#006 — From Corporate Climbing to Trailblazing with Chloe Barnes

Melanie Branch: Hello and welcome to Trailblazers Rising, where we share strategies and stories for scaling behind limits. Today I am so excited to fan Girl out and meet face to face with Chloe, the right, Chloe, who I have been following on social media. For a while now, I don't understand time, so I won't even try and pretend like I do, so don't let me butcher any more of it.

[00:00:31] Chloe, welcome. I'm so glad to have you on.

[00:00:33] Chloe Barnes: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

[00:00:36] Melanie Branch: Yay. So our friend Chloe, from down under, um, I will attempt to not mimic your accent, but as a neuro divergent person, that is something that is very hard for me to not do. So without further ado, we are going to dive right in and I'm going to ask you what sparked your entrepreneurial fire.

[00:00:53] Chloe Barnes: So it's really a, um, a long history of not liking being told [00:01:00] what to do, and there's a massive stubborn streak in my, my, in my body that is like the fastest way to get me to do something is to tell me that I'm not allowed to do it or that I can't do it. And. So working in jobs, to be honest, I don't know how long how, like how I lasted as long as I did in corporate environments because I would job hop basically my entire life because I would get into a job, be really good at it really, really quickly, and then in a year I'd be bored and it took me so long to figure out.

[00:01:35] I know it seems so obvious now. Um, but it just, I, I was constantly looking for something that would keep me engaged long-term, some kind of challenge, something entertaining, and I realized that I. I just needed to go and work for myself because I would get so disillusioned with all of the corporate bureaucracy, like I hated having to set goals in these [00:02:00] environments and go through these meetings.

[00:02:02] That just didn't make sense to me, and I just felt like the whole environment and the setup was not structured in a way that I could succeed. So I left. I had to, it was just sanity.

[00:02:13] Melanie Branch: I love that. That's so exciting. So how long have you been running the show on your own?

[00:02:16] Chloe Barnes: Oh, well, I have been doing things for myself for like 13 years now, but I did not go into my, my, my business full on, uh, until like two years ago, and I, I just. I know. I can't believe that it, it just took me so long cuz I, I was unemployed for a while after I had my son and I was a stay-at-home mom and I felt so, uh, incapable after having him that I'd been out of the workforce for so long that I genuinely had zero confidence in my own abilities anymore.

[00:02:55] And I felt like my brain had turned to mush. And so I went and got a job [00:03:00] again because that was like what I knew. And it, uh, it was good for building up my confidence quickly again, but then I got bored and I realized that no, I, I I need to get out. And yeah, so that, that became my new mission, was to get really good at the thing that I wanted to do and to like to c to carry on from there with my own business.

[00:03:22] Melanie Branch: I love that. So that is actually something that has been a theme that my mentors have been shouting, uh, for a long time, and that I've just started really taking note of really in these past couple days, is. Where we go wrong a lot of the time, and I don't know if this is true for everyone, not just neuro divergent human beings, but I speak from a neuro divergent afab humans perspective.

[00:03:44] So instead of working on what we're not good at and trying to get better at what we're not naturally good at, stop doing that and go become an expert in what you are naturally good at.

[00:03:54] Chloe Barnes: Yeah, you can spend a really long time. Sorry,

[00:03:57] Melanie Branch: No, it's okay. There's a little bit of a delay

[00:03:59] Chloe Barnes: [00:04:00] little bit on my

[00:04:00] Melanie Branch: pond.

[00:04:01] Chloe Barnes: Yeah. I was just gonna say, you can spend a really, a really long time trying to fit yourself into a little box or to try and make yourself do something that just isn't natural for you. And you'll spend a really long time wondering what the hell's wrong with you, why you don't get it the same way that everyone else sings to.

[00:04:17] Or you could just go and do the thing that that comes naturally to you and like lean into that as much as I hate that expression, you know? Yeah. Just go with it.

[00:04:26] Melanie Branch: I love it. It's a, it when it's used appropriately, it's a very good expression. So tell me. Were you always good at writing?

