We recently connected with Sebastian Dziuk and have shared our conversation below.

Sebastian, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

After the U.S. presidential election results in November 2024, we knew that our work was going to be changing.

As an out queer and transgender business owner, my overall mission is to help LGBTQ+ people thrive not just survive. Part of that is serving my LGBTQ+ clients, part of it is being visible about who I am to provide representation for others, and part is through certifications such as the LGBT Business Enterprise certification through the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Since the recent election, I’ve worked with queer and transgender speakers and trainers to reposition themselves away from explicit “DEI” language because they were losing work with companies pulling back funding.

Beyond client work, I prioritize being in community with other LGBTQ+ business owners in-person through my local LGBTQ+ chamber of commerce and online through apps like Famm Connect.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Dziuk Studios LLC was born out of 10 years in U.S. Army Public Affairs and 4 years in the speaking and coaching industry.

I served 10 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard where I learned journalism, photography, videography, public relations, and social media management (yes, this is a real military job!). I then went into professional speaking to share my experience as an out, transgender Soldier and coached for 4 years while working in corporate roles. And it all came to a head in 2024.

I gave birth to my son in January 2024 (shoutout to all the seahorse dads out there!).

After returning to work in June 2024, things got difficult to balance as a new parent, working a corporate job, and running a side business. I wanted to run my own business full-time, and decided to make that leap in October 2024 after experiencing burnout trying to do it all.

Since diving in headfirst, I’ve restructured my business to be a boutique marketing agency specializing in email marketing for speakers, coaches, and consultants.

While I still do professional speaking engagements and am a member of the National Speakers Association, I’ve phased out the coaching side. This new structure is perfect for my current phase in life as a parent of a toddler so I can be home more. That’s the true beauty of entrepreneurship is that we can create the business we need for different seasons in our lives.

Our specialization in email is what truly makes us standout in the speaking industry.

Many marketing agencies work across various industries and do not have the same depth of knowledge in speaking as we do. As a speaker myself, I keep up on what’s working today, industry shifts, and connected with thought leaders.

Our services are primarily around permission-based email marketing.

Permission-based email marketing means that people opt-in to receive emails from you—the opposite of cold emailing. We work to bring in qualified leads into your business ecosystem from the start. We focus our efforts on lead generating content—not weekly “tips” newsletters.

One thing that’s important for people to know: Email is still as relevant and effective today as it was in 2002 (when it’s done right).

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

A clear, distinct niche paired with in-depth industry knowledge is what has helped me build my reputation within my market.

Many clients I work with struggle with with narrowing down their niche as well. They say, “But I can help anybody!”, which I do not doubt. But that is not how to marketing.

When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.

All of your content should be like you are talking to one individual. I know that seems scary if you’re new to it, but it works. Think about the pieces of content that you’ve read and you thought, “wow, they literally read my mind.”

That’s what you want to do.

When you narrow down to one niche, it doesn’t mean that others won’t come knocking.

I’ve had financial advisors inquire about my services even though they aren’t my target market. I can still work with them. Or I can choose not to.

Niche is about positioning. And it’ll help you stand out and build a reputation.

Additionally, becoming a member of the National Speakers Association and attending speaking conferences and events has not only got me in rooms filled with my ideal clients, but it’s built my credibility with them because I’m showing up and connecting in person.

Being in the room with your ideal client can take you far.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The primary social media platform I use is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is where many B2B (business-to-business) people hang out, including my ideal clients of speakers, coaches, and consultants. It’s also a social selling first platform. While I don’t suggest doing a pitch-slap (immediately pitching someone your whole spiel in the DMs right away), it is a place where business talk is more expected than on other platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

I build my audience in three ways:
1. I post content regularly and make sure that it has an intention behind it with a CTA. My goal through my content is to grow my following to reach more of my ideal client, books no-cost strategy sessions, and lead people to my email list. Your email list is 10x more valuable than a social media following and has higher conversion rates.

2. I connect with my ideal clients and actually message them. I like to send audio messages sometimes using the LinkedIn mobile app as well because it shows that I’m a real person. I’ll send someone tips related to my services, ask them about their business, send them my lead magnet, and/or connect on a more personal level if it’s relevant and genuine.

3. I connect with people I meet at in-person networking events on LinkedIn. LinkedIn makes this easy by enabling your to bring up a QR code for your account in the search bar in the app.

If you’re just starting out with building your network on LinkedIn, consistency is the name of the game. Post consistently, experiment to see what content resonates, even experiment with your DM strategy. And if you’re using LinkedIn as a lead generator, be prepared to build a thick skin because not everyone will respond or a message might not come off as you intended. Take it with a grain of salt and keep moving. You have a business to run.

Lastly, connect with people you genuinely are interested in getting to know as well. Many people write off LinkedIn for queer folks, but it’s getting queerer by the day over there. Curate your feed and use the block button liberally to protect your peace.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dziukstudios.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dziukstudios
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiandziuk/