More Content Does not Mean More Clients

👉Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Mt4n2sIGgaM

Influencers chase views.

But for Coaches & Service Pros, winning with content means more clients.

This episode breaks down the system I use to turn winning content into leads without becoming a full-time influencer. If you already run a real business and your time matters, this is how you get ROI from content instead of vanity metrics.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to show up on camera with the right level of energy

• How to use short-form videos to generate leads

• The 3 pillars of winning content

• How to hook viewers in the first seconds without gimmicks

• Why comedians treat short gigs like labs and you should too

• How to judge content by leads, not views

When you learn to win with short-form, the rest gets a lot easier.

This episode shows you how to win with content without burning out or competing with influencers.

My focus here is simple: Small Audience, Big Impact

If that’s what you want, you’re in the right place.

Links: 

CustomGPT: https://vmm-f52bja3.gamma.site/3in3

Gear Guide: https://vmm-f52bja3.gamma.site/talking-head

Follow Me:

https://www.youtube.com/@kenokazaki

https://www.instagram.com/kenokazaki/

https://www.facebook.com/ken.okazaki

https://www.tiktok.com/@kenokazaki1

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Views Don’t Matter for Service Businesses

02:26 The Real Energy Problem Service Pros Face

04:31The 3 Elements of Winning Content

07:12 Simple Video Production Setup Anyone Can Use

13:55 How to Show Energy on Camera Without Feeling Fake

20:03 Authority Content vs Value Content

20:25 The 3-in-3 Framework That Hooks Viewers Instantly

23:08 Free CustomGPT + Gear Guide

Transcript

[00:00:00] Kenn Okazaki: So here's the thing about winning with content, because it's two completely different games. If you are looking for, you know, like MrBeast style videos, where the platform, that means like YouTube and the sponsors, are your customer, the people who pay you money, then that's a completely different game than if you're a service professional, where you want your viewers to become your customers.

[00:00:19] So I'm making this because I just kind of want to break down what those differences are. and if you are looking for virality and a whole bunch of subscribers and viewers, and you're going that influencer route, this is probably not gonna be interesting for you. I'm making this especially for service professionals, like agency owners and coaches especially, because those are the people I work with.

[00:00:37] I've been doing this since, uh, 2016. That's 10 years now. I feel old all of a sudden. But, uh, I'm just gonna go over there and break down how to create the videos that turn your audience into your customers, especially for services. People charging like $1,000 or more for every single month of your service, those people, that's who this is for.

[00:00:55] 

[00:00:57] Small reminder, this podcast is the audio version, but a lot of these ideas started as visual breakdowns on videos that are hosted on YouTube. So if you hear me talking about a funnel, a framework, or a content model, or some weird little drawings that only make sense when you actually see it, go watch the video version on YouTube.

[00:01:14] Just search Ken Okazaki or find me at @K-E-N-O-K-A-Z-A-K-I.

[00:01:21] 

[00:01:22] Kenn Okazaki: All right, so let's head over to the whiteboard. I prepared a fancy triangle for you, and I'm gonna break down for you in this episode what are the three main elements that make winning content winning content, especially if you're a service pro. So the thing about service professionals, and I work with a lot of them, I, I am one of them.

[00:01:37] I've got an agency, 20X agency, that, you know, we grew to a seven-figure business. I have a coaching business. So I am deep, deep, deep in that service industry. And I also had a business, uh, a while ago that, uh, required me to put like, you know, 2,000 to 8,000 people in a stadium every single month for speakers.

[00:01:56] You know, speakers like Tony Robbins, like Rob- Robert Kiyosaki, Nick Vujicic. I'd invite them over to Japan. And I know what it's like to actually have a legitimate business aside from being an influencer. And my coaching clients and my agency clients, for the most part, they are in the same boat. They want their followers to become their clients, who are paying thousands of dollars a month because they've got IP and they know how to help you go from, where you are to where you wanna be, a transformation, and that's what people are paying for.

[00:02:27] And you're not trying to send people to e-commerce to buy like a hoodie with a logo or a hat to support a cause. it's a different game And when you start going down that route of setting up authority and finding a small audience who's willing to pay you big money, that is when everything changes, especially for service professionals.

