Brandmerry Blog Archives
The Top 5 Things I'd Do if Starting My Business Again For the Greatest Impact to My Time and Money
The Top 5 Things I'd Do if Starting My Business Again For the Greatest Impact to My Time and Money
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
My business has changed so much from when I first started in 2016.
It originally started with my husband and I creating a design business to support female entrepreneurs in the design of their brand and website. I had a background in Public Relations and he had a background in design, so it seemed like an excellent place to start.
However, I realized shortly after that's not what I wanted to do. In August 2016, I rebranded Brandmerry as a coaching and consulting business and knew right away that this was it. Had I known what I know now about determining your niche, I would have started Brandmerry differently at the beginning.
But, without it, I wouldn’t be able to support my clients the way I go now when it comes to determining their niche and personal story, so here we are and today, I’m sharing 5 of those tips I wish I’d known when starting my business in 2016.
1. STORY WORK: Look inward to discover what you really want to do and do it
If you know anything about me, you know I always want you to start with your story.
Looking at your story will help you discover what you really do and don't want to do in your business. And I'm not talking about posting on social media, and those things that you can later outsource, that need to be done in your business for marketing purposes.
I'm talking about the way you're working with clients - are you working with them in a way you truly enjoy, or do you not like how you're currently working with clients?
Are you offering a package or service that you actually don't like doing?
Are you doing what you actually want to do and something that’s authentic to you or just something you saw online?
Because it's not easy to run an online business, but if you create one that’s in alignment with your story and mission it’s going to be much more enjoyable and successful.
When you’re thinking about your story, think about the bigger purpose and the big picture, or as I like to refer to it the mission.
Identifying the why doesn't always do it for me, but focusing on your life mission and the impact you want to make does. Maybe coaching is the avenue to get you to where you want to be in the big picture. Just be really clear on the type of business you want to create.
Know that it is possible for you and creating strategies and business models that honor who you are as a person.
2. RESEARCH: Know your freaking audience
I didn't think this was important in the beginning. I would tell my coach that I had done the ideal client worksheets when I hadn't and it definitely showed in my marketing.
There was a big a-ha moment for me when I was at home, sick from my 9-5, and I finally sat down and wrote out who my ideal client was. I mean I went DEEP into who they were, what they believed, what mattered more and more.
A week later I signed a client that had been in my community for months. It took a shift in my messaging and true connection for her to make the leap.
There is a reason companies spend so much money on research because successful marketing comes back to truly understanding your audience so clearly, that you can inspire your audience to take action.
It’s important to study your audience.
Pay attention to what they're saying, what they need and want in their life.
The more you understand your ideal client, the more trust you will build with them.
I encourage you to do everything you can to get in their head (in a non-creepy way) because you need to identify what they're struggling with and what they really want. You also need to know their hopes and dreams. I survey my audience at least 3 times a year and love to use free Facebook Groups and tools like Answer The Public to find data, and it makes a big difference.
3. TIME-MANAGEMENT: Be focused and forgiving of your schedule
I really wish I would have known this in the beginning because there were times I was really hard on myself around what I could accomplish with my schedule.
There's not a one size fits all approach to business. That's why it's important to find a mentor and community that understands that. It's also important to look internally and figure out what works for your life. A great way to do this is to perform time audits to see where your time is going and how you can eliminate, outsource or improve your schedule.
You do have to make choices when building a business in order to find the time, but understand it’s not about hustling 24/7. I have a podcast episode all about time management tips here.
But this doesn't give you an excuse to slack off and not do something because you don't feel like it and then say it was because of time.
Time is not an excuse, it’s about how we use it.
So, once you’ve determined that this is what you want to do, then commit to it. Make modifications to your schedule, create times when your business is a priority and then make choices that honor your current season of life.
If you cant’ do a live video every week, find something you can do.
If you’ve got an hour a week for content, then repurposing an existing blog post.
It’s about working smarter not harder!
4. EMAIL LIST: Grow your list from day 1
If you take away one thing, please make it this!
It’s so important to start growing your email list from day one.
It's important for you to have a database of your own because we do not own social media or our Facebook Groups. Having a way to communicate with your audience is important.
You can learn more about list building strategies in a few of my popular blog posts here:
3 Daily Marketing Actions to Grow Your Business
5 Ninja Skills to Improve Your Email List Building
The first step is creating a lead magnet or gift, creating a form through your email provider and then using marketing strategies to get your free gift in front of the right people.
