#125 - Reducing Content Creation Burnout with The Instagram 9-Grid™ Strategy with Kristen Achziger
4:01PM Apr 6, +0000
Speakers:
Mai-kee Tsang
Keywords:
grid
posts
people
instagram
nurturing
sales funnel
feel
rafting
feed
create
business
offer
mascot
dopamine
question
content
stories
person
experiment
archive
Hello, my wonderful quiet rebels. And this is Mai-kee here. And before we jump into today's episode, I want to let you know about my brand new co working space that I've just created. It's called the co working Co. and I created it in mind for the entrepreneurs who really yearn to make space to do their deeper work, listening, quiet company, but aside. So if you're someone who's invested in all of the programmes, all of the online courses, workshops, and pretty much all the things you need to move forward in your business, but you've actually struggled with carving out time to integrate. Well, he may have just been in the right place at the right time, my lovely, I created the co working Cove for people who don't need more content, they have gotten enough coaching for the time being, and they just want space carved out on the calendar to be held and do the work. If this is something that is calling to you, because you know yourself that when you have complete autonomy in your business, it can be really hard to hold yourself accountable at times. This was made for you my friend. So if you're interested in learning when we are meeting next in the co working code, I invite you to check out the link in the description box. It's making sound.com forward slash co working Cove. But of course I appreciate that my name is not the most easiest to remember let's load spell. Again I'll pop that into the description box for you should you want to check it out. It is an open space that you can join at any time and we meet twice a month right now. So if you are interested, I'll be sure to put the dates up in the Hello Bar. So it's gonna be super clear for you when we our next meeting. But if you're listening to this at the time, we're about to have a session just around the corner, then you may just want to check it out. Okay, so again, the co working Cove is there for you. Should you want to have some collective accountability, quiet company to really do your deeper work. And bytes. Check it out. Link in Description, my friend. And let's get back to the episode. You're listening to the quiet rebels podcast, the place to be to explore what it means to run an online business when you don't always align with the status quo. I'm your host Mai-kee Tsang, the sustainable visibility mentor, certified trauma sensitive leadership coach and podcast guesting strategy trainer. And I'm here to remind you that contrary to what we're taught to believe, you don't always have to be the loudest person in the room in order to be heard. Because if anything, we stand out and make an even deeper difference when we stand up for what we believe in and share who we're supporting along the way. So if you'd like to join me and my guests as we venture into these pretty nuanced conversations, where we choose to find the meaning in the messy middles of our entrepreneurial journey, then let me welcome you into the quiet rebellion. Let's get started. Hello, my wonderful quiet rebels. It's Mai-kee here, and I'm super excited for today's guest because this guests this amazing guest, her name is Kristin OXA. And she's the creator of the nine grid, which is something that I'm super excited about implementing in my own business. But I'm not going to tell you why. Because Kristen is so crystal first of all, Hey, good to be here.
Yeah, of course, of course. So the nine grid is a strategic sales funnel that educates and warms up new leads on your Instagram profile. And it's designed to be a set of nine static posts. So when people stop on your profile, they can see everything about you learn about your offers, and decide within the first two minutes of reading all your content that they want to hit follow and enter your nurturing system.
Ah, that just brings me so much peace, you know, because I said to you in the green room, that the reason why I'm so excited about implementing this in my own business is not because I struggle with coming up with content, I don't struggle with coming up with content, but it's the distribution of it. I am a very intuitive person. And often I can imagine that when people come to my profile, they can probably get the gist of what I do is because of my bio, but because they kind of come midstream based on whichever like realm of consciousness, I'm in with my latest post for an for a new person who doesn't quite know me and know what I'm all about. They might feel a little bit lost. So that is why I was super interested in learning about the nine grid. And of course, I had a lovely chat with you just to kind of have connect and I was like hey, would you like to come on the podcast and who you are. Alright, so before we actually get into all of the nuts and bolts of all of it, I'd love to take a zoom out perspective for a second and ask Like what made you actually come up with it? Like, tell us what you do? Yeah,
