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September 10, 2025 15 mins

In this episode, we explore why content alone won’t save your consulting agency or coaching business. While posting boosts visibility, it rarely translates directly into paying clients—especially when you’re at the mercy of ever-changing algorithms. We discuss the pitfalls of relying solely on social media, the burnout that comes from constant posting, and the frustration of seeing little return on your efforts.

Key topics include:
- The difference between visibility and revenue
- Real-life examples of algorithm changes derailing business growth
- Why consistent posting doesn’t guarantee clients
- The importance of having a system or funnel behind your content
- How to turn content from noise into a client-generating machine
- The power of clear calls to action and next steps
- Questions to assess your current content strategy

Tune in to learn how to make every piece of content work harder for your business and discover practical steps to move from posting for engagement to building a reliable client pipeline.

Curious about one-to-one coaching? Submit an application here and we can chat about your business.

If you’re ready for more personalised support, I currently have space for five new one-to-one coaching clients.

It’s 11 hours of tailored coaching for £2,500, designed to help you build a marketing system that feels like you — no formulas, no pretending.

If you want to apply for one of these spots before we open it up more widely, you can do that here:

https://airtable.com/app28MNir9SrqMbbK/pagGT2MCWXEbrEUVH/form

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hey, on today's episode of theCaffeine Authority Builder
Podcast, we're gonna be talkingabout how content alone won't
save your consulting agency orcoaching business.
Posting is great for visibility.
It gets you likes, maybe evensome dms, but here's the hard
truth.
Visibility doesn't pay thebills, and you're very much

(00:23):
reliant on somebody else'salgorithm to do the work.
I know this isn't news to you,but if you listen to the last
episode and if you've met withme, you know I'm all about
taking control back and notdepending on other people's
platforms.
To grow your business content onits own is not gonna save your
service-based business in theshort term or the long term for

(00:45):
many different reasons.
I have seen, in fact, I'vespoken this week with somebody,
ahead of interviewing them for apodcast episode who became
really, really famous on TikTokduring COVID.
they were just in the rightplace at the right time.
They made it into a business,but then the algorithm changed
on, TikTok and their, Theirreach plummeted and the ability

(01:11):
to get in front of people wasjust no longer there.
They actually reverted back tousing Instagram as a platform
and pivoted their own business.
Now that is somebody who tookadvantage of an opportunity.
They all of a sudden foundthemselves TikTok famous and
then capitalized on it.
and you may feel like yourbusiness is more structured than
that, but I just wanna point outit's not actually that

(01:35):
different.
If you're putting content outthere and you're hoping for
engagement, you're hoping for itto maybe not go viral, but
attract enough eyes and earsthat people start picking up the
phone and speaking to you, it'snot necessarily, the case
doesn't always translate into.
A single new client, and Ireally wanted you to consider at
this point, Have you ever lookedinto all the energy you're

(01:56):
putting into posting andwondered where's the return?
Because I know I have, I, you'veheard me talk about this at
length at all, you'll know thatI am a massive cynic about
posting on social media.
The big irony being that you aremost likely listen to this
podcast episode'cause you'veeither received my email, which
is fine.
That's my own list.
Or I've posted on LinkedIn,which is not my own platform.

(02:20):
I am.
Just wanna say something onthat, number one.
Social media.
I'm not social media first.
I create stuff for the peoplewho are on my email list and who
open my emails and who listen into things.
And for clients who find thisreally helpful and like they've
got a buddy in their business,that's why I do it.
And also, frankly, becausespeaking out loud helps me to

(02:42):
get ideas out of my head, whichhelps me both mentally and also
helps me in terms of marketing.
LinkedIn is a platform on whichI share stuff.
So is Instagram to a lesserextent, but I really bloody hate
posting on social media.
It's a huge phobia of, Iwouldn't say phobia.
That's a bit extreme.
It's a huge resistance point ofmind.

(03:03):
And there are some personalreasons behind that.
And there is also just the kindof sense of this feels like a
hell of a lot of energy for nota lot of return.
And, Being somebody whoprioritizes efficiency.
That is, it's a frustratingpoint for me.
I was recently working withsomebody who was posting every
single day on LinkedIn and shewas recording a podcast episode

(03:27):
each couple of weeks.
She was also sending out anemail every single Friday.
She never missed a single slot.
She was also doing, she wasspeaking onto other people's
podcasts.
she was hosting her own.
Seminars.
She was going to speak on stageat massive national events.
She's also a parent and ishandling a lot of stuff in

