Crafting An Ultra Informative Social Media Strategy with Creative Genius Law Founder Patrice Perkins

Interviews, Show Notes

Crafting An Ultra Informative Social Media Strategy with Creative Genius Law Founder Patrice Perkins

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The Nitty Gritty:

  • Why Patrice works with creative entrepreneurs, small business owners, and veteran business owners at Creative Genius Law, a boutique law firm based in Chicago
  • What Patrice’s social media strategy looks like and where she discovers ideas to write informative Instagram posts about (spoiler alert: music videos are one of them!)
  • How she came up with her mini masterclass series, Legal Coffee Chat, that she hosts not only online but also in-person at her clients’ homes
  • What the future looks like for Creative Genius Law, plus how and why Patrice will expand to markets outside of Illinois
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Patrice Perkins is the Principal Attorney at Creative Genius Law, and in today’s episode of Profit. Power. Pursuit., she takes us behind the scenes of how her intellectual property law firm operates, where she finds ideas for Instagram posts, and authentically connecting with your customers and clients (and much, much more!)

We release new episodes of Profit. Power. Pursuit. every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

Making social media work for you

I decided that I needed to do my own social media in a way that worked for me. So the best way to do that for me was with no strategy. I’m a full-time attorney and I’m building the law firm, so I had to figure out how do I do this in a way that doesn’t feel like too much pressure or in a way that I feel I can’t keep up with.

— Patrice Perkins

Sometimes no strategy is a strategy in itself. That’s definitely the case for Patrice! She doesn’t schedule content in advance and she never developed a brand voice guide because she’s bringing her authentic self to the table. For her, that worked best so she could engage with potential and existing clients in a genuine way — and so she wouldn’t have to outsource the work to someone else.

Patrice posts most often to Instagram. Her posts are inspired by intellectual property news she’s reading, shows she’s watching like Silicon Valley, and even music videos she’s checking out, like Finesse by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B. She shares her authentic thoughts, in the moment, on Instagram and, organically, those posts sometimes turn into larger case studies.

Here’s Patrice’s post on the Finesse video that released earlier this year. She used the video to talk about copyright infringement, something she specializes in, and the post eventually turned into a Legal Coffee Chat, a mini masterclass Patrice hosts online and occasionally in-person, on a specific legal topic. Hosting these masterclasses gives her a way to display her firm’s expertise and to grow her email list.

Using intellectual property education to empower creatives

It’s not laziness or just not being interested — it’s a lack of knowledge. For me, it became the way that I can help creatives not have to work so hard for the rest of their lives.

— Patrice Perkins

Protecting intellectual property is becoming more and more the norm for creatives today. As the marketplace expands globally, so does the reach of our work — and Patrice is at the center of conversations online to help educate creatives around IP and copyright law.

For some creative entrepreneurs and small business owners, it’s hard to visualize the value of their ideas. It’s not something we’re taught to place monetary value on. Yet as the global marketplace grows, creatives are finding that their ideas — whether they capitalize on them or not — are extremely valuable and worth protecting.

Listen to the full episode with Patrice Perkins to hear more about her work at Creative Genius Law, how she approaches social media, and her plans for the future of her firm.

Building An Unpredictable Business with Woke Up Knowing Experience Creator Dyana Valentine

Interviews, Show Notes

Building An Unpredictable Business with Woke Up Knowing Experience Creator Dyana Valentine
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Click here to download the transcript of this episode!

The Nitty Gritty:

  • How Dyana came to call herself an oracle (plus why she initially resisted that label)
  • Why she does not offer refunds on her work — and how she decided on that policy
  • How the Woke Up Knowing Experience came to Dyana and how she beta tested it among her existing community as well as critics to grow her confidence
  • How Dyana created a structure around her offerings
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Dyana Valentine is an oracle. As esoteric or “woo” that might sound, Dyana says that it’s really not. Just like any service provider, Dyana develops and beta tests programs and works with clients one-on-one in a way that suits her strengths.

In this episode of Profit. Power. Pursuit., Dyana shares the nitty gritty of what it means to be an oracle and how she develops a structure around what she does. Dyana also talks money and how to grow confidence in what you do to serve others.

