Meet Anna Wojtowicz, founder of The AW Guide Creative and SEO + Pinterest Strategist. Anna’s here to help your business drive traffic, sales, and leads constantly on autopilot without spending a dime on ads. As well as providing Virtual Assistants with education and resources so they can do the same.
10 years ago Anna moved to New York City to pursue a career in corporate marketing and had the opportunity to land jobs at top companies like Martha Stewart Living Magazine, Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine, The Smithsonian Online Magazine, and Paperless Post working on some big budget marketing campaigns.
10 years ago you moved to NYC to peruse and career in corporate marketing, lets get started on your background story from where your was to where you are…
I’m very proud of my story. I’m an immigrant, dog mom, daughter, sister, best friend, entrepreneur, mentor, and boss at 29. I was born in Poland and we immigrated to the states when I was 5 years old with very little. We lived in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn for a year or two, I knew ZERO english because my family could barely speak it as well. In 1997 we moved down to Florida and that’s where I call come, my parents are still in the same house. The town is very small and blue collar, in high school we would hang out in the Walmart parking lot. The same people I went to 1st grade with is who I graduated highschool with, not a lot of big dreamer opportunities there.
I always knew I was different and my ambition and visions for the future did not fit into the place I grew up. I saw myself as something a part of a greater vision and collective. Senior year of high school I was actually told by my guidance counselor that my plan of going to NYC was stupid and I should keep my expectations low. To be honest my parents said the same thing. As immigrants they worked hard to get me here to lead a stable under the radar life, and by taking such a big chance I was going to ruin all of that. Because the idea of “living your dream” was only for the rich. Needless to say I didn’t follow any of their advice and thought well why NOT me? I was for sure naive as to just how hard it was going to be, but I’m glad I was because the next 10 years in NYC truly shaped me and gave me the strength and confidence I have today.
I moved to NYC alone at 19 to study Marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology. It was an incredible experience to learn, work, and live in the city. During my time there I interned at places such as Teen Vogue, Vogue, and Bravo TV. These internships were truly priceless, in not only business but also seeing what life actually looks like in corporate NYC.
Since then I have worked for a number of really big publishing companies such as MarthaStewartLiving.com , MarthaStewartWeddings.com, and The Smithsonian Online where I oversaw and executed multi million dollar digital marketing campaigns for a variety of advertisers. I then decided to make the switch over to in-house ecommerce marketing and joined Paperless Post as their Digital Marketing Manager where I managed organic and paid marketing efforts. Having both in-house and client agency experience really gave me a well rounded understanding of the marketing ecosystem and how all the different parts of it work together to produce massive results.
Around 2018/2019 I started feeling unaligned with my career and just life in general. This vision I had for myself and my career just wasn’t making me feel excited anymore and I couldn’t pinpoint it. I had spent almost a decade building this life and now what? Once 2020 hit I was really at a low point and that Summer we had layoffs – marketing is always the first to go. To be honest I felt relieved, I was so unhappy and the universe made a decision for me to start fresh and take a breather.
After a few months I started the job hunt and every recruiter call I had gave me that *ugh* feeling again. I thought to myself this can’t be life, I won’t let it, I need purpose not just a paycheck. I started researching and found this amazing online community of service providers and virtual assistants who were working for themselves, making really good money, and actually enjoying life. I figured with my hard skills in corporate marketing I can easily transition them to the online world and start my own business. So I made a decision then and there that that was the only plan, no plan B and corporate was not going to be my career anymore.
I invested in myself, hired business coaches who have walked this road before and who’s businesses I aspired to have one day. Most importantly, I built a community of other entrepreneurs in my circle because entrepreneurship is extremely lonely. Having people to talk to who are going through the same growing pains and experiences is one of the most important parts of growing your own business.
In Just 5 months I’ve been able to double my corporate salary income. One of the most empowering things is no longer having an income cap and someone else getting to determine your worth. I now run my own Pinterest marketing agency with ambitious women entrepreneurs who are ecommerce and service provider clients as well as manage my own team of Pinterest Managers. Best of all I feel like I have a purpose now and I’m no longer just doing work for a paycheck. I’m doing what I’m doing because it’s helping other entrepreneurs’ business aspirations come true.
As a SEO + Pinterest Strategist, what course did you study/where did you train?
