AMY PORTERFIELD: Hey there, Amy Porterfield here. Welcome to another episode of The Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Thanks, so much, for tuning in.
Today’s episode is all about Periscope. I believe the social media platform is only getting bigger and bigger. I’ve seen people explode their brands with Periscope and I’ve seen some amazing sales results and list-building results come from this very platform.
I am not an expert in Periscope but I’m very interested in using it more and more. So I have brought on a guy that knows pretty much everything there is to know about Periscope. His name is Zachary Spuckler, we call him Zach. He started working with online businesses at the age of 14. Yeah, you heard me right.
He has done everything from creating and flipping websites to product creation and sales. At a young age he has had an inevitable amount of experience in online business. He is now using it to help others build their businesses and generate better profits.
But he’s really made a name for himself as one of the first people to figure out how to use Periscope as a list-building and sales platform. In his interview, he’s going to share his tips, tricks, and insights to help you get started on Periscope the right way.
I’ll be the first to admit, and you’ll probably hear me say this 20 times throughout the interview with Zach, that Periscope makes me nervous. The live streaming video part of it makes me nervous. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to move forward and really learn how to engage more with this really cool platform.
I think it is a way to break the barriers between you and your audience. They get to come inside your world. You get to be more personal with them and more engaging with them and they get to see a whole different side of you that really no other social media platform is offering right now, at least not at this level.
We’re going to talk about how to use Periscope, some of the do’s and don’ts and the technology and tools behind it. We’re going to get to all of that.
Before we do, a quick word about our sponsor. I want to thank our sponsor today, 99Designs. I am such a huge fan of this company because they can take care of all of your graphic needs. We are talking logos, social media cover images, website graphics, and so much more. So visit www.99Designs.com/amy and get a $99 upgrade for free.
Are you ready to dive into my interview with Zach? Let’s do this.
Amy: Hey Zach, thanks so much for being here with me today. I truly appreciate it.
Zach: Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Amy: I love watching you on Periscope. I’ve watched you over the last few months just skyrocket on Periscope and I think people really gravitate toward you because you have this unique way of teaching. You are so real. You’re personable and you really take the time to make sure people understand what it is that you are teaching and you engage with them.
First of all, I want to give you a big shout out. I love the way you teach.
Zach: Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Amy: Periscope has become a very big deal. I’ve dabbled with it a bit. I haven’t really jumped in full force. You have though. So tell us, I know you were telling me that Periscope just got started last March so it hasn’t even been a full year. Do you think it is only getting stronger? I’m going to guess you’re going to say “yes”.
Zach: Absolutely. To date, it is the fastest growing social media platform of all time. There are over three years of video content that get uploaded everyday.
Amy: Oh my goodness.
Zach: Yeah. The growth rate is insane. There are over 15 million active users. It is growing every single day.
Amy: A lot of my listeners right now have maybe watched a few Periscopes. But I am going to guess the majority of them haven’t really done a lot of Periscopes themselves. First, I want to talk a little bit about your journey and your experience with Periscope. Then I want you to kind of break it down for us in terms of getting started and some of the do’s and don’ts and how to get past all of those jitters.
I must admit, the fact it is live streaming makes me nervous, even still to this day. I have been in business for a while. I have done tons of video, but that live streaming, we’ll talk a little bit about why it makes me nervous and maybe you can help move me past those jitters.
That’s a little teaser, but before we get there, tell me a little bit about your journey. What has it looked like in terms of you jumping on Periscope, the success you’ve had, what your business looks like today. Kind of give me a background.
Zach: Sure. I actually joined a few months after it started in June. I had gone to a live conference and I had noticed some people saying they were periscoping this and that. I had this weird look on my face because I didn’t know what that meant so I just sat there and took notes because I had bought a ticket.
After hearing that from a few people I went up to somebody and asked them to tell me what it was. They told me it was the future and that I had to do it and had to be on it. I flew back to Ohio from L.A. and decided to just go for it. My first broadcast ended up being really successful.
I had inadvertently set up an account and got a few followers by accident. From there it grew. In the first 30 days on Periscope I did $10,000 in sales.
Amy: What?
Zach: Yeah. And my previous high month had been right around $1,700. Everything changed in about 30 days. Then I thought there was something there so I started plugging all of my systems into my Facebook group, into my mailing list, into my webinars, and everything just filled up. Everything I threw at Periscope to test, whether it was if people would convert on a webinar from Periscope, they will; will they convert a funnel from Periscope, they will; will they join a Facebook group; will they get a freebie; they will do crazy things I never would have thought.
