How Did Waffle House Outshine Major Advertisers with Zero Spend?

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Waffle House in 2023, they actually reported close to $1.4 billion in revenue.

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And they did this with very little spend in advertising.

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_00]: How does this even relate to me creating quality content?

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the biggest problems I see with content creation is that there are a hundred different ways to create content.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_00]: But you need to stick for one and get those reps right?

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: The distribution is earned.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't just put something out there and then a bunch of people are going to react.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You need to earn that distribution by consistently putting content out.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: If you know how to expand ideas, affring them correctly for your listeners,

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: you will be able to create content consistently and resonate at the same time.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back to Content Is Profit.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It's been a while since it's a solo episode, just myself without my brother.

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00]: But today I want to share with you a few lessons that I learned from Waffle House and another creator.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You might be asking yourself, Waffle House, the restaurant that is delicious.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it is.

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, Waffle House in 2023.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00]: They actually reported close to $1.4 billion in revenue.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: That is a lot of money.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And they did this with very little spend in advertising.

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So you might be asking yourself, how did they do it?

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_00]: How does this even relate to me creating quality content?

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And the lesson here is going to help you pretty much build upon any idea to easily create content.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: The basis of this strategy was created by John Brocio, saw him on Twitter.

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_00]: He uses this mostly on the traffic, how to build your traffic towards you.

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_00]: But when I read it, I said, this would be such a good idea just for creating content in general.

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_00]: You can use it the way he uses it for traffic as well.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: But in my mind, as a creator, I was like, hmm, imitate then create.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So I saw his strategy and was like, how can I use this?

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: How can I make this strategy mine?

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And for me, it became part of the creative process.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: So let's back up a little bit onto Waffle House.

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_00]: What is their strategy?

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: How can they achieve $1.4 billion in revenue with minimum spend on advertising?

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, their whole strategy is that they set near high traffic areas.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And you can start seeing where this is going.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00]: They set their Waffle House, they build them very close to Walmart,

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: which Walmart spent millions upon millions on advertising.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: They have so much freaking traffic every single day.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And Waffle House by being near to the locations, they just get a lot of traffic.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Every time you see the brick and mortar you're driving through, you're like, huh, look at that.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Waffle House, Waffle House, Waffle House.

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_00]: That is pretty much free advertising for them.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So what John Bros you, when he saw this, he started thinking, hmm,

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I need to put myself into these high traffic areas and then start creating content.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And he has three steps for this.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Now again, his is attached to traffic, which it is an incredible strategy.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want new traffic, new eyeballs into your content, the three steps that he developed,

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I like to adapt them into the creative process.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to put it that way, I go into something that Tim Ferry said,

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: you want more inputs in your life, more and more inputs and more quality outputs,

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: maybe less volume because right now it's a little bit challenging

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: to complete on volume with all the chat GPT, you want to compete on quality.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: So we're consuming as expert-based businesses.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: We are consuming content pretty much on a consistent basis.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: So when we are consuming this content, you got to put the frame of mind on,

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: okay, am I learning something here?

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Can I use this to build upon and create content as well?

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: You are giving yourself some inputs and based on those inputs,

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: you're going to create.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Now these are the three ways that came from that Waffle House strategy

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: that you can think about creating content.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm going to give you examples on this, right?

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, for the fact this same episode came from an input

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and I expanded on some of this stuff and I created this own episode

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: but I listen to podcasts every time, all the time

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: and when I listen to something that catches my attention,

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, ooh, this would be good to talk about, right?

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And again, it has references.

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I can expand upon it.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I have knowledge that I myself can add on it.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I create a little snip on my phone.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I write it down, write the idea, write what I want to communicate

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and then later on I can sit down and develop this idea further.

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: So once you find the big traffic or the big idea that you would like to expand on,

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: there are three ways that you can do this, right?

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: First is horizontal, right?

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Meaning you can listen to an idea in a very specific niche, right?

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: That is not yours, but you can see the bridge

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: into connecting that idea for your own niche, right?

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Quick example of the top of my head.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm in a soccer team nowadays and guess what?

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Part of the training, it's a lot of running.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Just lots of loss of running.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: You need to build that fitness, right?

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: That endurance.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So me looking at that, I'm like, okay, well, how could that potentially relate?

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: To content creation?

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, turns out you need a lot of reps.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You need to develop your own endurance when it comes to content creation,

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: which comes by practicing, right?

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm being consistent.

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to be good at sharing my message.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to be good at creating content.

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Guess what?

