Become a vlogger!

There are lots of people who make a considerable income from video content - mostly on YouTube - they’re known as vloggers (short for video web loggers).

YouTube is a powerful platform - it’s not only the second largest search engine that people use (after Google), but when people search on YouTube, they stay on YouTube - they don’t immediately go off to another website.  That means that, if your channel is set up properly, you’ve got an already engaged audience, ready for the next video you’ve got to offer.

The challenge for most people is that they don’t have a fully functional video-recording suite installed - and having professionally produced videos can run up a substantial bill.

The good news is that there are some handy ways to give even an amateur video a little polish.

1. Today’s mobile phones have high quality cameras, if you choose to talk to a camera, it’s going to be good enough.

a. Go for a plain background.  Anything cluttered will take people’s attention off you.  If you have the facility for a decent greenscreen then go for it, but a plain wall is absolutely fine.

b. Record in landscape - not portrait.

c. Invest in a holder for your mobile phone.  I use a small tripod so I don’t have to worry about holding the phone.

d. Place your phone at eye level - never look down into the camera, it looks as though you’re looking down on your viewer, which sends the wrong subliminal messages (and gives them a view of your double chin and nostrils!) 

2. If you don’t want to appear on camera there are plenty of ways to create videos without having to do that.

a. Create a PowerPoint of your presentation and then record it with you doing the voiceover.  You can subscribe to a service such as ShowMore or, if you have Zoom or a similar online meeting service, you can open a meeting and record it as a screenshare and download the recording.

b. You can subscribe to a service such as Doodly, to create animated content.  This creates an attractive and professional video - BUT, if all your videos use this, people can get bored, they all start to look the same after you’ve seen a couple!

c. The software we use most in-house is Vidnami (formerly Content Samurai).  This lets you create a script, then automatically adds scenes (images and film clips) to this script - all of which is editable.  You can add a voice over - either automated or your own voice - or choose just background music from their royalty-free library.  You can upload video clips and your own images too.  

3. Set your channel up professionally.

a. Pick your core key phrase or words and name your channel with that - use SEO tools such as AnswerthePublic and UberSuggest to help you to refine this.

b. Create thumbnails for your videos so the opening screen looks good.  You can do this with a free graphics programme such as Canva.  This is a great tool for creating your banner for the Channel too.

c. Create playlists to link your videos together around each subject.

d. Learn how to optimise your videos so they come up at the top end of searches for your key phrase.

This should be enough to get you started as a vlogger for your business.

How to make your sales funnel work

 

If you haven’t read the blog on How to build a sales funnel , read that first.

Now you have your plan in place for what you are going to offer at the four levels of your sales funnel:

Free

Low cost

Bread & butter

Premium

Now you need to know how to get people into the top of the funnel and what tools you need to make it work.

Entice people into the top level

First, create a lead magnet.  This is something you give away that has perceived high value for your target market.  Typically it is a pdf knowledge-based document that people can download.

It must have value for your niche.  The more specific, the better as that means that all the people who want to download it are potential customers.

You’ll need a landing page, a form and a means of capturing and storing names and email addresses in a list.

You’ll also need a thank you page where the download is available - only accessible after people have completed the subscribe form.  If you’re smart you can upsell people to level 2 on this page as well.

Then you need to tell people the document is available and give them the landing page link.  You can do this on social media, in your newsletter, on the foot of your blogs, on your email signature - etc. etc.

How to move people to level 2

Now people are on your list you can legitimately email them.  Ideally, you need to aim for good quality content to keep them engaged.  Alongside this you can upsell them to your low cost item.

You could also invest in some digital ads to bring in more paying customers.  You’d need some expert advice on your return on investment though.

Convert customers to clients

Time to add more value!  Two ways to do this are:

1. Run a free webinar where you share your expertise and knowledge, aimed specifically at the kind of people you want as clients.  Then use this to upsell to your next level (Bread and Butter) as paying clients.
2. Start a private group on Facebook or LinkedIn (depending on where your ideal clients hang out) and deliver lots of value.  Run occasional ‘live’ broadcasts to promote your paid service.

Whether you’re offering a course, a subscription or something else, this is the point where people can see what they’re getting free, which gives them an indication of what’s available in the paid level.

Upgrade clients to high value

Once people have committed to pay for your services, they’ve given you their seal of approval.  Some of these people will become raving fans - and they’ll be ready to pay higher fees to work with you on a 1-2-1 basis.  This will build your consultancy practice. 

Don’t forget to let your clients know that this service is available, whether it’s something subtle, like a line on the foot of emails you send only to paying clients or even on the invoice they get for their subscription. 

A robust sales funnel makes attracting clients much easier.

How to build a sales funnel

 

If you want to create an ongoing flow of leads, without spending all day doing cold calls, you need a sales funnel.

Before you get too excited this isn’t some kind of magic spell - but it is a process that can be put in place.  It’s not an accident that people refer to ‘building’ sales funnel.  There are a number of steps that you need to put in place one at a time.

The critical first step is to plan out your sales funnel; and the bonus is that you don’t need to have everything in place to get started.

Why is it called a ‘funnel’?

Typically a sales funnel has four key levels, although some people add one or two more.  The key levels to start with are:

1.      Top level: the widest part of the funnel.  This is your free level where you offer something that self-identifies the people who are interested in the service or products you offer. 

