Have you ever thought of a brilliant digital course topic idea, only to have a follow-up thought that it would never work online?

Maybe like wine tasting, spiritual life coaching, or sex education? If you think these topics wouldn’t convert to a digital course -- think again, my friend!

Because I have four epic examples of how my students have made something unexpected work magnificently online from the courses mentioned above.

All it took was a little self-belief, a digital course, and the right know-how to get in front of the right people. 

You’ll hear how…

• Andrea de la Mora transitioned her in-person spiritual life coaching online to generate $42,000. 
• Caroline Brown generated $20,000 on her very first launch, where she taught sex ed to grown women. 
• Natalie McLean took the physical experience of wine tasting online to generate over $30,000.
• Rhea Baliwala’s online course for Spanish-speaking lawyers made $13,000 out of the gate -- despite her audience's uncertainty around learning online. 

My students prove that pretty much anything works as a digital course. Grab your favorite drink, get comfy, and settle in for these awesome stories.

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Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

My guest on today’s episode was a corporate girl turned overwhelmed entrepreneur turned entrepreneur with a thriving online business, a lucrative digital course, and the time and freedom to prioritize her family and make an impact far beyond what she ever imagined.

Her name is Jamie Trull, her business is called “Balance CFO,” and you may remember her from episode #280 where I taught you how to do a “Course Validation Call” with her as my Ideal Customer Avatar.

When we first met Jamie, she had left her corporate job to become an entrepreneur so she could have the time and flexibility to be with her little ones.

But working one on one with clients only left her feeling overwhelmed, attached to her phone, and frustrated that she didn’t have the time and energy for her family that she had hoped to gain.

After using the practices she learned in Digital Course Academy, Jamie launched her 5-week course, Financial Fitness Formula, which helps solopreneurs take control of their business finances, and ended up making five-figures.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Amy, this sounds like me! Except for the 5-figure launch part. Teach me how to grow my online business with a successful launch!”

Well, friend, I’d be happy to! To get you started, I want you to go check out my free 3-part videos series which is all about starting and growing your email list.

You can sign up for it right here!

***Also, are you signed up for my free masterclass, How To Create and Launch a Profitable Digital Course From Scratch? Click the link for more details and to save your spot!***

***Also, also, Did you hear the exciting news? The doors to Digital Course Academy are now open for enrollment! If you’re ready to create a life and business with time, location, and financial freedom, this is your chance! Go here to learn more and start creating your successful digital course!***

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

There’s often a misconception that you have to launch many times before you really start to generate significant revenue. While that may have been the story at one point and time, I’ve seen my students debunk that myth over and over again using the Digital Course Academy framework. 

Today, I’m going to share four inspiring first launch stories from my students.

You’re going to hear about:

• Eva Beronius’ $22,000 first launch
• Braden Drake’s first launch which generated $4,000 
• Chant’l Martin’s $5,000 first launch
• Melissa Groves Azzaro’s first launch that brought in $26,000

My hope is that you walk away from this episode knowing that if you have the desire in your heart to create a course and if you’re willing to do the work, you can generate significant revenue in under a year.

This episode is brought to you by Acuity Scheduling, a scheduling platform that will help you to book more clients, get paid on time, and automate and organize your business’ day-to-day tasks. For a limited time only, you can get 45 days of Acuity Scheduling absolutely free -- no credit card required. Click here to automate your schedule!

This episode is also brought to you by The Draw Shop, a service to perfect your elevator pitch. Do you ever tell people what you do and they look at you a little…funny? Like they don’t totally get it? It happens to me, too. With The Draw Shop, you meet with an expert copywriter to create an exceptional elevator pitch and one-page visual story to compel prospects to respond right now. For a limited time, The Draw Shop is offering Online Marketing Made Easy listeners their service for nearly ONE-THIRD the regular price. Get your word-perfect pitch today at The Draw Shop. Where there’s clarity, there’s revenue.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

How do I start an online business? Grow my email list to thousands of subscribers? Sell more and grow faster? These are just some of the big questions that leading online marketing strategist, Amy Porterfield, digs into on the top-ranked Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast. In addition to mini marketing masterclasses and step-by-step guides, each episode is designed to help you take immediate action on the most important strategies for starting, scaling, and automating your online business. Amy’s specialty is getting into the online trenches with you. Thinking about creating an online course? Want to promote with webinars? Need help with your Facebook ads? Discover why hundreds of thousands of online business owners turn to Amy Porterfield to generate more profits and to make sense of the online marketing space, implement the strategies that really get results, and turn that side hustle into a business that lasts.

***

For more episodes, show notes, and transcripts, please visit https://www.amyporterfield.com/amy-porterfield-podcast/

For more about Amy Porterfield, please go to https://www.amyporterfield.com/

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“I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

$70,000 in just 7 days with one webinar. Can it be done??? Yes, my friend, it can be. 

My guest in this episode, Gayneté Jones, made it possible! Gayneté guides millennial women to turn their passion into profit and create a life of fulfillment and freedom. She’s been featured in many well-known publications and, in this episode, she takes us behind the scenes of her successful six-figure launch. 

She shares:

• What worked during her launch and webinar (AND...what didn’t)
• Step-by-step strategies that she used to fill up her webinar
• Tangible launch mindset hacks 

And so much more. You’re going to love Gayneté’s launch strategies and hacks!

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Not all digital courses are created equal.

There’s a Signature Course, a Spotlight Coursen, and a Starter Course. All are different and unique in their own way and all can work well for different entrepreneurs and online businesses.

In this episode, I share a student story about each course type. I talk about…

• Why the specific course type worked best for their business
• The successes that they had with this course 
• How it fits into their business like a puzzle piece

Plus, I even share a little advice and guidance for other entrepreneurs thinking about creating a course. 

If you’re not sure what type of digital course would work best for your business, this episode is for you!

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Meet Andrea Olson, one of my amazing students and a fierce “Mom-preneur” with a mission and a successful online business.

She made over $600,000 in her business last year by committing to no more than four-hour workdays -- with the exception of her launch days.

She teaches moms how to utilize a system called the “Elimination Communication” approach for potty training with her Go Diaper Free Program.

In this episode, we chat about how she sets up her business in a way that only requires part-time hours to run smoothly, her secret sauce, and the one thing she feels has made her so successful.

We talk about her first hire, some of the strategies she uses for growing her email list by 100 to 150 subscribers per day, and so much more.

This episode is brought to you by Acuity Scheduling, a scheduling platform that will help you to book more clients, get paid on time, and automate and organize your business’ day-to-day tasks. For a limited time only, you can get 45 days of Acuity Scheduling absolutely free -- no credit card required. Click here to automate your schedule!

This episode is also brought to you by LinkedIn Marketing. If your goal is to target your customers where they’re engaging every day and when they’re ready to make a buying decision, I want you to consider LinkedIn. When you advertise on LinkedIn, you’re attracting potential customers and fostering relationships that often translate into high-quality leads, website traffic, and higher brand awareness. Go to LinkedIn Marketing to redeem a free $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

In today’s episode, I chat with my good friend, Brit Barron, who just released her very first book. And let me tell ya, it’s so freakin’ good! 

It’s called WORTH IT: Overcome Your Fears And Embrace The Life You Were Made For. This book shares stories from Brit’s life -- such as going from being a megachurch pastor to coming out and leaving the church, her experience of being a Black woman in America, and other experiences that illustrate how she was living fearfully inside of a framework that someone else had created. 

She so bravely shows her story of growth and also challenges her readers to break out of their own box and step into who they are meant to be.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

In today's episode, I chat with three of my students about how they built successful businesses in industries with underrepresented communities.

These conversations are sooooooo important because many people believe that niching down can be a dangerous thing -- but these three successes are here to show you that this just isn’t the case. In fact, niching down can be the opposite!

And while it may be scary at first to venture into these unknown territories, you’ll often find that when you start to attract the right people, they’ll be saying, “This is what I’ve been waiting for!”

So today, you’re going to hear from Sandra McLemore, Gwen Lane, and LeeAnn Sims.

They all have a unique community and will share how they identified that something was missing. They’ll also share the self-limiting beliefs they faced and how they attracted and built their audience. And of course, they’ll share about their successes, too.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

In my 10+ years of being a digital course creator, I’ve seen a course for everything under the sun! From sourdough bread making to retirement planning, and everything in between -- I’ve seen it all!

And this just reaffirms my belief that everyone has a digital course in them.

In this episode, I’ll share 10 fascinating examples of digital courses to get your creative juices flowing. Plus, I even give you some rapid-fire questions to help you get clear on topics that you could use for a digital course. 

If you’re dreaming of becoming an online entrepreneur but aren’t sure what to focus on, this episode will help you get hyper-clear on a digital course topic so you can start bringing your dream to life!

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Want to know what I love most about a digital course?

I love that they can literally be added to almost any business and that once you create your first digital course you set the foundation for something you can sell over and over again with just a few tweaks and updates!

And that’s exactly what I’m laying out for you in this episode -- how to add a digital course to your existing business so that you can boost your revenue, free up your time, and build a business that works for you and not the other way around.

If you’re a coach, consultant, service provider, online entrepreneur, or have a membership site, I have specific examples of just how to take what you offer, put it into a course, and sell it to reach more people and make more of an impact.

I also give you my three profitable course types along with real-life examples of what type works best for each business structure.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

It’s hard to believe it, but I’ve been creating digital courses for 10 years now! And along the way, I’ve succeeded, I’ve failed, and I’ve definitely tripped a time or two.

In this episode, I share 10 mistakes that I’ve made in my 10 years of digital course creation in hopes that you can learn from me, avoid these same mistakes, and build a thriving business quickly!

Everything from not finding my sweet spot to getting stuck in perfectionism to holding onto tasks far longer than I needed to -- these all made the list. And I hope you find my lessons learned helpful as you navigate the world of online business and digital courses.

This episode is brought to you by Acuity Scheduling, a scheduling platform that will help you to book more clients, get paid on time, and automate and organize your business’ day-to-day tasks. For a limited time only, you can get 45 days of Acuity Scheduling absolutely free -- no credit card required. Click here to automate your schedule!

This episode is also brought to you by the Full Focus Planner. The only planner that helps me stay organized, focused, and on track to succeed. With their “Daily Big 3” and annual goal-setting prompts, I keep my goals top of mind, and my actions aligned with what’s most important. Join me in making 2020 the best year yet! Head here to grab your planner.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

What if I told you that there are two common pitfalls that you -- as a course creator -- should be very careful to avoid?

Would you be interested in finding out what they are? Well, my friend, you’re in luck because my guest is going to share the deets and how to avoid getting tripped up by them.

Her name is Tasha Booth and she is the Founder and CEO of The Launch Guild, an Online Business Management & Digital Marketing Implementation Agency.

In this episode, we chat about those common pitfalls, personal touchpoints that you can use to boost your revenue (very doable!), and how to use a beta launch to validate your course idea and content. 

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Email list growth is just something you’ll never stop doing! Attracting new ideal audience members to your email list to nurture them and eventually turn them into devoted customers should be a priority as a new or veteran entrepreneur.

To help you out, I’m sharing three foolproof list growth strategies. Whether you’re still working on hitting your first 250 subscribers or you have a few thousand on your list, you’ll find these strategies extremely doable and effective.

The first one ties into Search Engine Optimization and how to use it on your website, the second is a social media strategy, and the third is an approach you can use to get your website visitors onto your email list.

I’ve even included a little bonus strategy at the end of the episode.

Check out how this episode plays out...

• [04:42] Strategy #1: I share a super simple Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy to boost your website traffic and gain new leads. No SEO experience required to make this subscriber growth strategy work!
• [11:56] Strategy #2: Find your ICA on Facebook and make an effort to get to know them. Facebook groups are a great way to find and attract new customers -- so long as you approach it in a genuine way. I walk you through step-by-step how to use this strategy!
• [19:57] Strategy #3: Use website pop-ups to get new subscribers on your list. Done right, this works like a charm! Use them in a way that resonates with your ideal customer.
• [26:22] Bonus Strategy: Add an opt-in link for your lead magnet to your email signature. Think about all of the emails that you and your team send. This is a great way to turn warm leads into email subscribers.

Get your free resource here!

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Entrepreneur PSA: Tracking your email metrics is an important task that you need to be making time for!

Okay, I know that may not seem like the most exciting public service announcement you’ve ever heard but hear me out. If you’ve been looking to grow and improve the health of your email list, the answers and guidance you’re looking for could be hiding in the metrics housed on your email service provider.

Now, I know that you might be unsure as to what your metrics mean and which ones to pay attention to, which is why, in this episode, I break down exactly how to track your email metrics and set goals according to your industry averages.

I know you’re going to find this episode invaluable. It’s going to give you the confidence and knowledge to keep growing that priceless email list of yours.

Here’s a sneak peek of this episode...

• [03:30] First things first, let’s chat about your email open rate. This is the percentage of people who open your email. Different Industries have different open rates, so when you’re identifying where your open rate should be, make sure you compare to your industry average. Check out this article to pinpoint what that is.
• [05:33] If you want to improve your email open rate -- get creative with your subject headlines. Here are a few ways to do that!
• [07:36] The next metric of importance is your click-through rate -- the percentage of people who opened your email and took action by clicking a link. I share some tips to improve this metric.
• [12:02] Next, let’s discuss the conversion rate. This is the percentage of people who click through and take action on your offer or request. This is yet again, another important metric.
• [21:33] In order to get people to go from email subscribers to customers, you have to nurture them with every email you send. Here are some tangible ways to improve your email conversion rate.
• [23:33] Last, but certainly not least, you’ll want to pay attention to your unsubscribe rate. This is the percentage of people who unsubscribe after receiving an email from you. Listen, you’ll always have unsubscribers, and to be honest, they probably weren’t a good fit for your business. However, once you get hyper clear on who you’re serving and stay in your lane -- you’ll start to see this number drop.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

There are two things that go hand in hand: being an entrepreneur and having an email list. Eleven years into my business, this is something I know for sure.

And despite the necessity of an email list, I still hear objections like…

• “I don’t know where to start.”
• “I want to wait until I have more followers.”
• “There’s too much tech set up.”

Whenever I hear these objections, I shrug it off, knowing that each one can be debunked -- which is exactly what I do in this episode.

Not only do I debunk these objections, but I also tell you the 3-piece recipe you need to start your email list and your first step to create a thriving list.

My hope is that, from this episode, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence you need to get your email list up and running within one week of listening to this episode (or less)!

Let’s check it out...

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Are you ready to make list building mistakes a thing of the past so you can become an email list master?

Well, my friend, I have just the guy to help you do so. Neil Patel, top online marketer, entrepreneur, and best selling author is going to share three of the most email marketing mistakes made by entrepreneurs.

And, of course, he doesn’t stop there. He also goes on to share how to avoid these mistakes and, instead, how to improve your email marketing game and successfully grow your list.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about…

• The biggest mistake that people are making right now with their email list is focusing on the size of their list. The truth is if your list isn't engaging, the size of it doesn't matter. Scrub your list and remove people who don't open or engage.
• Growing your list is always a challenge. Respond to comments on blogs, groups, and social sites by helping people. When you point people to your helpful resources, you can grow your list while engaging and helping new subscribers. 
• Learn to sell every once in a while. You need to put offers out there, so your audience doesn't think it's always free all of the time. You can sell even if your list is small. It will add up. 
• Free tools convert really well for list signups. If you don't have your own tool, you can find something to use at CodeCanyon. Tools convert best. Then journeys, ebooks, and general newsletter optins. Blocking off a portion of your content for subscribers only is also a tactic that converts. 
• You can share a journey by allowing your subscribers to follow you as you create something like a new course and then share your results. Share your goal, get subscribers, and let them follow your journey through your posts and content. 
• An email capture system refers to your process to capture emails. You can do so through multiple ways like a tool, newsletter, quiz, and more. You want to create a system with different paths for different personality types to subscribe.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

In this episode, I chat with expert marketing strategies, marketing consultant, podcast host, CEO of a media group, and all-around amazing human being, Sonia Thompson.

Sonia shares her 5-step approach for creating a more inclusive business and company culture. Plus, she gives actionable strategies that you can start implementing right away.

Here’s a peek at her 5-steps:

• Diversify your circle of influence
• Re-evaluate your ICA
• Commit to representation
• Make cultural intelligence a priority
• Audit your customer experience

Click here to listen!

This episode is brought to you by Boosted, an app for iOS or Android that allows you to make beautiful, professional-looking videos for your brand’s social media in three easy steps! You can use stock videos, your own videos, or even create stunning videos with your photos. With top-notch templates, easy resizing, and user-friendly video editing options, Boosted can take your social to the next level. Head here to get the discounted rate of $15 for 3 months of Boosted Premium, which offers bonus features to make your videos stand out!

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Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Community
• Sonia Thompson

Facebook groups, you gotta love them. And as an entrepreneur, you gotta have one!

Especially during the COVID-19 crisis, people are spending more time online looking for the answers and guidance they need, and one place they are looking is on Facebook.

This means, if you don’t have a Facebook group, you could be missing out on potential customers and loyal audience members.

Or, maybe you’ve started a group, but you’re struggling to engage your members. Either way, you’re going to love this episode and walk away with tons of ideas to get your group rockin’ and rollin’.

I have over 38 thousand members between my free and paid Facebook groups, so I know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t. In this episode, I spill it all!

We’re going to talk about my favorite tips and tricks for setting a Facebook group up, engaging your members, and ensuring you don’t hear crickets when you post.

Here’s what I talk about…

• [06:17] It’s important to define your group focus and who your group is for. You gotta do this because it helps you to find clarity in the direction of your group and content.
• [09:24] Always, always, always make your group private! Why? Because it makes your group more intimate and allows you to have more control.
• [11:11] Have fun and use the “ask questions” feature to make sure applicants know your rules and to find out more about your members. I personally like to ask the “magic wand” question, which helps me to learn what topic my audience wants to hear. You can also use this section to gather emails!
• [13:08] Mention your Facebook group everywhere to get new members.
• [15:55] Get used to showing up consistently in your group -- this is the difference between winning or losing. Map out a content calendar for your Facebook group. Decide how often you are going to post and how often you are going to go in and comment and make sure you schedule these tasks into your weekly planner.
• [21:59] Do a weekly or monthly Facebook Live. Not sure what to talk about? You can do Q & As, storytime, hot seats, or a cocktail hour! Pay attention to how your group resonates and keep doing what's working.

Also, I wanted to make sure that you have everything you need to get started with a Facebook group. Click here to grab my free step-by-step guide to setting up your group.

This free resource is also for those who already have a group as it has some tips that will improve your group’s searchability, boundaries, and organization.

This episode is brought to you by The Draw Shop, a service to perfect your elevator pitch. Do you ever tell people what you do and they look at you a little...funny? Like they don’t totally get it? It happens to me, too. With The Draw Shop, you meet with an expert copywriter to create an exceptional elevator pitch and one-page visual story to compel prospects to respond right now. For a limited time, The Draw Shop is offering Online Marketing Made Easy listeners their service for nearly ONE-THIRD the regular price. Get your word-perfect pitch today at The Draw Shop. Where there’s clarity, there’s revenue.

This episode is also brought to you by Leadpages. Whether you’re growing your email list or your business, Leadpages will make your life easier. Leadpages lets you can create hassle-free opt-in pages, thank you pages, webinar replay pages, websites and more. Plus, their built-in marketing advice and conversion tools minimize tech confusion so you can focus on the important stuff in your business -- like engaging your audience. Turn your content into clicks and customers with Leadpages. Start a free 14-day trial and save 20% on your first purchase at Leadpages.

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Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

I’m so excited for my guest today, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Consultant, Erica Courdae.

Erica has dedicated her life to expanding how others interact with the world through powerful conversations. Her work as an entrepreneur and coach has taken her across the country, onto stages, and into communities as a key speaker and educator. 

Erica brought some serious honesty and truth to this interview and shared so much eye-opening insight around…

• How to show up as an imperfect ally
• The power of listening and apologizing over defending and deflecting
• Tone-policing and why it’s harmful to the BLM movement
• How to diversify your business and adjust your values to support equality and inclusion
• And so much more.

This episode is a very public, “behind-the-scenes” look into my beginnings of allyship and I invite all my listeners to keep me accountable as I continue this journey.

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Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

I think we can all agree that the first six months of 2020 have been crazy, uncertain, and have pushed us in ways that we never expected -- especially as entrepreneurs.

Nonetheless, six months have passed and we’re now halfway through the year. So from one friend to another, how are your 2020 goals coming along?

Maybe you’re kicking butt -- go you! Or, perhaps you’re falling behind a bit. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, just know that you’re not alone, so give yourself some grace.

COVID or no COVID, I always find doing a mid-year goal audit helpful. It’s important to recalibrate where you are with our goals to ensure they’re on track and realistic.

In this episode, I have a 4-step process to help you reach your goals in the final six months of 2020 -- no matter where you are right now.

Here’s what it looks like:

• Identify your goals -- get hyper clear on what they are and refresh your memory.
• Examine your progress and list out the actions you’ve been taking towards your goals.
• Identify what’s working and what isn’t.
• Create a plan for moving forward and knocking your goals out of the ballpark.

You’re going to walk away with a renewed sense of motivation and a step-by-step process to help ensure you accomplish those big, bold goals.

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Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

You have something to offer your audience -- that special sauce that people are looking for and need. So, friend, how are you going to get it into their hands?

The answer? By crafting an irresistible offer that your audience cannot resist.

What is an offer? An offer is a product or service that you sell through your business. This could be a digital course, a PDF guide, one-on-one or group coaching... the list goes on.

After 11 years of growing a successful online business, I can promise you that having only one offer is what will set you up for success.

This episode will walk you through my 6-step process for taking what you have to offer, and packaging it into something that your audience will love and buy!

Here’s the 6-step process for crafting an offer that your audience won’t be able to resist:

1. Define your offer promise.
2. Identify the length of time it takes to see a transformation.
3. Map the path or step-by-step journey it requires to get this transformation.
4. Select your offer format.
5. Price your offer.
6. Craft your money-back guarantee.

And trust me, this approach to creating your offer or package makes it really simple to put it together so you can get it in the hands of your audience quickly.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

After 11 years of building a successful online business, there is one area I see entrepreneurs go wrong time and time again.

Want to know what it is?

They put all their effort into growing their social media following without properly using it to grow their email list. In my experience, that’s a big no, no.

So, why would that be a big mistake?

Well, here are a couple of stats I want to share with you.

• Your return on investment with an email list is 4x higher than any other marketing platform. In fact, the average ROI is 122%.
• For every one dollar spent on email marketing, you could make between forty-five to fifty-one dollars.

You do not, and I repeat, do not own your social media followers. You do, however, own your email list. This means that a social media platform can take your followers away at any point, or dictate who does and does not see your content.

Do I have your attention yet?

I’m not saying you should ditch social media. Instead, I’m giving you simple, effective strategies for utilizing your social media accounts to grow your email list, share your knowledge with the world, and support your audience in the best way possible.

To help me do this, I reached out to a couple of experts you may know, Jasmine Star (Instagram expert) and Brittany Krystle (LinkedIn expert), for a little guidance.

In this episode, Jasmine shares her favorite ways to invite Instagram followers over to your email list. Brittany gives little known tips and tricks for converting your LinkedIn followers to email subscribers.

And yours truly -- that’s me -- is going to share some of the most effective ways to use Facebook to grow your email list.

You’re going to love these tangible, step-by-step strategies for growing your email list quickly.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

We can no longer ignore the newest social media platform, TikTok. And, I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t been intrigued by it. After all, if it’s good enough for Reese Witherspoon and Will Smith, it’s good enough for me.

But I wanted to know more. So, I turned to Instagram educator and TikTok early adopter, Elise Darma, to educate me.

In today’s episode, Elise and I talk about:

• What TikTok is.
• Why you, as an entrepreneur, should be using and paying attention to TikTok.
• How to get your first one thousand followers on TikTok, and, how to get them onto your email list.
• Plus, 5 TikTok video ideas that you can start using right away.

Elise has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, and The Everygirl. She knows her stuff when it comes to social media. I can’t wait for you to learn her step-by-step approach to getting started with and using TikTok to attract new customers.

You’ll walk away from today’s episode with a new tool in your marketing pocket, and ready to dominate a hot new platform.

