Business By Intuition with Krista Bauer

In the past, I've seen clients get hung up on defining goals and a vision for themselves, especially if they're in a season of struggle and their life or business feels hard right now.

It can be hard to envision something better.

Which is why it can be helpful if you're feeling stuck about what you want, where you want to go, or what you believe is possible for yourself to think of someone you admire in business (your guideposts).

In today's episode, I want to give you some questions to reflect on so you can find your guideposts and use this exercise to support you as you build a clear and intentional vision for what feels true and aligned for you during this stage of your life and business. I also share the five people (my guideposts) who inspire me to see what's possible for my life and business, too. 

Here are the five guideposts that I mentioned in the show: 

Just like in life, every business will go through a series of ebbs and flows.

You'll have high points when you feel like everything in your business is moving towards your goals and desires with ease, momentum and a consistent pace that feels good.

Then there'll be times when you feel like you can't get a steady grasp on the things that feel essential to helping you move towards your goal of creating a fulfilling and thriving business that sustains you.

In this episode, I hope to give you some guidance, or reminders that you can come back to in your business when you're going through a season of struggle and you're wondering if the flow and ease you desire are ever coming back.

I was conducting a market research call with a past client recently and I asked her, “what would you invest in right now if you had an unlimited budget for your business?”. Her response was “I’d redo my website because I want my online home to be an inviting space for clients.”

What’s interesting is I keep hearing things like “websites are dead” or they’re obsolete.

Personally, I don’t feel that’s true and I see a lot of benefits to having and maintaining a website. The issue I’ve run into with clients is when their branding or copy doesn’t reflect who they are, they worry it'll attract the wrong people, or worse, none at all.

As I was reflecting on why I believe websites are still an important marketing tool for your business, I came up with six reasons why it's worth giving it some of your love and energy. Tune in to hear more. 

Is your life of business feeling a little crazy right now? Maybe you're a mom of young kids like me. Or you've got a full-time job and your business is currently a side gig. Or maybe you're caring for ageing parents or a child with additional needs (also like me). Either way, life is a little overwhelming right now and you can’t keep up or you're working at a pace that isn’t sustainable.

In this episode, I share: 

• A quick update about why I've taken a couple of months off of the podcast and why I don't feel guilty about it ;)
• A few tips to help give you the permission you might be needing to pause if you feel like you need a break but you're worried that your followers will leave you or your business will suffer as a result. 
• Why it's not just OKAY to care for yourself first, it's essential. You know this but maybe today is the day it syncs in.

Giving yourself permission to pause might just be the BEST strategy for your business right now.  

Links and resources mentioned in the show:

One of the downsides of authentic marketing is that results tend to be slower than what's being pushed and sold to us by the mainstream. A lot of the marketing that we're bombarded with is often selling big results, fast. It usually over-promises on results but under-delivers. Six figures in six months is one that comes to mind.

Clients tell me they're tired of that but what they don't realize is that marketing your business in alignment with your values and in integrity with how you want to show up with the world, it can just take longer. Especially if you're not using opt-ins and sales funnels to convert clients and you're being conscientious in the way that you're doing your business—results tend to be slower.

So today I want to share a little bit about my own experience with this. And some tips, if you're stuck in that place, so that hopefully you can walk away from this episodewith a little more confidence than before you started the show, because when the results aren't coming in, what happens?

You doubt yourself. 

You start to think and wonder, am I really cut out for this? 

Are people really interested in what I have to say? Are they interested in what I'm selling? 

Do I even have a business here at all? 

And while there can always be tweaks and improvements made to just about anything we're doing in our business, I believe that you have a something meaningful to share with the world. 

If you're here, you have a business that's deeply meaningful. It's an alignment with who you are. It's an expression of who you are and there's people out there who want your service because it has your energetic signature on whatever it is you're selling. And that is not something that can be found anywhere else in the marketplace. 

So if you're here and you're feeling a little bit doubtful about what it is that you're doing, because people aren't signing up, people aren't engaging with your content. They're not enrolling in your programs. You're only getting a client here and a client there, and it feels like tumbleweeds and crickets. 

If you're feeling discouraged and doubtful because the results aren't coming in fast enough in your business, in today's episode I share four tips for helping you feel less worried and focussed on the slow results so you can back to finding and focusing on the joy in your business. 

Have you written a sales page or copy for your website and you're wondering, is it clearly and effectively articulating the incredible value of your offer to the right people? Or maybe you wish you could have someone review your sales page and tell you what's working and what isn't?

