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3 Easy Ways to Use Webinars in Your Online Business to Make More Sales

Do you know that there are at least 3 easy ways to use webinars in your online business to make more sales?

Way before webinars or masterclasses became a popular way to convert more prospects into buyers online, I was leading them as teleseminars.

Same concept, same framework, different delivery, that’s all. 😉

Over the last several years, the teleseminar morphed with technology into webinars (or masterclasses) delivered via video, either live or recorded, instead of over the telephone via a conference line.

But it’s still a simple sales device that is highly effective. It’s why they’re used so often.

And there are ways to deliver them to make more sales for you too!

Here are three of my top tips for use webinars in your business to make more sales:

Tell more than teach

One marketing school of thought tells us that when we’re doing any kind of sales presentation, we should only share the ‘what and the why, but not the how’.

And that works, for sure. But for most of us, it’s hard not to teach, or education, or share a solution, even on a free sales talk, like a webinar.

My school of thought has always been to ‘share the what and the why and a little bit of the how’ so that your audience knows that you know what you’re talking about.

Let me break it down for you a little further.

– Share with your audience WHAT the problem is that you’re addressing as the topic of your webinar
– Explain WHY it’s critical to solve that problem
– Give them one or two things they can do to move towards handling the problem

In order to get your entire solution, they need to invest in the paid program or product. But you can at least show them on your free talk that you know what you’re doing, and you’re going that little bit further in deepening the know, like and trust factor with them too.

Build up the front and build out the back

One of the biggest mistakes I see online entrepreneurs make is not consciously focusing on connecting with their audience before their webinar.

They put up a registration page, send a few emails and social media posts and hope that people sign up and show up.

But it doesn’t work that way (and this was something I had to work on myself – because it USED to work that way quite well!).

You need to connect and give value to your audience well before you invite them to your webinar. Share free content with them, ask for engagement, connect with them, and then invite them to join you.

But don’t stop there!

Once they’ve registered, be sure to continue to connect with them to build anticipation and excitement about your webinar all the way up to the date of your presentation.

The other mistake I often see is once the webinar is over, there’s very little follow-up. There may be one or two emails that go out with the replay and the invitation, but there should be at least 4-6 follow-ups to make more sales from your webinar.

And that leads me to the third tip…

No is often not now

Once a webinar is over and the cart is closed for the offer, we often just forget about the people who said no.

But I want you to remember that often a No is just a Not Now.

So don’t forget to re-invite the people who registered but who didn’t say yes right away into the offer in the future, if it makes sense. Or consider making a downsell offer to them instead.

Which one of these three easy ways will you start using to make more sales from your webinars?

I’d love to know – share with me here

The #1 thing that enables me to take a lot of time away from my online business while still making money

So many people have asked me how I work less but make more, so I wanted to share with you the #1 thing that enables me to take a lot of time away from my online business while still making money.

When I first started my online coaching business in 2006, I had already been working for myself for about 5 years. In that time, I learned a lot about how I wanted to run my business and also how I didn’t.

That was before we had kids, so I had a lot more time availability and flexibility. But I also knew that once children came into the picture, that was going to change everything, and mostly it was going to shift the time and energy I had for my business to caring for a baby.

My goal was to create something that could run mostly without me. To offer something that only required me to show up in the tiny pockets of time I had to focus on my business and my students.

The first thing I created was my 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System, which was a digital course. Then I put together my very first recurring revenue stream, a monthly membership called the Client Abundance Coaching Cafe.

The digital course only required me to create the content and market it. The membership only required me to create the content and deliver it on a specific date and time once a month. Anything else I needed to do to generate sales or new members joining or answering questions in our community groups were things I could do during naptime or nightime.

And that’s what I did for the first three years in growing my business.

It’s also when I had my first 6-figure year.

The #1 thing that enabled me then – and today – to take as much as 16 weeks away from my business every year is having offers that don’t require me to show up live.

Offering products or programs where the content can be created in batches well before I take time off, or where there isn’t a promise of my teaching or coaching live, is how I’ve been able to work less but make more.

I’ve always approached my offers this way – to keep my Family First – and to build a profitable business around my Life first. And it’s worked out quite well over all these years – to the tune of over $2 million in sales.

And approaching your business this way isn’t just for vacation time. I’ve been especially grateful having created a business model like this when I’ve needed to focus my time and energy on personal situations even more so than for holidays.

And it’s why I always encourage my students to have at least one recurring revenue stream that’s set up in this way so that they have cash flow even when they need or want to step away from their business for a bit.

The peace of mind that brings is priceless.

So, if you want to generate income while you take time away from your business – to truly work less but make more – consider how you could create an offer and deliver it without require YOU to show up live, something that can be put pretty much on auto-pilot, a product or a program that leans more towards a do-it-yourself model, vs a done-with-you or done-for-you model.

It doesn’t have to be complex to make it successful either – in fact, the simpler you can make it – the better for you and for your perfect people.

