On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I interview my new friend, Chalene Johnson.

Chalene is a world renowned multi-passionate entrepreneur that has built and sold several multimillion dollar health and fitness brands. You might recognize her name from her top selling Beach Body Workout DVD programs.

Chalene is currently the founder and CEO of a business and lifestyle coaching company called Team Johnson, where she has taught her personal and business development strategies to hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs. In light of all of this, she has managed to become an Instagram marketing master. The way she uses Instagram to promote her numerous brands is nothing short of amazing. I'm sure you’ll agree after listening to this podcast.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• Why it's important to become an "Early Settler" on Instagram now before it inevitably hits critical mass with Facebook's backing.

• How to move beyond posting the typical photos from your personal life to strategically sharing valuable content that drives leads and sales into your business.

• Why you should set up a few "Feature Accounts"- sub niche Instagram accounts, and how to chose the theme of these accounts according to your business. You’ll learn how to manage them all with zero overwhelm.

• How to allow your audience to feature their post on these "Feature Accounts" for greater brand exposure, while you benefit from a steady stream of content you didn't have to create.

• How to craft interesting and helpful content related to your business in a 15 second video.

• How to place a click-able links on Instagram that will lead people back to your bio, where you can link to a lead magnet or your website.

• How to create 15 second video 'call to actions' to drive traffic directly to your offers.

• Why using video on Instagram, while possibly yielding less engagement apposed to a photo, can establish you as a leading authority faster than a photo post when done right.

• What Instagram has coming on the horizon in terms of metrics tracking and their very own advertising platform.

• How to create cool split screen video posts that are part on camera instructional and part B-Roll demonstrations.

• How to pull in text on screen 'call to action' captions in your mobile phone videos.

• How to craft effective 'call to actions' to get people to share your post and where to place those CTA's to maximize every square inch of Instagram.

• How to effectively use hashtags and tags to elevate your brand exposure.

• How to outsource the entire content creation process.

• Where to get a third party app that will gauge your marketing against Instagram's posting statistics letting you know exactly when you should post to reach your unique target audience.

• And so much more!

Key Takeaways

• Establish your roots on Instagram now before it becomes the huge business advertising platform Facebook is developing it to inevitably become.

• Provide valuable nuggets relative to your business not just journal personal life snapshots.

• Take advantage of every square inch of the comment section by being very descriptive about your post, including where to find related info and always give a call to action.

• Create and honor a business theme.

• Aim to make your Instagram account appear like a magazine spread with helpful "How to" photos and/or videos.

• Using video will establish your brand authority and position yourself as the 'go to expert' in your niche.

• Place a click-able link on Instagram that will lead people back to your bio, where you can link to a lead magnet or your website.

• Change out the click-able link on all of your sub niche accounts to correspond to your current promotions to centralize the direction of your traffic.

In this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast I share with you a new experience I’ve just embarked upon and how this experience taught me so much about my business, dealing with the people helping me with my business and more importantly, this experience has taught me a lot about myself.

I decided to try something different and create a 3-part video series as a pre-launch for the reopening of my Facebook Marketing Profit Lab video training course.

The reason for my new approach was because I felt like it was time that I foster a deeper connection with my audience and share a bit more transparency into my personal life. I wanted to become more personable, because I know that sometimes I can come off as "all business" - (much to my husband's chagrin!)

It was time to really peel back the curtain and share intimate details about the beginning struggles of my business, the reason for my choosing Facebook as my traffic and lead generation vehicle and how my mindset and business knowledge, as a whole, has gone through this amazing transformation over the years.

I felt the need to share in this way mainly because the exact business metamorphosis I have experienced, is the business metamorphosis I truly wish all who choose to learn from me, are fortunate enough to experience too.

Here are 7 tips to creating a 3-part video series

1) Content Flow and Story Structure:

The sequence of your stories (the flow) and the level at which you share your whole self, will make a big impact on how your videos touch your audience. The more you share, the more your  audience will understand your journey and connect deeper with your message. The more honest and transparent you are when telling your story, the more your audience will relate to you and your message.

2) Video crew or One-Man-Crew:

Try your best to invest in a great video quality production but don’t make the mistake of thinking you can’t launch your product or services until you can afford an expensive video crew. It can be done on a very small budget.

3) Written scripts or off the cuff dialog:

If you have trouble feeling comfortable speaking in front of a camera, writing out a script and reading from a teleprompter will ease the tension and make sure you don’t miss any key points. However, there will be times where just speaking to another person on the set will help you appear more passionate and sincere. (Below I list a couple of teleprompters I recommend.)

4) Location choices for added professionalism:

Recording the videos at your own home will always give you that internal feeling of comfort-ability, sort of like the “Home Court Advantage.” However, if you’re going for a more professional appeal, renting a hotel suite or renting a Co-Work space for the day, will definitely increase the production value and really put a polished look to your videos.

5) Have a keen ear on set during each recording:

By having another person on set whose only purpose is to pay very close attention to what is being said, is a surefire way to catch those inevitable mistakes you and your video person likely won’t catch. This will avoid having to reschedule the entire shoot and post production editing nightmares.

6) Express your honest opinion about each shot selection:

Review a still of the shot selection before recording. Don’t feel you are being “difficult” if you don’t feel it is the most flattering image of you. Instead of just going with the flow, suggest a new angle or shot setting.

7) Become comfortable in your own skin:

If you’re like most people, you’re not used to seeing yourself on camera and may view the final footage with an overly critical eye. Just remember that your audience is well aware they are not watching a Hollywood production and they definitely know we are not glamorous actors. No matter how you think you look, if you let your passion for what you do supersede your insecurities, you will automatically exude an air of confidence and your audience would come to love the authenticity.

So there you have it. I just wanted to share my takeaways from this major video shoot I’ve just experienced. Now that you have this new “behind the scenes” insight into the making of this 3-part video series, I look forward to reading your comments down below after you’ve had the chance to view the video series.

In this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast,  I will be exposing the recent change Facebook made to their algorithm and not only will I explain the reason for this change, I will also give you some tips to help you counteract this change and to increase your brand’s engagement in the News Feed.

Although I’m a huge advocate of Facebook’s paid advertising, in this episode, I’m teaching a couple of FREE methods of posting content and reaching more potential customers in the News Feed.

Here’s what the recent Facebook algorithm change is all about.

They are cracking down on "click bait.”  What exactly is click bait?

Click bait is when a link is shared in a Facebook post with a title that sparks curiosity but does not really tell people what the article is all about. This essentially teases people to click a link but does not give them all the information so they are not exactly sure what they’re going to find on the other side of that click.

Granted, click bait links can be an effective strategy, because people can’t help but click to find out more. And many marketers were finding success in their calls to action; that’s why these types of posts has been flooding the News Feed on Facebook.

The challenge is that the click bait strategy is making it hard for users to see content they genuinely want to see and care about. Facebook is viewing click bait as gaming the system to get out into the News Feed. Because Facebook has a viral component built into their Algorithm, these click bait post were gaining a lot of exposure.

