356 Inside a Farm Marketing School Coaching Call with MacKenzie Wright from Jones Brothers Farms

Summary

Podcast Summary: My Digital Farmer Podcast – Episode 356

"Inside a Farm Marketing School Coaching Call with Mackenzie Wright from Jones Brothers Farms"
Date: April 8, 2026
Host: Corinna Bench
Guest: Mackenzie Wright (Jones Brothers Farms)

---

Episode Overview

In this unique episode, Corinna Bench shares a real, unscripted one-to-one coaching call with Mackenzie Wright, Director of Marketing and Customer Service at Jones Brothers Farms, a Kentucky-based operation specializing in tomatoes, vegetables, and beef, with an evolving non-traditional CSA and home delivery model. The episode provides an authentic look at the challenges, strategies, and wins of farm marketing in action, highlighting practical tactics, mindset lessons, and creative problem-solving. Corinna weaves in commentary and validation throughout, offering listeners both strategy and encouragement.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Farm Background & Mackenzie's Role

• Jones Brothers Farms specializes in tomatoes (notably the Red Deuce), vegetables, and beef, with a unique CSA offering guaranteed corn and tomatoes but evolving toward a flexible, grocery-store style order system.
• Mackenzie, with a background in ag education (not marketing), runs all marketing, customer service, social media, website management, and grant writing, with no formal team—just the Jones brothers and H2A workers.
• The farm delivers directly to customers’ homes, setting them apart from competitors who require pickup.
• Quote: "There is no team. There are the Jones brothers...and they are more than willing to let me take their pictures if I can chase them down." (11:54)

2. Rebranding, Grant Writing & DIY Approach

• The farm underwent a professional rebrand but realized ongoing agency support wasn’t financially feasible, leading Mackenzie to seek self-guided marketing knowledge through Farm Marketing School.
• Mackenzie successfully secured a USDA Value-Added Producers Grant on her second try, after learning from detailed reviewer feedback.
• Quote: "My biggest piece of advice...if you apply once, they will send you feedback...I combed that sucker, resubmitted it the second year, and we got it." (10:20)

3. CSA Model & Market Positioning

• Non-traditional CSA: flexible, customer can order single deliveries or subscription; free home delivery above a certain order value.
• Primary customer communication and traction is on Facebook (~8,000 followers), with Instagram (~389) lagging but seen as a potential growth area and different demographics.
• Transparent about traditional (not organic) farming practices and H2A workers, aiming to foster trust rather than “pitting” ag sectors against each other.
• Quote: "We're all on the same team. I know...Why can't...the grass fed guys send them to me? I'm gonna send them...I ain’t raising grass fed." (14:46)

4. Promotion Calendar & Messaging Strategy

• Mackenzie uses themed monthly marketing, aligning content and offers with seasonal moods:
  • January: "Back to the basics"
  • February: "Where connection grows"
  • March: Focus on ag education and behind-the-scenes production
• Content pillars help structure social media and email strategy.
• Quote: "For the month of January, everything kind of had the slogan of back to the basics...In February...where connection grows." (19:28)
• Corinna emphasizes that this clarity and structure is a major win.
• Corinna: "You're playing in a sandbox. I'm just in awe. This is great. What do you need my help with?" (20:59)

5. Content & Ad Experimentation (Facebook vs. Instagram)

• Actively runs A/B tests on content type and timing. Swapped between family/connection-focused ads and product-based ads to compare what drives sales and engagement.
• Found that product-focused ads (e.g., beef box) outperformed "faces/family" ads in conversions, leading to a shift in ad strategy.
• Tracks content effectiveness down to platform, timing, and performance.
• Quote: "When I did a picture of one of our beef boxes...sales went up. I got all kinds of questions about beef and I was like, this goes against everything that I thought I was doing." (21:10)

6. Lead Magnets & Tracking

• Developed compelling guides ("Beef Buying Guide", "Vegetable Guide") via Canva, using unique links to track which platform drives opt-ins.
• Ensures customers give their email to access guides, stoking list growth and tracking engagement directly.
• Mackenzie: "I love that idea because I was like, I wanted to know how many people are...Is it effective?" (25:48)
• Corinna commends the guides and shares Mackenzie's Beef Buying Guide as a template resource for the community. (26:06)

7. Instagram Growth Challenges & Reels Strategy

• Mackenzie asks for tips to close the huge follower gap between Facebook and Instagram.
• Corinna advises that it's OK for platforms to be uneven, but for Instagram, leaning into video "reels" is key for reach and discovery.
• Suggests batching simple farm videos, using captions/music, and recycling past content.
• Also reinforces the importance of each platform’s purpose: Facebook is still top for conversions for this farm’s demographic, but Instagram should be treated as an awareness tool.
• Corinna: "Instagram is really rewarding...the video reels. And it feels like a heavy lift, doesn’t it? ...Just simple 15 second things...see does that get more eyeballs on my brand?" (36:22)

8. Top-of-Funnel Focus: Email List Building First

• Corinna strongly suggests focusing ad spend on growing the email list via lead magnets, since email performs best for conversions.
• Social media’s main job: brand awareness and funneling to email, not direct sales.
• Corinna: "The primary goal of social media is to grow your email list...I never run ads for products...Social media’s job...should be brand awareness building, making people curious." (32:23, 34:13)
• The farm has a robust email newsletter, with about 5,000 subscribers, and derives two-thirds of sales this way.

9. Content Rotation & FAQs

• Repeat evergreen content (e.g., top FAQs, “how it works” videos, customer testimonials) regularly on social media to nurture new followers.
• Corinna recommends saving stories as Instagram “highlights” around topics like FAQs so they're easy to browse for newcomers.
• Quote: "You're always thinking about there’s new people coming in...they have not heard that my hours are...you got to repeat yourself every two weeks." (44:01)

10. Personal Branding & Appearing on Camera

• Mackenzie is hesitant to put herself forward as the “face” of the farm since she’s not a family member, worrying it might seem inauthentic.
• Corinna reassures her: every brand needs a guide, referencing the “StoryBrand” framework, and encourages Mackenzie to step into a visible leadership/storytelling role.
• Corinna: "You are the guide and therefore you must become visible in the story…Just start showing up in the videos and teaching people and being like, hey, it's Mackenzie from such and such farm." (55:02, 55:38)
• Points out that customers expect and welcome this—the “women behind the scenes” campaign resonated.
• Corinna: "I think when you step into that power and just really...claim that mantle, a lot of things are going to be possible for you that aren’t right now." (57:25)

