In this episode...

Sophia Noreen: Hello, everyone. Welcome to another fantastic episode of the Boss It Podcast. Today, we're going to be listening to an interview that I had with a previous student who took Influencer Marketing Made Easy, and I was astounded by what I had to hear. I actually did not understand how much impact the course had on her and how the program had basically optimized her marketing strategies. So I do apologize in advance because the audio on my end is a little bit quieter. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. And I hope that you get a little bit of insight into what our student, Tasmeea, has achieved. Because I think that many new business owners can really take their marketing strategies to the next level by using influencer marketing, and she is a perfect example of somebody who did achieve the results she was looking for. And she went through the transformation where she was very confident after taking the course on her approach with different content creators and influencers. Okay, let's get on with our show. And I hope you get a lot out of this interview. 

Hi, Tasmeea, how are you? Thanks for joining us. 

Tasmeea: Yes, thanks for having me. 

Sophia Noreen: Everyone else is so happy that you're here because you are one of our Founding members of Influencer Marketing Made Easy. I want to understand too, how the program had gone for you? What did you accomplish? But before y'all that, I want to understand what is your business? Tell us a little bit about you and your business. 

Tasmeea: My name is Tasmeea. I am a children's book author and illustrator, as well as the Founder of a personalized children's book brand for little Muslim kids. I actually published an e-book that you can personalize. I don't know if you can't see it. And then you put the child's name, and then you can actually personalize the story inside as well. It's pretty cool. Please do check it out. It's on our website. It's www.wishuponmystory.com, and then we have a new book that's coming up that we're going to be launching soon, Inshallah. And this one is called, Subhan Allah, You and you can also personalize that. It's actually a really beautiful story about how a Muslim child growing up and just showing appreciation to Allah. And it has highlighted the Aqiqah, some of the birth rituals that we do. It's just a very sweet story like a love letter type of thing from a parent to a child. So yes, I create personalized books. 

Sophia Noreen: But your husband's involvement in the business? 

Tasmeea: He's the programmer. 

Sophia Noreen: Okay, wonderful. Wonderful. If anybody is looking to shop for Eid and Ramadan, now is a good time to go on your website and just go and personalize your books. I did it last year for two presents. They loved it. So, guys, that's Tasmeea's product and her business. And she joined Influencer Marketing Made Easy. Why did you join the program? What were your thoughts going through your head? 

Tasmeea: I started actually last year. I would be, basically, with zero knowledge of marketing. I'm a creator, and that's what I like to do. I like to just be on my own and just create. That's like my favorite thing does. So when it comes to marketing, it's always like an unknown realm for me. I tried to understand how I can try to put my product out there and get my Bible. But it's COVID, we're in a very weird situation. Of course, Allah knows best. We try our best with whatever we're given. And your course just came at the right time because now that I've had a little bit of exposure to the social media market but now, I understand that there are who are great at selling, like more of the influencers. There's basically a little role for everyone in this ecosystem that we call Instagram. It took me some time to even get my head wrapped around this. Like, okay, how does one even go about this whole thing? I'm basically a newbie, I would say. Okay, what was great is that your course basically takes it from the very beginning. It defines everything. Basically, you don't really need to have that much knowledge in marketing from looking at the original. Any kind of pre-knowledge in marketing, if you don't have it, you'll be just fine. And I was very surprised at how easily I grasped it, how well it was explained. If you want to go into detail, let me know because I was really happy. 
 
Sophia Noreen: I'm super happy that you're happy because I gave you guys everything that I felt was required. But you're right. If we start explaining something and you don't have any foundation, people can get lost. Being a small business, not having a big budget, what can we leverage right now? We can't go print ads, that's not even worth it anymore. But people will say, radio or TV. Those are the traditional ways. And even right now, when I speak to bigger brands, their marketing agency, we call to do surveys or whatnot. They'll ask for help and surveys. And I'm shocked that they're not using influencer marketing and social media selling. Unlike the small brands, they've got scrappy. They've gotten creative. And unfortunately, and fortunately, it's worked in our favor because we're not spending the big budgets. If you have a big budget, sure, you can do the Google ads. Influencer marketing, is a hit or miss, but I always say if you've gotten your right IC, I'd call it, your ideal customer, you know who your influencers are and you collect the right ones because that's where the bridge gets lost. And I don't know, Tasmeea, if you had any epiphanies during the program about how did you find that you were identifying the correct influencers for your book? 