The more people click on the link, even though they’re not sure if they’re even interested in the content on the other side of that link, the more that post shows up in the News Feed.

And that’s why Facebook became concerned with this practice and made this recent change that no longer allows click bait. Your content will be negatively impacted when you use a click bait type of posting strategy.

Here’s how to craft your post so that you’re not a victim to this algorithm change and your posts get as much News Feed exposure as possible.

Tip #1:  Create or Only Share Quality Posts

Focus more on quality versus quantity. I would rather see you post two times a day with high-value content versus a bunch of posts that won’t get you the engagement that Facebook is actually paying attention to each time you post.

As you can see, this post was highly valuable and resonated with his audience. Look at all those shares and likes!

When people click on the link and go to your website from Facebook, make sure the content is interesting, exciting and engaging so they will STAY longer on your site.

Now, this isn’t particularly new news. However, most of us don’t think about how long people are spending on the other side of our links that we include in our Facebook posts.

Make that content valuable enough to keep them there and you will boost your engagement on Facebook . . . for free!

Tip #2:  Be Specific With the Titles of Your Facebook Posts

The more descriptive you are with your headlines in your post, the more likely people will genuinely be interested in your content when they actually get to your website.

Stay away from click bait and instead be very specific about what you plan to share with your fans. Images including info such as this example is also very helpful.

This would not only safeguard you, but it will help you with targeting. You will attract the ideal audience on Facebook with each of your Facebook posts.

Tip #3:  Post a “Preview” of Your Content When Posting on Facebook

When you include a preview in your post, you are more likely to get out into the News Feed. This means more free exposure for you!

What is a preview?

A preview is when you include a link to your article in the post and an image and a blurb under the image are automatically pulled into your post.

>Facebook has said that they will favor posts that have links that include a standard preview in the post versus posts that include a link with a photo but no preview.

Wrapping Things Up

Facebook is all about their users having a great experience when they go on to their website. But, if you think about it, that’s how we all feel about our own websites. When people come to my website, I want them to have a memorable and a valuable experience.

I encourage you to pay attention to how most people post on Facebook when they’re not marketing. Model those posts versus trying to be sneaky or too promotional with your posts.

Finally, we all want to offer immense value and that’s what Facebook is rewarding. They’re rewarding those of us who are posting content that people actually want to read, share, and comment on.

Key Takeaways

• Facebook is now paying careful attention to how long people are staying on the webpages your links are clicking through to from a post.
• Make your content valuable enough to keep the visitor on the webpage and you will boost your engagement on Facebook (for free!).
• The more descriptive you are with your headlines in your post, the more likely people will genuinely be interested in your content when they actually get to your website.
• Including a link preview in your post will help you gain more exposure in the New Feed.

Would you like to know how to spend less time trying to convert your Facebook Profile "Friends" over to "Fans" of your Facebook Page?

Would you like to learn an easy trick to link your Profile and Fan Page together so that your visitors to your Profile would have direct exposure to your Fan Page?

You will learn all of that and more in this weeks Episode of Online Marketing Made Easy - Ask Amy Podcast.

On this episode I answer a question from one of my listeners about how to get your Facebook friends to like your Facebook Page.

This is the question she asked:

 Kathy Sacks: “I have more than 500 friends on my Facebook Profile. Since it would take a long time to get that many “likes” on my Facebook Page, I’d like to get my friends on my Profile to to like my new business Page. Do you have any advice for me?”

Now, the short answer is that there is no foolproof way to move your friends over to your Page.  There are a few things you can try and I’ll go over those things with you but I want to encourage you not to spend too much time trying to move your friends over to your Page.

Instead, I would encourage you to spend more time on developing your Page, the content, the engagement, your list-growing strategy, all of that can be done on your Page.

I wouldn't suggest you spend too much time on this strategy although I am going to give you some helpful tips to get you started to make that transition.  I understand that if you are growing a Facebook Page you want to build your fan base quickly and it makes sense to start with the friends on your Profile since they seem to have an interest in what you are posting.

Sounds logical, although, it doesn’t happen as though we think it should.

One thing you might want to think about is this: Are those friends that you have on your profile genuinely interested in your business?  Some of them likely are but definitely not all of them are.

To be upfront, some of your Profile friends just aren’t interested in hearing from you about your business. That’s why I just want to caution you, it's likely on your Profile, you have a mix of people that are friends or just want to know you personally and have no interest in what you are doing for business.  That's just how it is.

In my experience, moving friends to fans is a slow process that is rarely a raving success.  That’s why I don’t want you to spend too much time in this area.  However, I will say, it is worth an effort to give it a shot.  Do it and then move on to bigger and better things.

I did promise you a few things that you can implement to build your new fan page with your existing friend base from your profile.

1) The first suggestion I have for you is make sure that you link your Profile and your Page.  In the video below I’m going to show you how to link your Profile and your Page so if somebody comes to your Profile they can easily click a link right there on that timeline and go over to your Facebook Page and become a fan. This can be tricky because the step-by-step process I am going to show you (it's quick, I promise!) doesn’t always work for everybody, so I am also going to show you a quick workaround in the video.  I've got you covered ;-)

Linking your Profile to your Fan Page

2) For about two weeks, start a campaign where you are actively promoting your Page on your Profile.  What this means is that you’re telling people that you are now posting regularly on your Facebook Page about (...you fill in the blank here) and that you would love for them to come over and become a fan. Make sure you tell them to click “like” on your Page to become a fan.  Give them an action so that you can actually stay in touch with them in the newsfeed. Do this for a week or two; that should be enough to create the awareness.   You then need to take it one step further and give them a reason why they should come over to your Facebook Page.

Use Video to promote your Page to your friends on your Profile

Creating a video to encourage your friends to come over to your Page is a great strategy. My good friend, James Wedmore, did this when he first created his Facebook Page.  At the time, James was only using his Profile to connect with people on Facebook and he wanted to start using Facebook ads.  So he created a Facebook Page because you can't run ads on Facebook if you don't have a Facebook Page.  He made a short video telling people something like, “Hey there, I’ve finally jumped on the bandwagon, I have a Facebook Page, and I want you to come over because this is what I’m doing over there.....”  In his video he talked about a free giveaway to get them to want to actually click the link, go to the Facebook Page, and become a fan.

Lure your Profile friends over to your Fan Page by using a "FREE" giveaway

If you’re not comfortable with video, do some kind of promotion or giveaway on your Page for a series of one to two weeks just to get people to come over.  You’ve got to give them a reason why and tell them what's in it for them.  The thing is, most people are not going to pay attention if you just tell them to come over to your Page.  But, if you tell them what’s in it for them and you create a benefit they’ll pay attention.  I suggest giving away an ebook related to your brand or possibly a program or a product that you have; something completely aligned with your brand so people that are interested in your giveaway are going to be genuine prospects for you.

I always say giving away a shiny iPad is not the best idea for a giveaway because anybody would like the iPad but not everybody would want my Facebook marketing program.  But, if they do then they are a perfect fit for my audience.  A giveaway is a great way to go that extra step and actually attract the friends on your Profile that are genuinely interested in your business.

