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Are you looking to build authority, trust, and credibility in your niche?
You are?
Excellent. Then you probably know that you need a loyal audience of people who will eagerly consume your content and buy whatever you create or promote.
But here’s the problem!
We live in an information age where people are bombarded with content, non-stop notifications, social media drivel, and a plethora of other distractions.
Building a solid community is only half-the battle… keeping them engaged and interested is the other half – and it’s the more important and difficult half.
While several solutions have popped up on the marketplace to address this problem, there’s on exceptionally outstanding platform called Skool that does this brilliantly…
And we’ll look at it in more detail further down.
What’s important now is that you understand why you need a community…
Having a community ensures that you are in constant contact with your audience/customers. This is imperative not only for trust-building… but for the survivability of your business.
Building a reliable community is key to boosting repeat sales, conversions, and recurring income.
A community could be a Facebook group, a server on Discord or a cool niche group on Skool.
While each has its pros and cons, the underlying principle is the same – there’s a place for your audience to hang out and interact with each other.
When you have a group, it’s inevitable that some members will help others and if your courses/training are good, they’ll recommend what worked for them. This social proof and brand advocacy will lead to higher conversions and increased sales for you.
With a community, you’ll be able to get feedback on your products/training. You could conduct polls, ask for suggestions, etc. You’ll gain a better grasp of what your audience truly needs… and you can serve them better.
When you’re present in a group and interacting with your members, you’re no longer a vendor who sells from a distance. You’re now a friend – and people love interacting and supporting their friends.
We could go on and on about the benefits of having your own community, but you get the idea.
What you probably want to know is…
This Is an Excellent Question!
But it’s not so easily answered because several variables are involved.
Up until now, Facebook groups were seen as the ideal way to build a community. The fact that they’re free to set up and most people are already hanging out on Facebook works in the platform’s favor.
However, there’s a very insidious side to Facebook – the platform itself is designed to distract your audience with ads, other posts, and a ton of other ‘interruptions’ – that make money for the platform.
If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product… and the currency is your attention… and your subscribers’ attention.
Their focus is NOT on helping you win. Facebook looks out for Facebook. Period.
So, while you could build a tribe on Facebook, you’ll want to funnel your audience to a group on a platform like Skool where you control things in your group.
Everything will be more focused on your content, your offers and your messaging.
There are several platforms like Discord, Circle, Teachable, Kajabi, etc.
We looked at most of these and after weighing the pros and cons, there was just no denying that Skool was far superior to all the rest.
Created by marketing legend, Sam Ovens, this structured platform is designed to minimize distractions while offering excellent course and community features.
So while you could go around looking at the other options, you’ll soon discover that nothing comes close to Skool at the moment.
The fact that another popular marketer, Alex Hormozi, has been raving about it in his YouTube videos is only going to increase Skool’s popularity.
We’re hoping they maintain their relatively low (straightforward) pricing as demand increases. It’d be better to get in early while you can.
If you’re planning to build a community with the products/courses you’re selling, here’s why Skool helps…
This platform is extremely simple to navigate and set up.
Even the greenest of beginners will be able to create, host and sell their courses here and create a lively community.
With the drag-and-drop editor, you won’t need coding knowledge or anything complex.
The learning curve is short, gentle, and fun.
Skool is an all-in-one platform… and your customers/members will find it just as easy and intuitive to use.
Unlike Discord which seems clunky and confusing to navigate, Skool is a breeze and looks a lot neater.
Why else would you use Skool if not for this awesome feature?!!
Your students will be able to hang out and engage with each other in your group (on Skool).
Interacting in a Skool group is very similar to what you’d do on Facebook. You can post videos, gifs, comments, likes, etc. and it all updates in real-time so everything stays ‘active’ and fluid.
As the leader of the group, you’ll be able to engage with your members by chatting with them and even message members privately, if you want to.
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Even more important, members can develop relationships with other members because there is direct messaging available for them too! Your group could get known as a place for members to collaborate and partner on ventures with little intervention by you!
This reason is definitely why so many course creators are switching to Skool. It’s designed to make it easy for vendors to focus on teaching and selling their infoproducts.
As mentioned earlier, you’ll be hosting your courses on Skool. So there’s no need to build a separate course website and connect a whole bunch of complicated plugins. Everything can be done in minutes!
The unified search function will allow you to find comments, posts, members from one place quickly.
You’ll be able to send broadcast emails to your members too. So it has some degree of email marketing feature – though it comes nowhere close to a solid autoresponder such as ConvertKit. So you may want to invest in a separate email marketing tool.
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I am in three Skool groups. What I love is I can set up a weekly digest email to come into my Inbox every week to see what's happening and even more important, I can click on button in email and go to the group to add my comments or observations! Unlike the Facebook notification that push onto your monitor while you work, you can look to see what's happening in your groups in your email provider when YOU are ready!
Skool also has payment processing integrated into it. You can accept payments through Stripe and PayPal.
It you wish to use other integrations, Skool works well with Zapier… and you can contact their support for further advice related to your needs.
The learning management system in Skool is just as good (maybe even better) than most platforms such as Kajabi, Teachable, and even LMS plugins.
It has all the features you’ll need: modules, lessons, progress tracking, transcripts, etc.
The greatest advantage Skool has is that it integrates the community building with the courses flawlessly. Everything is smooth and works synergistically.