And because Elise is going to share exact examples of what she’s done to see traction on TikTok, we’ve put together a free resource so you can visually see what we’re talking about.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here , scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

A lot of people look at a billion-dollar company with starstruck eyes and forget that, in most cases, it took someone a lot of persistence, resilience, and tenacity to get there.

And, yes, I have a specific company in mind.

I’m referring to IT Cosmetics, a billion-dollar makeup company. In this episode, I sit down and talk to the founder, Jamie Kern Lima.

I am so honored to have my friend join me and bring inspiration and tangible guidance on how to build a successful company from the ground up.

Jamie has a motivating story and she is an example of hard work, determination, and persistence. On top of that, she has a heart of gold.

Jamie shares her journey of being a successful entrepreneur and how she handled hearing “no” over and over again.

She talked about following your intuition, showing up authentically, and some of her top needle movers when she was building a billion-dollar business.

Here's a peek at the episode...

• [05:15] Jamie shares about her struggles with her skin, which a television anchor, made her feel self-conscious. After struggling to find a makeup that actually stuck, she was inspired to create her own.
• [07:53] And that’s exactly what she did! On the flight back from her honeymoon, she and husband wrote up a business plan for a skincare line that catered to women who didn’t have perfect skin.
• [11:41] “When you're doing something really new and really novel, all of the experts may not get it.” When no one would pick up her product, she went back to the drawing board and decided to sell it online.
• [13:42] Although they were struggling to get traction, Jamie persisted because she knew in her gut that she was supposed to do this.
• [17:07] In true Jamie fashion, she kept hustling -- even after a heartwrenching “no” from Sephora.
• [20:59] Jamie shares how she was turned down by QVC seven years ago, and today they are the largest selling brand on QVC.
• [27:01] “Don't dilute your own authenticity. Nobody can be you, and it doesn't serve you to be anybody else.”
• [39:11] When she finally landed a spot on QVC, she sold out! Tune in to hear her story.
• [42:55] Jamie shares one of her biggest mistakes of growing a billion-dollar company.
• [50:08] She also shares some of her best needle movers while building such a successful brand.

I know you’re going to fall in love with Jamie and find so much value in her expert advice and guidance.

Side note: If you reach out to Jamie on Instagram, be sure to tag her handle in the first few words of your post’s comments.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here , scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Can I let you in on a little secret? If you become a decisive entrepreneur early on in your journey, it’s going to serve you in the long run.

How do I know? Because I’ve been in the game for twelve years now, and I’d say that’s long enough to feel like I’ve made enough decisions to last me a lifetime.

I have a question for you, do you consider yourself to be a decisive person? If you answered “no,” that’s totally fine.

To be honest, I’ve always been a pretty decisive person (just like my mom!). But being an entrepreneur has helped me to take a step back and to examine my process for making educated decisions with confidence.

My hope for you is that whether you’re decisive or not, you take my simple and effective 4-step decision-making process, and you use it to make big, bold decisions that will best serve you, your business, and your audience.

Step one in my 4-step process is to commit already! Give yourself to commit to making a decision… even if it’s the wrong one, which sometimes, it will be.

My second step is to find out what it is that you need to learn and what information you need to make an educated decision. But I say this with caution because I know first-hand that it’s too easy to fall down the research rabbit hole. To avoid that, set a timer (I know it sounds silly, but I’m serious!). Don’t let research draw out making a decision!

My third step is to talk it out with someone, but be mindful of who you ask. After all, I firmly believe that you are the best person to make the final decision in your business.

And last, but certainly not least, the last step is to go inward. Now, of course, I couldn’t say this without giving you a step-by-step of how to do just that. So, I’ve laid out how I personally like to go inward so that I can gain clarity around my decision.

Here's what I talk about in this episode...

• [04:21] What if you didn’t think about decisions as either good or bad? Here’s what to do instead. When a decision leads you to your desired results, keep going. When it doesn't, change your path and make a new decision!
• [08:40] Commit to making as many decisions as needed to get the results you're after. Tune in to find out how I enter into an experimental phase and welcome input and feedback from those I trust and respect. After all, I firmly believe it's better to decide then to keep waiting for the right decision.
• [16:16] Only do the necessary research to make your decision and nothing more. Ask what information you need to gather to make a competent decision and then find the right resources. Oh, and be sure to set a deadline or timeframe!
• [17:25] Selectively and cautiously seek input from people who you trust and understand what's going on in your business. Ask yourself: Who will give you candid input? Who will be skewed because they love you?
• [20:24] Get quiet and turn inward for the ultimate decision. You are the best person to make the final call in your business.
• [24:39] I find it’s helpful to journal on these questions: What's best for the company? What's best for me? What feels right? What aligns with my intent, mission, and vision? What would I do if I were brave?

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here , scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Wouldn’t it be fun to share your gifts with the world and make a ton of money while doing it?

You’re probably thinking, “Well, Amy, uh yeah…obviously!”

So why do I hear -- all the time -- that to be an entrepreneur, it's so much harder than just getting paid to share your gifts?

My guest today, Lisa Sasevich, is going to set the record straight. She's going to share just how to use your gifts to boost your sales so that you can make the revenue you desire.

Lisa -- a.k.a. “Queen of Conversions” -- is an award-winning entrepreneur and business coach, and she just released her new book, “Meant For More.”

Why is this book important to read as an entrepreneur?

Because Lisa has put all of her top tips and tools into one place so that you can hone in on your unique gifts and use them to build a thriving business.

In this episode, Lisa and I chat about her easy-to-use, proven formula for understanding how to use your gifts to make more money, have more impact, and get more out of life.

What I love most about her step-by-step formula (besides that it’s step-by-step), is that it teaches you how to do all of this without being pushy or salesy. Instead, it shows you how to speak from the heart with intention, honesty, and truth.

Here's a look at what we chatted about...

• [04:46] As a pioneer in the online marketing world, Lisa wanted to integrate her passion and her work. She's now known as the “Queen of Conversion” and has taught over 15,000 clients to create an irresistible offer without being pushy or salesy.
• [09:41] Lisa shares a powerful story about losing her mom and how that inspired her to avoid living a “woulda, coulda, shoulda” life, and instead figure out what she was put here to do.
• [12:07] We talk about finding your “unique value,” what it is, and how to use it as an entrepreneur.
• [16:37] In her Meant For More book, there is a proven formula to turn your knowledge into profits. And because you know I love a good formula, Lisa and I chat about how to utilize it as an entrepreneur to make more money doing what you love.
• [23:18] Lisa shares an unexpected way to identify something you’re good at. Hint… it has to do with meddling!
• [24:34] She also talks about identifying a topic that people want to pick your brain about, and how this is a clue towards your million dollar value.
• [25:52] Her five-step Meant For More Sales process is to make peace with sales, claim your million-dollar value, get specific about taking action, turn it into an irresistible offer, and lay out the plan to live a life you love.

You’re going to love this episode. Plus, Lisa has a free mini-course on how to discover your unique value. Head here to grab her freebie and discover your unique value today!

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” - Bob Proctor

Amen, Mr. Proctor!

I am a firm believer in studying and learning from mentors who have gone before you and have succeeded and created a life and business similar to the one you dream of creating.

When I was first starting out, I relied on and invested in mentors to support me with the step-by-step guidance they’ve used to achieve results.

And the truth is, I still do to this day!

It’s important to find a mentor who aligns with your vision and the goals that you have set for your business.

In this episode, I talk about…

• why mentors are important during every season of your business
• the golden number of mentors you should study and learn from
• the difference between working with a mentor one-on-one, in a mastermind, or online through a course they offer
• how to know which one is best for you and your business

Here’s what this episode is all about...

• [04:11] I get it! When starting out, it's so easy to follow 100 or more people you admire and consider each and every one a mentor. But here’s my tip to you (coming from years of experience), you want to keep it simple and keep your mentors to a minimum to build a successful business.
• [06:52] Having only two or three mentors allows you to build trust and cultivate relationships with these people. Taking advice from too many mentors will stunt your business growth.
• [08:59] Having trouble narrowing it down? Don’t worry, I have a little guidance for you. Write a list of all the people who you believe are your mentors and all the people you admire. Decide who on the list has succeeded at creating a life and a business that you would like to create. Start eliminating names, so you are left with only a few people who truly align with your business desires and goals.
• [10:52] Once you have your list of potential mentors, study from them and learn from them. Let their guidance, their content, their tools, and courses guide you.
• [15:40] You’re probably wondering about working with a mentor. And, to be honest, that’s one of the best things I could possibly do as an entrepreneur. I’ve found that there are benefits to group masterminds and working one-on-one with a coach. When working one-on-one, you'll have an opportunity to identify tasks specific to your vision. However, it can be expensive. I suggest you do a digital course first and then decide if you want to take it one step further with one-on-one coaching.
• [19:50] I’ve found that masterminds are especially beneficial later on in your business. Paying for it when you have skin in the game is a whole new experience -- trust me. What I love most about masterminds is that you get feedback and ideas from other like-minded individuals. A mastermind can truly offer you so much clarity as an entrepreneur.

Finding the right mentor in such a busy world is essential and empowering, but it can also be frustrating if you aren’t sure what to look for!

To take the overwhelm out of finding a mentor who is going to guide you and show you a seamless step-by-step approach to succeeding in your industry, I’ve put together a freebie with five questions to help you get hyper clear on who is a good fit.

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“I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

I almost said “no” to one of the biggest opportunities I’ve ever had, and it would have cost me playing a bigger game as I had committed to.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that in 2019 I committed to playing a bigger game, and yet here I was, in 2019, contemplating shooting down an opportunity that allowed me to do just that.

Woah! What the heck was I thinking? Tune in to find out if I actually played a bigger game. Spoiler alert… I did!

In this episode, I’m talking about the opportunities, the kind that we all get, that are scary, exciting, and provide us with the breakthroughs we need to accomplish our goals and jumpstart a life and business that we dream of.

I want you to look out for those opportunities, and even though they may seem terrifying… I want you to have the courage to say “yes” to them.

And while it isn’t as easy as one, two, three, I do have three steps for you to take when you encounter those opportunities to help you find the courage, confidence, and grit to say “yes,” play a bigger game, and step into the big deal that you are.

• Step 1: Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I take this opportunity?”
• Step 2: Share it with someone who truly knows your goals and aspirations.
• Step 3: Test your reason against fear!

Here’s a glimpse of the episode...

• [05:39] My friend and boss babe, Rachel Hollis, challenged me to speak at her RISE event. And get this, she wanted me to talk about my weight loss journey instead of online marketing! Here’s where it gets interesting, my friend, I wanted to pretend this opportunity was never presented to me. My team, however, had a very different idea
• [12:50] Well, I ended up saying “yes.” And once I did, I felt all of the emotions, including a teeny bit of courage. Here’s what I did next, I felt into my courage so much so that it snuffed out all of my other emotions. The experience ended up being incredible and exactly what I needed to play a bigger game.
• [15:39] Believe it or not, this was an opportunity that gave me direction and courage to step into my full potential. It was truly the evidence that I needed to confirm that I was capable of going big.
• [16:27] Has there been an opportunity that you've been shying away from because it seems intimidating? Or because you don't feel you're ready? Here’s what I want you to do, I want you to open that door and explore that opportunity.
• [19:46] Can you think of an opportunity right now that is just waiting for you to say “yes?” If you can't think of anything, be open-minded and watch for one. I have a sneaky feeling it will find you sooner than you think.
• [20:29] When you land on the opportunity, try sitting with it. Ask yourself, “What's the worst that could happen. What's the best thing that could happen?” Allow yourself to dream big so that you can start playing a bigger game.

I hope you take the lessons from this episode and apply them to your life and business right away, so this can be the year that you step into your greatest potential!

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"I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

What if I told you that there is a fast-track strategy that you can use to launch a digital course or a membership site. Would you be interested?

And here’s the cherry on top… you don’t have to have a big audience or list to make this approach successful. 

I know. Crazy town, right? While it seems too good to be true, my guest today is going to prove that it can be done, and he has the exact steps to do it. 

My guest is Stu McLaren, and it’s not his first time on the show. You might remember him from episode #260, where we spoke all about membership sites.

In this episode, Stu shares a mind-blowing strategy called the “Founding Members Strategy,” which allows you to successfully launch your product or service with a tiny audience. 

He is going to tell you…

• Exactly how to use this strategy.
• How it will benefit you and your audience. 
• Five elements to make this strategy successful.
• Real-life stories of how this has successfully played out in the lives of some of his students -- students whose audiences range from tiny to large.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve got your business down pat, you’re going to love his step-by-step strategy that you can start using right away. 

We also chat about Stu’s phenomenal 3-part video workshop all about turning what you know, love, and do into a profitable membership. 

You’re in luck because today Stu releases the first video where he talks about the “old” way of doing business versus the “new” way of doing business, which means recurring revenue and customers. 

Click here to grab this eye-opening video and to get signed up for the 3-part video workshop!

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Marketing. If your goal is to target your customers where they’re engaging every day and when they’re ready to make a buying decision, I want you to consider LinkedIn. When you advertise on LinkedIn, you’re attracting potential customers and fostering relationships that often translate into high-quality leads, website traffic, and higher brand awareness. Go to LinkedIn Marketing to redeem a free $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign

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“I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Raise your hand if you get tripped up defining your niche with full confidence. Well, my friend, you’re not alone.

I hear it all the time from entrepreneurs … “I feel stuck because I’m just not certain what my niche is!”

I’m here to tell you that this is about to become a thing of the past, and after you’re done with this episode, you’ll be feeling hyper clear about the niche you are serving.

In this episode, I walk you through a highly-effective four-step process for identifying your niche. (I even made you a freebie to make it easy to follow!)

Before I take you through this actionable, tangible step-by-step process, I have to address the elephant in the room.

Fear of actually picking a niche!

Whoa, talk about diving right in… am I right?!

I know that this fear is alive and well because I hear about it and see it all the time in my Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community. The bummer is that for many entrepreneurs -- especially those just starting out -- that fear of picking one niche is enough to stay stuck in decision paralysis.

“Choosing the wrong niche is better than choosing no niche at all.” - James Wedmore

What’s most important for you to know is that you might pick the wrong niche right away, and that’s okay because it will at least get you moving forward -- and forward action means progress and clarity.

This four-step process is going to take a little elbow grease, so get ready to put pen to paper. But I promise you the work is going to be worth it, and the clarity you’ll gain will catapult you to the next level in your business.

• In step 1, you’ll identify your main market.
• In step 2, you’ll niche down and get really specific. (And trust me, the more specific, the better!)
• In step 3, you’ll do some market research.
• In step 4, you’ll create your Value Articulator Statement.

Say goodbye to niche confusion or feeling stuck. I want you to declare right here, right now, that you are going to pick a niche, even if it feels scary.

And because I know there is a lot of action steps in this episode, I’ve put together a little freebie that will take you through each step in detail. Grab your freebie here!

This episode is brought to you by Paleovalley, my family's go-to source for healthy, high-protein snacks. Paleovalley’s grass-fed and finished beef sticks are my family's favorite snacks to keep us healthy and full on the go. Head here to check out all of their high-quality, organic products and be sure to use the code Amy15 to get 15% off of your first order.

This episode is also brought to you by the Lead to Win podcast, a podcast by two of my favorite leadership experts, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller. Lead to Win helps you to minimize overwhelm and navigate the complexities of being a leader so you can win at work and succeed in your life. If you’re ready to cut through distractions and focus on your greatest priorities, check out Lead to Win today! Head here to subscribe and listen.

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If you're on Apple Podcasts, help me help more people by rating and reviewing my show. Reviews let others - just like you - find the actionable, step-by-step strategies to start the "online" journey...of making a business and life they love. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” My team and I - we read them all. Thank you!

Holy cow, there is A LOT of uncertainty right now. And we all have a lot of questions. First, you are not alone. Second, to continue to support you and your business during the coronavirus crisis, I’ve connected with the members of my free Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook group and I’ve asked them: “what questions do you have about navigating your business?”

My students gave me dozens of wonderful questions that I know will also help you. As you pivot to find the right way to move your online and small business forward during COVID-19, consider the questions I answer in this episode. They are:

• I have yet to launch a course. Do you feel this is a good time to do so, or should I stay focused on list building and relationship building with weekly content?
• I’ve been crafting and getting ready to share my business with the world, and then COVID-19 hit. Should I postpone launching my business and sharing it with others until we start to see some normalcy again? 
• I was going to live launch last week, with a second round starting this week. It’s highly possible that I have contracted COVID-19, so I’m not physically feeling up to going live on video, but I still want to launch. In this situation, is moving to evergreen okay?
• I have a photography business and can not currently operate my business. I have postponed all sessions for the coming weeks and was nowhere near my goal of filling my easter sessions before COVID 19. What should I do now? 
• These days, it feels weird seeing an email or social media post that’s NOT mentioning the pandemic. How have you adapted your marketing and communication?
• What are the best small business resources to lean on during this crisis?
• Since I had to stop my one-on-one work, I’ve been doing free daily videos on Facebook to keep my audience engaged. It’s the first time I’ve offered online services, and I’ve been getting great feedback. How do I transition from offering free content to charging for my online services?
• How in the world am I supposed to be able to focus on my business with my kids home, trying to support them in their school work, not to mention being the lunch lady, and having my husband home too? HELP!
• I’m not sure how to help my target audience during this time. I teach interior design to brick and mortar shop owners, and many of my clients’ businesses are shut down right now. How do I adjust my message and my content to serve them when many of them are closed and worry about paying rent?

If you’re working from home and need a little extra guidance, I’ve got you covered. For more in-depth tips on work-from-home success, grab the free PDF resource that I’ve put together for you.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe in Apple Podcast

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people (just like you) move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Are you a brick and mortar business owner finding yourself having to make quick decisions and shift your business online? Or, maybe you’re an online business already but wondering how you could create an online presence.

One thing is clear: you need to make a pivot.

I want you to know that I’m here to support you every step of the way. In doing so, I’ve brought on someone who is an expert at growing small businesses. Meet Stacy Tuschl -- not only is she a small business pro, she knows how to grow both brick and mortar and online businesses successfully.

Stacy has built a multi-million dollar company called, The Academy of Performing Arts, which offers dance and music classes. She also has an online business and program called, The Foot Traffic Formula, which helps small businesses around the world get more customers in the door, more profit in their pocket, and more happiness in their homes.

Stacy has so much valuable insight around navigating your business in turbulent times, and even more so, she has a unique angle from being a brick and mortar business owner, as well.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What’s going on in the world of entrepreneurship.
• How to focus on and prioritize what decisions need to be made in realtime.
• A step-by-step approach for transitioning your business online quickly.
• How to get creative and pivot your offers to serve your clients.
• The future of brick and mortar businesses, the silver lining in this crisis, and a mindset shift towards abundance.

You’re going to find this episode eye-opening and inspiring.

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"I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

I’ve been hearing a lot of questions from online entrepreneurs lately due to our current crisis. Questions like...

• Should I sell?
• Should I deeply discount my products and offers?
• Or, should I give my stuff away for free?

And I get it! We’re in a time of uncertainty… especially for entrepreneurs.

However, I full-heartedly believe it when I say, “yes,” you should absolutely be selling. And “no,” you should not discount or give your products away for free.

The world and the economy need you and your business more than ever. That’s why in this episode, I’m not only going to tell you why you should be selling right now but also 5 powerful ways to find the courage to do so.

I’ll even go as far as to say that you have a civic duty to sell and to show up online during this pandemic, as long as you show up with something of value that can serve others (which my guess is that you do!).

Here’s a peek at the 5 ways you can find the courage to sell right now:

• Create something of value for free! Yes, I know I just said don’t give you stuff away for free, but there are some ways you can offer value for free and still sell with integrity.
• Embrace the pivot, and holy heck has there been a lot of pivoting lately.
• Be willing to make mistakes -- both professionally and personally.
• Hold your launch revenue goals loosely, but your 2020 overall revenue goals tightly.

• Fiercely commit to coming out of this crisis stronger.

There are two things I want to leave you with…

1. I’ve rallied up a ton of free resources to support you as an online and small business owner during this time, be sure to utilize them. (Links at the bottom of this page!)
2. I want you to answer this question: What would you do in your online business if you were brave? The answer, my friend, is moving forward… and that’s my wish for you.

Click here to listen!

I know you’re going to find so much value and inspiration in this episode.

Also, if you’re working from home and need a little extra guidance, I’ve got you covered. For more in-depth tips on work-from-home success, grab the free PDF resource that I’ve put together for you.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe in Apple Podcast

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people (just like you) move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

I’m not going to beat around the bush, we are living in a crazy time, and things are moving fast.

As an entrepreneur, especially an online entrepreneur, you need to be moving quickly as well.

I’ve been in awe of my students as I watch them step up, shift, and serve their audience in valuable ways during this time of crisis. In this episode, I share five ways that my students have pivoted their business in light of the economy and uncertainty.

I feel that now, more than ever, showing up with something of high-value that will serve your audience is the very best thing that you can do.

In this episode, I’ll use these stories to debunk three beliefs that have been floating around…

• Nobody is buying anything right now.
• It’s inconsiderate to launch or sell something right now -- people will think I’m capitalizing on the crisis.
• If you don’t have an online business or if you haven’t quite launched your business yet -- now is not the time.

These couldn’t be farther from the truth, and you’ll see that in the stories I share.

• In this episode, you’ll hear about Hilary Krueger, who created an online offer, launched it in less than 48 hours, and had 200 people sign up in under five days.
• You’ll learn how Jamie Sears generated around $3,000 in just a couple of days with her on-the-fly training.
• After that, I’ll share a story with you about how Catherine Ryan Gregory adjusted her launch to accommodate the shifts in our economy.
• You’ll learn how Carrie Lupoli created a website and a free training in just four hours, which has already served thousands of people and counting.
• Lastly, I’ll share what Jamie Trull did to support her ideal customer avatar during this time of crisis and the fantastic response she received.
• I’ll even talk about how to show up and pivot your message if you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur.

If you’re working from home and need a little extra guidance, I’ve got you covered. For more in-depth tips on work-from-home success, grab the free PDF resource that I’ve put together for you.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show <insert link>! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Are you leading with a vision? Or are you wandering around with a half-baked idea of what you want your life and business to look like?

Whether you’re the former or the latter, today’s episode is going to give you even more clarity around your vision.

My guest, mentor, and friend, Michael Hyatt, is not only a best-selling author but also one of the most successful entrepreneurs I know.

His business was featured in Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest-growing private companies after experiencing 300 percent growth in just three years! Mind-blowing, right?

Michael has just released yet another phenomenal book called, “The Vision-Driven Leader,” and that’s what we’re talking about today.

In this episode, Michael offers practices and guidance for identifying your vision, why your vision is the essential ingredient for leadership and impact, how your vision varies from your mission statement, and so much more.

Here’s a look at what we talk about...

• [05:27] Want to know the difference between businesses that survive and businesses that fail? Those that survive have a crystal clear vision.
• [07:43] You might be wondering what exactly a vision is. Well, a vision is going to be a clear, inspiring, practical, attractive picture of your organization’s future, three to five years in the future.
• [12:42] If you’re feeling like you’re struggling with clarity, the good news is that clarity grows over time. A great way to gain more business clarity is to write down what your vision is and where you want to go. Just start with something, and it will get more clear over time.
• [15:28] Here are some wonderful journal prompts: What is your vision for the future of your team, and what kind of product you want to create? What kind of marketing are you going to have? What’s the future of your impact?
• [17:07] When you read through what you write down for the future, do you get excited? It has to be inspirational. Michael has four different ideas for inspiration that might help identify where you are.
• [20:39] A vision is a necessary but not sufficient condition of success — you also need to execute. Having an inspiring vision will help you create and adapt your strategy and say “yes” to the right things.
• [25:15] Once you start to understand your vision, you want to create a link between your vision and your day to day tasks. Start with your vision script (which you can learn more about in the episode), which should inform your annual goals, quarterly goals, weekly objectives, and daily tasks.
• [30:18] Don’t think you’ll set your vision once and call it good. Oh no! You’ll want to reconsider and tweak your vision at least once a year.
• [38:54] Lastly, when it comes to your vision for your business, you will encounter resistance — it’s just part of being an entrepreneur. You must have tenacity, integrity, and courage to stay the course.

By the end of this episode, you’re going to be fired up about clarifying your vision -- a vision that inspires and grows your business.