Attract New, Quality Fans with Like Ads (Instead of Focusing on Moving Your Friends Over)

If you have a Facebook Page with less than 500 fans I’m sure that you want to grow that Facebook fan base quickly.  One strategy that may be much more powerful than moving your friends to your Page, is to experiment with Facebook Like Ads.  If it fits within your budget, I would spend two weeks running a Like Ad campaign.  With approximately $100-$200, you could grow your fan base by a few hundred fans quickly. 

Once you get to 500 fans, that’s considered to be a pretty solid audience. That’s when I would shift gears. I would stop focusing on growing your fan base and worrying about your friends coming over to your Page and instead focusing on turning fans into leads. Attracting leads on Facebook is extremely important if you want to make your Facebook efforts profitable.

7 Steps to a Facebook Marketing Plan

In my flagship program, Facebook Marketing Profit Lab, I take my students through a seven step process to create a profitable Facebook Marketing Plan.  If you want a quick snapshot of all seven steps, you can check out Episode #28 where I dive into each of them with specifics.

Key Takeaways:

• Don't spend too much time trying to move your friends over to your Facebook Page
• Spend more time on developing your Page, the content, the engagement, your list-building strategy
• Ask yourself: "Are the friends that I currently have on your Profile genuinely interested in my business?"
• Make sure that you link your Profile and your Page
• Spend only two weeks maximum on the campaign to actively promote your Page on your Profile
• Take things to the next level with a short video to introduce your new Page and brand to your Profile friends list
• Think about creating an irresistible giveaway to entice your friends to become your fans.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I interviewed my good friend, Pam Hendrickson. Pam and I go WAY back. She is actually the person who interviewed me for my position with Tony Robbins, and was my first "big boss."

Pam and I have spent many hours working and traveling together. We joke that we spent more time together during certain seasons than we did with our husbands!

Pam worked for Tony Robbins for close to 20 years before going out on her own. Considering her experience with Robbins, she thought launching her first products would be easy, but she was wrong. In spite of the fact that the products were great, she made very few sales.

The turning point for her was when she learned how to give her customers what they want, and in this episode, we dive in deep about how to do that.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• A key success principle for business

• What will cause your business to fail even if you have the best content in the world

• The necessary foundation for great marketing

• Common mistakes when defining a target market

• Tools for understanding your target market

• How to cultivate relationships

• Why technology will never replace face-to-face interactions

• And so much more!

Key Takeaways

• A key to success in business is not being afraid to make mistakes

• Great content alone isn't enough. If it isn't want your customers need and want, it won't be successful.

• The foundation of our marketing comes from understanding who our target audience is, and creating all of products and services based around that.

• Ideal customer exercises are great, but they don't go deep enough. It's important to go beyond who and really dive deep into their pain points.

• Product creation and marketing are easy when you truly understand your audience.

• There are three primary areas to focus on:

  • Tactical
  • Relationships
  • Emotional connection

• Tactical focuses on learning more about your audience. This is an ongoing process. In order to learn this information, you can conduct surveys, look at what your competition does to see what's working for them, and conduct market research using tools such as Keyword Spy and Ispionage.

• Relationships focuses on really getting to know your audience, and enable you to go deeper when it comes to truly understanding them and therefore really knowing how to meet their needs. A great example that Pam gave was that if you went to the gym and someone had you  fill out a survey, they would have a certain level of understanding about your needs. In contrast, if you went to the gym and spent time talking with the person exercising next to you, you would have a much deeper understanding.

• Emotional connection is when you really begin to FEEL what your audience feels. It goes deeper than having an intellectual understanding of their needs, and enables you to basically put yourself in their shoes so that you better understand them on an emotional level. This is the opposite of the tactical side of things because it focuses on feelings rather than facts.

Action Steps

• For a week or two, spend ten minutes per day researching your target market using tools such as Keyword Spy, Eyespionage  and Pew Research.

• To help you build relationships with your audience, pick one or two live events to attend. The goal is to have an opportunity to connect face-to-face with your target audience.

• Set aside 20-30 minutes to get quiet and FEEL the problems and pains of your customers.

A Special Gift from Pam for My Audience

Pam really went the extra mile by creating a special gift just for you, a free video training and report, which you can get here.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I interview my good friend, Laura Roeder.

I've had Laura on the podcast before, but I wanted to have her on again, because she is a master in setting up processes and systems to grow your business.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• The difference between a project manager and a VA

• Why your project manager should work only for you, rather than have other clients

• How much you should pay a project manager

• The role of a project manager and what it takes to hire and train one

• A mindset shift that needs to happen before you hire your first project manager

• How you should think about how much you should pay your project manager, and what you should do less of so you an afford to hire help

• The golden ticket when it comes to hiring team members

• Why you don't have to find a project manager who is a perfect fit for your business

• And so much more!

Key Takeaways

• There are a lot of highly skilled, underemployed people out there now, who would love to work as a project manager

• You're in the right place to hire a project manager if you:

  • Feel overwhelmed, burned out, or emotionally exhausted

  • Have a bunch of ideas and projects you want to tackle but are too busy

• A project manager keeps you organized and helps you to continue moving forward with the things you really want to do

• It's more important for someone to have the ability to learn than it is for them to already know all of the programs you use

• Be willing to take the time to train your project manager and don't just tell them what to do, but why you want it done

• Spend less money on programs and then use that money to pay a project manager

• The main things a project manager should help you do:

  • Translate your goals and plans into daily tasks

  • Make sure things are being done on time and if they aren't, figure out why

  • Ensure not just that the work is done, but that the quality is high

This episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, is the third Ask Amy episode.

This is a new feature that I’ve added to my podcast. As I mentioned in episode 30, every other week I’ll answer your questions about online marketing, Facebook marketing, Facebook ads, webinars and email marketing.

To submit a question, all you need to do is go to amyporterfield.com/askamy and leave me a recorded message. Your question just might be the very next one I choose for the show!

Here’s the summary of the question for this episode:

“In episode 29 you talked about how to hyper-target your audience using Facebook ads, and you specifically talked about retargeting. Can you put retargeting ads in both the newsfeed and the right-hand column and if so, which option works best?”

Key Takeaways

• Retargeting ads use a tracking pixel that you’ve put on your website. You can set the pixel to track for 30, 60, or 90 days.

• Retargeting ads are great because they allow you to target the people that really care about your brand; they help you connect with your website visitors on Facebook.

• You CAN place retargeting ads in both the newsfeed and in the right hand column.

• It’s important to set up your retargeting ads in the Power Editor.

• I have better results with ads placed in the newsfeed, but it’s important to experiment to find out what works best for you.

• Lookalike audiences are very valuable but the results you get back from Facebook can be huge -- as many as a couple of million people. To narrow down the results, when inside of the Power Editor, under the “Audience” tab, you can select age, gender and so on to target even further. In addition to that, you can further refine your targeting by indicating that they need to be a fan of at least one of the Pages you add to the interest section (again, under audience). 

