Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs

From Hidden to Visible: 5 Proven Strategies to Get Your Business Seen

• Tonya • Episode 9

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Have you ever felt like you're shouting into the void with your business? You know your offers could truly transform lives, but somehow, the right people just aren't finding you. The harsh truth is that without strategic visibility, even the most brilliant business will stay stuck in obscurity.

Drawing from my own journey that began with a moment of panic when my music teaching career was threatened, I share the exact visibility strategies that not only saved my business but transformed it into multiple successful ventures. I reveal how a simple 45-minute blog post about clarinet mouthpieces continues generating income six years later through the power of properly implemented SEO – not the surface-level tactics most "experts" peddle, but genuine search optimization based on understanding what your audience is actually searching for.

Beyond your website, I uncover how social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn function as powerful search engines when approached correctly. Learn why my basic SEO reel attracted substantial new followers while more elaborate content fell flat, and discover how YouTube's position as the second-largest search engine makes it an unmatched visibility asset with staying power that social media simply can't match. I also demystify strategic advertising, podcast guesting, collaborative partnerships, and speaking engagements as complementary visibility channels that can exponentially expand your reach.

The key takeaway? Visibility isn't about frantically trying to be everywhere or posting random content in hopes something sticks. It's about intentionally showing up in the right places with the right message. Ready to transform your approach to getting seen? My quarterly planning workshops provide the structure to implement these strategies in a way that aligns with your unique business and personal energy. Visit tonyalawson.com/plan to join us and finally get the visibility your business deserves.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Plan Like a Boss. Today, I want to share with you a tough truth. You could have the most amazing offer in the world, something that could literally change people's lives, but if no one knows you exist, your business is going to stay stuck. That's why today's episode is all about visibility. Not the random post on Instagram five times a day and hope for the best kind of visibility. I'm talking about smart strategies that actually get you seen by the right people in the right places. I'm going to share with you five powerful strategies, plus a couple of bonus ones, that I've personally used to grow my own business and, trust me, these are things that work, even if you don't have a massive following or a huge ad budget. So let's start with the foundation your website. Your website is your online home. It's where potential clients find you, and SEO search engine optimization is the map that helps get them there. Now I know there are a lot of people out there throwing those three little letters around, but I've got news for you Most of them have no idea what they're talking about.

Speaker 1:

When I first discovered SEO, I was teaching music lessons, and that was literally my only stream of income. I live in one of two states that I'm aware of where music teachers can go into the schools and pull students out of their band class to teach music lessons, and the county that I live in decided one day that maybe they weren't going to do that anymore. And I panicked. It was blind panic on my part, because if they got rid of that program, how was I going to make a living? I didn't know what to do, and that's when I realized I was keeping all of my eggs in one basket. I knew that I had a website and I knew I should be able to make money with it, but I didn't know how to do it. So I took my first course in SEO Now this was over six years ago and it was taught by a couple of bros who told me that my website was never going to work. It was never going to make any money that I needed in each website, so it was a little icky to me. But I went ahead and made my coffee website and I started writing review posts. And well, they were right. I started making money, but I knew that I should be able to make money with my own website, so I started taking what I learned from them and tweaking it to make it work on my own website as a musician, and soon that website was making more money than the coffee website. The coffee website was solely based off of affiliate income and ad revenue, whereas my website was making some affiliate income, but it was also selling my offers, the things that I do, and that income was 100% profit, not just a small commission.

Speaker 1:

As I went on, I started branching out into other websites and then one day, out of sheer frustration, because I was constantly getting asked the same questions over and over again from my students' parents about how to get a clarinet mouthpiece, or what clarinet mouthpiece their child needed, or why they needed one, I finally just went and Googled best clarinet mouthpiece. I was just going to send them to somebody else's blog. I just I was done. But the blogs that were out there were crap. They were those same websites by those same bros writing reviews and they knew nothing about them. So I just took probably 45 minutes out of my day and I wrote a blog post on the best clarinet mouthpiece and what you needed for intermediate and advanced players, and of course, I optimized it for SEO because I had been, you know, learning this and I knew that it was important. Well, that was six years ago and I still make affiliate income off of that post today. That is the magic of SEO Instead of constantly chasing new eyeballs, you're creating content that keeps bringing people to you for years Now.

Speaker 1:

The key here is not just throwing random content online. You've got to know your audience's questions. So, in my instance, I knew that my students' parents were asking me these questions about clarinet mouthpieces. Then you need to use the keywords that they're searching for. So I listened to what my students' parents had to say and I used their words verbatim. And you also need to make your website easy for both humans and Google to navigate. So I broke that post into short, tiny paragraphs, because, let's face it, nobody reads anymore. We all scroll. I do it, you do it, and if you say you don't really think about it, you do so. If you take nothing else from this episode, let it be this Build your home base, because Instagram could shut down tomorrow, but your website is yours.

