This episode is for those in Phase 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 of the Lifestyle Entrepreneur Roadmap™ Not sure what Phase your business is in?
Episode Bonuses:
Grab the FREE Ultimate Guide to Online Business Models and Virtual Services
Who This Episode is Great For:
Summary:
At the end of this episode you will:
Resources Mentioned:
SweetLife Podcast™ Love:
Need faster business growth?
Schedule a complimentary business triage call here.
Full Show Transcript:
You’re listening to the SweetLife Entrepreneur podcast, simplified strategies to grow your service business and launch a life you love faster with business mental and entrepreneur activator, April Beach. Hey guys, and welcome back to the Sweetlife entrepreneur podcast. I’m April beach, and I’m super stoked to be talking to you yet another week here on the show, delivering you business coaching and strategies that other coaches will charge you thousands for.
And so we love giving you step-by-step processes and orders of operation and frameworks, and literally strategies that you can totally take to the bank right away in your business. All of the show notes and everything that we’re talking about, or if you frankly just want to check out more about this Sweetlife company and how we work with experts and coaches and consultants to build your business,
you can do so by visiting Sweetlife co.com, it’s the best place to find all of the resources, including the show notes for this podcast. This is episode number 248. And all of the details of what we’re talking about will be found there as well. So let me give you the behind the scenes story about why I decided to do a podcast episode on this particular topic.
So I was hosting another one of the whiteboard strategy sessions that we do within our community and a woman came in and she’s a coach. She’s a health coach. And she was really honest. She said, you know, I just really don’t love being on video. And I appreciated her honesty because in this whiteboard strategy session, we were talking about the importance of creating programs and offers that really highlight your strengths and that you love to deliver.
And just because everybody says, and I I’m holding like air quotes, while I’m saying this, everybody says you should be doing video and you need to be on live. That actually is not necessarily the perfect fit for you. So I want to have a conversation with the rest of you guys about how to build your coaching programs that are totally audio only based because I am a firm believer that we can engineer anything that you want when it comes to your offers.
We can take a look at how you want your life to be and how you want the cadence to function as far as how you meet with people in what model, what mode of delivery does that actually look like for you that you’re going to love. And of course, that’s going to give your, your clients, your people transformational results. And so it was a really cool conversation we had in this whiteboard session that I wanted to bring to you in this episode.
So if that sounds good to you, that’s what we’re going to go ahead and dive into for those of you guys that are new to the show and like to tag the episodes with a phase of business that you were in. So this particular episode is for you in really any of the launch and scale phases of business, if you are not sure what business phase you’re in,
just cruise over to our website@sweetlifeco.com forward slash quiz. And you can take a little mini quiz finding out exactly what stage of business you’re at and a whole entire checklist of what you should be working on based on your business phase. So this is for those of you guys who are either just launching your first coaching program, or maybe you’ve had like a ton of programs before,
and you want to shore up what you have. You want to clean up what you have and really launch what I call your signature program or offer. This is really, really good for you guys for also introverts who don’t want to be on video. And you might hesitate to even be on Instagram because you don’t want to put yourself out there, but you really want and need to connect with your people.
That video just might not be the right way for you to do that. And what’s cool about what we’re going to unpack in today’s show is video might not be the right way for your clients to receive information from you as well. So those are the things that we can dive into. At the end of this episode, you can expect to discover the audio based coaching model.
You can also discover that I’m going to unpack for you, the tech recipe for this type of offer. I’m going to give you specific software that we believe could be a great fit for you as you were building out this type of offer. And you’re going to know how to actually structure not only the offer part of it, but I’m also giving you tips and recommendations on how you can lead people into your audio offer in a way that really aligns with an audio only type coaching program.
So again, this is episode number 248, and let’s go ahead and dive in Okay, you guys, in this show, I’m going to totally break down for you. This new structure of offering a coaching program. That is audio only here is why this is so important. There are so many people out there that are launching traditional coaching models that include video include live streaming include face-to-face.
