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Three Steps to Getting Your Business Noticed with a Polarizing Point of View

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date October 22, 2015

Earlier this week I was working with a client on messaging and storytelling, and she asked me an incredibly astute question.

“How do I NOT sound like all the other coaches out there?”

My immediate response came down to a few things, but the most significant one was that she had to share her strong opinions about what’s wrong with the conveyor belt type of coaching where people are just a number.

There’s a million and one ways you could be noticed, but hands down, the fastest way to get noticed is to have a polarizing point of view. To be the one that says the thing that everyone’s thinking or that at least your tribe has running through their minds. That’s the best way to go about getting your business noticed.

If you’re worried about pissing people off, don’t be. Trend Watching declared the “Brand Stand” as the trend to innovate with and profit from in 2015. The Brand Stand is about brands starting innovative, contentious and necessary conversations.

The Brand Stand doesn’t just help you stand out. Consumers believe brands should speak out. 73% of Millennials believe that businesses should share a point of view.

So while you may turn off some possible buyers (who aren’t the right fit for your business anyways), the payoff will be be much greater in terms of attracting the right customers and helping you avoid being obscure.

The Brand Stand, or as I call it in the Story Distillery Process, Getting Bold and Brazen (or the Polarizing Point-of-View), is a big part of your business’ story. It speaks to your brand’s heart and character as much as sharing your story or that of your customers.

Here’s how to be polarizing and make it a positive for your business:

Step #1: Get Comfortable with Sharing Your Opinion

You may be thinking, “No way, I’m not like THAT.”

But I’m willing to bet you believe in something when it comes to your business. I mean, clearly there’s some chutzpah lurking deep within you because, hello, if you wanted to do things the easy way, what are you doing running your own business?

Did you start a business for everyone to like you? Are you worried about people not liking you? What’s at the root of you not wanting to share your opinion?

Yeah, I get it. Especially if you’ve ever been branded a loudmouth, ball buster, or any other assorted things because you were willing to voice your opinions. (I totally relate, I’ve been called ALL of the above, and then some.)

If you’re in this to succeed, get comfy with your opinion and get okay with people not agreeing with you. It’s okay for people to not agree with you, and it’s not personal.

Diversity of opinion is necessary and needed. It’s up to you to speak up.

A few people I think do a great job of sharing opinions (even if you totally disagree) are: Paul Jarvis, Natalie MacNeil and Courtney Johnston. You’ll notice it’s not all dramatic, but they have a clear point of view on what they do share and there’s no guesswork about where they stand.

Step #2: Be Clear on What You Do Stand For

Once you’re ready to take a stand, you need to spend some time getting clear on what exactly it is you stand for.

Because here’s the thing. You can’t just pick something that you’re lukewarm on. Or something for the sake of choosing something. That shit won’t fly.

To be effective and capture attention, you need to have fire in your belly. You need to have a real, true belief in what you’re saying, otherwise no one is going to buy it.

Get clear on what pisses you off or what needs to change and what you want you/your brand to be known for.

On the flip side, don’t try to own all the issues. Carefully curate a few things, stick to a theme and make sure it’s aligned with your brand. Too many brand stands and you’re doing more harm than good.

Step #3: Make it Productive (And Not Crazy Ass Ranting)

Don’t let your brand stand devolve into the equivalent of angry girl teen angst where you’re listening to Rage Against the Machine or Nine Inch Nails all the time and hating the world.

That much anger or hostility isn’t good for you, and it’s not good for your business either. When you’re picking what you stand for, focus on how you can not only discuss the issue, but how you can be part of the solution.

By proposing solutions, sharing new ideas and owning the issue, you’re creating real change and not just being a big old complainer.

A prime example of this is a couple years ago, I wrote a post on 5 Ways to Ditch the Press Release which got a lot of attention, so much so that one of the leading PR Newswires was threatened and wrote a response post. That post was effective because it wasn’t pointless ranting, but offered productive alternatives.

Ready to Take Your Brand Stand?

The Marketing Makeover Starts Monday October 26th!

So, are you ready to take your brand stand? Good news, I’ve teamed up with my friend and mentor Natalie MacNeil for a FREE 4 part training next week (Starting Monday October 26th) called The Marketing Makeover.

It’s 4 days, 4 mini lessons including a discussion and worksheet on the brand stand. We will give you an honest look at key things you need to do to grow your business, and actionable strategies to make it happen. Plus you get lots of inside scoop on what’s working for our businesses and what we really think about many things in the online business world. (And it’s short – no messing around – 10 minutes a day and you’re done!)

