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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

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

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

Links mentioned in this episode:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

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

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

Links mentioned in this episode:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• The inside scoop on my weight loss journey 

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

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

I hope you enjoyed the week with me.