The Amy Porterfield Show

Like many these days, you might be finding yourself working virtually -- and whether this is new to you or not, there are some simple strategies you can implement to stay focused, on track, and moving forward as an entrepreneur.

My dear friend, Rachel Hollis, originally interviewed me for her podcast RISE, and because we both want this episode to reach as many entrepreneurs and individuals affected by the recent crisis as possible, we are releasing it on the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast as well.

I hope with all my heart that you find this episode helpful, insightful, and inspiring.

Now, why did Rachel come to me looking for guidance on how to run a virtual team and work from home without losing focus?

Probably because I’ve been building a virtual team for almost 11 years, which means I’ve got a couple tricks up my sleeve for being successful in the online workspace.

Here’s a preview of what we talked about...

• How to set expectations and what tools are best for staying on track.
• The importance of sticking to a task and how to make sure your team does the same.
• How to show up for your team and lead in turbulent times.
• How to minimize context switching -- trust me when I say that this one is a lifesaver!
• Tips for staying focused.
• Strategies for maintaining healthy work habits and setting up your workspace.
• The importance of over-communication to your team and collaborators.

This episode is courtesy of our guest, Rachel Hollis, and the RISE podcast (where it first appeared). To receive more tangible and tactical tools from New York Times Best-Selling author, Rachel Hollis, check out RISE.

Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Rate & Review Online Marketing Made Easy:

If you're on Apple Podcasts, help me help more people by rating and reviewing my show. Reviews let others - just like you - find the actionable, step-by-step strategies to start the "online" journey...of making a business and life they love. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” My team and I - we read them all. Thank you!

What if I told you that confidence shouldn’t be your goal?

Crazy, right? I thought confidence was always the goal!

According to my guest today, Jennifer Allwood, there’s something else you should be focusing on… courage!

I’m so excited to have Jennifer back on the show to talk about her new book, which will be released April 7th, 2020, “Fear Is Not The Boss Of You,” which is a must-read as an entrepreneur.

We also chat about why courage should be your goal over confidence.

How to shift your mindset around imposter syndrome, because that’s essential as an entrepreneur.

We even go talk about the real way to discover your confidence (hint: it has to do with taking action -- imagine that!).

Jennifer has helped thousands of creative entrepreneurs grow their business by leveraging social media and the online space, and she’s someone I love learning from.

She teaches people how to find freedom in their business by utilizing multiple revenue streams, as she shared in episode 215.

You’re going to love Jennifer’s approach and strategies for becoming more courageous in your life and business.

• You’re talented.
• You deserve the best.
• You can build a wildly successful business.
• You’re organized, intelligent, and capable of creating the life of your dreams -- the life you deserve.

How do you feel when I say those things? Do you feel inspired and fired up?

Or, are you shaking your head thinking, “Amy, you’re so full of it!”

My dear friend, I certainly hope you’re shaking your head, “YES!” and you feel inspired. However, I know what it can be like to believe deflating lies… especially as an entrepreneur.

My guest today, Dave Hollis, knows what it’s like to believe those lies, as well.

Dave is the COO of the media company and inspirational powerhouse, Hollis Company, which he runs with his wife and my close friend, Rachel Hollis.

He’s also just released his first book, “Get Out Of Your Own Way,” which is simply phenomenal.

Today, Dave and I talk about the thoughts that tend to hold you back from your true potential and how to overcome old thought patterns that aren’t in your best interest.

We also talk about the “shoulds” that are hindering your growth, your solution for getting unstuck, and so much more.

Here’s a preview of our interview...

• [02:58] My good friend, Dave Hollis -- the COO of Hollis Company and husband to Rachel Hollis -- has just released his new book, Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment. Help celebrate him with me!
• [06:52] If you're struggling, you must find a community to connect with about what’s going on. That’s exactly what this book did for Dave. It allowed him to be fully transparent -- about the good and the bad.
• [10:17] Dave was inspired by his wife's growth, and while he was a skeptic at first, he eventually decided that personal development was for him. In his book, he talks about how he got out of his own way so that others can use his strategies to do the same. And let me tell you, he knocked it out of the ballpark!
• [18:04] If you are on a path of personal development and doing big things, and your significant other isn't on board with it, don't push them. Instead, let them see the light of your journey and the results that it produces. Let their curiosity allow them to transform their lives.
• [20:07] Dave talks about the identity frame that we pick up from those around us as we are growing up. For example, "women entrepreneurs can’t have ambitions and be a good mom" is a common one. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You must make the decision about whose opinion you will believe and carry with you.
• [26:27] For 14 years, Dave was the primary breadwinner but when Rachel’s book sold 3 million copies and the financial contribution started to shift in their relationship, Dave was worried. He opens up about an unconscious fear around if Rachel would still want him if he was no longer the main source of financial support.
• [35:57] Here’s the good news, it's never too late to make a pivot, transform yourself, or change direction. You must focus on what’s best for you and not what others are thinking of you -- because the truth is that they just aren't! #sorrytobreakittoyou
• [41:13] Being stuck is being in a place where you aren't growing or don't have the opportunity to fail. Here’s what Dave proposes: expose yourself to opportunities to fail and push outside of your comfort zone on a regular basis.
• [45:56] Have unbelievable clarity about who you want to be. Once you know what you stand for, then you know the role you have to play in your life. Connect to a why that is bigger than the unpredictability of life. What do you believe in? Who are you? What's your leverage?

With COVID-19, things are changing by the second. That's why I want to support you -- my community -- and show you what it looks like to move forward even when you’re feeling uncertain.

This episode is real and raw...it's messy, clunky at times, and I share what I’ve experienced so that you may learn some of the things about navigating a business with the world changing so rapidly.

So, I've put together five things that you can do to navigate your business through the Coronavirus crisis. You’ll find two mindset tools and three strategies to implement right away.

And listen, I know you’re probably feeling some confusion right now. Whether you have an online business, a digital course, plans to launch, or you’re just starting out...Don't. Worry. I’m going to give you the guidance you need to keep moving forward.

Here’s the deal, you can’t ignore what’s going on in the world. In fact, I firmly believe that you have to talk about this no matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey.

To further help you, I’ve put together a freebie called “How To Be Productive Working From Home During Uncertainty.” Be sure you grab that, too.

Here’s a snapshot of the five ways to navigate your business through a crisis that I talk about in this episode:

• #1: Get into action. Feel the feelings but also get into action to keep your mindset abundant and focused. You’re an entrepreneur, which means you’re resilient.
• #2: Commit to a morning routine and end of the day shut down. It’s easy to get distracted with the news, your family at home, and just plain old emotions, but creating rituals will keep you focused on the needle movers in your business. (More guidance on this in the freebie!)
• #3: Clarify your crisis messaging. Get clear on what you’re going to say to your audience during this time and how you’re going to position yourself and your business -- even if you have a small audience.
• #4: Show up and offer something valuable and free that will resonate, support, and inspire. Tune in to hear how we did this.
• #5: You’re probably wondering, “Amy, I don’t feel I should be selling right now!” My answer to you is… if you stop selling, our economy will be crushed. You are not opportunistic if you’re selling in our current climate -- as long as you offer a solution to help serve your audience. Take the time to reevaluate your offers to make sure they align with what people need in this time of uncertainty and be willing to pivot if needed.

People have more needs today than they did a week ago. Remember that you are a master problem solver. Now is the time to experiment. Try new things and never give up.

Your audience is not wanting or looking for perfection. Your audience is looking for support, direction, and leadership.

Show up for them. Show up for your community, your audience, and your paying customers.

I hope you find this episode is just what you need to hear as we are navigating through this time of chaos, uncertainty, and change. I hope you find the light and gratitude in any way possible. And above all, I hope you and your family are safe and healthy.

For further support, be sure to grab my freebie “How To Be Productive Working From Home During Uncertainty.”

Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

‘I love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.’ <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- move toward the online life and business that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

Welcome back to Part 2 of this episode, where you’re going to learn about my favorite tools for communication, customer service, and a couple of bonus tools that I adore.

If you missed Part 1, where I went over my top tools for email marketing, list building, social media, and project management, be sure to head back and check out that episode right after this one.

The tools I mention in today’s episode have helped me not only scale my business but also give me back the time and energy to build the business of my dreams… a business that was considered a small business not that long ago.

Since I mentioned a lot of tools between Part 1 and Part 2 of this episode, I’m going to recommend that you focus on the parts of your business that you’re looking to invest in right now.

Only focus on one or two tools and add on little by little as you grow.

To make this really easy for you, I’ve put together a free PDF with all the tools that I’ve mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 of this episode. Be sure to snag that freebie right here!

Here’s a preview of today’s episode...

• [04:01] Do you have a team or work with contractors? If so, you have to check out Slack! It’s my favorite real-time communication tool -- way better than email.
• [09:52] When it comes to customer support, Help Scout has transformed our approach and organization! It has simplified taking care of our customers and making sure they have what they need.
• [12:42] Kajabi is the Mac Daddy of all tools. Seriously! Say goodbye to having to be tech-savvy because Kajabi has everything in one place. From your digital course platform to your sales page, opt-in page, and email service provider… Kajabi has you covered!
• [19:39] I kind of wish I would have thought of this bonus tool! Searchie allows you to search for content inside of videos or audio. I know, so good, right? You can search for keywords in any video or audio content you have. It’s just that simple! Searchie is definitely for those more advanced entrepreneurs.
• [24:02] And although it isn’t an online tool, my absolute favorite tool is the Full Focus Planner. This is a physical planner, which I talk about all the time, helps to keep me organized, motivated, and clear on the most important daily and quarterly goals I have for myself and my business.

Get excited for next week's episode where I'm talking about a few more tools I couldn't live without. See you there!

“Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them.”

I love this quote from Steve Jobs. Why? Because I know that tools allow me to scale my business and create growth and impact.

But here’s the thing… not all tools are made the same.

When I was starting out, I had no idea which tools would be worth my financial and time investment and which ones would not. Let’s just say, I’ve learned a lot about what tools will be valuable in creating a successful business throughout the years.

And now, I’m offering you my insight into what tools you should consider using to help your business grow, scale, and succeed!

I decided to break this episode into two parts because there was so much value in it.

So, in this episode -- Part 1 -- you’ll learn about my favorite tools for…

• email marketing and list building
• social media
• project management

In Part 2 of this episode, you’ll learn about the tools we use in my business for communication and customer service. Along with some bonus tools that I love and can’t help but share.

Here’s a sneak peek of how today’s episode goes...

• [07:11] ConvertKit is my go-to when it comes to a basic, simple email service provider -- especially for new entrepreneurs. What I love about it is that it allows you to collect emails and names in a legitimate way, and they have top-notch customer service!
• [09:14] You’ve heard me talk about freebies and lead magnets a million times before, LeadPages allows you to create simple opt-in pages so you can start getting email addresses and traction from those assets. Plus, it integrates with ConvertKit and gives you beautifully designed opt-in pages, so you can email your list on a regular basis. Can you say win-win?
• [14:28] Want to know my favorite tool for social media? Look no further! Social Curator is my answer. They provide you with stunning images and caption prompts so you can focus less on social media and more on the important things in your business.
• [19:19] When it comes to project management and organization, Asana is the absolute best! In fact, I wish I would have used a project management tool like Asana from the very beginning. Whether it’s just you, you and a contractor or two, or an entire team, setting your business up in Asana will keep you organized and moving forward!

Get excited for next week's episode where I'm talking about a few more tools I couldn't live without. See you there!

You guys know I’m a big fan of creating urgency for your courses using deadlines. In fact, I’m kind of a stickler about.

Well, guess what? I’ve found someone equally as excited about creating urgency and setting deadlines. So, naturally, I had to invite him onto the podcast.

His name is Jack Born and he’s a pro when it comes to this topic. He’s going to tell you why you should be using deadlines for your customers… and how you can go about it the right way.

Jack is the founder of Deadline Funnel, not to mention several other software platforms, which help entrepreneurs, just like you, boost sales and automate their businesses.

There are a lot of misconceptions around deadlines within a business…

Will they help you sell more? Will they hinder your audience from buying?

These are things you have to know as an entrepreneur with an online product, especially if you do a live launch like I do with my Digital Course Academy program.

Listen to this episode with an open mind because you’re going to be blown away by some of the tidbits and strategies Jack gives you that you can use within your business to boost those sales.

And honestly, if you’re just starting out or trying to gain some insight into how to launch your business, this episode is going to help you build the confidence around creating that urgency without feeling pushy.

Here’s a look at what we talked about...