11. Mindset & Validation

• Corinna emphasizes validation: sometimes marketing coaching is about confirming for farmers that they’re already on the right track and need encouragement as much as tactics.
• Corinna: "Sometimes I think people join farm marketing school because they just need someone to tell them they’re doing it right." (58:39)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "There is no team. There are the Jones brothers, which are Taylor and Zach, and...I kind of pushed my way in to let them...let my friends help me. Let me help you. And then I kind of never left." (11:54, Mackenzie)
• "If you apply [for a grant] once, they will send you feedback...I combed that sucker, resubmitted it the second year, and we got it." (10:20, Mackenzie)
• "Our carrots are our tomatoes. We raise what’s called a Red Deuce tomato and it is a softball-size slicer that is to die for." (17:14, Mackenzie)
• "For the month of January, everything kind of had the slogan of back to the basics..." (19:28, Mackenzie)
• "When I did a picture of one of our beef boxes...sales went up...this goes against everything that I thought I was doing." (21:10, Mackenzie)
• "I wanted to know how many people are...is it effective? Is it not?" (25:48, Mackenzie)
• "Instagram is really rewarding the reels, the video reels...just simple 15 second things." (36:22, Corinna)
• "You are the guide and therefore you must become visible in the story." (55:02, Corinna)
• "This is your business. Own it." (57:25, Corinna)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Farm background, Mackenzie’s role & team structure: 07:35–12:54
• Grant writing process & advice: 10:14–11:29
• CSA model, delivery, customer service: 12:54–18:54
• Promotion calendar & monthly themes: 19:28–20:59
• Content/Ad A/B testing, results: 21:10–24:55
• Lead magnets/tracking (Canva analytics): 24:07–26:44
• Instagram growth tactics/reels advice: 27:19–39:35
• FAQs, content rotation & highlights: 44:01–46:49
• Personal branding, stepping into the “guide” role: 53:41–57:52
• Wrap-up, mindset & validation: 57:52–end

---

Takeaways & Actionable Advice

• Focus on what works: It’s okay to lean into your strongest platform (Facebook), but experiment on others like Instagram with platform-specific content (reels, stories).
• Track everything: Use analytic tools (even within Canva and platforms like Facebook) to measure content and lead magnet effectiveness.
• Email is king: Build and nurture your list; consider running list-building ads, not just product ads.
• Rotate evergreen content: Don’t fear repetition; new followers need to hear the basics and FAQs often.
• Be the guide: Step into the brand storyteller role authentically—even if you’re not the “farmer.” Customers seek connection and leadership.
• Embrace monthly/seasonal theming: Promotion calendars help both organize messaging and keep content fresh and relevant.

---

For Further Reference

• Check out Mackenzie’s Beef Buyer's Guide in the Lead Magnet project inside Farm Marketing School (as per Corinna's commentary, 26:06).
• For more on structuring social/email content and using Instagram stories/highlights, Corinna recommends watching the Farm Marketing School’s social media class.
• Book Recommendation: Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller (for understanding the “guide” role in brand stories).

---

Closing Message

Corinna repeatedly affirms Mackenzie’s instincts, hard work, and willingness to experiment—highlighting that confidence, continued learning, and structure are as vital as technical know-how in farm business marketing. This episode serves as a masterclass in both practical tactics and marketing mindset for farm entrepreneurs—one that demystifies the process and encourages others to believe in their unique approach.

“Mackenzie, if you’re listening to this again, I just want to reiterate—you’re on the right track... I know you’re going to optimize your funnel even further, but you’re already so far along, and I’m really proud of you.” (58:57, Corinna)

---

Show notes and resources:
mydigitalfarmer.com/356

Transcript

[Corinna Bench]

I have a surprise for you today. One of the farmers inside of Farm Marketing School is coming onto the show and you're going to get to hear our one to one coaching call. And Mackenzie is brilliant. And the funny thing is she didn't realize that she was.

Sometimes all we need to hear is you're doing it right. So, Mackenzie, this one's for you.

And yes, you're doing it right.

[Podcast Announcer]

Hey there.

[Corinna Bench]

This is Corinna Bench and welcome to the My Digital Farmer Podcast. In today's market, it's not enough to just grow your product, you've got to know how to sell it too. Welcome to the My Digital Farmer Podcast where we reveal online marketing strategies and tips to help farmers like you get better and more confident at marketing, learn how to find more customers, increase your sales, and build a strong brand for your farm. Let's start the show. Well, welcome to episode 356 of the My Digital Farmer Podcast. I'm your host, Corinna Bench, one of the farmers at Shared Legacy Farms out

in Elmore, Ohio, and I'm also the

founder of mydigitalfarmer.com which is all about trying to help other farmers like you

get more confident in your marketing and

sales strategy so that you can grow a profitable business. How are you today, everyone? Welcome back to the show. If you're one of my regular listeners,

I'm really glad you're here.

Grateful that you tune in every single week and that you share the show with other farmers. If you are new to the podcast

and this is your first time here,

thank you for listening. I hope that you enjoy this episode. Make sure that you subscribe to the pod and go check out my first 10 episodes. If you are new to the marketing space, if you feel a little green and you need to learn the ropes,

that's a great place to go because I designed them many years ago when I first created the show. Very intentionally, I put them there in

a certain order so that I could teach the key fundamentals and principles on

which everything else in this podcast stands. So go listen to those first 10 episodes.

You can also get onto my email

list because when you do, I'm going

to subscribe you to an onboarding email nurture sequence.

I teach you how to write those inside of Farm Marketing School for your own customers. But this is a sequence of emails

that drops every week for about three

months and it's basically going to be

a walk through the marketing jungle.

I'm going to show you the key

principles you need to know. I'm going to point you to the best podcast, the Influencers you should follow free trainings, freebies, gifts, bonuses.

It's really good stuff.

You can subscribe by going to mydigitalfarmer.com

[Podcast Announcer]

subscribe Today's podcast is sponsored by my friends at Localline. A new year is the perfect time to streamline your sales and grow more profitably. So if you run a CSA or you sell wholesale or manage both, localline helps you streamline your sales and scale Scale with confidence. In 2025, farms and food hubs that used Localline grew their sales by 33%, building on the 23% growth they saw the year before. Average order values increased by 31% I know mine did, and total order count grew by 9%. Look Real results across operations of all sector sizes. Localline brings everything together in one platform. They have CSA management, wholesale ordering, automated inventory, barcode scanning, a box builder and POS so that you spend less time managing admin and more time growing your business. And switching couldn't be easier. There are no setup fees, my friends, no sales commissions and their onboarding team will migrate your store storefront for free, taking the workload off your plate. And that usually only takes a few days. As a podcast listener, you'll also get one premium feature for free for a full year when you use the code MDF2026 at checkout. So go to mydigitalfarmer.com localline and then enter that code MDF2026 start 2026 organized, efficient and ready to grow with localline. And now back to the show.

