July 11, 2025 • 21 mins
On this week’s episode, Helen covers: Favorite Tools + TikTok Future + Building What’s Next
🔌 Unsponsored Favorites of the Week
- Compact, clean audio, magnetized for easy placement
- Comes with adapters for iPhone/Android
- Great alternative to bulky, poor-quality wireless mics
- Bonus: Comes with discreet black stickers to cover the logo
- Perfect for laptop + travel essentials
- Dual function: backpack + shoulder strap
- Sleek, under-the-seat friendly
- Only con: missing suitcase handle slot
🎧 Coming Soon in the Studio:
How to Launch a Podcast on a Budget
- Step-by-step lesson inside the Studio
- Includes: affordable gear, uploading, podcasting on YouTube correctly
- Perfect for creators wanting to test the waters
📣 On the TikTok Shift + What to Do Now
- New US-only TikTok (“M2”) feels isolating and problematic
- Claims about follower migration seem unrealistic
- Likely changes in community feel and algorithm
- Helen’s current stance: It’s a no (as of July 11)
💡 Diversification Strategy
- Now is the time to explore other platforms
- YouTube: More stable, values real creators, no AI monetization starting July 15
- Email Lists: Essential for staying connected
- Newsletters / Free Communities: Building sustainable spaces
- Podcasting, Blogging, Amazon Associates — lean into what fits you
🔁 Tip: Think about what you loved most about TikTok and recreate that feeling elsewhere.
💬 Final Thoughts
- Use this moment as a creative reset
- Build toward your strength — community, teaching, entertainment, etc.
- Studio community is evolving — real-time support + collaborative growth
- Join the 7-day free trial to explore lessons, tools, and creator support
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Helen (00:00):
Welcome to The Socialize Strategy. Happy Friday. It's
always a happy day for me when Iget to record the podcast. And I
have some really fun unsponsoredby products to talk to you about
today. And also, I'm going toshare what we're going to tackle
in the studio next because I dothink it might be relevant to
many of you if you areconsidering diversifying into
(00:22):
other areas.
So sit down, sit tight, stickaround, and let's get started.
The first thing is mymicrophone. I want to talk about
it. I feel like I might havetalked about this brand before,
but, for a while I was very,very into the Saramonic brand.
So I'm going to tell you I was.
But their microphones are so bigand I found that their wireless
(00:43):
ones just, they weren't smalland they just were not easy to
hide or just like a low profile.They were just too much for me.
So I switched over to this brandcalled Hollyland. And I do love
the size of it. I love that itcomes in a case like this.
I do feel like I have talkedabout this before, so I'll keep
it brief. But I do like thisbrand a lot. So I wanna make
(01:05):
sure that if you're looking fora wireless microphone and you're
doing those ones from the TikTokshop or that you see on
Instagram and they're like $20,a lot of them make you sound
like you're underwater. And Idon't love the sound. I've heard
it on so many of my studiocreators who had them.
And I'm like, listen, I hate tobe mean, but your video sounds
like you're like recording witha muffler on or something or
(01:27):
underwater. It sounds crazy tome. And this one is clean. I
also love they come with blackstickers because there is a logo
on the front that normally lookslike that. And even that was
bothersome to me because itwould be on my shirt like that
this way.
It's all black. Usually, I'mwearing black, it's pretty well
hidden. So I just like thatthey're simply black. I like
that they magnetize on to yourshirt so you can put it
anywhere. You don't have to belooking for a collar to clip it.
(01:49):
You can literally put itanywhere. You can also put it
under your shirt. So you can putit on your underneath shirt and
it still picks up the soundreally good. So since I have two
layers here, I can put it on myunderneath shirt and you
wouldn't even see it. And whatyou need that goes with it is
the thing that plugs into yourphone.
It comes with it, of course. Butit comes with the kind for the
16, the Android, and it alsocomes with the original iPhone.
(02:10):
I'm holding it up to the camera.Okay. So you do need that.
Unfortunately, the case when youget two of the microphones, it
gives you this other piece. Soyou're gonna if you're gonna
record with a DSLR camera, itgives you this other piece, this
receiver. And you don't needthat when you're recording an
iPhone. I would much prefer tohave a slot for the this thing.
But this case doesn't have that.
So I've been weirdly using thiscase to carry all the things. So
(02:34):
I'm using the Ceremony case formy Hollyland brand. So Hollyland
is what you're looking for ifyou're looking for wireless.
Hollyland. Like cute, right?
Because my granddaughter's nameis Holly, so now everything I
call about her is like we're inHollyland. Anyway, Hollyland is
the microphone brand. And whatwas the other thing I was going
to say about it? But if you dowant a wired one, Saramonic
(02:57):
makes a really nice wired one.So I do use that one when I'm
quickly just needing to recordand I'm going be close to the
camera.
I will put that wired one onsometimes, use that on the go,
especially if I'm traveling.Okey doke. So that's my
microphone recap. Now let's talkabout another product I use
every flipping day. And I lovethat I seem to I always think
(03:18):
I'm going to run out of thingsand I'm like, oh, nope, here's
something I use every singleday.
