In this insightful conversation, Alan interviews Clifton Sellers, founder of Legacy Builder, a content marketing agency. Clifton shares his journey from corporate fundraising to building a seven-figure agency, discussing the power of personal branding, the challenges of scaling a business, and valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs in the digital marketing space.
Clifton Sellers, founder of Legacy Builder, discusses his transition from corporate fundraising to entrepreneurship. He details Legacy Builder's focus on content marketing and personal branding, primarily for executives and business owners. Clifton shares insights on the agency's rapid growth, the importance of building a personal brand, and the strategies behind successful content marketing.
The conversation explores the challenges of scaling a service-based business, including the importance of building systems, hiring the right team, and gradually removing the founder from day-to-day operations. Clifton emphasizes the value of learning from others' mistakes and the importance of understanding what success looks like before delegating tasks.
Clifton reflects on the current state of personal branding and content marketing, highlighting the shift from company-focused to individual-focused branding. He discusses the power of storytelling, the concept of digital real estate, and the importance of creating an "environment for success" in marketing.
Throughout the discussion, Clifton offers valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and marketers, emphasizing the importance of consistent content creation, engagement on social platforms, and building owned audiences through newsletters and email lists.
Episode Highlights:
- [00:00:32] Clifton's background and journey to entrepreneurship
- [00:08:13] The decision to quit his job and focus on Legacy Builder full-time
- [00:11:42] Scaling challenges and bringing in a COO
- [00:18:09] The importance of the founder in sales and marketing
- [00:29:52] The landscape of personal branding and content marketing
- [00:35:31] The content marketing funnel and strategy
- [00:42:09] Insights on social media algorithms and content strategy
Quotes:
- "I think a lot of people want everything to look good on paper before they roll out of a business or an offer. Um, you just don't know. I think the things that have led to our success are trial and error and quicker feedback loops to repositioning and learning and applying that feedback and being transparent."
- "To me, marketing is creating an environment for success. And so building a personal brand is right in the center of that environment. It's right there. Then everything spokes out of that."
- "Anybody that says they have an algorithm figured out is lying. They're they're bold-faced liars. Um, the thing about algorithms is they will always shift. There will always be a meta out of game generation."
- "No matter what the algorithm does, authentic storytelling, offering true value content is gonna win out. That's the long game."
Episode Resources: