AMY PORTERFIELD: Well hey there, Amy Porterfield here. Welcome back to another episode of The Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast. I’m so very thrilled that you’ve tuned in.
Today’s guest is Nicole Walters and today’s topic is how to create a five-day live video series to rapidly grow your email list.
First, let me tell you about our guest. Nicole is a former top-selling corporate exec who quit her six-figure sales job and turned her side gig into a multi-million dollar online business.
She now teaches others what they need to do to also move forward with turning their passion into profits. Plus, she is hysterical. The girl makes me laugh all the time. I love having people on the show where we can have a lot of fun and get down to business.
I first met Nicole at the Nashville Business Boutique event. Since then I have been such a huge fan of hers and I was so excited to get her on the show.
Let’s talk about this topic. As you probably already know, I like to make my podcast episodes mini trainings. When I was at the Business Boutique even with Nicole we sat down in the green room before she went on stage and we talked about what this episode could be about.
She told me the story of how she put the five-day live video series together and how it grew her email list rapidly. I said, “Let’s talk about that. Let’s teach people how to do their own little mini series to grow their email list.”
She literally put an outline together and we went back and forth. We wanted to make this really, really actionable. So, here’s what you need to know:
- What we are teaching you today can help kick start your email list growth,
- It can kick start your confidence on video.
Those are two equally important “musts” when doing business online. In the second half of the episode I also do a rapid-fire Q&A with Nicole about the do’s and don’ts of live video via social media. Her insights are priceless so make sure to listen to the very, very end.
I won’t make you wait any longer. Let’s go ahead and jump in.
Amy: Nicole Walters, I am thrilled to have you on the show. Thank you so much for being here.
Nicole: Amy, I’m so excited. Your enthusiasm, I wasn’t ready.
Amy: Well, every time I get around you I have a huge smile. The last time we were together my cheeks hurt because I was laughing so hard. This is going to be a lot of fun.
Nicole: It will be, definitely.
Amy: My audience probably already knows you but just in case, I want you to start with your story. I don’t always start out interviews that way but your story is too good to pass up…the story of how you got where you are today. So, will you just dive into it and share it with us?
Nicole: Sure. Absolutely, partly because I love telling it because it’s totally crazy and also because I think your audience is amongst the smartest, brightest, most hardworking and I would like to get to know them better.
Just to know a little bit about me, I worked a 9-to-5 job like most people out there. I was working in corporate America as a senior executive for a multi-billion dollar Fortune 500. I was doing the 9-to-5 grind and eventually got to a place where I thought, “I just can’t. I’ve got more skills. I want to take the same thing I’m doing in Corporate America building these corporations and offer that to everyday entrepreneurs.”
I started sharing that journey live on the Periscope app. This was before Facebook Live and it feels like forever ago.
Amy: Isn’t it weird that it’s only been a year. But it was “before” some social media was out.
Nicole: Right. Facebook Live was just kind of a new thing one year ago.
Amy: That’s so crazy.
Nicole: So crazy. I was sharing my journey and doing the 9-to-5 grind and I was telling them what I was doing to build my business and how I could help them. I was kind of teasing the waters.
I finally got to the point where I thought I was ready to quit. I decided to do that. Well, it wasn’t just random. I had obviously saved money and started my business and built all of the processes.
Then I decided to quit and I did it live online in front of 10,000 people.
Amy: Guys, she did it live on Periscope and I watched it. I was dying.
Nicole: No way!
Amy: Yes. I was dying. I might have had to catch a recording of it because it was a little bit after you had done it and somehow or another you replayed it. I was watching it thinking, “are you kidding me?” She was literally talking to her boss saying, “This isn’t going to work for me and here’s why…”
She said she needed to move on. My heart was beating fast for her as if it was happening right then. It was crazy.
Nicole: Oh my gosh, Amy, I was getting text messages from my parents, my friends and family. Some people were like, “You’d better do this girl!” Other people asked if I was trying to never work in “this” town again.
Amy: Right!
Nicole: It was really the spectrum but overwhelmingly what was great was I knew it was the right thing to do. Even my boss on the line said if I loved what I was doing and was passionate about what I was doing and knew I was making money and generating income elsewhere then I was 100% in the right place. I was told to “just go” and live my passion. It was amazing.
Amy: You’ve never looked back. What I probably should have started out with is to ask, “What is your business?” This business you were building at the time is the same business you have now, right?
Nicole: Absolutely. When I was working Corporate America I was a sales executive within the business development and product development stream. It was insurance so I was helping with developing the structures around the insurance program and then marketing it to high-level senior executives.
It was only business to business with large types like Wal-Mart, PepsiCo, and those sorts. It was fun and interesting and I enjoyed building businesses but it’s way more fun with everyday entrepreneurs.
Now I take those corporate strategies, the things we tend not to pay a lot of attention to like the sales division and using tools like QuickBooks and Wunderlist and building in structure and I help people apply it to their everyday small entrepreneur business.
You get lots and lots of wins but they are small and sustainable and that leads to a really big future.
Amy: It really does and I feel like you make selling feel so doable and not sleazy, of course, and something incredibly necessary as we know it is but it’s almost something that becomes fun. I really do think you make it fun.
Nicole: It is fun. I think what I try to do with sales, I definitely try to position it so that you make sure where you are supposed to be, your purpose. If you’re struggling with sales you definitely want to evaluate and make sure you are comfortable and happy with selling whatever it is you’re offering. That may be the first mistake.
After that you are probably in the right place and you just need to be passionate about it and know how to connect with your audience.
Amy: Did you just snap?
Nicole: I sure did. That’s what I do when I do really well.
Amy: That was amazing.
Nicole: Yes, Nicole, you’d better slay that answer!
Amy: This is why it’s fun to hang out with Nicole. As I mentioned in the intro, I got to hang out with you for a few days but the snapping just took it to a whole new level. I might have to adopt that when I nail it. I’m just going for it.
Nicole: I’m excited. I cannot believe this just got fun on your podcast.
Amy: That’s amazing. I really hope you all heard the snaps. I think today all of us should find a moment when we just kind of nail it and we just go for it and snap and say, “We got it.” That was great.
Speaking of you nailing it, there is one area that you do particularly well. When I was with you at the Business Boutique event I loved that you said, “This is my jam.” This is my thing and it might not be that for everybody and you get it but video is definitely your thing. Would you admit that and say that was right?
Would you snap to that?
Nicole: I absolutely love it. I am very fortunate that the algorithm on social media loves it as well. Yes, video is definitely my thing. It is where I started and it’s where I’m crushing.
Amy: Okay, so that definitely is for sure. But not everybody has to be just as good on video in order to start experimenting with it. Would you agree with that too?
Nicole: That’s totally true because the algorithm’s favorable. If you are on there doing anything at all you are probably going to see a turn up in your results whether you like it or not.
Amy: Definitely. Everyone knows my issues with video and how I have always been a little bit more nervous than I like to admit around video. I’ve totally adopted it this year but I also know there is a place for all of us if we want to explore and experiment with it.
That’s what this episode is really about. So I asked Nicole to come on today’s podcast because I wanted to talk about a specific strategy that she implemented in her
business with huge success. We’re calling it the Five-Day Live Video Niche Market Series.
Basically, it’s a strategy that she put together to rapidly grow her email list. First of all, will you just break down what that looked like, what you did. Then we’ll get into the steps.
Nicole: Absolutely. It’s kind of crazy. You are the list-building guru. You’ve got that down to a science, especially with leveraging things like webinars and different strategies. But it was cool because I was saying to myself that live video is new and I’ve got to figure out how to leverage it.
At the end of the day you need to have a strong list. Everybody knows this, right? So I am on my video and most live video platforms aren’t integrated yet where you can say, “Click below,” or “If you’re watching this video just type in your email.” It’s not set up like that.
Amy: I can’t wait.
Nicole: I can’t wait but it’s not quite there yet. Because it isn’t that means you have to direct people somewhere. You have to give them a reason when they are watching to tune in and you’ve got to continue that relationship offline.
With this series I said to myself, “I’ve got an audience that’s kind of showing up.” I want them to bring on new people. That was the first goal. The second goal was that I wanted to build my list and I wanted to see how quickly I could build it.
What does that look like? Should I dive right into the step by step?
Amy: Yes. But before we get into the step by step, what was your specific video series about?
Nicole: My series, this one, was all about training your consumers to have a stronger relationship with you. That means if you are a brick and mortar business owner or if you are an online digital business owner you’ve got to have healthy boundaries with your clients and consumers.
