We are not the best marketers 😕

It took me years to learn the actual BEST way to promote anything. Here it is.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [UNSTUCK]() From the desk of Pat Flynn October 4, 2022 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pat Flynn smiling, wearing a shirt that reads "Do a lot with a little"] ​ Hi, it’s Pat! Sometimes the truth hurts, but in this case, it will help—a lot. Here’s the truth: we aren’t the best at marketing our products, and you aren’t the best at marketing yours, either. Look, you can spend thousands, and even millions of dollars on the best copywriters, fancy ads, and professional sales teams, but nothing will come close to what I’m about to share with you because the best person to market your product is not you or anyone on your team—the best person to market your product is your customer. By the end of this email, you’re going to learn the strategy I used to earn 6-figures from one single podcast episode that you can try for yourself. Now, let’s get unstuck. QUOTE OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- “The customer is the hero, not your brand.” — Donald Miller, author of Building a Story Brand THE STORY --------------------------------------------------------------- On July 17, 2017, I publicly launched a brand new online course called [Power-Up Podcasting](=). To prepare for this inaugural launch, I published several assets to put podcasting on top of people’s minds: - June 26: [10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform]()​ - June 28: Podcast month announcement on the podcast (no longer available) - July 3: [Top 10 Tips for Brand New Podcasters](=)​ - July 5: [SPI 273: 7 Powerful Things That Can Happen as a Result of Starting a Podcast](​ - July 12: [SPI 274: How to Avoid the Slimy Sell with Chalene Johnson]()​ - July 17: Power-Up Podcasting launch announcement on the blog (no longer available; [here's why we delete some of our old content]() - July 21: [SPI 275: Real Stories and Results from 3 Brand-New Podcasters](​ I started talking about podcasting a few weeks before the launch. This is important because launching a product is like proposing, and you don’t propose without going out on some dates and getting to know each other first. The first blog post on the 26th of June sold the idea of podcasting, especially to those who never really considered it. The podcast on the 28th informed the audience about the upcoming “Podcasting Month” and that I had a special announcement in store. Podcasting month was not anything official, it’s just what I decided to call July because that’s what the focus was going to be in the brand across the board. By announcing podcasting month, it created more authority and a reason to consider podcasting even more. More authority-building and proof-based content followed, and the podcast on the 12th with Chalene Johnson, was very intentional because in the episode, we talked a lot about how we became friends as a result of getting to know each other through each other’s podcasts. Building relationships is another benefit of podcasts. None of this was random, and the strategy could be considered another lesson in itself, but that’s not the main focus of this issue of Unstuck. The main lesson I want to highlight is right inside the July 21st podcast, a podcast that alone earned a total of over $150,000 in earnings in just 7 days. That’s 70% of all the total earnings of this launch attributed to this one particular podcast episode. So what’s so special about it? ​[Episode 275 of the SPI Podcast]( features 3 small interviews with 3 of my “beta students” who were part of the first round of students to take the course before it went public. These course-goers were vital in helping to fill in gaps in the instructions and helped to shape the course to what it needed to be before the wider public launch. For each guest, I asked the same types of questions (and feel free to take these and make them your own): - Why did you want to start a podcast in the first place? - In the beginning, what held you back from starting your show? - Now that you have a podcast, what has changed? My first guest, Dr. B, wanted to start a podcast to help people living with ADHD but was so afraid of the technology part of the podcasting equation. After launching her show, within just a couple of months she was already getting downloads in 33 different countries around the world and having people reach out to her to potentially work together. My second guest, Dr. Shannon Irvine, a neuroscientist, had an offline practice and wanted to finally get online. She knew that a podcast would be a great way to demonstrate her coaching ability but she just didn’t have the time. After launching her show, she was able to shift her entire brand online and generate more revenue than she did before. My third guest, Rob Stuart, owned a travel agency with his wife, Kerri. They wanted to start a podcast to grow their clientele, but they just weren’t sure how well it was going to increase their business. It could have been a waste of time. Well, by the time they were a few months in, their revenue had grown a total of 347% since starting their show, and they had to start turning clients away. Each of these stories was hand-picked with different objections and personas in mind, and in each of the interviews, without even asking, I received some of the most heartfelt, genuine testimonials I could ever ask for. This worked so well that I had at least 5-6 emails from people who basically said, “Pat, I just joined your course because Dr. B convinced me to buy it.” And of course, all of these people could relate to her story, as well as her initial objection. Highlighting your students’ success stories is ALWAYS the best way to market your products. Take the spotlight off of you, and place it on the success of your students. As Donald Miller, author of StoryBrand says, “Be the guide, not the hero.” And if you don’t have stories of students or clients to tell yet, go out and get ‘em. Your audience is awaiting their own transformation story, and I promise you if you help them, they’ll be more than happy to tell others about you. Your Call to Action This is different from collecting testimonials. This is about highlighting the impact and transformation through the hero’s journey; your students, clients, subscribers, viewers, or listeners have gone through. Choose one platform to tell the transformational story of someone in your audience. Just one, to start. You don’t have to create a National Geographic Documentary about it, just share the story with the questions I had asked my podcasting students in mind: - What’s the goal and why is it important to you? - What has held you back from achieving this goal? What were your biggest challenges? - What has now changed as a result of achieving this goal? Just don’t ask: “Why is my training the most awesome training in the world!?” You won’t have to, because your students will do the selling for you. Serve first, and you will be rewarded. You got this. SPONSORED BY BAMBEE Keep your business compliant with expert HR guidance If you're growing your business and need help keeping up with HR compliance, Bambee is here to provide expert guidance, so you can focus on what you do best. With a dedicated HR Manager starting at just $99/month, you'll have everything you need to stay compliant and grow your business without risk. Most of Bambee's competitors have built HR software but Bambee involves the human element by providing a real person to talk through HR issues, create HR policies, help with onboardings/terminations, etc. This one-on-one support gives you the confidence to grow your business knowing that you're always up-to-date on the latest HR regulations. So why wait? [GET A FREE HR AUDIT FROM BAMBEE]( ​SPI NEWS AND NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------- We work hard at SPI to remain unstuck and consistently provide you with the latest news, trends, and events to support your businesses. Check it out: - Want some REAL-TIME training to build an online course? I’ll personally help you through the process in a 6-week direct access program starting on November 3rd. [Click here to sign up for the Heroic Online Courses Bootcamp!]()​ - What’s with all this talk about community? Are they worth the hype? On October 5th, join Pat Flynn and The Community Experience podcast host Jillian Benbow in a free, live chat about professional communities for entrepreneurs and how they can benefit your business. Come ready with your questions! [Register for free here](). - On this week’s episode of The Community Experience podcast: Community for Community Builders. [Listen here](). DAD JOKE OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- What concert costs just 45 cents? 🤷 👉 50 Cent featuring Nickelback. ​ Did a cool person forward you this email? [Sign up here for free.]( Want to reach over 125,000 entrepreneurs? [Become a sponsor.]( ​ Thanks for reading! You are receiving this because you signed up for Pat Flynn’s newsletter at [smartpassiveincome.com](). If you'd like to adjust which emails you receive or update your name and email address, [click here to update your Subscriber Preferences.]( If you'd like to stop receiving all emails from SPI, simply [unsubscribe from my emails.]( No hard feelings. 10531 4S Commons Drive, Suite 524, San Diego, CA 92127