I'm going to talk about it. Andmy husband bought it for me. So
I'm going to give him totalcredit for picking out a very
cool brand. And I'm going topreface this by saying I travel
a lot and I've always beenlooking for the perfect, you
know, you have the carry on bag,which I use my away, but then I
need a backpack or some kind ofa thing to carry with my
(03:40):
computer and other stuff. And Idon't and I've used a computer
backpack for the longest time.
And I don't know. He got me thisfor Christmas and he said, don't
know. I just think it fits acomputer, but it also has this
shoulder strap and it has thebackpack straps and blah, blah,
blah. Let me move my microphoneaway for a second so I can pick
it up. Hold on.
All right. Here it is. I'mholding it up and it is Eastpac.
(04:02):
That is the brand, E A S T P AK. They have a flagship store in
New York City and that is wherehe got this.
And it's, look, it's got this,what do you call it? It's got
the shoulder strap. So if youwant to carry it like a
briefcase or just a sack whereyou put it over your shoulder
and it has the backpack straps.And the, why can I not think of
(04:25):
what you call the strap, justthe shoulder strap can be
removed? So I don't usually havethe shoulder strap out.
I usually use it as a backpacksolely when I'm traveling. And
then I put the shoulder strap onif I'm just going to use it
like, I don't know, in and outof the car or whatever if I'm
packing to go from place toplace, and I just want to grab
it and put it over my shoulderinstead of wear it as a
backpack. I love this brand. Icannot say it enough. I I really
(04:50):
have to tell you.
It's it fits the right amount ofthings. It fits under the seat
in an airplane perfectly,whereas my backpack sometimes
didn't fit. So it's the widththat actually works because it's
everything spreads out a littleand it goes flat. I I love
everything about it. It's got azipper compartment inside.
It's got the protection for thelaptops, like a laptop sleeve
(05:11):
built right into it, and it'sjust shocking. I actually
somebody stopped me and said,oh, how do you like your East
pack? I was gonna get one ofthose, and I said, I love my
East Pack, literally. It is justmy best travel backpack. There
is one thing missing from it.
I always have to be honest, andI have to give you my unfiltered
review. I wish it had the littleslot where you can slide it onto
(05:32):
your carry on. You know thatthing where you can slide it
over the handle of the carry on?It doesn't have that. And if
they would just add that I wastrying to figure out how I can
make one for it myself andattach something because it
really needs that.
Because I did have one timewhere I wasn't holding onto the
handle and the handle, the twohandles, and I I thought I was
(05:52):
and the backpack fell off, butit's fine. My computer was fine
because it's protected in thesleeve in there. But I was just
like, it needs that thing whereit slides over the suitcase
handle. It doesn't have that.But I bet you on the next one,
they're gonna get that right onthe upgrade.
So I'm gonna speak to them.Anyway, love the brand, Eastpac.
Okay. Those are my twounsponsored by things. And if
(06:12):
you're looking for something totravel with a computer but being
able to take other stuff, italways fits.
It's funny because I carry alittle purse that's just, small
cross body, tiny small, and thatfits right in there. And I've
always struggled with that whenI go to get on the plane and
they want you to take the thepurse and put it inside the
backpack, and I'm alwaysstruggling, this one always has
room for it. Just the way it'sdesigned. Bingo. That's that.
(06:35):
Okay. Now before I carry intowhat's happening on this
podcast, I wanna just say thatin the studio, we're gonna cover
how to do a podcast very simplyand inexpensively. So if you
don't have a big budget and youwanna dabble in the podcasting
world and you don't wanna book astudio and you don't wanna buy a
fancy microphone and you don'twanna do the things, you wanna
(06:56):
test the waters and record acouple of episodes and see if it
hits, or just play around withit on YouTube. Like, I'm gonna
make a YouTube podcast and thenjust put it on the YouTube,
podcast section and see if ithits. I'm telling you, I have
the ticket for you on how to doit inexpensively, and I am gonna
teach that in the studio onlythough.
That is where I'm gonna teach itbecause I'm gonna put a nice
(07:18):
long lesson. I'm gonna attachlike my process, the tools to
use. If you don't wanna buy thisfancy microphone when I travel
on the go, I use my littleportable microphone. I'm gonna
give you all the tips on how todo it, and then how to upload
it, what how the platforms work,how to make sure that when you
put it on YouTube, it goes intothe podcasting YouTube section
(07:38):
and not just as a regular as aregular YouTube video because if
you put it as up as a regularYouTube video, it's not in the
podcasting world on YouTube, sothat doesn't help you. So
there's all these things youneed to know, and I am thrilled
to be able to teach this becauseone of the studio people asked
me, and I was like, oh, you knowwhat?
I will will teach a lesson.Like, this is great. So that is
(07:59):
the plan. So if you want in onthe studio, I'm that is what's
coming right away. That's mynext task for the studio folks.
I'm really excited about it. Andwe have lot we have had such a
fun time in there. Even on thethe meetings are evolving
differently. We have our nextmeeting is very beginner
focused, but our previousmeeting, we talked a little bit
about this, and it was more of abrainstorming session. We were
(08:22):
talking about the TikTok ban.
So the minute something comesup, I address it with my folks
in the meetings so that theydon't have to feel worried. They
have things to think about. Theycan start to make a plan. And
that's the biggest thing that Ilove is the sense of community
that we have. So when we get onthese meetings, everybody's
sharing their thoughts, and itbecomes more collaborative, and
it's it's excellent.