They probably shouldn’t be texting you at any hour and it’s necessary to showcase your professionalism by not doing too much. You think you’re doing a great job but
you’re offering everything and the kitchen sink. That’s really hurting your relationships rather than strengthening them.
I broke that down into a five-day series where I taught on different steps of business professionalism that actually grow your business and deepen your relationships.
Amy: Okay, cool. I wanted her to give that example so that you guys could see what the content looked like for Nicole and possibly how to model it for your own content and what would make the most sense for your audience.
Let’s get into these steps. There are five steps to create the five-day live video niche market series. What’s Step #1.
Nicole: Step #1 is obviously choosing your market right. You know what you do, you know what your business is about, you know your industry but you have to niche it down and one of the things my friend, Pat Flynn, always says is “the riches are in the niches.”
Amy: Yes.
Nicole: It’s so, so true. People want to know specifically what they are showing up for. That’s part of the value proposition. It’s part of what you offer. I took what I’m known for, which is sales and having great relationships and really knowing how to maximize the lifetime values of each of my clients, and I niched that down.
I asked where I could really help people grow. I could help people build stronger boundaries and deepen those relationships. Let me turn that into a five-day series and on the first day I taught something really simple like how to strengthen your email correspondence and deepen that relationship.
The next day I taught on how to interact on a face-to-face level that will make sure you are still strengthening those relationships but keeping proper boundaries. I called it the Team Too Much Series: Don’t Do Too Much In Your Business.
Amy: Okay, I have a question about this niche. Do you say “nitch” or do you say “neesh”?
Nicole: I say “neesh” but you kind of rolled with the “nitch” thing and it’s your podcast so it is “nitch” for today.
Amy: You’re so funny. I kind of thought you did. I think I should say “neesh” but it always feels weird to me so let’s just say “neesh” for the rest of the show. Good?
Nicole: I say “neesh” because it sounds French and I’ve always wanted to be fancy so let’s say “neesh”.
Amy: Okay, we’re going to be fancy today and we’re going with it. I have a question for you about this audience. When I think about my business I serve a lot of different kind entrepreneurs but if I were to do this five-day series would you suggest that I choose one type of entrepreneur such as the entrepreneur that wants to create an online training business based on their expertise?
I would get really specific about that very focused audience. Is that what you mean by the niche market?
Nicole: Absolutely. If you want to get a little bit more detail into it because I know you always like to dive deep, with my five-day series I actually took my overall content and each day was targeted toward a different avatar within my brand.
I wanted to make sure I was speaking to all the different people that are interested in what I have to offer. Day #1 was targeting the mompreneurs in my business to make sure I was deepening my relationship there. The next day was targeting the newbies that were in my business and making sure I was dealing with a subject matter within the overall series that really spoke to them.
That way I was actually covering a basis and everyone who tuned in got at least one day where they said, “This was fire and meant for me.”
Amy: Oh wow. So you took it to an entirely new level. That’s really good to know. You’ve got some options in terms of who you’re targeting with this five-day series.
Nicole: Absolutely.
Amy: Maybe in one month you choose a really specific audience. Nicole could have just gone for the mompreneurs and then the next month she could have just gone for the newbies. Or she could put it all in the five days and that’s really cool. You’ve got some options for sure.
Nicole: Definitely.
Amy: So what do you do in Step #2.
Nicole: In Step #2 once you have everything outlined and you already know the market you’re going to be speaking to you want to create a landing page, something simple. It can either be through your email server or you can use something like LeadPages, whatever it is.
You want to create a landing page where this is going to be your capture site. This is where you’re going to get all of your opt ins. This is your home base for this event. It’s where you’re going to have a worksheet or tool kit and you’re going to post any homework related to the series.
The way this landing page works is really, really cool. You set it up and as your advertising goes out and you’re talking about it and posting the link everyone comes back and has to opt in.
But the opt in doesn’t work like a traditional freemium. They’re not just opting in to just get a checklist or opting in in order to join the live broadcast. You get the live broadcast no matter what.
What you’re opting in for is to get your workbook, the workbook you are going to use that’s compatible with the live broadcast so that you can get the most out of it and so that you can walk away with actionable takeaways that you can apply to your business and so that you can feel like, gosh, this really had some value.
