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.
On the show today I’m joined by a woman named Devani Freeman who runs a social media marketing business here in San Diego called Heart Centered Social where she works with both online and local businesses.
A big part of her business is managing FB ads for businesses and one area where she’s found a lot of success is using Facebook ads to drive into a 5-day challenge.
And I asked her to come onto the show to share some case studies of challenges she’s run for her own business as well as those of her clients.
I really like the strategy that Devani uses, because it’s a pretty straightforward one that anyone can use, and best of all, a large ad budget isn’t needed.
My guest on the show today is Ariel Viera who runs an online platform called The Urbanist.
With the Urbanist, Ariel explores cities and culture around the world via live video on Facebook and through storytelling.
He goes live 4-6 times per week and in a very short amount of time has amassed over 7M video views.
He’s become such a successful live streamer that he was just recently
Nominated for a Shorty Award for Live Streamer of the year along with the likes of Vin Diesel, Dick Vitale, Scott Rogowsky from HQ Trivia and others.
What I love about Ariel and what he’s done with the Urbanist is he’s created an amazing engaged community on Facebook from scratch -- over 32K followers -- in a really short time.
And he generates revenue through sponsorships, donations, and video making services.
I asked Ariel to come onto the show to share his story, so today you’re going to learn:
In this episode, I’m bringing you person who approached me and introduced herself at Social Media Marketing World, Cielo de la Paz. Cielo has a business teaching solopreneurs, entrepreneurs and small businesses how to make videos using just their iPhones. You’re going to love the story of how she got into this business and how she’s had success with what she’s learned from this podcast. Best of all, Cielo brings all her numbers to share with us.
You’ll hear how started offering her course on a third-party site and now teaches it at conferences, workshops and to large organizations. At the moment she still has a part-time job, but you’ll hear her big plans over the next few months to transition to doing just her own business.
She shares how her lead magnet quickly grew her email list and how she was able to get 83 cent leads to primarily cold traffic. She’ll talk about how she used only one ad set and really went for it with her initial Facebook campaign…
Cielo doesn’t just teach the tech behind shooting videos on iPhones, but how to maximize and optimize those videos so that you can get the best results for your business. She does offer an amazing freebie though with all the helpful tools and resources to get you started shooting video on your iPhone, and she shares a lot of these tools here today in this episode.
I think you’re really going to enjoy this episode because it’s packed with a ton of useful information, and I know I’ll be a customer of Cielo’s myself because I’m looking to seriously up my game when it comes to shooting videos with my phone as well.
Today’s guest approached me at the end of my presentation at Social Media Marketing World and told me how he had spent about $10,000 on Facebook ads to generate $500,000 in revenue. You’ll meet Charlie Liu, the co-founder of Digitsu in this episode. Digitsu is an online source of quality martial arts instructional videos, and his story is one that you’re going to want to hear.
He shares how they now market their products to customers and how he came up with the strategy to do this. Charlie reveals that he thinks of the funnel as a maze, getting people from point A to B and developing an army of loyal fans and community along the way.
I’m super impressed with what Charlie is doing, especially since he is not only an avid listener of this podcast, but he’s someone that has applied what he hears and continues to test and improve on the strategies he learns.
On the show today I thought I’d talk to you about how to create and validate offers that sell. This is something that comes up a lot in discussions with my students, especially those in my Accelerator 12-month group coaching program. It’s one of my goals here on the podcast to share with you real-world examples that are happening, whether it’s in my listeners’ business, my students’ businesses, or in my own business. In this episode, I’ll be sharing with you how the offer of my new membership program, The ROI Club, came to light.
I have to mention that when I say offers, here I’m talking about paid offers and not free ones. You’ll hear that when it comes to paid offers, the very first place you need to start before doing anything is understanding the needs of your target audience. Once you know this, you can then create offers that will really serve them.
For today’s episode, I have another strategy session for you, this time with Hauke Pasch from New Zealand. Hauke is currently using Facebook ads for his wife’s new baby sleep consulting business. Since their prospective clients will have a very personal need, they will want a connection with someone they trust. I give Hauke my input on the best ways that they can build this trust and establish relationships while building brand awareness and generating sales.
I like the niche they’re in and they don’t need to have a big budget at this point for ads. They just need to be testing and not getting locked into any one single strategy. Most importantly, I feel they need to be aware of the different conversations with each of their target audiences, and the more specific to the audience the conversation can be, the more they will be able to convert their Facebook ads.
Listeners have been asking for more shows about e-commerce, specifically what are some ways that we can be selling physical products online with Facebook ads. I asked a bunch of my friends to see who is doing some really cool stuff in the e-commerce space (that I had to have on the show!) and the name Mike Jackness kept coming up.
Mike’s on track to do 8-figures this year between his four brands, and even if you don’t have an e-commerce business at the moment, you’re going to get a ton out of really smart ways that he’s marketing and selling his products with Facebook.
Today we talk about everything from how to create an e-commerce business, ways to come up with product ideas and what’s working for Mike now when it comes to his Facebook ads strategy.