We release new episodes of Profit. Power. Pursuit. every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

On naming your work… and having others do it for you

I didn’t name myself oracle. I didn’t use that term and I resisted it for the first probably three or four years of the work because it’s much like other terms that are used in specialized sort of astral plane or other plane.

— Dyana Valentine

For some creatives, it’s hard to nail down exactly what you do in a single word. You may flip flop from one title to another through your years of work — and eventually, something sticks.

Sometimes it’s your clients who do the naming for you.

One of the first public titles Dyana received was that of instigator. She admits that she was initially offended by it, “because in my life, being an instigator was not a compliment.”

When it came to defining her work, Dyana heard not only instigator but also evangelist and oracle. She admits that she resisted them at first but soon realized that the people giving her these names were the same people who were paying to work with her — and that there must be something to it.

Squashing self-doubt and growing confident

I dreamt for people who gave me questions and languages I don’t know. I dreamt for people who were huge critics and cynics and never did anything woo. I actively recruited people who were hostile to the work. I worked with young people, old people, people from different cultures, and I took notes and told myself: “If it works over some period of time, then I’ll keep doing it.” And when it got to that time, I extended the deadline by another year and another year.

— Dyana Valentine

When you’re creating something new, it’s common to experience self-doubt — and wise to put the work in front of people to get their feedback. Dyana took this approach but she took it another step further by inviting her critics to experience the work, too.

She did this all because she needed to grow her confidence. As she mentions, Dyana extended the deadline because she thought that maybe this work was too wacky or weird — but she felt a calling to it and did it anyway.

While this particular situation of beta testing with both her community and her critics, the process of beta testing a new offering is always a smart choice. Especially when you’re launching something new, beta testing grows your confidence and puts some of your self-doubt at ease (and provides you with valuable feedback to make what you offer even better.)

Creating structure around your work

I pay attention to tracks of information or data tracks that other people don’t pay attention to or haven’t practiced in. I look at it very logistically in that way so I feel like a technician yet I think my work is not seen as technical work. But I see it as technical work because I practice at it and I’ve created structures that help me make sense out of this work so that I can actually use it for good.

— Dyana Valentine

While Dyana’s work is nontraditional, it doesn’t mean she can’t create structure around it. What I loved most about this part of the conversation is Dyana’s metaphor for placing a structure around anything: it simply comes down to what you do with the knowledge you have.

For example, a dentist is going to look at your x-rays and your dental record to make a sound recommendation the same as a cardiac doctor might review your echocardiogram before implementing a treatment plan. It’s all about what they do what what they know.

The same goes for your business. You are the curator of the experience with your client — and you are the one with the specialized knowledge in what they’re seeking. As Dyana says, understanding what she’s doing as an oracle and what her client is doing. “That sets a framework for people who I really enjoy working with,” says Dyana, “who are straight shooting, ambitious, curious people who are not afraid to be told the truth.”

It really is that simple.

Listen to the full episode with Dyana Valentine to hear more about the work she offers as an oracle, why she doesn’t offer refunds, and how she attracts clients.

Developing a Runaway Bestselling Product with Self Journal Co-Creator Cathryn Lavery

Interviews, Show Notes

Developing a Runaway Bestselling Product with Self Journal Co-Creator Cathryn Lavery

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The Nitty Gritty:

  • How Cathryn and Allen came up with the idea for the 13-week SELF Journal (and how they use subscriptions within their business model)
  • How they found manufacturers through Alibaba and why the BestSelf Co team focuses on community in conjunction with offering a high-quality product
  • Why they used Kickstarter to validate the SELF Journal before starting the manufacturing process (and what their content marketing and promotion strategy looked like)
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In this episode of Profit. Power. Pursuit., I chat with Cathryn Lavery, CEO and cofounder of BestSelf Co, a company known for the SELF Journal, a best-selling 13-week productivity planner.

In this episode, Cathryn shares how they designed the journal and funded the manufacturing process. She also dives into the importance of pairing the SELF Journal with community — and how prioritizing customer feedback inspires smart updates to the journal that people actually want.