That means that your free offer needs to be closely aligned with what your core offering is.  Your aim is to get as many people interested as possible.  Not all of them will turn into customers, but some of them will.

In order to get access to your free offer, ask people to provide their name and email - and that builds your marketing list.

2.      Second level: the funnel is a bit narrower, but still pretty wide.  This is where you offer a low cost item.  This is something that will appeal to the same audience as your free offer, but provides a more in-depth level of information.

This could include a book, workbooks, a short course; it should be something with a clear outcome.  If you’re selling products, this level could be a webinar that shows people how to achieve specific result with your products.  You’ll need to be creative with how you present this!

Low cost can be anything from £5 to around £50.  This makes it accessible to people even those who don’t have a huge budget.

3.      Third level: the funnel is starting to narrow because fewer people will pass from the top level, through the second level and sign up here.  This is your main bread and butter level.

For many businesses this can be the ‘one-to-many’ model.  For instance, a private subscription membership that offers regular insights, learning tools, knowledge sharing, etc.

If your business sells products rather than services, this might be a more sophisticated product or something that does much more than the low cost level.

4.      Bottom level: the premium level where you work 1-2-1 with those clients who value your knowledge, skills and experience and are willing to pay a premium for that.

The idea is to get lots of people in at the top of the funnel and then encourage them to work through each level.  At every level you must deliver massive value - or people will opt-out.

Clearly, there is more to it than simply putting the levels in place - there needs to be activity around each level to make them link to each other. 

Look out for next week’s blog where I’ll explore this in more depth.

7 tips to get media coverage

When it comes to getting noticed you need to be media savvy and get the attention of the people who can get you into print (or broadcast).  Here are a few tips to help you make the right connections.

1: Search Twitter for #journorequest  

When freelancers are looking for content for articles they’re writing they often use this to resource potential experts.

2: Search LinkedIn for the publications you’d like to feature in  

There are loads of journalists and editors on LinkedIn and building relationships with them is a great way to open the door for being featured.

3: Make friends with your local radio station

Local radio stations are always looking for good interviews, if you have something worth saying or an unusual take on something you’ve got a good chance of getting on.  For the smaller local stations you may even be offered a regular slot if you can talk about your pet subject in an entertaining way.

Remember that your local BBC station is where the national news and magazine programmes look for interesting topics.

4: Know where you want to be featured

Put together your ideal publications list and get on the phone.  Talk to the relevant editor and find out what they’re looking for.  You’re far more likely to get published than submitting a random press release to dozens of publications.

5: Sign up to an online PR service

There are dozens of PR sites where you can submit your press releases.  Here’s a list of some of them.  There’s no guarantee that your press release will be picked up, but the better written and the more interesting it is, the better chance you have.

Although many of these sites are based in the US - that doesn’t mean they’re not used by the worldwide press.  Some are subject to a subscription.

6. Register as an expert source

There are sites where you can register as an expert - for an annual subscription - to put you in front of a variety of media.  One of the best known in the UK is Expert Sources.

7. Stay in touch with your industry leaders

Follow the influencers in your industry.  Keep in touch with what they’re saying - connect with them on social media.  The more informed and well-connected you are the more opportunities will come up.  It’s all about who you know!

 

I love it when a plan comes together!

In any business planning is important - but while some business owners set goals, they don’t always translate those into specific activities.

Creating goals is only the first step in achieving success.  You can’t ‘do’ a goal - it’s a result not an activity.  Every goal requires action and big goals may have a few milestones along the way to achieve first.  That means a lot of planning.

It’s easy to say ‘as long as I know what my goal is and stay focused, I’ll get there’,  That’s a bit like saying ‘as long as I know what this cake will look like when it’s cooked, I can guess at the ingredients and the cake will be perfect’.

OK, if you’re Mary Berry, you may be right, but we need to know what tools/ingredients are required, what process needs to be followed, in which order and how long it takes to bake.  Achieving any goal is no different.

Here’s my system.

• Write down all your goals
• Prioritise them so you know which ones are the most important
• Turn each goal into a ‘to do’ list, be specific and detailed - every phone call, every piece of information needed.
• Put the tasks into your schedule and do them when they come up.

If there are other people involved, get them to contribute to the list generation and put tasks into their diaries too.  Make sure someone (you?) is managing the plan - so things don’t get off-track.  Remind people of deadlines so the plan stays on schedule.

Apply this to all areas of the business

As a great deal of what we do is around content generation, I’m always astonished when people ask us to write a website or some blogs, but when we ask the question “Why do you need this content?” the answers are anything but specific.  We get:

“Our website needs updating,” but no reason why or what the new focus is or what the target for it is.

“We need to publish blogs,” good idea, but it needs some kind of rationale behind it.  Who are you trying to influence?  What are they looking for?  How can you help them?

“We need to be visible on social media,” an excellent plan, but which social platforms, what kind of material and what do you want people to do when they read your posts?

• Why are you doing this?
• Who is it for?
• Where do they hang out?
• What kind of material are they looking for?
• When are they active?
• Which criteria will you measure to know what is working?
• How will you convert them from ‘interested’ to ‘purchasers’?

When it comes to content it’s just as important to have a sound strategy with the activities that support it.