0 (2s):
Light that spark Fire Nation, JLD here with an audio master class on choosing your platform to drop these value bombs. I brought Leslie Samuel on the mic. He teaches creators like you, how to use your passion to create the future. You want to see. He is a host of the Leslie Samuel show and creator of the video series from idea to blog. And today financial we'll be talking about why Leslie chose blogging as a platform. The significance of choosing one platform to start how he added a platforms as he started to get some momentum and validation on his journey, his advice for someone who's ready to choose their platform right now, and so much more.

0 (43s):
When we get back from thanking our sponsors,

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0 (1m 27s):
Leslie, you went from being a high school teacher. You tried a few things out in the affiliate marketing world, and then you started to choose blogging as like your first all in real platform. So kind of talk us through that process. Like what made you choose blogging as your main focus platform at the start?

1 (1m 48s):
Yeah, you know, so it's something that I stumbled into because I had been doing some of the affiliate marketing thing. I had been using a forum in order to kind of get in front of people and then get them to complete some of the offers that I had and so on. And what I noticed was in order for me to continue getting people to do business with me, I have to constantly be in the forums and answering questions. And if I stopped for a little while, then my business went down. And I remember at that time, I stumbled onto an ebook about blogging and learning, how, you know, people were creating these blogs and creating content and putting it out there in a way that Google would start indexing their content and people would start finding them.

1 (2m 33s):
That sounded like a more attractive option to me. So I decided, you know what, I'm going to do my own blog. I'm going to create content. I'm going to answer the questions that my potential audience, the things that they're asking, the things that they're searching for so that they can, you know, over time as my blog grows in authority, they can start finding me. And from there it's, I mean, it's been a game changer for me now that I have my own platform and have been doing it for these years, people find me. And as a result of that, they do business with me and my business continues to grow as a result.

0 (3m 6s):
And I love the whole concept of like owning your sandbox, like absolutely what you do, brother. You own it like that. Can't be taken away. That's what I love about podcasting. And you know, social media is great. Hey, that should be part of your plan in some levels, Fire Nation, when you get down the road, but at the same time, you gotta remember, that's not your sandbox, that's Mark's sandbox or that is filling the blanks sandbox. So things to keep in mind for sure. And one thing Leslie, that I tell my audience over and over again, is focus, follow one course until success. So talk to us about the significance of, you know, at the beginning or we're going to get into what you've done afterwards, obviously, but at the beginning of really just going all in on that one platform, blogging that.

1 (3m 49s):
Yes. So when I started, I was a high school science and math teacher. I don't know if you know anything about teaching at a high school, but it's not always a walk in the park. And it was, it was a boarding Academy. So the students lived there. We were there, their teachers, we weren't as their parents, we were, you know, their proxy parents. So it was a whole lot going on there. I knew that if I didn't focus, if I tried this and that, and that it just wouldn't happen, right. It, I like to use the analogy. I used to teach physics at the high school. And if you take your, your fist, right. And I take my fist and I hit my thigh, okay, it might hurt.

1 (4m 30s):
But if I take my fist and I do the same thing, but instead of hitting my thigh, I think a little needle and I put it on my thigh and I do the same thing. I guarantee you I'm going to scream. And the reason for that is because I'm taking the same amount of force, the same amount of effort and applying it over a much smaller area. And because that area of focus is so small, the pressure, the impact of that is so much greater for me as a busy high school science and math teacher, I couldn't spread my effort out everywhere. I needed to focus it in on a smaller area so that I can have more impact. And that's exactly what I was able to accomplish as a result of focusing on blogging.

0 (5m 13s):
I love that analogy for the record. I'm going to use it going forward with future. I'm going to give you credit. No, the first few times I use it, I will give you credit, but then it's mine forever. Then it's mine forever. So Fire Nation, and we'll be right back with more of Leslie Samuel. When we get back from thanking our sponsors,

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0 (7m 54s):
So once you build that foundation, Leslie, and you were rocking and rolling with your blog, you just started adding some things. You started adding an email newsletter, a podcast, a YouTube channel. So talk to us about the process of adding additional platforms to support your main one. Once it's gotten rock and roll.

1 (8m 12s):
Absolutely. So, yeah, for me, adding those different platforms gives me the opportunity to be where people are and leverage those platforms to bring them to where I want them to be. So I remember one of the first things that I started was my podcast. And of course you start your podcast. It's in the iTunes directory, it's in all of these different directories. You can then do interviews and other people's podcasts. I did an interview on your podcast and it was awesome. And as a result of that, people listen to your podcast. And when they listen to your podcasts now, as they head on over to your blog, and when they head on over to your blogs, they join your email newsletter and so on.

1 (8m 52s):
So for me, by adding these platforms in one, at a time strategically, it just puts me where people are so that I can get them where I want them to be. And then we can continue that relationship on that way. So I did the podcasting thing. I did the YouTube thing, and YouTube has been great as well. You know, you put content out there and people find you into YouTube search, and then they check out your stuff. And if they like this, your stuff, they come and check out your other stuff. For me, that's what it's all about. I have my main hub and I use all of these different platforms to point people, to my main hub, to continue growing my business.

