How do I know? I do this every single month. And every time I create something physical, it sells better, it gets better results and honestly, it helps hold the people of my course more accountable.  

BUT, let’s not hate on digital products completely. There is absolutely a market for digital products. 100%.

Some people tend to do great with digital offerings, and if it works for them, that’s great. I just feel very strongly about the fact that there is a need for more physical products as well.

How to Make a Physical Product of Your Course or Membership

For those of you that have purchased my Moolah course, you know that it’s an online “go at your own pace” kinda course. BUT, in addition to that, everyone who purchased Moolah (starting from the January 2019 launch) also got a physical binder mailed to them as well.

Why? 

Because everyone learns and absorbs differently. AND it adds more value to what I’m offering.

If you happen to have a course that doesn’t change a ton, offering a physical product can be amazing.

Teaching guitar or something along those lines where the meat of the course is consistent? It’s prime for creating a physical product.

One of the students of Moolah, Ana Willis, teaches Hebrew and her course is one that wouldn’t change often and could be a great candidate for a physical product as well.

See where I’m going with this? 

There are so many reasons why having a physical product can elevate your offerings to a whole other level. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking…what if something changes in my course?

That’s fine! There is a way to handle that with ease.

The answer? Create your physical product in binder form so if a section does change, you can have your students remove that section and replace with the new one. Easy peasy. 

That way, when change happens (and it does), you’re just replacing a small section or a few pieces of paper rather than a whole new book. Adds flexibility for your offerings and saves a ton of money in the long run, too.

How can your physical product add value to your customers?

Guys. Without a doubt, a physical product adds immediate value.

Why?

Because when you give them something that is there in their face, it tends to MAKE them be more actionable. What do I mean by that exactly?

How easy is it to ignore something in our email or online just because we “can”. Super simple, right? BUT, when you create a physical product that can’t just be hidden that easily, it tends to make people take more action.

The binders that we created for Moolah are bright green for a reason. Yes, we could have done black or gray or something color like that…but we did green because we knew that it would catch and capture attention. The moment that the person sees that binder, it reminds them of their course that they’ve invested in. 

How hard is it to create a physical product to sell? 

Here’s the deal…it’s not hard at all.

I’m in love with the site AliExpress and I use it all the time for my binder needs. Products there a cheap, and actually, provide great value to my physical products.

I can literally go online, buy something in bulk that is a fit with my course and it INSTANTLY adds value to what I’m offering. 

What will people pay for a physical product? 

While I don’t have the magic answer to that, I can tell you that if there is a physical product attached, people will pay more. Period.

If you want to create a digital course, you can increase your chance of making a lot of money simply by adding some sort of physical product that adds value. 

One one of my sites, I have a printable about meal planning. (Yes, I dabble in a lot of things) So, while I knew this printable was of value as it was, I also knew that there was a way to increase that value, too. 

I made one simple addition…For $9.99, you can get a magnet for your fridge that has the same information as the printable, but just in a physical form that you could see all the time…guess what? It sold. And it sold a bunch.

See what I mean? Creating a physical product doesn’t have to be anything drastic. Not at all. 

It can be as simple as creating bumper stickers, t-shirts, binders….you name it. Whatever you can sell that goes along with your offering increase your value a ton.

PLUS, it helps with your branding, too. 

What is the cost of having a physical product?

Again, it is going to vary. It depends on what you choose and if you are going to pay for shipping as well. 

My product for my course costs me anywhere between $6-$20 to create and another $6-$20 to ship. And while I know that’s a wide number, there are a lot of factors that play into that as well. 

Depending on where I order from can change the cost, and if I assemble it myself…you get the idea. And strategically, we choose priority shipping as a way to get our product to our customers quicker because that adds even more value. 

When people order your product, they want it fast. (Don’t we all?) The more quickly you can get your product into their hands, the more quickly they’re going to react in using or wearing it. 

The longer it takes, the more it gets pushed back in their needs and thoughts. 

Bottom line?

If you have the ability to create a physical product for your course or offerings, do so. It’s truly an investment that will offer great rewards and dividends to you and your customers.

The post How to Create a Physical Product to Pair with Your Course or Membership appeared first on Rachel Miller.

You’ve spent so much energy and time in creating the perfect ad. You’ve followed the advice. You’ve read all the tips. But your ads are still not converting. It feels as if you are throwing your hard-earned money down the toilet.

Facebook Advertising Strategy: 3 Secrets to Fix Non-Converting Ads

Now you’re second-guessing yourself. You want to give up and hide under the covers. You’d rather be binge-watching the latest show on Netflix or clean your house. Anything to avoid the frustration of Facebook.

You’re not alone. I’ve been there too. Let me ask you a question. What if making a few tweaks to your Facebook advertising strategy is the answer? What if you could turn those non-converting Facebook ads into a moolah-making machine?

Maybe you’ve just started and haven’t seen a lot of positive gains. Maybe you’ve been tackling Facebook ads for a while and need some new ideas. Perhaps you are considering Facebook, but not convinced it will work for you. Wherever you are at in your journey, there are critical components to creating a successful advertising strategy on Facebook. Let’s dive in together.

Behind the Hype: Do Facebook Ads Really Work?

If your Facebook ads are flopping like a fish out of water, you might be wondering if they even work. It’s a fair question.

If you want to grow your business (organically or with ads), Facebook is one of the places to be. According to Hootsuite, 1.47 billion people log in daily. Seventy-four percent of American Facebook users visit daily. Half of those people, check Facebook multiple times per day.

This means there is lots of potential. It means having a presence is important. It means being consistent with how you show up is critical to your marketing strategy.

The reality is Facebook can be very overwhelming, especially with ads. What’s your campaign objectives, target audience, type of ad, ad copy, image, link format, etc. You can easily get bogged down by the nitty-gritty details. But the details don’t mean anything if you don’t have a strong foundation.

Here’s the deal. Facebook ads do work – if you have a solid Facebook advertising strategy. That means you need to think through some important details before you dive in headfirst.

• A crystal-clear objective and purpose for advertising is essential
• Understanding your market, industry, and competitors
• Proven track record of sales
• Engaging content with your community
• Messaging that connects

If you don’t have these key elements in place your Facebook ads will not convert.

