January 24, 2025 • 36 mins
Reasons Why Your Social Media and Website Suck: Expert Tips & Strategies | Out of the Box with Christine
In this episode of 'Out of the Box with Christine,' host Christine Blosdale speaks with Jimmi Gibson, Vice President of Brand Communication at The Thrive Agency, about the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in managing multiple roles, including website and social media management. They dive into the importance of authenticity, the impact of video content, social proof, and effective website strategies to boost engagement and conversions. Jimmi shares insights from his diverse experiences, including his TEDx talk and his work as a magician. Tune in for practical advice and tips to enhance your digital marketing approach. LINKS MENTIONED: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimi-gibson/ http://www.thriveagency.com http://www.christineblosdale.com
00:00 Introduction: The Overwhelmed Entrepreneur
00:43 Welcome to Out of the Box with Christine
01:24 Meet Jimmi Gibson: Marketing Expert
02:59 Challenges Faced by Solopreneurs
09:56 The Importance of a Strong Online Presence
12:40 Creating Effective Website Content
18:15 The Power of Authenticity and Video
25:36 The Magic of Social Proof
29:35 Jimmi's Books and Future Projects
33:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts #socialmedia #websitetips #digitalmarketing NKHJD89QIqrXvOt8gIlM
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
And their websites are staticbecause somebody created it for them,
they're not updating those things.
So, all these different hats that theyhave, or they have to wear, or they
feel that they have to wear, right?
Yes.
It becomes overwhelming, and then,the, that energy, that desperation,
And I tell my clients, there's a stinkypoo poo there's like having a baby
(00:28):
and there's a diaper and it stinksand that stink of desperation, your
potential clients or people that arelooking at you come across your social
media or they flip onto your website.
They can smell it.
They can feel it.
Welcome to out of the box with Christine,the podcast for conscious entrepreneurs.
(00:49):
Are you willing to stepinto your greatness?
Are you ready to shine?
Well, get ready.
Truth seeker.
You're in for an amazing ride.
And now here's the host of the show.
Christine Blosdale.
Welcome back to out ofthe box with Christine.
I am your host, Christine Blosdale.
(01:10):
I am an expert authority business coach.
I help people of all stripes createcontent so that they can get the
word out about their business.
Through videos, Tik TOKs, podcasts,you name it, anything to do with media.
I'm right there and my guest, Iam so excited about today's show.
I've been really looking forward to havingmy guest on because if, if I had a male.
(01:33):
Doppelganger in the worldof marketing and branding.
It would be this gentleman, Jimmi Gibson,who is the vice president of brand
communication at The Thrive Agency.
It's a marketing firm.
It's been around for quite some time.
He's also a TEDx speaker.
Author and keynote speaker as well.
(01:54):
And so, I, I was so excited once Istumbled across his LinkedIn page and
I said, you have to come on the show.
So welcome to out of the box, Jimmi.
Thank you, Christine.
I've been looking forward to it.
So excited to chat about somecool stuff that I know we probably
have mind melded on before today.
Yep.
Oh, absolutely.
And I, like I said, I the moment youstarted speaking, And, and I'll, I'll say
(02:19):
this as a, as a broadcast professional,right, who's done 20 years in radio
and then another eight in podcasting,you have a voice and a demeanor
that is very comforting, welcoming.
It just brings you right in, youknow, you just focus right in on
(02:39):
whatever it is you're going to sayyou could read the, you know, the
alphabet and and I'd be interested.
So, so first off, kudos to yourmom and dad for making you.
But, yeah, you have, you have awonderful way of communicating
and I just wanted to put that outthere I noticed that right away.
And thank you.
(02:59):
One of the things, you know, assolopreneurs and entrepreneurs, that's
a lot of people who are watching theYouTube video or listening to the podcast.
One of the things that they strugglewith is really communicating what
the heck they do for people, theservice or, you know, the product is
(03:20):
one thing, but when it's when they'rethe product or they're the brand.
I find working with my clients that that'sa difficult thing for them to get through.
Can you just talk about, I know withyour, you've got so many clients
there at the Thrive Agency, but canyou talk about maybe a bit about your
interactions with people and, and,and how you help them get that message
(03:41):
out about what it is that they do?
Yeah.
And Christine, thanksfor bringing that up.
I think especially with small businessthat's how the company started.
Gosh, it's been 19 years.
I've been with a companyabout four and a half.
The founder really had a heart.
He was multi generationalentrepreneur had a heart for
helping that small business person.
And of course, you know, we runinto a lot of clients who are not
(04:05):
well versed in digital marketing.
They haven't dipped their toe in.
And I think what happens is that a personis very passionate about what they do.
They believe in it, they know that it canhelp somebody, but they sort of default
to this voice of a business person.
And they don't realize that what makesyou unique and your individual skills
(04:29):
and talents are what clients andprospects are actually interested in.
And, and so, you know, as consumers we'resorting through all sorts of options.
And the quicker that somebodycan recognize that, you know,
you're their people, then theywill magnetize themselves to you.
And I think people are scared of that.
(04:49):
And they're scared that somebody is goingto be offended or think they're weird or
maybe something unique about them is not.
Really doesn't jive with thebusiness model of what they offer,
whether it be a product or service.
You mentioned my TEDx talk, that wasactually the topic of my TEDx talk that
you have magic power, use it for good.
(05:12):
And so whether it's in businessor, you know, social awareness or
whatever the case may be, there'ssome little spark that each of us has.
And, you know, it could be thatthe person who greets people
that come into your, Office.
If they're the receptionist or the frontend staff, maybe they're great at baking.
They love baking cakes.
(05:32):
They love cupcakes cookies.
They have the best cookierecipe that everybody dies over.
And so let them bake those cookies andhave those in the front office way.
And that's a first impression ofyour business when they come in
and that person gets to light upand talk about those cookies or
cupcakes or whatever the case may be.
And I think in a virtual scenariounderstanding, and this is
(05:53):
the other point that I think.
Folks are uncomfortable with, nobody wantsto talk about themselves, but we actually
end up defaulting to talking aboutourselves because we know about ourselves.
Right.
What you actually have to dois you have to put yourself.
In the seat and have some empathy forthat prospect or that new client that you
(06:14):
have, they want to talk about themselves.
So the more that you can deflectyou and get into their head, the
more successful you're going to be.
And, you know, we can, we canjump into the psychology of that.
There's actually chemicals inthe brain that you can activate
that will help that connection.
(06:34):
Okay.
And once you get that connection, thenthere's a sequence that you can go
through to help that relationship developinto a curiosity about your business.
And then a conversion to gettingthat sale or taking the next step.
And again, that can be howyou navigate someone through
basically a non linear website.
You know, people can go whereverthey want to on a website, right?
(06:57):
So how do you direct that attention?
Take them through a path that you want to.
And so we talk about that a littlebit with the customer journey.
I know I was listening to acouple of your other podcasts
and I'll compliment you as well.
I can see why people enjoy this podcast.
You're very conversational,obviously your background.
We talked a little bit before we hit therecord button, but you have a broadcast
(07:18):
background and you're used to long form.
So.
You're taking advantageof your sweet spot, right?
So you're having these wonderfulconversations with people.
We have about 500clients at thrive agency.
I would say they vary from mom andpops all the way up to large enterprise
multi location franchise companies.
The principles are the same, right?
So it doesn't matter if it's a largeorganization or a small solopreneur,
(07:43):
there are principles that whenyou hear them, you kind of knock
yourself in the head and you go, ofcourse, that just makes common sense.
So yeah, I don't know where you want to gowith that, but that's not my perspective.
You're, you're leading me to to the,some of the important stuff that, and
I think we, we, we tapped into thisa little bit about in the beginning.
(08:04):
That, you know, a solopreneurentrepreneur many times we, we live
in a isolated, you know, bungalow.
