May 27, 2025 • 22 mins
What happens when you build a massive social media following only to discover they're not your ideal clients? Marketing expert Janine Coney reveals her unexpected journey from Instagram influencer to successful business coach on this episode of the Mindset in Action podcast.
After amassing an enviable Instagram following (beyond that coveted 10K mark), Janine made a startling discovery: her impressive audience wasn't translating into paying clients. Despite receiving free products and event invitations, she wasn't leveraging her true zone of genius in marketing and branding. This disconnect forced a pivotal decision that would transform her business approach entirely.
With refreshing honesty, Janine shares the challenges of pivoting away from an established audience to rebuild one aligned with her business goals. She offers practical strategies for entrepreneurs looking to build quality followers rather than simply chasing numbers. From selecting the right platforms where your ideal clients actually spend time to creating content that resonates with them, her advice cuts through typical social media myths.
"People connect with people, and you need to make sure that you are as authentic as you can be," Janine emphasizes, warning against blending in with trending language or approaches that don't reflect your true self. Her three-point action plan provides immediate steps to review your social presence, establish consistency, and craft compelling bios that speak directly to client needs.
Whether you're just starting your audience-building journey or wondering why your large following isn't converting to sales, this conversation offers invaluable insights into creating a social media presence that attracts the right people—those who will actually buy from you, not just follow you. Listen now to transform your approach to audience building and stop wasting time on followers who'll never become clients.
Janine Coney Linkedin or Instagram
FREE 3 Part Audio - Access Here
Podcast Equipment Recommendations MY KIT
FEA Create Simple all-in-one web, CRM, email system
For graphics Canva
Join the Pod Squad in the FB Group
My MIC ACTION PODCAST - here is a link to Spotify
Read from My Book Shelf & My Guests Book Shelf
Want to Guest? Apply here >>FORM
Edited and produced by Donna Eade
Thank you for your support:)
Until next week, Bye for Now XoX
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Donna Eade (00:00):
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast
the place to be to grow andstreamline your business.
I'm your host, donna Eade.
Let's jump into the show.
Welcome back to the podcast,everybody.
I'm so glad to have you herefor this fourth episode in our
(00:22):
live podcast series.
So these are the episodes thatwent live on stage with me at
the Mindset and Action eventthat I held at the beginning of
April.
This episode is with thewonderful Janine Coney.
We were talking all aboutaudience building.
Janine amassed a huge followingon Instagram.
It is one of those ones thateverybody would have been
(00:44):
envious of, especially a fewyears ago when you couldn't get
the swipe up feature unless youhad 10,000 followers and before
the link section came in onInstagram.
So she built a fantasticfollowing without buying
followers, never did any of thatkind of stuff.
It was all organic.
(01:05):
But she decided to make a pivotand move away from the audience
that she had built.
So we are talking all about thereasons why she pivoted, the
reasons why that audience wasn'tworking for her anymore and
what it is that she has done andis putting in place to correct
that.
So if you are looking to buildyour audience on social media,
(01:27):
then make sure that you listento this episode.
Before I let you jump into that,I do want to let you know of
two classes that I have gotcoming up very, very soon.
So the first one is for virtualassistants.
So if you are a virtualassistant, listen up, come back
to me.
You want to listen to this.
So if you are looking toupskill and offer more services
(01:50):
within your remit, then I wouldlove for you to come and fill in
a survey for me.
I'm doing a little bit of marketresearch.
It's donnaeedcom forward slashVA podcast.
Donnaeedcom forward slash vapodcast.
It is seven questions.
You answer those questions,fill in that form and what
(02:10):
that's going to do is help mecreate this class.
What it is going to produce atthe end of it is a va production
podcasting workshop.
It's going to be fullycomprehensive.
I've already got a lot of ideasof what I'm going to be
teaching in it, but this surveyis really going to help me to
understand what it is that theaudience is wanting in that
(02:31):
respect.
So if you are interested inadding podcast production skills
and services to your remit,then go and fill in that form
DonnaEcom forward slash VApodcast.
Three people who fill it inwill be getting a free place on
the first workshop.
Everybody else will get a heftydiscount on that workshop, so
it's well worth going andfilling it in if it is something
(02:53):
that you have considered.
So that is the first one.
The second one I'm going totell you more about in the
coming weeks.
If you are on my podcastmailing list, then you will be
the first to know.
So if you want to be the firstto know about that second class
and you want more information onthe VA one, then go to
donateecom forward slash podsquad, sign up for my weekly
(03:15):
newsletter and you will have allthat information in there.
So, without further ado, let'sjump back into this live episode
with Janine Coney.
Ok, so, jan, janine, before westart, what's your name and
where do you come from?
Yeah, exactly that's what I wasgoing to say what's your name
and where'd you come from.
Tell us a little bit about whatyou do, hello Estilla, and
(03:37):
don't, and don't, forget to eatthe microphone.
Janine Coney (03:41):
So hello everybody .
My name is Janine Coney.
I'm a marketing, personalbranding and business coach, and
I work with female founders andleaders who are looking to
stand out from the crowd, whowant to build their business and
want to be known as the one,the expert in their field and
the one that people choose.
