….Ok, let’s just get one thing straight before I dive into how to sell your courses without an email list …
That old saying … “The money is in the list” … it’s true!
Email marketing is still very much alive and kicking and one of the best ways to serve and sell to your tribe … but that does NOT mean you can’t make a butt-load of sales if you have no list.
Just put ‘list building’ down as one of your MUST-DO TASKS for this year.
Go on … pick up that pen next t you … make a note on those post-it notes over there … “must grow my list this year” ….
Done?
Good .. let’s dive into some awesome ways you can still sell your courses, workshops and even your coaching programs WITHOUT a list.
I know you have been holding back from launching that course or workshop because you have no email list to promote to … but this kind of thinking is BS and it’s what holds many amazing boss babes back from creating and launching all those great offers.
I know you think that without your “ready-made” audience, you already primed email list, there’s no hope for making sales … so what’s the point in going to all the effort in creating that killer course/workshop/training series etc.
But the truth is, sales can come from many, many other places besides a mailing list … in fact, the more places you start to promote/sell right now, the more powerful those platforms become in your selling arsenal! [eww, I just decided I don’t like that word … it sounds way too much like asshole 😂]
While a list of active subscribers does allow you to promote to a ready audience who already knows, likes and trusts you, it’s not the only method that works … there are so many other ways you can [and should] promote all your awesome offers.
So let’s dive into some of these …
Social Media
Ok, so this may be an obvious one to most people but it’s still worth adding to this list as I see so many boss babes not using this tool enough.
Just because you don’t have a subscriber list of thousands doesn’t mean you can’t reach thousands of people. How many followers do you have on Twitter? Facebook friends? LinkedIn connections? Likes on your Facebook page?
All of these (and the many, many other social networks) are potential customers, and promoting your product on social media can be as easy as making a quick post with a link to your sales or opt-in page.
The best thing about social media selling is that your posts/content can reach sooooo many more people. Your posts on social media are public … which means they have the potential to reach and be seen a butt-load of new people.
This is where your content marketing comes into play.
Write a killer post which will be really helpful to your ideal clients/customers, then all you need to do is make sure you add your CTA [call to action] on the end and tell people about your offer and where they can sign up for it.
This single post can then be used on every single social media platform you have.
Your Facebook page – this is the best place for that long-form content. Make you content conversational to increase engagement and make it fun as well as informative to make is sharable.
Facebook groups – post your content in the groups you are in and reach all the members in there. A good idea is to try and make your content conversational to encourage other people to engage with it. [Also, make sure you only post promo content in groups that allow it]
You blogs – again, great for those long-form content pieces. Don’t forget to promote your offer and add those links to your sales pages etc. I see way too many people not adding these to amazing blog posts and missing out on those sales.
Twitter – great for shorter snappy content. Your content doesn’t always have to be LOOOOOOONG to be powerful.
Instagram – get those visuals working for you. Make some graphic highlighting the key points of your post [add your sign up link to your bio] Don’t forget to use your Insta Storys and IGVT too … these are awesome selling tools.
Pinterest – Again, use your visual to draw people into your content and direct people to your long-form blog posts. Don’t forget to post your pins in any group boards you are a member of for even more reach. [Want to join our killer group board? Click here]
One of my best tips for crashing it on social media is to mix up your content. Don’t get stuck only doing 1 single type of content creation. Keep your tribe entertained. Mix it up with long content, short content, images, videos, story’s etc.
Affiliate Partners.
The next best thing to your own know/like/trust factor is the ability to leverage that of partner.
I see way too many boss babe stick their nose up at creating affiliate programs because they think it’s too much work, or just won’t work for them. Totally not the case!
When you create an affiliate program and ask your tribe/peers/audience to promote your products in exchange for a commission, you’re essentially receiving their endorsement … this is a great use of social proof.
People love to buy into products and service that are recommended by other people. It gives them a sense of “this must be good” or “if other people are promoting it, it must be the real deal”.
And of course, this is true!
Your affiliates reach out to their list of subscribers and tribe with news about your great programs. And because they already have a relationship with their subscribers, they pass a little of that trust factor on to you.
One of the best ways to get awesome affiliates is to only use people who have actually purchased your course/offer. This way the promotion is genuine and they are able to answer questions about your offer from a “customers” point of view.
I’m an affiliate for many different businesses … usually tools that I use in my business. BUUUUT … I will only ever become an affiliate to things I genuinely think are awesome and I actually use in my business.
On the right-hand side of this blog page, you’ll see a little add for SiteGround. This is one of my affiliate links and I only promote this on my blog because I genuinely think Siteground is the BEST website hosting company out there.
I use it for all my own web hosting and recommend it to all of my web design clients.
Because I am an active user, I can answer peoples questions about it and help them make a real informed decision before they buy.
So … making sure you affiliates know your offer well and can be genuine in their promotions is key to success here.
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Guest Blogging.
So you have absolutely no email list of your own? …
Then why not “borrow” someone else audience and get some guest blogging done??
