When “Sorry” isn’t enough, do this instead…

My friend Lewis Howes is working on a new book.

Naturally, he’s excited.

At a conference, he told a group of people about his book – including the title.

Now let me make one thing clear: this wasn’t a big group of people. It was a small group of trusted confidantes.

Well…

One of these people stole his book title and published a talk on it.

Seriously.

And sure, he later apologized. But I find this entire scenario troubling. Here’s why:

Right now there’s a mantra in the entrepreneurship world where people openly brag about “Never asking for permission. Ask for an apology.”

And on one hand, I get it. Sometimes, in the interest of “shipping it,” you need to ship it. Without apologies. But if you are doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing… and you do it anyway… you may find yourself in an impossible, unrecoverable position.

Because sometimes, “Sorry” is not enough.

A few years ago, someone stole my friend Ramit Sethi’s sales page. Word for word. I remember reading it and thinking, “Wait a second… REALLY!?”

Now I wasn’t friends with the person who stole the page, but I was an acquaintance. So, I reached out to them to let them know how I felt. “Yea, I was inspired by Ramit!”

“Uh. No. You stole his work.”

And they refused to make it right until Ramit involved lawyers.

They later apologized. They later said they learned their lesson. But does “sorry” wash away all the bad feelings?

Of course not.

I mean, here I am, writing about the incident several years later.

You may think, “Well, why don’t you just forgive and forget?”

And sure, you could.

But there are too many people in the world who do the right thing that, as a busy entrepreneur, you’re better off focusing on those who do the right thing… vs those who have a history of doing the wrong thing.

It gets worse too.

I know I showed you a few examples of people who clearly did a bad thing… and now they suffer the consequences for it… but consider this example:

I’m in the market for a new custom cake. I spoke to a cake decorator, and they told me they’d call me at noon. But noon came and went and I never got a phone call.

2 days later, I got a text message: “Sorry I missed you. So busy!”

I ignored it.

They followed up with examples.

I ignored it.

There are too many other cake decorators out there who wouldn’t go back on their word – and I rather do business with them.

So…

The big question is this: what should you do when sorry isn’t enough?

When you want to win over someone for good, the truth is: sorry isn’t enough.

And you only really have two choices when you find yourself in this unfortunate position:

Choice #1: Move on

Know that you’ll never have a relationship with the person you just disappointed. And know that they’re likely telling people about it… forever.

Choice #2: Over compensate

Now imagine if that cake decorator followed up with me and said, “I know I let you down. The cake is on me.”

Sure, it would be expensive. But it would win me over.

How do I know?

A few years ago I was looking for an apartment. I was talking to a real estate agent in NYC, and they clearly made a huge mistake.

Then I got an email: “Hey Derek, I realized I messed up. So, if you want this apartment, I’ll waive my entire fee. I like to build a long term relationship with my clients, and I know you’ll need to either buy a place or rent a place in the future… so I rather make it right with you now.”

Think about this for a second.

A rental fee in NYC is thousands of dollars. And they were willing to waive it to compensate for their mistake. Did she win me over?

Heck yea she did.

I then decided to do some research on this real estate agent. And what did I find?

I discovered that she’s one of the top performing real estate agents in all of NYC.

It made complete sense.

I did something similar. When I first started my online business, my system accidentally billed someone twice. There was some kind of error, and they got billed twice. And it put them in an unfortunate position since it took the money right out of her debit account.

What did i do?

Yes, I refunded her the payment. But I also wired her the money so she could access the funds immediately.

In the end, I ended up giving her twice her money back. But she deserved it. I made a mistake. And I had to fix it.

And that’s the secret.

If you make a mistake, do everything to make it right. Even if it comes at a great expense to you and your business. Especially if you want an ongoing relationship with the person.

Now I pass it to you…

Has there even been a time when sorry wasn’t enough?

What did it take to win you over?

from
http://feeds.socialtriggers.com/~r/SocialTriggers/~3/4JIKfQMqSnY/

Warning: Are You Suffocating Your Blog by Needlessly Neglecting Newbies?

Editor’s note: You’ll certainly have heard the following advice, commonly given to bloggers — “write for your ideal reader.” But the truth is, your most valuable readers won’t have identical needs. And if you ignore one important group, your blog growth could stall. Pamela Wilson’s new book is not just a must-read for content marketers; it’s invaluable for bloggers too. In this extract, taken from “Chapter 4: Matching Your Content to Your Customer’s Journey”, she explains how to pitch your content at different experience levels to attract a healthy mix of readers and avoid depriving your blog of the “oxygen” it needs to grow — new fans.

Prospects and customers go through a process of getting to know your business until they feel comfortable opening their wallets and doing business with you.

It’s called a “customer journey.” Although many have tried to map it out and identify key steps along the way, the reality is that the journey taken will look a little different for each person.

Customer journeys are as different as the people who take them.

Content marketing is designed to facilitate this journey — no matter what it looks like — by offering up the right information every step of the way.

I want to share a way of thinking about the customer journey that the Copyblogger editorial team has developed as we work together to produce the Copyblogger blog. We took a step back and looked at how we could best serve our entire audience: the ones who were just finding Copyblogger and the ones who’d been reading for years.

We developed a technique for classifying the content we create, and it has been enormously helpful in guiding our topic choices and developing an editorial calendar that meets the needs of the people who come to our site.

This classification system will ensure that you deliver the content your prospects need to understand your topic, develop trust in your business, and feel comfortable entering into a business relationship.

Identify and Write to Your Customer’s Experience Level

The editorial team identified three labels we use to pinpoint who we’re writing for when we create specific content on our site. Pay close attention to the questions associated with each label. That’s where the magic happens!

Beginner, or What is ___?

Your beginning readers comprise a vast audience, and it’s important to serve them well.

I’ve seen it many times: a content creator picks a topic and begins writing about it consistently over time. Researching, writing, and teaching a topic inevitably leads to a more in-depth understanding of it. As their knowledge deepens, their content becomes richer. But they “forget” what beginners want and need.

This is a mistake. Many of your prospects will find your site because they do a web search for something they’d like to know. They find your content because it answers their question. And they stick around because they see that your information is consistently helpful.

These beginning readers are ripe prospects who you can move along a customer journey using your content. To write content that helps them, think about your main topic and all the related subtopics. Here’s an example:

You write about learning to run for an audience of readers who’ve never run before. Many of the people who come to your site will be complete beginners — people who need to know the basics. They’re asking…

Post ideas to answer the What is ___? Question:

• What could running do for me?
• Do I have to run fast to be considered a runner?
• What is the difference between a regular sneaker and a running shoe?
• Why is proper training necessary?
• What is a realistic schedule I can use to go from no activity to running a 5k race?
• What are warm ups, cool downs, and sprints, and why should I do them?

Beginners have questions — lots of them. And some of them are so basic they might be embarrassed to ask them if they were standing right in front of you. Guess what? That’s why they’re doing a web search!

So make sure you provide plenty of content that answers the “What is ___?” fundamental questions that are running through your beginning readers’ minds.

Intermediate, or How Do I Do ___?

Your intermediate readers have gone beyond the basics. They’ve found answers to their “embarrassing” questions. Now they’re working to achieve mastery. They have a vision, they’re working toward it, and they’re looking to your content for help.

Intermediate readers are voracious consumers of “how-to” style content. They want tips, checklists, “ultimate guides” and step-by-step tutorials. And when you deliver this kind of content to them, they’ll save it, re-visit it, and share it with their friends because they found it useful.

Let’s take another look at our website about helping non-runners learn to run. They’re asking…

Post ideas to answer the How do I do ___? question:

• What kind of shoe offers the best support for running hills?
• How can I find running buddies in my community?
• What should I do about dogs that approach me while I’m running?
• What are the best apps for mapping my run?
• How can I stay hydrated when I run in the heat?
• What’s the best way to control my body temperature when running in the cold?