Tasmeea: Yes, yes. Honestly, I didn't know who was my ideal client, or am I right to put influencers and how to even go about finding them, or choosing the right one? It's a little bit of, especially for us, the new business owners who are just starting out. Where we put our investment really does matter. We don't really have that much to play around with. You could try all different stories and find out by making lots of mistakes, or you go to the right person, you learn the right technique and you do it right from the get-go. And at this point, I can just speak from a beginner's experience. But I'm sure even for those who are more experienced, I'm sure they would want to know more of a quantitative way so that there's no guessing game out there. I didn't realize how quantitative it could be like how measurable everything could be up to a point it's almost scientific. The way you have it explained, it totally makes sense. And I think that was the biggest thing. And I was like, oh my God, like you could actually put a number. I have no idea. So yes, I think that was one of the big things. So it gave me confidence as well in approaching the right people. And if things don't work out, then you know, oh wait, it's normal because you have to try to a certain number based on what your goal is. Everything just makes sense.

Sophia Noreen: Tasmeea says quantitative, we actually go through a pretty detailed spreadsheet in the program. The reason we do that is that the whole idea is we want you to make a calculated and objective decision when picking your influencers. It's so easy for people to just select people because either they've been suggested or you just look at the vanity metrics, which we talk about like followers. And that's not always the right way of doing things. Every creative will have its own rate sheet. They'll have their own price point, and it gets very confusing. It becomes confusing for people. So we put those things into a very objective perspective. So you, as the brand, who is the business owner and entrepreneur can make a decision based on your actual budget. And you talk about the budget.

I'm super happy that that'll work out because as everyone knows, I did it because we're on Also Sophia's platforms, so people saw. We did two pretty good campaigns, I would say. And so the campaigns were successful. Last year, we didn't have much of a following, actually. I think maybe we started off, I can look back at my book but I only had three grand, 3000 followers. We weren't doing any ads. Really new to the scene. The year before that, we started getting traction. But our story was, we were still pretty new. But the influencer marketing pushed us to another level in the community. People are like, why do we keep seeing this for girls' products? So that's the reason why I would put it together because people are asking for help. So I'm happy that you had a good experience. Any feedback for me or for any of the entrepreneurs who might be considering it? 

Tasmeea: I'm just glad that you're offering this. I was like, oh my God. Yes, this is a no-brainer because when I started Instagram, I thought it was through Soviet because I saw you guys in Indigo first. And then I started following you, guys. And then it was just like a year or a year and a half, you just skyrocketed. And I was just like, what just happened? And I'm like, okay, Noreen, you got to tell me, what did you do? We all saw the amazing campaigns that you did. Everyone saw that. And it was like, bam, bam, bam, bam. And what you accomplished was amazing. Alhamdulillah. And that itself was just proof that, okay, there's something there that we really shouldn't be listening to you. Yes, I'm just glad that you're offering it. And at this price point, it's almost like, okay, if I don't take it now, I know this is not going to be the price point in the future. So I'm like, I'm not going to miss this opportunity.

Sophia Noreen: It's a great investment, guys, because the reason why I say that is we will continue to update the course content and you have lifetime access. So as long as the course is still functioning and there's no reason to take it down. And even when we need to take it down, we'll give ample notice for you to download all the videos and all the slides and all the Google sheets, which I recommend everyone use for every campaign. Because you shouldn't be walking into any campaign with an influencer or content creator without having a good understanding of what are their metrics and how much they could potentially earn for you, comparing that to what they're going to ask for. So I know it sounds a little bit complicated, but the reason it sounds complicated is that I'm not going to be able to explain the whole strategy right now without the lesson with me. But the takeaway is that you need to have a more objective way. And at the same time, I don't want people to be scared of influencer marketing because it is so impactful for small business owners. Have you tried influencer marketing in the past? 

Tasmeea: No, I have not. It was kind of random, like giveaways that I used to join. And yes, I gained followers but I'm just not sure how much of that is actually transconverting. I didn't have the tools to measure all that. Initially, I thought it was all about the followers, but it's not. I was really wrong. But it's okay, because what it is just you get yourself out there more so that you show up more and they get to know you more and they know who you are and why you're doing it. But no, I have not tried to influence the way that you have taught. And I just want to add that your one-on-one, your live group sessions are amazing.

Sophia Noreen: Oh, good.

Tasmeea: Yes, I love that. Basically, each of us has a unique product and a unique niche market. And you were able to basically answer questions for all of us, case by case. And that was amazing because that just goes to show you that this technique or this marketing technique is something that is applicable to service, product, or whatever that you're working on. There will be a niche influencer for that and you can go as a model that applies to a lot of ground. 

Sophia Noreen: Yes, this marketing technique can be definitely applied to service. It can be applied to products. And the strategy for teaching, well, what we do is supplement the lesson with one of the bonuses, which is an hour per minute, which is great because I liked doing it that way so then everybody is listening. And you'd be surprised. Sometimes you take away from what other people are asking. 

Tasmeea: Exactly, yes. And that's what's happened. I learned I think from just other people's questions and their struggles. You learn a lot because most likely, you may also encounter that. 

Sophia Noreen: Yes, that's right. A few concepts came up and we had three or four people asking the same thing. And the group learned from each other as well. 

