379: From Posts to Profits: Transforming Your Website into a Content & Monetization Hub with Jacinta Gandy

[00:00:00] Bree: Some of my favorite conversations are the ones that leave me with like, oh my gosh, I need to like go write this down before I forget because I have so many ideas. Or I'm like hanging out with a friend and like taking notes. I'm like, hold on, let me pull up my phone and write this down. That was my conversation that you guys are getting to listen to right now with Jacinta.

She is a brilliant designer. Has created a full service agency that helps you with everything from branding, web marketing, SEO, all the things that she helps her clients with is full service. And today we talk just about how content creators can create this content hub on their website. In such easy ways.

So if growing your website or even starting a website or starting an email list has just seemed overwhelming 'cause you have so much going on already just with creating your amazing content. This is going to be an episode where you're going to leave with so many notes, whether you are new or experienced, and time.

I'm over here scrambling, taking notes, so I know you are as well. So be sure, check out our show notes or get your phone ready to take some notes. And let's get started. Welcome to the Thrive Podcast, where we believe creators deserve more, more money, more freedom, and even more love for what they do. I'm Bree p, your coach for content creators.

And I know the struggle, the long hours, the endless ideas, the feeling that success is just out of reach. But here's the truth. You've got what it takes. And this podcast, it's your shortcut to getting there from strategies that actually work to behind the scenes insights. We are unlocking your potential one episode at a time.

So if you're ready to turn your creative hustle into a thriving business. Let's get started.

Hello, friend. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Brie. I'm so excited to be on your show today. I can't wait to dive into this conversation with you, and I would love for our audience and myself to just learn a bit more about you. So can you tell us what you do and also where we can follow you while we're listening?

[00:02:13] Jacinta: Yeah, absolutely. So I am Jacinta Gandy, and I'm the owner and founder of Social Circle. We are a full service design and digital marketing studio, and if you're looking to follow me, you can find me on Instagram. My handle is at jacinta underscore gandy. Or you can check out our website, which is social circle inc.com.

[00:02:36] Bree: Amazing. Okay. So full service. So tell me like what is, what is everything you do? What's like, what's your favorite thing to do with

[00:02:44] Jacinta: it? Yeah,

[00:02:44] Bree: so

[00:02:44] Jacinta: full service, it's pretty much branding, web design, and then digital marketing. Um, and we pretty much do everything that falls under that digital marketing umbrella.

So often it's easier to talk about what we. Don't do than what we do. But what I will say is that the majority of our clients, they work with us initially on their branding and their website, and that really sets the foundation for the digital marketing and everything that we do moving forward. So when I started Social Circle about five years ago, I was primarily focused on branding and web design, but I really wanted to make our.

Web design services as comprehensive as possible. So being able to not just get the website done, but also having a copywriter on staff, also having an SEO strategist, right, working with a brand photographer to get them photos. So that's really sort of how it became full service because. We're really just working with people and I, you feel like when you start a website, a lot of times people have an idea of what they want.

[00:03:53] Bree: Yeah.

[00:03:53] Jacinta: But things aren't solidified. So really working with clients one-on-one as a thought partner to really help them build out their dream business. And then after we would launch their website, I'd be like, okay. Congrats, like, you know, have much success. And then people would reach out, back out to me and say, but wait, like I miss you as a thought partner, and now I wanna do something else.

I wanna launch a course, or I wanna add a new service offering, right? So as the business expands and their services grow, they continue to like reach out to me. And so then two years ago, we made the shift and we became a. Full service agency. So now everything in terms of digital marketing, so whether it's copywriting, it's SEO, it's blog writing, it's, you know, paid ads, social media, marketing.

Those are all things that we help our clients with.

[00:04:43] Bree: Oh my gosh. What an amazing company that you have built and just that people can come to you for all of that. Because I mean, I, I've myself have my, in my past life I was a graphic designer and helped some people with websites and stuff too, and there was always, like, there's so many missing pieces.

Everybody's like, oh, I want a new website. And even like with, you know, the girls that I coach or anybody listening to this podcast are like, oh, I wanna update my site. Brie, can you recommend like a blog theme to me or whatever? And I'm always going like, yes, here you go. But like just a warning. It's not gonna look like that.

Like right away, right? Because you're missing all these different pieces, like you need to do a photo shoot, or you need like extra copy written. There's so many pieces that go into it that. Take all that extra effort to make it look as beautiful as you're wanting it.

[00:05:33] Jacinta: Yeah, totally. And I think so many people don't realize that, right?