I love those things. So I do those things, but I totally get and appreciate that. You may not. So what we’re going to unpack is this different structure of a coaching program that is audio only based because not all great coaches want to be on video and it’s totally okay. And so the framework of how we create an audio only coaching program is what we’re going to talk about.
It can still deliver amazing results to your people. And so let’s kind of unpack some of the considerations. If you were thinking about whether or not this is a good fit for you. So when we are creating your coaching programs, your offers, it’s really, really important that your offers highlight your strengths. So if you are ready, don’t want to be on video,
but you’re really good at what you do. You’re a really great coach or a consultant in video. It just might even actually take away from what a great expert you are. Because if you get nervous on video, if you just don’t really feel comfortable on video, then we don’t want that to take away from the expertise that you do bring to the table.
And if your trepidation, or if you’re just lack of comfort with video, is that big of a deal. Then that is actually a really important conversation. I think that we should have. And I know that there are so many people out there that’ll tell you, oh, you just have to get over it. Oh, you just have to practice a bunch of times.
Now, let me say that is totally true. There are very few people that just come out the gate super confident on video. All right, there is a learning curve to video. And I do promise you that the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll get, and then you’ll just rock it. I promise you that. But if you just don’t want to do video flat out,
you only want to work on it. It’s just not even what you’re thinking. It’s not on your scope anywhere. Then this is a great conversation to have, because we need to highlight your strengths. When we do something that takes away from your expertise that you deliver to people, because you might build forced into a certain way of doing it. It can really cause problems.
It can cause sales problems. It can cause connection problems with your audience when you just really aren’t being authentic and true to you. So I am just a huge advocate of engineering offers and programs that are really, really good for you. And so I think in that process, we always not only think we do in this process as a team, when we’re working with clients,
have a conversation, just really unpacking what actually feels good to you. And so that’s why I’m really excited to dive into this. And when we’re talking about video, let’s also talk not only about you let’s talk about your clients. If the clients you are serving might not also feel comfortable on video. Let’s say you don’t feel comfortable on video and you launch a coaching program where everybody has to come in on video and see each other’s faces.
If the clients you’re serving are of a personality, which is a little bit more private introverted, they might actually not want to go on video to learn from you. And so it’s important to not only highlight your strengths, but also to understand psychologically where your clients are as well. And so this is another great reason to talk about an audio program. And then even if you love video,
even if your clients love video, right video, video video, it’s a big party of our video. Even if that’s the case, having a conversation about an audio only coaching program is really, really important because we are in an audio era and we’ve been in a video area in that era, and that will continue. But we’re also in an audio area with the introduction of apps like clubhouse in so many more people getting into podcasting.
And the reason why they love these things is because they can learn and implement and function while they’re on the go. So I love just having the conversation about an audio only coaching program, even if video, isn’t a problem, just to talk about disrupting the way things are done to find a better way. I think it’s a great idea and it doesn’t have to be just because you don’t like video.
So those are all the things I want to dive into today. So first of all, let’s dive into the first part of this. How on earth, you know, as you’re saying, how on earth April, do I deliver an audio only coaching program? So obviously the prerequisite to this is to make sure that your whole entire content for your program is laid out.
So we’re not even going to talk about that on today’s show. That’s what we teach in my signature offer master class. Those are the things we break apart with you on numerous other podcast episodes. If you’re a struggling to create the actual content of your signature offer, just cruise over to our website and you can literally search our podcast website, just type in the words,
signature offer. And it will populate all of the podcast episodes that I have talked about that and taught about that. So obviously I want to make sure that you’re not missing that piece of it, but saying that that prerequisite is met. Let’s say you’ve engineered the content that goes in your offer, and you now need to build it out into a model to distribute it,
to infuse the content into your people. And so when we’re talking about delivering the coaching program and audio only here are some software suggestions so that you can look into that, see what works best for you. These are only suggestions. Some of these we do endorse and use as a company and others. I haven’t even tried, but I’ve heard great things about them.
So I’m going to give you a couple of different ways here, where you can actually deliver the audio side of your coaching business. So the first thing is Kajabi. You know, we work really closely with Kajabi. We do endorse Kajabi is a matter of fact, and I haven’t really even talked about it on the podcast. We now have a completely separate division of my consulting business called Sweetlife digital.