I had people buy $1,500 packages from me directly from a live streaming video. It’s just crazy the engagement and conversion that you can get with live video. It’s insane.
Amy: I’m cracking up Zach, because I can hear your dogs in the background. You’ve got to tell us real quick, how many dogs do you have?
Zach: I have two. One does not mind being in the other room. The other one can hear me talking to anyone that’s not him and so he is being a little feisty about it.
Amy: What happens if you let him in? What do they do when you let them in when you are broadcasting?
Zach: They just find every reason to make noise. They jump up on my lap. They have knocked over microphones, they have knocked over broadcasts, so I just lock them in the other room.
Amy: For dog owners, the struggle is real. I have totally been there with Gus so it’s okay. We’re dog friendly here on this podcast.
Zach: Absolutely.
Amy: So it’s all good. Okay, so you can do some amazing things on Periscope and my ears perked up when you said you could use Periscope to get people on webinars. So we will really make sure we revisit that. But you are telling me that Periscope is good for list building and Periscope is good for selling and it is just kind of crazy to me because so many times I teach my students social media is not necessarily the place to sell.
I talk about social media being a place to build relationships and build your email list. But, talk to me a little bit about how you sold $10,000 in those first 30 days. What did that look like?
Zach: I actually have a little bit of background in social media. I was using Periscope the first couple of weeks I was on there to just get new clients. I just wanted more one-on-one clients. I started by making about $1,000 a week. After about three or four weeks people started saying, “Please show us how you are doing this.”
I am very transparent. I am super open about my numbers most of the time, as long as my accountant doesn’t mind. So people were asking me to show them how to do it. I said I would put together a really quick Periscope training course. I wasn’t offering anything super insane but I wanted to know that people wanted it. I asked if they would preorder.
I sold about $1,200 of the course at a $97 intro price. Then I did it again the next day. We ended up doing about $2,200 in sales with about an hour and a half of Periscopes. We hadn’t sent emails and hadn’t done anything. At that point we had about $5,000 in sales all from Periscope, just getting people on Periscope, onto the phone with me, right to a sales page. One was even a PayPal button. We didn’t even have a sales page.
We did that and then I launched my Periscope course and really drove people there from Periscope. We didn’t even do a webinar the first time. We just got people on my email list and this is so crazy, this will really tell you the power of it, I didn’t have a freebie ready for Periscope. I threw together a lead page that said, “I’m going to make a really cool Periscope freebie. I have no idea what it’s going to be, I just know that you should sign up for it.”
We had over 200 people opt in for that and when all was said and done, in the course of the first 30 days and a little beyond that because we had launch, we had sold 60 copies of the course.
Amy: Wow. That is so very cool. You know, this is a great reminder, even beyond the Periscope conversation that when something is hot and you know you are good at it and you know you have something to offer you have to jump into action. You didn’t have your freebie ready. You didn’t even have the course ready and you were able to presell it.
I am assuming you knew in your gut, “Wait a second, I am listening to my audience. There is something here.” Would you agree?
Zach: Absolutely. I think that’s my favorite part about Periscope, prior to it I was always saying, “What does my audience want?” I couldn’t figure out what to offer because every time I tried to offer something people said they wanted it but when I put a price tag on it they suddenly didn’t want it anymore.
Now it wasn’t me asking what they wanted, it was just me listening. Now I don’t have to do anything other than show up. I always have a notebook by me and I just take notes on what they are saying. I don’t have to come up with blog content anymore. I don’t have to come up with webinar content. All I have to do is show up and say, “This is the 15th time someone has said ‘how the heck do you run a broadcast?’” Boom! That’s a bonus in my course. Done and done.
You don’t have to think anymore, you just have to listen. That’s kind of what I like about it.
Amy: That’s so cool. I love that. It is such a great Marketing 101 kind of lesson. That leads me perfectly into getting started with this. I have so many questions once people really understand how to get started with Periscope so let’s go there first. Let’s say I’m listening to this episode and have never even watched a Periscope and don’t even know what is being talked about but I am intrigued. Tell us what we need to do in a nutshell.
Zach: Sure. The first thing I would do, you have to have a smart phone to use it. It can be Apple or Android. I am an Apple person. It works better on Apple, to be totally transparent. But they are always upgrading the Android version. You download it from the app store and open it up. You only have two options.