And we're very good at what, whatever itis that we do, we're passionate about it.
We know it inside out.
We can, you know, in oursleep, we could do it.
And, and hopefully we'repassionate about it.
Hopefully we love it.
But what happens is that we have towear all these different hats, right?
(08:26):
So, you know, my clients willcome to me and they'll go,
Christine, I'm really good at.
X.
This is what I do, right?
But now I've got to bea social media guru.
I've got to be a website designeryou know, extraordinaire.
I need to write my blog.
I need to do this.
And what happens is that it's likewhen you go into a restaurant and
you have a menu with too many items.
(08:48):
A lot of times you just default tothe, you know, going to a deli and
I see all these different thingsin LA, in Los Angeles, there was a
Jerry's deli and the menu was insane.
It was the size of a human andI would just always default
to the matzo ball soup.
I'd be like, that's what I'mgoing to have because I know that.
Right.
But what happens with entrepreneursis that become overwhelmed and then
(09:10):
they, they they get stuck like,you know, deer within headlights.
So they're not moving either way.
And their websites are staticbecause somebody created it for them.
They're not updating those things.
So all these different hats thatthey have, or they have to wear, they
feel that they have to wear, right?
Yes.
It becomes overwhelming.
(09:32):
And then the, thatenergy, that desperation.
And I Tell my clients,there's a stinky poo poo.
It's like having a baby andthere's a diaper and it stinks.
And that stink of desperation, yourpotential clients or people that are
looking at you come across your socialmedia or they flip onto your website,
(09:53):
they can smell it, they can feel it.
And so, this is really important and Iwould say probably The gateway to getting
to know about someone a bit more wouldbe their website, and I know you're an
expert in this in this realm can youhelp out our, our wonderful audience on
some of the things that they should, youknow, even though they're not a website
(10:16):
designer, you know, some of the thingsthat they need to be paying attention to
when it comes to their websites, at least.
Sure.
So typically when you thinkabout a website and I spent a
lot of time in e commerce, it'sbasically a three legged stool.
You have traffic to your website.
You have the value of whatever isgoing to happen on that website.
(10:38):
So if you're a service business,there's a value of the service you're
going to provide, or if it's a product,there's a value of the product.
And we refer to thatas average order value.
So just think about the service thatyou sell the most of or the product
combo that you sell the most of.
There's a price associated with that.
And so, it could be 50,it could be 50, 000.
(11:00):
And then the other oneis the conversion rate.
And the conversion rate is if you'reasking somebody to do something how many
people that come to your website, dothat thing, it could be click to call.
It could be fill out a form.
It could be scheduled.
You know, an assessment, whateverthe case may be, there is a
conversion rate associated with that.
And then depending on your sales processYou start to lose people along the way.
(11:24):
And so let's say that it's aservice based business, Christine,
you're a business consultant.
You have a hundred people cometo your website every month and
five of them fill out a formthat they want to meet with you.
And you'll do a, a breakdownsession with them, or you may
have a custom name for that.
And so your conversion rate is 5%.
(11:46):
Now, then you have to take thatthrough the process and you have to
go, okay, then what is my close ratioon the five people that I meet with?
You know, it'd be great if it'sa hundred percent, but typically
it's in the 15 to 25 percent range.
And then I would say on an e commercebasis for every hundred people that
come to your website, you can hope thatyour conversion rate is somewhere in the
(12:07):
one and a half to three percent range.
And so then you have to think about, well,if those numbers don't make it work for
you, what are you going to do about it?
Well, you have to get moretraffic to that website.
And so,
traffic.
That is not able to convertis a waste of money.
So you want a targeted approachfor bringing that traffic in, which
(12:28):
typically involves maybe in thebeginning stages, a paid approach.
We always recommend you know, an organicapproach, which is changing now with AI.
But I would say.
You said something in the question that'svery astute is if your website hasn't
been touched or updated in the last twoto two and a half years, it's ancient.
(12:50):
It used to be five years, but youknow, it's getting more and there's
all sorts of helper software out there.
You know, we have platforms likeFiverr and Upwork and other places
where you can have somebody that youdon't have to hire as an employee.
You don't pay taxes, you know, allof those things to help you with some
things that maybe you're not so great at.
So.
We'll put that off to the side, but.
(13:11):
They're we've all been on the Internet.
We all are used to that.
COVID exploded that.
So a lot of digital agencieswere birthed around COVID.
They're falling off now, but
you'll hear the term above the fold thatcomes from a newspaper printing days
that the newspaper is folded in half.
(13:32):
Obviously the things above thefolder where the top story is.
So if you consider your website likethe top story of a newspaper, and if
it's an online newspaper, it holdstrue, they're going to put the most
important or the most the storieswith the biggest pull at the top.
And so I would say the biggest thingyou want to do is just almost, if you
have some friends that will tell youthe truth, sit around and look at your
(13:54):
website and go, if I didn't know you, whatwould this be saying about your business?
So it should be we callthat the hero section.
It should say what you do, who youdo it for and why you're different.
And there should be a call to action.
In that hero section, whichcould just mean learn more.
It could be about me.
(14:15):
It could be see our productlist, whatever the case may be.
And I'll give you a little tip on thelanguage you should be using for buttons
on your website and then some sort ofcompelling image or video at the top.
I read a statistic the other day that82 percent of web traffic traffic in
2025 is going to be video related.
So if you're not into video, you betterget into video because people are lazy
(14:36):
and they want to be entertained andthey want to be able to consume video.
So I would say the first thing you wantto do is look at that hero section.
And.
You know, there's all sortsof programs out there.
Google has a free program.
You can put two differentversions up on your website,
see which one converts better.
That's called AB testing.
But yeah I would say that'sthe first thing and there's
(14:58):
more that we can dig into.
Yeah.
No, you, you, you hit on, you hit on allmy, the trifecta of, this is why I say
you're my doppelganger, Jimmi, becauseeverything that you said is this, this,
this stuff that this is what I do.
This is what I go through with myclients and I, and I'm teaching
above the fold is something thatthey get tired of hearing from me.
Oh yeah.
Above the fold, above the fold.
(15:20):
Well, because I used to, after, you know,well back in the day, remember in the.
com boom, I worked for America online.
Okay.
And I was a writer.
This is when they had writers.
This is when they had community.
Then they sold everything to whatever.
But.
You know, it's, it's knowing the draw,knowing how to draw people in, of course,
but after my work with AOL and then Iwent to Microsoft, to MSN, and then after
(15:46):
that, and because after everything gotconsolidated it was the big dot com boom.
And so I was a content consultant forthese companies and everybody was creating
websites back then it was like, and theywere throwing stupid money at it, you
know, consultants and all this stuff andso, but my job was to just look at the
website as a normal human being, and lookat the navigation, look at the journey.
(16:10):
And to give feedback on the journey.
And so my whole thing that I kept drivinghome back then was it needs to be above
the fold needs to be your money shot.
It needs to be, if it's aphotograph, if it's back then it
was more, you know, photo and, andcopy text, then that needs to be.
(16:32):
Because nobody's going to scroll downand dig through your website unless
they're excited about what they seeright there when they pull it up on
their desktop or now on our phones.
I always, when I'm tweaking my website,I always, because the majority of
people are going to be looking atmy website through their, their
little device, their phone, right?
So I want to make sure that theabove the fold on the phone has
(16:55):
everything that I, that I need.
The second point, the thingthat you had also mentioned.
And this is the thing that I drive homeall the time, if you can, and everybody
can create that welcome video that thatbranding video so that when people pull up
the website, it starts playing right away.
(17:16):
You can have it on mute becauseyou don't, you don't want to
upset people when they're.
Three o'clock in the morning next totheir partner, but, but have that video
start playing and explain what it is thatyou, that you do, how you help people
and the video because look at tick tock.
Look at, you know, reels and,and, and even YouTube shorts.
