Self-Initiated Projects

Is a website the jewell in your digital marketing crown? We think so. But how do you get the attention of your website visitors and encourage them to take the next step? Amy and Tess discuss our love of a good about-page photograph, what bugs us about inefficient websites, how blogging can boost trust with your customer and draw more people through your website’s doors, and how websites offer space for nuance that social media often can not. Plus, some technical tips and tricks you can implement today too! DIY SEO: How to optimise your website to get more clients, customers, and sales (eBook) by Tess McCabe  Find Your SEO Keywords (free worksheet) Find Your Brand’s Tone of Voice by Angela D’Alton and Renee Baker (free worksheet) Establish an Evergreen Traffic Source Using Pinterest (eBook) by Angela D’Alton and Renee Baker - This podcast is a collaboration between Soul Traders Podcast and Creative Minds.  If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please, take a moment to recommend us to a friend by sending them a link to the show.  You can find us online at soultraders.net.au and creativemindshq.com Tess’s new book Self-Promotion Without Social Media is available at bookstores and independent retailers around Australia, internationally via Amazon, and at creativemindshq.com. Thanks to Lucy Peach for our music and Scott from Sound Mind Editing.  This podcast is recorded across the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang peoples.

Today we are discussing the little-known golden nugget that is self initiated projects. For creative business owners, self initiated projects can be a low risk space to test out creative ideas and build new skills. And they can be great tools for marketing your business too.  Bo, Amy and Tess have all had plenty of experience with self initiated creative projects over their careers and have seen how dynamic they can be. LINKS Creative Minds Bo’s ‘Golden State: Afterglow’ project  Tess’s series of books ‘Conversation with Creative Women’ Tess’s website Bo’s retreats Lalese Stamps’ 100 mugs project Shannyn Higgins Duality project Kitiya Palaskas’ creative wellbeing blog series - This podcast is a collaboration between Soul Traders Podcast and Creative Minds.  If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please, take a moment to recommend us to a friend by sending them a link to the show.  You can find us online at soultraders.net.au and creativemindshq.com Tess’s new book Self-Promotion Without Social Media is available at bookstores and independent retailers around Australia, internationally via Amazon, and at creativemindshq.com Thanks to Lucy Peach for our music and Scott from Sound Mind Editing.  This podcast is recorded across the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang peoples.

Soul Traders kicks off this special season with Bo and Tess talking about digital marketing trends we’ve noticed in ourselves, our peers, and our clients.  We also commiserate feelings of underperformance as self-marketers, and reminisce about the good ‘ol days when we had more energy to deposit into our social media banks ;)  Plus, ideas for how sole traders can connect more meaningfully with the right people and nurture those relationships on and off-line, and why all the effort you have put into social media to this point won’t go to waste if you choose to explore other promotion activities. LINKS Soul Traders: The agony of an overflowing inbox Self-promotion Without Social Media Tess’ Website Bo’s Retreats - This podcast is a collaboration between Soul Traders Podcast and Creative Minds.  If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please, take a moment to recommend us to a friend by sending them a link to the show.  You can find us online at soultraders.net.au and creativemindshq.com Tess’s new book Self-Promotion Without Social Media is available at bookstores and independent retailers around Australia, internationally via Amazon, and at creativemindshq.com. Thanks to Lucy Peach for our music and Scott from Sound Mind Editing.  This podcast is recorded across the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang peoples. 

Listen to Tess’ original interview on Soul Traders - This podcast is a collaboration between Soul Traders Podcast and Creative Minds.  If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please, take a moment to recommend us to a friend by sending them a link to the show.  You can find us online at soultraders.net.au and creativemindshq.com Tess’s new book Self-Promotion Without Social Media is available at bookstores and independent retailers around Australia, internationally via Amazon, and at creativemindshq.com. Thanks to Lucy Peach for our music and Scott from Sound Mind Editing.  This podcast is recorded across the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang peoples.

When you're self employed, taking time away from your business can be challenging. But if you don't integrate rest and downtime into your business, you risk stress, exhaustion and even burnout. In this episode Bo and Amy discuss the idea of taking breaks as a creative business owner. Bo speaks about the self funded creative sabbatical she's planning for 2022. They also speak about some of the community feedback from the past few episodes and Amy's dramatic u-turn on inbox management. Links: Find all the details about the Soul Traders retreat here: http://soultraders.net.au/retreat/ Amy's switched to multiple inboxes to manage her emails. This article by Andreas Klinger explains the system. Bo recommends listening to Phil Wang on How to Fail by Elizabeth Day, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Helen Garner's lockdown dairies, 2021 on The Weekend Read, Who is Daniel Johns on Spotify and Delwyn Everard's podcast 'Running the Show' Both Amy and Bo have been listening to Madeline Dore's podcast Routines and Ruts Amy's been reading This One Wild and Precious Life and listening to The Guardian's Full Story podcast Amy recommends following Penny Wong and Sean Doherty on Instagram. _ If you've enjoyed this episode of Soul Traders please, please take a moment to recommend it to a friend. It's the best way to make sure the podcast reaches new ears. Also, review us on iTunes! Go on! We love reading them! You can find Soul Traders online at soultraders.net.au and on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Have a question? Just DM us, we love questions! Intro music kindly provided by Lucy Peach. Production by Sound Mind.