0 (9m 32s):
It's like the spokes on the wheel Fire Nation. I do the exact same thing, except for me, it's the podcast, all of the spokes on my wheel point to my podcasts. And Leslie is going to give you direct, specific advice for getting ready to choose your platform Fire Nation. When we get back from thanking our sponsors, all right, Leslie, we are back and let's say kind of teased before the break Fire Nation wants to know, give us some specific advice. If they're at the beginning part of their journey. And you know, they're at the specific step in the 17 step roadmap that I created with your help, you know, creating this, this step-by-step crash, chronological roadmap. And they're at the part about choosing their platform.

0 (10m 12s):
What specific advice do you have for them?

1 (10m 17s):
Yeah. So there are a few things that you want to consider. You want to consider your audience, where are they spending time? And the other thing you want to consider is your, your, your strengths. Like, what are you, what are you really good at? I'll give you an example. And this is from a second blog that I did, but the concept applies here very much. I wanted to start a biology blog with what I had been learning about the stuff that we're talking about and what I'd been teaching. And when I wanted to start a biology blog, I knew I was going to deal with very advanced topics in biology. And I knew that for the person that I'm targeting, they need to see it to understand it. And because they need to see it to understand it, I'm not going to start a podcast explaining to them how the sodium ions travel across the channel and the membranes.

1 (11m 6s):
They'd be like, what, what are you talking about? I needed to show it to them. So I chose a platform that allowed me to show it to them and that leverage my strengths. I love being on video. I love to communicate with people. So YouTube seemed like it would be the perfect platform for me and for my audience. So I chose that platform and I went semi all in on that platform to get people to my main platform, which is my blog. So I looked at what, where they spend their time and how they consume content and how they would want to consume content for my topic. And I also looked at what I was good at. And based on those two factors, YouTube seemed like a no brainer for me.

1 (11m 50s):
You have the search and you have the ability communicate and show people. It just made sense. So what I recommend is pay attention to your audience, where they're spending their time, what kind of content they're consuming and what your strengths are. If you're really good at talking and asking people deep questions where maybe you should consider doing a podcast where you're interviewing entrepreneurs or whatever the case may be, depending on your niche, and then leverage that to grow, whatever it is, your main platform that you are doing.

0 (12m 23s):
This is some fantastic advice by our nation. I mean, you've got to say, you know, Hey, what are my strengths? What do I actually enjoy doing? Like, what am I going to like waking up doing every single day. Some people are scared of video. Well, if that's the case, like don't force it. Like this should be something that comes natural to you. And I will also say at the same time, you know, it's not like you have to be great at it at the beginning. Cause by the way, I was a terrible podcast host. When I started, I didn't know what I was doing. And I became better over time because I put in the reps, but it was something that I wanted to get better at that I had passionate and excitement to do, to have great conversations with people like Leslie. I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out and chat with Leslie? I mean this guy, his vibe, his energy is fantastic. And you know, this is part of the process.

0 (13m 5s):
This is part of the 17 step roadmap. And when I was kind of going through your contribution to this section, Leslie, I pulled out a quote, I'm going to read it to you and just bring it home for, so your quote that I just loved, which is by the way, financial, obviously just a part of his amazing thorough contribution on this topic about choosing your platform is it all starts with creating content on my blog, providing value to my audience and helping them on their entrepreneurial journey. So Leslie bring it home. What do you really want Fire Nation to take away from that, but even from our whole conversation today, because then we'll say goodbye for me,

1 (13m 49s):
The main focus of my business is how do I best serve my audience? What are they looking for? What are they struggling with? Because if I can be the person, if you can be the person to show up, to answer their questions, to help them overcome the, whatever it is they are struggling with. What's going to happen is they're going to come to know like, and trust you. And if they now have a decision that they need to make and taking it to the next level and they see that you offer a service, you have a product, you have something else of more value that you charge for.

1 (14m 31s):
Where are they going to go to? Are they going to go to some random Joe Schmoes that posted something on Facebook? Or are they going to come to the guide or the gal that has become their own personal trusted expert? They're going to come to you. So you show up, you serve your audience. You do that day in day out, and you will be amazed. What happens as a reader

0 (14m 55s):
Fire Nation. You can see why Leslie was the person to talk about this topic. And of course his contribution in the book, the common path to uncommon success. If you're hearing our voices right now in this before March 23rd, there is still time to pre-order the book and believe me, you want to pre-order the book do not wait because with the pre-orders I have five amazing bonuses that are coming along with it. Just one of those bonuses I'm shipping. All three of my journals are freedom, mastery and podcast journal to your door

1 (15m 28s):
Or free with a pre-order

0 (15m 30s):
There's four other amazing bonuses. They all disappear the day. The book launches on March 23rd. So why would you wait, locking it now, get these bonuses. Find out about the other four over at uncommonsuccessbook.com. Get you a pre-orders and Fire Nation. Uncommonsuccessbook.com. Leslie, thank you brother, for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today, for that we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thanks for having me.

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0 (16m 21s):
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