the only one that was doing
this sort of thing. All right. So that that is
how the market is situated. People are. everywhere
they're busy trying to leave they're busy trying
to figure out their health welfare relationships
so they're listening to so many different people
and if you're scattered everywhere else then
you lose the strength of people knowing where
exactly to find you because they'll be like it's
that guy that talks about anyway i'll figure
it out but if people know Okay, if I go on YouTube
and I type in maybe two, three or four, five
different keywords, somehow, somewhere, the algorithm
will lead me to them because your customers don't
want to expend any energy or burn calories trying
to find your content. You have to make sure you
are the person that figures it out for them and
make it easy for your content to be consumed.
All right, so let's put it in nature. A flower.
It doesn't go about chasing bees so that it can
be pollinated. It just stays there and blooms.
And then the bees come and go up until the process
is done. So you be that flower that stays put,
keep being bright so that bees can see you from
a mile away. And then when they come, get the
honey, the nectar that you have created, which
is in this case, your content, your whatever
it is that you're helping them with and be valuable
to them. Because people come to the internet
to get information. And if you are not helping
them in any shape or form, you can be that flower
that weathers. So you want to make sure that
while you're staying put, you're obviously really
creating a moat around yourself so that people
will always be able to know where to find you.
Absolutely. And I think about myself, I'm a public
speaker and I go across the country and I talk
about networking and communication. I have one
or two mentors that said, look, Mike, pick a
lane. Just pick one of those items that I speak
about and just be known as networking and communication.
That's it. And I've since won one or two awards
for networking communication. I've been written
up in magazines. I've done it all. But it's because
I picked a lane. And what you're saying is so
crucial and so. correct that anybody else listening
to this, if you're that general, don't be general.
Just pick a lane and go with it and stay with
it and learn all about it so everybody can learn
from you and everybody will be happy. Okay, so
you teach people to own their media, not rent
it. Can you break that down and share how...
this mindset shift changes the way someone networks
or builds their business relationships that's
a brilliant question right there owning your
media is actually an acronym okay if you can
see what i'm talking about right so and then
i will start explaining what each and every one
of these aspects means so the m is your message
All right. What is your message and what do you
want the recipient to actually hear or understand?
OK. And once you've figured out that message,
you need to find a market that is going to be
hungry for that message. Right. So not everyone
is going to be your customer because, you know,
people are busy and people have different stages
of. their buying cycle to be able to come to
you. Sometimes somebody might be looking for
what you're selling right now, but they're not
ready, okay? They might not actually be ready
and they might not know they need the information
that you're giving. So this is the message and
the market. What are you saying and who are you
saying it to? And then the E is the engagement
or education. Once you've figured out what you're
saying and who you're saying this to, you need
to go out and engage them because they're not
just going to triple stumble and fall and show
up at your door, okay? So you now need to figure
out how are you going to be teaching them what
to want and how to buy from you, all right? And
you need to own that process. Some people leave
that to social media. Some people leave that
to... being on a podcast and don't necessarily
say anything. You need to know how to actually
educate people to want what you have. And then
once you've figured that part, you need to now
go into distribution. You need to own the method
of distribution. All right. So you, Michael.
Your distribution method at the moment is this
podcast. How are you reaching as many people
as possible without having to repeat yourself?
Because we're going to record this once and hopefully
somebody in 2058 will still find this podcast
if they've come across both of us and listen
to this and still find value in it. So you owning
that distribution mechanism is actually very
crucial. And once that's in play, The I stands
for your inventory, your ideas, and your intellectual
property. Do you actually have something that
people will use if they show up to your space?
Like your IP is maybe the books that you've written,
the courses that you've written. It's well and
truly good to have a message. Well and truly
good to... educate people on them but how do
they implement that in their life what is the
ways that they can utilize this so that it makes
sense to them and a now is pretty much automated
amplify it and make sure you're an authority
in the process because people are not just going
to listen to you just because you showed up all
right just because you've got a podcast people
are not going to listen to you they're going
to want to see some sort of a track record they're
going to want to see some sort of you sticking
with it. But for you to do that, there needs
to be some play in automation. I love the automation
that you've got getting me to the show. Okay.