You’re going to understand how to overcome obstacles when you encounter them. And, most importantly, you’re going to feel empowered and ready to share your vision with the world.

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Small businesses around the world are facing uncertainty, unemployment, and decisions they never thought possible. On top of that, they are having to learn and learn quickly about government relief solutions.

From one small business owner to another, I understand what it’s like to feel lost in the confusion.

Today’s show will break down, in layman's terms, the Stimulus Package for small businesses and how you can take advantage of it.

My guest, Casey Graham, CEO of Gravy, is going to help me do that. You’ve probably heard me talk about Gravy before -- they do our customer retention and failed payment recovery, which is so important, especially during times like these.

Casey has been in the online business world through two crises now and has a unique perspective and understanding of how to survive a crisis as a small business owner.

Here’s a little sneak peek of what we talked about in this episode:

• Why online business and online learning is emerging as a giant leader right now, and why understanding the Stimulus Package is extremely important.
• What The CARES Act is and what it means for small and online businesses.
• Why the government is leaning on small business owners to help save America during this time.
• Understanding if this bill is right for you, if you’re eligible, and how you can take advantage of it.
• Everything you need to know about this bill top to bottom -- from loan amount to loan forgiveness to accessing this bill and everything in between.

Casey even has a value-packed website full of resources to support you and all small and online businesses right now. Head here to check it out!

I know you’re going to find this episode insightful and extremely helpful.

Click here to listen!

A note: this episode is about the United States $2 trillion Stimulus bill passed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This stimulus package is specific to our U.S. audience.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Rate & Review Online Marketing Made Easy:

If you're on Apple Podcasts, help me help more people by rating and reviewing my show. Reviews let others - just like you - find the actionable, step-by-step strategies to start the "online" journey...of making a business and life they love. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” My team and I - we read them all. Thank you!

Raise your hand if you love a good online quiz.

I sure do!

From finding out what celebrity you’re most like, to which jean fit is the most flattering for your body type, to identifying if you’re right for an online course or not, quizzes help you, as the consumer, make easier decisions without the overwhelm.

But… what do quizzes do for you as an entrepreneur? A whole lot!

Quizzes are a great way to grow and segment your email list, better understand your audience, and boost your sales by offering direct guidance for your customers.

My guest, Ryan Levesque, is a pro when it comes to using quizzes, and we got to sit down and chat all about how you can use them, no matter where you are in your business.

Ryan is the Inc. 500 CEO of The ASK Method® Company, an entrepreneur, and the #1 national best-selling author of the books Choose and Ask... which was named by Inc. as the #1 Marketing Book of the Year.

His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, Entrepreneur, on NBC News, and Fox and over 250,000 entrepreneurs subscribe to his email newsletter offering business advice.

He is also a co-founder and investor in bucket.io®, a leading quiz funnel software for entrepreneurs used by over 20M people each year.

Now, you might be thinking that quizzes are a little too advanced for you, but before you disregard this episode, I want to challenge you to stick with me. Why?

Because Ryan and I break down how quizzes can benefit you, even if you’re just starting out.

In fact, we talk about how quizzes can be especially beneficial to grow your email list and better understand your audience in the early stages of your business.

No matter where you are as an entrepreneur, you’re going to walk away from today’s episode with a clear understanding of what it looks like to create a quiz and how quizzes can help you to grow your business.

Like many these days, you might be finding yourself working virtually -- and whether this is new to you or not, there are some simple strategies you can implement to stay focused, on track, and moving forward as an entrepreneur.

My dear friend, Rachel Hollis, originally interviewed me for her podcast RISE, and because we both want this episode to reach as many entrepreneurs and individuals affected by the recent crisis as possible, we are releasing it on the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast as well.

I hope with all my heart that you find this episode helpful, insightful, and inspiring.

Now, why did Rachel come to me looking for guidance on how to run a virtual team and work from home without losing focus?

Probably because I’ve been building a virtual team for almost 11 years, which means I’ve got a couple tricks up my sleeve for being successful in the online workspace.

Here’s a preview of what we talked about...

• How to set expectations and what tools are best for staying on track.
• The importance of sticking to a task and how to make sure your team does the same.
• How to show up for your team and lead in turbulent times.
• How to minimize context switching -- trust me when I say that this one is a lifesaver!
• Tips for staying focused.
• Strategies for maintaining healthy work habits and setting up your workspace.
• The importance of over-communication to your team and collaborators.

This episode is courtesy of our guest, Rachel Hollis, and the RISE podcast (where it first appeared). To receive more tangible and tactical tools from New York Times Best-Selling author, Rachel Hollis, check out RISE.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Rate & Review Online Marketing Made Easy:

If you're on Apple Podcasts, help me help more people by rating and reviewing my show. Reviews let others - just like you - find the actionable, step-by-step strategies to start the "online" journey...of making a business and life they love. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” My team and I - we read them all. Thank you!

What if I told you that confidence shouldn’t be your goal?

Crazy, right? I thought confidence was always the goal!

According to my guest today, Jennifer Allwood, there’s something else you should be focusing on… courage!

I’m so excited to have Jennifer back on the show to talk about her new book, which will be released April 7th, 2020, “Fear Is Not The Boss Of You,” which is a must-read as an entrepreneur.

We also chat about why courage should be your goal over confidence.

How to shift your mindset around imposter syndrome, because that’s essential as an entrepreneur.

We even go talk about the real way to discover your confidence (hint: it has to do with taking action -- imagine that!).

Jennifer has helped thousands of creative entrepreneurs grow their business by leveraging social media and the online space, and she’s someone I love learning from.

She teaches people how to find freedom in their business by utilizing multiple revenue streams, as she shared in episode 215.

You’re going to love Jennifer’s approach and strategies for becoming more courageous in your life and business.

• You’re talented.
• You deserve the best.
• You can build a wildly successful business.
• You’re organized, intelligent, and capable of creating the life of your dreams -- the life you deserve.

How do you feel when I say those things? Do you feel inspired and fired up?

Or, are you shaking your head thinking, “Amy, you’re so full of it!”

My dear friend, I certainly hope you’re shaking your head, “YES!” and you feel inspired. However, I know what it can be like to believe deflating lies… especially as an entrepreneur.

My guest today, Dave Hollis, knows what it’s like to believe those lies, as well.

Dave is the COO of the media company and inspirational powerhouse, Hollis Company, which he runs with his wife and my close friend, Rachel Hollis.

He’s also just released his first book, “Get Out Of Your Own Way,” which is simply phenomenal.

Today, Dave and I talk about the thoughts that tend to hold you back from your true potential and how to overcome old thought patterns that aren’t in your best interest.

We also talk about the “shoulds” that are hindering your growth, your solution for getting unstuck, and so much more.

Here’s a preview of our interview...

• [02:58] My good friend, Dave Hollis -- the COO of Hollis Company and husband to Rachel Hollis -- has just released his new book, Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment. Help celebrate him with me!
• [06:52] If you're struggling, you must find a community to connect with about what’s going on. That’s exactly what this book did for Dave. It allowed him to be fully transparent -- about the good and the bad.
• [10:17] Dave was inspired by his wife's growth, and while he was a skeptic at first, he eventually decided that personal development was for him. In his book, he talks about how he got out of his own way so that others can use his strategies to do the same. And let me tell you, he knocked it out of the ballpark!
• [18:04] If you are on a path of personal development and doing big things, and your significant other isn't on board with it, don't push them. Instead, let them see the light of your journey and the results that it produces. Let their curiosity allow them to transform their lives.
• [20:07] Dave talks about the identity frame that we pick up from those around us as we are growing up. For example, "women entrepreneurs can’t have ambitions and be a good mom" is a common one. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You must make the decision about whose opinion you will believe and carry with you.
• [26:27] For 14 years, Dave was the primary breadwinner but when Rachel’s book sold 3 million copies and the financial contribution started to shift in their relationship, Dave was worried. He opens up about an unconscious fear around if Rachel would still want him if he was no longer the main source of financial support.
• [35:57] Here’s the good news, it's never too late to make a pivot, transform yourself, or change direction. You must focus on what’s best for you and not what others are thinking of you -- because the truth is that they just aren't! #sorrytobreakittoyou
• [41:13] Being stuck is being in a place where you aren't growing or don't have the opportunity to fail. Here’s what Dave proposes: expose yourself to opportunities to fail and push outside of your comfort zone on a regular basis.
• [45:56] Have unbelievable clarity about who you want to be. Once you know what you stand for, then you know the role you have to play in your life. Connect to a why that is bigger than the unpredictability of life. What do you believe in? Who are you? What's your leverage?

With COVID-19, things are changing by the second. That's why I want to support you -- my community -- and show you what it looks like to move forward even when you’re feeling uncertain.

This episode is real and raw...it's messy, clunky at times, and I share what I’ve experienced so that you may learn some of the things about navigating a business with the world changing so rapidly.

So, I've put together five things that you can do to navigate your business through the Coronavirus crisis. You’ll find two mindset tools and three strategies to implement right away.

And listen, I know you’re probably feeling some confusion right now. Whether you have an online business, a digital course, plans to launch, or you’re just starting out...Don't. Worry. I’m going to give you the guidance you need to keep moving forward.

Here’s the deal, you can’t ignore what’s going on in the world. In fact, I firmly believe that you have to talk about this no matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey.

To further help you, I’ve put together a freebie called “How To Be Productive Working From Home During Uncertainty.” Be sure you grab that, too.

Here’s a snapshot of the five ways to navigate your business through a crisis that I talk about in this episode:

• #1: Get into action. Feel the feelings but also get into action to keep your mindset abundant and focused. You’re an entrepreneur, which means you’re resilient.
• #2: Commit to a morning routine and end of the day shut down. It’s easy to get distracted with the news, your family at home, and just plain old emotions, but creating rituals will keep you focused on the needle movers in your business. (More guidance on this in the freebie!)
• #3: Clarify your crisis messaging. Get clear on what you’re going to say to your audience during this time and how you’re going to position yourself and your business -- even if you have a small audience.
• #4: Show up and offer something valuable and free that will resonate, support, and inspire. Tune in to hear how we did this.
• #5: You’re probably wondering, “Amy, I don’t feel I should be selling right now!” My answer to you is… if you stop selling, our economy will be crushed. You are not opportunistic if you’re selling in our current climate -- as long as you offer a solution to help serve your audience. Take the time to reevaluate your offers to make sure they align with what people need in this time of uncertainty and be willing to pivot if needed.

People have more needs today than they did a week ago. Remember that you are a master problem solver. Now is the time to experiment. Try new things and never give up.

Your audience is not wanting or looking for perfection. Your audience is looking for support, direction, and leadership.

Show up for them. Show up for your community, your audience, and your paying customers.

I hope you find this episode is just what you need to hear as we are navigating through this time of chaos, uncertainty, and change. I hope you find the light and gratitude in any way possible. And above all, I hope you and your family are safe and healthy.

For further support, be sure to grab my freebie “How To Be Productive Working From Home During Uncertainty.”

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‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Welcome back to Part 2 of this episode, where you’re going to learn about my favorite tools for communication, customer service, and a couple of bonus tools that I adore.

If you missed Part 1, where I went over my top tools for email marketing, list building, social media, and project management, be sure to head back and check out that episode right after this one.

The tools I mention in today’s episode have helped me not only scale my business but also give me back the time and energy to build the business of my dreams… a business that was considered a small business not that long ago.

Since I mentioned a lot of tools between Part 1 and Part 2 of this episode, I’m going to recommend that you focus on the parts of your business that you’re looking to invest in right now.

Only focus on one or two tools and add on little by little as you grow.

To make this really easy for you, I’ve put together a free PDF with all the tools that I’ve mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 of this episode. Be sure to snag that freebie right here!

Here’s a preview of today’s episode...

• [04:01] Do you have a team or work with contractors? If so, you have to check out Slack! It’s my favorite real-time communication tool -- way better than email.
• [09:52] When it comes to customer support, Help Scout has transformed our approach and organization! It has simplified taking care of our customers and making sure they have what they need.
• [12:42] Kajabi is the Mac Daddy of all tools. Seriously! Say goodbye to having to be tech-savvy because Kajabi has everything in one place. From your digital course platform to your sales page, opt-in page, and email service provider… Kajabi has you covered!
• [19:39] I kind of wish I would have thought of this bonus tool! Searchie allows you to search for content inside of videos or audio. I know, so good, right? You can search for keywords in any video or audio content you have. It’s just that simple! Searchie is definitely for those more advanced entrepreneurs.
• [24:02] And although it isn’t an online tool, my absolute favorite tool is the Full Focus Planner. This is a physical planner, which I talk about all the time, helps to keep me organized, motivated, and clear on the most important daily and quarterly goals I have for myself and my business.

Get excited for next week's episode where I'm talking about a few more tools I couldn't live without. See you there!

“Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them.”

I love this quote from Steve Jobs. Why? Because I know that tools allow me to scale my business and create growth and impact.

But here’s the thing… not all tools are made the same.

When I was starting out, I had no idea which tools would be worth my financial and time investment and which ones would not. Let’s just say, I’ve learned a lot about what tools will be valuable in creating a successful business throughout the years.

And now, I’m offering you my insight into what tools you should consider using to help your business grow, scale, and succeed!

I decided to break this episode into two parts because there was so much value in it.

So, in this episode -- Part 1 -- you’ll learn about my favorite tools for…

• email marketing and list building
• social media
• project management

In Part 2 of this episode, you’ll learn about the tools we use in my business for communication and customer service. Along with some bonus tools that I love and can’t help but share.

Here’s a sneak peek of how today’s episode goes...

• [07:11] ConvertKit is my go-to when it comes to a basic, simple email service provider -- especially for new entrepreneurs. What I love about it is that it allows you to collect emails and names in a legitimate way, and they have top-notch customer service!
• [09:14] You’ve heard me talk about freebies and lead magnets a million times before, LeadPages allows you to create simple opt-in pages so you can start getting email addresses and traction from those assets. Plus, it integrates with ConvertKit and gives you beautifully designed opt-in pages, so you can email your list on a regular basis. Can you say win-win?
• [14:28] Want to know my favorite tool for social media? Look no further! Social Curator is my answer. They provide you with stunning images and caption prompts so you can focus less on social media and more on the important things in your business.
• [19:19] When it comes to project management and organization, Asana is the absolute best! In fact, I wish I would have used a project management tool like Asana from the very beginning. Whether it’s just you, you and a contractor or two, or an entire team, setting your business up in Asana will keep you organized and moving forward!

Get excited for next week's episode where I'm talking about a few more tools I couldn't live without. See you there!

You guys know I’m a big fan of creating urgency for your courses using deadlines. In fact, I’m kind of a stickler about.

Well, guess what? I’ve found someone equally as excited about creating urgency and setting deadlines. So, naturally, I had to invite him onto the podcast.

His name is Jack Born and he’s a pro when it comes to this topic. He’s going to tell you why you should be using deadlines for your customers… and how you can go about it the right way.

Jack is the founder of Deadline Funnel, not to mention several other software platforms, which help entrepreneurs, just like you, boost sales and automate their businesses.

There are a lot of misconceptions around deadlines within a business…

Will they help you sell more?
Will they hinder your audience from buying?

These are things you have to know as an entrepreneur with an online product, especially if you do a live launch like I do with my Digital Course Academy program.

Listen to this episode with an open mind because you’re going to be blown away by some of the tidbits and strategies Jack gives you that you can use within your business to boost those sales.

And honestly, if you’re just starting out or trying to gain some insight into how to launch your business, this episode is going to help you build the confidence around creating that urgency without feeling pushy.

Here’s a look at what we talked about...

• [06:08] My guest today, Jack has been a student of the power of persuasion and knows urgency is a strong motivator.
• [13:07] It’s essential that what you say in your marketing is genuine and true to promote credibility.
• [16:51] Deadlines boost sales. Period! They also help those people who are on the fence make a decision and take action because, let's be honest, we all need a little push when it comes to big decisions.
• [19:52] Find out Jack’s tools for creating a next-level offer that isn’t pushy.
• [32:22] Want to know the hard truth? By not using deadlines, you are leaving money on the table and helping less potential customers. Crazy when you look at it that way, right?
• [37:14] Oh, and my favorite part of this interview was at the very end when Jack gives tangible action items for setting up an automated launch with urgency the right way.

Riddle me this…

What do Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Lady Gaga, Marie Forleo, Oprah, and Rachel Hollis all have in common?

If you guessed “success that took time, grit, and persistence,” then you’d be spot on! (I’m sure that’s what you said ;)

So why do we, as entrepreneurs, look at Instagram and think that we’re the only ones who haven’t figured out the secret to overnight success yet?

The truth is that we don’t know the whole story. In fact, it’s rare that we know the truth until some time later. You know… the not-so-sexy story of massive amounts of hustle, hard work, and years of grinding the pavement. Yes, I said years.

And because of this, it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that we want what we see others experiencing with their business or their success -- that explosion with “minimal” hard work and grit.

The reality is that there are very few successful entrepreneurs who have experienced overnight success.

Behind every successful story… there is commitment, determination, and resilience.

So, I’m just going to be bold and say that I think overnight success is a myth.

And… if I may take it one step further… I’d even go as far as to say that there is so much benefit to not experiencing overnight success.

In this episode, we talk about some of my favorite examples of people who might look like overnight successes from the outside, but in all actuality are not.

Plus, I’ll share the benefits of slow, consistent growth, because I’ve experienced first hand how beneficial this can be.

And, in true Online Marketing Made Easy fashion, I’ve got a little three-step process for eliminating that unconscious desire for overnight success.

Oh, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little worked up and passionate about this topic. You’ll know what I mean when you listen!

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll hear…

• [08:16] Ever heard of a Dyson vacuum? Yeah, the owner, James Dyson had 5,127 failed vacuum prototypes over a 15-year span before he became a success. Many times, we don’t know the whole story of failure, struggle, and success.
• [12:09] Here’s a fun fact, Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California three times before he attended another school that he dropped out of to direct some of our favorite movies?
• [12:45] Can you guess how many times JK Rowling’s book, Harry Potter was rejected before being picked up? Twelve times — and she didn’t give up!
• [13:55] Did you know that Lady Gaga started honing her voice at the age of 4? Tune in to hear her inspirational story!
• [14:50] Queen O, Oprah, was fired from a job as a TV reporter because she was told she wasn't fit for television. Crazy, right? She didn’t let that stop her. Instead, she picked herself up and kept moving forward.
• [17:43] My mentor and friend, Marie Forleo held multiple jobs and was a bartender while building her business. Just like Marie, those early parts of building your business are important for building character.
• [20:33] Being in it for the long haul helps you identify who you are and what you stand for. Find out what millionaire entrepreneur, Laura Belgray has to say about taking years to hit the success she experiences today.
• [23:54] Growing your business steadily and slowly allows you to be more intentional, and intentionality gives you the time and space to clarify your business along the way.
• [26:05] Let’s take a play from Jaime Kern Lima from IT Cosmetics playbook and make it a priority to keep our faith bigger than our fear. Are you onboard?
• [30:16] Tune in to find out my 3-step process for eliminating that unconscious desire for overnight success.
• [34:10] Once you've reached the success that you're after, I challenge you to reassess and then create a new definition of success. I guarantee that your definition of success will evolve over time.

Do you ever have those days where you just need an extra boost of courage? Maybe a hug, maybe a little self-love, grace, and patience?

Be sure to grab the freebie I created to remind you that you're on the right path and if you keep at it and you commit to your dream, you too can have the same success. It's a fill-in-the-blank letter to yourself to read on those days when you need it most. You can get it right here.

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Let me take you back in time when I was just starting out.

This was before YouTube and definitely before podcasts were a thing. It was a time where if you wanted to become an entrepreneur… you pretty much had to figure it out on your own.

(Thank goodness we’re out of those dark ages!)

I remember wishing I could have a mentor or some insight into starting a business. You know, what works and what doesn’t.

I eventually connected with a woman who would become my mentor. A woman who we all know and love today as Marie Forleo.

Marie was named by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation. She’s the star of the award-winning show MarieTV, with over 52 million views, and host of The Marie Forleo Podcast, with more than eleven million downloads.

She gave me so many tips and tools for starting, building, and growing my business. I’m forever grateful!

If you’ve been an Online Marketing Made Easy podcast fan for some time now, you know that Marie has been a guest on my show many times.

Every time I interview her, she brings so much insight and value. I thought it was high time I pulled some of her best tips and tools for starting a business and rolled them into one episode.

Here’s why…

I want you to have all the knowledge, support, and tools you need to take your dream of creating a business and make it a reality.

I know how intimidating it can be… trust me! I’ve been there. And so my goal is to give you what you need to make starting a business simple and seamless.

So, here are some of my favorite tips from my mentor, and multi-million dollar entrepreneur, Marie Forleo

She’s taught entrepreneurs, artists, and multi-passionate go-getters from all walks of life how to dream big and back it up with daily action to create results, and now, she’s sharing her secrets with you!

Check out what we talked about...

• [02:44] Today, you get to learn from my mentor — Marie Forleo! I believe that having a mentor, at every stage of your business, is essential. Get ready to learn some of her top business and entrepreneurial tips!
• [09:04] Marie talks about two fears that tend to keep people from designing a life that aligns with their dreams. Find out what those two fears are. Oh, and by the way, these fears are 100% figureoutable!
• [14:18] As an entrepreneur, you must give yourself permission to play, experiment and test. Find out why!
• [19:59] Find out some of Marie’s favorite strategies for writing stellar content. Trust me, you’re going to want to hear these!
• [27:38] Marie shares her number one reason for working so hard when she was first starting out. Here’s a hint… it should be your reason too. She talks about the importance of investing in yourself and your education.
• [29:37] Leave it to Marie to call BS on “big breakthroughs.” She says, “There is no single opportunity that anyone else can give you that is more important for your success than the small daily actions that you have to take every day in the service of your own creativity.”
• [32:36] Get ready for some tough-love… “If you're not growing you're dying.” If you’re serious about succeeding as an entrepreneur, you must commit to making ongoing education a habit.

Today is your last chance to change your future and the success of your business in 2020 with B-School! This is the program that not only changed my business but changed my life! If you're serious about creating a business and life you love, B-School is your answer. Today is also the last day you can receive all of my B-School freebies!

Plus, I just added a special bonus! When you enroll in B-School using my affiliate link, not only will you get my B-School Bonus Experience, but you will ALSO get access to my B-School CliffsNotes Audio Collection!

This B-School CliffsNotes Audio Collection is truly a personal experience where I take you through each module, week by week and help you identify where to focus your attention and time.

In a nutshell, it's practical advice, delivered via short audio segments, from someone who went through B-School herself (yours truly!), and knows how to help you get the most from it.

You’ll get the inside scoop on what topics you need to pay *special attention* to, and I’ll also raise the red flag on potential landmines and rabbit holes that might throw other students off.

This is always my most talked about bonus, so you are in for a treat! Click here to change your life with B-School!

The title says it all.

This is an episode, I definitely didn’t want to record… at first! But then I got to thinking, and I knew that sharing this experience with you, and being vulnerable was only going to help and benefit you and your business in the long run.

Here’s what happened. I got an email from a student who was disappointed in my newest product and made sure I knew that she was not impressed.

And you know what, it hurt. It really hurt.

But after I took a step back, I realized that there are five things that I need to commit to in order to move my business forward, stand up for what I believe in, and block out those who don’t agree with me.

Here’s a snapshot of those five things…

Those who have achieved more than me will never judge me for wanting more.
Sometimes things are going to get tough -- that’s just the nature of being an entrepreneur. So, I must commit to having thicker skin.
I create my own thoughts and no one can hurt me. I’m in charge of what I think and feel… period.
I’ll never let an individual’s opinion dictate how I feel or how I do business.
I am here to stay.

This episode was tough for me, so I want to thank you for allowing me to share my heart.

Here’s a breakdown of the episode…

• [02:50] As entrepreneurs, we’ll always have people on the internet who disagree with our life or business goals — we have to ignore them. However, it’s a little different when you hear negative feedback from a student, and that’s exactly what happened to me.
• [03:37] During my recent membership site launch, a past student wrote in to share her opinion of what I was doing and, let’s just say, it wasn’t very positive.
• [05:39] Receiving something like this from a student of mine stung. In the moment, I recorded a response to her to let her know why I created my newest product and why I believe in it so deeply.
• [11:59] It’s important to remember that someone who has achieved more than you will never judge you for wanting more.
• [14:20] Sometimes things are going to get rocky and feel really uncomfortable. You've got to have thicker skin!
• [15:19] Because you create your own thoughts and feelings, no one can hurt you. Always keep in mind that you are in charge of what I think and what you feel.
• [17:25] At the end of the day, no matter who disagrees with what I’m doing, I am here to stay! Tell yourself that during hard times when building your online business.

