AMY PORTERFIELD: Well hello there. Welcome to another episode of The Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast. I’m your host, Amy Porterfield, and as always I’m thrilled that you’ve tuned in.
If you’re listening in somewhat real time then Happy New Year! This is the very first episode of 2017 and I am absolutely excited to ring in the New Year with you. There are so many opportunities that lie ahead.
If you’re listening to this a few months later or maybe a year later this episode will still be completely relevant so definitely keep listening.
To start off the episode we’re going to be talking about bold moves. There is a quote that I absolutely love from Norman Vincent Peale. This is what he says: “If you put off everything until you’re sure of it you’ll never get anything done.”
Isn’t this so true? There will never be an absolutely certain time to do anything important in your life, especially when it comes to your business. If you’re not taking risks and not making bold moves in your business then you’re not allowing your business to grow and reach new heights.
Today I wanted to start the year off by saying, “Make a bold move in your business to shake things up for the New Year. Take a chance. Take a risk.”
I believe you have to get uncomfortable in order to make big shifts in any area of your life. I can’t take full credit for that because I learned that when I worked for Tony Robbins.
He was always talking about getting uncomfortable in order to grow. I definitely subscribe to this way of thinking. When I’m talking about uncomfortable I mean that you might do something scary or really awkward.
I feel awkward all the time when I’m doing things in business that are new so maybe you can relate. Uncomfortable can also be extreme uncertainty. The thing is you might just feel like you’re going crazy and wonder what you’re doing. You may think something is crazy and is such a leap of faith.
But you have to get into those moments, I believe, in order to grow and in order to move in the right direction. With this episode I am encouraging you to make a bold move in spite of fear, in spite of awkwardness, in spite of any extreme uncertainty that you might be feeling.
I also want you to get extremely strategic so I’m not just going to say to do something risky and then leave you with that. You know that everything I do is very calculated so we’re going to talk about that today.
Specifically, in today’s episode, I have seven ways for you to make a bold move in your business. I’ve done most of these myself along the way. I don’t want you to do them all at once. Just for the record I’m hoping you just choose one of these today.
But, I’ve done most of these along the way and I know for a fact they can boost your business and they can be an absolute game changer.
Before I dive into all seven of them I want to tell you about this episode’s special freebie. You know that with most of my mini trainings I do on my podcast I have a freebie. What I don’t want my freebies to be is just notes from the episode.
I think it’s important that if I’m going to offer a freebie that you give your name and email for in exchange for whatever I’ve created I want it to enhance what you have learned here. So I thought about this one for a while.
I’ve decided to share with you my personal list of the ten books that I’m going to dive into in 2017. I haven’t read these books but they’ve all been recommended to me by my mentors or people that have done amazing things in their businesses and people that I trust.
Why am I going to share with you my personal list of the books I’m going to be reading in 2017? Here’s what I believe. Remember at the beginning I said that you’ve got to get uncomfortable to make bold moves?
One of the ways I get momentum in my business and allow myself to get uncomfortable is by first immersing myself into books that will open my mind and shift my way of thinking. Here’s my little secret for this, it’s easier to get uncomfortable, take risks, make bold moves when you feel inspired.
The way to get inspired is to dive into some really good books. This list might surprise you. They are not all business books. They’re not all about funnels and marketing and list building and all that. There are some of those, for sure. But some of them are oldies but goodies that people have recommended to me for years and I just never sat down to read them yet I know they are going to make an impact.
Other books are new, not necessarily marketing books, but I know they are going to fuel my mind in a way to allow me to take risks and take that leap even when I’m scared or feeling awkward or uncertain. This list is very curated to help you make bold moves. It’s my personal list so, let’s be honest, it’s to help me make some bold moves as well.
If you’re curious about what’s on my reading list or if you want to dive into some of the books I will be reading, since I’m sure I will be referencing them along the way in this podcast, then grab the freebie today. All you need to do is go to http:// amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/142download or text the phrase 142download to 33444 to get it right away.
Now when this episode goes live I’m going to post about it on social media. If you see it on Facebook or Instagram and you get my list of books and think I’m missing one, a really good one that I should dive into, I want you to post about it in the comments.
Once you grab my list of books and see that I’m missing one that you think will inspire me and fuel my mind for me to make bold moves and others as well then post about it in the comments below the post. I’m definitely going to be looking for more suggestions.
Let’s be honest, we probably read more than ten books in a year. Right? I can definitely add to the list. Again, go to http://www.amyporterfiel.com/142download to grab my top ten reading list for 2017.
Now we are going to dive into those seven bold moves. Remember, my goal for you is to just choose one to shake up your business, to approach things a little bit differently,
to breathe new life into what you’ve been doing, and to get more inspired. A the end of this episode I hope you’ve chosen one to run with.