• [06:08] My guest today, Jack has been a student of the power of persuasion and knows urgency is a strong motivator.
• [13:07] It’s essential that what you say in your marketing is genuine and true to promote credibility.
• [16:51] Deadlines boost sales. Period! They also help those people who are on the fence make a decision and take action because, let's be honest, we all need a little push when it comes to big decisions.
• [19:52] Find out Jack’s tools for creating a next-level offer that isn’t pushy.
• [32:22] Want to know the hard truth? By not using deadlines, you are leaving money on the table and helping less potential customers. Crazy when you look at it that way, right?
• [37:14] Oh, and my favorite part of this interview was at the very end when Jack gives tangible action items for setting up an automated launch with urgency the right way.

Behind every successful story… there is commitment, determination, and resilience.

So, I’m just going to be bold and say that I think overnight success is a myth.

And… if I may take it one step further… I’d even go as far as to say that there is so much benefit to not experiencing overnight success.

In this episode, we talk about some of my favorite examples of people who might look like overnight successes from the outside, but in all actuality are not.

Plus, I’ll share the benefits of slow, consistent growth, because I’ve experienced first hand how beneficial this can be.

And, in true Online Marketing Made Easy fashion, I’ve got a little three-step process for eliminating that unconscious desire for overnight success.

Oh, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little worked up and passionate about this topic. You’ll know what I mean when you listen!

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll hear…

• [08:16] Ever heard of a Dyson vacuum? Yeah, the owner, James Dyson had 5,127 failed vacuum prototypes over a 15-year span before he became a success. Many times, we don’t know the whole story of failure, struggle, and success.
• [12:09] Here’s a fun fact, Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California three times before he attended another school that he dropped out of to direct some of our favorite movies?
• [12:45] Can you guess how many times JK Rowling’s book, Harry Potter was rejected before being picked up? Twelve times — and she didn’t give up!
• [13:55] Did you know that Lady Gaga started honing her voice at the age of 4? Tune in to hear her inspirational story!
• [14:50] Queen O, Oprah, was fired from a job as a TV reporter because she was told she wasn't fit for television. Crazy, right? She didn’t let that stop her. Instead, she picked herself up and kept moving forward.
• [17:43] My mentor and friend, Marie Forleo held multiple jobs and was a bartender while building her business. Just like Marie, those early parts of building your business are important for building character.
• [20:33] Being in it for the long haul helps you identify who you are and what you stand for. Find out what millionaire entrepreneur, Laura Belgray has to say about taking years to hit the success she experiences today.
• [23:54] Growing your business steadily and slowly allows you to be more intentional, and intentionality gives you the time and space to clarify your business along the way.
• [26:05] Let’s take a play from Jaime Kern Lima from IT Cosmetics playbook and make it a priority to keep our faith bigger than our fear. Are you onboard?
• [30:16] Tune in to find out my 3-step process for eliminating that unconscious desire for overnight success.
• [34:10] Once you've reached the success that you're after, I challenge you to reassess and then create a new definition of success. I guarantee that your definition of success will evolve over time.

Do you ever have those days where you just need an extra boost of courage? Maybe a hug, maybe a little self-love, grace, and patience?

Be sure to grab the freebie I created to remind you that you're on the right path and if you keep at it and you commit to your dream, you too can have the same success. It's a fill-in-the-blank letter to yourself to read on those days when you need it most. You can get it right here.

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Let me take you back in time when I was just starting out.

This was before YouTube and definitely before podcasts were a thing. It was a time where if you wanted to become an entrepreneur… you pretty much had to figure it out on your own.

(Thank goodness we’re out of those dark ages!)

I remember wishing I could have a mentor or some insight into starting a business. You know, what works and what doesn’t.

I eventually connected with a woman who would become my mentor. A woman who we all know and love today as Marie Forleo.

Marie was named by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation. She’s the star of the award-winning show MarieTV, with over 52 million views, and host of The Marie Forleo Podcast, with more than eleven million downloads.

She gave me so many tips and tools for starting, building, and growing my business. I’m forever grateful!

If you’ve been an Online Marketing Made Easy podcast fan for some time now, you know that Marie has been a guest on my show many times.

Every time I interview her, she brings so much insight and value. I thought it was high time I pulled some of her best tips and tools for starting a business and rolled them into one episode.

Here’s why…

I want you to have all the knowledge, support, and tools you need to take your dream of creating a business and make it a reality.

I know how intimidating it can be… trust me! I’ve been there. And so my goal is to give you what you need to make starting a business simple and seamless.

So, here are some of my favorite tips from my mentor, and multi-million dollar entrepreneur, Marie Forleo

She’s taught entrepreneurs, artists, and multi-passionate go-getters from all walks of life how to dream big and back it up with daily action to create results, and now, she’s sharing her secrets with you!

Today is your last chance to change your future and the success of your business in 2020 with B-School! This is the program that not only changed my business but changed my life! If you're serious about creating a business and life you love, B-School is your answer. Today is also the last day you can receive all of my B-School freebies!

Plus, I just added a special bonus! When you enroll in B-School using my affiliate link, not only will you get my B-School Bonus Experience, but you will ALSO get access to my B-School CliffsNotes Audio Collection!

This B-School CliffsNotes Audio Collection is truly a personal experience where I take you through each module, week by week and help you identify where to focus your attention and time.

In a nutshell, it's practical advice, delivered via short audio segments, from someone who went through B-School herself (yours truly!), and knows how to help you get the most from it.

You’ll get the inside scoop on what topics you need to pay *special attention* to, and I’ll also raise the red flag on potential landmines and rabbit holes that might throw other students off.

This is always my most talked about bonus, so you are in for a treat! Click here to change your life with B-School!

The title says it all.

This is an episode, I definitely didn’t want to record… at first! But then I got to thinking, and I knew that sharing this experience with you, and being vulnerable was only going to help and benefit you and your business in the long run.

Here’s what happened. I got an email from a student who was disappointed in my newest product and made sure I knew that she was not impressed.

And you know what, it hurt. It really hurt.

But after I took a step back, I realized that there are five things that I need to commit to in order to move my business forward, stand up for what I believe in, and block out those who don’t agree with me.

Here’s a snapshot of those five things…

Those who have achieved more than me will never judge me for wanting more. Sometimes things are going to get tough -- that’s just the nature of being an entrepreneur. So, I must commit to having thicker skin. I create my own thoughts and no one can hurt me. I’m in charge of what I think and feel… period. I’ll never let an individual’s opinion dictate how I feel or how I do business. I am here to stay.

This episode was tough for me, so I want to thank you for allowing me to share my heart.

Here’s a breakdown of the episode…

• [02:50] As entrepreneurs, we’ll always have people on the internet who disagree with our life or business goals — we have to ignore them. However, it’s a little different when you hear negative feedback from a student, and that’s exactly what happened to me.
• [03:37] During my recent membership site launch, a past student wrote in to share her opinion of what I was doing and, let’s just say, it wasn’t very positive.
• [05:39] Receiving something like this from a student of mine stung. In the moment, I recorded a response to her to let her know why I created my newest product and why I believe in it so deeply.
• [11:59] It’s important to remember that someone who has achieved more than you will never judge you for wanting more.
• [14:20] Sometimes things are going to get rocky and feel really uncomfortable. You've got to have thicker skin!
• [15:19] Because you create your own thoughts and feelings, no one can hurt you. Always keep in mind that you are in charge of what I think and what you feel.
• [17:25] At the end of the day, no matter who disagrees with what I’m doing, I am here to stay! Tell yourself that during hard times when building your online business.

What if I gave you a backstage pass to my annual event, The Entrepreneur Experience?

Well, in this episode, that’s exactly what we’re going to do!

In October 2019, Rachel Hollis, Stu McLaren, Jasmine Star, and Gina Gomez joined me in San Diego, along with over 600 entrepreneurs from every walk of life, for this amazing event.

These all-star speakers brought their a-game and shared some pretty amazing entrepreneurial advice. Advice that was so good, I couldn’t just keep it to myself!

In this episode, I’m giving you a little sneak peek of what The Entrepreneur Experience 2019 was all about and the phenomenal business advice that the attendees gained while they were there.

First, you’ll hear from Rachel Hollis. She gets real (imagine that) and gives you some tough love. She talks about competition and an excuse that might be holding you back.

After that, you’ll hear from Stu McLaren. He talks all about building trust to attract your ideal customer and taking a stand for what you believe in.

My girl, Jasmine Star, is up next and she gives some practical social media advice. After all, she is the queen of social media.

She also gives her take on third party posting apps -- I know this is a question every entrepreneur has!

And then I have Gina Gomez coming in with a secret to creating happy customers and interactions.

• [03:53] Rachel Hollis says, "Don't compare your life to someone's curated social media life. We don't have time to waste. Every second we are looking outside ourselves to find the answer, we are wasting time."
• [08:04] Stu admits that he struggled with the guilt of making too much money but the truth is that money allows you to stand for what you believe in and make an impact! [12:52] Jasmine Star gives her tried and tested experience with third-party posting apps and why you should reconsider using them to organically reach your audience. [14:30] Gina says, "Treat everyone you work with as if they are your dream clients. Imagine how implementing this in your business would impact your experience, business, and industry."

One of the biggest excuses I hear from people wanting to start a business is that they feel they have the confidence they need to take their dreams and ideas and make them successful.

My guest in this episode, Lisa Bilyeu, is living proof that it doesn’t matter what skill set or level of experience you have. What does matter is that you’re persistent and committed to creating a life that fulfills you and making your dreams your reality.

Lisa is the co-founder of Quest Nutrition, and without any prior entrepreneurial experience, she helped grow the company by 57 thousand percent -- that’s 82.6 million dollars in revenue -- in just three years.

Lisa and her husband, Tom Bilyeu, have gone on to sell Quest Nutrition, a protein bar company, and have built a successful media company called, Impact Theory and Women of Impact.

What I love about this interview is that Lisa and I dive into it all. We talk about figuring things out as you go (which I think we can all relate to), mindset shifts, challenges, actionable items to grow your business (yes, please!), shifting your perspective as a female entrepreneur, and even relationships.

If you’re feeling like you don’t have enough experience to create a successful business or to become an entrepreneur, this episode is a must-listen!

Here’s a sneak peek of our conversation…

• [01:43] Could you imagine growing your company by 57,000% in just three years or $82.6 million in revenue? Lisa Bilyeu the co-founder of Quest Nutrition and Impact Theory did just that.
• [11:26] Lisa gives a fabulous entrepreneurial tip... model your life as successful people model theirs. Find out how her and her husband did this until they started Quest Nutrition.
• [24:18] Lisa has the best mindset. She reminds herself that even if she starts a project from zero, as long as she could figure it out she would be okay.
• [28:21] "Saying I don't know is an excuse." She gives the hard truth that there is someone out there doing what you want to do.
• [36:18] Lisa and her husband shifted into a new business to make an impact on the lives of others.

This episode is brought to you by Gravy, the company I trust to contact my customers within hours of a failed payment, capturing the updated billing information, and saving the customer my team and I worked so hard to acquire. If your revenue is currently at $250,000 or more a year and you know you’re losing money due to failed payments each month, I encourage you to check out Gravy. Click here to see how they can be an extension of your customer service and save you money.

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Did you know that the number one regret people have during their last days is that they didn’t have the courage to follow their dreams and live a life that aligned with their deepest desires?

In her book, The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying, Bronnie Ware says…

“This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.”

Did you just get chills? I did.

So my question for you is this… how are you going to make sure that you don’t experience the same regret?

How are you going to conjure up the courage to follow your dreams and live a life that you love?

A life on purpose. A life that fulfills you.

My guest and dear friend, Marie Forleo has a simple practice to help you minimize regret and step into the confidence of taking action towards your dreams -- towards your heart’s truest desires.

Marie’s been a guest on the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast many times before. And if you don’t know who she is, she’s been named the thought-leader of the next generation by Oprah herself. She’s a New York Times bestselling author, creator of one of the most popular training programs on the planet, B-School, and the creative force behind her award-winning show, MarieTV.

In this episode, we’re talking about a powerful practice that she calls the “Ten-Year Test,” why you should always start before you’re ready, and how to create momentum towards your dreams.

We’ll also talk about Marie’s free online business building workshop that she just released in which she’ll teach you The 6 Pillars of Building an Online Business. Marie has a tremendous gift for breaking things down to simple and understandable steps, so you do not want to miss this!

I look forward to it all year. You’re going to love it!

DON’T MISS THIS… The first video in Marie’s workshop series goes live today. Marie will share a simple 6 step roadmap to help you launch and grow your business online. You can find it at AmyPorterfield.com/Marie or click on the image below. Don’t wait, because the series will only be available for a limited time.