How to Overcome the 4 Most Common Struggles of Every Entrepreneur

4 Most Common Struggles of EntrepreneursWhile the message and the market of your business may be different, there are some stumbling blocks that seem to pop up for even the seasoned entrepreneur.

Here are four of the ones that I frequently coach on with my private clients:

1. Not moving ahead even when they know what to do.

Almost always, this is a fear-based immobility. Whether it’s fear of failure or fear of success (the later seems more prevalent for entrepreneurs, including myself).

We come up with all kinds of excuses as to why something isn’t getting done, but most often it has nothing to do with anything other than fear of the possible result of moving forward.

If you’re afraid of failing, remember that in our online world, we get to test things out with very little risk. My favorite strategy is to ‘fail fast’. Put it out there, see what happens, tweak until you get the result you want.

If you’re afraid of success, then you need to take a look at your Big Money Why (BMW – see #4) to see how you can make it more powerful and motivating (tip: money is never enough of a motivator, believe it or not). And you need to put a process in place for how you will handle the abundance that’s to come.

2. Being self-disciplined enough to make and stick to self-imposed deadlines.

The wonderful thing about being an entrepreneur is that you’re your own boss. The tricky thing about that is most, if not all, of our deadlines are self-imposed. Which makes them very easy to move, doesn’t it? I know because I’ve struggled with this one more than once.

If we go back to knowing what your emotionally driven motivator is for the success you desire, you’ll be more likely to stick to those self-imposed deadlines – but only if that BMW is strong enough.

Here’s a simple but very powerful tip for you in sticking to your own deadlines: Make them public. When I launched my first info-product, I told my ezine list that they would be able to buy it on a certain date, which gave me about 3 weeks to get it done. And done it was.

3. Claiming leadership status and fully stepping into the role of the CEO of your business.

Once an entrepreneur gets the foundational pieces in place for their business, it’s actually easy to stay in the start-up phase, because it’s comfortable. And because often they don’t know what the next step is, what the next layer of the business should look like, to take them to the next level.

The sooner they can take on the leadership role, by becoming the CEO of their business (even if they don’t call themselves that), the faster the growth of both the entrepreneur and the business.

One of the ways you can step more fully into that role is by delegating. So if you’ve been in business for a couple of years and you’re still doing too much of the managing of it, and especially if you’re doing all the admin work, and you haven’t hired an assistant yet, it’s time. Start with one small project and add from there.

For every task in your business, ask yourself, “Is this something I should be doing?”

Because remember, even if you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

If the answer is no, then pass it off to a capable assistant.

4. Having an emotionally driven motivator for your Big Money Why (BMW).

This is probably the most important one


Money is NOT enough of a motivator, no matter how much you want it, or are attached to the ’6-Figure’ or “million-dollar’ mark. There has to be a reason behind wanting it, something that is so strong that it drives you and the business forward, no matter what.

If you find things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like, or it feels too hard much of the time, or you just aren’t using your time and talent effectively, take a look at your Big Money Why. And if you haven’t done this before, then that’s your coaching homework.

In as much detail as possible, write out why you want the financial success you do. Is it to give to your family, is it to give to others, is it to create a charitable foundation, is it to take care of elderly parents, is it to enable your children to get the best education you can give them, is it to travel and expand your world view, is it to buy a nicer home for your family, is it to give experiences to those you love – they are a thousand reasons why, but you need to be very clear of what they are for YOU before you can make them happen.

Inside the Lively Biz Business Club, we focus a lot on your Big Money Why, as it’s one of the most powerful exercises for shifting the members into passionate action in their business.

Click here to get on the wait-list to be first to find out when the Club re-opens

Because of snow days…

Lights flashing through the bedroom windows, the scrape of the plow as it clears the snow from the driveway – ah, the sounds of a 4:30am wake-up call… 😉

As I write this, we’re in our first real snowstorm of the season, and while normally it would have been a snow day for the kids, they had to make a quick shift to remote learning this week due to their first positive case, so alas… no day off just yet.

It reminds me, though, of one of the very reasons I wanted to be my own boss…

and that was so I could skip the stress when the kids’ schools called a snow day (which happens quite frequently in the northeast).

I didn’t have to get permission from a boss to take the day off or use a personal or vacation day.

I’ve never had to have a discussion with my husband about who was going to stay home from work to be with the kids.

Plus, come on, snow days are just FUN. 😉

So, after the kids finish classes today, maybe we’ll go play in the snow, or (more likely ;-)), maybe we’ll light a fire and watch a movie – just because we can.

And I LOVE that about my business – the flexibility of it, the freedom of it… and that’s probably one of the reasons you’re your own boss too.

This year has likely been one when you’ve needed to have a lot of flexibility, especially if your kids have been remote learning, or if other members of your family needed care, or if your own business was forced to change due to the pandemic.

Wherever you are today, I firmly believe that our best times lay ahead.

I’ve been spending time, energy and money in preparing to both make that happen and enjoy it when it does.

I’ve simply refused to let this time in lockdown be in vain.