In today's episode, I share my top tips to help you critique and review your own sales pages or any copy you've written for your website. Most of the tips that I'm going to give you will apply to any copy you write, but most specifically when you're writing a specific offer for a specific audience—like on a sales page.

In this episode, you'll hear: 

• 10 things I look for and analyze when I critique a sales page for a client so that you can save time and money and learn to do this for yourself, too.
• Some of the most common design "mistakes" I see people making on their sales page that can impact the clarity of their offer so you can avoid them in your page design.
• Small changes and tweaks I will coach my clients make to help make their sales page easier to read and can increase the overall effectiveness without having to change a word of copy. 

Links and resources mentioned in this show: 

Imagine, if you could write your sales pages, your website copy and content for social media and feel like it's a true reflection of how you sound in real life. Imagine if when you wrote anything it felt like a true reflection of your voice and the way you want to express yourself in the world. 

If you struggle with finding your authentic voice, then tune in because, in this episode, you'll learn: 

• What is your authentic brand voice and why it's important for building deeper resonance 
• What stops most people from speaking in their authentic voice 
• The four things that make up your brand voice
• Practical tips for finding your authentic brand voice (even if you hate writing) 

Links and resources mentioned in the show: 

A question I get from a lot of clients/students is how to use and find images for their website or sales pages. Can I use pictures of books and tea (because that's what I love) if that has nothing to do with my content? I have so many thoughts on how to and why I believe in using imagery in your marketing. Especially if you're a creative person or value beauty like me. 

Using imagery in your branding or marketing is powerful because it can convey your message in a way that some words can't. But if not used correctly, it can have a powerfully negative effect which can not only detract from your message but also turn potential new clients off. 

In this episode, you'll learn: 

• My philosophy for using images in your marketing and how to do it authentically 
• The top mistakes I people make and I suggest instead 
• Where to find beautiful images to use on your website and sales pages that help capture the emotion you're trying to convey, and
• How to compress your images so they don't slow your load times on your website. 

Links and resources mentioned in the show: 

Hello everyone! Welcome back to a new year and the first episode of 2022!! I'm happy to be back sharing with you all. To kick off the new season, I wanted to open up with something that I feel very passionate and excited to talk about—marketing in alignment with your values and who you are so that it feels natural, easier and dare I say, pleasant?

If you're feeling a little let down and apprehensive of the marketing tactics that everyone preaches online these days, in this episode, I share ideas to help you sell your offerings aligned with your principles and your true self.

I promise marketing doesn't have to feel like a chore, it can be fun when you do it in alignment with who you are!

In today's episode, you'll learn:

• Why I believe, so many heart-centred, well-intentioned solopreneurs feels misaligned with their marketing and disparate in their efforts. 
• Three things you can do to help you market your services in alignment with your values and higher self so it feels natural, pleasurable and easier to do it consistently. 
• Lots of encouragement and permission for doing your business, your way. 

You don't have to create an e-course or start a podcast, just because that's what everyone else is doing. 

Before we get into the episode, I just want to thank you for supporting my podcast this year. This will be the last episode for 2021 and I look forward to kicking it off with some fresh content in January. 

In this episode, I share seven questions to support your year-end reflection to help you process 2021 and set the tone for the year to come. I felt this would be a good episode to end off with and help you reflect on the growth that you've had so that you can celebrate your successes and positively reframe any "failures" or setbacks and learn from them to consciously choose a new direction for 2022. 

Links and resources mentioned in this show:

If you're struggling to write a consistent newsletter to your followers or know whether or not you should have a newsletter (how long it should be or how to make it authentic), in this episode, I share insights into my own process including things that are working for me and things that I see other people doing that feels gross and make me want to unsubscribe (things we'll obviously not do).

For years, I've been consistently writing a newsletter that feels good to write and feels good to read. How do I know? Because I get people replying to my emails letting me know how timely the message was to receive, and how deeply it resonated. 

In this episode, you'll hear tips for writing authentic newsletters that feel both good to read and to write (using my newsletter writing process to guide us through). Things like:

• A newbie mistake that feels almost offensive to your readers 
• Tips from my own newsletter writing process that create meaningful engagement with your audience (even when it's small) 
• How long should your newsletter be? And what frequency to send them.
• How to address your audience (salutations that feel authentic 
• Why when I promote offers I never feel spammy or gross

Links and resources mentioned in the show:

If you struggle to write sales copy that connects with your audience and or copywriting feels gross and deceptive, in episode 25 I break down the four essential things I think every heart-centred sales page should include to make a deep and meaningful connection with the right people — without using hype or any scarcity-style marketing tactics to make a conversion.