[Corinna Bench]

Today is a special treat because you are going to get a bird's eye view of a one to one coaching call that I had with one of the farmers inside of Farm Marketing School. This is a special perk that I offer to members. Once they've been in the membership for three months they get a one to one call with me and Mackenzie Wright reached out. She is kind of the Director of Marketing and Customer service for the Jones Brothers farm and we had an amazing conversation over zoom that went about an hour. I recorded it but I didn't go in with the intention of this is going to be a podcast episode. So I didn't prep Mackenzie, I didn't ask her for her bio. I didn't really have questions that were steering the conversation. I really just let her start talking and use the time however she needed to use it. So the interview ended up being so good I thought it was a great example of a coaching call and how it can bring clarity to a farmer. Plus, she was just doing a lot of outstanding things already in her farm sales funnel. And so I asked her, hey, like, this was amazing. Can I use this as a podcast episode? And she gave me her permission. So I'm going to drop the interview in to the recording here and I might pop in occasionally with a quick commentary to try and lay a little bit of context, just because I didn't have any questions to kind of summarize or guide the conversation along. And you may be a little confused at certain points. So I'm going to drop her in right now and you're going to literally hear like the first. I think I cut out the first minute of our conversation, so it's going to feel like we dropped into a conversation. But in this part, she's really catching me up to speed on what her role is in the business, a little bit of background about her farm. So I'm going to let you listen to that and then I will continue to pop in throughout the interview with some of my insights or things that I want you to pay attention to as you listen to the interview. Okay. I hope that you get a lot of value out of this. Mackenzie had a lot of wisdom to share. There were some questions she brought into the room and we discussed them and brainstormed them together for sure. But she already has a keen sense of how to do this well. She shared some things that I think you could benefit from. So I hope you enjoy this interview with Mackenzie Wright.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Our big thing is tomatoes. We will tomatoes and vegetables mostly and then our beef. But we do. We're kind of a non traditional csa. So what we do is you're guaranteed corn and tomatoes each week. But we're moving towards more of what the guys call a grocery store model where you could order one time a summer if you wanted to. If it's over a certain amount of money, we deliver straight to your house free of charge or you can sign up for a subscription. So I had found you. I was like, okay. I wanted to explore to this. I went full time with the guys in July of this summer and then we like for marketing and all the things. And I was still listening to you, you know, and kind of learning and things. And we went all in on a marketing company to help us kind of rebrand. So we went through a rebranding which I love our new logo. I love the new brand. It is very clean. It's much easier to embroider. It is beautiful. I love the color scheme. They did A fantastic job helping us. Well, part of that conversation was, is that they were going to. They were, we thought they were going to bring me in and like kind of teach me and guide me, because I don't have a background in marketing. My background's in ag education. I taught for 14 years. Okay, well, then when kind of we got done with all the branding stuff, I was like, okay, I'm ready to come visit and, you know, take a day in the life of marketing school, you know, crash course. And they're like, oh yeah, it's gonna be $220 an hour.

[Corinna Bench]

Oh.

[Mackenzie Wright]

And we had to lock into a year long contract. And I was like, pump the brakes. And I told the guys, I was like, we're not doing that. I was like, I have wanted to join this school with you, but I was kind of like, I felt guilty asking them to do that, to pay for that for me. And they were like, it's only how much a month. And I was like, here's the price. I would like to do this. I have to do it all on my own. And they were like, yes. So they were all in immediately. So that's why it took me like a year to finally get into the school part and to actually like get this coaching with you is because we thought we were on track for that. You know, with somebody that was here. They were coming and taking pictures for us and, and doing a lot of cool things. But then they were like, wait a minute. And I was like, we are not in that ballpark of money. Yeah. So landed here. I already have, like I said, an onboarding email sequence. I have for three to four years now been running the website, the social media, all the things for the guys on the side while teaching. And then we got the USDA value added producers grant. Oh, I'm also the grant writers.

[Corinna Bench]

Wow. I was gonna say let's, let's create a project where you teach that.

[Mackenzie Wright]

I mean, I love you, but I'm not sure that I'm the best guide. Okay, so cool. We, we actually applied twice. And my biggest piece of advice to anyone, and I would be more than happy to help you if you have somebody that you want to connect me with that needs help, is if you apply once, they will send you feedback. They will give you the feedback and the scoring. And as a former teacher, I was like, heck yes. I want my feedback. 98 pages worth of my blood, sweat and tears.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So I combed that sucker, resubmitted it the second year, and we got it.

[Corinna Bench]

So Now, Yeah, I met. Just as a side note, I met another woman at a conference I went to. She. She was a grant judge. What do they call the people who read. Who read the grants and then decide?

[Mackenzie Wright]

Right.

[Corinna Bench]

She got paid to do that, I guess. Apparently, it's really hard to find people who want that job, just so you know. So she did that for, like, two years, and she's like, that's the best training. I'm like, the best grant writer now ever, because I know exactly what we're looking for and. And what would pass and what wouldn't pass. So she's like, yeah, now I write grants, and I always get them for people. Anyway, that's another tip. Keep going.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So we have. That was written specifically for matching my salary as the. My title is director of home delivery, but I do all of our customer service. The guys are literally out spreading manure right now. I do all of our customer service, all of our sales, all. Anything you see on the Internet, social media is put out by me.

[Corinna Bench]

You don't have a team.

[Mackenzie Wright]

It's just you.

[Corinna Bench]

There's no team.

Okay?

[Mackenzie Wright]

There is no team. There are the Jones brothers, which are Taylor and Zach, and they are more than willing to let me take their pictures if I can chase them down. Yeah, I'm not married to them. I was a college friend, and they got in a bad spot, and I kind of pushed my way in to let them. To let my friends help me. Let me help you. And then I kind of never left. And then it kind of just kept growing and kept growing, and they're like, okay, we think we can do this. And so here we are three years later. This will be our fourth. Yeah, this will be our fourth, I think our fourth. Our fourth and fifth summer together. And through all of this. And so we are. We deliver. We don't have a pickup here at the farm. We just got a new office. So that's not a total out of the realm of possibility. But one of the blessings for me and them is they do not have any desire to really have a store here. They don't like being locked into hours, you know, And I'm like. As a mom, I'm like, yes, please, like, love.

[Corinna Bench]

That's great. Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So right now, I'm able to work pretty much 8 to 2, and then I leave and go pick my kids up, and I work in the evenings. I make social media schedules, you know, all that kind of stuff that I can do anywhere. And they just trust me to do my job. And it's a Beautiful thing. It's, it's working great. I hope they think it's working great. But I know that we can do better. I know that this farm has the potential to really do more. And so that's where I want to get the help we have over. We've almost. We're getting close to 8,000 followers on Facebook right now. That tends to be our biggest source of interest, revenue, engagement. I have not tapped. Let me see how many Instagram followers we got. Because it's, it's, it's minuscule compared to my Facebook following. But my ideal customer is on Facebook. But I'm learning that there is this group of people. These, you know, I guess you would call that my age almost. I'm 37. But yeah, we have 389 followers on Instagram. Yeah, that's a huge discrepancy. Like, and there's all these health people on Instagram like our stuff. We want. Also, side note, we're not organic. We're not organic. We are what I would consider a traditional, more traditional practices. I have no problem answering those questions to people. I try to be very transparent when asked, you know, we're not organic. If your animal or your vegetables get sprayed, trust me, we're not feeding it to our kids either. It goes through, you know, a washer and, and we quarantine animals. We do all the things, but we're not organic. So I have to tiptoe very carefully there in that space. As you know, Ag sometimes can pit each other against each other.

[Corinna Bench]

I know. I hate that. Right?

[Mackenzie Wright]

Gotta hate it.

[Corinna Bench]

Hate it.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Like, we're all on the same.

[Corinna Bench]

We're all on the same team. I know.