[00:04:32] Chloe Barnes: Yes. Yeah, I've, uh, I was always, um, that just was something that kind of came naturally to me. I was always the, the kid who was reading when I was a kid, I would carry around like three or four books with me because I would always finish whatever book I was carrying around. So I learned very quickly. That if I wanted to not be bored out of my mind, I had to have backups.

[00:04:53] So I was the kid with my nose buried in a book. I, I was like the library assistant in my primary school. I read [00:05:00] all of the books in the library. It was, uh, just, yeah, breeding and writing were like the thing that I found easiest and. I'm surprised that, that when I went into uni, I actually studied management of it and went into like a corporate consulting, um, role with like a big four, uh, advisory company.

[00:05:19] And it was unsurprisingly not for me at all. And then I went into a, a marketing role with a university and absolutely loved it cause I was getting to write and do creative stuff. And, uh, it just kind of spiraled from there. And I ended up starting a blog and going traveling and it, yeah, just took off from there.

[00:05:39] Melanie Branch: That's fantastic. We love that. So when it comes to marketing, which is a huge gigantic beast in and of itself, and describes. And or there's so many different offshoots of it, right? So there's social media marketing, which you have such a fun, unique approach to. And I love seeing all of your content come across my fyp or my feed, whatever social media [00:06:00] platform I'm on, and I follow you on all of the ones that I'm active on.

[00:06:03] Uh, I think are mutual anyways, be cool. So when it comes to copywriting, I will say I had the biggest misunderstanding of it, and it took a while for it to. Makes sense to me and it's the number one thing that makes, or that trips up. I would say my, the members of the Neuro Spicy Academy and all of my clients, whenever I say, you know, what kind of copy do you write?

[00:06:26] Do you have any tools for copywriting? That sort of stuff. They're like, do you mean my trademarks? I'm like, no. So what would you say has helped you the most with copywriting and explaining it to people? Cause I know you have such a fantastic way of breaking things down for people to understand.

[00:06:41] Chloe Barnes: Yeah, it's for me, I always explain it as writing the words that help people sell stuff. Um, it's like that, it really is as simple as that because it could be social media, it can be emails, it can be websites. It doesn't necessarily have to be this one [00:07:00] specific type of, um, you know, form. It can be a lot of different things, and that's what I think can be a bit confusing for people because if you get into the copywriting world, there's this whole like, Debate between, is it content or is it copy?

[00:07:16] And like really nobody outside of copywriting cares about that. It's, that's, that's like an internal industry debate and it needs to stay there. Um, the thing that matters is that people hire copywriters to help them sell their stuff, and that's what we do.

[00:07:34] Melanie Branch: absolutely. You know, when it comes to content, The first and foremost thing that all business owners would benefit from understanding when it comes to social media content, is your social media content you would benefit the most if it speaks to you, your actual, what you're selling, right? So, like I mentioned, my self-care planner and my energy optimization planner, just about an every single blurb, um, that I write on all of my social media [00:08:00] content, right?

[00:08:00] Cause that's how. People are really going to get to know me and get on my email list so I can really start developing relationships with them. Right. So when it comes to creating social media as a copywriter, what do you really lean into when it comes to making social media content? Because I'm sure your emails are beautiful.

[00:08:19] Chloe Barnes: So I am, I'm. The thing that I like to focus on most is because I do primarily top of funnel content, which is, um, like the attraction side of things. So I help get people into your funnel by being super visible online. Um, so things that, that I like to focus on are things like your hooks. And keeping people's attention and like opening sort of those like curiosity loops where people want to keep watching so that they find out what happens.

[00:08:52] Um, and that's like something that I've been experimenting a lot more with, um, with my trend explaining content. Like [00:09:00] I'm, I'm, I kind of stumbled across that one by accident, but it's been a massive source of, uh, followers for me. Um, just helping people understand the internet and social media and how it works and why things blow up the way that they do, because social media is just so crazy for that, and I think a lot of business owners don't know how to leverage that type of content for themselves. Yeah. Just, it's something that makes sense to me, but I, I. I like to experiment with, you know, my opening lines. Um, things like your call to actions. Really like mixing up the middle of your videos to make sure that people keep watching throughout. And it's, yeah, it's just really, I, I like, I love it. It's so fun.