(08:43):
So I'm gonna moving forward, ourmeetings are they're evolving.
It always is like that withsomething. Like, you realize
something works well and peopleliked it, so the next time we're
gonna do a little more of that.So really pumped on that. And
then that brings us into thetopic for today, which is really
how to diversify and think aboutwhat you wanna do if TikTok goes
away and you decide you don'twanna go to The US version of
(09:05):
TikTok.
So I wanna address that for asecond. There's so much talk
about it on TikTok right nowabout, like, this new version of
TikTok that's gonna be US onlypeople, which is really a
bummer, I must say. It's myleast favorite thing. It's
almost like separating us fromfrom the rest of the world.
That's just wrong.
(09:25):
I don't know. It's wrong on somany levels. So I don't I do
think a lot of people are notgonna just make that leap. They
say that your followers aregonna come with you, and how is
that possible? Because how canyour followers come if they
haven't joined that app?
You know what I'm saying? Youknow what doesn't make sense
about that? I was thinking aboutit. I'm like, how are they gonna
bring your following over there?How do we know for me that one
(09:47):
the 1,100,000 people who arefollowing me are gonna join that
app?
So they can't it can't bringyour followers. That makes no
sense. Okay? So whoever saidthat is cuckoo crazy or they're
just talking out their bootbooty. I'm being nice.
Alright. So that oh, Cara, didyou hear that one? So now I'm
really getting I have to say,Cara, I'm speaking to you now. I
(10:08):
hope you're listening. I'm sohappy that you enjoyed the
podcast.
I like when my studio folksmention in the meetings that
they listen here, and then Iknow, okay, that's who's
listening to me because I neverknow who's really listening to
the podcast. So I'm here for it,and I'm excited about it. But,
yeah, and more speculation aboutit and how it's gonna evolve and
how you're gonna be able tomigrate doesn't make sense to me
(10:29):
because the people who arefollowing me may not join that
app. Also, PS, of the people whoare following me, many are not
from The US, so they're notgonna be able to go on that app,
so of course they're not gonnaable to follow me over there. So
that's a little bit of, a lie.
Little bit of a lie, that'sprobably a big lie. So there's
that. And then there's the ideathat the algorithm's gonna be
(10:51):
different, so it's not gonnahave that same sense of
community. And, honestly, thecommunity that I have built on
TikTok is so varied andworldwide that that also bothers
me. I feel like we're now gonnabe segregated.
Oh my god. That's the word.Yeah. Not a good word. Yikes.
I hadn't even thought about itlike that until now. Actually
(11:14):
gets me a little sad andemotional. Oh my goodness. Okay.
So that's another reason whyright now I'd say it's a no from
me.
So if you're listening to thisnow and the date is July 11, you
can you can pretty much knowthat a lot is gonna have to
change about it or what I learnabout it before I take the leap
(11:36):
over there because it doesn'tfeel right. It just doesn't feel
right. So, this is why I thinkwhat to do in the meantime.
Think about what other channelyou might enjoy and start
putting a little bit of focusthere. Thinking about think
about a way to build community,and Julie and I are thinking
about this now, how we can buildsocialize to have a free section
(11:57):
where there's a free chat so atleast the people that are
connected with me on TikTok thatmight wanna stay connected and
be able to, comment.
And maybe, oh my god, I just hada great idea. I love when this
happens. Because we were talkingabout this in the studio this
week, and I said I'll make afree section of the studio. And
I suddenly realized I can make afree section of the studio with
(12:18):
all of the tutorials that I postpublicly, and make that the free
section of the studio. So I'mgonna work on that, and I'm
gonna let you know how thatgoes, because I think that's
gonna be an important thing tobuild community with the content
that I like to create and theteaching that I like to do and
put that into a free section.
So it's free anyway because it'son my public facing page. And
(12:39):
inside the studio on my paidsubscribers, they're getting
dedicated lessons. They'regetting meetings with me.
They're getting a lot more thanthat because we're doing
challenges, and it's also theyhave a Q and A, so at any point
they can ask me questions and Imake them videos. It is more
interactive with me directly onthe paid part of the studio, and
they know they can reach meanytime.
(13:00):
And I really kinda like that. SoI I wanna that's always my
priority, but I think that if Ican create sort of my own, I
will say, like my own TikTokchannel inside the studio which
is like a free area. I thinkthat's what I'm gonna try and
focus on. So that's somethingfor you to think about, food for
thought. And now with all thisnews and everybody's talking
(13:20):
about it, like what should wedo, it's it's always helpful to
realize that a ban there'salways gonna be change.
So when a ban when a banhappened the first time, people
started paying more attention toInstagram, and maybe they built
an Instagram following. Maybepeople went over and started a
YouTube channel. I've beentrying to I'm talking to you
now, Amber, but I'm trying tosuggest to people to try a
(13:40):
YouTube channel. Just post a fewvities up videos up on YouTube
and see if you can grow anaudience. The difference between
YouTube and TikTok is what wetalked about, on in the studio
too, and it it came to me.
With in with YouTube, you'remore like on stage. With TikTok,
you're with people. So that'show I look at the difference. I
(14:02):
feel like I don't have as muchconnection with the people who
comment on my YouTube videos.Sometimes I do because I know
who they are.
They're from TikTok, so I knowthem, you know, their usernames.