Yes. Yes.

[Mackenzie Wright]

And I don't get it. I don't. I just. It irks me. And so I think, you know, that there's a place for everybody and there's a space for everybody. But why can't. If somebody's looking for grain, finished beef, the. The grass fed guys send them to me. I'm gonna send them. I ain't raising grass fed. I don't like the taste of grass fed beef. I'm sending them to you. Like.

[Corinna Bench]

Yep.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So we're not organic. We're very traditional. I would say we're not huge. It's me, the guys and H2A workers. I've never crossed the threshold of talking about our H2A workers. I love them dearly. Some of them have been here for 14 years. They come back, you know, so I think there is a good story to tell there. I just have not braved those waters yet.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I, I don't, I take pictures of them, but I don't like talk about H2A a ton and I, it would be interesting to kind of walk around that be like why, like what, what's driving that? You know and is that fear? Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yes, it's a fear that is inaccurate. You know, I, I love these guys.

[Corinna Bench]

The.

[Mackenzie Wright]

We have women here too and they're amazing people. But I, you know.

[Corinna Bench]

How many did you say you have?

[Mackenzie Wright]

What now?

[Corinna Bench]

How many H2A workers do you have

[Mackenzie Wright]

in, in peak season? So we're also a hint farm which has federal legislation could change that drastically in 2026. Not good for us. But and peak season we have about 35.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So we, we, we have lots here now that may decline greatly with the loss of hemp if we lose him. We're, we're, we are all also very active in Farm Bureau federation in Kentucky. And so Taylor involved in the legislation process in advocating for, you know, legislation and laws and he is very hopeful that that will change. But he is like known across the state kind of as a guy that, you know, if it comes to H2A, Taylor knows it. He would be an excellent like guest about like how do you navigate H2A? How do you navigate that conversation? Like he doesn't know the conversation because he's like I don't want no part of social media and website but the legalities behind it. He's an expert for sure. So we have them here and they're great. I love them. Yeah, that's a lot in.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah. Like what's your, what's your differentiator like what sets you apart then from all the competition?

[Mackenzie Wright]

What do you talk about our area? It's that we deliver. So everything that we sell we will deliver to your home. And that seems to be the biggest thing. We still have a lot of traditional like farm stand type CSAs around us or like you have to pick up at a certain location. Now we're marketing in Louisville Metro Louisville on the west side of Louisville all the way up until covering all of northern Kentucky. So Louisville markets tend to be. You have to pick up in this spot at the YMCA or whatever the locale is. Northern Kentucky markets are typically picked up at a farm site. So I think one of the big things for us is that we deliver it right to your door. And then the big our like our carrot. Your carrot. You have carrots. Our carrots are our tomatoes. We raise what's called a Red deuce tomato. And it is a softball size slicer that is to die for. And we can get them as early as mid April. Now I say we get them because we have a greenhouse. So we, we're raising 4,500 plants indoors in pots. So they are ripening in our greenhouse. They're not gas, you know, like Mexico or Canada tomatoes. They're coming straight off the plant. Red. Those are our two things that I think would set us apart. That, and I try really hard to be that connection. If you message us or comment on a Facebook post, somebody from Jones Farm is somebody as in me, it ain't them. But you're getting to talk to someone, you know, does that make sense? Like you, you're not, not being heard, I guess. You know, I want that customer service piece and that comfort.

[Corinna Bench]

All right, here I am interjecting. I want you to pay attention to the next part of the interview because she is going to essentially start talking about a promotion calendar concept. Notice how she is getting clear about the key messages that she wants to focus on in her marketing and how she has kind of like a theme mapped out for each month or a different offer focus for each month. So just pay attention to that.

[Mackenzie Wright]

And the confidence I kind of last year my kick, my motto and thing that I really pushed was fresh, local and trusted. Those are my three like keywords that you saw me putting everywhere. And this year I'm kind of doing a different approach. Like for the month of January, everything kind of had the slogan of back to the basics. And I focus on, you know, like the getting back to the basics. And then February with it being like the lovey month, I did kind of a theme of where connection grows. So like a lot of my posts, everything that I put on Facebook was themed around that idea of connection. So we also partner with farms and I sell ice cream, cheese, egg, chicken and honey from people we trust. So I focus on those connections and how that that was part of who we are. And then in March my plan is to do because we have like Kentucky has an all in for ag ed. So it's a big like month for Kentucky there. You know, National Ag day is in March. So in March I'm going to focus on like the production side of things and like, I don't know, I'm let chat GPT come up with my help me with my little slogan here. But more of a look at like how does it get to you? Like the production, like I took a picture today of the cattle scale. Okay, how do how do I know what to bill you for? This is how I know. Yeah, you know a lot of behind

[Corinna Bench]

the scenes stuff then.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yes, yes. In March. And so I'm hoping to. I like that theme. It kind of gives me a structure for the month. I don't know if I need to make them two months. Do I need to make it a year long theme? Maybe. I don't know. I. Experimenting.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

You're playing in a sandbox. I'm like, I'm just in awe. Like this is great. What do you need my help with this? I. You're doing a great job.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So I did the. One of the lessons that I listened to you about was about like if you're not tracking it, you can't determine if it's. If it's right, if it's working. And so I expanded my little marketing tracking sheet to like I now look at like the time of day. I look at like did the content. One of the things that I had read, not from you necessarily, but was that people stop on social media to look at faces to see if they know that person. And I'm not sure that I agree that that's the most effective ads. So I was paying for ads on Facebook with like our farmers faces in it or their kids faces in it. And I did not really see an uptick in sales. When I did a picture of one of our beef boxes, which is like $100 ish box of our beef sales went up. I got all kinds of questions about beef and I was like, this goes against everything that I thought I was doing. So for the month of February, what I did was I switched and made my ads product based and my two times a week posts were family like based, connection based, if that makes sense. Just to see, to be able to track and see.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Did in January my ads about the family and my post about the products do better or worse than in February where I switched them, if that makes sense.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

And in January I really tried to focus on my ad, my paid ads being not just a sale pitch, if that makes sense. More of a connection, like know where it's coming from. So no, I. Like I said, I've listened to a lot of your stuff and I'm hoping that it's all good. I'm hoping that I am on the right track. I did my first big project that I did with you. I can't remember what the project was called. I used to have a list of the ones I wanted to get done quickly, but I made a beef buying Guide on Canva. Like a. Like an ebook. And it's like eight or nine pages. It was crazy long, but it had. Did you send that to me?

[Corinna Bench]

Was that you that sent that? I had someone else send me one to look at it. Yeah.

It's. Yes.

Gorgeous. Yeah. I was like, you got my email back, right? Didn't I tell you? I was. I. What? I wrote you an email back.

[Mackenzie Wright]

I was like, no way.

[Corinna Bench]

Like, it's like two days after you sent it. I was like, I don't really have a whole lot to say. It's incredible

[Mackenzie Wright]

if I miss it somehow. But no. Oh, man.

[Corinna Bench]

I want to go see if I can find it in my scent mail. But I was like, I can't even find a typo. It's beautiful. Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So, I mean, have you.