Advanced, or How Do I Get Better at ___?

Advanced readers have the basics down pat. They’ve also mastered intermediate-level questions and know “how to” do most activities and tasks associated with your topic.

When they get to this point, they morph into advanced readers. And they’re still looking to you and your content to guide them on their journeys. After all, you’re the authoritative voice who got them to this point, right? Your site is their preferred place to learn.

Advanced readers want to improve their performance. They know how to do the basics. Now they want to get better, faster, and more efficient. They’re asking…

Post ideas to answer the How do I get better at ___? question:

• How can I increase my stamina so I can run longer distances?
• What’s a good strategy for winning a 5k race?
• How can I keep running even in my 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond?
• What’s a reliable training regimen to increase speed?
• How can I adopt a winning mindset on race day?
• Where can I find safe and fun running routes while traveling?

What Percentage of Your Content Should You Write for Each Group?

Oh, I’d love to give you a formula here. I really would! But this is something you’re going to have to figure out for your own website and audience. A few guidelines:

Write mostly for beginners. The beginner audience is massive, and reaching out to them will help you bring in a steady stream of prospects who will be forever grateful you were there for them when they were asking their newbie questions.

Listen carefully, and note what people are asking about. If you notice lots of comments on your site or on social media platforms that feature intermediate and advanced questions, write content to answer those.

Notice objections and write answers to them. Any time you make an offer, people will find all sorts of reasons not to buy. When you’re writing a sales page, for example, you’ll want to be sure you’re answering those objections and providing reassurance in your copy.

But your regular content can answer objections, too. As a matter of fact, using content this way makes it much easier to sell something once you’re ready because you’ve responded to questions and met objections slowly and naturally with the information you’ve shared over time.

Using our example above, a few objections — and the content that will answer them — might be:

Objection: I’ll never be a runner: I’m too out of shape.

Content: 5 Inspiring Examples of Great Runners Who Don’t Look Like Typical Athletes

Objection: I don’t have time to run.

Content: A Simple Way to Run Daily and Still Have All the Time You Need

Objection: Others can run but I’ve tried, and I know I can’t do it.

Content: 3 Surefire Ways to Ease Into Becoming a Runner — Even if You’ve Failed Before

This approach to content — thinking in terms of beginner, intermediate, and advanced — will influence the topics you cover and how you deliver your information.

Matching Your Content to Your Customer’s Journey: A Checklist

• Serve up content for every step of your prospect’s journey. Make sure you have plenty of content for beginners and ample content for those who are at an intermediate or advanced level.
• For beginning readers, answer What is ___? Beginning content defines a topic and helps web searchers expand their understanding of the basics.
• For intermediate readers, answer How Do I Do ___? Intermediate readers want to know how to apply what they’re learning to their lives and situations. “How-to” content fits perfectly into this category.
• For advanced readers, answer How Do I Get Better at ___? Advanced readers crave mastery. What content can you create that will help them get really good at your topic?

About the Author: Pamela Wilson, author of Master Content Marketing: A Simple Strategy to Cure the Blank Page Blues and Attract a Profitable Audience, is Executive Vice President of Educational Content at Rainmaker Digital. Find more from Pamela at Big Brand System.

from
https://smartblogger.com/writing-for-beginners/

How to Sell High-priced Products from Your Blog – with Cliff Ravenscraft

How to Sell High-priced Products from Your Blog – with Cliff Ravenscraft

Episode: 283
Who: Cliff Ravenscraft
Blog / Website: Podcast Answer Man

Are you charging as much as you could for your digital products?

Are you nervous about increasing your rates?

In today’s episode, I’m on the line with none other than Cliff Ravenscraft, a.k.a the Podcast Answer Man and host of the Cliff Ravenscraft show, a podcast devoted to helping you take your message, your business and your life to the next level. He started podcasting as a hobby way back in December 2005 and has since created more than 30 different shows and an amazing 3,300 podcast episodes. He has personally helped thousands of people launch extremely successful podcasts through one-on-one coaching, consulting, and his Podcasting A to Z online training course.

I brought him on today to talk about how to sell high-priced products from your blog. This is something that scares many bloggers, myself included, but is something that can REALLY help us take our businesses to the next level.

If this all sounds really familiar… well, we tried to cover this topic two episodes ago, and Cliff totally derailed the show with his enthusiasm for changing the world! But I promised we’d come back to the topic of selling high-priced products, so here we are. We promise to stay on topic this time.

Cliff’s Story

Cliff started out with a very successful insurance career in his family business. The company had been running since 1935, and he was next in line to take over when he left insurance to pursue podcasting full time in January 2008. At the time, he had been podcasting for about two years.

Cliff with his wife, Stephanie

Cliff started podcasting as a hobby. He was doing well financially, and he didn’t ever think that he’d be building a business based on his podcasts. His first investment in podcasting was a $35 microphone from BestBuy. A little while later, when his wife Stephanie joined him on his Lost podcast, he bought another mic for about $90. So he hadn’t spent a ton of money, and he knew nothing about sound quality, but people really connected with his show. He had thousands of listeners by the third episode!

One day, a listener sent a message saying that she loved the show, but she wished that the sound quality was better. She asked how much money Cliff and Stephanie would need to purchase higher quality microphones, and offered to write a check. From that point on, donations started coming into the show. Cliff and Stephanie set up the Generally Speaking Network at GSPN.tv to host all of their content. If you go to GSPN.tv/check, you’ll see the biggest donation they ever received–$12,000!

Soon, Time Warner Cable was calling and asking to advertise on the show.

At one point, Cliff and Stephanie were using a site called TalkShoe.com, which allowed them to broadcast their podcasts live and to take live callers. TalkShoe was just a startup at the time, but Cliff’s podcasts brought in so much traffic that they wanted to make a deal with him. They needed content hosted on their servers in order to attract advertisers. So they paid Cliff between $1,000 and $5,000 per month to host his show with them, while they were making $0 in ad revenue themselves.

Within a year of launching his first podcast, Cliff and Stephanie were running six different shows.

Building a Business

One of Cliff’s shows was the Podcast Answer Man. He has so many people emailing him to ask questions about podcasting that he thought it would be better to just create a podcast devoted to answering them. And then, he had another idea: would anyone actually pay him to teach them how to podcast? Would they pay $150 for a 90-minute webinar?

Podcast Answer Man Website

Yes, they definitely would. He sold out immediately, and people loved the content. They encouraged him to do more, and to charge a lot more money for it.

At that point, Cliff started doing one-on-one coaching at $50 per hour. He was starting to think about leaving his job in insurance to pursue podcasting full time. But his rates were too low. He says that at this point, he was closing with 3 out of every 10 people that approached him about coaching. So he had a 30% success rate with convincing people to actually sign up. He thinks that the number was so low because people didn’t take him seriously at $50 per hour. They might have been thinking that he wasn’t any good if his rates were that low.

Life was “pretty insane” for Cliff at that point. He says that his priorities were way out of whack. In addition to all of the podcasting he was doing, he was putting in 50 to 60 hours per week in his insurance job as well as volunteering with his church. He was making a ton of money, but he was burning out.

Full-Time Podcasting

Cliff says it’s really important for you to know what his financial situation was when he left his job in insurance. By the time he decided to leave his insurance job, he and Stephanie were virtually debt-free. Their only remaining debt was their mortgage payment.

He’s in a single-income family: Stephanie is a stay-at-home mom with their three kids. So it was important to Cliff that he would still be able to provide for the family when he started podcasting full time. Being debt-free was a big part of that.

He also had several income streams set up through his podcasts. For example, he had a sponsored podcast at the time that, over the course of four years, paid off their mortgage all by itself!

In addition, he had affiliate income of about $1,500 to $2,000 per month. He was also earning between $2,000 and $3,000 per month for consulting and one-on-one coaching. And, finally, he was making $3,000 to $5,000 per month in equipment sales, as an official reseller for some of the equipment he used.