The Marketing Moxie Show

Episode 109: Breanne Dyck – Rocking at Referrals & Introductions

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date October 20, 2015
1 Comment on Episode 109: Breanne Dyck – Rocking at Referrals & Introductions

We all talk about referrals and how powerful they can be, but most people really don’t do a great job at making them happen. Breanne Dyck joins us to share her awesome spin on referrals – asking for introductions and shares exactly how that’s impacting her business.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

Breanne explains her unique business model and how she loves to run her business
Breanne shares what she has learned about not just referrals, but introductions specifically
We talk about the difference between introductions and referrals, and Breanne explains which one has been more beneficial to her business
The education process can be really challenging, Breanne shares how it’s a big part of her business to educate her clients on how to refer someone to her
Making an introduction is a lot less pressure than making a referral, Breanne explains why
We talk about what an indirect introduction is and how it can gain you some of your best clients
We try to do the things we’re ‘told to do’ in our business, but it’s not necessarily what we want to be doing. Breanne shares how it’s been freeing to follow how she really wants to build her business
Don’t be afraid to start deep and then go wider, don’t scale until you’re ready! Breanne shares her three ‘R’s and how they have grown her client base naturally
Breanne gives advice on how to ask for a connection and not feel weird about it
Breanne adds an ‘ask’ in a couple of her onboarding and offboarding emails, she explains why
Breanne shares how to make the ‘ask’ for an introduction about the client she’s asking and not about herself
If you want your clients to make connections for you, you have to teach them how to do it. Breanne shares how she’s done this for her clients
The more work you do for your clients in the referral process, the more likely they are to help you out!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Afraid to ask for referrals? @mynameisbreanne has a new spin. #marketingmoxie with @magspatterson” quote=”Afraid to ask for referrals? @mynameisbreanne has a new spin. #marketingmoxie with @magspatterson”]

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

Do you find yourself with referrals that are a bit off? It’s up to you to educate your clients on the types of people you’re looking for and and how you can help them.
If you find asking for referrals hard, try asking for introductions instead. Breanne’s system offers a simple way to widen your circle and meet the perfect for you clients.
Remember, you need to position this as a win/win and not you turning around and asking clients for something. Timing is everything!

Links for this Episode:

Breanne’s Site

mynameisbreanne.com/refer

Streak CRM Plugin for Google

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

marketing strategy

Want a Super Successful Small Business? Try This.

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date October 15, 2015
14 Comments on Want a Super Successful Small Business? Try This.

I see it everyday, and I’m sure you do too. People struggling so hard to make a business work. Would-be business owners trying to fit all the pieces together and not quite getting there.

On one hand, it’s heartbreaking. Watching people, particularly women, going for “it” but yet, they’re failing. They just can’t make it work and that makes me, even with my hardcore, truth telling ways, kinda sad.

But it’s only kinda sad. Because on the other hand, this makes me all kinds of pissed off. (I’m not really sure how many kinds of pissed off there are, but I think a lot, right?)

A couple of weeks ago when I was having one of those moments and was feeling particularly worked up about it, I thought through all the reasons it was triggering me so much. Why was it making me irritated? I mean, it’s not my business, why should I care?

But I do. I actually give a crap because amid all the fluffed up audacious promises of 6-figure success, so few people are speaking the truth. Because it’s so much easier to gloss over all the parts of business that aren’t Instagram friendly and perpetuate this ongoing myth of shiny, happy, successful small businesses.

So, you want to have a super successful small business? Read this and get down and dirty with these truths:

1. Master Your Thing

This may make me super unpopular, but at this point, I don’t even care anymore. The idea of 10,000 hours to master your craft is still valid.

Just because you’re doing it online doesn’t give you a superpower of being able to skim over the important bits and becoming a master at your craft.

No matter what the big name experts would like to convince you. No matter how many times people say they’ll teach you the system they use and you can then teach it too.

Let’s not even talk about the “coach” that I found who’s conferring Masters and PhDs. Gotta say my friends who earned Dr. in front of their names aren’t so jazzed about that one, and for the record, that’s actually illegal.

All of it makes a mockery of people doing the work. Of people who are quietly doing their thing and being completely magnificent at it. Or of the real, true experts who have seeing all the variations, mutations and where things can go bad.

Because, where’s your self-proclaimed expert going to be when shit goes wrong? Or when the thing they’re teaching doesn’t deliver as promised?