I have found that people get really overwhelmed with technology. But there are only two options, you are either broadcasting or you are watching a broadcast. That’s pretty much it. Granted, there are all the little bells and whistles and the features but there are really only the two core activities.
If I was going to get started, what I would do the first week is find a few people whose audience matches my audience. That is really key. It’s not somebody who you want to work with or somebody you like. It is somebody whose audience matches what you want. That is whom you are ultimately going to be engaging with. I would watch Periscopes from them on a very regular basis, live as much as possible.
Just engage, have a real conversation because you will see there is a place you can chat and talk to people. That will naturally gain you new followers. Then, maybe after about a week I would try my hand at my first broadcast.
The cool thing is, in other social media, you have to actively find a way to get people to follow you. While that is still true on Periscope, the cool thing is you can be entertained and you can be learning while you are gaining those followers. That’s exactly where I would start. I would get some new followers and then I would try my hand at a broadcast.
Amy: The whole idea of trying your hand at a broadcast still makes me nervous and this must just be part of my personality, but I have to tell you, the minute I broadcast, because it’s live, I tend to be technology challenged and I am always doing something where it’s like, “Can you guys hear me,” or someone can’t see me right. There are always weird tech gremlins that happen.
I’m guessing I’m not alone. Did it feel clunky to you in the beginning, at least?
Zach: Absolutely. When you first start it feels so clunky. I tell most people after about three to four weeks that barrier to entry kind of disappears. It’s almost second nature.
Amy: Great. Okay, cool, because when I watch you it’s like you flip it on, you are relaxed, “Hey guys, how you doing?” I want to know how you do that? I have butterflies every single time I do it. I was doing it for a while at the end of 2015 a lot and I have to admit once I started doing it three, four, or five times, those butterflies definitely subsided.
It’s kind of like riding a bike, you get going and then it’s smooth sailing after a while.
Zach: Absolutely. I will say a little bonus to doing it, which is amazing for your audience, is that it makes you so confident on webinars. Especially when people don’t see your face.
Amy: Okay, that’s a great point. Great, great point. If you can do Periscope, gosh I’m so glad you brought this up. I never even thought about that. If you can do Periscope, you can nail a webinar. You are right, Periscope is live streaming. They see your face, they see everything that’s going on. With a webinar, at least the way I teach it, you don’t even need to show your face so that confidence is going to skyrocket. I love that you put it out there.
The other thing with Periscope and it being live streaming is that I am a prepared kind of girl. I like to have my notes and I like to prepare for the session. I like to teach really valuable stuff. It doesn’t come from being a perfectionist, actually, it comes from, “Holy cow, I’ve got to deliver the best stuff ever or I’m going to be wasting their time.”
I have learned from you that there is a little bit of a different vibe on Periscope. Let’s talk about the environment on Periscope; what people expect, what people want, how the conversations go. Before we get there, when you are on Periscope, whoever has been on already knows this and if you’ve never been on you will notice, you will see Zach’s face live but people are commenting and there is a huge rush of comments that just come in boom, boom, boom.
Sometimes there is no way you could ever even read all of the comments but it is incredibly distracting, if you ask me. You don’t seem distracted at those comments at all. One of my concerns is how I am supposed to read those and respond to people.
You had told me we are having a conversation here. I’m thinking that it feels very awkward. Can you address all of that for me?
Zach: Absolutely. As far as getting comfortable with the barrage of comments, that is a totally common question. The thing is you just get really good at it. The best way I can explain it is if you have ever listened to somebody that says they can speed read at 800 words a minute you look at them like they have ten heads yet there are tons of people who can speed read.
It’s almost very similar to that. You have to find your balance between how much you can process and how much you can take in. That’s the first thing. The second thing is people seem to love to call Periscope mini webinars. I really shy away from that. I acknowledge they have value and I acknowledge they are very similar. But nobody shows up to a Periscope with their pen and paper ready to go with their seven steps to grow a Facebook page asking what they need to know.
There is a good chance that they are on break at lunch, they are in their car, they are sitting on the couch watching TV and listening to you. The real thing is you just want to show up very naturally. That’s important to me. If your branding is as a polished person, makeup artists, people who are multi-million dollar brands, maybe you do need good lighting. Maybe you need to do your hair, and maybe you need to put on some makeup.