so I am an innovative sales copy strategist and copywriter. And I kind of got my start actually in the film world I used to create brand films and promotional videos for entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofits, and I loved writing scripts that would help people really humanise their brand. And so the videos we create together would really feel connectable warm, so that when their ideal clients would land on their websites, they would feel like they were talking to a human. Eventually, I pivoted into copywriting, after I retired from film and I took on a very similar mission where I'm helping people humanise their sales copy, to feel more connectable to avoid those sleazy marketing tactics that really hurt the consumer and don't really feel good to the business owner, to be honest. And along the way, I was able to ideate and develop some templates, some sales funnel solutions to kind of help people sell in a way that feels more human, much more aligned with their own intuitive hearts, and simplify their business processes. So the nine grid actually came up for me as a result of hitting burnout on Instagram, because like many of you, I was very, very tied to creating Instagram feed content, I was posting three to five times a week, I was engaging multiple times a day, I was creating content, writing the content, strategizing the content, designing my own graphics. And the algorithm kept changing. And my reach kept dwindling. I was spending over seven hours a week on this alone, not to mention other parts of my business. And I was exhausted. And that was the only way that I knew how to engage with social media. And so I finally hit a wall, where I was very, very close to quitting Instagram. And it felt like quitting my business altogether, because for all of the work and the effort I put into my Instagram account, I wasn't seeing sales, my engagement kept dropping. The parts of it that I liked, did not seem to outshine the parts that hurt me. And I wanted to be done. But I knew that I had more work to do. I knew that I had more people to help. And so I decided in fall of 2021, one night, I had a wild harebrained idea, and I archived my entire posts, like every single one of them, I had over 300 posts, I archived everything. And by the morning, I had replaced it with a nine post sales funnel that I was not going to touch for a very long time. And I kept that sales funnel up for an entire year before updating it with new content, and adjusting to some new branding. And I just thought it was going to help me take a sabbatical from posting. But it turns out that my sales funnel actually simplified my social media marketing in such a way that I was able to really grow my engagement, boost my sales and most importantly, make more human connections with my audience. And it gave me my life back. Wow,
I mean, who doesn't right one day, like it has been like grappled with from the Instagram algorithm monster that seems to have many of us in a hold right now. a holding pattern, let's just say and Alright, so the sounds all great. And immediately my mindset my my little make a mind is kind of like that. How about this? Like, literally how she sounds how my brain went when she was a little critical? Make a that is like the naysayer, right. But I think you're a you'll be able to soothe her with your answers. So can I just tell you what's coming up in the head?
Yes, of course. Tell me anything.
Alright, the first thing is that okay, so what about anything new that you want beyond the feed? And like what note as you know, not be on the field or what have you wanted to post more things to your feed? Because I know, from actually experimenting today, you can only pin up to three posts, not nine. So we couldn't have that just floating at the top with like new feed posts underneath it. So that's not the case here. So for someone who actually would like to post on Instagram still beyond their nine grid, what would you say to them? Like, how would they work around that? Yeah,
so first things first, if the nine grid feels like it's too too much of a commitment, you're not exactly sure, if you're ready for that step, pinning three posts is a great idea. And you can always start there. So that you can kind of get a better gauge of how people respond to some really strategic copy, I would really recommend that those three posts include things that are important to your brand, and the things that you offer and try to connect with the right ideal target audience, and make it really clear what those things are. So don't just pin posts that are, for example, your highest performing post or the posts that you think is prettiest, use those strategically if you're going to go that route. But if you are open to a nine grid, and you're wondering if you can still post on Instagram, the point of the nine grid is to create and develop nine static posts that you do not change for a long amount of time, I recommend keeping a nine grid up for about three months at minimum to kind of see how your results are going and to track that data. And so you don't want to be posting things on top of it, moving it down the feed, so people can't see it, you want that machine to kind of be running very well and functioning as best as it can. And so you don't want to post more feed posts during that time. So you kind of have to release that desire to constantly produce for the feed. Because now that feed that nine grid is serving a different purpose. I want you to kind of look at it this way. A nine grid is not designed to nurture your current followers. It's designed to educate and warm up new leads. So if somebody is referred to you, or they see your name mentioned in a story, and they click your profile, and they've never heard of you before, the nine grid is going to help that person learn all about you within two minutes and make a decision to follow you, which is where they will actually be able to connect with you after and get plugged into your sales funnel beyond Instagram. So if you want to continue posting to Instagram, if you love Instagram, look at the other functions of Instagram and look at the things that light you up like stories or reels or going live, because those will become your new nurturing avenues that you want to really hone your focus on. So to wrap all that up, I would just summarise it by saying if you want to post to the feed, that's okay, you can intuitively post to the feed, you can totally decide to keep posting to the feed, the nine grid may not be right for you, if you really love the feed. This is for people who are really stressed out by the feed, who are really struggling to see engagement from the feed, who do not feel lit up from the feed, and who need a simplified sales funnel for their profile to look really professional.