Let’s do this.
Bold Move #1 – Launch a podcast
Of course I had to start here. I know I’m completely biased. Let’s talk about this. If you’re listening now and you already have a podcast then I think you’re shaking your head thinking this is a bold move for sure. If you’ve been thinking about doing a podcast for a while and you just haven’t taken the leap then maybe I could nudge you a little bit closer.
First let me start out with some statistics: 21% of Americans age 12 and up have listened to a podcast in the last month. This is up from 17% in 2015. It’s already climbing.
Podcast listening grew 23% between 2015 and 2016. 64% of podcasts are being listened to on a smartphone or tablet. You can’t beat the convenience for your audience.
Another thing I want to bring up is that a while ago, not too long ago actually, I interviewed Michael Stelzner from Social Media Examiner (Episode #134). One thing he said is that he feels podcasts are still the wild frontier compared to everything else.
They are still the one platform that isn’t so guarded specifically by algorithms. I love that because it’s totally true. I would never have ever gotten in front of most of you listening now if I didn’t have a podcast on iTunes.
I really do believe it is a huge part of my success over the last few years. To me the numbers don’t lie. Podcasts are only getting bigger and better and it’s definitely something that you’re not too late to the party. You can definitely start today and see some amazing traction.
Specifically, why do I podcast? It definitely helps me build trust. I get into your homes or go on your walks with you or I’m in the subway or in the car or whatever almost every single week. We’ve built this bond together.
It’s really funny and I don’t know if you guys have ever experienced this before but when you meet somebody in real life after listening to their podcast it’s the oddest, weirdest feeling.
When I listened to Michael Hyatt’s podcast over and over again and then I got to meet him and was in a room with him, we went out to dinner, I almost wanted to close my eyes. That’s how I felt most comfortable with him…in my ear buds.
The voice is a big thing. When I am in real life with other people they will say it’s so weird “seeing” me because they are used to “hearing” me. I love that. I love having that instant connection before they even meet me. You don’t have to have a great voice to do podcasting. You just have to have really great content so don’t let the voice thing slow you down. I’ve had questions about that a lot. It’s really about the amazing content.
One, it helps me build trust. Two, it establishes me as an expert. I am now known for not just Facebook. Before, when I came on the scene it was all about Facebook. I really wanted to branch out beyond that and I think my podcast put me on the map.
Before my podcast I was known as a Facebook expert. Then I came out with Online Marketing Made Easy and in the beginning I talked about Facebook a lot. Now I hardly do. I only talk about Facebook groups and Facebook ads. Those are the two things I think are most important on Facebook.
I’ve now gotten into more list building and course creation and webinars which are what my brand is all about. The podcast gave me the platform to do so.
I can also offer value in the form of freebies that help me grow my email list. In so many of my episodes we take extra time to create really valuable freebies. I don’t want your name and email if you’re not really excited about being a part of my community.
I create freebies for a lot of my episodes so that I can add value to you and, of course, I build my community. It’s become a huge list builder for me.
Of course I can promote different marketing efforts I’m doing. If I’m launching, if I’m promoting somebody else it’s a great platform to do so. The marketer in me really loves that.
I also get to connect with other people through interviews. I don’t do a lot of interviews but some of the people I have interviewed are fast friends. I’ve interviewed Marie Forleo multiple times. She’s going to be on the show in February again.
We are definitely close friends. I think her being on my show so much has helped that. Jasmine Star and I have been fast friends since she was on my show. I can name so many others but I’m not going to get into a list because then it kind of gets weird.
I am still in touch with a lot of the people I have interviewed. The interview was the first time I really got to connect with them publically. That’s pretty cool.
Finally, this is the one I really want you to listen to, a podcast has given me peace of mind. This one is about my upbringing, I think. I was raised by a dad who taught me that if you’re not working hard then you don’t deserve the success you get.
I’m sure he didn’t mean to teach it that way but that’s what I heard so I’ve always felt like I have to work really hard in order to bring success to my life. Then I really deserve it if I give and add value and really do my part.
I don’t know, this is just how I was raised so what a podcast does in that respect is that I give every single week. I try to make each of my podcasts a mini training. I don’t suggest that for everybody but that’s what I do. We really spend some quality time on these episodes and the freebies are always really, really good.
I believe when I’m ready to sell something (one of my programs) I have confidence in that because I know I’m not just asking and not giving. I think a podcast, when you show up every single week, you feel like you are really giving before you ask for anything in return.
I know many of you want to feel that way. It’s important to you. So a podcast allows you to do so. That’s why I think adding a podcast to your business is a bold move.
How could you take action right away to do so? First you want to decide who your audience is. Who do you want to talk to every single week? For me, I think I’ve refined that over the years.