So your students are not only consuming your content, but also engaging at the same time. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Unlike Facebook which bombards its feed with ads, there are no ads in Skool.
No one is going to be distracting or ‘stealing’ sales/customers from you. This point alone makes Skool a clear winner in our books.
It’s easy for members to forget group events and so on. Thankfully, Skool has an event calendar feature that’s prominently displayed so your members are always on track and reminded of any upcoming events.
When it comes to selling courses and building a community, Skool’s closest competitor is probably Circle.
But while Circle is priced slightly cheaper (which makes it more attractive to those on a budget) … it lacks the superior gamification features found on Skool. So your students will not have as much fun consuming your content, if you were on Circle.
Gamification features include points, badges, leaderboards, and levels, which aim to motivate users through game-like elements.
The hard truth is that most students who sign up for a course, despite paying for it, will drop off halfway. That’s just the way things are.
With gamification features that enhance engagement, encourage participation, and foster a sense of accomplishment – you’ll not only be able to keep the student motivated, but they’ll be more likely to finish what they start.
Skool’s gamification features such as points, leaderboards, activity tracking and so on are excellent for keeping your tribe hooked on your training.
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In the Skool groups I am in, they use gamification to keep us coming back to participate. If I make a post asking a question, I get so many points; if I make a comment on a post, I get so many points and there is a leaderboard showing who does the most comments, posts etc. With Skool, you can even open a course in your community depending on how many points a person gets, they can get a new course to watch!
Skool has a metrics dashboard that will show you how your students are progressing, what their favorite modules are, how many students you have within a time range and so on.
By looking at the numbers, you’ll be able to ascertain the health of your group and what type of content works best.
It’s all laid out easily. So you won’t need a PhD in calculus to understand your stats.
When it comes to customer support, Skool is excellent. The only other platform that seems to have faster support is Systeme.io.
But the key takeaway here is that if you ever need help, Skool’s support is always there to assist you at any time of day.
Skool has a few free courses for you to enroll in so that you understand how to use the platform well.
These invaluable courses will help you get the best out of Skool and help you sell more subscriptions.
Some platforms like Kajabi offer a myriad of features (most of which you won’t use) … but they charge an arm and a leg.
Skool is a lot more affordable and charges a flat rate every month. The pricing plan is very simple. You pay one fee and get ALL the features.
You get unlimited courses, unlimited students, no hidden fees – and you can cancel at any time.
Skool’s transaction fees are the lowest when you compare it to its competitors!
Still on the fence?
Give Skool a 14-day spin and see if it’s right for you. Our guess is that you’ll never look back. There is zero risk for you here.
For the most part, we were highly impressed with Skool, but it would be remiss not to discuss the disadvantages – and there are few.
If you host all your courses on Skool, you’ll need to keep paying the monthly fee. If you stop paying, you’ll forfeit your account and your tribe on the Skool platform.
Similarly, if you decide to move to another platform, it’ll be a hassle to move all your courses and members to a new platform. While this is not a deal breaker and is mostly true for any SAAS service, it’s still something to be aware of.
The good news is that Skool and the people behind it are legit and reliable. The platform is skyrocketing in popularity and should last a long time.
While you’ll see several popular groups displayed on the home page of the Skool website, the truth is that you’ll need to find your own members, customers, etc.
Skool is an excellent platform that hosts courses and communities. But it’s just a ‘tool’.
Ultimately, your success in making your business work will rest squarely on your lead generation and sales skills.
Don’t expect Skool to make you an overnight millionaire, despite the hyped-up content and fanfare you may come across online. You still need to do the work.
If you’re a successful marketer, forking out $99 a month is not an issue. For a beginner who’s just starting out, this monthly fee can feel like a burden.
The best way to remedy this issue will be to sell a few courses first and gain traction. With an email list, you’ll be able to do remarketing and get more repeat sales.
Once your course sales cover the monthly Skool fees, then you can leverage the 14-day free trial and go on to pay for it.
Baby steps here.
* Facebook is still an unconquerable behemoth (for now).
While Skool is a far better course platform and has much more community engagement features… when it comes to traffic, it’s absolutely no match for Facebook.
That’s just the hard truth.
Most people do not consciously choose to use Facebook. It’s an almost subconscious habit for them to reach for their phone and scroll on social media.
They’ll read whatever posts appear on their feed, including the group posts… which have limited reach.
On the other hand, it’ll take a conscious effort to get your tribe to log into your Skool group to consume your content. It’s not a habit for them.
The best way to remedy this problem will be to have a Facebook (FB) group and ask your Skool members to join that too.
Then you could post teasers of your latest/upcoming content in your FB group and have a link pointing to your Skool group. Now, your tribe that’s doom scrolling on FB will see your post and be more likely to see what’s in your Skool group.
You’ll also want to add your Skool members to an email list so that you can email them about new content, events, etc.
When you can reach them on multiple platforms, you’ll get them to repeatedly visit your group more easily. This will always be a bugbear when it comes to using Skool, because using the platform is not a mainstream habit.
So extra effort will be required to get them inside and engaged.
A definite yes.
If you’re a marketer selling your own courses… building a community is not an option, but a necessity.
It’s the surest way to build and maintain a connection with your tribe. It’ll also ensure business longevity while creating brand awareness and trust in you and your products.
Feature-wise, Skool is all you’ll need to sell courses and build a community.
