How To Build A Clear Digital Brand From Scratch

Posting more used to feel like the only answer. Now it can be the fastest way to stay busy while staying unclear. 

In this episode, I share what I learned after nine months building Elevatus Coaching in the digital space, including the mistakes, the late nights, and the “tax” of testing, rebuilding, and second-guessing before anything finally started to click.

We talk about why trust is the real currency in an AI-driven internet, and how modern SEO is changing because AI search is shaping discovery. I explain how I moved away from random content and toward content clusters, a connected content strategy built around one main topic. For me, that central idea is transformational resilience, supported by the C2R2E framework: collapse, confrontation, realignment, reclamation, and elevation. When your framework is clear, your message gets easier to repeat, your audience understands you faster, and your content starts to compound into authority.

We also get practical about the stuff that actually converts: defining a client avatar beyond demographics, mapping the prospect journey, improving website flow, and making the call to action obvious so people know what step to take next. I also share how I use large language models as a thinking partner to audit clarity, spot gaps, and tighten the whole ecosystem instead of just generating more words.

If you’re at ground zero, you’ll walk away with questions to get clear before you build. If you’ve already started, you’ll hear why the next level might be an audit and refinement, not more output. 

Subscribe to The Next Baseline, share this with a builder who needs clarity, and leave a review with the one thing you’re going to simplify this week.

Transcript

Welcome And What Next Baseline Means

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Next Baseline. I'm your podcast host, Dandy DeJesus, and this podcast is about life resets and what it takes to reach your next baseline. And so for today's episode, we're going to treat this a little bit different because most of the time, what I talk tend to talk about is about disruption, life transitions, co-parenting stress, personal growth, identity shifts, and then also what it takes to build a new standard after your life has changed or has taken a different direction or shift. So specifically for today, I want to talk about that's still somewhat connected to that, just slightly from a different angle. And what I want to talk about is actually what I've learned in building Elevatas over the last nine months. So we're taking a some lessons learned from all the things that I've done from a digital perspective to build Elevatas. And this episode matters to me and is significant to me because it's also part of who I who I tend to serve. So I'm not just serving folks and people that are looking for growth in their in their personal identities or in their co-parent, co-parenting strategies. I also serve those that are leaders and then also professionals. So people who are who are maybe looking for a new direction, maybe they're sharpening their judgment, their decision making, strengthening their voice, or in fact stepping into a new season where credibility and trust matters even more.

Who This Lesson Is For

SPEAKER_00 1:27

So if that's you, this episode for you, and specifically in that, you know, out of those leaders and professionals, I'm really looking at two specific types of individuals in particular. One is a person that's starting at ground zero. You know, what I mean by that is those folks that have an idea, maybe a message that they're trying to share or get out, a service or a body of work, um, but really doesn't have all the know-how or the ins and outs of even where to begin. So I'm I I hope to to provide some at least some sort of idea of things to think about in order to get to get started, to get started, especially in the digital space. And then secondly, this episode is also for the person who perhaps has already started something, but what what is required or what is needed now is that next step. Maybe a clearer way to assess what has been built, or maybe some minds, some things for the mindset from the cognitive mindset to identify what needs to be done and what's that next step. So so now, with that being said, let's really

The Big Myth About Posting

SPEAKER_00 2:37

get started. And where I want to start in this episode is taking the angle from, or at least starting from, what's one of the biggest lessons that I've learned in this journey over the last nine months. And here's the kicker it is not posting more content. And what I've learned is, you know, when I started this journey, I thought I had to post lots of content because that's what was widely talked about volumes and volumes of content. But truth be told, here in 2026, a lot has a lot of things has in fact changed. And in fact, in my opinion, although posting is part of the equation, it is not the only answer for this. Because the big the the the better question, the bigger question I think that needs to be asked is whether whatever it is that you're doing, whether the message is clear, the ideas are connected, and then do people understand why they should even trust you? And trust is huge in this day and age, especially with all the AI slot that's out