Want to hear even more smart conversations with small business owners? We release new episodes of Profit. Power. Pursuit. every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

How to find quality manufacturers

Figure out for yourself what you’re looking for. Describe it to them and show them pictures of what you’re trying to do. Then have them send samples of similar products that they make. If they’ve never made anything like that, there’s going to be another manufacturer that has.

— Cathryn Lavery

Once Cathryn and Allen designed their journal prototype inside a Moleskin, it was time to find manufacturers. They had a clear picture of what they wanted the journal to look and feel like, down to the outer material and the paper quality — now all they had to do was find a manufacturer that would meet their quality needs.

Cathryn recommends first figuring out what you want your product to look and feel like — then find a manufacturer who does what you need before requesting samples. Otherwise, she says, you’ll end up with a library of samples that don’t meet the minimum requirements for your product.

Why you should use Kickstarter to validate a new idea (and get feedback!)

We’re big believers in validating first. Kickstarter is a great way to build a product with your community. You show them the product you want to create. We gave backers a free PDF of what we were creating. People started using it during the campaign and we got feedback that made the product better by the time we went to produce it.

— Cathryn Lavery

The SELF Journal was fully funded within 28 hours of launching the Kickstarter campaign (and they’ve sold a quarter of a million journals since then!) Cathryn recommends running a Kickstarter campaign — especially if you’re creating a physical product that you aren’t sure people will want — before you place orders with your manufacturer.

And how smart was Cathryn and Allen for giving away PDFs? Not only so their community could start using the journal right away but also so they could provide insights to the BestSelf Co team for immediate improvements before the journal went to manufacturing.

How physical products and community go hand in hand

We put out a challenge at the start of every month: fill out your journal every day and post a picture of yourself or put it on social media. That way we can see that you’re doing it every day. If you do it every day, we give you a $10 Amazon gift card. We want them to get in the habit of using the journal. Then there’s more engagement in the community.

— Cathryn Lavery

If there’s anything that sets the SELF Journal apart from other productivity tools, it’s the community that actually uses the product consistently. But just like using any new tool (digital or physical), it takes discipline to form a new habit. To encourage customers to use the SELF Journal right away, Cathryn and Allen built a community around the practice of using the journal every day. By using the community in this way, they’re able to foster relationships and support between customers working towards the same goal.

They also ask customers to share photos of their journal because it encourages new and potential customers to make the journal their own. People don’t want to mess up their new, pretty journal — but they’re that much more likely to use their journal consistently if they see others using it too. As Cathryn says, “it doesn’t have to be pretty — it just has to work.” Yup.

Listen to the full episode with Cathryn Lavery to hear more about BestSelf Co, the SELF Journal, and how she and her team have created a community experience around a physical product.

Creating Leveraged Income As An Attorney With The Contract Shop Founder Christina Scalera

Interviews, Show Notes

Creating Leveraged Income As An Attorney With The Contract Shop Founder Christina Scalera

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The Nitty Gritty:

  • Why Christina prices her contract templates on results (and how her pricing structure changed over the last two years.)
  • How she found her niche of creatives, including calligraphers, photographers, wedding planners, and coaches (and what her surprising top-selling templates are.)
  • How The Contract Shop’s Shopify metrics encouraged Christina to raise product pricing — and how that pricing change inspired her to add additional education to her products.
  • Christina’s smart method for creating content that reaches customers at different stages of business.
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On this episode of Profit. Power. Pursuit., Christina Scalera, IP lawyer and founder of The Contract Shop, shares how The Contract Shop started and how business evolved over the last few years by increasing prices, offering semi-annual sales, and creating solid informational content.

Want to hear even more smart conversations with small business owners? We release new episodes of Profit. Power. Pursuit every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

Price experimentation

I was really, really, really scared every single time I raised the price — and nobody noticed. Nobody wrote me an email that was like ‘you raised the prices!’” But I was horrified because I was like ‘nobody’s going to buy now.

— Christina Scalera

Raising prices is scary — or is it? Pricing is all about experimentation and seeing what sticks. As Christina mentions in this episode, she raised prices multiple times — and every time, sales never slowed down. Now Christina’s at a point where she’s comfortable with her product prices — but it was a two-year journey to get where she is today.

