Build Your Online Audience – Details, episodes &amp; analysis

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[364] How to deal with difficult customers or clients

vendredi 13 septembre 2019 • Duration 39:27

Do you ever have clients or customers who seem impossible to please? If you’re a coach or consultant, these typically show up as clients who sign up to work with you…and then don’t do the work. But somehow they try to make it feel like it's all your fault.

If you have a product-based business, these are generally the ones who ask for discounts and refunds - often without justification. These kind of people can be a huge drain on your energy - and your time.

In this episode I share practical strategies for dealing with difficult clients and customers.

{Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode} Podcast shownotes

How setting the ground rules can help reduce complaints (4:46)
Why prevention is better than cure by managing expectations of clients (5:46)
How setting boundaries can reduce your workload and manage client expectations (6:45)
How to create a fairplay agreement for your guidelines and learn about mine (13:25)
How having your FAQs on your sales page can help if a customer is dissatisfied(14:08)
How communicating well and monitoring your communications can help protect against unhappy clients (16:48)
How creating key blog posts in a membership can improve a client experience (18:10)
How anticipating potential problems will help prevent problems with clients (22:39)
How to use a discovery call with a potential client to decide if you can work with them (24:45)
How to defuse a situation with an unhappy client (28:00)
How putting the onus back on the customer can help de escalate a situation (29:38)
How to deal with someone who complains by showering them with love (33:17)
Why you shouldn’t be afraid to refund people and let them go (36:20)

Resources

Jay Baer Hug your haters

How to get the most out of the Build Your Audience Office Hour

How to get the most out of your Build Your Audience membership

Take part in my 7 day Facebook challenge here

[202] Behind the scenes of my membership community (podcast)

[219] How to get your ideal clients to fall in love with you with Laura Pearman (podcast)

[281] How to find new clients or customers fast (podcast)

[351] How to get corporate clients (and why you should) with Dylis Guyan (blog post)

Lost your mojo with your membership community? Here's how to get it back. (blog post)

How to add captions to your video using Kapwing and Rev.com (blog post)

Order your 2019 Media Diary

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

[363] How to bust through an audience growth plateau

vendredi 6 septembre 2019 • Duration 33:18

If you’re struggling to grow your audience on social media, the temptation is to keep trying more and more new marketing strategies.

But this can often leave you feeling overwhelmed and overworked. And when you’re spreading yourself too thin - you can end up doing lots of things not very well - which can actually stunt your audience growth.

If this sounds familiar, you’ll love this podcast episode on how to bust through an audience growth plateau.

In it, I show you how doing things differently (rather than doing more) can help you kickstart your audience growth.

If you’re struggling to build your audience on social media, it may be because you’re spreading yourself too thin. Focusing on growing your audience on one social media platform means you can go deep on all the features of that platform - and experiment with different strategies - rather than ‘dabbling’ with three or four.

This doesn’t mean you can’t post on other social media platforms at all; you can always repurpose some of the content from your main platform. But putting 90% of your efforts into one platform will almost certainly help you grow quicker.

For example, the Instagram expert Kat Coroy focuses her social media efforts solely on Instagram - which has allowed her to sell thousands of her online course Instagram Makeover.

The LinkedIn expert Helen Pritchard focuses solely on LinkedIn - allowing her to attract hundreds of students to her LinkedIn Bootcamp.

Love and London (an online resource for visitors to London) has over 100,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel. But while its founder Jess Dante has a presence on most social media platforms, her key focus is on Instagram - freeing her up to create high quality content and serve her existing clients.

2. Focus on engagement not numbers

When you’re building an online audience, it’s tempting to think it’s all about the numbers. Which means focusing on building funnels and automating everything you can, right?

Wrong.

Numbers are important (the average conversion rate for online sales is just 1-2% which means most people need a much bigger audience than they think). But what you actually need to build is relationships.

So if you’re focusing on building funnels and automation - over having real conversations with your prospective customers/clients - on social media and in your DMs if necessary - your audience growth will almost certainly plateau.

Building your audience is actually about building relationships. And you build this relationship one at a time.

3. Share more personal content

People like to do business with people they like. So if you’re hiding away behind your laptop - or in your studio - you’re missing out on the chance to build relationships with prospective (and existing) customers.