Like they look at the design or the aesthetic and they're like, that looks great. And then they don't realize like all the moving parts. And so it's been really nice to have like a comprehensive service that is able to provide that for business owners. Yes.

[00:05:51] Bree: Oh my gosh. Amazing. So I would love to know, you know, why are you so passionate about helping entrepreneurs have that solid website that can be a hub for their content?

Because as you know, like here we're talking to content creators, so like why is that such a passion of yours?

[00:06:08] Jacinta: Yeah. So I think it's incredibly important for a number of reasons. But I will just say that for me personally, like previous to starting this business, I spent over 10 years on the agency side.

So I worked with a lot of New York City based creative and media agencies. Got to work with a lot of top tier clients. But you know, I always felt like a lot of this information. Very hard for small business owners to get access to. And although I think things have definitely improved, um, in the past few years, I still think that, like I saw like this incredible need to sort of just democratize access and information more to small business owners so they could be successful.

Because a lot of small business owners have great ideas, but they have like mm-hmm. No idea like. All the pieces involved and how to get started. So I really felt like it was a great opportunity for me to leverage a skillset that I had cultivated and really use that for small business owners. And then in terms of having a content hub, that's also huge because I think that I.

As we all know, like it's great to have social media. It's a huge tool that we can leverage in business. Um, but you know, social media platforms, they kind of have their own ambitions and agendas in terms of their level and trajectory of growth. And so I think that if you are pouring all of your. Time and attention into certain social media platforms, then you could end up in a situation where, you know, all of a sudden, like you might have a great following, but you don't have a reliable way to get in touch with them.

Or you may have content, um, but you don't own that content. The social media platforms own that content. And so I think as content creators, having that hub of information is actually really, really important.

[00:08:04] Bree: Absolutely. So I would love to just pick your brain and maybe like, let's throw out an example.

'cause I can pick like, it's like I just reach out there and there's 50 content creators listening more than that, that are like, yep, I don't have a website at all, but I have all this incredible content on my social media. And I understand that as like, you know, a coach, like building a website, building a blog, and being able to monetize it can be more of like a long-term thing.

But I think it is so good to have, like, let's have a long-term growth strategy and then also like, let's have some short-term goals and like gr, you know, if you're making money from social media, go for it. That's amazing. But I would love to hear some ideas from you on like, okay, let's say I have a content creator that's come to me.

She doesn't have a website or like, it's kind of barely there. She needs to start putting things on it, but she has. Such an archive of great content over on Instagram. What would be kind of like first steps or like suggestions that you would have for her?

[00:09:08] Jacinta: Yeah, so I feel like the content that she has on Instagram is still great, and that could definitely be utilized.

So I think literally just taking the website and using that almost as a directory to get to that Instagram content could be a great first step. Right? Oh yeah. So. I'll just pick, like, let's say someone is a food blogger, for example. Mm-hmm. Right? And they have a ton of different, like food recipes and videos that they've shared on Instagram and TikTok.

So what's probably happening now is when they are discovered is that, you know, visitors will go to them, they'll check out their page, scroll through their page, look for d. You know, recipes, wouldn't it be easier if they had a website that they can go to and then now all of a sudden there's filters, they can see what are the cool lunch recipes, dinner recipes that you have.

Mm-hmm. They can learn about, you know, maybe different meal prep ideas or, you know, tools that you recommend for cooking. Right. Um, there's also an opportunity there for you to promote partnerships, like you said, like a big part. For a big thing for food bloggers and other content creators is being able to have those partnerships with brands, right?

And so your website is a place that you can promote that. So I think it does feel overwhelming to people when you think about, okay, well I've been spending all this time creating all this social media content. Now they feel like, okay, so now I have to create content for my website. I don't necessarily think that's the case.

I think it's more about making your website that central location where people can find everything.

[00:10:46] Bree: Oh, that is such a good idea. Because yeah, that's like a huge thing. It's like, you know, 'cause I see. I'm like, oh, you could take this reel and turn it into a blog post. But like, that is a, that's a big task.

Yeah. Right. Like that's, that's a, that's, I think absolutely do that, but that's like, we can't do all of that at once. But I love this idea that you said of like a directory. On your site, that's so much more manageable. Yeah. And then also

[00:11:10] Jacinta: you really get to tease that out to your audience because if you already have a audience that's actively following you on social social's gonna be the place where they discover, right?

