As humans, we are hardwired to connect emotionally with visual content. Pictures in particular--we process them very quickly--faster than text, video, or audio. Pictures allow us to make a really quick decision about whether we are going to engage with something.

It's no secret that some of the most successful brands in the world owe their popularity to their visual content strategy. Notice I said strategy--in other words, not just any visual content will do.

Fortunately, one of the world's biggest experts in visual social media and content strategy is also a good friend of mine.

You probably know Donna Moritz already as the power behind Socially Sorted, the award-winning blog about using visual content on social media. I know her as my #1 student from the very first Profit Lab course I ever launched. She's also shown up on this site more than once.

But today, Donna is here to school me--and you--in how to set up a visual content strategy that supports your sales and sends your message.

She's also put together an amazing freebie for us--a three-part video series that walks you through the process of creating polished imagery. This is where you'll learn how to use all the tools mentioned in this episode. Trust me--it's a must-have.

Before she became the renowned expert she is today, Donna learned all the ins and outs of visual content strategy through simple practice. After working in several different businesses--sometimes for others, sometimes for herself--she saw how visual content really created that initial resonance with a target audience that makes them want to learn more.

The main thing with your visual content is to "stop the scroll"--in other words, arrest your audience's attention so that their finger pauses above their mouse or smartphone screen, and they take the time to engage with your message.

The more Donna learned, the more excited she got about the potential of various kinds of visual content. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer variety of visual content styles out there, don't worry--Donna is here to break it into three basic levels.

These are the really easy-to-create, easy-to-share individual images that would be on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Think funny photos, behind-the-scenes shots, images that incorporate quotes, tips or other short bits of text. They are really a good jumping-off point to lead into a longer message.

Here is a sample batch of quote images, observational humor, business tips, questions and motivational images ready to go (and all created on Canva and WordSwag).

These types of images are designed to increase reach and engagement.

Shareable images get their strength from their simplicity. But that doesn't mean you can only use them for short, simple concepts. By attaching an image with a call to action or link, you can increase shares (such as retweets on Twitter) and generate more visits to your blog or other "landing content."

Also, remember that tweets with images get retweeted twice as often...so post images!

Remember, on all platforms, it is important to keep a balance of your own helpful and entertaining content, and curated content from other pages or businesses. This earns you the right to post some promotional images with calls to action.

You can also work with your designer if you want to save time (and money) or can't design the images yourself. Ask your designer to create a template which you can then add text to.  This way, you can create a series of quotes or tips using a great design, but reduce the cost and time involved in hiring a designer. One image becomes many!

Using this template, she can create multiple images using a tool like Canva or Picmonkey

2. Step-by-Steps

Checklists, how-to images and tutorials are all great examples of "Step-by-Step" images. This format is deal for sharing procedures, systems or "secret sauces" with your community.

These images work particularly well on Pinterest and get shared a lot.

This kind of visual content doesn't need to be fancy or even overly designed--they just need to be helpful and easy to use. Remember, people love shortcuts...so with these images, they're probably going to look right past the bells and whistles of a great visual design to get to the content you're offering!

Social media expert Andrea Vahl did a great series of simple checklists to help her readers on her blog.

3. Showpieces

Showpieces are the pieces of content that require more investment of time and resources but are most likely to bring better return in terms of sharing and traffic. This includes infographics, slide decks and short video.

 

Donna recently posted a blog of her own about these three levels of visual content, with even more info about each one. It's called "9 Ways to Take Your Visual Content Up a Level," and it's definitely worth checking out.

Don't miss all of Donna Moritz's tips on where and how these three levels of images work. Click here to listen to Episode #61 in full.

Get Creative

If you're reading this and thinking it doesn't apply to you because you're not a "creative type," think again! The amazing tools that are available out there right now--tools like PicMonkey, WordSwag and (my personal favorite) Canva--are set up so that anyone can create simple but stunning visual content. Don't worry if you don't have a "designer's eye"--these tools have templates so that all you have to do is plug in your favorite background, choose a font you like, and voilà! Beautiful, polished, eye-catching imagery.

One important thing to note, however, is that size matters. Different platforms will have different optimum size requirements for your image. Donna has a blog post all about that, as well--just click here to find her 5 Social Media Size Hacks for Quick Visual Content.

There's so much more to learn about visual content strategy in my interview with Donna, so make sure to listen to the whole episode. Also, click here to get the amazing freebie she designed for us--it's a three-part video series where she walks you through the specifics of how to create images. It's a must-have for anyone who's ready to put their visual content strategy into action.

When it comes to communicating the value of a product or service, Ray Edwards is a true legend in the industry. I met him way back in my corporate job days when my boss hired him to work his magic on a new sales letter for a product we were launching. That was when I saw the true power that words can have in generating sales and building a business. Since then, I decided to become a devoted student of copywriting, and a student of Ray’s, in particular.

Fortunately, Ray loves teaching, and he’s very generous with his expertise. You may remember him from way back in Episode 33, but I wanted to have him back to help you dive even deeper into the techniques of writing sales copy that gets results and comes from the heart.

What Counts as Copy?

Ray often encounters confusion about what constitutes “copy”…how is it different from simply writing?

"The first level is sales copywriting, which is the copy that is on the sales page—where we ask people to press a button and buy something from us.

"On the other level, though, I believe that all writing is meant to persuade people either that they can do something, or that they should do something."

Basically, if you’re writing something to either empower people so that they feel they can do something, or to persuade them that they ought to do something, you’re writing copy.

…I’d say that applies to just about everything I write for my business, wouldn’t you?

As our freebie for this week, Ray is graciously offering more than 100 email and headline templates that he uses for writing amazing copy every day. Click here to get them now!

Why Is Persuasion So Important?

In a perfect world, we could just say “Here’s what I have, it’s good, buy it if you want to,” and all the right people who need our product would click Purchase. But the thing is, we’ve all become really smart, and really skeptical.

Ray points out that even Apple isn’t immune to the need for writing sales copy—they’re just so good at how they present it that we don’t realize we’re consuming their copywriting!

Very few of us like thinking about “sales writing.” It makes us think of smarmy used car salesmen, trying to con hardworking people out of their money. Ray is familiar with this aversion to copywriting, and here’s how he explains the way to avoid sounding “sales-y”:

"I think people get confused about persuasion versus manipulation. I like to define the difference this way: persuasion results in you making a buying decision that you will celebrate later; manipulation leads to you making a buying decision that you will regret later.

"The key to guiding your clients toward a decision they will celebrate is—no surprise—knowing your clients really well! You think of the problem that you’re solving, and you write about it from the perspective of the person who has the problem, and you describe their pain. Someone once said that the more accurately you can describe the pain of the person you’re selling to, the more they feel as though you automatically have the solution to the problem.

"There’s plenty of brain science that tells us that almost all, if not all, of our decisions are made emotionally. All the rationale that we come up with is to support the emotional decision that we’ve already made. If you can just support the emotions that they’re feeling, and you can do it with integrity—you really do have the solution—then you don’t really ever have to sell hard, or even push to sell. You just give the persuasive story of why what you have is going to help them, and they’ll make a buying decision."

Whew. Great stuff, huh?

Get even more of Ray's insights on how genuine, emotionally persuasive copy can make selling a breeze. Click here to listen to the whole episode.  