I didn’t have it all figured out when the podcast went live but now I really primarily talk to those that are building an online business, specifically one where they want to
sell online courses and do webinars. That’s not everybody but I’m going to guess it’s a majority based on the feedback I’ve gotten.
Find your audience and pick a topic. What problem are you trying to solve for your audience? What direction do you want to go in your business? I was talking to a guy the other day who said he was known for one thing but really wanted to be known for something bigger.
I told him I could relate to something like that because I just told you about moving on from just Facebook. I really do believe that if you position your podcast right and do a good job you can definitely broaden your scope there.
Next you want to pick a format. By that I mean that you don’t have to have this all figured out but these are things I want you to start thinking about. What kind of show do you want? For me, over the few years, it’s evolved into mini trainings and some interviews.
I don’t do a lot of interviews because I feel my audience enjoys the mini trainings even more. They are juicier and kind of meatier. But I do some interviews. I pretty much know the format of my show.
For you, what is it going to be? Some people just have all interviews. That is totally fine. You can do a mix like I do or you can mix it up and do a Q&A type of show.
I really suggest you listen to a lot of podcasts and find the flow that you really like. You’ve got to be comfortable with it. You’re the one showing up every single week and delivering on the content.
The final thing I’ll say in terms of how to get started is that you should dive into a course. I think with podcasting, with the equipment, and with how technology changes so quickly and the little nuances that really put you on the map starting one Day One, I say to follow an expert.
I joined Cliff Ravenscraft’s program, Podcasting A-Z. I loved it. Specifically, more than anything, I learned about the technology and how to get on iTunes and other platforms and all that good stuff. I really liked the technology.
He gets into so much detail and actually puts packages together that you can buy in terms of equipment and that’s exactly what I did. I’ve been using the same equipment since the day I started so I loved the program.
Another great program that I’ve talked about here on the show is Podcaster’s Paradise with John Lee Dumas. It is another great program. You can’t go wrong with either program. I say to check them both out and see which one really speaks to you.
I’ve linked to both programs in my show notes so that you can get to the right page right away at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/142.
I will say that later on in this year I’m going to do a podcast where we are talking specifically about what to do to get started. I’ve talked about podcasting a few times on this show but I think we should talk about Step #1, Step #2, Step #3.
I like to break it down into mini trainings so you will probably be seeing that sooner than later on the show.
Bold Move #2 – Start A Facebook Group
I’ve talked about this a bunch over the last six months. If you follow my podcast pretty religiously then you know I had Jill and Josh Stanton on the show (Episode #97)and we got into all the details about their experience with starting a Facebook group and building a community.
You can go back to the episode but I wanted to bring it up here specifically because this is definitely a bold move and really perfect in terms of timing. Here’s why. When it comes to Facebook I don’t believe the action is on your Facebook page anymore.
I believe your Facebook page is really valuable for doing Facebook Live. You’ve got to have a Facebook page in order to do Facebook live to your business audience. It’s crucial, for sure. And you have to have a Facebook page in order to run Facebook ads.
Of course I have a Facebook page and I do Facebook Live. But when we’re talking about building a really tight-knit community and one where you’re the leader, the go- to person, you are starting the conversation, and you are building your email list, you are getting people into your programs, and you have a really dedicated audience then we’re talking about Facebook groups.
Whether it is closed or private, you can figure that out. There are two different options there but I really do believe this is where it’s at.
Here’s where it gets a little bit challenging for me and some of you might be able to relate to this. I already have four Facebook groups. They are all connected to my programs. People pay to be in my program and as a bonus they got access into my private Facebook groups.
When I launch my B-School promo as an affiliate I always have a private Facebook group where I’m in there every single day as well. I feel like I am definitely maxed out on my Facebook groups because I do Facebook Live in two of them every single week.
I have a community manager that manages two other groups. But if I were to create a private Facebook group based on a community like I’m talking here with building a community I feel like it’s almost not fair.
I feel I should spend more time with my paid customers so I’m at a little bit of a crossroads right now trying to figure out how I can make this all work; because, I think Facebook groups are where it’s at.
If you don’t have my challenge, definitely think of this one. Here’s what I want you to think about. When you create a Facebook group you want to create it around a specific topic or movement or a central theme. Whatever it is you do in your business I bet you could choose a central theme.
I know a guy that has a program all about how to sell on Amazon. He also has a podcast that talks about selling on Amazon but beyond that as well. He has a Facebook group. Every time they release a new episode on his podcast he can jump in the group and talk about it and get the conversation started.
I absolutely love that. You know that Facebook groups, when you are the leader and have an engaged community, are a great place to then offer some opportunities for opt ins to grow your email list.
That’s why I’m probably really, really excited about the idea of you creating a community on Facebook because of the list-building opportunity, the engagement, the trust factor, and it’s a great way to find your audience and then turn them into loyal customers.
