Creative news

Create an engaging audience that isn't burnt out Three strategies to build an audience without burning out coach Becky Mollenkamp |

Dec 13, 2022

Get a mindset coach's advice and creator Becky Mollenkamp's tried-and-true strategies to increase the number of people who are watching her without burning out.

Becky Mollenkamp is an expert in mindset coaching that helps clients make the transition from  small-business owner to CEO and create profitable businesses without burning out. With her Gutsy Boss brand, she has assisted thousands of customers to let go of the "shoulds to be successful' mindset and set their own terms.

With nearly 20 years of business experience, as an entrepreneur- including owning a content marketing agency that earned six figures before starting her coaching business in 2015 -- Becky discovered what is effective in her favor when it comes to gaining an audience.

Today, three fundamentals drive Becky's advertising:

You don't have to follow the latest social media trends

Choose long-term strategies over instant satisfaction

Protect your work-life harmony to create a lasting business

Every day, a brand emerging trend in marketing pops on the scene every single day. Trying to keep up could lead into feeling overwhelmed and disengaged from the things you need to focus on. Becky has made her conscious choice to concentrate instead on the tactics and methods that are working for her.

In the present, it's moving away from social media sites that create more stress than results.

"I am really reaching the bottom of my barrel on social media,"" she says. "I've removed myself from Facebook that's great. Also, with Instagram isn't a place I'm spending any time on it."

Becky's main guiding rule, to let go of the "shoulds is also applicable to social media, especially when you're trying to stay clear of doing too much at once.

"It begins to feel like a lot. The next step is to make an account on TikTok, and then I'll need to make another reel... that includes a photograph along with video. Also, I need to come up with some really creative ideas in order to create a Twitter. Then I have to create something for Medium. It's too much," Becky describes.

"I think we are reaching the point of exhaustion in our society and people are beginning to realize that they need to make a change in some thing.'"

Instead of creating something entirely new from scratch for each platform, look for innovative ways to make use of your previous work. You can, for instance, transform an existing YouTube video into shorter clips for TikTok as well as Instagram Reels, and the video transcript can become an element of a newsletter or blog post.

What do you see what happens when you doown your followers? You communicate with them using a method or channel which you are in control of, for example, an email newsletter, your online community, or website.

Here's the way Becky discusses the importance of using email to control your target audience.

2. Make sure you choose long-term approaches over instant gratification

After nearly two decades in the business world, Becky knows what marketing methods will work for her. She is now returning to those tried-and-true techniques -- even if they may take longer to pay off.

When you're building a business It can be tempting to look for marketing tactics that pay off fast. There's a tendency to be disappointed when you don't see instant outcomes, however the methods that require time and energy upfront usually lead to more genuine and lasting relationships to your target audience.

The type of work Becky does demands honesty and vulnerability for her clients. As such, they must be comfortable with her before committing to coaching. Consistent communication through her weekly newsletters helps to build confidence.

"Before the individuals work one-on one together with me, they usually are on my email list for six months or a one year period," She explains. "I'm regularly emailing them as well as allowing them to get to know my personality. Some of them invest in something smaller but, over a long time, the clients who will become my clients one-on-one will finally invest [in coaching]."

The Gutsy Boss Podcast is yet another important element of Becky's game plan for the long term. "That's been a long time to reap the rewards," says Becky. "I've had my podcast for four years, and I'm only now starting to get where each month, I'm seeing an increase in the number of people who listen to my podcast."

SEO means making your website as well as your content and product easier for people to find through the search engines. Optimized content shows up higher in the search results of appropriate keywords and phrases. The more optimized your content, the more easy your targeted public to locate it in search.

Becky worked for a Content Marketing agency prior to her transition into an instructor as well as an SEO coach. SEO has been able to stand over time throughout her the course of her career.

"SEO is a tried and true strategy that works," she says. "SEO is an extended sport, but an investment that yields dividends. Instead of making something that only has a shelf life of two seconds, SEO can be an ongoing shelf that will go on for decades."

Since she has optimized the blog's and web-based content with her specific audience with in mind, prospective clients are able to find her content by searching. After they have her blog, the content she has to offer and her unique insight keep them reading, listening, subscribing, and often becoming clients.

"I became the obvious choice since there was no one other than me who answered the question this manner. If it was the last answer they got to, then it was the answer that was resonant with them, meaning I was answering in the way that they required to hear in order for them to want to work together with me."

In the end, Becky finds herself networking (what she calls is an "old school way of marketing") and working with that network to reach more potential customers.

"Getting out and speaking to my existing network, using old-fashioned in-person networking to make new connections... being able to be a part of other people's audiences has been very helpful, whether that's meetings or simply partnering with others," she says.

What do all of these techniques for building audience the same? They help Becky keep a healthy balance between work and life, something that has become more essential than ever for creators over the last few years.

3. Maintain your peace of mind at work and build a lasting business

"It was like all of a sudden, every business was an online business during the pandemic. This, I believe, led to sort of this general burnout" Becky recalls. "I'm getting it from many folks: We're just sort of exhausted running an online business."

Becky focuses on finding ways to expand her readership and her business, without jeopardizing her life that she's built and hopes to lead. "I am a mom, and I want to have a life. I do not want my life being a constant creation of content all the time."

"How do I make the optimal choices to enable me to live my dream and still expand my audience?"

Productivity and growth are wonderful however, they shouldn't are at the cost of your mental wellbeing.

"I need to contemplate what I do with my time in the most efficient way and efficiently, not just because I'm trying to accomplish more, but because I actually want to have a life."

Don't be a slave to the "shoulds to build the company you want to be in

Becky coaches her clients to create businesses that don't burn out. She says it's a result of years spent finding that balance herself.

Her business has come a long way since the first program she started in the year 2018. However, the core of her coaching and helping people to let go of the'shoulds' -- remains steadfast in the products, content and approach to growth.