Everything on Skool will take your course business to the next level.
There’s no risk for you here. With the 14-day free trial, you have nothing to lose.
Give Skool a try and you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to set up, sell on and charge monthly fees.
Nothing like recurring revenue from an engaged community to boost your bottom-line and skyrocket your profits.
Try Skool today and you’ll be glad you did.
One of the biggest reasons that "business systemization" is so important is that it allows you to step out of your business and focus on ways to make it better. Often we are too concerned with working in our business that we stop working on them- and when we allow this to happen it can often represent the start of a vicious circle and a road to nowhere!
If you are someone who is working in your business, you start each day with a long to-do list and work through it till complete and you start again the next day! You are only managing the workload instead of having some time to think of new direction or new ideas for your business.
If you are working on your business, you have more time for research and development. You are looking for potential future markets to go into and/or forecasting profits for the business. You are finding new ways to grow and expand rather than maintaining the status quo.
How to get to work on your business?
You should be working on increasing your profit and decreasing the amount of time you are working on it. Either way, you are improving your position and that's the point of a business.
Business systemization helps you to get to working on your business because you hand over some chores in your business to automation or staff so you can concentrate on future planning and profit growth.
You won't be constantly putting out fires in your business because you will have systems that automate tasks or staff that can handle the fires and they know what to do to put them out.
Business systemization makes your business more efficient and that means your business can grow and/or you can step back from the chores of doing business. Recognizing and developing systems in your business can lead to a more fulfilling business and life balance.
The Digital Product vs. Affiliate Business Method
Which Business Model will fit into your Lifestyle?
When starting an online business, many newbies can’t decide on the business model which will fit their lifestyle while making them revenue. When starting a business, the decision often boils down to two options – promoting other’s products or selling their own products.
There are definite pros and cons to each one, and some of that is based on your own personal skills and preferences. But other aspects of your decision will be based on things like profit potential, ease of implementation, and even the speed with which you can earn.
There are some new things that have changed in the marketplace in recent years making it easier than ever for people to choose either of these methods for their business – or, combine them into one lucrative option!
Below, we’re going to go over some things that might sway your mind to select one over another, and help you start off on a path that will not only be profitable, but personally fulfilling as well.
How Fast You Can Get Your Money
There’s a big difference between how fast you can earn money and how fast that money is deposited in your bank account. We’re starting off with this point, because for many (if not most) people, the desperation they feel in needing to get paid is palpable.
In order to calculate the speed with which you can earn, several factors come into play. For example, as a digital vendor of products like eBooks or video courses, you have to factor in the product creation time and whatever amount of time you want to spend recruiting affiliates.
This is going to vary for everyone because it takes some people months to create products and others a few hours. It’s feasible for some people to come up with a product idea, create it in a day, tell affiliates about it and start having money in their PayPal or Stipe account within 24 hours.
But that’s not usual for everyone. Most people take at least a few weeks. Once it’s live, though, you will only have to check to see how fast your payment processor is in depositing the funds to your bank.
Affiliates’ payments also vary by many factors. Each platform may have their own unique payment system. For example, ClickBank is going to pay affiliates on Fridays, two days after the end of the pay period and if you’re going direct deposit, you can get paid weekly.
But on Amazon, you’re not getting paid until 60 days after you earn, and the payments are once a month. On Warrior Plus, you will have your affiliate earnings going into a site wallet, and the speed with which you can get those funds varies, too – from a few days to an entire month.
How Much Money You Can Earn
Now let’s dig into how much you can earn through each of the two business models. This is going to have variations as well. For example, as an affiliate, you have a myriad of options available that will impact the amount you earn.
You might promote digital products, which have a low-price front end but an entire funnel of upsells and downsells that contribute to higher profits (not to mention some affiliate contests you can earn from, too).
You might be promoting recurring income items that build your profits like a snowball, or you may choose one-time commission items instead. Even if you promote tangible products, there will be high ticket items that are harder to convert but pay more – and low ticket items that convert easily, but pay less.
As a digital vendor, your earnings are going to be impacted by several factors. The first is the speed with which you release new products. Then there’s the matter of how many upgrades you have to add more profits to your bottom line.
You also need to take into consideration whether or not you are going to spend time split testing your sales letter for improved conversions and recruit the top affiliates for your launches.
There’s also the matter of control. You can earn as a digital vendor because you’re in control of your process. But as an affiliate, you’re at the mercy of the product creators and platforms, hoping you get approval to promote.
There are some affiliates and vendors who only earn three figures each month because they’re slow or they just aren’t very good at what they do. Then there are seven and eight figure earners online, with many five and six figure earners as well.
Basically, there’s no crystal ball that will tell you how much you can earn because everyone is unique and their process will vary from others’ processes, even if they try to copy someone else verbatim.
What It Requires to Get Started
The requirements include a mix of skill, tools and money. For some, it doesn’t require any money upfront. For others, it may require minimal investment – but nothing big or insurmountable for either business model.
Let’s look at the cost of getting started first. If your plan is to launch products as a digital vendor, you pretty much need a domain and hosting. It is possible to set up a store on Etsy or elsewhere, but most people want control over their business, and if you’ll be creating sales pages, JV (joint venture) pages for affiliates and download pages, you’ll need to get a domain of your own.