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: You need reps.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: You're not going to go into game day, make one sprint and that's it.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: You're going to have to be sprinting for a full 90 minutes

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: when it comes to soccer is the same thing when it comes to creating content.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a lifetime of creating content and putting your ideas out there,

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: especially if you are an expert based business.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: So that is number one, horizontal.

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Try to see things in other niches like when you're consuming other type of information

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: and then see how does this relate to me and my business?

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: How can I make it mine?

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_00]: How can I add value to the people that are following me?

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Number two is magnify, right?

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Can we expand on a single idea that we're looking at?

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: So good example is this right now.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I saw about the Waffle House strategy from John Brocio,

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00]: mainly for traffic, but I was like, hmm,

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I can actually expand on the same idea for the creative process.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I can use this, right?

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And make this idea a little bit bigger and not just focus on, you know,

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: the comments that I might be writing,

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: but also how I would like to express my thoughts.

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, you are receiving inputs consistently, right?

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Depending on what you're consuming and some of those inputs are going to click

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and you're going to be able to say,

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I can add more value to that one idea, right?

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And then it's all about expressing it, right?

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Going back to those reps, just do it on a consistent basis.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And then number three is building the list.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: This one is a little bit more straightforward,

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: but there's a lot of content out there that is like, all right,

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_00]: you can do step one, two, three, or these are five reasons

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: why you shouldn't create content, you know, in your room, whatever.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: There's always, and this goes hand-in-hand with expand,

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: but you can add more points to that list.

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_00]: How do you make that list yours?

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Right? And again, you can use one as a reference and then build upon it.

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Do not copy it. I cannot emphasize that enough.

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Do not do not copy the content all obeyed by yourself, but add to it.

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And always when you are getting inspiration from somebody else's content,

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_00]: make sure you're also sharing their references, right?

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_00]: It's so important, at least for me personally, right?

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to look back and, you know, claim that I learned everything by myself.

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And we actually, we had a mentor a while back that he says

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_00]: that we are built upon the shoulders of giants.

[00:09:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody comes with a solution like on their own from nowhere.

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Like we consumed it or subconscious kept it,

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_00]: and then eventually those lessons rise to the top of mind

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and we're able to link them to other things.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_00]: So give credit where credit is due.

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So I've been writing a piece on this, right?

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_00]: The Waffle House Frameworks to Create Content.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to read this part to you.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the ACS Frameworks to Create Content is the Waffle House Strategy.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Shout out to Joan Brosi, of course, for introducing this idea.

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_00]: We are consistently consuming content probably at all times of our life.

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes we're dwelling in our thoughts.

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_00]: We're just stuck in there in our minds remembering previous content

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_00]: that now is top of mind.

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And we can use that.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_00]: We can use this mental model, this one framework that I just explained to you

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_00]: consistently time over time.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, this is not a one size fits all and it might not align with the way

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_00]: that you are creating, right?

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_00]: But maybe it does, right?

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it is the one frame where you keep coming back.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the biggest problems I see with content creation is that there are

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_00]: a hundred different ways to create content, right?

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And people are just jumping from one thing to the other.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of like the shiny object syndrome, right?

[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_00]: There are hundreds of ways that you can acquire a customer.

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_00]: You could use a webinar.

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_00]: You can use an automated video sales letter.

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_00]: You can do call calling, right?

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Multiple things.

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_00]: People are just jumping from one another,

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_00]: never acquiring customers because they don't stick with one for long enough.

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's the same exact thing with content creation.

[00:10:45] [SPEAKER_00]: You might have tried 20 different ways to create content,

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_00]: but you need to stick for one and get those reps, right?

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Stick to one and get those reps over time so you can develop that habit,

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: develop that practice of creating.

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, you don't need any other frameworks, just this one,

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_00]: to be able to create more quality content of your own.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, it's called the Waffle House framework.

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And what it does is that it allows you to grab one idea and then build upon it.

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Use your inputs.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Use your inputs.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And don't be lacing when building upon it.

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't put the input in chat GPT and tell them,

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_00]: hey, chat GPT, tell me how to, you know,

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_00]: write me a 250 atomic essay for my LinkedIn.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_00]: No, use your brain, especially if you're an expert-based business.

[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_00]: There's nothing that bothers me more than an expert-based business

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_00]: that is creating their content off of AI.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_00]: That for me is an immediate turnoff.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_00]: If I want to be part of an expert-based business,

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_00]: like expert-based community, right?

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Or a product, I want to make sure that I'm actually feeding from their thoughts.

[00:11:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm learning from there and not just from a collective data that the machine has.

[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, I know that I sound like a total chat GPT hater, AI hater.

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not an AI hater.

