On this episode, Karen and Kathleen have another Ask Us Anything! The Wellness Business Podcast has received lots of great feedback and questions from listeners, but those questions don’t always require a full podcast episode to answer. So today Karen and Kathleen are back to address some of the most pressing listeners questions AND give you a shout out in the process!
Question # 1
If I already have my own private Facebook group, does it make more sense to run a free challenge in my current free group, or set up a separate group for it? When I move into running a paid 30 day online program, can I run it from the main group or should I set up a private group for this event and move them to the free group after the event ends? – Dina of Mind Body Weight Release Community Group
Karen’s Answer: The people who are going through your paid program, probably will have more advanced questions and have higher expectations on access to you. If the private Facebook group is part of the benefit of your program, you need to give them the exclusivity of a private group with only paid members. It’s part of the customer journey and you want to let your customers feel like they really are getting special access to you.
Kathleen’s Answer: Give your current free community group all the love that you possibly can! Really dedicate time towards building one large, focused, and engaged group instead of multiple smaller ones. So long as the free program you want to offer and the content you’re posting is something that fits the target audience of your established group, it will save you time and effort to have it there. The only exception to not hosting the free program in your current group is not very active and it’s fizzled out, then it might be best to start over with a clean slate and work on building an active and engaged group. It’s best to have a separate group for your paid programs, you want it to be more exclusive and have more of a velvet rope feel. They deserve more VIP access to you and to be part of that special paid program feeling.
Question # 2
After almost a year break from business, I’m ready to get back out there. I’ve got a couple of lead magnet freebies and various paid programs. I’m confused with the technology and confused where to begin with all of it. Advertise on Facebook, enter everything into the email marketing platform, create sales pages for the programs, or pop-ups for sign ups? What should I concentrate on first and in what order? – Sandra
Karen’s Answer: Many wellness business owners ask this same question, what do I do first? Always start with what doesn’t make a profitable business: 1) If you are marketing your products to a cold audience 2) selling programs that are a large commitment of time or finances. On the flip side of that, follow up with what does make a profitable business. 1) Have an email list of 1,000 or more people that are your ideal client. 2) Offering programs, like challenges, are free or lost cost entry point into your world. 3)Design your customer journey, starting with what is free and moving them next to something that is $50 or less. We need to really thing about our customer journey. 4) Build your social media following and presence.
Kathleen’s Answer: There are so many great ideas out there to help grow your business, but that can also make it feel overwhelming. Follow those 4 steps that Karen outlined, and you will see a difference in your wellness business. Keep focused and be consistent with that plan.
Question # 3
I’m stuck on what to post on my business page vs my group. - Nyssa
Karen’s Answer: What’s going on with the back end of your Facebook business page can lead you to so many opportunities to reaching new target audience customers. Don’t just throw in the towel on your page because groups are more of a community builder. The business page can offer you many different things that groups can’t to help continue to build your ideal client and offers easy and affordable advertising. Both aspects of Facebook are important and can be used in many different ways to benefit each other.
Kathleen’s Answer: Your business page is where you post content and provide value, but it’s not where people are really spending time. This is where you’ll post to send people to your free offers and content, get them on your email list. You can share other content on your page that you like, plus a look you’re your everyday life! People love getting to know you and it boost the trust factor between you and your customers. Your group is where you get to create a community and get people involved in dialogue around your business. It’s where you can begin to develop relationships with your potential clients and get people engaged with you and each other over the content and programs that you offer. The Facebook Groups is where the magic happens! They’re both important but they serve different purposes.
Be sure to listen to The Wellness Business Podcast Episode 12 and The Wellness Business Podcast Episode 13 for a refresher on how to utilize Facebook for your wellness business!
Question # 4
I’m trying to reconnect with my existing group and attempt to add some new folks to my mailing list. I do write blog posts on my website and then promote through social media. But I get confused about promoting it through my email list. The few times I send it through email I create a newsletter format in MailChimp, link the blog post and add a recipe or another short article. This ends up taking a lot of time and I get stuck in formatting of the newsletter. Can I just link the blog post in a simple email type format and leave it at that? – Anna
Karen’s Answer: Anna is really asking, can I just put my blog post, so I can save time and energy, so I can do other things with my time? When creating additional content for your blog, it should be a piece of high value content to your ideal client. It’s a golden opportunity to send an email to your list saying I’m still here and helping you with this valuable content. You’re reminding your clients that you’re still relevant and that you still have value to offer. Post the new blog to your website, create an email that has just enough information for them to be curious to click over to your website. Then promote it a bunch over the next week to get as many eyes as you can on your new post. This will get your clients into the habit of clicking links in your email, which increases deliverability, and gets them to your website. It also drives traffic to your website which increases your Google rankings. If everything they need is provided in an email, then they have no reason to click over to your website. Which is where all your paid programs are, your paid services are, how they’ll end up buying from you in the future, etc.
Kathleen’s Answer: The days of “traditional e-mail newsletters” are gone, keep it simple, save yourself the time and get people to your website. Building on that trust factor, you can show potential clients all the value that you can offer through various portions on your website. The emails you send don’t have to be this time-consuming thing, spend your time creating high value content for the website and the rest will take care of itself.
Question # 5
I’m planning on hosting some workshops and talks in order to sign up discovery sessions and hopefully clients. I would love to know the best way to get an audience for a live workshop. – Shonda
Karen’s Answer: It’s great to have people singing your praises and getting people on your list, but another thing you should focus on is keeping the momentum going from the time that they sign up until the time of your workshop. How can you build your audience and keep them engaged in wanting to come to the class? You’ve got to keep your momentum going in getting those who sign up for the workshop to actually attend the workshop.
Kathleen’s Answer: Kathleen loves leveraging other people’s clients and customers for something like a live workshop. You want to approach businesses that you know would be a good fit for the type of workshop that you want to offer. Referral partners are not only a great resource for getting more clients, but also for hosting workshops! This gets you in front of new people, helps grow your email list, and also works as social proof that you are being endorsed by this other professional/business.
For a great breakdown on how to find referral partners for your wellness business, listen to The Wellness Business Podcast Episode 19 where Karen gives you a step by step guide!
Action Item: Find the question from today that resonates with you the most, take the strategies from Karen and Kathleen and make the commitment to implement them in your business.
Freebie of the Week: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Grow Your Own Facebook Group
Be sure to stop by The Wellness Business Podcast Facebook Page, Karen's Website, or Kathleen's Website for more information.