Yeah, that was because I thought I could be all like, okay, I can have my cake and eat it too, by like pinning nine but still like doing it. But to be honest, I just liked the checkerboard pattern because it's just visually appealing for my I personally. But it's a really important distinction that you just made there that the nine grid is there to serve new people who have yet to find you in the first place. And there are other nurture there. And there are other ways to nurture our already existing audience via stories and because reels you don't have to post, but there is a separate tab for reels right so that you can absolutely use that to your advantage. And of course, the whole point is not for people to stay on Instagram anyway, the whole point is for them to inquire about your services and your products and actually buy them off of Instagram so we can use other nurture avenues. Like I'm really focusing on emailing my email list more because I actually do have a great relationship with them. And I just sometimes I forget that because you don't see their faces as you do on Instagram, for example, that that was an important distinction. Thank you.
Absolutely. And I want to say this too. You don't have to archive your feed, you can keep your old content that is underneath your nine grid. That's absolutely okay. I have a lot of people that I have helped strategize their nine grid or I have guided them to create their own nine grid. And what we've done is in a lot of cases, continued to have their feed show instead of deleting everything, or archiving everything. It kind of depends on where your brand is at. And if your past content is still on brand. So for my brand, my past content was no longer on brand. I was making a brand pivot and an evolution by the time that I set my nine grid. So I archived everything. I was not attached to that content. I did look through all of my content before archiving and I found the top 15 posts that I thought were still very Strong and incredible, and I wanted to repurpose in other ways. So I actually copied that content from those best posts into some notes in my computer. I revised them, I edited them to create the nine grid that you see today. But I took the method of detaching from things that were no longer serving my business, so that I could serve my business in a new way that felt more aligned with me. So keeping your posts or archiving them is highly dependent on Are they relevant? Were they actually impactful to your audience? Do they still serve a purpose today? If so, keep them you have full permission to keep them onto your nine grid.
Yeah, that was really glad that you said that, because I'm like, now I'm wondering how much of my stuff is actually relevant anymore, because I'm sure that I still have stuff on there from years ago that and if we archive them, we still have access to them ourselves. And we can always bring it back from the archive to repurpose in another way, like, are real and like, you know, and put our new spin or take on it, or turn it into a completely different content or piece of content elsewhere. Because I'm, I'm already thinking like, because my usual idea process is whenever I come up with a thing, I write it in my notes, and I normally turn it into an Instagram post, like an actual feed post, we just want to ask you that question earlier. But now I'm like, No, I can turn this into either an episode on my private podcast that I only that only give access to my private clients for or I can turn it into a mini blog post that is coming on my website very soon, at the time of this recording, or academic tune email. You know, absolutely. So many different ways.
Yes. Yes, there are so many options. Oh,
I feel like the content Cauldron is full. Just taking scoops as and when. But anyhow, back to the nine grids. So the other. The other thing my little critical naysayer making mind is telling me is like Oh, but when they think that your stuff is out of date, when they see how long ago your nine grid was posted. So
Ooh, that is an interesting question. So what I like to tell people about myself, when folks ask me about my stats, or my data, or what I've observed, is I try to read my data like a human and not get too scientific about it to where it's hard for people to understand. So when I'm looking at my Instagram, and I'm gauging the interest in my nine grid, or gauging what people are saying about it, I'm really looking at it from patterns, like what are the patterns I'm observing just as a person. And the pattern that I have noticed is that when someone comes to your nine grid, what you want to do is release the expectation that they are going to like all your posts, comment on all your posts, because it's no longer serving the purpose of nurturing. Again, this is a sales funnel for the entry level person to follow you. So when someone visits my profile for the first time now, my goal is not for them to come back over and over and over again to read those nine captions. And my goal instead is for them to get enough information from me that they choose to follow me and get nurtured everywhere else. And the patterns are showing right now that people have not had an issue with my nine grid being posted. A year ago, people still find it relevant people still DM me about it, people still ask me questions about it. I updated my nine grid with new branding a couple of months ago. So I have a brand new one that's sitting on top. So you can kind of compare and contrast my original Nine grid with my new one if you'd like that's on my Instagram profile right now. And people still engage with both. There's no timestamp on it. That seems to matter for the purpose that I'm serving now. So it might have been something when I was posting consistently to the feed that people would be aware of, oh has she posted in several months is she's still there, she's still around. But that's not an issue anymore, because they can tell I'm around through my stories through my engagement in other places. My feed is not the thing that makes them feel that I have been locked into a certain style of marketing for a certain period of time, so that no longer builds my credibility in that way. It's building credibility and customer service. That's the point of the nine grid to serve our customer well, to give them the information that they need to make a safe and wise decision. And when you treat your customer as well, and you provide excellent customer service that really boosts trust.