Obviously maybe you are doing all of that behind
the scenes, but we're in so many different time
zones. You set it up in such a way that people
just receive the messaging and it works. And
then people show up, we create what we're creating.
And then the automation takes place after that.
All right. Because so many people would have
wanted to have a meeting before now so that we
arrange dates and then we have another meeting
so that we pre -arrange what we're going to talk
about. But your whole process is just, here's
a link, figure it out, and then we're here right
now. Throughout all of those five sort of processes,
we really help people harness all those particular
aspects so that they don't do random acts of
marketing thinking that is what needs to be done.
All right. So a lot of people come undone because
they haven't figured out their message. They
haven't even educated people on what to want.
They haven't even formulated a distribution mechanism.
Are you going to be writing to them video or
is it going to be YouTube? They don't even have
some sort of an IP. They just have the strength
or the muscle that actually does the thing. Yeah,
I'm a speaker. Okay, fine. Then what? All right.
And then they haven't figured out how to automate
that. So as you know, that is then what we help
people have an understanding of. And eventually
they have a business that's profitable and enjoyable,
which basically means they're no longer depending
on the algorithm to help them put out all of
this information out there that needs to be put
out. It sounds, first of all, it sounds like
a beautiful strategic plan. So that because people,
I'm sure they're thinking of all these different
aspects. And they said, I do this, but then this
person does this for me. And oh, this is over
here. And what you've done, you brought it all
in together. You've made sense out of it. That's
the biggest thing. But you did it strategically.
And if somebody were to follow what you are saying,
they have no choice but to be successful. So
what you're doing is so great. And everybody.
get that book because it has a ton of information,
a ton of information. Okay. In your experience,
how does controlling your message impact the
kind of people and opportunities you attract?
Oh, that's a very good question. So usually,
and I'll say this again, not everyone is your
customer. All right. When you show up, online.
There's usually people that want to follow you
so they can copy you. And because you present
a shortcut. All right. So if this video really
blows up, there's people that are going to watch
it just specifically to see how they can reverse
engineer it. All right. And those people are
never going to buy from you, no matter what.
That's just never going to happen because they're
not there for that. All right. And you might
actually be looking at the numbers and looking
at that inflated numbers thinking, oh, wow, okay,
there's a lot of people that are watching. But
are they the right kind of people with the right
kind of pain that are willing and able to then
buy from you? So you need to be very strategic
in the messaging of how you are positioning yourself.
Because when customers are coming to you, they
are. going through a journey all right in their
head is the problem that they are looking to
solve very crucial that they can't go a day without
having it fixed or is it a nice to have or is
it oh i didn't know i had that problem now let
me go and investigate so your goal and your job
is to ensure that you're educating your audience
in such a way that it's relevant to the stage
at which they are in the buying journey. So as
the person that is doing this service, you need
to map out what that journey is and you need
to be able to direct it in a way that you own
and you control. Because if you leave it up to
the algorithm is only going to be giving people
things that are sensational or things that are.
they think is important or things that will never
help you put your message together. The reason
why this is important is it takes about 13 to
about 18 touch points for somebody to actually
hear your message. And in that 18 to touch points,
it's not 18 posts that are strategically placed
together. No, it's maybe they watched you, read
you, listened to you, heard about you from somebody
else and maybe self -validated themselves to
say, you know what? I was or I've heard this
being said. Now I'm seeing it in real life. And
then they remember where that came from. But
like we said earlier on, you still need to be
that flower that people can come back to. All
right. So the algorithm will always just be putting
whatever is sensational at that particular time.
And you can't compete with that for you to have
your 18 touch points. So that's how that's why
you need to make sure that you've got that information
in such a way that people can follow through.