So while we may not be able to control what’s happening externally, we CAN control what happens in our business and our life.

I’d love to share more about this with you in my free mini-workshop that’s coming up soon.

I’m calling it the Online Business Reset – because I believe that’s exactly what we all need as we turn the calendar to a new year…

… a reset that includes more freedom and flexibility for you. 

Reserve your free spot here

If this was helpful, I’d love it if you’d share it using the buttons below – thanks so much!

The snow as it piles up in our backyard this morning….

5 Simple Steps to Creating a Fresh Compelling Lead Magnet

Is your current Lead Magnet in need of a refresh or replacement?

Here’s the thing…

If you don’t have a really compelling free Lead Magnet to offer to your audience, you won’t have an audience to make your paid offer to.

My first Lead Magnet was ugly and had too much content.

But that Lead Magnet was the key to my converting over 40% to those who opted-in into buyers of my first digital product.

If you don’t get this piece right, it’s an uphill battle.

Here are 5 simple steps to creating a fresh and compelling Lead Magnet:

Step 1. Choose it

Before you create a new free content opt-in, be sure it’s something your audience wants. If you don’t know what that is, just ask them.

Ask your prospects a simple, open-ended question, like “What’s your biggest challenge with building your business online?” or “What’s the one thing you’d like to learn more about that relates to balancing your work and family life?”

Tailor the question to your area of expertise and use the answers you get to help spark ideas for your new freebie.

Remember, your market will tell you what it wants, if you’ll just ask them. 😉

Step 2: Write it

Once you know the topic of your freebie based on your research, it’s time to write it.

(Even if you’re filming a video, you’ll still need some form of written content to to help your viewers consumer your content – plus it doubles as your script).

I find the easiest way to create new content is to write an outline first and then fill it in.

Remember to keep it short so your reader actually consumes your content.

Step 3. Design it

Once you’re done writing your content, decide how to package it for your subscriber.

Here’s some of the most simple and highest-converting options:

Quiz
Checklist
Cheat Sheet
Short Guide
One-Page Blueprint
MP3
Infographic

If design is not your forte, use Canva.com

Step 4. Deliver it

Once your freebie is ready to be released, create your opt-in page and thank you page and connect it to your email list service provider.

To make the entire process a snap, I highly recommend Leadpages. http://leadpages.pxf.io/c/491472/390538/5673

Step 5. Promote it

Yay! You’ve done the hard work, so now it’s just a matter of letting your market know that your fresh and compelling Lead Magnet is available.

The first thing I like to do is send it to my existing list (it’s a surprise bonus to them for already being on my list) and share it in my paid program groups. I’ll ask them to share the Lead Magnet with their circles as well.

Then we set up an automated system for sending out the Lead Magnet promos on a consistent basis so we can consistently build my list.

There you have it
 5 simple steps to creating a fresh compelling Lead Magnet!

When yours is ready, I’d love to see it. Feel free to share it inside our free Facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/livelybiz/

I’m leading a workshop in this topic soon and we’re gathering an “I’m interested” list – click here if you’re interested too

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5 Critical Keys to a Viable Niche or Target Market

Picking a group of people as your niche or target market is a critical foundational piece
for building a really successful online business.

But you knew that already, right? 😉

Because once you do, your marketing messages become very clear and targeted, you know exactly how to talk to this group because you can speak their language, and it makes it much easier for others to refer business to you.

That being said, once you’ve chosen a group of people to work with, you’ll want to make sure that it’s a viable one to sustain your online business for the long-term.

It’s fantastic to be passionate about your niche, but if those people don’t have money to spend on your offerings, or there’s simply not enough of them, you’re not going to be able to grow and sustain an online business based on it.

Here are 5 keys to look for to decide if a niche/target market is a viable one for your business:

1. They are easy to find and reach.

Can you think of three places (online or off) where your target market gathers, whether it’s in a formal or informal fashion? Can you get easy access to them?

2. They hang out in some organized fashion.

Are there memberships, associations, organizations and online groups made up of your target market?

3. There are enough of them.

Your target market has to be large enough to sustain your online business for the long haul. It’s great to have a highly specialized niche that’s small, but if you do, see #4.

4. They have money.

In order for you to stay in business, your target market has to have enough money to pay for your offerings. In addition, they need to understand the value of what it is that you’re offering in order to invest that money with you. In other words, do they need to be educated about how your offerings will serve them in some way, or do they already get it?

5. They have a problem worth solving.

Every target market has struggles and challenges. But in order for you to build a viable online business within that market, they have to have problems that they will “pay anything, do anything” to get solved. Be sure to listen to the conversations the people in your target market are having to understand what they are struggling with the most to create the solutions they are willing to pay for.

In Online Business Breakthrough, there are several trainings on how to figure out who you are most meant to serve, how to find them and connect with them, and how to create products and programs they most want to buy to from you.

Click here to find out more about the #1 affordable and accessible online training for new and emerging service-based business owners who want to create a highly profitable business online in less than part-time hours.

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