I’ve spent all day emailing out answers the questions that you all submitted in answer to “The question I have about creating a great workshop is…”
And by far the most popular question was: How do I get people to show up? How do I market it?
It’s a great question.
Perhaps THE question.
And…I can’t really answer you.
Because there are different answers depending on your content, target market and personal goals.
It’s some combination of being crystal clear about your ideal client and the transformation they are seeking, and making sure that your title, pricing, images, and marketing materials are consistent with that. But it’s also got to match your personal vibe, and of course the timing and delivery need to be just right.
And, if I can say this without sounding too self-serving: get some support.
Frankly, putting together a workshop that is both meaningful and profitable is both complex and complicated.
Complex, in that it has many moving parts, but most of them can be broken down into steps and accomplished with a bit of good information from a reliable source and old-fashioned elbow grease. That’s the “practical” part that’s fairly easy for me to teach. (And I’m doing 3 “Sam Explains the Technology” bonus calls to walk you through the nitty-gritty stuff about platforms.)
Complicated, in that it involves humans, and all of our wackadoodle human behavior. So we need to harness your imagination, your insights, your intuition and your plain good sense to create something that’s never been done before. That’s the “creative” part that requires a bit of a leap of faith on your part, but is also the most fun.
So it’s a lot of moving parts, and it’s a bit scary and mostly exhilarating and it’s exactly the reason I created the Turn Your Wisdom Into Workshops course that starts next week, and I’d love to work with you.
Your creative work is an expression of your soul, of your perspective, of your innermost self. It’s completely unique to you.
So there is no “template” you can follow, because no one has ever done what you’re doing before.
And any time you start to try to adopt someone else’s “six-figure” system, or try to abide by “conventional wisdom” you get all itchy.
And then you procrastinate and you tell yourself all kinds of stories about how no one would ever pay you to do this and how there’s no market for it and how you’re probably not that good at it anyway and how the technology sort of freaks you out and what if you succeed and someone steals your idea or what if someone calls you a fraud and then you start criticizing yourself about your low self-esteem and how you never finish anything and maybe you should just forget this crazy dream of making money from your creativity once and for all.
Right.
Like that’s gonna happen.
You can’t give up on your dreams because your dreams never give up on you.
They keep haunting you.
Pulling at your sleeve.
And then you see some no-talent-hack succeed and you think, “I could do that!”
After all, your friends are the coolest people there are, and they need to get their work out there, too, don’t they?
(Doesn’t it just make you crazy when your super-talented friend just won’t even TRY to get their painting, their writing, their healing work, their art, their whatever out there??? Yep. Me too.)
So please either share this blog with them or share this on Facebook, Twitter or Google + — here’s the link for them to register: https://sambennett.leadpages.net/unusual-marketing/
And of course I’ll make sure you get the recording and everything — but register first for free:
Discover How To Feel Great Writing About Your Creative Projects and Entrepreneurial Endeavors Online
Hi — This is #4 of 7 days I’m sending out a series of articles about how to do better & feel better about marketing your creative projects and entrepreneurial endeavors – it’s a promo for this fabulous new teleclass called www.WriteRightNowVIP.com that starts this Thursday, May 24th.
So before we get to the article part I want to talk for a sec about the class…
Answer me honesty — would better, more TRUTH-FILLED “sales” copy earn you an additional $100 a month? An additional $500? What if we could create you some materials that would up your income by $1000 in the next eight weeks?
(And I’m not guaranteeing that we can, of course — I’m just inviting you to consider the possibility. Because it IS possible.)
Would you like some personalized assistance from 2 small business creative entrepreneurial experts?
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY before the price goes up tomorrow. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
“These articles are AMAZING.” – M.W.
Wes & I are happy to provide as much free help as we can AND I really want to urge you to consider enrolling in the Write Right Now VIP workshop so you can get the BEST INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS from us personally and one-on-one.
We offer “satisfaction guaranteed or your money cheerfully refunded.” That’s how confident we are that you will benefit enormously from this course.
