Tag: Facebook live

Sell a Paid Program Using a Free 21-Day Challenge

Post author By Patricia Durgin
Post date September 13, 2024
No Comments on Sell a Paid Program Using a Free 21-Day Challenge

Serving Your Audience for Free Always Opens the Door to Opportunity

You’ve created a paid program. “Now all you need to do is send an email to your list with a link to your sales page, sit back, and watch the money roll in!” Or so some experts say.

Have you noticed that those same “experts” only serve people who already have an established tribe? Their training doesn’t help people who are working to build their following.

A 21-Day Challenge is the perfect way to attract your ideal target market by serving them live, using Facebook Live. While you share great content for free, the Holy Spirit will draw those in your audience—many who don’t know you today—to your message. And thus, your platform will grow.

Let’s Break the Process Down

A 21-Day Challenge lasts longer than 21 days for you. Surprise! Those 3 weeks are only the free training portion. During those live sessions, you’ll deliver nuggets from your best content—for free—using Facebook Live.

Here’s a sample schedule (change the numbers shown below to suit your needs):

21 days of free, valuable content,
5-7 days when your sales cart is “open,” (when your paid program can be purchased) and,
21 days to deliver your paid training.

There are 3 additional, behind-the-scenes tasks.

Before your challenge goes “live,” you’ll want to determine what content you’ll offer for each day of both your free training and your paid program.

You’ll also want to create eye-catching promotional graphics to share on your various social media accounts before and during your challenge. Those promotions will intrigue potential audience members, drawing them to your Facebook page so you can help them reach their goals, escape their pain, build a better mousetrap…whatever results your message offers.

Let’s say those 3 items take 2 weeks total.

That’s 9 weeks—on the high side—to create a life-changing challenge that, once everything’s in place, you can offer for sale again and again, ideally making money each time you offer it. Sweet!

You’ll also have more readers on your email list—people who want your message—and in the long run, those results may be more beneficial than your first sales.

What If You’re Not Ready to Sell Anything Yet?

You can still benefit from a 21-Day Challenge, because serving your audience is always a wise choice. And since they’ll be able to ask follow-up questions and share comments while you’re “live,” you can help them solve their problem that very day! Of course, they’ll want more from you after that!

Each day, invite them to join your email list, so you can continue serving them with even more great content long after the challenge is over. This further strengthens your relationship with them.

Then when you do have a paid product, they’ll be the first to be interested in it. And since their name will already be on your email list—because you’ve been serving them via email since your challenge—you can contact them directly to promote your product.

Facebook Live is the tool that can make this happen, and make it happen faster.

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission

Tags 21-day challenge, Facebook live, free content, marketing for writers, marketing strategies

Marketing Sense

Your Facebook Live’s Schedule, Length, and Location Will Form Your Strong Foundation

Post author By Patricia Durgin
Post date April 12, 2021
No Comments on Your Facebook Live’s Schedule, Length, and Location Will Form Your Strong Foundation

Taking the focus off of ourselves and placing it on our audience changes everything. Everything. That’s exactly what a Facebook Live program does. You already focus on others as you serve in your community, church, and at work. Take that same caring spirit and passion to serve online with Facebook Live, and watch your audience grow!

Since I’ve hosted over 500 60-minute Facebook Live programs, I’m often asked a broad range of questions about it. Here are three regarding the schedule and length of a live program:

#1: Can I hop on a Facebook Live whenever I feel like it?

#2: What’s the ideal length for a Facebook Live?

#3: I don’t have a Facebook page yet, so can I go live on my profile?

#1: Can I Hop On A Facebook Live Whenever I Feel Like It?

Uh, nooooo. Well, technically you can, but you’d miss the main reason for using Facebook Live: your audience. Without knowing when you’ll be live, viewers can’t add your program to their schedule, and without them, you’re simply a talking head, speaking into an empty space. Ugh!

Choose a specific day and time for your program. This allows more viewers to join because they’ll know when you’ll be on. Dependability is a hallmark of a professional.

Some think, “I’ll just hop on for a few minutes, say what I want to say, and get off,” but your audience needs time to 1) remember your program is coming up, 2) disengage from whatever project they’re working on, 3) pour their favorite beverage, and 4) get their notepad (assuming your previous programs offered worthwhile content).

If your program only lasts a few minutes, you’ll be offline before they’ve gotten themselves together. A few go rounds like that and they won’t be back.