Within a couple months of leaving his job, Cliff was working with Stephanie to create between 7 and 15 podcast episodes per week. This was to keep their existing podcasts going while also creating content for their GSPN Premium Membership program. For $10 per month, Premium Members got access to all of their content on the site. This is not something that he would ever do again, or something that he recommends, but at its peak the program generated about $28,000 per year.

GSPN Premium Membership program

Still, the majority of his income was coming from equipment sales at first. $50 per hour for consulting was just not sustainable, so he raised his rate to $95 per hour. He struggled with that decision, wondering who in the world would pay $95 per hour. He thought, “people are going to spend $95 for an hour to talk to me about something I love? This is crazy!” But as soon as he increased his rate, his success in closing deals improved, too. He went from 30% to 50% success almost overnight.

Cliff says he used to think that the harder your job was or the harder you worked, the more money you should be paid. But that’s all wrong: now, he says, he knows that it’s all about how much value you add to the life of the person paying you.

One-Year Anniversary

Still, at the end of his first year he was “squeaking by.” He brought his consulting rate up to $150 per hour, and he saw his success in closing clients go up to about 80%. He found that once he increased his prices again, his clients were much more relaxed and willing to let him add value to the calls instead of just answering the questions that they came in with. A number of clients told him that he should double his rates.

Cliff’s business was profitable after the first year, but he only earned $11,000.

At the time, he was still spending most of his time and earning most of his income from equipment sales, which involved a lot of free consulting on his part in the hope that the customer would purchase the equipment. Around the same time, he met Dan Miller, author of the best-selling book 48 Days to the Work You Love. Dan and Cliff got along really well, and Dan started sending over members of his audience who wanted to learn about podcasting.

That was great, but Cliff’s consulting schedule started filling up weeks and weeks in advance. He was spending so much time on the equipment sales that he was really limited in terms of the amount of time he could spend on consulting and coaching. After talking about this problem on one of his podcasts, Pursuing a Balanced Life, one of his listeners chimed in with three words that changed his life: Stop. Selling. Equipment.

The listener had done the math: with all the hours that Cliff was spending on equipment sales, he was only earning $22.50 per hour. Why would he continue doing that when people wanted to pay him $150 per hour for coaching?!

So Cliff quit equipment sales and started doing 25 hours of coaching per week. And, of course, his income shot right up.

In a Mastermind meeting not long after that, Cliff’s group tried to convince him to increase his rates to $300 per hour. But he just wasn’t confident enough. He felt safe at $200 per hour, but not $300. Eventually, they decided that if he wasn’t confident enough to go there, he shouldn’t do it. If he wasn’t convinced that he was worth $300 per hour, how could he convince anyone else?

Nowadays, Cliff charges $1,500 per hour for coaching.

Digital Products

Cliff started to notice that he was getting a lot of repeated questions in his coaching calls. One day, he had four clients in a row all asking about how to use Adobe Audition because he had recommended it on his podcast the week before.

Adobe Edition

So in October 2010, he reached out to his mailing list and pitched a series of seven, two-hour webinars answering his most frequently asked questions. Whereas a two-hour coaching call would have cost $600 at the time, he was offering these webinars for $100 each or $595 for all seven.

Once he launched the program, he made $16,000 in 10 days. Crazy! That money allowed him the time to plan and build the tutorial videos. Now, when a coaching client asks one of those seven questions, he gives them access to the tutorial free of charge, so that they can move on to more exciting questions.

His current product, Podcasting A to Z, is significantly higher in price.

Strategies for Selling

One of Cliff’s top strategies for selling high-priced products is to give away tons of value for free. He does this through his podcast.

Cliff has found that people are willing to pay for 2 things:

1. Personal, direct access to Cliff
2. Easy, fast, and organized access to information

Sell Your High-Priced Products Online

Most of the content of Podcasting A to Z can be found within Cliff’s podcasts. But the course organizes the information in a way that’s easy to access and understand. Instead of having to search through hundreds of episodes, they can quickly and easily find the information they’re looking for. And if they have a question, Cliff is always available to help.

Cliff says that his podcast is the number one thing he uses to advertise his course. He promotes the course at the end of every episode. Why? The people still listening at the end are the only people who will be willing to spend $2,000 on the course.

He also brings in successful Podcasting A to Z alumni for interviews on the podcast. This is strategic: they may or may not mention the impact that the course had on them, but Cliff will always mention that they took the course. It’s powerful social proof.

Snapchat

Snapchat is another tool that Cliff uses. It’s proven very effective for him. He once made $6,000 in a day! But the same principles still apply: you’ve got to give away lots of value for free before you start advertising your paid product. So Cliff posted from January to May of this year, every day, with no marketing message at all.

It was a great way for him to reach a new audience. Cliff devotes an hour every day to interacting with Snapchat followers, answering questions, and building relationships. When you do make your sales pitch, those relationships will really pay off. When Cliff finally advertised the Podcasting A to Z course on his Snapchat, three people signed up right away. All of them were people that he interacted with regularly.

So basically, to sell your high-priced product, you’ve got to provide a ton of value up front, build relationships over time, and then make the ask.

Any Other Tips?

Cliff says that his sales and marketing training from his insurance days has been extremely useful. If you have or you can acquire those skills, they’ll definitely serve you well.

He also maintains a personal follow up list. This is so that he can reach out to potential buyers in a personalized way. Here’s how it works:

Evernote

Any time someone emails him with a question and expresses any interest at all in Podcasting A to Z, he saves their contact details and the content of their message in Evernote. Then he sets a follow up date.

When it’s time to follow up, Cliff personalizes the content of the email based on what was in the first message. He also includes anything else he knows about this person. He’ll “stalk” them on social media and see what they’ve been up to, so that he can show that he really cares about providing value for them.

If that person still isn’t ready to commit to the course, he’ll follow up again. This shows that he really believes in his product and believes it’s a worthy investment.

Sometimes, when he’s had a few follow up emails with someone, but the interaction isn’t as warm as it was at the start, or it’s feeling a little stale, Cliff will include a personalized video in his next message. He’ll take everything he knows about the person and sit down to make a quick video, just talking to camera. This is a powerful marketing tool because there’s no way it could be a form letter. It’s definitely personal, and it makes that person feel very valued.

Where Can I Find Out More?

If you want to hear more from Cliff, you can find his podcast on podcastanswerman.com.

If you’re interested in the Podcasting A to Z course, head on over to podcastingAtoZ.com.

Resources Mentioned

• Podcast Answer Man – Cliff’s blog/website
• Cliff Ravenscraft show – Cliff’s podcast devoted to helping you take your message, your business and your life to the next level
• Podcasting A to Z – his online training course
• This Interview Was Derailed by Cliff Ravenscraft’s Enthusiasm – My previous interview with Cliff
• Generally Speaking Network at GSPN.tv – where Cliff and his wife, Stephanie host all of their content
• GSPN Premium Membership program – where premium members can get access to all of their content on the site
• TalkShoe.com – allows podcasters to broadcast their shows live and talk to live callers
• Snapchat – another tool that Cliff uses to build his audience by interacting with Snapchat followers, answering questions, and building relationships.
• Evernote – where he saves contact details of people he wants to follow up with in the future.

Infographic

How to Sell High-priced Products from Your Blog – from an interview with Cliff Ravenscraft

The post How to Sell High-priced Products from Your Blog – with Cliff Ravenscraft appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from
http://www.becomeablogger.com/23902/sell-high-priced-products/

How to Maximize Your Success by Attending Conferences

How to Maximize Your Success by Attending Conferences

Episode: 282

Thinking about attending a conference for the first time?

Can going to conferences really make a difference for your business?