Me, I always jokingly say that my first million is going to come in pair of sweat pants. I have bed head, I have a cup of coffee. There is a breaker panel in my office and it sometimes makes a little cameo in the background. That’s not big deal because nobody shows up to a Periscope for the ambience. That’s kind of why they sign up for your webinar or email list. They want that content. Here, they want to get to know you, they want to get to know your offer, and they want to know whether or not they like you.
The other thing you have to remember is that I’m kind of learning there is sort of a half life, for lack of a better term, to a viewer on Periscope. The first time you get to see me live, it’s like, “Whoa, it’s Zach!” They have seen my webinar and now there I am talking to them. It’s cool. But after about three weeks it’s not really cool anymore. It’s like when you meet somebody at a live event and you text every single day because you are going to be new best marketing friends and after four months you haven’t talked in a week.
The novelty goes away. So Periscope is really a platform where you can be yourself, you can let people in. You don’t have to stress over being perfect. Ultimately, your goal is just to get them somewhere else. Get them on your list, get them on a webinar, get them in your funnel. They are not going to really watch you forever.
Amy: Okay. So I’m going to tease one more thing. We’re going to talk about your five parts to a simple broadcast. I want you to go through those in a minute because that’s where I’m curious. What am I supposed to be doing with them in terms of getting them somewhere else? But, do you think people are showing up to Periscope to have a conversation with you? Should I be prepared with some notes and go over key points? How do you prepare for Periscopes? Based on what you know in terms of the people that do the best Periscopes out there who are really active and have big audiences, how are they showing up in terms of delivering valuable content?
Zach: The biggest thing about delivering content is that I like to have two to five core pieces of content. It’s just like the internet. People seem to love lists. People really also like the teaser stuff like, “You’ll never believe this one thing that’s stopping your business from growing.” People really love that stuff. The key is to show up and make sure you deliver the content but people are there for you because they could go read your blog. They could go find you on Facebook.
Amy: Good point.
Zach: They showed up because they want the interaction with you and it’s live streaming. I think that is key to remember. You don’t show up to a live webinar, you just show up to a webinar or an online training or a live training. But here you are streaming your life. People want to be a part of that.
It is almost like reality TV but instead of watching they get to talk to you. I think it is really important to engage with people. I have asked my audience and one of the biggest reasons they stop following people is that they show up and treat it very similar to a webinar. They feel they didn’t get to know that person.
That’s good news. It means you don’t have to be polished. I’m a person who is really unpolished by nature. I don’t have to plan things out. If I’m going to do a big webinar I’ll maybe prep for 15 minutes and that’s about it.
Amy: Okay, don’t make me have a heart attack.
Zach: For people who are more polished, here is all you have to know. You just have to take the time to write down what you’re going to talk about, two or three key points, where you ultimately want to send them, and then make notes. That’s it.
Everything else is the natural order of interaction. It’s just like a cocktail party. You may polish up on current events, maybe you catch up on the latest episode of your favorite reality TV show so you can talk about it with people, but you’re not showing up saying this will be an ideal cocktail party for you as long as you give out the last three things that happened on Orange is the New Black. Nobody is expecting that from you. Just treat it that same way.
You kind of know where your strengths are and what you like to talk about but you’re not stressing over perfect execution.
Amy: One thing that, as I mentioned earlier, that I learned from you is that I should be mentioning people that are posting in the comments. I shouldn’t just answer the questions they are asking, but if they are throwing out little insights or ideas or thoughts about what I just said I should be acknowledging them by their name and talking about what they are posting. Is that right?
Zach: Exactly. The best way I can think about explaining that is if you have ever done a webinar, and I know you have, at the end it is a really good idea to say, “Thanks so and so for signing up,” or “I’m so happy that you asked, Martin.” You call people out by name. People love to be acknowledged, especially when they perceive you as having more authority than them. It is human psychology. It is so exciting when Amy says, “Awesome, Zach. I’m so glad you’re here.”
That immediately creates a level of connection that you don’t get anywhere else. So I do think it is really important to call people out by name even if it is just “Hi.” They just want to hear you saying their name. That is really cool to a lot of people.
Amy: That reminds me of an interview I recently did, Episode #88, with Tim Paige. He was talking about webinars but one of the things that completely boosted his sales with webinars is that he had massive engagement calling out people’s names, answering their questions in mid sentence when he was teaching content, and he really had this back and forth. He saw a huge boost in his webinar sales.
This is kind of like that similar thing where you are literally having this back-and-forth conversation. It’s not all about you teaching the content. People really feel acknowledged. There is something to be said about taking the time to do that. I think it’s very difficult. But, like you said, maybe I just need to do more and more so that flood of comments doesn’t totally freak me out.