The only other thing I’ll say about this is that there has been some talk with Facebook ads. They are testing that you could actually target fans of people’s Facebook groups. I don’t necessarily love this and we’re still trying to figure out what Facebook is going to do. I’m not seeing this option yet but I’m hearing a buzz around it.
We are seeing that maybe down the road when people are running ads they will be able to target the members of my Facebook group. They can’t get their ad into my Facebook group but they can target those people who have become members of my Facebook group.
I don’t actually love that but at this point it’s not going to stop me from building a community on Facebook in this way. I’m telling you, it’s way more powerful than your Facebook page because there is too much competition, too much in the newsfeed, and you’re not really going to stand out as you would if you built a community inside of a group.
If you’ve been thinking about doing a Facebook group for a while and it’s going to be your bold move, here are some things you can do to get started right away.
Choose the Who, What and Why for the group and stick with it. What do you want to provide for the group? What’s the value here? Who are you going to attract?
Do you want a closed group or a private group? I’m not going to get into all the details but with a private group they have to request to join. With a closed group they don’t have to go through the request step so it’s a little easier. But you might want to control who gets in there. It’s up to you. You have to study both of those and figure out which one is best for you.
Once you decide to have the group I want you to sit down and write a description of expectations and ground rules for the group. Get really clear on how you want the group to interact. What are some of the rules? I think it’s important to not skip over that step.
You need to decide how you will interact with the group. How will you stir up discussion? Are you going to have themes for each day? Are you going to ask questions? Are you going to post content? Are you going to use it in conjunction with your podcast? I think that’s a great idea because you then have new content to post every week.
I have a great idea and I’m not going to do it so I will just share it with you guys. If I ever did start a Facebook group around my podcast I was thinking it would be cool if I did a video taking them behind the scenes every week once the podcast airs. It would give them a little bit more than I gave in the podcast.
I could give a little more about why I created the episode or what happened after the episode based on what I taught. It would be just a little bit behind the scenes. You’ve got to give something a little extra that they can’t get anywhere else. That’s what you want to start thinking about with your Facebook group.
Lastly, decide on roles. You probably shouldn’t just make it you if you’re planning on growing the group pretty quickly. I think a community manager is always a good idea and a lot of times when you have a small business and you’re just starting out your VA starts out as your community manager.
I have definitely done that. Trivinia, my assistant who has been with me for years now, has been in many Facebook groups where she has helped me with the community. We didn’t give her the official title “Community Manager” but she definitely acted as if.
You can use people on your team. You don’t have to hire it out right away. Those are something things to think about if you want to make a bold move and start a Facebook group.
Bold Move #3 – Join a Mastermind
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you need a mentor to help you make the most of your business. I’ve talked about so many of my mentors in this podcast. My business wouldn’t be the same without them today.
I’ve talked about Marie Forleo and Todd Herman and Tony Robbins and Mike Stelzner. These are all people that when I got my start were a really big part of that. Mari Smith was also a really big part of that.
When I was first starting out I took a course with her all about Facebook, how to become a Facebook expert. It was fantastic. These are people that got me started in the very beginning.
I didn’t do one-on-one coaching with all of them but I was definitely in their proximity more often than not and I got to learn from them directly. This shaped my business.
My first in-person mastermind was with Marie Forleo. It was called Rich, Happy, and Hot. I am still not comfortable with that name and I especially wasn’t comfortable with that name when I was brand new in my business.
When I paid for that mastermind, I think it was $17,000 in the beginning. I had to pay monthly because I didn’t have $17,000. When I paid for that I was still at Tony Robbins. I was still in a corporate 9-to-5 job. I knew I was transitioning out pretty soon but that was still a bold move for me for sure.
It was one of the best moves I’ve ever made in my business. Here’s what was important about my mastermind. I learned a lot, definitely. But even more so than that, I was surrounded by about 15-20 entrepreneurial women, many of them doing bigger things than me.
I remember one distinctly, Laura Roeder. She was a few years ahead of me in her business. I hung on every word that girl said. I probably still do. I really look up to Laura. She has now gone on to really change her business model and she has MeetEdgar, the social media scheduling tool.
She was getting started in her business a few years before mine so she had already gone through a lot of the struggles I went through. Just getting to be around her, she would take a hot seat and talk about her business and I would think about how it applied to mine. It was so valuable.
Surrounding yourself with like-minded people, especially people that are a little bit ahead of you, is a great idea. A lot of times that’s what you’ll do in a mastermind.
I like masterminds where you meet in person. With Marie she doesn’t offer it anymore. I did it for two years and we would meet four times a year. We met in Mexico, New York, Arizona, and I can’t remember the fourth one. We would meet up and take hot seats and have to prepare to make sure we got the most out of it.
