#051: Are you experiencing lower than usual launch results at the moment? If so, it's time to refocus and make sure your offer is hitting the mark. In this episode, I share very tactical things you can do to improve your results, regardless of the economy.
In this episode, I share:
I hope you enjoy the episode!
View the shownotes here:
https://www.louiseblakely.com/launch-results-down
Lou xx
Book your free 30 minute Launch Game Plan call here:
https://www.louiseblakely.com/gameplan
#051: Are you experiencing lower than usual launch results at the moment? If so, it's time to refocus and make sure your offer is hitting the mark. In this episode, I share very tactical things you can do to improve your results, regardless of the economy.
In this episode, I share:
I hope you enjoy the episode!
View the shownotes here:
https://www.louiseblakely.com/launch-results-down
Lou xx
Book your free 30 minute Launch Game Plan call here:
https://www.louiseblakely.com/gameplan
Hi and welcome to the online course creator show. I'm so glad to have you here today, and today I'm covering something that keeps coming up, not with my clients, but with people kind of like generally out there on the internet and my DMs just conversations that I'm having with friends as well And I really wanted to pop on and do an episode about this because I think it is kind of like front of mind at the moment. So we're in this situation right now that globally seems to be getting called the cost of living crisis. A lot of countries are talking about entering a recession or that kind of thing, and, yeah, the cost of living has gone up. There's no doubt about it And I wanted to talk a little bit today about how, if you've experienced, maybe, a decrease in your launches, what you can actually do about it, rather than just saying, oh, the economy is not good, i'm not going to launch or whatever. So that's what today's episode is all about. I think it's really timely and I think it's really important. So I hope that you tune in and get something out of today's episode, because what I'm discussing will help you in any situation where you may not be getting the results that you're expecting, so stay tuned. Now, before I dive fully into this episode, I wanted to personally invite you to book in for a free 30 minute launch game plan. Call If you're thinking about creating an online course or you want to grow your existing online course and you'd like some advice and direction, we'll get together on Zoom for 30 minutes and map out your game plan to achieve your goals. If you're interested, you can book in at LouiseBlakelycom. Forward slash game plan. I'd love to meet you.
Speaker 1:Now let's get into today's topic. So there's no doubt about it, some people are really feeling the pinch right now, and this episode is not about the state of the economy and it is not about whether you should buy into that or not. I do personally think there's a lot of fear mongering out there, and if there's any time to tune out what's happening in the world and focus on your own stuff in terms of kicking your goals, then I think this is definitely a good time to do that. I do believe that there are people out there still spending money. I know, i am for sure and, yes, i am affected by this so-called cost of living crisis in the way of the interest rates. As a home in it. Definitely, our interest rates have gone up quite substantially, but I am still spending money, and I am spending money on things that I really value, because I have a problem or a challenge of some sort, and I am willing to still pay to solve those things.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk about an example Like what am I spending my money on and how's that solving your problem? So one of the things that we are looking at purchasing is a whole house water filtration system, which is, like to me, pretty bougie. It's something that I you know a long time ago, or even not that long ago like that would just seem so extremely luxurious. However, it has become more and more important for me because I have had dermatitis. We have moved into a house about six months ago and my skin is like drier than ever. I am a person who absolutely does not like tap water at all and I haven't drunk it for probably about four or five years, and now I'm wanting to bring that next level in, where we have showers in filtered water, we have baths in filtered water, and to me, that is important and it's also solving a problem because I'm actually having skin issues When we had one of the companies come out for the filtration system. He did a test on our water and he said the level of chlorine in your water is extremely high. So that would explain somewhat of the issues that we're having. And you know, i just for me it's a problem and I'm willing to pay to solve it And, as you can imagine, a whole house water filtration system is not cheap like it's multiple thousands of dollars.
