Balancing the Grind with Talia Wolf, Founder & Chief Optimizer at Getuplift

Talia Wolf is the Founder & Chief Optimizer at GetUplift, teaching marketers conversion optimisation on stages such as MozCon, Conversions at Google, Unbounce, Opticon, and more.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I started my career in marketing in a social media advertising agency as the head of international accounts and team leader. My role included managing social ads (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and creating engaging content on Facebook pages for our clients.

A lot of my role included analyzing our campaigns and coming up with suggestions for optimization. Most of the content online back then focused on optimizing your ads. While most of our clients were interested in engagements, likes and comments, I was really intrigued in leads, I wanted to know if we had an impact on the business itself in terms of leads and revenue.

I found it extremely difficult finding content, articles or information on optimizing landing pages, so I started “testing” and experimenting in making changes to pages based on hunches, “feelings” I had or just plain guessing. Some changes had a positive affect, others had the exact opposite.

It was around that time that I met two very smart people who had a lot of experience in running multi million dollar campaigns for brands who were building a conversion optimization agency. Back then, there were about 3 of those worldwide.

We built an agency of 20+ people that helped brands all over the world optimize their websites, funnels and email sequences using a proven and tested methodology we built that was based on emotion, persuasion and psychology. After 5 years, we sold the agency and I established my own consultancy business.

These days I lead a CRO consultancy and training space top brands turn to when they want to optimize their funnels and create experiences people love to convert to. Using customer-centric methods, emotion and in-depth data, my team and I generate more leads, sales and ROI for high-growth companies.

Over the years I’ve been invited to teach conversion optimization on hundreds of stages such as Google, MozCon, Call To Action Conference, SearchLove, and many more and was recently listed as one of the most influential experts in conversion optimization.

2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

I’ve been working from my home office for over 3 years now, and though I do a LOT of traveling for speaking at conferences and delivering workshops, my work is centered around the hours I am most productive and around my clients and students’ needs.

My mornings are dedicated to deep work (7:30 – 1pm) – client work (which includes analyzing results, doing research, setting up tests, writing copy, setting up surveys, reviewing designs and more), market research, marketing, writing articles or copy for our own campaigns, producing materials for courses, or free resources for our readers, writing our emails and so on.

I split the days so that certain mornings are dedicated to my own business’ growth, and some to client or course work. I try to keep to the same theme days (a wonderful tip I picked up from Joanna Wiebe).

1pm-3pm is when I take my break, before I pick up my kids (3yo, and 11mo) and spend my time with them.

At 7pm I step into my office again and work till 10 or 11pm. This is when I do the majority of my calls, webinars, recordings and meetings.

*** These days things are a lot more hectic, with the kids home due to the pandemic, I try to be as flexible as possible and do only what I can to reserve strength and be on my A-game when I work.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

My work is from home. I do a lot of “remote work” when I travel.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

For me it means that I have time for my kids, my own personal hobbies and that I don’t work weekends.

As an entrepreneur it’s almost impossible to stop working. I use to wake up in the middle of night with worries about work or ideas and just start working at 3 or 4am.

I’ve learned over the years (and a lot thanks to having kids and understanding that I just can’t waste time) to be highly productive while I’m actually working, and to do my best to tune off when I’m not.

My goal is to be able to spend as much time with my kids during the day and weekends AND do my own activities (yoga, skydiving and so on) because I know that when I do the things I love that aren’t work related I’m far more productive, relaxed and inspired.

When I get into loops of working nonstop (and that obviously still happens to me), I tire quickly, I feel far less productive and I get into my head. So life-work balance for me means that I’m enjoying my kids more, my life more AND better at running my business and growing it.

5) What do you think are some of the best habits or routines that you’ve developed over the years to help you achieve success in your life?

Funnily enough, kids have changed everything for me. I think I was a year into parenting when I realised I was getting FAR more done than I used to before having kids, simply because I was on a deadline.

I wanted to have time for meaningful breaks and spend more time with my kids, which meant I had to become highly productive while I worked. This means that when I sit down to work, I’m in production mode. I’m not working, I’m producing content, executing tasks, and getting things done.

Other things that have worked for me:

• Avoiding my inbox at all costs during the mornings.
• Switching scenery halfway through my day (working in the garden for example or a remote office)
• Having my weekly projects on a whiteboard in front of me
• Placing my phone outside of my bedroom when I go to sleep (to avoid looking at it if I wake and get sucked into my inbox)

6) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?

These days, I breathe. I remind myself that I don’t have to achieve anything or knock anything off my list. That I will do what I can, as best as I can.

I communicate with my clients and students constantly, I ask them about their current challenges and how I can help them.

I truly believe that while we need to keep going, we also need to stop, accept that these are extremely difficult times and that we should appreciate anything we do get done and remind ourselves to breathe.

On “normal” days, I make a list. I’m very very big on lists. At the end of each day, I wipe my whiteboard clean and organize my next day in a short list so I know what to focus on.

7) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Love love this question. I think Els Aerts.

8) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

It’s an ongoing “battle” (for lack of a better word). There will be good days, there will be bad days, the thing I keep reminding myself is that I just need to keep trying.

It’s never too late to start putting yourself first, and as cliché as it may sound, when you invest more in yourself and really put yourself first, your work gets better too.

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