The fundamental tension for online educators is this:
- You want to sell our products
- But you don’t want to be “salesy”
So, how do you navigate this, as someone who cares about your brand and reputation, but still needs to run a business?
Here’s how I think about it…
I categorise my audience in three different groups, and seek to create a unique experience for each:
- Superfans (Your most engaged followers who want everything you offer)
- Fans (Open to learning but not in a rush)
- Everyone else (Will never buy anything from you. Nothing personal, they’re just not buyers)
Firstly…
The Superfans
What I try and do for superfans is never “pitch” anything.
Rather, I simply send them my best content and create the ability for them to buy, if they choose to look for it:
- Links in the PS
- Casual mentions in videos
- Directing them to the website
In other words, I let the brand do the work.
In a Welcome Sequence, for example, if you do a good job, many superfans will buy within 7-10 days of their own accord.
No sales involve.
For those who buy, you remove them from the Welcome Sequence so they never receive any sales emails which may come later.
Experience: 10/10!
This is only 1-2% of the audience, but they’re the most important, and generate 80% of your revenue so it’s vital to treat them well .
Next…
The Fans
These are different to the superfans in that they’re not quite ready yet. Wrong time. Naturally sceptical. Whatever.
To this group, I send the same great content in a Welcome Sequence.
But they’re unlikely to buy of their own accord, which means they eventually need an element of sales.
This is why you need offers and deadlines, both after the Welcome Sequence, and also regularly on the backend.
But it’s not about “hard sales”. It’s simply a question of making an offer and attaching a deadline.
Focusing minds and bringing about a decision.
Imagine it’s two weeks before Christmas, and you don’t have your tree yet.
Then you get a flyer through the door:
“We’re delivering half-price trees door-to-door. We’ll also set it up for you and give you free baubles! If you want one, call this number by 5pm today.”
Chances are you’d call by 5pm.
Or think about this promotion I’m running right now.
I’m leading with emails that are hopefully enjoyable and useful, but there is nevertheless an offer and a deadline attached.
There isn’t a hint of “hard selling”, but many Fans will buy anyway, in part because of the deadline, which creates a decision point.
The Fans are maybe 5-10% of the overall list, and generate 20% of overall revenue.
If you don’t make the offers, you won’t turn fans into customers, and you’ll lose 20% of revenue.
Lastly…
Everyone else
I love these guys just as much as everyone else…
But the reality is they’re just here for the free drinks and the cheese platter.
They have no intention of buying anything ever.
And that’s cool.
This is 80-90% of your audience.
They’ll get the cool content. They’ll get the offers when they arrive (which they’ll ignore). They’ll learn from whatever I have to teach.
I think of this as “public service”.
It’s good for everyone.
The free wine and cheese is just part of the service and everyone leaves with a full stomach and a merry time.
But there’s a crucial distinction:
These guys and gals will offer a lot of opinions.
They’ll email me with advice on how I should run my business.
About how they took offence at a certain 4-letter word I used in last week’s email.
And I will take great care to pay no attention to these opinions.
But wait!
Please don’t think I’m callous or uncaring, arrogant or dismissive.
It’s not because I don’t value opinions.
It’s because I can only afford to value the opinions of actual customers – opinions which are always different to non-customers.
So…
By all means turn up, help yourself to wine, have your fill of the cheese, and enjoy the banter…
But if you are not a customer, I won’t be inclined to listen to your feedback.
This is maybe 90% of the list.
.
.
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Namaste,
Olly