They discover that, right, you have a new fashion video or you have a new, you know, recipe that you're launching. So. Why not? Like give them a taste of that and then send them back to the website, right. Um mm-hmm. So I definitely think that's another great way to utilize that resource and so many people. I think it's interesting.

I don't know if you are the same way, Brie, but like for me, I have certain like. I love, I love fashion. So I have like certain like fashion, um, you know, bloggers that I follow on Instagram. Yeah. And then I have like a whole different set that I follow on YouTube. And then sometimes I'm like surprised to realize like, oh, they have an Instagram too, or this person actually taking long form concept.

I didn't know that. So I think the website could also be a great way to help your audience understand like all the different types of content that you are, um, producing and where they can find you.

[00:12:11] Bree: Yes, because it is so important to have some type of long for form content somewhere, whether it's a blog post or YouTube.

But yeah, making that be a hub, just like a, like thinking of it as like a super awesome resource content hub for your audience to easily find all of the things that you're. Creating and promoting, because that's something that like I always find is like, oh, these girls spend so much time creating this gorgeous reel or this beautiful post, whatever it may be, only to share it one time.

And then it's like it disappears into the algorithm and I'm like, oh, but you just spent how many hours on that? Like, man, I want it to live longer.

[00:12:54] Jacinta: Totally. Yeah. That's another thing. I mean, I feel like, let's be honest, like the algorithm is tough, right? So sometimes it can, the content that you have or what you're sharing.

Can be really good. It just doesn't get the right distribution for whatever reason. Right. Maybe the posting time wasn't right. Like there's a multiple of reasons why. Right. But I definitely think that's another reason why having that website as another content hub is great. And then of course, like we can't not talk about the power of SEO, right?

So even as you're using that. As a content hub, maybe you're just adding, you know, you're embedding the Instagram content that you have there. If you have long form video, you're, you're embedding that on the website, but also like. Starting to create that blog content as well is gonna put you in a great position because one of the ranking factors is having that rich content.

So the fact that like someone who has, I actually think it might be almost a little harder for someone who's just a blogger. They have no videos, right? They have no social media content. So it's like, in a way mm-hmm. Like. You're spending all the time producing video forward content, which is very time consuming.

And now you just need to like create that, um, as a blog. And that content is definitely gonna get more life now, um, because for sure it's indexable, right? Whereas on social media, maybe it just didn't hit for some reason, but that doesn't mean you need to throw it out, right?

[00:14:19] Bree: No. And I always tell people I'm like, that doesn't mean that your content was bad.

Like it, you know, it usually has nothing to do with that. Like you're brilliant content creators, so don't beat yourself up because it didn't perform. But like let's give it legs in other places. And when you make that blog post too, like that may perform really well over on Pinterest. Yeah. So you could get traffic from Google, SEO, or Pinterest.

Absolutely. I would love to know, you know, I love talking about monetization, so I would love to know like what do you see from your end, and even from, from the perspective of somebody that helps people, you know, kind of create solid brand presence, but then even as a consumer, like you said, you love to follow fashion influencers.

Like what do you seeing on your side from that monetization standpoint?

[00:15:09] Jacinta: Yeah, so I think it's such a, a vast topic because there's really a lot that you could do from a monetization standpoint as a content creator. I find it's kind of twofold. I feel like there's one way of, like what I mentioned before is like if you have like someone who is a food blogger and for example, you go to their website and.

Um, they're promoting like different tools that they use, right? Like maybe it's like the meal prep containers that they're using, or maybe it's, I don't know, like kitchen tools, like a whisk or something that they're using. So I would say that affiliate marketing is definitely something, um, is definitely a great way to monetize things, but also I feel like there's also a lot of ways to monetize in terms of just.

The information, right, the content that you're, you're seeding out, whether it's creating opportunities to have more, you know, VIP or elite content, right? Through having like maybe like subscriber only channels or what have you. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Or you're doing it through like digital products, right? So I think if we go back to the recipe blogger example, like maybe you just create like.

A digital download of all your recipes, right? And now it's like I don't have to sift through the website, I don't have to sift through yes. Instagram or Pinterest. Everything's just here for me, right? Mm-hmm. And so you small that you sell that for like maybe like a small amount, right? So I think that there's like a number of ways to monetize.

I think what's really important though is like figuring out what way feels good to you. Because sometimes people are like, well, I don't wanna come off as too salesy, or I don't wanna be too in their face about it, and I really wanna make sure that like what I'm providing, like feels like something that's adding value.

