Are you showing up on video? In today’s episode, I’m continuing my series all about branding, and talking with camera confidence coach XayLi Barclay. XayLi shares her expertise in developing your brand through video, secrets for consistency and engagement, plus how to create confidence for the camera. 

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Today’s episode is brought to you by The Green House, my resource garden for photographers! Let me help you AMPLIFY your heart online and in real life to turn bridesmaids into future brides through templates, workshops, and freebies!

Review The Show Notes: 

Bravery Vs. Confidence (3:13)

Being Around Confident People (4:48)

Why We Freeze On Camera (6:33)

Becoming Comfortable On Camera (9:04)

How Sharing Amplifies Your Business (11:39)

Creating A Branded Video Experience (14:27)

The Best Platforms For Video (17:57)

What Content You Should Be Creating (21:43)

Making Videos Fun And Engaging (28:02)

The Best Call-To-Action (35:56)

Going Live Online (41:03)

Creating The Camera Confidence Cards (43:39)

Key Tip From XayLi (46:07)

Connect With XayLi:

Website: xaylibarclay.com

Youtube: youtube.com/channel

Instagram: instagram.com/xaylibarclay

Camera Confidence Cards: cameraconfidencecards.com

UNIQ METHOD – Helping you know exactly what to say on camera confidently!

Review the Transcript:

Quianna: When we need help showing up on video with confidence, we need to bring in the experts, not only the coaches and mentors that shine online, but the ones that made it their career to help business owners and dreamers share their voices and amplify their missions through video. Today, I have the honor of introducing you to the queen of video, XayLi Barclay.

I have a list of juicy questions to talk through with XayLi to help us turn all our shyness into confidence and to stop playing small. Video is skyrocketing on social media and it isn’t going anywhere. If we’re not adding video to our marketing, messaging, and branding, I’m sure we’ll still be getting referred by our family, friends, and clients for our good work, but it just stops there.

Video helps us appear in rooms around the world in multiple locations at once. We know this already, but yet we’re still nervous and hesitant to hit that record button. Today, XayLi will be sharing her expertise for camera confidence, developing our brand style for videos so we could be recognizable within seconds.

She’ll be spilling secrets for consistency, boosting engagement, and sharing different types of content to create. We even chat about creative ways to pre qualify your clients by sharing content that lets them make decisions for how and when to work with you. This builds trust and increases your brand authority.

Maybe you’re feeling confident or just trusting the process for showing up online, but feel stuck with what to post next or how to connect with your audience even better. This is the episode for you. Make sure to grab your notebook of this one’s going to be packed with lessons, hacks, and tools to make your videos binge worthy.

XayLi is the creator of the Brave on Video movement and the Camera Confidence cards. Those cards are so cute. Oh my gosh, you need to order them right now. She’s worked with big names like Paramount, Adobe, Google, Uscreen, Thinkethic, and ConvertKit to just name a few. She’s a wildly successful YouTuber, mentor, speaker, and confidence coach.

Let’s get XayLi on the show with a big warm hug. Please welcome XayLi Barclay, the video coach and cheerleader we all need in our lives right now. Welcome to Quianna Marie Weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins big or small by dancing in the kitchen. Photographers who are excited to celebrate, serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams.

You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode at KeanuMarie. com slash podcast. Join me as I share weekly motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart.

Come join me for a dance party. Ready? Let’s go.

Hey, hey, hey. Welcome to the parties. I’m Celia. I’m so out. so thankful you can join us today.

XayLi: Of course, Kiana. I am so grateful that you have invited me on here. I’m so excited and pumped for it all. So

Quianna: let’s get going. I have a juicy question for you right off the bat. Are you ready for this one?

XayLi: I am ready. I think so. Let’s see.

The Difference Between Being Brave + Confident

Quianna: So the first question I want to just kind of clear the air with, what is the difference between being brave And being confident.

XayLi: Oh, that’s a really good one. Uh, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this before. So now my brain is like, Ooh, okay. So I feel like confidence is more of a muscle, right?

It’s something that people usually think that. You become like, you have to become confident and then you can do the thing. And it’s the other way around. You actually do the thing and you build that muscle of confidence along the way. Now being brave, I feel like it’s more in the moment. You know, like you have to summon that bravery sometimes versus confidence.

Like confidence is a longer process and being brave is something that you can call in right now. Like for me, I am an introvert, super shy. And so before I do any podcast interviews like this one, before I do any webinars, before I go live, before I sell, before I record a YouTube video, I have to call in bravery and remember who I was.

You know, call to be or meant to be and my purpose, and then I can show up, you know, brave on video, which is the name of my brand. So,

Quianna: yes, I love that so much. And you’re absolutely right. I do believe that confidence takes practice. Confidence is a muscle that you can strengthen. You need to fuel. You need to love and nurture and bravery.

Really? You just need about five seconds of bravery, right?

XayLi: Turn it on and turn it off.

Quianna: It’s a, it’s a switch to flip. And it also has a huge impact on who you’re surrounding yourself with too, right? Where you can be brave and you can chase those big goals. But when you’re around other brave people or you’re around other confident friends, it’s contagious.

Right?