They’re going to shift it around to be your fault. They’re not going to own it, because they’re still students of their craft and aren’t going to have a clue on how to turn it around or work with you on it.

Can you still be learning and teach? Sure, but don’t oversell it. Don’t overpromise. And sure as shit don’t call yourself an expert in any way, shape or form. (Or give yourself a fake PhD. Not cool.)

2. Stop Bitching, Start Working

Tough love moment coming right up. I’m a huge fan of getting support where you need it and seeking outside counsel. But there’s always going to be a time where you need to actually work.

So the hours you spend kvetching on Facebook about ALL the things going wrong or how the world is unfair is time wasted. Valuable time that you’ve spent bitching when you could have been working.

Maybe it’s not bitching you’re doing but crowdsourcing opinions from people who don’t actually know anything about you or your business. Or posting madly in groups in an effort to get someone, anyone to notice you. Stop it.

Close the Facebook down and get to work. Instead of relying on random people for input and interaction, build a close circle of people who know you, your business and that you can trust implicitly. Having a group of go-to smart ladies on your side will keep you focused. Best of all, they’ll tell you when you’re just bitching and need to cut it out.

3. Get a Grip on Reality

Running a small business – online, offline or somewhere in between – is hard. It’s literally going to be one of the hardest things you ever do. Because while you’re running your business and making decisions like a boss, you’re going to learn a lot about yourself.

Frankly, a lot of that stuff is super uncomfortable. I mean, who wants to break down in tears at your in-person mastermind because you’ve got personal issues that are triggered like crazy by doing 5 year planning? Yeah, not me. But it happened. As a small business boss, the personal and professional end up all in one trippy bundle.

Which is why we all love a good overnight success story. It’s completely irresistible. Because wouldn’t it be SO much easier to just be the overnight success story than to actually have to deal with all of these things?

Totally. But for every meteoric rise, there’s the other 99.99999999999% of us working hard and doing it the old fashioned way. Slow, steady and sustainable.

The sooner you realize that, the easier this entire thing gets. Getting a grip on your “normal” makes planning your path to success way less stressful as you’re not killing yourself trying to be the anomaly.

4. Fame is Besides the Point

When it comes to fame – especially on the internet – there’s three camps I encounter.

Camp #1 are the fame seekers. You know the kind. Typically driven by ego and a need to be seen, they go after it shamelessly. It’s more than wanting to be good at what they do, it’s about being capital F famous and known in a big way.

Camp #2 are the avoiders. They hate the limelight and don’t want to be seen. This often holds their business back as they sabotage themselves and prevent anyone from knowing about them.

The problem with both of these camps is that they’re missing the point. None of this has to do with fame. If you’re seeking it, or avoiding it, you’re hurting your business.

Which is why you need to find the middle ground. (And if you’re a fame seeker, you may want to throat punch me in a moment. But I’m pretty sure fame seekers wouldn’t read this far.) Strive to be in camp #3.

Camp #3 is not driven by a mega ego, narcissism or fear of being seen, but rather understanding that you’re really good at what you do. For the right people to find you and for you to be of the greatest service with your gifts, you need to be seen as a master of your craft.

Fame isn’t the point. Being known is a by-product of doing what you do really well and being recognized for it by the right people.

There you have it. 4 truths on the road to a super successful small business. Which one is your favorite or the one you need to work on? Comment below!

[clickToTweet tweet=”4 truths about creating a successful small biz. New blog post from @magspatterson” quote=”4 truths about creating a successful small biz. New blog post from @magspatterson”]

The Marketing Moxie Show

Episode 108: Holly Gillen – Powering Up Your Biz with Periscope

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date October 13, 2015

One of my fave video pros, Holly G joins us today to talk about Periscope. She covers what it is, how she’s using it and the #1 thing you need to consider before you dive in as part of the what’s working now series.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

Holly gives us the rundown of what Periscope is and what we can use it for in our business
Holly shares how she’s really using Periscope to add value to her business
We talk about how to actually make time to periscope in your business
Holly shares what she learned over her first month of using Periscope strategically and the results for her business
Using Periscope can increase your following on all other social media platforms, Holly shares her personal results
Before you decide to just hop on Periscope, you need to make sure ‘your tribe’ is actually hanging out there
Get yourself and your strategy business ready, you need to prep and plan out your scopes to make them impactful
Be flexible with your planning: make sure people can ask questions and give feedback since that is the great part about this platform
Holly goes over the essential equipment for Periscope
If you think you are ready to jump into Periscope, Holly urges you to really know your ‘why’
Holly reminds us to keep it classy, remember you are using this for your business!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Talking Periscope with @hollygstudios and what you need to know before you jump in” quote=”Talking Periscope with @hollygstudios and what you need to know before you jump in”]

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

Periscope is there to enhance what you’re already doing. If you don’t have your business set up yet, hopping into a platform like periscope and expecting it to skyrocket your success is totally unrealistic.
Make sure that you really know why you are using Periscope. Understand your purpose and plan, be very clear about your expectations. Test and correct as you go.
Before you Periscope, get prepared! Make sure you have the right equipment: phone, tripod, etc. And make sure you are clear and have a plan, it will make all the difference.

