Page 103 of Just the Wrong Twin

“And you’re already the queen of our social media connections,” Meesha said. “You areowningthose channels, Sonia.”

That made Sonia glad of the plans she had with Katia for the weekend. Success wouldn’t help her avoid her parents’ attention, but she was done with keeping a low profile. She felt as if she’d been born to do this podcast.

“And capturing the elusive twenty-to-forty-year-old female demographic,” Theo said. “We’ve never gotten so much traction with the under-30’s before.” He pointed at Sonia and smiled. “You rock.”

“New paid memberships are up,” Cassie said. “We had over fifteen hundred pictures sent in from Monday’s podcast and gave away thirty notebooks.”

“They’re also selling well in the online store. Time to shift from printing-on-demand to doing a production run,” Damon said.

“We can get nicer ones at a lower price per unit that way,” Cassie said and Damon nodded.

“We have charts,” Tyler said, who looked tired. “We want to build on success and take it to the next level. So, our number one action item this week is Sonia’s podcast.”

Cassie shared a graphic with a gesture.Become who you were born to bewas written in pink script on a black background. There was a chart beneath of the number of views, and Cassie broke it down a bit, showing how many viewers had watched multiple times.

“I’ve done some preliminary media research on locating more people in the demographic that are finding resonance with Sonia’s class,” Meesha said. “I prepared a proposal for social media ads with a budget.” There was a chorus of pings as her proposal landed in all the email accounts.

“What do you think about rotating guests?” Theo asked. “It’s a good way to celebrate diversity.”

“But you’re not kicking me out,” Meesha said. “I’m already feeling the difference.”

“We have to be careful about maintaining the pod for safety during the pandemic,” Cassie said. “We can work through the partners and some staff but still ensure everyone’s safety.”

“What about bringing in hosts of other podcasts?” Kyle suggested. “There’s got to be overlap, for example, between people interested in nutrition and those watching Sonia.”

Meesha shook a pen at him. “On it. I’ll look for correlations.”

“I think we should book that billboard in Times Square again,” Damon said. “It’s big and showy, and always brings in new membership.”

Tyler winced. “But expensive and we don’t know when we’ll be opening our doors again.”

“We don’t know that they work as well for digital clients as live ones either,” Theo said.

“It might be better to put that money in social media ads,” Meesha said.

“But we need a way to ensure revenue while we’re closed or we won’t ever open again,” Cassie said. Tyler frowned. “Right now, that’s got to be through the virtual classes and podcasts. Sonia’s success could help. Where do most of our viewers live?”

“I assume Manhattan but I can drill down into that,” Meesha said.

“Let me know if you need help,” Theo said and she pointed at him.

“You might be able to skew the reach by inviting famous guests to join Sonia’s class.”

“Good idea. I’ll work out a list of candidates.”

“I want to see another week of numbers before committing to a big promotional budget,” Tyler said, nodding. “But let’s keep it on the table as an option. Let’s build the visibility and revenue using what we have now. What about merchandise? The stuff that is produced on demand is less risky in terms of cash management. We could have more than the notebook.”

“I’ve been thinking about that very thing,” Cassie said and no one was surprised. She pulled up mock-up images of items emblazoned with the pink script. “We’ve got the one journal, but we could do a fancier one. We want a travel mug and a water bottle, a yoga mat and carrying case. We want a tank top with the logo on it, and two tote bags, one cheaper and one that blows it out of the park. This one has a lot of zippered compartments, including a place for your phone.”

“That’s gorgeous!” Sonia said. “I’d use it.”

“I want one!” Meesha said.

“What about a specialized app for paid memberships?” Damon said. “Track your progress to becoming who you were born to be, whether that’s about weight loss or strength or whatever.”

The conversation continued, ideas sprouting on every side until Sonia’s head was spinning. She loved the energy of this team and their creativity.

“Read, review, report back next week,” Ty said, drawing the chaos to a close. “Next item is another big one: should we close down Flatiron Five Fitness West for good?”

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