Tasmeea: And we have the Facebook chat. 

Sophia Noreen: Yes, and maybe the people ask how's it going and whatnot. I was really happy to see that all of those techniques were working in tandem with the lesson and the spreadsheets and all that. But the videos, like appropriate, is there somewhere where you feel like you need more explanation? 

Tasmeea: No. I thought that was very self-explanatory. The slides as well as the written description, and then it was easy because everything was a little bit bite-sized. Everything was around 10 minutes long. So I could pace myself easily, but I didn't have to finish an hour-long module all at once. It was nice that it was broken down into different stages. So you could actually click the different steps that you actually want to focus more on. And then, of course, you were there the next Wednesday. Any question, we just asked you and you just explained it. It was amazing. You over-deliver. You basically answered a lot of questions that weren't even related to influencer marketing. It basically just shows you, you as a person. You just like to help. 

Sophia Noreen: Yes. That's the only reason I'm doing this. I felt like so many people are asking for help when it came to influencer marketing. And I just want our community to be able to put themselves out there with confidence. A lot of the time, it stems from within ourselves. And if you have the right information, you'll be even more confident. Because what can end up happening, it has and will continue is people will invest. And they don't have all the backbone information. So a very easy example that we can share is, it's confusing. When you deal with content creators or brand influencers, they may ask for payment upfront, or they may not do a service. And there's miscommunication, and the content is not delivered. And all of that stuff, all of those nuances, takes away from you as an entrepreneur and your energy level. Instead of worrying about all those things that could have been controlled and you're worried about it, you could have done something else for your business. So that's the reason why I feel like everybody fits by taking something like this. If they're considering to market through influencer marketing, I really truly do believe it is what will set you apart from your competition. It will basically do ahead with their brand name recognition. If you have a big hour-long lesson, then it becomes so meaty that then you feel like you're stuck in the same spot.

Tasmeea: Yes, and I love the bonuses. There's also one bonus that was about hiring. Hiring your first employee. And I love how you also outlined what to do because I think that's something a lot of us are wondering like when should we do it? Should we even do it? Do we invest first and then see the results after? It's a little bit of confusing water. So it's nice that you have a bonus on that as well. And I have not seen that yet in any other program. 

Sophia Noreen: Yes, it's a very important next step. So I hired, Hajra, who is our campaign manager. I needed her at that time. And I don't know if many people know this, but I lost my father in the middle of an influencer marketing campaign last year. It was suddenly in the middle of COVID, so we are dealing with so many other variables. And if I didn't have Hajra, I think I wouldn't have been able to sustain the entire campaign. With that said, our community is really supportive. They all knew each other so they were carrying on. But with that said, because of the service agreements, they knew exactly what needed to be done. So they weren't asking me those questions. What I'm trying to say is, you have to plan for those variables of the unknowns as a business owner. If you can afford to hire somebody, even as a contractor, I think it's definitely worth looking into. It's not for everybody. The PDFs, the worksheets, they're there for people to just look over. I didn't do a video for that one yet, but it's definitely a great stepping stone for you when you have the budget. And then the service agreements, I think everyone should have one. And that example could be not knowing what was going to happen. If the influencers didn't have direction, that campaign would have been gone.

Now that we're on the second time, she's doing it all herself. From the beginning to the end it's all her. I'm there if she needs me. I should get some budget, and she takes care of it. So it's that difference that you have. And I say this, we are going to start the Unstoppable. So Tasmeea and whoever else is watching from our community at the moment, from our Influencer Marketing Made Easy, everyone's getting access into Unstoppable as the Founders for that. And the individual who is also going to be in that community membership, her name is Anne, and she is amazing. Anne actually is also helping me in podcasting. And for her, it's really difficult to give up portions of her business because of its quality, how you edit the podcast, how do you edit the sound, how do you do all that stuff. And I said to her, it looks better than it's 80% to your standards rather than a 100% perfect done by you because you saved that time. I know when you hire somebody, it's not going to always get done at your standard. I compare it to my husband washing the dishes. I don't know if anybody else can relate to this, to the degree or to the perfect wash. But at the end of the day, at least it's done. It's simple and it's similar to that. So anyway, I'm happy with that bonus. 

Tasmeea: Yes, yes, for sure. And though I've heard about your father, actually, last year. And the fact that someone was able to just take over and doing it because it's really difficult to time for you, I think it still went so amazingly. I think that really went well, and you were able to eventually come back and continue. And even though it was really hard for you to have the support, it would be in your team, it just keeps you mentally intact. So yes, something, Inshallah, in the future I'll look into. But it was nice to have that little glimpse of what I should be thinking about in the long run like how do I want to grow my business. 