 

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I interview my good friend, copywriting expert, Ray Edwards. Ray and I go way back. I first met him when I was still working for Tony Robbins. At the time we were in need of a killer sales letter for a big product we had just created, and Frank Kern, a master at online marketing, suggested we reach out to Ray.

As it turns out, hiring Ray to write the sales letter was one of the best decisions we ever made because he nailed it. The sales letter Ray wrote converted really well; every time we used it, our sales were through the roof!

Copywriting is something that a lot of my clients have questions about, and I have to admit that it doesn't come naturally to me; I have to really work at it! But it's a super important skill to master because impact and revenue are directly tied your ability to write great copy, so I invited Ray on the show to share his wisdom in this area with all of you. I know you won't be disappointed!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• One of the first things you need to learn if you want to start a business or create a second income stream

• The gene you do NOT need to be born with in order to be a good copywriter

• Why you need to do more than just write great content

• What your value-add content should always have

• How to know if you're giving away too much

• How to create a lot of content in a short period of time

• 4 Rules of Writing

Key Takeaways

• All the emails you send should have a "promotional" element to them

• Every email you send should include a link

• The brain doesn't differentiate between an actual experience, and a vividly imagined experience. Therefore, help your readers vividly imagine doing what you recommend, and the outcome

• Listening to what your audience tells you is the best way to know what questions in the emails you send

• The copy you write needs to be scanable. You can accomplish this by using bolded headers, bullet points, and so on

This episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, is the second Ask Amy episode. This is a new feature that I've added to my podcast. As I mentioned in episode 30, every other week I’m going to be answering your questions all about online marketing, Facebook marketing, Facebook ads, webinars and email marketing.

If you have a question, I likely am going to have an answer for you! All you need to do is go to amyporterfield.com/askamy and leave me a recorded message. Your question just might be the very next one I choose for the show!

Here's the question for this episode:

I'm a huge fan of your podcast and your content. . . My question is I've noticed that the Facebook layout has changed and things have moved around a little bit. Is there anything I need to know about this new layout to help me maximize my impact and exposure on Facebook?

This is a great question, and is very timely since Facebook is rolling out the new Facebook Page layout, and if you don’t have it already, you’ll be getting it soon. If you don’t yet have it and want to see what it looks like, you can check it out on my Facebook Page, http://facebook.com/AmyPorterfield.

Let’s start at the top, and I’ll break it down for you!

Stats Located on the Right

In the new layout, to the right of your cover photo, you’ll see the following stats for the week:

• New Page likes
• Overall post reach
• Unread messages (This will be blank if like me, you don’t use the private message button)
• Notifications, which includes clicks, likes, shares and comments on each of your posts

How to use this information: On a weekly basis, track these numbers in an Excel or Google spreadsheet and pay attention to whether or not you’re making improvements in these various areas.

Tab Management

Beneath the cover photo you’ll see tabs. The tabs are like the boxes that were across the top on the old layout. When you click on them, they take you to custom apps inside your Facebook Page.

All of your tabs won’t display across the top, but you can change the order of them to position them. You do this by clicking on the “More” dropdown menu, and clicking on “Manage Tabs” as pictured above.

I wouldn’t spend too much time on tabs, because unless you’re using Facebook ads to drive traffic to the tabs, they don’t convert well because most people never go to your Facebook Page, but instead, likely see the majority of your posts in the newsfeed. If you do want to use tabs, be sure to use ads to drive traffic to them.

Scheduled Posts

If you schedule posts directly from your Facebook Page, in the new layout, you’ll see a notification that says, “Scheduled Posts,” the number of posts you have scheduled, and when the next scheduled post will be published.

I love this feature because since I schedule my posts directly on my Facebook Page, I can now easily see where to find the scheduled posts, and can quickly view and edit them.

The About Section

It’s important to be strategic with how you use the “About” section of your Facebook Page. As you can see from my example, I put a link to a free webinar, to help grow my email list. Other types of lead magnets such as eBooks, cheat sheets, checklists, and so on work as well.

In addition to that, I also put a link to my website in the About section. One thing to be aware of is that this option is not available if your Page is a local business.

Pages to Watch

One of the coolest features about the new layout is found inside of Insights and is called, “Pages to Watch.” This feature provides a great opportunity to see what’s working for other Pages, specifically Pages that also attract your ideal customer. This can give you some great ideas about what you can do to increase the engagement on your own Page.

You’ll find this feature on the Overview tab inside your Facebook Page Insights. Scroll down, and you’ll see an area that says, “Pages to Watch” and from there you can manually add the Facebook Pages that you want to watch.

Top Posts from Pages You Watch

Once you’ve selected some Pages to watch, inside of Insights, on the Posts tab, you’ll be able to see which posts from the previous week were the most engaging, and you can model what they’re doing. For instance, if you see that they’ve asked a question that got a lot of engagement, you can think of a similar type of question to ask your audience, and then pay attention to whether or not you get a rise in engagement as well.

One thing to be aware of is that when you add a Page to watch, the admin of the Facebook Page will get a notification that their Page has been added, but they won’t know who added it.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I dive into launching your programs, your products, your services online. The great thing is that I dove into this extremely important conversation with the pioneer of all online marketing launches, Jeff Walker. Jeff is known for a system he created called The Product Launch Formula and is truly one of the top internet marketing experts and leaders.

He tells a great story of how he got started, and to get the full scoop, you’ll need to listen to the interview because I wouldn’t be able to do his story justice, so for now I’ll just say that before he started his first online business, he had never ran a business before. He had absolutely zero sales training and no marketing skills.

He jokes that he was always the kid that couldn't sell more than one bag of donuts for the Boy Scouts fundraiser every year and that one bag was usually purchased by his parents.  So as you can see, sales and marketing didn't necessarily run in his blood from day one.  He was an average guy who made an extraordinary impact on many people's lives and continues to do so through his teachings.  That's why I am honored to have Jeff on the show today.

Before you listen to the interview, I want to share one more thing with you and that is that Jeff just wrote a book called, Launch: An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love And Live The Life Of Your Dreams, and for a very limited time, you have an opportunity to get the book for free -- you just have to pay for shipping and handling -- and in addition to the free book, he’s throwing in a bunch of free bonuses. To get the free book and bonuses, go to amyporterfield.com/launch.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• How I met Jeff and how my life changed as a result of meeting him

• Tony Robbins’ response to the information Jeff shared with him

• Jeff’s failure in the corporate world, and his stint as a stay-at-home dad

• The day Jeff's wife's cry for help shook him to his core

• The amazing story of how Jeff went from being unemployed and desperate to making a million dollars in less than an hour

• Success stories from those who started small and grew big

• How dropping hints can build anticipation before a launch

• The launch that brought Jeff’s wife home

• How Jeff figured out how launches work for many different types of industries

• How to know what your customers need from you

• Jeff's view on your email list

• The decision I personally made that totally changed my business

• And so much more!

