In HBA, I teach my lovely ladies a technique for finding the heart and soul of their businesses. It is deciptevely simple and totally business changing. In fact. discovering this little fact ended up changing my business for the better. All the awesome changes around here?  Because I found my Bat Signal. Well, I want to give you the tools to find your own awesome Bat Signal. I am also gonna give you an exclusive look at how HBA works from the inside.

 

Yep, I am putting on a week of HBA — for you — for free. Just so you can try it on, test it out and see if it is something you want to do.

 

Want to know more? Click the image below. See you on the other side!

 

 

 

HBA is a labor of love and I get a lot of questions about developing the class. Since I am now working on HBA 2.0 (!!) I thought it would be great to give you a little inside look of HBA.  A lot of people think that creating a digital course takes a really long time.  I wrote, designed and launched HBA in about 4 weeks. I didn’t know ANYTHING about developing courses, I didn’t have a fancy camera or even a fancy membership site. I just went in and figured it out. This is the post I wish existed when I was working on it and hopefully it will help you too

 

1. Think about your audience

Before you decide to create a course, you need to make sure you REALLY know what your audience wants. And I am not talking about just “understanding” but actually KNOWING. How did I know what I people wanted? I talked to them a lot. A LOT. I was doing 6-7 15 Minute SHAZAM sessions a week while also taking 1-on-1 branding clients. I had friends who were my target market and I talked to them a lot too. I thought about the questions I was asked on a consistent basis and I tried to find the common threads. Please don’t try to start a course if you aren’t positive who you would be creating the class for.

What questions do people ask you the most?
What do people always ask you to do?
What type of problems are you always asked to solve?

 

2. Before you start writing the course, list all of the problems you want to solve with this course as a way to start getting focused

Try to brainstorm ways you can solve these problems through your class. Here is a method for doing it:

Problem:
How you can solve it:

 

3. Create CLEAR and measurable goals to make the class more enjoyable to for you to write and sell.

In HBA, every week has a goal. It could be a bio, a manifesto or even a editorial calender. Goals bring focus to the class. I thought about what my people would want to HAVE by the end of the course first and then I built content that would help get them there.  So many classes end up being less enjoyable because hey are more about “learning” and way less about creating. For example, if you are teaching a meditation class, a goal could be to create a mediation for a part of their life they need clarity around every week and share it with the class. People want to know what is really in it for them as soon as possible. 

 

4.  Write the sales copy before you start writing the course

The sales copy was ESSENTIAL to creating the class. It acted as outline, writing schedule and blueprint all at once. This is your opportunity to outline what you want the class to be, how you want it to function and what goals you want to accomplish right away.

 

5. Don’t give yourself 6 months to write something, give yourself 1-2 months and release it to the wild

I met someone who had been working on a digital course for a year. This is crazypants. I gave myself weekly targets and goals and told my editor when she could expect to read the material.  Having deadlines was essential to helping me get the class done.

6. Get a freakin’ VA

Seriously, GET HELP with this. Running a class seems pretty straight forward but it never is. Pat saved my life, for real. Most VA’s also know about all of the crazy membership site admin stuff so you don’t have to know about it.

 

7. Go beta first

I learned SO MUCH from the first run of HBA and I am still learning as I jump into the next class. Running a beta class helped take the pressure off and I felt like it was OK to make mistakes and change things as I went along. I am so grateful for that first class.

 

8. Start small

Don’t try to get 50 people in your first class. Try for 15. 15 people. That is what I always focused on while promoting my class. I only need 15 people. I always try to reach out to people that I know will LOVE the class.

9. Ask your network for help

Send emails, ya’ll. We don’t have to “launch,” we can just make sure that all of our friends know about what we are doing and ask them to spread the word and help you out. Reach out to EVERYONE in an authentic “I have this thing I REALLY love and want to share with you” way.

 

 

What I use for HBA: 

Mailchimp: sends out notification emails and helps me interact with the class

Facebook: where our group hangs out — the mastermind groups also have groups there

S2Member: free wordpress plugin that turns any site into a membership site.