We did weekly calls on Skype. That’s basically how it went down and it was incredibly valuable. Now, not only am I really good friends with Marie, as I mentioned earlier, I went through B-School, her program, one of the biggest, best programs I’ve ever been through in all of my business and now I promote it.
I’m a huge promoter. I do a whole huge bonus package with it because I believe in it so much. That whole thing, my affiliation with B-School and getting to be a part of it, I have a module inside of B-School all about Facebook ads this year. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t been in the mastermind.
Getting out there and getting in front of people and meeting them in real life is a game changer, for sure.
I know some masterminds can be incredibly expensive. You’ve got to decide what you can afford. Again, I really didn’t have the money but when I was in it I figured out every month how I was going to make enough money to keep affording it and keep going every month. So you figure it out one way or another.
I’m not going to get into masterminds any more because I did an entire episode with Jamie Tardy (Episode #71). I’m going to link to that episode in the show notes. It was all about how to find a mastermind or how to start one on your own.
Bold Move #4 – Declare a Niche
Let’s say “neesh” although I feel really weird saying that word but let’s just use it. Declare a niche. This might be the year you drill down and really find your sweet spot. I know many of you are struggling with this one. That’s why I wanted to include it on this list.
I truly believe if you start with a narrow focus and build a following you can then appeal to a broader audience and start to expand your offerings. It’s weird how that works. Niche down a little bit and grow your profits a whole lot more.
I would have never believed it if I hadn’t tried it myself. Let me tell you a quick story. When I was launching The Profit Lab, although it did really well, I was still struggling with finding my audience.
I knew I was struggling because people would come into the program and someone would say one of two things, “Amy, I sell t-shirts (a physical product) and I’m not sure how to apply what you’re teaching when I’m selling a physical product.”
They would get into something specific that I taught and they would have a question about it. Or, they would have a physical location, a mom and pop shop or restaurant, and they weren’t sure how to apply what I was teaching to the restaurant.
When I got those questions my heart would beat a little bit faster. I would get uncomfortable and kind of squeamish inside. I was having a physical reaction to these
questions because they were not my ideal customer. I had attracted them because I didn’t say who the product was specifically for and I really do believe a lot of strategies I taught in Profit Lab would apply to them but I wasn’t an expert so I always felt a little bit uncomfortable helping them.
When I got a business partner, I’ve talked about Devin Duncan as my business partner, we did the last launch of Profit Lab together. I asked Devin how he felt if I literally said during the launch that the Profit Lab program is for anybody who’s building an online business and want to sell their knowledge online via courses, services, coaching, but specifically people that are selling their knowledge and skill online like info marketing.
I asked him how he felt about me saying that. Thank God he was totally fine with it. I thought that I could really screw us up at that time. I wanted to make more money on that launch. We had big plans for it but I thought I would screw it up that time.
I had listened to so many mentors tell me to get more specific. I listened to my own body, my physical reaction, and knew I was not doing myself or the customers I was attracting a good service. That was not the right way to go.
I declared it and not only did we have our biggest launch ever for Profit Lab the year we did this but I also felt really confident. I knew I could help everybody that I had attracted. That was a game changer for me and I would have never believed it if I hadn’t experienced it.
If you trust me, believe me on this one. If you get more specific you will have a better experience marketing to your audience and the people you attract will be so much more supported. You are also doing a great service to those you are not attracting.
Remember in the episode I did with Jasmine Star where she said to either attract or repel your audience? That is the way to go. That’s what I’m talking about here. I wanted to attract the right audience and I did not want to attract anybody making t- shirts. I wanted to repel them because I felt there were other marketers that could serve them better.
Repel is a strong word but you get what I’m saying. If this on is speaking to you, how can you take action?
Do a content audit. How can you take the content you already have and take a deeper more niche-drive dive into what you do? Is there a certain segment of your audience that you absolutely love to serve? You know there is low-hanging fruit there, you know you have something they want and you want to drill down there.
The last thing I will say here is this magical thing. Even though I say I help those that are creating online courses or selling their services or coaching or consulting online I still attract people that might be a little bit out of the margins. I’m still able to help them.
They are very aware where my focus is so they don’t feel that something doesn’t seem to be matching up. They already know what I’ve promised. They work around it and make it work for them. That’s what will happen to you too.
You will be amazed the people you attract even when you say, “I’m putting a stake in the ground, this is who it is.” Let that be. That’s always a good thing if they feel supported as well. Declaring your niche is one bold move for sure.
Bold Move #5 – Do Video Every Single Day
Huge disclaimer! I’m not doing this one. This is not my bold move. However, I’m very intimately tied to it so let’s talk about it. If we could go back to the very beginning of 2016 or even the end of 2015 you will hear me talking about needing to do more video.