(17:37):
This is where people are.
Their attention span is short,so don't go on for 10 minutes.
That video is the first way.
When people can see your eyes, and theycan feel your energy, it's so different
than just reading a bunch of copy, right?
It's so, so different.
And so, the above the fold, whatyou're talking about, that is so
(17:58):
good, and, and I love the idea,too, that you're encouraging
people to have that, that video.
I think it's very important.
You can also do that call to action,because you can actually say it yourself.
Right.
Right.
You can say, and you canlike point to the button.
Right.
Exactly.
Click that button right there.
Exactly.
So, can you talk about this issomething that's, that's also I
(18:19):
think a very important and it getsoverlooked is the power is the
power of authenticity because we do.
So many people are afraidof not being perfect, right?
I can't do that video, Christine,because I'm, I'm too old, I'm too
fat, I'm too this, I'm too that.
Or, I'm I'm, I'm too I'm tooafraid I'm going to be judged.
(18:43):
That authentic quality that, that, that wewant to try and bring out in our message.
Can you talk about howimportant that is right now?
Yeah.
And so, I appreciate youhitting on the video aspect.
And when you start to think aboutvideo, again, people freeze up, but
most people are walking around witha camera in their pocket that is way
(19:09):
better than anything that you couldhave purchased 10, 15 years ago.
There's multiple lenses.
There's some very basic.
Things that you can do to get great video.
You don't have to be an expert.
You don't have to know a lot.
I just actually wrote a blog.
So if you go to thrive agency and justlook at our blog I think it was probably
(19:29):
in November, I'm happy to send that andwe can include it in the show notes,
but it talks about video and it talksabout some things that you can do.
And actually social media hashelped a lot with that because
what we're finding is when.
Video looks like an ador looks overproduced.
People will skip right past it,especially in the social feeds,
(19:52):
the more authentic it can be.
And I know we've seen many, manythings and we probably follow people
who mess up while they're talking.
Somebody walks into theframe, they drop something.
We're all like that.
We're human.
It shows that you're human.
It shows that you can laugh at yourself.
And it shows that You're nottaking yourself too seriously and
(20:12):
you really want to connect andyou know it does take practice.
The first video that you do is gonna,you talk about the stinky, yeah, you
can talk about the stinky diaper.
It's gonna be horrible.
It's gonna stink, , and so youjust have to get over it and you
just, the more you do it, themore comfortable you get doing it.
But even if it's just okay.
If you are yourself and you talk through,and you know, you can mention things,
(20:34):
Hey, I just got back from the gym.
I've got a little glisten here, but youknow, being healthy is important to me.
Well, what does that say tothe person on the other end?
Who's watching that?
Oh, I like to work out too, or I needto get in shape, but I wonder what they
did wonder what kind of workout they do.
And so all these questionsstart flying around.
You might pick up a mug andyou might say having my tea.
(20:56):
Yeah.
You might have assumed it was coffee.
Why do they drink tea?
You could talk about that.
There might be a pictureon a wall behind you.
You might be out in your backyardand you develop this backyard
specifically for being outdoorsand having this wonderful space.
What it is, is an opportunity.
To put road signs along the way,and those road signs are bringing
(21:16):
your best ideal client to you.
You know, whatever the productor services, there's probably
a hundred thousand other peopleselling the same product or service.
What your audience is doing isthey're trying to sort through
who is the right person for me.
And so the more clues or the more roadsigns you can put up related to that,
the more you're going to attract peoplethat you're going to love to work with.
(21:39):
So.
I mean, Christine, you and Iare having a good connection.
I imagine that we're goingto continue to stay in touch.
We're going to share things after this.
And we just happened tomeet on social media.
Right.
And so there's plenty of podcastinterviews that I do, people that
I meet and you're like, yeah, thatwas great, but we don't really job.
And we're just sortingthrough all of those things.
(22:01):
You also mentioned somethingabout a menu being too long.
You couldn't decide what to pick.
There is a function of thebrain that we're under stress.
Your brain has a cognitive load.
It.
Is limited in the number of things thatit can categorize, that it can figure
out before it needs to make a decision.
And so we work with a lot of home servicecompanies and, you know, we've been
(22:23):
talking you mentioned this on one of yourother podcasts about the hero's journey.
I love the hero's journey.
I love all that conversation, butsometimes that's a little bit too much.
If somebody has a toilet that isoverflowing, they need the quickest
path to figure out who is goingto be the right person to come out
there and fix that immediately.
And so you really have to get good aboutbeing brief with your communication.
(22:47):
Making sure you connectwith that audience.
And again, you're goingto write and rewrite.
You said you were a writer for AOL.
I'm sure there's manyrevisions that happen.
Don't let being perfect be the enemyof good enough because You're going
to revise it over and over and over.
I always see that.
I always say that the website is the hubof all activity related to driving a lead
(23:10):
to a conversion or selling your product.
And you should be in that website,evaluating that website monthly, if not
quarterly, and you should have your teamagain, if it's a solo, you know, Pretend
that you represent each departmentin your company and look at it from
different hats and different angles.
But you putting that effort in,especially when algorithms change and
(23:32):
the things related to social mediachanges, you're putting a lot of
trust in other people's platforms.
And you really need to spend a lot oftime on your own website and making
sure it's the best version of yourbusiness that it possibly can be.
Absolutely.
And you don't, you don't want people tobe confused when they, when they come.
That's why I love thepower of the, of the video.
(23:54):
Because also, like you said,it's a nonlinear platform.
So people can go to your website andthey might go check out something
that you don't, it's on your website,but that's not the important thing.
That's not my, Bread and butter, right?
That's not my the, the, the main sales orthe, the, the main focus of my business.
So the video gives you theopportunity to say, you know, this,
(24:18):
this is what I can do to help you.
And I also look, I like.
And you had mentioned this too on onan interview that another interview
that you had and this I say so manytimes The importance of not you as
a business Person it I don't wantto hear you say How great you are.
(24:42):
I want other people.
I want to see what otherpeople think about you.
Right.
And so the power of testimonials andreviews or wherever you want to call
them is very important, I believe.
And of course, the, the, the person who'sWho can look at a review and if it's just
text, right, if it's just copy Christineis the greatest thing since sliced
(25:05):
bread, you know, sign, you know, Susie Q.
A lot of people will go, well,that could be made up, right?
The power of video testimonials.
When you actually have a human being andagain, you can look in their eyes and they
are so excited and jazzed because theysaid, Jimmi saved my life, my business.
This guy is amazing.
(25:26):
Hire him right away.
That's way more powerful than.
Just text, you know, on a website.
Can you talk about, about that?
Cause you do mention, I've,I've heard you talk about that.
Yes, we call that social proof.
And so there was a couple of elementsof social proof, obviously testimonials.
People are going to believewhat other people say about you.
More than what you say about yourself.
(25:47):
And so again, we're recordingthis through a zoom connection.
I'm sure, especially throughCOVID many of us cut our teeth
in zoom and all of those things.
So it's not going to take much,even if your customer base is
nowhere near you, geographically.
And if you feel weird about getting ona call and asking somebody to give a
testimonial, get somebody else that, youknow, again, if you're a solopreneur,
(26:10):
get a friend, get you know, some otherperson to say, Hey, I'm collecting
some testimonials for Christine.
Would you be willing tosay some things about her?
That would be a, a way to go.
If you are in the same location,take your phone, do a selfie video.
There's all sorts of ways.
And I agree.
The video.
It communicates emotion.
It communicates enthusiasm,all of those things.
(26:34):
The other thing is when you ask somebodyto give a testimonial, a lot of times
they'll just say they were great.
Love them.
Sometimes you have to writethe testimonial for them.
Right.
And you say, well, I'm actually want toput this on my website and this would be
really great if you could hit on thesepoints because I know like you're not.