Does that leave you feeling defeated? Let me stop you right there. That’s why this community is so important. We are obsessed with getting you traffic – organic and paid. Right now, we are talking about paid traffic from Facebooks ads.

So What Is A Successful Advertising Strategy, Anyway?

According to online gossip, 62% of small businesses fail with Facebook ads. That paints a gloomy picture. Many businesses are struggling to create ads that convert. Many are gun-shy because of uncertainty.

We’re all about Facebook advertising strategies that get you results. We could focus on the step-by-step do’s and don’ts of creating your ad. But those details won’t mean much if you don’t look at the entire picture.

Let’s take a step back and look at the bigger WHY. Specifically, reviewing the elements that will make or break your ad before you even launch it. Otherwise, you are hurting your chances of success before you even begin.

Having a successful advertising strategy creates more opportunity. Do you want more of the following?

• Visibility
• Engagement
• Community
• Larger Email List
• New Clients
• More Sales
• Moolah in the bank
• And the list goes on

Regardless of where you are advertising, it’s important to remember that you will never get it perfect. Even the most seasoned marketers make mistakes.

Plus, social media is continuously changing. Facebook algorithms are always evolving. That’s why there is never a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to marketing. There will always be tweaks that need to make. There will always be room to improve.

Does that make you feel hesitant? We don’t want to scare you; however, it’s all about learning from every experience. It’s all about taking things to the next level. Facebook is no different.

Facebook can be incredibly rewarding for your business. The benefits outweigh the risks, especially when you have a strategic approach.

Common Facebook Advertising Strategy Mistakes

Facebook is an integral part of your marketing strategy. You already know that it’s a great tool, especially for creating community and engagement. It even has the potential to be a money-maker.

The hitch in your giddy-up is your ads are not working. They are getting you nowhere fast. If your Facebook ads are not converting, it might be time to reassess. I recommend a time out. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

This is not about those nitty-gritty campaign set-up details. We are talking about the high-level mistakes that can get you into trouble fast. If you don’t take time to get your strategy down, you are shooting yourself in the foot before you even start your campaign.

The three biggest advertising strategy mistakes include:

• Not having organic sales before you advertise
• Not knowing your people
• Not connecting emotionally with your message

The good news is there is hope. You can still fix them no matter where you are at in your Facebook ad journey. You can turn things around by making a few tweaks. Learn how to optimize your Facebook advertising strategy is a business must. Why? Simply because it means saving your hard-earned money instead of wasting it. Let’s look at each of these mistakes in detail and how to fix it.

Here are three ways to fix your non-converting ads and save your hard-earned money!!

Tip #1: The Only Question For Your Facebook Advertising Puzzle

This question is the key to your Facebook puzzle. This question alone can save you a lot of frustration (and money). Drum roll, please!

Have you had success with this product or service before you started advertising on Facebook?

Is it compelling? Does it already work? Do you have a proven history of sales?

If you aren’t able to sell without ads, that’s a red flag. Which means you might need to pause your ad spend for the time being.

It’s the equivalent of paddling your boat upstream. Facebook is already complicated enough on its own. You don’t want to make things harder on yourself.

For me, I don’t put ad money on something until I can sell it without an ad. Why? Because I want to make sure I’ve actually got people that are naturally engaged before I scale it with ads.

If you’ve already attracted the audience, it should sell organically. If not, perhaps it’s time to play detective and refine your sales process.

You want your ads to become the fuel for the fire. They’re not the match that strikes the fire.

Action Step: Do you really understand your audience? If not, perhaps you need to dig deeper and determine who is the right audience for your business. Learn the three steps to engage the right audience.

Tip #2: Stay on Target

Make sure you’re targeting the right people. Who is buying your products and services? What do you know about them? Your product or service needs to match up to the audience.

Think about your market. Think about your industry. Think about your competitors. If you have the wrong audience, it will destroy your results.
That means fewer conversions and more money down the drain.

Here’s an example. On my cat page, I want to make sure my cat products are going to my cat audience. On my DIY home page, yes, my cute cats would probably go viral with my DIY home audience. But they’re not going to buy cat stuff. I want to have DIY home stuff in that audience.

CONFESSION: I’ve made some stupid mistakes in the past. We targeted the wrong people. We paid a lot of money for those ads, and we had to throw it all away. I don’t want that to happen for you. Make sure you’re targeting the right people for your business.

And if you think that you are targeting the wrong audience. You’re not alone. It happens to all of us. Live and learn. Make the necessary tweaks and get back to it.

Make sure that you’re not just attracting eyeballs; you’re attracting the right eyeballs to convert to buyers for you.

Action Step: Once you attract the eyeballs, now what? Keep them engaged with your content. Here’s an information-packed resource to take the guesswork out of your creating juicy viral-worthy content.

Tip #3: Switch It Up

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their Facebook ad strategy is in the messaging. Too often it comes across as heavy-handed or overly salesy. If you are too pushy, they will instantly have their guard up. Some ads even come across as bossy. Let’s face it – no one likes to be told what to do.

It’s important to remember that there is a human on the other end of your ad. It’s easy in this digital world we live in to take emotion out of our messaging. But that is the key (and often missing) ingredient, which can hurt your conversions.

Think about posts on your business page. What have people liked, commented, or shared the most? See what words you used and make those a springboard for your copy (if relevant).

Shift your messaging to focus on the person seeing your ad – not on you. Be authentic and loving in a way that’s true to your voice and your brand.
You need to connect. You need to bring value. You need to be of service.
When you do this, they will automatically be willing to take that next step with you.

If you aren’t sure what message will connect with your audience, you may need to do some testing. Create multiple variations of your ad.

Another reason your ad may not convert is that your messaging lacks a clear next step. There are a lot of advertisements that cram too many objectives into one ad.

In an ideal world, your people will see your ad and automatically do all the things: like, comment, share, sign up for your email list and purchase a product or service.

The reality is if you have too many next steps, then it becomes info overload. Sometimes that leads to confusion. They take no action as if they are frozen or paralyzed.