Speaker 1:But there's that problem that I want solved and that is something that I'm going to be talking about today, whereas I definitely, because of the rising interest rates, i have cut down spending on the things that were kind of like a nice to have a bit of a I wouldn't say luxury, because I think the water filtration system is a you know, it is probably considered in society as a luxury, whereas I feel like it's almost essential for where I'm at right now. Okay, so that is the thing Like people are. Unless you are in like a dire situation, most people are probably cutting down on the things that we're really just kind of add on anyway, not really solving problems, but just giving them pure joy, whereas now we're thinking, well, where am I spending my money? And probably being a little bit more conscious. I also think there's something to be said about who are you actually trying to attract when you're selling your online course and, you know, are you potentially marketing to everyone, rather than that kind of dream segment of your audience And those people? they're always going to have money to spend, right? So I want you to stop buying into the noise about how launches are down. There's nothing you can do about it.
Speaker 1:I do know a few people who have had like reduced launches. I've heard a lot of chat about this. I have had friends reach out to me, i've had quite a few conversations in my DMs about this and I think that right now is a time where you can do things very strategically and you will not be affected by what's happening in the economy so much, whereas the last few years things have been extremely good in this space. I think they still are. But you know, over the pandemic and stuff, like people were spending money like crazy. Those were those government grants people weren't holding back. The economy was actually booming in many ways and now we're just in that natural kind of down phase of that cycle and you know that happens all the time throughout history. It will go up and it will go down. So we're in the down phase right now, and I think we've just got to be aware that this isn't going to last forever.
Speaker 1:But you know, if you're one of those people that you're experiencing lower results than usual, or you are possibly putting off your first launch or creating that first product right now because you think that people can't afford it, then definitely what I'm going to share with you in this episode is going to help. And, as I said, i think we've been through that period where people had plenty of money, they were spending it on luxuries or anything they wanted to, and potentially, that's changed, depending on who your audience is, and I think that during those times when things are booming, we don't need to be we should be all over the stuff, but we're not, as because we don't need to be necessarily. However, i believe right now is a really good time to dial in things that you may have been a little bit lex on in the past, and that's what I'm talking about today. So, number one, you need to get super clear on your niche and your exact audience that you are trying to call in and make sure that your messaging aligns with that. Now, i also think that this is something that we need to be focusing on nowadays anyway, because the online course market is, you know, a lot of people are interested in getting into this world now and there is potentially increased competition, i think on a global scale, like it's still minimal and got so much opportunity and it's definitely still growing massively more than it's trending down, like we definitely know we're near that space, but how can you stand out from your competitors to actually get more specific, more niche down and target those that exact person, and I think right now, with the way the economy is, you are better off choosing a specific nation serving that really really, really well, rather than trying to go with everyone.
Speaker 1:Like for me, for example, i help people who are already service providers create and sell online courses, so my message is specific to that person. It's not like anyone that wants to make money on the internet who maybe wants to start a side hustle or anything like that. Okay, so that's a good example. Now, i think this messaging and niche stuff is very important anyway and it's something that you know, i have always worked on with my clients and my own marketing, but when the economy is booming, you may be able to get away with not focusing on this as much, but right now, i think it's really important to get ultra clear on who you're serving and communicate that very, very clearly in all of your social media content, your email content and your launch material. So that's your webinars, masterclasses, boot camps and your sales page. So you want people to know that this is for them, based on the specific criteria, and it's not for the general masses. So it's going to make your course or program the more obvious choice for those people that fit that criteria. This is also a great way to stand out if you're in a very crowded market and there's quite a few different players out there.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk a little bit about the messaging associated with that. Are you communicating the value of the offer and exactly how it is going to help them solve a specific problem that they're in at the moment? So, as I said with the water filtration system, the problem there are problems here, right, there's the dry skin, there is the dermatitis, there is just not liking the fact that there's like heavy metals and God knows what else coming out of the shower head. Like these are problems that are willing to spend thousands of dollars to solve. So what are the problems that your person is experiencing right now and tap into that in your messaging. And also, when it comes to messaging, are you communicating the value of the offer and exactly how this is going to help them solve that specific problem that they're experiencing at the moment? Now I heard someone say the other day now, talking about their membership, and they said this product is so needed right now. However, in this case, it wasn't selling And so it's all well and good to say this product is so needed right now. People really need this, they'll benefit so much from it And that's a great perspective to have Like.