(04:02):
Yeah, so that's, in brief, whatI do.
We're going to go into moredetail, I think.
Donna Eade (04:06):
Yeah, yeah.
So the reason that I askedJanine to come to talk and if
you follow her on Instagram,you'll know she has a rather
large following on Instagram andit was when I looked at it I
was like, oh, that's what I want, that's what I want.
And then I spoke to Janine andI was like, oh no, that's not
what I want.
Janine Coney (04:23):
That's not what I want.
Donna Eade (04:25):
So, janine, tell us about your audience and how you
created it and how you got it towhere it is, and then we'll
jump into all the reasons why wemight not want to do it like
that Exactly.
Janine Coney (04:38):
Well, it will all unfold as I tell you.
So I worked, as I've said toyou, in marketing and events all
of my career, and HR as well,and then I made a massive pivot
in 2018 when, after losing bothmy parents and I think somebody
said earlier, actually it's atthose times where you really do
look at your life and think,what am I doing and I actually
(05:02):
then retrained as an imageconsultant and I thought at that
point, wow, this is what Ireally really want to be doing.
So I set out on Instagram atthat point and, although I built
brands for other people, I'vegot to be honest.
I didn't set out at that pointthinking, oh, I'm building my
brand here.
I was just thinking I need waseasier to increase your
(05:24):
following, and I literally wasposting after what we've talked
about this morning, kind of likemorning, noon and night really
and it did really grow myfollowing as well.
(05:46):
What I didn't do I know we'renot going into that, but I
people's minds might go straightaway did you buy followers
never bought followers.
I never got engaged in anyfollow pods or whatever you call
where people like follow me,and we all have to comment on
everybody's posts at seveno'clock in the morning.
But I did get very, very caughtup in the world of influencing
(06:06):
at that time and that might lookreally super lovely to you and,
yes, it helped build myaudience, but what it wasn't
doing is it wasn't building myaudience with the customers,
with the clients that I wanted.
I was building my audience asan influencer and, as I said to
Donna which you were quitesurprised I then quickly
(06:30):
realized that I wasn't using allof my skills.
If you want the shortenedversion, just tell me.
I quickly realized I wasn'tusing all of my skills.
If you want the shortenedversion just tell me I quickly
realized I wasn't using all ofmy skills and I really missed
the marketing, I missed thebranding, and I was going out
and about to lots of networkingmeetings and meeting people and
I was thinking I could help youdo that, I can help you do that.
So it was that point I thought,actually, and going on, I think
(06:52):
from this morning'sconversation as well, I think
that was the point I realizedand really realized where my
zone of genius was and we allhave that and we were talking
about that this morning theplace that really makes you
fired up and really excited toto be in.
And that, for me, was when Iwas coaching people, when I was
really helping them get truly,truly visible in what they
(07:13):
wanted to do.
So at that point, without goingon too much there, I decided
that it was time to pivot mybusiness and it was at that
point where I had grown myaudience and I had grown my
audience.
But obviously my audience had tochange at that point and I
realized that at that point, asthat growing an audience as an
(07:35):
influencer is very differentthan growing an audience as
somebody in business, and I hadto, at that point, make that
decision what route I wanted togo down and I knew that I had
wanted my business to actuallygo in the direction I wanted it
to, not as an influencer,because being sent stuff
although it was lovely andworking with the brands is stuff
although it was lovely andworking with the brands is
(07:57):
lovely, but it wasn't paying thebills.
So if you weren't getting paidfor it, even though I was being
sent things and I was going toevents and having photographs
taken, you know, wonderful andit built my audience, but at a
certain point I realized itwasn't building it in the way
that I wanted it to.
So I think the clear lessonfrom that, from my point of view
(08:17):
, even though I have a verylarge audience of engaged people
is make sure that you'rebuilding your audience for your
clients, because I then had topivot and I actually lost a lot
of followers.
Am I going on too long now,donna?
Donna Eade (08:31):
I lost a lot of followers at that point but I
just want to get this out.
Janine Coney (08:35):
so I lost a lot of followers and then I gained
them again, yeah, so I had tolean into that at that point too
.
Donna Eade (08:41):
So what should we be focusing on when we're looking
at building that right audience?
You?
Janine Coney (08:46):
need to be focusing on who your ideal
client is.
Now I bet everybody in this roomis going to go.
I know that, janine, but howmany people are actually making
sure that they are engaging withthe people that they want to
work with, without worryingabout what anybody else thinks,
without thinking about what yourpeers think and definitely
without thinking what the latesttrend is?
(09:11):
People connect with people, andyou need to make sure that you
are as authentic as you can beand you are showing people your
point of difference, because ifyou're trying to blend in with
everybody else, then you're notgoing to have any point of
difference for anybody else towant to follow you.
But that then doesn't meanyou've got to be the loudest and
it doesn't mean you've got tobe the person jumping around on
(09:33):
wheels or doing something thatdoesn't feel right for you.