[00:09:45] Melanie Branch: That's fantastic. I love that. Now you've been in the game for a long time. What are your suggestions for the people listening? My entrepreneurs new end seasons and everything in between for the imposter [00:10:00] syndrome that shows up for some of us daily, weekly, monthly, hourly. Do you have any tools in your wheelhouse to shut up that voice in your brain that says you suck and you don't know what you're doing?

[00:10:12] Chloe Barnes: Yeah. Um, literally, Everyone gets imposter syndrome. You can't. You can't opt out of it. And if you're thinking that you're going to reach a level of success where imposter syndrome will not be a thing, you're gonna be really disappointed because you are more likely to have imposter syndrome as you get more successful because nobody feels like they know what they're doing, what they completely have their shit together.

[00:10:41] It's. Nobody's immune. It's just the difference between the people who are super successful and the people who are still starting out are that the super successful people understand and know it to be an unavoidable part of business, and they just acknowledge it as something that everyone experiences and they [00:11:00] move on.

[00:11:00] You have to just go, okay, I know this is going to happen, but maybe I just. That the day that I'm experiencing this bone crushing feeling of you really suck at this, why is anybody going to want to buy anything from you? Because you don't know what you're talking about. You're a giant fraud and it's only a matter of time.

[00:11:20] You just gotta put your phone away and walk away for a little bit and go and do something else because you're you. Like, the longer that you spend trying to scroll your way out of that feeling, the worse you're gonna feel.

[00:11:32] Melanie Branch: Absolutely. You know, comparison is the thief of joy,

[00:11:35] Chloe Barnes: Yeah.

[00:11:35] Melanie Branch: you are allowed to compare yourself in order to get better, but you have to compare yourself to the older versions. Of you. You can't compare yourself to anybody else online cuz we all know that what you see on social media is the highlight reels of everyone's life.

[00:11:49] Everyone's business, you're not seeing any other stuff behind the scenes.

[00:11:52] Chloe Barnes: Yeah, exactly. And I, I mean, social media is engineered in such a way that we feel like we are, [00:12:00] I, I spoke about this recently. We feel like we know people and we feel like we are getting. A decent idea of the person that they are through their profile, but really we aren't. We are getting teeny little snapshots that they are highly curating to give us the impression that they want us to have.

[00:12:20] And you know, some people share the, the lows, but a lot of people don't cuz they're just not comfortable doing that. So. You know, it doesn't help them sell they, or at least they don't think it helps them sell. If they're showing that, you know, I had a really shitty day today, so you're not gonna see it.

[00:12:37] Melanie Branch: Yeah. You know, I've seen your content before. You, you do a very good job describing of why somebody does not want to go viral and why you think you do, but you don't actually. And I've recently had, uh, a, my first, like over a million viral video and the terminology is being butchered that I use, and there's, you know, a certain portion of people in the [00:13:00] neurodivergent community that, uh, are very upset.

[00:13:03] With it. And I now understand, and when I tell you, I literally had no scripting in my head, no preparation in my head. Uh, I've never played out this scenario of hurting a group of people. Um, and having people really twist and turn your words around to the point where like, it's affected my day, my life, my bus, like, all that sort of stuff, right?

[00:13:23] Like it's something that I just, I can't turn off in my brain. So, What is your, um, I mean, I'm getting over it. I'm fine. I'm working through it. I understand people, some people are going to be committed to misunderstanding you, and that's fine. Everybody has allowed their opinion. I'm bing bang, boom. Live your life.

[00:13:39] What is your recommendation for business owners that you work with when it comes to, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Managing their expectations. Like what? Are the reasons that a business owner should be making social media content and making email content and that sort of stuff.

[00:13:55] Chloe Barnes: I think it depends on what you wanna do with your business. Like what is [00:14:00] your goal ultimately, like there are so many people who make content without really thinking about what they're trying to do with it. And I like, I. I've done that. I've, I mean, you, the, you go through stages where you're perhaps not really clear on your goals and where you're going, so you just kind of make content because that's what you do.

[00:14:18] And

[00:14:19] Melanie Branch: Yeah.

