Your Content Blueprint | Will Tarashuk | Full Battery Media

I sat down with Will Tarashuk, founder of Willie T Productions, and this conversation is one of those rare ones that makes you want to close the tab and go hit record the second it's over. 

Will has been in the podcasting world since 2015 and now builds video content strategies for independent financial advisors, but everything he shared here goes way beyond one industry. Whether you're a founder, a coach, a creative, or someone who's been sitting on an idea for months, this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

We got into the real reasons smart, capable people stay invisible online, and it's not what most people think. We talked about the three mistakes that quietly kill most content strategies before they ever get a chance to breathe, why consistency will always beat talent in the long run, and how authenticity isn't just a buzzword people throw around, it's actually the sharpest tool you have in a world full of scripted, forgettable content. 

What's the one thing that's been stopping you from hitting record, and what would it take to finally let that excuse go?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

So put the script down and be the best version of yourself on camera. So other than Lord of the Ranks, I'm also a huge wrestling nerd like WWE. And how WWE works is the best character is like a stone cold Steve Austin, right? It is you are who you are in real life, just turned all the way up to 11. It's, you know, a little extreme, but and like hyper. But if you can find who you are and just exaggerate it and be, you know, use your space. I I have this whole video frame here talking with my hands, being expressive, moving my mic back and forth, you know, adjusting my seat. That's something people do. That is normal. Like, you know, I don't have a script in front of me, but I do have some bullet pointed talking points just so I can, like, you know, mentally prepare. But the answers I'm giving you are coming from my head and going out my mouth in real time. And that is something people like. So if you're overcomplicating your videos, because you're spending too much time thinking, what is the right way to say this instead of thinking and saying what you actually believe.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Welcome everybody back to the Full Battery Media. I've got an awesome guest with me today. And uh, can you tell people who you are and a little bit about what you do?

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Absolutely, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Will Tarashuk. I am the founder of Willie T Productions, and what we do is we do financial uh podcast video content for independent financial advisors. Um, it's all podcast style conversations. We record, I you know, plan an episode, send your recording, uh, talk to you for about an hour, pull five clips from it, and then call it a day, repeat monthly. Uh, my background is in podcasting, uh, live stream finance content. And yeah, I've uh been around the block a few times. I started podcasting in 2015.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

That's awesome, man. One of the things too is like I wanted to ask you this because you know it's awesome talking to other people that do video because I I feel like I have to pull people's teeth sometimes to get them to see the need to start, you know, and like and I want to ask you this because if you have someone who comes to you and like they've been putting off video, what's the first move to get them to go, hey, you gotta do this?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah, I think well, the first move is one, knowing you want it, right? So assuming someone's like, hey, I've been putting it off. What do I do? That's always the first move is kind of defining your audience. You know, who are you creating content for? What is the goal of this content? What problems are you solving with your content? So you've probably been putting it off because you just don't know where to start. In fact, that's what most people tell me when I ask them, why haven't you started? They go, I just don't know where to do it. You know, I'm running my business, I'm focusing on this, focusing on that. Video is a nice to have, no, turning into a need to have, but where exactly do we how do we do that? So I try and keep it simple. You know, what questions are you already answering? What questions, what problems do you already solve? Write them down. So if you're in like a discovery call with someone and they ask you a few questions and write them down. And if you're in another discovery call and ask you the same questions, write them down again, right? So you kind of find those patterns. And if you want, like take a transcript, take uh that list of questions, throw it into AI and have them organize it into themes and kind of use those as content pillars. It's like, okay, my questions ask my all my clients ask me about cash flow. They ask me about sales, they ask me about, you know, client retention, whatever it may be, whatever problems you solve, those will be your content pillars. And that is a good place to start with what are you already doing? People think video needs to like start from scratch or reinvent the wheel. No, it's supposed to enhance the systems you already have in place.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