[00:02:47] The thing about being a service provider with a legitimate business that you're already making money for and charging thousands of dollars a month is that you have a limited amount of energy. So when you're a service professional, your week is probably already pretty maxed out. So let's look at typically what your reality is gonna be.

[00:03:02] So we've got seven days in a week, right? We've got Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, right? And what's gonna happen is pretty much if you are living any type of sane life, you're not gonna be working the weekends, which you shouldn't. You should be actually taking time for yourself, 

[00:03:17] So what you're doing for delivery right now is probably already covering one, two, three, four of your days, And then the rest, you might have some time for marketing, that's running ads, doing creatives, and things like that. But when you're looking at people like Gary Vee or, 

[00:03:33] Dan Martell, you know, people who are crushing it, what you're seeing is they're doing 5 to 10 posts a day, which is, like, unrealistic. And the reason why that's a mistake is because you wanna be thinking about did they do at the stage that got them there and not what they're doing right now.

[00:03:47] Because they had to do things to make enough money to hire the right people in order to actually be able to commit, because their day is gonna look more like this. and I actually know some of them, I work with them, They're spending about 50 to 60% of their time. So let's just say you have, uh, you know, this much time to work on content, and then what's happening is their team, the one that they have enough money to hire, is doing the rest.

[00:04:14] And a lot of times You know, they might take one day a week off, and they're even doing more content here. So you gotta think of yourself kind of like as a media business instead of just being, you know, I do services and a bit of media on the side. But not all at once, because that's how you're gonna crash and burn your business.

[00:04:30] So let's talk about exactly how to go from where you are to, you know, just being able to commit a little bit, to being able to do a lot more by installing some simple systems, and I wanna walk you through the main things here. So when it comes to winning content, there's three main things. Here's how you wanna think about it.

[00:04:46] You don't need to, number one, figure out, you know, what's, what's the viral hit, things like that. That will come later. And if your first videos, even if you write the perfect script and you get amazing editors, a lot of times it's not gonna do well, not because your stuff isn't great, but because you just don't have enough practice.

[00:05:04] You just haven't been doing it long enough. And the first thing you wanna think about is what is the framework, right? How are you Going to explain the value that's in here, that big puffy idea. You know, you know you're smart. You know you get your clients great results, and your clients keep telling you that, and they stick around for a long time because you know your stuff and you know how to get it done.

[00:05:26] But without the right framework, what's gonna happen is it feels like this big puffy cloud, and if I go up to someone and explain, "I got this, this great idea," it, it just feels too vague. But if you could say exactly this is how something happens, and this is why it's important, and this is why you should care, that's a framework.

[00:05:45] And I'm gonna share with you a really important one. The other one thing I'm gonna share with you is production. Now, when it comes to production, what this means is, think of like a Hollywood set, right? Right now I, I've got a bit of production going. I've got a, a light here, I've got two cameras, I got my laptop, I've got Mac shooting the video for me.

[00:06:01] This is production. You don't need all this, but you need some things. I'll give you a hint. You're gonna start with just the phone that's in your hand right now or in your pocket or that you're watching this video on, and a stick to hold something on and a wireless mic That's all you need for production, but how you use it and how you frame it up is super important, too, 

[00:06:19] And then the other thing is you need the right, energy. Right now, I have a certain type of energy when I'm presenting. I'm- I'm having a conversation just like I would with a client. Sometimes you need to be over the top and act really excited and animated like you're an infomercial guy.

[00:06:34] Sometimes you just wanna drop way down and connect with people on a deeper level, and we're gonna talk about that, too. And if your content is not winning right now, you're gonna wanna go through and look at, Do I not have the right production in place? Do I not come across with the right energy?

[00:06:48] Or do I not have the right framework? So let's step into some of these. I'm gonna start with, with production. And by the way, if you want, uh, the list of the gear that I actually use, then, uh, just below here, there'll be a list. Uh, no gatekeeping, just, you know, click the link, grab that. But let's jump into the actual gear that you need.

[00:07:05] All right, so when it comes to production, I'm gonna give it to you in, like, three different levels. So level one is literally your phone. This is an iPhone 15 Pro. I don't even have the 17. Uh, the 18 is probably gonna come out this year. This is plenty. Even the 13 is gonna be fine, so anything in the last three or four years is perfect.

