They’re Distracted Enough: How to Keep Your Audience’s Attention with Emily Aborn

If you’ve ever felt like your content isn’t landing or your audience is tuning out, this episode is for you. Copywriter and podcaster Emily Aborn shares what visibility really means, why clarity trumps cleverness, and how to keep your people engaged across every platform... from emails to podcasting to social media. Get ready for tangible do’s and don’ts that will help you clean up your content and stop blending into the noise.

Emily’s Website: https://emilyaborn.com

Emily’s Podcast: Content with Character listen to Emily's podcast https://contentwithcharacter.buzzsprout.com/ or find on your favorite app.

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BROADCAST is for the human-first leader who refuses to be muted by algorithms, AI, or outdated strategies. You’ve got something to say, and it’s time to say it like you mean it.  If you are ready for me to shift your thinking on how you can create a business WITHOUT living on your phone - this is the space to be!

OMNI is my full visibility system built for CEOs who want to grow online without living on their phone. If you’re ready to be truly seen, more strategic, and unmistakably in demand, head to check out OMNI at www.omniqueens.com 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Creative Visibility
• 2:23 The Journey of Entrepreneurship
• 5:57 The Shift in Visibility Perspective
• 10:07 Understanding Audience Engagement
• 12:39 Effective Communication Strategies
• 23:21 Tips for Engaging Content Creation
• 28:46 The Impact of Visibility on Business Success

Transcript

0:27

Welcome back to the visibility impact show. We have a special guest today. And she is a brilliant copywriter, a podcaster, a champion of creative visibility. And she's here to help us cut through the noise and keep our audience's attention in a distracted world. Emily a born welcome to the show. Thank you, Chrissy. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to get into this topic. Okay, so let's go back a minute and tell me how you got to where you are. Copywriting, podcaster, creative visibility. Let's talk about all the things and what led you to where you are today. Okay. I mean, it really started when I was a kid, but because I had like this entrepreneurial spirit and I was just in it to win it from a young age. But realistically, my first like foray into entrepreneurship sounds a little crazy to some people, but I had a mattress store. And as I owned this mattress store, I put myself quite literally in a box and kept myself in that store and in the four walls and did not venture out. Um, and it was actually through the experience of having that store and like creating content and blogs and advertising and doing all the things that you're supposed to do as a business owner to get visible that I learned the visibility is so much more than that. And I know you speak to this so much, but it's really about stepping out of that box and seeing other people and also allowing yourself to be seen and making like collaborations and connections. So. I have been, during the time of owning that store, I really was focused on collaborating and I wasn't very choosy in who I collaborated with. I was just trying to figure out kind of like what next because we had decided it was not the store after five years of doing it. um So I was kind of trying to figure out what next and That's when I started stepping out and such and people started coming to me for the copywriting and content piece before I even kind of put it out there that I was doing something. Like I was on the trajectory of like making connections so I could find a job, like a real proper nine to five job. And this kind of just happened. So by the time I ended up closing that business, I think I had 13 paying clients. in the copywriting content creation space. And I was like, well, I guess I can't go get a real job now. I guess I have to do another business. So that was sort of how it started. And I can honestly say that like, to this day, it amazes me how some of those collaborations come full circle and how some of the people I connected with like 12 years ago now, come back into my world and in a different way. And we're like, it's just crazy and mind blowing. Well, and I don't know if you see it like this, but one of the things I tell my clients is that one on one, like collaborations and networking or relationship building is a form of visibility. It's just really focused on that, that one person. And I think it's also genius because just because it's only one person air quote, right? It's also that person's network and that person circle. And so really, I think we downplay the one-on-one conversation sometimes when actually it could be the best thing we've ever done. Yeah, and I think it really like it's not everybody isn't going to be drawn to that form of visibility. Some people really love like the big groups and the BNI and those kind of things. And I did all those things. And I was like, no, I'm really like a one to one girl. So and I still network, obviously. But yeah. So one of the things that I think you said was visibility was a game changer for you, but you didn't look at it the way you thought it would. Like, can you take us back to like that shift? Sure. So, and I think I apply this to all marketing that we use as entrepreneurs now, whether it is a podcast that you're doing, whether it is written content, whether I'm writing copy for a website. I