Mariah Magazine is an SEO consultant and educator who builds businesses around online business owners.
Her journey from a frustrated 22-year-old to a successful SEO expert highlights self-awareness, the power of personal brand development, and YouTube’s role in growing the business.
Mariah made $120,000 this year on her SEO consulting and education business, where she did the opposite of what most business coaches told you to do: She offers a lot for free.
She got 6 numbers without an agency and got 6 numbers by adding a tutorial-based YouTube channel, selling low-cost digital products and providing one-time customer consultation. She praised her commitment to authenticity, serving her audience, and made relationship building a key pillar of her success.
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Mariah’s early career and entry into SEO
Mariah’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2015 when she was 22 years old.
Before she started her business, she worked at a local company, but she soon realized that traditional office work was not suitable for her. Despite her uncertainty about her career path, she is driven by her desire to build something for herself.
Maria eventually quit her job and began to learn website development. As she delved into the world of SEO, she found herself fascinated by the growth of a small online business, just to understand the basics of SEO.
She started offering website design services, but her clients quickly began asking about SEO. At first, she was reluctant to learn ropes by herself.
When a blog post she wrote on SEO ranked for more than seven years on Google’s homepage, the self-taught journey paid off, earning hundreds of email subscribers. This early success inspired her to focus more on SEO, and she gradually transitioned to her business to provide SEO services and education.
Build a personal brand focused on SEO education
One of Mariah’s key strategies to grow her business is to focus on a specific audience.
Early on, she realized that trying to serve a large company or agency was not suitable for her or her skills. Instead, she zeroed in on a small and medium-sized business owner who needed SEO guidance but didn’t want to hire expensive agents.
She positioned herself as someone who could help business owners understand the basics of SEO and implement it on their own.
Mariah attributes her success to her ability to clearly define her target market and directly meet their needs.
She believes that being true to her voice avoids the pressure of over-adjusting her service and insists that real people have helped her build a loyal customer base.
Use YouTube for business growth
In 2017, Mariah launched her YouTube channel to answer frequently asked questions from customers and audiences. Initially, she wasn’t in line with her content creation, but everything changed when she created a tutorial video on how to set up Google Analytics (Analytics 4) in 2020.
The video spread, she was able to profit her channel, with only two videos a month and earning as much as $1,100 per month for YouTube advertising.
For Mariah, YouTube is more than just advertising revenue; it is a tool to educate audiences and build trust. Her strategy is simple: create content to answer the audience’s most pressing questions.
By focusing on delivering real value rather than obsessed with flashy production technologies or chasing trends, Mariah has built a reliable YouTube business that brings new customers to her business.
She stressed the importance of consistency and found a timeline for content creation that suits you. For her, posting two videos a month feels sustainable and allows her to maintain the personal style that the audience appreciates.
Create an intimate email community
While YouTube and other platforms have helped to increase her reach, Mariah sees her email list as a key component of her business strategy. Unlike traditional email marketing, her approach is no longer about driving products, but more about building relationships.
She interacts regularly with email subscribers and often shares behind-the-scenes insights to understand her business and her ideas about her SEO strategy. This intimacy promotes a sense of community where subscribers are more likely to stay in touch with her content over time.
Mariah’s email list is a more deeply engaged space, answering questions, sharing personal thoughts and delivering value in a way that makes people talk. Her content is more than just SEO tips; it’s about providing guidance to build a real and fulfilling business. This unique approach cultivates dedicated followers of business owners who resonate with her message.
Personal Brand: The Key to Maria’s Success
Mariah’s personal brand is crucial to her success. Her authenticity, transparency and willingness to show her personality (whether through her unfiltered language or related content) helps her stand out from the crowded SEO space.
For those considering building a personal brand, Maria stresses the importance of embracing her true self.
She believes that finding your voice, being transparent and aligning with your values is essential to reaching the right audience. She advises others to focus on feeling good and real things rather than trying to please everyone.
The power of partnership
Mariah’s personal brand also opens the door to exciting partnerships, including a partnership with Semrush, one of the leading providers of SEO tools. She was not actively seeking this opportunity. Instead, it emerged organically because she created consistent content on YouTube.
Semrush contacted her by seeing how she effectively educated her audience tools. This partnership is the perfect example of Mariah’s transparency and authenticity that she respects in the SEO community.
Balancing business and life: A flexible approach
Despite her growing success, Mariah stressed that her focus is more than just financial goals. She cultivates a business that aligns with her values and personal life.
Her team is small and consists of bookkeepers, YouTube video editors and part-time virtual assistants, which allows her to maintain flexibility and keep her business aligned with her vision.
Mariah’s approach to work-life balance is one of reflection and self-awareness. She checks with herself regularly to make sure she is true to her goals and values.
Key points of Maria’s journey
Mariah’s story offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, especially those in the digital realm:
- Focus on niche markets: Identify your ideal audience and tailor the service to their specific needs.
- Take advantage of content marketing: Use a platform like YouTube to build trust, educate your audience and generate leads.
- It’s real: Your personal brand should reflect your true self. Authenticity attracts the right customers.
- Keep it simple: Don’t overcomplicate things. Focus on providing practical, actionable content that provides value.
- Embrace self-awareness: Reflect on your goals and make sure your business is aligned with your personal values.
Mariah’s approach to SEO and online businesses proves her loyalty to her power, delivering value and embracing opportunities when it comes to life. Through her consistent efforts, she has built a successful business to support her professional aspirations and personal well-being.