But it does mean having anopinion and it does mean being,
as I say, authentic and makingsure that you're speaking to the
right people, because they willlisten, you will call people in
and you will repel people away,and that's fine too to so when
(09:58):
we're looking at all thedifferent platforms where we can
build an audience, what wouldyou say we need to consider when
we're focusing?
Donna Eade (10:01):
because some of us are everywhere and scrambling
and trying to be everywhere andare exhausted.
Others of us are on a platformbecause we like it, but we're
speaking into the abyss becauseour audience actually isn't
there, and then others of usjust don't even want to even
look at it because my god, it's,it's enough already.
So how do we sort of make surethat we're focusing on the right
(10:21):
platforms and I know thatyou've had a bit of a change
recently with that as well, sotalk about that yeah, exactly,
I've um, obviously, I built mypersonal brand and my business
on Instagram and I'm still veryprolific on Instagram and I love
it.
Janine Coney (10:36):
But I also realized that the businesses
that I work with and a lot ofthe people I work with now on
LinkedIn, so I've obviously nowtaken my focus over onto
LinkedIn, which isn't easy whenyou start again, especially from
my point of view, but I thinkfor anybody, you, if you are
starting out, then you need tostart on one platform and build
that up and make sure thatyou're happy, but make sure the
(10:57):
platform that you're on is theone again where your ideal
client is and your audience is.
There is absolutely no pointbeing on TikTok or on whatever
other channel just because maybeyou're 15-year-old is and tells
you it's amazing if that's notwhere your client's going to be
seen.
So you're going to be seen byyour ideal client and I think,
(11:19):
although that's an older pieceof advice, I think it's
something too, and what I meanby that is you know you won't
have heard that won't be thefirst time you've heard anybody
say that to you, I'm sure, butstill very, very true, and
people do get sucked in by newtrends and new things that are
coming out and feel I mean, howmany people still use threads
now?
So don't be sucked in byeverything.
(11:40):
Make sure that you areliterally going where your
client goes.
Donna Eade (11:44):
Threads actually annoys the heck out of me.
Anybody else Like I'm onFacebook and I see something
that's interesting and I clickon it.
It takes me into threads.
I'm like that's not what Iwanted.
Why am I over here?
It's me into threads.
I'm like I didn't that's notwhat I wanted.
Why am I over here?
It's really annoying.
So what do you actually?
Janine Coney (12:05):
talk about to your audience on these platforms,
and how can we work out what weneed to be sharing?
Okay, so you want to be.
You want to be giving people aninsight into you we were
talking earlier and you can'tjust be selling all the time.
Nobody wants that, you know.
People will just scroll on byif all you're doing is buy this.
This is what it's going to dofor you.
You need to be engaging withyour audience so that they can
understand who you are and whythey should be picking you.
(12:26):
But what you want to be doingis going in with a particular
subject that you want to talkabout and let people know where
they are, and you want to letpeople know where they can get
to.
So you're kind of callingpeople out.
In a sense, you're saying Iknow you're here, but you want
to get to here and this is how Ican take you there and that's
(12:48):
what you want to do.
And then you can talk aboutsome of your own experiences as
well.
So you should be sharingexactly what took you from where
you are to where they want tobe, because most people are have
walked where their clients arewalking.
So you want to be sharing thatas well.
You want to be sharing the goodthings and you also want to be
(13:09):
sharing the bad things as well.
You want to make sure thatyou're letting them know that
you're a real person, thatthings happen to you like you
probably wouldn't believe thatyears ago I suffered so badly,
with panic attacks, even beingable to sit here and do this.
Well, I just wouldn't have beenable to do it.
In fact, I couldn't have evensat in the front row for any
length of time because I'd havehad to be known I can get out
(13:30):
the room.
So for me it's a huge thingthat I can come and do this now.
Some people would say why wouldyou talk about that?
And I'm not in the pain of itnow, so I can talk about it.
So I do believe in sharing astruggle.
What I don't believe in issharing the struggle when you're
going through it.
That day, nobody wants youcoming on going.
(13:51):
I'm having a crap day today andla la, la.
The next day you're back ongoing bye from me.
Bye from me because that's abit, but you know you can talk
afterwards of things that you'vebeen through.
Donna Eade (14:02):
Amy Porterfield says share the scabs well.
Porterfield says share thescabs Well, share the scars not
the scabs.
Janine Coney (14:07):
Don't talk from the pain, yeah exactly so.
Donna Eade (14:15):
do you have a strategy when it comes to your
social media and how have youkind of worked on that over?
Janine Coney (14:17):
the years.
Okay, my strategy sometimesgoes out the window because I do
change my mind quite a lot onthings.
Donna Eade (14:23):
We're allowed to change our mind, aren we?
Janine Coney (14:25):
let's keep it real however, it's definitely not a
throw a spaghetti at the wall,um and see what sticks scenario
at all.
Obviously, my marketing brainkicks back in and you have to
have a strategy, you have tohave a plan.
It's as simple as that.
You've got to know where you'retaking your business and when.
You know where you want to takeyour business and you know what
you need to sell, then you canplan back from that and work out
(14:48):
exactly what you need to do toget you there.