really think that visibility is a two-way street. It is all about being, seeing the person that you are looking to connect to and like really seeing and understanding them. Also having a good understanding of like yourself and your strengths and what how you like to show up and then bridging those two things together. So that was kind of how it shifted for me. Whereas before I thought it was push. It was like push my message out, get the SEO out there, get the ads going, get the social media, get the newsletters. You know, it was all push marketing. Whereas visibility really is kind of like a push-pull bridge kind of thing. It totally is, it totally is. I love saying that to be really visible, first of all, we gotta see ourselves and then we're seen, but we gotta see them as well because it's so full circle, like you said, it's everything, but seeing yourself and knowing who you are is just as important as knowing who you're speaking to. So you said that you had a mentor challenge you to break out of the box. Can you talk a little bit about that and what that looked like for you? Yeah, so when we made the decision that we weren't going to keep going with the store, um had, so we in New Hampshire have this amazing organization called the SBDC, and it's actually free business resources and support. So it's amazing and they help with all kinds of things. So I was getting their assistance, particularly in selling my business. I was looking to put out on the market and I needed somebody to guide me through that process. So that's where we started. And she was also saying, you you really need to think about what is next for you. So I made this list of like what I loved and what I didn't love in my business. And she's like, okay, Emily, now the next step is that you need to go meet people. And she wasn't really specific about who I was supposed to be meeting. So I was just like, I will meet all the people. And I have to tell you, Chrissy, This is what I mean about being pushed out of my comfort zone. Like I was doing networking things. I was part of a B &I group. I was part of the chamber, but I wasn't really in it. You know, like I was just kind of like a bystander. I started being the place that I wanted to see. So I started creating like my own little like entrepreneurial networking groups. I had people in my store for workshops and like whatever I could host in my store. I had a ladies night in my mattress shop. I was like, we'll buy underwear and bras at the mattress store. Like whatever I could host at my store, I did. And I try to think outside the box, like doing podcasts, even though I was a mattress store, which sounds so random, but I would just like help educate people on sleep and do Facebook lives and things like that. This was kind of like before Facebook lives were like cool and then now not really a thing anymore. Um, so it was just trying to think of new ways. Um, and I'll give you one more example, cause I think as a listener, kind of helps you understand what I mean when I say like it's a two way street as, as a chamber member, I was like, I need to step this up a notch. So I decided to network with my fellow chamber members in a way that really worked for me. I would go into their businesses, interview them, like, like I did with my podcast for so many years, interview them. learn their story, write their story, and give them like this whole extra piece in my newsletter and whatever it was. So I was, and I would give it to the chamber for them to share too. So it was like a triple win. And it was really all of that that I think that's what guided me to my next step. Like that's what helped me to build this clientele that I didn't even know I was building as I was going. So. Yeah, and it's interesting too, because I think a lot of times when we think about visibility or, or even collaborating, a lot of people think about what's in it for me. And you were totally about them. You were about that other person with no expectation. And that's huge because you can tell I'm sure today that those relate what that that relationship that you started way back when has done for you through today. Yeah. And I think it is, like you just said, it is really a mindset shift for people. really have to come from a place of service and stop putting that, like, obviously you're running a business and you need to make profit and you need to make money at the end of the day. But not everything is such an instant ROI. You cannot always see this instant monetary return. So some of it takes time and like really, I think it just takes this genuine desire to be in relationship with other people. So what are the biggest ways that you see content losing people's attention right now? Yeah, so I think the reason I came upon this topic is because you're not alone. Like we're all distracted and things are getting faster and faster and faster. And especially with AI, just more and more noise that is not valuable noise. So in fact, I think the stat is something like, well, first of all, we're distracted like 50 % of our waking time. Like your brain's natural state is just to kind of be distracted and not thinking about what you're doing. But secondly, People tend to only remember 90 % of what they hear and read in a given day, let's say. Oh, sorry, 10%. They forget 90%. So now we have to think of, when I am trying to get visible and I am trying to connect with new audiences, how can I keep them engaged so that they're not only hearing 10 % of what I say? So the