[Corinna Bench]

Have you used it yet? Have you put it out into the world?

[Mackenzie Wright]

So it's. It's live. Let me see if I can. So the one thing that I love about Canva is that you can. When you do the public live links, you can see how many people have looked at that stuff. Love it.

[Corinna Bench]

I did not know that.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Oh, cool.

[Corinna Bench]

You just taught me something.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Okay. Oh, wow. Let me share my screen with.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah, let me.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Okay. Let me share. I'll show you.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Okay.

[Corinna Bench]

So you're not even. You're just taking them right to the Canva link. You're not even. It's not a download. Like.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yeah.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay, cool.

[Mackenzie Wright]

All right, can you see this now over here?

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Okay, so when I go up here to this little share button where you see your public link.

[Corinna Bench]

Yep.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Look, it tells me seven and I. Look, you can make multiple options of your link. So, like, this is my public view link. So this is the link that I use, like, when I posted it to Facebook, because traffic is coming from Facebook when I put it in my newsletter. Look at there. I got 17 people looked at it through my newsletter. Awesome.

[Corinna Bench]

And so you could put one for Instagram too, then, Right? Like, you could just see if it's how it's doing on different.

[Mackenzie Wright]

To be able to help me track and see it. Yeah. So I'm taking people straight here because I wanted that tracking. But then if I go, like, let me see if I can go back to my projects over here now, they

[Corinna Bench]

still have to enter their. Their email, right? Or no. Or are they just clicking on the link and it's taking them there?

[Mackenzie Wright]

They have to enter their website. Their email on my website to get there? Yes.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay, that's. That's like the landing page. They get Taken to. Is that almost like the thank you page? Okay.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yes, yes. Can you see the vegetable guide now? Okay.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

All right, so this one. This one's been out a little bit longer, and I used it as my hook for a lot. Look at 139 visitors on that one.

[Corinna Bench]

Oh, that's beautiful.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yeah. So that is huge. I mean, you'll love that. I will.

[Corinna Bench]

Wow. Okay, cool tip. I'm gonna have to share that.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yeah, I. I love that idea because I was like, I wanted to know how many people are. Look like, is it effective? Is it not? Right, you know?

[Corinna Bench]

Right, right.

[Mackenzie Wright]

You don't know.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay, I'm back. Interjecting again.

I wanted to let you know I did go back and find that email that I had sent to her validating

her amazing work, and I asked her if she would give me permission to share that Beef Buyer's Guide with the members of Farm Marketing School. So if you are a member of fms, you can go into the Lead Magnet project and click on the link in the description of the resource folder for that particular asset, and it'll take you to her canva link so that you can see how she designed her Beef Buyer's Guide. So for some of you who've always

wanted to make something like that and you have no idea what to put

on it or how to make it

look, that could be a real lifesaver,

a real awesome resource just to go and see how she's done it and maybe, frankly, just copy and make your own version of it.

I mean, you wouldn't be able to

copy it, but you could look at it and use it as a.

As a pattern and as a guide. So I want you to know that is inside of our marketing school.

You have to find it in the Lead Magnet project under the resource folder. But it's a beautiful piece of work and so clear. If you sell bulk beef and want to explain cut sheets and the 1, 2, 3 buying process, it is.

It is a really good template.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Okay, so my big thing, like I said, is Instagram. Help me.

[Corinna Bench]

How do I correct that?

[Mackenzie Wright]

What do I.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay, I'm going to start out with just a basic question. Do you feel like you really need to. Because I always tell people to focus on, like, where's their ideal customer hanging out? And so I know there's this temptation. I know you're still going to do it, but I'm just going to. I want to try and relieve you a little bit of the pressure. There's. It's okay if one is stronger than the other. And it may be that the Instagram one just is going to grow a lot slower and it doesn't mean that you suck.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Well, I was just sh. What I was doing was sharing the pictures from Facebook to Instagram and it was again, not, we're not getting any traction there. So I was like, do I need to. I really don't love the idea of having to create two types of content because that's a lot of work.

[Corinna Bench]

And the question is, do you? Like, we could, we could go down that route and you could give it a few months, turn it into a beta test and be like, I'm going to do that for three months and see if it makes a difference. Right. And then reevaluate. So let's just assume you want to do that and the content that's on Instagram. So you're, you're doing the kind of thing where you just, are you going into meta or, or somewhere and, and scheduling a post and then it just, it puts it in both places. Are you, are you doing that extra step of writing a different version in Instagram in meta or you just. Did you even. Okay, because there is that option. I don't do that either. I just choose the one and it goes to both places. But I know that there is the option to like customize the caption in Instagram. In each of the cases when you schedule, you can like click, there's a little button in there that says that then you'd have to go and like you could change the caption if you wanted for the Instagram version and you could also change the graphic as well. So yeah, you're right, it is a little bit more work. The modality kind of. What, what kind of content is. Is. Are you using primarily what, what, what is easy? Like is it video? Is it how to content? Is it like you said, a lot of faces behind the scenes products. Like what are, what's your in. In Facebook right now?

[Mackenzie Wright]

In Facebook right now. So like.

[Corinna Bench]

Well, because, because you said it's going to Instagram too, right? So what like what is already in the rotation?

[Mackenzie Wright]

So like in February I did, I tried to, I scheduled posts for Tuesdays and Thursdays, just posts. And then I had ads running for seven days and our budget for that we're hoping because right now it's like our sign up season. So we're, we're looking at about 500 a week spending on that. My post have been directed at, you know, like this month our partner farms and like so I did one On Chelsea's eggs and like about pasture graze eggs. Another one was on like Jericho Farmhouse which with a picture of them like making the ice cream. Our content kind of varies. Last week was CSA week in the state of Kentucky. So I shared a few more things during last week of content that they had made about, you know, like our signups and stuff. Yeah, I don't share a lot of things made by other people. It's mostly stuff that I make and it depends upon. Like I said in January, all of my content that were posts were, were products with a link go buy this. Kind of my call to action was go buy this. And my ads were more connect with the farm, know where your food comes from. In February I flip flop them. My ads are specific to products with the links taking you to the product pages. My content it my post and you know that stuff is more faces connect with the farm so that I can kind of like you said, beta test and see which month generated us the best views, reactions, engagements, all that kind of stuff to see where we're going. So I don't, I don't know what the best option is there. I don't know if I should be rotating that more or add something else into the rotation. I don't have March totally planned yet, so I definitely have room to make some alterations there.

[Corinna Bench]

When you, when you post about in your ads, what are, so what is the goal of your, of your ads? Are you trying to grow your email list? Are you trying to drive people to buy for the first time? Like is it the sale? Like what's the conversion growing your email list or is it just brand awareness sale?

[Mackenzie Wright]

It's a sale. Yeah.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

In February it would have been a sale. In, in January it would have been more of just a brand awareness connect kind of thing.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay.

Have you watched the social media class yet in pro marketing school?

No.

Okay, that might be a good one for you. Even if all you do is just watch.

It's.