It's easy and they can pick up from where they
left off from. You say 13 to 18 touch points.
And when I go out and speak or do workshops.
I always say 12 to 17. It depends. Yeah, it is.
It's all the same. It's all the same. But all
of this breaks down to the fact because in networking,
in business networking, I feel that networking
is strategic for every business and it's a necessity
for every business. Everyone has to network,
however they choose to do it, but they have to
network in order to get their business out there.
And there comes into the fact of know you, like
you, trust you, then they'll do business with
you. And what you're talking about is the end
result, is that trust factor. Everybody knows
you. They know good, bad, or indifferent. And
you've narrowed the field down by saying everybody
like you. So everybody knows you, likes you.
Okay, that's good. But now do they trust you?
Because they're not going to do business with
you unless they trust you. And let me tell you,
you expanded on the point so greatly. I'm not
going to go into that because you did so much
of a better job than I would have. But breaking
it down just to a simple point, you've got to
have that trust factor. And then you can move
on to everything. But definitely own that media,
M -E -D -I -A. And I keep saying the word media,
but it means everything you said. Okay. This
is your podcast, not mine, so let me go on. Many
entrepreneurs are great at what they do, but
struggle to communicate it. That's where I come
in. What's the first step to crafting a message
that magnetically pulls in the right audience
instead of repelling them with noise? See, when
it comes to message, your message is... basically
who you are and what is it that you can do in
the world. That literally becomes the core part
of the message. And then the person now needs
to figure out while I have this person in front
of me, do they understand my problem? All right.
And do they understand it enough to be able to
solve it? Because if you can articulate somebody
else's problem better than they can, they automatically
assume you have the solution for that. And there
needs to be somewhat of a track record that this
is what I do and this is who I do it for. And
this is exactly how you can get it from me. All
right. So in order for you to really be able
to have a. message that aligns with the audience.
There's a question that I usually, oh, I think
this came from Frank Kern. He mentioned something
like, what do you want people to pick up the
phone and call you for? All right. So if you
understand what somebody is going to come and
pick up the phone and say, I'm going to call
Michael for, that becomes the shortcut to your
message. So a lot of people try to pile it on
and try to say everything all at the same time.
But you need that entry point at the point of
wanting to understand or wanting to maybe solve
a problem. Are you the first person that somebody
thinks of? And why would they do that? That now
becomes that sort of entry point into your message.
And then after that. they can then go in and
discover whether you're the right kind of person
with the right solutions for them. So your message
really has to be the essence of who you are,
what it is that you do, and how you're solving
problems for people. And if you put that on repeat,
it makes it easy for people to reach out to you.
You never put it quite like that, that somebody
picks up the phone and asks you, I never thought
of that short, direct, because that is the answer
for everything. And I'm going to bring you back
a little bit to a networking scheme, schematic,
whatever. If you're talking with somebody, listening
is half the battle. Listening, because you don't
want to say the next thing that you're there
to say. You're there, you're listening to them,
you're pausing, and you're repeating back. So
I understand that your problem is... blankety
blank. And you better have a response for that
or an answer because you are the professional
in your field. So you have to have that answer
and you have them talk about themselves. So while
they're telling you all of this, you say, before
you even say who you are and what you do, you
say something, Prosper, I like you. I like what
you do and how you're doing it. How can I make
you more successful? How can I be a good referral
source for you? And if I did my job correctly,
you'll turn around and say, Mike, I don't even
know what the hell you do yet. And you're trying
to make me more successful. That's right. It's
called having a servant's heart. And if you go
into networking meetings or events with a servant's
heart. you'll do wonders. You really will. Okay.