That first person on your email list could be that first client. My first client came when I had 10 people on my list.
5. 2 P's: Plan and Patience
I’m not going to sugar coat it and tell you how difficult it is to start and scale a business. But, the truth is that it’s a heck of a lot easier when you have a plan in place.
Planning your business for 90-days at a time, as well as for the year as a whole is essential so you can take actionable steps daily.
Without a clear plan and strategic daily steps, you’ll wrap up your year and not know what the heck you even did! For some of my insider secrets on planning, listen to this podcast episode on The Beautiful Climb podcast.
And along with the plan, comes the need to practice patience.
You have to know that this is going to take time. All marketing takes at least 30 days to access the data to see what’s working and what’s not. But, it’s this combination of daily action and patience that is the sweet spot.
If you are putting in the effort and energy and know you are worthy, you will get there. You have to have patience and know that it's your journey. Stay in your lane. Focus on what you're doing. The impact you're having. Patience, patience, patience.
You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!
Head over to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://www.facebook.com/brandmerrycoaching/
P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.
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MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
I'M MICHELLE KNIGHT
I was just a new mom with an ambitious dream to start my own business. That dream turned into a multiple 6-figure business and the ability to travel full time. Now, I teach women how to brand and market their authentic voice online and take bold action to create a life better than their dreams.
MAIN CATEGORIES
TOOLS I LOVE
KAJABI
Grab a 30-day trial of Kajabi and test out their website, email, landing page and course platform.
HONEYBOOK
Save $200 off this client management tool! Save hours with streamlined workflows and onboarding.
CONVERTKIT
The ultimate email platform for simplicity and deliverability.
SMARTERQUEUE
Save time by scheduling your social media in one place and extend the life of your content with evergreen scheduling.
EXPLORE THE BLOG
How to Discover Your Niche {video inside}
How to Discover Your Niche
Today I'm really excited to share with you my top tips for coming up with a business idea and how to niche down in a way that allows you to attract your dream clients and standout online. Before I dive into my tips, I want to share with you about an upcoming master class that I have. It's on five simple steps to create an authentic brand that allows you to grow your community with ease and leads to more clients. For more information on the upcoming time, checkout this link: brandmerry.com/authenticbrand
1. Look at your story
Tip number one, which is my favorite thing to freaking talk about and it's about really looking back at your story. Really looking back at your life and seeing, "Hey, are there any signs about what I could continue to do, what I could build a business around?" This was really powerful for me in my business, because my background and education was in communication, it was in advertising and public relations. When I looked at the pieces that I really enjoyed among all those things that I had done, the branding element really stood out to me. Then it was the piece of my story after identifying what had really happened in my life on a personal level that it became clear that I wanted to really empower women to show up as their authentic selves. To not be stifled, to create a life and a business that resulted freedom.
So, for you what is it? What can you look back at your story, look back at some major transitions of your life and say, "Whoa, I really feel passionate about that. I really feel like I could create that into a business." Often times, everything we need is already inside of us. It just takes a couple minutes to look inward and say, "Oh, yes, that is important. Oh yes, I love that," and then put the energy towards actually making that happen.
2. Come up with a list
All right, number two, I want you to come up with a list of ideas that you have based on your story. So come up with a list of ideas of things that you could teach or you could guide other individuals on to create a business around. Then from that list I want to see if anything pops out for you. Are you getting really clear on who you actually want to attract to your business? 'Cause this is such an important part of niching down that often doesn't come until later in people's minds, but I want you to focus on it in the beginning.
What pieces of your story, what parts of the list are telling you, "Hey I want to work with women. I want to work with women who want to leave their nine to five. I want to work with the new moms." Right? Can you start to get an idea of the person that you want to attract to your new brand and your business. So that's step two. Listing out all of the possible things that you feel passionate about that you can share, that you can build a business around and are any of those pointing to a type of woman or man that you want to attract to your business.
3. Making the connection
Step number three, I call Making the Connection, but you might also consider it Narrowing the List Down. So what we're going to do is we're going to take a look at your list and maybe for a couple of those connectors, like a couple of those points you're like, "Whoa, I want to talk to the same type of person for each of these," and that's what we're going to look at. We're going to look at how can these be connected. Are there maybe five things that really point you to creating a business around branding? Are there three points that tell you really want to help individuals with mindset? Are there some parts of your story that keep popping up around marketing strategies? Looking for the consistency in that list and the things that keep popping up that pull your attention to that one topic.