Key Takeaways

• Dropping hints about something to come is a great way to build anticipation before a launch

• Successful product launches aren’t magic, but are based on how the mind works, and pull people in

• Done right, people will eagerly anticipate your next move and look forward to everything you do

• There are 3 core sequences in a launch:

  • Pre Pre- Launch, when you agitate the market and get people interested

  • Pre-Launch, when you build value through videos, blog post, and social media

  • Open Cart, when you actually start taking orders

• It’s important to find out what people’s hot buttons are and then create products that meet those needs

• There are three types of launches that part of the Product Launch Formula:

  • Seed launches, when you start with no product (and in some cases no list) and you get paid before you even create the product

  • Internal launches, where you do a launch just to your list

  • JV launches, which are more complex and therefore should not be your first launch

• You must focus on building assets in your business, and the most important asset you can build is your email list

This episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, is extra special because it is the very first edition of the Ask Amy segment that I'm adding to the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast.

Every other week I'm going to be answering your questions all about online marketing, Facebook marketing, Facebook ads, webinars and email marketing. If you've got a question, I likely am going to have an answer for you! All you need to do is go to amyporterfield.com/askamy and leave me a recorded message. Your question just might be the very next one I choose for the show!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• Something I've been struggling with lately
• Why my style hasn't always served my customers
• The push back I've gotten regarding how I teach Facebook marketing
• How overwhelming and scary creating a marketing plan can be when you're first starting your business
• The importance of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone
• Why you should look at Facebook differently
• And so much more!

Here's the question for this episode:

I just launched my website officially at Easter. I took your advice, I put a Facebook sweepstakes on the right side bar, and the resort I work at allowed me to give out a fantastic package, they're really helping me out and it's going really well. In the first month, I've got about 130-something likes and I just love to see that, but I want to keep the momentum going. I want to know what the next step for me might be, whether it's Facebook ads or whatever you think would be the most efficient thing for me.

Key Takeaways

• Anytime you get new leads from Facebook, it's important to be ready to nurture those leads.

• Follow up with your new leads with a weekly email, with the focus initially being on pure value, instead of selling.

• After 4-6 weeks of pure value, select one opportunity to  promote. Send 3-4 emails that talk about this opportunity. Be sure to make those emails about them, rather than about you and your offer.

• Work on sharpening your copywriting skills. This is important even if you plan to hire someone to write them for you in the future.

• If people don't purchase, put them back into a value-add sequence, and when you're ready to promote again, go back to 3-4 emails about an opportunity.

• Use Facebook ads to drive traffic to a lead magnet rather than to a sales page. The goal of ads is to grow your email list. This is how to turn your efforts into profits.

• Even though it's hard to get organic reach on your Page, it's still important to provide good content for the people who see your posts.

• Email is more intimate than Facebook, when you really understand how to use email.

• It's useless to have a big email list if you never use it to promote.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, we talked all about Facebook ad targeting. But before we get to that, I wanted to tell you about some changes coming your way related to my podcast.

First, starting in June I am going record one episode per week, rather than every other week like I have been doing. Look out for some extra podcast love coming your way!

Second, I am going to add an extra layer to my podcast and start recording an “Ask Amy” segment where you get to send me your questions and I will address them on my show. In full disclosure I took this idea from my good friend, Pat Flynn who now has a show called AskPat. I called Pat to ask if he minded, and in true Pat fashion, he encouraged me to go for it. Gotta love good friends like that.

So if you would like me to address any questions you might have about online marketing, Facebook marketing, list building, content creation, webinars - anything goes - so just go to Ask Amy and you can be one of the first to leave me a question.

OK, switching gears, let’s get back to our topic for today, Facebook ad targeting. I’ve invited my really good friend, Rick Mulready to come on the show with me so we could talk about what we both are seeing that’s working right now with ad targeting.

Rick has an extensive online marketing background and teaches Facebook advertising to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The cool thing is that he is in the trenches daily experimenting with ad campaigns and getting some pretty big results; the guy knows his stuff.

So Rick lives in San Diego and lately we’ve been meeting up at Starbucks and sharing insights about our experiences with Facebook ads. (Does that sound super geeky? We can't help it - we love this ad stuff!) The discussions have been so good that I wanted to get Rick on the show and invite you all into one of the most valuable discussions we’ve had, which is focused on Facebook ad targeting.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• The most valuable Facebook ad targeting options, including Interests, Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences.

• Which targeting option to choose when you are just starting out.

• How to target your website visitors with your Facebook ads.

• How to expand your targeting options if you feel you can't seem to find a big enough target that is effective.

• We'll answer the question, "How many people should I target with my ad?

• We will also discuss which ad metrics to pay close attention to so you know your ad is working.

To help you navigate your Facebook ad targeting, I've included additional details in this post so you can understand how each target works and where to locate.

I suggest you create your ads in the Power Editor.  Think of the Power Editor as a more robust "Facebook Ads Manager" dashboard. You can do more in the Power Editor and I highly recommend you test it out. (It's a bit confusing at first, but I promise it gets easier once you understand where everything's located!)

I can't stress this enough:  The MOST important part of your Facebook ads campaign is targeting. Below I will walk you through some of the most important targeting features.

There are two different places where you will set up your ad targeting.  When you are totally new to ads, two of the easiest targeting features you can use are "Demographics" and "Interests." To locate these two targeting features, go into the Power Editor, and under the "Ads" tab you will see  the "Audience" tab in blue.

Once inside the Power Editor, when you click on "Ads" you will see the "Audience" tab.

Under the "Audience" tab, if you scroll down a bit you will first see "Demographics" where you can set the age, gender and location for your ad targeting.  Scroll down some more and you will see: Interests, Behaviors and categories. Let me briefly explain each to you.

Interests

The "Interest" field allows you to type in the name of the Facebook Pages you want to target. When you target a Facebook Page, you are asking Facebook to show your ad to the fans of that specific Facebook Page. Note that sometimes when you type in the name of the Facebook Page in the "Interest" field, it won’t show up. If you have this problem, be sure to first go to the actual Page and check the name of the Page and make sure you type in the exact name of that Page. However, sometimes that won't even work.  Some Pages just won't show up in the "Interest" field - it's a Facebook glitch.  Frustrating, I know!

Hot tip: Brainstorm a list of people, publications, other groups in your industry, and even competitors whose fans you may want to target.

Hot tip #2: Use Graph Search, which is basically a search functionality inside of Facebook. It is a really long search bar across the top when you’re logged in to Facebook. You can conduct searches such as, “Pages liked by people who like __________” (insert the name of your page in the blank). This will give you a good idea of Pages you might want to target.

Here are some other searches you may want to try:

• Favorite interest of people who like. . .
• Groups of people who like. . .
• Pages liked by people who like xyz Page and abc Page
• You can get even more specific and search for things like, “Pages liked by women who live in Canada who like xyz page.”

Especially if you’re just starting out and don’t have a large email list or a large fan base, "Interests" is a great place to start.

There are two other targeting sections right below "Interests." Let's explore those briefly.

Behaviors

Behaviors is located right under interests. This is a more advanced targeting technique. The way this works is that Facebook partners with 3rd party data companies that track people’s purchasing behavior outside of Facebook.