Look up GoDaddy coupon code and find a $0.99 dot com domain and then pay for a small hosting plan that should not cost more than $5-10 per month. From there, you can use WordPress themes for free.
But if you want to, you can invest in a page building tool that will help you create professional pages made from templates. The platforms (like Warrior Plus) won’t cost anything up front to sell on – but they’ll take a small fee from each sale as their cut.
If you’re operating as an affiliate marketer, you definitely want to have your own site eventually, but it’s not a requirement up front. You can get started, though using social media platforms instead.
You can promote products on YouTube, Facebook and other places that allow your links without having to buy a domain and hosting until you feel you can afford it. The only other investment you may want to make from time to time is of a product you’re reviewing, but that’s not a necessity.
Now let’s look at the tools you may need to learn. In addition to WordPress or page builders, you’ll likely want a good keyword tool. This can be a free or paid tool, but it can tell you what the needs of your customers are and help you craft products and reviews.
Graphics creators are another type of tool that will come in handy. But luckily, you can pair a free stock photo site with a tool like Canva (the free version) and use the built-in templates to create what you need.
Last, let’s consider the skills you need to succeed with these business models. As a digital product creator, you have to know how to write well or how to record your course, depending on your preferences and those of your customers.
You’ll also need to know how to create listings on platforms like Warrior Plus, JVZoo, ClickBank or an individual platform like Thrivecart, depending on how you want to set it up.
There’s also the matter of customer service. As a digital product vendor, you’re going to need to deal with people directly. But as an affiliate, you’ll simply be the bridge between the vendor and customer, so the vendor will handle any customer service issues that arise.
As an affiliate, you’re also going to need to know how to write or record your product reviews. Plus, you want your reviews to get found easily, so you have to learn more about search engine optimization than if you were a digital vendor getting traffic through a launch.
For both business models, you’ll need to have good research skills. The good news is, there are tools that can help you with content creation, SEO and even customer service.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can spiff up your content, it can conduct research on your behalf, engage in social listening and predictive analysis to help you create something your audience craves and more.
How You’ll Get Customers
This is one aspect that’s very different between the two business models – the way in which you’ll get customers. As a digital product vendor, if you have a launch coming up, you’ll want to recruit affiliates to promote for you.
If you were to optimize your own site and promote it, you could also get customers that way, but it’s far more time-intensive than recruiting the right affiliates. They will send a recommendation of your product to their list of subscribers on your behalf.
So in order to make sure you achieve this goal, you have to first ensure the quality of your product and that it’s something that will be in demand. Then price it so that it gives value to the buyers, with an upsell funnel that caters to the commission needs of your affiliates.
The more you can do to entice affiliates onboard, the better. That means creating an informative JV page with readymade swipe files they can use, hosting a cash prize contest, and giving them advance notice so they can create a bonus (or give them a bonus to use instead).
Traffic as an affiliate is a bit different. You’re going to need to optimize your content - whether it’s on social media or Google and other search engines. That means learning the algorithms and hashtags, which thumbnails will grab the attention of users and more.
Knowledge You’ll Need to Have
This brings us to the knowledge you need. In addition to what’s already been covered about research, tools and SEO, you will have other knowledge needs. For example, if you are a digital vendor, you are going to be immersed in a continual learning cycle.
You must constantly pay attention to trends and research within your niche so that you can teach what your audience needs to know. But in addition to niche-based learning, you also have to stay on top of the marketing aspect have your business.
There will always be new evolutions in marketing strategies, so you're going to have to learn how to sell in a way that allows you to be competitive. There also will be new ways of developing products.
For example, webinars and video products were not always an option in the early days, where people had to teach from text only. Anytime a new strategy emerges that consumers embrace fully, you want to be aware of it so you can use it in your business.
As an affiliate marketer, you're going to have to stay on top of different trends and marketing methods that are used on social media and elsewhere. But you also have to pay attention to different products that are being released within your niche.
It's not just an affiliate’s job to present the product and tell people about the features and pricing. You have to know enough about the niche itself, such as the problems and pain points you are audiences having as well as the new technology or strategies that are being released so that you can select the right products to review.
Time Benefits and Obstacles
Lastly, you want to compare the time benefits and drawbacks of both business models. Many people avoid being a digital vendor because it's more demanding than affiliate marketing.
If you decide to have an info product launch, you are going to be setting a date for the release of that product that your affiliates are going to expect you to abide by. That means you will need to put yourself on a schedule with boundaries in place to ensure your launch goes live at that date and time.
It can be a bit more pressure filled than working as an affiliate, where you are on your own timetable discussing products that are already released, unless you are getting ready for a vendor’s product launch and trying to create a bonus or review for it.
As a digital vendor, you're also going to be restricted by time when it comes to providing support to your customers. If you have an inbox filled with customer service requests, you need to make sure you are replying to them in a timely manner rather than letting them go unaddressed.
With affiliate marketing, there's more pressure to scale your business so that you can continue bringing in profits, so you must be consistent with your reviews. As a digital product creator, depending on how well your post launch sales go, you may be able to take your foot off the gas a bit and slow down in the development of your next launch.
With both options, you'll be able to scale your business into something bigger, but it's going to require you to invest more time and effort so that you can continue serving your audience well and even expand your audience base.
There are definite benefits and drawbacks to both business models, but that’s true of every option you have available to you. The key is to find what you enjoy and pursue it vigorously so that you build a thriving online empire – even if that means combining them into one!