Okay, now let’s get into the nuts and bolts of writing great copy.

Ray has a couple of frameworks that he teaches anyone who is trying to improve their copywriting skills. The first one is called...

The "Pastor" Framework

This one gets its name from the original meaning of the word “pastor”—having to do with being a shepherd. (Kind of an old meaning of the word…look it up.) Not only does this word help you remember the purpose of your business—to help and take care of people with what you sell—but it also just happens to be a handy acronym for setting up the points of your sales page.

P — Problem

Recognize the pain that your client is experience. Describe it to them. Empathize.

A — Amplify

Specifically, amplify the consequences of not solving that problem. This is probably one of the biggest secrets of making a sale—that it’s less about telling people how cool your product is, and more about letting them understand the long-term cost of not getting a solution for it.

S — Story

Every solution has a story about how it was discovered. You’ve heard me tell how I discovered the solution to online marketing that became the sales funnel I teach in the Profit Lab. How did you go from being a person with a problem to being an expert with a solution? This is the “meat” of your sales page.

T — Testimonial

You follow up the story of your solution with the stories of people who have used your solution. The more variety your testimonials have, the better—it shows that your solution can work for anybody.

O — Offer

This is where you say, in plain English, what you’re offering to your clients. You want to focus mainly on the benefits, here—less about the deliverable and more about the results of owning that deliverable.

R — Response

Ask people to take action.

This last piece of the Pastor framework brings up an important point that should be present in your copy:

Any Decision Is Better Than No Decision

Ray says that he would always rather have a potential client say “No, that product is not for me” than have them not take action but constantly wondering if maybe they should.

Bad sales copy leaves people with a feeling of burden or pressure, that they should make a decision, but they’re not sure, but they’ve got to decide soon because the window is closing, maybe they should shop around more, etc.

Good sales copy, on the other hand, can be extremely passionate in expressing “I really think this is the right decision for you!” while still showing that you’re only interested in your client making a decision that serves them. And it doesn’t serve them to constantly be on the fence!

The "Buyer’s Journey" Framework

You’ve heard of the “hero’s journey,” the kind seen in epic movies or classic novels—this is basically the same, but seen through the lens of copywriting. As a copywriter, you’re leading your reader through this mental journey, step by step.

Step #1: The Existing Situation

You identify the pain that the buyer is in.

Step #2: The Dream Solution

You contrast how the client’s world is right now, and here’s how they wish it could be.

Step #3: Discovering the Trusted Guide

You bring in the reasons why they should trust you to lead them on their quest for this dream solution.

Step #4: Presenting the Unique Solution

You announce that there is a dream solution, and you’ve found it.

Step #5: Describe the Features

This is the more “physical” description—what’s actually contained in this solution.

Step #6: Describe the Benefits

Explain what each of the features does for the person who uses this solution.

Step #7: The Transformative Offer

Tell them what they have to do to access the solution. (Click a button, make a phone call, etc.)

Step #8: Present Proof

Bring in the stories of others that have used this solution.

Step #9: Justify the Value

Acknowledge the cost to your buyer of making this decision, and explain why it's valuable. You can draw comparisons to other similar products out there, to show how yours is more valuable for the cost.

Step #10: Eliminate Fear and Risk

A buyer’s biggest fear is not that you don't have the solution, but that you’ll rip them off. So frame your offer in a way that takes the risk on yourself, and relieves all the buyer’s fear.

Step #11: Offer Bonuses

These should offer value that relates directly to your product, and that enhances or magnifies the benefit of the product.

Step #12: Invite a Decision

Emphasize that you are genuinely interested in your client making a decision that serves them.

Make sure to listen to my full podcast interview with Ray Edwards--we covered so much more than I could fit into this blog post! And don't forget to sign up to receive more than 100 templates for writing your own persuasive headlines and emails. This is the stuff that Ray normally offers only to students of his copywriting course, so you're not going to want to miss it!

One of the business guides I return to again and again is the book Great Leads. This book tells you everything you need to understand about communicating with your audience in a way that cultivates the relationship and results in increasing sales.

No matter how many times I've read this book, I'm always blown away by the statistic they open with:

“80% of emotional impact will be determined by the first 20% of the copy.”

Did you know that? Because I sure didn’t!

The first few hundred words of your copy are known as “the lead.” And if those first hundred words are the entryway to a sale, your headline is the front door that every client has to walk through, in order to get to your product.

Of course, what you really want is for them to be stampeding through!

To get this, you need a killer headline for your sales page.

Four Essentials of a Killer Headline

#1:  The Rule of One

Readers don’t want to hear everything you know about a topic. Instead, they are looking for just a single, useful suggestion. Something they can take action on and see results.

In advertising firms, they refer to this as the Rule of One--focusing on one powerful emotion within your reader.

Too many ideas sends the reader’s mind in too many directions. You can use any number of different stories, predictions, statements or promises, but they all have to support that one Big Idea that your reader will grasp immediately.

Here are a few classic examples of headlines that use the Rule of One:

• “Is the Life of a Child Worth $1 to You?”
• “When Doctors Feel Rotten, This is What They Do”
• “How I Improved My Memory in One Evening”

When you stick with this Rule of One, it makes the copy stronger AND it makes writing the rest of the sales letter easier.

Learn how to use the Rule of One in our free guide--click here to download it now!

#2: You need to provoke emotion.

Strange but true fact: people respond to emotion before they respond to reason.

So you need to grab your readers' attention by appealing to their current emotions. Once you have their emotional attention, they'll give you their intellectual attention so that you can convince him with all the great reasons to become your client.

Here are some examples:

• “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” This one appeals to the emotion of fear--nobody wants to be helpless in this situation!
• “Do you make these mistakes in English?” This headline appeals to the emotion of insecurity--that you might be making a mistake and everyone knows it but you.

#3: Determine Which Lead to Use

Any advertising or marketing offer can be categorized as one of these six major types. The trick is to determine which type of lead is the best setting for your Big Idea.

The Offer Lead

• “I Guarantee That You Will Shoot Your Lowest Score Ever on Your Next Round of Golf!”
• "Don't Pay One Penny Until This Course Turns Your Mind Into A Mental Magnet” 

The Promise Lead

• “A Hollywood Smile in 3 Days”
• “Build Your Memory in 4 Short Weeks”
• “Grow $500 into $4.8 Million”

The Problem-Solution Lead

• “Do You Have a Secret Fear of Losing Your Job?”
• “Don’t Put a Cold in Your Pocket”
• “Feel Stronger Fast”

The Big Secret Lead

• “The Strategy That Turns Every $1 Into $50”
• “The Only Investment Legally Obligated to Pay You 181% Gains”
• “An easier, more foolproof way to garden — anywhere”

The Proclamation Lead

• “Warning: Your PDR is Obsolete” (I don’t even know what a PDR is, do you? But I definitely don’t want mine to be obsolete!)
• “Why Most 20th Century Medicine Will Soon Become Extinct”

The Story Lead

• “They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano...But When I Started to Play!”
• “15 Rivers to Cross ... and only 7 bridges Here’s how we were able to bring you … THE GRANADA"
• “I’m writing to you from our shelter tonight…”

All these leads are super fun to play with. If you like getting creative, you’re going to love experimenting with all these.