[00:14:19] Chloe Barnes: you have to be careful when you're participating in trends or, you know, really trying to leverage, uh, you know, known viral tactics. If you don't know what you're doing, because you may be preparing yourself for a shit storm that you are not adequately dressed for. Like if, if you can't hold your own.

[00:14:41] And you know, there's, there's a certain level of resilience that you do need in order to put the content out there and, and steer the course once it's gone viral. Um, because, There will be people who will completely try and character assassinate you. They will rope their [00:15:00] friends into doing it with them, and you are just their angry outlet for the day.

[00:15:05] And that is what you need to remember. These are, these are never happy people who are content with their lives. They are, they're, they're sad. They're, you know, Dissatisfied and you are there, they're a shit person for the day. And it's, it sucks, but that is the nature of the internet. We were all stuck inside for over a year and some people just were not able to cope with that as well as we would have.

[00:15:31] Um, I guess liked to, the pandemic was tough, you know? Um, yeah. There's a lot of people who really just wanna be mad at someone. And sometimes you are that person for the day.

[00:15:41] Melanie Branch: absolutely. So when it comes to entrepreneurship, we know that. People don't warn you about how lonely it can be. Right. And I didn't even realize how lonely it could be until I started the Neuro Spicy Academy with my friend and business partner, Christina, at the end of last year, where now we have this virtual [00:16:00] campus that we're on all day ev well, not all day, what we're on every single day.

[00:16:04] And it's like Minecraft and Zoom put together. So we're having a good time. We can see each and every person that's on there and hanging out with us, whether we're in the library or the cafeteria, whatever space we're in. And like just to have people to bounce ideas off of and to like joke around with and say, you know, how did you sleep?

[00:16:20] What did you do? La la la, la. How's the husband? And again, now that I'm realizing, I used to just wake up, go live, get ready, do my face with my friends on TikTok, and then sit here at my computer and like knock out or attempt to knock out all the things on my to-do list alone on the computer. So when it comes to entrepreneurship, we know how important relationships are.

[00:16:41] What advice can you give about building relationships, both, you know, with other people in your industry, with potential mentors, with clients? Is there anything that you found to be really, really helpful that maybe nobody ever warned you about or told you, Hey, this is a good idea?

[00:16:56] Chloe Barnes: Um, I think for me, uh, [00:17:00] the idea of networking can be overwhelming. Um, I don't, I don't like being too under pressure in really social environments. Um, but one thing that I do enjoy is having a few select. Close friends who are like my support group, they don't necessarily all know each other, but they are people who, if they're having a problem, they know they can DM me.

[00:17:29] And you know, it's always, it's always exciting. It's always a special moment when you open up your dms and you've got like five voice messages from one person and you know you're about to hear some tea and it's just great, uh, cause no one gets it. Like the people who are, you know, doing this in their own businesses as well.

[00:17:46] Um, and so, you know, I have a, I have a few people that, uh, I'm close with Now. Some of them are copywriters as well. Some of them are former clients of mine. But these are people who, they get it, you know, they, they've [00:18:00] been through it, they're out there creating content. They get burnt out like I do. And you know, you've gotta have that network, even if it doesn't look like the traditional, massive slack group where everyone's talking all day.

[00:18:11] You just gotta have your people.

[00:18:12] Melanie Branch: Absolutely. I really couldn't agree more. And then when it comes to pressure and stress running your own business or businesses, uh, I mean, there's such a mindset, mindset shift that has to happen when you go from being an employee to being the ceo, right? So, How do you manage the pressure and the stress?

[00:18:28] I am a huge proponent of self-care, and when I say self-care, I'm not talking about a weekly massage or a day at the spa. I am talking about every decision that I make is based on how it's going to affect me, good or bad. And if it's a bad thing, I'm gonna do everything in my wheelhouse and my capabilities to not do that.

[00:18:47] So what does self-care look like to you? How do you handle that pressure?

[00:18:50] Chloe Barnes: So I handled it really, really poorly in my first year of like full-time freelancing. I said yes to everything. I, I [00:19:00] completely burnt myself out and ended up like having panic attacks. Wasn't sleeping for days at a time. So I would highly not recommend doing the Say Yes to everything thing. Um, but I've really, in the last six months, Started prioritizing and listening to the gut feeling that I have When something comes up, when there's an opportunity or something, like I get an inquiry.

