Yesterday’s member call with my Insiders was on fire 🔥

Seriously, so much gold that I am planning to rewatch and take notes myself!

We discussed a lot, but one of the things we did was take a look at a landing page for a member’s website.

In looking at the page, the issue came up of whether to offer a 30-minute free consultation or some kind of a masterclass.

As often happens, the juices started flowing and I diatribed for probably 10 minutes or more about the marketing plan I thought she should use.

Because I’m a nice guy, I thought, ya know I bet all my people would really like to hear about this marketing plan.

So I’m gonna share the basic sketch with you.

Sound good?

But for more details, some recommendations on where and how to learn more, etc., you’ll have to listen to the member call replay as soon as it becomes available (usually a day or two later). Join up now you can check it out ASAP.

OK — on to the plan.

A few caveats:

1. You’ll have to test this in your market. In fact, you’ll need to test a lot of things about this.
2. You need to be comfortable on video or at least with a slide presentation.
3. You must make sure to focus on sales, not education and teaching, in this process. There’s a time for education and a time for selling. This is selling time.
4. You’ll probably need to be in a niche is that used to watching webinars and masterclasses online. This member is working with coaches, counselors, etc — people who are used to online marketing and business.

In a recent email, I wrote about how I would market my business if I were starting over today. The cliff notes “schedule” I landed on was:

1. Ideally, 1-3 YouTube videos per week
2. Daily emails promoting discovery calls, special offers, etc.
3. Create new free offers every 3 months or so to keep things fresh
4. Optionally, consider a sales webinar each month to push leads over the edge

With that in mind… this is basically “part 2” of what that plan would look like, with a specific focus on a masterclass/webinar.

Step 1: Start a YouTube Channel

Again, and I will continue to hammer this home for the foreseeable future, YouTube is a FORCE when it comes to marketing.

Its discoverability algorithms are incredible.

And not only that, once you have 1,000 subscribers (and a couple other small/easily achievable criteria), they allow you to monetize.

This platform is going to PAY YOU to generate leads for yourself. Let that sink in.

If you have a clearly defined niche, YouTube is arguably the best platform on the Internet available today for you.

If you don’t have a niche and/or highly personality-based channel for which YouTube can find an audience, don’t do this.

You’re better off using local networking and more traditional marketing channels.

But there’s never been a better time to get started on YouTube. It will drive results with consistent effort, commitment to quality content, and being highly relatable.

Step 2: Build Your Email List with a Masterclass

Ok, in “Part 1” I talked about creating free offers/lead magnets to get people on your email list.

(Side note/spoiler alert: I am planning to release a course next year on email marketing for web designers. 😬 Let me know if that’s something you’re looking forward to.)

The ultimate free offer is a webclass/masterclass/webinar whatever you want to call it. And yes, it kind of matters, because your niche will respond to a certain wording more than others. This is why we test.

So what you’re going to do is offer a free masterclass, which is essentially a sales-focused webinar ranging anywhere from 30-90 minutes (test, test, test — sometimes shorter works better, sometimes longer).

Depending on how fast traffic is pouring in, you can decide whether to offer these every two weeks or every month. If you have lots of traffic, every week would even be good.

I would not go longer than a month if you are going to do this. You just can’t schedule webinars out that far away, it doesn’t work. Even a month is pushing it, TBH.

Step 2B: Offer a Bonus Freebie

Since it may take a while before the webinar starts, you will need to give them something to placate them in the meantime. You want them to experience an immediate dopamine rush if possible.

Give them something very valuable they can use right away.

A checklist, a free audio or video training, something related to the upcoming training that helps them prepare for it, maximize it, etc.

Step 3: Email Them to Get Them Excited

Again, you want to build excitement for being a part of the masterclass.

Consider even recording a few video messages and placing them on landing pages for them to receive on the 2-3 days leading up to the masterclass.

Once someone signs up, they need to be getting emails almost every day until it starts, and potentially a few days after it ends.

You will make sales in the followup emails from people who didn’t convert during the masterclass itself and/or didn’t attend.

Once this campaign is over, put them on your regular broadcast email list, email them at least every week, and preferably get as close to every day as possible.

If you’re doing this right, your email list will become your “lake” in which you go fishing for new clients. You’re feeding them every day with a helpful diet of infotainment that will indoctrinate them into your ways, build a relationship with you personally, and give them immense value.