Sophia Noreen: That's it. I'm projecting that thought forward. So then when you feel ready or you feel the company's ready, you can. And we talked about it in that PDF slide. We talked about not hiring somebody full-time. We talked about where to find a contractor that's affordable. So that's great. I'm so happy. And then we have the productivity module, still, a part of the bonus that's still part of Influencer Marketing Made Easy, which we're going to talk about. It's Unstoppable. What is taught there applies to you and your circumstances. So that's the personal development piece that I think we all have. It's so difficult when we have so many pulling demands. And so far, this is great. If you guys do have questions, you can always DM me or, Tasmeea, are you open to DMs at all?

Tasmeea: Yes, for sure. Please do message me. And then I'll be happy to answer them. 

Sophia Noreen: You can go to wishuponmystory.com. And Tasmeea, for Eid and Ramadan, what's the last date for ordering to get it by Eid? 

Tasmeea: Yes. Do follow me because we're going to have some promotions happening soon. So you want to get on that for sure. But then there's going to be a VIP sale coming on for our new product. And that's going to be on February 15th. But you need to sign up for the VIP sale now because it's going to be a private sale. You're going to get a private link sent to your email. So I encourage you to just come and follow me. And there's a link in my bio to sign up for the VIP sale. That would be the best way to get the best deal on the new product. And then we're going to have some promotions. But it's not going to be as good as, of course, the early bird special. But make sure that you're on the VIP list. 

Sophia Noreen: Oh, you need to be on the VIP list to get the early bird special. Okay. So guys, if you're hopefully watching this before February 15th, head to wishuponmystory.com. Perfect. And if you guys have questions about the program, you can DM me or you can DM Tasmeea about her experience. And she also has a link to that as well. 

Tasmeea: Yes. Guys, join on it now before you'll be charged more because this course is worth way more than you're paying for it. Just letting everyone know because I already know because you can't raise enough for me. I shouldn't tell Noreen about joining. She's going to raise the price tonight, I know. 

Sophia Noreen: If it's the right move for you and your business, or even if you feel like your business is not there yet, these are things that I think you need to have the foundation. We do actually go through a spreadsheet on it to have enough margin to even have a marketing budget. A lot of people don't charge enough for their product. Tasmeea's suddenly hinting that I'm not charging enough either. Actually, she put me to have said it. So funny. That's all I have to say about that. Anything else to say before we end? 

Tasmeea: Thank you so much for having you over, Noreen. You're always a pleasure to talk to. 

Sophia Noreen: Oh my goodness. Saying, likewise, thank you for coming live and talking about your experience. I'm happy to hear the program is going well. 

Tasmeea: Yes, amazing. 

Sophia Noreen: I pray that your influencer marketing campaign will be full of success. 

Tasmeea: And show up. And this is like a technique that you can just rinse and repeat the next year and next year. So it's not just, okay, one year you do it. And you're like, okay, it does not apply next year. No. You just learn the technique. 

Sophia Noreen: That's right. I love that, rinse and repeat. The rest are about that. You can always, it, the lessons for fresher. People really get stuck on the ideal customer and connecting that bridge to your influencer. If you don't have the right barrier statement and the right motivation statement as to why they're purchasing or not purchasing your product, that in itself is the goal. You need to know that to be able to construct your entire campaign. So yes, you just have to keep going back and rinse and repeating. I love that. I love that. Okay, great. All right, guys. Okay, Tasmeea, thanks again. Any questions, reach out to me and Tasmeea. Inshallah. 
 
That's such a great episode. I'm thoroughly impressed with how Tasmeea was able to articulate the value that she drew out of Influencer Marketing Made Easy. I felt so good as a teacher as well on the fact that she not only was able to feel more confident when she work with influencers but now, she was able to predictably calculate the amount of revenue that she was able to actually predict as an outcome of the campaign. Now, I know for many business owners that this is scary because it's really taking your influencer marketing to the next level and your entire business to the next level. So completely understand. If you yourself have questions, I do encourage you to watch this masterclass. It is an on-demand masterclass. We'll have a link for it in the show notes. Especially if you're creative and you have a business, it can be served, it can be product-based, it doesn't matter. When you have social selling as a key marketing strategy, it really does elevate the game. And it makes it much easier on you as a business owner because now, you're not continuously marketing your strategies and continuously marketing your product and services. You can give it to somebody else to speak on your behalf as an influencer or content creator.  
 
Okay, enough about that. Again, guys, if you find these podcasts helpful, do share them with a friend. I know many of us are doing the solopreneur thing. We feel alone, we feel isolated. But if you have a business BFF or you know somebody else, or you know that you have people watching your social media accounts that may also be in business, do share this podcast with them because I know these tips and tricks do work, and I want everyone to elevate their business. Okay, guys, we'll see you again next week. Same time, the same place. And remember, make a plan and take action. And yes, you can have it all. Bye for now.  
 
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