Stay Healthy - Go Online!

A Little Bit o' Biz Wiz...

Stay Healthy - Go Online

On a personal note, I feel every equine inspired practice should have an online business component. I used to believe there was one exception, that was if you were totally booked out with big contracts and consistent word of mouth referrals! However, in light of seeing many of my successful colleagues experience major cancellations in their bookings because of the Covid-19 pandemic, I see the major financial impact this is having on them as well.

Therefore, my perspective has changed. I believe they would be in a much better financial situation if they had developed some online product or service as well.

Today I want to share some basic elements required to launch an online product or service.  

First, you need to be clear on the purpose of your online marketing campaign, List Builder or Product Sales. 

List Builder - you offer something for free that gives people a ‘taste’ of your expertise and how you might help them with a problem or dilemma they are seeking to overcome. Would you like to quickly grow your list with subscribers who are interested in what you do? This is excellent if you don’t yet have a product or service to deliver online and want to create a database of future potential clients.

Product Sales - a virtual course, tool, book (e-book), or tangible item (requires shipping) at an introductory rate or low entry price ($17 - $37). If you already have a product or virtual course (or are eager to develop one) this focus has 3 benefits… 

1. It will grow your database
2. It puts money in your bank account (at least enough to fund its own marketing campaign)
3. It attracts clients who are willing to invest in a specific outcome and are more likely to continue working with you in the future!

The Foundation of the Offer

For the purpose of this article, we’re going to focus on creating Product Sales and I’m going to assume you already have a ‘signature service’ and know your clientele. 

The product needs to be something easily consumable and solve an immediate problem.

Take a look at the elements (steps) of your signature service and consider what each element provides on the journey your client takes with you as they move from where they are to where they want to be. 

What problem do your clients share with you that they need relief from or that they struggle with the most? 

For example:

Problem: One of the biggest struggles practitioners share with me is that they don’t know how to talk to people in a way they will ‘Get it!’

The Solution: “This is What I Do” ~ Create the Perfect Elevator Speech in 5 Simple Steps!”
Share your transformational work with horses in a couple of sentences in a way others will absolutely ‘Get it!’

(I’m getting ready to launch that online offer within the next 2 weeks!)

Your product needs to address something that will help them move forward quickly. (It won’t solve everything, it will offer some relief and provide some insight to what they need to do next). 

Think about what your client needs that you can provide...

• Motivation
• Accountability
• Organization
• Check list
• Resources
• Skill development
• Tools

I know someone that created a calendar of 365 different topics for delivering Facebook Live content. I was impressed with the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of her offer and how she presented it as well as how she marketed it. I bought it (still haven’t used it), but I liked her and her presentation so much I joined one of her marketing training programs. I probably wouldn’t have done that had I not been impressed with the small product I purchased first.

Delivery of the Product

Your product can be something that is immediately downloadable or delivered via email over a period of days. It can be a mini-course or challenge with a specific start and end date, or like my “Create Your Perfect Elevator Speech” above, it can be a course with online assignments and video coaching tutorials and case studies!

Technology (The Basics)

The good news is, you don’t need a big website or a lot of technology. But you definitely need a platform for sharing your offer and delivering it.

Landing Page (also called a Sales Page) - describes the benefits of your offer (in your ideal client’s language) and how they will access it. 

Buy Now Button (or Opt-in Form) - this will connect to a sales form where they will provide their name and email purchase with a credit card or Paypal (or another payment processor). I use a payment processor called Stripe that allows people to pay with a credit card or Paypal. Many people only use Paypal and they also offer the option for people to pay with a credit card. 

Email Follow-up series -  your email follow-up series is for nudging people through the content you provided, or reminding them of the upcoming course details, etc. (If you are only using Paypal, you will need to have an Opt-in form for collecting the buyer's name and email for your follow-up series. Once they submit their name and email the opt-in form should send them to the Paypal purchase link.)

Those are basic technology elements for delivering a PDF or Google Doc product or an email series. 

If the web platform that hosts your landing page doesn’t have an email delivery system integrated into it, you will need a separate email delivery system like Constant Contact, Aweber, MailChimp or a new one I just learned about (thank you, April!) called Mailer-Lite. They also have the ability to create landing pages. So if you’re just getting started, this could be a good option for you.

Advanced Technology

There are other platforms for delivering more detailed course materials that include worksheets, videos, feedback forms, etc.

I use a platform that hosts everything (website, membership, email, landing pages and courses) called Simplero. 

There are others, like, Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, Udemy, ClickFunnels (and many others…).

Ad Campaigns

The final step in all of this is acquiring actual customers for your online product/service/course! Where you spend your marketing dollars will depend on who you are marketing to. 

• Business leaders and HR directors will be on LinkedIn. 
• Special interests like personal growth, mental health, physical health, relationships and quirky stuff will be on Facebook and Instagram.
• Product-related items like artwork, home goods, and most gadgets or tools will do best on Google Ads and Pinterest.

Of course, there is an art to designing and delivering your advertising so that the right people see it and I highly recommend you get professional assistance with that. 

I actually recommend professional assistance with ALL of it if you want it to develop quickly with measurable results!

My team can help you every step of the way - from creating your product/offer/service to designing your landing page, connecting your payment options, helping you write the follow-up emails and the creation and execution of your ad campaign! 

If you want a team to do this with you, let’s talk soon and find out if you’re ready to give your business some online wings!! You can read more, apply for a conversation, and meet the rest of the team here: Quantum Leap Success ~ Done with You!

Stay Healthy as we Pioneer On!!

~xo

Thank You for your contributions to this work and thank you for reading.

To Your Horse & Soul Success,

~author of, “The Business of Coaching with Horses. How to Reach More Clients, Feed Your Horses and Change the World!”

My mission is to empower and educate equine inspired practitioners in the art of profitable program design and marketing. My dream-come-true is to see equine-assisted personal and professional development be recognized and celebrated for the unique transformational modality that it is, and to become as popular as yoga and Starbucks!