I'm just feeling all of the fields. And just, I can just feel a genuine relief in my body like my body's like, as you're talking, Oh, thank goodness. And something I have to acknowledge, actually, is realising that I need to let go of the dopamine hits that you get from likes and comments on your posts. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, Oh, yeah. You know, it's a dopamine hit, it's like, also acknowledges that they like your posts, right. But ultimately, you can get that dopamine elsewhere, first of all, and yeah, so you mentioned earlier, like, Oh, if you have the desire to post on Instagram, and immediately my head when I don't have a desire to do that, I just feel like I have to. Yeah, yeah. And I'm like, oh, but this, you know, you're speaking about how the nine grid can work for whoever is suited towards this strategy, who wants to nurture in other ways, and you know, have a place holder kind of like place for new people to find more about you and whether they want to stay? And yeah, so for anyone who's listening, you know, please make a informed decision of whether it's something that you want to learn more about. I mean, if you're listening to the episode, you're probably already curious. Just saying that anyhow. Yeah. Love what's is going so far. So it was there anything else that you wanted to say before I ask, like, the next question.
Oh, I think that I would just say, you know, there are places on Instagram where you're already getting more engagement, the feed engagement levels are dropping for everybody. It's not just you. So if you're really struggling, and you feel like the algorithm is out to get you and you feel like you just can't get it right, or you just can't make it happy. Please know that you're not alone. And there are so many other options for you, besides just the option you've been using forever. That's exactly why I created the nine grid, I didn't expect to teach it to people, I thought I would just create it for myself, post it and like, take a sabbatical from Instagram without having to explain it. And the more people have asked me and the longer that my nine grid has been running, I've seen the results of it just bringing so much relief to me as the business owner, it's freed up my creativity, it's freed up my brain space to be able to make wiser decisions, and my energy levels to be able to spin my focus where engagement was already happening for me. So my engagement on the feed was dwindling. But my engagement on stories has increased 330% Because I've been able to focus there in the place that already works best for me. And honestly, when I am regulated, my nervous system is regulated when I'm not burnt out when I'm actually joyful and excited. That's when I have dopamine. It's not just a random comment, that makes me feel like my ego is fluffed up. That gives me the dopamine that dopamine doesn't last anyway. But when I can actually do my best work, because I'm well rested, and I'm functional, that dopamine lasts.
I feel like that's the difference between dopamine snacks and dopamine meals. So it sounds like, you know, the liking on the post or a public comment is like a train wreck. It's like, oh, yeah, that will do me for now. But you're getting satiated here with, you know, the full on dopamine meal by having enriching conversations. Yes. Like how you'd have nice rich gravy over some potatoes and veg. And
yeah, I was just kind of looking at some of the stuff that I would show or create or talk about or participate in before the nine grid. And it was like two different business owners, the business owner that, you know, was posting things to the feed all the time before the ninth grade, I was really stressed. I feel like you could tell that I was stressed because my offers were kind of mismatched. I had a lot of frenzy around what I was creating and how often I would create something new and there was a lot of panic involved with the pressure to hustle. And today I feel like my decisions anybody looking at my decisions from a bird's eye view can see that they're more consistent and focused. And I feel it like I feel that in my body. Yeah, it's been wonderful.
I mean, the way you're talking right now You sound so chill. So obviously something's backing.
I feel way more chill. Let me tell you,
I can imagine and I look forward to joining you very soon. When, like my own anger is like still in this in like the brewing part when it came to the captions, which is actually my next question. So I know you have a whole strategy to it like you know what each post like represents and which caption to go ahead with it. So I'm just curious to ask for a broad question, what kind of caption content or make online grid successful if we chose to implement it?