Links for this Episode:

Follow Holly on Periscope

Holly G Studios

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

launching marketing strategy

Launching Lessons: 7 Things I Learned from My Launch

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date October 8, 2015
2 Comments on Launching Lessons: 7 Things I Learned from My Launch

Time and space is a beautiful thing, which is why I’ve waited a few weeks before writing this post. I could have written it right after my launch, but I really needed time to process all of it and to get really clear on all of the tough launching lessons.

I started planning the No B.S. Marketing School launch in January. I’ve spent most of this year thinking about launching, so now that it’s all over and class is in session, it’s completely surreal. But don’t worry, we’re already busily planning our next launch…and I wish I was joking. But I’m not!

Here’s a rundown on all the lessons I learned from the Fall launch of the No B.S. Marketing School:

#1. Launching Doesn’t Have to be Insane

Yeah, don’t hate me. This launch all went pretty smoothly because we planned everything so far ahead and I didn’t want to spend my entire Summer acting like a launch-crazed maniac. Start WAY earlier than you need to so you have lots of breathing room.

Launching by its very nature is going to be hectic, but you get to choose how this goes down. Are you going to be doing it slow and steady or full on pedal to the medal? This launch taught me that it’s 100% okay to take your foot off the gas, and do things with a little more ease and grace. (Which, please note, is SO NOT my style. I’m more of a brute force and die empty kind of chick by nature.)

#2. OMG, So Glad this is NOT Paying the Mortgage

Launching anything has enough pressure, which is why I am SO relieved that there wasn’t the additional burden or stress of having to make a certain amount of money to pay my family’s mortgage.

Going into the launch, I had a clear budget and a target revenue goal in mind so that I knew what my “good” number was for registrations, but at no point was my profit from the launch designated to pay critical bills. And for that I’m immensely grateful.

For those of you that launch under those conditions, props to you. I’m not cut out for a launch-driven business, and I can guarantee there will always be client work and consulting income as the stable foundation for my business.

#3. Over Investing in Your Launch is an Act of Insanity

As I mentioned above, I spent a considerable chunk of change on this launch as I went totally pro on everything possible. That meant big invoices from my designer, and additional support from my team.

Investing in the launch was a conscious choice and not an act of chasing unicorns and rainbows. It’s far too easy to go into a launch thinking “don’t worry, I’ll totally make this back.” You can never 100% guarantee how a launch will go down, so don’t spend money that you haven’t yet made.

If you’re going to invest, make a point of figuring out how long it may take to recoup your hard costs related to your launch. And for the love of launching, please make sure you have a proven concept before you go all in. There’s faith and then there’s blatant acts of delusion where you kill yourself on an unproven idea and waste a whole pile of cash.

[Tweet “Over investing in your launch is like playing black jack. New blog post from @magspatterson. “]

#4. Launching Causes Some Sort of Time Warp

Biggest take away of my launch: My cart open was WAY too long for my liking and that won’t happen again. With the VIP cart open, it was 18 days total.

Which is great I suppose if you’re patient, but I’m not. It felt like a time warp where the days were going by so fast but the 18 days was sooooooooooo long. Makes zero sense, but that was my experience.

Next time it will be much shorter as I’m confident that we can get more done in less time or at least with the same result.

#5. You’re Unlikely to Beat the Odds

What would a launch recap be without some conversion talk? Listen here my special snowflakes – when it comes to conversion rates, unless you’ve been launching for a while or have some superpower, you’re unlikely to beat the odds of average conversion rates.

From the pre-launch sequence, we had a conversion rate of 2.5%. But if you look at how many people actually joined the Facebook group and were actively engaged, the conversion rate is closer to 5%. Which, given the level of content and value delivered that week, is a great affirmation of the content.