Guest blogging is basically where you write a blog which is then posted on someone else blog … instead of your own.
This will allow all the reads of that blog to get to know who you are and what you have to offer – leveraging other peoples audience like this is a great way to expand your reach.
Plus … when you guest blog for other sites, this will also increase your website SEO with all the backlinks to your own site. Winner!
Make sure you choose blogs who serve a similar audience to you – there’s not much point in writing for another blog whos audience will have no need or interest in your offer.
Oh! And … of course … don’t forget to actually add your links to your sales pages for your offer.
Webinars.
Don’t believe the BS from people who say webinars are dead … the people who say that kind of shizzle are just the ones who couldn’t make them work for them lol
For higher ticket products/courses/etc, webinars are the ideal selling tools.
By speaking directly to your audience in real-time [and perhaps even on video] you give them a chance to get to know you better than email alone will ever allow.
They allow you the chance to showcase your expertise, give amazing value to your tribe and then build-up to the perfect time to offer a sale … without feeling icky or salesy because you know you just delivered amazing amounts of free value.
The biggest mistake people make with webinars today is they still follow the old school webinar system … where they give an ego-driven 20-minute intro on how great they are, how awesome their life is and how much money they have stacked up … then give just 10 minutes of mediocre content … then finish off with a 30 minute in your face sales pitch.
Oh … and not to mention the “fake live” webinar. Yuk! Raise your hand if you have ever been on one of these and was put off by just how cringe-worthy it was.
Pretending your webinar is live and pretending that you are interacting with participants is a huge turn off!
DO NOT DO THIS!
This doesn’t mean you have to re-do your live webinar a million times – but rather do it live ONCE, record it, but clearly state what you are doing. tell people the first sessions is live, but being recorded for future use. Make a point of saying “hi” to all the none live watchers and encourage them to reach out to you via email or social media when they have questions.
When it comes to webinars – be the change you want to see. Make them different, mix them up … stand out and become known for being one of the best webinar producers in your industry … it’s not hard … just don’t use the old school methods mentioned above.
Combine webinars with affiliate promotions or paid traffic, and you have a scalable sales machine that can easily bring in hundreds of new sales every week.
Paid Traffic.
Don’t stop reading just because this one isn’t free … as this could be one of your biggest earners when it comes to selling your courses/offers.
Advertising is easier and less expensive now than it ever has been. You can target your audience by demographics, interests and more, ensuring your ads are only shown to your ideal client.
You can run ads on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google’s Adwords network, Pinterest and dozens of others.
I personally use Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for my paid promotions and I love using them.
Ok, so I do have team of experts who run all that for me, but before I was able to afford to outsource that, I had to do it all myself.
I took time to first learn as much about each platform as possible. Learning how to set up ads, what makes great ads, how to monitor my ads and also how to scale them when they are doing well.
I’m so glad that I took the time to learn all that as it really helped me grow my business in the most awesome ways.
When you hit the jackpot with paid ads, it’s like getting automated sales – they just keep flowing in. Plus … it’s a great way to grow your whole audience too.
Borrow a List (for Real).
Friends, colleagues, peers with mailing lists are a good option as well, though it might cost you a little as some people charge a fee to this.
Just like those Instagram Influencers who promote products for businesses, other boss babes will promote your offers to their audience.
We offer this service here at Done For You Divas, which gives our tribe members a chance to be seen by our 10k+ strong email list.
To borrow someones list, you just have to simply ask them. Do you know someone who has a larger audience than you? In a similar niche? Then reach out, tell them about your offer/course and ask if they will send out an email blast to their list.
Remember, payment is usually required for this type of thing – but some other boss babes will ask for another kind of payment. Maybe you becoming an affiliate for one of their offers or you sharing information about them to your audience etc.
The key to making this work is making it beneficial for BOTH of you.
Get Interviewed.
The thought of doing interviews used to scare the pants off me … until I did my first one!
I said no to offers for years until I finally jumped in and took part in an interview series on 6-Figure Boss Babes … and it was soooooo much fun!
Podcasts are hot right now. In fact, it seems like nearly everyone has a new weekly [or even daily] interview show.
Doing interviews are really easy and fun way to reach more people and tell them all about your awesome new courses etc. Take some time to do research on possible PodCasts or Interview series that suit your offers/niche/audience and reach out to the hosts. Ask for an interview, tell them about your cool new offer and explain why you think you’d be a great guest … you’ll soon be everywhere and known by everyone.
If you have a great offer, you’re the perfect fit for an interview spot, so start reaching out to those podcasters. They’ve got hungry audiences just waiting to hear from you!
The old saying of “the money is in the list” is still very true … but that does NOT mean you can’t make sales if you don’t have one.
All of these methods and suggestions work! That is a fact!
I have used them all many times in my different businesses.
Now, you don’t have to do them ALL and you don’t have to do them ALL at once. Just pick one or two that appeal most to you, give them a few tries, tweak your methods and then rinse and repeat what works for you.
Now … go out there and sell the shizzle out of your awesome courses!