Camista: what I use to film the videos — I actually filmed all my videos on a 30 day trial

 

That’s it!

 

Bonus Tips

Keep it short and sweet. I have seen so many courses that have more information than anyone will ever need. I made the decision to make HBA as sleek as possible. Weekly work that is only a couple of pages long and videos that don’t go over 6 minutes.

Don’t worry about getting it perfect the first time. It won’t be. Get over it, my friend. That is life.

Make sure you WANT to create a digital course. So many people just like to model other business models but if this isn’t your thing, it will show. Trust me.

Keep everything simple. Pick a simple free wordpress theme. Get someone to design a great banner and go. Don’t get caught up in the design of it.

Keep the structure basic too. A great template: a lesson a week with a live call to go with it. Don’t go crazy.

 

 

Was this post useful to you? Do you have any more questions about creating classes? What makes you excited about it? What do you feel weird/not confident about?

Remember, HBA goes live June 1st!  Want to be there for the fresh newness? Sign up now. I just did a case study with a HBA alum over at the site today. 

 

 

This post has lots o’ videos, ya’ll. Prepare for a lot of Shenee-face. This vYou one freezes at some fun spots.

 

 

If you are on the newsletter, you are probably familiar with this method of brand building. It is SUPER easy and a great way to start that doesn’t feel overwhelming.

 

Pick 5 Questions people are gonna have. Pretend you have a weekly q&a session, what questions would be asked the most often? Focus on those and answer those questions in as many ways as possible. Don’t worry about marketing, business building or design. Focus on that and you are branding yourself.

 

It IS really that simple. Branding is not about what you look like, it is all about what you do. If you acted like a professional chef (creating recipes, letting people hire you to make food, hire a sous chef) people will start thinking you are one. And just like any chef, you will have your own style and story that will influence the way you do things.

 

Always keep that in mind. Those questions will be your compass.

 

Want to take HBA and still wondering if it is right for you?  I created this video to give you a little more information about what the class is, who it is for and why I created it!

 

Sign up here!

 

 

 

I moved to Austin this past March. I don’t have a car here so I get around exclusively via the bus system. When I first got here I was obsessed with looking up directions on google maps. I had to know where I was going before I did anything. Why? Because I didn’t want to get lost and google knew the way. Google was my key to the city. I didn’t do anything without it.

 

I had my ritual. I looked up the address. I pulled it up on my phone and THEN I got on the bus.

 

As the weeks went by, I started to realize that google maps didn’t always make life easy for me. Google would make me take buses when I could easily walk. Google made me walk when I should be on a bus but I still trusted google maps to show me the way.

 

One day, it was literally 5,778° K outside. I know what you are thinking. “Shenee, isn’t that the temperature of the sun?” Yep, I thought it was a little weird too.

 

I am waiting at a stop, getting ready to get on the bus that google told me to get on. The 3. My bus. And I waited. And waited. I saw another bus, the 5, one that I didn’t know very much about but recognized driving around where I was going.

 

BUT GOOGLE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT the 5.

The bus stopped in front of me and I stared at it for a while, not knowing what to do. I consulted google. No signal.  Would this bus take me where I needed to go? I hesitated. I searched the bus driver’s face for answers and he just chewed his gum. I was holding up the line. My thoughts were interrupted by a homeless person nearby:

 

“Just get on the damn bus!”

 

He was right. I should just get on the damn bus. So I did.

And it was fine. You know where the bus dropped me off? 3 blocks from where I needed to be. I got off somewhere I recognized and got instructions from a friendly hipster.

 

So what is the point of this story?

 

Just get on the damn bus.

 

You know what I am talking about right? That post you have been stalling on. That product you don’t think you are ready to release. That BIG thing you need to do that you think you need permission for?

Just do it. You go a little out of your way? You can always get help finding your way back.

You know that moment  when you take that leap, do that thing, say what you want to say?

 

You can do that on your own. You don’t need google (or anyone else) to help you.