Zach: Absolutely. I’ll tell you, Amy, you are at an advantage and disadvantage because you are established as a social figure so you’ll have more people showing up from the start. The average person isn’t going to show up on Day 1 and have a million comments to overcome.
Amy: That’s a good point. You can kind of warm up to it as you get going. I love it. That’s a good point. I teased it earlier, but Zach created a really cool freebie for this episode. You can get it at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/94download. We’re going to touch on it here but you can really make it your own so I want you to print it out and actually do the exercise.
You can get it at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/94download. You definitely want to grab this freebie all about putting together a simple broadcast. I was hoping, Zach, that you could walk us through this and that will encourage people to want to get the cheat sheet too because they can make it their own and there are areas for them to write in it and really do a little bit of homework to do their first broadcast really well.
Zach: Absolutely. The worksheet is five simple steps. I have more advanced steps and systems but I think this is a great place to start. I will say my most successful students take the steps I give them, print them out, and then build them out to build their own. Every student that I have talked to who has done multiple thousands or tens of thousands in sales always, as soon as I get on the phone with them, hold up a worksheet they have and say they printed it out and made notes.
I would highly recommend you print it out. It will change everything if you do kind of follow it and make it your own. There are five simple steps.
First, you just introduce yourself and give your elevator pitch. You just want to take about one to two minutes as everybody comes in. You don’t want to spend five minutes playing the Hi-Hi-Hi game where you say, “Hi Jill, Hi Larry, Hi Bob, Hi Amy, Hi Mark,” that’s boring. Nobody showed up to hear you say “Hi” but you do want to engage and recognize that you are starting a broadcast.
Amy: Can you say “Hi” to a few of the first few people that show up or should I not even start that game?
Zach: I always say “Hi” to a few people and then once I get into who I am it will kind of shift the conversation forward. Everybody’s going to say, “His Amy, Hi Zach,” and after about 30 seconds I just kind of move forward. People will stop staying hi. You kind of have to push the conversation forward.
Then I just do a little elevator pitch, which is my two to three sentences on who I am, what I do, and who I serve. I want to make sure I have those three key points and then a little bonus, if you’re listening, is that you can also throw in what qualifies you to give advice.
Amy: Do yours. I want to hear yours.
Zach: Hey guys, my name is Zach Spuckler. My company is Heart Soul and Hustle and I help online business owners get seen, be heard, and become profitable leveraging Periscope and Facebook. In 2015, at the age of 22, I quit my job, went full time and created a six-figure business with these platforms. Now I want to show you how to do the same.
Amy: That’s pretty sexy! I like it.
Zach: The cool thing is they get even sexier as you keep doing it. People will be like, “Oh my gosh, I love that,” and now it just comes out. I don’t even have to think about it. It’s great for networking events. It is a little bonus you get if you do it every single day.
Amy: That’s so cool. And you are a baby. Are you still 22 or are you 23 now?
Zach: I’m still 22.
Amy: Stop it. Stop. I can’t even discuss that with you. Okay, moving on.
Zach: Once you do that they know who you are, you’ve said “Hi” to them. Then you do what I call a call to share. I always tell people you don’t get what you don’t ask for. People will not just share your broadcast because you’re that good. It’s unfortunate but it is true. It is just like with Instagram. Engagement goes up with hashtags.
On Facebook we know that when you say, “Like this post if…” you get more likes. However, the difference between those platforms and here is that there has kind of been a social shift on Facebook. It’s not as smiled upon to say, “Like this post,” like it used to be. On Periscope, it is encouraged to ask people to be sure and share it out with their audience.
I always give a little qualifier, “Hey, share this out, we’re going to talk about XYZ. If that jives with you and your audience just hit that share button and do me a huge favor.” People won’t do that unless you ask them so take a second to tell them to share it out.
Amy: Great.
Zach: Then you give them your core content. It is just two to five main content bits and then make them as actionable as possible. I have found that this has been one of the core parts of my business. I get testimonials from people who have never worked with me. They have just heard me live. It happens at least three to five times a week where somebody pops into my Facebook group and says, “Followed you advice on that Periscope and grew my list,” or “I followed your advice on that Periscope and sold something.”
If you can get 50 people in the room, one of them does it and gets results, it makes everyone look good, especially you.
Amy: Okay, cool.