We’ll also talk about what are some pitfalls you absolutely need to be aware of if you’re getting into the e-commerce space, and he shares what his Facebook ads “Marketing Trifecta Sales Funnel” looks like. Mike also explains why he clears his email list on a daily basis, and a whole lot more!
Today I have another bonus episode for you, where I share a Q&A session I gave to attendees at the recent Social Media Marketing World held in San Diego.
As you’ll hear, we cover a lot of ground here and the questions came from experienced Facebook ad managers as well as people just starting to use Facebook ads. One person I spoke with even shares how he made $500,000 in sales of an ad spend of $10,000.
Like I talk about a lot here on the podcast, even though the new Facebook algorithm is the “elephant in the room” that has advertisers worried, there’s really no need to panic if they are focusing on adding value and promoting engagement based on solid content.
On today’s episode, my guest is Rachael Welch, a marketer who is sharing her results from a recent launch that she helped a client with. Rachael posted about it in our Facebook group and it caught my eye, as she turned a $223.50 ad spend (in Aussie dollars) into almost $46,000 US!
As you’ll hear, Rachael helps people who are want to create, launch and sell an online course with the goal of moving towards and evergreen model. Perhaps most impressive is that Facebook ads aren’t really what she does on a day-to-day basis, but by testing some great strategies she got amazing results.
Rachael shares all her numbers, including how many people ended up registering and attending the webinar, the final sales (including those from the email follow-ups after the webinar) and costs per lead…
A big part of what we talk about today is the mindset shifts required around creating online courses. The truth is that you really don’t have to have a perfect course created before testing the idea and selling it, as long as you have a great offer and effective marketing strategy in place.
On today’s episode, I’m sharing more of what happened at last week’s Social Media Marketing World in San Diego. As mentioned in the previous episode, I recorded some live audio interviews as well as some Q&A from people who were at my session on Facebook ad custom audiences. One person that I spoke with was my buddy Steve Chou, from MyWifeQuitHerJob.com. He and his wife also have an e-commerce business selling handkerchiefs called Bumblebee Linens, and as well Steve was a past guest on The Art of Paid Traffic on Episode 140.
In this impromptu interview with Steve, he shares three e-commerce strategies that are working very well for him right now. As you’ll hear, these strategies are practical, actionable and easy to implement!
Simply send me a message on Facebook by clicking here with the word: troubleshoot and you will be sent the checklist.
I just wrapped up an epic week of conferences, with both the Traffic & Conversion Summit and Social Media Marketing World happening here in San Diego. There was a lot going on at both, and I had a lot of conversations, so I wanted to briefly share with you the three big takeaways I had.
Makes sure to tune in to the next episode of the podcast, as I’ll be sharing more of what happened at Social Media Marketing World!
Today I’m bringing another strategy session with one of my students, Hayley Strzelec. We’re talking about running Facebook ads for a local realtor in a small market near Vancouver, British Columbia, and how realtors should be leveraging Facebook and online marketing to grow their local businesses.
I share a strategy that so many agents are not doing now, but with a little effort in this area, they could completely position them as the “go to” person in their area. We also look at how to prioritize targeting when you’re working with a small budget, and what objectives need to be used when doing this. We finish with a conversation around what to do when you’re getting high positive, but also high negative feedback, and what you need to look for when it comes to relevancy scores.
Even if you’re not a real estate agent, you’re going to get a lot of value from this strategy session as we discuss a lot of different strategies that can be applied to any business marketing in a smaller town.
On the Show Today You’ll Learn:
For today’s episode, you’re in for a real treat, as this interview has become one my favorite ones to date (and we’ve done a lot here on the show)! I’m joined by my friend Jason Brown, a stock and options trader who teaches people how to do stock and options through his website, TheBrownReport.com.
I asked Jason to join me today so that we can dive into the unconventional approach of growing his business using an automated webinar that he started running on YouTube. Jason now spends about $10,000 in paid advertising each month and he’s seeing an amazing 3-to-1 ROI!
I also wanted to share Jason’s story about how he built his business to 500k, all while working a full-time corporate job. You’ll hear how he learned which platform to start using to market his business, how he justifies sharing his entire webinar as a YouTube ad and the trial and error process he used to achieve all the success he has had to date.
Today I’m welcoming the owner of WebSavvy, Mike Rhodes, to The Art of Paid Traffic. WebSavvy provides services that drive performance on the channels that most directly impact digital ROI, such as Google AdWords.
We’ve talked about Google AdWords on the show before and awhile back I began asking around for the go-to person when it comes to this topic to bring on the podcast. Mike Rhodes is a name I kept hearing, and you’ll he’s the perfect person to share more about the massive opportunities with Google AdWords (that I know are being overlooked by a lot of people).
Mike gives some great tips on these opportunities and which businesses AdWords are for - and who maybe shouldn’t be spending money on them. He talks about the changes he’s seen in online advertising the past several years, the keys to remarketing, and he also takes us through how he would market a hypothetical business that I ask him about.
You’re going to hear Mike explain why when it comes to Google AdWords, you really don’t need to make it difficult but you do need to understand your limitations and know when it is the right time to get help from a team of experts.