But a lot of times it's justrandom people commenting, and it
doesn't feel as community based.So TikTok community, YouTube,
the stage. But if you're a perfyou're on TikTok already, you
(14:24):
are sort of on stage for youraudience even though you're more
personal about it. So you canreally do the same thing and
start to build over there ifthat's something that interests
you.
What I also loved, this is newnews by the way, oh my god, is
that on July 15, there is athing where on YouTube they are
not gonna monetize any videos onYouTube that were created with
(14:46):
AI. They are only, they are areal people focused channel to
or platform. And if you thinkabout that, listen, YouTube has
always been the forefront. It'sbeen the steady. It's been it's
like even with TikTok being sopopular, YouTube has always been
the cons a constant.
You always knew what you weregetting. You can count on it.
(15:09):
And so if I'm gonna say somebodydoesn't really love Instagram,
fine. Don't do Instagram. Like,lean to YouTube because I feel
that they always seem to beahead of the curve.
The fact that what just whatthey're doing with this AI rule
the rule, they're not gonna paypeople for AI videos. Freaking
great. That is clutch. I am sohappy about that. It was like
(15:29):
the best news of the day when Isaw that this morning.
I was like, hell yeah. Becausethey're just valuing real
people, and they're, they'resetting their their statement,
they're setting the bar, andthey're prioritizing creators,
and they have always done that.So I really, really appreciate
that. Okay? So that's what we'regonna focus on.
(15:50):
We're gonna, if you want to,join on and focus on YouTube.
Oh, and by the way, I alreadyhave a YouTube 101 lesson inside
the studio. If So you wanna trythe studio for seven days and
watch that lesson and see whatwe do inside there, you that
could be really beneficial ifyou don't have a YouTube channel
yet or you wanna understand howYouTube works. So YouTube one
zero one inside the studio. Ithink that the creators who are
(16:12):
gonna succeed the most if TikTokgoes away are the ones that have
the loyal committed fan base.
They have loyal followers thatare gonna look for them anyway.
They have created connection,and maybe they've built a
newsletter, another great thingto do. If you haven't done it,
you still have time because intheory, TikTok's not going away
until March. That's a lot ofmonths. But we have almost like
(16:34):
a half a year.
And I know September well,what's March? March is when it's
not gonna be available.September is when the new app's
coming. I don't know what thetimeline is. But in any case,
you still have time, even ifit's September.
You still have time. Startbuilding another start building
your newsletter list. Start orit doesn't even have to be a
newsletter. Just get the emailsso that you can reach people.
(16:56):
And eventually, when you're, youknow, you create a thing where
you say, if you want to downloadthis PDF about fashion or how to
reinvent your style or how tocreate healthier hair or
download my free PDF, blah blahblah, you'll get people's
emails, and then at least you'llhave people that you can reach
if you decide to move somewhereelse.
Okay. Getting that connectionwith your audience in another
(17:18):
way is really how you want toevolve moving forward. Now I'm
not gonna reiterate everything Isaid in the newsletter because
there's no point in me coming onhere and just saying the same
things, but I think what we'vegotta think about as creators is
what our next, what our whatwe're gonna lean into. And we
here's here's an example. Let mesee how I can say this.
(17:41):
Because somebody like me, Iwanna lean more into my
community and my teaching, andso if I don't have TikTok to
amplify my voice by getting thatmessage out there, I will find
other avenues to get my messageout there, but I'm gonna, my
priority is going to be mycommunity. And other people
(18:02):
might say, hey, my priority isnow gonna be building a podcast,
and so you can learn that in thestudio how to do it. Somebody
else might say, okay, now mything is gonna be blogging. I'm
gonna pay more attention to myblog, and how can I monetize my
blog? I have, someone in thestudio, Amber, hello, other
Amber, who is very she's been anAmazon associate from the
beginning.
So guess what? Maybe she'll leanmore back into her Amazon
(18:25):
associates thing. So dependingon what your, what your focus or
your passion or your joy is,that's where you're gonna lean.
And if you're somebody like Karawho has, the the corgi and she's
hi Kara again. I mean, she's gotthe corgi.
So she can really decide, like,I'm gonna build and I'm gonna
try and maybe now monetize moreon Instagram, and she's gonna
(18:47):
lean more into she's got anInstagram audience, she's got a
YouTube audience, and figure outwhat what matters to her. And
maybe it's just, building andmaybe it is building a community
of of, you know, corgi besties.I mean, there's some there's you
don't have to build a paidcommunity. You can go onto these
networks. Mighty Networks iswhat we use for our community.
(19:07):
You could go on there and youcan build a free one. And then
that's so easy to talk. Whenit's free, people are like, why
wouldn't they sign up for it? Soyou could start with a free
community and then evolve intosomething. But it's like finding
your outlet to what you like themost.
That is the point of what youshould use this TikTok band
nightmare situation as acatalyst for, to really decide
(19:32):
what you love the most and whatyou wanna lean towards if this
changes. Anyway, that's it fortoday. It's a little, it's
heartfelt, but it's also let mesay it again. Anyway, that's it
for today. I really have beenthinking a lot about it and what
(19:52):
my priorities are gonna be, andbelieve it or not, I'm going
lean into doing ads soon.