Get more info on these lead types, including what type of audience responds best to each one--listen to the full episode on iTunes.  

#4 Determine Your Reader's Awareness Level

Finally, to determine the most effective lead for your sales page, you need to know what your target market already knows about:.

• Who you are
• Your product
• The research behind your product 
• Their own problem
• The possible solutions

The awareness of your target market can be divided up into 5 different levels of awareness, from completely unaware to well-informed and already raving about your brand.

Now here's where it gets fun: each awareness level fits best with a certain kind of lead. Once again, knowing your audience really well is the key to communicating your offer in a way they can't resist!

Want to learn how to practically put this all together? Click here to download our free guide.

Creating a Gateway for Your Ideal Customer

As you might remember from earlier episodes, there are a few different ways to determine your target market's awareness level. Go back and listen to Episodes 55 and 56 if you need a refresher.

Or, if you're ready to take a deep dive into the strategies for finding your ideal audience, you can sign up now for the Profit Lab--but hurry! Registration is closing soon, and today is the last day to get a massive "early bird" discount on this course.

Finally, click here to download this week's free guide--it will walk you through each of these four essentials to create a killer sales page headline of your very own.

Last week, I put out an invitation on my Facebook page. I invited you to throw all your questions about online marketing at me! What do you want to know? Where are you stuck? What are you confused about?

Well, the overwhelming majority of the questions people posted on my Facebook page were about--surprise!--Facebook. And the questions showed me that it's time for a major reframing of how we think about Facebook. Most people are just not looking at Facebook in a way that's going to serve them.

And since my mission is to help you get results with your online marketing, including your Facebook marketing, we’ve got to address that...stat!

The Facebook System that Changes Everything!

Larissa asks:

"How do I increase my FB followers? It seems I have hit a plateau. Also, I don’t want to spend copious amounts of money with FB ads…I feel they keep changing the algorithm to line their pockets by making you pay for advertising through them, and no one will see your post."
If you feel this way about Facebook ads, then I’m guessing they haven’t been working for you. And believe me, I don't want you using Facebook ads if you're not generating revenue.

This is where we need a reframe. I want to help you see FB as a place where putting in a little bit of money will result in bringing back a lot of money.

The first thing to realize is that Facebook ads cannot work on their own. You have to incorporate them into a social media sales funnel--a system that turns your fans and followers into subscribers to your email list, and turn those names into paying clients. 

I know lots of people who make money every week from Facebook ads, but they aren't just using that ad to send people to their sales page. They're using those ads as part of their sales funnel system. That’s the key to getting the Facebook marketing results you’re looking for.

Showing Your Value to Your Fans

Toni asks:

"We have a children’s clothing website. We have 4000 likes. But only 700 people have signed up for our newsletter. What is the best way to get Facebook “likes” to sign up"
A lot of people are focused on how many “Likes” they have, and are scratching their heads at low organic reach. This is happening to everyone. Free organic reach is way, way down. No matter how many Likes you have on your page, it’s entirely possible that very few of your fans are seeing your posts!

This causes a lot of people frustration—why should I have to pay to get my fans to see my posts? I won't sugarcoat it--these changes to Facebook's algorithm do kind of suck for people who have worked hard to build their Facebook following.

You could get frustrated and abandon ship...or you could start to look at Facebook differently.

Paying will get your posts seen by more people...so you want to make sure that they're seeing something that makes them want more.

To get your fans to engage—sign up, respond, make a purchase, take any kind of action—you have to make sure you're offering them something they see as valuable. 

In Toni’s case, it might be a discount, free shipping, an add-on product. If you sell information or education, you want to give away some of your valuable information for free.

I did one recently called the Product Maximizer—it was a report that I gave away offering four strategies to make more sales online. I knew my audience needed more sales, so I knew it would valuable to them. And it just happens to be a little piece of exactly what I offer for sale!

Remember, the number one area where Facebook is most valuable is in turning fans into email subscribers. The email list is where you can really cultivate the relationship with your customers.

Take a minute right now to brainstorm a valuable, irresistible giveaway that you could offer and try a Facebook ad built around this freebie—say you spend $10 a day for three or four days—and see how many people sign up for your newsletter (or email list) when there’s a free giveaway at the end of it!

Get even more of Amy's answers to your Facebook questions! Click here to listen to the whole episode on iTunes.

Boosting vs. Paid Ads

Kate asks:

"I’m gradually realizing that organic reach has been pitiful in my recent posts. I 'boosted' a post for the first time yesterday. I got more likes and engagement, and it was seen by 2500 people. Is this the way forward? Is there any point in not boosting a post anymore, and relying on people seeing it organically?"
I’m so glad you asked this question! "Boosting" a post means you’re spending a little money to get more of your fans to see that post. I don’t think that’s the best use of your money. If you’re going to spend money, it’s much better to spend it on an ad that gets people to sign up for your lead magnet.

Remember, people “liking” your post does not translate to a real customer relationship! Email marketing does that. 

How to Make Your Business Bloom

Tara asks:

"I would love to see a visual of how your business blossomed. I mean, there are so many things we’d like to do in our business, but how did you prioritize the tasks over the years, and most of all, what makes sense to do what when?"
Back in 2010, I’d just quit my corporate job. I didn’t have a product ready to sell yet, so I took some social media consulting clients. By the end of 2011, I looked at my business and thought “Freedom is a joke!” I was a yes machine to 8 bosses, practically chained to my desk but never working on what I really wanted to do. I’d tried to sell a couple of my programs, but they never went anywhere…much like what some of you are feeling!

We all talk a lot about freedom when building our businesses, but there’s not really freedom when you’re not generating revenue!

2012 is when I hit upon the importance of this sales funnel system. With a product to sell and a lead magnet to capture interest, I fell in love with Facebook ads, because I realized how to make them work!

The secret to my business blossoming is all in using this system.

I don’t want you going to bed each night worrying about where the next dollar is going to come from! All that does is squash your creativity and confidence.

Instead, I want you to wake up excited to build your business each day, enjoying the freedom to work on all the projects that help your business grow, and taking time for the rest of your life.

What Would $5000 Mean for You?

Before closing, I want to ask you this question:

If you had a social media sales funnel running on autopilot in your business, making you $5000/month for you, what does that mean for you? What does that free you up to create, to dive into, step out of? 

*The masterclass registration has passed but to be sure to stay on the list for future webinars! Subscribe to my list or checkout one of my free cheat sheets here.

In case you haven’t noticed by now, I want you to succeed.

It is genuinely important to me to help you reach that place in your business where you can say, “Yes, I made it; I love my work and I love my life!”

But there is something else that is equally as compelling that I want for you:

I want you to enjoy the journey—the process of making it all happen.

If you’ve been with me for a while you know that I often talk about the kinds of strategies that have worked for me, that I know can work for you too. Things like building your email list early in the game, effective ways of using Facebook to engage with your audience, and the importance of having a marketing plan—knowing what you’re going to do before you set out to do it.

I stand behind all of these things 100%, but there is something else you need to know. Something so critical it can actually make or break your online business dreams.

I'm talking about what you believe regarding your ability to achieve success in your business.

Now before I dive into these 3 things that you have to believe in order to see the results you are yearning for, we need to dip a toe into psychology first.