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn, one of my favorite platforms to market on to reach my ideal customers. LinkedIn is excellent for businesses of all sizes and especially helpful for small businesses who are just getting started and are looking to drive traffic and engagement. At the end of the day, LinkedIn ads are helping smaller businesses get bigger results… and that’s why I love it. Right now, LinkedIn is offering my listeners a free $100 LinkedIn ad credit to launch your very first campaign. Click here to grab your ad credit!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Cue the confetti! We are celebrating our 300th episode, and I can hardly believe it. What a wild, fun, and amazing ride! Thank you for being part of this journey with me. 

It’s because of you that we are here at episode 300. 

We wanted to do something extra special for this episode -- something a little different. So, we picked some of our favorite segments from our top episodes and wrapped them up all into one like a little gift. (A gift from me to you!)

Speaking of gifts… we have a giveaway 

That means that this episode is plump full of some of our very best business and online marketing tidbits handpicked from our impressive (if I may say so myself) 300 episode line-up. 

Some of these clips are interviews, some are from solo episodes from yours truly, and all of them are extremely insightful. I cannot wait for you to hear them!

From Marie Forleo to Jennifer Allwood to guidance from my personal experience, you’re in for a treat (and going to want to take notes!) Here’s a glimpse of what’s in this power-packed episode…

Tip #1: Showing Your Scars. I talk about how being vulnerable and real can help you get noticed whether you’re starting out or a veteran in your industry.

Tip #2: Use a Facebook group to build relationships. Caitlin Bacher shares her knowledge and experience warming up cold leads with a value-packed Facebook group.

Tip #3: Utilize a live series instead of a webinar. What?! I know, right? Not what you’d expect from me. Listen to find out when and why a live series might be a perfect fit for you and your business.

Tip #4: Get crystal clear on your Ideal Customer Avatar. I’m at it with my girl, Gina Onativia. She breaks down the importance of having a clear understanding of your ICA and gives you specific examples of how your ICA will help you with two very important areas when creating your digital course.

Tip #5: Get creative with your free, valuable content. Have you been stuck on what to create for your freebie? Look no further! This clip gives you some of my favorite examples of what to do for your freebie or lead magnet, and a few questions to ask yourself to get hyper clear on what you’re going to create. 

Tip #6: Utilize various streams of income. I loved this episode! Jennifer Allwood drops a few knowledge bombs about when and how to create multiple streams of income to boost your revenue and create passive income. 

Tip #7: Attract leads with a free video or audio training. In this solo clip, I dive into why having a video or audio training for your lead magnet is one of the best ways to connect with your audience on a personal level. 

Tip #8: Build your email list like your life depends on it! I’m back at it with Queen Marie Forleo. We get into why you should tread cautiously when building your business via social media and what you should do instead to ensure you keep your audience close to you and to strengthen your communication skills. 

Okay, I know that was a lot.

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

What if I told you that I’m actually not a fan of this topic. Or, at least I thought I wasn’t… until I recorded this episode. (Yes, it’s that good!)

In fact, I might even stretch it to say that this is one of the best episodes I’ve ever done. (You’re going to love it!)

I know that you’re either struggling with imposter syndrome or you have in the past. How do I know this? Because I’ve dealt with it, and I feel it starting to creep in from time to time. Oh, and most of my successful entrepreneurial friends have experienced it too. 

The good news is that I have powerful tools (that I’ve personally used many times) to help you overcome imposter syndrome so this can be your most successful year yet -- personally and professionally. 

Want to know what they are? Well, first of all, let’s talk about what imposter syndrome is. 

Dr. Amy Cuddy, who is a social psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and a Harvard lecturer who focuses on the psychology of leadership and influence, says that imposter syndrome can be defined as “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.”

Now, let’s take a peek at five proven actions for giving imposter syndrome the boot…

1. Get out of your head and into your heart. Find out how one of my students, Natalie MacLean, let her heart lead her to a $30,000 launch.
2. Take action! I give you three specific ways to transform the energy of imposter syndrome into action so you can attract new clients and, in turn, boost your revenue.
3. Stay in your lane! You can do this two ways: stop chasing shiny objects and stop comparing yourself to others. 
4. Embrace competition and acknowledge that there is enough room for everyone. (Because there is, and amazing things can happen when you do this!)
5. Acknowledge your credibility and success. Find out how to do this in the episode.

Because this is a topic almost every entrepreneur can relate to, I want you to head to our private Facebook community and share what actions you’re taking to overcome imposter syndrome. 

And, while you’re at it, let me know what you thought of this episode. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Amy Cuddy
• RISE Business
• Natalie MacLean
• Episode 271 How to Create a Profit-Driven Lead Magnet to Boost Sales
• Christina Galbato

Did you hear the news? 

I’ve started taking business questions directly from my audience! People just like you. I’ve taken some of the best questions from my Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community and answered them right here on this bonus episode. 

Now, you’re probably wondering how the heck you can be part of this amazing opportunity.

Head over to our private Facebook community to join, drop a question in the discussion and tag #askamy, and we’ll add it to our list of questions. 

I’m going to be recording these Q & A bonus episodes from time to time, and while I hope to get to as many questions as possible, I can’t promise I will get to every one. I’ll certainly do my best!

Head over to our Facebook community to get your questions on the list. 

Let’s dive into the Q & A. I have a feeling you might have some of the same questions!

2. April MacLean asks about knowing what to say and when to her audience. 
4. Maggie Gelin is wondering why her students would want to work with her when they can get the same information for free on the world wide web.
6. Kylie Chapman wants to know how to create a visually cohesive brand on a budget.
8. Jill Davidian is looking for guidance around a first hire, and if she should consider a VA, a team, or an Online Business Manager.
10. Carole Stroud wants a behind-the-scenes peek at my podcast and wants to know if I use bullet points or a prompter.
12. Gee Sus Emanuel Reyes is looking for a bit of advice around the best email platform to invest in (if any) as his email list grows. 

Here are some of the goodies from this episode...

• [02:19] Believe it or not, when it comes to content, you must shift your mindset! Make sure you're leaving room for experimenting and trying new things. Enjoy the journey, chunk everything down, and take one thing at a time.
• [08:33] You're going to have different types of Ideal Customer Avatars... and that's okay! Make sure you're creating different messaging for each ICA.
• [13:43] Don't overthink this. It's important to have a cohesive brand, but the content is definitely the most important part. Having a brand that you feel good about does help boost your confidence. Here are my three favorite resources to use for clarifying your brand.
• [20:18] What I've found is that clarity comes from getting into motion. Commit to creating a weekly podcast, video show, or Facebook Live. This will help you find your audience and understand how your business and your ICA will come together.
• [24:46] The answer is both! I use a teleprompter for certain things and go off-the-cuff for other things. Listen to find out!
• [27:52] Ready for your life to change? Okay, flip the script! Change "I'm overwhelmed" to "I'm learning." Convert Kit is the platform I suggest in order to avoid frustration and to ease the learning process.

Now, be sure to head to our Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community to ask your #askamy questions! I can’t wait to hear them. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Community
• Kajabi
• TRIBE
• Social Curator
• What’s Your Visual Brand Style
• Kristie Keever
• Convert Kit
• Episode 235 How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar

What if I told you that the best way to accomplish your goals or dreams is to let go and be flexible with your strategy.

I know that at first glance this seems crazy, but stick with me. My brilliant guest, Megan Hyatt Miller, the Chief Operating Officer at Michael Hyatt & Company and the creator of the Bold line of the Full Focus Planner, has a sound approach to achieving your dreams without the pressure of controlling every single step. 

Now, you know me, and you know that this approach makes me squirm a bit (Hi, my name is Amy, and I’m type A!) but once Megan gave me a little more context around this idea, I started to understand how this approach can actually be extremely effective -- especially for entrepreneurs. 

Here’s a sneak peek of what Megan and I talked about…

1. A strategy for getting crystal clear on your goals (clearer than you’ve ever been -- trust me!). 
2. How to find a balance between trusting the process and being flexible with your strategy, versus being too lax and never accomplishing anything. (Nobody wants that!)
3. How to get rid of your mile-long to-do list and identify your daily “Big 3” which will set you up to move you closer to your goal every single day. (Say goodbye to feeling defeated by your laundry list of tasks at the end of the day.)
4. Why it’s necessary to slow down and celebrate your accomplishments… big or small. 

I know you’re going to absolutely love this interview as much as I did. 

Here’s what to do next, check out the episode, subscribe to the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast, and then head to our private Facebook community to your Daily Big 3 for today!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. And, your review might even make it onto an episode (how fun!) so be sure to leave a review and listen for it in my upcoming listener spotlights. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Megan Hyatt Miller
• Full Focus Planner - Bold by Megan Hyatt Miller
• Megan Hyatt Miller on Facebook
• Megan Hyatt Miller on Twitter
• Megan Hyatt Miller on Instagram
• Episode 258 Achieve More While Doing Less with Michael Hyatt
• Episode 101 How to Intentionally Design the Life You Want with Michael Hyatt
• Episode 177 How to Design Your Ideal Week with Michael Hyatt
• Episode 251 How I'd Grow My Business If I Were Starting From Scratch
• How to Nail Your Goals with This Simple Secret
• Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook Community

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Raise your hand if you’re not totally sure what to do between your launches. I totally get it. I was the same way for the first few years of my business.

The good news is that you can let out a big sigh of relief because I’ve put together the six most important things you should be doing between your launches. 

Here’s a recap of what I talk about in this episode, with specific examples.

Number 1, recharge, recharge, and recharge some more! Please don’t skip this one! It is so important for not only your health... but the health of your business (and your relationships) that you take time to recharge and reconnect with yourself and your loved ones. 

Number 2, build that list and batch that content! You know this is important… and the best part is that all of your list building efforts will pay off when you launch your course. 

Try it out and I promise you’ll be thanking me! 

Number 3, spend some time and money learning. Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your education because it is a vital part of growing your business and your income. Remember that you should not only create digital courses but consume them as well. 

Number 4, get to know your audience and get to know them well! Take your downtime to really understand who your ICA is and what she or he needs. 

Number 5, make some extra income. Yes, please! This one is a fun action item. 

Whether you promote a workshop course or become an affiliate -- this is a great way to make a little extra income while you’re gearing up for your pre-launch runway. 

Lastly, number 6… chip away where you can at your upcoming launch. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 235: How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar
• RISE Business Conference
• Dean Graziosi
• Dave Hollis
• List Builders Society
• Whitney McNeill
• Last 90 Days
• Bucket.io
• Game Changers
• Inside Bill’s Brain
• Episode 182: How to Mega-Batch Your Content
• Marie Forleo’s B-School
• Episode 55: How to Create a Survey to Find Your Target Market
• Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Method to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy...Create a Mass of Raving Fans...and Take Any Business to the Next Level
• The Beauty in Birth Tavia Martin
• Digital Course Academy
• Kajabi
• Jenna Kutcher
• TRIBE
• Asana

When I say detox, I’m guessing your mind goes to green juice, kale, and hot yoga. 

But the kind of detoxing my guest and I talk about in this episode is very different. In fact, it’s one of the most important types of detoxing -- dream detoxing!

So what does that mean? My guest and author of The Big Stretch: 90 Days to Expand Your Dreams, Crush Your Goals, and Create Your Own Success, is going to help you understand exactly what a dream detox is and how to use it in your own life. 

Teneshia left her cushy, well-paying job to pursue her dream, and learned some mighty lessons along the way. She’s interviewed some of the top business moguls, such as Shark Tank’s Daymond John, Magic Johnson, Rent the Runway founder Jennifer Fliess and Me Too movement founder, Tarana Burke, all about what it takes to push the limits and stretch to follow your dream, fail, and create a life you love. 

Now she’s sharing what she’s discovered. 

Here’s a preview of what Teneshia and I talk about…

2. The five types of dreamers (so you can identify which one you are).
4. What dream detoxing is and why it’s essential. 
6. How “feeding your spirit,” “fortifying your mind,” and “building your body” fits into success.
8. Dream bullies… who they are and how they might be holding you back. (Hint: you have some closer to you than you think! Find out who Teneshia’s biggest dream bully was.)
10. An exercise to help you identify where you are wasting your time and how you can create more time to commit to your dream. 

Here’s a breakdown of our conversation...