I love that. And one of the things too, like, are you already answering questions? You know, one of the things for me, like how I got into video, like I mean, I started doing production a long time ago. But when I started creating my own content, the way that I got into creating my own content was um my side hustle for a long time living in Asia was teaching kids English. And it was teaching kids. It would, you know, during the pandemic before, um, I had I have a six-year-old, I had a six-year-old daughter, I had a 10-year-old daughter now. She's um, and I just started trying to think about, you know, what type of content I want her to see, you know, and to try to think about being a parent, trying to talk to other parents about like what are some of the challenges that I'm facing, and maybe you have that same experience. And by doing that, it gave me something to talk about. And it was really easy to talk about it because I felt that there was this need and there was this, this, this, not necessarily a niche, because I think that you don't always know your niche right away. And I think that that's something that can evolve with time as well. But one of the things that I found was that it was something I was passionate about and other people wanted to hear. And like, I think those two things right there got me into a place that was helping because man, if I go back and look at some of the first podcasts I made, God, they're awful. They're fucking awful. Like they are really horrible. And I'm a video production guy, like I've done this, man. I made my own videos, I make music videos for my wife and stuff. But like one of the things I had to teach myself is like it's okay not to love everything right in the first go. Yeah, you know, and I want to ask you it's it's supposed to be bad, right? It is. You know, you look look at Mr. Beast's early videos, look at anyone's early videos, they're horrible.

unknown 5:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

I want to ask you if you could record a video, if you record a video and hate how you looked, do you or sound, do you post it anyway?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Uh, all the time. I hate how I look and sound in every single video I post. Like if you hate how you look and sound, congratulations. You're what we call normal. Pull up a seat, kick off your shoes, because you're gonna be here a while. But post it anyway. You know, the worst that can happen is nobody watches it and it disappears into the endless black hole that is a social media feed. So just let it go. But I will say, uh, if you're still hesitant, I think that's also normal. So what you can do is watch it back and think, does this have a clear message? And it's hard to do that because you are producing your own content and you obviously you know your message, you know what you're trying to say. So show it to a does it make sense to a stranger? Show it to a friend, coworker, spouse, your mother, like anybody, and ask them what was the point of this video? If they can give you some sort of point that makes coherent sense, post it. If it doesn't, try it again. Because it doesn't matter if you like how you look or sound, your points need to be clear, your message needs to be clear, and like the video needs to be worth watching. So if you show it to someone and they turn it off before it finishes, okay, that tells you something. It doesn't matter if you like a record, like uh, like an like how you see and sound, you're not your own audience. It matters how they see it and how they sound, um, and how you sound to them. So yeah, I still post them as long as the message is clear. Because yeah, it takes me a long time to go, yeah, no, I did that one right. I think this sounds good. Or pulling a clip of myself, it's just like, could it be better? Probably, you know, I'm my own worst critic, but I think that's also super normal. So post it anyway, as long as the message is clear and it makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

I had a friend, I have a friend who's also a client who's a professor, and he is his own worst critic. And I was like, man, you're a university professor, kids love your classes. And he's like, but you know, it's just not that great. It's just like, and I was like, Man, I guarantee you that a lot of your classes don't go over as good as you think they do. But your students still love you, man, and they still love and appreciate what you do, and like they appreciate you showing up and bringing in this great lesson. He's like, Are you sure? And he started sharing them, and people were eating them up. His students were like, dude, I love your content. I love that we can see you here and I can find you. I used to take classes with you, but no, I don't study with you anymore. And this is just so awesome that I've been able to find you again. And he wouldn't have been able to get that if he didn't just step up and post because he was ready to go back and re-record and delete things. And I said, Don't delete, don't do that. Just put it out there and you'll be happy you did. But you know, this leads to another question because, like, there's a lot of smart, capable people just like him, who stay invisible online. Why do you think that is?