Amy: Oh, so that’s good. Then how do you incorporate the homework?
Nicole: I love it because one of the series I did involved having people be better team leaders. The homework I had after someone was done listening to the live video they had a five-point list of homework to take back to their team in order to reteach the content and strengthen their relationship.
I not only got opt in for my team leaders that showed up on the video, after they taught the homework they also got their team members to opt in and then they got their team members to opt in. You had better believe that maximized my results and I had a big list-building boom there.
Amy: That is really good. I know that later on in the steps we’re going to talk about how to do the call to action. But if we’re just staying focused on the lead magnet right now, are you doing different lead magnets for each of the five days or is it just one that you get to mention throughout the five days?
Nicole: It is just one tool kit. It’s one tool kit for the entire five days. It really is kind of like an eBook that has all of the information for the entire series. We know how live video works, people pop in and pop out and question what they landed in but feel it is awesome. It is great because even if someone tunes in starting on Day #3 they are still incentivized to get the tool kit.
You can say, “If you missed Day #1 and #2 it’s okay because I’ve got the details in the tool kit. You can still join in and catch everything from Day #3 on.”
Amy: First I’ll point out that you’ve got to do some work up front. That’s why we’re giving you guys these steps. I love the idea of creating the workbook so they can walk through it with you on any day they join. But the reason I think this is so powerful, I forgot to mention earlier that you had 1,200 new subscribers in just five days.
Nicole: In just five days. It was unbelievable. People weren’t getting that traditional slimy feeling that I was just going to sell them something. They knew I was going to bring value on the live video and no matter what they would get the video, which is where the content is.
They just want to make sure they have the tools so they can maximize it and obviously to get the tools they have to give their email address so that I can send it to them.
It really was more of a business transaction and less of opting in to a long-term relationship with a sell at the end of it.
Amy: Exactly. So it’s a different vibe, for sure, and I think so many of my listeners are going to love this because some of them aren’t ready to sell just yet and they just want to focus on the list building before they actually get in front and start doing their webinars or however they’re going to sell. That’s why I love this model that you’re breaking down for us.
In Step #1 we choose our niche market. In Step #2 we create our landing page. What is Step #3?
Nicole: Step #3 is really getting out the to promote. Anyone who is listening to this knows they either already have the tools or they are going to get them from you, Amy. Facebook ads are terrific and make sure you’re doing anything you can do to promote it by creating posts.
You can also do little live videos where you just get out there and say, “Hey I’ve got this series coming up.” You are talking about a one-off situation but you invite them to the series. There are so many ways you can promote and you’re always sending them back to that landing page and saying, “Hey, get your tool kit because you’re going to need it for this series.”
The series is happening and they are already in but by grabbing the tool kit they can make the most of it.
Amy: Let’s say they want to do this on Facebook Live for five days. I know you did it on Periscope. Let’s say they are going to do it on Facebook Live. I’m thinking you can use so many other channels to drive to your Facebook Live series.
You are jumping on Insta Stories or Snapchat or Periscope or whatever it might be, you can always be sending traffic back to the live series, right?
Nicole: Absolutely. If you’ve picked our Facebook page to be your home for your business or your primary meeting point for your audience then that works. That can be your hero platform. That can be the place where everyone comes and they know they can find you.
If you are using any of your other platforms like Instagram, Insta Stories, any other live platforms, even ones that aren’t live like Tumblr or whatever, wherever you’re posting that information make sure to include the link to send them back there to allow them to register for that free workbook.
Amy: Perfect. I use Facebook Live a lot so I just use amyporterfield.com/live and it just redirect to my Facebook page. I think it’s so important that you have a really easy URL or a really easy way to tell people where to find you when you do go live.
Nicole: Actually, that’s something you don’t want to get all jammed up. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.
Amy: You didn’t at all. What I was just wondering, did you do this at a certain time every single day?
Nicole: Yes. I was very consistent. It’s kind of like a webinar. People don’t want to miss class. For the series I definitely said, “Hey guys, you can catch me here. Everyday at 7 o’clock we’re going to school so go grab your tool kit and let’s get started.”
Amy: Oh, I like it a lot. Now that we are going to use social media and we can use hashtags and promote it in different ways using static images, live video, and all that good stuff, what is Step #4?