• [05:13] Teneshia left her cushy, full-time job at IBM Mobile Services to follow her dream, passion, and purpose. She knew she was meant for more! Sound familiar?
• [07:05] She defines "the stretch" as the expansion necessary to meet the best version of YOU. It's the distance between your comfort zone and your dreams. What would you consider your "stretch"?
• [08:00] She has interviewed hundreds of iconic dreamers who said "yes" to stepping out of their comfort zones in order to follow their passion. It's these interviews that inspired her to create her business. 
• [13:04] Curious to find out the types of dreams? There are five and they include careerpreneurs, make-it-happen dreamers, hobby dreamers, CEO dreamers, and activist dreamers. Which one are you? 
• [20:50] A dream detox preps your mind, body, and spirit for cultivating your dreams. Teneshia challenges you to examine your beliefs, feed yourself only information that pushes you forward, and set your life up to support your passion and purpose!
• [30:16] We even go over an exercise from Teneshia's book called, the "Time Audit" exercise. Essentially, you take a look at your week and find areas where you can be more efficient in order to achieve your goals and dreams! Listen to find out how to do this exercise in your life.

I’d love to hear what you learned from this interview. Head to my Online Marketing Made Easy Facebook community to share what dreamer you are.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

“Machines are built to work 24/7, but not human beings. It's crucial that we put boundaries in place for ourselves, to have offline time, exercise and sleep, time with loved ones and friends and family that's not tethered to a screen. 

That's how we can start to get into the dance between being effective and productive with our time, and also being healthy, sane human beings.”

This brilliant quote is from my dear friend, Marie Forleo. 

She’s absolutely right! We not only need to be aware of how we set boundaries around our screen time, but we also need to set intentional boundaries around our business and personal life. 

In this episode, we dive deep into what boundaries are, how to set them, commit to them, and how to respect the boundaries of others in your life. 

Can I be honest with you? I haven’t always been great at setting and sticking to my boundaries. In fact, I had to learn about the importance of setting boundaries the hard way. 

However, over the years I’ve come to understand what areas of my life require boundaries, and, most importantly, how to stick to them.  

And before we dive into boundaries, one thing must be certain… your why for setting them. Take a moment to answer these questions.

• Why are you committing to these boundaries? 
• Why are you sticking to them day in and day out?
• Why are they important to you? 

Being crystal clear on your why is essential if you’re going to make your boundaries a priority and actually work for you.

So here’s a glimpse of what you’re going to learn in this episode…

1. What areas you may want to consider setting boundaries in and what non-negotiables are. (And where I set boundaries in my life.)
2. Why you need to have strong boundaries as an entrepreneur and some specific examples of the ones I set. (Feel free to copy any of mine.)
3. An exercise for getting clear on what your boundaries look like. 
4. How to commit to your boundaries without feeling guilty or worrying about hurting the feelings of others.
5. How to lead by example and respect the boundaries of those around you. 

Let me leave you with some wisdom from Miss Oprah...

“You have to be able to set boundaries, otherwise the rest of the world is telling you who you are and what you should be doing. You can still be a nice person and set boundaries.”

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast Facebook Community
• RISE
• Rachel Hollis
• Marie Forleo
• Focus Planner
• Everything Is Figureoutable
• Rick Mulready
• Alisha Grogan
• Michael Hyatt
• Warren Buffett

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

You guys know me, and you know how much I LOVE systems and really simple step-by-step strategies, and that is exactly how James Clear, my guest, and Author of Atomic Habits approaches creating good habits that yield remarkable results.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Let me repeat that last one again, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Oh yes, you know how much the systems girl in me just loves that!

In this episode, James shares his 1% approach to changing your habits, how your identity will either help you to succeed at achieving your goals or not, we talked about how to stay the course, even when you’re not seeing immediate results.

And this one is near and dear to my heart as I’m still walking through my weight loss journey. 

Here’s the best part of today’s episode, we talk about how you can start to create your own Atomic Habits so you can play a bigger game with your business and life in the New Year!

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about

• [05:13] James suffered a very serious injury when he was hit in the face with a baseball bat, which put him in a medically-induced coma. His recovery pushed him to focus on small habits to achieve big results. He found that following small habits gave him a sense of control in his life.
• [07:38] After graduate school, James became an entrepreneur and found that he was drawn to studying consumer psychology so that he could better understand why people buy things. He discovered that he was fascinated with behavioral psychology and habit formation.
• [08:44] James aims to be the bridge between scientific research and what it says about how habits work and practical application in daily use. The habits and practices he shares in his book are all about how to create small, powerful, and scientifically-proven habits into your own life.
• [09:57] Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement! Believe it or not, getting 1% better each day offers significant results. James believes that it might be the only way change happens in the real world. He says that accumulating 1% improvements over time will actually get you the results you're looking for.
• [15:37] An implementation intention means that stating your intention makes it more likely to happen. 
• [17:04] The plateau of latent potential shows that the hallmark of any habit or thing you're trying to change is that the greatest returns are delayed. In fact, the hard work you're putting isn't being wasted, it's just being stored.
• [21:46] Focusing on your trajectory instead of the position will help you to stay on course. Remember that every action you take is a vote for or against the person you want to become. True behavior change is identity change. 
• [27:49] The four laws of behavioral change include: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. The cues get your attention when you need a little reminder.

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Have you been wondering how a digital course can fit into your one on one business? If so, this episode is for you!

Now, if you’re thinking, “I don’t have one on one clients, so this doesn’t apply to my business,” stick with me, because I have some nuggets in here that might actually help your online business grow and generate even more revenue!

In today’s episode, we talk all about how a digital course can fit into your one on one business. And we even chat about how you can add one on one offerings to your online business to boost your revenue. 

I know that you guys have been wanting this topic because I get asked about it all the time! Today I’ll give you 5 valuable ways a digital course can transform your one on one business!

That’s right, I talk about how a digital course can transform your business revenue, give you more freedom (yes, please!), and how it will allow you to reach more people and transform more lives. After all, isn’t that why we’re all doing what we’re doing? To make an impact?

You’re going to walk away from this call with some great ideas for integrating your one on one business with a digital course.

Here’s a breakdown of some important points from today’s episode…

• [05:01] A digital course will expand your reach! From a time and energy standpoint, you can only take so many clients. A course will give new clients the opportunity to work with you.
• [05:53] One approach is to use your digital course as an extension of your one-on-one business. You can use your course to prepare your students and put them in a place to work with you one-on-one directly. 
• [07:19] You could offer a digital course that complements the work you do with your clients but doesn't exactly mirror the work you do in your one-on-ones.
• [11:37] Your one-on-one coaching could be used as an upsell to your digital course. 
• [16:00] A digital course will increase your overall revenue. Setting your business up for passive income is really important, and it's something you can't do with a one-on-one service business. At DCA, we teach students how to move their course to evergreen. 
• [21:14] Another way a digital course can seriously benefit your business is that it will allow you to set bigger income goals -- it opens the door for you to make more money. However, I highly recommend doing a few live launches before transitioning into an evergreen webinar.
• [28:17] A digital course will allow you to be more selective about who you take on as a client. You can take fewer clients and serve them at a higher level because you're not stretched too thin and trying to balance a ton of clients.
• [34:55] Offering both one-on-one coaching and a digital course gives you the option to offer tiered pricing. This can create opportunities for people with different financial means to work with you and makes high price point offerings a hot commodity.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I am so happy that you’re tuning into this episode because we are shaking things up and doing something different!

A few months back, I spoke at Stu McLaren’s TRIBE! event which aims to educate, teach, and bring together entrepreneurs around membership sites. And by the way, if you know me at all, you know that I adore Stu and his event was absolutely amazing.

At his event, TRIBE!, I spoke about my top content creation secrets that I like to use to keep my audience engaged, feeling that they are always receiving value, and coming back for more. 

I thought this information was so valuable that I wanted to share it with you. 

So today, because I just love you so much, you get VIP access to the recording of the presentation I gave! Now, these 5 tools for content creation will help you to rethink how you do content and make creating valuable, high-quality content easy. 

My goal is for you to walk away feeling inspired and excited to put these tools to work within your business! I know you’re going to love this presentation and get so much value out of it. 

Now, I just have to remind you that I ONLY teach what is working in my business, and today’s strategy is definitely working in my business! But, you’re also going to hear how I didn’t use one of these strategies and the lesson I learned from that experience.

Here is a preview of the 5 lessons I teach in this episode: 

Lesson #1: Let your paid content drive your free content!

Lesson #2: The importance of repetition! You’ve heard me say this before (see how I practice what I preach?!) so it should come to no surprise to you that repetition is a powerful marketing strategy. 

Lesson #3: Share more scars than scabs! I know, I know, this analogy is kind of gross, but it gets the point across, right?

Here’s the thing, when you show your scars -- and stay tuned to find out what I mean by scars versus scabs -- you will truly elevate your audience's experience!

Lesson #4: Share your life but remember your why! Again, this all ties back to elevating your audience's experience and inspiring them to grow!

Lesson #5: Superthinking is the secret to content that truly sticks!

Alright, time to get sticky! Multitaskers, come back to me now because if you take anything away from this episode, I want it to be SuperThinking! 

If you’ve never heard of SuperThinking, get ready to be mind-blown! This is my superweapon for becoming a creative genius in my business and content!

Now, the reason I’ve really been rethinking my content creation strategy is that, as I mentioned, we are launching Momentum, our membership site for students who have gone through my DCA program! 

And as you can imagine, creating enough content to make a membership site valuable can be daunting -- trust me, this is why I’ve pushed it off for as long as I have. And now that we’re launching it, I’m using this approach to make creating content for Momentum so easy!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Let’s be honest, your launch runway and your webinars are the most exciting part of your launch! 

And if we’re being really honest, the time between your last webinar and your cart closing day, you’re most likely exhausted, and all you want to do is curl up to a good Netflix binge session -- at least I do!

And while it’s tempting to do just that, I find that this time (between your last webinar and your cart close date) is where getting scrappy and making a little post-webinar push can transform the outcome and revenue of your launch. 

One of my Digital Course Academy students, Karida Griffith Walker, decided to roll up her sleeves and get scrappy with her post-webinar nurture sequence -- despite having a cold and a household of stuffy noses!

Her commitment to showing up for her audience members who were on the fence resulted in over $11,000 extra in revenue and 20 new students in her digital course. That’s 58% of her revenue for this specific launch!

She even talks about having a coughing attack during one of her live Facebook videos, but that didn’t stop her from showing up. 

In this episode, Karida shares her post-webinar strategies and some seriously impressive numbers. Take a listen, get inspired, and start planning to use some of these post-webinar strategies for your next launch. 

Here’s a breakdown of what Karida and I chatted about…

• [06:15]Karida was a professional dancer and Radio City Rockette for almost 5 years. She then left to pursue her passion for tap dancing, which led her to teaching tap to others.
• [09:21] Karida got married and moved to Portland where she is raising her three kids. She wanted to combine her love of dancing and teaching and stumbled across Webinars That Convert. She knew that there was a need for tap dance teacher training, so she created her signature course The Tap Teacher Lounge.
• [14:04] In her course, Karida uses slides, audio, and direct to camera videos of her actually showing dance moves to teach her students. She then allows them to send in videos for her feedback!
• [18:21] In Karida's most recent launch, she had 204 people registered for her four webinars. She also did something really cool, she offered an "interested but can't attend" option for those who wanted to register. She had 105 people select this option. She had 15 people sign up during her webinars and 20 people sign up during her post-webinar efforts. Her 35 signups brought her $21,000 in revenue.
• [23:56] If you pay attention to how your audience behaves—how they respond, what they need, what they want—you can get so many profitable ideas on how to cater to them and truly show up in a way that makes them want to buy. 
• [24:35] After the webinar, Karida kept running Facebook lives where she tackled her customer's biggest objections and explained her tap curriculum and what her students would learn. She retargeted 240 people and spent $170 in ads -- that's it! This resulted in eight new purchases. 
• [40:28] Karida had a totally different mindset with this launch. She got scrappy, because she wants to have a six-figure business. She was committed to her process and kept pushing all the way through the launch with her six-figure mindset!
• [45:43] Karida touched on the importance of sending a sequence of post-webinar emails and why some people appreciate receiving them.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Your mindset is key. Whether you’re looking to build a business or create a life you love -- it all comes back to your mindset.

When it comes to building a successful online business, there’s no doubt that you’re going to have to get in front of the camera from time to time. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to love it! 

In fact, most people feel extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera, whether it’s for a Facebook Live or a webinar, which is why I’m sharing some of my favorite strategies for boosting your confidence in front of the camera. 

And you guys know that I haven’t always loved doing live videos. In fact, I can’t say I am jumping at the bit to do them now. 

However, I’ve definitely used these exact strategies to boost my confidence and feel much more comfortable jumping on to do a live video.

I want to challenge you to take these strategies and make them your own. Use them over and over to shift your mindset and boost your confidence so that whether you’re doing a Facebook Live, an Instagram Live, or a webinar, you feel like a pro and show up for your audience and boost your know, like, and trust factor.  