This is how we start to niche down, because as humans we can do so much and many of you watching right now as entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs probably have so many talents and it's really hard to bundle them all up into one specific thing. But by focusing on it this way and kind of niching yourself down into more of a generalized theme allows you to focus on those different pieces. If marketing is popping up a lot, then you know that your niche is most likely marketing. If branding is popping up a lot, it tells you, "Hey, we need to focus a little bit on branding." And then, you also have the steps that you need to say, "Oh, I want to focus on branding and I want to help this particular person with the branding process." And that right there, the what you do and the who you want to attract is the most important of niching down.
BONUS TIP!
My bonus tip for you today is that you can really build a business around anything. It's about being really specific and clear what it is that you do, who you want to attract and how you market yourself to them. I have a video that I did earlier this year on messaging, so go ahead and click that, make sure that you watch that video, it's really, really important. That is the next piece after niching down and finding your ideal client. But remember that there are so many people in the world, and you truly can create a business for a particular audience, for your target market and know that whatever crazy idea ... They seem crazy now, I have seen crazier in the online space when it comes to business ideas. So feel good and feel grounded and what idea you have and know that it is possible for you.
I really hope that those tips were super helpful for you. If you want more of a workbook style, I do have a really cool niche workbook that has helped thousands of women. You can download that here: https://brandmerry.lpages.co/blog-discover-your-niche-workbook-opt-in/
It's all about niching down and it'll walk you through this entire process, which is going to be so valuable for you, especially if you are just now thinking of starting a business. In addition, don't forget to join me for the Five Steps To Creating An Authentic Brand masterclass, which you can join here, and that's going to be really powerful for you, because I'm sharing what my journey has really looked like from working nine to five busy mom to creating a six figure business in just a year of having my coaching business, and I'm going to be sharing those steps for you. I'm all about simplicity.
You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!
Head over to my YouTube Channel and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://youtu.be/NzNhn373nvs
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>
How to Host an Online Challenge to Grow Your Community With Ease {Video Inside}
I've been hosting live challenges for seven years, and with conversion rates averaging between 5% to 7%, and the average 1% to 3%, it's clear they are impactful.
I’ve honed a process that consistently drives results with my live challenge, and with everyone talking about webinars, I want to offer a different perspective.
Live challenges allow you to give massive value to your community during a designated time frame, but give you the space to go deeper, something a 60-90 minute webinar can not.
Plus, in a short time, your audience can follow your challenge and instantly see results, which builds connection and trust quickly.
It's an amazing strategy and tool to not only grow your community, but also nurture and develop your community so they are ready to invest in your offer.
So whether you're launching a new program, live launching an existing one, or wanting to fill your 1:1 program, a well-executed challenge can be a game-changer.
Today, I am excited to share with you not only why these challenges work so well but also walk you through the step-by-step process for setting up your online challenge.
Inside today’s episode of the Authentic Brand Builders podcast, we’ll dive into:
The exact process you need to get your online challenge ready and deliver insane value to your audience.
My top tips for structuring your videos for higher conversions, and how to increase show-up rates.
A little insider secret I use to support my challenge participants in feeling great about joining my offer.
**I’ve included the main points below, but I encourage you to dive into the full episode via audio or video!
For the full content, and all the insider tips, listen to Episode 123 here or watch it here.
Why Online Challenges Convert Better Than Webinars
Many entrepreneurs prioritize webinars as the core of their launching or promotional efforts.
Yet, for me, live challenges have occupied this sweet spot. Why? They offer more flexibility and a deeper connection with my audience.
A webinar often limits you to 60-90 minutes where you need to cover the why, what, how, build authority, and promote your offer. I don’t know about you but I struggle with not only the timeframe but also like I’m cheating my audience out of value.
A live challenge, however, gives me up to two hours of interaction over several days. This longer format allows me to fully unpack the why, what, and how of my topics, leading to higher engagement and ultimately, better conversion rates.
If you’re like me and have never found your groove with webinars it might be time to try this completely underutilized launching technique.
How to Host Your Online Challenge {step-by-step}
I’ve broken down all of these steps in a bonus training, which you can watch for free on my YouTube channel.