Creatives tend to be very DIY in spirit with lots of optimism and zero experience in legal agreements. The learning curve for creative business owners is huge and we can find ourselves in tricky waters when it comes to the legal aspects of our business. Thank goodness for legal brains like Riz McDonald. Riz is the founder and director of Foundd Legal. She's been a lawyer for 16 years and an e-commerce entrepreneur over the last decade. Her mission is to make legalese easier to understand. Bo speaks to Riz about contracts and agreements, what terms like 'moral rights' and 'intellectual property' actually mean and how to avoid scope creep for good. Links: Find Riz online at founddlegal.com You can browse her free tips and checklists and find helpful contract templates tailored to creative business owners. Check out Riz's podcast Legals and Biz with Riz Bo also recommends Delwyn Everard's podcast 'Running the Show' and Michael Tucak from Creative Legal for more legal support for artists and creatives. Riz recommends reading 'Profit First' by Mike Michalowicz _ If you've enjoyed this episode of Soul Traders please, please take a moment to recommend it to a friend. It's the best way to make sure the podcast reaches new ears. Also, review us on iTunes! Go on! We love reading them! You can find Soul Traders online at soultraders.net.au and on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Have a question? Just DM us, we love questions! Intro music kindly provided by Lucy Peach. Production by Sound Mind.

Kitiya is a craft-based designer who lives in Melbourne. Her work is easily recognisable with its vivid colours and playful designs. She's worked with big names like Adobe, Etsy and Lego producing props, installation and illustrations and facilitating workshops. She's also an advocate for what she calls 'creative wellbeing'. Initiating important discussions around issues that creatives face including setting boundaries, navigating creative ruts and imposter syndrome. Links: Find all the details about the Soul Traders February retreat here: http://soultraders.net.au/retreat/ Find Kitiya online at www.kitiyapalaskas.com You can also sign up for her popular email newsletter there. She's on Instagram as @kitiyapalaskas 'Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome' an article by Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey If you've enjoyed this episode of Soul Traders please, please take a moment to recommend it to a friend. It's the best way to make sure the podcast reaches new ears. Also, review us on iTunes! Go on! We love reading them! You can find Soul Traders online at soultraders.net.au and on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Have a question? Just DM us, we love questions! Intro music kindly provided by Lucy Peach. Production by Sound Mind.

When did our inboxes get so out of control? Can we blame the pandemic? Or is this problem much bigger? Thousands of unread messages. Constant interruptions to the focused work we need to get done and the perception that we need to be always on top of our emails. We're calling it inbox overwhelm. In this episode Bo and Amy discuss email and how they navigate their inboxes. Bo is a proponent of inbox zero. Amy uses tabs and filters. They also discuss the new retreat dates and what they've been listening to, reading and working on. Links: Find all the details about the Soul Traders retreat here: http://soultraders.net.au/retreat/ This is the tweet that started it all Cal Newport's book 'A World Without Email' Cal Newport interviewed by Lisa Leong on This Working Life Subscribe to Tess McCabe's excellent email newsletter Sylloge Josh Spector's 40 One Sentence Email Tips Read short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Bo recommends listening to 'Everybody Knows', and reading Sally Rooney's 'Beautiful World, Where Are You' and enjoying the commentary surrounding it Amy's has been working with Tess McCabe on her Creative Minds project Amy recommends @iamthirtyaf for lols If you've enjoyed this episode of Soul Traders please, please take a moment to recommend it to a friend. It's the best way to make sure the podcast reaches new ears. Also, review us on iTunes! Go on! We love reading them! You can find Soul Traders online at soultraders.net.au and on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Have a question? Just DM us, we love questions! Intro music kindly provided by Lucy Peach. Production by Sound Mind.

Shannon Palmer and Bryce MacDonald of Studio Bonum truly want to make a difference in their community. They are intentional and thoughtful both in the work they produce for their clients but also in their approach to their business. Amy spoke to Shannon and Bryce about launching a creative business at a time of global uncertainty, the values they bring to their business and how they hope to attract clients with a similar social conscience. Links: If you'd like to join Amy and Bo for the Soul Traders retreat in November from the 11th until the 14th head to the retreat page soultraders.net.au/retreat/ and click on the link to email your interest. Find Studio Bonum online at studiobonum.com.au/ and on Instagram as @studiobonum If you've enjoyed this episode of Soul Traders please, please take a moment to recommend it to a friend. It's the best way to make sure the podcast reaches new ears. Also, review us on iTunes! Go on! We love reading them! You can find Soul Traders online at soultraders.net.au and on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Have a question? Just DM us, we love questions! Intro music kindly provided by Lucy Peach. Production by Sound Mind.

Exciting news: Bo and Amy are planning their very first in-person retreat! It will be a nourishing weekend for creative business owners who want to overhaul their businesses, go deep and get clear on what they want and need to happen in 2022. In this episode Amy and Bo talk about their plans for the retreat including an impactful program of workshops and activities. And food, don't forget about the amazing food. They also describe the incredible venue, New Farm Denmark, and cover the essential details. If you'd like to join Amy and Bo for the Soul Traders retreat in November head to the retreat page http://soultraders.net.au/retreat/ and click on the link to email your interest. Links: Find all the details about the Soul Traders retreat here: http://soultraders.net.au/retreat/ If you've enjoyed this episode of Soul Traders please, please take a moment to recommend it to a friend. It's the best way to make sure the podcast reaches new ears. Also, review us on iTunes! Go on! We love reading them! You can find Soul Traders online at soultraders.net.au and on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Have a question? Just DM us, we love questions! Intro music kindly provided by Lucy Peach. Production by Sound Mind.