With a recession looming in 2023 and many people unexpectedly being laid off from their job, it is a good strategy to develop a online business to bring in second income or your only income that needs to be up and running easily to make sales. Below, you’ll find the best 10 businesses you can start online easily without a degree or special training. There are many zero to low-cost options in the list, making it perfect for anyone on a budget – including college students and seniors!
If you want something where you’re not having to create anything, but you just get to promote other peoples’ products, then affiliate marketing might be the best option for you.
You can start out for free using social networking platforms, but many people like to invest a small amount in their own domain (about $17 a year) and hosting account (under $10 a month) so they can install WordPress and have an affiliate blog of their own.
Start putting content where you’re reviewing products on your blog or accounts and use your affiliate link to promote digital or tangible products that you recommend so you can earn a nice commission!
Many consumers purchase information online that teaches them what they want to know. Whether it’s how to lose weight, how to make money online, how to train their pet or how to lessen their stress, they often prefer an immediate download over having to order a physical book and wait for its delivery days later.
You can create digital eBooks or video membership products to sell your information. Many people create an entire line of products, using previous info products as upsells in their funnel.
When you sell as an info product creator, you can recruit affiliates to promote for you and increase your earnings significantly. All you need is a website where you can create a sales letter to sell from, and a free account on a platform where affiliates can sign up to promote your launch.
Freelance service providers include people who ghostwrite for others, create graphic designs for them, work as virtual assistants and more. You can sign up for an account on Fiverr or Upwork and get started.
All you’ll do is bid on projects that you feel you can complete, work in a timely manner and deliver it to the customer when it’s completed. With this business model, you’re trading time for money, so you’ll want to increase your rates over time.
Private label rights content (PLR) is content that you write (or record if you’re selling video PLR) once, just as you would with ghostwriting – but instead of selling it to just one buyer, you can sell it to multiple buyers to use as their own.
PLR can be sold on a store of your own or as launches where you bundle up content and sell it at a discount for a short period of time, and affiliates can promote it so you bring in more money in a short period of time.
Did you know that you don’t need to have a degree in order to be a coach? There are many people who start their own online coaching business where they guide people in many different ways including life coaching, making money online, fitness and more.
You’ll need a website where you promote your coaching program, or you might want to wield the power of social media platforms to do that. You also need content you can use to coach your people, and a method of interacting with them – either through written, verbal or video communication.
Many people mistakenly think you have to be accepted by an agent and traditional publisher to write aa book but thanks to Amazon and other platforms, you can self publish and reach an audience of buyers with ease.
It won’t cost you anything ahead of time to publish on Amazon (they take a small fee out of every sale), but you will need to carefully edit and polish up your book and create (or have created) a professional cover for it so you can be competitive.
If you were in administrative job and your skills in the office can help an entrepreneur to run their business, you are in demand. Many entrepreneurs don’t have the time to do all the systems they need to run their business like building sales funnels or setting up a social media campaign.
All you would need is a website with a portfolio of your skills and testimonials from previous clients to help sell your services. Your services could be done as a monthly or hourly fee and once your business grows, you could hire others to actually do the work while you sell the service.
Another twist on selling other peoples’ products that’s a bit different from affiliate marketing is being a middleman for products. As a dropshipper, you’ll promote products from others on your own website, accept the payment for whatever you marked it up to, and then pay the manufacturer their cost so they can ship it out to the customer.
As an FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) worker, you’ll find products you can purchase and have shipped to Amazon warehouses. You’ll create listing marked up from the price you paid for them originally and when a sale occurs, Amazon will ship it out to your customer for you.
Have you ever bought a digital file from Etsy or Shopify? Sellers there are creating things like wall art, calendars, trackers, planners, journal pages and more – and selling the files they create over and over again (similar to PLR, except the content is for personal use only).
You’ll be paying Etsy a small fee from each sale, so you’ll want to learn how to create digital or printable products and then upload the listings to your profile. The more you create, the more profits you stand to make, and they can keep earning for you for years!
More entrepreneurs and larger brands are struggling to understand and maintain all of their company’s content needs that are spread out across their blog, email list and social profiles on numerous platforms.
You can position yourself as a content marketing strategist who comes up with content ideas, creates or sources the content, and manages a consistent publishing schedule for optimal traffic generation.
Now you have some ideas, so you get to decide where you want to start to build a business. But keep in mind that working as an online entrepreneur means you can build more than one business at a time, so you’re not limited by your selections.
This year, I am doing a year-long training called "Build Your Business in 52 weeks". I livestream it using livestreaming broadcaster to multi -sites including Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. I'm up to week 20 of the training with lots of views and audience.
When are are you stepping out in front of the camera and talking about what people want to hear?
There are 5 reasons to do livestreaming so let's see if they can spark you to do it!
You can’t fake it when you’re live. If you don’t know the answer to something, you’ll have to say so. When you share your expertise live, people are so much more likely to take you at your word.
When people see you, something different happens than when they look at your writing or a PowerPoint slide show. All of that is great, but something far different happens when you let your audience see you. If you want a truly captive audience, let them see you and feel as if they know you in your live videos.
With live streaming video you can answer questions and talk directly to the person who asked. In some cases, you can even bring them onto your live-streaming video and let them appear and ask live. This is a wonderful way to interact with your audience on a very personal basis.