(03:50):
addition to her day job becauseshe still did her day job
alongside her coaching business.
That is a hell of a lot.
Like I, I dunno how that personwas doing.
I was burnt out even looking atwhat she was doing.
and that was even the stuff thatwas separate from.
The client finding, right?
Like it was not an individualone-to-one conversation saying,

(04:11):
Hey, let's jump on a call.
It was really it.
Her feed looked really polished.
Her marketing looked well, Imean, maybe polished isn't the
word.
She was an imperfect actionperson.
I thought it was bloodybrilliant.
But she, and she was getting outthere.
it, it was consistent and it wasthere, and that is amazing.
You know, I live consistency,but the reality was it wasn't
translating to clients for herand, clients were, I rather

(04:35):
leads were becoming veryexpensive.
And I, I hear this from people.
They'll say to me, especiallyagencies, they'll say, we post
so much on Instagram.
and, but we feel like we'reshouting out into the void.
We're not getting any traction.
And number one, often they'reposting on platforms where their
clients aren't hanging out.

(04:55):
Number two, often they'reposting things that aren't of
interest to their potentialclients.
If anything, they may be ofinterest to people for HR
purposes like talent, but oftenmore often than not, they're
just talking about themselves asan agency rather than anybody's
issue or problem.
So it is not gonna haveengagement regardless of what

(05:15):
platform it's on and.
A lot of these people arethinking if I just post more,
something has to change.
It's this behavior spiral.
that means that you'reconstantly refreshing Instagram
or LinkedIn and you still don'thave any discovery calls booked
and you feel like you just needto double down even more.

(05:37):
but I just wanna.
To give you a bit of a mindsetshift here on on posting, it
doesn't have to equal pipelinepi.
Rather, posting doesn't equalpipeline content can build
awareness, but without a system,it doesn't move people from
interested party slash followerto client.
So.

(05:57):
You know, I love an analogy, soit is a bit like throwing seeds
on concrete.
No matter how many you scatter,they're not gonna grow without
the soil, water and structure.
I thought that over the verybeginning of social media, that
is how old I am.
No, but when, as a business,when I was in somebody else's
business and, and.
We just started to realize thatcompanies could have their own

(06:18):
social media profiles on, forexample, LinkedIn, on Instagram.
I thought being visible meantwe'd be booked out, which is so
naive, but we are talking God, Imean.
15 years ago, a really, reallylong time ago now, it was the
early days of the internet, saysthe old woman.
but what I learned is thatvisibility is only step one.

(06:41):
And after a very relativelyshort period of time, I got
really sick of checking forsuccess in the form of likes.
That isn't the bottom line ofthe business that I was in at
the time or any business.
Now it's clients, it's revenue,and if you are chasing
engagement in the hope thatsomething will change in the
future, I, it might, but there'sa strong chance it won't, and I

(07:07):
don't think it's the right thingto be focusing on.
But here's a reframe for you.
When you add a funnel, contentbecomes fuel, not just noise.
A funnel gives you structure.
It tells people what to do next.
I know a lot of people don'tlike the word funnel, but
honestly just think of it asyour next step, as if you are an
interested party, what you donow.

(07:27):
So for example, one client'spost.
All now point toward a freeresource.
They all relate back to a freeresource and that resource.
So also called a lead magnet.
It could be a book, it could bea webinar, it could be a
training, it could be a podcastepisode.
But that resource feeds intocalls because once they go ca
get the resource, theprospective client has shared

(07:49):
their email, which allows us tosend them a message across,
welcoming them and offering theman opportunity to have a call.
Some of those calls will lead toclients, and suddenly every post
has a purpose.
So.
Think about how this works foryour business.
For example, in my own podcasts,don't just sit there.
Each one links back to a call toaction, which links to more

(08:14):
often than not a call or todirect people towards the next
best next step with me, even ifwe're not.
Promoting a particular serviceor product at that time.
We're always encouraging peopleto take a next action.
We don't just share somethingfor the sake of it.
If you think about, it almostlooks a bit megalomaniac and and
egotistical to share somethingfor the sake of it.

(08:36):
I do feel like there always hasto be a, and if this was of
interest to you here, some nextsteps.
I, as a marketing and newbusiness person, would recommend
that those next steps are howthey can work with you.
But it may well be that you'resaying, actually, here's another
book you might want to go readif you're interested in this
topic.
It's something that givespeople, a next point of

(08:58):
interest, which is.
I, to me, this is more like aconversation, right?
When we speak to people, wedon't just shout at them and
then walk off.
We, we kind of leave a trail ofbreadcrumbs, and although
posting on social media doesn'tnecessarily feel like a
conversation a lot of the time,by putting in a call to action,
you are offering people a nextstep in that conversation.

