'I think if it wasn't for my business, I would happily ditch all social media platforms. When did business start to = endless hours on a screen? How do we run a successful business and somehow avoid this?'
If you’re like us…the coaches, experts, solopreneurs, and small teams with 20,000 or less followers. Those of us without a 6-figure ad budget or a team of VAs. This grind hits differently. We don’t just want…we need…every damn minute online to count. We built businesses to enjoy life, not doom-scroll.
6 AM, eyes barely open, already reaching for my phone. Next thing I know, 2 hours vanished to scrolling, replying to overnight comments and DMs, thinking up a hook that might get my ideal client to click ‘more’ on today’s content sharing the tips my clients used to get 50% more event signups. Now my mint and thyme green tea is COLD.
Meanwhile, a 2-minute selfie with my tea and a ‘coffee or tea?’ poll would blow up my notifications. We love the connections, but damn, the grind—content, launches, networking events, tracking ‘optimal post time,’ stacking hacks like Legos—is brutal.
My feed and DMs are packed with business owners and coaches who are tired, frustrated, and…if we’re 100% honest…burned out from being unpaid content machines:
‘It really is such a waste of time when you look at it like that, but what is the answer? Especially for business?’
‘If I didn't have a business I'd spend waaaay less time on socials.’
‘Running a business now feels like half actual work, half content hamster wheel.’
I know I’ve said ALL these things (and more 😅).
Then 5 years ago, hitting post on my THIRD post of the day, I leaned back and thought, ‘Why the hell am I doing this?’
I flashed back to a fish story over cake with a local developer at a client’s birthday party. 6 weeks later, we signed a $600,000 landscaping contract over chocolate martinis. This where I decided to change the story.
I’ve signed million-dollar contracts with Giants like Walmart and Marriott. And if old-school companies like Hoover and Avon built empires knocking on doors, why the hell are we waiting for an algorithm to decide who sees us?
It’s no secret that talking to real people still wins. Every. Damn. Time.
So, why aren’t we doing the same to get clients from social media?
Subscribe to get my weekly anti-algorithm strategies that actually work for small business owners. No fluff, no bro-marketing BS—just proven conversation-first tactics that put you back in control of your business growth.
The Game Changed (But We Didn't)
Posting content used to get eyeballs…and clients. Not because it built warm and fuzzy best-friend relationships, but because the algorithms cranked your stuff to everyone.
You dropped content, and poof—clients.
Especially during the pandemic.
But now?
‘Post and they will come’ is dead. The algorithm demands more. OUR PEOPLE demand more connection.
Yet the same tired advice from bro-marketers and marketing strategists drones on:
‘Content is KING. Post daily, engage 10 minutes before and after, cross your fingers, and if it flops? You must’ve messed up.’
Bullshit. The stakes are higher and the reach…well, it’s still dropping, unless we dump those old, tired, outdated strategies and wise up.
‘Use my latest template’ just isn’t cutting it anymore.
The Numbers They Don’t Want You to See
This is the inconvenient math the ‘focus-on-content’ crowd hopes you won’t see—because it kicks the legs out from under their whole system:
- On LinkedIn, organic impressions are DOWN 65% from 2024 to 2025…BUT engagement is UP 12%.
- Facebook’s organic reach is now just 2.2% per post…BUT posts with active discussions receive up to 70% more impressions.
- Even on YouTube (not a social channel) videos with active, meaningful comment sections can see up to 3x higher recommendation rates.
Conversation-first strategies WORK. Just look at the numbers.
You can spend an hour creating content for 2.2% reach (if you’re lucky)…OR you could spend 30 minutes making 10 real connections and hit 100% of the right people.
Being real—if you’re sick of guessing what to say (or how to make those 10 real connections actually count and convert), I built the Clients from Comments Workshop for this exact ‘how do I freaking do it?’ moment.
(Want my favorite strategy for comments that actually lead to clients—not just likes? The link’s at the bottom. Or go ahead and scroll now if you’re in the ‘let’s do this’ camp.)
Context Is Everything (And Why What Works for Mega-Creators Will Kill YOUR Results)
Mega-creators and big brands like Alex Hormozi, Kim Kardashian, Gary Vee, people with 50,000+ followers, marketing agencies, and corporations like Microsoft can win on sheer volume and visibility. Content-first works if you have 50,000+ followers, people sharing on your behalf, or a company behind you.
For the rest of us with a few thousand loyal followers and no ad budget? The coaches, founders, and scrappy teams hustling without a million views or a marketing department? The rules are different. We need relationships, not just reach.
Conversation…real, human connection…beats content every time. That’s the anti-algo playbook that actually works for us.
