On today’s show, I’m joined by my friend Craig Ballantyne, who was actually one of my original mentors. I started following Craig and his work way back in 2010, which seems like forever in the online world and when I was trying to figure the online business world out, I went to a few of Craig’s workshops. Since then I’ve connected more with him and have really gotten to know him much better.
Craig used to be in the fitness space with his brand Turbulence Training, and then he started a brand called Internet Independence. Since then Craig’s gone through a big shift in his business and he is now the owner of the popular website, EarlyToRise.com.
Most recently Craig’s published a book called The Perfect Day Formula. He now teaches people how to have a more productive day in both their business and personal lives. He does in-person Perfect Day Workshops, where participants get to spend the day with him and then get follow-up accountability and coaching for 12 months. This investment starts at $5,000 and he’s sold over $500,000 worth of these packages using Instagram stories, which he’ll talk about in this episode.
We cover a lot here and I ask Craig to share the lessons he’s learned from his own entrepreneurial journey because he’s done so many things over the years. He shares why he thinks that Instagram direct messages are the “new email list”, his tips for having more engaging Instagram Stories, and ways that you can specifically track how you’re doing with them. He also reveals how you can expand your network if you have “introverted tendencies”, overcoming anxiety as an entrepreneur and his #1 productivity tip for entrepreneurs. You’re also going to hear why Craig did this interview with his eyes closed, which you won’t want to miss.
Want to win a 30-minute strategy session with me? I’ll be drawing one winner at random each month, and all you have to do is give me your feedback on this podcast over at http://rickmulready.com/messenger, telling me what you’d like to hear more of - including topics you’d like to see covered, guests, style and frequency of the show!
On today’s show, I have another strategy session call, this time with Sarah Young of BizTemplateBabe.com, which was just started in January of this year. Through her site, Sarah offers fully editable designer templates and her clients simple, fun and affordable branding options.
You’ll hear how last year Sarah was actually doing completely something different through a blog for moms. This blog had a big following but she decided to transition when she was feeling burnt out and looking for a change.
Sarah’s background is actually in interior and graphic design, and she’s found a way to use her skills and experience to help other business owners with their branding.
What she’s discovered though is that she’s targeting a much different audience now and starting from scratch, so our call today focuses on how she get qualified business owners as clients of her new venture.
If you go to Sarah’s Etsy store you’ll see that she’s already created a large amount of content and suites of products, and the strategies and ideas that we discuss in this episode are really just ways to use the content she already has and is creating on a regular basis, to really grow her business.
I’m in the same mastermind group as today’s guest, Caitlin Bacher, and by getting to know Caitlin, I just knew I had to have her on the podcast to talk about her evergreen webinar funnel and marketing strategies.
Caitlin helps course creators increase their income through the power of Facebook groups and automated webinars, and she is the creator of an online course called The Fab Facebook Group System. Caitlin also hosts a popular 12-month group coaching program called Scale with Success.
Caitlin has her business to a point now where she is running one automated webinar and generating revenues up to $300,000 per month, and she reveals her current ad spend and ROI in this episode.
As you’ll hear today, Caitlin is an example of someone who did a lot of testing and had to go through a lot of trial and error to discover what works for her. She shares the importance of tracking your key performance indicators (KPIs) and working closely with a good ads manager, something we talk a lot about here on the podcast.
I am so amazed at her business growth in a relatively short period of time, and I’m sure you will be too.
On the show today I’m going to be sharing with you the biggest mistake that I see people making, including those new to Facebook ads and experienced Facebook ad managers. This mistake is really keeping them from the results they want to be achieving with their ads, notably inexpensive leads and sales.
If you’ve read the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, you know that the concept of the book is to determine what is the one thing that you can do, that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary. That’s really what we’ll be talking about here as it applies to Facebook ads.
Specifically, you’re going to hear why taking the time to fully understand your target audience on a holistic level before running your ads is critical to setting yourself up for success with your Facebook ads.