The thing about belief is that it’s one of the few things that you can’t be taught to do. You and I both know that you don’t just flip a switch to believe something. That’s because belief is not an outward action that you take; instead, it’s a state of your inner being.

I can teach you how to do a lot of things, but I can’t teach you to believe.

Because belief is such an individual experience, it’s important from the outset to identify how you most often come to believe something for yourself.

Do you believe…

• Based on your own experience
• Based on the experience of others
• Just by acting “as if”
• Because it seems to make sense—logically or intuitively
• By trusting a mentor
• Having an “aha moment”
• The opposite hasn’t worked for you

It's okay if you need to think about this and can’t answer right away. Maybe there are even several answers to how you believe, not just one on the list. It’s just something to keep in mind as we continue talking about the three critical beliefs you need to have for success in your business.

The 3 Beliefs You Must Have to Achieve Success in Your Business

Belief #1 - I believe that one of the biggest strengths in my business is knowing my target market intimately. Knowing how they think, what they need, and what words and emotions they use to express themselves is crucial to my success.

Belief #2 - I believe that I am not alone, shipwrecked on a desert island needing to have all the answers myself. I thrive and my business thrives with a few core mentors that I trust and can turn to again and again.

Belief #3 - I believe I have a great idea (product/service) that will impact people’s lives, and that my idea needs a clear and easy-to-navigate system to generate sales.

Whew…how did that feel? Chances are that at least one of these beliefs…and maybe all three…felt like a big effort for you to even read, let alone internalize.

Maybe it felt too audacious, too daring, to really own those beliefs for yourself. “I’d like to believe those things, but I don’t know if I’m really the kind of entrepreneur she’s talking about here.”

Maybe you felt skeptical. “Yeah, down the road maybe I’ll believe those things, if things work out well…”

Maybe you’ve just lost so much confidence in the past few months that reading those beliefs made you even more hopeless. “I wish I believed those things—I used to believe them. It would be nice to think that something that simple could turn things around.”

Listen to Episode 57  for Amy's insights on how to restore your confidence and increase your sales.  

Understanding the Three Beliefs

Let’s examine each belief more closely and see what’s important about it.

#1 Knowing Your Audience

Would it benefit you if you could step into the minds of your readers and listeners and customers-to-be? You bet it would! This essential ingredient is so powerful because it allows you to create core messages that you know will instantly attract your perfect audience.

Knowing your target market takes time and strategy, but it will boost your confidence more than anything else. When you can speak to your audience like you’ve known them for years, and they feel that you “get them,” everything else you do to build your business is a cakewalk.

There’s another big advantage to understanding your audience intimately: you become congruent with your business. What this means is that your vision for your business and what is actually happening in it come into alignment. You get up close and personal with your mission—the reason you started your business in the first place.

#2 Finding Your Mentor

It is tempting to think that running an online business is a solo venture. After all, we sit for hours oftentimes by ourselves, building and communicating through a computer screen. It feels isolating, but at the same time, a lot of people think that it’s the only way…that being “self-employed” means spending most of your time by yourself.

I promise you, nothing could be further from the truth! “Self-employed” simply means being your own boss…and guess what? The best corporate bosses in the world actually seek out contact with others—their peers, colleagues and employees. That’s how they learn what’s working and what's not in the way they run their company.

The same goes for entrepreneurs like you and me. I know a lot of very successful entrepreneurs out there, and I don’t think I can name a single one that doesn’t have some assembly of mentors, advisors, and team members helping them sort through all the information and advice that’s out there, to find the best way to run their business.

I did the same thing, early on in my business—I chose a few people I could connect with and relate to, and made them my virtual mentors. I signed up for their courses, followed their blogs, listened to their podcasts, and basically became a mini-stalker online. I was their student and I trusted the road they set out for me when it came to building my business.

I can’t tell you what an amazing confidence boost it is when you know who to turn to, when things get rough. You immediately stop feeling overwhelmed and inadequate; over time, you actually start thinking like the expert you’ve been following. This is the turning point, where you know YOUR BUSINESS WILL WORK and you will succeed.

#3 Having a System

In order for you to stand out amid all the noise of the internet, to be noticed and taken seriously, you need a system to keep you from getting off course. You can think of this as a roadmap that makes it absolutely clear and easy to navigate your message into the minds and hands of your customers.

Maybe you feel like your business is too small to really get a sales system in gear—your product is still new, your website isn’t very fancy, you want to “clean house” (so to speak) before you put together a powerful marketing system. Think again! EVERY BUSINESS, no matter what stage you are in, needs a sales system.

Here’s the thing: powerful doesn’t mean complicated. A sales system can be incredibly simple, run on its own steam, and produce revenue daily. You set it up and boom—your business is moving forward. From there, you can add the bells and whistles of advanced sales strategies to gain momentum in your already thriving revenue stream.

In fact, simplicity is the key when it comes to your roadmap for taking effective action. Once you have the system and understand how it works, you can take your business as fast and as far as you want!

Get more of Amy's secrets for how to keep your sales strategy simple and stress-free.  Listen to the full episode.

The Consequences of Not Having the 3 Beliefs

Okay, now you understand what these beliefs are for.

Let's talk about what happens when you don't have them.

If you don’t believe it’s that important to identify your ideal customer on a deeper level, your attempts to engage leads will miss the mark. It may be subtle at first, but you will be wondering why that spark just isn’t there. You don’t want to go down that road because this lack of deeper connection will keep you desperately striving while keeping your pockets empty.

If you believe that you must figure everything out yourself, or that your business is better off without the input of mentors, you will lack the connection you need for your business to thrive. You’ll keep trying every new thing that comes along in hopes that it will bring you success, and never gain momentum.

This one hits close to home for me, because I’m remembering what my own business was like, before I had a sales system in place. Let me tell you from experience that this foundation is not only critical to your success—it is mandatory. If you don’t believe that a sales system is important for you, or if you believe that it’s too early for you to implement, there’s a good chance that your wonderful idea, product, or service has a good chance of never seeing the light of day.

I want you to have a System in place for your business, because I know you need one. Which is exactly why I created this FREE Master Class to walk you through the steps you need to take to get a simple system up and running in your business, quickly. Just click below to join!

Why You Need These 3 Beliefs

I said at the beginning that belief is a tricky concept, because it’s not something I can teach you. I can only tell you, and back it up with my story and many others. But at the end of the day, the best proof of a belief is to look at your own situation.

If you don’t have these beliefs, how are things going for you? Is your business on track with your vision? Are your sales what you want them to be?

And if they’re not, isn’t it time to change your beliefs?

I know it isn’t easy at first. It’s scary to change, to risk spending money or time on learning to do things in a new way. Don’t let fear hold you back.

The purpose of belief is to shape the actions we take. And as soon as you begin taking action on these beliefs, you already have them. You will feel the difference inside you—you’ll feel your confidence growing, and your sense of purpose will feel more grounded than ever.

Before long, you’ll also be seeing the difference on the outside—more email subscribers, greater audience engagement, and an increase in sales.
I want all of that for you, from the bottom of my heart.
I would love to hear your experiences in the comments below. Have you tried a system that has worked well for you? How are you getting to know your audience? Do you have the kind of mentorship you need to succeed? Keep moving forward and know you are not alone!

