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