[00:19:26] If there's a part of me that goes, I don't know if I really wanna do this, that is a sign that I should not be doing it. And you know, there's. There is a realistic part of it that's like, okay, so you've got to do things to keep the money coming in, but when there's a very clear sign from your gut that is saying, you don't really want to be doing this, that is a symptom, that there is something in your business that needs to be addressed.

[00:19:54] So I'm doing all of that stuff now. Um, and changing the way that I do my business [00:20:00] and turning it more into a, like a content creation business rather than a, like, done for you service provider model, because I just realized that actually wasn't serving me super well. And so I'm, I'm changing.

[00:20:15] Melanie Branch: I love that. You know, I've toyed around back and forth with done for you services and adding them to. Uh, you know, my offers because I do love content creation and with all of my one-on-one clients that work in a three or six month capacity with me, content creation or like social media strategy comes up in every single call.

[00:20:37] I. Um, because like, you know, there's a way to get your brain thinking in terms of content creation. So when you're going about your everyday life, like I'm a big, uh, big believer in going for a W A L K regularly, daily, if you can. So really I can't say it cause the four leggeds are around and they'll get too excited.

[00:20:57] Um, I can't, I even got really [00:21:00] excited earlier when somebody hopped on at the neuro spicy Academy and I heard 'em in my headphones, but I wasn't at my computer and I was like, who's here? And they like flipped their shit cuz they thought somebody was almost like, no, stop boys, you're too smart. I can't deal with this.

[00:21:12] Um, so when it comes to content creation strategy and helping people create fantastic content for their own brand, it's like, Do you ever feel that moment of like, why don't I get this many great ideas for my own business?

[00:21:24] Chloe Barnes: Oh, all the time. My gosh, there's always things that I like. I get ideas for people, and if I was you, I would so be doing this, and you really wanna help them because you just get these constant little like sparks and you wanna run with it, and you wanna be helpful because you know, you know you can help.

[00:21:44] But the, the question isn't whether you can, the question is whether you should. And a lot of the time for, for me, I don't have the energy to, to do all of that. So I overcommit and, you know, end up burning myself out. [00:22:00] So I need to say no. Okay. I can't do that before, before I offer it.

[00:22:04] Melanie Branch: Yeah, absolutely. So you're getting me really excited. Does that mean you're going to be a coach now?

[00:22:10] Chloe Barnes: Uh, I'm, I'm headed that way. Uh, yeah, I'd, I'd like to be able to expand my, uh, my reach a little bit and cause, you know, doing the done for you service pro providing thing is really good, but it's, you're very capped at how much you can actually achieve because you're, you're, it's one-on-one work and.

[00:22:32] Melanie Branch: Yeah.

[00:22:32] Chloe Barnes: I, I know that I am really good at, you know, at doing a lot of things in.

[00:22:39] In a small business capacity, like as a solopreneur, I'm really scrappy and, you know, we, we all go through that first year and I'd love to be able to help more people with that because I see so many small business owners struggling to create great content for themselves, and I've found that so enjoyable and I'd love to be able to help people [00:23:00] do it and to, to experience the success that I was able to achieve through getting good at content.

[00:23:07] Melanie Branch: You know, there's two kinds of business owners and entrepreneurs in this world. The ones that love making content, and the ones that are waiting until they can pay somebody else to do it or pay somebody else to do it.

[00:23:17] Chloe Barnes: So true.

[00:23:17] Melanie Branch: It just for me, right? It lifestyle has been the most important, uh, thing to monitor and track and change and transition into as a neurodivergent entrepreneur because my energy fluctuates so much and it is on a cycle, but it still unpredictable at times. And so really breaking down those tasks. Every day that are on my to-do list between the muggle tasks, which is like the stuff that is not fun.

[00:23:45] And then the magical task, which is the stuff that is fun I do with all the members of the Neuro Spicy Academy and in my Time Hackers workshop. And of course my client. And to me, it's so interesting when people put content creation in the [00:24:00] muggle column and not the magical column.