Don't forget to join me on my FREE, Master Class where I'm revealing the EXACT marketing system I use (and where Facebook fits into it to!) generate multiple sales every single day.

*The master class registration has passed, but be sure to stay on the list for future webinars! Subscribe to my list, or check out one of my free cheat sheets here.

There are two kinds of content in this world: content that attracts and content that sells.

It's easy to spend all your time and effort focusing on the second part. Eyes on the prize, right? And believe me, I want you focused on that end result.

But it's crucial to remember that the end result needs a strong beginning. In other words, you'll never get to that sale if you haven't attracted the people who want to buy your product!

Today is all about the first half of the sales equation.

The more you craft content geared toward your ideal customer, the more sales you'll make. And these won't just be one-time sales. You'll be talking to people who want to buy from you over and over, because they feel connected to you and your product. When you create content that makes them feel understood, that communicates an empathy for their situation and an excitement about helping them with your product, they are going to be watching their inboxes for your emails and jumping up and down each time you launch something new.

These are the people you want to find, right?

So let's talk about how you can reach them.

First, the Good News...

When you know your target market really well, creating content for them becomes incredibly easy. We talked last week about creating a survey that helps you get inside the heads of your target market. Once you're there, you'll be able to instantly rattle off ten things they need...

Which then become the topics of each piece of content you create.

Let me jump ahead really quick to tell you that our free giveaway for this week is a list of inspiration boosters for creating magnetic, empathetic content that your audience can't resist. Click here to get it now.

What Counts as Content?

Ready for some more good news? Everything you do online is content.

A Facebook post counts as a content piece, whether it's video or words or simply an image. So does a tweet. An email (whether to your whole list or just a segment of it), the text and imagery on your landing page, a free giveaway, a podcast, a thirty-minute webinar...

You get the idea.

We all have our favorite places to post content. Maybe you're Twitter-happy and can post 140-character quips all day long. Or maybe you love doing quick video updates from wherever you happen to find yourself.

So don't worry if you're not the world's most prolific blogger. If you're making your voice heard online, you're creating and posting content, and you are ahead of the game.

Consistency Is Key

This is one thing I have learned from all of my mentors: the people that are most consistent in terms of posting content beat out the competition in reaching any given market.

This is because consistency is one of the primary ways you earn the trust and respect of your target market. They come to rely on hearing from you every two days, or every other Thursday, or whenever it is that your regular updates take place. It's less important how often it is, and more important that it happens on a regular basis. I'll say it again: Consistency is Key.

Believe me, I know how hard this can be. It seems like every time I get on a roll with posting content regularly, a product launch derails my schedule and all of a sudden I'm scrambling to come up with new content.

For me, the key to being consistent is batching. For instance, with this podcast, I come up with lots of topics in advance, and get started right away with creating and scheduling episodes, coming up with images, queuing the social media updates...the whole nine yards. This way, I don't find myself scrambling (as often!) on Wednesday afternoon for something to post the next morning.

Simplify by Diversifying

Okay, so say you have a lot of fun within creating short Facebook videos, but your brain dries up the second you sit down to write a blog. Does that mean you should abandon writing and just rely on Facebook videos to communicate with your audience?

Definitely not. First of all, you're going to miss a huge segment of your potential customers by relying on only one form of content. Second, there are just things that a blog can communicate that videos can't...and vice versa! You don't have to do all kinds of content in equal measure, but if you want to reach as many people as possible, you're going to want to use as many different kinds of content to catch their attention in all the places they might be hanging out.

Fortunately, every idea you come up with for one kind of content can be easily translated into a totally different piece of content. Your videos can be turned into a blog post. Your blog post can be turned into a slide deck. Your slide deck can be turned into a series of Twitter images.

In other words, creating different content pieces just got a lot simpler.

Open the Conversation

Obviously, even with all these ways to repurpose your existing content, you're going to have to create new original pieces sometimes...you know, so that you can repurpose them later!

This is where you really tap into the insights about your ideal customer that you learn through sending the kind of survey we talked about last week. These insights help you spark a conversation that surprises your customer with how well you understand them, how "heard" they feel.

Here are some prompts to initiate the conversation with your audience:

• Identify the #1 question you get asked all the time…and answer it.
• What should your ideal customer be asking you that they are not asking yet?
• What are your top three posts on Facebook in the last six months?
• Which experts does your ideal customer find valuable, or who do they really value the opinion of?
• What could your ideal customer talk about all day long?
• What is your ideal customer most afraid of?
• What does your ideal customer need to know about you?
• What is your ideal customer posting on Pinterest/watching on YouTube?
• What is your ideal customer’s “want” and what’s the Trojan horse you use to deliver it to them?
• What could help your ideal customer right now?

Get more of Amy's insights on creating content, including an interview with social media maven Donna Mortiz. Listen to Episode 56 in full. 

Our free giveaway this week has even more of these inspiration boosters for helping you create content. It also has a list of 20 specific ways you can repurpose your existing content in fresh new pieces. Click here to get it right now.

In the last several weeks, I’ve been getting a product ready for launch. It’s called the Profit Lab…or, if you want the full title,

The Profit Lab:  How to Create Marketing Systems In Your Business So That You Can Find Your Target Market, Grow Your Email List and Sell More Products

I launch this product twice a year, and every year, I recreate it so that it stays fresh and valuable, even for people who have gone through it before. I make new videos, I rewrite the worksheets, all that good stuff.

This year, as I’ve been getting this product ready for launch, I wanted to make sure I was truly connecting with my target audience. After you’ve had some success with a product, it’s easy to start coasting on that success, which means you stay the same while your audience continues to grow and change and develop new needs. Not my style.  ;-)

To find out more about my target market, I needed to find out:

• Where they are at, in terms of their business goals and growth.
• What they needed from me
• Where they were struggling, not just in their business as a whole but with the versions of the Profit Lab I’d released before.

Knowing all this was going to help me tailor this new version of the Profit Lab into exactly what my target audience desperately needs right now.

So I put together a survey. And the responses knocked my socks off!

The thing is, I knew who my target audience was, but I didn’t really know them the way I thought I did. The survey gave me a chance to understand how they think, what kind of language they use, what keeps them up at night, and why they come to me as opposed to anybody else in the online marketing world.

I learned so much from this experience of surveying my audience that I wanted to share some of those insights with you…how to create a survey that gets you into the minds and hearts of your target audience, so you design, redesign or market your products in direct response to their needs.

The result of this will be that you sell more of your products to them.

And don’t worry if you’re just starting out and your list isn’t that big yet. You can still design a survey that gets you these answers and helps you build your list...and I’ll tell you how.

I've also got a great freebie for you to download this week, which will give you lots more insight on creating a survey, as well as how to use the information it yields. Click here to download it now!

First Step: Design Your Questions

Remember, your survey isn’t a Gallup poll. You’re probably not trying to find out whether your audience is in their 20s or their 50s, if they are male or female, or other information like that. So before you start drafting questions, take a minute to think about what your survey is really trying to find out about your target market.

We all know that endless surveys with loads of questions get really, really boring. And you want to steer clear of that with your survey. So make sure that your questions are all focused on the goal of learning something specific about your target market that relates to the product you’re offering them.

You want to include bigger picture questions that give you a clearer picture of who they are and how they define success, as well as more focused questions, such as what products/services in your niche they're already using, and what specific needs do they have that aren't being fulfilled?