SPEAKER_01 8:28

I I don't think everyone needs to be visible online, also. Um, like if you're Debbie from HR, I mean, you dig what what what do you have to share? Right? I mean, if that's and that's okay. Like, not everyone needs to be super visible online. And some some businesses won't let them. Like, especially in my world of finance, compliance can be very difficult. If you're in a major firm, like a Fidelity or a Mass Mutual, nothing against those big names, but you are a liability if you're posting online. So you are smart, you are capable. Online content would help you, but you can't do it. And I think that's totally fine. Um, but if you're a founder and a leadership position, sales are directly impact how your business makes money. Yeah, you do need to be online. You think you won't need it, you know, others won't do it out of fear, unable to make a time commitment. But if like if they're if they're smart, capable, but prefer to stay invisible because it's comfortable. Being invisible is comfortable. Ignorance is always is and always will be bliss, especially, especially in a modern world of the internet is a crazy place to be. And putting yourself out there, sharing your opinions to the world is very intimidating. So they either stay invisible because it's comfortable, they can't do it, or they just don't think they need it.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Right? I think that's interesting too. Like, you're right, not everyone needs to be online and not everyone needs to be sharing their opinion. But like one of the things that I found is that some of the best advice and some of the best wisdom I ever received was from people that I didn't expect it from. And that's kind of one of the things that I I like that if if you find people that or if you have something that you want to say, I think one of the beautiful things is there are ways for people to say it at this day and age. I think that's one of the coolest things that in my mind we're in this time where you know, you think about that 150 years ago, you know, you wanted to share your your perspective, you're writing a book, you know, that's it. And who used to say that that book is gonna hit? Like one of the wildest things for me. Have you ever read the story about like Tolkien and the The Lord of the Rings? So it's first of all, is the Hobbit. Because when he broke the Hobbit, we used the Hobbit, like the first couple runs of the Hobbit were like, I think it was like 400 books for the first run, second run was like also really low, and like it was like I think 25 years or 20 years something until people were like, Wow, this is amazing, and then it got huge. But like to think about Tolkien just sitting there going, Man, I hope this book sells, that's nuts to me, you know?

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Because you want a crazy Tolkien fact. So in the 20th century, in the 20th century, the only book that oh uh that outsold Lord of the Rings is the Bible. Yeah, see put that in perspective, right? And like, you know, he and his if you read his books now, they are like they go against every traditional like framework, story brand, like everything. Those books are so unconventional because like there's no urgency, right? Frodo gets the ring, and in the movies, he leaves immediately. In the books, he's chilling in the Shire for 11 years before Gandalf comes back and like, oh, by the way, that thing you have is super dangerous. And then there's still yeah, yeah, and they're still just chilling, they're going into the woods, they're smoking their pipe wheat, singing their song to Tom Bombadil. It takes forever until the story actually gets going. So if someone wrote that book today, a publisher would be like, What are you doing? Cut all of this.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

And that's the wild thing, man. Like it was that was like so. It was the first printing in 1937 was 1500 copies, second printing was 2300 copies, and the first couple other like it's like you think about that. Now it's sold a hundred million copies, but like the chance I'm how many other books were written, you know, that went nowhere. And that's the thing to me. Like, we are in a time where people can share stories and can share, you know, their art and creativity, and it's beautiful like that, you know. But I want to ask you this other question too, before I go down more Tolkien uh alley and and directly. You give me a land that uh Lord of the Rings is my nerd nerd out stuff, so you got me at a good time. I'm with you. Well, I'm gonna see if I can throw nerd Lord of the Rings into all of these things from now on moving forward, because that just makes it more interesting for me. Um, but let me ask you this question because like people make mistakes all the time. But what's one of the mistakes that you see people make when they start creating content?