[00:24:02] Chloe Barnes: Yeah, I, yeah, I, I agree. I think you're either a, you're either somebody who loves making the content and it comes naturally, but I think even if you're a person who doesn't enjoy creating content, um, maybe you just haven't found the content for you. Cuz I feel like there is a type of content that is like, resonates with.

[00:24:23] Everyone, there's, there's something for everyone in content creation, and for me, I think it's just a question of finding which one fits you best.

[00:24:31] Melanie Branch: Absolutely. I really couldn't agree more. I'm so excited that, listen, if you need my take, which I know you don't, you're gonna be the most fantastic coach, and I've seen it in you all along ever since the first time you popped up on my fps, whichever it was, and I went, oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. My spirit guides were real loud about you.

[00:24:48] My spirit guides are very loud about certain people and they tell me, Them. When I see somebody's content for the first time and I go, oh, this is interesting. Lemme go check them out. Like them, you're gonna work with them. And I'm like, okay, how? When, why? In what capacity? I don't get anything [00:25:00] more than them, obviously free will, God damn it.

[00:25:02] So, I'm really excited to watch your, you know, your transition and you really embody the the coach that you naturally are. Cause when I tell you, I tell you, everybody listening when I tell you this woman can break down. and concepts and all sorts of stuff so that any person can understand it without being condescending.

[00:25:22] I've seen a lot of condescending people on social media lately, and you're really incredible at it. Is it, is that how you are with your kids and your friends? Like have you always been able to break things down?

[00:25:32] Chloe Barnes: Hmm. I think it's something I've had to practice. It doesn't necessarily, um, I, I, I think in some ways maybe, but when I think about how I explain things to other people, really, I just, I get excited about things and I wanna share that excitement with people and. In order to get them excited as well, they need to be at the same level of knowledge that I am about it so that they can see the possibilities and see where it could [00:26:00] go.

[00:26:00] Um, and so you, you kind of have to figure out how to explain that in a way that's gonna like get them to see why it's so great. And that's what I love about it. Like I love social media trends. They're so fascinating to me. And just some of them are so meta and they go back. Literally decades and you just, you don't even know if you don't like I'm, I am chronically online, but not in the way that I've never had any life experience outside of the internet.

[00:26:29] I just spend too much time on TikTok and I really love it. But, ah, once, once you start dipping a toe into meme history, like you, you can go down rabbit holes. It's so interesting. I love it.

[00:26:41] Melanie Branch: Listen, I have teenage sons and I speak and text, well, I text in, uh, gifs or gifs, whatever it is we're supposed to call it. And you know, my, my sons who are 13 and almost 15, You know, mom, nobody sends a gift. Like I was like, what about a meme? And they're like, well, memes are okay. I'm like, A gift is just a moving meme.[00:27:00]

[00:27:00] Have this please. Thank you. Um, but I'm sure you're way too that sending peoples is a love language.

[00:27:08] Chloe Barnes: It totally Is. It totally, if I send you TikTok, it's because I think you're wonderful. Like that's, that's just because I, I, I really do, except for my best friend. I don't send TikTok to people who are already on TikTok. I send them to the people who I know refuse to download the platform because I'm like, you're gonna be seeing this on Instagram in like two months, but I need you to see it now.

[00:27:28] Melanie Branch: Yep. Absolutely. That's so interesting that you say that cuz I'm finding now I don't use Facebook for my business. Obviously I have a Facebook for my business cuz I have an Instagram and those two have to be hooked up. Um, but people are reaching out to me and saying, Hey, I saw your video on Facebook and it had, or on Twitter, somebody reposted my thing on Twitter and it had 200,000.

[00:27:48] I don't know if it's a View or I don't know what it's called over there on Twitter, but the fluidity. Of really good content and people reposting it on social media channels. Um, what do you think it [00:28:00] is that makes a piece of content that good and that shareable and not controversial and sparking hatred from portions of the internet?

[00:28:08] Chloe Barnes: Yeah, you gotta be, it's, it's gotta be the relatability factor when you get people seeing themselves in your content and being able to go, Hey, that's me. Um, that's when you start to get people sharing it because it's, it's like a little bit of clout every time they find a person who's like them, but who they simultaneously admire and aspire to be more like.