What if I gave you a backstage pass to my annual event, The Entrepreneur Experience?

Well, in this episode, that’s exactly what we’re going to do!

In October 2019, Rachel Hollis, Stu McLaren, Jasmine Star, and Gina Gomez joined me in San Diego, along with over 600 entrepreneurs from every walk of life, for this amazing event.

These all-star speakers brought their a-game and shared some pretty amazing entrepreneurial advice. Advice that was so good, I couldn’t just keep it to myself!

In this episode, I’m giving you a little sneak peek of what The Entrepreneur Experience 2019 was all about and the phenomenal business advice that the attendees gained while they were there.

First, you’ll hear from Rachel Hollis. She gets real (imagine that) and gives you some tough love. She talks about competition and an excuse that might be holding you back.

After that, you’ll hear from Stu McLaren. He talks all about building trust to attract your ideal customer and taking a stand for what you believe in.

My girl, Jasmine Star, is up next and she gives some practical social media advice. After all, she is the queen of social media.

She also gives her take on third party posting apps -- I know this is a question every entrepreneur has!

And then I have Gina Gomez coming in with a secret to creating happy customers and interactions.

• [03:53] Rachel Hollis says, "Don't compare your life to someone's curated social media life. We don't have time to waste. Every second we are looking outside ourselves to find the answer, we are wasting time."
• [08:04] Stu admits that he struggled with the guilt of making too much money but the truth is that money allows you to stand for what you believe in and make an impact!
  [12:52] Jasmine Star gives her tried and tested experience with third-party posting apps and why you should reconsider using them to organically reach your audience.
  [14:30] Gina says, "Treat everyone you work with as if they are your dream clients. Imagine how implementing this in your business would impact your experience, business, and industry."

One of the biggest excuses I hear from people wanting to start a business is that they feel they have the confidence they need to take their dreams and ideas and make them successful.

My guest in this episode, Lisa Bilyeu, is living proof that it doesn’t matter what skill set or level of experience you have. What does matter is that you’re persistent and committed to creating a life that fulfills you and making your dreams your reality.

Lisa is the co-founder of Quest Nutrition, and without any prior entrepreneurial experience, she helped grow the company by 57 thousand percent -- that’s 82.6 million dollars in revenue -- in just three years.

Lisa and her husband, Tom Bilyeu, have gone on to sell Quest Nutrition, a protein bar company, and have built a successful media company called, Impact Theory and Women of Impact.

What I love about this interview is that Lisa and I dive into it all. We talk about figuring things out as you go (which I think we can all relate to), mindset shifts, challenges, actionable items to grow your business (yes, please!), shifting your perspective as a female entrepreneur, and even relationships.

If you’re feeling like you don’t have enough experience to create a successful business or to become an entrepreneur, this episode is a must-listen!

Here’s a sneak peek of our conversation…

• [01:43] Could you imagine growing your company by 57,000% in just three years or $82.6 million in revenue? Lisa Bilyeu the co-founder of Quest Nutrition and Impact Theory did just that.
• [11:26] Lisa gives a fabulous entrepreneurial tip... model your life as successful people model theirs. Find out how her and her husband did this until they started Quest Nutrition.
• [24:18] Lisa has the best mindset. She reminds herself that even if she starts a project from zero, as long as she could figure it out she would be okay.
• [28:21] "Saying I don't know is an excuse." She gives the hard truth that there is someone out there doing what you want to do.
• [36:18] Lisa and her husband shifted into a new business to make an impact on the lives of others.

This episode is brought to you by Gravy, the company I trust to contact my customers within hours of a failed payment, capturing the updated billing information, and saving the customer my team and I worked so hard to acquire. If your revenue is currently at $250,000 or more a year and you know you’re losing money due to failed payments each month, I encourage you to check out Gravy. Click here to see how they can be an extension of your customer service and save you money.

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Did you know that the number one regret people have during their last days is that they didn’t have the courage to follow their dreams and live a life that aligned with their deepest desires?

In her book, The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying, Bronnie Ware says…

“This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.”

Did you just get chills? I did.

So my question for you is this… how are you going to make sure that you don’t experience the same regret?

How are you going to conjure up the courage to follow your dreams and live a life that you love?

A life on purpose.
A life that fulfills you.

My guest and dear friend, Marie Forleo has a simple practice to help you minimize regret and step into the confidence of taking action towards your dreams -- towards your heart’s truest desires.

Marie’s been a guest on the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast many times before. And if you don’t know who she is, she’s been named the thought-leader of the next generation by Oprah herself. She’s a New York Times bestselling author, creator of one of the most popular training programs on the planet, B-School, and the creative force behind her award-winning show, MarieTV.

In this episode, we’re talking about a powerful practice that she calls the “Ten-Year Test,” why you should always start before you’re ready, and how to create momentum towards your dreams.

We’ll also talk about Marie’s free online business building workshop that she just released in which she’ll teach you The 6 Pillars of Building an Online Business. Marie has a tremendous gift for breaking things down to simple and understandable steps, so you do not want to miss this!

I look forward to it all year. You’re going to love it!

DON’T MISS THIS… The first video in Marie’s workshop series goes live today. Marie will share a simple 6 step roadmap to help you launch and grow your business online.  You can find it at AmyPorterfield.com/Marie or click on the image below. Don’t wait, because the series will only be available for a limited time.

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn, one of my favorite platforms to market on to reach my ideal customers. LinkedIn is excellent for businesses of all sizes and especially helpful for small businesses who are just getting started and are looking to drive traffic and engagement. At the end of the day, LinkedIn ads are helping smaller businesses get bigger results… and that’s why I love it. Right now, LinkedIn is offering my listeners a free $100 LinkedIn ad credit to launch your very first campaign. Click here to grab your ad credit!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Cue the confetti! We are celebrating our 300th episode, and I can hardly believe it. What a wild, fun, and amazing ride! Thank you for being part of this journey with me. 

It’s because of you that we are here at episode 300. 

We wanted to do something extra special for this episode -- something a little different. So, we picked some of our favorite segments from our top episodes and wrapped them up all into one like a little gift. (A gift from me to you!)

Speaking of gifts… we have a giveaway 

That means that this episode is plump full of some of our very best business and online marketing tidbits handpicked from our impressive (if I may say so myself) 300 episode line-up. 

Some of these clips are interviews, some are from solo episodes from yours truly, and all of them are extremely insightful. I cannot wait for you to hear them!

From Marie Forleo to Jennifer Allwood to guidance from my personal experience, you’re in for a treat (and going to want to take notes!) Here’s a glimpse of what’s in this power-packed episode…

Tip #1: Showing Your Scars. I talk about how being vulnerable and real can help you get noticed whether you’re starting out or a veteran in your industry.

Tip #2: Use a Facebook group to build relationships. Caitlin Bacher shares her knowledge and experience warming up cold leads with a value-packed Facebook group.

Tip #3: Utilize a live series instead of a webinar. What?! I know, right? Not what you’d expect from me. Listen to find out when and why a live series might be a perfect fit for you and your business.

Tip #4: Get crystal clear on your Ideal Customer Avatar. I’m at it with my girl, Gina Onativia. She breaks down the importance of having a clear understanding of your ICA and gives you specific examples of how your ICA will help you with two very important areas when creating your digital course.

Tip #5: Get creative with your free, valuable content. Have you been stuck on what to create for your freebie? Look no further! This clip gives you some of my favorite examples of what to do for your freebie or lead magnet, and a few questions to ask yourself to get hyper clear on what you’re going to create. 

Tip #6: Utilize various streams of income. I loved this episode! Jennifer Allwood drops a few knowledge bombs about when and how to create multiple streams of income to boost your revenue and create passive income. 

Tip #7: Attract leads with a free video or audio training. In this solo clip, I dive into why having a video or audio training for your lead magnet is one of the best ways to connect with your audience on a personal level. 

Tip #8: Build your email list like your life depends on it! I’m back at it with Queen Marie Forleo. We get into why you should tread cautiously when building your business via social media and what you should do instead to ensure you keep your audience close to you and to strengthen your communication skills. 

Okay, I know that was a lot. Here’s how today’s episode goes... 

• [03:18] Be more human with what you share with your audience, and don't be afraid to tell stories related to the messy middle over and over again. It's scary but, trust me, it's so worth it. Talk about the tough stuff when you're in it, but also tell stories of how you overcame the hard stuff so that your audience can learn from your mistakes.
• [07:17] A Facebook group is your ticket to showing up in your ICA's news feed! If you've got a page, you better have a group too. Use it to build your email list and your relationship with your audience.
• [10:04] Not quite ready to host a webinar? Try doing a Facebook live series instead. This is a great way to promote a launch and offer your audience valuable content!
• [13:10] Take your ICA a step further by identifying how they will feel before and after your course or offer. Remember that people are driven by emotion -- lead with that!
• [19:04] Attract your ICA with valuable, free content... but make sure it's directed towards them. Struggle to come up with a freebie? Listen up for some prompts!
• [23:37] Set your business up for revenue success with multiple streams of revenue! There are many ways to do this whether you're a beginner or an advanced entrepreneur.
• [26:15] Have you ever thought about using free videos or audio for your lead magnet? In fact, these are my favorite lead magnets. Your audience will love these -- trust me!
• [39:55] Build your email list like your business depends on it... because it actually does. Get this, email marketing has an ROI of 3800%. Plus, 72% prefer promotional content through email over social. So when I say you should use grow your email list... I mean it!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 203 How To Get Noticed Online When You’re Just Starting Out
• Episode 202 How to Engage Your Small Facebook Group When You’re Just Starting Out with Caitlin Bacher
• Episode 201 Five Ways to Make Money (Without Using Webinars)
• Episode 206 The Post-It Content Creation Mini Training with Gina Onativia
• Episode 195 The 6 Pillars of My Content Creation Process
• Episode 215 Creating Multiple Streams of Revenue in Your Business with Jennifer Allwood
• Episode 214 The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Lead Magnet for Your Audience
• Marie Forleo How to Get Anything You Want
• Episode 197 How to 10X Your Results in 2018 (and Beyond) with 3 Dead Simple Strategies with Marie Forleo
• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Community

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

What if I told you that I’m actually not a fan of this topic. Or, at least I thought I wasn’t… until I recorded this episode. (Yes, it’s that good!)

In fact, I might even stretch it to say that this is one of the best episodes I’ve ever done. (You’re going to love it!)

I know that you’re either struggling with imposter syndrome or you have in the past. How do I know this? Because I’ve dealt with it, and I feel it starting to creep in from time to time. Oh, and most of my successful entrepreneurial friends have experienced it too. 

The good news is that I have powerful tools (that I’ve personally used many times) to help you overcome imposter syndrome so this can be your most successful year yet -- personally and professionally. 

Want to know what they are? Well, first of all, let’s talk about what imposter syndrome is. 

Dr. Amy Cuddy, who is a social psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and a Harvard lecturer who focuses on the psychology of leadership and influence, says that imposter syndrome can be defined as “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.”

Now, let’s take a peek at five proven actions for giving imposter syndrome the boot…

1. Get out of your head and into your heart. Find out how one of my students, Natalie MacLean, let her heart lead her to a $30,000 launch.
2. Take action! I give you three specific ways to transform the energy of imposter syndrome into action so you can attract new clients and, in turn, boost your revenue.
3. Stay in your lane! You can do this two ways: stop chasing shiny objects and stop comparing yourself to others. 
4. Embrace competition and acknowledge that there is enough room for everyone. (Because there is, and amazing things can happen when you do this!)
5. Acknowledge your credibility and success. Find out how to do this in the episode.

Here’s a breakdown of how this episode unfolds...

• [07:48] Imposter syndrome is defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist in spite of evident success. Imposters suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence. The bummer is that almost all entrepreneurs experience these feelings of inadequacy at some point in their careers. (The good news is that this podcast will help you overcome those feelings!)
• [08:50] Imposter syndrome is sneaky and it shows up differently for everyone. For one person, it might show up as paralysis and an inability to move forward. For another, it might look like blocked creativity or throwing in the towel.
• [09:32] Stop overthinking your business. When you do, your head gets in the way. Lead with your heart and show up as your true self so you can share your authenticity with the world. Here's a little trick for when imposter syndrome shows up.
• [17:01] Taking action will guarantee that you move from your head to your heart. That's when you'll be able to share your gifts with your audience.
• [24:52] I've said it once and I'll say it again... stop chasing shiny objects. Continuing to change your business offer or product and jumping ship never works -- trust me on this one. I promise you that every decision you make gets you closer to where you want to be. So buckle up, stay in your lane, and keep moving forward.
• [32:02] Say it with me, "Competition is my friend." Here's why competition is essential for your business to thrive. Plus, a little challenge for you!
• [36:14] It's time you finally acknowledge your credibility and success. Here's what to do to build confidence in your skills and knowledge!

Because this is a topic almost every entrepreneur can relate to, I want you to head to our private Facebook community and share what actions you’re taking to overcome imposter syndrome. 

And, while you’re at it, let me know what you thought of this episode. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Amy Cuddy
• RISE Business
• Natalie MacLean
• Episode 271 How to Create a Profit-Driven Lead Magnet to Boost Sales
• Christina Galbato

Did you hear the news? 

I’ve started taking business questions directly from my audience! People just like you. I’ve taken some of the best questions from my Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community and answered them right here on this bonus episode. 

Now, you’re probably wondering how the heck you can be part of this amazing opportunity.

Head over to our private Facebook community to join, drop a question in the discussion and tag #askamy, and we’ll add it to our list of questions. 

I’m going to be recording these Q & A bonus episodes from time to time, and while I hope to get to as many questions as possible, I can’t promise I will get to every one. I’ll certainly do my best!

Head over to our Facebook community to get your questions on the list. 

Let’s dive into the Q & A. I have a feeling you might have some of the same questions!

1. April MacLean asks about knowing what to say and when to her audience. 
2. Maggie Gelin is wondering why her students would want to work with her when they can get the same information for free on the world wide web.
3. Kylie Chapman wants to know how to create a visually cohesive brand on a budget.
4. Jill Davidian is looking for guidance around a first hire, and if she should consider a VA, a team, or an Online Business Manager.
5. Carole Stroud wants a behind-the-scenes peek at my podcast and wants to know if I use bullet points or a prompter.
6. Gee Sus Emanuel Reyes is looking for a bit of advice around the best email platform to invest in (if any) as his email list grows. 

Here are some of the goodies from this episode...

• [02:19] Believe it or not, when it comes to content, you must shift your mindset! Make sure you're leaving room for experimenting and trying new things. Enjoy the journey, chunk everything down, and take one thing at a time.
• [08:33] You're going to have different types of Ideal Customer Avatars... and that's okay! Make sure you're creating different messaging for each ICA.
• [13:43] Don't overthink this. It's important to have a cohesive brand, but the content is definitely the most important part. Having a brand that you feel good about does help boost your confidence. Here are my three favorite resources to use for clarifying your brand.
• [20:18] What I've found is that clarity comes from getting into motion. Commit to creating a weekly podcast, video show, or Facebook Live. This will help you find your audience and understand how your business and your ICA will come together.
• [24:46] The answer is both! I use a teleprompter for certain things and go off-the-cuff for other things. Listen to find out!
• [27:52] Ready for your life to change? Okay, flip the script! Change "I'm overwhelmed" to "I'm learning." Convert Kit is the platform I suggest in order to avoid frustration and to ease the learning process.

Now, be sure to head to our Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community to ask your #askamy questions! I can’t wait to hear them. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Community
• Kajabi
• TRIBE
• Social Curator
• What’s Your Visual Brand Style
• Kristie Keever
• Convert Kit
• Episode 235 How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar

What if I told you that the best way to accomplish your goals or dreams is to let go and be flexible with your strategy.

I know that at first glance this seems crazy, but stick with me. My brilliant guest, Megan Hyatt Miller, the Chief Operating Officer at Michael Hyatt & Company and the creator of the Bold line of the Full Focus Planner, has a sound approach to achieving your dreams without the pressure of controlling every single step. 

Now, you know me, and you know that this approach makes me squirm a bit (Hi, my name is Amy, and I’m type A!) but once Megan gave me a little more context around this idea, I started to understand how this approach can actually be extremely effective -- especially for entrepreneurs. 

Here’s a sneak peek of what Megan and I talked about…

1. A strategy for getting crystal clear on your goals (clearer than you’ve ever been -- trust me!). 
2. How to find a balance between trusting the process and being flexible with your strategy, versus being too lax and never accomplishing anything. (Nobody wants that!)
3. How to get rid of your mile-long to-do list and identify your daily “Big 3” which will set you up to move you closer to your goal every single day. (Say goodbye to feeling defeated by your laundry list of tasks at the end of the day.)
4. Why it’s necessary to slow down and celebrate your accomplishments… big or small. 

Check out some of the highlights from this episode...

• [04:24] I adore this woman! Megan is a mom of five kiddos and the COO at Michael Hyatt & Company. And get this, she only works 35 hours per week. This allows her to accomplish her goal of winning at work and succeeding in life.
• [10:42] You set a goal, create a strategy, and then life happens! You've probably been there. The issue is that most people get stuck in their strategy and can't move forward when things don't align with their plan. Ebb and flow with your goal and give yourself the freedom to do whatever is necessary to get back on track. 
• [13:13] There's a difference between aspirations and actionable goals. Did you know that? Actionable goals have a deadline. Do you have aspirations or actionable goals? 
• [15:54] If your goal doesn't feel a little risky, then let's be honest, it's probably set a little too low. Step out of your comfort zone at first so that you can create a new comfort zone.
• [19:27] Listen, it's normal for things to not always work out. So, please, don't end up doubting yourself and giving up if this happens. Instead, give yourself time to tweak and refine your strategy and don't lose sight of your goal.
• [23:55] The Full Focus Planner prompts you to select your "Daily Big 3" -- which my whole team loves! These are three things you accomplish every day -- things that drive results. Ask yourself, "What are the three most important actions that will drive your goal or business forward?"
• [32:06] Here's my challenge for you, actually take the time to celebrate when you accomplish something. Especially if you have a team! Always acknowledge your accomplishments and have gratitude. 
• [36:49] Winning looks different for everyone. Take the time to identify why winning looks like for you. Get creative and don't be afraid to ask for help. 

I know you’re going to absolutely love this interview as much as I did. 

Here’s what to do next, check out the episode, subscribe to the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast, and then head to our private Facebook community to your Daily Big 3 for today!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. And, your review might even make it onto an episode (how fun!) so be sure to leave a review and listen for it in my upcoming listener spotlights. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Megan Hyatt Miller
• Full Focus Planner - Bold by Megan Hyatt Miller
• Megan Hyatt Miller on Facebook
• Megan Hyatt Miller on Twitter
• Megan Hyatt Miller on Instagram
• Episode 258 Achieve More While Doing Less with Michael Hyatt
• Episode 101 How to Intentionally Design the Life You Want with Michael Hyatt
• Episode 177 How to Design Your Ideal Week with Michael Hyatt
• Episode 251 How I'd Grow My Business If I Were Starting From Scratch
• How to Nail Your Goals with This Simple Secret
• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Community

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Raise your hand if you’re not totally sure what to do between your launches. I totally get it. I was the same way for the first few years of my business.

The good news is that you can let out a big sigh of relief because I’ve put together the six most important things you should be doing between your launches. 

Here’s a recap of what I talk about in this episode, with specific examples.

Number 1, recharge, recharge, and recharge some more! Please don’t skip this one! It is so important for not only your health... but the health of your business (and your relationships) that you take time to recharge and reconnect with yourself and your loved ones. 

Number 2, build that list and batch that content! You know this is important… and the best part is that all of your list building efforts will pay off when you launch your course. 

Try it out and I promise you’ll be thanking me! 

Number 3, spend some time and money learning. Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your education because it is a vital part of growing your business and your income. Remember that you should not only create digital courses but consume them as well. 

Number 4, get to know your audience and get to know them well! Take your downtime to really understand who your ICA is and what she or he needs. 

Number 5, make some extra income. Yes, please! This one is a fun action item. 

Whether you promote a workshop course or become an affiliate -- this is a great way to make a little extra income while you’re gearing up for your pre-launch runway. 

Lastly, number 6… chip away where you can at your upcoming launch. 

Let’s take a look at a few highlights of this episode...

• [07:01] You must take the time to refill your cup after a launch. Whether it's a staycation or a vacation, make sure you take time to do something different. And even more importantly, make sure you have this planned in advance. That's a requirement! 
• [12:47] This is your core relationship building season -- your time to shine! Be sure to use it that way. Show up and offer your audience value. Because guess who is paying attention during these times? Your audience! Show up on whatever platform works best for you and your business. 
• [31:03] Want to know how I boost my creativity? I consume content that is not at all related to my business... and I suggest you do the same! Listen to podcasts and read books that have nothing to do with the work that you do. Try fueling your mind by stepping outside of your area of expertise, and see what happens!
• [36:27] Take this time to learn! Learn all that you can about your industry, your area of expertise, and growing your business. My personal favorite way is to consume digital courses -- go figure! Find out what my top recommended digital course is. Hint: it starts with "B" and ends in "School!"
• [42:28] Become your audience's BFF! I'm serious. If you're struggling with this one, don't be afraid to use quizzes or polls to get to know them better so that you can serve them better!
• [45:06] Use your precious downtime to make a little extra money by hosting or promoting a workshop or a two-hour paid training that you sell to your audience. Not sure what you'd talk about? Try this! Address an obstacle that your audience is struggling with. 
• [51:33] Do what you can to prep for your launch during your off-season so that everything isn't last minute. I promise you'll enjoy yourself and the whole process much more.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 235: How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar
• RISE Business Conference
• Dean Graziosi
• Dave Hollis
• List Builders Society
• Whitney McNeill
• Last 90 Days
• Bucket.io
• Game Changers
• Inside Bill’s Brain
• Episode 182: How to Mega-Batch Your Content
• Marie Forleo’s B-School
• Episode 55: How to Create a Survey to Find Your Target Market
• Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Method to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy...Create a Mass of Raving Fans...and Take Any Business to the Next Level
• The Beauty in Birth Tavia Martin
• Digital Course Academy
• Kajabi
• Jenna Kutcher
• TRIBE
• Asana

When I say detox, I’m guessing your mind goes to green juice, kale, and hot yoga. 

But the kind of detoxing my guest and I talk about in this episode is very different. In fact, it’s one of the most important types of detoxing -- dream detoxing!

So what does that mean? My guest and author of The Big Stretch: 90 Days to Expand Your Dreams, Crush Your Goals, and Create Your Own Success, is going to help you understand exactly what a dream detox is and how to use it in your own life. 

Teneshia left her cushy, well-paying job to pursue her dream, and learned some mighty lessons along the way. She’s interviewed some of the top business moguls, such as Shark Tank’s Daymond John, Magic Johnson, Rent the Runway founder Jennifer Fliess and Me Too movement founder, Tarana Burke, all about what it takes to push the limits and stretch to follow your dream, fail, and create a life you love. 

Now she’s sharing what she’s discovered. 

Here’s a preview of what Teneshia and I talk about…

1. The five types of dreamers (so you can identify which one you are).
2. What dream detoxing is and why it’s essential. 
3. How “feeding your spirit,” “fortifying your mind,” and “building your body” fits into success.
4. Dream bullies… who they are and how they might be holding you back. (Hint: you have some closer to you than you think! Find out who Teneshia’s biggest dream bully was.)
5. An exercise to help you identify where you are wasting your time and how you can create more time to commit to your dream. 

Here’s a breakdown of our conversation...