So I think it's really around like figuring out like what feels comfortable to you and then like going from there. But I think, I mean. There's a lot of possibilities in terms of how you monetize your content.

[00:17:14] Bree: Yeah, but just in that same vein of what you're saying too, well, first of all, let me say like, that came up.

We just had a retreat for, um, the gals inside of one of our coaching programs, um, shift. And that was something that came up is this, I was saying like you can sometimes just take the content you've already created and put it into an easy guide because I'm like, I'll pay for a, you know, ebook that has 20.

Dinner recipes that I can make in under 20 minutes. Right. Even though I know that's on your site, but like if you just give it to me in an ebook form, so I just have it ready to grow and I don't have to like sift through things or fight with the ads, like absolutely just take my money 'cause it's gonna make my life easier.

I don't care that it's duplicate content. So like sometimes we don't even have to make. Fresh content in that aspect. It's just like, just take what you already got and like let's repurpose it.

[00:18:09] Jacinta: Yeah. I completely agree with that. That's so true. I think so many times people are like, oh, I need to create something, or it needs to be something big.

Yeah. And I think they forget that like. The people that are following you and engaging you are there because they love your content and they want to support you. You know? Yes. So, um, I don't know if you were following this, but like a few months ago when they were having the whole, like, Kendrick Lamar, like Drake Beef, like I got way too into that.

And I found myself like watching all of these like reactor videos. And one of the influencers I was following when I saw his first video, he was like letting everyone know that he was like selling a t-shirt. And so I'm like, okay, whatever. Rolling my eyes, like nobody wants to buy your t-shirt, like just get to the reaction video, you know?

But by the end of it, like towards the end of the month when I had consumed all his content, I was like. Okay, I'm gonna buy his t-shirt now. You know, because it's just like, that's amazing. You wanna like just show support, you know? Yep. Mm-hmm. And, and it's like when you, particularly when it's long form content or you're just digesting so much content from someone, you really do start to feel that connection to them, right?

Yes. And so you're like, okay, if I can like spend $25 in a t-shirt and this is gonna make sure that you keep creating great content, like I'm here for it.

[00:19:29] Bree: It's also fun too because then it's like if other people are wearing it or I love when people show, like if you're selling swag and people tag you in the content, like reshare it.

'cause then it feels like it builds that community bond. It's like, oh, I'm not the only one out there that follows, you know, obviously I'm not, but like it. It creates that little bit of a bond, and now I'm like, Ooh, I wonder if I'm gonna run into anybody else wearing this. Yes, for sure. Like, I'm gonna totally say something if I see somebody out in the wild wearing that shirt.

[00:19:56] Jacinta: Totally, totally. And I, I feel like it's also like something that we talk about so much more. I mean. When I meet up with my friends, you know, we talk about obviously like what we're talking about, uh, watching on Netflix, but then another topic is like, well, who are you following, right? Like, yes, what influencers or what like content creators are you following that I don't know about that I need to know about?

And it's just like so much fun being able to share that with people.

[00:20:23] Bree: Yes. It's become like another channel of like celebrities that you follow and pay attention to. Right. Or shows that you watch. Uh, totally. I love what you said earlier too about like, you know, so having like this idea of a content hub for your website, but then also having those things that you can sell, like a paid subscription thing or a VIP thing and like, it's like when you create that hub.

It's gonna be so much easier for you to add on those extra monetization pieces on your website as well. Yeah. And just like, it's like another piece, like another resource for them.

[00:20:59] Jacinta: Absolutely. And I think one thing that I see. You know, everybody says, oh, starting a website, having this website be this huge hub.

That might feel like a heavy lift, but I would say like if I wanted to give people just like an easy place to start, I would say to start by like building your email list. Because that's one thing that I hear again and again from content creators. They tell me like, Hey, I have this great following. I have all these followers, but yet.

They don't have a reliable way to get in touch with them, right? So when they produce a piece of content that doesn't get good reach, that's why it's such a, it's, it's such a letdown, you know? Um, so I think having that download or that freebie or whatever it is, just to get that initial connection to people is so important in terms of just having a reliable way to access your audience.

[00:21:50] Bree: Oh, I completely agree. Uh, to me that's like if, if a website feels overwhelming to you right now, just start an email list. That's like the easiest thing. And we love using flow desks over here. Oh, same. And one thing I love about them. Okay, good. You're a flow desk. Oh yeah. Okay. Well, one thing I love about them, I don't know if you knew this, but like you can use flow desks for free and just collect email addresses with the form.