Too many of us have built our strategy on tactics meant for celebs and huge brands: high-volume content, algorithm-chasing, endless templates. For smaller businesses, taking big-league advice never works. So, that playbook isn’t just outdated…for us, it’s a broken compass.
What wins are real conversations that build real trust and real relationships. We’re not playing the influencer numbers game. We’re here to connect, go deep, and build networks that compound, making business easier, like getting an introduction that lands you a $1,000 a blog post contract.
Conversation-First: The Strategy That Puts YOU Back in Control
We don’t need more content. We don’t need another algorithm hack. Or more AI and bots. We need more conversations. We need more connection, at scale.
I don’t have the secret algorithm code (nobody does). But I do have a background in building algorithms, and over 30 years of online content and social media experience—proving that actually talking to people still wins. Plus, I’ve worked with over 350 clients since starting this business (#5 for the win) in 2019.
Conversation-first strategies work because they cannot be gamed by AI. They take the ick out of sales and marketing and feel wayyyyy more authentic to us. Conversation-first strategies put you fully in control of what happens on socials, because…
They are freaking algorithm proof.
They feel better. More real. More caring. More legitimate. Less ‘I need to shower after that Zoom.’
Conversation-first isn’t just ‘be friendly online.’ It’s about planting seeds for smart, supportive, win-win relationships, like I did by guest speaking to 11 people, where 4 later became clients, 2 more invited me to speak to their groups, and over $14K in my bank account. It’s about building the kind of relationships from conversations that opens doors, solves problems, and makes business feel wayyy less like an uphill battle.
Having conversations feels more authentic - more human - more the 'real' way we build relationships in person. Just talking to people.
Think about how you meet a friend for coffee. Your friend talks about work (content). You listen, then reply to whatever they said (comment). The content is the conversation starter. Your comment is your reply.
What happens when you stop treating social media like a place to broadcast your services and instead treat it like the world’s biggest coffee shop and just start talking to people - your people?
I mean think about it - if you’re buying services or coaching where you work closely with the person, don’t you get to know them first?
Or do you buy from the first one you see in your feed?
I’m betting you buy from the one you’ve talked to…and gotten to know and trust.
This ONE strategy WORKS and continues working - no matter what happens with the algos (or even what platform you’re on). Not hitting the like button. Dropping a comment, actually starting a conversation, talking to people. Conversation-first strategies are the algorithms kryptonite.
It’s not a hunch! Centuries of sales say so. Conversation-first approaches built relationships and generated business for hundreds of years, long before algorithms existed. I'm simply adapting those same time-tested relationship-building strategies to modern platforms.
Because one real conversation can be the start of the kind of relationship that gets you unstuck, hands you an answer, or lands you the client, collaborator, or resource you’ve been seeking. It's the difference between working alone and working surrounded.
Ready to do the same and see how business finally gets easier?
Here’s how I recommend getting started:
Pick one person - an ideal client you would like to work with or a peer you would like to collaborate with - from your recent post or DM interactions and reach out with a genuine comment or message. No pitch, no agenda—just intentional and start a real conversation in the comments or by DM. And then watch how the right relationships begin to show up for you.
Just 2 weeks ago, I had a 6-minute conversation in a breakout room that turned into a booked sales call. And a conversation in the comments became an invite to guest on a podcast. And I start my days enjoying 2 hours of yoga and mindset work in the morning…BEFORE I sit down in front of a screen looking forward to continuing the conversations I started the day (or week) before. That’s nothing an algorithm or a bot could have done for me…ever.
My money will always be on conversations as the way to talk into profits (and build a business we LOVE).
So, are you in? Let me know in the comments, who would you love to have a conversation with that will make a dramatic difference in your business. Maybe someone reading this knows them and can set up an introduction.
Up next, I'll show you exactly what real conversation looks like on social media—and why most people are missing the mark entirely.
Comments Don’t Just ‘Engage’—They Fill Your Calendar & Build Your Brand
Wondering why your comments aren’t getting anything more than ‘thanks for commenting’ and nothing happens next?
For $97, get my 90-minute Commenting Workshop (with actionable workbook) and discover:
- Step-by-step examples and live practice (so you never freeze up on ‘what do I say?’)
- The anti-hustle, human-first strategy for commenting that lands real clients and collaborations (no canned engagement, no ‘ick’)
- The secret to turning comments into mini-content for visibility and relationship-building
- The exact moves—like how and when to TAG to get noticed (and remembered!)
- Workbook & live exercises so you actually DO this, not just ‘learn about’ it
You’ll finish with comments ready to send and a strategy you can trust—not a single ‘nice post’ in sight.
No landing page, no funnel, no performative bro-nonsense—just hit buy, pay $97, and get instant access where I’ll personally walk you through how to make comments your most powerful, anti-algo business tool.
Start making every comment count—for profit, for impact, and for your reputation.