SEO Changed Because AI Search

SPEAKER_00 3:44

there. And so one of the things that I want to start here with is back when I started Elevators, because back when I started, I had to learn a lot, especially in the digital space. I had to learn that the, you know, I had to essentially learn the digital world from the ground up. I had to learn search engine optimization, content development, website flow, calls to action, audience clarity, trust signals. And then also I had to understand from a psychological perspective how people move through a brand before they even decide to make contact or take some sort of action to connect with that person. And the other piece, too, you know, I mentioned search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO. And here's the thing: I learned a lot that SEO was just not enough because search is still, search is still a valuable thing to do, but really search has changed and it's changed dramatically, especially with with AI coming into the fold. You know, because part of search now is AI search, artificial intelligence search. Because AI is now part of the, you know, part of the way of how people are going to discover ideas, services, and then also how they're going to pick out trusted voices, which means that content is no longer something that could be random and you can just put put out there. You know, ideas need to now be clear, more clear more than ever. They have to be connected or interconnected, and they have to be easy enough to understand across whatever content medium that you choose, whether it's blogs, podcasts, videos, short-term, short form videos, long form videos, and then also search platforms. And this is where this idea of content clusters comes in.

Content Clusters And The C2R2E Framework

SPEAKER_00 5:41

And so, what a content cluster comes in, let me define it for you. A content cluster is a system of connected content built around one main topic. So instead of creating random posts, you tend to build around a central idea and then support it with multiple pieces of content and information that explain it from different angles. And so for Elevatis, one central idea is this idea of transformational resilience. You know, I didn't come up with the word, I was not the first to coin it or anything like that. I'm just uh, but I am using it. I am using it to explain what my thought process is and then also my methodology. And so transformational resilience. And so for me, in the elevators world, that's going to connect to life resets, co-parenting strategy, personal growth, leadership, and then also our proprietary framework that I call C2R2E. And what C2R2E stands for, it stands for collapse, confrontation, realignment, reclamation, and also elevation. And so it is a framework that I use to explain the process, how people move through disruption, or it is the framework for transformation. You know, and then let me explain a little bit more. So first is collapse. So collapse, simply put, when something breaks or doesn't work anymore. Confrontation is when you have to face what's real. You have to come to terms with the reality of what is. Realignment is when you start to adjust direction, when you start to realign your values, and then also when you start to also realign who you tend to share and spend your time with. And there's a little bit more, it's more nuanced than that, but I think you get the idea. Reclamation, the fourth phase here is when you start to take ownership and then you start to you start to reclaim your voice and then also your personal agency. And then last but not least is elevation. And that is where you begin operating from from a new from a new operating standard, or what I like to simply call, and it ties nicely to this podcast, you start to live from a new baseline. And so once those ideas, you know, going back to content clusters here, once those ideas become clear, you know, it's my opinion that content tends to become easier. So, you know, it no longer becomes a guessing game week after week. And so what, you know, once you have your content clusters, that's where uh that's where I think you have a lot of structure to build from. And

Client Avatar And Trust Signals

SPEAKER_00 8:13

so with that being said, the you know, the second thing I want to highlight here after content clusters, and is really understanding who your client is. And I like to call this the client avatar. Again, I didn't come up with the word, I'm just using it here. So here's what a client client avatar is. A client avatar is a clear picture of the person you are trying to help. It is not just the age, the income, the location, or job title, it's not just those demographics. It is also understanding what they as people are dealing with on a day-to-day, what they're trying to solve on a day-to-day, and then also what they have already tried to solve. And then finally, you know, and this is a big piece here, and what would make them want to trust you enough to either follow you or take the next step to take some sort of action in and and for them to take a risk with you. Okay, especially if they don't know you. And so that's so so more than ever, I think trust is more important is more important than ever. And when I think about that, uh again, that builds on how I look at content because it's it's not about proving anything of what I know. In fact, you can go through all my blogs, you can go through my podcasts, you can go through a lot of my social media posts, and there's a lot of things that I know, but that's not just having sheer knowledge is not what's going to get people into the door. You know, it has about it has to also be about meeting people at the point of where the real problem lies. And