And I make that sound simple,but really, in reality, that's
what you've got to do.
So, if you know, you've gotsomething coming up, you know,
and what I do say is most peopledon't give themselves the right
amount of time to do themarketing for anything or to
advertise or to promotesomething.
(15:08):
They're not thinking about howthey're getting visible
afterwards.
Donna Eade (15:12):
So, yeah, these are really important things, yeah so
when we go home today and we'relooking at all of the social
stuff that we're doing, what are?
Three things that we could doto start moving us towards being
in the right place, showing upfor the right people and
attracting them okay, threethings you can do is, first of
(15:35):
all, have a look at your feedand see what what it's telling
other people.
Janine Coney (15:40):
Have a look at it and if it's on instagram, look
at the last nine posts that youput on.
And if I didn't know what youdo, would I look at it.
And if it's on Instagram, lookat the last nine posts that you
put on and if I didn't know whatyou do, would I look at it and
know exactly what any of you dofrom that.
If you're not postingconsistently, ask yourself why
and what can you do.
That fits in with you and yourbusiness.
It doesn't mean that you've gotto be posting three times a day
(16:03):
or even every day.
You need to post.
You need to post consistently.
Now you can be consistently.
Am I allowed to swear?
Yeah, you can be consistentlyshit.
So when I say be consistently, Iwas going to say Kat didn't ask
, so make sure that yourconsistency is obviously shit
and you are, you know, showingup when you say you're going to
show up for your audience.
(16:24):
That's number two.
Number three is please ditchthe boring bios, the boring I
help statements, and rememberthat people want to know exactly
how you're going to move themfrom A to B.
Donna Eade (16:41):
I'm going to do a little name drop now because,
just as you were saying that, Ithought, oh my goodness, like
knowing what you're going topost and having the strategy and
how is it going to fit in withyou?
I had a conversation withDenise Duffield Thomas the other
day look out for it on thepodcast coming soon and she said
that she's already done hersocial media for the year.
Done it already done it why?
(17:04):
Because she doesn't like tospend days.
She's very much like andrea shedoesn't want to spend days and
days on her business.
So she has set things that shedoes on set days.
Thursdays is her podcastinginterviews day.
She gets dressed up, she doesher hair, does her makeup.
The rest of the time she's notgot her makeup on and she has
already done her social mediaposts for the entire year.
So that's how far her strategygoes.
That she's sorted out.
She knows when she's doinglaunches, whatever it is that
(17:26):
she's doing in her business,it's done.
She doesn't have to think aboutit anymore.
And I was like, well, that'samazing.
Um, I'm not quite that good,but this is sort of stuff that
we can implement, isn't it?
Whether it's to that degree orwhether it's just making sure
that the next month is sorted.
Sit down for half a day and getit sorted, and you know we can
use chat gpt to help us.
Janine Coney (17:48):
Um, as long as we make it our own the other thing
is is people don't blow theirown trumpet enough.
You know, especially women, wedon't blow our trumpets enough.
So if you do something, thentell people you know you've got
a.
You've got to get comfortabledoing that.
It's not showing off, it'sletting people know you're
brilliant.
Yeah, well've got to getcomfortable doing that.
It's not showing off, it'sletting people know you're
brilliant.
Donna Eade (18:07):
Yeah, well, that was my first drop, for just for
julia, because she told me shewas going to come after me if I
didn't tell people that I'dinterviewed this woman so okay,
so I'm going to come to you guysfor questions in a second, but
one that I did get dropped intothe q a was um.
We've covered a little bit of ithere, but maybe you can go over
some things and drop somethingelse.
How do you make sure that youare building an audience that
(18:30):
isn't just about a numbers gameand that we're getting the
followers of people that mightactually buy from us?
Janine Coney (18:37):
Again, I think I've probably covered it, but I
think getting really crystalclear on who your ideal client
is and I'm not just talkingabout you know, personas.
I'm talking going really muchdeeper than that.
How do they wake up in themorning, what are they feeling,
what are they thinking, and thentalk to that person?
I'd say the other thing isnever buy followers.
(18:57):
I don't think that's such a bigtrend, but it was a massive
trend at one point.
And be you know, be yourself.
Be yourself.
It's the biggest thing.
There is nobody else that doesyou other than you.
But what everybody else triesto do is blend in with other
people.
They try and take on otherpeople's language or other
people's way of doing things,like if you don't use like
(19:18):
everybody loves using af intheir statements at the moment
and it's like a bugbear of mine,because if that's not your
language and you don't talk tome like that, you don't need to
start including that in yourposts, in whatever you're doing
so make sure the language thatyou use and, coming back to the
ai side of things, make sure, ifyou are going to use chat, gpt
(19:38):
to create anything for you, thatyes, you're taking it and and
you're looking at it and thenyou're putting your, your
thoughts, your opinion, you youit up.
You know, be the one that peoplechoose.
Don't just take it because youwill be getting.
Everybody's copy is juststarting to look the same and
it's your opinions and yourexperience that's going to make
(20:00):
you stand out from other peopleyeah, I think we all need to
lean into us more.