[00:28:33] Um, it's, it's kind of marketing yourself indirectly, um, and curating this persona of yourself. It, you have to factor in the type of content that you share as well as the type of content that you create. Because if you wanna be a certain way, um, if you wanna be seen a certain way by your audience, whether your audience is your business crowd, or you know, just the people who follow you because they're your [00:29:00] friends and family and all that, there's, there's your personality.

[00:29:03] That is, you know, a component of it is what you're sharing as well as what you are creating. Social media is not just about creation, it's about curation, and you are what you curate as well as what you create.

[00:29:18] Melanie Branch: absolutely. So I'm gonna ask you, I'm gonna share with you an example so that you know exactly where I'm taking this. One of the most powerful reframes for effective copywriting that I have learned is to use the word you, not me. On everything, right? So if you want to create content that is inspired by your life, right?

[00:29:37] Because I include shit that goes down in my life in my content cuz it's, you know who I, who my ideal clients are, go through similar things that I do. So I know they're going to relate and identify with that sort of stuff. But instead of saying when I got into hot water on social media and my words got moved around, well you just say when you.

[00:29:58] And then that way when somebody's [00:30:00] reading it, they're like, oh my gosh, this person's talking about me. How do they know? So give us a tip or two, uh, to really improve the impact of our copy and our content if you would be so kind.

[00:30:11] Chloe Barnes: Hmm. I guess to improve the impact of your, your content is to think about how you're appearing. First off, it's not even about your copy. This is about your energy. If you show up and you, you're like, there's. There's something in that that's gonna make people instantly swipe. But if there's movement, if there's color, if there's light, if there's, you know, a smiling face, something that looks joyful, um, people are going to be so much more drawn to that.

[00:30:43] There are gonna be the, you have like portion of a second to be able to get somebody to stop their scroll and. You're that energy that you bring in that first frame, this is where editing comes into it. You can edit to make sure that [00:31:00] you're like showing up with that first key frame. That's, that is one of the things that I would recommend you, you actually put some time and attention into.

[00:31:09] I don't always get it right. Sometimes I screw this up massively. But you know, in a perfect world you would do this amazingly, every single time. Um, but the impact I think as well is don't sacrifice your own personality for the sake of wanting to come across a certain way. You are good enough as the person that you are, because if you are copying somebody else's, Vibe, their words, their content, their, you know, communication style.

[00:31:41] You're going to come unstuck because that's unsustainable for you. It will unravel eventually, and then people will be confused because they're like, well, this isn't, this doesn't sound like you, but they never knew you to begin with. And also there's already that person out there doing that in their way, and there are [00:32:00] plenty of people who aren't going to like them and aren't going to resonate with them and aren't going to want to learn from them.

[00:32:06] They may want to learn from you instead because they like your personality better.

[00:32:10] Melanie Branch: Yeah.

[00:32:10] Chloe Barnes: There's some people who just can't stand swearing on social media and I say, fuck every like two seconds. So it is like, I am clearly not for the people who don't like swearing, so

[00:32:21] Melanie Branch: Yeah.

[00:32:22] Chloe Barnes: yeah.

[00:32:22] Melanie Branch: I love that. Oh my God, I love that. I'm so glad that I've been able to talk to you. All right, so before we get into the lightning round of neuro Divergent, a special question, please plug your spot and tell everyone listening how they can find out more about you, how they can work with you. Give us all the deeps.

[00:32:38] Chloe Barnes: Okay, so I am super focusing on my YouTube channel at the moment. There's not a lot there at the moment, but please, please don't do me on YouTube. It's the right Chloe, w r i t e c h l o e. And that's my handle on everything. I'm mostly active on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube now. Um, so come and give me a follow.

[00:32:58] I'm gonna be teaching people [00:33:00] stuff for free and I've got a newsletter you can subscribe through all the usual links in bio, all that kind of jazz. And yeah, so if you're a small business owner, a solopreneur, or a creator, I'm gonna be helping you this year.