I think I'm going to try goingdown the path of advertising and
see, I mean, I do it for other,for the brands I'm working for.
So I'm going to take my skillsetand move into that area
potentially. Hold on. Anyway,that's it for today. I think
(20:13):
that hopefully I've given youthings to think about and a way
to process it.
Instead of looking for the otherTikTok, it's looking for what
you wanna do next. Like whatpart of TikTok did you like the
most, and therefore where canyou then take that to build on
it? So using the part that youliked to decide what your next
(20:35):
focus is. Have a great weekend.I hopefully have given you some
things to think about, and takeyour time, and don't be
stressed, and always know thatI'm here for it.
So if you join the community andyou wanna come into the chat and
feel support, I'm always inthere trying to help everyone
with whatever their concerns areand allay the fears about
(20:56):
things. I think that if we'reall in it together, we are
stronger. Alright. Have a greatweekend. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to The Socialize Strategy. Happy Friday. It's
always a happy day for me when Iget to record the podcast. And I
have some really fun unsponsoredby products to talk to you about
today. And also, I'm going toshare what we're going to tackle
in the studio next because I dothink it might be relevant to
many of you if you areconsidering diversifying into
(00:22):
other areas.
So sit down, sit tight, stickaround, and let's get started.
The first thing is mymicrophone. I want to talk about
it. I feel like I might havetalked about this brand before,
but, for a while I was very,very into the Saramonic brand.
So I'm going to tell you I was.
But their microphones are so bigand I found that their wireless
(00:43):
ones just, they weren't smalland they just were not easy to
hide or just like a low profile.They were just too much for me.
So I switched over to this brandcalled Hollyland. And I do love
the size of it. I love that itcomes in a case like this.
I do feel like I have talkedabout this before, so I'll keep
it brief. But I do like thisbrand a lot. So I wanna make
(01:05):
sure that if you're looking fora wireless microphone and you're
doing those ones from the TikTokshop or that you see on
Instagram and they're like $20,a lot of them make you sound
like you're underwater. And Idon't love the sound. I've heard
it on so many of my studiocreators who had them.
And I'm like, listen, I hate tobe mean, but your video sounds
like you're like recording witha muffler on or something or
(01:27):
underwater. It sounds crazy tome. And this one is clean. I
also love they come with blackstickers because there is a logo
on the front that normally lookslike that. And even that was
bothersome to me because itwould be on my shirt like that
this way.
It's all black. Usually, I'mwearing black, it's pretty well
hidden. So I just like thatthey're simply black. I like
that they magnetize on to yourshirt so you can put it
anywhere. You don't have to belooking for a collar to clip it.
(01:49):
You can literally put itanywhere. You can also put it
under your shirt. So you can putit on your underneath shirt and
it still picks up the soundreally good. So since I have two
layers here, I can put it on myunderneath shirt and you
wouldn't even see it. And whatyou need that goes with it is
the thing that plugs into yourphone.
It comes with it, of course. Butit comes with the kind for the
16, the Android, and it alsocomes with the original iPhone.
(02:10):
I'm holding it up to the camera.Okay. So you do need that.
Unfortunately, the case when youget two of the microphones, it
gives you this other piece. Soyou're gonna if you're gonna
record with a DSLR camera, itgives you this other piece, this
receiver. And you don't needthat when you're recording an
iPhone. I would much prefer tohave a slot for the this thing.
But this case doesn't have that.
So I've been weirdly using thiscase to carry all the things. So
(02:34):
I'm using the Ceremony case formy Hollyland brand. So Hollyland
is what you're looking for ifyou're looking for wireless.
Hollyland. Like cute, right?
Because my granddaughter's nameis Holly, so now everything I
call about her is like we're inHollyland. Anyway, Hollyland is
the microphone brand. And whatwas the other thing I was going
to say about it? But if you dowant a wired one, Saramonic
(02:57):
makes a really nice wired one.So I do use that one when I'm
quickly just needing to recordand I'm going be close to the
camera.
I will put that wired one onsometimes, use that on the go,
especially if I'm traveling.Okey doke. So that's my
microphone recap. Now let's talkabout another product I use
every flipping day. And I lovethat I seem to I always think
(03:18):
I'm going to run out of thingsand I'm like, oh, nope, here's
something I use every singleday.
I'm going to talk about it. Andmy husband bought it for me. So
I'm going to give him totalcredit for picking out a very
cool brand. And I'm going topreface this by saying I travel
a lot and I've always beenlooking for the perfect, you
know, you have the carry on bag,which I use my away, but then I
need a backpack or some kind ofa thing to carry with my
(03:40):
computer and other stuff. And Idon't and I've used a computer
backpack for the longest time.
And I don't know. He got me thisfor Christmas and he said, don't
know. I just think it fits acomputer, but it also has this
shoulder strap and it has thebackpack straps and blah, blah,
blah. Let me move my microphoneaway for a second so I can pick
it up. Hold on.
All right. Here it is. I'mholding it up and it is Eastpac.
(04:02):
That is the brand, E A S T P AK. They have a flagship store in
New York City and that is wherehe got this.
And it's, look, it's got this,what do you call it? It's got
the shoulder strap. So if youwant to carry it like a
briefcase or just a sack whereyou put it over your shoulder
and it has the backpack straps.And the, why can I not think of
(04:25):
what you call the strap, justthe shoulder strap can be
removed? So I don't usually havethe shoulder strap out.