Today, we have a special guest, Bingz Huang, Gentleness Ambassador, Human Design practitioner, Intuitive healer, and Writer sharing her best tips on using Medium for Business and how to get your work and writing seen by the right audience. 

In today's episode (ep. 24) we talk about: 

• Bingz's journey with Medium and how she has grown her following and the publications she has created
• Should you use Medium as your blogging platform for business? The pros and cons of both.
• Should you share your content to Medium and your blog and the process for doing so
• The types of content that does best on Medium
• Her top tips for getting started on Medium
• How to find the right publications to write for
• Why Medium is an excellent content marketing platform for sensitive solopreneurs 
• An overview of Medium's paywall and how to grow your audience by understanding your stats. 

Links and resources mentioned in the show:

Have you ever been told to charge what you're worth by a coach and you're still left wondering, well how much am I worth? Well, friend, you're not alone because there's no price tag on your value as an individual or the value you provide for your clients. 

I've never understood the "charge what you're worth" model for pricing because what does it mean when potential clients don't buy from you or enrol in your programs? You're not worthy enough? Of course, not.

In episode 23, I give you a practical process with 5 practical questions to help you decide if it's time to raise your rates. Hint: It has nothing to do with your worth or your value as an individual, but rather a practical exploration of your goals, lifestyle, hours and cost of living.

In this episode I share: 

• Why I decided to raise my rates and my process for changing them.
• A spacious way to raise your rates with existing clients that doesn't leave them shell-shocked or upset.
• 5 practical questions that helped me decide if it's time to raise your rates. 

Do you struggle to express yourself authentically through colour, fonts and your overall brand? 

In episode 22, I dive into: 

• The importance of branding for solopreneurs and what can happen when you don't connect with your online vibe
• My step-by-step process for creating a simple and authentic brand that reflects who you are 
• An update on my next tiny course (all about authentic branding).

Links and resources mentioned in the show: 

Have you ever wondered how you can bring more heart into your marketing or how you can bring more of a heart-centred philosophy into selling your offers so that it doesn't feel gross to market your services? If you hate selling and marketing feels like a nasty, manipulative business task that you have no choice but to do, then episode 21 is for you. 

In today's episode, I share: 

• What heart-centred selling is and how it differs from the loud mainstream approach that's out there.
• My answer to the question: is it possible to follow a heart-centred selling approach and still make sales?
• The 4 principles of heart-centred selling and why using mainstream tactics like fear, false urgency and FOMO erodes trust and can damage your client relationships before they start.

Links and resources mentioned in the show:

Is it possible to show vulnerability in your business authentically or is it just a savvy marketing tactic peddled by the mainstream to unconsciously persuade people to buy from you? 

Vulnerability in marketing seems to be a hot trend.  An inauthentic tactic used to sell you on 7-figure, rags-to-riches secrets so you’ll believe there’s a chance it can happen to you, too.  Unfortunately, stories like these are usually nothing more than a psychological ploy to sell-out programs and convert you into a paying client.

Are you struggling to resonate with the right people or make deeper connections with your audience? In episode 19, I share three things that have worked and are still working to build deep resonance with the right people. 

In this episode, you'll learn: 

• 3 things that are working for me in my business to help me build deeper resonance 
• the value of resonance in marketing 
• questions to help you reflect on where/how you can deepen the connection you're building with your own audience. 

Links and resources mentioned in the show: 

I'm coming back in with this week's episode (ep 18) on how to make a comeback after an unplanned content break. I'm creating this episode because I've recently had to take an unplanned break myself. I got a little bit tied up earlier at the end of the summer in August.

Preparing for kids going back to school and life just got a little crazy. And I just could not keep up with content creation, coming up with creative ideas. I felt like the inspiration had dried up a little bit and I just needed to put a pause on everything that I was doing other than things that were a priority in my personal life and things that were a priority in my business, such as maintaining client work.

I know firsthand how hard it can be to get back to a regular rhythm of creating content, sending newsletters, or posting on social media which is why I thought I'd share tips for anyone who's taken an unplanned break from content and is left wondering, how do I word an apology? What do I tell my audience? 

If you're feeling guilty or bad for getting out of rhythm, don't. Life happens. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• 5 tips for bouncing back after an unplanned break 
• Why you shouldn't feel guilty or need to give an apology
• Content ideas for when you come back
• Why taking an impromptu break is good for you and your business. 

Links and resources mentioned in the show: 

• My 5 Go-to Strategies For Coming Up With Fresh Content Ideas

In episode 16, I break down three different copywriter profiles that I’ve created based on the clients I’ve coached, trained or written copy for throughout the past 4 years.