When they’re ready for the services you offer, who do you think they’re gonna call? 🙂

A decision you’ll need to make is whether you do a slightly different webinar every month or keep the same webinar.

A related decision is whether you will invite your entire prospect list to each webinar or whether you will only invite new list members to it.

There’s no wrong way to do this.

If you’re gonna invite the whole list, you probably want to consider using different hooks and teaching points with each webinar to mix it up a bit, even if the content is relatively the same.

The reason is twofold:

1. Different hooks for different folks. You never know what hook is going to resonate with any given person on your email list. Someone may not watch the webinar the first 18 times you promote it, but watch it on the 19th time because your marketing hook drew them into seeing why it was valuable.
2. Repetition is crucial for success. I was flattered on the call yesterday when a new member was repeating back to me things I’ve taught. He’s spent time with my content, it was obvious. And the fact is that I repeat myself a lot. That is intentional. So it’s okay if a person attends “basically” the same webinar multiple times. They need the information and, if done right, it will eventually cause them to buy.

I’m almost 1,200 words into this email (a long one, sorry!) and this doesn’t even cover everything we talked about relating to this particular strategy.

And on yesterday’s call, we talked about a lot more than this—trust me.

Please, please consider joining us.

The things you will glean from these conversations could absolutely transform your business if you apply them.

And if you wanna be on the call to ask questions, you’re welcome to, or if you’re a “lurker” and would rather just listen to or watch them afterward, that’s fine too!

But I don’t want you to miss out.

Here’s the link:

https://subscriptionwebdesign.com/get-swd

Can’t wait to meet you!

Any NCIS fans out there?

Me and Tiffany are rewatching in hopes of making it past season 13 this time around.

On a recent episode, Abby was not her usual sparkly self. She was visibly depressed, in a bad mood, and didn’t wanna talk to anyone. I’ve been there a few times too, not a fun place.

Anyway.

Gibbs, not one to miss an opportunity, came to see Abby for some info related to a case.

She did her usual spiel, after which Gibbs hung around awkwardly.

Abby said she wasn’t spilling the beans, no matter what he said.

So he said nothing.

And the beans got spilt.

She proceeds to talk for about two minutes straight. Gibbs can’t get a word in edgewise—doesn’t even try.

Once the problem’s off of her chest (which, btw, is that a short fellow she’s dating wants to break it off because she’s too tall and wears platform boots on top of that LOL), she gives Gibbs a huge hug.

“Ahh Gibbs, thank you. You always know what to say,” she declares.

Which was met, of course, with a smile from the silver fox.

When it comes to sales (and frankly, customer service too) we have a tendency to think more words are needed. We talk, and talk, and talk, sharing our life stories with no seeming end in sight. Here’s what you don’t realize, though: The more you do that, the more you’ve made the story about you. And heroes don’t like their plotlines being hijacked.

The more you listen, the more someone feels heard.

The more heard they feel, the more endeared they become.

The more endeared they become, the more they trust you.

And the more they trust you, the more likely they are to do business with you.

BTW — that formula is true in many areas of your life. It will work with your spouse or significant other, parents, children, employers, other business associates, and more.

Consider the opposite:

The more you talk, the more someone feels intimated.

The more intimidated they feel, the more insecure they get.

The more insecure they are around you, the less they trust you.

And the less they trust you, the less likely they are to do business with you.

See that?

Now, that doesn’t mean there are no times to talk.

After all, I am the one talking right now. There’s a time for exhortation, encouragement, even diatribes.

But certainly not when doing sales or customer service.

That is when less is more. The less you say, the more effective you are. Try it out.

And hey, speaking of trying it out, I’d love for you to join me in my mentorship program, SWD Insiders.

I’ll listen to your concerns or current struggles, help you plot a path forward, and then keep you accountable every single month.

Let’s do it:

https://subscriptionwebdesign.com/get-swd 

The online business landscape is incredible today.

In 2023, we have so many options.

Whether you love to write, speak, or make videos, there’s a way for you to get your message out to market your business.

For some reason, I have not seen web designers take full advantage of the opportunities available here. As a whole, we are still stuck in the early 2000s ideas of marketing where networking groups and unplanned word of mouth reign supreme.

Now, hear me — there’s nothing wrong with either of those.

Networking groups can be a fantastic source of income.

So can word of mouth.

And of course, there’s no arguing with the cost of such marketing avenues, especially the latter, which is essentially free as long as you do a good job.