Prospect Journey And Clear Calls To Action

SPEAKER_00 9:45

that leads to to the third thing I want to I want to highlight here, which is the prospect's journey. Okay, so what is a prospect journey? And really what that is, is when someone can find your content, connect with it and agree with it, and maybe not even necessarily agree with it. They can disagree with it, but they can still connect with it. And and perhaps in that journey, there's something that's preventing them from taking that next step. And that next step is really what I what we all call, what a lot of us call in in the business world, the call to action. And what a call to action is, it's the action you want someone to take after they engage with your work, with your body of work. That could be reading another article, listening to another to maybe a podcast episode that you have, looking at another piece of content that you have, whether it's short form, long form, subscribing, maybe joining your community if you have one, maybe it's booking a call with you, maybe it's downloading your lead magnet or simply sending you a direct message. Um, but that but all that to say, if that step, if the call to action step is unclear, people are gonna hesitate. You know, if they're the prospect journey, sometimes we call this a funnel, is that's unclear, people are gonna hesitate. And so with that, I had to study this whole experience. And guess what? I'm still learning. But over nine months, what I've been able to achieve is at least a maybe intermediate level understanding of website flow, you know, words, words to use, layout, you know, different calls to action, also an emotional feel. So you that's something important to remember that that people may not always remember everything that you say or do, but they always remember how you make them feel. And then that also because of how you because emotions, because people are emotional creatures and beings, uh, that leads to trust. So, so again, what is going to create trust? And then in all of that, that is what's going to set up that call to action or that next step. So now, really after all that, the the question becomes, I think, more simple. So, again, going back to Elevatis, if someone lands and goes to elevatiscoach.com for the first time, you know, here's here's what you know, I I think people need to to think about is do they understand what Elevatis stands for, who it's for, and then even where to begin. In fact, you can go back at the beginning and rewind this podcast episode. I really answer those three questions from the very beginning. That, you know, this is the next baseline podcast. This is who who, you know, this is what I do and who it's for, and this is where we're gonna begin. And specifically, you know, we've talked about, you know, with this episode in terms of uh what we're gonna focus on, which is which is some of the lessons learned that learned through El Wattis in the digital space. So um, so with that being said, let's move on to the next

Using AI As A Thinking Partner

SPEAKER_00 12:49

piece. And the next piece here is large language models. Um, and it's not just chat GPT, right? It's really, when I say large language models, you're really talking about artificial intelligence. We're really talking about AI. And we live in an AI world. And there's a previous podcast episode that I actually talk about artificial intelligence. So go go go uh go back a few episodes and you'll actually you'll you'll actually find uh find that episode. Um, but with that, it's you know, when we're talking about incorporational large large language models, right? Or artificial intelligence. Here's the thing we're not just talking about coming up with new content and just writing content, you know, because um I think this is where a lot of people miss um bigger opportunity. You know, I had to learn how to use AI, learn from the perspective of using it almost like a thinking partner. You know, I I had large language models, such as like, for example, ChatGPT, the paid version of ChatGPT, for example, where I use it to help me review the prospect journey, test some things for clarity, identify different gaps or leakages that I had in in my whole entire ecosystem, whether it's through the podcast or my website, and then also website flow. So from beginning to end, and then also how to sharpen the whole ecosystem as a as a whole. How do I get it the maximum effort? How can I connect everything together that that that I

Paying The Tax Of Building

SPEAKER_00 14:26

had? And so I spent nine months doing this, and I will tell you, I paid a huge tax at the very beginning when I started this journey. And that tax specifically was time, it was confusion, it was overbuilding, it was testing, it was rebuilding, and then it's also sometimes even second-guessing. And so overall, I had to figure out what Elevatis was um was actually for before I could even explain it clearly. And that took me about three months to do. So you have to be in this process, in this journey, you have to be very patient. Nothing's gonna come overnight. It's gonna come with a lot of time. And I'll tell you, in the first month that I started building Elevatus, I think, gosh, I must have been going uh to sleep at three o'clock in the morning, waking up at six, going to my full-time job, coming home and doing it all over again. All right, so there's a lot here to unpack. It's not something that you're gonna get done overnight. You're gonna have to spend some time um, you know, going to the drawing board, running different tests, and then doing it all over again until it becomes refined. Okay, so literally, for at least for me in my journey, I was literally driving the Elevatus car while still building it all at the same time. Um, so with that being said, and so even from more perspective, as I built things, by the way, later I had things that needed plenty of things that that changed over time. You know, I had to, you know, I started out just writing blog content that then later on I still needed to sharpen. And so just getting a little bit better each day, you know, the like the compound effect, you get a little bit, you get a little, you know, you just get 1% better each each day, and that's gonna compound over time. And all of that, really, when you look at it, that's just a cost of building a foundation. And here's the thing, I learned it myself. I didn't outsource it, I did not pay anybody. I did this all 100% 100% myself because I felt like if I could build this and I could do this and I can create this whole thing myself and learn it, that I was gonna be in a much better position down the road. And I'm so glad I went through that. Now, granted, would I want to do it again? Um, I don't think I would change the journey, but I will tell you, um, I'm glad that that phase is done. So I have a pretty good foundation at this point. And so, you know, with that, where I have evolved today, you know, on the, you know, in May of 2026, where I have evolved to from where I started back in July of 2025, is that today I probably spend less than five hours a week thinking about what I'm gonna do for Elevatis, thinking about the content and you know, thinking about how I'm going to develop and produce the content. And it's not because content doesn't matter, you know, on the contrary, it does matter and it matters a lot, but really because I spent the time understanding my story, my audience, my client avatar, my message, and then also my own framework and how it all ties in together. Now, granted, it's not perfect. I still have a little bit of ways to go, but the foundation is very robust and it's there. So, so realistically, you know, now because I spent the time and I and I paid the tax, I'm not starting from zero every single week. I'm building on a system, okay? I'm building on a robust framework, on our ecosystem that I've built. And so, with that, why am I sharing all of this? You know, because these are things that people would charge for, and I'm not looking to charge anybody. I I really want um people to be able, just like this podcast talks about, reach their next baseline, especially in a much faster way. Um, so let me answer, let me let me answer that question. Why am I sharing this?