In this very special podcast episode, I’m actually broadcasting direct from FinCon with some special guests. We are broadcasting live from the TradeKing Podcasting Stage right outside the expo hall, and will be talking about how to maximize your success by attending conferences. I’m here with three other members of the Become a Blogger coaching club that decided to come all the way down to San Diego, California to attend this event. They’re here to connect with other bloggers, learn lots of valuable information, and take their blogging businesses to the next level. We’re going to be talking about our FinCon experiences so far, what we’re getting out of it, and how it’s going affect our businesses.

I’ve never had this many guests on a podcast before, so this will be fun!

What’s FinCon?

FinCon is a financial bloggers conference. It’s the world’s largest financial content expo, but it’s open to anyone who wants to attend. It’s a great place to be if you have any kind of financial component to your blog. You can find more information on their website.

I was speaking at FinCon this year, so I got the chance to give away a few tickets to members of my Become a Blogger Coaching Club. With me in San Diego were: Serena Appiah from ThriftDiving.com, John Jefferson from FreeFinLit101.com, and Traci Antonovich from TheKitchenGirl.com.

At FinCon 2016, podcasting live at TradeKing podcasting Stage with myself, Traci Antonovich, John Jefferson, and Serena Appiah from the BAB Coaching Club.

Why FinCon?

All three of these bloggers are interested in finance in one way or another: Serena is all about helping you decorate your house on a budget; John wants to build your financial fitness and literacy at any age; and Traci makes great recipes that are easy on your wallet. So FinCon is the perfect place for all of us to be!

At FinCon 2016 with some of my fellow bloggers.

Traci specifically says she’s been wanting to come to FinCon for about 3 years now. What’s great about FinCon for her is that it’s a convergence of the “technical, geeky, nerdy financial people,” so you can ask any question and there’s someone around who can answer it. Plus, everyone’s got common ground in terms of being content creators who need to market and grow their businesses.

John says he’s amazed at how friendly everyone is. You can just walk up to anyone, introduce yourself, and start a conversation.

Plus, says Serena, it’s a whole different level of blogging. There’s fantastic content, and we’re all actually learning a lot in the sessions. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to blogging or if you’re really experienced: there’s something for everyone.

What’s the most valuable part of the FinCon experience?

It was hard to pick just one thing! Especially for Traci.

Serena said it’s the people and the new connections she has made. She sees a real benefit in going slightly outside of her niche. You never know where those new relationships will lead!

John was really impressed by how honest and open the different speakers were. He felt that he had an instant connection with them because they shared their vulnerabilities. We all agreed that to have a place like FinCon where people are comfortable being vulnerable is really important.

Myself with John and Traci at FinCon 2016.

For Traci, the most valuable part of the experience was getting some validation for her ideas about how to focus content. She’s looking to work budget and finance into her blogging more explicitly, so it was a great opportunity for her to test out some new ideas. Coming to a conference like FinCon can really help spur on new ideas because it gets you out of your comfort zone. Traci felt like she had been stuck in a rut of just generating content before coming to FinCon, but she’s leaving re-energized to try out some new stuff!

For me, the #1 best thing about FinCon is just connecting with people. The sessions and the information are great, and San Diego is an amazing location, and the food was really good, too. But what really makes the trip worthwhile are the conversations you have with other people. It might be just 2 or 3 conversations that really stand out and stay with you, but when you cultivate those relationships you never know what can happen.

What’s one extremely valuable thing you learned from the sessions that you’re going to implement in your business?

Serena learned the most from a short session she attended on public speaking. The presenter had a goal of mastering public speaking, and so he recorded himself every time he gave a talk. And in the car on the way home, he listened to himself and thought about how he could improve the next time. He said that the best thing you can do if you’re looking to improve as a public speaker is to invest in a small recording device so that you can listen to yourself and figure what’s working and what’s not.

Some of the FinCon 2016 speakers with myself included.

He also had some advice for watching things like TEDTalks. It’s a three-step process:

1. Watch the whole thing straight through, to get a general idea of what’s going on.
2. Watch it again with the sound turned off, so you’re focusing on the speaker’s body language.
3. Turn off the video and just listen to the audio track, so you’re focused on what is actually being said.

Serena felt that this was really actionable advice. Plus, it applies to more than just live public speaking. You could use the same tips to improve your podcasts or your videos, too. Instead of just putting content out there and moving on, it’s really important to look at where you can improve. And believe me, everybody has something they can improve on, no matter how experienced they are!

For John, the most valuable thing he learned at FinCon was about using video on his blog. So far, he hasn’t really used much video, but he is inspired to do more after attending the conference. He learned a lot about putting videos together and about where they should go on the blog. His favorite tip actually came from Serena, who often embeds a video within her blog posts. This keeps readers engaged longer and gives them another way to access the content.

Serena also suggested repurposing old content by adding video, especially if it’s a popular post that consistently performs well. You can re-energize it really easily by just adding in a video.

Traci’s biggest takeaway from FinCon was about connecting to her audience. She attended a session that focused on gearing content towards what your audience wants and needs. Traci felt that she hadn’t been connecting to her audience in a meaningful way because she had been so focused on just creating new content all the time. For example, she hasn’t built a Facebook group for her business yet. So attending FinCon has given her lots of ideas about how to deepen her connection to her audience.

Again, it was really hard for everyone to pick just one extremely valuable piece of information! All three of my special guests are hoping to come back to FinCon in the future.

What would you say to a blogger thinking about going to conferences?

A conference can feel like a really big commitment of time and resources. They can be expensive, and they might be held in cities far from home. You’ve got to cover accommodation, food, the conference fee…it’s a lot!

But John says that you’ve got to place the value in the information you’ll get back and in the friendships you’ll establish at the conference. What you’ll see and learn while you’re there far outweighs the financial investment you’ll make in it.

Traci agrees: “Where else in the world can you go and be in a room full of like-minded content-creators” and have the opportunity to meet and talk to complete strangers? At FinCon, you can just go up to someone and say, “Hi, I’m Traci”, and they’ll want to talk to you. You can’t do that on the street. Well you could, but people might not respond as well. There’s so much potential value in the relationships you’ll build at a conference.

Serena points out that it’s important to know why you’re going, though. Let yourself be vulnerable, but also have a goal in mind in order to get the most out of attending a conference.

I can say pretty confidently that more opportunities have come my way through conferences than any other way. In fact, if I wasn’t going to conferences, I’m pretty sure I’d still be working at my job. That’s how valuable events like FinCon have been for me.

Resources Mentioned:

• FinCon – the conference we were at in this podcast episode.
• BAB Coaching Club members who were with me:
  • Serena Appiah from ThriftDiving.com
  • John Jefferson from FreeFinLit101.com
  • Traci Antonovich from TheKitchenGirl.com

Infographic

Attending Conferences: How it can Make a Difference for Your Business

The post How to Maximize Your Success by Attending Conferences appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from
http://www.becomeablogger.com/23900/maximize-success-attending-conferences/

The Five Most Realistic Ways to Make a Living as a Writer

You want it so bad that it dominates your waking thoughts.

You’re even afraid to say it out loud, in case you sound plain crazy:

“I want to make a living as a writer.”

(You can just imagine the snorts and smirks from family and friends.)

But it’s true — you’re no closer to reaching that goal than the day it first popped into your head.

So, who knows? Maybe the doubters are right. Maybe you are naive to think you could earn a living doing something you love, instead of something you just tolerate.

Except… that you’re not. Because people just like you are already doing it.

The problem isn’t your dream; it’s the way you’re going about achieving it.

Why Most Wannabe Writers Never Earn a Penny

Writing for a living offers a ton of advantages – you get to choose when and where you work, and with whom.

No wonder this promise of creative and personal freedom attracts so many people.

But the truth is that most of them don’t want to think about the practicalities of becoming a full-time writer.

They don’t want to think about the uncertainty, the rejection, the self-doubt.

They don’t want to think about all the small, unglamorous tasks that make life as a writer possible.