This isn’t about sharing your personal secrets - or airing your dirty laundry in public. It’s about creating connection points when you realise you share common ground with your followers.

For example, fashion illustrator Zoe Georgiou, said she decided to join my Build Your Audience membership programme after she came to one of my meet-ups and found me warm and welcoming (not the ‘hard-nosed businesswoman ‘she’d expected). But what nailed it was when I revealed I also hated tomato ketchup. Finding those areas of commonality and creating those ‘that happened to me too’ moments can be crucial for building your audience.

And as Marsha Shandur points out in our podcast interview on how to use stories to attract your ideal clients, when you’re willing to be vulnerable and admit your life isn’t perfect, that’s when people often feel they can connect with you.

4. ‘Borrow’ other peoples’ audiences

Creating guest content for other peoples’ audiences e.g. guest blog posts, guest teaching sessions and virtual summits can be a great way to grow your audience - by tapping into other peoples’ audiences.

There are pros and cons for each, but for me, by far the best way to do this is through podcast guest interviews.

Being a podcast guest is a great way to get in front of your ideal customers/clients - and build your audience - fast.

It’s much quicker than writing a guest blog post (most podcast interviews last between 30-60 mins) - which means you can potentially do several a week.

It’s also a great way to build new relationships quicker.

There’s something about being in someone’s earbuds that’s much more intimate than the written word. Which means that by the end of a thirty minute interview, people often feel they know, like and trust you enough to visit your website, download your free resources and/or even buy your products/service.

And the best thing is, every time you appear on someone else’s podcast, you’re getting in front of a brand new audience - an audience you haven’t had to build yourself.

So if you set yourself a target to do three interviews a week, you could potentially build your audience by thousands - in a relatively short space of time.

Here’s how to pitch yourself as a podcast guest.

5. Show up ‘in person’

Hosting a live event can be a great way to connect with your prospective customer/clients. There is something really powerful about meeting someone in person. You can create a much better rapport - and do it faster - than you can online.

This doesn’t mean you have to put on a large live event. A small meet up can be just as effective.

And if that really isn’t possible, you can add a personal touch by sending a voicemail or using a tool like Bonjoro.

Key takeaway

Building an online audience can be tough and it is perfectly normal to hit a plateau. In fact, this can happen at any stage in your business. But if you can swap your a ‘funnel’ mindset for a ‘feeling’ mindset - using some of the ideas shared in this post - you’ll bust through your audience growth plateau quicker.

Podcast shownotes

Why you need to think differently when you hit an audience growth plateau (2:50)
Why focusing on one platform will help you grow quicker (04:09)
Examples of people that use one social media platform media really well 07:03
Why focusing on the engagement and not numbers will help grow your audience (10:32)
Steps to take on your platforms if you’ve fallen into an audience growth plateau (12:10)
Why conversations and engaging on social media can help grow your audience (14:55)
How sharing personal stories will help you connect with your audience (15:55)
How to choose the content topics that you post about (19:00)
How ‘borrowing’ other people’s audiences can get you in front of a new audience (24:12)
How being a podcast guest can help you grow a new audience (and bonus tips) (25:59)
Why showing up in person can help you connect and grow your audience (28:57)

Resources

Download 50 ways to build your online audience

Kat Coroy online course Instagram Makeover.
Kat Coroy Kat Coroy website
Helen Pritchard LinkedIn Bootcamp
Jess Dante YouTube Love and London
Kate Lister florist Instagram
Julia Day The Independent Girls Collective
Voicemail tool Bonjoro

[190] How to pitch yourself as a podcast guest (and why you need to) (podcast)

[196] How to get more engagement on Instagram with Sara Tasker (podcast)

[253] How to land guest appearances on podcasts with Nicole Holland (podcast)

[341] How to use stories to attract your ideal clients with Marsha Shandur (podcast)

[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)

[353] How to grow your audience through Instagram Stories with Tyler McCall (podcast)

[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

[362] How to grow your Instagram following to 27K - fast (podcast)

How to add closed captions to your videos using Rev and Kapwing (blog post)

How to create a high converting lead magnet course

How to write awesome sales copy

Order your special offer 2019 Media Diary

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

[362] How to grow your Instagram following to 27k - fast

jeudi 29 août 2019 • Duration 01:03:44

Are you struggling to build your audience on Instagram? You're posting regularly but you're not getting as much engagement as you'd like (or sales). Everything just seems SO slow....