• [05:13] Teneshia left her cushy, full-time job at IBM Mobile Services to follow her dream, passion, and purpose. She knew she was meant for more! Sound familiar?
• [07:05] She defines "the stretch" as the expansion necessary to meet the best version of YOU. It's the distance between your comfort zone and your dreams. What would you consider your "stretch"?
• [08:00] She has interviewed hundreds of iconic dreamers who said "yes" to stepping out of their comfort zones in order to follow their passion. It's these interviews that inspired her to create her business. 
• [13:04] Curious to find out the types of dreams? There are five and they include careerpreneurs, make-it-happen dreamers, hobby dreamers, CEO dreamers, and activist dreamers. Which one are you? 
• [20:50] A dream detox preps your mind, body, and spirit for cultivating your dreams. Teneshia challenges you to examine your beliefs, feed yourself only information that pushes you forward, and set your life up to support your passion and purpose!
• [30:16] We even go over an exercise from Teneshia's book called, the "Time Audit" exercise. Essentially, you take a look at your week and find areas where you can be more efficient in order to achieve your goals and dreams! Listen to find out how to do this exercise in your life.

I’d love to hear what you learned from this interview. Head to my Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community to share what dreamer you are.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

“Machines are built to work 24/7, but not human beings. It's crucial that we put boundaries in place for ourselves, to have offline time, exercise and sleep, time with loved ones and friends and family that's not tethered to a screen. 

That's how we can start to get into the dance between being effective and productive with our time, and also being healthy, sane human beings.”

This brilliant quote is from my dear friend, Marie Forleo. 

She’s absolutely right! We not only need to be aware of how we set boundaries around our screen time, but we also need to set intentional boundaries around our business and personal life. 

In this episode, we dive deep into what boundaries are, how to set them, commit to them, and how to respect the boundaries of others in your life. 

Can I be honest with you? I haven’t always been great at setting and sticking to my boundaries. In fact, I had to learn about the importance of setting boundaries the hard way. 

However, over the years I’ve come to understand what areas of my life require boundaries, and, most importantly, how to stick to them.  

And before we dive into boundaries, one thing must be certain… your why for setting them. Take a moment to answer these questions.

• Why are you committing to these boundaries? 
• Why are you sticking to them day in and day out?
• Why are they important to you? 

Being crystal clear on your why is essential if you’re going to make your boundaries a priority and actually work for you.

So here’s a glimpse of what you’re going to learn in this episode…

1. What areas you may want to consider setting boundaries in and what non-negotiables are. (And where I set boundaries in my life.)
2. Why you need to have strong boundaries as an entrepreneur and some specific examples of the ones I set. (Feel free to copy any of mine.)
3. An exercise for getting clear on what your boundaries look like. 
4. How to commit to your boundaries without feeling guilty or worrying about hurting the feelings of others.
5. How to lead by example and respect the boundaries of those around you. 

Here’s a breakdown of the episode…

• [04:45] What’s your why? Is it strong enough and have you been guilty of putting work before things that are actually important to you? I have! Make having a clear unshakeable why a priority.
• [11:11] It’s time to get crystal clear on your time boundaries. Lay out what your ideal week looks like, your non-negotiables, and daily habits. Put these on your calendar before anything else and be honest about the cost of not sticking to these.
• [19:37] You knew it was coming… you have to set strong boundaries around screentime and social media. My girl, Marie Forleo says it best, “Create before you consume.” Did you know that social media can deplete your juice? Yikes!
• [24:12] Do you have set boundaries around your business? If not, you should! Here’s why.
• [30:00] Often times when you’ve disrespected your own boundaries, you feel anxious or resentful. To avoid this, try performing a priority check where you identify and realign with your top three priorities.
• [33:50] Ready for some tough love? If you don't set boundaries, the world tells you who you are and what you should be doing. Talk about scary!
• [38:07] Solid boundaries serve as guardrails to our productivity. Look at what other people you admire are doing. Get very clear on your boundaries and write it down. Be specific.
• [43:19] Successful people say "no" to almost everything. It’s true! Don't be afraid to say no to things that don't align with your boundaries.
• [44:10] Respect other people's boundaries. The more we honor other people's boundaries the more they honor ours.

I want you to walk away from this episode with clear, intentional boundaries. 

Let me leave you with some wisdom from Miss Oprah...

“You have to be able to set boundaries, otherwise the rest of the world is telling you who you are and what you should be doing. You can still be a nice person and set boundaries.”

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast Facebook Community
• RISE
• Rachel Hollis
• Marie Forleo
• Focus Planner
• Everything Is Figureoutable
• Rick Mulready
• Alisha Grogan
• Michael Hyatt
• Warren Buffett

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

You guys know me, and you know how much I LOVE systems and really simple step-by-step strategies, and that is exactly how James Clear, my guest, and Author of Atomic Habits approaches creating good habits that yield remarkable results.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Let me repeat that last one again, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Oh yes, you know how much the systems girl in me just loves that!

In this episode, James shares his 1% approach to changing your habits, how your identity will either help you to succeed at achieving your goals or not, we talked about how to stay the course, even when you’re not seeing immediate results.

And this one is near and dear to my heart as I’m still walking through my weight loss journey. 

Here’s the best part of today’s episode, we talk about how you can start to create your own Atomic Habits so you can play a bigger game with your business and life in the New Year!

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about…

• [05:13] James suffered a very serious injury when he was hit in the face with a baseball bat, which put him in a medically-induced coma. His recovery pushed him to focus on small habits to achieve big results. He found that following small habits gave him a sense of control in his life.
• [07:38] After graduate school, James became an entrepreneur and found that he was drawn to studying consumer psychology so that he could better understand why people buy things. He discovered that he was fascinated with behavioral psychology and habit formation.
• [08:44] James aims to be the bridge between scientific research and what it says about how habits work and practical application in daily use. The habits and practices he shares in his book are all about how to create small, powerful, and scientifically-proven habits into your own life.
• [09:57] Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement! Believe it or not, getting 1% better each day offers significant results. James believes that it might be the only way change happens in the real world. He says that accumulating 1% improvements over time will actually get you the results you're looking for.
• [15:37] An implementation intention means that stating your intention makes it more likely to happen. 
• [17:04] The plateau of latent potential shows that the hallmark of any habit or thing you're trying to change is that the greatest returns are delayed. In fact, the hard work you're putting isn't being wasted, it's just being stored.
• [21:46] Focusing on your trajectory instead of the position will help you to stay on course. Remember that every action you take is a vote for or against the person you want to become. True behavior change is identity change. 
• [27:49] The four laws of behavioral change include: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. The cues get your attention when you need a little reminder.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Have you been wondering how a digital course can fit into your one on one business? If so, this episode is for you!

Now, if you’re thinking, “I don’t have one on one clients, so this doesn’t apply to my business,” stick with me, because I have some nuggets in here that might actually help your online business grow and generate even more revenue!

In today’s episode, we talk all about how a digital course can fit into your one on one business. And we even chat about how you can add one on one offerings to your online business to boost your revenue. 

I know that you guys have been wanting this topic because I get asked about it all the time! Today I’ll give you 5 valuable ways a digital course can transform your one on one business!

That’s right, I talk about how a digital course can transform your business revenue, give you more freedom (yes, please!), and how it will allow you to reach more people and transform more lives. After all, isn’t that why we’re all doing what we’re doing? To make an impact?

You’re going to walk away from this call with some great ideas for integrating your one on one business with a digital course.

Here’s a breakdown of some important points from today’s episode…

• [05:01] A digital course will expand your reach! From a time and energy standpoint, you can only take so many clients. A course will give new clients the opportunity to work with you.
• [05:53] One approach is to use your digital course as an extension of your one-on-one business. You can use your course to prepare your students and put them in a place to work with you one-on-one directly. 
• [07:19] You could offer a digital course that complements the work you do with your clients but doesn't exactly mirror the work you do in your one-on-ones.
• [11:37] Your one-on-one coaching could be used as an upsell to your digital course. 
• [16:00] A digital course will increase your overall revenue. Setting your business up for passive income is really important, and it's something you can't do with a one-on-one service business. At DCA, we teach students how to move their course to evergreen. 
• [21:14] Another way a digital course can seriously benefit your business is that it will allow you to set bigger income goals -- it opens the door for you to make more money. However, I highly recommend doing a few live launches before transitioning into an evergreen webinar.
• [28:17] A digital course will allow you to be more selective about who you take on as a client. You can take fewer clients and serve them at a higher level because you're not stretched too thin and trying to balance a ton of clients.
• [34:55] Offering both one-on-one coaching and a digital course gives you the option to offer tiered pricing. This can create opportunities for people with different financial means to work with you and makes high price point offerings a hot commodity.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I am so happy that you’re tuning into this episode because we are shaking things up and doing something different!

A few months back, I spoke at Stu McLaren’s TRIBE! event which aims to educate, teach, and bring together entrepreneurs around membership sites. And by the way, if you know me at all, you know that I adore Stu and his event was absolutely amazing.

At his event, TRIBE!, I spoke about my top content creation secrets that I like to use to keep my audience engaged, feeling that they are always receiving value, and coming back for more. 

I thought this information was so valuable that I wanted to share it with you. 

So today, because I just love you so much, you get VIP access to the recording of the presentation I gave! Now, these 5 tools for content creation will help you to rethink how you do content and make creating valuable, high-quality content easy. 

My goal is for you to walk away feeling inspired and excited to put these tools to work within your business! I know you’re going to love this presentation and get so much value out of it. 

Now, I just have to remind you that I ONLY teach what is working in my business, and today’s strategy is definitely working in my business! But, you’re also going to hear how I didn’t use one of these strategies and the lesson I learned from that experience.

Here is a preview of the 5 lessons I teach in this episode: 

Lesson #1: Let your paid content drive your free content! Whoa! What a concept, right? Now, I can hear you thinking, “But Amy, if I give away my paid content for free, why would anyone pay for it?!” 

Stay with me on this one. I promise there is a way to do this where you give just enough of your content to make them want more, which will lead to them signing up for your paid content!

I’ll show you exactly what I mean in this episode!

Lesson #2: The importance of repetition! You’ve heard me say this before (see how I practice what I preach?!) so it should come to no surprise to you that repetition is a powerful marketing strategy. 

In this episode, I’m going to show you why repetition is the mother of skill! I’m going to show you exactly what I mean by repeating your content and share with you WHY you want your audience hearing about your key concepts from you even before they buy!

Lesson #3: Share more scars than scabs! I know, I know, this analogy is kind of gross, but it gets the point across, right?

Here’s the thing, when you show your scars -- and stay tuned to find out what I mean by scars versus scabs -- you will truly elevate your audience's experience!

Lesson #4: Share your life but remember your why! Again, this all ties back to elevating your audience's experience and inspiring them to grow!

Now, I’m not overly excited to tell you this, but I failed to do this -- which is why it’s one of my lessons! And, since I’m committed to sharing my scars so you can avoid making the same mistake, I’m going to share exactly how I didn’t elevate my audience's experience and how, in hindsight, I could have!

Lesson #5: Superthinking is the secret to content that truly sticks!

Alright, time to get sticky! Multitaskers, come back to me now because if you take anything away from this episode, I want it to be SuperThinking! 

If you’ve never heard of SuperThinking, get ready to be mind-blown! This is my superweapon for becoming a creative genius in my business and content!

Now, the reason I’ve really been rethinking my content creation strategy is that, as I mentioned, we are launching Momentum, our membership site for students who have gone through my DCA program! 

And as you can imagine, creating enough content to make a membership site valuable can be daunting -- trust me, this is why I’ve pushed it off for as long as I have. And now that we’re launching it, I’m using this approach to make creating content for Momentum so easy!

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the highlights from my presentation…

• [06:34] Your launch success is driven by how you show up when you are not launching. It's about the content you are creating and the value you're providing in between your launches.
• [13:03] Let your paid content drive your free content ideas. I let my paid content drive everything I put out on social, and I'm never at a loss for ideas. Once my course framework is figured out, I have a wealth of knowledge to share as my free content. I also talk about where people might get stuck, their pain points, and the mindset blocks that are holding them back.
• [18:06] Repetition is the mother of skill! I want people to have heard the content before so that they know what to expect and are confidently ready to move forward by the time they purchase my course. Don't be afraid to use your content across all of your platforms.
• [22:25] Share more scars than scabs. Make sure your stories and experiences always elevate your audience's experience and add value.
• [28:21] Share your life but remember why you're sharing it. It's important to share behind the scenes but don't forget the reason you're sharing it with them. How is it adding to their life or business?
• [34:19] Super thinking is the secret to content that really sticks. When you create content that truly sticks, it comes from deep inside you. Spend an hour a week asking super thinking about your business!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Let’s be honest, your launch runway and your webinars are the most exciting part of your launch! 

And if we’re being really honest, the time between your last webinar and your cart closing day, you’re most likely exhausted, and all you want to do is curl up to a good Netflix binge session -- at least I do!

And while it’s tempting to do just that, I find that this time (between your last webinar and your cart close date) is where getting scrappy and making a little post-webinar push can transform the outcome and revenue of your launch. 

One of my Digital Course Academy students, Karida Griffith Walker, decided to roll up her sleeves and get scrappy with her post-webinar nurture sequence -- despite having a cold and a household of stuffy noses!

Her commitment to showing up for her audience members who were on the fence resulted in over $11,000 extra in revenue and 20 new students in her digital course. That’s 58% of her revenue for this specific launch!

She even talks about having a coughing attack during one of her live Facebook videos, but that didn’t stop her from showing up. 

In this episode, Karida shares her post-webinar strategies and some seriously impressive numbers. Take a listen, get inspired, and start planning to use some of these post-webinar strategies for your next launch. 

Here’s a breakdown of what Karida and I chatted about…

• [06:15]Karida was a professional dancer and Radio City Rockette for almost 5 years. She then left to pursue her passion for tap dancing, which led her to teaching tap to others.
• [09:21] Karida got married and moved to Portland where she is raising her three kids. She wanted to combine her love of dancing and teaching and stumbled across Webinars That Convert. She knew that there was a need for tap dance teacher training, so she created her signature course The Tap Teacher Lounge.
• [14:04] In her course, Karida uses slides, audio, and direct to camera videos of her actually showing dance moves to teach her students. She then allows them to send in videos for her feedback!
• [18:21] In Karida's most recent launch, she had 204 people registered for her four webinars. She also did something really cool, she offered an "interested but can't attend" option for those who wanted to register. She had 105 people select this option. She had 15 people sign up during her webinars and 20 people sign up during her post-webinar efforts. Her 35 signups brought her $21,000 in revenue.
• [23:56] If you pay attention to how your audience behaves—how they respond, what they need, what they want—you can get so many profitable ideas on how to cater to them and truly show up in a way that makes them want to buy. 
• [24:35] After the webinar, Karida kept running Facebook lives where she tackled her customer's biggest objections and explained her tap curriculum and what her students would learn. She retargeted 240 people and spent $170 in ads -- that's it! This resulted in eight new purchases. 
• [40:28] Karida had a totally different mindset with this launch. She got scrappy, because she wants to have a six-figure business. She was committed to her process and kept pushing all the way through the launch with her six-figure mindset!
• [45:43] Karida touched on the importance of sending a sequence of post-webinar emails and why some people appreciate receiving them.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Your mindset is key. Whether you’re looking to build a business or create a life you love -- it all comes back to your mindset.

When it comes to building a successful online business, there’s no doubt that you’re going to have to get in front of the camera from time to time. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to love it! 

In fact, most people feel extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera, whether it’s for a Facebook Live or a webinar, which is why I’m sharing some of my favorite strategies for boosting your confidence in front of the camera. 

And you guys know that I haven’t always loved doing live videos. In fact, I can’t say I am jumping at the bit to do them now. 

However, I’ve definitely used these exact strategies to boost my confidence and feel much more comfortable jumping on to do a live video.

I want to challenge you to take these strategies and make them your own. Use them over and over to shift your mindset and boost your confidence so that whether you’re doing a Facebook Live, an Instagram Live, or a webinar, you feel like a pro and show up for your audience and boost your know, like, and trust factor.  

Go ahead and take these strategies to start creating real impact for your audience and for your business!

You’ll learn…

1. The importance of creating a pre-live ritual. 
2. How to shift your focus to what you’re offering your clients. 
3. How you can use your audience's engagement to build your confidence and your content.
4. Tips for prompting your audience with a cue. (Including the cues I use!)
5. What steps to walk through to make sure you’re ready to do a live video or webinar.

• [10:38] Create your own pre-live ritual. Create a ritual that you commit to performing each time before you go live -- this will allow you to automate your live video process and help you to become more relaxed and confident going live!
• [14:29] You're going to have some messiness when you're first starting out and building confidence on live video. Committing to a ritual will help you feel more natural in front of the camera and rock your lives.
• [15:54] Set an alarm 10 minutes prior to going live and get in the zone. Make sure everything is ready and then just allow yourself to settle in. Quiet your mind, look over your notes and allow yourself to find a sense of calmness.
• [18:19] Your mindset will affect your energy for live videos. If you're distracted and don't take the time to get excited about your live video, your audience will know. Here's a tip for you: smile when you talk!
• [20:32] Focus on what you're bringing to your audience. When you're worried about how you look on camera you're making the video about you and not your audience. Remember that you are doing live videos to support and serve your audience.
• [29:26] Allow your audience’s engagement to build your confidence and your content. Treat every person like they are special, show up like a boss, and engage with them. However, don't worry about having a huge audience when you're live. Keep in mind that your video will live on and get views and shares.
• [30:50] Ask your audience questions that relate to their pain point. Also, prompt them to share one takeaway or action item they are going to implement.

We all know that Facebook and Instagram ads can help get the word out about our products, help build our lists, and even sell products. Yet, many of you have unanswered questions. That's why today we are answering your 10 burning questions about Facebook and Instagram ads. Those who know me, know that I'm not an expert on this, but my Regis to my Kathy Lee, Rick Mulready is here today to answer all of those questions and more.

Today, we did our first live training in Momentum. The training ran over, and I had no buffer between that training and this call with Rick. We chatted a bit before recording, and Rick helped put me at ease. Rick has a huge heart. When he comes to my events, he ends up with a big long line of people wanting to ask him questions about ads and marketing. Even when he’s not a speaker. He opens up his computer, takes his time, and really gets into it with them. He holds court with them, and that’s what we are doing today.

This podcast is specifically for online experts or people who sell a course, product, or coaching. It’s for people who want to build their list and increase their sales, but haven't quite started using ads yet. It’s also for those who have started using ads, but maybe they aren’t working out as well as you thought they would. 

1. [05:09] What objective do I choose to get people to register for my webinar? You have to choose between lead generation and conversion. Conversion is having people click on your ad and go to your webinar registration page. The thank you page is used as custom conversion tracking. In Facebook ads use the conversion objective not the lead generation objective. 
2. [07:14] What's the most effective ad type? You have to test things out. Any ad can be effective. It's about testing to see what works for you. Using a Facebook Live as an ad is a great video option. Try an image, video, and carousel ad and see what works best. 
3. [09:50] Should I target other Facebook pages or cold audiences? Warm audiences are people on our list or website visitors. Prioritize warm audiences first, and then create lookalike audiences to cold target. 
4. [13:27] People often don't understand their target customer. You need a holistic understanding of your target customer to do well with ads. Once you know your target customer create sub segments. Don’t have one conversation for everyone. 
5. [19:54] Why are ad costs rising? They are more advertisers than ever. More competition equals higher ad cost. It's also the holiday season. There's an election coming up. 
6. [23:08] What's CBO or campaign budget optimization? This will be the default way to set budgets. Set the budget at the campaign level. The algorithm divides the budget by ad performance. You can still set minimums at ad set level. 
7. [28:33] How do I know my ads are working? What's the cost per lead? You want at least 20% converting. Tools like Leadpages will tell you the conversion rate. Leads divided by landing page conversion. Focus on increasing rates and the consistency between the page and ad. 
8. [35:25] What's the deal with video? Create ads with mobile in mind first. Create video for areas where people consume video. People who watch a certain percentage are engagement audiences. 
9. [37:44] Why are my ads getting disapproved? This happens to everyone. Review ad policies and keep up with changes. Don't make promises or insinuate people are struggling with certain things. Speak to positivity and transformation. 
10. [40:39] Do I need to run ads when I'm not launching? It's a better strategy to consistently run ads and build engagement and your list. Facebook rewards consistently running ads and that reduces the cost of your launch. 
11. [43:23] Bonus tip: Mindset around testing. Keep testing until you figure it out and you will win. 

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Entrepreneur Experience
• Rick Mulready
• The Art of Online Business with Rick Mulready
• Facebook and Instagram Ads 101 - Free Masterclass

In this week’s episode, I talk all about how to boost your affiliate marketing game (and revenue) by loving up on your affiliates!

So when I'm talking about "loving up" on your affiliates, this means how you can help them to best deliver and succeed as your affiliate -- promoting your program or service.

Affiliates broaden your audience reach and because they’ve already established the know, like, and trust factor with their audience, your conversion rate will be higher than if you were to just target these audiences in cold ads.

This is why, in my most recent Digital Course Academy launch, I went above and beyond to give my affiliates a whole lot of love and attention, and let me tell you, it definitely paid off.

Today I want to share the specific ways I made my affiliates, like Jenna Kutcher, Stu McLaren, Kajabi, and Jill and Josh Stanton, feel extra special and important so that you can do the same for your upcoming launch. 

In this episode, I’m going to share 5 simple and powerful strategies to love up on your affiliates so they, in turn, go above and beyond to sell your course or service. 

You’re going to walk away from this episode with so many exciting ideas for your next launch!

Tune in to learn these 5 strategies (plus a bonus strategy!)...

1. The top documents to create to keep your affiliates organized and in the know. 
2. The power of using a Facebook group to inspire and connect with your affiliates. 
3. Assigning one person on your team (or a VA) to give your affiliates extra care and attention. 
4. Surveying your affiliates to improve your affiliate marketing strategy for your next launch. 
5. The importance of starting out small. 

• [08:38] We love to organize all of the information and details that our affiliates need to know into an easy to access Google Doc. This helps us make sure everything is in order before we even welcome affiliates. Having a doc like this also minimizes confusion and eliminates redundant questions.
• [10:12] A sneak peek of all the things that we include in our Affiliate FAQ document -- from commissions to payment options and everything in between.
• [17:17] Create a private Facebook group just for your affiliates to communicate with them before you actually open the cart, and continue communication and relationship building while the cart is open. This helps build hype and keeps affiliates in the loop.
• [21:55] Consider assigning one person on your team to be your affiliate concierge. Assigning someone specific to the needs of your affiliates ensures that they are prioritized, heard, and treated with extra special care.
• [25:10] Survey your affiliate partners post-launch to help you improve for your next launch, but also to make sure that you are creating solid relationships with your affiliates to ensure that they actually want to come back the next time. Getting post-launch affiliate feedback is crucial, so don't skip this step!
• [27:57] Start out small. Take baby steps and be realistic about the number of affiliates you can manage. Having a couple of affiliates that are well taken care of is more important than having a bunch who don't sell because they don't feel special.
• [36:53] Show gratitude and appreciation to your affiliates for their hard work -- this is essential! Don't be afraid to send them a gift or give them a call to show that you're truly grateful.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who have morning routines, those who don’t, and those who want to tell everyone else what their morning routine should be.

I definitely have one, and I love it. It’s a good mix of Scout, Peloton, and of course Hobie (when he’s home!).

Here’s the thing… I am not here to tell you how you should do your morning.

In fact, on today’s podcast I am giving you the inside scoop on the morning routines of some of my favorite people. When you listen, you’ll notice that no two are the same. Did I mention all of these people are very successful entrepreneurs with a lot on their plates?

As entrepreneurs, we get to design our own lives. We get to call the shots with how we spend our days and what we work on. Having a morning routine is a great way to gain focus and clarity and make sure the work for the day is the right work. 

I hope this episode inspires you to create a morning routine that works for you and your life and most importantly supports the big goals you want to achieve.

You’ll hear from…

• [08:00] Jasmine Star needs slow mornings to facilitate creativity and productivity. She quietly does the things that her soul needs to optimize her creativity levels. She gives herself 45 minutes of utter decadence. She also gets two hours of unobstructed work time.
• [13:18] Jennifer Allwood has four kids. Need I say more? Her mornings consist of getting kids out the door for the first two hours. And she still manages to get quiet time for the first 35 to 45 minutes of the day. She goes out to her deck with coffee. She thinks about her intentions for the day and what will actually move the needle. 
• [17:50] James Wedmore makes sure his routine gets him excited to get up. He meditates for mental well being. For physical well being he uses an infrared sauna, the Peloton Tread, a Bellicon rebounder, and a BioCharger. Some days he just goes for a walk or swims in the ocean. 
• [22:20] Julie Solomon began morning routines a few years ago, but made them too rigid. Now she sees her routine in a new way and it serves her far greater than before. Her routine is intentionally set up for self-care in whatever way it looks like for each day. 
• [29:48] Stu McLaren starts with his five year old in his face asking if it’s time to get up yet. He doesn’t have a regimented routine in this season of life. His priorities are family time. His day starts and ends with his family. He takes his kids to school and gets his wife a cup of tea. He also takes his dog for a walk in the woods. 
• [32:56] Kate Northrup has a different routine everyday, because of her two young children. She feels like her morning is not entirely within her control. She wakes up with the baby or when she is done sleeping. She takes a moment of gratitude. She has a cup of warm lemon water. Then coffee. She fits in a quick workout with her husband in the garage.