Speaker 1:

Now let's talk about social media SEO, because here's the thing Instagram, tiktok, linkedin, pinterest they are all search engines. Now People aren't just scrolling, they're searching. They're searching for things like blonde hair color specialist in Austin or Catholic wedding photographer in Nashville, and, as of recently, instagram posts are even showing up in Google search results. That means your captions and your hashtags aren't just for fun. They're actual keywords that can help you get discovered. So, for example, I had a reel about SEO for beginners that took off, not because it was the flashiest video it literally was taken straight from one of my YouTube videos and we threw some captions on it but because I used the exact words people were typing into search SEO tips for small businesses. That reel took forever off. People were finding it. I was getting new subscribers because of it. So here's what you need to do Instead of posting random motivational quotes or what you had for lunch, start creating content that answers the questions your audience is asking. Align your profile, your captions and even your bio with the phrases your people are typing into that little search bar. That's how you go from crickets to clicks.

Speaker 1:

Now next up is YouTube SEO. If you've been hanging out with me for a while, you know I love YouTube, and here's why. It's the second largest search engine in the world and it's owned by Google, which means your videos can show up both on YouTube and in Google search results. Double the visibility Now. When I first started creating YouTube content, I was nervous, like who's going to listen to me talk about SEO or planning. But then one of my videos on how to find your perfect planner started showing up in search. Then it went viral and I got over 200 new subscribers overnight from one video. And the best part, that video is still working for me. While social media posts disappear in about 24 hours, your YouTube video keeps showing up months or even years later. So if you're already making video content for Instagram or TikTok, why not repurpose it for YouTube? Just be intentional about your titles, your descriptions and your keywords.

Speaker 1:

All right, let's shift gears for a second. We're going to talk about ads Now. I know ads get a bad rap sometimes, but here's the truth they can be a great tool if you use them strategically. So think of SEO as your long game. It takes time to build, but the results last to build, but the results last. Ads, on the other hand, are the opposite. They're like turning on a faucet you get visibility almost instantly, but here's the catch If you don't have a clear plan, ads will just eat your money. You need to know exactly where you want people to go and what you want them to do next. Are they signing up for a freebie? Are they booking a discovery call? Are they buying your product? I remember running my very first ad to promote my Instagram SEO cheat sheet. I didn't spend a ton, but I got new leads quickly because the ad led directly to something valuable. Ads don't have to be scary or expensive. You just need to use them to amplify what's already working.

Speaker 1:

Now let me share one of my absolute favorite visibility strategies being interviewed on podcasts. When you're a guest on someone else's podcast, you are essentially borrowing their audience. You get to show up, share your story and provide value and suddenly hundreds or even thousands of people who may never have heard of you now know who you are. I've been on podcasts where afterwards people DM me to say I heard you on so-and-so show and I had to come find you. It builds instant trust because you're showing up in a space where the audience already trusts the host.

Speaker 1:

If you're listening to this podcast and you're a regular listener, you know that I know what I'm talking about and I don't have people on the show that don't know what they're talking about or don't align with my values and, unlike social media, podcast episodes live on forever. Someone could discover an episode you recorded two years ago and still reach out to work with you today. You recorded two years ago and still reach out to work with you today. So if you haven't pitched yourself to be on podcast yet, put it on your list. It's one of the highest return visibility moves you can make. And, spoiler alert, if this is something you've been thinking about or want to try, you need to listen to next week's episode, which is an interview with an expert on podcast pitching.

Speaker 1:

And because I can't resist giving you just a little extra, here are a couple of bonus visibility strategies. The first one is collaborations and partner campaigns. Partner with someone who has a complimentary audience. So, for example, if you're a copywriter, team up with a web designer and do a workshop together. You're doubling your reach while serving both audiences. Or another great bonus tip is speaking at summits or conferences, whether virtual or in person. Public speaking puts you in front of an engaged audience who is already online, ready to learn. They are there because they want to learn and it positions you as the expert in the room.

Speaker 1:

Visibility isn't about doing all the things. It's about picking the right strategies that fit your strengths and your audience. Maybe that's SEO on your website, maybe it's YouTube, or maybe it's pitching yourself for podcasts. The point is, you don't have to stay hidden. You can get in front of the right people in ways that actually feel sustainable and aligned with you, and if you're ready to take these strategies and actually build them into a plan you can stick to, I would love to see you at one of my quarterly planning workshops, where I'll help you create a step-by-step plan that works with your schedule and your energy, so you can show up consistently without burning out.

Speaker 1:

Now we just had the quarter four workshop on Saturday, but you still have two weeks to grab the replay at tanyalawsoncom slash plan. That's T-O-N-Y-A-L-a-w-s-o-ncom slash plan, or, if you're listening to this later. I run them every quarter so you can go to the exact same site to see when the next one is going to happen. Thank you so much for joining me today. Remember, visibility isn't about being everywhere. It's about showing up in the right place in the right way. So until next time, keep planning like a boss.