I think it's, it's set up as a challenge but you could just go in and watch all the videos and just absorb the ideas that are in there. One of the things I talk about is I think the primary goal of social media is to grow your email list. It to me it's actually more top of funnel if you have a good email marketing system below. Do you have a strong email marketing machine? I would assume you do.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Okay, yeah, we're using, we do new, we do newsletter. I call them our newsletters on Fridays and Mondays because our ordering Time ends on Monday at noon and we're deriving probably two thirds of all of our sales from our newsletters for the farm and that. So I mean our debt.

[Corinna Bench]

That's strong. Yeah, that's good. Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yeah.

[Corinna Bench]

I feel like social, Social media, yeah, social, good. Social media and email are like, they go hand in hand and honestly like a problem I see with a lot of farmers who haven't joined farmer. Even the ones who first join and they're still really early on in their, in their business. They, they equate marketing with social media. Like when they think of what I'm going to do with marketing it's just going to be social media is like 80 of my marketing time. And like I just want to remind you bring that into the room. Like I'm glad you have a social media engine and you're trying to figure out how do I make this work. But it, the, the job of email is to sell primarily. I don't know, I'm using fists. Sorry. But like yeah, social media's job does sell a little bit. You're going to have some people click on links, you know, and go right to your sales page. But I bet compared to the email list it's not doing, doing even close. Right. So the, the stats speak for themselves. Like social media's job for you primarily should be brand awareness building, making people curious. Double, you know, doing a stopping the scroll being like what is this attracting your ideal customer with content and then getting them on your email list and then trusting your email list to do the email. The marketing to do the work of building revenue. And I'm not saying don't stop promoting your products. Of course stack is products are part of your product awareness. Like this is what we sell, this

is what we do.

But it might be interesting. Have you ever put ads behind a lead magnet?

[Mackenzie Wright]

Like so my, that is a, that

[Corinna Bench]

is a, that is a common thing that's done in the digital marketing space is to actually run an ad to

get people on your list.

I don't know, it's, it might be something that you might want to play around with and test and maybe you don't want to abandon the other ad

[Mackenzie Wright]

too, but we have 5,030 email subscribers.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah, my, I mean my ads are always list building ads. I never run ads for products. But that's, that's just a decision that I made because I know that my email does such a good job of selling. So I'm just trying to attract the ideal customer into my world. That's what I'M spending my money on and then I let them kind of warm up through that system on email. And then, you know, it might take a couple months for them to finally buy, but then a lot of them do. So that's just a thought I'm going to throw into the room. But as far as content, like let's talk about things that other things that you could be posting. Instagram is really rewarding. The reels, the, the video reels. I know you're like, yes. And it feels like a heavy lift, doesn't it? Yeah. But again, I think if you, if the, if the, if the goal of social media is, is the reach and to find your ideal customer, then you have to think through that lens when you're creating content that whatever I'm making needs to serve that goal. And so the, the, the reels are, you know, they can be short, they can just be quick things you shoot on your phone and you're just, you don't even have to be narrating it necessarily. You could just do a 10, 20 second thing of them working on the farm, on their tractors, doing whatever they're doing and then you've got some captions or you put a music over it and you're just like doing the deal. Like, okay, I did my real Instagram, here it is. And so it gets shown in the feed more than just a post would like those get relegated, they don't get a lot of action. And so really committing like what if I for two weeks put a reel up every day and you just go out, you know, and you binge like just take videos of a bunch of things and it's just simple, like just don't make it work. Just simple 15 second things that you can quickly add a caption to and some music over. So it's not a lot of work. And just see does that get more eyeballs on my brand? So there's just that initial, like I need to come up with content that's going to tell what we are all about, identify kind of our products,

but

just capture interest and make a per. And then you have to have content that's getting them on your email list. So like there has to be a step occasionally throughout the week of inviting them. You want our produce availability list or whatever, maybe one of those guides, you know, this is how you get it so that as people, you know, they, they might follow you at first just for videos and then they're like, I want to learn a bit more, a little bit more about this. And now I actually am ready to get on the email list. Right. So I think that if you don't have any list building content going on, that's something that's a big. That I would want you to experiment with big time for sure. So reels. Playing around with reels. That's for eyeballs. The Instagram stories. I know there's a project inside of our marketing school just for the how to of that. Stories, though, is really more for the people. Once they're in your world, they. They just want to consume your stories because they like you and it builds trust and nurture. That's not really being shown to people. Like, they're not gonna. A person who doesn't know you exist obviously isn't seeing you in their stories.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Right.

[Corinna Bench]

They're not gonna go and consume that. So it's kind of like two different pieces of content. Sometimes I'll make videos that could be in both places. But the cell, the pitch, that stuff is more in the stories for me. And the video, like real, real type stuff is meant to. To remember, hey, this is going out to people who haven't really heard about me necessarily. That's who Instagram is going to feed this out into the world for. So what kind of stuff would. Would fall into like, video category for you if you, if I was like, listen, mackenzie, you've got to do. You've got to do videos for the next 14 days only videos. Like, that's intense. Okay. But if that was the ultimate challenge to be like, okay, I'm going to do video, video, video. Even if it messes up the look of my screen, you know, I like to have pretty pictures. Like, fine, you can dabble in a few of those. But like, what would be some videos you could be taking?

[Mackenzie Wright]

Well, this morning I did some video in the greenhouse with the tomato plants. I got some shots of like the irrigation lines and like the spike waterers. I got some shots of like the. There was one tomato plant that already had a bloom on it, but it also had like the different stages of buds for flower buds around it.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So like, I mean, both of those could be quick. And it's like a pan, like a scan in. And then there's the flower. I did another shot of the greenhouse. Look. And then I can't. I found like the big bale of potting soil. And so I came in and then I like, it shows like my hand holding the mixture of the potting soil.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

In the greenhouse. So there. That could be three. Then I did when I was at the farm with them were scooping manure. I had plans to do something with along the lines during our production month of March. About like sustainability is smelly. We last year our. They moved manure from one farm to the other and it was really wet and it leaked a nice trail of yeah, it's fun. All through town, but it's frozen ground right now. And so the videos are pretty cool. It shows like I got Taylor scraping the lot so I could talk about, you know, the feed pad where the calves are. Cows are standing at. I also took some video of him with the. The TMR mixer. Like the. It's like a grain, but I call it his buggy, but it feeding the calves and like the. Feeding the cows and the. It's warm. Like you can see the steam coming off of. It's pretty cool shot of them eating. I also took some pictures. I didn't take video, but I can. I can go back so far of like, I thought about doing like an identification, like animal identification and talk about a little bit about the practice of, you know, okay, why is that tag important? Yes, it shows that it's. It belongs to us, but it's also important for us to know, did this animal receive an. A vaccine? Who's the genetics of this animal? Where did you know, age, you know? And every farm does it differently. So I thought about that content as well. We have the freezer and we have it. The. The walking freezer.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yeah.