[00:33:13] Melanie Branch: I'm so excited for that. Yay. And of course, everything will be linked to the video. Oh, I took it. Let me see if I can remember the questions I took.

[00:33:20] Oh, did you see me?

[00:33:21] Chloe Barnes: I can see you now

[00:33:22] Melanie Branch: Okay. First and foremost, what is your favorite social media platform?

[00:33:26] Chloe Barnes: TikTok.

[00:33:26] Melanie Branch: Yeah. Um, have you had any water today?

[00:33:29] Chloe Barnes: It's here. It's it's here. But have I, I've had a little bit. This is what I've managed to drink. Not enough. I'm gonna have to finish this after this.

[00:33:38] Melanie Branch: Is that also your, so is that also your emotional support water cup?

[00:33:42] Chloe Barnes: It goes everywhere with me, literally everywhere. Sometimes it gets drunk, sometimes it doesn't.

[00:33:47] Melanie Branch: that is what we like to hear. I mean, getting it all in is difficult, but having it nearby is the first step in the right direction. We all know that.

[00:33:57] Chloe Barnes: Yes.

[00:33:57] Melanie Branch: know that. Um, all right, question number three. What [00:34:00] is the most recent rabbit hole? Rabbit hole you've gone down.

[00:34:03] Chloe Barnes: Oh. Uh, I was researching, uh, middle of funnel content and ended up like with about 20 YouTube tabs open, and I then I discovered, um, An entire series of content marketing Chat GPT prompts, and it just went to a whole place that it didn't need to, and I got overwhelmed and closed all of the tabs if I go without doing anything.

[00:34:27] Melanie Branch: Sounds about right. Uh, I am a firm believer in having two kinds of shows to watch as a neuros, spicy entrepreneur, the kind of shows that you watch to help you manifest the abundance that you're inviting in, and emotional support shows. So, uh, for example, selling Sunset is coming out with its sixth season in a few days.

[00:34:47] Super excited. That's a manifesting show, but my emotional support show, uh, ranges from things like Veep, Silicon Valley, um, uh, I love Parks and Rec, that sort of stuff. So what is your emotional support show or your [00:35:00] manifesting show? Whichever one you want.

[00:35:02] Chloe Barnes: Okay, so my emotional support show is Shits Creek. That's,

[00:35:06] Melanie Branch: Ah, that's a good one too. Yay.

[00:35:07] Chloe Barnes: I just, you just can't go past like the, it's so delightful. It just, you know, comfort.

[00:35:12] Melanie Branch: Yeah, absolutely. All right, and then my last question, and this is my favorite one because I'm in the market for a new one. What is your current dopamine snack or meal?

[00:35:21] Chloe Barnes: Well, I'm, I'm on a mission to re uh, this is this. Don't hate me for this. You're gonna really find me so boring. But I'm on a mission to start enjoying. Salads again. So I'm like, I make salads that are not to quote Elise Myers that are delicious, not healthy. And so these are like, these are like, there's toasted nuts.

[00:35:43] There's like candy, bacon, there's like little bits of things and delicious homemade dressings because I've been so bored with salads lately and I'm on a mission to re rejo them again.

[00:35:55] Melanie Branch: You know they, in traditional Chinese medicine, eating cold, uh, [00:36:00] vegetables is not always the best. Have you ever tried a warm seizure salad?

[00:36:04] Chloe Barnes: I have actually been putting broccoli and like steamed broccoli and, uh, steamed green veggies into my salads that I've been making too. Yep. Because it just, it elevates them. It just like, Roasted peppers takes it to the next level, just

[00:36:21] Melanie Branch: Absolutely. Yay. Well, we totally approve of your dopamine meals, and I'm here to fully support you in all of that because we can eat healthy and we can eat for dopamine at the same time.

[00:36:34] Chloe Barnes: yes.

[00:36:34] Melanie Branch: At the same time. Yay. Well, thank you so much for being on Chloe again. I have fan girl this entire time and everybody made sure that you go follow Chloe on all the socials, but especially on YouTube.

[00:36:45] Chloe Barnes: Thanks. Thanks so much.

[00:36:46] Melanie Branch: You're so welcome. All right, bye guys.