way I approach it from content is... I mean, we can get into as many layers of this as you want, but one like really simple thing right off the bat is to not overload people like when you're on a podcast interview or when you are writing a blog or when you are even writing a single social media post, you just kind of want to make it one focus, right? Like you don't want to overload people with ideas and concepts and facts and info dump for for lack of a better word, even statistics. Like if I am giving a couple of statistics, try to kind of keep it to like about three. People are mostly their brains are gonna pick one that they really, really like attached to. But if you start going more than three statistics, people are like, okay, enough with the numbers, right? So it's like thinking of ways like that, that we show up when we are speaking and also when we're writing that I like to consider. And like I said, we can go, I can give as many examples as you want of do's and don'ts, wherever you want to go. So this reminded me of this is I always tell my clients don't do it at what old Chrissy used to do. So when people would be interested in an offer, they're like, can you tell me more about it? I would literally go copy my entire sales page and drop it in the chat. Like I'm humiliated to say that today, but like I did that I was that girl. Like I word vomited on them like for real. And I see that so much that people want I feel like they feel like they have to prove that things are worth it, right? And so the more information and the more things I can drop, the more likely they are to buy, which it actually has the absolute opposite. So can we dive into that a little bit? Yeah, I think with that, it's first of all, like, stop for a minute, right? Like, just take a moment yourself because that's the inner, that's your inner voice giving you like a distraction. And so then you're like, I must sell them this thing. I must convince them. So take a minute and just kind of like get solid. Like, I have a good offering. I am skilled. I've been doing this long time and come from that place of like inner confidence. And then really, our goal is to listen. Like, what did they actually ask me? What do they actually need? And then kind of like delivering on that. I love also asking questions back to like in that particular example. I love asking questions, because it keeps me from just, if somebody does not ask a question, often I will just keep on going and going and going and going. So If I ask them a question, I can learn more about what they need and then I can address those specific things. I can also learn if they're more of a person that needs facts and research and proof, or if they're the kind of person that just like wants to get to know me and my personality and, you know, connect on that kind of level. So ask questions. The other thing I started doing, like if we're talking, I guess, specifically about a conversation with your clients, is giving them a little bit of a container for the conversation. So at the top of like, let's say a discovery call, I'll say, okay, what we're going to do today is I'm going to spend some time learning about your business and what your needs are, what your goals are with this project. Then we'll shift gears a little bit and I'll tell you whether or not I can help and whether or not I have something that would like be a service that would help you, what that process looks like. Then we'll open it up at the end for any additional questions. Following up from this, I have a proposal I'll send you that has all the details because I don't remember numbers half the time and I don't want to give you the wrong number. So it's creating a container and we can do that as podcasters, we can do it as bloggers, but really just thinking of like, how am I kind of bookending this for people? It also helps them when they get into it, they like know that there's an end point, you know? They're like, okay, I can relax into this because I know she's got... like an end point. Have you ever read those blogs that just go on and on and on? You're like, my God, will it ever stop? Had it said kind of at the top, like, here's a summary, skip to the parts you want. I would feel a little better that maybe the blog had an end, but they, or a sales page is another great example. Well, and I think it helps for them to look forward to what's going to happen because I've even had this happen where it actually made me money. So I had a masterclass and I said, what's going to happen? Obviously, I'm going to teach you XYZ, whatever we were teaching. I'm going to invite you to the next thing to work with me further and then we'll do a Q&A. And I didn't have in the masterclass aside that said the next thing, I totally forgot it. And so I go to the Q &A and somebody says, Hey, I thought you were going to invite us to tell you and I was like, my god, like in that saved me because I actually said what we're gonna do and they remembered and there were like three people that wanted to know what the offer was. And so we we always think people don't want to be sold to but they know I was going to invite them to the next thing and they wanted to know what it was that it was their decision whether they joined or not. But had they not brought that up and I had not started that call like that. I could have missed it they could have missed it and then that opportunity would have been gone. I absolutely love that. think, so I call them anchors, right? Like in our