How Ashlyn Carter Uses YouTube to Build Connections With Her Audience
It’s harder than ever to build a connection with your audience, even with so many different ways to connect with each other. Because of social media, among other things, our attention spans are shorter than ever. So when it comes to business, many people find it hard to bridge the gaps and build a deeper, more meaningful connection with potential clients and customers.
But my friend Ashlyn Carter and I mayyyy have just cracked the code to this, despite information overload and short attention spans.
I recently sat down with Ashlyn to discuss all things YouTube — from the way it drives traffic like a machine, to the way it broadens her horizons while building deeper connections with her audience. She shares how this platform has helped her build a stronger connection with her audience and some of the things that have surprised her about using YouTube.
Meet Ashlyn
Ashlyn Carter is an Atlanta-based conversion copywriter and brand/launch strategist for creative entrepreneurs, and the owner of Ashlyn Writes, which helps creative entrepreneurs get their words to convert, namely with sales pages.
Since leaving the corporate marketing world, she has worked with thousands of clients and students and has been featured in Forbes, Southern Living, SELF, Style Me Pretty, and more, along with speaking at the Creative Live stage. She’s also worked with marketing powerhouses like Amy Porterfield, Jenna Kutcher, and Katelyn James.
She knows exactly what it takes to make launch copy a hit (speaking from experience — she’s written sales pages for me, too!)
How Ashlyn got started with YouTube
When I asked Ashlyn, “Why YouTube?” she said,
“I knew that I needed to have other components to my content strategy besides blogging. That's all I did because ya know, I’m a writer. I wanted to have something where I could talk to my audience and look at them directly to build a deeper connection.
I was teetering between podcasting and YouTube, but it was writing the sales page for one of your offers that sold me on YouTube.
I love YouTube — specifically because of the SEO juice behind it, and the unbelievable acceleration video has to build trust with your audience. They can physically see you and your mannerisms, which helps you get to know someone better. And that know/like/trust factor is a lot easier to build when they can do that.
There was a tremendous learning curve, but we got there, and it’s been a great thing for my business.”
Of course, it’s not just BOOM, you’re on YouTube. It takes time — and a lot of entrepreneurs struggle to really know where to start. When I asked her what her biggest struggle in starting her channel was, she said,
“I was majorly intimidated. I don’t like talking off the top of my head. I like the backspace key for a reason! I don’t like speaking on camera. I had no equipment or technology. But you helped me figure all of that out!”
Ashlyn’s content strategy before YouTube
As a copywriter, you wouldn’t necessarily expect Ashlyn to have a big desire to create video. But with her growing agency and a changing audience, she knew that YouTube was going to be an important pillar of her content strategy.
“I’ve been consistently blogging since 2009. It’s always been my bread and butter because it just makes sense to me as a writer. I’d write a post once a week, take snippets of it and transform them into social media posts, and email newsletters.
Basically, my pillar piece of content was the blogs, but now it's YouTube.
And YouTube has brought in more traffic than blogs. Because even with expertise in SEO and writing every piece of content with those rules in mind, it seems like Google has put more emphasis on video content. It’s what people want to see.”
The results of taking the leap of (video) faith
Ashlyn says of her success on YouTube,
“I talk about writing. That’s nothing new. But since getting on YouTube, I know the way my audience can digest this information is much different. Now, there’s a visual element to it. I can do even more with my blogs by doing show and tell with copy snippets on the screen.
It helps people gain a deeper understanding of what I'm talking about while simultaneously giving them an added layer of social proof. I can directly show people how things have worked for others, and what kind of process helped us get there.
And that transformation shows. I started my channel from nothing, and in four years it has grown to 30.5K subscribers. We aren’t always the best about tracking the hard data but the anecdotal proof is there.
I often see reviews or people talking to me online in the comments or through DMs and they’ll say something like, ‘I bought this because you mentioned it in your video.’”
How Ashlyn fits YouTube into her business strategy
Ashlyn loves the impact YouTube has made on her audience, and we couldn’t agree more. YouTube has a powerful way of bridging gaps between business owners and their clients and customers.
She says.
“While it hasn’t exactly made content creation easier, it has made it more impactful. I like figuring out what our audience is interested in, trying to figure out what will do well on Youtube, then creating the best possible video for them to watch.
I wouldn’t say it’s easier now, but it adds a layer. You’re giving people something past just a blog. There’s a filming aspect to it, but I think that makes it more powerful.”
And her old videos are gaining traction, too.
“Whenever we move a video into the spotlight, the views skyrocket. And those videos are kinda old. So that tells you the content lives so much longer than on somewhere like Instagram.
I’ll see people comment on a video that’s like, three years old, and I’ve forgotten about it…but it’s nice to see that people are still finding it helpful.”
What Ashlyn wishes more business owners knew about YouTube
Like Christina Scalera, Ashlyn has some wise advice for entrepreneurs starting out on YouTube.
“You can get over the barrier to entry. You can get over your fears of recording. I get it. YouTube used to scare me — and TikTok still does! Video is still new to a lot of us, and as writers, it’s weird to put so much of your content strategy into video.
But if I can do it, you can do it too. It’s worth it. There are so many little evergreen trees you can plant with it. It’s an incredible investment of time and money.”
Want to harness the power of YouTube in your own biz?
If you know you’re ready to deepen the connection with your audience, then it’s time to make YouTube a core part of your content strategy!
With my YouTube Production Package, you’ll get help knowing where to start with your channel, how to make great videos (even without fancy equipment), and how to use them to strategically drive traffic to your website, just like Ashlyn did.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKING WITH US HERE
If flying solo is more your thing…
Then check out Video Strategy Academy! This is a great way to learn the ins and outs of making YouTube work in your business if agency help isn’t what you’re looking for right now.
Learn how to make every video drive leads around the clock with a system that teaches you:
How to avoid procrastinating and have your channel working for you in 30 days or less
How to film a MONTH of content in only a day
How to increase site traffic and sales with each published video
How to consistently build trust among your audience (so you can make more sales and book more clients)
How to build a simple system for filming even if you’ve never recorded a video a day in your life
How to minimize the volume of content you create by having assurance that YouTube is doing the hard work for you
You’ll get 6 modules AND a private Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your successes, and learn from our team and other VSA members. Plus this program is PACKED with bonuses.
Sound like just the thing you need? JOIN HERE NOW!