Categories

Categories is the section located under Behaviors.

"Partner Categories" are similar to behaviors, where Facebook partners with other companies to get data.

There are also "Facebook Categories" you can explore. If someone likes a Page about cooking, you can target a broader category such as food and dining.

Neither Rick nor I use "Categories"  because it tends to be too general, so we don’t recommend them, but they are worth testing just to see if they might be a good fit for you.

Custom Audiences

Now switching gears here, let's talk about a few other Facebook ad targeting strategies that are even more powerful than the targeting above.

Once of the ways both Rick and I set up our targeting is with "Custom Audiences" and "Lookalike Audiences."  You can create a Custom Audience by taking a list of email addresses of those who have subscribed to your email list and uploading them to Facebook. Facebook will check it’s database against your email list and find matches. For example, out of 3,000 email addresses, there may be 1,500 matching email addresses on Facebook. Now you have a list of 1,500 quality lead you can target inside of Facebook. (Note: You need at least 100 matches for this to work.)

Lookalike Audiences

Now with Lookalike Audiences, this is where the magic happens! Once you have a Custom Audience, you can create a Lookalike Audience. Facebook can take your Custom Audience and create another targeted list that is very similar to the one you uploaded. Since Facebook knows so much about our likes, interests and behaviors, these Lookalike Audiences are pretty valuable to say the least!

Regardless of the size of your Custom Audience, your Lookalike Audience may be as large as a couple of million people. The ideal target audience size can vary. If you have a HIGHLY targeted list it can be as small as 1,000 people, but we suggest you keep your targeting groups to a maximum of 600,000 - 700,000 people. I usually try to aim for 500,000. (Note:  This does not apply for people targeting a very local audience. Your lists will be much smaller of course!).

Targeting Set Up

To set up your Custom and Lookalike Audiences, you will do this in the Power Editor a well.  When you log into the Power Editor, in the upper left you should see a drop down menu that says "Manage Ads." Click there and then click "Audiences."

Once you are on the "Audience" page, you can click on "Custom Audience."

From there, the image below will pop up.  To upload your email list to Facebook, click the first option, "Data File Custom Audience."

In the "Data Type" you will see a few options for upload, choose "Emails."

It may take a few hours for Facebook to check your email addresses against those in their system, so be patient and check back in a few hours. Come back to this exact same spot in the Power Editor and you will see the status of your new audience.

Retargeting with Facebook Ads

Another feature of Custom Audiences is the ability to create a target list from your website traffic.  This strategy is also known as retargeting.

Here's how it works:

• You generate a pixel code from Facebook and then place that pixel on your website.

• Facebook begins collecting data from that pixel and creates a Custom Audience for you of your website traffic.

• Now you can target that Custom Audience and show your ads to them OR you can create a Lookalike Audience so you can have an even larger, targeted group to use as well.

Below I show you where to access the Facebook pixel that you will add to your website.  Click "View Custom Audience Pixel" to get the instructions you need to place this pixel in the correct spot on your website.

Once you have your Custom Audience of website visitors in place, you can then create a Lookalike Audience to expand your targeting.

In the "Source" field below you will type in the name of your website visitors Custom Audience and Facebook will create a Lookalike Audience for you. This is some pretty powerful targeting because it's so much more focused that just targeting people who have liked a specific Page!

Now one more thing I will add to the mix.  As you might already know, you can target your existing fan base with your ads.  You would do that in the same section where you would target "Interests."  But what you might now know is that you can also create a Lookalike Audience to target people SIMILAR to your existing fan base. In the "Source" field you will type in the name of your Facebook Page to generate your new target list.

Key Takeaways

• Facebook targeting is one of the most important components to your Facebook ad success.

• If you have not done so already, take a little time to experiment with Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences.

• I am 99.9% sure that your audience is spending time on Facebook. My challenge to you is to create smart targeting options to go find them!

2017 Amendment

Graph search is no longer available. Facebook has replaced it with a similar tool called Audience Insights. To learn more about Audience Insights, click here.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I decided to do something a little bit different. I’m currently promoting my signature program, Facebook Marketing Profit Lab. When I create a new program, I always create a free, value-packed training around the promotion. In this case, the training is called, “How to Create an Easy-to-Implement Facebook Marketing Plan that REALLY Works.”

I deliver the training through live webinars, and after the promotion is over in a few weeks, the free live webinar will no longer be available. I have worked SO HARD on this training that I want it to live on beyond my promotion, and I thought that the best way to accomplish that was to present the training in a podcast.

I think you will find it extremely valuable, and at the end of this podcast you will have a really good understanding of how to create a Facebook marketing plan that is focused on both the needs of your business AND the needs of your customers. In addition to that, this plan will actually help you produce leads and revenue on a consistent basis on Facebook.

People have a lot of concerns about Facebook:

• They aren’t sure what they’re doing and they feel stuck

• They are frustrated with their list building strategies; their list is growing painfully slow

• Or, they are just frustrated with Facebook in general, but are still holding out a little hope because they really want Facebook to work for them because they’ve put a lot of effort and in some cases a lot of money into it but just haven’t gotten the results they were hoping for.

• And some people are just looking for a plan so they get see more fans, leads or sales through Facebook.

If you can relate to any of that, this podcast is perfect for you!

Specifically, we covered the following 7 steps that you need to Create a Facebook marketing plan that really works.

1. Create Your Lead Magnet

To build trust and affinity with your Facebook fans, create a free irresistible giveaway that solves a problem or offers immense value. To ensure that your giveaway attracts your perfect ideal audience on Facebook, create something that is SO GOOD your audience would pay for it.

2. Set Up Your Lead Capture Page

The next step is to create a webpage that will collect name and emails in exchange for your giveaway.  A well designed lead capture page is critical because it must convert. Instead of paying for a programmer and designer to create this page for you, look into using LeadPages. With this tool you could have a lead capture page up and running in 10 minutes!

3. Create a “Gotta Have It” Facebook Post and Turn It Into an Ad

At this point you want to create a Facebook post that entices your fans to sign up for your irresistible giveaway. This post will become your Facebook ad.  To get maximum exposure and results, create an Unpublished Page Post (also known as a “Dark Post) in the Power Editor ads dashboard. Only run this ad in the News Feed.

In this episode I promised to show the current Facebook ad I am running that is generating over $30,000 a month for me via my Facebook Marketing Plan.

My Unpublished Facebook Ad

When you go into the Power Editor, you will see the option to create an "Unpublished Page Post" and when you click on that link, this box will pop up.  This is where you want to include all of your copy and the image.  Note the image size in the example below:

4. Only Show Your Ad To Your “Perfect Customer” Target List

To ensure that your ad is only seen by Facebook users who will be genuinely interested in your free giveaway, use Lookalike Audiences on Facebook as your targeting strategy. Not only will this help you target your perfect customer profile, it will also allow you to reach a larger, targeted audience.

5. Only Pay For Leads That Have A True Interest In Your Offer

It’s important that you understand how much you want to pay for your leads.  When you get clear on what you want to eventually sell to your new lead, it’s easier to decide how much you will pay for your ads to convert a fan into a new customer.