Donna Eade (20:05):
One of the things that I like to pull on when I'm
talking about that is a ladycalled Corinne Crabtree, which
some of you may know.
Some of you won't.
She is a Texan and she does theno BS podcast and she's a
weight loss coach and she swearslike a mofo in everything And's
like if you don't like it, I'mnot the coach for you and that's
(20:27):
it.
And that's how shedifferentiates herself, and the
people that want to come to herwill come to her, and the people
that are turned off by it won'twork with her.
And that is a way to stand outin the crowd is to be you.
That's her it's not.
Janine Coney (20:40):
She's not putting it on repelling because they
weren't your people anywayexactly, exactly.
Donna Eade (20:45):
Do we have any questions from the audience?
Katherine got to run aroundanywhere.
Oh, we've all got fabulousaudiences, we don't need any
help, okay, well, thank you somuch for coming, janine.
I really appreciate having youon the stage.
Thank you very much, you.
You may take a seat.
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast
the place to be to grow andstreamline your business.
I'm your host, donna Eade.
Let's jump into the show.
Welcome back to the podcast,everybody.
I'm so glad to have you herefor this fourth episode in our
(00:22):
live podcast series.
So these are the episodes thatwent live on stage with me at
the Mindset and Action eventthat I held at the beginning of
April.
This episode is with thewonderful Janine Coney.
We were talking all aboutaudience building.
Janine amassed a huge followingon Instagram.
It is one of those ones thateverybody would have been
(00:44):
envious of, especially a fewyears ago when you couldn't get
the swipe up feature unless youhad 10,000 followers and before
the link section came in onInstagram.
So she built a fantasticfollowing without buying
followers, never did any of thatkind of stuff.
It was all organic.
(01:05):
But she decided to make a pivotand move away from the audience
that she had built.
So we are talking all about thereasons why she pivoted, the
reasons why that audience wasn'tworking for her anymore and
what it is that she has done andis putting in place to correct
that.
So if you are looking to buildyour audience on social media,
(01:27):
then make sure that you listento this episode.
Before I let you jump into that,I do want to let you know of
two classes that I have gotcoming up very, very soon.
So the first one is for virtualassistants.
So if you are a virtualassistant, listen up, come back
to me.
You want to listen to this.
So if you are looking toupskill and offer more services
(01:50):
within your remit, then I wouldlove for you to come and fill in
a survey for me.
I'm doing a little bit of marketresearch.
It's donnaeedcom forward slashVA podcast.
Donnaeedcom forward slash vapodcast.
It is seven questions.
You answer those questions,fill in that form and what
(02:10):
that's going to do is help mecreate this class.
What it is going to produce atthe end of it is a va production
podcasting workshop.
It's going to be fullycomprehensive.
I've already got a lot of ideasof what I'm going to be
teaching in it, but this surveyis really going to help me to
understand what it is that theaudience is wanting in that
(02:31):
respect.
So if you are interested inadding podcast production skills
and services to your remit,then go and fill in that form
DonnaEcom forward slash VApodcast.
Three people who fill it inwill be getting a free place on
the first workshop.
Everybody else will get a heftydiscount on that workshop, so
it's well worth going andfilling it in if it is something
(02:53):
that you have considered.
So that is the first one.
The second one I'm going totell you more about in the
coming weeks.
If you are on my podcastmailing list, then you will be
the first to know.
So if you want to be the firstto know about that second class
and you want more information onthe VA one, then go to
donateecom forward slash podsquad, sign up for my weekly
(03:15):
newsletter and you will have allthat information in there.
So, without further ado, let'sjump back into this live episode
with Janine Coney.
Ok, so, jan, janine, before westart, what's your name and
where do you come from?
Yeah, exactly that's what I wasgoing to say what's your name
and where'd you come from.
Tell us a little bit about whatyou do, hello Estilla, and
(03:37):
don't, and don't, forget to eatthe microphone.
Janine Coney (03:41):
So hello everybody .
My name is Janine Coney.
I'm a marketing, personalbranding and business coach, and
I work with female founders andleaders who are looking to
stand out from the crowd, whowant to build their business and
want to be known as the one,the expert in their field and
the one that people choose.
(04:02):
Yeah, so that's, in brief, whatI do.
We're going to go into moredetail, I think.
Donna Eade (04:06):
Yeah, yeah.
So the reason that I askedJanine to come to talk and if
you follow her on Instagram,you'll know she has a rather
large following on Instagram andit was when I looked at it I
was like, oh, that's what I want, that's what I want.
And then I spoke to Janine andI was like, oh no, that's not
what I want.
Janine Coney (04:23):
That's not what I want.
Donna Eade (04:25):
So, janine, tell us about your audience and how you
created it and how you got it towhere it is, and then we'll
jump into all the reasons why wemight not want to do it like
that Exactly.
Janine Coney (04:38):
Well, it will all unfold as I tell you.
So I worked, as I've said toyou, in marketing and events all
of my career, and HR as well,and then I made a massive pivot
in 2018 when, after losing bothmy parents and I think somebody
said earlier, actually it's atthose times where you really do
look at your life and think,what am I doing and I actually
(05:02):
then retrained as an imageconsultant and I thought at that
point, wow, this is what Ireally really want to be doing.