Sales and incentives

I’m a big proponent of a twice-yearly sales system. There’s two reasons for that. One because it’s a massive revenue generator. It’s dependable. At 6 month intervals, it’s something that people can tolerate. Secondly, and more importantly, not everybody can afford our templates at the price they’re at.

— Christina Scalera

The Contract Shop’s products range between $17 for the perfect email checklist to $1,499 for a bundle of multiple vendor contract templates for wedding planners, with her most popular templates ringing in at $455. Christina realizes that not every potential customer can afford regular pricing for higher end products so every year, she runs two sales: one during the late spring/early summer and one during Black Friday. She also runs these sales as a recurring source of revenue.

Content creation

I write blog posts in groups of 3. I write one to the core consumer and that’s usually the longer one. Then, I think about someone who’s a little more beginner — where are they at and what’s the issue they’re facing around this topic? Then I think about somebody who’s more advanced or has more years under their belt: what are they concerned about around the same topic?

— Christina Scalera

Christina cares about creating great content — and it pays off. “There’s zero trick: it’s just me being really passionate about writing and creating long blog posts,” she says.

So how does she create awesome content? She thinks about her topic and what each of her 3 customer types need to know. For example, they might want to know more about the client experience. The core customer wants to know how to create a great experience. The beginner customer wants to know how to find clients. The more advanced customer wants to know how to address client refunds. Ultimately, the end result is always to offer a contract to meet their needs.

Listen to the full episode with Christina Scalera to hear more about The Contract Shop, pricing changes and incentives, and behind the scenes of her content creation method.

Low-Key Launching With The Persuasion Method Creator Bushra Azhar

Interviews, Show Notes

Low-Key Launching With The Persuasion Method Creator Bushra Azhar

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The Nitty Gritty:

  • Bushra shares exactly how she takes her people from what she calls Dread to Dream, including the different products that meets customers wherever they’re at.
  • What Bushra’s promotional strategy looks like for 2018.
  • What Bushra does to create buzz around her launches and why she only opens Persuasion Hacks Lab for 48 hours at a time every month.
  • How much Bushra makes every month on Persuasion Hacks Lab — and how much she spends on Facebook ads to grow her list.
  • Bushra talks us through the psychology behind her Facebook ad strategy and why her goal is only to add people to her list (plus, how she builds a list for buyers instead of what she calls freebie hunters.)
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On this episode of Power. Profit. Pursuit., I talk everything products, persuasion, and promotion with the hilarious Bushra Azhar, copy strategist at Persuasion Revolution and mom of two living in Saudi Arabia. Bushra takes us behind the scenes of her successful launches, what her sales process looks like, and why she focuses on building a list of buyers (20% of her list are buyers!) and not just freebie hunters. It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Bushra and I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

We release new episodes of Profit. Power. Pursuit every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

On creating products for your customer’s journey from Dread to Dream

The way I have structured my products is that I imagine a problem that I see, a person who is facing a problem, and I map out a journey. I call it the “Dread to Dream Journey.” The person is in a dreadful situation and you need to take them to a dream situation. When I map out that Dread to Dream Journey, I don’t just create one solution that takes them from the dread to the dream in one full step.

— Bushra Azhar

Bushra creates products that help her customers solve 20% of their problems, 60% of their problems, and 100% of their problems, depending on where they are in the journey. Each product brings her customers closer and closer to their dream — and further away from the dread.

Look at your customer’s journey then look at your products. Are they helping your customer make 20% headway on their pain point? What about 60%? And what does your 100% transformational product look like?

If you only have a 100% transformational offering, how can you meet some of your customers needs by offering an entry-level product at 20% that helps them help themselves — then want more and continue onto another product?

How to capitalize on launch buzz to sell different tiers of products

You create a lot of hype, you pay money to create, you create money to create a buzz, but you can’t just milk all that buzz with one product. You can’t just milk all that buzz with just one launch. You have to keep in mind that the buzz will continue to the next launch. You just need to give people a path to move to the next launch.