6. Always Know In Real-Time If Your Lead Magnet Is Working

Use the Conversion Tracking Tool to ensure that your lead magnet is converting fans into leads.  Track these metrics daily so you can be confident that your strategy is actually working!

7. Create The “5 MUST EMAILS” To Perfectly Position Your Offer

One you have attracted your new lead from your Facebook efforts, it’s time to take things outside of Facebook. Create an email auto responder series to provide even more value to your new lead and when the time is right for you, begin to introduce them to your offer.  Email marketing will move your new lead to become a customer.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, we talked all about video creation and editing. I know a few of you instantly felt a little anxious when you read those words, because video is not usually at the top of anyone’s “favorite things to do” list - or at least that's the case for me!

I’ve been creating videos ever since I started my online business, but it’s always been a tough thing for me. I don’t particularly like to see myself on video and let’s face it, video is a lot of work - from both the creation and editing sides.

And yet video is very important for online marketers, which is why I invited my friend, Caleb Wojcik to be on the show. Caleb promised me that he would give some tips to make video easier, and he delivered on his promise!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• Caleb's progression from screencast videos to using multiple cameras
• The best type of video to start with
• How your audience determines how polished your videos need to be
• How to make videos using PowerPoint or Keynote
• How to make video editing faster and less painful
• The reason why 60% of the people that Caleb surveyed don't create video
• A trick for finding mistakes in the videos you create
• The benefits of editing backwards
• The sweet spot when it comes to video length
• Why you shouldn't put videos that people will pay to see on YouTube
• Where to host your videos
• And so much more!

Key Takeaways

• If you're nervous about creating videos, screencasts are a great way to start.

• The best screen recording software is Screenflow for Mac and Camtasia for windows.

• It at all possible, when shooting video, sit facing a window.

• If natural light isn't available, position lighting directly in front of you, at a 30-45-degree angle. Light shining directly on you, you'll end up with a shadow from the camera on your face.

• When using your phone to shoot talking head videos, be sure to use a mic, such as Rode Smartlav to improve sound quality.

• DIY videos are fine, especially when they're not being used as part of a paid program. For paid programs, it's better to go pro if possible.

Gear to Check Out

Microphones

• The Rode Smartlav mic
• Heil PR-40
• Blue Microphones

Software

• Screenflow
• Camtasia
• Plural Eyes
• iMovie
• Final Cut Pro X
• Adobe Premiere

Teleprompter 

• ikan teleprompter

Video Hosting

• Wistia
• Vimeo
• Turnstile

DSLR Cameras

• Canon T5i
• Canon Rebel

Digital Audio Recorders

• Tascam
• Zoom H49
• Lavalier

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I interviewed my good friend, Chris Ducker. This interview came at a perfect time, because the evening after completing the interview, I got on a plane to the Philippines to speak at Chris' event, Tropical Think Tank.

This was an exciting trip for me because not only is this my first trip to the Philippines, I also had the opportunity to speak with some some really fantastic people, including Pat Flynn, John Dumas, Greg Hickman and Natalie Sisson, and of course Chris Ducker himself, so it was a lot of fun.

On today’s show, we are talking about the power of virtual support and outsourcing. This is an important topic for me, because I recently learned a valuable lesson, something I did not believe for so long until I finally experienced it personally in my business.

So many successful people I look up to have told me that it is possible to work less and make a bigger impact, which includes bigger profits. That was hard for me to believe because it went against everything I knew about hard work paying off.

However, on episode 23, I talked about how I experienced this very thing in 2013. I tell you this because with the right support, you truly can do less and make more. That’s why I think the topic today is so valuable to anyone building a business online.

I’ve actually had Chris on the show before and so today we are going to dive a bit deeper into this topic. For those of you who do not know Chris, Chris is a serial entrepreneur, virtual staffing expert, blogger, podcaster and author of the new book Virtual Freedom (which is a FANTASTIC book and one I highly recommend.)

In this episode, right from the start, Chris gets personal about a recent experience he had with burnout - and how his burnout did not effect his business AT ALL.

Also, Chris dives into the mindset and mechanics around expanding your team with virtual support. The mindset requires a different way of looking at your business and your role in your business, seeing the value of letting go of some of it, and leveraging it by entrusting certain aspects of it to someone else. The mechanics include specific strategies and tools you can use to maximize your outsourcing experience.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• Mindset and the mechanics of expanding your team

• The value of letting go and leveraging

• Chris' burnout, and what he did about it

• The importance of taking care of yourself and switching off regularly

• What entrepreneurs should do with the time they save by outsourcing

• How a virtual team kept Chris' business going in the midst of his burnout

• The importance of entrepreneurs going off the grid from time to time

• What super hero syndrome is, and how to overcome it

• The impact of ego on your business

• What will defeat the benefits of your outsourcing efforts

• How you can make more by working less

• How to counter the feeling that you can do things faster yourself than telling someone else to do it

• The biggest problem when training your virtual staff

• How to throw little curve balls to your VA, and why you should

• Why you need to take care of your team ahead of all else

• Whether you should outsource locally or overseas

• The 3 basic ways Chris communicates with his staff

• The point where a lot of businesses begin to fail and how to avoid it

• And so much more!

When training your virtual staff, the biggest challenge you'll run into is yourself [Tweet This]

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, we talk all about Twitter.

Since I am not a Twitter expert, I have invited my friend and mentor, Michael Stelzner, on the show to talk about some very specific strategies he uses to promote his live and online events with Twitter.

Mike would say that he too is not a Twitter expert, but I would disagree because he is doing things on Twitter that are getting some serious results - and he’s been perfecting his Twitter strategy for many, many years, so in my book, he’s a pro.

For those of you who might not know Mike, he is the founder of  the best social media site around, Social Media Examiner, which he launched  in October of 2009, which has exploded, to say the least. Last year more than 7.5 million people visited the site. He's the author of two books (Launch & Writing White Papers) and is host of the Social Media Marketing Podcast. He also founded the parenting blog MyKidsAdventures.com.

5 Strategic Ways to Promote with Twitter

1. Transactional Tweets

This type of tweet has a psychological component to it. When people have just made a purchase or signed up for a newsletter, they're poised to take action, and are more likely to do the next thing you ask them to do. Therefore, as soon as the transaction is complete, send them to a thank you page, and on the page, add a text link with a request.

For instance, you may have a text link that says something like, "Click here to tweet your excitement about (coming to an event, a course they just purchased, etc.). When they click on the link, have it open up a pre-populated tweet that says something like, "I'm attending/just purchased. . ."  Be sure to include a link to the event or item being tweeted about.

2. Verbal Tweets

Podcast listeners are often on the go. They may be listening from the gym, while they're driving, etc, so give them a URL that is easy to remember. Mike directs people to go to SocialMediaExaminer.com/love. I actually stole this idea from Mike, and on occasion in my podcast you'll hear me ask you to go to AmyPorterfield.com/love. If you click on that link, you'll see that it opens up a window with a pre-populated tweet about how much they love my podcast. This is a great way to get your podcast listeners to spread the word about your podcast!