I'll get off my soapbox. All right. So when someone
is networking or appearing on podcasts, how can
they use those moments to strengthen their platform,
not just talk about what they do? I think obviously
with part of what you've already said, you know,
that seventh being. Seven's heart. Seven's heart,
right. I don't know who will say this again,
and my quotes are a little bit funny today, but
it's ask not what you want or ask what the world
needs and then you provide that for them because
everyone is out there looking for solutions to
problems that they have, okay? And they don't
necessarily care about you or what it is that
you're bringing to the table. They care about
what you. are going to be helping them with okay
and in in marketing they they call it w -i -f
w -i -i -f -m what's in it for me okay everyone
is always asking what's in it for me all right
so the one thing about you going to like you're
saying at a networking market networking event
you want to make sure that you have this intricate
understanding of first of all why are people
there And like you have said, how can I help
you succeed? How can I be that help for you?
Because if you help people get what they want,
you will in turn get that which you want and
more. And I feel like a lot of people don't quite
understand how that works because reciprocity
then works in the end. If you give... value upfront.
People will try and find a way to return that
favor. And usually if people are listening right
now, the only way they know how to return that
favor is maybe through their credit card by then
buying the things that you are selling. So show
up in spaces like a podcast or whatever it is
like this, be of value. And obviously it's not
always about selling. People like buying stuff,
but they don't like being sold to. So if you
show up, give value and let them then decide
what to do with that information. But have a
way that when people do show up at your doorstep,
at least there is a way to do business with you.
There's something they can buy. There's something
they can consume. There's something they can
release that tension of. Oh, this guy has given
me so much value. What can I give back as well
in return? It's just inherent in human nature.
So if you play against that, you would literally
win, especially when it comes to this whole thing,
all right? It's give and take. The more you give,
the more people would obviously want you to win.
You said that the best way I can think of saying
it, okay? Because I have a simple line. that
I talk about in all of my presentations. People
love to buy, but they hate to be sold to. And
I equate that to a car salesman. The car salesman
comes right up. Hey, how you doing? This Honda
is great. And look, I can get you a great deal
on this and this. It does that. And you're like,
whoa, stop. And or do you want to go a car salesman
where it says, hey, how you doing? My name is
Dan. And if you need me, I'm right over here.
Let me go figure things out. So it's a great
thing. But everybody has the mindset. This includes.
Everybody. They love to buy. People love to buy
things, but they hate to be sold to. So it's
a mindset. And if you go into these networking
events or meeting with somebody one -on -one,
if you remember that, you'll never lose. You'll
never lose. Okay. You talk about building media
assets you own. What are a few examples of assets
that actually move the needle for coaches or
consultants and which ones are just vanity projects?
That's a very good question. And I feel like
it's all to do with the story you want to tell.
Okay. So in essence, you need to figure out what
are you good at? Are you good at writing? Are
you good at speaking or are you good at video?
Because once you figure out what you're good
at, then you want to work to your strengths.
If you're good at video, then you want to start
creating video assets, which then become the
staple of how you show up in the world. If you're
good at writing, you want to be creating newsletters,
blogs, articles. which then show your strength
all right in to the marketplace because the market
is not going to wait until you've got it figured
out if somebody watches this video right now
they this is it for them and if we don't sell
it to them that's it grand opening grand closing
so once you know what you're good at which Some
people are good at talking. And if you put out
a podcast and becomes a regular thing, you can
then redistribute that podcast or you can reformulate
that podcast into other formats. All right. You
can convert that podcast. There's tools now where
you can convert it into a blog. You can convert
it into a newsletter. You can convert it into
shorts or whatever it is that you can then utilize.
And from there, those derivatives that you have
repurposed that content, you can then start to
pick and choose which ones are actually doing
well because they're all stemming from your biggest
strength. Those that are working, you keep. Those
that are not working, you ditch. But you need
to figure out what is the actual core thing that
you're providing. Because let's bring it back
to nature. An apple tree. An apple tree is really
good at creating fruit. But it wouldn't know
how to create vinegar. It wouldn't know how to
create apple cider or apple chutney. That is
a derivative from the core product that it creates.
And if people don't like apple chutney, they're
not going to say I'm not eating apples ever.