conversations and there's a whole bunch of them. Like you can summarize things after you said it, because that gives them the chance. Like, let's say you got to the end and you were like, all right, today you learned, you learned about the topic, you learned what my next offer is. And then someone's like, wait, we didn't learn about your next offer. So you can summarize things, you can preview things, and then you can also say things like, I love doing this in my podcast. Like next week, we're going to get into. XYZ or, you know, here's what's coming up in the next month. It just kind of keeps people like, Ooh, I can't wait till next week. I can't wait till next month. Or I might even say, okay, I'll get to that in a minute and then I'll come back to it. So it just keeps them sort of engaged throughout. Like it's a conversation because it is. Yeah. So what pointers do you have or tips do you have for my listeners? Because obviously, they don't want to be noise. They don't want to contribute to the noise that's already on social media. But do you have like tips that you say like I specifically suggest doing this when you create content or this when you create a reel or this when you create a longer form video that you help your clients with? Yeah. So let me give you like five, let's start with don'ts then we can move into like positive dos. So the first one we already kind of covered and that's like don't info dump. And that can look in any variety of ways. I think it also relates to using conversational language. So not speaking over the person's head. Like you're not a professor. I mean, you may be a professor, but you still have to speak to people like students, right? You have to speak in vocabulary they understand. So number one. don't info dump. Conversely though, especially if we're talking to like coaches or people in a space where it's a little vague, like the results you're going to get. So number two is actually don't be vague. Like don't be so incredibly ambiguous that people have no idea what you're talking about or what is next. And it's really super distracting. Like I don't know if you've ever read something where you maybe it's the word authentic, I guess we'll just pick on for the sake of this, but where it's just like, you're like, but what does it mean? Like, it's like the words sound nice, but what does it mean? So number two, don't be vague or empty. Like you want to give people something tangible. And I think there's a nice way to marry both of those together. Number three, and I'm super cognizant of this, you spoke about it in a recent podcast interview that you did. And that is like when you are showing up as a podcast guest or in your written content, don't go on tons of side quests. I am a huge fan of a witty joke stuck into a sentence. I love parentheses. I love the little dash aside. So cute. Keep that in there. But when you decide you're going on this like story about like, I could have at the top of the episode told you. from when I was age six about how I enjoyed writing and all my entre- and that is not interesting to people. That, I mean, maybe it is if I could really wrap it up tight, you know? But, so watch those like side quests because often that is actually very, very distracting. And we're all guilty of it because we all have these stories to tell about everything we do. It's fascinating. And then number four is to try to keep your tone of voice natural to you, but also not monotone or flat. So if people have maybe given you feedback that you do sound robotic or you do sound monotone or you do sound flat, or you could just listen back to your own self. This is how I really learned fast as a podcaster what I was doing well and what I was not. But we don't want to be monotone or flat. that's not... engaging content, you know? So if you do have a more monotone or flat voice, I don't know, drink a couple coffees or something. Like get yourself into a place where it's like the most engaged high energy version of you. um And then the other one I like to remind when we are doing written content, it actually translates to both. But people are not often like their brains are not often working the same way hours are. So if I say like, like if you and I are having this conversation and we're referring to something on our screen that people can't see, it's gonna be, it loses them, right? And the same thing can happen with writing. So I have this friend who is a web designer. And when I wanna like get help with from her on my website, I'll write it out. because I'm like, well, this is how I explain things, right? Like I need to do this, I need to create this. And she looks at it and she's like, I have no idea. Like I just do not know what you're talking about. You have to verbalize it for me. So just, I'm not saying you have to tailor every single piece of content, every single type of brain, but you have to remember like if you are a podcast host, not everybody is visual processor. If you are a writer, not everybody is a... written processor. So giving visuals, like really combining the media, I guess, to meet people where their brains are at. So those are the don'ts. And I'll pause because I know you probably have thoughts that you want to add. And then we can get into some of the do's. I like to end on high note. Yeah, so speaking like how you were talking about monotone and stuff like that, there were so many people and I heard this and I'd love to know your feedback on this. People don't like the sound of