STEP ONE: Define Your End Goal and Topic
Before diving into the logistics of your challenge, the crucial first step is defining what you're ultimately selling.
The end product or service influences the topic of your challenge significantly. Specific topics aligned with your offerings tend to convert better. For instance, in the past, I’ve used a challenge to promote my branding course, so I used a challenge to help them identify their brand story. This not only aligns perfectly with my topic but paves the way for participants to confidently join the course as the next step.
Think about pre-work or a first step someone might need to join your offer as the starting place for your challenge topic.
When it comes to choosing your topic, the more specific you can be with the outcome of the challenge, the easier it will be for someone to take time out of their busy schedule to participate.
The more specific you are with the title, benefits and outcome for your audience the better.
Here are 3 things to be super specific about:
The problem you solve with the challenge. This will help you title your challenge and promote it.
The title. This needs to be clear. Many people will decide if your challenge is for them or not based on your title. Remember you’re solving a problem, tell them the problem and what they will get from the challenge in a single sentence.
List out the benefits. Each of the days of the challenge you should be focusing on one small thing. The more specific you are with the lessons each day, the faster your audience will get results. Get clear on the benefit each day to help you plan your content.
Example titles from some of my past challenges include: The Specify Your Niche Challenge, The Brand Story Challenge, and The Content Gamechanger Challenge.
STEP 2: Design Your Challenge Structure
After choosing your specific topic, map out what you’ll deliver, the intended outcomes, and the timeframe.
I've experimented with multiple challenge durations and found that a four-day structure hits the sweet spot. It’s long enough to deliver meaningful content without overwhelming participants or losing their engagement.
Once you’ve determined your schedule you can map out the specific talking points and structure of your challenge topics. This will be helpful when we create all of your promotional materials.
Below, is a sample structure for a four-day live challenge that yields me the best results.
Structuring Your Live Online Challenge for Success
Day One: Setting the Foundation
The first day of a challenge is crucial. It's dedicated to laying a solid foundation and getting participants invested in what you are sharing. This is where the 'why' comes in.
I recently conducted a challenge focusing on the customer journey, vital for successful marketing. This setup not only sets the stage for the following days but also builds excitement and aligns with my upcoming offers.
Day Two: Diving Into Content
By the second day, I transition into the 'what'. What do they need to do to get results?
For my recent challenge, I guided participants in mapping out where they would show up and what content they would share. This practical focus helps participants see immediate results from their efforts.
Day Three and Beyond: Engagement and Depth
On the third day, we want to start to give specifics around the how. Don’t be afraid to give specifics here, even if it’s something you offer inside of your course. This provides value and trust with your audience.
This approach ensures participants are informed and prepared to join your offer when you present it.
Step 3: Delivery Method and Support
Your challenge content can be live or prerecorded. I personally favor live challenges due to their higher conversion rates. I host my challenges in either a Facebook Group or a community forum like Kajabi.
You’ll want to deliver either a live or pre-recorded video, typically live videos will be around 30 minutes in length and offer Q&A. If you’re going the pre-recorded route, then you’ll want to include a bonus Q&A call to support this element.
As I’ve said, I love live challenges and the key advantage of live challenges is showcasing the support aspect inherent in my programs. Whether it's one-on-one guidance or group support, the live format lets potential clients experience firsthand what it means to be part of my community.
I also include a replay page for those unable to join live or aren’t able to join the group. This ensures they don't miss out on the value and move into my paid offer. Coupling live sessions with accessible replays have consistently driven success in my business, including conversion rates of up to 10%.
Step 4: Set Up Your Challenge Collateral
Before promoting your challenge, you want to create all of your collateral materials.
This includes crafting a lead capture page to collect email addresses, a thank-you page, and a confirmation email with all the event details. If utilizing social media platforms like Facebook, create a group for participants to engage and ask questions.
Here’s a cheat sheet of what you need before getting started:
Lead Capture Page: Start with a landing page to collect participants' names and email addresses. This is crucial for creating a targeted email list for your challenge and growing your community overall. I like to host my landing pages on Convertkit or LeadPages.
Thank You Page: After users sign up, redirect them to a thank you page. This could guide them to check their email for further instructions or offer a simple upsell, like a discounted course related to the challenge or a VIP option for the challenge (which could include lifetime access to the videos).
Confirmation Email: Immediately send a confirmation email that includes details about the challenge, the schedule, and how to join the group where the challenge will take place.