OK — so here’s #4 of the “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money & Keeping You From The Success You Deserve” article as derived from the free on-demand webinar that Wes Schaeffer & I did the other day —
—–> Did you miss it? Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
And, FYI, here are all “7 Copy Writing Mistakes…” topics:
1 of 7: I don’t want to feel sales-y…(read this one here)
2 of 7: I’m too wordy… (read this one here)
3 of 7: How to get started & how to find the time to keep going (read this one here)
4 of 7: What’s REALLY effective copy writing & how do you know?
5 of 7: Beat perfectionism once and for all
6 of 7: How to discover what’s really going to be compelling for your audience
7 of 7: What to do if you feel constrained by having to write for SEO, academic writing, your boss…
How To Know If Your Copy Is Really Effective
“I know half of my advertising dollars are being wasted…I only wish I knew which half.”
– John Wanamaker, Founder of Wanamaker’s Department Stores; now Macy’s
One of the great truisms of “traditional” advertising is that no one is really sure if it works or not.
And one of the advantages to being a small, nimble entrepreneur in the age of Internet advertising is that you can test all kinds of different strategies quite inexpensively.
Even better, you can see & measure your results instantly.
But only if you know what you are measuring and why.
So…What’s My “Bounce Rate” Anyway?
We’ll get more into this during the Write Right Now VIP workshop, but just for starters, let’s talk about GOOGLE.
You know that Google determines where you show up in their search engine results, but do you know how them make that determination?
Nope.
Neither does anybody else.
Not really, anyway. It’s an ever-changing algorithm that they keep top secret.
But we can create our own metrics by looking at is the following data from your website:
Bounce Rate
Number of Pages Viewed
Time on Page
And you should be looking at those numbers, too. Let’s talk about what they mean.
(And if you don’t have Google Analytics on every page of your website, do that now: http://www.google.com/analytics/. And I keep track of my metrics & got this info using Craig Jacobson’s www.JuicedMetrics.com. That’s not an affiliate link, BTW…I just dig his stuff)
Bounce Rate – You Want It To Be Under 70%
That’s Google measuring how many people click over to your site and then immediately click away. They assume that if you have good content, people won’t instantly “bounce” away.
Number of Pages Viewed – 2.5 Is Good
More is better, of course. That’s why you’ll often see blog posts that say, “read more” and take you to another page. That counts as an additional page view.
Time on Page – More Than 2 Minutes Is Good
Again, longer is better. Video is great for getting people to stick around, as are juicy blog posts.
Now PAY ATTENTION because this is the important part…
Here is the simple secret to GREAT content creation:
Content = What You Wish Someone Had Told You Ten Years Ago.
That’s it.
If you write an article a week explaining some aspect of your work that you wish you had known about 5 or 10 years ago, you will be AUTOMATICALLY creating content that is SEO-friendly.
SEO = The Questions Your People Are Asking (Typing Into Google) Right Now
So let’s put this all together:
– if your Bounce Rate is high then your SEO might be off (in other words, people aren’t finding what they expect to find when they come to your site.)
– if your Time on Page is low, you might need to create “stickier” content.
– if your Number of Pages Viewed is low, you might need to improve your Site Navigation by making it clearer where they should click and why.
Make sense? Good. Now go write something.
P.S. Of course this all varies wildly from person to person and from industry to industry, which is why Wes & I offer a PRIVATE, one-on-one session with each of us to every Write Right Now VIP workshop participant.
Want more? Here’s how to get more…
You deserve to have your business be financially sustainable, values-driven and joyful. Not easy, mind you – but joyful.
And improving your copy writing is the NUMBER ONE key to your success.
So…
I’ve partnered up with my good friend Wes Schaeffer from www.TheSalesWhisperer.com – he’s an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant & he’s a full-on, small-business genius with a GREAT sense of humor – everyone says we make a great team : )
So you’re invited to check out our Free Preview Event – called “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
It’s for creative entrepreneurs, frustrated small business people…
and YOU if you know that if only your…
– web pages
– bios (don’t you HATE writing Bios? We’ll show you the EASY way!)