XayLi: Definitely. You know, I’m a big believer of rooms that you’re in, you know, being intentional about the rooms that you’re in because sometimes for us, we have to see what’s possible through someone else. To be able to do the thing like, you know, if you have someone that is, or if you have an income, uh, amount or a goal that you feel like it’s impossible, put yourself in other rooms where people talk about that.

Like, it’s absolutely nothing. And let me tell you that confidence and that bravery will start, you know. Blowing in because now it’s a possibility. So I definitely believe in that.

Quianna: Yes. I love this so much. And I’m happy that we kind of got those definitions kind of under the belt here as we get rolling with this conversation, because I really want to hone in confidence on camera and you are the queen of confidence.

This is what you teach. This is in your wheelhouse. And I find that a lot of my friends and especially my clients, we know what we’re doing. I feel like we actually are pretty confident in the services that we’re providing. We are passionate about our own clients, right? Like my clients are passionate about their clients and we know what we’re doing.

We have the experience. We often walk into the room thinking, I got this, like I know what I’m doing. But then once it’s time to put that camera on and that little red light is blinking, we freeze and we don’t know what to say. We forget our name. So I was like, why does that happen? I would love to kind of

XayLi: know because I’ve done that before.

Like what? What?

Quianna: Yes, like what is happening? So I would love maybe for you to share a little bit of maybe the psychology behind it or maybe it is just experience that we need to continue practicing to gain that confidence in front of the camera. But why do we freeze and why is it so difficult once that camera is rolling?

XayLi: Yeah, it’s your brain begins to protect you, right? It’s kind of like some people are great with like strangers and new situations and some people aren’t. Yeah. And so sometimes when you step in front of a camera and you haven’t done it before, it’s like meeting a new person. And now you have to analyze this person and figure out how to connect with this person.

And most people give up because they expect the connection to happen right away. And it does not happen like that. You have to spend time, like I said before, building that muscle. But also, your brain goes into overdrive and protective mode and starts telling you, this is wrong, you can’t do this. Because what happens is, We start comparing ourselves to someone else who is confident and brave and doing the thing every day.

And we’re wondering. Why can’t I do that right now in this moment? What is wrong with me? And then that critic starts talking to you. And so it’s kind of like every year you’ll be like, you know what? This is the year I’m going to start a YouTube channel finally. But you don’t understand the process or the broad vision of the muscle that needs to be developed as you go ahead and do it.

So we stay stuck in that phase of I’ll do this once. Oh my gosh, that was it. Insane. And I’m never going to do that again. And then we stop. So it’s just understand. I think a lot of people don’t understand the broad vision or the full on overview of getting brave or, you know, being confident on camera.

And I think it’s important that we do talk about that because if you don’t know, you don’t know. He’ll just say you’re not good at it or I’m not good at tech or I’m not, you know, like all of the things we tell ourselves. I’m sure you’ve heard them.

Quianna: Yes. Well, and I love that you mentioned that being on camera has that same feeling as speaking to a stranger or to speaking to a new friend.

And I find that interesting. In fact, I was just chatting with a friend this morning. We go on our hot girl walks in the morning. We have to here in Arizona, we have to walk at like six 30 in the morning, right? Six o’clock early, early. And we were chatting about how. We take on these personalities, whether you are one on one with someone or you’re in larger groups and how sometimes you are more confident to speak up and to maybe not necessarily speak over people, but you’re able to express yourself more easily when you’re one on one versus larger groups.

And so I was just thinking about that and thinking about the camera. being an actual like a spirit, right? Like actually like this persona of a person. So how can we befriend this microphone? How could we befriend and make that scary, scary moment of showing up on camera and just have more fun with it?

Like, where do we start with that? Definitely. So the

XayLi: first thing is not comparing yourself to what someone else is doing and allowing yourself to, first of all, giving yourself grace because you mentioned a group. And when we think about the people that are going to watch us, this is what happens. This is the biggest issue.

We are thinking like it is a group of people that are going to see me, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, you know, all kinds of people are going to see me and they’re going to wonder, what is she doing? Who does she think she is? Why does she think she, you know, like social media, all these things, because we kind of associate this with a celebrity or influencer.

And so that’s kind of ingrained in the way that we think. So. When you’re in front of the camera, the biggest issue is most people are thinking about all sorts of people versus actually thinking about it as one person. So that’s the reason why we’re so fluent in person when we’re speaking to one person, because we’re speaking to that one person, we understand them.

We can empathize with what they’re saying or agree, or we have an idea. And it’s the same thing with the camera. You have to make it one person. Another way to get comfortable is having someone behind the camera that can, you know, like, you can act as if you’re speaking to that person specifically for me, my husband does it sometimes, but I will tell you when I started filming in front of my husband for the first time, I was like, I don’t know, like, so it depends on what works for you.

But I love thinking about my camera as my ICA, actually. So my ideal person that I do want to speak to and pour into, when I do that, my videos come out so differently because I’m not thinking about serving five people at the, at, at the same time versus serving one specific person.

Quianna: Oh, these are so helpful.

And I love that, right? Whether you are talking to your dog across the way or talking to a friend, like get them over and just start practicing. And like you mentioned before, this is confidence building. It’s a muscle. You need it to go work out, right? You need to go put those reps in and continue doing it.

I love that so much. Okay, so we’ve built up some confidence here. We are familiarizing ourself with video and just doing it right. I would love for you to share how sharing our message actually impacts our business and our bank account.

