Dec 11, 2019
Do you dream of being an
entrepreneur? Are you creative and long to build a business around
your skills?
You're going to love my newest
episode. Kayla Butler and I dig into how to build a successful
creative business today.
I’m sure many of you are
familiar with Kayla’s site, Ivory Mix, where she gives away beautiful, free stock
photos for social media.
In this episode, Kayla and I
talk about how she started creating images, how she grew her email
list, and how that eventually turned into a successful
business.
We go deep into what it means to
be an entrepreneur: the struggles, the mindset, and how to be
successful. I think you are going to enjoy this
episode.
Before I jump into my
discussion with Kayla, I want to let you all know that I have been
having loads of fun over in my
Facebook group.
I am in there nearly every
day, chatting, going live, and helping you build your business. And
the group is full of other bloggers, encouraging each other, and
answering questions.
If you haven’t joined us
yet, what are you waiting for? Come on over today and introduce
yourself. We’re all waiting on you!
Growing a Business Through Failure
When Kayla first started
creating content, her style was very hit or miss. Her first course
was a phone photography course.
Kayla’s audience wanted an easy
way to shoot photos and immediately have them
available.
But her first launch did not do
well. She only made about $50.
Through testing and trial, Kayla
has turned that first course into content that generates thousands
of dollars a year.
The course is comprehensive and
shows you how to edit pictures for your social media in an
easy-to-understand format.
Using Tripwires to Drive Sales
Kayla turned the success of her
course around by selling it as a tripwire.
A tripwire means that when
someone signs up for her free photos, they get redirected to a
“Thank You” page. On that page is the offer for the course. At just
$7 for a limited time, it’s a no-brainer for most
people.
That $7 product brings in
thousands of dollars every month.
A tripwire is not meant to be
expensive, but rather something that will make a steady income from
people seeing it when they subscribe to your list.
You have to know how to ask at
the right moment and market your products to meet your audience’s
needs at the right time.
Tripwires also contain a
time-sensitive factor, in that there is a designated amount of time
before the offer runs out.
This motivates the subscriber to
buy the tripwire now, rather than waiting.
Why You Need to Experiment with Your Marketing
Techniques
After another launch that Kayla
didn’t consider a success (even though she sold 30 of them), Kayla
looks at all of her launches as beta runs.
This allows her to test the
marketing and content to see if it’s what her audience needs and
will respond to.
If a course doesn’t do well,
Kayla can try new techniques to make it more
successful.
You need to be flexible and look
at your content as fluid rather than all-or-nothing deals. Be
willing to adapt to what works best for your
audience.
As entrepreneurs, we think we
tend to know it all, but we don’t. We have to learn as we
go.
Kayla began her membership site
for her stock photos. The membership was free until Kayla realized
what a valuable service she was providing for her members. It then
went to a monthly charge.
But she has found that annual
memberships serve her and the audience much better than a monthly
membership. The longer-term relationship helps Kayla to get to know
her people better and what types of photos they need.
As Kayla began to get more
members, she had to bundle her content to help manage the sheer
number of clients.
Members get access to new stock
photos once a month for free, access to existing courses, and once
a month, there is a specific training that the members have
requested.
Building Relationships on Social Media
When it comes to Instagram,
Kayla focuses on her audience and the transformations they want to
see in their lives and businesses, rather than on her
products.
Most of Kayla’s viewers come
from her site where they can see her stock photos already, so it is
redundant to post those pictures on her Instagram
page.
Her goal is motivating her
audience and focusing on them and their successes.
The more meaningful social
interaction you have, the more your account will grow
organically.
Kayla uses hashtags to show up
in searches as her following and interaction grows. The hashtags
follow the topic of the day, popular hashtags, or medium-popular
hashtags.
Helping Your Audience Feel
Empowered
Kayla tries to make people feel
empowered to decide to take their business to the next
level.
Making decisions is the way to
make goals happen. Kayla tries to help her audience make decisions
to take the next step.
We all have to make decisions
and learn from them to keep moving forward. Once you get into the
habit of making small decisions and tweaking them, it gets easier
and more comfortable.
It is essential to surround
yourself with people who will push you to do the next
thing.
Freedom to Scale Your Business
Kayla believes that mistakes are
good things. Through every failure or setback, you can learn
something that will help you move forward.
Do not be afraid to ask for a
sale. You need to push yourself to get to where you want to
be.
As women, we are helpers. You
have to tell yourself that offering your products, even for a
price, is helping others.
You can do more to help others
when you are more successful in your business. Do not be afraid to
grow and have a team growing around you.
You want to be able to scale a
business that can support your life goals.
Having more people on the team
gives you a new vision, as well as more freedom to pursue new
goals.
I hope you got as much out of my conversation with
Kayla as I did. I love how she never gave up, but kept learning
what her audience wanted and provided it for
them.
And when necessary, she
pivoted.
Think about that in your own business. What does
your audience want from you? How can you provide them with even
more value?
Now before I go, if you haven’t seen the new
snowflakes on our MiloTree
pop-ups, you have to go look right
now!
If you have any questions or comments, please pop
over and
join my Facebook group. I hope to see
you there!
Read the transcript for “How to Grow a Seven Figure Business by
Listening to Your Audience”
TIMESTAMP
Intro
3:04 Hobbyist to Business
Owner
9:03 Growing Through
Failure
11:13 Using Tripwires to Drive
Sales
14:50 Marketing
Techniques
17:30 Successful Membership
Sites
23:55 Building Relationships on
Social Media
28:13 Helping Your Audience Make
Decisions
37:04 Freedom to
Scale
TOP 4 TAKEAWAYS
- Even
if your first product seems like a failure, try repackaging it as a
tripwire.
- Test
all of your marketing, be flexible, and walk away from the “all or
nothing” mindset.
- Using
social media to focus on the transformation your audience wants to
see in their lives allows you to build genuine relationships with
them and to grow organically.
- Ask
for the sale. Remember that your products help people, so never shy
away from asking for the sale.
Try the MiloTree pop-up app on
your blog for 30 days risk-free!
Let your MiloTree pop-ups help you get to that next level by
turning your visitors into email subscribers and social media
followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
Sign up today!
Install your MiloTree pop-ups on your site in under two
minutes.