Influencer Brand Strategist: Johanna
1. Describe who you are, what you do, the services you offer, and a few links to your services.
Hi friends, I’m Johanna, owner of Johanna Adriaansen Creative Agency, but you can call me Jo! I’m a content developer and brand strategist for personal brands, solopreneurs, and Influencers! My business started with social media account management, I was managing multiple Instagram accounts for businesses in the wellness industry. That transitioned to specifically content writing and I began writing blog posts and developing newsletters and email lists for Influencers which allowed me a peek into the backend of the Influencer marketing industry.
After working with full-time Influencers for the last 4 years I now focus on teaching strategy and business planning for those with personal brands. I teach Influencers how to monetize their brand or monetize it bigger or better. A brand is a business and has to be treated as such but sometimes it’s harder to think further than “but I’m just me” when it comes to creating a personal brand. It can be hard to be actively intentional with your content and think long term and that’s where I come in! I look at your brand from a business perspective and find all the money opportunities getting left on the table.
2. Explain 3 benefits of hiring you and an example of how you've helped other creatives in the past.
The benefits of working with me are clarity, opportunity to make more money, and a guarantee that you will further the success of your personal brand!
Recently I had a strategy session with Joanna & Grace of @exercisewithextrafries. They had quite a few ideas for directions they felt like they needed to go. After our chat, it became super clear what strategies were actually going to further their brand and whether taking a risk in changing their content a bit was worth it or not!
Additionally, Claire of @claireguentz and I have worked together to develop multiple products; an ebook, online paid challenges, and most recently an online course!
Working with me through our online Monetize Your Influence course is DEFINITELY your fast track way to learn how to start working with brands and getting paid to post on Instagram. Some of the baseline skills Influencers need but maybe don’t realize it is pitching, negotiation, and sales, on top of the obvious skills - creativity, establishing community, and relatability. This course gives you all the skills you need and teaches you how to make it happen!
During a 1:1 strategy session, we break down your current business plan, or lack thereof (no worries), and look for opportunities! Specifically, money-making opportunities, and together we’ll create your next offer and plan your next steps. Your offer could simply be your content plan which should be broken into intentional themes, it can also be implementing a newsletter, finding ways to make more money in your brand partnerships, or developing a product or creating and offering a service.
3. What is one misconception people make about what you do?
I think people are confused about what I do in general LOL. It’s quite a specific niche. I’m sure by this point in the interview it’s clear but on the day-to-day, the biggest confusion is that people think I run Influencer’s Instagram accounts. I’m definitely not logging in to anyone’s Instagram account and posting for them or writing captions!! I’m here for the big picture stuff. I think running your own account as a personal brand is pretty important to make sure the brand voice stays consistent, authentic, and accurate.
4. What is the hardest thing about what you do?
To be honest, the hardest thing about what I do is showing the value of what I have available. #businessconfession. This is something that I’ve learned is likely a direct reflection of my mindset. I KNOW that the Monetize Your Influence course is worth 4x the amount we charge for it, which is $497 btw, but it’s hard for micro-influencers to understand the value in essentially being handed the guidebook to being an Influencer. Most people should be able to make the investment back in 1-2 brand deals but not everyone sees it that way. Sorry, that answer is pretty raw! As a new business owner (well, 4 years in) product positioning is something I’m continuing to work on and learn more about so that I can serve more people better!
5. What is one thing you tell yourself or do during rough times to keep yourself going/how do you stay motivated?
Ah, I love this question. Motivation alone will not get us to our goals because it’s fleeting. We’ve all experienced that feeling of being super fired up to dive into a project but before we know it that ‘high’ fades away. Continuing on comes down to discipline. I get that that’s not a sexy answer. I think all Influencers, freelancers, etc. are incredibly disciplined. Until there is a deadline on your shoulders no one is telling you what to do. No one is forcing us to create content or pitch brands. There is no boss. So unless you have passion and discipline you likely won’t get very far. That’s okay too. Independent work isn’t for everyone!
When I’m feeling exceptionally in a slump I take a step back and ask myself if I actually need a break or if I’m just feeling ‘meh’. Then I consider, “What’s the most fun thing I could do from my to-do list to keep moving forward?” and, “What is the bare minimum I can do today?”. That way things feel less daunting and I’m able to keep going. If something normally takes me 1 hour and it took 3 because I wasn’t feeling motivated I just need to drop that stress, at least it got done. Usually, a good workout or a good night’s sleep is enough for me to reset. Remember, it will pass!