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Uh, they just post blindly. You know, they post just to post and then they wonder why it's not working. You know, they post here and there and then they don't know why they are doing it in the first place. So you need to have a plan, you need to have a strategy, you need to be specific and targeted. So that's number one. Number one is you just don't know what you're doing it, you're doing it because you think you have to. Number two is that they aren't consistent. Content takes a lot of time, it always does. Like talk like Tolkien took them years. Uh, a lot of creators will give it a month, maybe two, give it up. Um, because content is a commitment. Most comp that's why also why most companies will hire out help. You know, it can be editing, it can be marketing, it can be a combo of the above, it can be someone like me to actually interview them and host them to do handle all production. Because they're like, hey, I just want to talk to you. I just want to talk for an hour and do the fun thing. The rest of it sucks. Posting it, marketing it, all that stuff. And they're a founder, like, listen, man, I want to work with my clients, I want to do this and that, but I can spare an hour to do something that's actually enjoyable. And then number three is they do everything alone. And that will burn you out. I mean, I don't even do everything alone, and I make content for a living. I have people helping me here and there for the things I don't want to do. And I do encourage people, clients of mine, to start on their own. Start content, see what you like, figure out what you don't like. And then when you do that, you're gonna hit a roadblock, you're gonna hit the wall, you're gonna make those mistakes, but then you're gonna find out how to learn for them. Um, you're gonna, you're gonna figure out what questions to ask and who could possibly reach it, reach, you know, answer those problems. And then boom, you turn into your client because that's exactly what they're doing. You know, my world financial advice, they're they're like, okay, I just got married, trying to buy a house. You know, I have a kid on the way. Do I fix my roof or do I invest money into like my kids' retirement, like you know, kids' investment accounts? So then I start looking online. And it's like, all right, find answers to these problems, and then they find the content. So yeah, like a big mistake is you don't even take your own customer journey. You just go in blind, you quit because you can't stay consistent, and then you burn out because you try and do everything by yourself.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

100%, man. I I find that so many people that try to do it themselves just feel like it's way easier. And they're like, you know, like, oh, there's all these tools out there, and there are. You still have to use them, and it still takes time, you know. It's like I think that people think, oh, oh, there's these new tools. And yeah, it helps people that have that time. But you know, sometimes, man, I have I run a production company and I have my editors that edit my own podcast. I used to do it all myself, but like now, you know, I don't edit my own stuff anymore. Like I've got tree that sits right there. He edits it for me, and he does a better job than I do. So you know, it's like one step at a time. But I want to ask you this because you know, if you had all you had was one hour in your phone, how would you turn that into something powerful? Like, you know, making the most of a single tool instead of waiting for the perfect gear, you know, one tool to rule them all, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Exactly. No, uh, I also like someone's like, I don't know where equipment to buy. Well, how long you've been making uh how long you've been producing content? Well, we're just starting. Great, don't buy anything. Because most podcasts quit before episode 10. So I say, just get to three. Get to three before you buy anything, right? And like if you're trying to just do like a quick video, you got to get creative. And the phone allows you to get creative, right? We're sitting down here. I got a pretty nice webcam. You know, I have good luckily have good lighting in here. I got this this uh this microphone that like is used in broadcast radio. That's why I bought it. But I didn't buy this microphone until like four years into producing content. I slowly upgraded all my stuff. This Rodcaster Pro I got here down on my on my desk over here. It took me six years before I bought it. So start with the phone, get creative. People love the walk and talk videos for whatever reason. I will never understand why, but people like watching videos while you're doing something, it makes them feel more active. So I actually had this idea for a video that I'm still workshopping, right? Because like I in my new apartment, like I have to take a trash from my apartment out to the dumpster around the building. So I'm like, all right, let me do a walk and talk with my bag of trash and go, here's why XYZ thing for A B C person is absolute trash. Explain why and then toss that bad boy in a dumpster where it belongs and call it a day, right? That can take me an hour because yeah, I'm gonna have to need to do a few takes. Someone could be like peaking out the window, like, what the hell is that kid doing uh and watching and have no understanding why I'm doing it? But once it's done and I post it, it's gonna, it's gonna do numbers. So like yeah, if you only if you only have an hour and this and this bad boy right here, get creative because creativity is the creativity is also a key to content. It's like how can we make something look different and stand out? This guy, I saw his video, do a video while he's chopping celery. I don't know what made him think that would work, but I watched it.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Oh God, you kill me, man. Now I'm gonna go work, like search for chopping celery when we're done here. And I'm I'm gonna watch the whole video, you know? Gotta go find the chop and celery video. That's rad. I want to ask you another question. Um, you know, when you think about it this way, like I I for you, you've created thousands of videos. Like, what actually works that people keep overcomplicating? Like turning a simple path into the minds of Moria, you know, something like that. You shall not overthink.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Yeah, yeah, you yeah, you shall not overthink is definitely a good one. But uh yeah, what actually works without overcomplicating it is just be normal, right? Be whatever version of you that you love, because in a world of, you know, fake news or misinformation or whatever buzzword you want to throw around, authenticity is also one of those buzzwords. But you can be authentically wrong and get more power and money and sales and clients than someone who is technically right, but like just reading a script. Right? Like, I can tell you uh the benefits of a Roth IRA and be boring and or you know, I can just be myself, be authentic, and be like, yeah, I think you should do this over that. And then a professional be like, okay, maybe not. But if I'm, you know, saying what I actually think and saying how I actually think it, being myself, people will listen, you know. Um, so that's easier said than done. It does take a long, long time to find your voice. But once you have it, you will run with it all the way to the bank. So put the script down and be the best version of yourself on camera. So other than Lord of the Rings, I'm also a huge wrestling nerd, like WWE. Um, and how WWE works is the best character is like a stone cold Steve Austin, right? It is you are who you are in real life, just turned all the way up to 11. It's, you know, a little extreme, but and like hyper. But if you can find who you are and just exaggerate it and be, you know, use your space. I I I have this whole video frame here talking with my hands, being expressive, moving my mic back and forth, you know, adjusting my seat. That's something people do. That is normal. Like, you know, I don't have a script in front of me, but I do have some bullet pointed talking points just so I can, like, you know, mentally prepare. But the answers I'm giving you are coming from my head and going out my mouth in real time. And that is something people like. So if you're overcomplicating your videos because you're spending too much time thinking, what is the right way to say this instead of thinking and saying what you actually believe.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