I share tips, tools and examples based on each profile to help you write more clear, concise and resonate sales page copy.

In my experience, you’ll identify with one more strongly than the others but if you’re not sure, choose one profile to work with for now so you don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to improve too many things at once.

The three copywriter profiles:

The Academic: They’re experts at what they do, highly educated and are great writers, many are published authors, but they recognize that copywriting is a different kind of skill. Their training prevents them from relating to the people they want to serve.

The Professional: They’re experts at what they do, they often enjoy writing, but struggle to strike a balance between professional and personal because of their 9 to 5 work experience that stifled their creativity.

The Disbeliever: They’re experts at what they do, but usually avoid writing altogether because they don’t think they can write or write anything interesting. Their website is sparse and lacks content because they constantly question, is it good or not?

Which profile are you?

In episode 15, I break down my 4-pillar framework for helping you grow your online business authentically. 

What I’ve personally seen with clients (I've done this, too) is they'll spend a lot of time and money branding themselves. Figuring out their colours and fonts. Which website platform to build on, etc. They'll create an amazing offer they think people are going to love and want, then they launch and nothing happens. It flops. No one buys. 

In this episode, I’m sharing a 4-pillar framework that I use with myself and clients to help you create and grow an online business that feels authentic, and aligns with who you are. 

Its main purpose is to provide a structure to help you focus on essentials areas of your business you may not have considered or taking the time to think about. 

It's designed to help you create a fulfilling, sustainable business that serves both you and your audience. 

In this episode, you'll learn: 

• my 4-pillar framework for growing an authentic online business 
• the problem with building your brand before building a solid foundation for your business 
• the importance of knowing yourself before knowing your audience 
• why copywriting can be a big waste of money if you haven't worked through stages one and two of your business first 
• the one thing that is critical to growing a fulfilling, sustainable online business. 

Hopefully, you'll tune in and have a greater awareness of which stage you’re at and decide if there's an area of your business you could be spending more time on now. 

In Episode 12, I share five tips for helping you write sales pages that connect with the right people (AKA write copy that connects). 

Copywriting is an essential marketing skill, yet, so many entrepreneurs find themselves deep in the weeds when it comes to writing resonant copy that connects with their best-match clients.

If you struggle to engage your ideal clients with the words you write, then tune in to this episode for simple tips to improve your writing so that you can start crafting resonant copy immediately.

What's covered:

• Simple tips to help you write clear, engaging copy that speaks directly to your ideal audience
• 3 of my fave market research Qs to ask to help you know and understand your client 
• Tips for writing in a natural tone of voice including a few of my fave writing apps 

Links and resources mentioned in the show: 

Episode 11 - Can your business survive without social media? 

In episode 10 we dive into something that's crucial for small business owners, and that's exploring creative ways you can build trust with your audience. 

Without trust, you can have the most beautiful website, a perfectly curated Instagram feed with stunning images, gorgeous graphics, cohesive colours, cool fonts, and the best-written copy, but if your audience doesn't trust you, none of that matters.

In today's episode, you'll learn: 

• Why branding and aesthetics won't build meaningful trust with your audience (and what you need instead)
• 8 creative ways to build trust and establish credibility before you'll sell out your offers
• Things people focus on but have a smaller impact on how people perceive you than you think. 

Deleting followers isn't a conventional marketing practice that's main focus is to generate leads and convert high-paying clients at any cost.

In a world where passive income using clever sales funnels and reaching 10ok followers on social media seems like the "thing" to aspire to, why would I delete followers instead?

You've probably heard online coaches and marketing gurus say "the money's in the list".

The bigger the better, right? 🤔

In today's episode, I want to share a different perspective and an unconventional strategy I use in my business to ensure I'm connecting with the right people.

It's a strategy that brings me immense freedom to be who I am because I'm not worried about online rejection or criticism.

It helps the right people see my message (and engage) because I make a conscious effort to remove the people who aren't a fit.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The problem with focusing on lead generation at any cost
  
• Why I delete followers regularly
  
• What happened when I removed 1500 followers across my newsletter, Facebook and Instagram
  
• How you can implement this authentic marketing practice and why it's good for your business.
  

You don't hate selling, you hate being inauthentic. 

Many conscious business owners struggle with sales because they've been taught that selling is pushy, manipulative, persuasive and essentially trying to get clients at any cost. 

It was my introduction to marketing 6 years ago, too, when I completed my life coaching certification. As a new coach, I was eager to get clients and begin my new career but my passion soon faded once I realized the marketing training I was given was nothing but scripts, bad elevator pitches and formulaic templates to help me "close the sale" and handle objections. 