To get more in-depth guidance on how to design your survey questions, click here for the full episode.

Second Step: Get People Engaged

Obviously, the first step in the survey process is putting together something that they will agree to participate in.

While it never hurts to offer an incentive to entice people to take your survey, it’s a lot more effective to create a survey that is as painless as possible.

Contrary to popular opinion, a survey doesn’t have to be dull or dry. You can create a survey that is quick, enjoyable, and creates excitement around your upcoming product. Simply take the same approach you would with designing a product, answering a complaint, or anything else that involves interacting with your client: offer them a great experience.

Here’s how:

• Give the survey your personal touch. Write it the way you’d write your blog, your emails, or anything else. This actually increases your rate of answers.
• Make the experience as user-friendly and smooth as possible. Use a platform that you’ve vetted for bugs.  (My favorites includes Survey Monkey and Pop Survey.)  Make sure it’s very mobile friendly, so that people can complete your survey while they’re waiting at the doctor’s office or sitting on the subway.
• Skip the long intro whenever possible. The people who receive your survey already follow you on social media or are on your email list...so they already know who you are and what you’re about. No need to announce your survey with anything more than a subject line that conveys the survey’s purpose. (“Help Me Improve My Product with Your Feedback” or “Tell Me About Your Fitness Goals.”)
• Keep in mind that answers are for action. When creating questions on your survey, ask yourself this: “What kind of action will I take with the answer to this?” If the answer is “Nothing,” or you simply don’t know, don’t ask that question. There’s no purpose. You should limit your time (and the survey taker’s time) to questions that have a tangible purpose.

Want more specifics on how to make your survey fun and informative? Click here for the full episode.

Third Step: Getting Your Survey Out There

• Email to your list. Studies have found the highest survey open and click-through rates occurred on Monday, Friday and Sunday respectively.
• Promote online. Several survey programs (like Survey Monkey and Poll Daddy) have an option that helps you with this.
• Embed in a post on your own blog and as a guest blogger
• Link to your survey on social media. Again, some survey programs have a code that lets you embed the survey easily into Facebook.  (Make sure to click the “Like” button after you post because this will allow it to go viral faster.)
• Post your survey on LinkedIn
• Post a short video on YouTube explaining why you created the survey and encouraging your audience to take a few minutes to complete it. Give your viewers the URL and also post a link under your video on YouTube.

What if My List Isn’t Big Enough?

You don’t need hundreds of responses for a survey to be valuable. If you’re still working to build up your list, create your survey and reach out to ten friends or colleagues that you think would be your ideal customer. Ask them to fill out the survey, and also to pass it on to just one other person they know like themselves. You can learn about who your audience is from just a few people filling out these questions.

In addition, you can use Facebook Ads to promote your survey. Or you can put links to your survey in your blog post and guest blog posts. When you’re getting ready to make your blog post live, make your opt-in the survey. Offer readers an incentive in exchange for taking your survey--a chance to win something, a link to premium content, a limited-time membership to your service, something like that.

There are tons more suggestions on how to design your survey in this week's free download. Click here to get it!

The Bottom Line

Sending out a survey is kind of like going on a first date. If you spend the whole evening trying to make sure the other person understands you, you’re probably not going to get to see them again. But if you spend the whole time asking them questions about themselves, you’ll come away with a really good understanding of who they are, and whether you have what they need.

When you’re creating this survey, don’t think so hard about what you’re trying to accomplish in your business. Think about getting to know your target market, and the goals of your business will fall into line.

I hope you’re buckled in, because my guest this week is an online business expert who is renowned for “telling it like it is.” Ramit Sethi is a master communicator who pulls no punches. When it comes to sheer mental confidence, there's no one quite like him in the online marketing world.

As a result, he’s had massive success in developing products that get huge results for his clients. His secret to developing these products is just one of the things we discussed in our interview. Our conversation was a great mix of lessons on mindset and tactical product creation strategies.

You should really listen to the whole interview, because there's way too much to fit into a blog post. But here are some of the highlights:

Redefining a Rich Life

Ramit’s landmark book is called I Will Teach You To Be Rich. But the strategies he teaches in this book and elsewhere aren’t aimed exclusively at people who want to blow $5,000 on a weekend in Vegas (but if that's your jam, Ramit thinks it's great!). Ramit says that the rich life is different for each person. For many of us, a rich life simply means being able to work from home, take our kids to work with us, building a business where money is automated and we can focus more time on the things we love.

In other words, money is an important part of having a rich life, but money is not the whole picture.

No matter how you define a rich life, Ramit says it all comes down to just a few big “wins.” If you get just five or ten of these wins, you don’t have to sweat the small stuff, and you can focus more on the things you really love.

How Fear Will Hold You Back

Ramit talks candidly about the toxic influence of fear, which gets in the way of achieving these big wins. You’d never know it to hear him talk now, but Ramit himself struggled a lot with fear in the early days of starting his online brand.

"I had been writing my blog for about two or three years and I had never made a cent. I didn’t want people to think I started my blog just as a way to make money because that was never the intention.

I was absolutely petrified that people would not buy it or, even worse, that they would call me a sell out. You can see it in the sales copy that I wrote. The way I wrote that sales copy was so cowardly.

I literally said, 'Why should you pay for this? I know you can find a lot of stuff for free.' My self confidence was so low that anyone would buy it that … I literally tried to defend it before they even bought."

But people did buy it. And they thanked Ramit for putting his information out there. What’s more, those buyers ended up opening his emails, joined other courses he offered, and took action on the things he taught them.

"The real people, the people I actually wanted to focus on, were buying and they were delighted to pay."

In other words, Ramit had found his target market. (Want to listen to the entire interview?  Click here now!)

Learn to Fail Well

If you read Ramit’s blog, you’ll find a tag in it labeled “Failures.” This is where Ramit keeps an ongoing log of the things he has tried that haven’t worked out. Believe it or not, even go-getters like Ramit crash and burn sometimes. He even told me about one occasion, not that long ago, where one of his courses had a flaw in it so bad that within an hour of releasing it online, he was getting refund requests from people who had just purchased it!

Ramit says he has trained himself to look at failures not as catastrophes, but as tests. Every failure reveals data, he says, and every bit of data you get is pointing you in the right direction.

In the situation above, if he’d simply decided his course didn’t work and then moved on to the next one, that would really have been a waste of time, effort and resources. Instead, he took it as a test of the course’s weak points, found the problem, fixed it, added some new material, remarketed it to a different group, and ended up building massive success.

"My belief is if I’m not adding multiple failures to that every month then I am probably not trying ambitiously enough. If you go talk to a successful person and ask them to tell you about their failures they ask you if you have all day, because they have 50 things they have had problems with."

The Making of “Zero to Launch”

Ramit’s latest course is one that he calls his most ambitious ever…which is saying something! In our interview, he gave me a behind-the-scenes tour of how this product was put together.

• A luxury experience. Ramit’s products are carefully tailored to the client who buys them, for their expertise level and for their needs right at that moment. He compares the experience to visiting a great tailor or hairdresser, where you don’t even have to tell them what you want—you just sit down and let them work their magic. Similarly, Ramit’s clients can trust the material to guide them through every aspect of what they’re learning.