Speaker 1:Obviously, we need to believe in our offers, but if people aren't buying it, then there's actually a disconnect in our communication around that offer Because, for some reason, they actually don't want it in its current form, the current offer, the current marketing because they cannot see the value Now. This doesn't necessarily mean that no one wants the course or the program, but the offer needs to shift Now. If you're wondering what the difference is between an online course and an offer, go and listen to episode 24. I'm not going to cover that in this show today. However, i will link that episode in the show notes and I definitely think it's worth a listen if you're not quite clear of what the difference is and also what an offer actually is.
Speaker 1:So, when it comes to your messaging and communicating your online course offer, it's really important to meet people where they're at, such as with the problem that they need solved, rather than telling them what they need and expecting them to see that, because that's not how people work, like that's not how psychology works. Right. You've got to meet them where they are at and focus on the problems that they're experiencing, that they know that they have, because what happens is quite often they can't see that from where they are at right now, they can't see the solution. They just know what problems they're experiencing. So we're way better off by actually meeting them at that problem and then showing them the path from there to actually providing a solution. And that usually comes in with your launch content, your pre-launch content in terms of social media posts and emails and all that kind of thing. Okay, so the content needs to meet them where they are at, with the problems that they know that they're experiencing right now.
Speaker 1:Now I completely understand if you don't want to be one of those people that's focusing on the negative in your marketing. I know some people feel that way that they're constantly like talking about the pain points and all of that kind of thing, and I think that there is a balance here, right, like you definitely can showcase the potential future, like future pace, what the outcome will look like, and I think that is really important, like it is definitely part of it. However, if you're skipping over the pain points, then you are really missing out on connecting with a huge portion of your audience, because if you're meeting them where they're at, like they're there right now, it depends on who your audience is, what your niche is and what that kind of marketplace is like right now. But there are definitely probably more. There is probably more pain in the market right now in general than there is like high vibes and all that kind of thing. I also think with content, it's really important to put content out and test it and see what actually works And what I've found. Like data doesn't lie. You will get statistics on what kind of content works wherever you're testing this. But just a quick example of how the data shows you what connects with people.
Speaker 1:The two most downloaded episodes on this podcast actually have titles that are focused on the negative. So the first one is episode three. It's like one of the first episodes I recorded and it is still the most one of the most highly downloaded, and it's called Why Some Online Courses Don't Sell. So it's negative, right? Episode 45 as well is also one of the most highly downloaded episodes And the title is Three Mistakes First Time Course Creators Are Making and What To Do Instead. So the you have it like. From my point of view, it's really interesting to look at that information like that tells me. When I see the numbers of downloads related to each episode, i mean I can clearly see well, that connects with people. So I think that's really interesting and I'm going to add both of those episodes to the show notes as well if you're interested in listening to them. So what I?
Speaker 1:the whole point of this is make sure that in your messaging, you're tapping into people's pain points. This doesn't have to be a negative thing. In fact, it all comes back to your ideal customer. Say, your ideal customer is someone who is already wealthy. What problems are they experiencing? They're likely different to the problems being experiencing, being experienced by people who are struggling financially right now. So it's all relative to your dream customer. So get really, really, really clear on who you actually want in this course.
Speaker 1:So the second thing that you can do right now is you can assess your offer. So, as I mentioned before, what works really well during peak times of the pandemic, where everyone was spending money like crazy which we're at a peak of the economy because there was so much money being put into the economy by the government which has caused this inflation and we're kind of paying for it now right, but that's a whole other story. So people were very keen to spend money, whereas now people are holding back and really kind of thinking about things for a bit longer and being more mindful And in some cases, literally we're watching every cent. So take a look at your offer and ask yourself is this a no-brainer offer Where this perceived value is so much higher than the price that you're charging? Like would you look at it and think, oh my God, there is just so much in there And the price. It just seems like absolutely what a bargain. I have to buy that course Now.