6. List 3 things that keep you organized and/or share tips on how you stay organized as a freelancer.
I’m not sure this is a tip anyone else will want to implement BUT I’ll tell ya how I do it. Basically I have a google doc called ‘The Running To-Do List’. This is where I brain dump anything and everything that comes to mind. If I’m in the middle of a task and I think of something I need to do I just jump over to that tab and add it in. This is actually super helpful because if I were to stop in the middle of the task to go do the thing that came to mind it’s just a waste of time and distracting.
At the start of each day, I take a look at this running to-do list and copy and paste some of the tasks into a new heading ‘Monday’ or ‘Tuesday’, ‘Wednesday’ etc. I try REALLY hard to only put a realistic amount of tasks under each day. There’s nothing worse than having a 14-task-long to-do list and only getting through 3. That’s a great way to set yourself up to feel like a failure. As I work through the tasks I strikethrough them because, duh, it makes me feel super accomplished! If I have specific appointments I sometimes use google calendar to put them in. But I mostly use Siri Reminders to keep on top of due dates.
For example// “Hey siri, Set a new reminder for Tuesday morning at 10am to ______”
I probably do this 3 times a day.
So that’s my system, not fancy but it works.
7. Two things you wish you can change about the industry you're in and why.
I wish that everyone could see the work that goes into #ad campaigns. It seems the general public loves to consume all the FREE content Influencers work hard to make but quickly scroll by when they see #ad. They don’t realize that engaging with those #ad posts is what allows their favorite bloggers to keep creating content. I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say this.
Second, I wish Influencers recognized their value more sometimes! Again, preaching to the choir, but when Influencers undervalue themselves by doing too much free work they can ‘cheapen’ the industry. I think this particularly happens with young Influencers who don’t know the value of their marketing. Because Influencer marketing in the way we know it right now is still relatively new, pricing standards are definitely not standardized but they will move in that direction so Influencers need to research their value to make sure everyone is getting paid what they are worth. Learning how to position yourself with value is a tricky skill, I love sharing new ideas for that with my clients!
8. One thing you wish someone told you when you first started as an entrepreneur.
You have to be your own biggest cheerleader, you have to work through doubt, and you CAN do this. Everything can be figured out, a famous Marie Forleo quote and her book title, but it’s so true. With the University of Google at our fingertips, we CAN learn anything we want. Hitting roadblocks sucks but they come up often in entrepreneurship, at each one you have to decide, do I hire someone to do this for me or do I figure it out?
At the end of the day, no one is going to understand exactly what your business looks like from the inside which is why you have to keep cheering yourself on. No one’s opinion matters more than your own even if they are giving you advice. You have to trust your gut. If you’re excited about whatever you do then you’re probably doing the right thing. Keep at it.
9. What's your top tip in gaining clients?
Ironically word of mouth is usually always someone’s biggest source of clients. But before that can happen you have to actually land some clients in order to have people talking up your product or service! I got my first clients by working for free and pitching. 4 years ago I reached out to Remi Ishizuka (@rrayyme) and offered my services as a VA (LOL I didn’t even know what that was), by divine timing she was looking for an assistant and that message I sent as a complete stranger to her from a country away is what got me in the door of Influencer marketing. I learned the ins and outs of her business and what PR events, PR packages, and brand deals look like. At the same time, I was managing an IG account for a juice bar for free and that helped me get to know Instagram as a platform. You don’t have to work for free, but you might have to pitch for work. Again, if you’re passionate and excited about it you’ll make it happen. Identify what unique factor you have in your industry and make sure that’s front and center!
10. What's one investment a freelancer should make?
I think this really depends on your industry. Ultimately invest in getting better at your craft whether that’s a course to improve your skills, or just investing time in staying up to date with your industry. Investing in good equipment will also pay off, that might be a camera or laptop.
I don’t preach that everyone NEEDS a coach, especially in the beginning, but getting an outside perspective and suggestions can make a huge difference especially if you feel like you’ve plateaued on your own. You’re not supposed to just magically know everything so getting some professional help can quickly take you to the next level!
Third, you might want to invest in something like a virtual assistant, a Pinterest account manager, or a Facebook ads manager depending on your business. Again you want to be intentional, don’t throw money at something without at least a vision for your ROI (return on investment).
Thanks so much for having me!
If anyone is looking for more info on the personal branding we have a GREAT 3 Part Video Training Series for Influencers