Sometimes it’s the lingo. Even subtle hints can be turn-offs. Keep it stripped down and as simple as possible. Have different ads for different call-to-actions. Don’t muddy the messaging waters. Make it crystal clear what you want them to do next.

Action Step: Do your Facebook ads have any of these banned words? If you want to improve your conversions, make sure to avoid these words. Plus, we include what phrases to use instead!

It’s Time to Take Action Y’all

Creating Facebook advertising strategies that convert is not for the faint of heart. It can be overwhelming. It can be pull-out-your-hair frustrating when you are spending your hard-earned cash on ads that aren’t converting.

I get it. I’ve been there myself.

Whether you are a Facebook-land newbie or veteran, there is always room to learn and grow. Making a few tweaks to your strategy can be an absolute game-changer.

Take a step back and evaluate your strategy before you get lost in the weeds of creating your ad. When you have a plan that aligns with these best practices, you are setting yourself up for a major win.

Once you’ve got the perfect audience, filled with perfect buyers and you’re saying the message that they relate to then that’s when the magic happens. They raise their hands and say, “I want more of this.”

Facebook is a monster topic. We barely scratched the surface of the advertising strategies that can take you to the next level. What made a difference in my business is when I connected with others. I highly recommend getting involved with a community of like-minded peeps who are there to encourage, guide, and support you. Keep going – you’ve got this!

Here are my suggested resources to support you in your Facebook journey. Don’t miss out – grab these goodies!

• The Ultimate Audience Growth Pack – Turn up the volume with. More engagement, traffic and results. Take your business to the next level with these worksheets!
• 25 Grab and Use Viral Titles to boost traffic and visibility.
• 23 Conversation Starters to jumpstart engagement on your page.
• What Words to Avoid – A Banned Phrase List for your posts and ads (And what phrases to use instead).
• If you haven’t enrolled in my Page Strategies e-course yet, make sure you get on the waiting list!

Frequently Asked Question 

How can I use Facebook ads in 2019?

You can use Facebook ads in 2019 to promote your business, content, products, and more. The key is to have a solid advertising strategy in place before you create your first ad.

How do you advertise effectively on Facebook?

To advertise effectively on Facebook, you need to have a solid strategy in place. Know your audience, write messaging that connects and be sure you can sell it organically before you create your first ad. Having a solid Facebook advertising strategy in place means that your ads are more likely to convert.

How much do Facebook ads cost in 2019?

Facebook ads vary in cost. It can depend on anything from your industry to how much competition is in your market. Based on the article by FitSmallBusiness.com, the average cost-per-click for Facebook ads (across all industries) is $1.86. Facebook currently has a minimum daily ad spend of $1. Many small businesses spend between $1,000 – $2,000 per month.

We recommend starting small. Test your Facebook ads before you dump a lot of money into the machine. See what converts and then scale up from there. Remember, there are ways to get traffic without spending money on ads. Be sure your advertising strategy includes both paid and unpaid traffic.

The post Facebook Advertising Strategy: 3 Secrets to Fix Non-Converting Ads appeared first on Rachel Miller.

The great thing about Facebook? Anyone (over the age of 13) can join. That opens up an unlimited amount of possibilities for your page and your groups. UNLIMITED. What you post, share and create has the potential to reach MILLIONS of people. Let that sink in for a minute. Mind-blowing.

(and I’m seriously giddy about being able to talk to you about this today)

First and foremost, let’s talk about the strategies behind Facebook groups.

What’s the Point of Growing a Group on Facebook?

Believe this. People love Facebook. But what I think that most people tend to overlook is that there is a difference between a Facebook group and a Facebook page. Are you one of them? Don’t worry, it’s really, really common.

From everything that I’ve learned, there are three ways that people interact on Facebook.

People will interact with your personal profile

They see your picture, and one to know you/talk to you. (And from building a Facebook page standpoint, this can be great. BUT, you can’t sell on your personal profile as it’s against Facebook’s terms of service)

Build Trust

When you interact with your community with your personal profile, it feels far more authentic than talking to a Facebook page. You can’t build trust without authenticity. 

Facebook users love to “like” and follow new pages

This is good news. You can run ads here and really target and connect with your audience. Having a page really gives you the potential to post videos, share content and bring in those potential customers with ease. 

Users love to use messenger to connect

Don’t forget about the hidden power of messenger. It’s a quick and simple way to get in touch with someone or create a “group chat” where you can target in on certain people even more. Messenger makes it easy to get in touch with people that you need and want to connect with. 

While all three ways are essential for interacting on Facebook, don’t forget these other quick tips, too.

You cannot run ads without a page. And you connect building a following with a group. 

It’s seriously as simple as that. 

Once you find your people that are perfect for your group, do well and they will stick around. Give them enough valuable information that they feel as though you’re solving their problems and if you can accomplish that, your Facebook group and communities will grow.

Groups thrive because everyone is there for the same reason. It’s like having your own personal cheerleading section for each and every question. How awesome is that?!

Use the Group Question Feature to Grow Your Email List

We’ve all seen those questions when joining Facebook groups. You can use them too, to build your email list! And we’ve learned from Sarah Mueller how powerful an email list can be. 

You’ve heard me mention a number of times to work smart, not harder, right? This strategy allows us to do just that.

Share Videos from Your Page

You created the content already why not use it to grow beyond your page? Share your video content from your page to your group. This gives you the opportunity to build custom audiences to retarget. This is extremely helpful, especially during launch time.

What is the point of having a Facebook group when I already have a Facebook page with thousands of fans? 

I’ll be the first to tell you that what works for some doesn’t work for all. You may be able to bypass a free group and offer some sort of paid group right out of the gate. It’s all in how you present the information and how well your audience believes in your message.

Everyone is different. All your followers and subscribers are looking for “something”. Some will be forever fans and will buy anything that you offer while others may need a little bit more convincing. Remember when I said that it takes putting content in front of people’s eyes 7 times before they decide to buy? THIS IS NOT A FAKE STATISTIC. Some people drag their feet a lot longer than others.

When I ran a free group, I was able to convert 1 out of every 7 users…that’s a pretty darn good number. (tooting my own horn here a bit) BUT, was there potential for it to be better? Possibly. 