Step 5: Promotion and Communication for the Online Challenge
Promotion should start at least two weeks before the challenge begins.
You’ll want to plan on sending a series of emails inviting your existing audience to the challenge, plus reminder emails for those who sign up.
INVITATION EMAILS
Craft at least five emails leading up to the challenge, sent over two weeks. These should entice participants with stories, benefits, and any previous success stories related to your challenge or offerings.
A last-minute email on the day before or the day the challenge starts, reminding those who haven’t signed up yet ALWAYS results in last-minute signups. Seriously, don’t skip this email even if you feel like you’ve sent a bunch!
In addition to your emails, if you’re on social media, you can repurpose these emails into social media content like posts, carousels, stories, or reels. If you have a YouTube channel, weekly podcast, or blog don’t forget to promote your challenge there as well.
CHALLENGE-SPECIFIC EMAILS
You want to make sure participants remember and attend the challenge by sending timely reminders:
Weekly and Daily Reminders: A week before the challenge begins, send a reminder email about the challenge. Then make sure you send a 48 and 24-hour reminder email as well. Remember, people will be signing up at different points over the two weeks so you don’t want them to miss the crucial information.
Tips and Tricks: Between reminders, offer valuable tips and insights on how to prepare for the challenge, enhancing participants’ readiness and excitement. I love to share a YouTube video that might give them a taste of my teaching style and provide them with helpful information. You could do the same with an existing piece of content.
Daily Updates: Send a daily email summarizing what participants will learn that day and providing links to join or view replays. We typically send this out 2-4 hours before the live video is released which helps with improving show-up rates.
PROMOTIONAL EMAILS
During the challenge, around day two or three, you’ll start promoting your paid offer. While you’ll be talking about this in the group, you’ll also want to send promotion-specific emails to participants.
Opening Sales Email: Announce the official opening of course or program enrollment early during the challenge.
Benefit-Focused Emails: Over the next few days, send multiple emails highlighting different benefits and features of your offering, including testimonials or case studies.
Final Urgency Email: As the challenge nears its end, use urgency-driven language to encourage program signups, reminding participants that doors are closing, or bonuses are expiring. I also pair this with the reminder that the challenge group will be closing and all videos will be coming down.
Step 6: Execute and Engage
This is the easy part. You’ve already done all of the ground work and now you get to show up and support your audience.
Ensure your content delivery is as energetic as your preparation.
Whether your sessions are live or not, make them interactive and value-packed. Encourage questions and provide as much support as possible. This interaction is crucial, as it builds rapport and allows participants to experience the benefits of your product firsthand.
Increase Your Online Challenge Conversion Rate
In addition to the value you’ll be providing during the week, there are a few ways you can enhance the experience for your audience.
SUPPORTIVE DOCUMENTS: Create bonus workbooks, questions, or prompts that your audience can participate in to get better results. Recently, I created a simple Google Doc that gave them exercises to complete after the live video and it was incredibly easy and useful to my audience.
ADD BONUS TRAININGS OR LIVE Q&A: If you’re using pre-recorded video, then you’ll definitely want to add live Q&A at some point via Zoom or another group meeting platform. You can also add bonus workshops or webinars at the end of the challenge to cover the next steps and go deeper into what your offer provides.
INCLUDE SPECIAL BONUSES: Since, you’re promoting you want this enrollment period to feel exclusive, so I always love to offer a bonus 1:1 session, a bonus bundle, and/or a discounted price on my offer.
CREATE URGENCY: You want to make sure people go through your challenge, so I really encourage you to limit your video replays and support to seven days. This will get more people to show up and engage, checkout the replay page, and pay attention while you’re promoting the offer.
PERSONAL OUTREACH: Personal touches, like individual outreach via video, can make a huge difference in your conversion rate. I use this strategy to reach out to any who actively participates in the challenge and I think would be a great fit for my offer. I send them a one-minute video where I say their name, thank them, and ask if they have any questions about the offer.
CONCLUSION
Hosting a live challenge is not just about sharing information and selling your offers; it's about creating connections and presenting your value in a magnetic and authentic way.
By taking the time to plan your challenge thoughtfully and prioritize interaction, you can achieve impressive conversion rates for your offer.
If you're looking to enhance launch strategies or grow your audience, hosting a live challenge could be the next big step for your business growth.