And in Sweetlife digital, all we do is build out websites and online courses and coaching programs for Kajabi. So we are in, and our sleeves are rolled up and then Kajabi. We really like these guys and all of our systems have been built with Kajabi since 2013, 2014. We’re actually founding partners with them. One of the things that Kajabi does really well is helps you to deliver audio content and they did it way back in the beginning.
And honestly, they took it away for a little while. And that was a bummer where you couldn’t really upload audio. Well, they’ve just put that back. And so you can actually create a complete online course as you would. And if you don’t want to do this slide and you don’t want to be in video don’t, you can just record an audio file,
just like I am recording this audio file to in a podcast form. And you can upload the audio of your coaching as modules inside Kajabi. And this is a really, really cool idea. And you can even design it and have obviously graphic design in there because we need to have some sort of design in the back end of that program, but you don’t have to do video.
And it’s really important. I want you to know that, that there actually is a structure in place that’s done really well in a software that you don’t have to do any video at all. So that is tech option. Number one, number two, you can actually do a paid podcast. So I don’t know if you guys have ever thought about this before,
but there are podcasts that are free. Like this one that’s available to everybody, but you can actually do a paid only podcast where people subscribe and they pay to hear your coaching or hear your teaching. And in this case, we’re talking about just a coaching program where you could deliver your whole entire coaching program, but not in a platform like an online courses platform.
You could deliver it in a private law, locked down podcast. And one of the software that we like, so this is tech option. Number three is my friend, Carla white. I met her on clubhouse and I’ve been able to meet her in person. A couple of times, she actually has an amazing software called hero FM and hero FM, I will say in full transparency,
I’ve never tested it. I’ve never used it, but I like her as a person. She’s super cool. You guys, and I know the heart behind what she’s creating and she’s worked very hard to develop this software and I’ll make sure a link to this is in the show notes for you guys. And so you can go check this out, but hero FM is a platform specifically for paid podcasts only so that you can lock down and you can protect your intellectual property behind a paywall.
And so it’s a very, very cool idea. And her software is built specifically just for that. And then the fourth option I want to give you. And I know this sounds very old school. Okay? So don’t laugh at me when I’m going to say this, but this works all right. If you are considering doing an audio only coaching program,
you got a problem with me. You aren’t gonna laugh when I tell you this, because you’re gonna think I totally went back to the eighties, but here’s the deal. What about doing phone calls, phone calls only you guys. This is the way we used to deliver group coaching back in like the two thousands sounds so funny when I say that. So like in the nineties,
1990s, and I swear I’m not that old, I’ve just been coaching for a long time. And in the two thousands, we would bring in a software like free conference call.com and people would dial in and they would dial into our group coaching. There is no reason why you can’t do live group coaching program by calling to people and talking to them on the phone in depending on who you’re serving.
So let’s just say you have an audience that’s over 50 years old in that’s your ideal target. Like you’re a serving midlifers and that is exactly who you want to deliver your content to. I guarantee you, those people want to hear from you on a phone call, much more than trying to navigate techie software. Now there are a ton of techie people in midlife,
but just really depending on your audience, they may love it. And just because it’s the way we deliver coaching 20 years ago, doesn’t mean that you can’t still build an amazing coaching program around phone calls. And having people call in, you can even build a new structure where they can submit their questions ahead of time. And you can answer questions in the group call that have been submitted ahead of time,
so everybody can hear. And so I just really want to encourage you that just because there are so many things on a technical side that are advancing, it doesn’t mean that they have to. So really I promise you not like to tell me you wouldn’t, you wouldn’t laugh at me when I said that, but actually just think about it. Or if you have another coaching program,
if you’re listening to this and you actually have a traditional course or a traditional coaching program, there is nothing wrong with going back to these call in coaching programs. So you’re not making people log into zoom and you’re not making them log into something else. You’re just getting them on the phone. As a matter of fact, I have an amazing client. She is a very well-known author.