Going into the launch we did a considerable amount of list building, adding an additional 1000 people in the 60 days before the launch. That completely messed with our overall conversion rate on the general list, bumping it below 1%. If we exclude the “newest” people as they needed to be nurtured more, we were pacing above 1%, which is about average in our industry.

Lessons by the gallon right here. Starting with: you need to back into your goal for total signups and then build your list and grow your reach to support that. It’s easier to do that going into your launch than to project a conversion rate that may be completely bananas.

#6. You Will Self-Sabotage at Some Point

Let me preface this one with the fact that I typically am pretty good at following through on my plans, and I’d say I stuck to about 90% of the plan.

But I definitely bailed out on some of the list building activities we had planned throughout the year. I knew logically that to get to our “best goal” for the launch, I needed to really push harder and continue to focus on increasing my reach and growing my list.

Somewhere along the way I lost grip on the facts of what needed to be done and then decided it didn’t need to be done. I could make a big list of all of the reasons why, one of which is a need to prioritize existing clients, but the truth is, it was a case of straight up self-sabotage. The sneaky, quiet, rational kind where you justify the shit out of your behavior. It was in no way a catastrophe but definitely a lesson learned so I don’t get in my own way again.

#7. Some People Aren’t Going to Like Your Launch

Launching means you’re putting yourself out there, and that always means some people aren’t going to like your launch.

Reviewing post launch numbers, it was a bit sobering seeing unsubscribes along with a few spam complaints. (Speaking of which PSA – it’s not spam if you sign up for it and I can tell you when and where you subscribed.)

The truth is, not everyone is going to want to buy, and people leaving my list and moving on is ultimately a good thing. Maybe they’ll come back, maybe I’ve utterly offended them – no matter what the reason, it’s way better to have an engaged, active community via email than a big old list of people who are only tolerating you or have you in their Unroll.me.

[Tweet “7 launch lessons you don’t want to miss from @magspatterson. A real look at what it takes to launch.”]

There you have it. 7 launch lessons, and the start of many, many more to come. Now, I need to get back to my launch timeline for the Winter 2016 launch and planning a special event later this month that will get you in our next class with a sweet, sweet deal!

If you’re launching anything, you’ll want to grab a copy of the Launch Tools & Tech Cheat Sheet that shares everything I used for my launch and some awesome alternatives:

The Marketing Moxie Show

Episode 107: What’s Working Now for Real-Life Biz

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date October 6, 2015

We’re kicking off a new series today on the show talking about what’s really working right now for actual business owners. Expert advice is well and good, but we only really know what’s going to work by doing. In the coming weeks, I’ve got a series of business owners sharing marketing tactics and their results.

Today we kick off with me sharing what’s working for me when it comes to time management and productivity.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

True expert advice is only great to a point, doing more and more is a recipe for going insane
To spend time working on your business instead of in your business, you have to really zone in on what’s working for you and your business
The ‘What’s working now’ series, will feature people who are quietly building great businesses that really serve their clients
Who cares about what worked for great marketers 4 years ago? Let’s focus on what’s working today!
Market conditions change and evolve, you may need to dig deeper than what’s on the surface of what’s working now
The results that these experts are achieving may not be big, but they are realistic and achievable, ‘small wins’ that add up over time
Not having to always work with the expectations and the ‘shoulds’ give us the space to breathe and figure out what’s working for our business
Something that’s working for me right now is ‘The 12 Week Year’
Using smaller chunks of time can help you optimize your performance, and it’s really working for me on a day to day basis right now
Each week of mine now includes 4 times: buffer time, strategy blocks, creative time, and non business reading time. I explain what each of these mean to me and my business, and how they are helping move my business forward

[clickToTweet tweet=”Here’s what’s working for @magspatterson right now – the 12 week year. #marketingmoxie #podcast” quote=”Here’s what’s working for @magspatterson right now – the 12 week year. #marketingmoxie #podcast”]

Links for this Episode:

The 12 Week Year

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

The Marketing Moxie Show

Episode 106: Alexia Vernon – Spreading Your Message Like a Pro

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date September 29, 2015

Speaking is about so much more than speaking, it’s about spreading your message and connecting with your audience. Alexia (Lex) Vernon joins us today to talk about how to speak as a total pro move, how to make the most of your time on stage and what it really takes to land a TEDx talk.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