That’s the beauty of using Facebook groups to your benefit. You have to find out what works for you. 

Is there a clear path to starting a Facebook group?

The short answer? No. While I’m here to provide guidance and answer questions, I also know that I’ve given the people in my groups enough breadcrumbs and information to find their path. THIS IS WHAT I LOVE TO DO.

In my own personal path, I started a free group first. And I had just 100 people. I used multiple page strategies and I taught them in their own time. Then, once I showed them that I was of value to them, I hammered them with sales. 

And while I was hammering them with sales, I was also their biggest cheerleader along the way, too. 

My goal and want? For my free group to be of huge value. Why? Because if they like what I have to offer, they’ll verbally tell others and my free group will join. All with little effort from me.

Winner-winner. 

I like giving people the tools to find success, but I want it to be a bit messy so that they still need to use the resources that I’m selling as well. I offer things to them in a very sequential way – and I do this on purpose. 

If I have nobody in my Facebook group, how do I even get started? 

When you have literally zero Facebook fans, zero fans on your page, zero fans in your group, you need to start “collecting” friends. Sounds a bit like a hoarder, right?

No shame.

When I started my journey on Facebook, I would meet different friends and connect with them. They were mainly blogging friends and we would talk about ways to blog and grow our audience. Keep in mind I knew none of them in real life. 

I decided that I needed to create an interest group on Facebook, and I messaged each of them (in like groups of 20) inviting them and creating this group. 

Once I had about 200-400 “friends”, I knew my group was set. 

If you have zero people in your Facebook group, you have to get out and connect with people so that they can learn about you and trust you. Once they do, you’ll find that they want to be a part of whatever you’re a part of. 

How can you actively grow your Facebook group?

The simple answer? You need to be present. Your group is there because of YOU and if they never see you, they don’t hold any value into what you’re posting. 

Show up. Deliver. Go live in the group. Have them ask questions that you actually respond to and answer. 

Make conversations with them every single day. And I mean that. Literally EVERY SINGLE DAY.

If you start your Facebook group with the mindset that you value them and their conversations, you’re setting yourself up for a path towards solid success. 

As your Facebook group grows, should you have moderators to help?

YES. If you can find someone that knows your page, your mission and has your voice, let them help you! You don’t want your group to have to wait for information and answers. This is where moderators are HUGE. 

The time is now to start a Facebook group. Why wait? If you wait, success will never come. And don’t worry, you’ll learn a lot along the way, and I’m here to help as well.

Find your passion for helping others and creating amazing content that just can’t be missed out on. Facebook groups and pages are one easy and simple way to make this happen. 

The post The Power of Growing a Group – Leveraging Your Audience appeared first on Rachel Miller.

Have a question about any of these… or would you like a tutorial on a different type of post? Shout out in our Facebook group!

How To Create & Schedule A Facebook Photo Post Using Paint or Canva

How To Create a Note on Facebook

How To Create a Photo Slideshow, Carousel & Album on Facebook

How To Schedule A Draft in Creator Studio

How To Create a Conversation Starter or Reader Question on Facebook

How To Create Three Different Types of Polls on Facebook

Facebook Stories Tutorial

How To Create An Event on Facebook

How To Host A Watch Party on Facebook

How To Create A Fundraiser Post on Facebook

How To Create A ‘Dark Post’ on Facebook
You would use this type of post if you wanted to post something that wasn’t going to be seen in your follower’s newsfeed.

For example, if you had a post that was doing well but it had too much text on it to get approved for an ad/boost you may try recreating it with less than 20% text coverage. You wouldn’t want to post something with the same quote right away on your page so you could create the post in ads manager instead.

Another time you might do this is if you were testing variations of a post. Maybe you have a quote that you think will do well but you want to see what type of background photo will resonate best with your audience. You could create variations of the quote graphic and make dark posts instead of loading all four to your page and having them overload the FB newsfeed.

How To Edit Your Live on Facebook

How To Create and Instant Experience on Facebook

How To Create A Video with Camtasia & Filmora and Post on Facebook

Have a question about any of these… or would you like a tutorial on a different type of post? Shout out in our Facebook group!

The post Facebook Post Tutorials appeared first on Rachel Miller.

What do I mean?

You collect all the similar types of tasks and do them in a “marathon” – You brainstorm and do all your title research at ONE time.  You collect all the titles, and outline, not one post, but TEN at a time.

Then you create the images – even photograph them, in a big batch.

You write the posts all at one time, or in a single day.

When you batch you are able to get into a flow state.

Increase your production by batching and outsourcing content creation tasks. 

I’ve been where you are. Sleepness nights, stressed out, wondering how in the world you’re going to get everything done. That to-do list is growing at a never-ending rate…been there, done that.

But guess what y’all? Get into the content flow!  You CAN make it happen and you CAN become a content making machine.

Outsourcing Content Creation Elements

I’ve written two books, one which is a best seller, which I’ve sold over 100,000 copies – each book has 101 activities in it.  That is essentially 202 blog posts!!  I was able to create those, create the assets for social media posts to promote the books, all while cranking out another 1000 blog post articles over my blogging career… AND while running a business, blogging full time, and raising 6 kids all under the age of 6.

How in the world did I do it? How did I pull it off? Here’s my step-by-step approach to get your self into the FLOW and then batch your content so you can be more productive.

Step #1: Break the Project Down Into Creation Stages

So, think about how you pack for a vacation. More than likely, you compartmentalize a bit and pack your stuff, the kids stuff, the food items, the books…see where I’m going with this?

Guess what? You can use that same process to map out your content production workflow.

I’m 100% serious that it’s that simple.

When I decided that I was going to write the book, I literally used laundry baskets and had them laid all around the room. Then, I split those laundry baskets in half and packed everything needed for one of the activities that I was going to write about into that one side of the laundry basket. Then, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Once you’re organized with your projects, it’s time to call in the troops.

Step #2: Map Out Batching Elements

Whether you’re an influencer, creative, blogger or anything in between, it’s absolutely imperative to learn how to batch your content to save you time and sanity. 

