I Built My Own Playground
For awhile, the social media adage has been “Play in their playground, you gotta play by their rules.” Well, I’m saying no more. I’m done with giving away all of my content - my images, my words, my joy - for free to platforms that will not hesitate to trash everything we’ve built because of their overly conservative rules or…just because. My friend Shannon Smith of Shannon Smith Photography mentioned that we could build member sites right on our websites and I didn’t hesitate - literally the next morning I researched it and got to work. I now have a Beyond the Body Member site directly on the website here, designed for intentional learning and joy. It will be a playground where one can come to read prose and poetry, watch inspiring videos or listen to the sweet sound of my voice. It will be a place where we organize meetups - both virtual and in person - in addition to hosting challenges and fun prompts for people to learn, grow, and flourish alongside me. I wanted to create a sacred space where people had to choose to enter - they didn’t just wait for the content to fall into their lap.
I have been given the gift of creativity, communication and word smithing and I want to fuse all that together with my values of empathy, education, compassion and creativity to provide expansive content for folks to stay inspired, empowered, and motivated as they move through their journey. I heard about a study that says, by passively taking in content from social media our brain thinks we are doing the work even though we aren’t actually doing the work - plus we find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through the mud to find a wee bit of gold and when we do this, we take on a lot more mud than we do the gold. Now, if you go straight to the source of the gold - all you are gonna have is gold goodness. This is what blogs used to provide us.
And here’s the kicker - I know not everyone is going to be ready to invest even $8/mo. into themselves - but the ones that are are the ones I want to focus on because they are the ones that are going to help me fulfill my goal of maximum impact when it comes to helping the world shift towards authentic & body celebration. I have been throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping it sticks to a few people - well, if you come to the member site, be prepared to get covered in so much marinara sauce. As an empath and former Good Girl(tm), I wanted to make everyone happy and give away everything and teach everything to everyone for free. I was afraid of offending people or asking people to compensate me for my time and talent and energy. This only resulted in me having nothing left for myself or my family and friends - I was a shell of a person. While the barrier to entry is still very accessible, I know it’s going to offend some people - but I’m not responsible for how other people respond to my boundaries. As someone who prides themselves on being a leader, I need to show folks in my industry that you can still be successful (in the way that you desire), run a business, be a nice person, AND stick to your boundaries. In the creative industry, this role modeling is desperately needed and I’m okay to go first to figure it out.
So, here are a few FAQs about changes that you will see coming up:
Will you still be instagramming?
Yes, but only when I feel like it. More of the content will be posted in the Member site.
Will you still be blogging on the main site?
Yes, but only when I feel like it and it depends on what type of content. Again, more of the content will be posted in the Member site.
Will you still have your podcast?
Yup! Season 4 is getting underway shortly. The difference between the podcast and the members site is that members will get access to additional interviews, audio files, and more!
Is the Beyond the Body Member Site the same thing as the Everybodies All Access Pass?
No. Everybodies All Access pass is exclusive to photographers and consists of more tutorial based content/products. The Beyond the Body Member site is going to be more along the lines of mindset and body image coaching via written, video, and audio content and provide value for everyone looking to improve their body image & mindset, not just photographers.
What does the cost go towards?
The cost goes towards the monthly overhead cost of having a member site off of social media. It also goes to supporting me so I can continue to provide value through the various avenues of writing, podcasting, photography, etc. in addition to the emotional output that comes with engaging in this type of work. I do not work with any sponsors or advertisers at the moment.
Can I cancel at any time?
If you choose the monthly payment option you can cancel at anytime. If you purchase the yearly price, you will have access for the entire year.
How can I sign up?
Great question, I’d love to tell you! Click the top link that says Beyond the Body Membership Sign Up and follow the steps and voila! You are in!!