Alexia breaks down the notion that we have to be super extroverted in order to speak on stage
Alexia shares her best tip to find your natural speaking style and use it for public speaking
You want to create for your audience the same feeling you have when speaking to your best friend
Alexia shares the difference between an good speaker, and a great speaker that people will remember in years from now
People can’t just feel lit up during your speech, to be truly effective you want your audience to walk away knowing what they need to do differently
Alexia and I discuss another big hang up: having a story that doesn’t seem ‘epic’ enough
People learn in lots of different ways, don’t force yourself to tell a story that isn’t ‘you’
Alexia talks about what we can do now to jump start our speaking abilities and confidence
When watching other speakers, make sure you’re just absorbing how they make the speech their own and not starting to take their speaking tactics and make them your own
If you want to make doing a TED talk a goal, Alexia shares the number one tip for working towards that
As a TEDx event organizer, Alexia lets us in on what she looks for in an application for a speaker

[clickToTweet tweet=”Want to land a TEDx talk? @alexiavernon shares her pro secrets.” quote=”Want to land a TEDx talk? @alexiavernon shares her pro secrets.”]

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

Speaking is about more than speaking, you want to light your audience up and have them walk away knowing what they want to do differently.
Get over the story you have about speaking, you don’t have to be extroverted or super high energy. You can do you on stage and still rock it.
TEDx talks aren’t about your message, they’re about an idea that’s worth spreading that’s new and never been heard. Your idea is the #1 thing organizers are going to look for.

Links for this Episode:

Lex’s Website

Spotlight Speakers Salon FB Group

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

The Marketing Moxie Show

Episode 105: Lori Kennedy – Planning a Totally Pro Live Event

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date September 22, 2015

Live events are the thing of nightmares and cold sweats for most of us, but Lori Kennedy has been running a successful event in the health space for the past four years. Lori’s going to share the need to know for any live event, what to plan for and how they can help you go pro in your business.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

Hosting a live event can scare a lot of us, Lori shares what made her create her first live event
Lori shares what the numbers looked like for her first live event, including paid seats and tickets she gave away
Lori shares her number one tip for running a live event to save money
Every year of running her live event, Lori has added a new element to amp it up
Lori shares the number one thing to look at before deciding if you want to host a live event
Lori and I talk about the budget for running an event and the kind of budget items you should be watching out for
Marketing your live event is super important and printing can get expensive so you need to balance this cost accordingly
Mixing online and offline marketing is key for running a live event
Lori shares how hosting live events has helped her go pro in her business
People who have a message want to share it; so providing them a stage to do so can help you leverage yourself off of people who are more successful than you

[clickToTweet tweet=”Thinking about a live event? @lorikennedyrhn shares her pro tips” quote=”Thinking about a live event? @lorikennedyrhn shares her pro tips”]

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

Lori’s events have grown her biz and established her credibility. How can you add a live component to your current business to help you go pro?
If you’re running a live event, sponsors can help you defray the big budgets involved.
For any live event, you need online and offline marketing, and a healthy budget to make it work.

Links for this Episode:

Lori’s Website

Lori on FB

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

launching marketing strategy tools

Launching Lessons: Tools & Tech for a Successful Launch

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date September 17, 2015

Earlier this week we wrapped up the launch of the No B.S. Marketing School, and I’ll be sharing nitty gritty details and everything I’ve learned from going through the process of creating and then launching this program.

When I decided way back in January to develop and design this program, I made a special note to self to pay extra attention to everything we went through along the way. Let’s face it, it’s easy to look at a launch from the outside and think “wow, that was easy” or “look how much money they made”.

Oh, my friend, launching is so NOT what it looks like on the outside. It’s exhilarating and messy and OMG, stressful at times. The good news is that as I was going through the entire thing, I was able to keep my stress seriously in check thanks to good planning, my amazing team and having the right tech and tools in place.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is my first “big” launch, but this is by no means my first rodeo. I’ve been launching things my entire career – from Microsoft Office 2003 and assorted servers that went with it to new startups to solopreneur’s signature programs. Launches are just just part of what I do in marketing. So I totally have an unfair advantage.

Launching anything takes bucket loads of time and a serious helping hand from tools that can make putting all the pieces together so much simpler.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Pro launch tips and a killer list of tools and tech for your next launch” quote=”Pro launch tips and a killer list of tools and tech for your next launch”]

Here’s a rundown on all the tech and tools used for the No B.S. Marketing School launch:

Email Marketing: Infusionsoft

Launching = emails. A metric shit tonne of emails. For the launch alone we had at least 15 emails, and then there were thank you emails and all the emails for our pre-launch event, Orientation Week.