Nicole: Definitely have a hashtag! What’s great about the hashtag is that it allows your community to continue to interact. The other reason I love a hashtag is for data after the fact.
Whenever I’m doing my live broadcasts and people are implementing I always let them know for my Team Too Much Series that if they find a place where they are doing too much in their business and they have corrected it to use the hashtag so that I know.
That way anyone who is following my series and clicks on the hashtag will not only see how they can join but they will also see the results people are getting thus far.
Amy: Okay, a hashtag is really important. Then what is Step #5?
Nicole: Step #5 is really that you want to go live with your series. Get out there. Go live and deliver great value and make sure they are coming back every single day. Your outline and preparation is going to be a part of that. Make sure that at the end of every single broadcast when you go live that you have a call to action.
That call to action is, of course, to make sure you have your tool kit, make sure you are going out and teaching your team. No matter what, if they’ve already gotten the tool kit and are showing up then you want them to spread the word and bring more people in.
If they find it valuable ask them to tell people to get their tool kit and get their education and what happens is your list continues to build. I think my strongest list- building day was actually the third day of my broadcast where people had already come.
On the first day they watched half of it and didn’t have their tool kit. They felt crazy and they went and got their tool kit.
Amy: That’s good.
Nicole: It was really amazing how it played out. Definitely have the call to action to always send them back to the opportunity to add themselves to your list.
Amy: One thing I like to teach my students in a webinar, I always say, “If you have your course created before you actually go live with a webinar you can always tease it and talk about it and get really specific.” The same thing here, if you create that workbook ahead of time, which you need to do because people are opting in as you go live, you can always tease it and refer back to it.
You can say, “I added one thing to the tool kit that you definitely don’t want to miss,” and it relates to whatever it is that you’re talking about live. IT just makes it more real and powerful.
Nicole: That’s so, so good. One of the things I did when I was teaching the live series was tell people I had notes in there. I told them we were diving deep and covering a lot of information and if they were looking for a glossary of terms it is included in the tool kit so people don’t have to worry about taking notes on the definitions. I really wanted to make sure it was a high-value, solid resource so that if they attended the class they could still refer back to the book later on and confirm they remember all of “this.”
Amy: I know you kind of mentioned this earlier but I really want to hit home with it in the sense that you said the key in the whole process is that it removes the slimy upsell feeling that traditional freemiums have. Talk to me a little bit more about that.
Nicole: Absolutely. Anyone who has been in the online space knows this industry is just taking off. Of course I don’t subscribe to that scarcity mentality. There is still so much room here for people to have successful businesses. But we also have to be aware that consumers are getting smart and are getting hip. They understand what’s going on when they’re opting in to a webinar or your free checklist.
They know they are giving you their email and to get the free checklist they are going to go into a funnel. They are usually okay with it, especially if you content is of high value, because they are trying to grow their business.
What’s nice about this is that it’s a different spin on the relationship. It’s a little fresher. It’s saying, “Hey, you’re giving me high value and I know I’m going to get it no matter what.” That’s awesome. You’re also giving them the educational tool to build and get better.
Instead of them feeling like they are getting a freeminum and you have said it and forget it and they are on their own, you are already building a relationship and training them to see you as a teacher, as a resource, as a go-to for something that will help them build their business and that’s exactly what you want if you want to be able to continue to grow your own business.
Amy: That’s so good. It’s so very true. I have a few questions based on these five steps. Can we get into those?
Nicole: Absolutely.
Amy: The first one, we kind of touched on it but I want to make it really clear for my listeners. How do you decide on the content? If they are still struggling with wanting to do the five-day live niche market series but they aren’t really sure what they are going to teach. Are there any other suggestions you have?
Nicole: Absolutely. One of the things I always say as a rule of thumb if you’re just getting into the teaching space to begin with is to go simple but essential.
Let’s use an example that’s totally different from what either of us do. Let’s say it’s something like fitness. If it’s fitness you’re not going to want to teach a five-day series where the first day is weight management, the second day is all-around nutrition, the third day is everything exercise.
That is way too much content to absorb and you’re probably not thinking about how your consumer can get the most out of it. Your content series that you are niching down is really going to have to be more about how to prepare your daily meals for a family of five. We’re doing meal prep.