XayLi: Oh my gosh. Hello. So, first of all, we’re just in a place in space where.

You know, there’s AI. I was telling you about this earlier. There’s AI. And although I love AI and I use it daily in my business, I’ve learned how to teach it, how to think in the way that I needed to think or speak in the way I need to speak. And we are such beautiful, unique individuals with such beautiful, unique stories.

And I think a lot of us are just getting lost in. Not only AI, but what everyone else is doing, right? We see someone and they have a beautiful sales page and we’re like, Oh my gosh, I like this, this, this, and this, and you rip that, and then you start sounding like that person. And what happens is first of all, it’s great for us because there’s room to stand out and be yourself and build a brand that people know you for specifically.

And I think it’s so awesome when you can. Begin to be yourself and find your way in the online space and create messaging that is specific to you and your experiences and your unique knowledge versus doing what everyone else is doing, of course. Right. And I think when you’re able to do that. It’s so amazing because you get to stand out as, Oh, I know exactly who you need to work with.

And people can refer you based on what you’ve been sharing. And I think it’s really important for us to consistently share it as well, so that people get used to who we are, what we do and how we can help.

Quianna: Yes. Well, and I love to how video was amplifier, right? So you can create something once and it continues to play over and over and over, right?

Like you can be in literally multiple rooms at once, right? I just had a conversation recently with my friend Marvin, who’s also, I call him like the video content King. Yes. Marvin Flavian is incredible. And he mentioned that too, right? Where he was talking about This is the power of video because people can already have perceived value of you.

They can already have an, yeah, they can already have an introduction to you before you even walk in the room.

XayLi: I agree. And even for me, I always teach, especially to small business owners, Even though one video has power, there is so much power in repeating yourself and saying the same thing over and over again.

So if you have multiple videos with the same messaging saying the same thing, I think that’s really important as well. Like getting used to repeating yourselves because we hate repeating ourselves, right? We’re like, I said that already. No, you need to say it again because In this world of social media and being online, people are finding you in different places every day, right?

People are finding you at different parts of their journey. It’s really important to repeat yourself.

Quianna: I love that. And what advice would you have for someone that is trying to create a branded video experience? Looking for consistency, right? We don’t need to have the most expensive gear and we don’t have to have this.

huge, you know, production, but maybe things to consider like backdrop things or where you are recording. What advice do you have for someone that’s trying to really elevate their videos?

XayLi: Yeah. I mean, for me, when I first started, I started on a white wall. Listen, that’s because when you’re on a white wall, hello, when you’re on a white wall, uh, you, now it’s up to you to show.

To start building your brand based on your personality, the way you speak, the things you share, the phrases you say over and over, that’s what you’re building. And a step up from that for me was I loved the color yellow. So I put, it was in my branding palette. And so I got a piece of fabric called poplin.

I got poplin because he didn’t have to. Iron it or like, it just doesn’t hold wrinkles. So I was like, okay, I’m going to stick this up behind me. And now my brand is going to be yellow. And so along with the personality that I developed, and with that bright yellow background, people started it. Taking notice.

I started getting traction. And so I kept sharing as I went along and I was, as I was able to grow, I started developing my set a bit. So the first thing is you don’t need all the things you can start incorporating things that you like. So I love that yellow and I did it. As I started to grow, I started to think about things that I like in my background.

Like, okay, I have a bookshelf. Let me put some books back there. Let me put some plants. Let me put my cameras. They’re kind of behind me. So you can’t see it, but you know, let me put things that I really love. I have Metro cards somewhere up there. Cause I’m from New York, you know, little elements of things that I love and things that are parts of me.

As I grew my set and I had more room and more of a dedicated space, I started adding in elements. So think about things also that would represent you and your business that you can put up there. It’s really good to think about your industry because if you are a wedding photographer, Right. And you’re shooting weddings and your video set, if you’ve built out a set because you’re thriving now and you know, you want a professional set and your set is, I don’t know, in the snow somewhere or in the woods without anything to do with a wedding, unless, you know, you shoot outdoorsy weddings and that would be perfect.

So think about your brand in that way as well.

Quianna: Yes, I love that. And I love your grace to share. Just start. You are going to develop as you go. You’re going to find your niche. You’re going to find pieces of your business that align with your environment. And then that’s what’s going to be behind you. And, and I love that because people are making fast decisions.

As soon as they hit play, they’re judging you. They’re looking at their, how can I relate to you? Yes. So, uh, yes, and I love your advice, but starting with just a clean slate show, like letting your own personality, your own voice shine, and then start kind of hiding like little Taylor Swift nuggets everywhere, little pieces of you in the background,

XayLi: literally.

Quianna: Okay, I like kind of having us follow along a little timeline here. So we’re building that confidence. We are creating the brand. Um, we are showing up and doing it anyway, right? We’re having a friend to watch us or we’re practicing. We’re practicing. We’re doing it. Where are we producing these videos?

Xaeli, are we Is YouTube what’s happening right now? Should we be in the TikTok wheel here? What platforms are popping off this season? And most importantly, which ones do you believe are gonna stick around a little bit longer?

XayLi: Yeah, that’s such a good question. And I always like to say, like, even when I sit down and speak to someone one to one or I speak with students in our membership, I always want to find out first, what are your goals and who are you serving?