You're not giving them a scriptthat's inauthentic, but you're saying,
(26:56):
remember when we talked about this andyou're having to get them back in the
state of when they were very excited.
Right.
And so you'll might need to do alittle bit of prompting and reminding.
And again, the beauty of.
Editing is you can talkto them for 15 minutes.
And if you get a 30 second or a10 second test, well, luckily my
clients are all I training them in,in, in how to create a podcast and
(27:19):
how to record video and all of that.
So their, their videotestimonials are beautiful.
I had one, one client.
She, she, She sent me her testimonial andI was like, damn, this is like, I mean,
her lighting was perfect or sound orMike was amazing and it was so beautiful.
I just put some music behind itand it could have made me cry.
(27:41):
You know, that's how,that's how beautiful it was.
So yes, but it doesn't matter.
People, you know, peoplecould do it on their phone.
You don't have to be, you know.
Francis Ford Coppolaor anything like that.
Steven Spielberg.
I would also say if, if you belongto associations or if your business
has won any awards, you wantto make sure you put those up.
Absolutely.
I'm, you know, I'll throw outmy bestseller status thing
(28:04):
and, and I'm not a writer.
I mean, I wrote, I did, I wrote forAOL, but I'm not a writer per se when I,
when it comes to my books, I'm a talker.
So I just repurposed my content.
I'll, I'll take my speeches and, andWebinars and things like that and I'll
transfer them and turn it into intocopy And then create, you know books and
(28:26):
so I'll have that It's a challenge forme always to see how fast I can get a
bestseller And so I've done four now andI'm looking at my I'm working on my fifth.
I'm just I'm almost there and and soThat bestseller moniker, it's like if
you go to school and become a doctor,you know, I like to have that in there
(28:47):
as well so that people know that, youknow, at least that I'm on the subject
matter of podcasting, all the books havebeen the bestsellers, they've all been
about podcasting so that when a clientcomes to me and they're, they want to
create a podcast, they can at least go,Oh, well, she knows something about it
because she's written four books on it.
Right.
And there's like thatfollow through for them.
(29:10):
So it's, it is important to have, Ithink those, those types of things.
Some of my clients are sogood at what they do that.
I'll just take them through abestseller campaign and I'll say.
You're a great coach.
You're all these things.
But if you can get that number onebestseller status, that just puts
you that your expert authority getskind of bumped up a little bit.
(29:32):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Do you have a book?
Do you have a book yet?
I do.
It's actually an allegorycalled chasing carrots.
Won't help you find your purpose.
If you were born to love bananas.
It's actually about a monkeywho chased so many carrots, he
actually thought he was a rabbit.
And so he was in a magic showand he was the star of the show
being pulled out of the hat.
(29:52):
And so.
Yeah.
It is a story about him going onthis epic adventure to rediscover
the fact that he's actually a monkey.
And so it's basically an autobiographyin the form of an allegory.
So I wrote that.
It took a while.
It sat on the shelf for quitesome time, but I've got that.
And then I'm also sending outsome proof copies of another
(30:15):
book that I'm working on.
Related to a three phase processof creating content that mirrors.
So I've been a magician sinceI was four years old and I have
performed at the MGM in Las Vegas.
I've produced theme park shows.
I had a magic theater inMyrtle beach, South Carolina.
(30:38):
I was on the food network withthe cake boss, buddy, the last
row doing some magic for them.
And.
As I started to think about howdo you connect with your audience
and bring wow, to an audience.
I thought this is the exact formulafor marketing and creating a message
that is able to connect with theaudience, pique their curiosity
(31:01):
and bring them to a conversion.
And so I call it the magic script.
And so I've got, I've got a proof copy ofthat out that some folks are looking at
and giving some tough love feedback too.
So that one should be coming out soon.
I'm excited about that.
I love that.
That is so, and, and the powerof three, two three, two.
(31:22):
Hello.
The power of three, right?
ABC one, two, three.
And not overwhelming people.
I love that.
I love anything that has thatthree step type vibe to it, because
it's also something that we canabsorb and we can comprehend if
we menu, it's going to go crazy.
No.
Yeah, it's very simple.
(31:43):
And it actually is scientificallybased as I started to research it.
I didn't.
I didn't know this, but so you talkedabout speaking and things like that.
I've worked with a Broadwaydirector who was also a magician.
He produced or he directed13 Broadway shows.
He was in the original cast of Annieand I was lucky enough to be part
of a group that trained with him.
(32:03):
And so as I started to research thesethree phases of connection, curiosity
and conversion, I realized that you'reactivating chemicals in the brain.
And so the connection point.
Releases oxytocin, whichis the trust chemical and.
Once you have that trust, then youmove into peaking their curiosity.
And so they like you andthey're like, Oh, okay.
(32:25):
And when you peak theircuriosity, that releases dopamine.
I know we think a lot of dopamineabout you hear references to that with
people being addicted to social media.
Well, why is that?
Because there is a ambition or curiosity.
Of a reward that's coming, right?
And so when we post something on socialmedia, we expect the reward of likes
(32:46):
and shares and all of those things.
And so you're peaking thatcuriosity with dopamine.
And then the conversion releasesserotonin, which is that comfort,
feel good, warm, and fuzzy.
Like everything has come to a conclusionand all is right with the world.
And so if you can take somebodythrough those three phases in an
efficient way I would say that'sthe magic formula for a message.
(33:10):
And this can work for likethe hero section of a website.
It can work for an ad.
It can work for a blog post.
It can work for a keynote speech.
This sequence will work forall your communications.
And once you sort of look behindthe scenes and recognize that it
can really help you craft somethingthat's going to connect, create that
(33:30):
curiosity and then convert them.
I love that.
Oh, okay.
Get that book done.
I want to read it as soon as possible.
Oh, Jimmi, I thank you somuch for, for coming on today.
I could talk to you forever and you'rewelcome back any, any time to the show.
But thank you so much.
So if, if people want to find outmore and of course they can go to.
(33:54):
Thriveagency.
com I'll put the link in the show notes.
That's the the company that Jimmiis the vice president of in brand
communication Thrive agency calm, butI'm also going to put because Jimmi
I fell in love with you through yourLinkedIn now I don't know what other
social media stuff that you have.
It was just it just so happened that I,that I found you through LinkedIn and
(34:15):
you, and you have some videos on there.
So I'll put in also your LinkedIn,if that's okay, I'll put that
in the show notes as well.
So people can, can find you there, butthank you again for coming on the show.
I'm just so happy to meet you.
Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Thank you.
It was a very easy interview talkingabout things that we both love.
And yeah, I would I would sayLinkedIn is the best place again to
(34:39):
those solopreneurs pick a platform,go an inch wide and a mile deep.
Don't try to do everything.
So I've committed to putting out a videoMonday through Friday every day this year,
I think that ends up being 261 videos.
And so.
Hopefully by the 260th video,I'll sound intelligent and
there'll be worth watching.
(34:59):
So yeah, if somebody if you want toconnect with me and then if you have
a question, just DM me, if you wanta resource, I've got a resource that
will help you go through the top 10conversion things that you can look at
at your website in less than an hour.
I'll send you that for free.
I'll send you the one about the video.
I mean, you can go on our websiteand connect, but you'll have
to enter a bunch of informationif you just want it right away.
(35:22):
Just connect with me.
Let me know what you're looking for andI'll be happy to help however I can.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
And it's such a great resource.
You are, you are a great resource.
And again, I'm so happythat I stumbled across you.
So thank you again.
My guest today has been Jimmi Gibson.
Again, he's the vice presidentof brand communication at Thrive
(35:42):
Agency, and you can check outall the great work that they do.
It's, I mean, it's, it's a,it's It's a big big deal.
You can go check out their website,but again, we'll have the link in
the show notes to that and alsoto Jimmi's LinkedIn page as well.
So thank you again, Jimmi, and thank you.