— Bushra Azhar

Bushra walks us through how she runs her Sold Out launch — and she reminds us how important it is to capitalize on the energy and interest captured during any launch. While some people may be ready for a higher investment product like Sold Out Launch with a $2,000 price tag, she always offers Persuasion Hacks Lab as a down-sell.

If you have an upcoming launch, do as Bushra does and offer a lower price point product to anyone who doesn’t buy your main launch offering. So much energy and money goes into a launch — so capitalize on it.

Why selling budget programs sets you up for failure

When you’re only selling budget, you are setting yourself up for failure to scale beyond a certain point, because there are people out there who want more support, more transformational experiences, more time with you, more coaching, more things, and you’re not letting them do it.

— Bushra Azhar

Finding the pricing model that works for you and your business is incredibly important to a sustainable business model. Bushra is passionate about a sustainable and profitable sales process. Part of that is understanding who you want to work with and what they want from you.

While some people may only need what she calls a 20% solution, there are countless more who want a higher touch service that you aren’t providing by selling only budget solutions. How can you revamp your existing products to meet the needs of customers who need more from you? How can you restructure your products to meet the needs of customers who need less?

Listen to the full episode to hear even more from Bushra on the products she uses to take customers from Dread to Dream, exactly what her promotional strategy for 2018 looks like, and how she runs her Facebook ads to “seduce” prospects.

Growing A Coaching Business Using Books with Your Kickass Life Founder Andrea Owen

Interviews, Show Notes

Growing A Coaching Business Using Books with Your Kickass Life Founder Andrea Owen

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The Nitty Gritty:

  • Why Andrea titled her second book How To Stop Feeling Like Shit, plus what workarounds she used to promote the book on Facebook.
  • How she planned for and used podcast interviews to promote HTSFLS — and why she recommends them for promoting a book.
  • How she set up her sales funnel and email segmentation strategy for book #2.
  • What challenges Andrea faced during her first book’s launch — and what she specifically changed for the second book’s launch.
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Today on Profit. Power. Pursuit., I chat with Andrea Owen, life coach, podcaster, and author of 52 Ways To Live A Kick Ass Life, and most recently, How To Stop Feeling Like Shit.

Andrea sat down with me for a quick interview where we dive into how marketing her second book differed from the first, the journey (and challenges) she faced while writing her manuscript, and what she’s working on next.

We release new episodes of Profit. Power. Pursuit every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

On working with — and embracing — success

I knew this book was going to be bigger. I knew that the publisher was going to ask more of me — and I needed to ask more from myself on a mental and emotional level. I really had to call myself out on it: just naming it, doing my own work, and leaning on my support system.

— Andrea Owen

An idea that comes up frequently when talking with Andrea is our rising above our upper limit. It’s the voice that dictates how successful and happy we can be. One step past that limit? The mind wants to self-sabotage. Andrea knows her upper limit well — but she’s learned how to outwit it.

It’s safe to say that most entrepreneurs face their upper limit at least once in their journey (and probably much more.) So too did Andrea — but she used the success of her first book as an opportunity to rise to the occasion, tap into her community for strength, and keep pushing forward.

On marketing a book through podcast interviews

Statistics show that podcast hosts tend to have more loyalty than, say, Good Morning America or The Today Show. So we sat down with our team nine months out and we started the process. It was researching [podcasts] and reaching out to my colleagues. I even asked on my personal Facebook profile. I knew it was just going to be for a season. In total, when this is all done, I’ve easily done 75 interviews.

— Andrea Owen

Online marketing strategies are constantly changing — and as an entrepreneur, you need to keep a watchful eye on new trends and adapt to them for success. For her second book, Andrea and her team looked at what worked for the first book and what didn’t, then tweaked the plan.

Where they saw an opportunity? Podcast interviews. Out of everything she’s done to promote her new book, Andrea says podcasts work best. If you’re promoting a new book or program, add podcast interviews to your strategy.

And like Andrea, put the bulk of your energy there, and see what comes back.

Listen to the full episode with Andrea Owen to hear more about how she used podcasts to promote her new book, how she pushes back on self-sabotage, and what her sales funnel and email segmentation strategy looks like.