So I set out on Instagram atthat point and, although I built
brands for other people, I'vegot to be honest.
I didn't set out at that pointthinking, oh, I'm building my
brand here.
I was just thinking I need waseasier to increase your
(05:24):
following, and I literally wasposting after what we've talked
about this morning, kind of likemorning, noon and night really
and it did really grow myfollowing as well.
(05:46):
What I didn't do I know we'renot going into that, but I
people's minds might go straightaway did you buy followers
never bought followers.
I never got engaged in anyfollow pods or whatever you call
where people like follow me,and we all have to comment on
everybody's posts at seveno'clock in the morning.
But I did get very, very caughtup in the world of influencing
(06:06):
at that time and that might lookreally super lovely to you and,
yes, it helped build myaudience, but what it wasn't
doing is it wasn't building myaudience with the customers,
with the clients that I wanted.
I was building my audience asan influencer and, as I said to
Donna which you were quitesurprised I then quickly
(06:30):
realized that I wasn't using allof my skills.
If you want the shortenedversion, just tell me.
I quickly realized I wasn'tusing all of my skills.
If you want the shortenedversion just tell me I quickly
realized I wasn't using all ofmy skills and I really missed
the marketing, I missed thebranding, and I was going out
and about to lots of networkingmeetings and meeting people and
I was thinking I could help youdo that, I can help you do that.
So it was that point I thought,actually, and going on, I think
(06:52):
from this morning'sconversation as well, I think
that was the point I realizedand really realized where my
zone of genius was and we allhave that and we were talking
about that this morning theplace that really makes you
fired up and really excited toto be in.
And that, for me, was when Iwas coaching people, when I was
really helping them get truly,truly visible in what they
(07:13):
wanted to do.
So at that point, without goingon too much there, I decided
that it was time to pivot mybusiness and it was at that
point where I had grown myaudience and I had grown my
audience.
But obviously my audience had tochange at that point and I
realized that at that point, asthat growing an audience as an
(07:35):
influencer is very differentthan growing an audience as
somebody in business, and I hadto, at that point, make that
decision what route I wanted togo down and I knew that I had
wanted my business to actuallygo in the direction I wanted it
to, not as an influencer,because being sent stuff
although it was lovely andworking with the brands is stuff
although it was lovely andworking with the brands is
(07:57):
lovely, but it wasn't paying thebills.
So if you weren't getting paidfor it, even though I was being
sent things and I was going toevents and having photographs
taken, you know, wonderful andit built my audience, but at a
certain point I realized itwasn't building it in the way
that I wanted it to.
So I think the clear lessonfrom that, from my point of view
(08:17):
, even though I have a verylarge audience of engaged people
is make sure that you'rebuilding your audience for your
clients, because I then had topivot and I actually lost a lot
of followers.
Am I going on too long now,donna?
Donna Eade (08:31):
I lost a lot of followers at that point but I
just want to get this out.
Janine Coney (08:35):
so I lost a lot of followers and then I gained
them again, yeah, so I had tolean into that at that point too
.
Donna Eade (08:41):
So what should we be focusing on when we're looking
at building that right audience?
You?
Janine Coney (08:46):
need to be focusing on who your ideal
client is.
Now I bet everybody in this roomis going to go.
I know that, janine, but howmany people are actually making
sure that they are engaging withthe people that they want to
work with, without worryingabout what anybody else thinks,
without thinking about what yourpeers think and definitely
without thinking what the latesttrend is?
(09:11):
People connect with people, andyou need to make sure that you
are as authentic as you can beand you are showing people your
point of difference, because ifyou're trying to blend in with
everybody else, then you're notgoing to have any point of
difference for anybody else towant to follow you.
But that then doesn't meanyou've got to be the loudest and
it doesn't mean you've got tobe the person jumping around on
(09:33):
wheels or doing something thatdoesn't feel right for you.
But it does mean having anopinion and it does mean being,
as I say, authentic and makingsure that you're speaking to the
right people, because they willlisten, you will call people in
and you will repel people away,and that's fine too to so when
(09:58):
we're looking at all thedifferent platforms where we can
build an audience, what wouldyou say we need to consider when
we're focusing?
Donna Eade (10:01):
because some of us are everywhere and scrambling
and trying to be everywhere andare exhausted.
Others of us are on a platformbecause we like it, but we're
speaking into the abyss becauseour audience actually isn't
there, and then others of usjust don't even want to even
look at it because my god, it's,it's enough already.
So how do we sort of make surethat we're focusing on the right
(10:21):
platforms and I know thatyou've had a bit of a change
recently with that as well, sotalk about that yeah, exactly,
I've um, obviously, I built mypersonal brand and my business
on Instagram and I'm still veryprolific on Instagram and I love
it.