Speaker 1:This doesn't mean to lower your price at all. That's not what I'm saying. I don't think now is the time to be reducing your prices? Definitely not. I think that can do ongoing damage, But what it does mean is that someone sees it and just thinks that is such a good buy, i just have to have it. So the price needs to be relative to the cost. So a good rule of thumb is that your offer should be worth 10 times what someone is paying for it, and that's just not an outthing, it's an always thing, right.
Speaker 1:So what is the outcome that you're creating for someone from the course? And sometimes those outcomes are worth $100,000. So potentially you could charge $10,000 for a course. Now I haven't actually seen courses for that price. Definitely, group coaching programs, masterminds and private coaching. Definitely it's quite common to charge that high price for online courses. The highest I've seen is around about $3,000. So you know, if you think you're creating $30,000 worth of income for someone, or you know, if you're not in the business space, are you creating $30,000 worth of impact in some way or other? then is your offer like priced relative to that?
Speaker 1:Now I definitely am not saying, like I said before, do not drop your prices, do not go and think that you've got to create a low cost course, because I don't believe that's going to convert any better right now, something that I truly believe. It is just as hard to sell a $50 offer as it is a $1,000 offer. Right, you still have to be very clear on your messaging and communicating the value of your offer. So it could be look at your offer and think like what else can I add here? How has my market shifted, how has my ideal customers world shifted with what's going on right now And how can I cater to that? So they see that and they're like oh my God, that person understands me, they understand my problem, what I'm struggling with right now. So what could you add to your offer that is going to make it more of a no-brainer? So I've already talked about messaging. I think that's really important.
Speaker 1:So how can you use what's happening in the marketplace right now, which means that the needs of your customers may have changed slightly? How can you change your content to reflect that? And it could be like your launch event, like you're actually doing a masterclass on a topic that is really important right now to these people. Or you could add some bonuses that deal with current situations that may not have been an issue for your ideal customer, like a couple of years ago And now it's a problem that they're experiencing right now. You can add that bonus and you're increasing the value of how important it is to that person right now that they solve this problem And you're giving them the ideal solution. And it ties into what I talked about first, about getting specific on who you are helping. Now, the third thing that I think is really important right now is to make sure that you have some kind of mechanism in your business to have two way conversations with people out there in your marketplace.
Speaker 1:I feel like in the online course space, there is this mentality that you're just going to create a course and hopefully you might do self study if you're that inclined. You want to fill on freedom business, you want to travel the world and you never actually want to talk to your customers. You just want to do your own thing and see sales come in every single day and then, once they've bought the course, that's it. There's no more communication, and I mean, i get that. That is compelling and I have definitely wanted that in the past as well. So no shade at all. However, one thing that I have learned by actually being someone who has hugely reduced my communication with the outside world. When I say outside world, i mean, like my, the world of my ideal customer, basically because I thought that that's what you did in an online course.
Speaker 1:Business is that you can become quite hands off in your interaction with what is actually happening for people, and if that is the case, then it's actually really hard to find out what problems they're experiencing, how the world has shifted for them, what's current in their world, that kind of thing And you know this creates a disconnection where you're still putting out stuff that may not be that relevant to where people are at and you may not be shifting along with the market. So I definitely learned my lesson there and I think this is something that's really important Just to understand where your audience is struggling right now, how that may have changed and what would really solve that for them. So I recommend, in your business right now, have some kind of channel where that two way communication can happen, where you can actually cultivate conversation with people that you're not working with yet. So this can be by doing free, no-pitch calls. This is something that I've been doing you would have heard me mention it at the start of this episode And it has been really great for me personally to reconnect people out there in my audience and hear exactly like what they want to do, what their dreams are, where they're stuck, what they need help with that kind of thing. You could also create a community forum somewhere like a Facebook group. You could also go into other Facebook groups and just become really curious and ask people questions and have conversations with people. I think it's just really important to get into that environment where you can ask people questions about what's real for them right now, find out where they're struggling, find out what their problems are, and then you could actually work on altering your offer to actually solve them. You could also use your Instagram stories and do polls and all of that kind of stuff as well. There's so many ways you can do this. I would potentially look at where do you like hanging out yourself and where do you have your biggest audience, or where are your ideal customers at as well, and hop into those spaces or create your own and start finding out what people need.