They will go back to the original product. If
people don't like the vinegar. from apple or
the cider from apple that's not gonna say they
are put off apples for the rest of their lives
it's just it was just a derivative okay so if
people don't like shots It doesn't necessarily
mean that they're not going to be consuming your
content in whichever way. So your question was,
which ones are a waste of time and which ones
are not a waste of time? A waste of time is when
you do things you're not good at and you think
you're doing it because the algorithm wants it
at that particular time. Yes. When I coach baseball
for 16 years and I always see what my players
could do well. and what they didn't do well and
most coaches would take their players that did
this well they'd go out and put them in those
positions and I would put them where they were
the worst because then they got better they got
better I wouldn't always play them in that position
but they got better they learned how to handle
it they learned it's like a different part of
their brain oh I have to do it like this now
business is almost the same thing at the end
of the year you see what worked what didn't work
The stuff that didn't work, you toss out and
you just stick with the other stuff. But when
I'm a speaker and I'm a podcaster and the things
that I don't do well, those are the things I'll
concentrate on more because I want to bring everything
up to the same level. So I don't know whether
I want to be visible, is for visibility or just
my own thing. I'm not quite sure, but that's
what I do. Okay, let me just go on. Algorithms
can make or break visibility. That sounds familiar.
How can someone take back control of their reach
so their message isn't at the mercy of a platform
mood? That is the story and mission that we grapple
with at headquarters every single day because
we wake up. And the algorithm has changed. All
right. So let me really talk about significant
algorithm changes that are happening at this
particular moment. OK, so in the past five years
or so, people have been. going to google as the
go -to place to enter the internet right so it's
the entry point to finding stuff that you're
looking for but now there has been an influx
of utterly artificial intelligence which has
literally obliterated the the stronghold that
Google had. And now Google has had to recalibrate
themselves so that they match what the market
is responding to at the moment. And now if you
even go on Google, they have an AI mode, they
have everything. It's just all scrambled in there.
And what that means for people that had sorely
invested in search engine optimization in order
to be found on Google, that means all of that
has been thrown out of whack. It might come back
later on, but right now Google is really in reaction
mode because open AI has just come in and taken
much of the monopoly or the presence that they
had. So people that had... been relaxing and
thinking the algorithm on Google is to their
favor because they were appearing on position
number one in whatever field they were in, they
may be finding an influx in how people are finding
them online. And that also happens to all the
other places like Facebook or TikTok and things
of that nature. There is a bigger play with these
platforms. All right. Because if all Elon Musk
wanted to do was tweet, he could have just downloaded
that platform for free like the rest of us. But
he went on and paid $48 billion. Now, I don't
know what $48 billion looks like, but that's
a big investment. Yeah. You know what I mean?
So that means he now needs to use that platform.
to his own advantage, whether you like it or
not, whether you're coming along or not, he's
going to want to recuperate that investment or
the investment for other people. And same goes
to all the other platforms. All right. When Facebook
started, it was friends and family. And then
it went wider because they knew if the more people
we have, we get the network effect. And along
the way, they started, other platforms started
coming in like TikTok and TikTok. came in with
that five second video and all of a sudden that's
how all the platforms now react. So at the end
of the day, if you haven't created your content
in such a way that people will find you when
they do, because the algorithm is just going
to keep algorithm, if that's even a word, just
changing to morph to what's happening currently
and what the... stakeholders or the investors
want or are willing to have out of the platform,
because these are businesses at the end of the
day. Are they being profitable? So if being profitable
is much more important to them, then they're
obviously going to favor their profits more than
you showing up to your audience. And we don't
know what's happening in the boardroom. So while
the algorithm is trying to figure itself out,
you stay consistent. Your people will find you.
The right kind of people with the right kind
of pain will eventually be the ones that show
up at your doorstep because they too are getting
tired. Absolutely. AI is a tool that you should
use. It's a tool in your tool belt. It's one
item of many. that you should use. I work with
a guy who does AI and he said, how many people
use ChatGPT today? He said, 8 million people.