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

There’s one important factor that can either make or break your launch and it has nothing to do with how much money you spend on ads, how huge your list is, or whether or not your sales page copy is on point. 

One of the biggest predictors of launch success is how you show up for your audience in the 30 – 60 days before your launch. I don’t just mean writing a blog post or sending out an email every now and then. I mean putting on your planning hat and mapping out a series of Facebook Lives that both teach your audience something while also overcoming the common objections that come up when you go into launch mode. 

This pre-launch Facebook Live strategy has been a game-changer for me and I know it’ll be just as effective for you whether you’re just getting started or you’re a more advanced marketer. 

In this week’s podcast episode, I’m sharing all the behind-the-scenes details for my pre-launch Facebook Live strategy, including how to choose the topics you’ll go Live with, how often to go Live, and how to make sure that your Facebook Live viewers are primed and ready to register for your webinar and ultimately purchase your course. And by the way, I give you full permission to steal the strategy and make it your own. 

Here’s the breakdown:

• [10:01] Once you know the topic of your course that you’ll be selling, you want to think about what you can present in your webinar that would be in alignment with and a perfect lead-in to that course. I break this down and share examples so the strategy will be super clear.  
• [11:24] One of the best ways I’ve found to nail down a topic that would pique my ICA’s interest is to create a list of their objections, challenges, limiting beliefs and mindset blocks and then I create my Facebook Live content to counter those by presenting a solution that will help them achieve their desires and goals.
• [13:42] To make it super actionable, I show you exactly how I take that list and turn each one into a Facebook Live topic. When you do this, you meet your customer right where they are and give them both momentum and traction — always a good thing! 
• [25:13] These pre-launch Facebook lives are great for list building when you’re strategic with your CTAs (call-to-action). I talk about the lead magnets that did really well in my most recent pre-launch period.
• [27:43] The key to any good strategy is to be open to tweaking and changing things up as you learn. I talk about the major tweak I’ll make with my next pre-launch content. Hint: I’ll be focusing much more on mindset. 
• [30:35] Students often tell me they’re afraid they sound like a broken record when they repeat certain things when presenting their content. I talk about how repetition is actually a good thing because there are certain things your potential customer may need to hear more than once to make a buying decision. 

If you’ve been tuning in over the last few months I’ve been talking plenty about the power of membership sites, but today I’m sharing a whole new opportunity available to those of us who run a membership site to serve our audiences — adding a physical product to the mix!  

Erin Mullins Sanderson, better known online as Fit Rocker Chick, had no idea what she was building when she first started her membership site. All she knew was that she had a message to share and an audience that wanted more of that confident rocker vibe she embodies.

Erin’s story is super unique and something I think we can all learn from. She successfully launched a membership without even knowing what she’d offer, has grown that community to over 500 members, and has created a skincare line that her community went wild for. 

She’s clearly a woman of many talents, but what I adore most about her isn’t that perfect skin or her rockstar vibes — it’s her ability to take imperfect action and to really LISTEN to what her audience wants.

Today I want you to see how listening to your audience, thinking outside of the box, and doing something you’ve *always* wanted can amplify your audience experience AND help you boost your bottom line.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn from my interview with Erin:

• [06:47] How Erin felt a void with her group and wanted to bring them together. She ran the idea of a membership site by her list and found 100 beta testers to help flesh out her plan or lack of plan. 
• [12:59] How Erin decided on what topics to cover each week in her membership. 
• [14:30] Erin shares how often she goes live in the community, the type of heavyweight guest expert she features and the other fun aspects of being a member of her group (You’ll love her playlist and setlist ideas!)  
• [17:03] How Erin’s members have become more courageous, started dreaming bigger, started new dream projects, became philanthropic, and left toxic relationships. These stories will inspire you! 
• [24:18] How often Erin opens up her membership experience and the tools she uses to run her membership site.
• [26:04] How the dream to create a skincare line came about.  
• [34:32] How Erin made her community a part of the skincare product line decision-making process from the beginning. She talks about how she then launched her new product directly to her community, and it sold out right away. Her second batch also sold out in 48 hours. 

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I was recently in Toronto at Stu McLaren’s Tribe event and had an opportunity to record an interview with Jill Stanton of Screw the Nine to Five. Jill and Josh Stanton are two of my favorite people. Josh is hilarious, and I love talking with Jill. You know, I have so many good things to say about Facebook groups, but today is about using short pop-up groups to promote your offers. 

Jill and Josh used this method to promote one of their products and to promote my Digital Course Academy. They also threw in a fun twist by making five day challenges where they give a short challenge each day along with challenge marching orders. They also offer a prize to people who make it all the way through. 

These groups are a great way to warm up your audience or introduce them to a person or product that you would like to promote. Jill shares all of the tactics that she used along with some smart ideas to give the audience what they want and need without being pushy or overselling. This method can be used to create custom content and engagement for the right audience at the right time.

• [07:31] You can create a timeline of four weeks, but for Jill and Josh, engagement started to drop off after a couple of weeks. They tested a two week group and the results were great. This is keeping people's attention for a shorter time and making a quick win. 
• [10:14] Look at your offer and choose a congruent topic. Don't overwhelm people with the how-tos. Your offer is the how. You need to help them see the what and the why. Empower them to take action. 
• [15:21] The what and why for Jill and Josh's Digital Course Academy pop-up promotion was Think Like an Expert - From Impostor Syndrome to Expert Status. They identified five core beliefs that were holding their audience back. 
• [19:09] They ran a challenge on their last pop-up. They ran ads and spent about $42,000 and generated $293,000. They spent $10,000 to get 1200 super targeted people in the group. The one prior to that, they spent $4500 and made $43,000. 
• [22:48] The challenges are short five minute videos that give a challenge and marching orders. The entire challenge has a prize incentive. Every day at 1:00 they would do a Facebook Live about the challenge of the day. No CTA but they are seeding the topic. 
• [29:54] Pay attention to the objections you get when you make offers. You want to help the audience overcome their limiting beliefs. 
• [31:04] Create content around the topic of your pop-up group and have your readers or listeners opt in. You're building your list and creating anticipation around an offer. People can opt in through messenger or email.
• [35:29] Moving people from the challenge to the offer includes seeding throughout the content. You can move into a webinar, a free video series, a Facebook Live, and the cart opens on day five. When the offer closes, the group is archived. People who did join the program still get your support. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Tribe
• Screw The Nine To Five
• The Screw The Nine To Five Podcast
• Screw the Nine to Five on Facebook
• Screw the Nine to Five on Instagram
• Screw the Nine to Five on YouTube

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Some of you may remember me talking about my upcoming membership site, and how I was going to put it on hold for awhile. Well, I’ve found clarity, and Momentum will be launching in November. Tribe members and people who have listened to my episode with Stu McLaren know how valuable it is to be part of a membership site. 

Today’s episode is special, because I’m going to be talking about my own membership site, and I want to share with you some of the lessons that I’ve learned. Up until a few months ago, I had reached a point where I was really stuck in the process of creating Momentum. Since then, I have learned so much. I have had so much insight and clarity, that I wanted to share what I’ve learned and the big lessons with you. 

I think you'll get a lot of value from hearing about how we processed the information, how we went about putting things together, and if you do decide to create a membership site, you can walk away with these lessons already locked in. So, you my friend do not need to make the same mistakes that I made. Here are the five crucial lessons that I’ve learned so far. 

• [06:48] The idea that I want to add so much new content. We want a community that is actively creating and launching courses. It's an extension of DCA to help implement the journey. We dive deeper into existing content to help implementation. We go from learning to doing. 
• [12:17] Put a stake in the ground of who the membership site is for. By putting a stake in the ground, I had full clarity, because I knew exactly who I was doing this for. DCA alumni can grow with Momentum at a deep implementation level. 
• [18:27] I've got to spend time with the content roadmap and revisit it. Each week something new happens. I follow the Tribe model. We have been talking about this for seven weeks. This is the first time I feel like I'm ahead of something. I have months to plan, so it feels good to revisit. 
• [23:48] If it's not a hell yes, it's a hell no. I got to a point where it wasn't coming together, and it felt heavy. I wasn't excited about it, so I had to put it on hold. I couldn't get the content right, because I didn't know Momentum was just for my DCA alumni. Once I got clear on my ICA and got excited, I loved working on it.
• [26:53] I come from a place of always being a student. I purchased Tribe and went through it. Our master doc is created from everything we learned from the Tribe experience. We followed everything that Tribe teaches. 
• [31:36] When Momentum launches, I can't wait to share the new things we learn and the tweaks we make. We can make it better every month. DCA students will get an invite when their 12 weeks are over. 

This episode is sponsored by gravy. If you have a subscription model business or offer payment plans like I do for my online courses, you've got to listen up. One of my biggest frustrations was lost money due to failed payment plans. In fact, it used to keep me up at night. I would worry about all the people that were on a payment plan, because if they didn't finish that payment plan I was screwed. 

That's when I decided I needed to do something about it, because I hated the worry. I started to work with gravy, and I promise you I never worry about payment plans anymore.  Gravy sets up a system inside of your business where they contact your customers within hours of their failed payments, and they capture updated billing information and save the customer. 

Our failed payment recovery rate increased from 33% to over 80%.That's a whole lot of saved payments. If your revenue is currently at $250,000 or more, and you know you're losing money due to failed payment plans each month, I want to encourage you to check out Gravy.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• All About Membership Sites: Your Top 10 Burning Questions with Stu McLaren
• Gravy
• Tribe

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

If YOU have a community (free or paid) then you know ENGAGEMENT is the #1 metric for your success. Nobody wants to show up in a room full of crickets.

My friend Dana Malstaff, founder of Boss Mom and community creator extraordinaire is the queen of creating next level group engagement. That’s why I just had to have her on the podcast this week.

Dana’s Better Buzz Strategy has helped her create one of the most engaged communities I’ve ever heard of (70% monthly engagement with 40k members, say what?!).

Here are the six types of posts you want to be sure to utilize:

• [29:49] The first type of buzz worthy post is a decision post. That answers a simple question to help you make a decision. Give three options, but don’t use a poll. It’s easy for people to engage, and the post stays alive. Then hop on a chat with your super engagers. You should be doing one of these a week.
• [34:47] Opinion posts where you ask people what their opinion is. What are your top podcasts or number one blog? The best ones give you information on who to collaborate with and help you gain knowledge and insight. 
• [37:37] Permission posts are where people tell a story or the hero’s journey. It creates a sense of belonging. Tell people they aren’t alone and create an appreciation loop.
• [41:24] Can’t help themselves post. Telling people you just landed a client and asking them to celebrate or drop a GIF. Post something interesting where people can’t help but celebrate with you. 
• [46:43] Ask is consistently telling people what you do. Let people know what you sell and what you want to be known for. 
• [49:04] Authority posts. The easiest way to get authority is to get featured on podcasts. Also link to the post and mention it on Facebook live. 

Dana covers so much more in the episode. The first 20 minutes alone are pure gold, so tune in now and hop to it with applying these strategies in your communities!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I know it might sound cliché, but I made a promise this year to be more vulnerable. To show you more of the “real” me. 

So for this week’s podcast episode, I’m doing something a little different and sharing a twice daily check-in for a full 7 days.

I hope that this lets you in on a few things. For one, I want you to know what a 7-figure course creator does in a week. You’ll hear it all; what I focus on, what I struggle with, and how I handle all of it.

I can’t promise it’ll be quite as engrossing as The Bachelor but if you’re anything like me, seeing into other people’s worlds is always a treat.

If you’ve ever wondered how I set up my week and spend my days, you’ll love this #nofilter episode where I share it all, including: 

• Honest conversations Hobie and I have had recently that have been a little tough 

• The new piece of exercise equipment I’m obsessed with 

• The challenge the whole team is doing to be more intentional about what we do in a day, how we use our time, create morning rituals, and make extra time for what matters most

• Why I started having a weekly date with my mom <3  

• What it’s like going from a team of 3 to 10 full-time employees (and the essential books every single new hire gets) 

• How the team operates for maximum efficiency (and how I really feel about meetings)

• The inside scoop on my weight loss journey 

Here’s where you’ll find some of the highlights: 

• [02:07] Sunday evening… weekly preview using the Full Focus Planner. This is about what the upcoming week will look like and what did and didn’t work from the previous week. Be intentional about how you structure your day. 
• [07:32] Monday morning check-in. Morning walk with Scout and fiction audiobook. I also prepared for my FB Live session tomorrow. Phone call with team member. Recorded podcast ads. Hobie’s love language is quality time, so I have coffee with him from 8:30 to 9:00.
• [13:33] Now I’m going to work on the quiz and then a team kick-off call. This is a one hour call with the entire team about what it looks like to launch digital course academy. Theme: We are master troubleshooters. 
• [30:36] I do video on Tuesdays. Instagram story about launch. Facebook Live as part of DCA prelaunch. I also have a DCA affiliate Facebook Live. I don’t workout on video day. I do get a blow out. 
• [41:38] Wednesday is podcast batching day. I’m doing 3 podcasts today, and some interviews as I grow my team. I also share my hiring process and the book bundle that I send to new hires.
• [01:10:41] Thursday evening. I’m back from acupuncture. When I make mistakes that create stress, I know it’s time to fix the system. 
• [01:15:44] Friday… Call at 7:00 am with weight-loss coach. Today, I’m recording the outcome videos for the DCA quiz. Then I fly to Portland, Oregon.
• [01:25:50] On Saturday I met with my friend Mike Pacchione to work on presentation content. 

I hope you enjoyed the week with me. 

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

You are going to love this episode. I give a step-by-step strategy on how to take one single piece of content and repurpose it 10 different ways. We all know how time-consuming content creation can be. 

After all that work, we hit publish and put it out in the world, but then it just sits there in that one location. Why not leverage all of that hard work by packaging the content up in different shapes and sizes and publishing it on different platforms? 

This makes your efforts more efficient and allows your ideal audience to consume your content in a variety of different ways. 

This is so smart. Repurposing your content should be part of your content creation process. Promise me that you won't let another week go by where you create content and only put it out one time and in one location. 

• [07:49] Sit down and record your podcast audio. Make a video recording for extra mileage. Works best for interviews. Publish your audio wherever you normally publish your podcast. 
• [11:10] Transcribe the podcast audio. Link to the transcript from your website show notes on it's own page that opens in a new window. This is great for SEO! 
• [12:45] Show notes are the second way to repurpose your content. 
• [14:26] Take snippets from the outline, transcripts, or show notes and craft an email that will notify subscribers about your new podcast episode. This is a great way to share weekly content and send weekly emails. 
• [16:57] Pull out really good quotes or stats that can be turned into graphics. 
• [17:41] Now that you have the show notes, email copy, and great quotes and stats, pull from those to create great social media posts. If you share the post on multiple platforms, tweak it so the language matches the platform. 
• [18:48] Select a really juicy audio clip and use Wavve to turn it into a video highlight to promote your episode on social media. 
• [19:46] Take the content you created and format it into an article on Medium.com. Anyone can post, and if you elect to have it reviewed by Medium curators, they will share it if they think it will benefit their audience. Or guest post on other blogs or online publication. 
• [20:51] Create a freebie. Take the content and make a checklist, worksheet, or guide. You can use it to build your list or to promote your content or both. 
• [22:30] Use parts of your content as an answer to frequently asked questions. When the same questions come up time and time again, and you have already covered it use that existing content to add to your website or course FAQ area. 
• [24:34] It's all about video. This can be really valuable when you make the effort. Take your transcript and highlight sections that you could do a quick video about. 
• [27:58] Bonus twist. Pay attention to what resonates with your audience. That can become a new piece of content. 

This episode is sponsored by my Free Masterclass all about list building. If you've struggled with list building or you are not actively growing your email list, this class is for you. You know, everything in your business is easier when you have an email list. If you want to know what it takes to create a list building foundation from scratch, this step-by-step masterclass is for you. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Model Meals
• Free List Building Masterclass
• Canva
• Wavve
• Amy Porterfield on Instagram
• Amy Porterfield on Facebook
• Medium
• Episode 281 How to Plan Your First (or Next) Photoshoot

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I've never loved having my picture taken.

But eventually, I learned to at least get comfortable with it.

It's so important that people see the real you. That your audience can connect with you and see you. Plus, you can use professional photos in soooo many places beyond just social media.

Today, I'm taking the guesswork out of planning your next photo shoot and sharing my top tips on how to show up feeling good, even if you feel nervous about having your photo taken.

I also created an extensive photoshoot guide that you can use to plan your first or next photoshoot like a total pro. Click here to download it now!

You’ll need these images for social media, guest posts, ads, sales pages, webinars, and more. When you know how to plan and organize a photoshoot, you'll not only end up with a bunch of amazing images to use, but you'll also save time and money by not having to hunt all over the place for your next image. 

• [10:06] I want you to show up for yourself, even when it's way out of your comfort zone -- and I'll explain how to do that. 
• [12:27] I talk about why it's important to start an inspiration collection of photos you love that would be a good fit for your personality and brand. Put together a fun playlist to make the photoshoot process more relaxing and fun. 
• [14:33] How to find a photographer whose work you like, and you feel good about working with. Ask for recommendations. 
• [18:13] I tell you how to put together a photoshoot inquiry communication that you can email to potential photographers and get a price quote. Everything to include is also in the Photoshoot Planning Guide.
• [27:14] I'll help you to decide where to do your photoshoot. Hint: Your house with natural light is the best option. 
• [31:42] I talk about how to find and nail a good pose that fits your personality. This can be very awkward but I've got tips for you to help the process be as painless as possible. 
• [34:12] I get into all the day-of photoshoot details. We'll talk hair and makeup and how to let those first 15 minutes of awkwardness be what they are and pass by so you can create some beautiful photos. 
• [40:01] I'll talk about what to do when you get your photos back from your photographer. If they're good and you like who took your photos, I want you to book them to come back and do another photoshoot in the months to come. 

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

One of the best ways to know if anyone wants to spend time and money on your digital course is to ask them. One of the best ways to ask them is to have a course validation call with your potential customer avatar. These calls are so valuable, because they not only tell you if your course will be in demand, but they tell you exactly what needs to be in the course, the best ways to set it up, and how to market it.

These calls can be intimidating and people are often reluctant to have them, but the  information gleaned is so valuable. Course validation calls are a game changer. In my The Digital Course Academy, I teach you the exact questions to ask in these calls and how to find your ideal customer avatar ICA to have the calls with. This is important, because you want to make sure you have the call with someone who really is your ICA. 

Today’s show has a fun twist, instead of me telling you how to make a course call, I actually make one and let you listen in. It’s true that I already have a course, so this is somewhat of a mock call. But the rest is real. I have a real conversation with Jaime Trull about whether she would be a good candidate for the Digital Course Academy. 

It’s also true that I have never met Jaime before. I do know that she has an online business where she serves female CEOs and entrepreneurs in accounting, bookkeeping, and financials. She is a certified CPA, and she is thinking about creating a digital course. 

You have two goals during the call. Goal #1 is to uncover insights, fears, concerns, challenges, wants, and needs of your ICA. Goal #2 is to determine if your idea is on the right track. During the call, I actually learned some things that I wasn’t expecting. I also ended up giving Jaime a challenge, so this won’t be the last time you hear from her. 

• [13:52] It's good to know about the background of the person that you are interviewing. Amy asks Jaime to tell her a little bit about her business? Jaime started Balance CFO to have more balance in life. She first helped friends with accounting, now she is focusing on virtual CFO work and financial literacy. Her problem is that one-on-one business is trading dollars for time. 
• [17:35] Amy zeros in on the problem and asks about how many clients she needs to make the money she wants to make. They talk about scaling, frustrations, time, and revenue goals. Amy asks about Jaime's dream revenue model. 
• [20:37] Jamie shares that her ideal day would be having more quality time with her kids. 
• [21:52] Amy asks Jamie about frameworks. She does have a five step process. They also explore how Jamie could help her clients the most. 
• [24:45] Digital courses have been on Jamie's radar. Obstacles are time and overwhelm with available resources. They also explore course ideas and niches to target.
• [29:50] Amy asks about elements of courses that Jaime has taken and liked. She also asks about accountability. Jaime likes things broken down into doable steps. She also likes a community for motivation. 
• [32:30] Amy digs into why Jamie hasn't already bought a course about creating courses. It's a commitment issue for Jamie. 
• [33:23] Jaime has about 400 people on her list and a Facebook community of 1200. She built her community by going live every week and talking about things people wanted to know. 
• [36:23] Are there any roadblocks in a course that have or would slow Jaime down? Technology is Jaime's biggest issue, and a clear roadmap with specific options would be best. 
• [40:05] Where does Jamie spend the most social media time online and what is her focus? Her answer is Facebook, and she loves Rachel Hollis and the Rise groups and entrepreneurial groups. 

This episode is brought to you by: 

The Digital Course Academy sign up now or get on the waiting list. To find out if a digital course is right for you be sure and get The Three Behind the Scenes Secrets to Digital Course Success.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• The Digital Course Academy
• The Three Behind the Scenes Secrets to Digital Course Success
• Skype
• Zoom
• Balance CFO
• Financial Literacy for Women Business Owners Facebook Group
• Balance CFO Jamie Trull
• Rachel Hollis
• Weight Loss for Busy Physicians

I’m so excited to share this digital course success story with you today. 

Lauren Kilgore, a wreath maker extraordinaire and accidental Etsy marketing superstar, turned her part-time hobby into $35k in revenue.

Unbelievable, right?!

Here’s the reason I’m sharing this with you today. We are all good at something that we could teach others how to do. 

For Lauren, it was selling her crafts on Etsy. 

If there is something you’re good at, something that people consistently come to you asking for help with, guess what? You might just be able to create a course around it. 

You don’t need to have it all figured out. Lauren is proof of that.

Tune in to this special bonus episode and find out exactly how a part-time wreath making mama went from making a bit of extra cash with a fun hobby to getting 93 students into her digital course and over five figures in revenue.

Ready to create your own Digital Course success story? Learn how to build, launch and grow a thriving Digital Course business without hiring a big team, the constant overwhelm or the momentum crushing question, "What the heck do I do next?"

Click here to save your seat in my free masterclass, The 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Digital Course Success!

Today I want to help you answer a very important question. 

And that question is… should you create a digital course?

More than likely, my answer to you will be yes.  

Now I know what you’re thinking. What in the world would I create a course on? The market is saturated. There are so many people selling courses online. But I promise that no one is teaching what YOU would teach the way that YOU would teach it. 

So here’s what I want you to do:

Step 1: Listen to this episode and learn about the five main types of profitable digital courses.

Step 2: Take my free quiz and find out which of those types is best for you (or if you should hold off on creating your course for now!).

My team and I put a lot of work (and love) into creating this quiz and I hope it helps you get the clarity you need to take the next step forward. 

Already took the quiz and want to learn more about each course type? Here are the highlights:

• [08:59] The Workshop Course. This is a two hourish training that promises instant clarity and results. 
• [15:43] A Starter Course. A jumping-off point to get your students started in your area of expertise. 
• [19:41] The Spotlight Course. Dives deep into one main area, you’ll help your students produce very specific results in just one area. 
• [22:36] A Signature Course. A complete comprehensive system, the Mack Daddy of all courses. It’s specific and detailed and includes your entire framework from start to finish.
• [29:03] The Certification Course. This is as in-depth as it gets. You are teaching others your methodology and process in such a detailed way that they’ll be able to teach it to others. 

Take the Quiz Now!

Would you believe me if I told you that one of my star students generated well over 6 figures on her very first launch?

Would you believe me if I also told you that student was an elementary school teacher?

How about a mother of five? 