She is a coach. She is a speaker. Actually. She teaches very special high-end programs at Tony Robbins masterminds, and she has this incredible program. She still has people call in on their group coaching help sessions to a 800 number. Okay. And so I just want to tell you that even though nobody talks about it doesn’t mean it can’t still be done and it isn’t still being done.
So I just want to encourage you in that. And then the very last thing that I want to share with you as a tool we use all, all the time behind the scenes in that is Voxer. I know many of you guys are, you know, about box or you, you use Voxer, but there are a lot of people who’ve never heard of it before.
And Foxer is a really great way to connect with your clients and to connect with groups where you can leave audio messages like a walkie talkie. It’s a great opportunity. You don’t have to show up there physically in like show your face. You can post some videos and Voxer a little bit shorter, but it’s really designed to be an audio platform. And so that is another way to deliver great content or even ongoing group coaching,
where you don’t want to have to ask people to show up in your zoom rooms or show up to a live stream in a Facebook group. And you just really want to meet them where they are. So talking about a tech stack of where to build your coaching programs. We talked about Kajabi audio. We about paid podcast just across the board, including they gave you the example of hero F M and we talked about old school phone calls and Voxer.
These are great ways to deliver amazing coaching programs if they work for you. And of course they need to work for your clients and your students as well. And so the next thing and the really the last thing I want to unpack for you here, while hopefully your wheels are spinning on what you already have, or what you might want to create in this sense is what I call like the mode of transportation,
transportation, to get people into your program. So what is the funnel? What is the pipeline? There’s always different reviews. You know, the sales strategy, the sales pipeline, the funnel, what is that? To get people into an audio only coaching program. This is often not talked about, but I want to make sure that I say this here.
I share it on clubhouse a lot. And I just want to make sure I’m really, really clear your pipeline. Your funnel that leads into your program should play very well with how you deliver the actual signature program itself. So if you’re a signature program is an audio only coaching program, whether it’s live audio or on demand, then how we get people into your program should also give them part,
at least part of the experience of what it’s going to be like to be in your programs. It’s the prerequisite, it’s the warmup. We want to start conditioning people to understand what it’s like to work with you so they can make a decision to jump into your coaching programs. If you do a funnel and you start connecting with people and you’re on video and it’s just big and huge and all these things,
right? And you have a green screen behind you, and it’s great. And to get into your coaching program, and they’re only hearing your voice, there is going to be a problem. People are going to be like, wait, wait, wait, what, where did she go? What, where does she go? She just told me this great program and she’s no around,
I just hear her voice. And so the point I’m making is that it’s really, really important that the pipeline that leads into your program is also cohesive with how you deliver your program. So a couple of great places to fill up your signature program. If it’s an audio program is number one, clubhouse. Clubhouse is amazing. I know for those of you like me,
that we’ve been on clubhouse for almost a year. Now it’s not the same as it was in the beginning days, but based on your coaching business, it’s still an incredibly powerful place to build relationships with clients and talk about what you do and bring them off of clubhouse. Especially if you have an audio only program talking about your audio coaching program and bringing them off clubhouse into another audio coaching program,
those type of models are directly the same. They speak to the same people. So you already know your people are there because they already enjoy listening to audio. So that is a very great place to work on building a pipeline in a funnel, your program. And I do have other podcast episodes on how to do that in clubhouse. So make sure you were looking those up because I’ve broken down all those steps for you in previous podcast episodes in the beginning of 2021.
So that’s the first thing. The second option for you is to launch a mini podcast. It’s like this little teeny micro podcast. I heard somebody call it like a capsule podcast. I don’t even know exactly what that means to me. It’s like a mini podcast and it ends, and that is a podcast. It’s only a couple of episodes. And you work from like three to seven episodes in you’re priming people for moving into your paid podcast.