I usually use it as a backpacksolely when I'm traveling. And
then I put the shoulder strap onif I'm just going to use it
like, I don't know, in and outof the car or whatever if I'm
packing to go from place toplace, and I just want to grab
it and put it over my shoulderinstead of wear it as a
backpack. I love this brand. Icannot say it enough. I I really
(04:50):
have to tell you.
It's it fits the right amount ofthings. It fits under the seat
in an airplane perfectly,whereas my backpack sometimes
didn't fit. So it's the widththat actually works because it's
everything spreads out a littleand it goes flat. I I love
everything about it. It's got azipper compartment inside.
It's got the protection for thelaptops, like a laptop sleeve
(05:11):
built right into it, and it'sjust shocking. I actually
somebody stopped me and said,oh, how do you like your East
pack? I was gonna get one ofthose, and I said, I love my
East Pack, literally. It is justmy best travel backpack. There
is one thing missing from it.
I always have to be honest, andI have to give you my unfiltered
review. I wish it had the littleslot where you can slide it onto
(05:32):
your carry on. You know thatthing where you can slide it
over the handle of the carry on?It doesn't have that. And if
they would just add that I wastrying to figure out how I can
make one for it myself andattach something because it
really needs that.
Because I did have one timewhere I wasn't holding onto the
handle and the handle, the twohandles, and I I thought I was
(05:52):
and the backpack fell off, butit's fine. My computer was fine
because it's protected in thesleeve in there. But I was just
like, it needs that thing whereit slides over the suitcase
handle. It doesn't have that.But I bet you on the next one,
they're gonna get that right onthe upgrade.
So I'm gonna speak to them.Anyway, love the brand, Eastpac.
Okay. Those are my twounsponsored by things. And if
(06:12):
you're looking for something totravel with a computer but being
able to take other stuff, italways fits.
It's funny because I carry alittle purse that's just, small
cross body, tiny small, and thatfits right in there. And I've
always struggled with that whenI go to get on the plane and
they want you to take the thepurse and put it inside the
backpack, and I'm alwaysstruggling, this one always has
room for it. Just the way it'sdesigned. Bingo. That's that.
(06:35):
Okay. Now before I carry intowhat's happening on this
podcast, I wanna just say thatin the studio, we're gonna cover
how to do a podcast very simplyand inexpensively. So if you
don't have a big budget and youwanna dabble in the podcasting
world and you don't wanna book astudio and you don't wanna buy a
fancy microphone and you don'twanna do the things, you wanna
(06:56):
test the waters and record acouple of episodes and see if it
hits, or just play around withit on YouTube. Like, I'm gonna
make a YouTube podcast and thenjust put it on the YouTube,
podcast section and see if ithits. I'm telling you, I have
the ticket for you on how to doit inexpensively, and I am gonna
teach that in the studio onlythough.
That is where I'm gonna teach itbecause I'm gonna put a nice
(07:18):
long lesson. I'm gonna attachlike my process, the tools to
use. If you don't wanna buy thisfancy microphone when I travel
on the go, I use my littleportable microphone. I'm gonna
give you all the tips on how todo it, and then how to upload
it, what how the platforms work,how to make sure that when you
put it on YouTube, it goes intothe podcasting YouTube section
(07:38):
and not just as a regular as aregular YouTube video because if
you put it as up as a regularYouTube video, it's not in the
podcasting world on YouTube, sothat doesn't help you. So
there's all these things youneed to know, and I am thrilled
to be able to teach this becauseone of the studio people asked
me, and I was like, oh, you knowwhat?
I will will teach a lesson.Like, this is great. So that is
(07:59):
the plan. So if you want in onthe studio, I'm that is what's
coming right away. That's mynext task for the studio folks.
I'm really excited about it. Andwe have lot we have had such a
fun time in there. Even on thethe meetings are evolving
differently. We have our nextmeeting is very beginner
focused, but our previousmeeting, we talked a little bit
about this, and it was more of abrainstorming session. We were
(08:22):
talking about the TikTok ban.
So the minute something comesup, I address it with my folks
in the meetings so that theydon't have to feel worried. They
have things to think about. Theycan start to make a plan. And
that's the biggest thing that Ilove is the sense of community
that we have. So when we get onthese meetings, everybody's
sharing their thoughts, and itbecomes more collaborative, and
it's it's excellent.
(08:43):
So I'm gonna moving forward, ourmeetings are they're evolving.
It always is like that withsomething. Like, you realize
something works well and peopleliked it, so the next time we're
gonna do a little more of that.So really pumped on that. And
then that brings us into thetopic for today, which is really
how to diversify and think aboutwhat you wanna do if TikTok goes
away and you decide you don'twanna go to The US version of
(09:05):
TikTok.
So I wanna address that for asecond. There's so much talk
about it on TikTok right nowabout, like, this new version of
TikTok that's gonna be US onlypeople, which is really a
bummer, I must say. It's myleast favorite thing. It's
almost like separating us fromfrom the rest of the world.
That's just wrong.
(09:25):
I don't know. It's wrong on somany levels. So I don't I do
think a lot of people are notgonna just make that leap. They
say that your followers aregonna come with you, and how is
that possible? Because how canyour followers come if they
haven't joined that app?