their voice and I read or heard somewhere that one of the reasons that we don't like the sound of our voice is because we're not being. I'm gonna say genuine, not authentic. We're not being genuine to who we are, or we're not speaking in our power. Like we're speaking meekly. So maybe we are squeaky, right? We have a really high pitched voice. That's not our natural voice, but we're really squeaky. And I used to my clients this when I used to do master classes all the time, when I would talk about the offer, I would go really, really fast. The ramblin get it over with. um And so I... Like I would love to touch on that. Like what are your thoughts on that as far as like maybe when people are monotone, are they not really stepping in their power or feeling fully confident about what they're talking about? some people I've heard be monotone are like literally reading from a script or they have it memorized in their heads. And honestly, I memorize a lot of things too. I have like a quick uh ability to memorize them, but I also turn it into my voice very quickly. So I really do think some of it comes with practice. And if you are really uncomfortable when you're giving like a sales pitch, you have to keep on practicing and practicing and practicing because That's for sure one of the reasons. And I think the other reason is probably people are not confident in what they're delivering. So yeah, for me, it just happens when I'm tired. I mean, I don't really find myself to be a very monotone person, but I do think when I'm tired, I'm not showing up with as much energy as I want to. yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, let's hear the deuce. Okay, the do's. So we talked about one of them already, which is that attention anchor. And I want to share just like one more reason I love it. It's just, so if we were to, like, let's say right now I summarized all of the don'ts, okay? It gives people a chance to say, wait, I missed that one. I need to go back. Like they actually will re-listen to spots in your episode because you're still going to, no matter how hard we work as podcasters, as readers, I'm still going to be distracted from time to time, right? I'm parallel parking into a parking spot. I'm putting laundry in. Whatever I'm doing, my mind is wandering. So using those previews and those summaries gives people actually a chance to go back, re-listen to what they may have missed. I've done it so many times. I've been listening to a podcast in the shower and I'm like, I totally missed that point. Go back and listen to like 15 minutes of it again, you know? So because my mind was gone for just... That whole time. So I think it's really, really helpful. And the other thing I've seen work really well is to use the rule of three, which is like, say something once, repeat it with an example, and then use like a story or a metaphor or something like an application, right? So that can be really, really effective for people too, because it's like if you missed the fact, you also get the analogy, you also get the example. and then I also think like bringing in our personalities, like the fact of the matter is we're not for everybody, you know? Like my voice actually could be really monotone to certain people. It could be way too much for certain people. And I have just kind of come to terms with like that's okay. But I think the more and you say this often in your podcast and you've said it often in this conversation, but the more we can just be ourselves and really get confident in that, the more engaging naturally we're going to be. Because your natural state is to be a cool, creative human being. You're unique and awesome. So let that show, however it shows. um We also talked about one of them, which is asking questions. And I also love doing that as a podcaster, giving people a reflection moment or just a moment to pause and think about something in their own life, how it relates. So I really like those. And I have also heard where people get into like 20 questions at once and you're just like listening, you're like, my God, can I just reflect on the first one, please? So a couple of questions is great. If we're talking about podcasting and yeah, podcasting, this one is specific to podcasting, but I love using like show notes. Or if you, Chrissy, are on a call with somebody and you want to give a lot of information, but you don't want to verbally dump at them, you can say, I'm going to follow up with this in an email specifically tailored to the resources we've talked about today. And then it has all of those things. So it's just a nice way to like say, I'm not going to verbally do this to you, but it's in the show notes or it's going to be in a follow-up email. So always remember like, this is not your only chance with the person. You know, you can have other touch points. And actually those other touch points gives them more ways to keep on connecting with you. And then lastly is just like, this is for every single form of content ever. Be clear in what you want people to do, in what action you want them to take. Because it is so fantastic if we try to be visible or get visible, but if we don't have anything that we're like, getting visible for, then it just kind of is like, well, that was a nice experience, right? So be really, really clear in what your call to action is. And also if your call to action is just simply to connect with somebody, that's okay too. But maybe the call to action is like, let's follow up in a week or two weeks