100%. I love the walk and talk videos too, because like sometimes I can just be like, all right, here's where we're at right now. I'm just gonna drop this on you. And one of the things, too, like it lets me kind of be real. Like the today, like, I love watching LinkedIn's a funny place, man. Everyone posts their wins. And like when I was traveling back to the USA, my air conditioner went out in the middle of a giant heat wave from my editing team in Southeast Asia, and so it was like hot as hell. My team's down there, like, we're dying. We have like 20 fans running to the room, and I'm just like, today, today my win is I went and bought a damn air conditioner for that room because it's so freaking hot, you know? So I posted that. And like it was funny because people were commenting, they're like, dude, I've been there. I've been there, man. Like, that's sometimes the win you got. Like, one of the things too is I think I'm with you totally on the authenticity without being like, How can I be more authentic? Well, just be you. I don't know what that means. Well, I don't know. What are you doing today? I'm eating, I'm having a coffee. Well, then talk about having that coffee. Have some fun with having the coffee. Let that coffee be your thing today, you know?

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Yeah. Yeah, like I mean, I have a video I gotta do today. Um I had to get off here where I got recording and say, okay, what am I gonna talk about? It's like, okay, what am I doing this week? You know, tomorrow I have actually I probably do Wednesday. So Wednesday, I'm doing a video session on like managing your risk. A portfolio, how they determine risk, how they manage it, yada, yada, yada. So I can just do a video like, hey, this is what I'm doing on Wednesday. You know, here are the questions I came up with. Here's how I'm I came up with them. Like, what do you think I should add? You know, anyone who's anyone who's out there, financial advisor space who works in risk management, like in the portfolio risk, here are my questions. You're an expert. What do you think I should ask these guys to get value? Right. And something like that, something they can engage with, something that's quick and something that's timely. You know, it's not going to take me that long to do. But yeah, like that's just that's just an idea. If you're stuck with content, it's like, okay, well, what are you doing? What do you do day to day? Like half of my sub stack is just literally like I kind of turned my substack into explaining what my job is to my family, because right now they're the main ones who subscribe, my family and friends. Like, so, and then you know, people I send it to directly, but explaining what I do. And like my mom texts me two weeks ago. She's like, Hey, I read your article. I'm like, I now I have a I actually I can actually explain what I do to people. I'm like, you know what? That's a huge win. There's my hook for a LinkedIn post. And like, you know, I shared that link. Here's like, you know, here's the here's here's the article that finally made my mom understand what I do for a living. Because if you're a business owner, you like my mom has no idea what I do for a living. That's super relatable. Um, but now she does. And that's just through my content. I don't and I don't know, I don't know what about that article made her like, I get it, but if it worked for her, it'll work for my target audience. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Um you gotta recognize too that not everyone needs to understand you. Like, there was this one guy that I I love Omino in the pieces, and he's like such a great content creator, and uh he always posts videos and saunas. And I'm like, Well, yeah, I don't always understand the sauna like video, but that's a lot. There's a lot of people that love the videos and saunas, like that's their thing, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

It's gonna be terrible for your phone. That's a terrible idea, like moisture.