Amy: Amy: I’m with you.
Nicole: One aspect of everything you’re doing – people cannot just walk away feeling like it wasn’t information overload but something they can actually implement and solidify the relationship by saying that they have gotten results from the stuff they were told.
Amy: That’s good. If they can walk away from each of the days doing something that makes them feel it actually works or that they get and they want more then they will come back for the next day.
Nicole: Absolutely.
Amy: If you’re giving them too much they will never come back. I always say that with a lead magnet in general. If you give them a 50-page eBook they will likely not come back anytime soon to buy from you.
Nicole: That’s right.
Amy: Be careful with that. Now, I know some of my listeners are wondering how long your videos were. I know there’s necessarily no right or wrong but how long were your sessions?
Nicole: Oh my gosh, my sessions…Periscope is a lot more forgiving. People will stay on there a lot longer than Facebook Live. Facebook Live has us trained to peter out at around three minutes. We’re like, “Okay, that’s enough of that.”
Amy: Don’t tell me that! I do videos a lot longer than three minutes. That had better not be the case.
Nicole: The average attention span is 12 minutes. You can get away with four. Your stuff is so high value, Amy, that everyone is just there for your eyebrows. They don’t pay attention….
Amy: I knew she was going to say eyebrows in this episode. This is why I love Nicole so much. I’m going to keep her in my pocket and walk around. She loves my eyebrows. Listen, that’s a fast friend for me. Definitely BFFs forever.
Nicole: No one else can use it now though because that’s totally my thing. It’s my thing now.
Amy: I love it.
Nicole: You’re definitely one of those things where on Periscope I was teaching anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. It is similar to a webinar platform so that’s kind of the style of teaching I was doing. People were staying on. My retention rate was very good. They were watching the entire content and were very engaged.
Amy: Awesome. One thing you could do if you’re going to do Periscope I agree, it’s a little bit more forgiving and people stick around longer. Let’s say you’re going to do Facebook Live. I’d watch the stats after your first and second one and maybe you need to make it a little bit shorter but get to the point faster.
You can play around with this and that’s the great thing. I was also thinking that if you did five days of live video on whatever platform…just this morning Nicole and I were reading that you can do live video on Instagram now. There are a lot of platforms to choose from.
Whatever you do, you are getting the experience of showing up for five days in a row doing live video. For those of you who are scared of live video and you don’t feel comfortable on video, at the end of those five days you will feel a lot more confident.
I think it’s a good challenge to give yourself as well as using it to grow your email list. That’s why I was so excited about this.
I have a bunch more questions about this. I like the idea of the content, really easy to break it down. The length, I think you just want to pay attention to it and watch what people are doing with you. How do you handle questions?
Nicole: I love live questions. One of the things I think is awesome about this five-day series is that when you’re getting live questions it also allows you to fine tune your content. No one else knows what you’re teaching. So if on Day #1 people are asking a lot of questions about your meal prep series and are asking what containers you used and how you are storing things and what’s good for what and what size is that and you aren’t planning on teaching a tools of the trade day…now you know to add one.
I answer questions live but if I find I am getting a lot of questions about a specific topic or aspect of what I’m teaching I actually don’t let myself get bogged down or
tripped over. I still teach to my content but then I say, “You know what guys, we’ve got a dedicated day where we’re going to go over just that.”
Then I rewatch my content and get that information down and fine tune my outline.
Amy: That’s good. That means when you come out with content or with the announcement that you’re doing a series you don’t necessarily tell them exactly what they are going to learn each day. That gives you some flexibility to change things as you go?
Nicole: Correct. It’s super high level. I’ll just say that we’re going to be covering all aspects from “this” to “this” and that sort of thing.
Amy: Okay. Great.
Nicole: That gives me some room to budge and then it starts fine tuning and drilling down as we go. What’s great about the questions is in the beginning you usually say to save the questions for the end. That way it doesn’t get too crazy while you’re going.
Amy: Cool. Okay. If you have an email list would you email your list about this series to tell them about it? If so, how far in advance?
Nicole: There are two types of emails I send out. Obviously the goal is to get new people on your list. Your focus is really on list building outside of the people that are already on your list. The email I send out to people on my list is the “guys, you know how great this is and you want people to join this because you know the value from watching me on live broadcasts. Share this. Share it with your teams. Grow your business. Be a good leader.”