Janine Coney (10:36):
But I also realized that the businesses
that I work with and a lot ofthe people I work with now on
LinkedIn, so I've obviously nowtaken my focus over onto
LinkedIn, which isn't easy whenyou start again, especially from
my point of view, but I thinkfor anybody, you, if you are
starting out, then you need tostart on one platform and build
that up and make sure thatyou're happy, but make sure the
(10:57):
platform that you're on is theone again where your ideal
client is and your audience is.
There is absolutely no pointbeing on TikTok or on whatever
other channel just because maybeyou're 15-year-old is and tells
you it's amazing if that's notwhere your client's going to be
seen.
So you're going to be seen byyour ideal client and I think,
(11:19):
although that's an older pieceof advice, I think it's
something too, and what I meanby that is you know you won't
have heard that won't be thefirst time you've heard anybody
say that to you, I'm sure, butstill very, very true, and
people do get sucked in by newtrends and new things that are
coming out and feel I mean, howmany people still use threads
now?
So don't be sucked in byeverything.
(11:40):
Make sure that you areliterally going where your
client goes.
Donna Eade (11:44):
Threads actually annoys the heck out of me.
Anybody else Like I'm onFacebook and I see something
that's interesting and I clickon it.
It takes me into threads.
I'm like that's not what Iwanted.
Why am I over here?
It's me into threads.
I'm like I didn't that's notwhat I wanted.
Why am I over here?
It's really annoying.
So what do you actually?
Janine Coney (12:05):
talk about to your audience on these platforms,
and how can we work out what weneed to be sharing?
Okay, so you want to be.
You want to be giving people aninsight into you we were
talking earlier and you can'tjust be selling all the time.
Nobody wants that, you know.
People will just scroll on byif all you're doing is buy this.
This is what it's going to dofor you.
You need to be engaging withyour audience so that they can
understand who you are and whythey should be picking you.
(12:26):
But what you want to be doingis going in with a particular
subject that you want to talkabout and let people know where
they are, and you want to letpeople know where they can get
to.
So you're kind of callingpeople out.
In a sense, you're saying Iknow you're here, but you want
to get to here and this is how Ican take you there and that's
(12:48):
what you want to do.
And then you can talk aboutsome of your own experiences as
well.
So you should be sharingexactly what took you from where
you are to where they want tobe, because most people are have
walked where their clients arewalking.
So you want to be sharing thatas well.
You want to be sharing the goodthings and you also want to be
(13:09):
sharing the bad things as well.
You want to make sure thatyou're letting them know that
you're a real person, thatthings happen to you like you
probably wouldn't believe thatyears ago I suffered so badly,
with panic attacks, even beingable to sit here and do this.
Well, I just wouldn't have beenable to do it.
In fact, I couldn't have evensat in the front row for any
length of time because I'd havehad to be known I can get out
(13:30):
the room.
So for me it's a huge thingthat I can come and do this now.
Some people would say why wouldyou talk about that?
And I'm not in the pain of itnow, so I can talk about it.
So I do believe in sharing astruggle.
What I don't believe in issharing the struggle when you're
going through it.
That day, nobody wants youcoming on going.
(13:51):
I'm having a crap day today andla la, la.
The next day you're back ongoing bye from me.
Bye from me because that's abit, but you know you can talk
afterwards of things that you'vebeen through.
Donna Eade (14:02):
Amy Porterfield says share the scabs well.
Porterfield says share thescabs Well, share the scars not
the scabs.
Janine Coney (14:07):
Don't talk from the pain, yeah exactly so.
Donna Eade (14:15):
do you have a strategy when it comes to your
social media and how have youkind of worked on that over?
Janine Coney (14:17):
the years.
Okay, my strategy sometimesgoes out the window because I do
change my mind quite a lot onthings.
Donna Eade (14:23):
We're allowed to change our mind, aren we?
Janine Coney (14:25):
let's keep it real however, it's definitely not a
throw a spaghetti at the wall,um and see what sticks scenario
at all.
Obviously, my marketing brainkicks back in and you have to
have a strategy, you have tohave a plan.
It's as simple as that.
You've got to know where you'retaking your business and when.
You know where you want to takeyour business and you know what
you need to sell, then you canplan back from that and work out
(14:48):
exactly what you need to do toget you there.
And I make that sound simple,but really, in reality, that's
what you've got to do.
So, if you know, you've gotsomething coming up, you know,
and what I do say is most peopledon't give themselves the right
amount of time to do themarketing for anything or to
advertise or to promotesomething.
(15:08):
They're not thinking about howthey're getting visible
afterwards.
Donna Eade (15:12):
So, yeah, these are really important things, yeah so
when we go home today and we'relooking at all of the social
stuff that we're doing, what are?
Three things that we could doto start moving us towards being
in the right place, showing upfor the right people and
attracting them okay, threethings you can do is, first of
(15:35):
all, have a look at your feedand see what what it's telling
other people.
Janine Coney (15:40):
Have a look at it and if it's on instagram, look
at the last nine posts that youput on.
And if I didn't know what youdo, would I look at it.
And if it's on Instagram, lookat the last nine posts that you
put on and if I didn't know whatyou do, would I look at it and
know exactly what any of you dofrom that.