And if you are reliant on someone else to get you there, you might not get there the way you want, you will proboly get where they want you to go. I have met SO many women who have let themselves get trapped in a corner because they keep waiting for the right time or the right advice.  This is a cop-out. Take responsibility for your business and take ownership of what you do.

 

Business is NOT about what you know. It isn’t a learning game. It is an intuition game.

 

The people who make it don’t invest the most, they DO the most. 

 

I now trust myself more than I trust Google Maps. GM makes suggestions but I make the decisions.

 

I heard a quote by Lady Gaga that says it all.

“Look to yourself for the answer — stop calling your girlfriends and stop calling your mom– you know if it’s working or not, you either feel like a goddess or you don’t” — Lady Gaga

 

I would add something to it:

You KNOW you are ready to make it happen and if you are waiting to get the permission to do it, you will NEVER get it.

Click to Tweet 

 

HBA? A total “get on the bus” moment. If you would have asked any marketing expert, I wasn’t ready to run a class. I don’t have thousands of followers. I haven’t been in business for a long time.  I don’t have any connections. I just did it and here we are 4 months later for round 3 of the class. I have almost 40 HBA graduates and I am looking forward to working with more.

 

And yes, I have totally gotten on the bus and ended up in the middle of nowhere. But that’s ok too. I got some good help and got back on.

What bus are you going to get on this week without permission from anyone else?

 

 

HBA is on and poppin’ ya’ll. Ryan is ready for you to join the class. HBA is my greatest joy and proudest achievement and I would love for you to join the class. Ryan does too! Click on him to learn more about the class.

 

 

 

 

According to Kanye West, a Gold Digger only gives it up to people with money.

 

Most entrepreneurs are Gold Diggers. They only give up the goods to people  they think will pay for it.

 

The rest? They just get to watch. Just blog posts for you guys. Here is a tweet to hold you over.

 

Launch = Gold Digger Christmas. It’s like putting a Gold Digger in a room full of NFL draft picks. She is gonna throw down. She is gonna do a split. She wants the money, honey!

 

When you launch, you are extra awesome to everyone. You answer more questions. You give more stuff for free. For some of you, this might be the first time you have emailed your list in months. Now,  that’s a Gold Digger, ya’ll.

 

“Look! I can do a backflip! Here is my opinion about this big thing I have never talked about before! Take this TOTALLY FREE RESOURCE just for you, just for now.”

 

“You are totally gonna buy my thing right?”

 

And when it is over?

 

Nothing. The Gold Digger  puts on her track pants and buys a car with the money she got. The Gold Digger is also EXHAUSTED. She doesn’t have energy for anything but wine and shopping.

 

And that is probably how you feel after a launch, right? TIRED.  You  might stop communicating with your people because you have simply run out of stuff to say. That’s natural. You put your ALL into this one big thing.

 

Here is the deal: we don’t want to be Gold Diggers.  We want to be busting out our best stuff on the regular. As Danielle LaPorte always says, “there is ALWAYS more where that came from.”

 

Do awesome stuff all the time.  Be exciting right now.  You don’t have to always do backflips or splits ALL the time but get  in the habit of making people excited to hear from you all the time, not just when you decide to launch.

 

You aren’t just a  Gold Digger. You are a trusted source of awesome. You won’t HAVE to launch.

 

“Look at her. She does backflips every freakin’ month. What are her services? I want some of that!”

 

And it doesn’t have to be anything crazy.

 

Do a webinar. Create a mini blog series. Offer free 15 minute sessions. Do a Q&A on twitter. Just do something.

 

Don’t reserve all your best ideas for launch time. Be a non-stop party.  People will love you for it.  Tweet This. 

 

 

What is the one thing you can do right now? Are you guilty of being a Gold Digger?

 

Some tweetables:

Are you unintentionally being a Gold Digger?  http://bit.ly/IjEqv2

I ain’t saying you a  Gold Digger, but I only hear from you during  launch time.   http://bit.ly/IjEqv2

 

 

And just for fun:

 

 

Like this post? Please spread the word!