[00:07:20] What's important is that you actually use the right settings. You wanna always shoot in 4K, and you wanna use the back cameras, not the front cameras. 

[00:07:27] The other thing you wanna get is a wireless microphone. There are some wireless mics, like by DJI, that will just sync directly to your camera. Typically, don't use AirPods. The sound really sucks on those. Get a real wireless mic. Now, that's level one, and the thing that's really gonna help you is to get a really simple selfie stick that has legs.

[00:07:48] Why is this important? It's so that you can get far enough back so that actually shows your face. What you don't wanna do is get, like, this close and it feels like a freaking Zoom call. Everybody's on Zoom calls all the time. You don't wanna be another Zoom call or Zoom meeting in someone's newsfeed.

[00:08:03] You actually wanna be interesting. Here's a rule of thumb I call it Chiefs. All right? So when you frame yourself, number one, C is for chin. The chin should be exactly, in the middle of the frame, so there should be enough space here and here.

[00:08:17] It should be the same, H, hand. Hand on head. If I go like this, that's about how much space there should be above my head. Now, this is gonna work for vertical or horizontal video. It's the same rules, okay? Record it the same way on your phone this way or this way. Doesn't matter, okay?

[00:08:32] C-H. Eye, camera should be at your eye level. 

[00:08:35] You don't want it to be down low pointing up. Makes you look 30% fatter, overweight.

[00:08:40] it could also make you feel dominant, right? If, if you have it really high, what happens is that the viewer is looking down at you, and it's not a great look for an authority position. The other thing that happens is there's a psychological connection because what kind of people do we always look down on?

[00:08:56] We look down on little children, and you don't want to be perceived as a child consciously or subconsciously. So get this at eye level, really important, because eye level is peer level. You see face to face, and you feel like you have a connection, right? So we're at C-H-I. E is elbows. You gotta get far enough back so that the elbows are comfortably in the frame, and this is the opposite of a Zoom call where you're so close it feels like you're just filling, like you got your face smushed into the glass, stuck inside of, like, a Superman, you know, mirror prison thing.

[00:09:26] You know, like, they do that. Like, that's not what we want. We wanna be far enough back so that at least your elbows are in. Hopefully, you could get far enough back so that your waist is in. And I'm explaining this because that's the reason why you need a wireless mic, 'cause you realize how far back, and typically it's gonna be, like, you know, this far back.

[00:09:42] That's how far back you're gonna be, and then the sound sucks, F is for face. The face should be equidistant left and right. I should have exactly the same amount of space here as here. Make sure in the middle. You know those birthday photos where everybody's, like, in a big group, and then you zoom in on your own face, and you're, you're on the edge, and then your face kind of looks like a mango and it's distorted?

[00:10:05] It's because all cameras, especially smartphones, when they shoot, the person in the middle always has the nicest proportions. Everything else gets distorted, and you don't wanna be on either edge 'cause the middle is the sweet spot. The last one is S, and that stands for Shaka hands. you do this with your hands, and your thumb and your pinky, this is scientifically proven to be the exact distance between your lips and the microphone.

[00:10:29] That's the distance it should be. So that's the CHIEF framework. So when it comes to production, remember, I showed you the gear for level one and the CHIEF framework, and that's gonna help you through that.

[00:10:39] I wanna share just one more thing. If you wanna go further, you can, and this is something that is under 1,000 bucks. It's the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, and if I had to choose just one piece of kit- To shoot all videos with, if I wanted a bump up from iPhone, then it would be this. It all comes together like this.

[00:11:02] You got the wireless mic, you got a great little gimbal camera. It'll track your face, it picks up great audio, and it's got its own little tiny stand. So, uh, if you're looking for a step up but don't wanna break the bank, then this would be step two. 

[00:11:17] Now, level three is what, kind of what I'm doing right now. I've got one camera there. I've got a light. I've got somebody else holding it handheld. And the reason I'm doing this is I know that YouTube has a higher expectation of quality. And you don't have to start here, but it's good to know what level three is.

[00:11:36] So I'm just using a couple of Sony cameras. Wireless mic goes to that camera. So production, those are the three levels you gotta think about Chiefs, that goes across the board. this is all you need to know in order to get started. Anything beyond that, it might be useful, it might not, but it's not gonna be the, the foundational information that you need.