Zach: And you give them a call to action. What are you going to have them do? I say never to do a broadcast without an intention to do something. Are you going to tell them to follow you or join your next webinar, join your list, get into your Facebook group? Give them a strong call to action and then Q&A. Finish off with some Q&A. Ask them if they have any questions about what was talked about today. Tell them you would love to stick around for five to ten minutes. For me it always turns into 20 minutes but I always say five or 10 minutes.
That’s where you really lean in and take note of what they are asking. For example, Amy, if you just did a perfect Periscope about three ways to boost attendance or show rate on webinars and then at the end people comment that you told them to send five emails but they are concerned that people will unsubscribe. People might say, “Yes, how do you stop unsubscribes, what do you do?” You know that’s a perfect topic to write a blog post on and then sometimes my brain works big picture, but now you have them in your Periscope and you get them on webinar. You can write the blog and email them telling them, “Hey, here’s how to stop unsubscriptions.” We know that when one person says it, it usually represents a few people thinking it.
Now you have them off of Periscope onto your email list. You overcome their objection to blog and now they are going to convert higher.
Amy: This stuff is so good. I’m so glad I’ve had you on the show because I’m really excited about people learning how to do this. I want to back up a little bit. Remember, http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/94download is where you can get the notes on what Zach is teaching here. You can make them your own through his worksheet. Definitely grab it.
Zach, let’s move back a little bit about the call to action, specifically, how to use Periscope to grow your email list. I want you to give me an example that you’ve done on a Periscope that’s worked really well and how it related to what you taught and why people were jumping off Periscope going to get the freebie. How does that look?
Zach: I’ll share with you what I call my golden question, it’s what I give to people if they are just getting started and they really have a hard time getting that natural flow. You can say, “If I had something that could help you with…, is that something you would be interested in?”
Because you control the content you know they should be interested in this. When people say, “Yes, I would definitely be interested in this,” say, “Okay, cool, I would love to share with you a free PDF I have exactly about how to write topics for your Periscope. Head over to my website.com and you can download that PDF right now and it will definitely benefit you.”
Amy: You actually do have a freebie like that, don’t you?
Zach: I do.
Amy: You have to tell people about it right now because I was going through my notes before we started and I thought it was a really good freebie. Tell them what the freebie is and where to get it.
Zach: If you go to http://www.periscopeworkbook.com, I have a brief little workbook that takes about 15 minutes. It teaches you how to turn your knowledge and skills into actual titles and broadcast topics. For the people who want to know how to do this every day, that workbook is your little secret.
Amy: Cool. I’m so glad you brought that up. Now that we are getting clear about how to do a simple broadcast and how we can incorporate some list-building strategy in there, I want to talk to you a little bit about, not the technology, but kind of some things I’ve gotten stuck with and where I think my audience might as well.
The first one, it feels really silly to ask you, but I need to ask you, what is the deal with landscape versus the other way and what should I be doing? How should I be holding my phone?
Zach: The way it started, you could only broadcast in portrait, meaning the tall way. That is how the app originally was. A few months ago they made it so you could go landscape. Here’s what I’ll tell you, portrait is better if you are walking and talking. Some people would never even dream of doing that, they just sit on their couch. If you are just going to be engaging and sitting in a really stationary environment then go landscape.
For whatever reason, it is a fuller picture of you and that’s what people like. If you go landscape it just seems more natural. Everything we do is landscape. Your computer is landscape, your TV is landscape. Why wouldn’t I want to watch you in landscape too?
Amy: So that’s preferred. A question I have for you is, should I be getting a tool to hold my iPhone?
Zach: It is totally up to you but if you are planning to make it one of your core strategies I would. That doesn’t mean you have to use it every time but I have a tripod right next to my desk that is always set up. I broadcast from my office. It doesn’t mean I don’t broadcast from my couch or when I’m visiting family. I just like to have a stationary place.
If I’m going to deliver something really high value and want a better conversion, even though we talked about how it’s not important to be polished, there’s something to be said about having a good broadcast that is nice and stable with quality value. It is the concept that, wow, this Periscope was good. How good is a webinar going to be when it’s not off the cuff?
Amy: That’s a good point.
Zach: It’s nice to have a place where it is more polished but I wouldn’t want you to go out right now, if you’re thinking about Periscope, and buy a tripod. You can get a desktop tripod for $15 or $20. You can buy a full-on tripod with an iPhone attachment. That is totally your call. But, I would recommend if you start to do it and like it after about 30 days, get a tripod. It’s really going to help you. Or, you just get really nice biceps from holding your phone up for so long.