Well, friend, I’m here to tell you that Jamie Sears did just that. It all started when Jamie’s hubby listened to a podcast episode about courses and nudged his wife to have a go at creating one. 

Jamie resisted at first. At that point, she didn’t even have a solid course idea. What really lights me up about this story is that Jamie didn’t let uncertainty or lack of clarity stop her from taking action. She saw the possibilities a course would offer and she moved forward one step at a time. 

Tune and and learn all about…

• [05:16] The grassroots origins of how Jamie created online resources for her students, and other teachers started asking her for help
• [07:02] There were so many questions that Jamie felt like she should make a course about writing. Her husband recommended that she join the Digital Course Academy. 
• [09:38] Jamie went where her students hung out, listened to their questions, and did Facebook Lives when her audience was still small. She kept showing up. 
• [13:30] Jamie not only got huge results in Digital Course Academy, but she followed the framework and made it her own as she progressed.
• [15:20] Jamie’s wall of post-its and what her kids helped her see about her course
• [17:58] How Jamie grew her list by 7000 new subscribers during her launch (without spending a ton on ads)
• [24:39] Jamie’s mind-blowing pricing and results
• [27:15] How Jamie got testimonials before her launch was even through
• [51:01] Don't try to do what everyone else does just go to where your people are already at. 

Marie Forleo has been an inspiration, a friend, and a mentor to me ever since I left corporate and started into the world of online business.

When it comes to business she's seen it all, from humble beginnings offering life coaching for free to being on stage with Oprah (yes, that Oprah). Needless to say, she has accomplished a lot.

Marie feels strongly (and I agree!) that we need more brilliant, creative humans to believe in themselves so that they can go out and make a difference in the world. That was the inspiration that pushed her to write her brand new book, Everything Is Figureoutable.

I recently sat down with Marie to talk about the book and I picked out topics that I thought would be especially helpful for you to hear. Marie held nothing back and shared some gems that I know you're going to love. This episode will have you feeling like everything really is figureoutable.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we covered:

• How Marie finally decided to write her book (and why she waited, even after being courted by publishers)
• Listening to that little voice in your head (Marie tells how her mom was the first to teach her about this inner guidance system!)
• Marie's quick test to determine whether you're acting out of fear or intuition
• How your beliefs are shaping you (a great model that I've been following for the last year, but Marie takes it even deeper)
• Calling out your excuses (she explains how a slight change in semantics can be a game-changer in your life and business)
• What to do when fear creeps in (and you know it will!) 
• Getting clarity on what you actually want (believe it or not, most people are not crystal clear on what they want to create, but there IS a way to get clear)
• Avoiding the pitfalls of perfectionism (learn about the severity of the destructiveness of perfectionism)  

You’ve gotta get your hands on Marie’s book, Everything is Figureoutable. Pre-order it now and get the 5-day coaching experience that Marie's offering to all pre-orderers.

Mistakes are a part of life, but in my book the fewer things you have to learn the hard way, the better.

When it comes to sharing my blunders while building an online business, I’m an open book. This is the stuff that I WISH someone would’ve shared with me when I was just getting started. 

There are a lot of mistakes that I’ve made that I’m grateful for. Mistakes that helped me learn pivotal lessons that I wouldn’t trade for the world. But lately, I’ve been reflecting on some of the big decisions that I’m making now that I wish I would have made sooner. 

Wanna know the 3 decisions I wish I’d made sooner in my business?

I’m digging into the details on this week’s podcast episode… here are the highlights:

• [02:15] The first decision that I waited to make until I was making good money was to hire someone to help me manage it. Plus, I’ll tell you how Hobie and I picked an advisor to help us.
• [07:00] I waited way too long to grow my team to match the big vision I have. 
• [13:45] Think about accountability and organizing how your team moves towards your goals.
• [15:32] I share how I had a false belief that I needed to make tons of money before I set clear boundaries or rituals in my life that would allow me to take off. Boundaries protect yourself, your sanity, and your mindset.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

I’ll never forget my first webinar.

But not for the reasons you might be thinking.

There I was, confident and ready to rock it, when suddenly the objections started pouring in. I felt defeated and disappointed.

I want to save you the pain I experienced on that webinar with today’s episode.

Believe it or not, it’s absolutely not necessary to let objections get the better of you. They’re not scary when you know how to handle them.

When you know what’s holding people back from saying heck yes to your offer, you can address their hesitation head on. You don’t have to tiptoe around it — instead, you can have a conversation.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn from this episode: 

• [05:11] The best place to address objections (hint: it’s not necessarily on your webinar or sales page)
• [07:32] What to do on the front end of your offer so that common objections never even make an appearance.
• [11:20] The truth about money objections 
• [17:11] The key differences between features and benefits
• [19:09] How to find “tiger” time.
• [26:35] Marie Forleo’s “I have to talk to my spouse or business partner” script.
• [29:35] How to get to the root mindset of "I'm not good at xyz." 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Course Creation Starter Kit
• Digital Course Academy Waiting List
• Brian Tracy
• #235: How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar

Research shows that only 1 in 5 people who purchase online courses complete them.

As a course creator, that stat keeps me up at night and more importantly, compels me to take action.

Over the years, I’ve become obsessed with finding ways to beat those odds. And I’m sure if you’re reading this, you want every single person who buys your course to cross that finish line as well.

If you want amazing case studies and testimonials (the best marketing fuel there is), you’ve gotta do everything in your power to not just create the best course you can — but to ensure you’re helping your students get the results they signed up for. 

Now if you’re freaking out reading that, don’t panic. I’ve done a lot of the legwork for you and I’m sharing everything I’ve got today to help you get your students from point A to point B.

Haven’t created your course yet? Even better! Thinking about these strategies before you develop your course puts you ahead of the curve.

So grab your notebook and sharpen your pencil. Even if you implement just 2 or 3 of these ideas it will make such a difference for your students’ success.

• [10:30] Emails aren’t just for marketing… a solid onboarding email sequence sets the pace and gives clear steps about what to do next. Email weekly with each module and think about where they are in the process. These emails can meet your students right where they are and get them all the way through to that finish line.
• [16:28] Set clear expectations. Let people know how long it takes to actually implement the concepts. Ask what your students need to know.
• [20:58] Accountability. You can pair people in your group together to be accountability partners. 
• [23:49] Create a weekly challenge. Pick an existing area to highlight, don't add more content (aka work).
• [25:52] Gamification or give awards for completing the challenges. Encourage good behavior and let people know you recognize them. 
• [28:48] Allow and encourage your students to put their work in Facebook for feedback. Choose a day, once a week, so people can post and ask for feedback. 
• [31:40] Course structure. Structure your course in a way that isn't overwhelming. Use short videos and frameworks that illustrate what you're teaching. 
• [35:07] Real time check-ins. Jump on Facebook live or use other resources and give clarity about those places where people are getting stuck. 
• [37:46] Have weekly Q and A's. As a course creator, you get to decide the length and frequency of your Q and A's. 
• [39:46] Manage the mindset of your students. Great content isn't enough. Your student's mindset, roadblocks, fears, and negativity need to be addressed. 
• [43:29] Bonus Strategy - create a bonus that helps students recoup the cost of the course or gets them organized or helps them find the right mindset. 

Here are the basics of our accountability cheat sheet:

• Meet once a week, same time, same place, online using something like Zoom.
• Outline three action items you can commit to doing over the next week.
• Check in on whether or not you did what you said you would do the previous week. 
• If not, what were the challenges?
• What’s your game plan to overcome these challenges next week?
• What do you commit to accomplishing for the next week?

This episode is brought to you by Gravy. If you have a subscription-model business or offer payment plans, like I do for my online courses, Gravy can really cut down on frustration and lost income. After I started working with Gravy I stopped worrying about payment plans. They contact your customers within hours of their failed payments, and they capture updated billing information and save the customer.

Our failed-payment recovery rate increased from 33 percent, when we were trying to do it internally, to over 80 percent, collecting on failed payments. That's a whole lot of saved payments. So if your revenue is currently at $250,000 or more, and you know you're losing money due to failed payment plans each month, I want to encourage you to check out Gravy. The cool thing is Gravy is waiving the setup fee for all of my listeners. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• #182: How to Mega-Batch Your Content
• Stu McLaren
• Melinda Cohan
• Rachel Cruze
• Gravy
• Course Creation Starter Kit

On this week’s podcast episode we’re digging into 3 powerful (and surprisingly simple) FB ad strategies designed to fuel your pre-launch fire.  

The pre-launch phase is that crucial 60-90 day period leading UP to your launch that can make a world of difference when it comes to increasing your reach and revenue. If you play your cards right, you’ll find out that launching doesn’t have to be hard, stressful, or time-consuming.

I’m joined by the Regis to my Kathy Lee —  my dear friend and our resident FB and IG ads expert, the one and only Rick Mulready. 

Rick’s been on the podcast before, but today he’s sharing his favorite paid traffic pre-launch tips, including: 

• How to use FB ads even when you’re on a tight budget and why you SHOULDN’T hire out your ads right away.
• The power of crafting content around objections and how to do it.
• The strategy that ensures by the time you open the doors to your webinar, your people are READY to learn from you and hear your offer.

And so much more. Make sure you have your notebook ready!

• [08:32] What exactly IS the pre-launch period and why it’s so important
• [12:22] Using video to create value and overcome objections and how best to optimize your ads 
• [21:30] You can also use video to test target audiences. Right now the more fun and sometimes the sillier or less polished the videos are the better they do. Just make sure to have good sound and lighting. 
• [25:16] Create a lead magnet that aligns with the launch, provides a quick win, and adds value. This builds trust and rapport. 
• [28:13] Try for a 90-day or at least 60-day pre-launch where you are building a list of your target audience. Run ads and get people to sign up for your lead magnet before your webinar registration. You can also create a look-alike list of your target audience to run your ad to. 
• [30:33] Why and when to use pop-up Facebook groups to create engagement and attract an audience for your launch. 
•  [38:02] How running ads consistently throughout the year will save on your launch costs 
• [40:11] Bonus strategy: Running a quiz with ads. This gives people a quick win and it's great for segmenting people to attract your ideal audience. Have a well written quiz with a really good ad strategy to go with it. 

This episode is officially sponsored by Rick's program Foundations, which is about getting started with Facebook ads and Instagram ads. It's a really great program. He teaches how to create ad campaigns in both Facebook and Instagram that will build traction and get your launch or list or group off the ground.  

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Rick Mulready
• The Art of Paid Traffic Podcast
• #168: How to Use Quizzes + Facebook Ads to Get Quality Leads With Chanti Zakariasen
• Rick Mulready on Facebook
• Rick Mulready on Instagram
• @rickmulready on Twitter
• Foundations Free Master Class

I never imagined myself having the team I do now. I also can’t imagine subscribing to the old idea of what it means to be a “boss”. 

I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't when it comes to working with a team, especially with all of the hiring we've been doing over the past few months.

That's why I was so excited to sit down with Team Building and Leadership Coach, Theresa Loe to talk about building a self-managed team.

I truly believe that building a team that’s aligned with your values is one of the secrets to not just building more revenue or success, but to enjoying the process.

If you’re thinking “Amy, I’m so not even close to ready to build a team” — hey, that’s okay! 

But when you are ready (and trust me, one day you will be and it might come sooner than you think) this is the kind of insight I want you to have so you can save yourself from making painful hiring mistakes (trust me, I’ve been there). 

Theresa has cracked the code on how to find, grow, and lead a self-managed team, and she is sharing her best insights today:

• [11:17] Having a self-managed team means putting yourself in the CEO position and having people under you who are all responsible for their own projects. When you have a great idea the team can execute and make it happen.
• [13:58] Mindset is the number one strategy for building a self-managed team. Think about what you want your day to look like, and then slowly reverse engineer how to take everything else off of your plate.
• [18:01] Hire based on attributes. Make sure they are aligned with you, your vision, and your core values. People can be trained on tools but not on character. Write down the attributes that you want then put up a gauntlet to see if applicants have these attributes.
• [26:43] Hand off responsibilities, not tasks. Make everything a project. Instead of a one-off blog post, make them responsible for content management including scheduling, analytics, and reporting.
• [29:39] Communication is key. Have a clear description of what "done" means. Be very clear about expectations but nurture your team to make decisions for themselves.
• [33:18] You can create a feedback loop by recording any changes that you had to make to a project. Empower your team with resources.
• [35:20] You can start small and hire someone for a few hours a week. You need to look at those freed up hours as gold and use them for money-making activities to free up cash to add more free hours.

This episode is sponsored by my Free Masterclass all about kick-starting your list building efforts. You need to grow your email list every day to have a healthy business. All of the social media posts in the world can't do for you what a viable email list can. 

This is one of those super uncomfortable moments when I have to admit…I don’t have it ALL figured out.

Recently, I was at the EntreLeadership live event and Dave Ramsey’s words cut right to my soul. He said, “Organizations are never limited by their opportunity or their team, they are limited by their leader.”

And the honest truth is, I regret not putting more focus on being a better leader for my team much sooner than I did.

No one is born with amazing leadership skills. They take years to develop and the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. 

Because here’s the truth: you can’t build an empire by yourself. 

Eventually, you’ll need to bring people on who stand behind your vision and are just as motivated as you are to achieve it. 

As my business grows and scales, my job is to be a visionary and show up for my team as a leader in a stronger way. I’ve always thought of my students and my business, but now it’s time to focus on creating a bigger stronger team of people who are empowered to make decisions, come up with ideas, and grow with my business.

EntreLeadership was one of the best events I’ve attended. It blew my mind. After it lit a fire under my chair to become a better leader, I knew I had to share my biggest takeaways with you.

I hope you learn from these and implement them into your business right away. Do not pass go, just do it. I promise you won’t regret it.

Here are the main takeaways:

• [15:00] There’s always room for improvement, no matter how ‘big’ your organization is.
• [16:12] Takeaway #1: Dave Ramsey shared how organizations are never limited by their team. They are limited by their leader. (This one really hit me in the gut!)
• [19:38] Takeaway #2: Henry Cloud asked, “Does your team know how you are going to win?” It’s important to define what winning looks like for yourself and then share it with your team. 
• [23:39] Takeaway #3: Patrick Lencioni dropped a major value bomb when he said that fear of conflict will stifle productivity and keep you playing small. He explained that you’re cutting yourself short if you’re not encouraging your team to show their opinions even when they are challenging. 
• [32:43] Takeaway #4: Patrick Lencioni also talked about hiring people that are humble, hungry, and smart. He explained that these type of people lack excessive ego, are self-motivated, and use good judgment with people. 
• [39:32] Takeaway #5: Jesse Itzler shared his motto of “remember tomorrow.” He encourages you to ask yourself how you will feel tomorrow about any decisions that you make today. Listen to learn how I’ve implemented the Full Focus Planner with my team.
• [43:41] Takeaway #6: Sara Blakely, the creator of Spanx, told the story of her early days in the business where she went above and beyond to educate customers on her product — she would go to the department store and talk to customers. She’s such a good example of never being too proud to get in there and do the work and get your hands dirty. 
• [48:13] Extra Credit: Write down three things that you would love your team, or your team of the future, to say about your leadership style. I’m doing this exercise too and I wish I would have asked myself this question years ago. Don’t wait. 

If you’ve been around for a bit, then you know my motto is always be list building. Now, while there are all kinds of list-building strategies, there’s one that's by far the easiest way to grow your email list, and that's by offering a lead magnet.

Through all of my endless list building experiments, I’ve learned how to create incredibly valuable pieces of content, like cheat sheets, guides, and mini-trainings.

But do you know what kind of lead magnet is the best, hands down?

A profit-driven lead magnet.

Now, I know what you're thinking... "Amy, a lead magnet is something I give away for free. What the heck are you talking about when you say 'profit-driven'?"

Here's the deal. Most of the time, when somebody signs up for your email list, they are just not quite ready to buy from you yet. When you create a profit-driven lead magnet, you are creating a tool that leads your new subscriber to a buying decision while also providing incredible value.

With this very intentional strategy, you will be generating revenue faster than you ever thought possible!

In today's episode, I talked about the three main questions you must ask yourself before you create your profit-driven lead magnet, and they are:

1. What do you currently sell or plan to sell in the future?
2. What does your ideal customer avatar need to understand, be aware of, or believe in order to want or need your product, program, or service?
3. What type of lead magnet could I create that will compliment or align with the product, program, or service I currently sell or plan to sell?

I love a good example that illustrates what I'm talking about and I've included the two examples of profit-driven lead magnets that I talked about on the show below.  I hope those will get your creative juices flowing!

Example #1: My Own Lead Magnet, "20 Smart Strategies to Rapidly Grow Your Email List"

Why Example #1 Works:

• It inspires.
• It's actionable.
• The cheat-sheet gives the what, and my course gives the how.

My ideal customer avatar and I are now in a conversation about how I can help them. Now, each week, I can continue the conversation with my ongoing weekly content.

Example #2: Corinne Crabtree's Free Course, "THREE Things You Must Know to Lose Weight"

Why Example #2 Works:

• She makes it doable.
• It gets people results (for free).
• It attracts the right audience.

Corinne meets people right where they're at in their journey. Her course name is simple, clear, and to the point. Right away on the thank you page, she shares her journey in a video (and still directs her audience to check their email for more).

Episode highlights:

• [06:49] 99% of the people who give you their email address aren't ready to buy. It’s up to you to walk them down that path. Create your lead magnet with your end goal in mind, and your end goal is to attract paying customers.
• [14:04] Example #1 my lead magnet for List Builder's Society (see image example below).
• [21:13] Make sure your lead magnet meets the customer/buyer where they are at. Profit-driven lead magnets are very intentional, specific, and sometimes only used for launches. There is a difference between a really good lead magnet and a profit-driven lead magnet.
• [26:44] Example #2 from Corinne Crabtree (see image example below).

• “Amy, can I still launch my course if I only have 500 people on my email list?” 

  Ambitious course creators ask me variations of that question at least once a week.

  It’s easy for the size of your list to become one more excuse not to launch.

  My guest today is someone who had a successful launch with a list of 750 subscribers. Tarzan Kay has had not just one but three successful launches with a small list. In this episode, she shares her tips and strategies and walks us through her inspiring launch success.

  Tarzan is a launch strategist and email copywriting expert for online entrepreneurs and digital-course creators. Her specialty is fun-to-read, more-addictive-than-Game-of-Thrones copy for digital-course launches. 

  In her own business, she uses my special webinar framework —shout out to my Digital Course Academy members! In fact, she's used it over and over to sell her own courses, fill her private mastermind, and even had the occasional $100,000 month while working 30 hours per week and being the sole provider for her family of four. 

  I know you’re going to love this episode. Tarzan’s tips are useful for anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with their list, big or small. 

  • [14:33] Start thinking about how you can build relationships with individuals on your list, so they know that you're real and that you are going to deliver for them.
  • [15:45] Launching takes courage. Those who are successful launch through the fear and keep doing it again and again.
  • [16:23] More than revenue comes out of a launch. You get opportunities to speak, be on podcasts, build relationships, partner, and more.
  • [20:12] Tarzan uses a tool called BombBomb to send personalized videos to people who were active on her webinars. She also puts their names on her whiteboard. Email your list weekly and start a conversation. You can even hop on calls with people from your list. 
  • [26:50] Tarzan knows how to speak to the different personality types on her email list… and she breaks it down for us in Game of Thrones characters to make it easy to understand.
  • [32:17] All of your emails won't appeal to everybody, but there is definitely a way to make them appeal to more than one group at once.
  • [35:44] The number of people replying to your email is a great metric to judge whether they liked it or not.
  • [37:01] A nurture sequence comes after a new subscriber has opted in to get your freebie. Put a lot of energy into showing them your personality.

  Click here to listen now!

I get so many questions about LinkedIn. You’ve been asking how to use it for your audience, for list building, and what’s working right now.

I decided to bring in the big guns and invite world-renowned LinkedIn expert Viveka von Rosen on the show. Viveka is the author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day and LinkedIn: 101 Ways To Rock Your Personal Brand: Grow your network and build your business!.

She is also a personal branding expert, LinkedIn Learning author, international keynote speaker, and has been recognized as a top LinkedIn and social media expert. She contributes to many major publications and has even been featured on two movies about social media. She is co-founder of Vengreso which provides digital sales solutions.

I’m so glad to have her here today to talk about what is currently working on LinkedIn, strategies for B2C clients, what is coming up with video and LinkedIn Live, and so much more. She even gives us actionable steps to transform our profile to sell in a non-salesy way and use content to nurture and grow relationships.

• [06:08] Diving deeper is the strategy that worked for Viveka. She was also able to learn the platform inside and out, build relationships, and stay top of mind with her audience.
• [14:25] You can repurpose blog posts on LinkedIn by clicking on "write an article" and pasting that article in LinkedIn Publisher. Other great ways to repurpose content is to add images to your article, create a PowerPoint presentation, and publish it as a document. Videos can be uploaded as native video or in the soon to be released LinkedIn Live.
• [16:07] Position yourself as a thought leader. Make your background image about your product and have your summary read like a sales page (but not salesy). Who are you helping? What are their pain points? What is your solution?
• [21:47] Selling is about being human and relationships. Know your audience and speak to your audience and don't worry about people self-selecting away from you.
• [27:51] The secret recipe is to share something every day and create a long-form post once a week. For the long-form post use 1200 to 1400 characters and emojis to share something of value. Shoot and upload a relevant video or PDF, PowerPoint, or infographic for 10X the number of views. Use LinkedIn messaging to create a sharing fan club.
• [33:22] A great way to get access to a B2B prospect is to interview the influencer in that company. This is how Viveca and Vengreso have been able to start the conversation for six- and seven-figure deals.

This episode is brought to you LinkedIn Marketing. If your goal is to target your customers where they're engaging every day and when they're ready to make a buying decision, I want you to consider LinkedIn.

When you advertise on LinkedIn, you're attracting potential customers and fostering relationships that often translate into high-quality leads, website traffic, and higher brand awareness. Go to LinkedIn Marketing to redeem a free $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Viveka von Rosen on LinkedIn
• @LinkedInExpert on Twitter
• Vengreso
• Viveka@Vengreso.com
• Viveka von Rosen Facebook Page
• LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day
• LinkedIn: 101 Ways To Rock Your Personal Brand: Grow your network and build your business!
• LinkedIn Security. Who's Watching You?: The Guide to Staying Safe from Personal and Professional Harm While Using LinkedIn.
• LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Special Offer
• Human to Human Bryan Kramer
• Sue Zimmerman
• Goldie Chan LinkedIn Live
• Brian Fanzo LinkedIn Live
• Cathy Hackl LinkedIn Live

If you asked your customers or fans what you were known for what would they say?

We’ve all got that special something that we want to be known for. That thing that attracts your customers to you effortlessly and grows your audience with ease.

That “it” factor, what your known for, is the foundation for your positioning.

It’s also the path to increase your profit and purpose.

Over the years I have seen so many people stop themselves from confidently staking their claim on what they want to be known for out of fear of getting put in a box.

The truth is, you can’t create a recognizable brand if you’re not known for something specific. And you can always pivot (just ask me or my girl Marie Forleo).

This episode is dedicated to helping you figure out a game plan for what you want to be known for and how you’ll share that secret sauce with the world.

Listen in to get these five specific ways to get clear on what you’re known for (and more!).

1. [16:09] Clear messaging. Where do people start with you? Where are they at the beginning of the journey? This is a great place to start the conversation and create a lead magnet. Starting in the right place can lead subscribers down a path.
2. [18:44] Talk about what you are known for a lot. Weave in these topics into everything that you do and always come back to it. Only talk about your area of expertise and to an audience that is a good fit.
3. [22:05] Stick with it. You will never be known for something specific if you are constantly dabbling in a bunch of things. You can be passionate about a lot of things but narrow your business down.
4. [23:42] Don’t be afraid to ask people to share with you what they think you are all about. Ask a couple customers or fans what you are best known for.
5. [24:32] Consider putting together a framework, method, or blueprint that you can go back to as a foundation. This is probably something that will evolve over time. When you see people gravitating towards it, you know it’s your thing.