On the Show Today You’ll Learn:
On the show today I’m going to be answering questions that I’ve been getting recently (and I’ve been getting a lot of them)! I chose this group because I think the answers to these questions will really benefit a lot of you.
I’m going to be talking about things like my tips for using Facebook ads to grow a non-profit organization, why a lead campaign might not be getting traction and a whole lot more.
On the show today I’m joined by one of my students, Tammy Cannon. Tammy owns a business called Cannon Social Media, and she creates online courses and manages Facebook ads for creative businesses.
In this episode, Tammy is going to break down a simple automated sales funnel that she created which allowed her to grow her email list and also generate revenue through an Instagram challenge.
We’ll look at where she got the idea to run the challenge, what her objectives were with it and why she went the automated route to deliver it. Tammy also shares how she was able to get a 60% conversion rate on her opt-in page and what she did in terms of an upsell.
The big takeaway I want you to get here is the simplicity of it all. You’re going to hear how she started out promoting her challenge to her Facebook group by listening to the members’ feedback and then refined the funnel from there.
You’ll notice that Tammy only spent about $300 over two weeks to test it out against cold traffic, and her future plans this year to re-run the challenge with some adjustments. This really is something that anyone can do!
On the Show Today You’ll Learn:
On the show today I want to share with you an interview that I did on a podcast called Photogs Unite! This is a podcast that teaches the business side of the photography and helps professionals do what they do best – be behind the camera.
The host of the show is a guy by the name of Mike Lloyd, and the reason that I chose this specific conversation to share with you here is that it was really good (if I do say so myself!) and Mike is such a great interviewer.
We cover a lot of things that are considered foundational principles (conversions, objectives, re-targeting strategies and more), but they are essential for anyone wanting to be successful marketing a business on Facebook.
As I talk about often, a lot of this hinges on how well you really understand your target audience. It’s about having those conversations with your ideal customer, listening to what he or she says, and then using that information in your Facebook ads.
This is another episode that can really benefit you, regardless of the industry you’re in. You also don’t need to have a business that operates only locally to gain value from what Mike and I talk about today.
I want to do something a little bit different with you here today, and it’s something that I want to start doing more of on the podcast. I’ll be taking a business and sharing with you how I would market it on Facebook. Today’s business is a small fitness and rehab clinic, Fix Body Group, a local company that my wife and I are actually clients of.
Recently the owner of this business, Sean, introduced himself to me and explained the current marketing strategy that they’re using at the local level. I then gave him my suggestions on how they should be using Facebook, as well as Instagram, to grow the business.
Regardless of what type of business you have, my conversation with Sean is very relevant. I’d like you to take what jumps out at your and apply it to your own business, or for clients that you manage Facebook ads for. As you’ll see, you really don’t have to be spending a lot of money to implement and effective marketing strategy online!
Want to win a free 30-minute strategy session with me? To enter all you have to do is give me your feedback on the podcast. Specifically what I’m looking for is what topics you’d like to hear, guests you want to see on AOPT, style of the show and the frequency/length of each episode you’d like. Message me on Facebook by going to RickMulready.com/Messenger and I’ll pick one winner at random at the end of the month.
For today’s show, we’re going deep and talking about how to ethically use subconscious selling to improve your marketing and increase your sales. Joining me to talk about this is my friend Jim Fortin.
Jim is an expert on this stuff and he has over 20 years experience in subconscious selling and high performance using neurolinguistics and behavioral science. Jim has created a powerful new selling technique, which he calls NeuroPersuasion®.
As you’ll hear, what Jim teaches can do things like shorten your selling cycles and significantly improve your sales performance very quickly. In this episode, we dive into how to use brain triggers and pattern interruptions in your ads, what it means to use metaphorical imagery in your marketing (and what this can do for you), ways to demonstrate your offer to differentiate yourself from others and a whole lot more.
We haven’t talked about a lot of these concepts on the podcast before, and this is an episode that you’re probably going to want to listen to multiple times (and take lots of notes!) to fully grasp the fascinating topics that Jim is talking about today.
For this first podcast episode of 2018, I’m taking a look back at some of the big lessons that I learned about advertising on Facebook in 2017. I’m also looking ahead at what to expect in this year in terms of Facebook advertising, and online marketing in general, and sharing this with you.
It’s not enough to just be running multiple campaigns on Facebook, you’re going to need to know what you want to accomplish and have a clear strategy around this…
With the frequent changes on the platform, it’s up to the advertiser to check Facebook’s policies on a very regular basis, as well as keeping up on all of the platforms and emerging technology so that you can take a holistic approach to marketing your brand.
A lot of what I talk about today, like building relationships and being aware of your customer journey, can be considered fundamentals of marketing and things I discuss often. However, you’ll see just how important it is going to be to determine how to best have a personalized conversation with your target audience and to do this as soon as possible.
Stay tuned for the next episode with Jim Fortin, as we talk about how to ethically use subconscious selling to improve your ads and get more sales. We go deep in this conversation, and Jim shares so many fascinating insights on mindset and sales.