Live streaming video is more personal than anything you can do live outside of everyone being with you at the event where they can touch you. This is the next best thing. Plus, it’s less expensive, which is a win-win because your audience will get to spend time with you and buy your offerings without having to spend 700 dollars on a flight and about the same on a room.
Livestreaming now you have the opportunity to always get the recording of the livestream.
If you want to learn more about livestreaming, go to stepinfrontofthecamera.com to learn more about setting up your own livestreaming studio.
What Is a Sales Funnel of Offers and Why Do You Need One?
Selling products and services online gives you access to a worldwide audience. But this doesn’t automatically result in massive sales and a successful business.
It takes hard work and effort to secure customers and make sales. That’s why it is especially frustrating when you dedicate time, energy, and resources into promoting your offers and see minimal results.
It’s not enough to inundate your audience with messaging and links to your offer in the hopes that they’ll click and buy.
Successful internet-based businesses rely on the power of sales funnels to move their products and services. And they know the best sales funnels are fueled by valuable, targeted, and well-timed offers. Sales funnels automate the sales process and put you in control of what your prospects see and when. Create a sales funnel of multiple offers and you’ll quickly start to see greater revenue and results.
What Is a Sales Funnel of Offers?
A sales funnel is a visualization or map of the journey your target customer takes from the initial awareness stage to the final purchase. It is the process prospects go through to become a customer.
It’s called a funnel because it’s wide at the top (the sales funnel entry point) and gradually narrows as the customer moves toward your core offer. The idea is to cast a wide net at first, attracting casual and serious prospects alike. You then present them with offers that will either move people down the funnel towards purchase or, eventually, remove them.
The types of offers you present, and where you place them, is key to your funnel’s success. Some offer types include a lead magnet, low-ticket offer, one-time offer, order bump, upsell, and downsell. This list isn’t comprehensive, but it provides the foundation for all successful funnels.
The point of these offers is to qualify leads for your core offer. Through your prospects’ reaction to these offers, you can learn who will buy from you and who will not. You can then weed out those who are not interested in buying anything.
What Types of Offers Should You Put in Your Funnel?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Everybody’s audience is different. You’ll have to do some planning and trial and error to discover what works and what doesn’t. Here are some of the offers most commonly found in a sales funnel.
The Core Offer
Your core offer is near the bottom of the funnel. It is usually your primary product/service and the reason why your offer funnel exists. It is often the purchase that’s just under the highest price point, but it doesn’t always have to be.
Lead Magnet
Technically not inside the funnel, a lead magnet attracts prospects to the entry point of your funnel. It is a freebie that is offered in exchange for a person’s name and email address. Once you have this information, you can start marketing to them directly via email.
Low-Ticket Offer
A low-ticket offer is usually found at the front end of your sales funnel. It is low-risk and won’t scare prospects away with its price tag. It primes your audience to purchase your core offer. Most importantly, it separates serious prospects from casual ones who just want your freebies.
One-Time Offer
A one-time offer (OTO) is a powerful way to qualify prospects early in your sales funnel. It can be a low-ticket item or even another freebie. What makes it so powerful is its exclusivity and time-sensitive nature: ‘Buy now before it’s gone forever’. It is another way to guide people to your core offer.
Order Bump
An order bump is located at the end of the sales funnel, on the checkout page for your core offer. With a single click, customers can add a lower-ticket item to their cart before they press ‘Buy now’. Order bumps have a high conversion rate and increase the value of your core offer and point of sale revenue.
Upsell
An upsell is a higher priced offer presented after your core offer. The right customers will appreciate an upsell that enhances their initial purchase.
Downsell
A downsell is a lower-ticket offer that is presented to your prospect after they have turned down your core offer or even after your upsell. The hope is that, while the customer doesn’t want to pay for the initial offer, they may be interested in a less expensive alternative. It keeps people in your funnel since that downsell item may be just what those people are looking for.
Why You Need a Variety of Offers
Presenting prospects with a variety of offers as they progress through your sales funnel allows you to segment and better target your audience. If your audience is a mix of high-ticket purchasers, cautious and budget-conscious consumers, and ‘window shoppers’ looking for freebies, a good sales funnel will offer something to all of them.
The different types of offers and their placement in the funnel will direct audience members to the right offer at the right time. And it will eventually show them the door if none of the offers are right for them.
Using different offer types will also allow you to maximize sales. Instead of just acquiring customers for your core offer, you can also present them with a lower-ticket item, upsell, or downsell.
This process helps foster a relationship with your audience. As you present your audience with different offers, you will be communicating with them regularly. You will build trust and establish yourself as an expert, increasing the odds that people will purchase your core offer and future offers.
The most important thing to remember is that the customer’s movement through the sales funnel isn’t necessarily in a straight line. It shouldn’t be viewed as a direct, ultrafast chute that drops them into your core offer. Instead, look at it as a flexible journey, or ‘choose your own adventure’, that’s directed by the decisions your prospects make.
They may take you up on your downsell, but not your upsell. Or they may go directly to your core offer. Or they may purchase your low-ticket offer, but will need more information and content from your before they purchase a higher-ticket item. A fluid, flexible offer funnel will speak to all these people and lead them to the offer that’s right for them, resulting in more conversions and sales.