If you're not postingconsistently, ask yourself why
and what can you do.
That fits in with you and yourbusiness.
It doesn't mean that you've gotto be posting three times a day
(16:03):
or even every day.
You need to post.
You need to post consistently.
Now you can be consistently.
Am I allowed to swear?
Yeah, you can be consistentlyshit.
So when I say be consistently, Iwas going to say Kat didn't ask
, so make sure that yourconsistency is obviously shit
and you are, you know, showingup when you say you're going to
show up for your audience.
(16:24):
That's number two.
Number three is please ditchthe boring bios, the boring I
help statements, and rememberthat people want to know exactly
how you're going to move themfrom A to B.
Donna Eade (16:41):
I'm going to do a little name drop now because,
just as you were saying that, Ithought, oh my goodness, like
knowing what you're going topost and having the strategy and
how is it going to fit in withyou?
I had a conversation withDenise Duffield Thomas the other
day look out for it on thepodcast coming soon and she said
that she's already done hersocial media for the year.
Done it already done it why?
(17:04):
Because she doesn't like tospend days.
She's very much like andrea shedoesn't want to spend days and
days on her business.
So she has set things that shedoes on set days.
Thursdays is her podcastinginterviews day.
She gets dressed up, she doesher hair, does her makeup.
The rest of the time she's notgot her makeup on and she has
already done her social mediaposts for the entire year.
So that's how far her strategygoes.
That she's sorted out.
She knows when she's doinglaunches, whatever it is that
(17:26):
she's doing in her business,it's done.
She doesn't have to think aboutit anymore.
And I was like, well, that'samazing.
Um, I'm not quite that good,but this is sort of stuff that
we can implement, isn't it?
Whether it's to that degree orwhether it's just making sure
that the next month is sorted.
Sit down for half a day and getit sorted, and you know we can
use chat gpt to help us.
Janine Coney (17:48):
Um, as long as we make it our own the other thing
is is people don't blow theirown trumpet enough.
You know, especially women, wedon't blow our trumpets enough.
So if you do something, thentell people you know you've got
a.
You've got to get comfortabledoing that.
It's not showing off, it'sletting people know you're
brilliant.
Yeah, well've got to getcomfortable doing that.
It's not showing off, it'sletting people know you're
brilliant.
Donna Eade (18:07):
Yeah, well, that was my first drop, for just for
julia, because she told me shewas going to come after me if I
didn't tell people that I'dinterviewed this woman so okay,
so I'm going to come to you guysfor questions in a second, but
one that I did get dropped intothe q a was um.
We've covered a little bit of ithere, but maybe you can go over
some things and drop somethingelse.
How do you make sure that youare building an audience that
(18:30):
isn't just about a numbers gameand that we're getting the
followers of people that mightactually buy from us?
Janine Coney (18:37):
Again, I think I've probably covered it, but I
think getting really crystalclear on who your ideal client
is and I'm not just talkingabout you know, personas.
I'm talking going really muchdeeper than that.
How do they wake up in themorning, what are they feeling,
what are they thinking, and thentalk to that person?
I'd say the other thing isnever buy followers.
(18:57):
I don't think that's such a bigtrend, but it was a massive
trend at one point.
And be you know, be yourself.
Be yourself.
It's the biggest thing.
There is nobody else that doesyou other than you.
But what everybody else triesto do is blend in with other
people.
They try and take on otherpeople's language or other
people's way of doing things,like if you don't use like
(19:18):
everybody loves using af intheir statements at the moment
and it's like a bugbear of mine,because if that's not your
language and you don't talk tome like that, you don't need to
start including that in yourposts, in whatever you're doing
so make sure the language thatyou use and, coming back to the
ai side of things, make sure, ifyou are going to use chat, gpt
(19:38):
to create anything for you, thatyes, you're taking it and and
you're looking at it and thenyou're putting your, your
thoughts, your opinion, you youit up.
You know, be the one that peoplechoose.
Don't just take it because youwill be getting.
Everybody's copy is juststarting to look the same and
it's your opinions and yourexperience that's going to make
(20:00):
you stand out from other peopleyeah, I think we all need to
lean into us more.
Donna Eade (20:05):
One of the things that I like to pull on when I'm
talking about that is a ladycalled Corinne Crabtree, which
some of you may know.
Some of you won't.
She is a Texan and she does theno BS podcast and she's a
weight loss coach and she swearslike a mofo in everything And's
like if you don't like it, I'mnot the coach for you and that's
(20:27):
it.
And that's how shedifferentiates herself, and the
people that want to come to herwill come to her, and the people
that are turned off by it won'twork with her.
And that is a way to stand outin the crowd is to be you.
That's her it's not.
Janine Coney (20:40):
She's not putting it on repelling because they
weren't your people anywayexactly, exactly.
Donna Eade (20:45):
Do we have any questions from the audience?
Katherine got to run aroundanywhere.
Oh, we've all got fabulousaudiences, we don't need any
help, okay, well, thank you somuch for coming, janine.
I really appreciate having youon the stage.
Thank you very much, you.
You may take a seat.
Popular Podcasts
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.