Deep down they fear their perfect dream will tarnish if they drag it down to earth. So it just hangs there in a shiny bubble, waiting for the day it miraculously comes true.

But let’s be honest — it just won’t happen. Or do you really think someone will approach you one day and say:

“Hey there. I heard from someone that you were thinking of writing something, someday, and I’ve love to pay you to see where that someday could lead.”

Of course not, but without a concrete strategy, that is what it would take to make your distant dream a reality.

Experience shows that vague plans fail. Grounding your dreams in reality is what makes them happen. Even if it means thinking about the things you’d rather not consider.

It’s not enough to say you want to make a living as a writer; you need to know how. You need a concrete plan to bridge the gap from where you are now to where you want to be.

And the more realistic your plan, the better. Don’t bet the farm on a path that only a small handful of super talented (or incredibly lucky) outliers have followed. Choose one that’s worked for lots of people.

If you don’t know what such a plan might look like, here are the five most realistic ways to earn a full-time living as a writer.

1) Write Articles for Popular Blogs, Magazines and Journals

Despite talk of global “content fatigue,” major publications — both on- and offline — must keep publishing content or die.

That means popular blogs, magazines and journals remain hungry for quality writing — and many are willing to pay for it too. You’ll need to hustle to find the best opportunities, understanding that success won’t happen overnight, but writing for these publications is still a realistic way to make a living as a writer.

Let’s start with the blogs.

Although writing for popular blogs (a.k.a. guest blogging) is still typically unpaid, with most writers trading their content for exposure, numerous exceptions still exist. For some examples, check out Carol Tice’s Make a Living Writing for a comprehensive list of sites that pay for guest articles.

Guest posts can also lead to other paid work. Take this blog as an example: we’ve approached several guest writers to create content for our paid courses, and paid them several thousand dollars for their work.

And what about the world of print? Is that still a viable route?

Traditional publishing has had a rough ride, but many consumer magazines are still going strong, and many of these publications still pay well for feature articles. Of course, you can’t expect to land a lucrative opportunity right away — you’ll need to climb the ladder via smaller, local publications, building your credibility as you go.

Likewise, trade journals crave quality articles within their narrow topic area and many are waking up to the more conversational, engaging writing style that writing for the web demands. Also, talented bloggers with proven specialist knowledge can often skip the ladder-climbing and break in with the right pitch.

In general, the secret to making this model work is being tenacious about chasing down opportunities and being efficient with your writing once you land them.

The people who follow this model successfully are like writing machines — they crank out quality content quickly and don’t allow themselves to get bogged down in any one project.

2) Create Collateral for Content-Hungry Businesses

In the last five years, content marketing — this concept of creating valuable content to attract customers and build credibility and trust — has undoubtedly gone mainstream.

The result? More and more businesses are getting into the content game. Some have a clear strategy, while others are just jumping on the bandwagon and hoping it pays off down the line.

This has created a market for smart writers who can write for a specific audience. These content-hungry businesses need articles, white papers, case studies — the list goes on. And they fully expect to pay for them.

Breaking into this market can be tough without a few contacts to get you started, but it’s not impossible.

Initially, you may need to jostle for attention with thousands of other eager writers in freelance marketplaces like Upwork.com. But with patience and hard work you can establish a track record of successful projects and break away from the low-earning masses.

However, this route requires a portfolio of content-related skills — not just an understanding of the target niche, but of marketing fundamentals and SEO too. In other words, you’ll need more than a laptop and a passion for writing to impress this crowd — you’ll need to persuade clients that you understand the bigger picture.

One smart way to differentiate yourself is to build your own platform, using blogging and guest blogging to demonstrate the expertise you hope to harness for others.

3) Become a Best-Selling Kindle Author

What about making it big as an author? Could that be your best route to a life of freedom as a full-time writer?

Well, it’s certainly more realistic than it used to be. Ten years ago, writing a best-selling book was a distant dream for most writers and self-publishing was often dismissed as a vanity exercise.

But today, thanks largely to Amazon and Kindle, the self-published book market is gigantic and making your living from writing books is far more achievable.

Enter, the authorpreneur — the author with an entrepreneurial brain.

Of course, more achievable doesn’t mean easy. If you have visions of publishing one book and retiring on the profits, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

To succeed, you need to be commercially minded and target an established market with proven demand from readers. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow your passion but be prepared to validate it first.

You’ll need to be persistent and prolific too — chances are you’ll publish several books before gaining any traction, and you’ll need sales from multiple titles to approach anything resembling a full-time income.

However, according to a report earlier this year from Author Earnings, 1,600 indie authors are earning $25K or above from Amazon book sales, and 1,000 published their first book three years ago or less.

But should you write nonfiction or fiction? Nonfiction is the most natural fit for the average blogger, and if you’re blogging in a popular niche, the chances are that books covering similar topics will also be popular.

If you want to find success as a self-nonfiction author, check out Steve Scott. Even though he’s recently switched his attentions to a regular podcast on self-publishing, his old site still has a ton of useful information.

Fiction writing is arguably tougher (and requires a rather different set of skills), but there’s no denying that your earning potential if you do hit it big, is much larger. And it’s no coincidence that the most famous self-publishing successes are all fiction titles.

For inspiration and direction visit The Creative Penn. Joanna Penn is a prolific fiction (and nonfiction) author and her site is rich with information about making it as a fiction writer.

But in either case, you need to be led by the market for topic (or genre) selection. And you need to be prepared to write multiple books before seeing any real results.

One major advantage of this route is that you continue to earn money from your back catalog, sometimes far into the future. Once you start to make a basic living from your writing, additional titles only build your income further.

4) Sell Yourself as a Conversion-Focused Copywriter

Copywriting, in a nutshell, is writing that’s designed to make readers take a specific action.

Sales letters, video scripts, even product descriptions — these all need writing by someone, and they live or die on the results they produce.

Copywriting may not seem fundamentally different to other forms of writing, but in practice, it’s a discipline all of its own.

While there’s a trend towards more conversational, empathetic copywriting — moving away from the hype-fuelled “hard sell” — you still need a solid understanding of the principles of persuasion.

So unless you have a copywriting background be prepared to invest time and money in learning the fundamentals. There are some excellent books on the topic — CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone (affiliate link) is a good place to start. Copyblogger’s Brian Clark shares his favorite titles here.

The most famous training course on copywriting is probably AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

Notwithstanding the steep learning curve, the rewards of copywriting can be significant. A high-converting sales page might earn you $2,000, plus a slice of the revenues too.

As a bonus, a foundation in copywriting will also be valuable should you ever decide to sell your own products.

5) Build a Niche Blog and Promote Third Party Products

I’ll be honest — building a popular blog is tough. Really tough.

And once you’ve scaled your blog beyond a certain point, you might be surprised how little time you actually spend doing the thing you love — writing.

So if your dream is to build a six-figure blog, you’d better be as excited about the prospect of running a business as you are about writing your next post. (In fact, if you’re making six figures, writing is one of the things you should probably outsource.)

But there is a path to making a living from a blog where you still spend a good proportion of your time writing. And it starts with picking a blog niche where a large, passionate audience already exists and — this is crucial — where you can find successful products from trusted names to sell.

Promoting affiliate products is a much smarter way to start earning money from a blog than creating your own product. With an affiliate product, someone else has already done the hard work of validating the market, building the product, and enhancing it based on customer feedback. Someone else gets to handle the pre-sales inquiries, payments, refunds, and product support.

Many affiliate products pay high commissions too — 50% or even more — because the incremental production cost of digital products is essentially nothing.

The secret is finding the right products — ones that you can stake your reputation on. Pat Flynn is the undisputed king of passive income, earned (mostly) from sales of affiliate products — check out his video on Choosing Affiliates Products to Promote and How to Sell Them.

Ideally, you’ll know what products you’ll sell even before starting your blog because then you’re growing an audience that perfectly matches your offer.