The majority of my knowledge comes from my corporate background and learning on the job. In corporate marketing you’re expected to be a unicorn and know every single social platform and strategy under the sun. There’s no “I can’t do that” there’s only “I will figure it out.” That kind of proactive action is something I’ve implemented into my business and I believe attributed to how fast I was able to scale.
Do you have a mentor?
Yes! I’m a huge advocate for the right coach and mentor. I look for mentors who have a similar background to me and whose business I admire. Willow Kaii is someone who personally mentors me and I consider a friend. He has the ability to truly see my business and the ultimate vision. Inorder to scale you need someone in your corner who is on your side and has been there before.
What does a typical day look like for you currently?
No day is the same, and I love that. I wake up and make some coffee and take my dog Coco on a walk. He’s a senior chihuahua and the love of my life.
I watch the news as I get ready for the day. I log on and slack my team to see if I need to approve anything, I check my email and see if there are any new lead inquiries I need to reach out to, and check on performance for all of my accounts. If there’s a new client I spend time on Zoom onboarding them, doing a deep dive into their business and analytics to figure out what Pinterest strategy would best work for them.
I then usually have a 90 minute strategy intensive call with a one off client looking to pick my brain and get clear on their business strategy. All while Coco sits on my lap. My strategy clients are ecommerce businesses looking for advice on their own Pinterest accounts as well as other Virtual Assistants and Pinterest Managers looking for guidance on how to scale their business and transition into Pinterest. I especially love helping other up and coming service providers, I’m a born educator and helper.
I take a lunch break and take Coco on another walk! Yes that’s right I actually sit down and eat. I spend the second half of my day getting visible online whether it’s Instagram or TikTok and providing value and resources to my audience. Visibility is key to establishing authority and trust with your audience, that’s how you get them to convert. By 6ish I call it a day and eat dinner with Coco. I then catch up on Bravo and relax.
How do you help entrepreneurs drive traffic, sales and leads on autopilot?
Pinterest is the most underrated marketing tool, 97% of searches are non-branded. That means users are on the platform to purchase and get inspired with no brand in mind. Big multimillion dollar companies have known this and been on the platform for years but smaller businesses don’t quite understand it’s potential. First off Pinterest is a search engine not a social media platform, that means it runs like Google off of strategic SEO keyword targeting. This means smaller businesses can utilize Pinterest as an organic marketing tactic to drive sales and leads without investing in paid ads just yet. For up and coming businesses this is a game changer and money saver. Unlike ads, Pinterest keywords never expire and have the potential to be generating traffic and sales for years to come.
Why do you think that SEO & Pinterest are the ultimate powerhouse duo?
They’re vehicles to the same destination but together they’re a rocket. Google is a text search engine while Pinterest is an image search engine. Plus pins have the ability to rank on Google.
What is the best business branding lesson you have you learnt to date?
People buy from people meaning you have to be more than just the products and services you sell. When you create authority and then let people get to know you, that’s where the magic happens and people will buy.
Which 3 tools do you use frequently to enhance the efficiency/productivity of your business?
- Canva
- Honeybook
- Slack
What books or podcast are you exploring at the moment?
- Sabrina Philipp Podcast
- Wealthy Wild Podcast
How are you working on your own personal development?
I’m always investing in myself and my business. Whether that’s a coach, copywriter, or systems. I find that new entrepreneurs have a hard time investing in themselves but once you normalize it and make a decision that it’s the new normal, it becomes easier and your mindset about money shifts. When I’m making business decisions, I think to myself what would 7 figure CEO Anna do.
Finally, what is next for you?
I’m so excited to announce that I’m pivoting my business! As I mentioned before, I love working one on one with upcoming entrepreneurs trying to scale their business. I’ve been able to do it rather quickly and I’m so excited to offer a new service to share all of my learnings with others. So I’m transitioning into business consulting and one on one coaching for service providers. My coaching offer is a 6 week personalized high touch point offer to scale your business. We video chat for 1 hour every week for 6 weeks. Week 1 is all about diagnosing your pain points, what’s blocking you from scaling, and where you want to be in 6 weeks. Then each week we work together as you implement strategies that will set you up for success. Having one on one support and knowing someone has my back has truly changed my business and I’m so excited to help others do the same.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theawguide/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theawguide?
Website: https://theawcreative.com
Image taken by Olivia Steuer