I am making an effort. I’m going to do it. This is my year of video. And it has been. I am on Insta Stories more often than not…even when I cringe and see myself on there. I do Facebook Live every single week in my private Facebook groups and I do them on my Facebook page.
I’m starting to incorporate some video into my webinars and into my online courses. Do I love it? No. I still do not love it but I am way more comfortable and very open to it, 100%.
I did Facebook video ads for the first time this year. They were incredibly valuable and I had really high conversions on the ads. This is something I’ve never wanted to do.
Let me give you a little hint though, it’s nice that I have a business partner, a VA, and a project manager who are all saying I need to do more video. Trivinia has been saying it for a year. Chloe, my project manager (the sweet little girl she is), will say, “So, we would really love to see you do some more video on ads.”
She is really sweet about it and you cannot say “no” to Chloe when she’s that sweet. Devin just hints at it and I like to make my partner happy so I did it. I did it a lot this year. I’m getting off on a tangent because it’s not about me.
I’m bringing this one up because I do believe in 2017 it is still going to be all about video, even more so. Just the other day Instagram Story has an option where you can go live. If you listen to this a year from now you’ll be laughing because it’s such old news. But it’s brand new news at the time of this recording.
It’s only getting bigger and better, I think. One bold move might be for you to do video every single week. That might be huge for you because you’re not doing it. By all means, that’s a bold move.
For some of you it might mean that you are going to do video every single day. That means you’re on Facebook Live, you’re doing Insta Stories, you’re in Snapchat, Periscope, and whatever it might be and anything that might come along the way in this coming year. It’s a big one. I wondered what could be a bold move here…doing video every single day.
I did an episode two weeks ago with Nicole Walters (Episode #140). We talked a lot about video. It was a fun episode and I think it will inspire you. We talked about a strategy you can apply to video.
Remember, I’m not just saying to get on video and show your breakfast and what you’re blending up in your smoothie and stuff like that. I’m saying to teach.
Teach your content. Offer freebies. Build your email list. You know that’s the way I roll when it comes to anything I do in marketing. I want to be strategic.
I have to tell you guys, I did a challenge and am literally in it right now. I said I was going to do seven days of Instagram Story. I actually, by accident, took off a whole week. I just didn’t feel inspired and then the days started piling up.
I hadn’t done anything for a week and that’s not the way I want to do it. So I said I would post video seven days in a row direct to camera. I have to show my face. I have been doing more of the fun ones which I do not like. I just question whether you guys really care.
I was sharing that I went to the movies on date night the other night. I was sharing what movie I saw. I was sharing something about Gus. I try not to talk too much about Gus but I’m obsessed with my dog. But I thought we would just experiment and go for a whole week of this. I’m doing it anyway. Getting into the repetition is huge.
Take this one as you will. Doing video everyday is the boldest move in this category. Do video every week. If you’re not doing it, it’s still a bold move. Or, give yourself a challenge. For 30 days do a video every day and see what happens. See then what will make the most sense to you.
Video as a bold move in general is 100%. There are so many things you can do here. I want you to embrace it. That’s my plea for video because I know what it’s done for my business and I know it can do the same for yours. Make a huge impact…that’s what I’m talking about specifically.
In the episode with Nicole we talk about how to prepare, how to get started, what to say in the beginning and all that good stuff. If you didn’t listen to Episode #140 you should definitely go do so.
Bold Move #6 – Surprise Your Audience
I’ve got a quick story for you. I have a girlfriend who has a course about breaking through the mucky muck of finding love and figuring out what’s holding you back from finding your happily ever after.
She teaches this content called DSD, Do Something Different. She uses it in terms of finding love. If what you’re doing isn’t working do something different. I’m going to use it here in terms of your business.
If you have felt stuck along the way sometime during the last year and are thinking that something’s just not gelling right and you have either lost your mojo or speaking to the wrong audience or you content isn’t landing right, something is not working. Or if you just feel stuck then you’ve got to do something different.
When it comes to your business I want to give you an example of exactly what I’m talking about. Pat Flynn does this thing that’s kind of amazing where he publishes his monthly income reports. He’s the first person I ever saw do it. Since then I see a lot of people do it.
To me, Pat was the first guy that said, “this is every penny I’ve spent in my business this month. This is every penny I’ve made in my business this month.” I don’t even know where the guy finds the time to do this but he writes a really long blog post detailing what happened that month, not the year, these are months.
You guys have probably seen it, many of you have. He shows pictures, talks about his travels, what went right, what didn’t work. They are amazing. That put him on the map. He is known for those monthly income reports.
He isn’t just known for the reports but what does that say about him? He’s not hiding a thing. He’s taking you back into the kitchen and showing you the pots and pans and everything that’s going on. The guy is full transparency. I really love him for that.
