Recently I’ve been putting together a class on Visibility for Introverts as part of our Women Speaking Up curriculum and have been asking for input on the big issues introverts face when it comes to visibility. 

This morning I heard two of the big misconceptions that everyone – not just introverts – seem to hold about visibility; 

(i) to be really visible I have to keep showing up everywhere, all the time (which is a total nightmare for introverts and really anyone who wants to do any deep work or to have a life outside of work), and 

(ii) to be visible I’m going to have to share more about me (another nightmare for introverts and anyone who just likes their privacy). 

So let’s just bust those myths right now. 

As the CEO of the School of Visibility I had two visibility priorities for 2019; 

(i) improving consistency with list building (my aim being that everyday people would join our community through an opt in), and 

(ii) finding a reliable traffic source that we can build on over the next few years. 

LIST BUILDING

With regard to list building, my problem in the past had been consistency. I’d see these big spikes in numbers during launches and then I’d be so exhausted from the launch that I’d just stop thinking about list building for a while. Eventually, I’d launch again and then I’d focus on other things again. And so the cycle would go. 

I did some good list building for a while when I hosted a podcast but the effort was so great that it wasn’t sustainable. 

I needed a system that wasn’t labour intensive and that could just run in the background while I focused on other things. So that’s what I created this year – a simple approach that shifted me away from my boom and bust approach, toward regular, reliable growth. 

And guess what? It really was effortless. Once I had all the pieces in place and I just let it run. 

As a result, we doubled our monthly opt in rate and almost eliminated our number of days with no opt ins. 

I’m at the point now that I’m so confident in the system I think we can probably 10x our opt in numbers next year and we reduce the number of days with no opt ins to zero. 

Here’s what I want you to know about that; 2019 was my easiest year ever when it came to growing my list. It was the least labour intensive and the most successful. I personally did less work than ever, not because I had a big team working for me – I didn’t. But because I built a system that does the work for me. 

TRAFFIC

In deciding on my traffic course, I contemplated the pros and cons of Google and Pinterest and eventually, went with Pinterest. What I wanted from 2019 was to see if Pinterest could in fact, become a viable traffic source for the School going forward.

Here’s what my numbers looked like at the beginning of the year when I basically never used Pinterest;

Here’s what the numbers looked like this morning; 

Traffic wise we’ve jumped from 575 people seeing us to 41,000 people seeing us each month on Pinterest. So part 1 of my Pinterest experiment is going well. And again, because I’ve developed a system that barely costs me any money or human resources, I can easily see us jumping well into the hundreds of thousands in 2020. 

I know we haven’t always focused on the numbers when it comes to implementing a visibility strategy but as we continue our series, we’ll talk more about the numbers. It’s important to understand just how an inside out approach to visibility works and the tangible results that accrue from it. 

We certainly don’t do visibility block clearing work for nothing. Or just because it makes us feel better (although it does and I love that). We do it because when you’re clear of your fears and limitations, you get better results.

You do not have to show up everywhere to be visible. 

What you do need is for your brand to be visible. That means you need a reliable system that makes your brand visible and you need to be focused (rather than trying to be a little bit visible everywhere).  

Neither of my two visibility strategies for 2019 required me to share more of myself or to show up personally all the time. If anything, I probably spent more time alone in 2019 than I have in many years. In some ways I became more introverted. But – and here’s the thing I want all introverts to note – I was also more open when I did show up. Not because I felt I had to be, but because I wasn’t afraid of people seeing me. 

That’s where visibility block clearing really comes into its own. It makes you more strategic, less overwhelmed and more effective. It also makes you effortlessly comfortable with being seen, when you choose to be seen. 

If you want to combine visibility block clearing with strategic planning so you can work less and be more visible, come and join us at the School of Visibility.

This morning I heard that great quote; What got you here won’t get you there. 

What got you to this point in your business or career, will not get you to the next place you’re looking to go. You’re going to need to change things up.