Choose a day and time and commit to it, just as you would any other “can’t miss this!” appointment.

Most people go live once a week. Less often and people tend to forget you, which means you’ll have to attract a brand-new audience over and over, instead of building a program with regular viewers, plus occasional new faces that stumble upon you, like what they hear, and come back for more.

#2: What’s The Ideal Length For A Facebook Live?

I suggest a minimum of 15 minutes, though 30 is better. Thirty minutes gives your audience time to join you before you deliver the heart of your message. That allows them to participate in the conversation. (You know that Facebook Live is a two-way conversation between your viewers and you, right? That’s why people love it so.)

Thirty minutes also gives Facebook’s algorithm time to notify those chosen few viewers mentioned above. Plus, it allows you to dig into a single point without rushing. Cramming 30 minutes of content into 15 minutes is no fun for you or your audience.

Facebook loves organic video (video recorded live on Facebook). They give it “artificial reach,” meaning that they notify a small, random percentage of your followers each time you go live, so those followers can join you quickly. It’s only a small percentage, and you have no control over who’s notified. Still, it’s a nice perk. And it’s only available if your program lasts long enough for it to kick in.

#3: I Don’t Have A Facebook Page Yet, So Can I Go Live On My Profile?

It seems like a no-brainer to present your Facebook live program on your Facebook profile. After all, that’s where all your friends are. But I caution against it, for two reasons.

One, while your family and friends support you, it’s highly unlikely that they’re in your God-given target market. So you won’t attract the audience that needs your book, and vice-versa.

Two, sooner or later you’ll want to invite viewers to purchase your book, pay for your online speaking event, or something else. But that’s not allowed on profiles, according to Facebook’s Terms of Service.

You’re better off to start where you can grow long-term, which, on Facebook, is your page.

Everyone I’ve known who’s gone “live” has been surprised how much they enjoy it. Yes, there’s tech to learn, but once you’ve learned it, it becomes automatic. Yes, there’s content to create, but haven’t you been longing for a group who’s hungry for your message?

The most delightful surprise? The people on the other side of the camera. They’re the ones you’ve been trying so hard to reach, and there they are, eager to improve their lives…and you can tell them how. There’s nothing like that feeling, is there?

And it’s free for everyone! Unbelievable!

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

Tags Facebook live, Facebook Live FAQs, marketing for writers, platform, social media, Video

Marketing Sense

How to Grow a Loyal Facebook Live Audience: Focus On Your Audience and Content

Post author By Patricia Durgin
Post date March 12, 2021
No Comments on How to Grow a Loyal Facebook Live Audience: Focus On Your Audience and Content

Growing a loyal Facebook Live audience—whether you’re a beginner or established writer—doesn’t happen overnight. You have to earn it. And it is, oh, so worth the effort!

Every program is a new opportunity to prove you’re a valuable resource to your audience. They’ll know, like, and trust you faster because of your consistent interaction with them. Relationships will spring up between you and your viewers. They’ll connect with each other as well. You’ll build an online community, all for free.

The #1 way to grow your audience is to offer them the content they want while also delivering the content they need. This two-pronged approach will help them discover you in the crowded online marketplace.

Your programs can become a springboard for products, services, and events, all while continuing to provide new messages via your Facebook Live program.

Two foundational elements need to be consistently marketed: your program’s audience and its content.

Who Will Your Program Serve?

If you’re like me, you’ve been serving your audience for years, perhaps decades. So you already know how to describe them.

If not, consider these questions: Who responds to your message at work, church, in your community, and on social media?

What are their common traits? Are they mostly female? Male? What’s their age range and ethnicity? Important as those elements are, they’re external.

Their internal commonalities are more valuable to you as a content creator. What problems or pains do they share? What words do they use to express those issues?

Or are they striving to reach a goal instead? If so, what challenges do they face? What’s keeping them from moving forward? And how do they articulate those obstacles?

These are the people who will be drawn to you online, just like they’ve been drawn to you in real life for years. Market to them. Serve them, and they’ll reward you with their loyalty.

What Content Do They Want?

Review the questions listed above again. When you know the pains, challenges, obstacles, and problems your ideal target market has, you can create content just for them. This is no time to be generic! They want content that applies directly to them, and well they should. And you’re just the one to offer it…because you know them so well.