Why You Need a Sales Funnel of Offers
At first glance, building a sales funnel and mapping it out seems like a complicated process. You need to understand your audience, clearly define your core offer’s unique value proposition, and create a whole series of supporting offers and related communications before you even get to your core offer.
It’s worth it.
A sales funnel of offers makes the process more efficient.
No more…
Constantly adjusting your core offer to appeal to different members of your audience
Wasting time engaging with people who just want your free content
Scrambling to create content and communications to promote your core offer
Annoying your audience with communications they’re not interested in and driving them to unsubscribe
Some of your audience members just want free stuff. They’ll enjoy your free content and offers, but they won’t buy – not even a low-ticket offer. By weeding out those who won’t buy, or automating the process, you won’t waste time engaging with them during the sales process.
This is the primary benefit, but there are many others.
Through your offers funnel, you can build a relationship with your audience instead of spamming them with unwanted content. The communications related to your offers will genuinely help prospects with their problems and they’ll come to see you as a trusted expert who provides value. This will increase the chances that they will eventually purchase your core offer and future offers.
Finally, a sales funnel with multiple offers helps you learn even more about your target audience. By choosing or rejecting offers, your prospects are giving you valuable information about their preferences and tastes.
Their decisions also provide valuable input on the offer itself. If nobody takes you up on the offer, it may need to be adjusted. On the other hand, if you have great success with an offer, you can figure out why and replicate it.
The Keys to Success with Your Sales Funnel of Offers
Know Your Audience. The key to a successful sales funnel of offers is to know your audience. Conduct research and create an ideal customer profile. This will allow you to identify the unique challenges and problems your audience faces and solve them through you offers. If you create tangible results and quick wins for your audience, the more likely they are to buy your core offer and future offers.
Focus on Your Free Lead Magnet.
lead magnet is what drives people to the entry point of your sales funnel. It is your most important offer, so make it good. It should provide value and solve a specific problem your audience has identified. Pay special attention to creating content that will support this lead magnet and driving traffic to it. Nobody will opt-in to your lead magnet if they can’t find it.
Know the Stages of Your Offer Funnel.
Prospects move through different stages of awareness and openness to purchase as they progress through your funnel. It is critical to present them with the right offer at the right time. For example, the chances of convincing them to purchase a high-ticket item the second they enter your funnel are very low. You first need to cultivate a relationship.
The first stages of the journey are awareness (before they enter the funnel) and then interest (after they’ve opted in). Prospects are just starting learn about you and your offerings. The offer at the interest stage should be low-risk, either a freebie or one-time offer that will gain their trust and move them further down the funnel.
In the middle of the funnel, prospects are at the evaluation and engagement stages. They’re consuming your content and starting to seriously consider what you have to offer. You can present them with a low-ticket offer or even a subscription.
Later in the funnel, in the commitment stage, prospects have been convinced of your value and are ready to buy. Present them with your core offer, and later an upsell or downsell offer.
Learn these stages so you’re making the right offer, at the right time. And remember, the stages aren’t necessarily linear. Some prospects may get all the way down to the engagement stage and then decide they need more information, returning to the evaluation stage.
Longer Doesn’t Mean Better.
Your offer funnel doesn’t need to be long and complex. You just need enough offers to qualify your prospects and lead them to your core offer. Assess your customers’ needs and the types of offers you’re capable of making.
Don’t Despair When People Leave. Don’t feel disappointed when people leave your offer funnel. That’s supposed to happen! They’re sending you valuable feedback that your offers aren’t for them.
The Core Offer Isn’t the End. If you really want to make the most of your offer funnel, keep engaging with people long after they buy your core offer. Lead them to other offers and funnels. You’ve done a great deal of work to capture and nurture this lead, so don’t let them go.
How to Get Started
You’ll learn the most about building a sales funnel of offers by actually doing it, so get started today. The first step is to identify your core offer, think about your customers and what you can offer them along the way, and start mapping it out. The sooner your offer funnel is up and running, the sooner you’ll start seeing results.
Do you want to become the go-to source of expertise for your audience in your niche? There are many marketing strategies you can employ to do this, but the most effective and efficient is word-of-mouth marketing.
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is, at its most basic definition, free advertising that happens when a customer having a great experience with your company. The happy customer is so delighted, they can’t help singing your praises to anyone who will listen.
lt is that new people hear about how amazing you or your company are from a trusted friend, not an advertisement. This subset of social proof is a highly powerful way to make sales. You can use word-of-mouth marketing to grow your customer base, make sales, and boost your business’s brand.
If you can harness the power of WOMM, you can get more out of your marketing efforts and grow your reputation using the oldest method of advertising known to mankind.
The reason WOMM is so powerful is that people have gotten used to advertising hype. They’re savvier than ever before and they know online marketing when they see it. As a result, they’re less likely to listen when they see your promotional content online.
But with word of mouth, the message comes from friends who are giving an honest recommendation. According to marketing research, people are much more likely to make purchase decisions based on what their friends say, rather than advertisements.
When was the last time you tried something because of a friend told you about it? If you think back on your own experiences, it’s easy to see how word-of-mouth marketing works.
Word-of-mouth marketing is nothing new at all. People have been spreading information about products and services for as long as language has existed. One person tells two friends, they each in turn tell two more, and so on. It’s the pre-internet version of viral marketing.