This is a great question. A lot of people who hear about the nine grid get so excited because they think they just need nine random posts, and they can call it a day. But that's not what this is, I want you to think of the nine grid almost like you would think of a website, when you go to somebody's homepage, there's really clear information on it. That points you in the direction where you want to go as the shopper. So if you go to anybody's homepage, you'll see buttons, sections, details, things that are really crucial for a brand new site visitor so they can go deeper into the website, that's where the purchases happen. That's where the engagement happens. That's where the nurturing happens. You can't expect to nurture warm up or invite someone to take the next step with you if you give them random information. And so with the captions in the nine grid, I have developed a chronological order so that from post one to post nine, as people scroll, they're learning about you, they need to know about you, they want to know about you, that's the human side of us, right, we still want to know about the person behind the business. But they're also learning about your business values, what you stand for, who you want to work with, very, very clearly defined, and the best things that you offer, and the greatest ways people can plug in with you, so that they can take the next step. All of those pieces of information are crucial, so that someone can decide that you're worth the follow that they really resonate with you. When I was posting consistently to the feed. And I was really struggling in my burnout. I would get, I don't know, maybe five followers a week. And that was really low. Like I've never done paid ads. I've always been organic reach. So maybe get five followers a week. And they would maybe stick around for a little bit of time, and then they would all unfollow. Like that was normal for me. And I think it's normal for a lot of people. That's because people were just going off of my most recent post, do they want to stick around? Sure. Let's see what else she says. And then over time, they'd realise, oh, you know what, I don't know if we're the best connection or if I really resonate here. But my ninth grade now makes it super clear. Who do I want to work with? What do I stand for? What are my values? What do I offer, so that I'm getting more qualified followers who actually stick around, and they don't unfollow. So I have grown my account organically without ads over. I want to say 700 followers now just from implementing my nine grid for the past year, and they haven't left. And my numbers just continued to grow slowly and steadily. I have a handful of followers join me every day. And I know that they're well qualified because they have qualified themselves with the information that I'm giving them. So the posts are not random. It's not just hey, my favourite colour is yellow. And here's a story about the time I started my business, right? Those are all good posts. I know that a lot of us have written posts like that. But it was because the feed was being used as the nurturing area. And so we had to consistently write random things to keep nurturing. So now that we don't have to do that anymore, we need to write something strategic that can stand the test of time, not feel like it's related to a particular date, like a Friday introduction is not going to work for a nine grid. Right? Because that nine grid is not thinking about that. Yeah, exactly. Yes. There's a difference between introducing yourself in a really strong, steady, timeless kind of a way. And those really fun, but really time stamped Friday introductions post. So it's just taking the focus from consistent churning out of copy and putting it into what's going to stand the test of time what's going to last. And that's where your captions come from.
You're also speaking my language right now. And there's actually an analogy that came into I get confused between analogy and metaphor sometimes, but yes, a vision that I call it a vision sometimes came up as you were talking, it reminds me have cause for folks who don't have a nine grid like myself right now, for example. So people kind of jumping in midstream and I actually went whitewater rafting in and barley but a couple years back, right. That's amazing. Yeah, salad and I hit my head on a rock. Luckily, I was so amazing. Yeah. Luckily, I mean, like my friends who were with me they were happy to tell her that Oh, make a salad. I'm like, Yeah, thanks, guys. Oh my gosh. And thank goodness I'm wearing a helmet because I actually did smack my chin on this rock. But my my head took most of the impact with the helmet on. So it was actually like head dunk on the forehead and then my chin. So took a little left impact did walk away with that blood. Anyhow, that wasn't the story. But anyhow, where does this come with the vision? Imagine if I wanted to go white water rafting. And someone just someone just took me into the middle of the jungle where the river is like the streaming very fast and like, okay, just jump on the raft go. Yes, there's like that, versus going to a white walk. What is it like? raft? I just want to wait. Yeah, that's it. Why? Why just tell him about that. But yes, versus going to a whitewater rafting company that will take you through the safety procedure that will show you how to row show you what to do what happens when we do that and start off in a calm part. Before we get into the very, very turbulent part. I kid you not at first for the first 10 seconds, only 10 seconds with a super calm like, okay, and then suddenly, we did not see this, there was a huge dip. And then we went over this like dip. And suddenly we were all soaked. And I was like, well, thank goodness, we're wearing flowing costumes. Yes, yeah. And the reason why I'm bringing this up, because it sounds like a ninth grade is the version where we'll take us through the process. That's what it is, versus going midstream. Because right, if you if you went midstream, for the first time you ever tried, you're like I don't know if I'm ever going to want to do this. Again, I don't know if I want to go down this river and go with this person who's given me this experience, versus having a very strategic and the chronological, well thought out process that will take you from A to Zed set expectations, and you know, provide ins and outs, opportunity to ask questions and all of those things. So that's division that came up.