We’ve been running on Infusionsoft for close to two years, and I have to say it was a relief to know that getting the email piece of the launch under control wasn’t going to be a huge thing. Melissa and Brittany took care of setting up the campaigns and we did a lot of testing ahead of time to ensure everything was all set.

Pro Launch Tip: Right before your launch isn’t the time to tackle Infusionsoft as it has a steep learning curve and you don’t want to botch it. If you’re going to upgrade your system pre-launch, do it far enough in advance that you’re not trying to learn as you go.

Also, pay for help. If you’re going the Infusionsoft route, having a team from somewhere like Foundation and Flow is a must.

Sales Page: WordPress

The No B.S. Sales page was designed by Amanda Genther, and then coded for WordPress by Alison over at tiny blue orange. Don’t ask me what they did with pixels and all that, but we started this project well in advance to the point where when I had to write the sales copy in early June I could barely wrap my head around it. But having that done early and the page designed made everything real. And I couldn’t turn back when I started feeling super lazy in July and didn’t want to do any work.

This was my first pro sales page for a launch and it was worth every penny, and the Orientation Week opt-in page/site was also designed for WordPress using OptimizePress. (More on investing in design for the launch in a future post.)

Member’s Site: WordPress + Access Ally

Amanda and Alison also created a custom WordPress-based member’s site for all of the course content, including my very own theme called Cut the Crap. The member access portion was set up using Access Ally which is Nathalie Lussier’s InfusionSoft Membership Site Plug-In.

The plug-in is letting us handle member management, timed releases of weekly lessons and more. Brittany setup this integration, and I have exactly no clue on the tech details. (Which is challenging for me as I like knowing the details – but when you’ve got 8 modules of content to create, something’s gotta give!)

Coming Soon Page/Opt-in Page: LeadPages

With so much custom design and coding, we opted for simplicity and used my LeadPages Pro Account for the “coming soon” page, as well as two opt-in pages used to run Facebook ads for Orientation Week.

I hear a lot of complaints from my clients and community about the lack of customization in LeadPages, but that’s actually a good thing. It makes it super simple and means you’re using a proven layout which is more likely to convert. Unless you’re very familiar with what types of pages convert, you can be your own worst enemy. Also, the pro account lets you set up A/B testing which was super helpful when we were running Facebook ads during the pre-launch. We were able to test different page layouts and copy variations.

Social Media Scheduling: EDGAR + Buffer

Launching means you need to be out there, so we used EDGAR to schedule posts to Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Pinterest posts were scheduled using Buffer. My social media strategist Melissa took care of creating a schedule and getting content out there.

During the launch, I also was active in my group and other channels in real-time, and we intend to keep that level of activity up especially on LinkedIn, Pinterest and my newly minted Instagram account.

Project Management + Communication: Basecamp

My entire business runs on Basecamp. I could write an entire post on how much I love Basecamp. While this particular project management system may not work for you, the key is that you have one. Whether it’s you or there’s a team you’re working with, all those launch tasks need to go somewhere.

Leading into the launch we had a number of projects including the Conversions Challenge in April, the Surprise and Delight Guide in June, Orientation Week in August and then the launch itself. Every one of these a Basecamp project and task lists associated with it.

The thing that works best for me with Basecamp is the visual nature of everything along with the fact that all communication and files are in one place. (Because hello, I get enough email and this keeps me out of my inbox.)

Grab Your Launch Tools & Tech Cheat Sheet Now

Document Management: Google Drive

At last count, I have at least 50 documents on the go so far for the launch and the course itself including a project planner, content grid, module worksheets, all the launch emails and much more. I love working in Google Drive, so we opted to use that for everything launch-related. There’s so many documents that they needed to be put into a easy-to-use folder system where all content can be easily found for the next launch. As an alternative, you could use Dropbox, but for the love of your documents, don’t just save everything on your trusty MacBook and hope you don’t have any issues. Back those babies up!

Presentations: PowerPoint

PowerPoint is getting a workout of epic proportions as course content and other training materials are created. Amanda created a series of templates for PowerPoint that made putting the lessons for the No B.S. Marketing School and Orientation Week together fairly straight forward. Armed with my notes that planned out each lesson, putting them into this format helped ensure lessons are bite-sized and not boring as get out.