(09:20):
It becomes a dialogue, or thereis an opportunity for a dialogue
rather than just shouting outthere with your monologue.
So another thing I wanna talkabout is this filthy word here,
funnel, because people really, alot of people really don't like
that.
I just want you to think of thatas an inverted triangle where
there's.
Say one client at the bottom.

(09:40):
For every one client at thebottom that comes out at the
pointy bit of the triangle,there has to be a hundred people
going at the top.
Now that isn't necessarily inthe number that would work for
your business.
It may be a great deal higher,it may be a great deal on the
lower, depending on what yourbusiness model is, but.
This is true of all businesses.
Funnels do not have to becomplicated.
Sometimes it's literally a postthat reaches many and directs

(10:04):
people to a next step, which issome kind of freebie that offers
a solution and adds value, to asituation or a problem that
they're facing.
And in turn, that leads to theopportunity to have a call and
some of those calls will convertinto clients.
It's just the nature that lotsof people will see that very few
people will take action.
One person might come out theother end as a client.

(10:26):
That's all you've got to beaware of.
But the important thing to notehere is it's always more people
at the top of that invertedtriangle at the top of that
funnel than you can everimagine, and oftentimes it's
invisible to us.
Oftentimes, if you're justwaiting for people to pick up
the phone and call you orschedule an appointment, then
you are completely unaware ofhow many people you were

(10:47):
actually in consideration for.
As a prospective serviceprovider, the only thing that
you are in control of is.
Your visibility, but alsoencouraging people to take next
steps.
So if you are in considerationwith any of those people, you
are giving them opportunities tospeak to you, to discuss it with
you.

(11:08):
So they are as best prepared asthey can be to hire you if and
when the time is right for them.
And it still work, won't workout for some of them.
You won't be a good chemistryfit for whatever reason.
But unless you try, you don'thave an opportunity to take the
next step.
Or rather they won't.
So imagine if every post orpodcast or article you put out

(11:29):
had a system behind it, one thatsteadily turned visibility into
clients.
This is what it feels like nowwhen I post with a pheno behind
it.
It's relief, confidence, andcalm.
Like I'm recording this podcastepisode right before my kids
walk through the door and causecomplete carnage.
I have some potatoes on the boildownstairs.

(11:50):
There are sausages about to gointo the air fryer.
It's probably too muchinformation, but I am recording
this podcast episode and thereis going to be a series of
messages that are shared with myaudience and on different
platforms, so it's reaching asmany people as it can, and at
the bottom of.
Each of the posts around it.
And at the end of this podcastepisode as well, and at the

(12:12):
bottom of each of the emails,there's gonna be a call to
action.
Just take the next step with me.
And at this point in time, thatis because I've got some spaces
coming up to work with peopleone to one, and it's very
timely.
They're gonna start on October1st.
2025.
We're now, Tuesday, September9th, and, I'm hoping some of the

(12:33):
people listen into this.
It struck a chord with, and theystart considering potentially
taking one of those spots at thebottom of every piece of that
content that I share.
Whether it's audio, it's video,it's a post, or it's an email.
It will have a link to go takethat next step, whether it's
book a call with me or completean application.

(12:53):
So what would change for you ifyou knew that each piece of
content had a job to do and notjust sit there and hope that
it's gonna do the right thing onyour behalf?
So some questions to consider.
How often are you posting orcreating content right now?
What results are you actuallyseeing from that content?

(13:14):
Either visibility or payingclients?
And do you have a clear nextstep for people who engage with
your posts?
How much time or energy iscontent creation taking from you
each week?
For me, that's a huge one.
I find it's one of the mostenergy zapping things ever,
unless it's me talking to thismicrophone, which is exactly

(13:35):
what I'm doing now.
And what would change if everypostal podcast episode or email
you created had a clear paththat led.
To clients.
So something I want you to thinkabout now, if you are tired of
posting without payoff, let'sbuild your funnel out with you
in my one-to-one coaching.
Let's see why I did that.

(13:56):
We map out the exact system thatturns your content into clients.
You can apply at the link belowin the show notes, or you can
book a chemistry call with me ifyou want to chat in more detail.
You can find that in the shownotes as well.
And the very first thing we'regonna do together is order.
your existing content to spotmissing conversion steps, real

(14:17):
easy call to actions that we canput into play.
For your business, you're gonnawalk away from our call knowing
how to make the content you arealready creating, actually
count, and my hope is you'llreach the bottom of that funnel
and we'll actually start workingtogether and I'll get you to
actually do that in your ownbusiness.
I'll be a part of implementingit.

(14:38):
Okay, see you next time.
Bye.
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