Go ahead and take these strategies to start creating real impact for your audience and for your business!

You’ll learn…

2. The importance of creating a pre-live ritual. 
4. How to shift your focus to what you’re offering your clients. 
6. How you can use your audience's engagement to build your confidence and your content.
8. Tips for prompting your audience with a cue. (Including the cues I use!)
10. What steps to walk through to make sure you’re ready to do a live video or webinar.

• [10:38] Create your own pre-live ritual. Create a ritual that you commit to performing each time before you go live -- this will allow you to automate your live video process and help you to become more relaxed and confident going live!
• [14:29] You're going to have some messiness when you're first starting out and building confidence on live video. Committing to a ritual will help you feel more natural in front of the camera and rock your lives.
• [15:54] Set an alarm 10 minutes prior to going live and get in the zone. Make sure everything is ready and then just allow yourself to settle in. Quiet your mind, look over your notes and allow yourself to find a sense of calmness.
• [18:19] Your mindset will affect your energy for live videos. If you're distracted and don't take the time to get excited about your live video, your audience will know. Here's a tip for you: smile when you talk!
• [20:32] Focus on what you're bringing to your audience. When you're worried about how you look on camera you're making the video about you and not your audience. Remember that you are doing live videos to support and serve your audience.
• [29:26] Allow your audience’s engagement to build your confidence and your content. Treat every person like they are special, show up like a boss, and engage with them. However, don't worry about having a huge audience when you're live. Keep in mind that your video will live on and get views and shares.
• [30:50] Ask your audience questions that relate to their pain point. Also, prompt them to share one takeaway or action item they are going to implement.

We all know that Facebook and Instagram ads can help get the word out about our products, help build our lists, and even sell products. Yet, many of you have unanswered questions. That's why today we are answering your 10 burning questions about Facebook and Instagram ads. Those who know me, know that I'm not an expert on this, but my Regis to my Kathy Lee, Rick Mulready is here today to answer all of those questions and more.

This podcast is specifically for online experts or people who sell a course, product, or coaching. It’s for people who want to build their list and increase their sales, but haven't quite started using ads yet. It’s also for those who have started using ads, but maybe they aren’t working out as well as you thought they would. 

1. [05:09] What objective do I choose to get people to register for my webinar? You have to choose between lead generation and conversion. Conversion is having people click on your ad and go to your webinar registration page. The thank you page is used as custom conversion tracking. In Facebook ads use the conversion objective not the lead generation objective. 
2. [07:14] What's the most effective ad type? You have to test things out. Any ad can be effective. It's about testing to see what works for you. Using a Facebook Live as an ad is a great video option. Try an image, video, and carousel ad and see what works best. 
3. [09:50] Should I target other Facebook pages or cold audiences? Warm audiences are people on our list or website visitors. Prioritize warm audiences first, and then create lookalike audiences to cold target. 
4. [13:27] People often don't understand their target customer. You need a holistic understanding of your target customer to do well with ads. Once you know your target customer create sub segments. Don’t have one conversation for everyone. 
5. [19:54] Why are ad costs rising? They are more advertisers than ever. More competition equals higher ad cost. It's also the holiday season. There's an election coming up. 
6. [23:08] What's CBO or campaign budget optimization? This will be the default way to set budgets. Set the budget at the campaign level. The algorithm divides the budget by ad performance. You can still set minimums at ad set level. 
7. [28:33] How do I know my ads are working? What's the cost per lead? You want at least 20% converting. Tools like Leadpages will tell you the conversion rate. Leads divided by landing page conversion. Focus on increasing rates and the consistency between the page and ad. 
8. [35:25] What's the deal with video? Create ads with mobile in mind first. Create video for areas where people consume video. People who watch a certain percentage are engagement audiences. 
9. [37:44] Why are my ads getting disapproved? This happens to everyone. Review ad policies and keep up with changes. Don't make promises or insinuate people are struggling with certain things. Speak to positivity and transformation. 
10. [40:39] Do I need to run ads when I'm not launching? It's a better strategy to consistently run ads and build engagement and your list. Facebook rewards consistently running ads and that reduces the cost of your launch. 
11. [43:23] Bonus tip: Mindset around testing. Keep testing until you figure it out and you will win. 

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Entrepreneur Experience
• Rick Mulready
• The Art of Online Business with Rick Mulready
• Facebook and Instagram Ads 101 - Free Masterclass

In this week’s episode, I talk all about how to boost your affiliate marketing game (and revenue) by loving up on your affiliates!

So when I'm talking about "loving up" on your affiliates, this means how you can help them to best deliver and succeed as your affiliate -- promoting your program or service.

Affiliates broaden your audience reach and because they’ve already established the know, like, and trust factor with their audience, your conversion rate will be higher than if you were to just target these audiences in cold ads.

This is why, in my most recent Digital Course Academy launch, I went above and beyond to give my affiliates a whole lot of love and attention, and let me tell you, it definitely paid off.

Today I want to share the specific ways I made my affiliates, like Jenna Kutcher, Stu McLaren, Kajabi, and Jill and Josh Stanton, feel extra special and important so that you can do the same for your upcoming launch. 

In this episode, I’m going to share 5 simple and powerful strategies to love up on your affiliates so they, in turn, go above and beyond to sell your course or service. 

You’re going to walk away from this episode with so many exciting ideas for your next launch!

Tune in to learn these 5 strategies (plus a bonus strategy!)...

1. The top documents to create to keep your affiliates organized and in the know. 
2. The power of using a Facebook group to inspire and connect with your affiliates. 
3. Assigning one person on your team (or a VA) to give your affiliates extra care and attention. 
4. Surveying your affiliates to improve your affiliate marketing strategy for your next launch. 
5. The importance of starting out small. 

• [08:38] We love to organize all of the information and details that our affiliates need to know into an easy to access Google Doc. This helps us make sure everything is in order before we even welcome affiliates. Having a doc like this also minimizes confusion and eliminates redundant questions.
• [10:12] A sneak peek of all the things that we include in our Affiliate FAQ document -- from commissions to payment options and everything in between.
• [17:17] Create a private Facebook group just for your affiliates to communicate with them before you actually open the cart, and continue communication and relationship building while the cart is open. This helps build hype and keeps affiliates in the loop.
• [21:55] Consider assigning one person on your team to be your affiliate concierge. Assigning someone specific to the needs of your affiliates ensures that they are prioritized, heard, and treated with extra special care.
• [25:10] Survey your affiliate partners post-launch to help you improve for your next launch, but also to make sure that you are creating solid relationships with your affiliates to ensure that they actually want to come back the next time. Getting post-launch affiliate feedback is crucial, so don't skip this step!
• [27:57] Start out small. Take baby steps and be realistic about the number of affiliates you can manage. Having a couple of affiliates that are well taken care of is more important than having a bunch who don't sell because they don't feel special.
• [36:53] Show gratitude and appreciation to your affiliates for their hard work -- this is essential! Don't be afraid to send them a gift or give them a call to show that you're truly grateful.

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who have morning routines, those who don’t, and those who want to tell everyone else what their morning routine should be.

I definitely have one, and I love it. It’s a good mix of Scout, Peloton, and of course Hobie (when he’s home!).

Here’s the thing… I am not here to tell you how you should do your morning.

In fact, on today’s podcast I am giving you the inside scoop on the morning routines of some of my favorite people. When you listen, you’ll notice that no two are the same. Did I mention all of these people are very successful entrepreneurs with a lot on their plates?

As entrepreneurs, we get to design our own lives. We get to call the shots with how we spend our days and what we work on. Having a morning routine is a great way to gain focus and clarity and make sure the work for the day is the right work. 

I hope this episode inspires you to create a morning routine that works for you and your life and most importantly supports the big goals you want to achieve.

You’ll hear from…

• [08:00] Jasmine Star needs slow mornings to facilitate creativity and productivity. She quietly does the things that her soul needs to optimize her creativity levels. She gives herself 45 minutes of utter decadence. She also gets two hours of unobstructed work time.
• [13:18] Jennifer Allwood has four kids. Need I say more? Her mornings consist of getting kids out the door for the first two hours. And she still manages to get quiet time for the first 35 to 45 minutes of the day. She goes out to her deck with coffee. She thinks about her intentions for the day and what will actually move the needle. 
• [17:50] James Wedmore makes sure his routine gets him excited to get up. He meditates for mental well being. For physical well being he uses an infrared sauna, the Peloton Tread, a Bellicon rebounder, and a BioCharger. Some days he just goes for a walk or swims in the ocean. 
• [22:20] Julie Solomon began morning routines a few years ago, but made them too rigid. Now she sees her routine in a new way and it serves her far greater than before. Her routine is intentionally set up for self-care in whatever way it looks like for each day. 
• [29:48] Stu McLaren starts with his five year old in his face asking if it’s time to get up yet. He doesn’t have a regimented routine in this season of life. His priorities are family time. His day starts and ends with his family. He takes his kids to school and gets his wife a cup of tea. He also takes his dog for a walk in the woods. 
• [32:56] Kate Northrup has a different routine everyday, because of her two young children. She feels like her morning is not entirely within her control. She wakes up with the baby or when she is done sleeping. She takes a moment of gratitude. She has a cup of warm lemon water. Then coffee. She fits in a quick workout with her husband in the garage.

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

There’s one important factor that can either make or break your launch and it has nothing to do with how much money you spend on ads, how huge your list is, or whether or not your sales page copy is on point. 

One of the biggest predictors of launch success is how you show up for your audience in the 30 – 60 days before your launch. I don’t just mean writing a blog post or sending out an email every now and then. I mean putting on your planning hat and mapping out a series of Facebook Lives that both teach your audience something while also overcoming the common objections that come up when you go into launch mode. 

This pre-launch Facebook Live strategy has been a game-changer for me and I know it’ll be just as effective for you whether you’re just getting started or you’re a more advanced marketer. 

In this week’s podcast episode, I’m sharing all the behind-the-scenes details for my pre-launch Facebook Live strategy, including how to choose the topics you’ll go Live with, how often to go Live, and how to make sure that your Facebook Live viewers are primed and ready to register for your webinar and ultimately purchase your course. And by the way, I give you full permission to steal the strategy and make it your own. 

Here’s the breakdown:

• [10:01] Once you know the topic of your course that you’ll be selling, you want to think about what you can present in your webinar that would be in alignment with and a perfect lead-in to that course. I break this down and share examples so the strategy will be super clear.  
• [11:24] One of the best ways I’ve found to nail down a topic that would pique my ICA’s interest is to create a list of their objections, challenges, limiting beliefs and mindset blocks and then I create my Facebook Live content to counter those by presenting a solution that will help them achieve their desires and goals.
• [13:42] To make it super actionable, I show you exactly how I take that list and turn each one into a Facebook Live topic. When you do this, you meet your customer right where they are and give them both momentum and traction — always a good thing! 
• [25:13] These pre-launch Facebook lives are great for list building when you’re strategic with your CTAs (call-to-action). I talk about the lead magnets that did really well in my most recent pre-launch period.
• [27:43] The key to any good strategy is to be open to tweaking and changing things up as you learn. I talk about the major tweak I’ll make with my next pre-launch content. Hint: I’ll be focusing much more on mindset. 
• [30:35] Students often tell me they’re afraid they sound like a broken record when they repeat certain things when presenting their content. I talk about how repetition is actually a good thing because there are certain things your potential customer may need to hear more than once to make a buying decision. 

If you’ve been tuning in over the last few months I’ve been talking plenty about the power of membership sites, but today I’m sharing a whole new opportunity available to those of us who run a membership site to serve our audiences — adding a physical product to the mix!  

Erin Mullins Sanderson, better known online as Fit Rocker Chick, had no idea what she was building when she first started her membership site. All she knew was that she had a message to share and an audience that wanted more of that confident rocker vibe she embodies.

Erin’s story is super unique and something I think we can all learn from. She successfully launched a membership without even knowing what she’d offer, has grown that community to over 500 members, and has created a skincare line that her community went wild for. 

She’s clearly a woman of many talents, but what I adore most about her isn’t that perfect skin or her rockstar vibes — it’s her ability to take imperfect action and to really LISTEN to what her audience wants.