He said, how many people used it two years ago?
He said, less than a million. He said, so it's
increased dramatically. And in two years, who
knows where it's going to go? So AI is here and
it's now. So don't disregard it. Use it, but
use it. smartly and use it as a as a quill as
you said your arrow and you will be able to do
wonders with it but it's amazing at the things
that because i always say garbage in garbage
out if you use chat gpt and you put garbage into
it you're gonna get garbage out if you think
about what you want to put into it then it'll
give you some good answers and you can do something
else with it it's like it'll give you that start
But you have to finish it maybe with something
else. So that's all. Okay. Networking often feels
transactional online. How does a strong owned
media presence help people build real relationships
instead of chasing likes or followers? Great
stuff. And I really like that question because
the transactional effect comes because. All these
platforms, in order for them to function, they
are other tools behind the scenes that we are
using that we are actually paying in order to
show up. And I don't think a lot of people that
are not in business actually understand that.
For you to run this podcast, you spoke about
a few tools that you're using, the Zoom and everything
else. There's fees that goes into this. And if
you would look at how we run our agency. It would
maybe cost me $10 ,000 every single month to
open that door. And not only that's just in the
software and maybe you've got overheads with
staff members, you've got overheads with maybe
renting space that you're working in and things
of that nature. So that's the reason why. when
people put content out there they're already
expecting it to bring back something in order
for them to cover their monthly dues so when
you've created so much of that content and you
are confident in that it is helping people solve
those problems you are no longer desperate When
you show up in front of people and as we've established,
people like buying stuff, but they don't like
being sold to. So you literally are walking them
through on their journey as how you've mapped
it out without putting out a podcast and then
start going, this podcast has to literally bring
in a thousand dollars or we're not going to use
it. All right. And then there's also another
thing that happens with these platforms allow
you to reach. your audience and by reaching your
audience you would need to pay to play all right
so many people take that option because it sounds
easy all right it's low -hanging fruit okay if
i give you mr facebook a hundred dollars you
mean you will reach out to a thousand people
for me easy done all right and and so many people
would take that option because it's easy to do
but In order for that $100 to get a return on
your ad spend, a lot of people will then want
to sell something or put whatever tripwires at
the end of any offer. And it just really doesn't
create a good experience for those people that
just want information. So my advice is you inoculate
your need to sell by being abundant. And once
you figure out what your actual message is, try
as many different options of saying it in so
many different formats and in so many different
avenues. That way, you no longer feel like every
post that you put out there has to bring something
back because you've got so many. lines in the
water or so many tentacles out there that might
bring something back to you because you've got
a one hit wonder you're almost expecting that
thing to return and that's where it feels less
it feels more transactional because you only
have one shot at it as a business owner if you
are not creating as many content pieces as possible
absolutely absolutely i can get it to having
networking as transactional as opposed to relational,
we can have a whole separate podcast just on
that. Okay, so let's bring this podcast full
circle and let's just talk about results. What's
a story or example of someone who stopped chasing
content and started owning their message and
what changed for them in terms of profits, partnerships,
or visibility? Oh, that's a very good story.
So I work predominantly with people that maybe
buyers agents, they help people purchase investment
properties. And I think they do have it over
the way you add that. And I also have people
that are maybe photographers or real estate people
and coaches and consultants. So let's talk about
a buyer's agent in my world or in Australia here.