Wonderful listeners who are listeningon Apple podcasts, Spotify, audible,
(36:03):
whatever platform you prefer, but alsofor those that are watching on YouTube.
Thank you so much.
If you like this and you thinkthat this show could help somebody
maybe who's struggling with theirmarketing and their communication.
Their website, share this with them.
They'll get a good kick out of it andthey'll get excited about again, getting
(36:24):
into that website and communicatingtheir message with the world.
So thank you so much.
And if you want to have more informationabout all the stuff that I do, which is
a lot, you can go to Christine Blosdale.
com.
That link will be inthe show notes as well.
And until next time, as I always say,remember to think outside that damn box.
Bye for now.
And their websites are staticbecause somebody created it for them,
they're not updating those things.
So, all these different hats that theyhave, or they have to wear, or they
feel that they have to wear, right?
Yes.
It becomes overwhelming, and then,the, that energy, that desperation,
And I tell my clients, there's a stinkypoo poo there's like having a baby
(00:28):
and there's a diaper and it stinksand that stink of desperation, your
potential clients or people that arelooking at you come across your social
media or they flip onto your website.
They can smell it.
They can feel it.
Welcome to out of the box with Christine,the podcast for conscious entrepreneurs.
(00:49):
Are you willing to stepinto your greatness?
Are you ready to shine?
Well, get ready.
Truth seeker.
You're in for an amazing ride.
And now here's the host of the show.
Christine Blosdale.
Welcome back to out ofthe box with Christine.
I am your host, Christine Blosdale.
(01:10):
I am an expert authority business coach.
I help people of all stripes createcontent so that they can get the
word out about their business.
Through videos, Tik TOKs, podcasts,you name it, anything to do with media.
I'm right there and my guest, Iam so excited about today's show.
I've been really looking forward to havingmy guest on because if, if I had a male.
(01:33):
Doppelganger in the worldof marketing and branding.
It would be this gentleman, Jimmi Gibson,who is the vice president of brand
communication at The Thrive Agency.
It's a marketing firm.
It's been around for quite some time.
He's also a TEDx speaker.
Author and keynote speaker as well.
(01:54):
And so, I, I was so excited once Istumbled across his LinkedIn page and
I said, you have to come on the show.
So welcome to out of the box, Jimmi.
Thank you, Christine.
I've been looking forward to it.
So excited to chat about somecool stuff that I know we probably
have mind melded on before today.
Yep.
Oh, absolutely.
And I, like I said, I the moment youstarted speaking, And, and I'll, I'll say
(02:19):
this as a, as a broadcast professional,right, who's done 20 years in radio
and then another eight in podcasting,you have a voice and a demeanor
that is very comforting, welcoming.
It just brings you right in, youknow, you just focus right in on
(02:39):
whatever it is you're going to sayyou could read the, you know, the
alphabet and and I'd be interested.
So, so first off, kudos to yourmom and dad for making you.
But, yeah, you have, you have awonderful way of communicating
and I just wanted to put that outthere I noticed that right away.
And thank you.
(02:59):
One of the things, you know, assolopreneurs and entrepreneurs, that's
a lot of people who are watching theYouTube video or listening to the podcast.
One of the things that they strugglewith is really communicating what
the heck they do for people, theservice or, you know, the product is
(03:20):
one thing, but when it's when they'rethe product or they're the brand.
I find working with my clients that that'sa difficult thing for them to get through.
Can you just talk about, I know withyour, you've got so many clients
there at the Thrive Agency, but canyou talk about maybe a bit about your
interactions with people and, and,and how you help them get that message
(03:41):
out about what it is that they do?
Yeah.
And Christine, thanksfor bringing that up.
I think especially with small businessthat's how the company started.
Gosh, it's been 19 years.
I've been with a companyabout four and a half.
The founder really had a heart.
He was multi generationalentrepreneur had a heart for
helping that small business person.
And of course, you know, we runinto a lot of clients who are not
(04:05):
well versed in digital marketing.
They haven't dipped their toe in.
And I think what happens is that a personis very passionate about what they do.
They believe in it, they know that it canhelp somebody, but they sort of default
to this voice of a business person.
And they don't realize that what makesyou unique and your individual skills
(04:29):
and talents are what clients andprospects are actually interested in.
And, and so, you know, as consumers we'resorting through all sorts of options.
And the quicker that somebodycan recognize that, you know,
you're their people, then theywill magnetize themselves to you.
And I think people are scared of that.
(04:49):
And they're scared that somebody is goingto be offended or think they're weird or
maybe something unique about them is not.
Really doesn't jive with thebusiness model of what they offer,
whether it be a product or service.
You mentioned my TEDx talk, that wasactually the topic of my TEDx talk that
you have magic power, use it for good.
(05:12):
And so whether it's in businessor, you know, social awareness or
whatever the case may be, there'ssome little spark that each of us has.
And, you know, it could be thatthe person who greets people
that come into your, Office.
If they're the receptionist or the frontend staff, maybe they're great at baking.
They love baking cakes.
(05:32):
They love cupcakes cookies.
They have the best cookierecipe that everybody dies over.
And so let them bake those cookies andhave those in the front office way.
And that's a first impression ofyour business when they come in
and that person gets to light upand talk about those cookies or
cupcakes or whatever the case may be.
And I think in a virtual scenariounderstanding, and this is
(05:53):
the other point that I think.
Folks are uncomfortable with, nobody wantsto talk about themselves, but we actually
end up defaulting to talking aboutourselves because we know about ourselves.
Right.
What you actually have to dois you have to put yourself.
In the seat and have some empathy forthat prospect or that new client that you
(06:14):
have, they want to talk about themselves.
So the more that you can deflectyou and get into their head, the
more successful you're going to be.
And, you know, we can, we canjump into the psychology of that.
There's actually chemicals inthe brain that you can activate
that will help that connection.
(06:34):
Okay.
And once you get that connection, thenthere's a sequence that you can go
through to help that relationship developinto a curiosity about your business.
And then a conversion to gettingthat sale or taking the next step.
And again, that can be howyou navigate someone through
basically a non linear website.
You know, people can go whereverthey want to on a website, right?
(06:57):
So how do you direct that attention?
Take them through a path that you want to.
And so we talk about that a littlebit with the customer journey.
I know I was listening to acouple of your other podcasts
and I'll compliment you as well.
I can see why people enjoy this podcast.
You're very conversational,obviously your background.
We talked a little bit before we hit therecord button, but you have a broadcast
(07:18):
background and you're used to long form.
So.
You're taking advantageof your sweet spot, right?
So you're having these wonderfulconversations with people.
We have about 500clients at thrive agency.
I would say they vary from mom andpops all the way up to large enterprise
multi location franchise companies.
The principles are the same, right?
So it doesn't matter if it's a largeorganization or a small solopreneur,
(07:43):
there are principles that whenyou hear them, you kind of knock
yourself in the head and you go, ofcourse, that just makes common sense.
So yeah, I don't know where you want to gowith that, but that's not my perspective.
You're, you're leading me to to the,some of the important stuff that, and
I think we, we, we tapped into thisa little bit about in the beginning.
(08:04):
That, you know, a solopreneurentrepreneur many times we, we live
in a isolated, you know, bungalow.
And we're very good at what, whatever itis that we do, we're passionate about it.
We know it inside out.
We can, you know, in oursleep, we could do it.
And, and hopefully we'repassionate about it.
Hopefully we love it.
But what happens is that we have towear all these different hats, right?
(08:26):
So, you know, my clients willcome to me and they'll go,
Christine, I'm really good at.
X.
This is what I do, right?
But now I've got to bea social media guru.
I've got to be a website designeryou know, extraordinaire.
I need to write my blog.
I need to do this.
And what happens is that it's likewhen you go into a restaurant and
you have a menu with too many items.