3. Shout-Out Tweets

Shout-out tweets are a great way to give love to someone! An example of how Mike uses this technique is that he lists all of the speakers for his events and asks people to click on the name of their favorite presenter. When they do, again, a pre-populated tweet opens up that says something like, "Hey [name], I'm really looking forward to meeting you at [event]."

4. Affiliate Tweets

Write up 10-15 different tweets that promote your product or event, and put them on a blog page or in an email. All people have to do is add their affiliate link to the tweets you've crafted, and they can then easily be shared. The easier you make things, the more likely people are to share! You can use this same strategy even if you don't have affiliates, but have other offerings that you want your audience to help you promote.

5. Custom Tweets

Social share buttons such as Digg Digg have been around for awhile, but when people use them, they promote only the specific page or post the person is on. But you may not want the person driving traffic to the page they are on, such as on the page with information on hotels for an event that is being promoted.

The solution is to craft custom tweets, and then embed that code on any page. This enables you to include a link to the page you want people to go to, regardless of the page they tweeted from. This also gives great social proof because instead of having several Twitter buttons with smaller tweet counts, when you use the widget, the tweet count is aggregated.

Hashtags

In the final third of the show, Michael dove deep into how to best use Hashtags on Twitter, as well as shared some of his favorite Twitter tools.

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, I share with you some insight I’ve recently discovered about myself. It’s something that I’ve always known on some level, but I’ve just recently really owned it and started to be actively aware of it. I decided to share it with you, because maybe you can relate.

Here’s the deal. Sometimes my mind is a pretty scary place to live as a result of the stories that I create  about my experiences. When I’m in my head, these stories are completely true and real, but in reality, they are just perceptions.

As an example, in the early years of my business if I promoted something and it didn’t go as well as I thought it should, the story that would play in my mind was that I’m just not as good as my peers, that I didn’t have what it takes to be a success, that I’m in over my head, and that I should have never left Tony Robbins. These stories crushed my confidence!

Now that I’m more aware of these stories, I try to spend as much time as possible in the present moment, where life is actually happening, rather than focusing on these stories that I’ve made up. This approach has helped me quiet fears, doubts, and worries as they pop up as I’m building my business.

I’m sharing this with you because these stories are something we all have to deal with from time to time. Because of that, I invited my good friend and mentor, Marie Forleo, founder of B-School, best selling author and the creator of the award-winning web show MarieTV.com, back to the show as my first repeat guest.

I specifically asked Marie to come on the show to explore these mindset pitfalls, because Marie is not only a marketing pro,  she also has a great way of pulling you out of your head and into the present moment where things tend to look very different than they do in our minds.

Marie and I discuss the following three mindset pitfalls that entrepreneur’s tend to face as they’re building their business:

#1: How Do I Deal with the Competition?

Competition can be destructive, especially when you’re first starting out and are vulnerable. It can cause a downward spiral that Marie refers to as “the comparison hangover.”

You may be tempted to look at someone else’s videos, Facebook Page, Twitter stream and so on and feel like you’ll never get there. The comparison hangover can make people feel like crap and some people even use it to take themselves out of the game.

But competition is actually a very positive thing that can fuel you and drive you to succeed. It can be a healthy form of peer pressure that can actually push you to strive for more.

One thing I learned when I was working with Tony Robbins is that it’s important to surround yourself with people who are more successful than you so that it motivates you to strive to do even better. While you’re doing so, it’s important to remind yourself that they used to be right where you are and didn’t attain their level of success overnight.

It’s up to each of us to pay attention to these signals and the type of story we’re making up in our minds regarding our competition, and choose to make competition a positive thing.

#2: How Do I Deal with Criticism in My Business?

If criticism shows up on the doorstep of your blog or your Facebook Page, it’s important to deal with it head on. In many cases, critics just want to be heard, so if you acknowledge them and their point of view, and tell them you respect where they’re coming from and perhaps even find a point in their criticism that you agree with and acknowledge it, it works wonders.

By doing so, you completely disarm them and open up a dialogue. When you respond with something like, “I completely agree with you on that point” or “I can really see where you’re coming from,” both of you may actually end up learning something!

Naturally, we’re not talking about rude and tasteless comments or things that are sexually offensive, but criticism where someone is legitimately upset or doesn't agree with your point of view.

Marie shared a saying that is important to remember:

All human communication is either a loving response or a cry for help. [Tweet This]

This perception is a very helpful tool for all of us to remember. When someone’s criticism is a cry for help, showing respect and acknowledging them can really help.

In addition to this, constructive criticism – if you don’t shy away from it – can make you better in the same way that competition can. It can help you to raise your game and grow considerably.

Now remember, we’re not talking about rude comments on YouTube where people criticize your appearance or things that have no basis in truth.
Another tip is that when someone criticizes you, take a look at what they’ve created in their own life or business. People who are truly successful themselves are unlikely to hatefully critique someone else, especially online.

#3: How Do I Deal with a Lack of Follow Through?

Follow through is one of the most important lessons that Marie has ever learned. She shared some thoughts from a friend of hers and one of her favorite authors, Steven Pressfield.

It’s important to ask yourself, “Am I operating like an amateur or a pro?” It’s a simple question, but the answer is profound and changes everything.

Amateurs are people who show up every now and then, flake on their commitments, don’t take their work seriously and are more likely to get lost in things like addiction, drama, negativity, or eating constantly. They may have a lot to do, but have a ton of excuses about why it doesn’t get done.

We all know amateurs and in fact have all been an amateur at some time in our lives.

In contrast, a pro is someone who shows up no matter what, who gets results no matter what, and figures out how to make things work. Pros take themselves seriously and are dependable.

A pro is different from a perfectionist. Pros produce no matter what, even if it can’t be done perfectly. For example, if a pro has made a commitment to publish content a certain day of the week, death is about the only thing that could keep it from happening. A pro also understands that the only way to get good at something is to do it consistently.

If you’re struggling with perfectionism, focus more on the actual content, rather than the bells and whistles that are nice to have, but not 100% necessary.

It also helps to get things started, knowing that everything is going to be an iteration. For example, when you initially release a course, it may not be just the way you want it to be, but you can keep making improvements.

This is what Marie did when she first launched B-School, her online school for modern entrepreneurs. B-School has now been out for five years, and has grown into a comprehensive soup to nuts program that changes people’s lives.

This episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast is all about some of the big business lessons I learned last year and that I'm taking with me into this New Year.

I call them lessons, but really they were big wins that just really worked well that you can apply to your own online business.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• Why you should create a year-long promotional calendar

• The importance of documenting all planned promotional emails

• How I earn the right to promote my programs

• How to know when to say no to opportunities

• How to do more with less

• My revenue in 2013

• How I optimized my online programs

• What to do if you're just starting out in your business and don't know what to focus on

• The importance of focusing on one big project at a time

• How to create marketing funnels for increased revenue

• My experience (both good and bad) with masterminds

• And so much more!