Should I sell during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Should I shut down my business until all of this blows over?
I feel guilty if I am too upbeat and positive…
I keep hearing and seeing this all across social. So I am now getting into your digital social-distancing space, grab your face with my hands, and tell you quite sternly, “DON’T STOP SELLING! Not now, not EVER!”
I stand with what I said last week:
“I keep saying it and I will continue to say it, I believe us entrepreneurs have just been given our year on a silver platter. We can serve others and show others that they can still have a reliable job and make money as a side hustle as well (this is for those who we know that they don’t ever want to be an entrepreneur).
Since everyone is at home being quarantined and are on social media more than ever, you have a chance to create epic and killer content to drive people to you.
If you have not been showing up, then you’re losing sales. It’s time to get consistent and start selling!
If you’re struggling with how to make money during COVID-19, then today I want to give you some ideas. Last week, I talked all about a few things you need in order to get started on making money. During this month, I’m going to give you real and simple strategies to start making money through your content.
Get Consistent with Your Content
You are NOT going to get people reaching out to you or getting on your calendar if you are NOT posting consistently on social. Period.
Because I’ve been showing up like a mo-fo for the last three weeks, last week I had two conversations with potential on-going referral partners that could deliver clients to my digital doorstep starting before the end of the month.
I had several people reach out to me asking for help and we got on calls because of it. I got a new client. It was all because I’ve been showing up and writing content for the last three weeks.
That is the very first step to getting attention if you want to make money through content and not picking up the phone and calling anyone (you should probably still call someone though).
Need some ideas? Here’s how to start building branded content for your business so you can stand out and get seen quickly.
Send the 9-Word Email
The 9-Word email is so simple and it works so well. One time I did it and I made $200. Not bad for 45 minutes of my time.
Read what the 9-word email is. Write out your simple 9-word email. Send it to 50 people.
Send it via email, messenger, Instagram messenger (whatever that is called), text, or however else your audience communicates.
That’s it! Just copy and paste the same sentence (if it makes sense) into a different email or message and press send.
When someone responds, you’ll lead them onto a call with you where you’ll see how you can best serve them. Then offer your package, program, or service.
Go Live
Now is the time to utilize Facebook Live or IGTV! Video has been on the rise for years now and since everyone has so much more time on their hands, they are watching more.
You want to have a mix of lifestyle videos and business-related videos where you teach people something tangible.
I have gone on video this past few weeks and made my content calendar on Live so I’ll actually do it, I talked about how to make money with content, what to do if you don’t want to blog, and talked about what to do when you feel like you keep repeating yourself.
I am also getting into lifestyle videos because I am not only an entrepreneur, but I am a mom, a newbie at doing makeup, and so much more. So I did a makeup tutorial on how I put on my makeup, I showed what I am taking to keep healthy during COVID-19, and showed my audience my jewelry order I made with a friend that I was super excited about.
Don’t just write content – create both training and lifestyle videos for your brand.
If you don’t want to show your face? Here are some tips on that!
Get Referral Partners
One way I am expanding my audience and my resources are by asking and becoming referral partners with people I know whose audiences needs my services. For example, I have partnered with a book writing coach, a book design graphic designer, a book publisher, a few speaking coaches, and a business coach.
I offered these referral partners a recording of training that my clients had to pay to get and offered it to their email list and audience for free that came with three emails, detailing the training and why they should hop on a call with me.
If one of their audience hops on a call and I close them, they get 15-20% of the package that their client chose.
However, these referral partners can choose how they want me to approach their audience; for example, one had me create a Facebook event for her Facebook group, another had me on her morning Mastermind call, another one is doing an interview with me via Facebook Live.
Be open and flexible with your referral partners as they are graciously are putting you in front of their audience.
Have a Sale
There’s no better time than to create an offer or sale for one of your courses or program right now. You can either offer an online course for a significantly lower price or host a 4-6 week program for a smaller price (think $97-$197 range).
Make a point to say that you want to be in community and teach others how to get more money, more clients, have a better life, have a healthier relationship with their spouse (since you know, they are spending so much more time with them), or whatever it is! You’re there for them and want to make this an easy yes!
Have a Pay-What-You-Want Training
I have been seeing a few people put out training (60 minutes to several hours) where they ask their audience to pay what they feel the training is worth to them. There was no price on it, just a donation of sorts.
This can be a live training or pre-recorded training.
Get Conversational
Don’t undermine the power of just getting into conversations with people using social. The more you get comments on a post, the more people see it. And that means more eyeballs on your stuff. For free.
Here are some of my more conversational posts that got a lot of comments on it:
Places to Promote using Content
Because I’m teaching you how to make money with content by offering you ideas on what to do to make money, here are a few places to use your content to talk about your amazing business and promote your offerings:
- Social Media (you want to post multiple times a day on social media. Not everyone is going to catch your one-time a day post at the same time)
- Your email list
- Reach out to someone via Messenger (here’s an idea: ask someone how they are doing right now. Let them know they were on your mind. See how you can be of service and ask to get on a call. You never know where the conversation may lead)
- Blog
- Video
- Audio (get on a podcast! This is a great time to do it!)
- Facebook Groups promotion threads
- Facebook Groups
- Commenting back on people who have commented on your posts
- Send out emails
- Trainings
- Ask someone to do a training with you
- Interviews on zoom and Facebook Live
There are more ways to write content and share your content with your potential audiences. And ask to get in front of other people’s audiences as well!
There is no greater time like right this moment so go ahead and get your game on and show up on social like a mo-fo!
And if you’re unsure how to put this all in a workable plan (so you have time to promote or even know what kind of content to write on a daily basis), then download the free How to Write a Realistic Content Marketing Plan Workbook that is going to walk you through setting up your goals, activities, and yes, even content.
A content marketing plan doesn’t need to be a 90-day plan; it can be a 30-day plan. Sometimes it’s best to start small and then work your way up. Regardless, having a workbook to help you plan your next 30 days can help you be more intentional, strategic and focused every month (and make sales!).