Amy: I have the shakiest arm. You would think I have issues or something. I definitely had to get a tripod right from the get go. How about a microphone? Do we need microphones? I don’t think I did use a microphone when I was doing it a lot.
Zach: I’ll tell you a real admission, I’ve gotten a little bit lazy about using my microphone. The one that a lot of scopers recommend is the smartLav+. It plugs right into your microphone jack whether you have an Android or iPhone. The draw back is they are about $80 and iPhone headphones work just as well. But I can tell you in the history of doing it, when I use my microphone people always say my audio quality is really good and they ask what microphone I am using.
Never has anybody asked if I am not using a microphone because my audio quality isn’t good that day. People notice the increase but I don’t think it is hurting you if you don’t have a microphone. After 30 days and doing about $10,000 in sales I decided I had better start taking it seriously and I invested in a microphone.
Amy: Okay, cool. I don’t know what else to ask in this area. Is there something else I might be missing, the option of a tripod and the microphone, anything else?
Zach: Not really. Some people like to have lighting kits. Like I said, I am way too low key for a lighting kit. Maybe one day. But people really love the Diva Ring Light because you can set your iPhone in it and it lights you really well. If you have a more polished image that might be a really good option for you.
The only other thing I recommend is Lead Pages. I always say Lead Pages is a tool for me because I can make really succinct web addresses to send people to in order to get on my list. Even though it isn’t a physical tool, anytime I mention tools for Periscope I include Lead Pages.
Amy: Oh, well you all know, if you ever follow anything I do, that I am obsessed with Lead Pages so I am so glad you brought that up. That’s awesome that you have incorporated that as a tool for Periscope. I love that.
Before we wrap up, I have two things for you. The first thing is that you talked about getting people on a webinar through Periscope. The way I am seeing it is just like any list-building kind of thing. If you get on a Periscope you talk about two or three points you will be teaching on the webinar and the call to action would then be to go sign up. I am guessing that’s the way you would do it.
Zach: Yes.
Amy: Okay. What I would say to that, because with my students we talk about webinars so much, if you can get in front of this seven days in advance, five days in advance, three days, two days, anything within the week before a webinar is a great idea. Doing it more than once is an even better idea. Just make sure you are not doing a Periscope just to advertise your webinar.
Of course, you are giving value. You are diving into something as it relates to them liking it and you have more coming up live on a webinar next week. I just wanted to throw that out there.
I want to do a little bit of the do’s and don’ts. If you could think of two do’s and two don’ts when it comes to webinars, I know we’ve covered a lot of it here, but I know you know the little nuances that people need to be aware of. Talk to me a little bit about that.
Zach: As far as do’s go, do scope consistently. I have people tell me all the time that they don’t have time to scope every single day at the right time. I don’t really think there is a right time, but just show up every day; even if it is a five or ten-minute scope, you get all of the added benefits. You get the organic growth, you get the confidence, you get the honing down of your elevator pitch. Do show up consistently.
I always tell people I recommend once a day.
Amy: Holy mackerel. You are just killing me right now.
Zach: I know. I recommend that if it’s going to be a core platform for you. If it is your jam and you have decided, then once a day is where you need to be. That is really no different.
Amy: I totally agree. If it’s a core platform I totally agree. I always say if Facebook is your core platform you have to be posting daily.
Zach: Exactly. It is the same concept. The second “do” is to always have a reason to broadcast. Whenever you hit broadcast you should already know in the back of your mind where you want them to go. I always tell people it doesn’t mean you can’t just broadcast information. But your goal is to get more followers.
You always want to have an end-game in mind. Do you want people on your webinar? If you are showing up just to say, “hi”, it’s a time suck. It is the same as scrolling through a newsfeed. Let me tell you, you will get comfortable and you will find reasons to get on and add no value and just mess around. I have done it.
As far as the don’ts go, I always say don’t be the lunch scoper. I don’t know if it is just how social media is, we think people really care about our lives. On some level they do. But, no one cares what you are having for lunch if you teach Facebook. They just don’t. They are not excited. It is annoying. And it creates and air that there is no way of knowing if, when you join Zach’s Periscope, it will be of value or just him eating lunch. Right?
Amy: That’s a great point. You want to set expectations about what you are all about from the get go.