Clarity Questions And Refinement Mindset

SPEAKER_00 18:15

And I'm and I'm sharing this because if you are at ground zero, you know, I want you to understand that you don't need to build everything at once because all I want you to do, all I will encourage you to do is to start with clarity, get clear. Here are some questions to think about is three who are you trying to help? What problem are you trying to solve for them? Specifically, what problem are they facing? So make sure you go out, go out, ask some people, hey, what problems do you have that maybe I can help with? And then refine your processes. And then also what do you want them to understand first? Okay. And if now on the flip side of that, if you're already on the journey and you have something already built, you know, these are some things that that for you to consider as well. You may not need more content right away. You may, in fact, what you actually probably need is an audit. You may need to look at your message, your website, your offer, your calls to action, and also your trust journey. And sometimes the next level is not really about creating more. And sometimes, in fact, what the next level is is refining what already exists. And I will tell you, I went through many periods of just refining what already existed before I moved on. So again, I didn't spend nine months just building, building, building, building, building. I spent nine months building, auditing, building, auditing, building, auditing, changing, building, auditing, changing, building, auditing. Okay, so it was a constant cycle and a constant loop until I felt like I got it right. Okay, so all of this, all in all, this is these are the biggest lessons I probably I've learned as I built Elevatis coaching. You know, authority, you know, all this ultimately is going to lead to authority. And authority is not just built from one post, one page, or even one offer. And the reason I'm also sharing this is because I'm uh I want to share what is going to help in the journey of creating authority. Because authority is going to be built from a connected body of work that also helps people understand who you are, what you do, who you help, and why they should trust you. So again, I keep repeating this motif or this theme several, several times. You know, it's it's not just about creating content. How does it all connect? How does it connect to your message? How do people understand what it is that you're trying to get across to them? What is it that you specifically do? How do you help them? And all of that, as time passes and progresses and you stick with it long enough, people are gonna start to trust you. Okay, but it's gonna take work. There's no quick there's no, you know, there's no getting at this very quickly. This is going to be a time-intensive process that you you're gonna need just a lot of patience for.

Reflection Prompts And Closing Links

SPEAKER_00 21:19

So, with that, here's like any of my content, uh especially my podcast content content, I always love to leave with a reflection. And this is what I have for you. If you are currently at ground zero, I want you to ask yourself and again, like you know, uh again, we we already touched on this question. Who are you trying to help? Second question what problem are you trying to help solve? What's the pain point that you're trying to solve? And then what do you Want your future client avatar to understand about you first. So don't worry about having the full system yet. You know, I just all I want you to do is start with getting clear about your mission and what you do and who you do it for. And then on the flip side of that, if you already have maybe some content out there, you perhaps have a website, an offer, or a platform, you know, ask yourself these questions. Would a stranger understand who you who you are helping? Would they understand what problem you're helping to solve? And then would a stranger also know what step to take next or what call to action to take? And if not, that next move may not be about creating more things. Really, that next move is really again about getting more clearer about what you do. And that is where authority starts. It starts with the foundation, it starts with creating clarity for yourself so that the people that you come in contact with are clear in what you do. So, with that said, I just want to welcome you on another episode of the next baseline. And if you want to explore more of my work, you can go ahead and visit elevatiscoach.com. And you can also visit the Rise community if you want to join that. And so the links to all this will be in the description along with my social media handles. And so with that, I just want to wish you the very best. Peace, love, joy, happiness. Until next time on another episode of the next baseline.