When they describe their problems, what words do they use…exactly? How do they explain their struggles…specifically? The answers to those questions lead directly to your content. Themed programs hold a myriad of additional topics. Unpack them and share one point or principle per Facebook Live program.

Let Your Audience Be Your Content Partner

Without realizing it, your audience will suggest new content ideas as they engage during your live programs.

The single biggest advantage of hosting a regular Facebook Live program is that your viewers will tell you when your content is on target. And…they’ll tell you in real time. How? By asking follow-up questions. When they ask how to apply your message to their unique situation, you’ll know you’re “hitting the mark.”

Allowing them (inviting them!) to participate in the conversation isn’t an interruption. Their input broadens your message, making it richer, fuller, and more helpful.

The more you talk about what your audience wants to talk about—while still focusing on your message—the longer they’ll watch, which will strengthen your connection with them. You want them to connect with both you and with each other. A regular Facebook Live program is designed specifically for that type of interaction.

As writers, we might go weeks or months without any feedback from our audience. But when we serve them via Facebook Live, we hear their questions, comments, and gratitude immediately. This is a sweet reward!

Website: https://marketersonamission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketersOnAMission

Tags audience engagement, Facebook live, marketing for writers, Marketing Sense

Marketing Sense

Can A Facebook Live Program Grow Your Author Platform in 2021?

Post author By Lisa E. Betz
Post date January 13, 2021
No Comments on Can A Facebook Live Program Grow Your Author Platform in 2021?

New authors often call me. They want my help to build their platform in time for their book’s release the following month. I ask, “What have you been doing to serve your audience this past year?”

They reply, “Nothing. I’ve been writing my book.”

Me: “Who do you expect to buy your book?”

Them: “My family and friends.”

Me: “Eventually, those people will be saturated with your message. Once that happens, who will buy your book?”

Them: “Hmm…I never thought about that.”

The hard truth is that no one can build a platform in a month, especially not from scratch. And what does that phrase even mean, really?

What is an “Author Platform”?

Your author platform is your ability to sell books to people you’ve never met. Celebrities, politicians, and megachurch pastors do this effortlessly because they developed a loyal following long before they became an author.

How can you get that same result? Reaching people beyond your family and friends comes first.

Offering your message for free via a Facebook Live program comes second. As you serve your audience with excellence, more audience members—who don’t yet know you—will be drawn to you, growing your audience base. Staying in touch with them comes third.

What does it take to start?

You don’t need any followers in the beginning, because you earn them as you help them. You will need a computer, camera, and microphone. Plus the message you’ve been sharing for years, formally or informally. That’s it!

As you “go live,” the Holy Spirit will draw the very people who need your message.

They’ll return. Some will bring their friends. And your platform will grow deeper. When you serve your audience well, it builds naturally. And supernaturally.

What if I need to polish my message a bit more?

Even if you’ve been delivering your message for decades, hosting a Facebook Live program will refine it. How? Your audience will ask follow-up questions during the program, bringing up points you haven’t considered before. Two-way conversations with a live audience are so much better than writing to unseen readers who don’t respond!

The flexible, back-and-forth flow of a Facebook Live allows the conversation to take unexpected and delightful turns, making your message richer, fuller, and more effective.

Don’t I have to be an expert to host a Facebook Live program?

Even if you don’t start out as an expert, you’ll become one, and be recognized as such. This will open doors you never dreamt of, expanding your audience reach even further and creating opportunities for new personal and professional relationships.

Many Christian communicators balk at “going live,” preferring to write blog posts and share memes instead. And those are good ways to get your message out.

But if you want to develop solid relationships with your audience so they’ll become loyal followers, advocates, and buyers for years, Facebook Live is the faster choice. Though, like any worthwhile project, it doesn’t happen overnight.

When should you begin?

No matter when your next book will be published, I encourage you to begin building your audience base now. Intentionally reach beyond your family and friends.

Some writers worry they’ll give away everything they know, then their audience won’t want their book. On the contrary, sharing your best in 15-30 minute segments via Facebook Live showcases your message, making your audience hungry for more.

First one viewer, then another, then still others will recognize not only the value of your message but they’ll get to know YOU: your personality, your laughter, and your wisdom. You’ll be in relationship with them. These are the people who will be first in line when your book is released. They’ll become your advocates, encouraging their friends to purchase everything you create, helping your platform grow without any extra effort from you. And all because of the connection created as you serve them.

Will 2021 be your year to build a strong author platform using a Facebook Live program?