Alright, my friend, I hope you’ll take this info and run with it to position yourself for lasting success.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Weight Loss for Busy Physicians with Katrina Ubell, MD
• Phit-N-Phat with Corinne Crabtree
• The Life Coach School

Let’s be honest here. Writing copy can be hard, but it’s an important almost mandatory skill for new business people just starting out. In fact, I wrote all of my own copy my first few years of business, and I suggest that you do the same. Become a student of copywriting. The more you do it, the easier it will become. Today, I’m talking about a technique that will help you build up that oh-so-important relationship with your ideal avatar.

This technique is by Ry Schwartz an expert copywriter who writes a lot of my copy. He also teaches copywriting and my audience loves him. This method is called Coaching the Conversion. It's all about writing copy in a way that will resonate with your ideal customer avatar at a really high level and will meet them right where they're at. It will help them feel as though they know that you see them and you hear them.

I actually think it's important that you write your own copy for the first two years of your business. You need to truly understand your ideal customer. Writing copy for your ideal customer is an intimate experience. It really should begin with you. It will make you a better entrepreneur and a better communicator overall if you take the time to perfect your expertise.

After this episode, you will walk away with golden nuggets that will help you transform your next promotion. I even share one of my best converting ads and break it all down for you step-by-step.

Coaching the Conversion Method in 4 Steps

1. [10:34] Shift your mindset about how you feel about being a copywriter. Look at copywriting as a means to coach your ideal customer through a transformation by using words that make them feel seen and heard.
2. [13:47] Know your ideal customer avatar like you know your best friend. Sometimes you have to read between the lines and know-your-customer intimately. Clearly understand their pain points, desires, and what makes them tick.
3. [17:42] Use their words. It's important that you reflect back to them what they are feeling and what they are saying. Keep a running list of words and phrases that they use. These are pure gold for copywriters.
4. [19:24] Remember that coaching the conversion walks your potential customer along the path from where they are now to where they could be or where they want to be. The first part of the path is your weekly content then you move on to coaching opportunities inside a webinar. Then send post follow-up emails.

A Concrete Example from One of My Highest Converting Facebook Ads:

How long have you been waiting to finally have the confidence to go all in on building and selling your digital course? Six months a year more. It took me a while to get started to.

I was scared I'd fail, and guess what? I pretty much did. My first course only made me $267, but I stuck with it and 7 courses, 42,000 students, and 8.7 million dollars in revenue later. I've learned a thing or two, and I want to share all that with you. Register for free here (and then I give the link).

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Free List Building Masterclass
• Ry Schwartz
• Episode #235: How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar

Any Oprah fans out there? If you are a diehard Oprah fan like me, then you probably watched Season 25 of Oprah Behind the Scenes, and you probably remember Executive Producer Sheri Salata. She was also co-president of Harpo studios and OWN. I remember watching a scene from that special that showed Sheri waking up in the morning with her bulldogs getting ready to go to the Oprah show, and I thought how does she do it all?

It turns out Sheri has a fascinating story. She had reached the heights of her business career when she decided to reinvent herself and find more balance in her life. She woke up and realized that a career of her dreams wasn’t enough. She set out to reinvent herself with a job and life that are one and live her life to the fullest.

If you have ever felt stuck or in a rut, you will love Sheri’s story of reinvention and using happy as a compass. Sheri is the author of The Beautiful No, the owner of The Pillar Life, and co-host of The Sheri + Nancy Show. This is a powerful episode as Sheri shares her wit and wisdom in a way that only a true storyteller like Sheri can.

• [08:16] Sheri shares what her life was like as executive producer for Oprah before day one of life after Oprah.
• [11:13] Sheri had a great story for her book. She started in an entry level position for Oprah at the age of 35. This was the 3rd or 4th time she started over, and she reinvented herself again at age 56.
• [13:58] You don't know your in a rut until you're out of it. Forcing yourself to jump the track and breathe new air makes life more interesting.
• [16:28] Sheri had a dream come true career but not a dream come true life. She had to do a serious reckoning with the tenderness of hearts to get to the core of the kind of life she dreamed of.
• [19:44] At a Shamanic ceremony in the desert, Sheri learned that to start with a fresh page you have to let go and clear the slate.
• [24:05] Sheri and Nancy built a business around living and doing things for a better life and then reporting back about it.
• [28:01] Sheri switched her story about working out. She is a storyteller, so she told herself a new story that inspired her using words like power, flexibility, renewal, and recovery.
• [30:55] Awareness is everything. How not to make misery your compass. When happiness is your compass, you are keenly aware of what feels good. These are clues that your destination is lovely and wonderful.
• [36:58] The amazing story of how Sheri landed her job at Oprah. You don't want to miss this story! It's also the basis for the title of her book The Beautiful No.

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is the perfect platform to market your business. Marketing your business is all about reaching the right audience at the right time and connecting with them when your message resonates the most. So, if you want to target your customers where they're engaging everyday and when they're ready to make a decision, I want you to consider LinkedIn.

In fact, four out of five customers who are on LinkedIn are decision makers at their companies. You can see some incredible traction with your LinkedIn ads. If you want to redeem a free $100 dollar LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign on LinkedIn go to LinkedIn.com/Amy.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Season 25: Oprah Behind The Scenes
• The Beautiful No: And Other Tales of Trial, Transcendence, and Transformation
• The Sheri + Nancy Show

• $100 LinkedIn Ad Credit
• Jennifer Rudolph Walsh on LinkedIn
• Karen Rinaldi
• EP 85 We’re Going Keto-Green™
• The Pillar Life

Is there something holding you back in your business? Today, I’m talking about that ONE EXCUSE that may be holding you back from taking that next step that will really propel your business forward. This excuse holds many people back, and they don’t even know it. It’s kind of like a snake in the grass, where you don’t even know it’s there until it slithers up and STOPS you in your tracks.

I’m also going to show you how to identify this excuse in all its many forms and how to breakaway from this cycle with a simple technique that anyone can do. It might not be easy. It might not be comfortable, but being able to take action even when it’s not easy or comfortable is key to progress. Moving forward even when you don’t have all of the answers can get you unstuck and start the positive momentum you need to move the needle forward in your business.

• [05:09] Not moving forward because you are stuck is an excuse that can take many forms and hold you back.
• [09:42] The way to get past this is taking imperfect action even when it is messy and uncomfortable.
• [10:57] How I took imperfect action with my team bonus structure. I approached it like I knew what I was doing and put together a plan to the best of my ability. I NEVER have to start from scratch again. That's what imperfect action does!
• [16:21] You have to have something to show when you ask for feedback.
• [18:10] You have to make a decision and produce something. The hardest place to be is starting from scratch. Get beyond this point, even when you don't have all of the answers. That's how to get stuff done!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Group
• Episode #255: What's Keeping You Safe Is What's Keeping You Stuck
• Free List Building Masterclass
• Amy Porterfield on Instagram

You want people ready to buy when you launch your course, but how do you do that? This episode will explain exactly how to be intentional before your launch, so that your customers will be ready to buy when you are ready to sell. You need to start the relationship building early, because people buy from those that they know, like, and trust. I am going to share a powerful marketing strategy that you can use to seed the idea of your course before it is ever launched.

You will be priming the pump in a transparent and authentic way that makes people hungry for what you have to offer. I’m going to give you three powerful tips that you can intentionally use to get your buyers ready and excited to buy from you when you launch. This mini lesson will give you actionable ways to talk about your course in a natural way that doesn’t sound salesy and gets people excited about what you are offering.

• [06:49] The best way to hit your goals during your launch is to be incredibly intentional before your launch. You want to position yourself as your audience's guide, so they recognize you as their go-to source. This priming period is all about how you show up for your audience.
• [10:33] Use stories about your journey or your students journey to seed your course. This will make the struggles more real and tangible. Think about your students and where were they, what did they struggle with, what held them back, and what helped them move forward. Understand the difference between a story and a testimonial and use both of them.
• [15:59] Talk about specific lessons, formulas, frameworks, or strategies that are in your course. I created a framework and then showed how it came to life with a step-by-step of a webinar that made me over three million dollars in one launch. Give names to your lessons and formulas.
• [20:03] Create exclusivity. You want your non-students to want to be part of your special insider community. Shout outs are a great way to share that you have something special. When people see you talking about it, they want to be part of it. Do it in a loving mindful way.
• [22:47] Don't be afraid to talk about your course multiple times in multiple ways. Weaving your product into the conversation naturally never sounds salesy. In order to make the seeding strategy work, you have to launch when you say you are going to launch.  

This episode is brought to you by my Free Masterclass all about list building. One of the ways that you can be incredibly intentional when you aren’t launching is to build your email list every single day.

The energy of your business is directly tied to the strength of your email list, and so that’s why you hear me talk about list building so much on my podcast, in my Facebook lives, and in my private Facebook groups and in all my courses. List building is essential to the growth of your online business. Get my Free List Building Masterclass.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Free List Building Masterclass

I've been noticing a theme lately and it's the idea of less is more. I have been really busy this first quarter and am looking forward to a season where I can slow down. But to be honest, this scares my entrepreneurial brain. I associate slowing down with achieving less and making less money. In spite of this, I firmly believe in my core that I can do less and still make a huge impact and hit my big goals.

My friend Kate Northrup is someone who did just that. She slowed down and discovered that her earning didn’t decrease. She even discovered that by listening to her body and noticing her seasons, she could get more done by doing less. She even wrote the book Doing Less. The book goes into detail on how to do less, create a bigger impact, make more money, and create space to do those things that matter. This episode is incredibly actionable, incredibly valuable, and you will learn a lot about yourself that you didn't know.

• [13:27] The 40 hour work week isn't evidence-based and it's not results-based. A 55 hour work week leads to a 33% increased risk in stroke and a 13% increase in risk of coronary disease. A 49 hour week is associated with poor mental health. There is a diminishing rate of return on hours put in.
• [15:59] Men have a cyclical experience of energy based on their hormones every 24 hours. Women have a cyclical experience of energy based on their hormones every 28 days. Productivity and time management systems assume our lives are based on a 24-hour cycle. We both have the ability to get just as much done, but in slightly different ways. The four phases line up with the energy of the seasons.
• [21:33] Very few people can be in a state of high concentration for more than 4 or 5 hours a day. Multiple things at the same time makes us miss things and make mistakes. Get clear on your goals. Set a timer for every hour and write down what you were doing. Then ask if they are connected to your result.
• [34:03] How to map out which tasks should be done and when. Ask yourself how much energy you have as you plan your week and then have 5% to 10% of your activities based on your energy and then get done what you need to get done. Listen to your body and things will work in alignment. Our bodies are our source of energy and creativity.
• [39:43] Simplify. Ask if things are in flow or in friction. Simplify wherever there is friction. Learn how to get results with the least amount of steps. Find what works for you.
• [45:37] To do lists can be overwhelming. Make a weekly list instead of a daily list. This gives you grace and space to make things happen. Ask if it NEEDS to be done. Does it need to be done by ME? Does it need to be done NOW?

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is the perfect platform to market your business. Marketing your business is all about reaching the right audience at the right time and connecting with them when your message resonates the most. So, if you want to target your customers where they're engaging everyday and when they're ready to make a decision, I want you to consider LinkedIn. In fact, four out of five customers who are on LinkedIn are decision makers at their companies. You can see some incredible traction with your LinkedIn ads. If you want to redeem a free $100 dollar LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign on LinkedIn go to LinkedIn.com/Amy.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Have you ever thought about adding a membership site to your business model? How does the idea of recurring revenue in your business sound? Revenue coming in every single month, rain or shine, launch or no launch… Sounds good to me!  

Many of my students are course creators and the idea of adding a membership site on the backend of their course as a way for their customers to continue working with them really does seem to be the next right step in their business.

My students aren’t the only ones getting on the membership site train...In fact, I’m in the process of adding a membership site to my own business and what I’ve learned over the past year about the power of combining memberships and courses is nothing short of revolutionary.

If you tuned in last week, I spoke with the membership site guru himself, Stu McLaren, and we went through the 10 most burning questions about membership sites and boy have we heard from a lot of you of how helpful that episode was and how it has inspired many of you to take that next step.

Well, you know I love a good story, so I wanted to hear from some course creators who added a membership site to their business mix. I wanted to hear the good, the bad and the ugly, straight from their mouths, so I jumped on Facebook Live this week and interviewed three people who’ve added a membership site on the backend of their course as a way for their customers to continue working with them and to be able to receive the post-course support that is so important to their continued success.

You’re going to love hearing from these three rockstar entrepreneurs and believe me, they have the results to prove that memberships and courses go together like peanut butter and jelly.

So let me tell you a little bit about each of my guests. They’re in completely different industries but they all have one thing in common…they have successfully combined their courses with memberships.

Listen to your students when they tell you they want more of you...

Jamie Swanson is a busy mama of six who teaches other photographers how to work with entrepreneurs and influencers who need a steady stream of images to grow their personal brand. Her course teaches photographers how to pivot their business from whatever type of photography they’ve been doing before, maybe family portraits, weddings, etc.) to this new hot market for personal brand photography. After finishing Jamie’s course, her students were constantly asking how they could continue working with her. She knew a membership site would serve them best. Listen in as Jamie shares her biggest fears about opening up a membership site (hello, content treadmill!), how she’s embraced a simple model that her students love and her whopping conversion rate when she opened up her membership site to her existing students.  

Think your course is too niched for a membership site?

Think again! Jesse Mencia teaches hand-lettering to Spanish speaking women, as well as how they can turn their hobby of hand-lettering into a business by selling their beautiful products. Jesse started with a six-week course, but quickly saw the need for continued support after her students finished up her course. Once again, her students wanted more and they were willing to pay. Listen in as Jesse shares her inspiring story.    

From rock solid copywriting foundation to confident business building...

Belinda is a copywriter who teaches aspiring copywriters how to gain confidence in working with clients, hone their craft and build thriving copywriting businesses. Now, listen carefully because we’ve got a theme going on here...Belinda’s students, like both Jamie and Jesse, told her they wanted more from her. When they gained confidence in their copywriting from her course, the next right step was to learn how to build and scale their businesses, and that’s where her membership site came in. Listen in as Belinda shares how she runs her membership site and how she’s adding some new promotional strategies to the mix.

Each of these ladies has had great success and they all golden insights to share, such as…

• How to batch 10 weeks of content in one four hour block
• How to share your membership with your course students
• How a membership site helps your best students to get greater results

If you’re curious about how you can combine a membership with your course, you won’t want to miss this episode!

And if you want more of the secrets that have helped these ladies succeed, you’ll want to sign up for my dear friend Stu McLaren’s FREE workshop, Recurring Revolution.

Sign up here!

So many of you have asked me questions about setting up a membership site so you could serve your audience in a bigger and deeper way. Well, I thought I better bring in someone who knows membership sites in and out, and directly ask him your burning questions, all about membership sites. I like to call Stu McLaren the Membership Man. He is, hands down, the go-to source for all things membership.     

In 2008, Stu knew something had to give. He was burning the candle at both ends providing one-on-one services to clients. While his business would be seen as successful by most because the money was there, he was trading time for dollars and this was not the answer to where he saw his future. Especially one with kids in it, like he and his wife were hoping for.   

Long story short, Stu decided he needed a new business model to take what he was already doing and share it in a more leveraged way -- a model that included recurring revenue. Upon the suggestion from a friend and business mentor, he started a membership site. Not only did he create a membership site for himself, but he saw a need for a tool for implementing a membership site, so he set out and created one.

Throughout his time working with the 70,000 clients who flocked to use WishList Member, the membership software platform Stu created, he learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t when it came to creating a membership site and he joined me on my podcast today to share all of that wisdom.

Here’s a snapshot of what we covered in our chat where I asked him the 10 most burning questions that you, my listener, asked:

We covered…

• The difference between a membership site and a course
• What kind of content you need to have inside your course
• How to manage the content creation process
• Pricing your membership site
• Launch strategies and options for membership sites
• Having your course as a prerequisite for you membership site
• Launching with webinars
• Incentivizing members to join

Bottom line, almost any business can benefit from having some type of membership site. And it doesn’t have to be a lot of work to invite members in, or to create content every month. The beauty of a membership site is that you get to leverage your knowledge with the content you provide and the recurring revenue that a membership will bring to your business.  

Here are some of the highlights from this episode:

• [8:23] Question #1…  the main difference between a membership site and a course
• [22:04] The Four Primary Pieces of Content you need for your membership site every month
• [26:40] You Don’t Have to Do It Alone - What Inspired John Gallagher, founder of HerbMentor to facilitate a tribe of experts. The content does not have to fall on your shoulders.
• [28:39] How to decide what content to release and when to your new members (and how to simplify)
• [31:49] Pricing your membership site and the important distinctions between offering membership first or your course first
• [37:09] What you MUST know about pricing your membership site
• [40:22] Open or closed launching, and how Jennifer Allwood scaled her membership site from 700 members in three years to 1,200 new members in 5 DAYS
• [47:12] The secret to the ONE and only ad that made Stu buy (and how you can apply it to your membership site)
• [51:37] How Nicholas Wilton recruited 180 members from a single webinar before he had even created his membership site
• [57:48] Paint Store Owners, Fitness Experts, Dog Trainers, and other surprising examples of membership site founders
• [1:00] The misconceptions you don’t need to buy into

Stu brought so many great insights ton how to make a membership site work for you. This was truly one of my favorite episodes of the podcast.

And there’s so much more where that came from! If you’re wondering whether a membership site can work for you, or wanting to know how to grow your existing site, I highly encourage you to join Stu’s free workshop by visiting amyporterfield.com/stu.

Join us both and listen to the episode now!

This episode is brought to you by Tribe. Join the free TRIBE Workshop today and learn how to Turn What You Already Know, Love, And Do Into A Successful Membership Business.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

One of the best ways to sell your product is to get out there and tell people about it. This isn’t always easy! After this episode, you’re going to be armed with strategies to confidently talk about your product like a pro.

After an exhausting launch, I found myself mindlessly flipping through channels and stumbled upon an infomercial for Bye Bye Foundation with IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Lima. This is a woman who knows how to SELL her product to the tune of millions and millions of dollars.

I noticed that Jamie talks about her product in a very specific way. The words she was using… the way she repeats herself… it was like magic! She was seamlessly talking about her product the way I’d like to talk about my own programs while on webinars and Facebook Lives.

I began studying her work and really paying attention. I discovered that she has very specific strategies for talking about her product, so I broke those down for you in this episode. I also give you some tips and tricks to apply Jamie’s expert strategies when talkinb about your own products.

Grab your free cheat sheet here!

The Seven Secrets for Talking About Your Product Like a Pro:

• [06:51] Solidify your verbal tagline. A verbal tagline is something that you say over and over again. Create an inspirational or motivational tagline that talks about your product.
• [10:34] Tell what it is. You’ve got to be clear on exactly what it is you’re selling. It may seem obvious to you, but it may not be to your potential customer. You want to highlight what is most important about your product, program or service through the use of very concise phrases or words.
• [13:58] Tell what it's not. You just need one or two sentences of what your product is not. Find one or two things that you know your audience doesn't want because that allows you to then move into what it IS in an inspirational way. This contrast can be very powerful.
• [16:08] Tell why it's unique. There are likely multiple ways your product, program or service is unique, but it’s important to highlight ONE specific way it’s very unique to set you apart from your competition.
• [20:37] Identify a few core themes. Come up with verbal themes. Jamie uses the words “different” and “deserve” a lot as her theme words. A theme word I use when I talk about my programs is “doable”. It’s important to have some themes that are constant when talking about your product, program or service.
• [26:09] Future pace with an intentional one-liner. Future pacing by beginning a sentence with “Imagine…” will help your potential customer look at what’s possible, or what’s ahead for them. You want them to get excited and future pacing will help them to envision a better future for themselves if they purchase your product, program or service.
• [28:23] Choose testimonials that speak to all of the above. When getting testimonials from your customers, make sure to ask the right questions to get authentic answers that talk about your product in a way that mirrors how you talk about your product.

I've created a cheat sheet that will walk you through these seven secrets in detail but will also prompt you to create each of these snippets on your own so that you have them when you go into your next promotion. Grab the cheat sheet here!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Jamie Lima
• IT Cosmetics
• Blue Ocean Strategy

As entrepreneurs, we’re driven by our passion and ideas. There is never a lack of projects and things that need to get done. Even worse, we often jump from one task to the next as we try to get caught up with our endless list.

Does it seem like you never have enough time in the day to get the important stuff done? Are you frantically trying to whittle down that endless list? We all get caught up in this cycle. That’s why I’m so excited to have Michael Hyatt back on the show.

Michael says:

“It's almost impossible to accomplish anything significant when you're racing through an endless litany of tasks and emergencies. And yet, this is how many of us spend our days, our weeks, months, years, sometimes our entire lives.”

Michael operated like this for years when he was an overworked and stressed executive at Thomas Nelson Publishers. Michael, now on the other side of this unsustainable and unhealthy work pattern, has cracked the code on a system of productivity and focus that is designed to help you avoid burnout in your business.  

Michael was tired of working harder and accomplishing less. It’s FOCUS that drives our businesses and our personal lives. In this episode, Michael shares the principles from his new book Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less, so we can accomplish what matters.  

The Free to Focus System:

• [07:34] Productivity is really about freedom. Freedom is a BIG reason people get into business. The book covers four freedoms: The freedom to focus. We need sustained focus and concentration. The freedom to be present. This is the freedom to be 100% present with whoever you are with. The freedom to be spontaneous, and the freedom to do nothing.
• [12:12] There are also three phases to Freedom to Focus. They are Stop, Cut, and Act. The first three chapters focus on Stop. First, you need to formulate a vision of a more productive future. Then evaluate the work you are doing using the freedom compass. And always rejuvenate and take time for self-care. Formulate, evaluate, and rejuvenate.
• [14:22] Using the Freedom Compass:
  • True North is where passion and proficiency come together.
  • South is the drudgery zone. Things your not passionate about or proficient in.
  • East is the disinterest zone. Things you are good at but not passionate about.
  • West is the distraction zone. Things you enjoy doing but aren’t good at.
• [18:11] Things on your freedom compass that you love and are good at are in your desire zone. This is where you should focus the bulk of your energy. Eliminate, automate, or delegate everything that's not in the desire zone.
• [30:41] Michael plays mythbuster to the objections that entrepreneurs have about delegation. Hiring a VA enables you to repurpose time for more valuable activities.
• [35:46] Act also has three steps. They are consolidate, designate, and activate. To consolidate avoid context switching and batch activities.
• [38:53] Designate is designing your year by identifying three goals for your quarter, week, and each day. Imagine how powerful your days would be if you accomplish three important things on a daily basis.
• [43:00] Activate is about managing the interruptions. Check in before going into a deep work session, so you won't be interrupted. Turn off notifications. Let technology serve you.
• Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• MIchael Hyatt
• Lead to Win
• Thomas Nelson
• #101: How to Intentionally Design the Life You Want with Michael Hyatt
• Achieve Conference
• Warren Buffett
• The Power of a Positive No
• BELAY
• Priority VA
• Your Best Year Ever
• Full Focus Planner
• Jason Fried
• Digital Minimalism
• Freedom App
• Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less
• Girl, Stop Apologizing

Are you making it as easy as possible for your followers to buy from you? Is it possible to put out too much content? Many of us, myself included, struggle with thinking more is more when it comes to the products, services, and programs that we offer our potential customers.

It may seem counterintuitive, but offering MORE can actually make people click away!

Giving people too many options can cause decision fatigue and your potential customer will click away from your blog or video without signing up or purchasing from you.

We’re living in an age with options everywhere. If it takes too much brain power for someone to decide on something, they're out. It's your job to make it as easy as possible for your followers to make a decision. Your audience will be much more apt to buy if you present them with less offers that are better quality,

In this episode, I help you determine the fine line of less is more when it comes to content. Did you know that a person is less likely to buy if given too many choices? I’ve got a study to prove it to you.

I’ll also help you understand why it’s important to have flow, and a clear beginning, middle, and end. Want to become a go-to guide in your field? I’ve got that covered, too.

These three foolproof steps will help you narrow down the options that you present to your audience:

1. Listen to your customers. Be intentional about hearing what your customers are asking for. If you listen closely, your audience will tell you exactly what they want.
2. Carefully watch your audience's behavior. Where do conversions take place? Where can you narrow down your options?
3. You cannot fear pivoting when necessary. Notice patterns and trends with your audience and do more of what’s working and cut out what’s not working.

Your next clear step: Have a 15-minute brainstorming session and write down what you offer. Ask these questions. Does it feel like too much? Is it clear?

Click here to listen now!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!