– blog posts
– product descriptions
– social media posts (what are you supposed to say on Twitter? Really?)
– press releases
– emails (like this one!)
…were more authentic & more compelling, then you could SELL MORE STUFF, which would mean you would be helping more people! (Which is why we do all this, right?)
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
– You want to promote your business…but you get tongue-tied when people ask you what you do.
– You would love to Blog and Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest & whatever… but you’re not really sure what to say.
– You know your web pages are old & boring…but the idea of redoing it all makes you want to go lay down.
– You’re a creative entrepreneur who’s over-worked.
– You’ve got 37 ideas, a bunch of new projects and plus there’s your actual business…and then there’s the family and the kids and… good heavens, you don’t have the TIME to write new copy!
– You’re ready for financial success and you don’t have time to screw around. You need real answers from experts who really GET IT.
– You are ready to learn a NEW way to write copy that’s easy, fun and…wait for it…. PROFITABLE.
Then this event is for you!
Here’s what people said about it:
“so down to earth, and so real, and are SO encouraging!” – D.D., California
“That was very helpful! Thanks, you two 🙂 ” – R.P., Los Angeles, CA
“I enjoy your laser sharp humor as well as succinct comments and great insights. Always inspirational and instructive.” – C. D., Washington
“7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
You can listen online AND you can download the MP3.
I’ve been in the trenches & learned a lot about small business marketing in the past bunch of years and I’m thrilled to have this chance to share my insights with you.
YOU KNOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR GOOD WORK.
But if they never hear about it, they can’t benefit from it, right?
And please let me know how things are going with you – you know I love to hear from you!
P.S. And yes, of course this is a preview event for the Write Right Now VIP workshop – but it’s not a pitch-fest – you know I hate that, too. This is TONS of useful content, tailored just for you. In fact, if you want to check out what the Write Right Now VIP workshop is all about, you can go here: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
Hi — This is #3 of 7 days I’m sending out a series of articles about how to do better & feel better about marketing your creative projects and entrepreneurial endeavors. It’s a promo for my fabulous new www.WriteRightNowVIP.com teleclass that starts this Thursday, May 24 – check it out! We offer “satisfaction guaranteed or your money cheerfully refunded.” That’s how confident we are that you will benefit enormously from this course.
Either way, I love how much you all are loving the tips & information in these articles.
“Thanks some of the tips have been working already!! I look forward to listening again and telling my friends.” – Deb Proctor, Buenos Aires
Did you miss “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money & Keeping You From The Success You Deserve” free on-demand webinar that Wes Schaeffer & did the other day — ??
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here – http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
And, FYI, here are all “7 Copy Writing Mistakes…” topics:
1 of 7: I don’t want to feel sales-y…(read this one here)
2 of 7: I’m too wordy… (read this one here)
3 of 7: How to get started & how to find the time to keep going
4 of 7: What’s REALLY effective copy writing & how do you know?
5 of 7: Beat perfectionism once and for all
6 of 7: How to discover what’s really going to be compelling for your audience
7 of 7: What to do if you feel constrained by having to write for SEO, academic writing, your boss…
How To Get Started And How To Stay Motivated
OK – I’m just going to say this straight out:
If you are a creative entrepreneur, then you have 2 gigs. You have your “real” gig – the job or work that you actually do (consultant, coach, practitioner, actor, healer, chef, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy…) and you have the gig of marketing your gig.
Congratulations. You just won two jobs.
It’s vitally important that you be honest with yourself about whether or not you are willing to accept both jobs.
Because if you just want to do your work and you don’t want to do the marketing, then that’s fine! Just make sure you don’t need the money.
But if you need your business to be profitable or to have a bigger audience, then you’ve got to come to terms with doing the marketing — or, as I described it in email 1 of 7 of this series, “Marketing Is Just Making Friends With People You Don’t Know Are Your Friends Yet.”
Once you commit fully to BOTH of your gigs, you’ll find your motivation to get started grows.