[00:11:57] You don't need any more than that. All right? 

[00:11:59] Let's talk about energy. Here's the thing about energy, is if you've ever taught children, like kindergarten children, toddlers, then you realize you have to exaggerate everything. You have to speak slower, and you have to use flashcards and colors And sometimes you have to do that when it comes to short-form.

[00:12:16] you have to show up larger than life. Kind of think of it as, stage makeup. I went to watch, Celine Dion when she came to Tokyo. This was a few years ago. And then afterwards, we hung out with one of, you know, her, her top dancers. And when he just got offstage, his makeup looked like, pretty much like clown makeup, 'cause it was so exaggerated.

[00:12:36] But from far away on the stage, it looked perfectly natural, because that's what's needed when you have these harsh, bright lights on you. So when you're making short-form, everything needs to be a bit exaggerated. Think of it as th- a larger-than-life version of you. Not like how I'm speaking now, more like, "Hey, guys, here's how you do this."

[00:12:54] Like, sometimes that's what's necessary. It feels weird, but when you just have 30 seconds, or, or more likely two seconds to grab someone's attention, 30 seconds to keep it Sometimes you gotta pull out all the stops, right? So that's number one. Number two, I wanna talk to you about something called the goldfish method.

[00:13:10] I call it the goldfish method because you don't need a memory longer than a goldfish. And what that means is that you just write down your script. Right now I'm not scripted, but in short form I think it's a good idea to script. You break it up into lines, and you're just gonna look down, read one line, look at the camera, deliver the line.

[00:13:25] Look down, read one line, look at the camera, deliver the line. And this is how you're gonna get away from the problem that comes with teleprompters. there's a different part of your brain that operates when you're reading a script. That really sucks. So instead of having to go to the part of the brain that's reading, or worse yet the part that has to memorize stuff...

[00:13:43] And by the way, if you are gonna come at me with like, "Oh, the Hollywood movie actors, they memorize everything," yes, they do, and they get paid tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars because they're really, really good at it, and it's a very difficult skill to master. It's very difficult to speak from memory and then act as if you're not, you don't have it memorized.

[00:14:03] That's why they get paid so much. I don't have that skill level, and I'm gonna guess that 99.9% of the people watching this don't have that same skill level. So the next best thing is the goldfish method. Read one line, repeat it. You're not memorizing, you're just repeating what you read. The other thing you wanna think about, too, is to keep people's engagement you wanna do a video cut like once every one to two seconds.

[00:14:26] That's how fast it is. So if you have let's say 10 lines in your 30-second script, that's gonna be an average of three seconds per line, which is fine. You're gonna read one line, read to the camera, and once you're happy with that you move the camera to a different scene, and you're gonna face this way and do the same thing.

[00:14:43] And then you're gonna face this way. One line, one cut. And then your editor stitches those all together and it makes the video way more engaging. So for energy, those are the three things I want you to remember. Number one exaggerate everything. Number two the goldfish method.

[00:14:57] the third one is called the partner in crime. so I was on a coaching call, and basically what happened was, you know, somebody was like, "Every time I get in front of the camera-" Uh, I get all nervous, you know, and I look nervous, I feel nervous. And it's true, I watched the video, and they were just kind of speaking as if they, you know, they had a gun to their head or it was like a hostage video.

[00:15:15] so what we did, and this is something I learned from someone named Mo McRae, and he said, "What you wanna do is think back to your childhood, like when you were in middle school, or maybe even younger than that. Who was your friend who you kept getting into trouble with? Who, you know, people know, like, oh, if they're missing, then they must be with, you know, Bob, you know, or, or Gene or, or Billy."

[00:15:36] I want you to just take a minute right now. Who was that person as a child who was your partner in crime? Maybe you played hooky together. Maybe you went and, you know, s- snuck a pack of cigarettes, you know, behind the school or the church, or you're drinking beer when you shouldn't be.

[00:15:50] Whatever that is, right? Who was that person who you got into trouble with? Now, what I want you to do is go find that person on Facebook. All right? And look for, you know, a picture that looks similar to them, you know, like, to that age. Like let's say you were 13. 13 is, is the naughty age, isn't it? Print it out and actually go and stick it right below the lens, their little face.

