The Sought After Educator podcast is designed for creative, beauty and hair industry educators + coaches who are ready to grow their brand, book out their education offers, and build a business that lasts. Hosted by Jodie Brown (hairstylist educator turned content agency owner + marketing mentor) this show goes beyond surface-level tips. Jodie has not only built her own successful education business, but she’s also worked behind the scenes on the copy, content, marketing funnels, and branding of some of the beauty industry’s top educators. Each episode gives you proven strategies, step-by-step breakdowns, and inspiring conversations to help you: → Market your online courses, workshops, and coaching programs with confidence → Build sales funnels and backend systems that actually work (without the tech overwhelm) → Create content and social media strategies that attract the right students and clients → Position your brand as the authority in your niche so you become the go-to educator If you’ve been struggling with visibility, inconsistent sales, or feeling stuck in the algorithm, you’ll walk away from every episode with clarity and an action plan. The Sought After Educator podcast is where creative, beauty + hairstylist educators learn the marketing, content, and business foundations that turn their expertise into a sought-after brand.
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August 19, 202612 min
How to pick the right lead magnet (or low ticket offer) topic for your audience
Join the SOUGHT AFTER EDUCATOR WAITLIST Free isn't the no-brainer it used to be. With so much information available at everyone's fingertips, asking someone to opt in for your freebie or low ticket offer, whether it's a PDF, a challenge, or a mini course, still requires real strategy behind the messaging. In this episode, Jodie breaks down why lead magnets are one of the most overlooked tools in audience growth, what makes one actually work, and the full anatomy of an opt-in page that converts. She also shares the biggest list building mistake she made early in her business and what it taught her about attracting the right people onto her list. → Why "free" or "cheap" doesn't automatically mean people will opt in → The three things a great lead magnet does for your audience → The most common mismatch that tanks list building for educators → A real story about picking up 10,000 unqualified email contacts from a summit → Three questions to ask when choosing your lead magnet topic → Why quick wins convert better than over-delivering → The three biggest lead magnet mistakes to avoid → How to reverse engineer your format from your topic instead of the other way around → The exact anatomy of a converting opt-in page, headline, CTA, benefits, and more → What actually belongs on your thank you page and delivery email If you're sitting with a freebie that needs a refresh or you're mapping out your first one, this is exactly the kind of strategy Jodie works through inside Sought After Educator. The program is relaunching later this year and the waitlist is open now, with early access and a heads up before doors open to everyone else. Grab your spot at jodiebrown.ca/sae.
August 12, 202615 min
The two things every educator needs for consistent launches
Escape to Elevate: escapetoelevate.com Sought After Educator waitlist: jodiebrown.ca/sae Your first launch felt easy. People were excited, you had momentum, and it seemed like you had cracked the code. Then you launched again and it was quiet. In this episode, Jodie breaks down why that happens, the two most common reasons behind the dip, and the shifts you need to make to build launches that don't rely on luck or that initial boost. She's unpacking the difference between audience expansion and audience activation, and why most educators are only doing one of the two. → Why your first launch works so well when you already have a warm, built in audience → The messaging and marketing systems a lot of educators skip because their first launch bypassed the need for them → The two real reasons your second, third, or fourth launch feels harder than the first → What audience expansion actually means and how to bring new eyes into your world through searchable content, thought leadership, and collaborations → The old marketing adage build it, borrow it, buy it and how to apply it to your education business → Why guest teaching inside other people's programs is one of the most underrated ways to grow trust and visibility → What audience activation looks like and how it deepens the connection with the people already in your world → Why people rarely take action the first time they see you and what that means for your content strategy → How to build a marketing system across social, long form content, and email so you stay in front of your audience consistently → Why email marketing still works and how to use it to nurture the people who aren't ready to buy yet If you've been feeling like your launches are inconsistent, this episode gives you a real framework for what's missing and how to fix it. If you're ready for more support building your brand as a sought after educator, join the waitlist at jodiebrown.ca/sae, where Jodie will walk you through exactly how to do this. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
August 5, 202637 min
The trial reels strategy that added 10,000 new followers for this educator in months