or a month, right? And let's have this conversation again in a little bit. So just be really, really clear and easy with that call to action. cannot stand when there's like five and it's like choose your own adventure. like, I don't know. That's so good. And I love that you said be clear because I feel like clarity is another word if you think about it for visibility, because if it's not clear, it's foggy. Let's be honest. And if it's foggy, you're invisible because they're not going to pay attention. They're not going to give you the time of day. you know that like they say a confused person does not buy a confused listener doesn't need to keep listening a confused reader doesn't need to keep reading. There's too much noise on social media and other things that they can scroll to because if they're confused, they're not gonna stick around. Yeah, it's so true. Even a meme that somebody like there's a lot of jokes I don't get to be honest with you. And so even a meme that somebody sends me that I'm like, I just don't get it. I don't take the time. I'm not going to like sit there and try to like figure it out. You know, like, it's, it's lost it. It's not funny for me. It's not engaging. So I love that one. And you can kind of think of it as like your windshield wipers, right? Like you can't see when it's not visible. And then you're just like, all right, I need to pull over and stop not going forward. Yeah, clean it up, clear it up, like make it visible. So yeah, so good. These tips were like gold. If you guys didn't write them down, make sure you rewind, listen again and write them all down because they're going to serve and support you so much in your content creation. So I want to ask one question before we start some rapid fire fun questions. And that is, what would you say overall that visibility has done for your business? I mean, honestly, it has built my business. Yeah, I owe every single collaboration that I am engaged in to this day to stepping out of that box and finding what was my comfort zone visibility and then slowly starting to expand that. But I can honestly say social media has not built my business. It has helped. But 100 % the connections that I've made have been responsible for my success. I love that. And it's such a different outlook than I think people think. They don't think of visibility in the way of collaborations all the time. And there are so many forms of visibility and you get to find the one that really works and serves and supports you. Mm-hmm. So good, so good. so are you ready for some quick rapid fire questions? all right. Morning or evening person? You said rapid and I'm like, I have to think. No, definitely not evening. Okay, morning, but I'm not really a morning person. I'm an afternoon person. Okay, okay, that's fair. That's fair. What is your go to stress reliever? um A walk in the woods with my dog takes a lot of problems away. I love it. What is your go-to hype song? like something, but okay. No, no, no. I got it. My niece just shared with me the dinosaur dance or dance like a dinosaur. It's like a kid. It's a kid song. It's awesome. And that would be my go-to hype song. I used it to clean my house this past week and I was like, this is the best dance like a dinosaur. I gotta find that. I gotta find that now, because I gotta listen, because I have a granddaughter who is almost three, and I'm sure she will love that. Okay, I don't believe that you have a granddaughter, but I'm just gonna go with that. Thank you. Thank you. What is your go to most used tool in your business? Um, I actually really love pod match and my other favorite one that I use every single day is honey book. And I use that for like proposals and contracts and keeping things organized. I love it. So good. So good. So thank you, first of all, for being a guest on the show. I know this is brought so much value to my audience and listeners, but where can they find you? Where can they connect with you? Because what if they want more of what Emily has to offer? Well, you're so sweet. Thanks for offering. The easiest way to find me anywhere you want to connect is EmilyABorn.com. I have a podcast since you're already listening to one, Content with Character. So you can just use the same exact podcast listener you're using right now, type that in and you'll be on your way. But I do love connecting with new people. So do not hesitate to like just drop me an email and reach out. I love it. love it. Is there anything else you'd like to leave my listeners with or share or reiterate something that we already talked about? I think I'll just share that to really remember if you get frustrated, not finding the exact way that you like to be visible at first, keep going and also know that it's no matter what you choose, it is a long game. Like it is really a long-term commitment and things don't happen overnight. So I think that would just be my encouragement. That's kind of like my mantra right now. It is a long game. um Thank you for being here. I'm so appreciative. And I know again, if you're listening to this episode, and you absolutely loved it, share it with someone who you know could get some value from it as well. Connect with Emily, like we'll drop all of her links in the show notes so that you can connect with her and go check out her show. and give her a listen as well. And we always love reviews. We love you to share our episodes on social media. So thank you so much for listening and we'll see you on the next one. Thank you, Chrissy.