Speaker 1:Now the final point I am going to make today is are you nurturing your audience really? So we all know that we need to grow our email list, right? I mean, i don't know how long you've been listening to this podcast, but it's something I talk about. I don't think I've actually done many specific episodes on list building yet, but it's definitely something that I plan on doing. I, you know, am at episode 51 and there's no shortage of content, that is for sure.
Speaker 1:But something that I regularly see is building that email list and they're not even emailing them, and I think this is a big problem and, like I just spoke about, it is very important that we're creating connection with our people and we're talking to them and we're creating that conversation. Actually, email can be a really great way to do that too, but if you're just building your list all the time and you're not engaging with these people effectively, i think that you know it's definitely going to be hurting your sales, because the time for warming up your audience like when they first sign up onto something probably quite coldish, and then you know if you want that person to then buy your course, like two to three months later you actually need to create conversation, you need to provide value, you need to build trust and authority and all that kind of stuff. That only happens by getting in front of them and showcasing things that are going to connect with them. So if you are not connecting with your audience enough, if you're not sending out regular emails I definitely think that you know this is something that you may have gotten away with not doing in the past, but I think right now it's super important to be connecting with people in any opportunity that you can. And if you're spending money on building an email list maybe you're doing Facebook ads then definitely spend that half an hour away can actually write a newsletter and connect with them. If you have regular content like maybe it's a blog or a podcast send it out to your list, just so that you're keeping in front of them and providing them value. That way And I think this goes for social media as well Like, maybe you have been in a position where people have just you've done a launch and people have signed up and that's all good and that's kind of been the way you run your business.
Speaker 1:Maybe now is the time that you actually need to do a little bit extra. You need to possibly look at the things that you've been avoiding doing because it's felt like you didn't really need to do that. I think if you're experiencing a lot of the normal launches. Right now, it's really important to start doing those things connecting with our audience and then nurturing our audience and actually caring about our audience and actually really trying to understand exactly where they're at and providing the ultimate solution in your offer is really going to help you. So you know, these things that I've covered today, they're things that I think we all can focus on at any time, but right now, i think drilling down into this stuff is even more important.
Speaker 1:So, just to wrap it all up for you, the four things that I mentioned today is you need to get super clear on your niche and make sure your message aligns with that. So that means your message aligns with your pain points, their dreams, their hopes, their goals, all that kind of stuff. The second thing is take a good look at your offer and just see if it's keeping up with the times And you know, maybe there's some tweaks that you could make there. And that does not mean recreating your online course and go on, listen to episode 24 if you're not sure what I mean by that. The third thing is to create two-way conversations. So we're getting really good feedback on where people are at right now. So open up those channels and let these people into our lives and have conversations, that kind of thing. And finally, we spoke about nurturing your existing audience and potentially showing it more than you have been. So thanks so much for listening today.
Speaker 1:If you learned a thing or two on this episode or had an aha moment, i'd love you to take a screenshot of this episode in your podcast player and share it to your Instagram stories. Don't forget to tag me on Instagram at wwwblueblakleycom. And don't forget, if you're interested in a free 30-minute launch game plan session with me, simply go over to wwwloiseblakleycomcom. Have a great week and I'll see you in the next episode. Thanks, course Creators and Go Getters. You're incredible And I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you haven't done so already, make sure you hit subscribe in your podcast app so you don't miss an episode. If you'd like to find out more about what I offer, head across to wwwlooblakleycom. See you next time.