 

 

 

1. Make sure your newsletter is something special

2. Make your opt-in INTERACTIVE. No passive kits, e-books or one time grabs without prompting action.  People end up forgetting about you. Remember the purpose of your list.

3. Be clear with your subject lines and speak to real concerns that your people have. Avoid being way too general.

 

I am putting on a little newsletter workshop over at the facebook page this week.

I will be posting little prompts and mini-actions you can take to make your newsletter INSTANTLY more readable for you and your audience. I’ll also be sharing some of MY favorite newsletters — I don’t have many — and telling you why I love them.

Come over to my facebook page to participate.

Here are some tweets to help you spread the world.

Learn how to make people happy to read your emails with the Drop Love Bombs Not Spam Workshop! http://bit.ly/JlhHQe

Are you unintentionally spamming your email list? Stop the violence! http://bit.ly/JlhHQe

Unsuckify your newsletter with this week-long workshop http://bit.ly/JlhHQe

Drop Love Bombs, not SPAM: A newsletter revamp workshop http://bit.ly/JlhHQe

 

Head over to the facebook page for your first mini-assignment!

 

Where these tips helpful? Let me know what you think!

Why is there so much out there about growing your list and nothing about loving it?

If someone has already said “yes” to you, what is the next step?

Let me pause for a second to give you my opinion on lists.

I have always believed that having an engaged list is ALWAYS better than having a huge list. Think of all the lists you are on for people you will probably never buy from. A big list does not always equal more sales. Think about the people you DO buy from.

I imagine it is someone you really like and respect, right?

That is why it is so important to be good to the list/followers/likes you already have.

Here are some ways to love your list right now.

(more…)

 

I think most of us have lost sight of what social media for business is really about. It’s about connecting with people. It doesn’t take all day to connect with people. Just go on twitter or facebook with an ACTUAL plan, instead of just turning it on and just waiting for a retweet or post to come by that you really like.

 

Someone you want to work with? Say hello. Ask them how they are doing. Answer a question/respond to a post from someone you admire in your industry. Post a quote and ask people what they think.

 

That way, twitter and facebook won’t feel like such a waste of valuable and energy that you should spend on your business.

How are you using social media? Do you feel like you have to be on all day to make a splash?

Want to have your question answered in the shortest video blog ever? Ask here!

I talk a lot about change and evolution on the blog because I am convinced it is the 1 thing that keeps all businesses from getting where they need to go. People don’t make enough changes.

But how do you know when something needs to change? What are the signs?

I am the queen of evolution. The high-priestess of slash and burn, baby. Over the last year and a half, I have had 3 different websites (and this one will be getting a face-lift soon) and countless services and I have developed an internal system of KNOWING when it is time to change. I’ll tell you what to look for to know when the time comes to do some changing of your own.

You are bored.

You are ALWAYS bored. Nothing excites you. In fact, you are either stressed out and out of your mind or playing Angry Birds. You spend a lot of time on social media too. You might think that this is because of where you are in your business. Maybe this is just the boring part? Nope. It’s OK to feel annoyed with all of the work but it isn’t ok to be bored by it.

 

You don’t know what to say.

You don’t know what questions to ask and you have NO idea what the hell you should be tweeting.
Writing blog posts = pulling alligator teeth from an alligator. You don’t feel like there is much to say about what you do or you think you have said everything there is to say.
When you are doing what you should be doing, you NEVER run out of things to say. There is always someone to help. Always something to say about what you do, even if you can’t find the words for it.

There is a difference between not knowing what to say and not being able to write it.

 

The avalanche of bad/not good fit clients does not seem to be ending anytime soon

This is a BIG ONE. Here is the thing:  if you have a bad client, it is NOT their fault. It is 100% yours.

We teach people how to treat us.

That bad client? They are just picking up what you are putting down. Bored with your work? People are just giving you the work you ask for.