Right. Because some of us have short term goals. So maybe a platform where it’s easier to grow, like TikTok would be better. Also, you still have to do the work, but some of us, uh, are okay with our long term, long term strategy. And so we are able to say, okay, I’m going to give YouTube a year to start bringing in people and attracting the right people, but I’m going to.

Post a video a week for a year and work at it. And there are some people that are like, okay, so I’m okay with my long term strategy. I’m going to do that. And I’m going to also do short, short form as well. Right? So there’s different things that you need to take into account when choosing a platform. Of course, a platform like YouTube may take longer to attract people, but, but it’s okay.

Keep showing up and keep doing it. And so you have that strategy. You can also cut that down into shorts and put it on a short form platform like TikTok or Instagram. But also sometimes the platform doesn’t like that. So, you know, it’s all about, it’s about your goals, the amount of time you have and the people that you’re looking to serve.

So YouTube, I love using YouTube for search. Right. Or creating intentional content so that my audience finds me as a solution. But when you’re thinking about like a TikTok, it might have a different vibe over there, right? It is still search based. So knowing what your audience is searching for is the first thing that you ever need to double down on and take advantage of.

It really depends on for me. However, I love YouTube. I’ve made so much money from YouTube. I have a very small channel and I also love Instagram. So I, I use YouTube more for attraction and I use my podcast and Instagram for conversion, like, you know, actually completing the sale.

Quianna: Yes. I love that. And you know what?

Bring me back up confidence again, especially with branding, sharing your voice. When you are crystal clear on who you’re serving, how you serve them and why you serve them, right? Like all those things wrapped up in a bow, your confidence is going to skyrocket. So I almost feel like if you’re listening right now and you’re thinking, I’m a little bit nervous.

I don’t know what to say. I’m You need to go back to the drawing board, right? Like, wouldn’t you agree that you did go back to the drawing board, write out that list of exactly what you’re offering? Because a lot of us are experiencing pivots. I feel like this is just like the season of what is going on, right?

Like we are, we are aware of what has got us here. We’re ready to take those next steps and get to that next level, but we need to take some time and really, really be confident in who we are speaking to, and that will just. It’ll just radiate from you when you’re speaking.

XayLi: I completely agree. I feel like it’s really important for you to be aware of who you’re speaking to because it affects the content that you create.

It affects the way that you show up. It affects, uh, your engagement with the people that you are attracting. So that is the core. thing, like knowing exactly who you’re speaking to, rather than, and I feel like when you don’t know who you’re speaking to, the other thing that happens as well is that roller coaster, right?

So you’ll start creating, you feel good on Monday and by Friday, because you’re speaking to everyone and no one is listening, you’re like, I’m not doing this business anymore. You know, so that clarity is really key.

Quianna: Oh my gosh, this is all so good. Now I would love to really crack down and ask you about content.

So what type of content should we be creating these videos for? Or I guess I could say about. What is your advice on content and what types of different content should we be creating?

XayLi: Yeah, you know what YouTube has a really simple way of explaining the content that everyone should be creating and it is help content, hub content and hero content.

So your help content is your searchable content, exactly what people are searching for from you. Your hero content is based on like trends or things that are happening or things that you want to give your opinion on. And I think that as, as. People that are business owners, we don’t think about that type of content.

And that type of content is actually the type of content that could push you further, even further. And then we also have hub content, which is for our core community or the people that we absolutely love. Right. And so when I think about my content strategy, I like to make sure that I’m doing little bits and pieces of all of this.

But sometimes I might have places for hub content. So on my stories, I am on there. It’s a different vibe on stories, you know, which is Instagram stories, by the way. It’s a different vibes, the community. That’s like my family. I talk to them every day. I may not speak to my feed people every day, but my feed will get help content and hero content.

Right. So it’s also about figuring out for you, like, where are you specifically doing it? Or where are you creating? And I think it’s really important to differentiate that and figure out where you’re doing what, because it’s going to make it easier and not so confusing and time consuming.

Quianna: Those are all incredible tips.

Holy smokes. It’s making me kind of reframe things because I feel like sometimes we are so bombarded with trying to make those pillars, right? Where it’s like, okay, these are the five buckets and these are the different things that I talk about. And then it turns into kind of this. rinse and repeat system, right?

And I love that you mentioned the three different ways, and I would have never thought, what was the one that you were comparing things? So the hero content. Yeah. Can you maybe share an example of something like that? Cause I am so So intrigued to learn more about hero content.

XayLi: Yeah. And it’s, it’s different for everyone, but hero content would be like me.

Okay. So for example, I’m sure that you see people in the social media space or people that teach anything to do with marketing or social media, every time. I hope I’m pronouncing his name correctly. Every time he comes up with something or makes a video, people go to their audience and they say, Hey, this is what’s happening.

You know, this is what Instagram is prioritizing. This is what you need to do, blah, blah, blah, blah. That’s hero content. That’s content that would go further than your audience. Right. It’s content that is, you know, it’s about a conversation, a general conversation that a lot of people are having that you are probably sharing, but also giving your own thoughts and perspectives on if someone should do this, if they shouldn’t do this.