Get your DISCOUNT on Crack The Code Trial Reels Get more info on Escape To Elevate Retreats Rebecca Taylor has been behind the chair for over two decades, and these days she splits her time between coaching hairstylists on visibility and building a life she designed on purpose, including a permanent move to Thailand that happened years ahead of her own schedule. In this episode, she joins me to break down the Instagram feature she credits with her fastest-ever audience growth, trial reels, and how she turned two years of trial and error into a repeatable system anyone can use, whether you're building a client base or a personal brand. → What trial reels actually are and why they only reach people who don't already follow you → How to use trial reels as a low-pressure space to test messaging, hooks, and content ideas → Why repurposing your best performing content is smarter than constantly creating something new → The automated welcome message Rebecca sends new followers to start building real connection → How to write anchor content that helps the right people self identify and follow you → The daily posting limits that keep your trial reels from getting suppressed → Why testing content on trial reels before running paid ads can save you real money → How Rebecca structures her course, Crack The Code Trial Reels, from mindset to data tracking → The seven-day process for figuring out what's actually working in your content → Why she believes caring less about who's watching is the key to more authentic content Rebecca's course, Crack The Code Trial Reels, walks through everything we cover in this episode in way more depth, from building your own content lore to reading your data without needing to be a numbers person. You can find it at rebeccataylorhair.com, linked in the show notes, along with where to follow her on Instagram if you want to keep up with her from Thailand. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
July 29, 202620 min
What to post on Instagram as an educator this year
Follow Jodie on Instagram at @itsjodiebrown Learn more about Align Creative Co Every year the question is the same. What kind of content is actually working on Instagram right now. In this episode Jodie breaks down the specific content types that are performing well in 2026, pulled straight from what her content marketing agency is seeing across client accounts at scale. You don't need to create every single format, but pulling a few of these into your rotation is an easy way to freshen up your content this year. → Photo dump style carousels, and why the second slide matters just as much as the first → Storytelling carousels and how to use open loops to keep people swiping → FaceTime style face to camera content, the low production, high connection format blowing up on TikTok → A hard no on filming FaceTime style content while driving → Cinematic face to camera content, including how to get that high end look with just an iPhone and good lighting → Setting custom video editing guidelines for different brand styles, from high impact zooms to something softer → Green screen and remix content, and why it's a smart way to piggyback on trending topics → Voiceover content in both vlog and pure storytelling formats, and why strong B-roll is non negotiable → Short hook reels and what separates a scroll stopping statement from one that falls flat → A bonus format for anyone sitting on old quote graphics and statement posts The biggest takeaway here is that quality does not mean high production. Some of the best performing content this year is filmed on a couch with a phone and good lighting. If you listen to this and realize you'd rather have someone else handle it for you, that is exactly what Jodie's team helps clients with at Align Creative Co. Send a DM on Instagram at @itsjodiebrown if you want support creating done for you content. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
July 22, 202622 min
How to stop shrinking back when it's time to sell your education
Sought After Educator waitlist: jodiebrown.ca/sae There's a pattern I see over and over with educators. Everything feels aligned during a free challenge or webinar, the lead up is SUPER excited. But then the second it's time to sell, the energy completely shifts. In this episode, I'm breaking down why that happens and what to do about it, both mentally and tactically. I talk about why promoting something free feels safe while opening the doors to a paid offer feels vulnerable, and why that vulnerability is actually a sign you're operating with integrity, not a red flag. I also get into the belief that selling well means becoming a louder, more intense version of yourself, and why that instinct usually backfires. → Why selling feels more vulnerable than teaching, even when you believe in your offer → The difference between confidence and fake bravado when you're pitching → Why releasing attachment to the outcome changes how you show up in a launch → How to stop treating a slow or quiet launch as a verdict on your offer → Why starting small and staying consistent matters more than an instant yes → The mindset shift that separates strategy from conviction → Why fully believing in your own offer changes how people respond to your pitch → How understanding buyer psychology can temper unrealistic expectations around selling If any part of this episode landed for you, send it to another educator who needs to hear it. And if you're ready for real support around your sales strategy and the systems behind it, get on the waitlist for Sought After Educator at jodiebrown.ca/sae. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