SPEAKER_00 23:50

The moisture, and then also all the heat. That processor is like, somebody kill me, you know, it's like just jacking right now. But I want to I wanna ask this because like it maybe it helps them feel less awkward because you know, like a lot of people feel awkward on camera at first. Like, how do you help them find their footing in confidence? Like stepping into a role they weren't sure they were ready for, like carrying the one ring to the to the to the to the you know to the fires of um of of Mount Doom. God damn it!

SPEAKER_01 24:19

I fucked up that line. I got you. I got you. I'll pick you up when you're down. Um, yeah, so really uh if you're uncomfortable on camera, like like I am and was, I do much better talking to someone. I I choose dialogue over monologue uh every single day of the week because it's more comfortable for me. Um and how I get people more prepared for our sessions is to I do two things. One, I make sure they're prepared. Um, and that means I give them the list of questions beforehand. You know, this recording is not supposed to be the guy, hey, I got you, right? Um I either it's like, hey, here's what we're talking about. Here's where I'm thinking, especially if I'm making this content for you. Like, you know, you are the guest of your own podcast. It's like I guess my slogan. Um, you have full creative control of the content. So it's like, okay, I don't know why you asked me to talk about like, you know, mortgages. I have nothing to do with mortgages. Okay, delete it. Just delete it. Or if like you're reading these questions and go, oh, I think this would be a better angle to take it. Okay, add it. We'll add it. Right. And then from there, it's take that questions, take notes, don't script, but take bullet points. Write down facts as need, especially in finance. You know, we want to be accurate. Now, the SP and 500 has a has an annual 9.5%, you know, uh rate of rate, you know, gain over the past 15 years. Okay, like that's something you can write down. That's okay to script that answer because you don't want to forget it. Um, and then from there you get comfortable, you get confident in your answers. You kind of start playing the conversation in your head. But if you're still uncomfortable, we'll set aside 30 minutes for us just to review the questions. Just so me and the guests can be on the same page. And I always do this if we have multiple guests, like a panel format, because the three of us need to be on the same page and kind of assign who's answering the questions. All right, this segment is gonna be dominated by Andrew. Brad will ask these questions to keep you involved. On the flip side, Brad, this is gonna be specialized towards you, and Andrew asks these questions so you can stay involved. So it's not just one person hogging the spotlight. So that gets them comfortable, knowing that, okay, I'm gonna be taken care of and like this, we're splitting up this content equally. And that pre-production meeting is to kind of just get on the same page. And if I say something and they kind of give me an answer, you know, I can write down a natural follow-up question. All right, we're kind of mapping it out in our head. You know, the point is there's no surprises. My job is to prepare you, and preparation will bring comfort. And then the second way is I do a live intro. Um, so I know a lot, a lot of podcasts, like, okay, I'll do a three calendar, jump into it. Like, I even had a podcast, didn't even tell me when we were recording. They just got on and started asking me questions. I was like, okay, so I didn't know when the show started. And my first few answers were terrible because I was caught off guard. So I will literally script out an intro and it follows the same format. It's ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the podcast. If the podcast has a name, I say the name of the podcast. You know, if this is your first time, a podcast is a personally oriented discussion centered around select topics. Is this a podcast acronym I made up? Today's topics are all around what we're talking about. Joining me today is so and so. So joining today is Sean. We're talking about, you know, the hidden message of video podcasting. You know, one liner here, one liner there. All these questions and more will be answered right now. And then I just jump into it. Hey, Sean, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for being here. Let's just get it started right off with the first question. Because the intro already in like the hardest question to answer sometimes is who are you and what do you do? Right? It's it's the most uncomfortable question to answer. So I do it for them in that intro with the music, with my energy. It snaps a button in their brain to go, okay, the show is starting. It's time for me to get in character. Will is performing. I need to perform. I need to match his energy and just a way for them to just get going. And I ask my clients, like, do you like because like I also don't use those like that intro in the video. I just get started with the first question because you need to hop right into it. So I'm like, do you like these intros? Is this useful? He's like, Yeah, man, it's fun. I hear the music. It feels like a talk show. It feels like it's legit. It's like uh another spruce of professionalism. And they forget, oh my God, what am I gonna say? And they go, Holy crap, I'm on a show. This is cool. So it's as a host, it's your job to set the stage. If you do that, your guests will know when a show starts and that flip that switch in their brain to get going. So if you're uncomfortable, find someone whose job it is to make you comfortable, whether it's the preparation or just someone who knows how to structure content for you.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