But online platforms are free, too!

And they offer a wealth of opportunities if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty learning how they work.

So if I was starting my business today, how would I market online? I’m about to tell you.

Fair warning, though: It’s probably all stuff you’ve heard before. Maybe you just need to hear it from me, explained in the way I’m explaining it.

Bottom line: If you’re reading this thinking “Yeah, yeah, I know should do that”…then ask yourself, “Why haven’t I?”

Here goes:

First, I would decide on some form of free offer.

In today’s age of marketing, it’s all about upfront value.

People are interested in what they can get from you. They want a taste. They need to feel secure in their decision even before spending money. You can push against this, or you can realize it’s the name of the game and be a star player.

Whatever niche you’re in, create something you can give them for free that speaks exactly to their needs.

This is not the time to be generic. Be specific. Very specific.

Once you have this free offer, it forms the foundation of everything you do.

You’re going to use this free offer to build your distribution channel — aka, your email list.

Second, I would nurture an email list.

It doesn’t matter how many coats of lipstick one puts on the advice. And trust me, I’ve heard it put many ways and coated with every sugary delight in the book.

You. Must. Have. An. Email. List.

Read it again. And again. And again.

Your list is your distribution channel.

Your list is chock full of people who’ve raised their hands to let you know that they have the problem you solve.

Without this, every marketing message is like spraying and praying on Call of Duty. You just frantically hit buttons praying that you’re going to hit a target and you miss every time.

When you have a free offer that solves a specific problem for a specific kind of customer, and email them every single day in relation to that problem, you are “doing marketing” in its purest form.

Oh, you read that right. Every day. At least most days.

If you’re offering value and solving specific problems for people, they will want to hear from you.

And when they’re done hearing from you, they will leave.

It’s that simple, really. And you shouldn’t ever be offended. To everything there is a season.

Ok – so you’ve got a free offer to get them on the list, and you’re emailing them every day, ideally telling stories, giving value, and building the relationship.

Next — and this is going to sound like it should have been at the front of the list, but trust me, this is the right order – you’re going to start a broadcast.

And go with me here, I’m going to be very specific about this.

Third and finally, you should start a YouTube channel.

I know, I know.

This advice might be difficult to swallow.

Yes it’s true, there are a lot of options. You don’t have to start a YouTube channel.

If you like to write, YouTube is probably not the place for you. I understand all of that.

But the fact remains: There is arguably no greater or more powerful discovery tool in existence today than YouTube.

When it comes to getting in front of the perfect audience for you, frankly, YouTube is an absolute juggernaut.

You can be a legit nobody today and have hundreds of subscribers on YouTube within weeks of consistent effort. And the better you get, the more the platform rewards you.

You should carve out a niche for yourself on YouTube and become a sought after expert. Then use that expertise to build an email list. Then use that email list to fish for new projects.

Here’s what the schedule would look like:

1. Ideally, 1-3 YouTube videos per week
2. Daily emails promoting discovery calls, special offers, etc.
3. Create new free offers every 3 months or so to keep things fresh
4. Optionally, consider a sales webinar each month to push leads over the edge

That could be the entire marketing plan for the next decade or more of your business. Seriously.

Now you might ask a very logical question here: “Steve, is this what you’re doing?”

Great question! Yes and no.

Yes, it’s what I’m doing in Subscription Web Design. And it’s working.

No, it’s not what I’m doing in my agency — yet.

But it is exactly what I plan to do as soon as my rebranding project is complete. And I plan to show my work and keep you updated on how it’s going, what I’m learning, and how you can use it in your own business, too.

So it’s what I would do if I was starting today AND it’s what I am going to do in the coming weeks.

You can use these tools in your business and create repeatable, predictable revenue without having to wonder where the next chunk of money is going to come from.

And if you’d like to talk about this kind of stuff live with us, these are exactly the kind of conversations we have in our member calls.

We can design the specific plan for your business and hold you accountable to make sure you’re executing.

Here’s where to join us:

https://subscriptionwebdesign.com/get-swd

Happy Monday!

I’ve always loved space.

As a kid I would visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida fairly often, and I’ve always loved space movies and TV shows like Apollo 13, Star Trek, and others.

Following the story of Elon Musk and SpaceX is like watching an epic space drama unfold right in front of your eyes.

It’s been fascinating to watch.

This past Saturday, another milestone launch took place.