Don’t forget you can dive into the step-by-step process inside this video.
And, you can hear some of my takeaways and tips from my recent challenge in this video.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
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Meet Michelle
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
How to Use Facebook Messenger Bots For Your Brand {Video Inside}
How to Use Facebook Messenger Bots For Your Brand
In today's video I'm going to be sharing with you three simple ways to use Facebook Messenger bots, specifically mini chat, to not only grow your audience, but also increase brand awareness, and more importantly, engagement. But before I dive into those three simple steps, I want to share with you an upcoming masterclass that I'm hosting on how to create an authentic brand that allows you to grow your community with ease and leads to more clients. You can find an upcoming time and all the information in the link below.
But before I jump into those three simple steps, I want to go ahead and invite you to an upcoming training that I am doing. I'm going to be sharing five steps on creating an authentic brand that grows your loyal community and leads to more clients. You can join here: https://brandmerry.com/authenticbrand
1. Using Messenger Bots for Live Video Notification
This has been so much fun for me in my brand and business, and I'm so excited to share it with you, because it has really not only increased live viewers, but also increased engagement, which is so important with the social media algorithm. We want people not only showing up to watch, liking and hearting your content, sharing and commenting. All of those pieces are really, really important.
So the more people that you can get on the actual live video, as opposed to watching it on replay, is going to help you stand out online. So how do you do this with mini chat? So there's so many different ways to use Messenger bots, but I absolutely love creating a really simple form in Manychat for an upcoming live video that you are hosting. Maybe for you it's a live video, a live training, a challenge, or a weekly or biweekly segment, like Mondays with Michelle, which I do biweekly on my Facebook business page.
Creating a really simple opt in form using Manychat, putting a cool little title telling them if they sign up they'll get a notification right in their Messenger box, so they don't miss a single thing. Then, when they sign up, you can schedule a broadcast to all of the amazing women and men who have signed up to get the notification, and send them a really cool notification that says "Oh my gosh, we're live." They can click the button and join you live right there and then.
It's also a really cool idea to follow up with any posts afterwards asking if they have any takeaways or questions, or reminding them about a special offer that you mentioned on the live video, which they will hopefully be live on, with that really awesome reminder.
It takes the guess work out for people wondering "When is that person going to go live? Do I have to set a reminder?" And what if they forget, because life gets in the way. We are all by our phones most of the time, so it's really cool to have just a little Facebook Messenger pop up and say "Oh yeah, I'll watch right here on my phone."
2. Using Messenger Bots for Pre-Enrollment to a Launch
So maybe you're rolling out a new course, or a new program, and this is a strategy that I absolutely loved doing for my signature course, Your Brand New Adventure. And it worked really, really well. So what I did is I created a wait list on my website, by embedding a Manychat form onto my website, so that they could go to my website, to the sales page, and click to get a messenger reminder when the cart opened.
Then about a week before the cart opens, I sent a Facebook message to them, just letting them know that they had signed up to join the wait list, and the offer was now available. It was so powerful, I had 50% women buy on the very first day, and the other 50%, yes 100% conversion on a wait list, signed up before the cart closed.
And all I needed to do, because they were an engaged audience, is send them a reminder message mid way through, just letting them know that that special pre-enrollment offer was ending, and then again on the final day, saying "Hey, now if you're interested, here's the information to learn more."
It saved me a ton of time when it came to pre-enrollment for my launch, I didn't have to send out a ton of emails. It was just three simple Manychat messages, and I was done. So it's a really cool tool to use in your arsenal.
One thing to keep in mind is that Manychat and other messenger bots do not allow sole promotion. So you want to make sure that the people who sign up for your wait list are engaged before you actually promote a free order. In order to do that you can add a couple of questions like "Are you still interested in the Brand New Adventure that you signed up for. Click yes or no." And once they respond, they will be considered an engaged audience.
3. Using Messenger bots to Announce a YouTube Video or a Blog Post that just went live
This is really important, especially when it comes to YouTube, because Google wants to see that people are responding to the video shortly after it's published. And the same goes for your blog post.
So the more eyes that you can get on that content right away, the better. So using Messenger bots to send reminders to your audience when a blog post is published, or a YouTube video is live, is really, really powerful. You can create a simple signup using something like Manychat, where they can just sign up for notifications, and then every week, or biweekly, or whenever your schedule is for your blog, or your YouTube channel, you can send a little reminder to their inbox saying "Hey, here's today's topic. I'd love for you to head over to the website, or YouTube. Hit like, write a comment, and let me know your feedback."