It is that sort of content. I just encourage them to have the links to share it. Also, if you have an affiliate relationship this may be a way to say, “This is a great way to get people ready for when you offer them an affiliate relationship down the line with a course. Let them get a preview of what we have to offer for free.”
Amy: Nice. So that share factor is really important. When you’re on live in these five different sessions, are you asking for shares while you’re on live as well?
Nicole: Absolutely. Rule of thumb on any live broadcast, you start out with what I love to call the intro-welcome-share formula. You introduce yourself, you welcome people
to your broadcast, and you ask them to share your content. That’s the first three things you always say. You are never going to get it if you don’t ask.
Amy: That’s a great point. I like how you just set it up from the get go. Actually you just set me up to go into my final section. I have some final insights and random questions about live video in general. Are you cool with us diving into some of that?
Nicole: Sure, of course.
Amy: One of the questions I have for you is to ask how you prepare before you go live. I know how you prepare for this five live video series. But in general, what are some of your tips and tricks to prepare before you go live…or do you prepare?
Nicole: I always prepare. A lot of people say, “Oh my gosh, Nicole, you seem so comfortable on camera. It seems so easy and natural for you.” Yes, I love people. Yes, I’m extroverted by nature. However, I absolutely get nervous. My hands get sweaty. I have shown my pit stains on camera. I actually get sweaty and nervous.
One of the things I do to prepare is exfoliate. I exfoliate, I hydrate, and I moisturize. You always feel better when you look good, right Amy?
Amy: Amen sister, I love it.
Nicole: Step #1 is to exfoliate. No, I write down my content. I don’t go on there blind. I think people often assume if you sound really confident and clear and concise and convicted on camera that you must be really good at improve. That is absolutely not the case.
I practice, I plan, and I prepare. I write down my notes. I have a bullet point. I create little acronyms like the IWS system, Intro, welcome, share so that I can remember to do the things that matter the most. Always prepare in advance.
Amy: Perfect. I’m totally with you on that one. Here’s one that when you and I were at the Business Boutique in the green room and we were chatting, you brought something up. I loved that you did because I have never really talked about this before. I made this mistake and so many people make this mistake, but there are some people listening now that haven’t yet done live video and they don’t have to make the same mistake…that is that you were telling me you would not suggest that
somebody jumps on live video and says, “This is my first time here. This is my first live video. Woo! I’m so excited but I’m nervous.”
Talk to me about that.
Nicole: It’s just like everyone’s uncomfortable now. Everyone in the room is uncomfortable. We all feel uncomfortable. I was here because I was like, “Who is this amazing, gorgeous person in front of me with these stellar eyebrows. She’s so smart.”
That is the space I was in. There is no need to share or project your nerves if other people don’t have them. There’s no need to do that. When you first get on just go right in. Introduce yourself.
Say, “Hey, my name is So-And-So. This is what I do and this is what this broadcast is about.” It is super simple and super easy. Everyone is going to love you.
Amy: Remember, you are their go-to source in that moment. You are their leader. You are the expert so you want to show up as one. I thought that was really sound advice there.
We were also chatting about the fact that once in a while you and I do a live video and afterwards we think it was terrible and want to delete it.
Nicole: Oh gee yeah.
Amy: But we don’t. Why not?
Nicole: It’s not about me. There are so many times when I will get on Periscope and it will be a bad day because it try to have it really authentic and honest where I show you the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. I’m not just coming on when I’m buying my Lamborghini.
I am also going to come on when my computer crashed in the middle of a launch.
Amy: Yes. I remember that. Or when your dog is sick or you dog dies.
Nicole: Right, there are both sides of it.
Amy: Amy: You are very real.
Nicole: It is important that people see that. But it also means that sometimes when I get on there it gets a little bit too real and I can’t hit that end broadcast button fast enough.
A tear will drop or I will feel a little overwhelmed and by the end of the broadcast I’m think it was a lot and I kind of want to delete it. I tell myself, “No!” It’s not about me. Other people want to do this too and they are looking at me as a leader to provide that example so they know exactly what it looks like.
Someone is probably going to draw from my experience or they will say that they would never ever, ever be a hot mess on camera like me. Whatever it is I want someone to grow. It’s not up to me to delete it and take that experience from them.