Today I want you to see how listening to your audience, thinking outside of the box, and doing something you’ve *always* wanted can amplify your audience experience AND help you boost your bottom line.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn from my interview with Erin:

• [06:47] How Erin felt a void with her group and wanted to bring them together. She ran the idea of a membership site by her list and found 100 beta testers to help flesh out her plan or lack of plan. 
• [12:59] How Erin decided on what topics to cover each week in her membership. 
• [14:30] Erin shares how often she goes live in the community, the type of heavyweight guest expert she features and the other fun aspects of being a member of her group (You’ll love her playlist and setlist ideas!)  
• [17:03] How Erin’s members have become more courageous, started dreaming bigger, started new dream projects, became philanthropic, and left toxic relationships. These stories will inspire you! 
• [24:18] How often Erin opens up her membership experience and the tools she uses to run her membership site.
• [26:04] How the dream to create a skincare line came about.  
• [34:32] How Erin made her community a part of the skincare product line decision-making process from the beginning. She talks about how she then launched her new product directly to her community, and it sold out right away. Her second batch also sold out in 48 hours. 

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I was recently in Toronto at Stu McLaren’s Tribe event and had an opportunity to record an interview with Jill Stanton of Screw the Nine to Five. Jill and Josh Stanton are two of my favorite people. Josh is hilarious, and I love talking with Jill. You know, I have so many good things to say about Facebook groups, but today is about using short pop-up groups to promote your offers. 

Jill and Josh used this method to promote one of their products and to promote my Digital Course Academy. They also threw in a fun twist by making five day challenges where they give a short challenge each day along with challenge marching orders. They also offer a prize to people who make it all the way through. 

These groups are a great way to warm up your audience or introduce them to a person or product that you would like to promote. Jill shares all of the tactics that she used along with some smart ideas to give the audience what they want and need without being pushy or overselling. This method can be used to create custom content and engagement for the right audience at the right time.

• [07:31] You can create a timeline of four weeks, but for Jill and Josh, engagement started to drop off after a couple of weeks. They tested a two week group and the results were great. This is keeping people's attention for a shorter time and making a quick win. 
• [10:14] Look at your offer and choose a congruent topic. Don't overwhelm people with the how-tos. Your offer is the how. You need to help them see the what and the why. Empower them to take action. 
• [15:21] The what and why for Jill and Josh's Digital Course Academy pop-up promotion was Think Like an Expert - From Impostor Syndrome to Expert Status. They identified five core beliefs that were holding their audience back. 
• [19:09] They ran a challenge on their last pop-up. They ran ads and spent about $42,000 and generated $293,000. They spent $10,000 to get 1200 super targeted people in the group. The one prior to that, they spent $4500 and made $43,000. 
• [22:48] The challenges are short five minute videos that give a challenge and marching orders. The entire challenge has a prize incentive. Every day at 1:00 they would do a Facebook Live about the challenge of the day. No CTA but they are seeding the topic. 
• [29:54] Pay attention to the objections you get when you make offers. You want to help the audience overcome their limiting beliefs. 
• [31:04] Create content around the topic of your pop-up group and have your readers or listeners opt in. You're building your list and creating anticipation around an offer. People can opt in through messenger or email.
• [35:29] Moving people from the challenge to the offer includes seeding throughout the content. You can move into a webinar, a free video series, a Facebook Live, and the cart opens on day five. When the offer closes, the group is archived. People who did join the program still get your support. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Tribe
• Screw The Nine To Five
• The Screw The Nine To Five Podcast
• Screw the Nine to Five on Facebook
• Screw the Nine to Five on Instagram
• Screw the Nine to Five on YouTube

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

Some of you may remember me talking about my upcoming membership site, and how I was going to put it on hold for awhile. Well, I’ve found clarity, and Momentum will be launching in November. Tribe members and people who have listened to my episode with Stu McLaren know how valuable it is to be part of a membership site. 

Today’s episode is special, because I’m going to be talking about my own membership site, and I want to share with you some of the lessons that I’ve learned. Up until a few months ago, I had reached a point where I was really stuck in the process of creating Momentum. Since then, I have learned so much. I have had so much insight and clarity, that I wanted to share what I’ve learned and the big lessons with you. 

I think you'll get a lot of value from hearing about how we processed the information, how we went about putting things together, and if you do decide to create a membership site, you can walk away with these lessons already locked in. So, you my friend do not need to make the same mistakes that I made. Here are the five crucial lessons that I’ve learned so far. 

This episode is sponsored by gravy. If you have a subscription model business or offer payment plans like I do for my online courses, you've got to listen up. One of my biggest frustrations was lost money due to failed payment plans. In fact, it used to keep me up at night. I would worry about all the people that were on a payment plan, because if they didn't finish that payment plan I was screwed. 

That's when I decided I needed to do something about it, because I hated the worry. I started to work with gravy, and I promise you I never worry about payment plans anymore. Gravy sets up a system inside of your business where they contact your customers within hours of their failed payments, and they capture updated billing information and save the customer. 

Our failed payment recovery rate increased from 33% to over 80%.That's a whole lot of saved payments. If your revenue is currently at $250,000 or more, and you know you're losing money due to failed payment plans each month, I want to encourage you to check out Gravy.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• All About Membership Sites: Your Top 10 Burning Questions with Stu McLaren
• Gravy
• Tribe

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

If YOU have a community (free or paid) then you know ENGAGEMENT is the #1 metric for your success. Nobody wants to show up in a room full of crickets.

My friend Dana Malstaff, founder of Boss Mom and community creator extraordinaire is the queen of creating next level group engagement. That’s why I just had to have her on the podcast this week.

Dana’s Better Buzz Strategy has helped her create one of the most engaged communities I’ve ever heard of (70% monthly engagement with 40k members, say what?!).

Here are the six types of posts you want to be sure to utilize:

• [29:49] The first type of buzz worthy post is a decision post. That answers a simple question to help you make a decision. Give three options, but don’t use a poll. It’s easy for people to engage, and the post stays alive. Then hop on a chat with your super engagers. You should be doing one of these a week.
• [34:47] Opinion posts where you ask people what their opinion is. What are your top podcasts or number one blog? The best ones give you information on who to collaborate with and help you gain knowledge and insight. 
• [37:37] Permission posts are where people tell a story or the hero’s journey. It creates a sense of belonging. Tell people they aren’t alone and create an appreciation loop.
• [41:24] Can’t help themselves post. Telling people you just landed a client and asking them to celebrate or drop a GIF. Post something interesting where people can’t help but celebrate with you. 
• [46:43] Ask is consistently telling people what you do. Let people know what you sell and what you want to be known for. 
• [49:04] Authority posts. The easiest way to get authority is to get featured on podcasts. Also link to the post and mention it on Facebook live. 

Dana covers so much more in the episode. The first 20 minutes alone are pure gold, so tune in now and hop to it with applying these strategies in your communities!

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I know it might sound cliché, but I made a promise this year to be more vulnerable. To show you more of the “real” me. 

So for this week’s podcast episode, I’m doing something a little different and sharing a twice daily check-in for a full 7 days.

I hope that this lets you in on a few things. For one, I want you to know what a 7-figure course creator does in a week. You’ll hear it all; what I focus on, what I struggle with, and how I handle all of it.

I can’t promise it’ll be quite as engrossing as The Bachelor but if you’re anything like me, seeing into other people’s worlds is always a treat.

If you’ve ever wondered how I set up my week and spend my days, you’ll love this #nofilter episode where I share it all, including: 

• Honest conversations Hobie and I have had recently that have been a little tough 
• The new piece of exercise equipment I’m obsessed with 
• The challenge the whole team is doing to be more intentional about what we do in a day, how we use our time, create morning rituals, and make extra time for what matters most
• Why I started having a weekly date with my mom <3  
• What it’s like going from a team of 3 to 10 full-time employees (and the essential books every single new hire gets) 
• How the team operates for maximum efficiency (and how I really feel about meetings)
• The inside scoop on my weight loss journey 

Here’s where you’ll find some of the highlights: 

• [02:07] Sunday evening… weekly preview using the Full Focus Planner. This is about what the upcoming week will look like and what did and didn’t work from the previous week. Be intentional about how you structure your day. 
• [07:32] Monday morning check-in. Morning walk with Scout and fiction audiobook. I also prepared for my FB Live session tomorrow. Phone call with team member. Recorded podcast ads. Hobie’s love language is quality time, so I have coffee with him from 8:30 to 9:00.
• [13:33] Now I’m going to work on the quiz and then a team kick-off call. This is a one hour call with the entire team about what it looks like to launch digital course academy. Theme: We are master troubleshooters. 
• [30:36] I do video on Tuesdays. Instagram story about launch. Facebook Live as part of DCA prelaunch. I also have a DCA affiliate Facebook Live. I don’t workout on video day. I do get a blow out. 
• [41:38] Wednesday is podcast batching day. I’m doing 3 podcasts today, and some interviews as I grow my team. I also share my hiring process and the book bundle that I send to new hires.
• [01:10:41] Thursday evening. I’m back from acupuncture. When I make mistakes that create stress, I know it’s time to fix the system. 
• [01:15:44] Friday… Call at 7:00 am with weight-loss coach. Today, I’m recording the outcome videos for the DCA quiz. Then I fly to Portland, Oregon.
• [01:25:50] On Saturday I met with my friend Mike Pacchione to work on presentation content. 

I hope you enjoyed the week with me. 

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

You are going to love this episode. I give a step-by-step strategy on how to take one single piece of content and repurpose it 10 different ways. We all know how time-consuming content creation can be. 

After all that work, we hit publish and put it out in the world, but then it just sits there in that one location. Why not leverage all of that hard work by packaging the content up in different shapes and sizes and publishing it on different platforms? 

This makes your efforts more efficient and allows your ideal audience to consume your content in a variety of different ways. 

This is so smart. Repurposing your content should be part of your content creation process. Promise me that you won't let another week go by where you create content and only put it out one time and in one location. 

• [07:49] Sit down and record your podcast audio. Make a video recording for extra mileage. Works best for interviews. Publish your audio wherever you normally publish your podcast. 
• [11:10] Transcribe the podcast audio. Link to the transcript from your website show notes on it's own page that opens in a new window. This is great for SEO! 
• [12:45] Show notes are the second way to repurpose your content. 
• [14:26] Take snippets from the outline, transcripts, or show notes and craft an email that will notify subscribers about your new podcast episode. This is a great way to share weekly content and send weekly emails. 
• [16:57] Pull out really good quotes or stats that can be turned into graphics. 
• [17:41] Now that you have the show notes, email copy, and great quotes and stats, pull from those to create great social media posts. If you share the post on multiple platforms, tweak it so the language matches the platform. 
• [18:48] Select a really juicy audio clip and use Wavve to turn it into a video highlight to promote your episode on social media. 
• [19:46] Take the content you created and format it into an article on Medium.com. Anyone can post, and if you elect to have it reviewed by Medium curators, they will share it if they think it will benefit their audience. Or guest post on other blogs or online publication. 
• [20:51] Create a freebie. Take the content and make a checklist, worksheet, or guide. You can use it to build your list or to promote your content or both. 
• [24:34] It's all about video. This can be really valuable when you make the effort. Take your transcript and highlight sections that you could do a quick video about. 
• [27:58] Bonus twist. Pay attention to what resonates with your audience. That can become a new piece of content. 

This episode is sponsored by my Free Masterclass all about list building. If you've struggled with list building or you are not actively growing your email list, this class is for you. You know, everything in your business is easier when you have an email list. If you want to know what it takes to create a list building foundation from scratch, this step-by-step masterclass is for you. 

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Model Meals
• Free List Building Masterclass
• Canva
• Wavve
• Amy Porterfield on Instagram
• Amy Porterfield on Facebook
• Medium
• Episode 281 How to Plan Your First (or Next) Photoshoot

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

I've never loved having my picture taken.

But eventually, I learned to at least get comfortable with it.

It's so important that people see the real you. That your audience can connect with you and see you. Plus, you can use professional photos in soooo many places beyond just social media.

Today, I'm taking the guesswork out of planning your next photo shoot and sharing my top tips on how to show up feeling good, even if you feel nervous about having your photo taken.

I also created an extensive photoshoot guide that you can use to plan your first or next photoshoot like a total pro. Click here to download it now!

You’ll need these images for social media, guest posts, ads, sales pages, webinars, and more. When you know how to plan and organize a photoshoot, you'll not only end up with a bunch of amazing images to use, but you'll also save time and money by not having to hunt all over the place for your next image. 

• [10:06] I want you to show up for yourself, even when it's way out of your comfort zone -- and I'll explain how to do that. 
• [12:27] I talk about why it's important to start an inspiration collection of photos you love that would be a good fit for your personality and brand. Put together a fun playlist to make the photoshoot process more relaxing and fun. 
• [14:33] How to find a photographer whose work you like, and you feel good about working with. Ask for recommendations. 
• [18:13] I tell you how to put together a photoshoot inquiry communication that you can email to potential photographers and get a price quote. Everything to include is also in the Photoshoot Planning Guide.
• [27:14] I'll help you to decide where to do your photoshoot. Hint: Your house with natural light is the best option. 
• [31:42] I talk about how to find and nail a good pose that fits your personality. This can be very awkward but I've got tips for you to help the process be as painless as possible. 
• [34:12] I get into all the day-of photoshoot details. We'll talk hair and makeup and how to let those first 15 minutes of awkwardness be what they are and pass by so you can create some beautiful photos. 
• [40:01] I'll talk about what to do when you get your photos back from your photographer. If they're good and you like who took your photos, I want you to book them to come back and do another photoshoot in the months to come. 

