Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shamara “Star” Cox. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Shamara “Star” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
Oh man, the story of how I got my first client or really my first 3 clients required a leap of faith. In about Fall 2020, God told me to start creating content full time. At this point in my life, I had been unemployed for 11 months and finding a new job in the pandemic was nearly impossible. So, it seemed bizarre to set aside applying for jobs just to create content full time. But here’s the truth, I was scared to do it.
At the time, TikTok was growing to be really popular, and transition videos were trending. I was so intimidated because I failed at that type of editing while in Grad School. Not sure if I mentioned this, but I’m a TV producer with a master’s in Short Film. Part of my graduate program was editing our short films. When I tried to edit transitions (or the accurate term is cut on an action) I failed at it. So, I shied away from doing it. Although that was 8 years ago, I still very much felt afraid.
Yet there I was finally facing my fear wondering if I’d fail again. But I overcame when I stepped out on faith and did the video. The response from my audience was amazing. So, I kept putting out content. Probably by my third video, I went viral on TikTok and Instagram, but didn’t know it. I kept going viral and while my follower count went up my bank account did not.
So, about July 2021, I was perplexed. I cried out to God and asked Him, “Why am I not making money.” I thought that if I grew my following that brands would reach out to work with me. But that was not the case. Instead, God responded, “Because you have no offer.” This was my epiphany. In order to make money I actually needed to make an offer to my audience. But would they buy?
This was yet another problem I faced. I also didn’t know how to sell on social. So, I took a month off and developed my first offer, which was a strategy call teaching coaches how to shoot and edit videos from their phone. Talk about, monetizing your skills!
I remember when I first made the offer to my audience I was nervous. I held my breath as I announced it on IG and other popular social media platforms. And guess what, someone bought it. I was amazed. I wondered if I could do it again. So, I did it again and someone bought that. I couldn’t believe what was going on. Here’s the thing the offers I was making was less than $500. So, I wondered what would happen if I made a $5000 offer.
I’m not gonna front, I was so nervous that no one would buy it. But I noticed that each time I stepped out on faith it worked in my favor. So, I did it again. I made my $5000 offer and someone bought that. I officially learned how to make money on social media. And the best part, I now teach the members of my inner circle how to monetize their social media to make automatic income. I show them how they can shrink the time creating consistent and binge worthy content in order to create residual income.
I welcome you to follow me on Social Media, so you can start leveraging your video content to build credibility, a wildly engaged community, and generate cash.
To learn more about Star visit:
IG: @bookofstar_
TikTok: @bookofstar
Clubhouse: @bookofstar
YouTube: www.Youtube.com/c/bookofstar
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Hi Everyone, I’m Shamara “Star” Cox, TV Producer and Content Creator and I teach coaches and creatives, brands and businesses, how to create binge worthy content that converts to influence, income, and impact. I got started in my industry because I love storytelling. I used to write stories in composition notebooks (these were full blown novels) for my friends to read and they loved it. They were leaving comments about the story and the characters. This was before social media lol.
One day, my best friend’s father read my stories and he fell in love. He told me he wanted to get my stories on television. Although nothing came of it, I was honored that he thought it was good enough for television. Since he planted the seed, I went on to college with the goal of becoming a writer/director. However, breaking into the industry was not easy. It took a lot of networking and free internships, but I was so determined to accomplish my dreams that I kept going. So I was excited when I finally landed a full-time job as a producer for a major TV Network.
Since I worked in the film/TV industry for about 14 years, I leverage this in order to help my clients create binge worthy video content to attract their dream customers and build a wildly engaged community. I share movie industry insights to help members of my inner circle strategically tell stories to increase brand awareness and make residual income on social media. It’s a lot of fun, because I’m doing two of the things I love most. I get to work from anywhere creating compelling video content and teach others how to do the same.
To date, the one thing I am most proud of is overcoming my fear of starting my own business. I used to be afraid because I’ve heard of many businesses failing within the first 5 years. But I knew that if I wanted to create generational wealth in my family I needed to take a risk. So, I did. And now I have a business that is slated to have our first 6 figure year.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building my audience on social media was not easy. Especially because I did not know what I was doing. I honestly thought that if I posted then people would follow. But that was the furthest thing from the truth. I realized that I needed to post with a purpose in order to effectively and strategically grow my following. I tested multiple strategies and what worked I kept and what didn’t I tossed. But nothing was as effective as what I came up with on my own.
I noticed that each time I gained a new follower their response would be, “I love your content I can’t stop watching it.” That’s when I realized I was creating binge worthy content. Content so addicting that my audience come back for their daily dose.
So, I outlined the 6 steps I used to build a wildly engaged audience and packaged it into a framework I call the ESCAPE method. Creating an escape for my audience has allowed me to increase my brand awareness, build my authority in my niche, and create automatic income. This method I now teach my inner circle so that they will successfully build a wildly engaged community who wants to buy from them.
The best tip, for those trying to build a super engaged audience, is to be consistent. Choose your posting strategy, post at least 3-5 times a week and show your audience that you are there for them. The more consistent you are the more your community will show up for you. Lastly, it’s important to show up as the engaging expert and the faithful friend. Notice I said, “engaging expert” and not just expert. Because you can be a boring expert and no one will listen to you. When you show up as the engaging expert you show that you are the authority in your niche and you are the go to person in your field. When you show up as the “faithful friend” then you show your audience that you are to be trusted. And people only buy from those they trust.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
This is such a great question. I remember when I left my job in January 2020. It was scary doing it because it took so long just to break into the industry. But I was unhappy because I was overlooked and underpaid in my position. I kinda felt like a failed producer because I didn’t accomplish my major goals. So, a year later when I was starting my business, I wanted nothing to do with producing videos. I started off trying to help people build a coaching program (which I had no experience in). I tried to be a social media manager, failed at that lol. All for me to run right back into producing, but this time I was not a network producer I was the People’s Producer. The secrets I learned in the Movie/TV industry to create and promote a successful show, I was now going to share with my clients and my inner circle.
But remember, I told you I felt like a failed producer so it was scary showing up as the authority in my niche. I found myself wanting to quit every other week. Lol. But I got help. I worked with a business coach that helped me to put some barriers in place to combat imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs whenever I felt like giving up. Now, I’m in a better place. I healed from past failures and learned that I didn’t fail as a producer. I just needed to pivot from being an employee to being an employer. Because I am thriving in my business and my clients are flourishing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bookofstar.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/bookofstar_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6794124197326895/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/BookofStar
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM8G66C13/ https://www.clubhouse.com/@bookofstar
Image Credits
Christopher T. Hall of Thomas Claude Photography