Becky Mollenkamp is a mindset coach who helps people make the shift from ‘small business owner’ to CEO and create sustainable businesses without burning out. Through her Gutsy Boss brand, she has helped thousands of clients let go of the ‘shoulds’ and define success on their terms.

With nearly 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur — including owning a six-figure content marketing agency before starting her coaching business in 2015 — Becky learned what works for her when it comes to building an audience.

We recently checked in with Becky to reflect on her creator journey. Her business has evolved since she started coaching seven years ago, and so has her approach to audience building.

Today, three principles drive Becky’s marketing:

  1. You don’t have to follow the latest social media trends

  2. Choose long-term strategies over instant gratification

  3. Protect your work-life harmony to build a business that lasts

It seems like a new marketing trend pops up every day. Trying to keep up can be a fast track to feeling overwhelmed and distracted from your priorities. Becky has made the conscious decision to focus instead on the tactics and channels that work for her.

Right now, that means moving away from social media platforms that cause more stress than success.

“I am really reaching the end of my rope with social media,” she explains. “I’ve left Facebook, which feels fantastic. And Instagram, I’m not spending too much time there either.”

Becky’s guiding principle, letting go of the ‘shoulds’, also applies to social media, especially if you’re trying to avoid doing too much at once.

“It just starts to feel like a lot. Now I’ve got to create a TikTok, and then I have to create a separate Reel… a photo in addition to video. I also have to have a really thought-provoking idea for Twitter. And then I need to have something on Medium. It’s too much,” Becky describes.

“I think we are reaching that place of overwhelm as a society, and people are starting to say, ‘I have to shift something.’”

If you want to build a presence on multiple channels — social media, email, a blog, video, or all of the above — without burning out, consider repurposing your content.

Instead of creating something new from scratch for each platform, find new ways to use the work you’ve already done. For example, you can turn a YouTube video into shorter clips for TikTok and Instagram Reels, and the video transcript can become the basis of a newsletter or blog post.

Relying too heavily on social media platforms and algorithms also makes it hard for creators to own their audiences. You can miss out on opportunities to build relationships, monetize your audience, make sure your followers see your content, and grow your business.

What does it look like when you do own your audience? You communicate with them through a platform or channel that you control, like your email list, online community, or website.

Here’s how Becky explains the importance of email for owning your audience.

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2. Choose long-term strategies over instant gratification

After nearly two decades as an entrepreneur, Becky knows what marketing methods work best for her. Now, she finds herself returning to those tried-and-true techniques — even if they take a little bit longer to pay off.

When you’re building a business, it can be tempting to look for marketing tactics that pay off quickly. It’s easy to feel discouraged when you don’t see instant results, but the strategies that take more time and effort upfront often lead to more genuine, lasting connections with your audience.

The kind of work Becky does requires vulnerability and honesty from her clients, so they need to feel safe with her before committing to coaching. Consistent communication through her email newsletter helps establish that trust.

“Before people do one-on-one work with me, they usually are on my email list for six months or a year,” she explains. “I’m emailing them every week and for them to get to know me. A small percentage of them buy something small, and then, after a long time, the people who are going to be my one-on-one clients will finally invest [in coaching].”

Most people on Becky’s email list find her through free content, like a lead magnet or her podcast.

The Gutsy Boss Podcast is another key piece of Becky’s long-game strategy. “That’s taken a long time to pay off,” says Becky. “I’ve been doing my podcast for four years, and I’m just now starting to get where every month I’m having growth in that audience.”

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Another one of those tactics is search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO means making your website, content, and products easier for people to find via search engines. Optimized content shows up higher in search results for relevant keywords and phrases. The more you optimize your content, the easier it is for your target audience to discover it through search.

Becky ran a content marketing agency before becoming a coach, and SEO has stood the test of time across careers.

“SEO is an old standby that works,” she says. “SEO is a long game, but it’s one that pays dividends. Instead of putting out one thing that has a shelf life of two minutes, SEO is a shelf life that goes on for years.”

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Because she optimizes her blog and website content with her specific audience in mind, potential clients can discover Becky’s content through search. Once they do, the value she offers and her unique perspective keep them reading, listening, subscribing, and often becoming clients.

“I become the no-brainer because there wasn’t someone else answering that question in that way. If it was the last answer they got to, then it was the answer that resonated, which means I was answering in the way that they needed to hear it, and then they’re going to want to work with me.”

Finally, Becky finds herself networking (what she calls an “old school way of marketing”) and working with that network to reach more potential clients.

“Getting out and talking to my existing network, doing old-school in-person networking to meet new people… being able to get in front of other people’s audiences has been very helpful, whether that’s summits or just partnering with people,” she says.

What do all of these audience-building techniques have in common? They help Becky maintain a vital work-life harmony, which has become more important than ever for creators over the past few years.

3. Protect your work-life harmony to grow a business that lasts

“It felt like, all of a sudden, every business was an online business during the pandemic. And I think that led to sort of this mass burnout,” Becky recalls. “I’m feeling it from a lot of people: We’re all just kind of burned out with running an online business.”

Becky focuses on finding ways to grow her audience and business without sacrificing the life she has built and wants to continue to lead. “I have a family, and I want to have a life. I don’t want my life to be creating content all the time.”

“How do I make the best choices that allow me to live my life, but also still grow my audience?”

Productivity and growth can be wonderful things, but not when they come at the expense of your mental health.

“I want to think about how I use my time the most efficiently, not because I want to get more done, but because I actually want to have a life.”

Let go of the ‘shoulds’ and build the business that’s right for you

Becky coaches her clients to build businesses without burning out, and it’s clear that comes from years of finding that balance herself.

Her business has come a long way since her first course launched on Podia in 2018. But the heart and soul of her coaching — helping others let go of those ‘shoulds’ — remains steadfast in her content, products, and own approach to growth.

Read Becky’s full creator story here, and sign up for your 30-day free trial of Podia to start growing your business on your terms.