Now Commit To Writing Every Single Day No Matter What
I’ve created a Daily 5-Minute Writing Assignment for the Write Right Now VIP workshop so that you will get in the habit of writing something (a Facebook post, a blog post, a “thank you” email, a love letter, a Tweet…) every. single. day. for eight weeks.
Making your copy writing an AUTOMATIC HABIT helps:
diminish perfectionism (after all, you’re going to work on it again tomorrow, so who cares if it’s not perfect today?)
reduce your anxiety around getting started
end the argument you’ve been having with yourself about how you really should be writing more
But you are perfectly capable of creating a list of assignments for yourself. You don’t need me to send you a “Daily Goose”…
Maybe you make Monday your Twitter Day and Tuesday your Blog Post Day and Wednesday your Sales Page Day…
Or maybe you decide to spend a month just writing, split testing and perfecting your Landing Pages….
Or spend two weeks playing around with Facebook Ads…
Do whatever you know will help get the truth about what you do in front of the people who really need you. And if you don’t know exactly what that is, then you’d either get some expert advice (like from me & Wes) or you best start experimenting, honey!
And How To Keep Going
Get a buddy.
Accountability is a an incredibly valuable tool.
After all, if I promise myself I’m going to do something, well…I may or may not do it. But if I promise YOU that I’m going to do something – well, shoot! You know I’m going to do it.
BTW, the Write Right Now VIP workshop offers you a PRIVATE Facebook page where you can find like-minded creative geniuses. You can post your wins, find accountability buddies or just stay inspired by watching everyone else. An amazing resource!
Find this helpful? Here’s how to get more…
You deserve to have your business be financially sustainable, values-driven and joyful. Not easy, mind you – but joyful.
And improving your copy writing is the NUMBER ONE key to your success.
So…
I’ve partnered up with my good friend Wes Schaeffer from www.TheSalesWhisperer.com – he’s an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant & he’s a full-on, small-business genius with a GREAT sense of humor – everyone says we make a great team : )
So you’re invited to check out our Free Preview Event – called “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
It’s for creative entrepreneurs, frustrated small business people…
and YOU if you know that if only your…
– web pages
– bios (don’t you HATE writing Bios? We’ll show you the EASY way!)
– blog posts
– product descriptions
– social media posts (what are you supposed to say on Twitter? Really?)
– press releases
– emails (like this one!)
…were more authentic & more compelling, then you could SELL MORE STUFF, which would mean you would be helping more people! (Which is why we do all this, right?)
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
– You want to promote your business…but you get tongue-tied when people ask you what you do.
– You would love to Blog and Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest & whatever… but you’re not really sure what to say.
– You know your web pages are old & boring…but the idea of redoing it all makes you want to go lay down.
– You’re a creative entrepreneur who’s over-worked.
– You’ve got 37 ideas, a bunch of new projects and plus there’s your actual business…and then there’s the family and the kids and… good heavens, you don’t have the TIME to write new copy!
– You’re ready for financial success and you don’t have time to screw around. You need real answers from experts who really GET IT.
– You are ready to learn a NEW way to write copy that’s easy, fun and…wait for it…. PROFITABLE.
Then this event is for you!
Here’s what people said about it:
“so down to earth, and so real, and are SO encouraging!” – D.D., California
“That was very helpful! Thanks, you two 🙂 ” – R.P., Los Angeles, CA
“I enjoy your laser sharp humor as well as succinct comments and great insights. Always inspirational and instructive.” – C. D., Washington
“7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
You can listen online AND you can download the MP3.
I’ve been in the trenches & learned a lot about small business marketing in the past bunch of years and I’m thrilled to have this chance to share my insights with you.
YOU KNOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR GOOD WORK.
But if they never hear about it, they can’t benefit from it, right?
And please let me know how things are going with you – you know I love to hear from you!
P.S. And yes, of course this is a preview event for the Write Right Now VIP workshop – but it’s not a pitch-fest – you know I hate that, too. This is TONS of useful content, tailored just for you. In fact, if you want to check out what the Write Right Now VIP workshop is all about, you can go here: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