Of course, you still have to do all the stuff that makes a blog successful — publishing great content, building your email list, reaching out to influencers, etc. — but writing remains a big part of the equation, i.e., creating the stellar content that brings people to your site.

Once you’re in a groove, you can think about adding your own products to the mix, using your writing skills and topic knowledge to deliver a specific result that readers are willing to pay for.

But when you’re starting out, promoting affiliate products is the most realistic, and least risky, way to make a living writing on your blog.

It’s Time to Choose Your Writer’s Path

Just stop for a moment and ask yourself:

“Am I sabotaging my writing dream by refusing to get real about the how?”

Because you know what… I’m tired of seeing talented writers stuck in lives they don’t love.

So the dreaming stops here — it’s time to decide once and for all.

Are you truly serious about supporting yourself with your writing, or is it just an idle fantasy to cheer you up when your regular job gets you down?

If you are serious, then decide: which of these five paths above will you follow? The article writer? The content marketer? The copywriter? The authorpreneur? Or the niche blogger?

If none of them feels like an exact fit, don’t worry, that’s normal. Pick whichever one’s the closest and try it on for size. Any discomfort is just the price of getting real.

Got one? Excellent.

Let’s turn your perfect dream into an imperfect reality — one where you’re making a living as a writer.

Just picture the faces of your family and friends when they find out.

About the Author: Glen Long is the managing editor of Smart Blogger (a.k.a. chief content monkey). When he’s not creating or editing content for this blog or an upcoming course he’s probably watching Nordic Noir. Why not say hello to him on Twitter?

from
https://smartblogger.com/make-money-writing/

This Interview Was Derailed by Cliff Ravenscraft’s Enthusiasm

This Interview Was Derailed by Cliff Ravenscraft’s Enthusiasm

Episode: 281
Who: Cliff Ravenscraft
Blog / Website: Podcast Answer Man

Do you worry that your message isn’t valuable enough?

Do you want to change the world? Of course you do.

In this episode, I’m on the line with Cliff Ravenscraft a.k.a the Podcast Answer Man and host of the Cliff Ravenscraft show. His podcast is devoted to helping you take your message, your business and your life to the next level. He started podcasting as a hobby way back in December 2005 and has since created more than 30 different shows and an amazing 3,300 podcast episodes. He has personally helped thousands of people launch extremely successful podcasts through one-on-one coaching, consulting and his Podcasting A to Z online training course.

I brought him on here to talk about how to sell high-priced products from your blog and then… we got a little derailed. Instead, we’re talking about how podcasts change the world, and I gotta tell you, I think you’re going to get a LOT of value out of this episode!

Changing the World

Cliff started our interview by talking about an Apple commercial from a while back, where Steve Jobs said something like, “only the crazy people think they can change the world, and they’re the ones that do.” So I had to know: does Cliff really think that he can change the world? He said, “I have already.”

To explain, he went all the way back to his first podcast, which started in December 2005.

He says that there are people who are married today who would never have met if they hadn’t listened to Cliff’s podcast. They listened to the show, they came to a meetup, and the rest is history. There are successful business partners who met the same way.

Cliff has done over 30 different podcast shows in the last 11 years, for a total of 3,600 episodes. On average, his episodes are 1 hour each. So that’s 3,600 hours of his voice out on the airwaves that people are listening to and being influenced by.

He’s done 9 years of podcast consulting and coached over 1,000 students one on one. He has had 580 students on his Podcasting A to Z group course. That’s almost 2,000 people who have paid for him to teach them how to podcast. And that’s not counting the 25,000 people have made use of free materials and launched a podcast.

Cliff has helped tons of podcasters build their own podcasts.

So there are about 30,000 podcasters putting their content out there because of Cliff. He’s changing the world by enabling people to get their message out there.

But sometimes it’s smaller than that. Cliff says that even just sharing a smile can change the world, because if I can put a smile on your face today, and make you feel better about yourself, and you go out and create something like a podcast as a result of that good feeling instead of taking the day off, you might reach somebody who really needed to hear that content today.

Of those listening to this episode right now who want to build a podcast and don’t have one yet, Cliff estimates that at least 20 of them will learn to build a podcast from him over the next couple years. They will create content that will save people’s lives.

This is Where We Got Derailed

You Can Change the World with Podcasting

Now, as you know, my slogan here at Become a Blogger is “Changing the world one blog at a time,” so I was more than happy to dwell on changing the world instead of talking about how to make more money!

Here’s Cliff’s take-home message for you: “If you’re listening to this right now, and you’re holding back because you feel like you don’t have much to offer, you have been lied to.” As a Christian, Cliff believes we were all created for a purpose and that we all have extreme value in the world.

That doesn’t mean that every person out there has to have a blog or a podcast. We’re all uniquely gifted. But if you want to blog or podcast, then there’s no reason for you not to be out there doing it.

Whatever it is you want to do, whatever message you want to share, whatever industry, area, niche, or topic, you have a unique perspective to offer. It doesn’t matter if there are hundreds or thousands of other blogs or podcasts about that topic. Your lifetime of experience means that you will always bring something special to the table!

Cliff used an analogy to explain. If Cliff and I both read the same book, and we were both given the same podcast title, and we were both asked to give a podcast based on the same outline, Cliff guarantees that we would create vastly different podcast episodes. We would tell essentially the same story completely different ways because of our different life experiences.

Is My Niche “Life Changing”?

But what if the thing you want to podcast about isn’t “life changing”? What if you want to talk about Legos? How does that change the world?

Cliff says it doesn’t matter. And he should know, because his first blog, back in December 2005, was a podcast about a TV show. Cliff and his wife, Stephanie, just talked about Lost on their podcast.

Now, Cliff will be the first to admit that he went into podcasting for all the wrong reasons. It was an ego thing in the beginning. You can search for Cliff’s podcast on iTunes and read the 1-star reviews. Cliff would say that he pretty much earned them all.

But did he change the world with that podcast? YES.

How does he know? His listeners have told him so.

For example, Anne from Germany had a traumatic life. She had attempted suicide as a teenager, and after that event she really withdrew from society and became a recluse. Watching TV was one of the only things she could do, and she loved Lost. Anne found Cliff and Stephanie’s weekly Lost podcast, and she says that it changed her life.

Cliff and Stephanie’s Weekly Lost Podcast

She started meeting people through that community and, eventually, started travelling to meet people and coming to conferences. She went from never leaving her bedroom to crossing international borders just to meet new friends.

Cliff and Stephanie’s podcast inspired her to create a personal blog about her struggle with anorexia. She started blogging through her treatment experience. Lots of people told her that she should keep her experience private. But Anne knew that sharing her story would have a profound and positive impact on people’s lives. She has been in recovery ever since.

Eventually, Anne decided to create a podcast about anorexia. She signed up for Cliff’s Podcasting A to Z course, and launched FightingAnorexia.com. She started a community online for other people in recovery, and now she is changing people’s lives.

It’s an amazing story! So I ask Cliff, “What kinds of things can you do in a podcast to make that kind of impact possible?” Let’s say you really do want to podcast about Lego.

Cliff says that you have to start by figuring out why you want to talk about Legos. What does Lego mean to you? What does Lego spark inside you? What do you create with your Lego?

Your impact might be as simple as giving people the freedom to say, “Hey, it’s okay to have a hobby as an adult around Lego. There are others like me.”

It isn’t really about Lego at all. It’s about a shared passion. If you are deeply passionate about Lego, and there are other people out there who are also deeply passionate about Lego, and you build a relationship with those people, then you have the opportunity to have a positive impact in their lives.

Cliff gave an example: suppose that he meets a guy named Joe for the first time, in person, at an event, and they don’t know each other at all. Let’s say Joe works for Planned Parenthood, and he believes very differently from how Cliff believes. There’s already a barrier between them if they meet in that way, and they may not be able to get past it to find out what they have in common.