July 15, 202620 min
What I wish I knew about marketing systems before my education business blew up
Join the SOUGHT-AFTER EDUCATOR Waitlist Follow along on Instagram at @itsjodiebrown We're talking about the part of business that isn't the most inspiring or exciting, but it might be the reason things still feel harder than they should. This episode is all about backend structure, the tech, systems, and automations that let you stay creative, serve more clients, and grow without burning out. If your marketing has ever felt messy or stifling, or you've told yourself you're just not a tech person, this conversation is going to shed some light on why. → Why structure supports your creativity instead of competing with it → The moment in business when winging it stops working → How to tell if your message is clear enough to convert strangers into buyers → Why more content isn't always the answer when sales feel stuck → Building a client journey that moves people from stranger to buyer → The difference between a time crunch and a financial crunch, and how that changes your tech decisions → How an automated podcast guest workflow saves hours every month → How platforms like Kajabi centralize a business without duct taping six tools together → Simple systems for educators who want to keep things minimal, like a welcome sequence or a lead magnet funnel → Why the right backend means you're not relying on being on Instagram all day to stay top of mind If this episode had you rethinking how you approach the back end of your business, send it to another educator who's ready to stop winging it. And if you're ready to build the systems that actually hold your business up, join the Sought After Educator Accelerator waitlist at jodiebrown.ca/sae. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
July 8, 20269 min
What my new garden taught me about patience
Instagram → instagram.com/itsjodiebrown Sought After Educator Accelerator waitlist → jodiebrown.ca/sae This week's episode is a little different. There's no outline and no script, just something Jodie wanted to share straight from the heart, recorded from the garden of her brand-new home. A few days after moving in, she walked outside to find the entire garden had bloomed almost overnight: tiger lilies, bee balm, and peonies she had no idea were even coming. It became the perfect metaphor for something so many entrepreneurs are feeling right now, especially those coming from hair and beauty backgrounds where the reward for your work is usually instant. → Why hairstylists and beauty professionals often struggle the most with the slower pace of building an education business → The difference between putting in blind effort and putting in foundational work you can actually trust → Why some buyers are taking longer to build trust before they invest, and what that means for your marketing right now → A real update from two current one-on-one clients who both more than doubled their challenge registrations this time around, entirely because of work they did that nobody saw → How to tell the difference between work that isn't working and work that just hasn't bloomed yet → Why rushing to fill in the gaps can cost you time and money without actually changing the long-term outcome If you are in a season where you feel like you are putting in more than you are getting back right now, this episode is your reminder to keep going. The foundation you're building today is going to show up later, even if you can't see it yet. For more support building a sustainable education business, join the waitlist for the Sought After Educator Accelerator at jodiebrown.ca/sae, and come say hi on Instagram @itsjodiebrown. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
July 1, 202623 min
Copywriting for educators 101: How to write like yourself and still sell your offers consistently
Get on the waitlist for Sought After Educator Most educators are never formally taught conversion copywriting. And even when they stumble across it, it tends to feel overwhelming and hard to apply. This episode strips it all the way down so you can take what's here and actually use it. Jodie opens by defining the difference between copywriting broadly and conversion copywriting specifically. Copywriting covers any writing connected to your business, from your website to your sales pages to your email list. Conversion copywriting is that same skill applied with a specific goal attached, a sign-up, a click, a purchase. The aim isn't polished prose. It's moving your reader to a clear decision. The good news? Strong conversion copy isn't about being a natural writer. It's about knowing what to look for, what to cut, and how to make your reader feel understood. → Use the words your clients use. This is called voice of customer data, and it's the foundation of copy that actually resonates. If you're describing your offer in a way that doesn't match how your ideal client thinks about their own problem, you can be a perfect fit for them and still lose them. Spend less than an hour collecting the language your people actually use, and you'll immediately write with more precision and impact. → Read everything out loud. Your ear catches what your eye skips over. This matters especially if you're using any AI tools in your process. If it sounds awkward to say, it'll feel awkward to read. And in 2026, more and more people are recognizing AI-generated copy on sight, and many are