Simple Ways to Amplify Your Voice | Dr. Nikeya Young x Shani Fay Allman | VLS Podcast Ep 85

Let me start by saying this: if you've been sitting on starting that podcast, blog, or newsletter for MONTHS (or years!), you're not alone. But honey, today's episode is your permission slip to JUST START ALREADY!

I recently had the absolute joy of interviewing my visibility sister-from-another-mister, Shani Fay Allman from Two Pecans and a Peach LLC. We showed up twinning (unplanned!) and spent our time breaking down why perfect is the enemy of done when it comes to visibility strategies.

The Confidence Conundrum

One of the biggest visibility mistakes Shani sees with her clients? Confidence issues. She works with brilliant experts who know their stuff inside and out, but they get hung up on how to translate that expertise into content.

As Shani put it: "They're afraid to make mistakes in public."

THAT'S the thing holding so many of us back. We forget that it's not that we're not experts in our field - we're just learning this new lane of visibility.

"Stop aiming for perfect and just aim for real." - Shani Fay Allman

Y'all, we're going to make that into a meme because it's THAT good!

The Procrastination Problem

Let's be real - technical details like "finding the perfect microphone" or "researching the best camera" are often just sophisticated forms of procrastination. Meanwhile, there's a whole culture of "streamer bros" (as I call them) who are just being themselves - sometimes goofy, sometimes silly - and making BANK.

They're not overthinking their setup or haircut or whether they're saying the right thing. They're just showing up authentically, and people are watching!

SEO Simplified

If you're creating content, particularly video content, Shani recommends focusing on YouTube because:

1. It's Google for video

2. Your content stays evergreen (unlike some social platforms)

3. Once monetized, it pays better than other platforms

4. You can make money from videos that are 2-3 years old!

Her SEO advice? Identify no more than four key words related to your brand pillars and make sure they appear in your title, description, or content of EVERY video. For Shani, "visibility" is one of those words, so she makes sure it's in every piece of content she creates.

Why Long-Form Content Still Matters

Despite all the buzz about short-form content, Shani emphasized that long-form content is still crucial. Studies show that people are actually trying to balance their content consumption and looking for deeper dives.

As I explained, it's not that people have shorter attention spans - they just don't have time for BS. They're becoming more selective, focusing on quality over quantity.

The LinkedIn Newsletter Hack

One visibility strategy I'm excited to try is LinkedIn newsletters. Shani broke down how to set one up:

• Don't just write an article - specifically select "newsletter" from the dropdown menu

• When people subscribe, LinkedIn will send it directly to their email

• Use Canva to create section headers that break up the text visually

• Include lead magnets to move people from LinkedIn to your email list

The Joy Factor

As always, I asked Shani what brings her joy, because finding simple joys is central to my philosophy. For her, it's crafting (she was a baker for 12 years!) and spending time with her teenage daughters who - amazingly - still want to hang out with her!

Your Permission Slip

If this resonated with you, consider this your permission slip to start that visibility project you've been putting off. Remember, your first episode/post/newsletter will probably be your worst - and that's perfectly fine! The point is to start and keep improving.

Need more support? Visit victoriouslivingsolutions.com/resources for free downloadables to help simplify your life, including my goal-setting worksheet and the "remix worksheet" to help process negative thought patterns.

Let's stop overthinking and start showing up!

What visibility strategy are you going to commit to THIS WEEK? Drop me a comment and let me know!