Or maybe you're thinking about using Instagram to promote your business...and would love some tips/tactics on how to make best use of the platform.

If any of that sounds familiar you’ll love this podcast interview with Chris Taylor.

In it, he shares how he's grown his Instagram following from just 500 to 27k since last year.

He's super candid about the tactics he's used and has this rare talent of making it all sound so simple. I tried one of his tactics immediately after the interview and 3x the reach on my next post.

How Chris started in social media and Instagram (2:56)
Practical strategies you can use to grow your Instagram following (08:10)
How spending an hour on Instagram can help build your relationships (11:32)
How to find out what content your followers want to see on Instagram (13:07)
How to use hashtags on Instagram to engage with other people’s content (and how you can build your authority (17:03)
Why social media is now the main marketing platform for small to medium-sized businesses (21:20)
Why hashtags are important on Instagram and the best way to use them (22:30)
How to use hashtags strategically on Instagram (and why you need to pre engage before posting) (23:40)
How to use hashtags like a domino effect for your post reach (and go viral) (28:15)
What tools you can use for hashtag research (30:18)
Step by step example of hashtag research for a post on Instagram (33:01)
How to get as much engagement as possible on your Instagram posts (36:04)
Why Instagram is no longer about the image and it’s the content that can make the biggest difference (41:07)
How to use Instagram Stories to authentically engage with your audience (46:05)
How getting rid of the money mindset can get you results on social media (52:40)
Why you need to spend time on your social media to get the results you want (1:01:15)

Resources

Chris Taylor Instagram

Tools that Chris uses for hashtag research: Social Report, Social Blade, Rite tag

[196] How to get more engagement on Instagram with Sara Tasker (podcast)

[318] How to write compelling email copy (podcast)

[335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast)

[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)

[353] How to grow your audience through Instagram Stories with Tyler McCall (podcast)

[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

How to add closed captions to your videos using Rev and Kapwing (blog post)

Build Your Audience Programme

Special offer - How to write awesome sales copy

How to create a high converting lead magnet course

Order your special offer 2019 Media Diary

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)

Rev.com*

Kapwing

Social Media Video Engagement Playbook

Social Media Engagement Playbook

LinkedIn Content Strategy Playbook

Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

The post [362] How to grow your Instagram following to 27k - fast appeared first on Janet Murray.

[361] 15 post ideas for your Facebook group

vendredi 23 août 2019 • Duration 20:12

Do you ever feel all out of ideas for your Facebook group?

Or maybe you’re just tired of posting the same old stuff and/or looking for ideas to boost engagement in your group.

This list of go-to posts will you keep you going...even when you’re feeling at your most uninspired.

{Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode}

1. Opinions please

Got a new product/service to launch? Ask your members to help you decide on the name/title, which logo design you should use and/or which colour you should stock it in.

2. Win of the week

Ask your members to share their biggest ‘win’ of the week. Great for a Friday morning post.

3. The big promotion

Invite your members to share something they want to shout about. This could be anything from a new product or service they’re launching to an achievement they are proud of. To avoid people spamming your group with sales pitches, this is best restricted to a specific day/date.

4. Your week in emojis

Ask your members to describe their day/week in three emojis.

5. Shout out

‘Shout out’ member successes. For best results, shout out several members at a time and tag them into your post.

6. Honesty time

Invite your members to share one thing they are struggling with right now - something they might feel awkward about sharing outside of the group.

7. In the news

Is there a news story everyone is talking about right now? Ask your members what they think about it. Bonus tip: don’t share a link to an article someone else has written about it - explain it in your own words (or on video).

8. Emoji review

Invite your members to review your latest blog post, podcast episode, Youtube video - or your latest Facebook Live video in the group - using just three emojis.

9. The winning shot

Just had a new set of headshots taken for your business? Share your favourites and ask your followers to vote on their winning shot. You can do the same with product photography.

10. Home sweet home

Ask your members to post the name of the town/city where they live (or a photo/video).

11. My favourite place

Invite your members to share a photo or video of their favourite spot in their home/office.