tuning it out entirely. → Back up every point with proof or story. Your reader has heard a lot of opinions. When you follow a claim with a statistic, a testimonial, or a real personal experience, everything hits harder and feels more trustworthy. → Audit your use of the word "and." When you hedge in your writing, using "and" or "or" to pile on ideas, it dilutes the message. Tighter copy creates a sharper, more specific result for your reader. → Cut your first paragraph. Most emails don't actually start until the second paragraph. When you sit down to write, you're warming yourself up, not your reader. Cut the preamble and jump straight into something worth reading. → Edit at a different time than you write. Distance is one of the most underrated tools you have. If you write and edit in the same sitting, you can't see what you're still too close to. Come back the next day. → Every email has one job. If you can't name it in one sentence, keep editing. When your reader can't tell what you want them to do, they do nothing. If you're covering three ideas, you have three emails. → Hunt down vague language and replace it with specifics. Phrases like "next level" and "dream life" have lost all meaning. If you find that language in your copy, ask yourself what it actually looks like for your specific reader, and say that instead. → Make it easy to skim. Short paragraphs, white space, bolded key points, and thoughtful formatting make your emails and sales pages more palatable. A wall of text stops people before they even start reading. → Use "you and I" language. It's the fastest way to make an email feel like a conversation. Avoid the distancing third-person language that AI tends to generate. → Open with the middle of the story. "Last Tuesday, I was sitting in my car trying not to cry" gets read. "I want to tell you about something I've been thinking about" does not. Pull an actual novel off your shelf and look at how it opens. That's the energy your emails need. → Add story throughout. Story is the oldest form of human communication. Small moments and micro stories make your point land and make your reader feel like they're interacting with a real person. → Write your subject line last. The subject line has one job: get the email opened. You can't write a good one until you know what the email actually delivers. Read it independently and ask yourself: does this create curiosity, signal relevance, and hint at what's inside? Pat Flynn calls it "legit bait," and that's the goal. Not clickbait. A hook that actually delivers. → Use AI carefully. If you can't tell whether what it generates is good or not, it'll just produce mediocre, vague copy faster. Use it to generate options or lighten the load, but don't let it make the final call. The copy that converts sounds like you at your most clear and intentional, not like everyone else who used the same prompt. Conversion copywriting isn't something you need years to master. Your people need to hear from you, and the emails that will convert best are the ones that sound like you on purpose. If this is something you want to go deeper on, copywriting is one of the core skills Jodie teaches inside the Sought After Educator Accelerator. Get on the waitlist for the next time doors open at jodiebrown.ca/sae. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
June 24, 202618 min
Listen to this if you want to sell education without being on social media all the time
Get on the waitlist for Sought After Educator If you've ever thought "I wish I didn't have to be online all the time," this episode is going to give you some real answers. Not just the "take a break and rest" kind of advice, but the actual strategic thinking you need to do if you want to reduce your dependence on social media without tanking your income in the process. → Social media-dependent businesses are risky because algorithm changes, world events, and account issues can wipe out your sales overnight → The first step is identifying what role social media actually plays in your business: is it a traffic source, or is it your entire sales system? → If selling in the DMs is how you close clients, that is a you-dependent process that stops the second you log off → Ask yourself: if you didn't post for 30 days, would your revenue completely stop? That answer tells you everything → Demoting social media from your only sales method to one part of a bigger system gives your business a lot more continuity → Replacing traffic is a lower lift than replacing your entire sales system, and the strategy looks different depending on which problem you're solving → Traffic alternatives to supplement or replace social media include YouTube, podcasting, guesting on other podcasts, affiliates, and paid advertising → Batching your content solves the creation and consistency problem, but it does not solve the sales problem and you need both pieces working → A funnel that works while you're offline includes an entry point (freebie, low-ticket offer, or private podcast), an email sequence that nurtures and sells, and a sales page that answers the questions your DMs used to handle → When those systems are in place, social becomes optional for sales, which makes it a lot more enjoyable to use The first thing to get honest about is what social media is actually doing in your business right now. There's a big difference between using it as a traffic source and using it as your entire sales system. If you're selling in the DMs, nurturing through stories, and