So if you're like, I'm not ready to like pay or I'm not ready to send out emails. Go ahead and start collecting them. 'cause you can do that for free with their forms. And then when you are ready then sign up and start sending emails. But, so there's no reason why you shouldn't be collecting email addresses.

Wow. I actually

[00:22:32] Jacinta: did not know that. So do they let you send something in advance or it's just the collection piece? You can't send anything. Got it. But you can collect things using their forms. Okay, cool. So you could even have like a wait list or something like that as you figure out like what that, you know, freebie or digital product is gonna be.

[00:22:52] Bree: That's such a good idea of like, okay, this freebie is coming. Get on the wait list to get it first. Exactly. Yeah. Because

[00:22:58] Jacinta: I think that, oh, I love that idea. A lot of folks, they don't necessarily just wanna subscribe to a email list, right? So we need to like have them give them some sort of incentive. But I love the idea.

And then it's also a great way to gauge, right? Like, is this something that's really gonna like, Ooh, take off. That's true. Like is this something that my audience is really craving?

[00:23:18] Bree: Oh, you're giving me so many good ideas. I love the idea of a wait list for an opt-in. I always think of wait list, like has to be something that's paid, but why not be a freebie and generate that buzz and see what they think.

Yeah, absolutely. And

[00:23:33] Jacinta: I, I always say like. It's all about messaging and how you market that, but absolutely, if we were gonna say like, let's create a wait list, because maybe we're gonna have exclusive content that we don't offer on our social media channels. Mm-hmm. You could definitely incentivize people by saying like, Hey, I'm only gonna let a hundred people in for free, and then after that I'm closing the doors and there's gonna be a price on it.

Right. So tactics like that just to get people very excited about that and engaged.

[00:24:02] Bree: Mm-hmm. Ooh. I love it. Love these ideas. I'm so glad I brought up Flo Desks.

[00:24:08] Jacinta: I love Flo Desks though. It's a great platform. All of our clients who come to us and are using something else, I won't name the other ones, but like, I'm just like, sure, wait a minute.

We're gonna fix that. I'm like, we're gonna hook you up. You're gonna be so much happier.

[00:24:22] Bree: Let's just like, let's just make your life easier. Yes. Like it's so much easier to use. It's beautiful. Yeah. Yes. They're amazing. I will

[00:24:29] Jacinta: admit, I hated email marketing before flow desks. It was just so arduous. Like you'd open up, it just

[00:24:35] Bree: felt so corporate.

[00:24:37] Jacinta: Yeah, totally.

[00:24:39] Bree: Yeah. Float desks makes me feel, I'm like, oh yeah, I am a creative, like I can send out emails as a creative. Yes. I'm not like just this business person behind the scenes.

[00:24:50] Jacinta: It's an awesome platform.

[00:24:53] Bree: Okay. Well, so having, you know, that content hub on our site kind of empowers us to, I feel like in, in that world of like social media with like those algorithm updates like we talked about, and, and even with attention spans being so low that you know so much, there's so much content out there.

Quickly. You know, I would love to just kind of like wrap this conversation up with like, how do you feel like having something like a website and just like even keeping it simple, like how can that be empowering to everybody listening?

[00:25:27] Jacinta: Yeah. So I think it's empowering because it's something that you can actually own and you also have a lot more control over how you show up there when it comes to.

Social media and algorithms, a lot of times you. Have to kind of do what's trending. You know what I mean? Like if you really want to be seen and you want your content to be out there, you have to sort of lean into what's of the moment, what's trending in order to make sure that like, you know, your content is good enough to get picked up by the algorithm and be shown to new people.

Um, but I think having a website, this is a platform that you can own. You can literally control how you distribute the content, what type of content you wanna share there. And I think. That is really freeing to content creators, right? Because after all, you're a creator, like you don't wanna be boxed in.

[00:26:21] Bree: Yes, absolutely. Oh my gosh, you gave us so many good ideas. I am like so excited. I'm gonna go message my VA and be like, Ooh, hey, we need to try this. Yay. Um, thank you so much for sharing. Can you just remind us one more time, like, where can everybody go and find you? Follow you? I'll leave links of course, but just remind us so they can go and check it out right now.

Yes,

[00:26:42] Jacinta: absolutely. So you can find me on Instagram. My handle is at cinta. Gandy. Um, and then you can check out my website, which is social circle inc.com.

[00:26:57] Bree: Amazing. Thank you so much for being here. You guys, go check out Jacinta, give her a follow, and we will see you guys back here in a few days with a new episode.

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