(08:48):
A lot of times you just default tothe, you know, going to a deli and
I see all these different thingsin LA, in Los Angeles, there was a
Jerry's deli and the menu was insane.
It was the size of a human andI would just always default
to the matzo ball soup.
I'd be like, that's what I'mgoing to have because I know that.
Right.
But what happens with entrepreneursis that become overwhelmed and then
(09:10):
they, they they get stuck like,you know, deer within headlights.
So they're not moving either way.
And their websites are staticbecause somebody created it for them.
They're not updating those things.
So all these different hats thatthey have, or they have to wear, they
feel that they have to wear, right?
Yes.
It becomes overwhelming.
(09:32):
And then the, thatenergy, that desperation.
And I Tell my clients,there's a stinky poo poo.
It's like having a baby andthere's a diaper and it stinks.
And that stink of desperation, yourpotential clients or people that are
looking at you come across your socialmedia or they flip onto your website,
(09:53):
they can smell it, they can feel it.
And so, this is really important and Iwould say probably The gateway to getting
to know about someone a bit more wouldbe their website, and I know you're an
expert in this in this realm can youhelp out our, our wonderful audience on
some of the things that they should, youknow, even though they're not a website
(10:16):
designer, you know, some of the thingsthat they need to be paying attention to
when it comes to their websites, at least.
Sure.
So typically when you thinkabout a website and I spent a
lot of time in e commerce, it'sbasically a three legged stool.
You have traffic to your website.
You have the value of whatever isgoing to happen on that website.
(10:38):
So if you're a service business,there's a value of the service you're
going to provide, or if it's a product,there's a value of the product.
And we refer to thatas average order value.
So just think about the service thatyou sell the most of or the product
combo that you sell the most of.
There's a price associated with that.
And so, it could be 50,it could be 50, 000.
(11:00):
And then the other oneis the conversion rate.
And the conversion rate is if you'reasking somebody to do something how many
people that come to your website, dothat thing, it could be click to call.
It could be fill out a form.
It could be scheduled.
You know, an assessment, whateverthe case may be, there is a
conversion rate associated with that.
And then depending on your sales processYou start to lose people along the way.
(11:24):
And so let's say that it's aservice based business, Christine,
you're a business consultant.
You have a hundred people cometo your website every month and
five of them fill out a formthat they want to meet with you.
And you'll do a, a breakdownsession with them, or you may
have a custom name for that.
And so your conversion rate is 5%.
(11:46):
Now, then you have to take thatthrough the process and you have to
go, okay, then what is my close ratioon the five people that I meet with?
You know, it'd be great if it'sa hundred percent, but typically
it's in the 15 to 25 percent range.
And then I would say on an e commercebasis for every hundred people that
come to your website, you can hope thatyour conversion rate is somewhere in the
(12:07):
one and a half to three percent range.
And so then you have to think about, well,if those numbers don't make it work for
you, what are you going to do about it?
Well, you have to get moretraffic to that website.
And so,
traffic.
That is not able to convertis a waste of money.
So you want a targeted approachfor bringing that traffic in, which
(12:28):
typically involves maybe in thebeginning stages, a paid approach.
We always recommend you know, an organicapproach, which is changing now with AI.
But I would say.
You said something in the question that'svery astute is if your website hasn't
been touched or updated in the last twoto two and a half years, it's ancient.
(12:50):
It used to be five years, but youknow, it's getting more and there's
all sorts of helper software out there.
You know, we have platforms likeFiverr and Upwork and other places
where you can have somebody that youdon't have to hire as an employee.
You don't pay taxes, you know, allof those things to help you with some
things that maybe you're not so great at.
So.
We'll put that off to the side, but.
(13:11):
They're we've all been on the Internet.
We all are used to that.
COVID exploded that.
So a lot of digital agencieswere birthed around COVID.
They're falling off now, but
you'll hear the term above the fold thatcomes from a newspaper printing days
that the newspaper is folded in half.
(13:32):
Obviously the things above thefolder where the top story is.
So if you consider your website likethe top story of a newspaper, and if
it's an online newspaper, it holdstrue, they're going to put the most
important or the most the storieswith the biggest pull at the top.
And so I would say the biggest thingyou want to do is just almost, if you
have some friends that will tell youthe truth, sit around and look at your
(13:54):
website and go, if I didn't know you, whatwould this be saying about your business?
So it should be we callthat the hero section.
It should say what you do, who youdo it for and why you're different.
And there should be a call to action.
In that hero section, whichcould just mean learn more.
It could be about me.
(14:15):
It could be see our productlist, whatever the case may be.
And I'll give you a little tip on thelanguage you should be using for buttons
on your website and then some sort ofcompelling image or video at the top.
I read a statistic the other day that82 percent of web traffic traffic in
2025 is going to be video related.
So if you're not into video, you betterget into video because people are lazy
(14:36):
and they want to be entertained andthey want to be able to consume video.
So I would say the first thing you wantto do is look at that hero section.
And.
You know, there's all sortsof programs out there.
Google has a free program.
You can put two differentversions up on your website,
see which one converts better.
That's called AB testing.
But yeah I would say that'sthe first thing and there's
(14:58):
more that we can dig into.
Yeah.
No, you, you, you hit on, you hit on allmy, the trifecta of, this is why I say
you're my doppelganger, Jimmi, becauseeverything that you said is this, this,
this stuff that this is what I do.
This is what I go through with myclients and I, and I'm teaching
above the fold is something thatthey get tired of hearing from me.
Oh yeah.
Above the fold, above the fold.
(15:20):
Well, because I used to, after, you know,well back in the day, remember in the.
com boom, I worked for America online.
Okay.
And I was a writer.
This is when they had writers.
This is when they had community.
Then they sold everything to whatever.
But.
You know, it's, it's knowing the draw,knowing how to draw people in, of course,
but after my work with AOL and then Iwent to Microsoft, to MSN, and then after
(15:46):
that, and because after everything gotconsolidated it was the big dot com boom.
And so I was a content consultant forthese companies and everybody was creating
websites back then it was like, and theywere throwing stupid money at it, you
know, consultants and all this stuff andso, but my job was to just look at the
website as a normal human being, and lookat the navigation, look at the journey.
(16:10):
And to give feedback on the journey.
And so my whole thing that I kept drivinghome back then was it needs to be above
the fold needs to be your money shot.
It needs to be, if it's aphotograph, if it's back then it
was more, you know, photo and, andcopy text, then that needs to be.
(16:32):
Because nobody's going to scroll downand dig through your website unless
they're excited about what they seeright there when they pull it up on
their desktop or now on our phones.
I always, when I'm tweaking my website,I always, because the majority of
people are going to be looking atmy website through their, their
little device, their phone, right?
So I want to make sure that theabove the fold on the phone has
(16:55):
everything that I, that I need.
The second point, the thingthat you had also mentioned.
And this is the thing that I drive homeall the time, if you can, and everybody
can create that welcome video that thatbranding video so that when people pull up
the website, it starts playing right away.
(17:16):
You can have it on mute becauseyou don't, you don't want to
upset people when they're.
Three o'clock in the morning next totheir partner, but, but have that video
start playing and explain what it is thatyou, that you do, how you help people
and the video because look at tick tock.
Look at, you know, reels and,and, and even YouTube shorts.
(17:37):
This is where people are.
Their attention span is short,so don't go on for 10 minutes.
That video is the first way.
When people can see your eyes, and theycan feel your energy, it's so different
than just reading a bunch of copy, right?
It's so, so different.
And so, the above the fold, whatyou're talking about, that is so
(17:58):
good, and, and I love the idea,too, that you're encouraging
people to have that, that video.
I think it's very important.
You can also do that call to action,because you can actually say it yourself.
Right.
Right.
You can say, and you canlike point to the button.
Right.
Exactly.
Click that button right there.
Exactly.
So, can you talk about this issomething that's, that's also I
(18:19):
think a very important and it getsoverlooked is the power is the
power of authenticity because we do.