Enjoy a free gift from me! I’ve created a free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template so that mapping out your upcoming content can be breezy - and dare I say - fun?!

You’ll love this template because it allows you to seamlessly plan out your weekly AND social media content. Click here to snag your free 3-month plug-and-play content calendar template. 

One of the best ways to know if anyone wants to spend time and money on your digital course is to ask them. One of the best ways to ask them is to have a course validation call with your potential customer avatar. These calls are so valuable, because they not only tell you if your course will be in demand, but they tell you exactly what needs to be in the course, the best ways to set it up, and how to market it.

These calls can be intimidating and people are often reluctant to have them, but the information gleaned is so valuable. Course validation calls are a game changer. In my The Digital Course Academy, I teach you the exact questions to ask in these calls and how to find your ideal customer avatar ICA to have the calls with. This is important, because you want to make sure you have the call with someone who really is your ICA. 

Today’s show has a fun twist, instead of me telling you how to make a course call, I actually make one and let you listen in. It’s true that I already have a course, so this is somewhat of a mock call. But the rest is real. I have a real conversation with Jaime Trull about whether she would be a good candidate for the Digital Course Academy. 

It’s also true that I have never met Jaime before. I do know that she has an online business where she serves female CEOs and entrepreneurs in accounting, bookkeeping, and financials. She is a certified CPA, and she is thinking about creating a digital course. 

You have two goals during the call. Goal #1 is to uncover insights, fears, concerns, challenges, wants, and needs of your ICA. Goal #2 is to determine if your idea is on the right track. During the call, I actually learned some things that I wasn’t expecting. I also ended up giving Jaime a challenge, so this won’t be the last time you hear from her. 

This episode is brought to you by: 

The Digital Course Academy sign up now or get on the waiting list. To find out if a digital course is right for you be sure and get The Three Behind the Scenes Secrets to Digital Course Success.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

I’m so excited to share this digital course success story with you today. 

Lauren Kilgore, a wreath maker extraordinaire and accidental Etsy marketing superstar, turned her part-time hobby into $35k in revenue.

Unbelievable, right?!

Here’s the reason I’m sharing this with you today. We are all good at something that we could teach others how to do. 

For Lauren, it was selling her crafts on Etsy. 

If there is something you’re good at, something that people consistently come to you asking for help with, guess what? You might just be able to create a course around it. 

You don’t need to have it all figured out. Lauren is proof of that.

Tune in to this special bonus episode and find out exactly how a part-time wreath making mama went from making a bit of extra cash with a fun hobby to getting 93 students into her digital course and over five figures in revenue.

Ready to create your own Digital Course success story? Learn how to build, launch and grow a thriving Digital Course business without hiring a big team, the constant overwhelm or the momentum crushing question, "What the heck do I do next?"

Click here to save your seat in my free masterclass, The 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Digital Course Success!

Today I want to help you answer a very important question. 

And that question is… should you create a digital course?

More than likely, my answer to you will be yes.  

Now I know what you’re thinking. What in the world would I create a course on? The market is saturated. There are so many people selling courses online. But I promise that no one is teaching what YOU would teach the way that YOU would teach it. 

So here’s what I want you to do:

Step 1: Listen to this episode and learn about the five main types of profitable digital courses.

Step 2: Take my free quiz and find out which of those types is best for you (or if you should hold off on creating your course for now!).

My team and I put a lot of work (and love) into creating this quiz and I hope it helps you get the clarity you need to take the next step forward. 

Already took the quiz and want to learn more about each course type? Here are the highlights:

• [08:59] The Workshop Course. This is a two hourish training that promises instant clarity and results. 
• [15:43] A Starter Course. A jumping-off point to get your students started in your area of expertise. 
• [19:41] The Spotlight Course. Dives deep into one main area, you’ll help your students produce very specific results in just one area. 
• [22:36] A Signature Course. A complete comprehensive system, the Mack Daddy of all courses. It’s specific and detailed and includes your entire framework from start to finish.
• [29:03] The Certification Course. This is as in-depth as it gets. You are teaching others your methodology and process in such a detailed way that they’ll be able to teach it to others. 

Take the Quiz Now!

Would you believe me if I told you that one of my star students generated well over 6 figures on her very first launch?

Would you believe me if I also told you that student was an elementary school teacher?

How about a mother of five? 

Well, friend, I’m here to tell you that Jamie Sears did just that. It all started when Jamie’s hubby listened to a podcast episode about courses and nudged his wife to have a go at creating one. 

Jamie resisted at first. At that point, she didn’t even have a solid course idea. What really lights me up about this story is that Jamie didn’t let uncertainty or lack of clarity stop her from taking action. She saw the possibilities a course would offer and she moved forward one step at a time. 

Tune and and learn all about…

• [05:16] The grassroots origins of how Jamie created online resources for her students, and other teachers started asking her for help
• [07:02] There were so many questions that Jamie felt like she should make a course about writing. Her husband recommended that she join the Digital Course Academy. 
• [09:38] Jamie went where her students hung out, listened to their questions, and did Facebook Lives when her audience was still small. She kept showing up. 
• [13:30] Jamie not only got huge results in Digital Course Academy, but she followed the framework and made it her own as she progressed.
• [15:20] Jamie’s wall of post-its and what her kids helped her see about her course
• [17:58] How Jamie grew her list by 7000 new subscribers during her launch (without spending a ton on ads)
• [24:39] Jamie’s mind-blowing pricing and results
• [27:15] How Jamie got testimonials before her launch was even through
• [51:01] Don't try to do what everyone else does just go to where your people are already at. 

Marie Forleo has been an inspiration, a friend, and a mentor to me ever since I left corporate and started into the world of online business.

When it comes to business she's seen it all, from humble beginnings offering life coaching for free to being on stage with Oprah (yes, that Oprah). Needless to say, she has accomplished a lot.

Marie feels strongly (and I agree!) that we need more brilliant, creative humans to believe in themselves so that they can go out and make a difference in the world. That was the inspiration that pushed her to write her brand new book, Everything Is Figureoutable.

I recently sat down with Marie to talk about the book and I picked out topics that I thought would be especially helpful for you to hear. Marie held nothing back and shared some gems that I know you're going to love. This episode will have you feeling like everything really is figureoutable.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we covered:

• How Marie finally decided to write her book (and why she waited, even after being courted by publishers)
• Listening to that little voice in your head (Marie tells how her mom was the first to teach her about this inner guidance system!)
• Marie's quick test to determine whether you're acting out of fear or intuition
• How your beliefs are shaping you (a great model that I've been following for the last year, but Marie takes it even deeper)
• Calling out your excuses (she explains how a slight change in semantics can be a game-changer in your life and business)
• What to do when fear creeps in (and you know it will!) 
• Getting clarity on what you actually want (believe it or not, most people are not crystal clear on what they want to create, but there IS a way to get clear)
• Avoiding the pitfalls of perfectionism (learn about the severity of the destructiveness of perfectionism)  

You’ve gotta get your hands on Marie’s book, Everything is Figureoutable. Pre-order it now and get the 5-day coaching experience that Marie's offering to all pre-orderers.

Mistakes are a part of life, but in my book the fewer things you have to learn the hard way, the better.

When it comes to sharing my blunders while building an online business, I’m an open book. This is the stuff that I WISH someone would’ve shared with me when I was just getting started. 

There are a lot of mistakes that I’ve made that I’m grateful for. Mistakes that helped me learn pivotal lessons that I wouldn’t trade for the world. But lately, I’ve been reflecting on some of the big decisions that I’m making now that I wish I would have made sooner. 

Wanna know the 3 decisions I wish I’d made sooner in my business?

I’m digging into the details on this week’s podcast episode… here are the highlights:

• [02:15] The first decision that I waited to make until I was making good money was to hire someone to help me manage it. Plus, I’ll tell you how Hobie and I picked an advisor to help us.
• [07:00] I waited way too long to grow my team to match the big vision I have. 
• [13:45] Think about accountability and organizing how your team moves towards your goals.
• [15:32] I share how I had a false belief that I needed to make tons of money before I set clear boundaries or rituals in my life that would allow me to take off. Boundaries protect yourself, your sanity, and your mindset.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

I’ll never forget my first webinar.

But not for the reasons you might be thinking.

There I was, confident and ready to rock it, when suddenly the objections started pouring in. I felt defeated and disappointed.

I want to save you the pain I experienced on that webinar with today’s episode. Believe it or not, it’s absolutely not necessary to let objections get the better of you. They’re not scary when you know how to handle them.When you know what’s holding people back from saying heck yes to your offer, you can address their hesitation head on. You don’t have to tiptoe around it — instead, you can have a conversation.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn from this episode: 

• [05:11] The best place to address objections (hint: it’s not necessarily on your webinar or sales page)
• [07:32] What to do on the front end of your offer so that common objections never even make an appearance.
• [11:20] The truth about money objections 
• [17:11] The key differences between features and benefits
• [19:09] How to find “tiger” time.
• [26:35] Marie Forleo’s “I have to talk to my spouse or business partner” script.
• [29:35] How to get to the root mindset of "I'm not good at xyz." 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Course Creation Starter Kit
• Digital Course Academy Waiting List
• Brian Tracy
• #235: How To Identify Your Ideal Customer Avatar

Research shows that only 1 in 5 people who purchase online courses complete them.

As a course creator, that stat keeps me up at night and more importantly, compels me to take action.

Over the years, I’ve become obsessed with finding ways to beat those odds. And I’m sure if you’re reading this, you want every single person who buys your course to cross that finish line as well.

If you want amazing case studies and testimonials (the best marketing fuel there is), you’ve gotta do everything in your power to not just create the best course you can — but to ensure you’re helping your students get the results they signed up for. 

Now if you’re freaking out reading that, don’t panic. I’ve done a lot of the legwork for you and I’m sharing everything I’ve got today to help you get your students from point A to point B.

Haven’t created your course yet? Even better! Thinking about these strategies before you develop your course puts you ahead of the curve.

So grab your notebook and sharpen your pencil. Even if you implement just 2 or 3 of these ideas it will make such a difference for your students’ success.

Here are the basics of our accountability cheat sheet:

• Meet once a week, same time, same place, online using something like Zoom.
• Outline three action items you can commit to doing over the next week.
• Check in on whether or not you did what you said you would do the previous week. 
• If not, what were the challenges?
• What’s your game plan to overcome these challenges next week?
• What do you commit to accomplishing for the next week?

This episode is brought to you by Gravy. If you have a subscription-model business or offer payment plans, like I do for my online courses, Gravy can really cut down on frustration and lost income. After I started working with Gravy I stopped worrying about payment plans. They contact your customers within hours of their failed payments, and they capture updated billing information and save the customer.

Our failed-payment recovery rate increased from 33 percent, when we were trying to do it internally, to over 80 percent, collecting on failed payments. That's a whole lot of saved payments. So if your revenue is currently at $250,000 or more, and you know you're losing money due to failed payment plans each month, I want to encourage you to check out Gravy. The cool thing is Gravy is waiving the setup fee for all of my listeners. 

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• #182: How to Mega-Batch Your Content
• Stu McLaren
• Melinda Cohan
• Rachel Cruze
• Gravy
• Course Creation Starter Kit

On this week’s podcast episode we’re digging into 3 powerful (and surprisingly simple) FB ad strategies designed to fuel your pre-launch fire.  

The pre-launch phase is that crucial 60-90 day period leading UP to your launch that can make a world of difference when it comes to increasing your reach and revenue. If you play your cards right, you’ll find out that launching doesn’t have to be hard, stressful, or time-consuming.

I’m joined by the Regis to my Kathy Lee —  my dear friend and our resident FB and IG ads expert, the one and only Rick Mulready. 

Rick’s been on the podcast before, but today he’s sharing his favorite paid traffic pre-launch tips, including: 

• How to use FB ads even when you’re on a tight budget and why you SHOULDN’T hire out your ads right away.
• The power of crafting content around objections and how to do it.
• The strategy that ensures by the time you open the doors to your webinar, your people are READY to learn from you and hear your offer.

And so much more. Make sure you have your notebook ready!