So we use it like a lead magnet. You can drop it in, it stays there. It’s evergreen content, which means people can always jump into it. And we can actually run ads to people to listen to your mini free podcast. And then at the end of your mini free podcasts, you ask them to upgrade, to join your paid podcast,
see how that works. So it’s flowing all together and you already know your audience likes that you already know your audience connects with that. So it just totally make sense to keep offering that business model in your next level coaching. And then one of the things I also wanted to share with just, just one last tip is when we’re talking about social media,
I totally get that there is so much pressure to be on video. And I appreciate that if this isn’t you, if this isn’t who you are, then that’s okay. And I, I want us to actually lean into who we’re not just as much as who we think we should become. You know, you see that quote, gosh, I’ve even quoted at myself on Instagram all the time that says like,
in order to be who you’re supposed to be, you have to like, basically like become somebody else. That is not the context that I want to make sure that like when we share that, that, that is, I don’t want you to think that you need to change because I believe that we are made how we are supposed to be made. We always need to be upgraded.
We always need to be doing things that what I call a challenge lifestyle, where you we’re constantly challenging ourselves to be better, to push out the barriers that are around us and grow more and do things that scare us. I think that’s a very powerful and an important part of who we are as leaders, business leaders, just frankly as human beings. But I also want to value how you were perfectly created.
And if that is to not show up with your face on video all the time, we can do other things. So challenge you and get you outside of your box, but build a program and build a business and build an offer that really is in line with who you are as a person. So taking that awareness, let’s talk about Instagram. There are ways that you can just post audio on Instagram,
even if don’t want to show your face. Now, I do think it’s important to show your face. If you’re a coach or a consultant, or at least something behind the scenes, because people really do need to know you and trust you. But when we take podcasting into account, people have heard my voice for years, and there is a certain sense of just hearing my voice makes them feel like they know me.
I’ve actually had people come up to me who I’ve never seen before. One lady at funnel hacking live. It made me feel so special. I was like, oh my gosh, she’s so sweet. Like I was literally in a bathroom. She’s like your April beach. I know your voice. And it really, I was like, wow, okay,
this is, this is kind of cool. I’m going to go tell my kids. You know, it was really, really sweet, right? And so people can connect with your voice. It doesn’t always have to be a video. I do want you to be sharing your face and a bit of behind the scenes as much as possible, because that certainly helps build the relationships as well.
But when we’re talking about Instagram, you can just post audio on Instagram, use a software like headliner, where you can take your audio and you can overlay it on top of a beautiful picture or your logo or something that tells a story, even a solid background in just drop audio on your Instagram feed, just upload audio clips to your Instagram stories. There’s no reason why you can’t do that.
As a matter of fact, I really kind of loved doing stuff that nobody else is doing just to test it out and see how it goes, if that is who you are and that’s how you deliver your programs. It totally makes sense to me that we would at least take certain aspects of that and bring that into your marketing and to share that inside the ecosystem of what you do,
that everything you do is audio in what we’re doing in that process is we’re getting clients to pre qualify and disqualify themselves to identify whether or not they can learn from this audio setting. And so we always want to make sure that we do that in part of the way we do that is through your marketing strategy and it’s through the funnel and all of those things aligned with the way your program is delivered.
So those are the things I wanted to share with you on today’s show. I just hope your wheels are spinning, whether you’re a new coach or you’re an established coach, kosha, how we can again, disrupt the status quo and create something that might be great for you and excellent for your clients as well. And perhaps, maybe that is an audio only coaching program.
And so if you’ve never thought about this before, DM me on Instagram at April beach life, I would love to hear about your thoughts on this. This could be for your huge signature offer that you might build. It could be for a smaller, simple signature offer that you build. It can be for anything. And I just love having this conversation because I think there are a lot of people out there that just don’t want to do things the way that everybody is quote unquote,
telling them they should post to do it. And I’m a big advocate for disrupting. And just saying that just because everybody else is doing something doesn’t mean that’s the great way for you to do it. So hopefully you found this show helpful. Hopefully you found this audio only coaching program structure is something to get your wheels spinning. And I would love to hear about what you do with this information.
Thank you so much for tuning into the show again, to learn more about what we do in our team and how we work with experts, coaches, and consultants, cruise over to sweet life co.com. And I would love to get to know you more. All right, you guys have an amazing night. It’s always so great to have an opportunity to speak to you.
Thanks so much.