[00:16:11] Now, here's the thing. I'm already thinking of somebody right now, I don't have his face there right now, but I could picture it. And the moment I see his face, what happens? A little bit of mischief comes over me, and everything I deliver becomes a little bit fun, and I feel like I've got this secret that, uh, that I'm trying to keep, and I, I just can't help myself from smiling and delivering from a completely different energy.

[00:16:34] So this has helped me. It's helped a lot of my clients, and it's really simple shit like that that actually changes you from being a robotic, stiff, news anchor to being a likable character. So that's three. I gave you one bonus. Let's move on to frameworks. So, so far we covered production, right?

[00:16:52] The gear you need to use and how to use it. We covered energy, how to show up with the right kind of energy for the right format. And now let's talk about frameworks. So when it comes to frameworks, I'm gonna share one with you. It's just like the, the best one for getting started.

[00:17:04] Think of this as, like, your Swiss Army knife, and there's a whole bunch of them, but this one is gonna serve you the best and I want you to walk away with usable stuff. So I call this the three and three, and this is something that I came up with when I was trying to help my clients to actually get people's attention in a contrarian way while showing up with authority.

[00:17:24] So the three and three has got, uh, three phases So in phase one is when you're going to immediately tell them to stop doing something, and this is gonna be something that they genuinely think is a good thing.

[00:17:38] Like, stop losing weight by exercising more, stop saving money if you wanna get rich, stop, uh, stop shooting videos if you wanna get popular, right? And then you wanna tell them right here what they want to do instead. So basically it's gonna be the opposite. Stop doing this, do this instead.

[00:17:55] And then you're gonna give them three practical tips to get started, uh, they could do right away without gatekeeping. And this is gonna be the hook, the turn, And then the, let's just say the payoff, the thing that makes it work. And I'll give you an example of this I'm not a health expert, I'm just gonna make this up, and this is bad health advice most likely, but for example, if I was a weight loss expert, I'd say, "Stop cutting carbs if you wanna lose weight.

[00:18:24] What you wanna do instead is make sure you're getting enough sleep, because no matter how many carbs you cut, if you're not getting enough sleep, you have so much cortisol that it's not even gonna help you. Your body's just gonna retain more." So stop, what to do instead, and then three is three practical 

[00:18:40] tips that you can use right away. So I'm gonna say, "So what you wanna do is, is number one, uh, instead of trying to wake up later, which is impossible, set an alarm for when you go to sleep, because that's gonna help you actually control how much sleep you get. Number two, don't eat any food for at least two hours before bed because that's gonna disturb your sleep, and number three is, let's just say get an, uh, an Eight Sleep, you know, one of those electronic bed sheet things.

[00:19:06] That helps you get the best sleep ever. Now, if you want help to implement this plan so you can actually lose weight without having to cut all the carbs, then comment whatever down below and I'll send you a free guide." So that's a really clumsy way of doing this, but here's what you need to know. It's a framework.

[00:19:23] It's something that's already in your expertise, it's in your wheelhouse, it's probably in your IP or education program, and you don't need to go invent new stuff. you're sharing something in a format that is actually interesting and it's gonna grab attention. All right. So I hope that you enjoyed this, and, uh, I want you to know that I'm making this without a script.

[00:19:44] I just have a basic, uh, rundown of what I wanna do. But I've been teaching this to my clients for a long time, so I'm really clear on exactly, you know, what it takes to make this happen. And by the way, if you look down below this YouTube video, you're gonna see that I have a custom GPT for the three and threes, that you can click it, it's answer some questions, it's gonna help you script that out.

[00:20:02] So grab that, that's my gift to you. It's for free, and also I have links to the actual gear, if you're looking for that, and it'll help to support this channel. So I hope you enjoyed that. as always, don't forget to hit subscribe, give it a like, 

[00:20:13] I'll see you in the next one.

[00:20:14] 

[00:20:15] Before you go, make sure you subscribe to the Content Capitalist podcast. New episodes come out every Monday. And if this helped you think differently about content, authority, coaching, or marketing, there is more coming. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, YouTube, and all the usual podcast places.

[00:20:33] Basically, choose your favorite place to listen to your podcasts 

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