You know what I'm saying? Youknow what doesn't make sense
about that? I was thinking aboutit. I'm like, how are they gonna
bring your following over there?How do we know for me that one
(09:47):
the 1,100,000 people who arefollowing me are gonna join that
app?
So they can't it can't bringyour followers. That makes no
sense. Okay? So whoever saidthat is cuckoo crazy or they're
just talking out their bootbooty. I'm being nice.
Alright. So that oh, Cara, didyou hear that one? So now I'm
really getting I have to say,Cara, I'm speaking to you now. I
(10:08):
hope you're listening. I'm sohappy that you enjoyed the
podcast.
I like when my studio folksmention in the meetings that
they listen here, and then Iknow, okay, that's who's
listening to me because I neverknow who's really listening to
the podcast. So I'm here for it,and I'm excited about it. But,
yeah, and more speculation aboutit and how it's gonna evolve and
how you're gonna be able tomigrate doesn't make sense to me
(10:29):
because the people who arefollowing me may not join that
app. Also, PS, of the people whoare following me, many are not
from The US, so they're notgonna be able to go on that app,
so of course they're not gonnaable to follow me over there. So
that's a little bit of, a lie.
Little bit of a lie, that'sprobably a big lie. So there's
that. And then there's the ideathat the algorithm's gonna be
(10:51):
different, so it's not gonnahave that same sense of
community. And, honestly, thecommunity that I have built on
TikTok is so varied andworldwide that that also bothers
me. I feel like we're now gonnabe segregated.
Oh my god. That's the word.Yeah. Not a good word. Yikes.
I hadn't even thought about itlike that until now. Actually
(11:14):
gets me a little sad andemotional. Oh my goodness. Okay.
So that's another reason whyright now I'd say it's a no from
me.
So if you're listening to thisnow and the date is July 11, you
can you can pretty much knowthat a lot is gonna have to
change about it or what I learnabout it before I take the leap
(11:36):
over there because it doesn'tfeel right. It just doesn't feel
right. So, this is why I thinkwhat to do in the meantime.
Think about what other channelyou might enjoy and start
putting a little bit of focusthere. Thinking about think
about a way to build community,and Julie and I are thinking
about this now, how we can buildsocialize to have a free section
(11:57):
where there's a free chat so atleast the people that are
connected with me on TikTok thatmight wanna stay connected and
be able to, comment.
And maybe, oh my god, I just hada great idea. I love when this
happens. Because we were talkingabout this in the studio this
week, and I said I'll make afree section of the studio. And
I suddenly realized I can make afree section of the studio with
(12:18):
all of the tutorials that I postpublicly, and make that the free
section of the studio. So I'mgonna work on that, and I'm
gonna let you know how thatgoes, because I think that's
gonna be an important thing tobuild community with the content
that I like to create and theteaching that I like to do and
put that into a free section.
So it's free anyway because it'son my public facing page. And
(12:39):
inside the studio on my paidsubscribers, they're getting
dedicated lessons. They'regetting meetings with me.
They're getting a lot more thanthat because we're doing
challenges, and it's also theyhave a Q and A, so at any point
they can ask me questions and Imake them videos. It is more
interactive with me directly onthe paid part of the studio, and
they know they can reach meanytime.
(13:00):
And I really kinda like that. SoI I wanna that's always my
priority, but I think that if Ican create sort of my own, I
will say, like my own TikTokchannel inside the studio which
is like a free area. I thinkthat's what I'm gonna try and
focus on. So that's somethingfor you to think about, food for
thought. And now with all thisnews and everybody's talking
(13:20):
about it, like what should wedo, it's it's always helpful to
realize that a ban there'salways gonna be change.
So when a ban when a banhappened the first time, people
started paying more attention toInstagram, and maybe they built
an Instagram following. Maybepeople went over and started a
YouTube channel. I've beentrying to I'm talking to you
now, Amber, but I'm trying tosuggest to people to try a
(13:40):
YouTube channel. Just post a fewvities up videos up on YouTube
and see if you can grow anaudience. The difference between
YouTube and TikTok is what wetalked about, on in the studio
too, and it it came to me.
With in with YouTube, you'remore like on stage. With TikTok,
you're with people. So that'show I look at the difference. I
(14:02):
feel like I don't have as muchconnection with the people who
comment on my YouTube videos.Sometimes I do because I know
who they are.
They're from TikTok, so I knowthem, you know, their usernames.
But a lot of times it's justrandom people commenting, and it
doesn't feel as community based.So TikTok community, YouTube,
the stage. But if you're a perfyou're on TikTok already, you
(14:24):
are sort of on stage for youraudience even though you're more
personal about it. So you canreally do the same thing and
start to build over there ifthat's something that interests
you.
What I also loved, this is newnews by the way, oh my god, is
that on July 15, there is athing where on YouTube they are
not gonna monetize any videos onYouTube that were created with
(14:46):
AI. They are only, they are areal people focused channel to
or platform. And if you thinkabout that, listen, YouTube has
always been the forefront. It'sbeen the steady. It's been it's
like even with TikTok being sopopular, YouTube has always been
the cons a constant.
You always knew what you weregetting. You can count on it.