Every person that's about to buy a house usually
goes by themselves, but it's the biggest transaction
that they need to. encounter in their life. And
then the people that are selling their house
are usually represented by a real estate agent
who is wanting to sell the house. So there was
that discrepancy. And lately, there's now an
influx of people that are moving from the seller
side to the buyer side. And now there's a lot
of noise on both sides as well. So that's just
how the market happens. So I happen to work with
a buyer's agent who really wanted to help first
home buyers now you can imagine a first home
buyer there's very little information they're
holding on to whatever savings that they have
they don't want to make a mistake when it comes
to making that purchase because that will be
a fatal mistake the buyer's agent came to me
and then we were like so what is the difference
that you bring to the marketplace you're still
just going to be selling a house to somebody
who's vulnerable but the thing that he had a
lot of was he had an educational heart like you
have said he was a servant servant service heart
service heart so with that we then started looking
at how or what are the steps that somebody takes
in order to be in front of the right seller without
feeling like they are inadequate or they're at
an auction and we broke down the steps and then
we started writing blogs around that that's for
the buyer's agent who was my client we started
writing blogs about that and then those blogs
we then combined them into a book and now he's
got a 10 -step process that he gives out to his
people that are on the way to start buying a
house. What that has done for him now is you
know what it's like. If you've got a book, you
can literally be asked to speak. If you've got
a book, you can literally be asked to be on podcast.
He now has a content piece that speaks for him
before he shows up. Whereas all the other buyers
agents are talking about interest rates or, hey,
there's a new house there. Do you want to buy
it or whatever it is? But he is taken. He takes
his clients on a journey, no matter how long
it takes for them. And he really holds their
hand literally by having created that book. He
owns his media. The blogs that he was writing
are now in a book that now lasts forever. He
doesn't just have to put out a post every single
day he wants to look for a customer. He gives
out his book as his business card. in front of
any networking event. From that, he's created
a podcast which keeps the book alive. So you
can only imagine what that one piece of action
has now sprouted into things that he now does
automatically. So we've sold for his message.
We've sold for him educating his audience. We've
sold for the distribution. Now he has a piece
of IP that... makes him a celebrity and a an
authority in the space because who are you to
believe somebody who danced on TikTok or somebody
who wrote a book about being a first home buyer.
So it's things like that just elevate you instantly
in a sea of me to individuals. And I can't talk
about all the radio activations that he has done.
He's even been on TV. So you can only imagine
because he created an asset that was only done
once. Now he can distribute it again and again
without having to repeat himself or compete with
other people in his marketplace. Absolutely.
And that brings to the table authenticity, right?
He's authentic. He's told you all about himself.
He wanted to find out the problems of his people,
and he's there to solve their problems, not telling
everybody, oh, I was on this radio or in that
newspaper or this or that. He's solving their
problems in a way that they understand. And I
think that's the level at which they have to
do it. Prospero, I have to tell you, this was
a very quick hour because we were on for about
an hour. If somebody wanted to get hold of you,
how would they get hold of you? Thank you so
much. And I really appreciate having you having
me on the show. So as we've been talking about
owning a media, I am giving this book out for
free to whoever wants it. All you have to do
is just tell me where to ship it to. All right.
So if you look up on your media. On Amazon, you'll
probably be able to buy for $20 or whatever it
is. But if you just pay me $10 for shipping,
I'll send this book to you. So if you go on to
ownyourmedia .com .au, you'll be able to find
the instructions of giving me your address. And
I'll definitely send a copy of this to whoever
is willing. Fantastic. And that's how you take
control of your message and your profits by owning
your media. instead of letting the algorithm
own you. Big thanks to my guests for bringing
the heat today. In this episode, you got thinking
about how you show up and connect, share it with
someone who needs to hear it, and make sure you're
subscribed so you don't miss what's next on Networking
Unleashed, building profitable connections. Until
next time, remember, visibility isn't about volume.
It's about clarity, connection. and control.
And with that, I say, have a good night. Good
night. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere.
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All right, folks. A huge thank you to our guests
for sharing such incredible insights today. And
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
with us. If you're interested in my digital courses,
being coached, or having me come and talk to
your company, just go to Michael and fill out
the request form. Remember, networking isn't
about being perfect. It's about being present.
So take what you've learned today. get out there,
and make some meaningful connections. If you've
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