Exactly. And there's a part to that, that I really love. It's when you get to the bank of the river, and you're going to go rafting, you're not just meeting a random person who shakes your hand and like, helps you step into the boat. Like there is an actual dock. There is a person with a beautiful sign and a shop or a little building that has all of the details that you could need before you board the boat making sure is this right for you. Do you want to board this boat with me, these are our qualifications, we our five star reviews on Yelp makes you feel safe, so that you're willing to get in the boat in the first place. And they're not going to take you over that rapid right away maybe, but they're going to warm you up for the rapids. And you're going to have a really fun ride if you're the right person for that ride. But you get to make the choice if you actually want to step on the dock and get in the boat. And so the nine grid is designed to be a dock. This is where you begin your journey. Do you want to come on this really fun ride with me and then it gets you into the boat. It takes you through a path that is really fun. And at the very end the nine grid deposits you in a place that says if you think that was fun, I have another river for you. Do you want to step in and it's the best way to help someone taste your entire brand in a short amount of time so they can feel safe with
you. Oh I love I love where this analogy when it also is so good. Like I say if it was a whitewater rafting company but say if they also did like I don't know the Bali swingset which I experienced last year. It's like oh, wait, okay, so I you know, it's another thing to do here in Bali, and I don't live in Bali. I don't know why I just said here in Bali. But anyway, just speaking to the analogy here. It's like Oh, but I trusted them. They did a great walkthrough for the whitewater rafting, I tracked them enough to try something else which I'm also interested in that they also have the five star Yelp reviews and they've got the reception and all of the things and it was like it was really fun. By the way when I did the Bali family thing we got to dress up in like these beautiful dresses like I had like this red halter neck and it was so is that long so when you sit on the swing like it it gracefully like oh my gosh, and all other things. So highly recommend. It's beautiful.
You know what this is? Also, I think a really great part of your analogy too because people also think when they hear about the nine grid that they need to cram everything about their business into That's not true, you actually want to really kind of condense what you offer into three pieces, so that you're not overloading people with information and distracting them. So I love that you brought up the whitewater rafting and then the barley swing, what I like to tell people is that they should have a first priority pitch, this is the thing that's most important for them to talk about the offer, that is paid that they want more people to go to, it doesn't have to be your main income driver, it just needs to be the thing you want most people to be aware of, then you want to have like a complimentary sell maybe a down sell, it could be an upsell to something that is similar for a person who might not be ready for the Whitewater. But they might really want to go on the swing. And then you want to provide them with a way to connect with you. That is a very affordable or a free resource to kind of grow your nurturing somewhere else. And you really want to stick with those three things. And repeat them throughout your nine grid so that it feels focused, not too distracting, not too scary. When they get to your website, they can always decide to buy something else. But this needs to focus your nine grid so that people get the main information that they need at the beginning of the journey, the stuff that's more applicable to them.
Yes, yes, yes. Yes. I'm so glad that we managed to make the analogy work, first of all, yeah. And I love how you're able to seamlessly loop it back to that. Thank you. Yeah. All right. So we've talked about the nine grid in terms of the chronological order the captures, things to do what not to do. I'm just curious, because I know that quite a few of your clients have implemented this now and that into their own businesses. Was there anything that when they were sharing their results with you? Was there anything that came as a surprise to you by any chance?
Whoo, that is a really good question. I think what has been most surprising to me is that this strategy, again, I did not develop this strategy expecting to teach it one day. It was literally just an experiment just for me. I was boggled by the amount of people who wanted to know about it, and asked me how I did it because they wanted to try it. I was absolutely bamboozled. And throughout my experience of helping other people create nine grids, the clients that I've worked with one on one, the people who have purchased my resources, or have learned from my blog post, and kind of implemented it themselves. I am just so amazed and surprised and delighted that so many people from so many different industries can find this helpful. It shows that a sales funnel is universal. And it also demonstrates the power of giving your customers enough detail to make that safe and wise decision. I've been teaching and practising ethical copywriting techniques in my business since I started it in 2018. When I've done copywriting for clients, I have noticed that the trends that marketing is really known for some of the sleazy trends. You know, maybe those feel icky, but some of the traditional trends that still work for a lot of people. There are some folks who are a little bit hesitant to explore new options. And while doing work in my copywriting clients projects, it was awesome to see by the end of the project, how they realise that they could sell more ethically, more transparently give more detail and get the results that they wanted, without having to hide some of those details. But it felt like I was not able to help other people have that connection in the ways that I wanted to like I wanted to spread that word a little bit more and a little farther than just in my personal copywriting projects. And so it's just been so wonderful to kind of see those ethical techniques, those humanised sales funnel trends, start to actually work for people in a greater capacity, so that I can help spread that word and help people understand that there are different ways to do marketing if they're looking for a different way. So it's been powerful to see people get the results that I've known that they can get because the platform is growing.