Screencap Videos: Quicktime for Mac + ATR 2100

All those PowerPoints need to be turned into something, so I just use QuickTime for Mac which came with my laptop to record. I’ve experimented with different programs over the year, but QuickTime is insanely simple and I’ve yet to have issues exporting the video. For good quality audio, I used my ATR 2100 Microphone so my voice is crisp and clear. This is a small addition, but having a mic makes a big difference. People will tolerate video that’s not super pro, but audio is a no go, so add a mic into the mix. All my videos were edited by Emmy Wu and she created the No B.S. Marketing School animated intro too. For me, outsourcing editing was a sanity saver, as while I can edit them easily, it doesn’t mean I should. Pro Launch Tip: Figure out the thing that’s likely to send you over the edge and outsource that. The time to upload videos to Vimeo alone made investing in editing worth it.

On Camera Videos: Canon HF G20 + Cowboy Studio Lighting Kit

For the sales page video and other promo videos, I shot them DIY-style in my basement studio. I’ve got some great equipment from my papercrafting days including a super sweet Canon HF G20 video camera. I will be the first to confess this camera is likely overkill for what I need. What’s more important than the camera is your lighting. I use the Cowboy Studio Lighting Kit and a hair lamp which hangs over head. My basement is dark so that hair light makes a big difference. The background is a pop up one, but mine is WAY too big. Get a smaller one like this one.

Order Forms: Infusionsoft

All of the order forms were created using Infusionsoft, with Amanda creating graphics and Melissa setting them all up. Being able to customize them helped us keep things consistent as people went from the sales page to the order form.

Payment Gateway: PayPal

All payments, including credit cards, were processed using PayPal Flow with reference transactions set up. This required me to upgrade my account, but I opted to go with PayPal as I’ve used them without issue for more than 5 years. I did assess a number of companies for Merchant Accounts but they really didn’t make sense for me at this point in time. PayPal has worked fairly seamlessly with a few minor issues. Pro Launch Tip: Be ready for payment issues and have someone around to fix them when you’re closing your cart. There you have it, my big old list of all the tech and tools used to launch the No B.S. Marketing School out into the world. If you’re launching anything – from an ebook to a service to a signature program, you’ll want to check out this Launch Tech & Tools Cheat Sheet I’ve put together for you with all of my picks plus some trusted alternatives.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Grab your pro list of tech and tools for a successful launch now” quote=”Grab your pro list of tech and tools for a successful launch now”]

Note: I’m an affiliate for several of these tools and I will receive a commission should you purchase them. That said, it’s important to me that you pick what’s right for you and I’m just disclosing this so we’re on the up and up.

The Marketing Moxie Show

Episode 104: Marie Poulin – Pro Tips for Running Your Course

Post author By Maggie Patterson
Post date September 15, 2015

Courses, programs, group coaching…all of these things are seen as the gold standard in the online world as they bring you passive income. Last week we talked about what launching a program looks like, but what happens when you actually run that course? Marie Poulin, the creator of Digital Strategy School joins us today to break down her journey from idea to launch to actually running the program.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

Marie shares how long it took to get from the idea of the digital strategy school to where she is today
Marie lets us in on the process she went through to develop her course
Marie used a beta group to test and tweak her course, this helped her make some unexpected changes based on feedback
When developing a new course, it doesn’t matter how ‘pro’ you are, you will always have to work through self doubt and the impostor complex; Marie shares how she did so
There’s no magical formula for creating a course, but surrounding yourself with supportive and knowledgeable people is key
Marie explains how she transitioned from one to one work to ‘one to many’ work
Because we are busy and have a lot going on, where should we start if we’re thinking of creating a group course?
Hiring the people that you know are going to help you get your course launched is super important, and this will look different for everyone based on their business
Marie shares some ‘Marie Secrets’ for making ourselves seem more pro
Being very consistent and confident with who you want to work with is key to going pro with your course
Clients need a routine and need to know what it is for success; but we are working with humans so having compassion and kindness is key
Living up to your financial obligations is a huge part of going pro, make sure you set expectations and are super clear about the financial commitments you set

[clickToTweet tweet=”From 1:1 to 1:many breaking down what running a course really is like with @mariepoulin.” quote=”From 1:1 to 1:many breaking down what running a course really is like with @mariepoulin.”]

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

Running a course and putting it out in the world may mean you need to do some mental work as all kinds of things can come up along the way.
Get help. You shouldn’t go this alone. Talk to people who’ve done this before to find out what’s really involved before you commit.
Running a course requires time and energy. If there’s a live component you need to show up and deliver your best.

Links for this Episode:

Digital Strategy School starting again this month!

Marie Poulin

Oki Doki

Episode #76 – Impostor Complex and How to Handle It with Tanya Geisler

No B.S. Marketing School – Now Open for Registration!

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group