But what if Joe loves Lego, and Cliff meets him through a Lego community online? In that case, he gets to know Joe through their shared passion and build a relationship that way. And maybe, through interacting online, Cliff finds out that Joe lives close by, and they get together to build Lego and develop a wonderful friendship.

In that case, they would already have something in common and a strong connection before they found out that they had a difference of beliefs with regard to Joe’s job at Planned Parenthood. So they can be a positive influence in each others’ lives, and they can see what they have in common.

Embracing Your Purpose

That all sounds great, but I want to know: what made Cliff’s podcast so effective in terms of having an impact on people’s lives?

“Who am I to create a podcast?” Your unique experiences and perspectives make your message worth sharing.

Cliff says that he and Stephanie always brought their “humanness,” their day-to-day selves onto the show. You might think that you’re just a boring, average person, but Cliff and Stephanie found out that lots of people don’t think they’re boring at all!

You might be thinking to yourself, “Who am I to create a podcast? What makes me so special?” Your life experiences and your unique perspective make your message worth sharing.

Now, Cliff says he sometimes borders on narcissism too much, but maybe that’s because so many people have written in over the years to say that he’s special and has had an impact on their lives. From his religious point of view, he accepts that this is what God has put him on earth to do. And you can check out the testimonials on gspn.com/testimonials to hear some of what people have to say about Cliff and Stephanie.

Ultimately, Cliff’s a “regular person” just sharing his perspectives. Even if he’s “wrong” he’s still sharing his humanity with his audience, and that is really powerful. With the Lost podcast, he didn’t know all the ins and outs of how the show was created or what the writers intended. There were about 5 other Lost podcasts out there before Cliff’s, and he says that the quality of his content was a 2 out of 10 compared to the others. But people still wanted to listen to him and still felt connected to him.

Some people, myself included, can be a little bit uncomfortable with the message of embracing your purpose in life. Don’t we need to have humility about the gifts we have? Or does that only hold us back from fully expressing ourselves and being all that we can be?

Are Podcasters Narcissists?

Cliff struggled with this from a long time. If you want to know more about his journey in this respect, you can hear about it at podcastanswerman.com/380. He did a bit of a rant about it. The episode, “Are Podcasters Narcissists?”, was inspired by a commenter who said that he had “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”.

Sometimes Cliff gets so passionate and fired up that he crosses the line, and it comes across as arrogance. But anyone who knows “the real Cliff” knows that it’s genuine confidence, not arrogance behind his message.

So what’s the difference?

Arrogance is boastful, and overly proud. Arrogance is thinking that you did it all by yourself and didn’t have help from anyone. It’s the belief that you have not made too many mistakes, and that most of the time you make the right call. Cliff always acknowledges that he makes a lot of mistakes, gives credit where it’s due, and shares who inspired him and who taught him. He also knows that some of his success is down to luck, or being in the right place at the right time.

He also freely admits that he started podcasting for all the wrong reasons. He just wanted to get famous online when he started his Lost podcast. He was arrogant and boastful in the beginning, but he discovered his true calling and purpose through podcasting. What’s his purpose? It’s becoming a better version of himself every day and creating and promoting products and services that will help change the world.

Owning Your Accomplishments

This is something that I personally struggle with. Recently, I was talking to a friend about a service that I want to pitch to someone. And my friend kept insisting that I was charging too little for that service, and he started listing all of my accomplishments. He reminded me how much I’ve done for my clients. And I was so uncomfortable! I was pacing around the room and sweating…I just couldn’t handle it.

We all have the ability to speak to one person

So I ask Cliff: is this something he struggles with, too?

He says that he used to, but he doesn’t now. When Cliff says that he has changed the world, he has proof. It’s not an exaggeration or a boast. People tell him that he’s changed their lives. Three people have said that they decided not to commit suicide because of Cliff’s podcasts.

And from a spiritual point of view, Cliff says, “I am not me; I am Christ in me.” He believes that what he has achieved in his life is through the power of Christ.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, we all have value to give to world, because we all have the ability to speak to one person. And when we help that one person, we change the world. And we enable them to go out and change the world.

Cliff used another example to help illustrate this point. He started talking about my son, Noah. Now, I’m really proud of Noah, and I love him very, very much. When Noah is struggling to accomplish something, of course I help him.

Sometimes, Noah really, really struggles to learn a new skill, and it takes a long time for him to “get it.” I help him every time, show him the right way to do it, and he gets better slowly but surely, with my help.

And when he finally can do it, he is so proud of what he has achieved. Cliff asked me: do you say to Noah, “No, you shouldn’t be proud of this. You should be giving me credit”? Well, of course I don’t. Do I think that my son is arrogant for being proud of his accomplishments? Obviously not!

So Cliff says, “Do you think you’re a better father than God?”

Of course I don’t.

Final Thoughts

Cliff had two final points to share in this episode:

1. Think about why you create whatever content you’re creating.

Look for the opportunity to create and establish relationships that would never happen otherwise. Start out from shared passions, because this is most effective way to establish a relationship. You have the ability to positively impact each other’s lives regardless of how much you don’t have in common.

2. You should start a podcast.

If you need help getting started and you don’t mind spending some money, you can go to Cliff’s 4-week coaching course, Podcasting A to Z, at podcastingatoz.com.

If you want a free course, check out Learn How to Podcast. It needs an update, but there’s still a lot of good content there, and it’s a great place to get started.

If you want to hear more from Cliff, you can listen to his podcast over on podcastanswerman.com.

Resources Mentioned

• Podcast Answer Man – Cliff’s blog
• Cliff Ravenscraft show – Cliff’s podcast
• Podcasting A to Z online course – Group training and coaching service offered by Cliff.
• Weekly Lost podcast – where Cliff and his wife, Stephanie, started a blog which focused on their thoughts about Lost episodes. This basically paved their way to their podcasting journey that started way back 2005.
• Generally Speaking Production Network – an online media production company founded by Cliff and wife, Stephanie.
  • GSPN Testimonials – hear what people have to say about Cliff and Stephanie’s company and their podcast shows
• “Are Podcasters Narcissists?” – where Cliff tackled the topic about crossing the borders of narcissism for podcasters sharing their journey online.

Infographic

Changing the World with Podcasting

The post This Interview Was Derailed by Cliff Ravenscraft’s Enthusiasm appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from
http://www.becomeablogger.com/23794/cliff-ravenscrafts-enthusiasm/

How to Use Live Workshops to Grow Your Audience – with Dan Morris

How to Use Live Workshops to Grow Your Audience – with Dan Morris

Episode: 280
Who: Dan Morris
Blog / Website: Blogging Concentrated

Have you ever thought about offering live, in-person workshops?

Want to grow your online audience, offline?

In this episode, I’m talking to none other than Dan Morris. Dan is president of Audience Industries, Inc. and a co-host of Blogging Concentrated, a corporate training, education, and resource company that provides training seminars and workshops throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Dan started out developing Walgreens pharmacies, but transitioned into online marketing around 2003. He taps into his experience developing TV and radio infomercials to drive traffic to the web and uses that to help bloggers like you and I perfect the little things that make a big difference.

It takes a lot of effort to do his in-person workshops, but it has helped him to grow a very targeted audience.

Dan’s Story

Dan was ready to dive right into the meaty stuff, but first, I wanted to know more about him, because he’s got a great story. It seems like he’s been involved in everything under the sun, but Dan says he still has a bucket list.

At the top? Patenting an invention. He wants to design cough drop lollipops for kids that won’t be a choking hazard. Cool!

But how did he get into online marketing from building Walgreens stores? And what does building a Walgreens involve?

Dan was a real estate developer, so he was in charge of finding and proposing sites, making plans, applying for permits, figuring out traffic patterns, roads, parking lots, signage and so on. He also had to hire the architects and contractors to do the actual building part. And he was responsible for keeping everything on time and in line with Walgreens’ specifications.