 

You procrastinate on a regular basis

I am convinced that this is the ultimate signal for “you are NOT doing what you should be doing.” I know when I need to change because I am avoiding my work at all costs. I would rather do anything BUT that. I watch endless Keanu Reeves and Nicholas Cage videos.

When I am in my zone, ( working on HBA or writing) I can do my work all the time. I forget about what is happening on twitter. I lose track of time. Even today, I realized I needed to get a plan under me for writing my book and reworking my site because I was getting too distracted.

Sometimes evolution happens inside of your great work too.

Maybe you need to hire a VA or switch which days you decide to work? If you are doing the work you KNOW you should but feel you are still seeing these signs, you can still find room to change.

 

Don’t ignore these signals or just assume that it is just part of your business. They are not. Your amazing subconscious is telling you to abandon ship. Trust me, I know. One or more of these signals have meant the end of things for many projects.

 

And I know what you are thinking: that is SCARY. I have a lot to give up by changing! What about _______?

 

But sometimes that is what it takes, my friend. Steve Jobs says it perfectly:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

 

Don’t settle.

 

Maybe it is this CRAZY heartbreaking week but I felt the need to stop and talk (rant) about the bullshit of sorry.

I woke up to a newsletter from a friend about a new experience she was creating. I was excited for her but I noticed something at the top of the email. She  actually apologized for writing the email before she even started the message.  She was sorry for sending another email this week.

I thought about a decision I made yesterday.

I wanted to send an email to my list to tell them I had two spots left in HBA. But I was scared. I wanted to tell them I was sorry for sending them more than one email in a week but I really wanted them to know about the class. I felt like I was being sketchy. I was trying to think about how to word it. It was a huge mess in my head.

 

And this isn’t the first time that is happened. I also have conversations with my friends about it ALL the time. We are all scared.

 

People always talk about the fickle nature of a subscriber. How they unsubscribe when they get too many emails, feel super sold to or blah blah blah. SO MANY RULES.

 

But that isn’t the only thing. People don’t like the way others tweet. They don’t like ads. They don’t like this or that. SO many opinions.

 

I had a 15 minute call a couple of weeks ago with a woman who said “you were trying to make a sale, I didn’t like that.” This was after the call when 10 minutes over and I had been giving her advice on what to write for the next couple of months and mentioned HBA would help her. I apologized.

 

Business owners are ALWAYS APOLOGIZING.

But now, as I think about it, BULLSHIT.

My good friend Dyana Valentine is always telling us to stop being sorry for the stuff we aren’t really sorry for and I haven’t taken it to heart until now. Because I never thought I was apologizing but I do – all the time. I apologize for sending to emails. Secretly, I apologize for having the price where it is. I apologize for not posting when I “should.” I silently apologize to unsubscribers who don’t like Ryan Gosling or something else I said.

 

But why? I put SO much work into EVERYTHING I do. I give free brand reviews. I talk on the phone with people all the time because I love helping people and I put a LOT of love and care into my blog posts. I make myself available and I DO CARE. And that woman?

HBA WOULD have helped her.

And Ryan? LOOK AT THIS FACE:

HBA is my proudest achievement. I feel SO much joy when I do the class. So why should I be made to feel guilty about telling people there are 2 spots left? If someone unsubsribes or complains, SO WHAT? They weren’t going to buy from me anyway.

 

This is my business.

 

It is MY business and my friend who sent that email, it is her business too. I don’t have a day job. This is how I support myself.

 

We can’t keep apologizing for working.

 

And YES. We are here to give people amazing value and we should be our most authentic self but why  are we trained hate on people who are trying to make a living doing what they love? Why do we expect to get EVERYTHING for free and feel offended when someone actually asks us to help support them?

 

So, what is my point? Don’t be sorry for doing what you need to do to be a business. Don’t be shamed. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t feel like you have to apologize.

If you are doing what you love, you are doing the world a great service and you DESERVE to get paid.

Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

And YES, SEND THAT EMAIL for that product you have. YOU WORKED YOUR BUTT OFF. The right person will see it and say YES.  HELL YES.

But we will never know if we are always afraid to ask!