So it’s more of like the conversation that’s happening in your industry. Now, I break this down so simply with my unique method. Uh, that I will leave a checklist here for free, if that’s okay with you. Um, it’s not a checklist, it’s actually a list of prompts. And so it’s a way to tell stories and create content, but just in a simple, easy and digestible way so that you’re hitting all of these buckets that I’m actually referring to on the podcast.

So, yeah, it’s really about thinking about, like, a lot of people are afraid to share conversations or share their perspectives or. Say, Oh, well, this is what I think about X, Y, Z, or, you know, I do not like that. We’re so afraid to voice our opinions, but your audience is going to respect you so much when they know they can come to you to get the actual factual.

Right. And that’s what makes people actually start to stand out. If you think about someone you love in the industry, I’m sure, you know, their perspective on things in the industry, whether they like long form content or short form content, like, you know, exactly what they stand for and what they teach and what they practice and preach.

Quianna: Yes. And some of it can be very polarizing. I love, I kind of like, I just love the term like business controversial, right? So we’re not bringing in really big, heavy life things, but we are right. We’re kind of like testing things and opening that conversation. Would you say based on your three? Okay. So you have, what were the three?

It was the hub, the hero, and the. And the help. So of those three, which would you say typically gets the most engagement? Now this may be different for everybody, but I’m guessing the hero content, is that what gets the most buzz?

XayLi: Yes. Which is why a lot of people are complaining that they are not getting engagement because they’re not being a bit polarizing or sharing their specific thoughts on something.

They’re actually holding that back. And sometimes we do too much of one. So I know you can think about someone who does. Too much hero content, like girl, right. Or, you know, like, or a lot of us are only doing hub content. So we’re only speaking to a specific group of people over and over again, which can cause burnout for those people at times, especially if you sold to all of those, uh, you know, 75 people that look at your Instagram stories every day.

So it’s so essential when we think about all of the different moving parts, because then we’re able to actually port into. some of the buckets. And it’s okay to start with one bucket and then focus on the other when you start getting it. So don’t feel overwhelmed as you’re listening to this as well.

Quianna: Yes, I know.

I’m, my wheels are already turning. I’m already thinking of ideas. I’m like, oh my gosh, I want to start doing this and that. And I feel like that’s the perfect example to how this can be so overwhelming, right? So not only are we trying to Strengthen that muscle, boost our confidence, but then also have the confidence in what the heck we’re saying, right?

Like how we’re delivering that message. And I know we briefly mentioned AI and how it can be a powerful tool, but I also feel like when we throw all of this at us, right? Like literally with every scroll, we’re seeing comparison things. We are triggered by AI stuff and what we should be doing, what we shouldn’t be doing all the things.

And I would love for you, Zailey, to share a little bit more about your unique. program, like your unique list and how that can, how it can shift our mindset. Like how can we make creating videos more fun and more personal and engaging?

XayLi: Of course. So I created the unique method because I saw so many people out there struggling to stand out.

Out or when they, if they created videos, it would be like, uh, you know, very robotic and, and in a specific way, because they’ve seen someone else doing this or that, and the content just wasn’t rich and I love rich content. I’m a creative rich content. So it’s like, I have to figure out a way to create a system or a framework that.

Helps people to embrace their uniqueness and stand out, even if you think you are the most boring person on the, on the earth. Right. And so I started pulling together exactly what I do, and it falls into alignment with what a lot of. Bigger creators are doing as well, but it’s just that you don’t know how to dissect it or you don’t see it.

So I always say the way that my brain works when it comes to content is absolutely insane. Sometimes I have to tell my brain, yo, slow down, please slow down. And so when we think about the unique method, it starts with you, which is uncovering our story. A lot of us are not teaching people about who we are, why they should trust us, things we’ve been through, how we started, why we’re here.

We’re not doing any of that at all. We want to relate to the people that we’re buying from. And a lot of people now are making buying decisions based on if they really like you or not. Right. Because there are lots of people offering the same thing. So that is one of the things that we do need to think about.

The second one is N. Right. And so that N is for navigating your industry. I give you prompts in the unique prompt list so that you are able to share your voice or opinion on things that are going on in your industry. So I actually give you prompts so that you can think, Oh, yeah, I can speak about this. I can speak about that because a lot of times we’re not thinking about it, especially.

We’ll have those conversations with our friends or our peers. It’s kind of like office talk, right? Or, uh, if you’re at your job and you’re like in the coffee, what do you call that? The break room, the conversations that might happen there. It’s okay to bring those, those conversations pertaining to industry.

Although in the break room, they might not be talking about things. I think they’re talking about everything but work, but. That’s how you want to think about your, uh, you know, navigating your industry and that conversation that you’re having. What is going on? What is happening? So that’s like hero content, right?

It’s why people come give updates on this is what YouTube likes. This is what YouTube doesn’t like. It’s a really integral part of your content strategy. The other one is incorporating everyday stories. We all have stories, routines, things that we do daily, things that happened to us yesterday or today.

If you think about yourself, if someone starts telling a story, you’re immediately like glued to your screen, you don’t want to move. And there’s a way to do that. If you have a small business as well. And the way that I teach it, you don’t have to tell all of your business. Cause that’s not what we’re trying to do.