[Corinna Bench]

I was just gonna say a lot of this stuff that you're talking about is interesting. Like behind the scenes in the journey of food. If there were three. If there were three stages from. From like the point that it started to the point that it got on their plate. You're still talking about stage one, Right. And so how can you create more content or find more content that's already helping them, like imagine their future story. Do you have past video that you saved of the tomatoes falling out of the truck or something that you could repost now? Almost like, hey, this is coming because again, a person who's coming brand new into the. Into the funnel. Seeing pictures of cattle or spreading manure or whatever isn't helping them know that you grow tomatoes as visually. Right. So be thinking about like, how can I recycle content that maybe lives somewhere else. Just pull it, you know, download it from YouTube or wherever. Maybe it's hopefully still on your phone. Go back and find that stuff from months ago and repost it again as a real or whatever. Right. It's okay to reuse content. I'm starting to do that. I've saved like social media stuff in a Google document for an entire year now. And I'm like, I could just go back and redo some of this stuff and no one's going to remember that that picture was on my grid or whatever. Right. But I want you to be thinking about what does the customer need to see in order to know what you sell, what it could look like when it comes into their house, how they're going to use it. Tantalize them, help them to imagine their future story, their transformation with the food. So yeah, I still want you to like be sharing those videos of behind the scenes but if you only have that for the next three months because you're not producing, you don't have any tomatoes to sell yet. Yeah, they're not there, there, there's going to be some confusion about wait, what do they do again? Like it's not easy for them to tell visually.

Okay, I have some cool video.

[Mackenzie Wright]

I do, I do. And I've done really good job of like making sure that I save it all in an album on my phone. So when I'm looking, when I need something I can find it. And I do. I have some co production videos of like the tomato wash line.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah. So I think so. So video first of all. Second, like a con, another content piece would be FAQs. That should definitely be frequently asked questions. Sorry. So what are the, what are the common questions that your new potential new buyers have? They're usually obstacles of some sort. There's a reason, a hesitation that people don't at first sign up or buy. It could be they're confused about how buying works. It could be that they're, they want to know your growing practices. They want to know do you have pickup locations or how does, oh, it's shipping, you know, whatever. Like yeah, I don't know what yours are but usually every farm has like at least five that they keep having to say again and again. They might already be on your website and you just want to have those in the social media rotation. You're going to feel like you're repeating yourself. And that is okay because remember social media's job is to pull in new people, new eyeballs. Once they get on your email list, you really don't care if they're watching your social media anymore because you have their, their eyes through email and that's where you're making the money. But you're always thinking about there's new people coming in, new people coming in they have not heard that my hours are blah, blah, blah to blah, blah, blah every day, or that they. This is how buying works. So you got to repeat yourself every two weeks. You're going to be, like, going through those same FAQs and you can change it up. You could have a different video if you want, where you're basically, like, talking that out, or it's in captions or. Or it could be, I'm saying primarily reels and videos just because I know that Instagram will. Will bring that to the top more often. But it could also be posts, because once someone finds you're real and they like what they're seeing, they might go look at your channel. And now you've got content on the channel that easily helps overcome those objections because they can quick. You know, see, see, the, the. Maybe the. The FAQ is written on the actual slide in big letters periodically so that the grid has, like, every fourth, fifth, fourth or fifth picture. There's, like, you know, the question you could have. I'm forgetting what they're called, but. Oh, my God, I taught on this, too. In Instagram, there's the. The little circles on the bottom, like the library.

What are those called?

You know what I mean? Where you can save. You can save something that you've made and then name them. I forget they have a name for that. So as you create stories that maybe answer your top five FAQs, maybe you make a story of your top five FAQs and then you just decide, I'm going to save that as my FAQ chapter. And so if someone comes into your account, they can binge through all of that. And you've been selective about what, you know, a new person needs to see in order to feel ready to buy.

[Mackenzie Wright]

So that's another idea we do. So, like, watch those videos on TikTok of, like, people packing orders. Yeah, like, and so we have to obviously pack orders and some. Like, we've got honey, we've got cheese. All these things we could pack. And I've thought about doing like, one. Some of those now, obviously keeping customer confidentiality. You know, maybe it's just. Corinna, we're, you know, we're packing your box, or Taylor, we're packing your box this week or whatever. And then, like, following me, because one of our most watched TikTok videos was a video of me packing boxes and going back and forth from the freezer and just putting it down. And there were some different shots of, like, different cuts, and it just had, like, captions over it that was like all of our, like, questions, like, all of our beef is vacuum sealed. It's labeled and there was a picture of like the label on it and that kind of stuff. And so that was one of our most watched TikToks that we had. Because we have a TikTok, it's not super active because like I said, I've been trying to just figure out, like, where's my most bang for my buck when it comes to this stuff content. But I definitely know that, you know, obviously if I make it for Tik Tok, it can go on Instagram, it can go. It can go all of the same places. I have found that our Facebook followers don't have Tik Tok. So I have to download the video and I would put in the comments, the uploaded video from TikTok, but I always put the link to the TikTok on our post so that people will like, hopefully go follow because there's so much. I don't know why there's not enough, like, any different content. It's all the same. So I probably should just be posting the video, honestly, because that's where my ideal customer is. I need to take care of them. Right. I need to make their life easy, not harder.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah. They're not going to go join Tik Tok so they can watch your videos.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Yeah, yeah. And there's no. No. If I'm posting it in both places, what am I accomplishing here? So as I say that out loud, it makes, you know, little sense to my head.

[Corinna Bench]

We're removing friction. Removing friction, yes. Yeah, but I love that idea of having you have a great. That's a great example of a, a piece of content that's almost like an evergreen piece of content. We have that as well. Like, so the CSA box packing line is something that shows up. I intrinsically go into stories first and I'll build the story and then I have the story and sometimes I'll save it into one of those saved stories down below, like CSA packing, so someone can go and watch that version. But you could also stitch all of those stories together and build a reel out of it. Right. So you could do it, put it in both places and now it's working for you. But not, not all content that goes in stories really belongs on a, on a reel. Because like I said, it's a little more like personal. Like, I assume that they, they know me now, but you'd be thinking about what is my customer interested in, what helps them see how this works, what shows the product what answers their questions and overcomes the obstacles that they have to buying. And as you create the content one by one, it's. You're not going to make it in one day. It's probably, it's probably something you could create these little gems after you identify what they need to be. That social media class is going to help you a ton, I promise. It's going to give you the categories that you need to think about in your content.

[Mackenzie Wright]

I got it.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

And then once you identify what are, what are Those, let's say, 10 messaging nuggets, you'll create them via video or posts. And then you're literally just going to keep rotating them. They'll become, you'll find different places to put them to live.

Evergreen.

But just remember, social media's job is to pull in the new eyeballs.

New eyeballs.

So you're giving them these 10 pieces over and over again, eventually getting them on your list and then release the pressure for yourself. Social media, you can put offers there and maybe people will buy things, but your goal is to get them on your freaking list. And if you're going to pay money, I think you should test an ad that's getting them on your list.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Specifically the exact number of people on my list right now. And I've also got it in my pop up. So we use Shopify is our platform. And so when people join my list from any of those like the beef buying guide or the vegetable buying guide, it will tag them.