While it may not sound exciting, it’s actually a lot of fun especially when you co-work. Build a “batch team” to get you through a month’s worth of blog posts, chapters for your book, or lessons for your e-course. 

Step #3: Outsource Content Production Tasks

Wrapping up steps #1 and #2 will make outsourcing far simpler. You’ll now have clear roles to fill. 

I’ve hired a number of service providers to help me get through the nitty gritty of content production. Here are a few examples of jobs I’ve let go to others so I could focus on areas that I truly enjoyed.

Photographer or Videographer 

Hiring a photographer or videographer for the day can save you both time and money as opposed to paying per project.

In my case, from the moment they showed up, I literally took out whatever activity that I batched in the half laundry basket. I got it set up so the photos or video production could start.

Guys — literally everything is done in one fluid motion when you have others helping. You can really start to crank out the content.

Don’t stop until you’ve gone through all your activities and props. 

If you still decide to create your own video content, check out these 7 time-saving video production tips!

Ghostwriter 

One of the other big pieces to the puzzle is to figure out how to have the words written for your book, your blog posts, your newsletters, etc. Find someone that can convey your thoughts and voice, and let them write for you!

Give them your notes, your photos and then “peace out” for the weekend. Not only will this save you a ton of time, but a ton of stress as well. And remember, you can always edit and add in anything that you need to at the end.

Graphic Designer

Creating the pins and images can be a time-sucker, so don’t get caught up in it. Have your templates already created and your logo ready as well. That way, once the photos or video are done for the day, you can literally size them, drop them in, and get them out for the Pinterest world to see and discover.

PS – This works with affiliate marking or drop shipping as well. Same concept. Big batch everything and get your pictures all at once. That way you can share them with your audience and have a huge stockpile to cycle through as well.

You’ll have pictures and content for months for just a few hours work!

Other Tasks to Outsource:

• Social Media Strategists or Scheduler
• Editors
• Copywriter
• Content management
• Launch strategists
• PR
• and more…

Other Time and Sanity Saving Tips for Content Creation

Plan Ahead With Pinterest Templates

Creating the pins and images can be a time-sucker, so don’t get caught up in it. Have your templates already created and your logo ready as well. That way, once the photos or video are done for the day, you can literally size them, drop them in, and get them out for the Pinterest world to see and discover.

PS – This works with affiliate marking or drop shipping as well. Same concept. Big batch everything and get your pictures all at once. That way you can share them with your audience and have a huge stockpile to cycle through as well.

You’ll have pictures and content for months for just a few hours work!

Rent an AirBnB for the Day

If you need to record videos or have a photo shoot, don’t waste time cleaning your house.  Just rent an Airbnb for the day. Seriously! That peace of mind of just having to pay a $60 cleaning fee is worth it. So true, right?!

If you do decide to use an Airbnb as a place to set up shop, sketch and plan out your trip ahead of time. This not only saves time, but it allows you to show up ready to rock and roll.

Seriously guys…batching your content and outsourcing major elements work. And if you plan ahead of time, you can literally create a year of content, an entire book or even more by just working hard for one day.

How amazing is that?!

Need help with headlines that are proven to bring in eyeballs?

Grab my viral titles cheat sheet and watch your traffic increase with just a few tweaks! This plug and publish worksheets are one of the reasons my blogs still get 1M+ pageviews every single month.

The post Outsourcing Content Creation Tasks to Save Your Sanity appeared first on Rachel Miller.

• “Who are you?”
• “What’s most important to you?”
• “What are your struggles?”

The answers to these questions unlock all the resources you need to take to transition your business from zero to MASSIVE. One of my mentors, Ryan Levesque, did exactly that. He created the ASK Method and went from zero to $25K per month in 18 months!!!

I found that there’s a path to making money online and that is to ask people what they’re struggling with in a market to understand their pains, their needs, their wants and desires. Then from there build your products and services based on that. – Ryan Levesque

Engage Your Audience on an Emotional Level

So, guys, there’s a clear difference between connecting with your audience’s heart and following trends, right? Yes, it seems like great money to be a part of the uptick. But, ask any surfer, you’ll completely wipeout if you paddle when the wave is right there. 

For Ryan, that was no different. He saw a trending market in Scrabble tile jewelry on Etsy. But what happened?

We took this business to making almost $8,000 a month in a tiny little niche market starting from scratch. Now the story doesn’t have like a super happy ending because like it, it turns out it was a fad. 

Finding Pain Points NOT Fads

Clearly fads, well they fade, don’t they? That’s not a dependable long-term marketing strategy.  

You want a business that’s going to stand the test of time. 

So true! We don’t want to repeat the build and launch over and over and over. That’s extremely exhausting! I don’t know any entrepreneur who sets a goal to create a cycle of insanity. Seriously, that’s the complete opposite of “working smarter not harder.”

When I first started beta testing Moolah, I had a handful of people participating. It was within this tight-knit group that I built the Page Strategies e-course you know and love today. 

I applied Ryan Levesque’s ASK Method during the beta launch. And well, you can see for yourself, that Moolah has grown by leaps and bounds. I listened to my audience’s pain points about Facebook as it relates to their business. Guys, at that point I knew I had the skill set to build pages from zero to a million. I had done multiple times. I wanted to share that with knowledge, but I needed to be clear in my messaging, course outline, and lessons so that it really solved my students’ pain points.

Ryan did the same thing with his orchid business. 

I learned my lesson. I said, all right, if we’re going to go into another market, we’re going to go into a market that is not a fad. And so I picked a market that’s the longest, a lasting oldest hobbies in America, which is a sub-niche in gardening. The gardening niche that we went into was specifically caring for (orchids). 

Ryan and I were both able to use our audience to identify pain points. But how did we get to the point where we had an audience to engage with?

The Audience to ASK

We’ve talked about that in our niches where we want to target not just anyone in the niche. We only want our pages to target the most active people who are responding, the ones that can’t help themselves. This ties right in. He picked orchids because it had that high engagement, high activity level inside that niche. So, I love that he reached out where people were already buzzin’.

We started asking these questions and I started identifying that in the market…that there were these pockets of what we call “hyper-responsives”. 