Right. So the prompts that I give you have nothing to do with. Things that you really want to protect and preserve. And that’s one of the things I get most from my students or people who are in our membership. They’re concerned about dissecting or protecting specific things and sharing specific things, which is completely fine.

You can still do that and still tell really great stories and create really amazing content. And the last one is Q. So I spell it, U N I Q, and that’s your quest for authenticity. People love to see us grow and bloom. A lot of us hide and do things on the back end. And then we come out and we say, Hey, this is what I’ve done.

If you are launching a product or a service, or you’re finding a product or a service, or you’re rebranding, Share that thing, please. Like do it with the people, get them involved, ask them what they want, what they don’t want, what they like, what they don’t like, create a series about it. Share, share your quest for authenticity, share things that you’re processing or thinking about or going through.

Content is shifting and changing. And we’re trying to share more of these, these things, but also being mindful of the goals that you have in your business. Right? So. I can use my Uniq Method and completely set out a challenge that I’m having.

I’m actually having a challenge right now and we closed doors and we’re still getting people asking, XayLi, I know it’s day two, but please, come on, please let me in and it’s because I’m using the unique method to teach and to share and to create content that then I can think about videos or visuals or B roll to actually go over those things and still sell and make money based on what I’m selling at the moment.

So I hope that wasn’t too wordy.

Quianna: No, this is GREAT! Are there any more letters? How many times can we spell unique? This is amazing. Oh my gosh, XayLi. I love this. And I love that you are creating these prompts and these trigger isn’t the right word because it means something else. Right. But really it is like, it’s a trigger to get you thinking and to get you.

Yes. And to get you using your own unique magic, right? Your own experiences, your own stories. And, and I love, I really want to, obviously I love the Q the most, but I, I love that you mentioned that word quest. We really don’t hear that word very often. And what I, what comes to mind for me is. Actually taking your clients and your potential clients along this journey, right?

Like I, it’s this adventure and and it’s interesting because I even personally I struggle with coming up with content sometimes because I want to do. I want to deliver products and I want to deliver offers that I know. I know from the depths of my soul that people need it. It’s so

XayLi: good.

Quianna: Yeah. It’s so good.

And it’s something that I wish I had 10 years ago, five years ago, even last year, I wish I had this cheat sheet for what I’m offering, but people sometimes don’t realize that. Like they, they have no value in it because they’re not, they don’t know what they know, right? They don’t, they don’t know what they don’t know.

And, and they’re not sometimes often going after it as, as we are, as you know, those, those gritty entrepreneurs that are going to make it happen no matter what. So I love your mention of Quest to take your clients and your potential clients on this journey with you, ask them questions, right, lean, lean on them, pull them.

And you’ll never, you’ll like, you’ll never know exactly what you’re going to offer and things are going to pivot and change unless you involve them. So I love that so much.

XayLi: Yes. And you know what? The part that I love about it even more than that is. It gives you effortless content ideas, literally take your phone, point it to your computer or point it to yourself and ask and brainstorm and talk.

So this type of content is, it’s just free flowing and exciting for you to create, which is, I get too excited about this, this, this content type sometimes. Cause I’m like, I could talk with my audience all day and share with them all day, but that’s what leads to things selling out or people actually joining your email list.

Or, you know, when you’re creating that freebie, talk to them about it, share it, you know, versus creating something that people don’t understand, like you said, or they don’t want.

Quianna: So I love that. And you totally just, you just mentioned a handful of CTAs, right? The call to actions, whether that’s building out your email list or directing people to your offers or direct them to your podcast.

I would love to kind of pick your brain a little bit and, and learn from you what you advise for the best CTAs. And how can we kind of Jedi mind trick them into our content?

XayLi: Literally, it’s the same thing. So, okay. So let’s say you have a story that you have picked out, right? And if I have to think about one, I shared one on Monday on a call, I was speaking to a client.

I do these sessions that are, it’s literally me taking your phone. You dump all your content onto me and I do all of the work for you. I organize it, research, keywords, ICA, everything. And I send it back to you in this beautiful notion document so that you can just take action based on everything that I extracted in that session.

And she had a follow up session based on our first session. And so she was asking me like, just about like creativity, like being able to flow and create. Some more, uh, and I, I explained them the unique method to her, but I also shared with her sometimes as creatives, we don’t want to be boxed in or creative entrepreneurs.

And I’ve shared with her that we have a season where we do need to be boxed in so that we can build that box and stand on that box. And then do whatever it is we feel like. So when we listened to all of the nicheless people and the people that are speaking about, you know, being nicheless, they had a season where they were boxed in and they built that box, they grew an audience, they became known for a specific thing, and now they can stand on that box and share anything that they desire to share.

Right. People don’t usually understand that that’s what happened. So now, you know, you can create whatever you want to create. So. If you’re in a season to where you want to be known for something, you got to build that box and stand in it. You cannot start creating anything that you feel like creating, right?

And so when you get to a point to where, okay, I’ve built this box, now you can start to create freely and now your income stream is solid. Everything is, you know, cool flowing in. So now you can start Testing other things and trying other things and expanding. And when I explained content in that way to her or the season, like your seasons really depend on your goals, she was blown away.

Now I’m sharing that to share. If I shared that story on social media, and then I told you, I’m going to teach you exactly how to do this inside of our camera confidence challenge, where we focus on the unique method, that was me telling you a story and then giving you a CTA that was connected to it.