• [08:32] What exactly IS the pre-launch period and why it’s so important
• [12:22] Using video to create value and overcome objections and how best to optimize your ads 
• [21:30] You can also use video to test target audiences. Right now the more fun and sometimes the sillier or less polished the videos are the better they do. Just make sure to have good sound and lighting. 
• [25:16] Create a lead magnet that aligns with the launch, provides a quick win, and adds value. This builds trust and rapport. 
• [28:13] Try for a 90-day or at least 60-day pre-launch where you are building a list of your target audience. Run ads and get people to sign up for your lead magnet before your webinar registration. You can also create a look-alike list of your target audience to run your ad to. 
• [30:33] Why and when to use pop-up Facebook groups to create engagement and attract an audience for your launch. 
•  [38:02] How running ads consistently throughout the year will save on your launch costs 
• [40:11] Bonus strategy: Running a quiz with ads. This gives people a quick win and it's great for segmenting people to attract your ideal audience. Have a well written quiz with a really good ad strategy to go with it. 

This episode is officially sponsored by Rick's program Foundations, which is about getting started with Facebook ads and Instagram ads. It's a really great program. He teaches how to create ad campaigns in both Facebook and Instagram that will build traction and get your launch or list or group off the ground.  

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I’d be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in an read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Rick Mulready
• The Art of Paid Traffic Podcast
• #168: How to Use Quizzes + Facebook Ads to Get Quality Leads With Chanti Zakariasen
• Rick Mulready on Facebook
• Rick Mulready on Instagram
• @rickmulready on Twitter
• Foundations Free Master Class

I never imagined myself having the team I do now. I also can’t imagine subscribing to the old idea of what it means to be a “boss”. 

I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't when it comes to working with a team, especially with all of the hiring we've been doing over the past few months.

That's why I was so excited to sit down with Team Building and Leadership Coach, Theresa Loe to talk about building a self-managed team.

I truly believe that building a team that’s aligned with your values is one of the secrets to not just building more revenue or success, but to enjoying the process.

If you’re thinking “Amy, I’m so not even close to ready to build a team” — hey, that’s okay! 

But when you are ready (and trust me, one day you will be and it might come sooner than you think) this is the kind of insight I want you to have so you can save yourself from making painful hiring mistakes (trust me, I’ve been there). 

Theresa has cracked the code on how to find, grow, and lead a self-managed team, and she is sharing her best insights today:

• [11:17] Having a self-managed team means putting yourself in the CEO position and having people under you who are all responsible for their own projects. When you have a great idea the team can execute and make it happen.
• [13:58] Mindset is the number one strategy for building a self-managed team. Think about what you want your day to look like, and then slowly reverse engineer how to take everything else off of your plate.
• [18:01] Hire based on attributes. Make sure they are aligned with you, your vision, and your core values. People can be trained on tools but not on character. Write down the attributes that you want then put up a gauntlet to see if applicants have these attributes.
• [26:43] Hand off responsibilities, not tasks. Make everything a project. Instead of a one-off blog post, make them responsible for content management including scheduling, analytics, and reporting.
• [29:39] Communication is key. Have a clear description of what "done" means. Be very clear about expectations but nurture your team to make decisions for themselves.
• [33:18] You can create a feedback loop by recording any changes that you had to make to a project. Empower your team with resources.
• [35:20] You can start small and hire someone for a few hours a week. You need to look at those freed up hours as gold and use them for money-making activities to free up cash to add more free hours.

This episode is sponsored by my Free Masterclass all about kick-starting your list building efforts. You need to grow your email list every day to have a healthy business. All of the social media posts in the world can't do for you what a viable email list can. 

This is one of those super uncomfortable moments when I have to admit…I don’t have it ALL figured out.

Recently, I was at the EntreLeadership live event and Dave Ramsey’s words cut right to my soul. He said, “Organizations are never limited by their opportunity or their team, they are limited by their leader.”

And the honest truth is, I regret not putting more focus on being a better leader for my team much sooner than I did.

No one is born with amazing leadership skills. They take years to develop and the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. 

Because here’s the truth: you can’t build an empire by yourself. 

Eventually, you’ll need to bring people on who stand behind your vision and are just as motivated as you are to achieve it. 

As my business grows and scales, my job is to be a visionary and show up for my team as a leader in a stronger way. I’ve always thought of my students and my business, but now it’s time to focus on creating a bigger stronger team of people who are empowered to make decisions, come up with ideas, and grow with my business.

EntreLeadership was one of the best events I’ve attended. It blew my mind. After it lit a fire under my chair to become a better leader, I knew I had to share my biggest takeaways with you.

I hope you learn from these and implement them into your business right away. Do not pass go, just do it. I promise you won’t regret it.

Here are the main takeaways:

• [15:00] There’s always room for improvement, no matter how ‘big’ your organization is.
• [16:12] Takeaway #1: Dave Ramsey shared how organizations are never limited by their team. They are limited by their leader. (This one really hit me in the gut!)
• [19:38] Takeaway #2: Henry Cloud asked, “Does your team know how you are going to win?” It’s important to define what winning looks like for yourself and then share it with your team. 
• [23:39] Takeaway #3: Patrick Lencioni dropped a major value bomb when he said that fear of conflict will stifle productivity and keep you playing small. He explained that you’re cutting yourself short if you’re not encouraging your team to show their opinions even when they are challenging. 
• [32:43] Takeaway #4: Patrick Lencioni also talked about hiring people that are humble, hungry, and smart. He explained that these type of people lack excessive ego, are self-motivated, and use good judgment with people. 
• [39:32] Takeaway #5: Jesse Itzler shared his motto of “remember tomorrow.” He encourages you to ask yourself how you will feel tomorrow about any decisions that you make today. Listen to learn how I’ve implemented the Full Focus Planner with my team.
• [43:41] Takeaway #6: Sara Blakely, the creator of Spanx, told the story of her early days in the business where she went above and beyond to educate customers on her product — she would go to the department store and talk to customers. She’s such a good example of never being too proud to get in there and do the work and get your hands dirty. 
• [48:13] Extra Credit: Write down three things that you would love your team, or your team of the future, to say about your leadership style. I’m doing this exercise too and I wish I would have asked myself this question years ago. Don’t wait. 

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Free List Building Masterclass
• EntreLeadership Summit
• Sara Blakely
• Patrick Lencioni
• Jesse Itzler
• Henry Cloud
• Brooke Castillo
• Kolbe Assessment
• Read This >> The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable
• Read This >> Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
• Read This >> Ideal Team Player
• Full Focus Planner

If you’ve been around for a bit, then you know my motto is always be list building. Now, while there are all kinds of list-building strategies, there’s one that's by far the easiest way to grow your email list, and that's by offering a lead magnet.

Through all of my endless list building experiments, I’ve learned how to create incredibly valuable pieces of content, like cheat sheets, guides, and mini-trainings.

But do you know what kind of lead magnet is the best, hands down?

A profit-driven lead magnet.

Now, I know what you're thinking... "Amy, a lead magnet is something I give away for free. What the heck are you talking about when you say 'profit-driven'?"

Here's the deal. Most of the time, when somebody signs up for your email list, they are just not quite ready to buy from you yet. When you create a profit-driven lead magnet, you are creating a tool that leads your new subscriber to a buying decision while also providing incredible value.

With this very intentional strategy, you will be generating revenue faster than you ever thought possible!

In today's episode, I talked about the three main questions you must ask yourself before you create your profit-driven lead magnet, and they are:

2. What do you currently sell or plan to sell in the future?
4. What does your ideal customer avatar need to understand, be aware of, or believe in order to want or need your product, program, or service?
6. What type of lead magnet could I create that will compliment or align with the product, program, or service I currently sell or plan to sell?

I love a good example that illustrates what I'm talking about and I've included the two examples of profit-driven lead magnets that I talked about on the show below.  I hope those will get your creative juices flowing!

Example #1: My Own Lead Magnet, "20 Smart Strategies to Rapidly Grow Your Email List"Why Example #1 Works:

• It inspires.
• It's actionable.
• The cheat-sheet gives the what, and my course gives the how.

My ideal customer avatar and I are now in a conversation about how I can help them. Now, each week, I can continue the conversation with my ongoing weekly content.

Example #2: Corinne Crabtree's Free Course, "THREE Things You Must Know to Lose Weight"Why Example #2 Works:

• She makes it doable.
• It gets people results (for free).
• It attracts the right audience.

Corinne meets people right where they're at in their journey. Her course name is simple, clear, and to the point. Right away on the thank you page, she shares her journey in a video (and still directs her audience to check their email for more).

Episode highlights:

• [06:49] 99% of the people who give you their email address aren't ready to buy. It’s up to you to walk them down that path. Create your lead magnet with your end goal in mind, and your end goal is to attract paying customers.
• [14:04] Example #1 my lead magnet for List Builder's Society (see image example below).
• [21:13] Make sure your lead magnet meets the customer/buyer where they are at. Profit-driven lead magnets are very intentional, specific, and sometimes only used for launches. There is a difference between a really good lead magnet and a profit-driven lead magnet.
• [26:44] Example #2 from Corinne Crabtree (see image example below).

Ring the fire alarm because my better half, Mr. Hobie Porterfield, is lighting this place up! I’m super excited to have him back on the show, because I love sharing this side of my life. It may not always be unicorns and rainbows, but it’s pretty special.

Hobie puts fires out for a living, but he also helps me put fires out in my business. If it weren’t for his emotional support, I can’t say I’d be where I am today. He’s my biggest cheerleader, my biggest supporter, and he picks me up when I’m down.

We have learned and grown so much together. I just love having him on the show to share how we juggle laundry, launches, and everything in between as a team. This is an inside look at how we communicate about our needs, managing time and money, and our big goals.

You sent in some amazing questions. We’ll try to answer them, and hopefully, some of the things that we’ve learned and shared will help you not only in your business, but in your relationships as well.

• [03:15] Hobie does more of the housework, and he likes to rub it in 😉remind me of that.
• [06:26] Hobie doesn’t mind listening to me talk about my work, because it gives him a connection into my world.
• [09:25] We sit down multiple times throughout the year and schedule everything. 
• [13:39] When it comes to money and investing – getting a financial planner is one of the smartest things you can do.
• [18:53] Why Hobie doesn’t go to conferences with me
• [23:52] What would happen if we swapped roles for a day.
• [25:49] Hobie talks about how he feels about me making more money than him
• [29:28] How my weight loss has changed how we spend our time
• [37:47] Hobie shares his amazing proposal plan that didn’t quite work out as planned. We also get a little personal with what annoys each other and how much fun we have.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Village Impact
• Episode 260 All About Membership Sites: Your Top 10 Burning Questions with Stu McLaren
• One & Only
• Blackberry Farm
• Michael Hyatt
• Profit First

• “Amy, can I still launch my course if I only have 500 people on my email list?” 
• Ambitious course creators ask me variations of that question at least once a week.
• It’s easy for the size of your list to become one more excuse not to launch.
• My guest today is someone who had a successful launch with a list of 750 subscribers. Tarzan Kay has had not just one but three successful launches with a small list. In this episode, she shares her tips and strategies and walks us through her inspiring launch success.
• Tarzan is a launch strategist and email copywriting expert for online entrepreneurs and digital-course creators. Her specialty is fun-to-read, more-addictive-than-Game-of-Thrones copy for digital-course launches. 
• In her own business, she uses my special webinar framework —shout out to my Digital Course Academy members! In fact, she's used it over and over to sell her own courses, fill her private mastermind, and even had the occasional $100,000 month while working 30 hours per week and being the sole provider for her family of four. 
• I know you’re going to love this episode. Tarzan’s tips are useful for anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with their list, big or small. 
• [14:33] Start thinking about how you can build relationships with individuals on your list, so they know that you're real and that you are going to deliver for them.
• [15:45] Launching takes courage. Those who are successful launch through the fear and keep doing it again and again.
• [16:23] More than revenue comes out of a launch. You get opportunities to speak, be on podcasts, build relationships, partner, and more.
• [20:12] Tarzan uses a tool called BombBomb to send personalized videos to people who were active on her webinars. She also puts their names on her whiteboard. Email your list weekly and start a conversation. You can even hop on calls with people from your list. 
• [26:50] Tarzan knows how to speak to the different personality types on her email list… and she breaks it down for us in Game of Thrones characters to make it easy to understand.
• [32:17] All of your emails won't appeal to everybody, but there is definitely a way to make them appeal to more than one group at once.
• [35:44] The number of people replying to your email is a great metric to judge whether they liked it or not.
• [37:01] A nurture sequence comes after a new subscriber has opted in to get your freebie. Put a lot of energy into showing them your personality.
• Click here to listen now!