I love that, man. I love that. And it makes complete sense because so often one of the hardest things for a lot of people is just getting that structure in place. It's just putting things in place to like get your mindset right. I used to work in Hollywood, like I worked in big movies and it was a masterclass. You have that that that slate, one, two, three, you know, they slap it down, you get it. And there's a clarity about when you're on, what you're doing, and what that looks like. Exactly. You know, and I think that that having that, because you know, one of the things with podcasting is it's not always clear, like you said, like what are we rolling? How are we doing this? And like that's one of the things too, I think that people have a hard time with is figuring out those right steps, you know. But let me ask you this because um what matters more in the long run? Like, is it more important to be natural on camera or just consistently showing up and doing the work, even when it feels small, you know, like steady? And and sometimes those things are really important to get them in that that routine helps you get there, you know, kind of like a Hobbit's second breakfast.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

I mean, yeah, totally. But you you get good on camera by showing up consistently. So like there are some people who will just get it right away. This the camera loves them and they have this natural personality. Others take time, you know. Like I always tell people I work with, give me three months because we need to develop chemistry. Another thing that will get you comfortable is having chemistry with someone you're talking to. Um, so and how do you get good? You get good by showing up consistently. And some will never find it. There's some will just they're not made for it, and that's also okay. Uh so the answer is being good, but you get good with consistency because you always want to be good on camera, but you can't do that without the reps. It's like, how do I get strong? You go to the gym. Okay, well, what's what's more important, you know, having you know, being strong or lifting weights. Well, you do one with the other.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Yep. 100%, man. And I think that's one of the things too. I think that people don't realize that I used to I trained martial arts, and one of the things that I found is that I had some friends that showed up and were not great. And then there were friends that trained and they were flashy and amazing, right? You know, and one of the things that I find is that some people are really good and that natural talent shines through. But one of the challenges for them is that it's really hard for those people to understand the power of someone who's just putting in the reps because the reps really make a difference. And you know, you might have someone who's not that talented, not that great, but they show up so much that eventually they get there, you know?

SPEAKER_01 31:41

Yeah, it's a skill, it's a muscle. Yeah, you gotta work it out, you gotta train it, and you gotta do it consistently. So, like and that, and that comes with having good structure and a good workflow. And that's another thing that hiring someone can give you, right? So it's mid-April as of recording this. So as of April 1st, my clients I work with this month know exactly when we're recording, they know exactly when they're gonna get the questions, and they know roughly when they're gonna get the final videos. So you can make a plan around that. You can schedule out your written content um around the video content. So, like if we're talking about um misconceptions about taxes from an advisor's perspective, you know, early in the month, start talking about taxes, especially because it's tax season right now. You know, we're recording with him tomorrow. So start talking about it again towards the end of the week. So by next week, when the videos are done and you can make that first post, your audience is like, okay, he's been talking about taxes for a while. And it all kind of links together. You know, how you get that, how you get that sale is through repetition. And hearing that same slogan all over the place. I can't tell you how many times in the past three weeks I've heard Liberty Bibbity over and over again because YouTube loves pushing that ad for whatever reason. Liberty Bibbity and those stupid people on the bench talking over and over again about I love how you love this, how I love this. And it's just like, okay, this ad is so stupid, but it just consistently goes and those reps are there. It's the same message told maybe a little bit differently, and then it works.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Yeah, I love that, man. Well, I want to ask you this one because, like, if someone's been posting for months and and months and nothing's landing, what are they likely missing? What's the invisible enemy holding them back?