So many people are afraidof not being perfect, right?
I can't do that video, Christine,because I'm, I'm too old, I'm too
fat, I'm too this, I'm too that.
Or, I'm I'm, I'm too I'm tooafraid I'm going to be judged.
(18:43):
That authentic quality that, that, that wewant to try and bring out in our message.
Can you talk about howimportant that is right now?
Yeah.
And so, I appreciate youhitting on the video aspect.
And when you start to think aboutvideo, again, people freeze up, but
most people are walking around witha camera in their pocket that is way
(19:09):
better than anything that you couldhave purchased 10, 15 years ago.
There's multiple lenses.
There's some very basic.
Things that you can do to get great video.
You don't have to be an expert.
You don't have to know a lot.
I just actually wrote a blog.
So if you go to thrive agency and justlook at our blog I think it was probably
(19:29):
in November, I'm happy to send that andwe can include it in the show notes,
but it talks about video and it talksabout some things that you can do.
And actually social media hashelped a lot with that because
what we're finding is when.
Video looks like an ador looks overproduced.
People will skip right past it,especially in the social feeds,
(19:52):
the more authentic it can be.
And I know we've seen many, manythings and we probably follow people
who mess up while they're talking.
Somebody walks into theframe, they drop something.
We're all like that.
We're human.
It shows that you're human.
It shows that you can laugh at yourself.
And it shows that You're nottaking yourself too seriously and
(20:12):
you really want to connect andyou know it does take practice.
The first video that you do is gonna,you talk about the stinky, yeah, you
can talk about the stinky diaper.
It's gonna be horrible.
It's gonna stink, , and so youjust have to get over it and you
just, the more you do it, themore comfortable you get doing it.
But even if it's just okay.
If you are yourself and you talk through,and you know, you can mention things,
(20:34):
Hey, I just got back from the gym.
I've got a little glisten here, but youknow, being healthy is important to me.
Well, what does that say tothe person on the other end?
Who's watching that?
Oh, I like to work out too, or I needto get in shape, but I wonder what they
did wonder what kind of workout they do.
And so all these questionsstart flying around.
You might pick up a mug andyou might say having my tea.
(20:56):
Yeah.
You might have assumed it was coffee.
Why do they drink tea?
You could talk about that.
There might be a pictureon a wall behind you.
You might be out in your backyardand you develop this backyard
specifically for being outdoorsand having this wonderful space.
What it is, is an opportunity.
To put road signs along the way,and those road signs are bringing
(21:16):
your best ideal client to you.
You know, whatever the productor services, there's probably
a hundred thousand other peopleselling the same product or service.
What your audience is doing isthey're trying to sort through
who is the right person for me.
And so the more clues or the more roadsigns you can put up related to that,
the more you're going to attract peoplethat you're going to love to work with.
(21:39):
So.
I mean, Christine, you and Iare having a good connection.
I imagine that we're goingto continue to stay in touch.
We're going to share things after this.
And we just happened tomeet on social media.
Right.
And so there's plenty of podcastinterviews that I do, people that
I meet and you're like, yeah, thatwas great, but we don't really job.
And we're just sortingthrough all of those things.
(22:01):
You also mentioned somethingabout a menu being too long.
You couldn't decide what to pick.
There is a function of thebrain that we're under stress.
Your brain has a cognitive load.
It.
Is limited in the number of things thatit can categorize, that it can figure
out before it needs to make a decision.
And so we work with a lot of home servicecompanies and, you know, we've been
(22:23):
talking you mentioned this on one of yourother podcasts about the hero's journey.
I love the hero's journey.
I love all that conversation, butsometimes that's a little bit too much.
If somebody has a toilet that isoverflowing, they need the quickest
path to figure out who is goingto be the right person to come out
there and fix that immediately.
And so you really have to get good aboutbeing brief with your communication.
(22:47):
Making sure you connectwith that audience.
And again, you're goingto write and rewrite.
You said you were a writer for AOL.
I'm sure there's manyrevisions that happen.
Don't let being perfect be the enemyof good enough because You're going
to revise it over and over and over.
I always see that.
I always say that the website is the hubof all activity related to driving a lead
(23:10):
to a conversion or selling your product.
And you should be in that website,evaluating that website monthly, if not
quarterly, and you should have your teamagain, if it's a solo, you know, Pretend
that you represent each departmentin your company and look at it from
different hats and different angles.
But you putting that effort in,especially when algorithms change and
(23:32):
the things related to social mediachanges, you're putting a lot of
trust in other people's platforms.
And you really need to spend a lot oftime on your own website and making
sure it's the best version of yourbusiness that it possibly can be.
Absolutely.
And you don't, you don't want people tobe confused when they, when they come.
That's why I love thepower of the, of the video.
(23:54):
Because also, like you said,it's a nonlinear platform.
So people can go to your website andthey might go check out something
that you don't, it's on your website,but that's not the important thing.
That's not my, Bread and butter, right?
That's not my the, the, the main sales orthe, the, the main focus of my business.
So the video gives you theopportunity to say, you know, this,
(24:18):
this is what I can do to help you.
And I also look, I like.
And you had mentioned this too on onan interview that another interview
that you had and this I say so manytimes The importance of not you as
a business Person it I don't wantto hear you say How great you are.
(24:42):
I want other people.
I want to see what otherpeople think about you.
Right.
And so the power of testimonials andreviews or wherever you want to call
them is very important, I believe.
And of course, the, the, the person who'sWho can look at a review and if it's just
text, right, if it's just copy Christineis the greatest thing since sliced
(25:05):
bread, you know, sign, you know, Susie Q.
A lot of people will go, well,that could be made up, right?
The power of video testimonials.
When you actually have a human being andagain, you can look in their eyes and they
are so excited and jazzed because theysaid, Jimmi saved my life, my business.
This guy is amazing.
(25:26):
Hire him right away.
That's way more powerful than.
Just text, you know, on a website.
Can you talk about, about that?
Cause you do mention, I've,I've heard you talk about that.
Yes, we call that social proof.
And so there was a couple of elementsof social proof, obviously testimonials.
People are going to believewhat other people say about you.
More than what you say about yourself.
(25:47):
And so again, we're recordingthis through a zoom connection.
I'm sure, especially throughCOVID many of us cut our teeth
in zoom and all of those things.
So it's not going to take much,even if your customer base is
nowhere near you, geographically.
And if you feel weird about getting ona call and asking somebody to give a
testimonial, get somebody else that, youknow, again, if you're a solopreneur,
(26:10):
get a friend, get you know, some otherperson to say, Hey, I'm collecting
some testimonials for Christine.
Would you be willing tosay some things about her?
That would be a, a way to go.
If you are in the same location,take your phone, do a selfie video.
There's all sorts of ways.
And I agree.
The video.
It communicates emotion.
It communicates enthusiasm,all of those things.
(26:34):
The other thing is when you ask somebodyto give a testimonial, a lot of times
they'll just say they were great.
Love them.
Sometimes you have to writethe testimonial for them.
Right.
And you say, well, I'm actually want toput this on my website and this would be
really great if you could hit on thesepoints because I know like you're not.
You're not giving them a scriptthat's inauthentic, but you're saying,
(26:56):
remember when we talked about this andyou're having to get them back in the
state of when they were very excited.
Right.
And so you'll might need to do alittle bit of prompting and reminding.
And again, the beauty of.
Editing is you can talkto them for 15 minutes.
And if you get a 30 second or a10 second test, well, luckily my
clients are all I training them in,in, in how to create a podcast and
(27:19):
how to record video and all of that.
So their, their videotestimonials are beautiful.
I had one, one client.
She, she, She sent me her testimonial andI was like, damn, this is like, I mean,
her lighting was perfect or sound orMike was amazing and it was so beautiful.
I just put some music behind itand it could have made me cry.