It was in no way aligned with how I wanted to interact with my people. 

Thankfully, I ditched the loud style of marketing and followed a softer, kinder approach that allowed me to stay true to my values. 

In this episode, I talk about:

• my personal experience with selling my services as a new coach and what led me to ditch the mainstream marketing advice I was given and follow my inner wisdom 
• a small shift I made to help make the process of "selling" joyful and meaningful
• why I don't think you hate selling, but just hate being inauthentic instead.

A common copywriting misconception that many people have is that you need to be a skilled or poetic writer to write website copy that resonates with your ideal clients.

Ahem... not true.

Believing you need to have an innate talent for writing or possess years of experience to reach and connect with the right audience can leave people feeling lost, overwhelmed and burdened by the copywriting process.

In today's episode, I'm here to tell you:

• Why writing isn't the most important element of writing effective sales pages and what is (it's the one thing you must do before writing a single line of copy)
• My simple 4-step process for writing sales pages and why most people struggle to know what to say and how to say it
• How you can make the copywriting process much easier (and save yourself some time) by focusing most of your efforts on just one thing, and
• Tools and resources to help you edit and design your sales pages with greater ease.

Tired of hustle culture and the constant grind to reach success?

No breaks. Hustling to reach your goals. Burning yourself out over launches. Reaching one milestone, immediately moving on to the next. Pushing, striving, and push, strive some more. Yet, it's never enough.

There's always more to do.

More content to create. More courses to take. More money to make. More branding to do. More systems to set up. More webinars to run. More ads to test. More clients to attract.

Then there are dishes to do. Laundry to fold. Lunches to make. Kids to pick up. Groceries to buy. Taxes to pay. Errands to run. Family to see.

It's. More. More. More.

If this resonates then you've been the victim of chronic productivity and the mainstream's obsession with the daily hustle and grind for reaching success.

Unfortunately, rest and spaciousness don't get the same respect as productivity.

In today's society, if you hustle to make things happen, you're someone to aspire to.

In this episode, I hope to inspire you to rebel against hustle culture and learn ways to embrace more flow and spaciousness in your business instead.

In this episode, I talk about:

• The negative impacts that hustle culture and chronic productivity are having on your life and business
• Why rest and spaciousness is the soul nourishment your business needs to thrive
• 5 ways you can embrace more flow and spaciousness into your life (things I'm experimenting with)
• Burning out from trying to follow the pack and learning to trust your intuition instead.

Links & resources mentioned in this episode:

If you hate writing sales copy because it feels manipulative and you want a more conscious copywriting approach, in this episode, I share my philosophy and why I focus on connection over conversions. 

Conventional copywriting uses a carefully crafted language that’s written to get readers to take action. Using things like hype, FOMO, urgency, persuasion and fear to get people to buy your programs or enrol in your courses. 

It’s often written with an aggressive edge that guilts, rushes or fears people into thinking that if I don’t work with you now, I’m going to miss out on some critical information that’ll make me a failure in my life, business or relationships if I miss out.

Sadly, this tactic works.

But here's the question—

Do you want your clients to feel “sold to” or do you want them to make an informed, conscious choice about whether your offer aligns with their priorities right now?

If you're here, I know you'd prefer the latter.

In this episode, you'll learn: 

• What are conversions and why they're not my main target when writing for myself or clients 
• The difference between conventional copywriting and a more heart-centred approach
• A conscious way to write copy that doesn't push people into making decisions they're not ready to make, and 
• My philosophy for writing copy that connects with your audience in a sincere, straightforward way.

In this episode, I also mentioned I'd share a few non-hype, simple, straightforward sales page examples that are resonant without being forceful:

A common question I get from clients is, where should I post content?

Many of them feel paralyzed because they don't know if they should post on Instagram or Facebook? Start a YouTube channel or a podcast? Write on Medium or their own blog?

No doubt there are a lot of choices out there and many ways to get your content in front of the right people.

So what's the problem?

It creates a lot of indecisiveness and many find themselves stuck in a holding place of inaction because they're worried they'll choose the wrong platform.

In this episode, I share my philosophy and my A to this Q.

Plus, why I don't advise "posting where your clients are hanging" as a general rule. It may be right for you - but it's certainly not right for everyone.

I also aim to inspire you to see content creation through a new lens. Exploring it as a sincere and fulfilling form of self-expression, not a lead generating strategy like you've been taught. I explain why in the episode.

If you struggle to know where to post content or feel it's a chore because you think you have to "sell sell sell", tune in to get my thoughts that'll hopefully inspire you to just start.