Oh that's beautiful. So please it has worked for you the way that it has As and I love how you're such an advocate for this way of doing things as well. And you also acknowledged what has always worked. But it's kind of like providing that alternative like this can also work. Right. And so it's kind of like taking the elements that resonate with us in this season, and just being okay with leaving behind the things that don't even though as all we've known up until now, right, yeah. All right. So as we start to wrap up for anyone who's interested in this nine grid, so if there was one thing that you wanted them to be aware of, or a nugget of wisdom, so to speak, that you'd love them to know about the nine grid, what would you say?
I think that, I would just lovingly remind them, that there is no overnight success for anybody, the nine grid was never designed to be a sales funnel that gets you magic results overnight, I will never pitch something like that to my audience, because I don't believe that that exists. This is a strategy that can work for a lot of people. But it requires you to be an open minded person to give an experiment a shot to kind of release that grasp of control that the algorithm used to make us feel like we had. And I think that it can work for a lot of people. But it does take some time. And that's okay, that's completely normal. It's completely human. That's part of doing business. And so if you're interested in this, I really would caution you not to view it as a Hail Mary, that will solve all your problems. Because sometimes when we look at it like that, we put all of our stock in one thing, we make some hasty and rushed decisions that harm us view this as an experiment to gain more alignment in your business, put your focus into it, give it your best shot, and follow through. So if this is something you're interested in, there's a lot of ways that you can kind of learn more about it from me. And that will help you make a wise and informed decision on if it's right for you. And how to set it up if you're interested.
Yeah. And that was actually my next question, which is anybody who's interested in learning more about the nine grid and to connect with you to see your own and you know, your clients by extension? Where can they go to find you? So drop us all the links, and I know you've got a little mini offer as well for us. For those who are interested in taking the next step.
Yeah, well, first, I would love to invite you over to my Instagram. So you can see what the nine grid is, if you've heard of it, and you haven't seen it yet, I want you to come over and check it out for yourself. So my instagram handle is at going ultraviolet. And you can look at my original Nine grid, it's at the very bottom of my feed. And you can see my new nine grid on top to compare and contrast them. I switched up the language a little bit, I made some copy pivots, new branding, but I like having both so you can see where I started. And how I evolved that nine grid when I posted again, you can read through all of that content, get to know more about me and my brands. And if you're interested in working together on this, or getting some guidance, so that you can DIY your own nine grid, you can always come to my website, which is going ultraviolet.com I have a blog post about why I made the decision, the results that I've seen kind of tracking some of my stats that's really helpful. I have some information on how you can get started with a nine grid if you're interested, including a very affordable resource to help you begin formulating your ideas for that concept. And then if you want to take it further, I offer the nine grid Toolkit, which is a great way to go deep into the strategy and post your own nine grid.
That's what I have. And I'm working on it. So yeah, I look forward to I've been I've been I created like I try not to be like teacher's pet or anything because I was the unwilling teacher's pet like teachers naturally liked me but only because I wasn't disruptive in my class. But anyway. I just felt like a goody two shoe energy just kind of like like a dad I tend to work
and I love it. I love it when people post their nine grids and tag me I love reposting them in my stories so people can get eyes on your beautiful grid so please please please tag me when you go live I
will I promise have definitely like sent you voice notes and believe I shall so definitely in the progress of that. But yes, for all of the links that you share. No worries to everybody who's listening. You know, I got you I'm gonna pop all of his links for you. So you don't need to remember the URLs or the handles or anything that I will put that all in that super clickable for you. If you want to find out more about the nine grid and how to Get to know and work more with Kristen. So Kristen, before we actually start to wrap up, I've actually got two more questions for you. Are you ready? Right? Hmm. All right. So number one, you and I had a discussion in the greenroom. And it seems like it was an A. Okay. So what makes you a quiet rebel?
I think what makes me a quiet rebel, is my willingness to check in with myself. And ask myself, does this strategy feel good? And if the answer is no, I give myself permission to try something else. Without validating it from a guru, or trying to make sure that it is the popular trend, I give myself permission to do something that feels good, and helps my clients. And that has led to so many great experiments and great results that I've realised the whole time that I've struggled with other people's strategies, maybe all I had to do was check in with my gut first.
And look how it worked out for you. Right? Yeah. as well. And actually, just a very quick side note, it was very similar to me in the sense that I say, this is how we're like, we have the same parallel, I only experimented because I was curious. Yes, like, Oh, I wonder what would happen if I pushed 101 podcast and 30 days, and I did that back in 2019. Like you, I never expected the results that I received. I never expected to teach anyone about it. But lo and behold, like my peers started then like, they're my mentors were like, teach our community teach us. And then my leads are spread throughout the industry. And I became, you know, a go to person to teach podcasts get some strategy. At the time, I did offer pitch services, which I don't do anymore, but I still offer trainings. And I got my own workshops and everything like that,
too, which are incredible. By the way, a teacher's pet over here.