Did you catch this in the interview? You don’t need a website, friends. What you do need is a niche and you need people to start engaging with. Those are the key foundational pieces. It’s not the fancy designer built website or even the product itself. It’s the niche and audience!

Biggest mistake people make is they build something and then try to sell it.  The aspect of that the thing that’s come to be known as the aspect of the process that I’ve learned along the way is that you begin by asking questions to understand what it is that your audience wants and in response to those answers, you create something that you know they want to buy. 

The 3 Steps in the ASK Method that Will Help You Engage Your Audience

Pssst…you’ll definitely want to get on the waitlist to Ryan’s ASK Method program to really dive into all these steps.

Discovery: We’re not jumping right in and asking people what they want because that’s not always easy to answer for anyone. The goal is to reveal what they don’t want.

When you ask these types of questions, that’s one example, then you can start to understand what it is that your audience might actually want to buy.

Y’all I implemented this stage first too. I asked our non-buyers the question, “why didn’t you buy?” And it was mindblowing. 5% of them had the same answer. Well, guess what? I knew exactly what my next bonus was going to be. I thought this was a no-brainer. It’s so awesome the power of what happens when you interview your audience and you’re able to segment them. Now I know two things that I can easily create as bonuses or have somebody else create as a bonus for my program that will answer those issues.

Segmentation: Because there’s no one size fits all way to engage with people, we need to communicate with our audience in different ways. In order to understand that “groups” in our audience, we need to start segmenting them into buckets. 

So, here’s the thing with Moolah, up until just recently, we still sent people to the same sales page. However, they had the perceived customization because they came in telling me a little bit about their needs. So there was a perceived feeling like I’m getting something that’s just for me, even though I didn’t have time, make another sales page.

In every market there are three to five hyper-responsive buckets of people that you want to focus. 

Launch: Finally the last piece to the puzzle, maybe? Well, now that you know your audience and how to talk to them, it’s definitely time to launch. You can put all that information your audience shared with you to work.

Using the ASK Method, I was able to grow Moolah Marketing by…

• finding people in a specific stage of their business growth
• listening to their needs and pain points
• and creating the solutions to sell. 

BUT, here’s the kicker…I know, I know, I can’t just give you all of Ryan’s secrets right??? These steps are just a birdseye view of the ASK Method. Ryan’s program may not be open for enrollment right now, so grab these goodies while you wait.

• The Ultimate Audience Growth Pack – Jump right ahead to the full pack of worksheets to get your business to the next level.
• 23 Conversation starters to jumpstart engagement on your page.

The post 3 Steps to Engage Your Audience and EARN in Any Niche appeared first on Rachel Miller.

E-Mail Marketing Strategy Step #1: Building the Community

Before we jump head first into e-mail list building. Let’s set the foundation.

We need to transition potential followers from strangers to community members. We need eyeballs, friends! If you’ve already equip yourself with the Pageview Strategies e-course, you already have all the resources you need to do exactly that. If you haven’t enrolled yet, try these 25 Conversation Starters to get your page growing.

Building a community of die-hard fans is HUGE, right? But having an engaged page or group isn’t the ultimate goal, is it? Noooo! 

You want to take them to the next level, build relationships, and really connect so they become “influencers” in their own way! The power of word of mouth advertising is priceless. 

Top 3 E-Mail Marketing Mistakes

So what does Sarah say about the biggest mistakes when it comes to e-mail marketing?

Mistake #1 People just don’t e-mail.

It’s so much work and it’s just so much trouble and you know, and then they start to be afraid or don’t want to bother my readers. You know, I hate getting lots of emails or you know, they make it too big of a deal.  

Mistake #2 Overcomplicating the e-mail process, turning it into a big production.

People often try to cram too much into their emails. They’re like, hey, I wrote this blog post and then there’s this great pin on Pinterest and then here’s 14 other blog posts, this email that just goes on and on and on.

Simplify your e-mails, PLEASE! I have a hard enough time deciding what’s for dinner. I don’t have time to walk through a novel of an e-mail.  Make your e-mails direct and to the point. Tell your subscriber exactly what you need them to do. Like Sarah says, “Train them to take an action.”

Keeping it simple kind of removes those friction points that just paralyzes us from getting that one to-do completed. So I love, LOVE the tip of keeping it simple!

Mistake #3 Being too formal.

You don’t need a fancy template. You don’t have to proofread it 14 times. The way that I approach e-mail and the way that I teach people to do it is, treat it like you’re emailing a friend.

Now, let that sink in for a minute. Doesn’t that make complete sense? In order to turn your fans into hot buyers, you need to build that relationship up. So why wouldn’t you e-mail them as if you’re having a regular conversation?

E-Mail Marketing Strategy Step #2: Gaining Leads

In the Facebook LIVE with Sarah Mueller, from Early Bird Mom, we discussed generating leads. If you’ve already signed up for some our Moolah worksheets you’ll see we absolutely agree with Sarah’s suggestion. 

Create something that’s super, super valuable but also like really, really easy to implement.

I’m a fast action thinker, so e-books and workbooks as opt-ins don’t capture me. The reality is, it doesn’t attract a ton of people because it takes too much effort. We want to give our subscribers quick results because that’s the fastest method for building our credibility. They are celebrating their wins and loving you for it!

Promoting your lead magnets or opt-ins should be a duplicatable process. I personally use landing pages that I can easily replicate and update for the latest opt-in.

I then link those pages organically in blog posts or share them across all my social media platforms. 

E-Mail Marketing Strategy Step #3: Engaging Your List and Keeping Them Warm

So, now you have a list growing through lead generation, what next? There’s no need to recreate the wheel. I’m sure you have content whether it’s a great Facebook post you want to expand on, a story you want to share, or a blog post that’s creating a ton of discussion.  Use those to keep your list engaged. 

When you start to see the replies it’s amazing, right? Questions, comments, and all that good stuff just creates more content and e-mail topics for later. 

…if one person has that question, then 100 others do.

Guys and gals, you need to keep your list warm. You can accomplish that by asking your readers questions, answering them using social media posts. You can do that all while using your list to engage in other places. Keep the conversations going!