• 1 answer instead of 20. As with all his products, Ramit did thousands of hours of research while creating “Zero to Launch.” Clients, he says, don’t want to sift through the “Ten Best” or “Twenty Best” options—they trust him to curate the best one for their specific need. So Ramit vets all the best resources that are out there so he can choose the best one. Simple, easy, and a big relief for his clients.

• Don’t always listen to conventional wisdom. Ramit’s sales emails are sometimes ten pages long…something nine out of ten marketers willl tell you is a big no-no. But Ramit has found that his market loves his long emails. They open them, they read them, and they follow them. That doesn’t mean you push yourself to write ten-page emails; instead, figure out what’s right for your market. To find this out, Ramit strongly encourages the use of surveys. Surveys are the surest way to find out what your audience wants from you, and how you can serve a niche that your competitors are overlooking.

Do I Need to Be Rich to Get Started?

A lot of people may wonder, after reading Ramit’s content, whether they have to be rich already to implement his strategies. Ramit says no…it’s all about starting from where you are now. After all, if you put all your money into a fancy email provider or a slick website design, you have nowhere to build to…and you might go broke before you have a chance to build your audience!

A lot of the strategies Ramit teaches are doable with less than a few hundred dollars. Setting up a website, creating surveys, and a lot of payment providers and technology out there are almost free. What really matters, he says, is your commitment to finding your clients and listening to them.

"Most people don’t need more money. They need to focus on following the right action steps, to listen to their customers, and create something their customers will pay for."

One More Thought

This was a quote from the interview that was so good, I had to share it:

"So many people right now believe they have something the world needs. But you created something the market doesn’t really want. So this is a huge problem. If you’ve created something they don’t want or if you are putting it in terms they don’t want, it doesn’t matter how fancy your design is or how cool your conversion technology is. If you are getting tepid reactions you are not getting a real pain point. But when we have created something that they desperately want they will do anything to get it. They say, “Tell me now, take my money, here you go.”

That’s when you know you have a winner.

To listen to my entire conversation with Ramit, click here now.

Today’s topic is very near and dear to my heart.

We are talking about how to find your calling--what you were put on this earth to do.

Even those of us with jobs we love can sometimes feel unclear on whether we're really making the best use of our talents and utilizing our passions to the fullest. Even I find myself in this place sometimes, wondering if I'm on the right track or if certain decisions or circumstances are causing me to veer off course.

I know there are a lot of you out there who feel this way. You have talent to burn, and dreams of putting your best out into the world. Some of you are hustling hard every day to make those dreams a reality. Others of you haven't found the right opportunity yet, and are maybe working hard at a job that...well, let's just say a job that you don't really love, that doesn't quite fit the size of your aspirations.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a 9-to-5'er, happy in your work or desperate to get out, my interviewee on the podcast today has a tremendously empowering message about finding your calling no matter where you are, and taking steps toward doing the work that you are built to do.

His name is Jeff Goins, and he just released a fantastic new book called The Art of Work.

Take a minute to look through it by clicking here.

If you order it now, you can also get $250 worth of free bonus material, including exclusive access to Jeff himself, a workbook, extra video features, all kinds of good stuff.

There are lots of books out there about how to find fulfilling work. You've probably read a few of them. Jeff's book really stands alone, though, because he's not delivering his message from a pedestal of wealth or prestige. Instead, he offers beautiful stories of real-life people that have found their calling in a multitude of different ways. He gets into the day-to-day stuff that, if you pay attention, helps you discover what your calling is.

This was such a great interview, you should really just listen to it on the podcast. But I'll give you a few highlights from my talk with Jeff:

What Is a "Calling," Exactly?

Contrary to popular belief, your calling is not the same thing as your passion. Passions change as we mature, learn what really matters to us, and refine our understanding of what kind of impact we want to have on the world.

Calling has more to do with purpose. Jeff says it's not a single moment of sudden understanding; it's more a lifestyle, a constant evolution of understanding what you're here for.

It's Never Too Late

...Or, as some of you may be dreading to ask, when is it too late for a person to find their calling?

If you've been in the same line of work for a while, it's easy to think that you're stuck in the track you've created, and that your current job is simply your "default" calling. Maybe you feel like you wasted your past, that the opportunity to really take hold of your purpose has passed you by.

Jeff says that couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, he tells me the story of how he found his calling as a writer after being quite well established in a marketing career.

I wanted to change my life. I was one of those people who had one job, and it was a good job. I kind of felt guilty for not loving it. But I wanted something else.

Jeff says that one of the biggest things he learned from the interviews in The Art of Work is that your past prepares you for what is to come. You can use everything as an apprenticeship for what is coming next. He calls this listening to your life. Everything about where you've been up to now--the passions you've had, the failures you've experienced, the opportunities you did or didn't take--can help you figure out the larger purpose is in your life. Pay attention to what came before, and use it to fuel your next move.

The Biggest Factor in Achieving Your Calling

The idea of a self-made man or woman, Jeff says, is simply not true.

I think every story of success is really a story of community.

As he wrote The Art of Work, he found again and again that people who felt a strong sense of purpose in their lives had discovered that purpose through the help of others who believed in them...and even one or two who didn't support them, but gave them an opportunity to say "Yes, I can!" and prove the doubters wrong.

This, by the way, is particularly true for people in the online business world. Jeff pointed out that all online marketing is based off of relationship--building trust with your clients and audience, and partnering with your peers in the business world.

The more I understand the principles of success and what it takes to achieve a dream and what it takes to make it, it always takes community.

Start Where You Stand

There's no single road map to finding your calling and achieving your purpose. This can be daunting for a lot of us, who feel overwhelmed and just want someone to tell us what to do. And there are plenty of people out there, Jeff says, who "sanitize" their story after they've achieved success. They only tell us the cleaned-up version that comes with hindsight, and leave out all the dead ends, the wrong turns, and the times they went in circles.

Finding your calling takes practice. It involves a lot of learning as you go, because nobody else has the exact same calling as you, so there's no one who can tell you exactly what to do.

To start with, Jeff advises to examine wherever you are. Don't assume that because your current situation or circumstance is less than ideal that the time you've spent there was wasted. Even if it's not where you want to stay, there is something in that situation that you have been practicing. Use that practice and knowledge to your advantage.

This is the first part of listening to your life. The second part, Jeff says, is taking a few steps forward. Clarity on your calling comes with action. Most of us are waiting to just know what we are supposed to do, but you won’t just know. Jeff says he was surprised to find that most of the people he interviewed who are doing meaningful, remarkable work never saw it coming.

I would ask if they knew they wanted to do “this” when they were a kid. They all answered, “No, I didn’t. I had no idea.” But now that they are here, they can look back and understand all of it makes sense, as it was all preparing them for what they are doing.

Start thinking about what you love doing, and what you're really good at. Connect with others to get their take on what you're good at. Find people doing the kind of work you admire, take them out to coffee, and ask them how they got there. And learn to be both purposeful and flexible with the things life throws at you. You have to be really intentional, Jeff says, to make the most of whatever is happening right now. This is how life gives you clues as to what you should take action on.

What You Can Do Right Now

A study I read not too long ago said 87% of the world’s workers are disengaged with their jobs. They either absolutely hate their job or they are indifferent about it and are punching the clock and work is a means to make a living but is certainly not a way to make a life.