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Yeah, I was like, well, only a month? Yeah, you only gave it a month. Give it, give it six. I mean, because content, content does take time. It takes time to kind of find your message and figure out what works. You know, I can't give you a video and guarantee it's gonna do well, right? And that's impossible. I don't, I can't tell the future. But if you've been trying with no traction, you're either doing spray and pray, you're posing without a strategy, you don't know who your audience is, so an audience for everyone is an audience for no one, or the big one, they don't engage with their audience. They aren't commenting on other people's posts on LinkedIn or Facebook or wherever, right? Your target audience hangs out on social media in a watering hole. We call them watering holes. So go up, show up, take a sip, and drop some comments, engage with them. So uh, did they ask someone to watch it? You know, you want someone to watch your video. Did you try sending it to them? Like, did you make the effort to go, hey, here is this video. If you build it, they will come, is a lie. That is the biggest lie of content. It worked great for Field of Dreams, but it's not gonna work for LinkedIn. Once you build it, you send it to them and invite them in. Don't underestimate the power of a message that says, Hey, I made this video and I thought of you. Let me know if it helps. The person who watches that like 90 second, three-minute video, they're gonna go, that was really nice. I'm glad you did that. You know, it'll it it makes that intro warmer. So you get traction. A lot of these B2B podcasts, you're not gonna get a million downloads. You're not gonna become Joe Rogan. You aren't gonna even get monetized on YouTube, at least not for a very long time. That's not the point of starting the content. The point of starting the content is to drive people to your business. And that's how you make money. It's like an indirect way to make money. You know, you don't do marketing to directly make money, you do marketing to get people to spend money on you. And you do that by sending it to them. So, yeah, you either posting with no strategy, you have no idea who you're posting for, or you're not engaging with them and you're not sending it indirectly.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

That's why. I want to ask you this last question. Like, what would you say to someone who knows they need to start but keeps hesitating? Um like they're standing at the edge of their own adventure and won't take the first step.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Yeah. Um, I kind of meant touched upon this earlier a little bit with like, you know, taking your own customer journey. But ask yourself why. Why um why are you putting it off? Is it money, you know, the budget? Is it time, you know, the time? Is it fear? You just don't you're afraid of how you're gonna look. And you know, that's a personal question that I can't answer for you. But do what your audience does. Do what you want them to do. Find your pain point, find out why, diagnose your problem, and then go look for the answer. You know, there are thousands of people out there who can help you. Um, go find them. Or if they reach out to you, I know people hate being like pitch slapped on LinkedIn, but that's how business gets made. You know how I found most of my clients. I reached out to them and DM'd them and said, Hey, I'm well, here's what I do. I noticed you'd be a good fit, interested in talking. And you know, and they kept an open mind. They give it a shot. We meet. Sometimes it's a good fit, sometimes it's not, sometimes it's a few months from now, sometimes it's not. But what's holding them back from getting started is themselves. So find out why. Look inward, do some meditation. What's what's holding you back? What is that roadblock? What is that pain point? And then look for someone to help you unblock it. 100%, ma'am. Where can people go to find out more about you and what you do? Yeah, so my LinkedIn is the best place to find me. It's Will Tarashuk. It's T isn't Thomas, A-R-A-S-H-U-K. I try to post every day. I'm in the middle of like a 30-day, 30 workday video challenge. So I'm posting a video every single day, and that's been super useful. Uh, my LinkedIn account has my account, the book of time, or you can go to uh willy tproductions.com um with more information about what I do, pricing, QA, you know, but get a better sense of that. Or also just email me directly, Will at Willy T Productions. That's W-I-L-L-Y-T-P-R-O-D-U-C-T-I-O-N-S dot com. And yeah, we can find time on the chat, you know, learn more about me, what you do, the business you do. Again, my niche is financial advisors, but I can recreate this with real estate people, lawyers, you know, history teachers. You know, there's plenty of other avenues that can take this method. But yeah, the best place to find me is LinkedIn.