OPC Factor

So… online marketing. Next logical step, right? Not quite. But Dan worked for someone he describes as a “really rich guy.” The rich guy liked to spend his money investing in projects that he thought were worthwhile and would bring him more money.

So he funded a project called the OPC Factor, which was an antioxidant supplement. After checking out the product and funding a National Institute of Health Study, the rich guy decided that the product was marketable and bought the worldwide marketing rights.

At that point, he realized that the product needed an online presence, and Dan was given the job of figuring that out. Social media wasn’t as important at the time, so Dan focused on SEO and organic reach.

Luckily for Dan, there was money to spend on the project, and so they hired a lot of consultants to come in and give advice and training.

He more or less learned on the job through trial and error. They were able to try out something new every week and see what worked and what didn’t.

Once they figured out how to get people to buy the product, they set up an autoship program, where customers would get more of the product sent to them every month through a membership.

This had huge results. They were moving more product than much bigger health and beauty competitors. Dan ended up consulting with them, and learning a lot from their web developers, too.

From about 2003-2009, they had huge results. Then the recession hit, and the real estate side of Dan’s job “died.” He started transitioning away from real estate to work online full time.

One of the things that Dan had done when he was building OPC Factor’s online presence was to create an authority site about one of its key ingredients. The idea was that if people were searching for this ingredient, the authority site could lead them to the product. This strategy worked amazingly well.

As a result of that success, Dan got invited to speak at a blogging event. A couple months later, someone who had been in the audience emailed him to say that they had tried his strategies and seen great results. In fact, Dan’s advice had worked so well for them that the husband had been able to quit his job.

Dan thought to himself that these were the kinds of people he wanted to be helping. He felt that he had really impacted their lives, and that this was more meaningful work than helping a big company grow their sales.

 

In-Person Workshops

So how did Dan get from online consulting to in-person workshops?

Dan says that he found a way in through informal blogging networks, where a bunch of bloggers get together to write and work over a weekend. Dan was invited to speak at a few of these events and absolutely loved it. He wanted to know how he could do more of them. Eventually, he thought, why wait around for someone else’s event when you could be hosting your own?

In 2012, he started hosting his own events, and Blogging Concentrated was born. He and his co-host Rachel Marie Martin offer local, one-day workshops, with a membership site to back up their teaching and offer continuing education.

What are the benefits of in-person as opposed to online workshops?

Blogging Concentrated group in Mason City

One of the big ones, according to Dan, is exposure and social proof. Sponsors get to see that you can fill up a big space in the middle of nowhere, and they want to be a part of that.

Dan and Rachel’s year-round model also gives them an advantage over conferences. Sponsors see that they can be getting seen at events every weekend all year, as opposed to over a short, four-day period once a year.

Blogging Concentrated Group

Another advantage for Dan is connecting with people who don’t travel and might not attend conferences. He’s developed a broader knowledge of the industry and found different kinds of networks than he would online.

Meeting in person gives Dan a different level of connection with his audience. He says that when you come to someone’s hometown, that’s a different kind of relationship.

You’ll meet people in Lansing, Michigan or Oswego, New York who might be financially unable to attend conferences, or can’t get away for a whole weekend because of childcare, but will drive three or four hours for a one-day workshop near them. There’s an appreciation and focus from people because you came to them. They’re really there to learn.

Finding Audiences

Dan says that running in-person workshops is a lot like playing gigs. You travel a lot, and you end up in lots of different kinds of spaces. But one of the keys, for Dan, was figuring out the most efficient ways to market the workshops.

His inspiration came from watching comedian Kevin Hart at Madison Square Garden. He had sold out the space, and Dan wanted to know how to do that. The answer was that Hart could rely, partly, on Madison Square Garden’s built-in traffic.

Blogging Concentrated at Blogger Bash

Dan and Rachel had been trying to drive lots of people to places they’d never heard of, exhausting themselves by aggressively marketing the event ahead of time.

Once they realized that they could be taking advantage of existing audiences, they started offering Blogging Concentrated as an add-on to conferences and other events.

It’s a great strategy when you’re starting out, because people are more likely to come check you out if you’re attached to a bigger, better-known event.

Dan says that piggybacking on someone else’s audience saves a lot of time, but you can’t exclusively do those kinds of gigs. You have to target the small towns, too.

If you just stick to conferences, you’ll only ever go to Chicago, New York, L.A., and so on. In a big city, your event is just lost in the noise. In a small town, you might be the only thing happening that weekend, so people will go out of their way to come and participate.

A Blogging Concentrated Weekend

Dan and Rachel typically do 4 events in a single weekend.

On Friday night, they host a bloggers’ dinner, which they advertise using Eventbrite. Dan prefers Eventbrite to MeetUp because it’s free for as many events as you want, as long as you don’t charge an admission fee.

MeetUp is also exclusively local: it’s hard to “go national” on that platform. MeetUp is also a social network that requires continuous, local management, and Dan and Rachel might not be back in the same city for a long time.

Blogging Concentrated Events on EventBrite

The Friday night dinner is just an informal networking event. Dan says anyone in any niche can benefit from doing an event like this. It’s also a good way to get a few more people signed up for the main event.

On Saturday, they run a Blogging Concentrated workshop. They have a Facebook event page, but they manage tickets through their website. Sometimes, they’ll give a free ticket to people they know in the area who might be able to bring in more bloggers.

Blogging Concentrated on Facebook

On Saturday night, they travel to their next city.

On Sunday morning, they run the Blogging Concentrated workshop in the new city. Then, Sunday night, they host another bloggers’ dinner. They usually get home late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Rachel also runs findingjoy.net, so sometimes they’ll combine a bloggers’ dinner with a Finding Joy event, or they’ll run a separate meetup for Finding Joy.

Workshop Structure

Rachel and Dan in one of their earlier workshops

Dan struggled with this question, because he says that he’s rarely done the same workshop twice! But he did give some tips for someone looking to build a workshop.

Early on, he and Rachel asked the audience which topics they wanted to prioritize. This was great, because people felt that they really got what they wanted out of the day, but the workshops had no flow.

They’d be jumping between topics in order of priority, rather than in an order that made sense in terms of content.

Plus, Dan says, sometimes people don’t know what they need to know. They might not prioritize a topic because they don’t know anything about it, but it could be really important or useful for them.

So after about six workshops, Dan and Rachel decided to create an actual curriculum. Rachel was key in working out the kinks and paying attention to what the attendees wanted and needed.

Rachel’s attention to the energy in the room was sometimes more useful than audience feedback surveys. If you do surveys, remember that not every comment will be helpful. You’ve got to wade through to find out what’s most useful.

Let’s Talk Money

Dan says that he rarely pays for venues. He’s worked in hotels before, and he finds them too impersonal. Instead, he seeks out tech companies in the area and makes use of their conference rooms or training facilities.

In return, someone from the company comes in and does a session for bloggers over lunch. It’s way more interesting than a hotel, and they won’t usually charge a venue fee.

Blogging Concentrated

Dan also would never run a free workshop. He definitely recommends charging people. He doesn’t even offer discounts. He says that if someone isn’t willing to pay the full fee, then they’re not really investing in the learning experience. He doesn’t want you there if you don’t think its worth the fee. He wants his attendees to be totally invested in the event.

How Can I Find Out More?

To find out more about Blogging Concentrated and other stuff that Dan is up to, head over to BloggingConcentrated.com. Through the website, you can also subscribe to the Amplify Podcast, which puts out three new episodes every week.

Resources Mentioned

• Blogging Concentrated – Dan’s blog
• Eventbrite – where to advertise your events for free
• Amplify Podcast – Dan and Rachel’s podcast

Infographic

How to Use Live Workshops to Grow Your Audience – with Dan Morris

The post How to Use Live Workshops to Grow Your Audience – with Dan Morris appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

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