This is also called “organic” WOMM. It’s organic because it happens naturally, with no action taken on your part. But you don’t have to rely on the hope that people will talk about you. Instead, you can make it happen by using “accelerated” word-of-mouth marketing. This is when you launch a campaign and employ tactics specifically designed to encourage word of mouth.
The idea behind accelerated WOMM is to create a buzz that gets people talking. Businesses create products and content with shareability in mind. They leverage influencers and brand advocates to help spread the word and may even offer incentives to their audience members for telling others.
There are strategies you can use that are guaranteed to get people talking and give them the nudge necessary to spread the word. All it takes is a little planning and effort.
There are many ways businesses are using WOMM to spread awareness.
In our business with my husband, we don’t need to advertise or market because we get word of mouth marketing working for us for the last 15 years. Once you get good recommendations from your clients, the word of mouth spreads and grows!
One example would be to run a contest or challenge where customers make videos highlighting original, unusual, or funny uses of your products. You choose the best ones and give them awards, sharing all the submissions with your audience.
Another example would be a coffee company that creates content teaching its audience about its ethically sourced beans and how it supports local communities and causes. The company’s customers support the business not only for the coffee, but also for the core values they share. This gets people talking and telling others about the coffee that everyone should be drinking.
Another simple WOMM idea is to gather reviews and comments from your customers and post them on your website.
Offer Expert Advice and Information. Create and share content that helps your audience solve problems they’re facing. Offer this help free with no strings attached. If your content is unique and offers value, people will be much more likely to tell their friends about it.
Excellent Products and Services. Offer excellent products and services with stellar customer service. If you offer the highest quality possible, people will tell others, especially if they get results from using them.
Learn How to Build Buzz. Since WOMM works best when people are talking, take the proactive steps to get them talking. Make everything shareable. Create events that will get talked about. Take advantage of current and upcoming trends.
Do One Thing Really Well. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Focus on one thing and do it really well. If you can do one thing better than anyone else, you’ll get to be known for that specialty. You’ll gain an edge over the competition and word will spread.
Exceed Expectations and Wow People. Go above and beyond what people expect of you. Give them unexpected surprises that will create a wow moment. These experiences are memorable and build buzz. The easiest way to wow people is to make promises and overdeliver on them.
Tell a Good Story. Learn to tell stories well. If you share stories that connect with your audience through the core values you share, this will build a great relationship. People will buy from you because of your story, and then they’ll spread the word.
Create an Experience. Don’t just create a product or service. Create an experience. Think about the journey your customer takes from initial contact to becoming a repeat purchaser and brand advocate. Make each step as engaging, helpful, personal, and enjoyable for your customer as possible. Seek ways to add value at every step along the way.
Stay in Touch with Your Audience. Good communication with your customers is the key to making WOMM work. You need to know what problems they face and why they buy from you. You should have a plan for consistently gathering both positive and negative feedback that you can take action on, continually creating an even better experience.
Ready to get started? The first step is to identify some strategies you can use to get people talking about you. If you know your audience well, you can easily find some ways to build buzz over your products and services. Go ahead and pick from some of the ideas and examples in this article to start with. Then let your own creativity kick in.
Implement and refine, and soon you’ll know exactly what you need to do to get your customers talking about you and telling others.
For more ideas and creating a word of mouth marketing strategy , you can check out the word of mouth marketing course in The Business of At Home Business Membership.
Once you start a list, it will be your job to grow the number of subscribers that you have over time. While it may seem meager at first, with subscribers only trickling in, it will pick up steam when you put more effort into it.
Word-of-mouth is a powerful indicator of who to follow and who is trustworthy in any niche online.
When you can generate positive word-of-mouth and recommendations as a niche leader, you will see your subscriber numbers soar.
You do this by maintaining your ethics and showcasing a true desire to step up and help people. There are many of your competitors who are only in it for the money, and when you can set yourself apart from them as someone who truly cares, you will find that people naturally flock to you.
You want to be open and honest about your own journey in the niche. Whether it’s online success or weight loss, telling the story of how you overcame obstacles and succeeded will resonate with your readers. They will want to share your stories with the people they care about – such as friends and family members.
Some people try to position themselves as guru marketers who have never made a mistake. And while these individuals do develop a following of like-minded people, it’s more ethical and honest to be transparent about your journey.
If you want to develop a reputation as someone who consistently shows up to serve your audience, then you’ll want to invite people to contact you. You can have a contact form or give out your direct email address.
Make sure you respond to emails and contact in a timely fashion. If your audience grows to a level where you can’t handle all of the communication on your own, then you might want to host a webinar where your people can frequently interact with you or hire a virtual assistant to help you maintain communication flawlessly.
While many marketers focus on their responsibility to provide good information to their audience, keep in mind that it’s also your responsibility to protect your followers from bad information.
When you turn down opportunities to make fast cash by only recommending quality products as opposed to anything and everything, word will spread of your morals and subscriber numbers will increase.
Make sure you’re strategic about growing your subscriber base. Whether you participate in giveaway events, create valuable content to be shared by others, or simply develop friendships with competitors who will sing your praises, you can’t rest on your laurels and expect people to flock to you for no reason.
There is free training on setting up AWEBER and MAILCHIMP at HOME BUSINESS STARTUP TOOLKIT.
If you want help with setting up an email subscriber service you can check out the HOME BUSINESS STARTUP TOOLKIT set of FREE Trainings here
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