[Corinna Bench]

Today's podcast is sponsored by Farm Marketing School. Before we wrap up today's episode, I

want to talk to those of you who are thinking, okay, I get it, Corinna, I need a better marketing system. If you've been listening to this podcast

for a while, you know I don't believe in random point and shoot marketing. I don't believe in just posting and

crossing your fingers and hoping and.

And I definitely don't believe in working harder every season just to feel the same stress again. And that's why I created Farm Marketing School. It's my monthly membership where I teach you step by step how to build a connected marketing system for your farm. Not just more ideas or fluff. It's a structure inside fms. We start with a sales funnel audit so that you can map your entire customer journey and see what's working.

Because you probably have some things that

are working and what's missing. And then you build one focused marketing asset at a time. Your weekly email system, your promotion calendar, your product ladder, your lead magnet, your social media plan that actually supports your whole system. And each of these projects is designed as a 30 day finish line so you don't overhaul everything overnight. You build intentionally to the plan and over time those pieces start to connect and that's when the flywheel starts spinning. That's when revenue feels more predictable. That's when your marketing feels lighter. Farmers inside FMS have told me things like, I finally feel like I'm on the right track or we saw a huge jump in sales during our slowest months. That's not because of luck, it's because of the structure. So if you're the kind of farmer who has proven that you can grow something, but you're bumping up against the ceiling of now what this is for you, it's $69 month to month. There's also an annual option if you know you're ready to commit and you can learn more about farm marketing school and join my amazing community [e-mail] FMS. All the details for how it works is there. That's mydigitalfarmer.com FMS and now back to the show.

[Mackenzie Wright]

My last question for you is I have not done a whole lot of like, who is McKenzie? I did an introduction, one post that was a like a headshot picture of me that I cropped myself at like just a headshot from. And I said welcome to the team. But like anybody that connects with our farm knows who I am. But I, if I do these videos, like the packing videos, it's going to be me. It's not gonna be the guys. Should I do like a sit down video of like, hey guys, I'm mackenzie. If you've reached out, I'm the one you're talking to. Like, I don't know, it's scared because I don't want it to make it feel like we're this big operation. Like we're not like it's me in an empty office.

[Corinna Bench]

Okay, so every, every good brand story has a guide. I don't know if you've read Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. It's an excellent book. He'll talk about the hero's journey. In the hero's Journey, there is always a guide that helps the hero. And in your, in your business, the hero is the customer. They're trying to solve a problem. Like in the movies. They're, they've got a problem and they don't know how to solve it. And so then a guide shows up in the story and shows them what to do and helps them win the day.

So you are the guide

and therefore you must become visible in the story.

[Mackenzie Wright]

If.

[Corinna Bench]

If Taylor, I don't. I don't know if you've been positioning them as the guy, but if they're not really talking much or giving advice, they're not really the guides.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Some videos. We did a video series last spring when he was planting the seeds for the seedless to make watermelons. We did like a behind the scenes of what is a seedless watermelon. And he did like a kind of an instructional, like informational videos. And then we did a follow up in the field where he cut one of them open. But it would be much easier for me if I.

[Corinna Bench]

If you're that.

[Mackenzie Wright]

Make some content.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah, yeah, you should. So, yeah, I would embrace it. Like, it's. It doesn't. It's. If you're worried about, oh, this isn't legitimate because I'm not in the family or whatever. No, like, you're on the team. And there are many businesses where I'm thinking of flow on the progressive insurance. Like, she is their guide. Okay. She is the brand face. And so you will just become the brand face. I don't think you need to have an official moment where you unveil yourself as hello, I'm the brand fate. Just start showing up in the videos and teaching people and being like, hey, It's MacKenzie from Such and Such Farm. Today I'm talking about blah blah. Here we are at the da da da da. You don't even have to say your name. Just be like, here we are behind the screen. You know, scream, you can be narrating and then occasionally you're showing your face. Hey, guys, It's MacKenzie from such. I. I can't. Is it JNJ far some something. I'm sorry, Jones Farm. Okay. Yeah. After a while, people will start to just associate you with this business. If you can occasionally have a picture of you with the guys, you know, so that you're in the team. And it'll just happen over the course of several months and it'll just feel natural. You don't have to have a big moment.

[Mackenzie Wright]

All right, well, it makes me feel better about it because, I mean, they've never been like, like, I made a mother's day post last year or something like that with like their wives and their mom. And one of the wives messaged me. She was like, why didn't you make a post about you? Like, and it was like a week long thing like where I showed a Picture of the moms with the kids. And it's like, just talked about the family. It wasn't like a this is Hannah. It was just like a this, the women behind the scenes kind of thing. And they were like, where were you at? And I was like, really? Behind the scenes?

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah. That's interesting. What does that tell you? That your customer is waiting for?

[Mackenzie Wright]

Right.

[Corinna Bench]

Yeah.

Right.

So, I mean, that customer was expecting you to step into that role, and she's like, why aren't you? Claim it, girl. Claim it. It's yours as much as theirs. And I think when you step into that power and just really, like, I don't know, claim that mantle, a lot of things are going to be possible for you that aren't right now. You're crushing it. But I. Yeah, I think you're going to own it in a different way. So this is your business. Own it.

All right, I'm going to stop the interview there. There was a little bit more after that, but that's a good stopping point. I hope you got a lot of value out of this call. You can tell that Mackenzie was already doing a lot of things and had so many ideas. She's definitely a content producer, and I think the value of that call was just stitching it all together and seeing the red thread running through it all, getting a little bit of clarity around her next action steps. And honestly, I think just needing someone to hear her ideas and validate them. Sometimes I think people join farm marketing school because they just need someone to tell them they're doing it right.

You know what I mean?

And in many cases, you are. You're doing things okay. And so it helps to get on a call with someone and share a bunch of ideas and just say, this is what I'm doing, and have someone say, yeah, yeah, you're on the right track. That feels amazing.

So, Mackenzie, if you're listening to this

again, I just want to reiterate, you're on the right track. You definitely belong in for our marketing school, and I know you're going to optimize your funnel even further, but you're already so far along, and I'm really proud of you. So thanks for being in my community and being a model to other people in the school. And thank you for the value you brought to this podcast to show some of my listeners what it can look like to put a social media plan together. Today's show notes can be [e-mail] 3, 5, 6. If you like today's episode, go share it with a friend, grab the link and text it to a farmer friend. Let's help more people find out about this resource. I do have all my podcasts on YouTube. I don't know if you know that, so you're welcome to go and listen to them there. And I'd love it if you would leave me a rating or a review of the show because it helps my show get discovered by more people. If you want to continue the conversation, go check me out on Instagram ydigitalfarmer. I'd love to connect with you there. And of course I'm inside of Farm Marketing School with Mackenzie and over 40 other farmers. It's an amazing group of people and I would love to hang out with you all through the summertime as you are in the thick of doing the marketing and the sales and you need inspiration and you need encouragement and you need someone to troubleshoot. I am here for you. I would love to be your coach and your guide. Join our [e-mail] FMS thank you so much for joining me today everyone.

Remember, I believe in you. Bye bye.