(27:41):
You know, that's how,that's how beautiful it was.
So yes, but it doesn't matter.
People, you know, peoplecould do it on their phone.
You don't have to be, you know.
Francis Ford Coppolaor anything like that.
Steven Spielberg.
I would also say if, if you belongto associations or if your business
has won any awards, you wantto make sure you put those up.
Absolutely.
I'm, you know, I'll throw outmy bestseller status thing
(28:04):
and, and I'm not a writer.
I mean, I wrote, I did, I wrote forAOL, but I'm not a writer per se when I,
when it comes to my books, I'm a talker.
So I just repurposed my content.
I'll, I'll take my speeches and, andWebinars and things like that and I'll
transfer them and turn it into intocopy And then create, you know books and
(28:26):
so I'll have that It's a challenge forme always to see how fast I can get a
bestseller And so I've done four now andI'm looking at my I'm working on my fifth.
I'm just I'm almost there and and soThat bestseller moniker, it's like if
you go to school and become a doctor,you know, I like to have that in there
(28:47):
as well so that people know that, youknow, at least that I'm on the subject
matter of podcasting, all the books havebeen the bestsellers, they've all been
about podcasting so that when a clientcomes to me and they're, they want to
create a podcast, they can at least go,Oh, well, she knows something about it
because she's written four books on it.
Right.
And there's like thatfollow through for them.
(29:10):
So it's, it is important to have, Ithink those, those types of things.
Some of my clients are sogood at what they do that.
I'll just take them through abestseller campaign and I'll say.
You're a great coach.
You're all these things.
But if you can get that number onebestseller status, that just puts
you that your expert authority getskind of bumped up a little bit.
(29:32):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Do you have a book?
Do you have a book yet?
I do.
It's actually an allegorycalled chasing carrots.
Won't help you find your purpose.
If you were born to love bananas.
It's actually about a monkeywho chased so many carrots, he
actually thought he was a rabbit.
And so he was in a magic showand he was the star of the show
being pulled out of the hat.
(29:52):
And so.
Yeah.
It is a story about him going onthis epic adventure to rediscover
the fact that he's actually a monkey.
And so it's basically an autobiographyin the form of an allegory.
So I wrote that.
It took a while.
It sat on the shelf for quitesome time, but I've got that.
And then I'm also sending outsome proof copies of another
(30:15):
book that I'm working on.
Related to a three phase processof creating content that mirrors.
So I've been a magician sinceI was four years old and I have
performed at the MGM in Las Vegas.
I've produced theme park shows.
I had a magic theater inMyrtle beach, South Carolina.
(30:38):
I was on the food network withthe cake boss, buddy, the last
row doing some magic for them.
And.
As I started to think about howdo you connect with your audience
and bring wow, to an audience.
I thought this is the exact formulafor marketing and creating a message
that is able to connect with theaudience, pique their curiosity
(31:01):
and bring them to a conversion.
And so I call it the magic script.
And so I've got, I've got a proof copy ofthat out that some folks are looking at
and giving some tough love feedback too.
So that one should be coming out soon.
I'm excited about that.
I love that.
That is so, and, and the powerof three, two three, two.
(31:22):
Hello.
The power of three, right?
ABC one, two, three.
And not overwhelming people.
I love that.
I love anything that has thatthree step type vibe to it, because
it's also something that we canabsorb and we can comprehend if
we menu, it's going to go crazy.
No.
Yeah, it's very simple.
(31:43):
And it actually is scientificallybased as I started to research it.
I didn't.
I didn't know this, but so you talkedabout speaking and things like that.
I've worked with a Broadwaydirector who was also a magician.
He produced or he directed13 Broadway shows.
He was in the original cast of Annieand I was lucky enough to be part
of a group that trained with him.
(32:03):
And so as I started to research thesethree phases of connection, curiosity
and conversion, I realized that you'reactivating chemicals in the brain.
And so the connection point.
Releases oxytocin, whichis the trust chemical and.
Once you have that trust, then youmove into peaking their curiosity.
And so they like you andthey're like, Oh, okay.
(32:25):
And when you peak theircuriosity, that releases dopamine.
I know we think a lot of dopamineabout you hear references to that with
people being addicted to social media.
Well, why is that?
Because there is a ambition or curiosity.
Of a reward that's coming, right?
And so when we post something on socialmedia, we expect the reward of likes
(32:46):
and shares and all of those things.
And so you're peaking thatcuriosity with dopamine.
And then the conversion releasesserotonin, which is that comfort,
feel good, warm, and fuzzy.
Like everything has come to a conclusionand all is right with the world.
And so if you can take somebodythrough those three phases in an
efficient way I would say that'sthe magic formula for a message.
(33:10):
And this can work for likethe hero section of a website.
It can work for an ad.
It can work for a blog post.
It can work for a keynote speech.
This sequence will work forall your communications.
And once you sort of look behindthe scenes and recognize that it
can really help you craft somethingthat's going to connect, create that
(33:30):
curiosity and then convert them.
I love that.
Oh, okay.
Get that book done.
I want to read it as soon as possible.
Oh, Jimmi, I thank you somuch for, for coming on today.
I could talk to you forever and you'rewelcome back any, any time to the show.
But thank you so much.
So if, if people want to find outmore and of course they can go to.
(33:54):
Thriveagency.
com I'll put the link in the show notes.
That's the the company that Jimmiis the vice president of in brand
communication Thrive agency calm, butI'm also going to put because Jimmi
I fell in love with you through yourLinkedIn now I don't know what other
social media stuff that you have.
It was just it just so happened that I,that I found you through LinkedIn and
(34:15):
you, and you have some videos on there.
So I'll put in also your LinkedIn,if that's okay, I'll put that
in the show notes as well.
So people can, can find you there, butthank you again for coming on the show.
I'm just so happy to meet you.
Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Thank you.
It was a very easy interview talkingabout things that we both love.
And yeah, I would I would sayLinkedIn is the best place again to
(34:39):
those solopreneurs pick a platform,go an inch wide and a mile deep.
Don't try to do everything.
So I've committed to putting out a videoMonday through Friday every day this year,
I think that ends up being 261 videos.
And so.
Hopefully by the 260th video,I'll sound intelligent and
there'll be worth watching.
(34:59):
So yeah, if somebody if you want toconnect with me and then if you have
a question, just DM me, if you wanta resource, I've got a resource that
will help you go through the top 10conversion things that you can look at
at your website in less than an hour.
I'll send you that for free.
I'll send you the one about the video.
I mean, you can go on our websiteand connect, but you'll have
to enter a bunch of informationif you just want it right away.
(35:22):
Just connect with me.
Let me know what you're looking for andI'll be happy to help however I can.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
And it's such a great resource.
You are, you are a great resource.
And again, I'm so happythat I stumbled across you.
So thank you again.
My guest today has been Jimmi Gibson.
Again, he's the vice presidentof brand communication at Thrive
(35:42):
Agency, and you can check outall the great work that they do.
It's, I mean, it's, it's a,it's It's a big big deal.
You can go check out their website,but again, we'll have the link in
the show notes to that and alsoto Jimmi's LinkedIn page as well.
So thank you again, Jimmi, and thank you.
Wonderful listeners who are listeningon Apple podcasts, Spotify, audible,
(36:03):
whatever platform you prefer, but alsofor those that are watching on YouTube.
Thank you so much.
If you like this and you thinkthat this show could help somebody
maybe who's struggling with theirmarketing and their communication.
Their website, share this with them.
They'll get a good kick out of it andthey'll get excited about again, getting
(36:24):
into that website and communicatingtheir message with the world.
So thank you so much.
And if you want to have more informationabout all the stuff that I do, which is
a lot, you can go to Christine Blosdale.
com.
That link will be inthe show notes as well.
And until next time, as I always say,remember to think outside that damn box.
Bye for now.
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