A little over a year ago, I clicked on a Facebook Ad that changed the trajectory of my life.
That sounds like a strong statement, but let's just say I was LOST. I'd quit my job a few months earlier because I'd literally almost worked myself to death, and I was ready to start my own business... But I didn't know how to get started. It felt overwhelming.
The woman in the ad was just like me - a girl from the midwest who dreamed of making an impact, traveling and loving her life. She had created her own business and was living with purpose as a business coach. She helps women start businesses, and that's what I wanted to do, too.
The day I came across it, I was HOPING for a sign. I'd been searching for the next step in my life, and going back to the corporate world that had so badly worn me down just wasn't right for me as a new mom.
So there I sat, reading a Facebook Ad right around the 4th of July last year. Her story of mess to success left me incredibly inspired, so I signed up for her free training on 6 steps to creating your dream life. (Honestly, I don't even remember if that was even the training topic, but I remember that I had to learn more about how she had accomplished so much with so little.)
I devoured every word on her website - every blog post, her About page, all of it. I HAD to know how she'd created this living, breathing business on her own when just a few years prior, she'd been a total mess.
Within two days, I was sent another vulnerable and wonderful email from her, along with an invite to join her 90-day business building program that could help ME launch my own real-life coaching business. I whipped out my wallet realizing that there was only a day left to join the program.
This was IT. No going back. It felt right - like the message was delivered at the perfect moment. I felt like this woman could have been my long lost best friend, and now I would get to meet her. (Talk about being an instant fan, right?)
You might be thinking, "This is CRAZY! I would never trust someone that easily!" Or even, "Wow, this must have been insanely great ad targeting."
What made me grab my wallet and put $2K on my credit card to work with a woman I had never met or even spoken to?!
I felt like I was INSIDE of her story, and she built up my trust in her very quickly. I was from the midwest, like her. I was just an average girl (or so I thought?), like her. I was searching for a way to create my own thriving business and wanted to help people, like her. I had a psych and marketing background, like her. I had a spark in me, like her.
She GOT me. She understood my struggles, how afraid I was, how excited I was, how much I wanted to live with more purpose, too.
She made an impact on me, and because of her and her program which helped me get my footing as a brand new business owner, I now have my own thriving online business. I'll be forever grateful. I'm still a huge cheerleader of hers.
In case you're wondering, I made my investment back several times over by the end of the program. I'm a high action-taker, and I don't make any investment without trusting myself to implement the material.
Look at me - I'm basically a walking Fangirl for her, right? Just give me some poster board, glue sticks and some metallic sharpies, and I'll be front and center, singing her praises the next time she launches a program.
Why should you CARE about this? You're here to learn how to grow your audience and create income in your business.
I'm TELLING YOU how to do that.
Maybe you're on the Struggle Bus right now. You want to know how to call your ideal clients or customers to ACT - to sign up, to listen to you, to trust you and to feel called to invest in themselves.
Master your message, and you'll create that connection with your target audience faster.
Here are 5 principles I focus on when I'm crafting a message (no matter how it's delivered - via Facebook post, live video, conversation, or email, or elsewhere.)
1. PUT PURPOSE FIRST.
You are here to create IMPACT, not just income. Income is a very sweet byproduct of creating impact on the people around you. Impact is truly felt when you empower someone to take action.
Compel them to change or fix something that's bugging them. Spark a new idea inside of them, or help them gain clarity around something they're struggling with.
Then deliver a solution to their most immediate problem.
You want people to whip out their wallets for YOUR product or service whatever you're selling?
Make an impact on them. THEN, make a well-timed offer. Lead with purpose and be of service.
2. Empathy, for the win!
Before the woman mentioned even asked me to buy her program, she gifted me with a free training and a workbook, and most importantly, BOTH spoke to me and helped me solve a problem and positioned her as an expert - and as a generous human being who CARES about me. We still keep in touch, even though I'm not enrolled in her programs currently.
You're here to Serve the person in front of you before anything else, and one basic principle is to be able to speak to your target audience's wants and needs.
Understand them and empathize with them while seeing all that is possible for them.
Do you know who your target market is, or your ideal client? What is their main problem that YOU help them solve, and what do they want MOST?
Serve them first by being their solution before you even ask for their money. Help them solve one little piece of that problem because you CARE about helping them first.
Deliver value. Support your community, without demanding their money immediately. That's how you SERVE people; use empathy. Use compassion. Serve from a place of love.
3. GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Meet your target audience where they ARE, on their stomping ground.
Yes, you have to be everywhere, but being where they already is your first priority in the early stages of your business when you don't have a ton of time, money or energy to give to marketing.
The people you want to impact are likely going to hang out where they are most comfortable, so go there. Put yourself in their shoes. List 3 places they might be.
The woman I spoke about earlier used Facebook Ads because she knows that me (her ideal client for this product) is the type of woman who'd be aimlessly milling around on Facebook in a time of stress and soul-searching.
She met me THERE. Bravo!
Once you've built the relationship with your target audience in their comfort zone, you can start to invite them to join you where you are. Build the relationship more from there by delivering value and sharing a bit more.
4. BARE ALL. Create a faster connection with them by being vulnerable.
I know about this woman's journey in depth and feel so connected to her because she was "just a girl from Ohio". She didn't have much, and she still created her own successful business and a life of ease and adventure that I want for myself. Her vulnerability about being afraid and acting anyway is what really drew me to sign up.
Share a snippet of your story, showing that you empathize with them. Show them how you overcame a struggle and solved the problem.
You think you need to be perfect all of the time, but that's not true. Most people want to know that you've made mistakes, faced fears and overcome obstacles, because then you've learned the lessons FOR them. You GET them.
Help them get to know, like and trust you, by sharing your transformation with them in a really empowering way that helps them see themselves within it.
Sneak in a tip or two! See how that works?
5. Act interested in THEM, because you ARE interested in them.
Get to know them. Connect with them. Understand them and HELP them. Ask them about themselves. Ask them what keeps them awake at night. Ask them about their kids. LISTEN to them. Offer to support them now, for free. Be the person who CARES about them.
Impact doesn't always have to mean that you're reaching millions. It can mean that you're helping one person feel supported right NOW in this moment, when it matters most to them. That impact creates a ripple effect and builds the trust like no other.
So when it comes time to make an offer, guess who's recommending you to everyone they know? That one person.
Income is created by being authentically helpful, and about caring about people and making an impact on them. Your messaging can do just that.
Learn how to Grow Your Audience AND Your Impact in this free 5-day Challenge, kicking off August 1st. One person who participates 110% in the challenge will get to work with me for free and will join my upcoming program.
SIGN UP HERE: bit.ly/stand-out-now