When you meet him in person you realize, “oh my gosh, this is the guy he is.” This is not just a show on his blog, this is who he is. I want you to think of a bold move that will put you on the map and make people think, “Holy cow, that is awesome!”
I don’t know what it is, I don’t think it’s an income report, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying that I bet you’ve had some ideas like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I did” XYZ? I don’t think you should just go out and do it. Test it a little bit. Ask some people about it and get some feedback.
I bet some of you have been thinking about doing something that would be pretty cool and pretty crazy. But what if it really worked? You’ve got to take risks. You’ve got to experiment and get uncomfortable in your business and it may not work. You may crash and fail. But you can always get back up. We know that.
Don’t be scared to make those big mistakes because they could turn out to be as fantastic as Pat Flynn’s idea. I bet when he told people he was going to do that he didn’t ask me because we didn’t know each other when he did it, but if he had asked me I would have told him he was crazy. That’s weird, don’t do that!
I don’t think I’m really good with big ideas all the time. But it’s a good thing he didn’t ask me because it’s amazing. So be careful who you ask. You’ve got to know in your heart if you think it’s the right way to go. But I like to get feedback from people I trust. Then I go with my gut, whatever works for you, do it.
I want to encourage you. How do you get started with surprising your audience and doing something different? You’ve just got to ask yourself what you can do different in your business in terms of communicating with your audience. That’s really what we’re talking about.
How do you communicate with your audience? Can you change up how you deliver your content? Can you be more raw, more authentic? In what way can you be? Video probably is the fastest way to get there. Facebook Live would probably be your first step but how can you do Facebook Live a little bit differently?
How can you stand out? In a really noisy world this is a good question. I don’t know, maybe this is your bold move but I definitely wanted to bring it up.
We’re moving into the final stretch. This is one of my longest episodes but I think these bold moves will hopefully get you excited and you have probably found yours by now. Or, you may be waiting on this final one.
Bold Move #7 – Reexamine Your Business Model
I don’t know if you are going to like this one but it’s a biggie. It’s important and I’m going to really encourage you to listen up. If you’re multi-tasking come back to me in this moment. This one could kind of change your life.
Let me tell you a quick story before I get into it. I have a really good friend who is in an industry where she has been doing really good. Over the last year she has made amazing strides. She has partnered with somebody and together they have created some awesome stuff.
Then the partnership dissolved. It was very unexpected for her. She just wasn’t in the right mindset and didn’t see it coming. I got on the phone with her about a month after it happened. I was devastated for her because I knew she was really hurting inside. Sometimes in business it’s not all business. Sometimes it really hurts.
She was devastated by it so I asked her what she was going to do. She said she had always wanted to do XYZ. I am being cryptic because this is her own personal story but you will still get the point.
She said she always wanted to do XYZ and was always afraid to do it. In the partnership she really didn’t get the chance to do that. She didn’t have the bandwidth. It wasn’t the right setting or the right audience. But it has always been in the back of her mind.
I told her I knew it had. She had talked to me about it months and months before. It is definitely something she had to experiment with and at least test it out. She said she thought she would.
It involved doing a live event. She said she was going to do a live event and would let just a few people sign up for it. It was going to be just a few days. In my mind I was thinking that it was great. It was something great to work on in the New Year. This was about two months ago, probably in November, that we were talking about it.
In my mind I was thinking it was great moving forward. She said, “So I’m going to make it happen in 30 days.” I said, “What? What are you talking about?” I was scared for her because it was a bold move to totally change everything she was doing to try something new.
She said she had to do it now or she would never know. If she stretched it out and said she would do it in the New Year she probably wouldn’t do it until the second quarter and she would have wasted a lot of time.
By the time she talked to me it had been a good month of her feeling sad, having probably mopy days in bed, talking to a lot of people, probably tears. She had gotten through that initial shock of something that totally rocked her and now she was ready to try something new.
We all know that if we don’t try it nothing ever happens. She did it already and I got to talk to her afterwards. I thought she was going to say, “Holy cow, I loved it, it was a huge success.”
She didn’t actually say that. She said, “Oh my gosh! So many learnings.” Right there I was thinking, “ding, ding, ding. What an amazing experience she just set up for herself.”
All of the lessons she got when she said she was doing it in 30 days! I am sure she didn’t do it exactly the way she wanted to do it. I bet she has been envisioning this live event she wanted to do for months and it wasn’t exactly how she thought it was going to be.
I’m sure she did it on a really tight budget. But now she had all of these learnings to take with her into her next phase. Whether she still wants to do them, maybe she doesn’t, I don’t know all the details yet, but she said she learned enough to know she had enough to make her next decision.
That is sometimes what we need in our business. We need to experiment with something to decide if it is the way we want to go. It’s okay to say, “no.” If she called me tomorrow and said she never wanted to do an event again for the rest of her life I would say, “Amen, now you know. That’s awesome.”