12. Sneak peek

Give a sneak peek of a new product/service you’re working on.

13. Quick tutorial

Shoot a quick ‘how to’ video tutorial showing for your members on a specific topic e.g. how to light their smartphone videos (without any fancy equipment), how to wrap an awkward shaped gift or how to knock up a nativity costume for your child in 30 mins.

14. Oops I did it again

Share the outtakes from your latest social media video or podcast recording. Or share the pictures that didn’t make it to your feed (e.g. the cat walking across your Instagram flatlay).

15. Can you guess what it is?

Share a tool/resource you use in your work and get your members to guess what you use it for.

Want more? Head over and download the full 31 ideas here.

Want to go more indepth then head over to my Facebook group engagement Masterclass that you can buy here.

If you are struggling to get engagement on social media then you can buy my social media engagement playbook here.

Podcast shownotes

How to sell and create a buzz in your group by asking for feedback on your products (01:44)
How to celebrate your group members’ successes and create engagement (3:27)
Why you should give members a specific day to promote their own business (04:17)
How emojis can be used to get everyone talking (05:28)
How to inspire other members by doing a member shout out and share success (5:40)
How encouraging honesty amongst members can support members and create engagement (07:15)
How to use a current news story that divides opinion in your Facebook group (and why you should tell it in your own words) (08:28)
How to use recent business photos to create engagement (10:34)
How you can create engagement just from asking about places (11:51)
Why you should get people to share their behind the scenes (12:57)
Why you need to have one clear call to action on your Facebook group post (13:25)
How to create content in your Facebook group by being helpful (14:00)
How to get your Facebook group engaged by sharing the bits that go wrong in your business (15:11)
Why you need to keep an eye on your content and change it if it’s not working (16:17)
How the Facebook algorithm favours content in groups with comments (17:40)

Resources

Record your screen with Loom
Edit photos with Snapseed
How to do an iTunes review

[192] How to get more engagement on your Facebook page (podcast)[318] How to write compelling email copy (podcast)[320] How to host a Christmas sale on Facebook Live (podcast)[329] What's working on Facebook right now with Liz Melville (podcast)[335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast)[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)[357] How to transform your Facebook page from ghost town to garden party (podcast)

[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

How to add closed captions to your videos using Rev and Kapwing (blog post)

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

Build Your Audience Programme

How to create a high converting lead magnet course

Order your special offer 2019 Media Diary

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)

Rev.com*

Kapwing

Social Media Video Engagement Playbook

Social Media Engagement Playbook

LinkedIn Content Strategy Playbook

Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

The post [361] 15 post ideas for your Facebook group appeared first on Janet Murray.

[360] How to get people to open your emails

vendredi 16 août 2019 • Duration 57:06

If you want to get people to open your marketing emails, you need to write compelling email subject headers.

But what makes a great email subject header? Which words and phrases make people more likely to open your emails? And which ones should you avoid?

That's exactly what I cover in this podcast episode on how to get people to open your emails. It’s packed with tips, tricks and examples you can use to improve your email open rate.

Before you get started, here’s a bit of tough love for you. I wish I could give you one strategy or one blueprint you could follow to get people to open your emails. But as every audience is different, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

What I can do is share the strategies that work really well for me, for my clients, and for others in the industry. But if you want to improve your email open rates, you're going to have to be brave, you're going to have to be courageous, and you're going to have to go and test things out and see what works for you.

1. Make a list of what keeps your ideal client (or newsletter reader) up at night

The first thing you need to understand is that people don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons. So if you want to write effective email subject headers, you need to understand your prospective clients' emotions. That’s why I recommend starting by making a list of your ideal clients’ problems and their worries. For example, my prospective clients often tell me they’re worried their clients are going to dry up, that they struggle to stick to a consistent content publishing/schedule and that they feel overwhelmed by all the marketing options out there. The more I can understand that, the better placed I’ll be to write great email subject headers that will get them to open my emails.

2. Don’t be vanilla

Most of us have overflowing inboxes. We only open things that pique our interest.

So if you want to increase your email open rate - and increase your sales - you've got to be courageous. That means no playing it safe with boring and/or ‘vanilla’ email subject headers.