(15:09):
And so if I'm gonna say somebodydoesn't really love Instagram,
fine. Don't do Instagram. Like,lean to YouTube because I feel
that they always seem to beahead of the curve.
The fact that what just whatthey're doing with this AI rule
the rule, they're not gonna paypeople for AI videos. Freaking
great. That is clutch. I am sohappy about that. It was like
(15:29):
the best news of the day when Isaw that this morning.
I was like, hell yeah. Becausethey're just valuing real
people, and they're, they'resetting their their statement,
they're setting the bar, andthey're prioritizing creators,
and they have always done that.So I really, really appreciate
that. Okay? So that's what we'regonna focus on.
(15:50):
We're gonna, if you want to,join on and focus on YouTube.
Oh, and by the way, I alreadyhave a YouTube 101 lesson inside
the studio. If So you wanna trythe studio for seven days and
watch that lesson and see whatwe do inside there, you that
could be really beneficial ifyou don't have a YouTube channel
yet or you wanna understand howYouTube works. So YouTube one
zero one inside the studio. Ithink that the creators who are
(16:12):
gonna succeed the most if TikTokgoes away are the ones that have
the loyal committed fan base.
They have loyal followers thatare gonna look for them anyway.
They have created connection,and maybe they've built a
newsletter, another great thingto do. If you haven't done it,
you still have time because intheory, TikTok's not going away
until March. That's a lot ofmonths. But we have almost like
(16:34):
a half a year.
And I know September well,what's March? March is when it's
not gonna be available.September is when the new app's
coming. I don't know what thetimeline is. But in any case,
you still have time, even ifit's September.
You still have time. Startbuilding another start building
your newsletter list. Start orit doesn't even have to be a
newsletter. Just get the emailsso that you can reach people.
(16:56):
And eventually, when you're, youknow, you create a thing where
you say, if you want to downloadthis PDF about fashion or how to
reinvent your style or how tocreate healthier hair or
download my free PDF, blah blahblah, you'll get people's
emails, and then at least you'llhave people that you can reach
if you decide to move somewhereelse.
Okay. Getting that connectionwith your audience in another
(17:18):
way is really how you want toevolve moving forward. Now I'm
not gonna reiterate everything Isaid in the newsletter because
there's no point in me coming onhere and just saying the same
things, but I think what we'vegotta think about as creators is
what our next, what our whatwe're gonna lean into. And we
here's here's an example. Let mesee how I can say this.
(17:41):
Because somebody like me, Iwanna lean more into my
community and my teaching, andso if I don't have TikTok to
amplify my voice by getting thatmessage out there, I will find
other avenues to get my messageout there, but I'm gonna, my
priority is going to be mycommunity. And other people
(18:02):
might say, hey, my priority isnow gonna be building a podcast,
and so you can learn that in thestudio how to do it. Somebody
else might say, okay, now mything is gonna be blogging. I'm
gonna pay more attention to myblog, and how can I monetize my
blog? I have, someone in thestudio, Amber, hello, other
Amber, who is very she's been anAmazon associate from the
beginning.
So guess what? Maybe she'll leanmore back into her Amazon
(18:25):
associates thing. So dependingon what your, what your focus or
your passion or your joy is,that's where you're gonna lean.
And if you're somebody like Karawho has, the the corgi and she's
hi Kara again. I mean, she's gotthe corgi.
So she can really decide, like,I'm gonna build and I'm gonna
try and maybe now monetize moreon Instagram, and she's gonna
(18:47):
lean more into she's got anInstagram audience, she's got a
YouTube audience, and figure outwhat what matters to her. And
maybe it's just, building andmaybe it is building a community
of of, you know, corgi besties.I mean, there's some there's you
don't have to build a paidcommunity. You can go onto these
networks. Mighty Networks iswhat we use for our community.
(19:07):
You could go on there and youcan build a free one. And then
that's so easy to talk. Whenit's free, people are like, why
wouldn't they sign up for it? Soyou could start with a free
community and then evolve intosomething. But it's like finding
your outlet to what you like themost.
That is the point of what youshould use this TikTok band
nightmare situation as acatalyst for, to really decide
(19:32):
what you love the most and whatyou wanna lean towards if this
changes. Anyway, that's it fortoday. It's a little, it's
heartfelt, but it's also let mesay it again. Anyway, that's it
for today. I really have beenthinking a lot about it and what
(19:52):
my priorities are gonna be, andbelieve it or not, I'm going
lean into doing ads soon.
I think I'm going to try goingdown the path of advertising and
see, I mean, I do it for other,for the brands I'm working for.
So I'm going to take my skillsetand move into that area
potentially. Hold on. Anyway,that's it for today. I think
(20:13):
that hopefully I've given youthings to think about and a way
to process it.
Instead of looking for the otherTikTok, it's looking for what
you wanna do next. Like whatpart of TikTok did you like the
most, and therefore where canyou then take that to build on
it? So using the part that youliked to decide what your next
(20:35):
focus is. Have a great weekend.I hopefully have given you some
things to think about, and takeyour time, and don't be
stressed, and always know thatI'm here for it.
So if you join the community andyou wanna come into the chat and
feel support, I'm always inthere trying to help everyone
with whatever their concerns areand allay the fears about
(20:56):
things. I think that if we'reall in it together, we are
stronger. Alright. Have a greatweekend. Thanks for listening.
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