closing every client through a direct conversation on Instagram, that's not just a marketing strategy. That's a you-dependent process that stops the second you step away. And understanding that distinction is what everything else builds on. One of the questions worth sitting with after you listen to this episode: if you didn't post for 30 days, would your revenue stop completely? Because if the answer is yes, your business is built on a platform you don't own. That's not a judgment, it's just the reality. Algorithm changes, world events, account issues, reach drops. Any of those things can and do happen, and if social media is your only sales mechanism, you have no plan B. The goal isn't to abandon social media. It's to demote it. To move it from "the only way I make money" to "the thing that drives traffic into a system that does the selling for me." That shift changes everything, not just in terms of sustainability, but in how it feels to show up online. When your income doesn't depend entirely on today's post, you can actually enjoy it again. So what does that system look like? It starts with a simple entry point that brings people into your world, something that doesn't require you to be online to deliver it. A freebie, a low-ticket offer, a private podcast. Then an email sequence that does the relationship building and selling consistently, answering the questions and objections your DMs used to handle. And a sales page and checkout flow that closes the sale without needing a live conversation every time. When those pieces are in place, social becomes a much lighter lift. Batching your content is still a huge part of this, and if you've listened before, you know it's a non-negotiable for sustainability. But batching solves the content creation problem, not the sales problem. You need both pieces working if you actually want to step back. This is exactly the work inside Sought After Educator, where we identify your assets and build out a custom sales system that takes the weight off of you needing to be on all the time. If you want in, head to jodiebrown.ca/sae to join the waitlist. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
June 10, 202611 min
How to stop starting from 0 every week with your marketing (compounding vs cyclical marketing tasks)
Join the Sought After Educator waitlist: jodibrown.ca/sae If you have been pouring energy into content day after day and wondering why it never feels like enough, this episode is going to shift something for you. Today I am breaking down one of the most important distinctions in your marketing: compounding tasks versus cyclical tasks, and why the ratio of energy you spend on each one might be quietly working against you. Cyclical tasks are the ones that never actually end. Your newsletter, your social content, your podcast. They require you to show up consistently, and the moment you stop, the momentum stops with them. That is not necessarily a problem, but it becomes one when those tasks are eating up all of your time and there is nothing else holding your business up underneath them. Compounding tasks are different. These are the assets you build once and return to again and again. Things like your offer messaging, your sales page, your email sequence, your opt-in funnel. When these pieces are in place, your marketing can keep working even when you are not actively creating content. I walk through exactly how I teach this inside Sought After Educator, starting with an offer-specific messaging doc and moving through the full asset build-out that becomes your sales engine for that program. The conversation also gets into what this actually protects you from. If your reach dropped tomorrow, if your account got suspended, if life got genuinely busy, would your business have a way to keep connecting with people and converting? That is the real question this episode is asking. And yes, I do give you some practical ways to make those cyclical tasks a little less draining, because I am not here to tell you to quit your content strategy. Repurposing what already works, rescheduling top-performing posts three months out, letting strong social content become your next newsletter, these are all ways to remove the blank-screen panic and create a little more breathing room. But the bigger invitation here is to take even a couple of hours a week and redirect that energy toward the things that compound, because over a three-month period, that shift will show up in your revenue in a way that another trending audio just will not. Sought After Educator is my accelerator for hair, beauty, and creative educators who want to build real marketing systems, communicate their offers in a way that actually sells, and get off the content hamster wheel for good. The program is not open right now, but get on the waitlist at jodibrown.ca/sae and you will be the first to know when doors open. Mentioned in this episode: ESCAPE TO ELEVATE RETREATS For more info on Italy: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/ For more info on Portugal: https://www.escapetoelevate.com/portugal2027 Escape to Elevate is my in-person retreat for educators and course creators who are ready to connect, get inspired, and grow their business alongside people who actually get it. If you've been craving a room full of people who understand the education and content creation game, this is it. Head to escapetoelevate.com to learn more and grab your spot.
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