Amy: That is such a good lesson. I needed that one too, for sure. The next time I want to delete I have to remember that.
To wrap up, my final question for you is around all of the different live video platforms. We now have Periscope and Facebook Live and now Insta…What is it Insta Stories Live?
Nicole: I think it’s called Insta Stories.
Amy: Okay so Insta Stories just has a live component now?
Nicole: Um hm.
Amy: Got you. With all of that talk to me about the differences. Or, do you see differences in how you would use these different platforms?
Nicole: Sure. I get that all the time where people ask if Periscope is dead now that Facebook Live is going or are Insta Stories going to push out Snapchat? It is one of those things where we have to remember, first of all, I ‘m pretty sure Amy’s also on Instagram and also on Facebook and also on Periscope.
You don’t have to replace one thing. We don’t have to have shiny new object syndrome and run to the other thing. Of course you need to know where your people are. I like to call that your hero platform. That’s the place where all your people tend to reside. That’s where they know how to find you and you should never abandon it, at least as long as it’s in existence.
For instance, Periscope is where everyone found me to start. That’s where you will always find me. I’ll be there almost daily if not every other day to check in, say hello, and share something that’s going on in my life and business.
Facebook is an essential tool for building your business. You cannot ignore it. I get on Facebook Live regularly. I’m actually in the middle of doing a challenge where I’m on there daily at 6 a.m. every single day. It is torture.
I’m on there every morning and it’s because it’s an essential tool for building your business and there are a lot of people on there. What is key is remembering your hero platform and then also remembering that you don’t have to overlap how you use your platform.
Periscope, for me, is about finding new people. I’m not dealing with a changing algorithm or some days people see me and other days other people won’t see me or I need to use cool catch phrases or weird hashtags. On Periscope, if people pop on they pop on and find you.
With Facebook Live there’s a lot more going on. What may work one day may not work the next day and you just have to put a lot more work in to make sure you’re on top of the crowd.
I really appreciate having both platforms. I use them a little bit differently but I’m never going to abandon one and I know where my people are.
Amy: That is so well said. Nicole, I can’t even tell you what a huge fan I am of you. I love that we have not only a lot in common with our work but I feel you are just a friend for life.
Thank you so much for being on this. It has been so much fun. This is one of my favorite interviews because I love how well organized it was.
Nicole: Yay! Thank you Amy! Oh my gosh! You have no idea. There is no greater compliment from Amy Porterfield than her saying something was organized. I hold this in the highest of regards.
Amy: You already know me so well. You know what makes me a happy, happy girl, for sure. I want to make sure people find you. Where should they go to check you out? You can give us a few different places.
I’ll make sure to include it in the show notes at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/140.
But tell me where we can find you and, real quick, you have a really cool program so you can just talk about that a little bit Give us a little hint.
Nicole: Sure. Absolutely. Everyone can find me at www.nicolewalters.tv. That’s where all my information is. That’s where you can interact. You can find me there. I also manage all of my social media @naturalnicole whether it’s Twitter or Periscope you can find me there.
I run my social media so you will be talking to me directly. I’ll be answering and probably sending you the occasional snarky selfie. That is real and that will happen. If you would like to work with me I just launched my newest course called Fierce Clarity.
Fierce Clarity is all about making sure that as you are selecting the next course to sign up for and you’re trying to figure out what it is that you want to do in your business, Fierce Clarity helps you break down your best skill set, your best business idea to make sure you are talking about it in a concise and convicted way that conveys your enthusiasm for your offering but also makes sure you find the right audience.
It gives you a little bit of all of the organization that Amy talked about here and makes sure that you’re set up for business success whatever course platform or information you decide to move forward with. Fierce Clarity is available at www.myfierceclarity.com.
Amy: Perfect. Thanks again Nicole. I’m so very glad to have you on the show. We’re going to have to do this again, for sure.
Nicole: Absolutely. Thank you Amy.
Amy: There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I have. I absolutely love Nicole and she is so darn funny that it makes it extra fun to interview her.
If you want to check out Nicole and everything that she has to offer all you need to do is go to my show notes at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/140 to check out the details and get all the links.
Thanks so very much for tuning in. I can’t wait to meet you here a gain soon. Until then, have a great week! Bye for now.