AND… Remember, your email list is only one part of the “leads puzzle” – those same people you should create a custom list on Facebook – and you should be targeting them with your content.  They should be on your messenger lists and getting subscription broadcasts over Facebook messenger chats, and if you have a group they should be in there – as your leads, engaging with you.

Keeping your leads warm is a wholistic endeavor.  Our readers are everywhere and we need our marketing to be there with them too.

P.S. This Means You’ll Need More Than Just E-Mail Marketing, Friends!

So this is another thing you need to know about leads. You don’t want them in just one place. If you just have them in e-mail you’re not getting the full picture of that person’s life. If you just have them in a group, well, you can’t retarget them the same way. They don’t buy as much as if you have them in your e-mail as well. And if you don’t have them on a page, well the ads, I mean we all want ads and we want cheap ads, we don’t want to spend money for every eyeball, right?

So we kind of need all three to work together. And I love how, how well Sarah was able to unite the three. 

Here are my suggested resources to start your marketing journey to increasing all three of these major areas. 

• Inbox Invitation (e-book) – This one’s packed with actionable content from our Facebook LIVE guest Sarah Mueller. You thought the information in the replay was good. There’s so much more she shares in this e-book.
• Facebook LIVE video topics – Keep the conversations going with these live topic ideas.
• The Ultimate Audience Growth Pack – Jump right ahead to the full pack of worksheets to get your business to the next level.

If you haven’t enrolled in my Page Strategies e-course yet, make sure you get on the waiting list!

This post may contain affiliate links, please review the disclosure policy for more information.

The post 3 Major Mistakes in Your E-Mail Marketing Strategy and the 3 Steps to Fixing It appeared first on Rachel Miller.

And the sad part is, the larger your page gets, the harder it is to get excited about “meh” traffic. Y’all it’s about as exciting as watching paint dry – you know the eyeballs will come and read your content, but it’s not happening quickly.

1 Million Pageviews a Month – What’s the Secret Sauce?

Jon Morrow’s Freedom Machine course reminded me how something was missing…that magic touch. Somewhere along the line, our content creation workflow shifted. We pumped out content like a machine because we thought that’s what our audience wanted. Tons and tons of new content.

With just one tweak from the very first module of his e-course, we got back on track. 

The content production workflow transitioned to a model similar to the one pictured below. I forgot that our readers should be driving our content. We were stuck in that blogging perspective that Morrow talks about.

You see, we thought of blogging as something separate from everything else we had going on. And that’s exactly what Jon talks about in his course.

Challenge your blogging brand and flip the perspective a bit. Find your audience, listen to your audience, and let them tell you exactly what they are looking for. The funny thing is, it’s not so different than my Moolah strategy is it? 

The best indicator of what people want is to analyze the content they are already clicking, reading and sharing. – Jon Morrow, Freedom Machine

1 Hour of Research = 3 Months of Content Ideas!

Jon suggests using research-based tools like Buzzsumo to identify popular posts on similar sites. However, just to start the ball rolling we used our social media audiences to review what they engaged with the most. If you don’t have an audience yet, don’t worry! Review comparable sites that have a reader-base of 1 million or more.

Take an hour and review what posts are getting the most engagement:

1. Is there a pattern of topic ideas within your niche?
2. How many likes, comments, shares, pins are they generating?
3. Write out trending topics.
4. Bullet point blog post ideas based on each trending topic.

It’s through this exercise that you’ll be able to find the “pattern of popularity” that Jon talks about. Research the patterns for not only topic ideas but headlines as well! You could have a whole quarter of content mapped out in just one session. See how we did it below!

For example:

TOPIC: Cleaning Hacks 

• Bathroom Cleaning Hacks
  • Skip the Elbow Grease with These Powerful Natural Homemade Shower/Bath Cleaners
  • Bathroom Cleaning Tools That Actually Work We Put Them to the Test (affiliate)
• Kitchen Cleaning Hacks
  • Clean Your Microwave in 2 Steps Without Scrubbing!
  • Never Lose A Storage Container Lid Again With This Organization Hack

Building your audience is the key to unlocking a million pageviews!

The Smart Blogger course dives deep into shifting your blogging perspective and really mastering content. And how you view your blog. So what happens when you start to shift your production focus?

You can see the tide start to shift in this monthly view. We increased pageviews by nearly 50%. That’s almost a 500,000 increase in pageviews, friends! I started listening to our tribe. What do they want to read? What type of medium do they prefer to consume? 

My readers LOVE video content and super long lists of ideas! So we shifted. Check out some of my blog’s latest posts from reader led content! Some of my readers even submitted photos that we could use across our social media platforms. You know what that means? They were more likely re-share the heck out of it because they were featured on the blog!

Why are reader-driven pageviews more profitable?

The goal of the Smart Blogger e-course is to create your “Freedom Machine” or 6-figure blog! Most of us know by now, that it doesn’t happen without pageviews.

Pageviews, in general, are stinkin’ cool, right? But, reader-driven pageviews builds trust and loyalty. Your fans or followers feel empowered because they finally feel heard. Their voice finally matters. 

What does that mean for you? That means they will turn into die-hard fans, the raving ones that we love in our social media pages. They will share the heck out your new posts because it resonates with them. Hmmm…where have we heard that before? 

They will be more likely to click on that affiliate link and sit on your site generating higher ad revenue!

Look, the reality is pageviews matter…PERIOD! But, if your goal is a 6-figure blog with multiple income streams, you’re going to want the right readers paired with the right content.

Can’t give away the farm, right?

Jon’s strategy packed course contains so much actionable content that we could only give you a nugget of what we learned. Obviously, to make 6-figures there’s a lot more to it than shifting our content creation workflow. 

The Freedom Machine team shares their advanced strategies on crafting captivating headlines to building stunning blog posts and tons and I mean TONS more! Even the assignments are so well thought out, with actionable steps after every lesson. 

Want to learn more?

When it comes to blogging, there’s none better than Jon’s Smart Blogger e-course. There’s a natural flow between our blogs and Facebook pages that just fits perfectly! 

Page Strategies will help you grow the audience needed to smash through Jon’s e-course. Our blogging team applies the Smart Blogger strategies to all 3 of our blogs because it’s that phenomenal.