This, Jeff points out, is a big problem. If work is our means of making an impact on the world, we can't simply disengage from it until something better comes along. Because, Jeff says, what happens when something better does come along? If we haven't cultivated the habit of adding value to the world no matter where we are, we aren't going to be in shape to make the most of those opportunities.

What needs to happen, Jeff says, is a pivot--a turn of direction. Yes, it might mean a pivot in your external circumstances--changing the job you hate for one you love, take your career in an entirely different direction.

Sometimes, though, that kind of pivot takes years. In the meantime, your other option is to do an internal pivot: learning to orient yourself in your work toward a greater good of serving other people. 

If you are really going to move the direction of your life’s purpose, it may not happen overnight. The internal pivot is the first way to change your job from drudge work to a higher purpose. This is how you first become attuned to what your calling is.

You do have control. You have some control over your situation right now. So as you get an idea of what you might want to do try, use your current situation to practice for what’s to come. I don’t think you will regret it.

Visit The Art of Work to learn more about Jeff's book. And remember, if you order it now, you will get a bunch of bonuses including a freebie from Jeff himself that deals with these mindset shifts we talked about here.

If you've been following this blog (or podcast) for a while, you know we've come a long way since the days when everything about online marketing started and ended with Facebook.

Still, we all know that social media and Facebook in particular remain a BIG part of how we drive traffic to our websites, build community, grow our email lists and turn leads into happy paying customers.

The journey you create for your prospects that takes them from casual social media fans to loyal customers usually starts on social media. Which means you have to constantly be aware of what's changing in the social media world, and tweak your strategy to take advantage of these changes.

Don't worry--that's why I'm here! To help you master these tweaks and make social media your own.

That's why today we are diving into Facebook and video, to learn how the two together can make a big impact in your online marketing success.

In Episodes 50 and 51, we talked about the importance of videos for your business.

And of course you already know that Facebook is important for your business.

But do you know how crucial Facebook WITH Video is for your business right now? Here are some stats that prove it:

• It’s been reported that there are over 1 billion videos viewed on Facebook each day.
• The average Facebook user worldwide watched 75% more video this year compared to last year.
• In the US, that increase in views was actually 94%!
• Brands posted 20,000 more videos on Facebook than they did on YouTube in December 2014.

I can vouch for these stats from my own personal experience--I've been very impressed with the organic reach with any given video I post on Facebook. I've been seeing instant traction when I post a video on my page, much more than a post with a static image. The greatest thing about video is how it takes on a life of its own through sharing.

And no, I'm not talking about highly polished, professionally edited videos. I'm not a video editor and I don't have a big production budget for these. No, the traction I'm getting is with simple, quick videos made mainly on my smartphone and edited with simple software.

Simplicity and ease are the key to making these videos a practical part of your marketing strategy--if they're not easy, you won't do them...and if they're not simple, people won't pay attention to them! Studies have shown that short video across all social media platforms get the most views and engagement. Short and simple is good.

Today, I'm going to highlight some people and companies that take full advantage of this trend in online marketing through short, simple video posts.

I've also made a free cheat sheet for you, with tips for how to post great video to your own Facebook Page. It's called “The 7 Tried and Tested Tips to Increase Your Facebook Engagement with Simple Videos." Download it by clicking here.

Great Video Example #1: “3 Tips to Prep Your Yard for Spring” (Lowe's)

Yes, this video was professionally produced--after all, a big brand like Lowe's can afford to put money into their video. But that's not what makes it great.

Along with being short (just 54 seconds in length) and simple (it’s all imagery--no humans were used in this video, the great virtue of this video is that it’s timely.

At the time of this recording, the first day of spring was just a few days ago, and this video steps right alongside the Lowe's target audience to offer exactly what they need (and nothing extra) to get ready for this moment in the year. The tone is easy, friendly, conversational--like a friend next door is giving you advice. This is the perfect feeling to ignite action in the Lowe's audience...and where does that action take them? More than likely, to a Lowe's store.

Great Video Example #2: "How to Make Chocolate Cake Infused Vodka" (The Tipsy Bartender)

This page rotates their posts between videos and images, all accompanied by a different cocktail recipe. And they've nailed the formula for success. In fact, one of their quick instructional videos--a how-to for turning a leftover slice of cake into chocolate vodka--had more than nearly 55,000 shares after just one week! It also accrued more than 66,000 likes and nearly 13,000 comments. Not bad for a video that's only 54 seconds long and uses super simple imagery.

What really makes this one work, besides the brief length and the simple setup, is the snappy cuts between shots and the text layover of all the ingredients being used. This keeps it interesting while getting the point across.

Great Video Example #3: "Check Out My Latest Podcast" (Chalene Johnson)

If you visit Chalene's Facebook page, you’ll see that she uses simple videos to promote her blogs and podcast episodes. 

The teasers range from 30 seconds to slightly longer than a minute, like this one. Each includes a direct link to that blog post, making it easy for fans to visit her site and get the rest of the info. 

In addition to entertaining live-action videos, Chalene uses a really cool technique. (I didn't mention this technique in the podcast audio, so this is an extra feature for all you devoted blog readers!) She takes an audio clip from her podcast show and puts it into video as a voiceover, with simple images that illustrate the point. I love this innovative way of mixing up video material. For those of us who don't love being in front of a lens, it also cuts down on the number of times you have to get your confidence (and your hair) in camera-worthy shape!

Great Video Example #4: "The Bus Pole" (Lysol)

At the start of flu season, the company launched a “Lysol That” campaign with some great humor. Each video in the series highlights ways to avoid one of life's...well, grosser aspects.

Touching the bus pole, the bathroom stall, elevator buttons, handshakes during flu season...all these distasteful everyday situations create an instant connection with an audience, because they're instantly relatable. Lysol follows this connection with a one-two punch--humor and education--and seals the deal with a gentle pitch: how about a little Lysol anti-bacterial hand gel?

Great Video Example #5: "Love Your Curls" (Dove)

Dove has been leading the way with marketing videos for quite some time now. Remember their Real Beauty campaign a few years ago? These videos and the ones that have followed keep people watching with relentless pulls at audience's heartstrings, encouraging their impulse to do good in the world.

These videos also tend to be on the long side. But Dove makes up for the length with quick shots and lots of variety--interviews, action, text--that hold the viewers' attention.

Watch the video above one more time...did you actually see Dove's product? Did they even mention it? The answer is no. Through this emotionally appealing video, Dove has successfully created a call to action that encompasses both buying their product and doing good in the world. Oh, and also grabbed over 5 million views, nearly 80,000 likes, almost 7,000 comments and 47,000 shares.

Videos with this kind of emotional appeal get massive shares. They're also a little bit harder to create, since they require more thought and craft. But if this is a style that you feel will work for your brand and you are up for the challenge, don't to pass them up.

Make Your Own

Ready to start making your own videos? Instantly download our free cheat sheet “7 Tried and Tested Tips to Increase Your Facebook Engagement Using Simple Videos" to speed your process along...and also learn about some really cool video apps that will give your video a lot of viewer-friendly polish.

If you have a great Facebook video that you've seen success with, or would like to get feedback about, share it with the community here! Post a link to your video in the comments below, or share the video on my Facebook page.