3. Go through your own inbox and look at what gets your attention (I save mine)

One of the best ways to get ideas for your own email subject headers is to go through your inbox and see which ones caught your attention. Analyse why they caught your attention and what you could use/adapt for your own email subject headers. Save them in a folder and look through them when you need inspiration.

4. Ask Questions

If you want to get people interested in opening your emails you need to arouse peoples’ curiosity. It can be helpful to think of your subject headers a like a ‘teaser’ for email content.

Asking questions often works well. For example: ‘can you answer this question honestly?’ or ‘what kind of results can you expect from working with me?’

This invites the reader to get into a conversation with you, which is what great email marketing is all about.

5. Surprise your subscribers

Introducing an element of surprise works well too. For example: ‘please stop listening to my podcast’, ‘I was wrong about this’ or ‘Facebook hates you. Here’s why.’

Why would I ask people to stop listening to my podcast? What was I wrong about? Why does Facebook hate you?

These statements arouse curiosity and intrigue, which means people are far more likely to open the email.

6. Use genuine scarcity

If you have a genuinely time-sensitive offer, don’t be afraid to use that in your email subject header e.g. “Last chance’ or ‘enrolments close at midnight.’

Although do keep a close eye on spam trigger words i.e. those that are most likely to mean your email ends up in spam. For example words like ‘discount’ ‘bonus’ or ‘buy’. But don’t get caught up on lists like this - track and measure what’s happening in your own email list.

7. Showing vulnerability is also effective

If you send out an email with a missing link, don’t try to cover it up - email your list, apologise for your mistake and turn it into a content opportunity.

One of my best performing email subject headers is ‘Oops! Of course we know your name really’. This was sent after we accidentally emailed my whole list with their location in the field where their name should have been. Showing that you're human makes you seem more relatable, which can be a great way to build a relationship with your subscribers.

7. Use emojis

There is tons of research to show that emojis can increase your email open rates so experiment and see what works for you. Fun fact: we get a much better open rate when we use the 💩 emoji but more unsubscribes. Experimenting with this type of thing is what makes email marketing so much fun (in my opinion).

8. Experiment with fonts and layout

Try to experiment in other ways too. For example, using all lower- case letters. This can make your email seem more informal as if it’s coming from a friend. Or using brackets or a mixture of caps and lower-case letters (although do be careful, as capital letters can come across a bit ‘shouty’.).

9. Check how your email subject header looks on mobile

Test out how your email subject looks on mobile. Can you see the whole header? Or is some of it missing (in which case, try going for a shorter headline). Some of these seemingly small things can have a big impact on whether your email is opened.

10. Don’t take it personally if people unsubscribe

If you are sending emails as part of your email marketing strategy, you will get unsubscribes. This can be upsetting, but it doesn’t mean you are doing anything ‘wrong’. Track your numbers, but please feel reassured that the odd unsubscribe is fine. You only need to worry if you notice a big increase.

Podcast shownotes

About this podcast (12:24)
Why you need to understand your readers' problems rather than their habits (13:50)
Why your email subjects need to be brave and courageous not boring and safe (16:07)
How to research emails that grab your attention (and examples of good subject headers) (16:48)
Why making your email subject header intriguing will increase open rates (20:18)
Examples of my best email subject headers with tips on how you can use them (20:32)
How changing sentence structures can trigger emotional reactions (29:40)
How showing vulnerability can really get your audience on side (34:38)
Why you should create email content out of mistakes you make in your business (and hear a few of mine including that gift email!) (38:22)
Why great email marketing is about starting a two-way conversation (44:51)
Why unsubscribes are not the end of the world and can actually save you money (47:06)
Why you shouldn’t feel bad if someone complains about your emails (49:06)
Things to consider about the layout of your subject headers and using emojis (52:16)
Why you need to test and experiment with your subject headers (54:47)

Resources

Spam trigger words to avoid

[359] How to create an email newsletter people look forward to receiving (podcast)
[300] How to Build an audience and why you need to (podcast)
[318] How to write compelling email copy (podcast)
[325] Three social media posts that will help you generate sales (podcast)
[333] 39 surprisingly easy ways to increase your email subscribers list (podcast)
[335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast)
[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)
[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

How to create a high converting lead magnet course

Order your special offer 2019 Media Diary

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)