I just want to congratulate her, she knows who she is, for doing it. What’s so ironic is that her ex partner encouraged her to do it and I love that. Talk about a great relationship. This ex partner said, “You need to do it.” I thought that was awesome and I thought the ex partner was crazy.
But again, you guys probably shouldn’t be asking me for creative ideas because I’m obviously a little bit stunted in my recommendations. I would have totally told her to wait until the New Year.
I also have a big heart so I am always trying to be sensitive to people’s feelings around what’s going on with them. So I thought she needed a little bit more time but she didn’t. She just needed to go for it and I love that.
I tell you all of this because you might be in a place that your business model is broken or coming apart or did not work out as you had planned. Now it’s time to reexamine your business model. That is a bold move.
I’m going to give you some suggestions if that’s where you’re at. I want you to first keep your eye on the prize. I want you to think how you are going to make money. What is working right now and what needs to shift?
I think that’s a great question to ask yourself. A lot of people that I work with forget they’ve got to make money in the process. Most people don’t have a spouse that’s supporting them so that they can do whatever and make big mistakes.
If you do, take advantage of it. That’s awesome. Most of us don’t have that. You do have to keep your eye on the fact that you have to make money but also what’s working right now and what you really, really want to do. That is a great question you’ve got to ask.
Perhaps your bold move to shake things up might be that you’re going to add webinars to your business or this year you are going to do one live event because you really have a great idea for a live event. You want to do an in-person workshop and you’re doing it this year. Mark your calendar, put it there. That’s your bold move.
It might be a coaching program. It can be an in-person coaching program, an online coaching program, or maybe something a little bit out of what you’ve been doing and a little bit out of the range but it is something you have wanted to try. This is the time to decide.
That’s why I wanted to encourage you to reexamine your business model. A lot of you are in a place that you’re doing one-on-one service-based businesses. Your bold move in the new year is that you are eventually going to transition and let go of all of your one-on-one clients and move into selling online courses.
I say that because I know a lot of you are in that spot right now. A lot of you are inside my course, Courses That Convert or Webinars That Convert. That’s where you’re going. That’s a bold move.
Here’s where I’m going to leave you. I don’t want you making a bunch of bold moves in the New Year. That is not my plan for you. I do not want you to take three or four of these, jot them down, and say you are going to do them.
Be very kind to yourself in the sense of choosing one. That’s all you need to focus on. I promise you that if you do that bold move and get it done and it’s the second quarter of the New Year then add another bold move it you want. You just have to promise me that there is only one.
I believe adding webinars to your business is a bold move and that’s all you need as your bold move for the year. Or, doing video once a week/day. Or you can do something bigger like starting a podcast. Whatever it is, just choose one. That way you don’t fully overwhelm yourself.
I wanted to end with reexamining your business model because I know some of you will find that incredibly valuable and timely as you listen.
There you have it. What do you think? Which of these seven bold moves is right for your business? Maybe you have an idea for a bold move I haven’t mentioned here but you’ve been thinking about it for a while. Maybe it’s time to dig in and get it done.
I want you to think about how you can implement just one of these bold moves right away. I don’t want you to think about this for a month or over the next week. Today! I want you to give it some really solid thought.
Quite honestly, I bet one of these bounced out to you right away. You knew it was the one. You have been thinking about podcasting for two years. That’s the one you need to do. I bet you know which one is right for you.
If you do, here’s how I want to help you get started. I’m going to ask you a question and this is going to get you instant momentum. What is the first small action you can take today to set your bold move into motion? Think about it for the next few minutes and then go do it today.
You’re going to take one action. It can be really small. It will set things in motion for you to move forward with your bold move. I can’t wait for you to get started.
Before I go, to keep yourself moving forward throughout 2017 or whenever you’re listening to this, it is motivation in general, I’m sharing my personal reading list with you. It is the ten books I am going to be reading in the next few months.
I’ve chosen these books to inspire me and give me some new ideas for my own content creation. I’d love for you to dive into them with me. It’s kind of like a book club because I’m sure I’m going to be talking about them here and there throughout the next few months of my episodes.
Remember my little secret, I mentioned this in the very beginning of this mini training, it’s important that you allow yourself to get uncomfortable while taking on a bold move. I believe that’s what it’s going to take for you to get that traction you’re looking for and it’s easier to get uncomfortable when you feel inspired.
These ten books were curated to get us both completely inspired to move forward. The two go hand in hand, feeling uncomfortable and getting inspired just move you forward.
Grab my personal 2017 reading list and together we can start diving in. Just go to http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/142download or text the phrase 142download to 33444 to grab it right away.
Here’s to the best year we’ve ever had. Let’s do this.