It's a great way to get instant feedback, and instant eyes on the content you're creating. Messenger bots are seriously exploding, and I'll share with you my personal favorite, which is Manychat. It's free to use, it's a really, really great tool to add to your online business. But it's really important because it improves engagement, and engagement is so important with the way Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, basically every single algorithm, is functioning today.
So the more people that you can get onto your live videos, or into your programs, on to your blog posts or your YouTube video right away, the better it is going to be for you and your brand. But here's the thing, I shared with you three simple steps today on how you can incorporate Messenger bots, but if you don't have a clear voice for your brand and your business, none of that stuff, that fancy stuff, makes any sense.
Which is why I'm really going to encourage you one more time to join me for my upcoming masterclass on five simple steps to create an authentic brand that allows you to grow your community with ease, and leads to more clients. You can click the link right here https://brandmerry.com/authenticbrand to sign up at the time that works best for you.
You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!
Head over to YouTube and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://youtu.be/zc19LlZCIu0
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>
What to do When You Feel Stuck and Don't Know What to Email Your List
What to do When You Feel Stuck and Don't Know What to Email Your List {Video Inside}
Before we dive in, I want to invite you to my upcoming masterclass: 5 Steps to Create an Authentic Brand. This is going to be way different than any webinar you've been to before because, let's be honest, I hate webinars. So I'm changing the game and bringing you this masterclass that is packed full of valuable information and giving you 5 actionable steps to create your own authentic brand. Join me here: Brandmerry.com/authenticbrand
Okay, now back to what to do when you feel stuck and don't know what to email your list or post on social media. How many times have you gone to email your list and sat in front of that blank email, unsure of what to share with your community? How many times have you done it for a Facebook post? An Instagram caption? Am I starting to see a theme?
In November of 2017, it felt like I had lost every idea in my mind. I was really struggling to come up with content. I was struggling to email my list and post in Authentic Brand Builders. So I came up with a process to get unstuck, and that's what I'm sharing with you today. Life happens, I get it. So even if you're not feeling this way now, this information may be good to keep in the back of your mind, so when something does come up, you can still show up for your community and overcome the slump. If you've ever felt this way before, comment below and share your story! I love to read your comments.
Why are you feeling stuck
We really want to pinpoint why you're feeling this way. It's not because you ran out of ideas. We always have ideas. Something else is blocking you and keeping you stuck. For myself, I was feeling a severe lack of confidence in November. Had I gone and posted to or emailed my community, it probably wouldn't even resonate with my audience because I wasn't inspired, and I wasn't confident. Ask yourself why? What is blocking you and why?
Make sure you know your audience
Check in with yourself and make sure you know your audience well. If you know your audience, it's much easier to come up with ideas and often times when we feel stuck it's because we don't know who we are talking to. We feel like we're talking to everyone. When we are trying to talk to too many people, we talk to no one. When you go to write that email or that social media post, it's really, really important you know who you're talking to.
Follow these 3 steps to get unstuck
1. Write an email about that very moment (your why to being stuck from number 1).
Write about your current situation and what you're going through right now (or at that moment of feeling stuck). Make sure it gives value to your audience. This will help you build trust with your audience, it will help you relate with your audience and it will give you something to talk about.
2. Have a brain dump
Be open to receiving the ideas and write everything that you can possibly think of down. If you haven't corrected the barrier of ideas flowing out, you won't be able to have the ideas flow in. You have to be open to receiving the ideas otherwise they won't come. But as soon as they do come, they won't stop. Sit down with a notebook and write down all of the ideas.
3. Pull from the archives
The archives are your story. Anything that has happened in the past. We can pull from the archives and share those stories in a way that give value to your community. You can give tips to your audience who may be going through the same thing. This is so, so powerful. This is why I believe storytelling is the basis for every successful entrepreneur. Storytelling is about you being comfortable sharing your truth in a way that resonates with your audience and gives value.
BONUS TIP: If fear is blocking you...
Think about the person you want to attract to your brand. The person you want to respond to your message. Write to them. Write to that person. Break through the noise, speak your truth, get over the fear and just do it.
You can watch the video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!
Head over to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ facebook.com/brandmerrycoaching
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>