Right? So it’s, it’s, I think we overthink it so much and you know, which is why I was like, I have to teach this and share this because it’s what I effortlessly do on camera. Right? So it’s not that difficult. It’s about you figuring out because I can tell you no one else in the world has that story because it happened to me.

And the person that was in the room. And that’s the beauty of sharing a unique experience about being present and observing things like, okay, I can share this, but I can also reach, reach my goals. And then I taught someone something really valuable. And now I’m asking.

Quianna: And you’re building so much curiosity.

That’s what I picked up right away. Cause As you effortlessly just shared how you get that dump of content ideas and, you know, kind of do like this overhaul, open up a toy box of their brain of all their business ideas. And then you take that and organize them into constant stuff. That is so fun. Like I’m thinking, Oh my gosh, that’s incredible.

Right? Like I do that naturally in my own head, but then I want to learn more. I want to learn about your own unique method. I want to sign up for your programs. I’m already curious and eager to learn more and you so. Effortlessly, effortlessly just dropped it right in your messaging.

XayLi: That was so good.

Thank you. But it, and it’s so easy. You can do it too. Anyone can do it. And this way I didn’t outrightly tell you by this thing, right? I’m literally sharing something with you that worked for someone else inside of a conversation that I have. And guess what happens when I share that type of content? I get one of two things.

How, where can I buy this content brainstorming session with you? Cause I have so many ideas that I can’t reel them in. I don’t know what to do next and I’m paralyzed. So I need your help. Sit with me. I get that. Or I get, please send me the link to this challenge that you’re hosting or whatever. It, so you end up building rapport in.

Both ways. And the beauty of it is, you know, someone will ask you for something, or if it’s not a story that’s connected to a product or service or experience, they learn something about you and they’re like, Oh, me too. I didn’t know you did that. You know, so there’s so many different things that we can think about when it comes to sharing in a digestible and authentic way.

Quianna: Easy sales, right? That’s the part that’s like effortless sales. That’s what I’m in my soft CEO era. I’m like, how can I streamline? How can I be more magnetic for these opportunities? And it comes through confidence and sharing your message. Oh my gosh, so good. Yes. So one thing I’d love to bring up too with you is chatting about going live.

I have recently been having so much fun going live with, with friends and doing really fun collaborations and we’re really tapping into cross promoting each other, right? Like it’s just so fun, really exposing both of us to our bigger networks. I mean, and I’m already thinking I’m already answering my own question about using the unique method for lives.

But what types of tips or advice would you have for creating these really engaging, fun, and confident lives?

XayLi: Yeah, I mean, your life should always have a story in it. Every single time I think about something that you either like, I said, uh, you know, have been through an uncovered story or a story about something that’s going on in your industry or something that you’re experiencing or an everyday experience.

Like the one I just shared, think about something or your quest, something that you’re processing and excited about, right? Of course, include one of those into your live streams, but plan your live streams out. Think about three bullet point things that you do want to share with someone who might be tuning in.

Also your energy, if you, you need to come with your energy for life, right? Because you want people to stay on and enjoy themselves. I think people overthink live streaming. Get on and have some fun. Yes. You have your CTA. Yes. You know where you want. I mean, the other thing is, yes. Be very aware of the goal of your live stream.

Am I just on here to nurture and connect with people? Because that’s okay. Am I on here to sell or promote something? Am I on here to grow my email list? Be very clear so that you can always come back to that thing specifically. For me, I get on live and I love spending time with my audience by reading my camera confidence cards.

I’ll literally sit down and read cards with them. And by the end of that live, we’ll have orders flowing in because people are like, this card is for me. I want the whole deck, you know, and I have them comment cards and they get a automated DM and they end up checking out and then we get to ship them an amazing product.

So it’s really about. Connecting with people and enjoying yourself while you’re doing it too, because sometimes I get on and read my cards and I’m like, Ooh, I needed this card today for myself. So get on and spend time with your people.

Quianna: Yes. And have fun. I think that’s really what it boils down to. It’s so much fun.

Yes, don’t take it so seriously. Literally. Well, I’m so happy that you organically brought up your cards because that’s one of my last conversation like little questions for you is talking about your cards. They are so incredible and I, I love them and I just, I love them. I would love for you to share a little bit more about the development of it.

Like, what was that quest like for you for developing these cards?

XayLi: Yeah, my cards are something that I had inside of me for years. And every year I would tell my assistant and my husband, like, we’re going to put these out this year. And I would say that over and over, and I never did. And last year I was sitting on a precipice at the beach in Mexico at the four seasons at a business retreat.

We were like envisioning our future. And so I saw everything that I wanted to do this year. And the cars was one of those things that I needed to get out of myself and put it out there because I was rebranding and refining. We were launching an app, uh, where you can even listen to the affirmations on the cars.

Like it was a full on thing. And so this year I was like, I’m not going to, cause I I want to do the same thing again at the end of this year. And I’m not going back there unless I did everything I said I was going to do. And so by April, the cars were ready from January to April. However, I was sharing in stories with my audience about the cars, the, you know, production testing, seeing what we like and what we don’t like asking them for their thoughts and, you know, colors when we were picking colors, like I would.