And because we want you to succeed in serving your audience we’re throwing in a few bonuses for everyone that registers for Jons course through our link.

Bonus #1: 49 Conversation starters to jumpstart engagement on your page.

Bonus #2: The big list of Facebook Banned words

Serve your audience, listen to them, and give them what they want and you’ll have the magic touch we talked about earlier.

This post may contain affiliate links, please review the disclosure policy for more information.

The post How We Topped 1 Million Pageviews a Month and the Strategy That Lets Us Keep The Clicks Coming appeared first on Rachel Miller.

Maximize Your Site’s Ad Revenue

Jordan from AdThrive shared a number of simple ways to maximize your ad revenue.

Majority of your readers will be visiting your site using a mobile phone or tablet. However, the majority of ad earnings comes from desktop users. This goes along with what I share in the FB Page Strategies e-course. People feel more comfortable buying and clicking ads from their desktop.

This doesn’t mean completely forget your mobile traffic. It means taking the time to create an ad strategy for both mobile and desktop users.

Top 5 Takeaways on Maximizing Your Ad Revenue

Ad Placement and Visibility

Having highly visible ads make advertisers happy! Think about it from the advertisers point of view. They want their ad to be easily viewed for as long as possible.

Jordan suggests using fixed sidebar and footer ads. As your reader scrolls through your content, the ad continues to be visible. Advertisers love this since their ad is being viewed for a longer period of time.

Ad Specs

The most popular sidebar ad sizes are 300 x 250 px or 300 x 600 px. Implementing these sizes creates competition for that virtual real estate potentially increasing your ad revenue.

Make sure your ads are mobile responsive, so they don’t get pushed below the content where they may be missed.

Website Quality Matters

The overall user experience matters as advertisers determine where they want to bid for advertising space. Review your content, theme, and framework to ensure that you are providing both visitors and advertisers a positive experience.

High quality interaction creates trust, which is essential as you start monetizing your site.

Site Speed

How quickly does your site load for readers? Test for yourself using Google PageSpeed Insights. A slow site is not only frustrating for readers, but it makes it more difficult for your ads to be shown.

Ad Revenue from Video Content

We’ve discussed the importance of video content, especially in growing your Facebook page. It’s essential on your website too. Readers will stay on your site longer increasing your session duration measurement in Google Analytics.

Advertisers are hungry for that spot for the same reason! They know that your reader is sitting there watching, which means the ad is right in front of them too.

Why Ad Revenue?

Diversifying your income streams will give your business budget a better footing. Ad revenue is not a consistent option because it’s dependent on your site’s traffic levels.

Sometimes algorithms change on different social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram. Throughout the year there are cycles where you’ll see a regular ebb and flow.

In spite of this, ad revenue is a passive income stream. It’s like the slow cooker of revenue streams. You set it and forget it.

A diverse income stream makes all the difference. If you’re just starting to monetize your website, build one stream at a time. You want each one operating at its best!

The Foundation

Are you starting to see why building your audience, your community is so important? They become the foundation of so many other aspects of your business.

We’ve seen so many Moolah wins from product launches to massive page growths because at the center of it all we are connecting with the right audience.

Make sure to grab our conversation starters, to get your audience engaged!

For more helpful information make sure to join us in our FREE Facebook group.

The post Simple Ways to Maximize Your Site’s Ad Revenue appeared first on Rachel Miller.

7 Time Saving Video Production Tips

If you could shave off 30 minutes or even an hour from the video production process, what would that mean for you? It could be more time to focus on other aspects of your business or maybe even time off with the family.

The Right Stuff

Let’s be clear, investing in the right equipment can make all the difference. Efficiency can truly be affected if you don’t have the right tools.

Your mic, camera, and editing software should NOT be pain points. However, if they don’t meet your needs they can become a pain in the you know what real quick.

Tools to invest in:

• Lighting
• Tripod
• Cameras
• Microphone
• Video editing software

Simplify Your Set Up

Set up a workspace that is ready for you to sit down and get straight to recording. By minusing out the prep time for each session, you’re freeing up 15-20 minutes!

Batch Your Video Planning

So you’ve brainstormed a bit and finally have a few video content ideas. You can then batch process through keyword research, titles, descriptions, and tags.

Leslie suggests TubeBuddy, which uses YouTube data to help you quickly identify competition and search volume.

Can you imagine having 5, 10, or even 15 video content ideas already optimized and ready to shoot?

Create Templates

Thumbnails and video formatting are necessary tasks in the video content creation process. But boy are they time consuming! Leslie’s concept of designing templates for these tasks is pure GENIUS.

There are a number of programs out there from Canva to Adobe Creative Suite where you can create templates to drag and drop new images and change titles out so that you have new thumbnails in 25% of time. Even the video layout process can be simplified to switching out video clips and updating titles.

Not only have you reduced production time, you’re also creating visual consistency throughout your videos!

Organize Your Media Files

Having your images, audio, and video assets organized in clearly named folders will keep your rhythm going. Having to stop and search during the editing process gets frustrating. So make it as easy as possible!

Video Content Creation: Filming Tips

The filming process can be stressful, but these workflow tips truly increase efficiency while reducing the anxiety of it all.

One Take Magic

Have you ever gotten stuck in the rabbit hole of retakes? It’s even worse when you’re about 70% through and you start stumbling. AHHHH!

Film your video in one take, yes outtakes and all!

Leslie suggests using silence and verbal cues to help you during the editing process. This is HUGE!

B Roll Run

If you know you’ll need B roll using images and video clips, do it all once. This way you’re staging only one time. Plus, you’ll have your files ready when you shoot the main video.

Don’t forget, keep them organized in folders so they’re easy to find.

Share your own time saving video content creation tips in the comments below, I’d love to hear them!

For more helpful information make sure to join us in our FREE Facebook group.

You’ve heard me consistently talk about the value of creating your own video content. One of the biggest pain points has been how time consuming the process is. With Leslie’s tips, you will be able to crank out more videos without getting overwhelmed.

Translate all that new traffic that video content brings into engagement. Grab your extensive list of conversation starters now!

The post 7 Time Saving Video Production Tips appeared first on Rachel Miller.