Starship—the appropriately named vessel that is poised to eventually take manned missions to Mars—was launched in a key test that was intended to collect crucial data about orbital insertion and hot stage separation techniques.

(Here’s an absolutely breathtaking video of the successful hot stage separation.)

In a perfect world,

1. Starship itself would have completed an entire suborbital path around the earth and landed in the Pacific just off the coast of Hawaii.
2. And the first stage rocket would have landed in the Gulf of Mexico.

That, my friends, did not happen.

Instead, the first stage was lost.

It experienced a “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly” — or RUD, as SpaceX commonly refers to it — about 3 minutes 20 seconds into the flight.

It exploded. The visual is quite amazing. Just check out SpaceX’s X account for all of the amazing photos and videos from the test.

The second stage was also lost.

They lost communication with it somewhere within its suborbital flight path and debris is reported to have been sighted just Northeast of Turks and Caicos.

A total mission failure, right?

Absolutely NOT.

SpaceX had this to say:

While it’s not happening in a lab or on a test stand, this is absolutely a test. What we’re doing today will provide invaluable data to continue rapid development of Starship. This rapid, iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink.

SpaceX is a force today.

And their history is littered with this kind of activity.

In fact, as I write this today, another launch was covered.

Just another normal day at SpaceX, where they send a rocket into space with dozens of global internet satellites aboard, and the reusable booster rocket lands upright on a drone ship in the middle of the ocean. 🤯

The once unthinkable is now business as usual.

And it’s all thanks to the same process that led to two explosions on a “failed mission.”

SpaceX expects Rapid Unscheduled Disassemblies.

Why?

Because it’s how they learn not to have one next time.

You will experience RUD’s from time to time. I know I do.

And in the moment it’s frustrating.

But in retrospect, I am always grateful from what I’ve learned in the process.

Trust the process. It will get you through.

The process I’ve created to help you refactor your business so that recurring revenue is the normal, expected result will work if consistently applied.

Join me and my friends on the journey here:

https://subscriptionwebdesign.com/get-swd

I’m an MCU fanboy, not even gonna lie.

Don’t think I’ve ever read a single comic book all the way through even once in my life.

But when it comes to superhero movies, TV shows, the “easter egg” YouTube videos, etc — I’m hooked.

A few nights ago we decided to watch the original Avengers movie again.

(With three boys, as you might imagine, superheroes are big in my home. Even my little girl loves to be Ghost Spider.)

Every character has their own dynamic, but while watching the movie it was hard to ignore the glaring contrast between two in particular: Nick Fury and Iron Man.

Fury is frankly useless on his own.

At least as portrayed in the MCU.

He doesn’t have superpowers. He’s battle-scarred. He’s emotionally scarred. And he has a lot of political bureaucracy to deal with.

Iron Man—Tony Stark, on the other hand, is a loner.

And he’s really good at what he does.

The best, even.

Even though he has some occasional help in Pepper Potts, he comes across as capable. A specialist. An expert.

Nick’s superpower is gathering Who’s. Tony’s is being a Who.

This is a tension that most business owners eventually have to come to terms with. I know I did. And the day I decided I was going to be Nick instead of Tony was one of the best days of my life, personally. It allows me to play to my strengths.

Being Iron Man is a good path too. But admittedly, businesses are harder for people with an Iron Man mindset.

Tony Stark is a wealthy businessman (he’s literally modeled after Elon Musk, who is now the richest man in the world, in the MCU).

But that’s because of the nature of his work—not necessarily business savvy or organizational prowess.

Usually Tony’s and Elon’s emerge in spite of their weaknesses in those areas, not because they are strong in them.

I digress.

You should listen to the brand-new episode of the SWD podcast.

This idea of choosing your path as an agency is just ONE of the things I discussed with my coach, friend, and former drummer/cabinet-maker turned web designer, Josh Hall.

Josh is an amazing dude and if you haven’t heard of him yet, you are going to love him.

We had a great conversation and you can listen to it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoXaYPHoQb4&t=777s

He also has a program similar to mine called Web Designer Pro, but his is broader and covers more ground, so if you are looking for a solution that is more “end to end” I would encourage you to check that out!

If you decide to, and you’d be so kind to use my affiliate link, it will help my business out as well 🙂

Here’s the link to join Josh’s program should you decide he would be a good fit for you:

https://subscriptionwebdesign.com/webdesignerpro

I hope you find this episode helpful in your journey!