Ask. And so because they were part of it, as soon as we launched it, we sold out of all that we had ordered and had to go back to pre orders again. And so that happened over and over three times. And yes, like we were so grateful because we actually shared the full on project with people and I was really transparent about it.

So if you are launching something, please just bring people along. You never know what’s going to happen.

Quianna: Yes, and it helps with that creativity too, or that validation that you are on the right path to creation, right? Because people are excited about it. They want to share. And it kept me going,

XayLi: you know, like it kept me going cause I’m like, okay, so they’re expecting to see something.

So let me make sure that I’m pushing this process along. And it’s one of the best things that I ever did. Like literally.

Quianna: So good. Oh my gosh. Well, it’s definitely on my list to purchase. And I have a couple girlfriends that I’m going to just purchase for and just have in my book or like in my book bag to just give away because this is so amazing.

XayLi: I appreciate you.

XayLi’s Key Tip:

Quianna: Yes, of course. Oh my gosh. Well, I have one question that I love to ask every single guest. So ZayLi, I would love to ask you, what is your key tip? What is something that you wish you knew sooner or something you would love to share with entrepreneurs today?

XayLi: Um, I wish that someone had told me how much money I could make just being myself.

Like, if I had someone, like, to break it down or to share how, or, you know, I wish I had someone let me know that, like, man. But it took me a few years to figure it out, and now we’re here, and I’m super grateful, which is why I have What, which is why I create all the things I create, which is why I have the products I have or my offer suite, because I am here to give it all to you.

But one thing we’re really passionate about this year is, especially in our membership is keeping people accountable and supporting them and helping them to implement versus just taking all of this information and not do anything with it. So. Yeah, my, the thing that changed my life, which is video is what I am focused on.

I’ve been focused on it for the past 10 years to help other people increase their net worth. With video and it’s scary, but you can do it.

Quianna: Yes. Oh my gosh. It literally gave me the chills. Like it, it literally got me choked up to share that you really can make money. You can be incredibly successful just being yourself and.

Oh my gosh, I just love you so much. That’s such a mic drop moment. Oh my gosh, well, please tell us how can we connect with you? How can we get our hands on these confidence cards? How can we download this unique method? I want to know all the things.

XayLi: Yes. And I can send you links just so that it’s linked somewhere.

Um, so in just in case people forget, but listen, I am at XayLiBarclay on Instagram. It’s X A Y L I B A R C L A Y. And I am in the DMS all the time. I love connecting with people in my DMS. So if you’re coming from Kiana’s podcast, jump into my DMS and let me know what was most profound for you. that you heard on the podcast.

And yeah, like I’m on Instagram a lot. I’m on YouTube as well. I’m at Zaley Barclay everywhere. And my camera confidence cards, you can find them at cameraconfidencecards. com.

Quianna: Amazing. Oh my goodness. Well, thank you so much. So much for sharing your confidence tips and really a lot of marketing and content ideas.

I mean, we can go on and on for how much you covered today. And I’m just so grateful for this conversation and this connection. And I, I do want to mention too that our connection sparked, literally from spark and I, I, I. Pretty sure it was spark. It may have been show it, but I think it, I think it was spark.

And this is just another testament of how these friendships and these connections can blossom when you get yourself in the room, right? When you show up and then you’re continuing to nurture, which is, I’ve been watching your videos. I’ve been following along. I’ve been supporting you. And this is the power of business and alignment with what you’re doing.

So I’m just, So grateful.

XayLi: Of course. I’m happy to be here and I’m excited for when the episode comes out.

Quianna: Yes. Oh my gosh. I cannot wait to drop it soon and to continue this branding series. Thank you for being a part of it and I hope you have a beautiful day. Thank you, Quianna. You too. Oh, wow. That was a good one.

And I’m so excited. I’m so thankful for all of these tips and tricks to get started with video today. Over the last two decades of my life and my business, I’ve really focused on capturing the behind the scenes, the real, the raw, and all the in between moments. This conversation is inspiring me to be more intentional with video, to help curate and create content that connects with my audience and my future dream clients.

Make sure to follow along with XayLi all over social media by searching XayLi, it’s X A Y L I, Barclay, B A R C L A Y. Her Instagram is fun and educational and her YouTube will feel like Netflix, that you just can’t stop binging and watching. She’s fun, relatable, and a great confidence coach too. Take a peek at the show notes for all of the links mentioned and generous gifts and freebies shared by XayLi!

I can’t wait to see the creative and engaging videos you’ll be creating next. Please make sure to tag me in those videos so I can cheer you on and celebrate your bravery and confidence. I’m literally your biggest fan and I only want the best for you, my friend. If you just jumped into this episode, I’m so happy you’re here.

You just tapped into an entire series about branding and preparing for your next brand session. Take a scroll through some of the recent episodes to catch up and amplify your brand. We need more people to know about you. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you found this episode helpful, please, please shoot it over to a friend, send it into the DM, send it into a text message and add to their playlist.

Any share is so helpful. And it’s what keeps this podcast going and thriving. Keep on dancing, baby. I’m so grateful for you. I’m catching next week. Okay. Love you. Bye. That’s a wrap on another episode of Quianna Marie Weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at QuiannaMarie.com/podcast

I’d be honored if you’d show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app until next time, keep on dancing.

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