[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I know that it has its uses, but if people are paying you for your thoughts,

[00:12:12] [SPEAKER_00]: those thoughts better be plastered in your message, in your courses, in your product.

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_00]: It better be your thought and not just a chat GPT rendition of a whole bunch of things.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, rant over.

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So when you listen to an idea, when you listen to one thing that calls your attention

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_00]: and you say, whoa, that could be a good piece of content,

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_00]: then you run it through this mental model that we just walk you by, right?

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Those three different categories.

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_00]: First, you can ask yourself, can I expand on this original idea?

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Can I make it bigger?

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_00]: The other one is, can I isolate one single piece inside of this idea

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_00]: and then build upon it?

[00:12:57] [SPEAKER_00]: That's the other thing.

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm talking about these three steps for the Waffle House strategy.

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_00]: You can just talk about expansion, you know?

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_00]: What doesn't mean to expand on an idea?

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_00]: How do we expand on an idea?

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Why would I like to expand on an idea?

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_00]: You see my point, right?

[00:13:15] [SPEAKER_00]: These are ways that we can make a single phrase, a single key takeaway.

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_00]: We can make it bigger and important, right?

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_00]: It's about how we frame those ideas.

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_00]: We can talk about the Waffle House strategy,

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00]: but I can say the most important of this is expansion.

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_00]: If you know how to expand ideas,

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_00]: affring them correctly for your listeners,

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_00]: you will be able to create content consistently and resonate at the same time

[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_00]: with the audiences that you're trying to connect.

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, this, it's a marketing piece clearly, right?

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_00]: John wrote this and the article that I read

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_00]: and the research that I did is clearly meant for people that are looking for traffic, right?

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_00]: For marketers or business owners that want more traffic and more eyeballs.

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, there's a little overlap on those people

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_00]: on the creation aspect of things

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_00]: and they're looking to better express themselves.

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_00]: They're looking to, you know, I don't know,

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_00]: better create content and systems and processes

[00:14:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and just be better creators.

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_00]: So I expand on this one idea because it makes it better for them, right?

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_00]: By expanding this idea, I can demonstrate my expertise on that one thing

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_00]: and by overlapping with that other audience,

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_00]: I can potentially collect some of that attention,

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00]: redirect that demand and have people paying attention to what I'm saying.

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, and the last one, can I complete the list, right?

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_00]: We weren't by this one, but by you asking yourself these three questions, right?

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_00]: This mental model, this will become an easy way for you to create content.

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Get in the habit.

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I do that now a little bit easier when I'm listening to things and I have inputs.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, ooh, how can I expand on this?

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_00]: How can I create this?

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And eventually you're going to have so much material too

[00:15:10] [SPEAKER_00]: that you're going to start to be able to make connections.

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, at the beginning of this episode,

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I did two connections to two things that I've listened.

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: That I'm like, these are actually relevant to this topic as well

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: and they helped me expand on the material.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I talked about imitating and then creating, right?

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I learned that from David Perrell.

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And then talk about inputs and outputs.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00]: You want more inputs and less output,

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_00]: but you want to make your outputs in more quality.

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And I learned that from a recent episode,

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: a recent podcast that I heard with Tim Ferriss.

[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_00]: So again, I think it's a great simple strategy for you to kick off your content.

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: If you already kicked it off, but you're struggling to stay consistent,

[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_00]: you stick to this framework, maybe try it for a few days, one week, seven days, or who knows,

[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_00]: maybe 30 days, see what results it gives you,

[00:16:00] [SPEAKER_00]: but it's going to help you build up those reps and build up that consistency.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: The distribution is earned.

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't just put something out there and then a bunch of people are going to react.

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: You need to earn that distribution by consistently putting content out,

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_00]: getting feedback from the audience or from the people that are reading,

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_00]: listening to your message, and then improving on that message.

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And by showing up consistently, you let them know that you hold a space for them to grow in that topic

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_00]: that you are sharing with them, right?

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Perfect way for an expert-based business or service to grow their audience.

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you have any questions about this, let me know.

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Hibbi up.

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully was clear enough of the strategy to recap Waffle House Strategy

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_00]: for content creation specifically is about expanding a single idea,

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: isolating one of the ideas and making it better, right?

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Or the horizontal, I learned an idea on one different niche.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_00]: How can I relate that to the niche that I'm on right now and build up upon the list?

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Do you have five ways to not put your shoes on?

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, let me give you a six or seven and an eighth way to do that.

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So let me know.

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Hope you enjoyed this episode.

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_00]: If you got value from it, please don't forget to share it with a friend.

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure you drop a five-star review.

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And don't forget to follow us at Beats Bros. Go.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Until the next one. See ya.