Yeah, I remember. I saw you need coffee.
Yes, I'm in your podcast class.
So I totally loved it. That was total exchange here. But I love what you just said there in terms of like how this made you a quiet rebel. It's like the permission to experiment just to see go with the gut and, and just like enjoy the process. I love it. Yeah.
Do not be afraid to ask why or why not? Yes. Those are powerful question.
Yes. especially love the wind isn't blowing up. Let me just say, All righty, and final question for you. And that is, what is one weird story or a fun fact about you that no one else knows on the internet? Well,
I All right. Have you ever seen any of those silly movies like Pink Panther or master of disguise?
I think of the didn't. When it comes to begin, I've seen it but I know of pink. Yes.
You know that you know the song you got that's enough for me. My fun fact is that I have disguised myself as a man twice to solve a real life problem. And so I have put on a wig I have dressed up. And I have tried to blend in on purpose. So not to be funny. Not not to, like pull a prank but genuinely so that I would not be recognised so that I could participate in something secret. I wanted to be the mascot in my high school without anybody knowing that it was me and so I came dressed to campus as a guy. And that, that honestly, it was like really interesting, but nobody seemed to question it. Like I got a lot of weird glances because I man, I was wearing a really funny old wig. And I knew people thought I looked a little odd and quirky. But genuinely, nobody doubted it. So it worked for me. I was able to be my mascot without my friends knowing. And I had a great night. I'll say
so you did like when whatever competition there was to be the mascot.
Yeah, so we took mascot volunteers actually. And I was a cheerleader in high school. And the only day that I could have been the mascot. We were supposed to do a really special dance with our cheer squad and our cheer coach unfortunately, was not so nice. And so for me when I had this chance as a senior to like fulfil my bucket list item. I knew if I had asked permission, my cheer coach would have told me no and would not have given me the night off. And so I told her I had a dentist appointment and my mom gave me permission. And so I had to dress up so she wouldn't notice it was me getting into the cost. Oh. And to this day I have I have no regrets. I'm really glad that I gave myself permission to do something that I loved. It was it was really funny.
Wow, you must be like the the queen of masquerading. I'm curious what what you dress up as on Halloween if that's your thing.
Halloween used to be so fun for me. I loved making my own costumes,
man. Wow. That's that's impressive. I mean, I've never thought to do that myself. I don't think that's been ever a situation where I felt like I had to, like, you know, for it to be a mascot or something. But hey, who knows? Like it comes along, but I'll be asking you for tips.
So I've got plenty. Just ask me anytime.
Got it. Alright. And not like, you know, using a sharpie for like facial hair. Yeah.
Fortunately, not. But I did have to wear my dad's old ratty tennis shoes, and they were not cute.
All right. Well, that was a lovely picture. Thank you very much. And honestly, thank you so much for this conversation today. I am sure that is going to bring a lot of sighs of relief and permission giving slips to ourselves, for those of us who just want to experiment and you know, why not try out the nine grid for emphasis. I'm definitely going to be trying out this year because I do want to focus my attention on nurturing my audience because because it typically happens in the DMS via stories anyway. So it makes very much sense. You know, well, that's where it's already working. Why would I double down on that? Right? So
absolutely. That's the whole point.
You got it? Yes. All right. So for anyone again, who would like to learn more about Kristen's work, be sure to check out our show notes. And I'll be sure to pop all of the links so you can find out more about what she does and sue her and ninth grade as well. So Kristin, thank you so so much for being on the quiet rebels podcast today and for letting us know why you are quiet rebel and your little secret fun story of at the very end as well as so appreciate you.
Thank you so much. It was so much fun.
Thank you so so much for listening to this episode of the client rebels podcast today. But any links as mentioned in the episode, you can absolutely find them in the show notes below. And two final things before we wrap up for today. Number one, if you do like the vibe, and you're pretty new here and you're thinking you might want to stick around to see what else comes up here, then I totally invite you to hit the subscribe button. And number two, if you'd like to invite your friends and to help me spread the word to other quiet rebels out there who have yet to find our incredible community. And it would really help if you would leave us a review. So whichever app you're listening to this episode on, all you need to do is scroll to the bottom and there will be an option to write a review. Any words will be incredibly appreciated. So thank you so much in advance if you decide to do that. That's everything for today. So thank you again for joining us and I hope that you join us next time. Until then, bye for now.