Zach: Exactly. Then my last don’t is to don’t always be selling. You want to always be promoting. Always be promoting yourself and driving your list. But don’t always be selling. You can make sales directly off Periscope. I’ve done it. It works. But if you do that every single time you essentially become the infomercial. You get sucked in for about 30 minutes because it’s exciting to see how the new oven cooks the turkey in 15 minutes. But then I don’t buy it so all I did was waste 30 minutes of my time.
The difference is your fans will know they didn’t get anything out of it and they won’t come back next time. So, don’t always be selling but always be promoting.
Amy: That is a perfect tip. I am loving that we are ending there. Zach, you have shared a wealth of knowledge. This has truly been one of my favorite podcast episodes because there were so many good nuggets in here. First of all, if you’re listening, I hope you are excited and inspired to check out Periscope if you haven’t yet.
If you’ve been on the sidelines watching a million Periscopes but have never done one yourself, I think it’s time to branch out and experiment for sure. But Zach, you have a product on Periscope. You talk a lot about Periscope. You also are a Facebook ads expert so you’ve got great information on Facebook ads.
Where can people learn more about all of the stuff that you teach?
Zach: If you go to http://www.heartsoulhustle.com that’s my main website. Then my Periscope program is http://www.rockyourscopes.com. Of course, you can always follow me on Periscope because that’s where I am. It’s @heartsoulhustle or just search my name in the search bar and you will find me.
Amy: Perfect. If you’ve never been on one of Zach’s Periscopes it is an absolute must. When you jump on for the first time, tell him, “Hey Zach, I heard you on Amy’s podcast,” so he will know we’ve got listeners here that are jumping on to check him out and give him a little love over on Periscope.
Zach: Yes please.
Amy: Thanks again Zach. I really appreciate you spending time with me. Again, this has truly been so valuable. Thanks for being here.
Zach: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
Amy: Take care.
There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this interview with Zach as much as I have. Listen, you don’t need to be on every social media channel. You don’t need to be doing it all. But, it is really important for you to find your own path in terms of how you are going to reach your audience.
There is a fine balance because it’s important that you find the social media platforms where your audience is spending time but you also need to find those platforms where you feel really confident and comfortable presenting new content and engaging with your audience and really getting your message out there.
Are you going to feel comfortable right from the get go? Of course not. You have to ease your way into it. But I always encourage my students to find that one core platform where you know you can make a really big difference. For me, it is usually Facebook. Lately, it has been Instagram. I have been doing a lot on Instagram.
Maybe I will change focus down the road and make it Periscope. I do Periscopes and jump on. I’m not consistent. I definitely don’t do it every single day like Zach does. But, if it was my core platform you can bet that I would be on there more consistently, for sure. If you love to do video or you just have this gut feeling that you would do really well with video and connecting with your audience, if you think your audience would respond really well to your content via live streaming, if you think they would use Periscope and they would connect with you and engage with you there then this might be something you want to explore even deeper.
Let me tell you, the impact you can make with live streaming is pretty incredible. If you think about it, Zach is 22 years old. He is just building up his business and he has these raving fans, people that absolutely love him and want to buy from him. The reason for that is that he puts himself out there and connects and engages and listens on a platform where he has made sure he now feels comfortable.
I am sure he didn’t feel totally confident in the beginning. I tell you all of this because I want you to start thinking about your core social media platform, where you want to spend time, where your audience is, and where you feel you can be consistent. I think this should be another podcast episode, finding your core social media platform, the pros and cons of some of those platforms, and maybe I could help you find the one that’s going to be the best fit for you and your audience. I think I had better start working on that episode soon.
Anyway, thank you so very much for being here with me today. Before we jump off, a quick word about our sponsor. Finally, I want to thank our sponsor, 99Designs. You know when you market online it is really difficult to stand out from all of that online noise clutter. How do you do it? I think you do it through impeccable branding. That includes your logo, your social media cover images, your website, and everything in between. At 99Designs you can get anything designed in just a week for a startup- friendly price.
To give you a little something extra, when you go to www.99designs.com/amy you will get a $99 upgrade for free. That upgrade makes your design contest stand out from all of the others and bumps you to the top of the list so more designers can see your contest. So make sure to check out www.99designs.com/amy.
Let’s jump back to our podcast.
Once again, you can get Zach’s download on how to set up a perfect broadcast on Periscope at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/94download. The show notes are at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/94. Thank you so very much for being here. I can’t wait to connect with you again soon. Take care until next time. Bye for now.
