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Hey all, welcome back to the podcast! I hope you’re having a great day. Something I’m wondering about is where do you live and what do you do while listening to podcasts? Are you in the US or another country? I’m in South Carolina and when I listen to podcasts, I love to be on a walk. Walking is my podcast listening time and another spot I listen to podcasts is when I’m alone in the car. I also love to listen to podcasts when I’m at the gym. 

Aside from podcasting and building an online business and of course, my family, my other love is lifting weights! I’ve been in the gym since my mid 20s and I love the challenges of lifting weights and getting stronger. The gym has taught me so much, especially the idea of consistency creating results. If I only went to the gym every few weeks, I wouldn't have much muscle. Similar in building an online business, it’s about consistently putting in the work to reach my next goals. 

This episode is part 2 of how to start a podcast. I want to dive a little deeper into the technical side of things in this episode.

Remember in the last episode I stressed the importance of knowing your end goal as you contemplate starting a podcast. Do you want more sales? More customers? Grow your membership or courses? More partners to join you in your business? 

The reason I want you to really think about this is because podcasting is great and a lot of people want to just start a podcast and share content and value. I applaud that but I also want to tell you that you will burn out fast and fade if you don’t figure out a way to monetize your show. Podcasting takes work and it takes time to come up with content so I highly recommend figuring out how you will monetize your show before you hit record.

Now that you’re thinking about how you will monetize your show, you’re going to want to set up a few things as you’re planning out your podcast:

• Lead magnet and email marketing service
• Website
• Podcast hosting service
• Recording system 
• Editing
• Music 

Lead Magnet

What piece of valuable content will you offer your audience in exchange for their email? It really can be anything, so get creative! A short e-book, how to guide, a challenge, workbook, even a quiz! Whatever it is, you want to craft your lead magnet that calls out your target audience and offers them value. For example, as I mentioned earlier, I have a quiz as one of my lead magnets. 

Email marketing service

This is important because you want a service that allows you to set up a follow up email sequence that goes out to the people who’ve signed up for your lead magnet. I use Aweber and find it to be pretty friendly even if you’re tech challenged. You can also create sign up forms and landing pages with Aweber. They have a lot of resources to help you get started. There are other email marketing services out there so make sure to do your research on which one is best for your needs. 

I believe you need a website. It’s your property on the internet. Your place to share information, sell your products or services as well as where you want your audience to head to. Think about it. This is your internet real estate. You can drive traffic to your site and that’s what you want. You don’t want to rely on social media because as we’ve seen, it can go out at any moment and if you say something they don’t like, well they can...

Have you thought about starting a podcast to get more visible or to boost your sales? I think it’s a great way to build authority and credibility in your space or niche. It’s been an incredible way for me to build my brand. Let me share with you a little bit about my journey.

If you didn’t know, I have another podcast, The Therapy Show with Lisa Mustard, where I help talk therapists grow their skills as well as earn continuing education for their licenses. It all started with an idea to take my skills outside of the therapy room to help more people. It’s been a great adventure and I’ve learned so much along the way. As the show grew, my brand grew. Along with growing my brand, other opportunities have presented themselves. One being the opportunity to start this podcast to help direct and social sellers grow their businesses.

All the things I’ve learned along the way of growing the The Therapy Show are helping me grow this show. However, I’m doing things a little differently with this podcast. The episodes are shorter for one. I’m doing more solo episodes with this podcast where I’m teaching a skill or idea. Plus I’m coming out of the gate with my lead magnet and growing my email list. 

It’s paying off. My sales have increased and I have others reaching out and asking what it is that I do. Now that’s a social seller's dream right? Have people just reach out and ask what you do? Doesn’t that feel better than sending those cold messages and posting content that gets crickets? 

Just like using other platforms to grow my brand and online business, I’m leading with value. But I am doing it with a podcast. 

As I mentioned on the last episode, I was tired of social media. Yet I love creating content for my audience. But I was feeling burnt out on social media so I thought I'd take my content to the podcasting world. And it’s so much fun over here! 

Podcasts are growing fast and technology is easier, and the opportunities are still plentiful for aspiring podcasters. Currently the amount of people listening to podcasts has increased by 122% and 88 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly. As podcast audiences continue to grow, there's no better time to create an audio podcast. 

Have you thought about creating a podcast to grow your business? You’ve thought about it many times but perhaps you get stuck on the technical stuff or maybe even what to talk about on your podcast? I totally understand as I’ve been there too! I’ve got good news for you though! I’m offering podcast coaching and if you’d like to learn more about it, there’s a link in the show notes you can click on and learn more about it. Let’s connect and get you started on upping your brand and rocking out your sales. Click here to learn more.

Before we talk about the technical aspects of podcasting, let’s discuss the most important piece - what is your end goal? What do you hope to achieve or accomplish by podcasting? 

Is it to increase sales? 

Is it to get new clients?

Is it to sell your products?

I recommend thinking about this long and hard before you hit record on your first episode. 

For example a recent client has the goal of selling more of her books and courses so her content is geared towards those goals. She creates content that gives value that anyone can listen to but her call to action is to buy her book or course to go deeper in her subject.

The great thing about podcasting is that there are plenty of listeners out there who are eager for your content. You just need to create the content to attract them. 

The technical aspects include how will you...

Hi friends, welcome back to the podcast. I’m excited to share this episode with you because I'm hearing from a lot of people that they would like to market their social selling business in other ways aside from social media. 

Before I dive into this episode’s topic, I want to share some exciting news! I’m taking on new podcast coaching clients. So, if you’ve ever thought about starting a podcast, then you’ll want to check out the link in the show notes to schedule a call with me. 

Have you thought about creating a podcast to grow your business? You’ve thought about it many times but perhaps you get stuck on the technical stuff or maybe even what to talk about on your podcast? I totally understand as I’ve been there too! I’ve got good news for you though! I’m offering podcast coaching and if you’d like to learn more about it, there’s a link in the show notes you can click on and learn more about it. Let’s connect and get you started on upping your brand and rocking out your sales. Click here to learn more.

First, I want to talk about the end results you are trying to achieve. I’m going to assume one of your end results is to grow your sales which means you need to create return buyers or find new customers. Aside from social media, what are some ways you can do just that? 

So, as I’m sharing these ideas, keep your end results you are wanting to achieve in mind.

I’m going to talk about email marketing, blogging and podcasting and how you can use these mediums as ways to grow your sales. But before I jump into the details, you need to know one thing. Utilizing these strategies requires consistency of action and testing and retesting ideas and content. This isn’t start a blog or podcast and voila, instant overnight success. These methods take time and patience. But if you’re in this for the long haul of growing your direct sales or social selling business, then you should be good to go with this notion. 

Each one of these ways to market will include one thing - a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a valuable service or piece of content that you create that your customers then exchange their email address or phone number in return for that content. It’s then up to you to send them the content you’ve created. I want to encourage you to start thinking about what lead magnets you want to create for your ideal customer. Lead magnets can be anything as long as they offer value or help solve a problem. Checklists, planners, recipes, workouts, business tips, templates, etc. 

First up is blogging. Blogging is self-publishing content on owned property which would be your website and blog. It’s writing content, sharing pictures, and other media that’s self published. Is blogging still a thing? Heck yes! Blog posts can be optimized to rank on google search engines. This is how people find you on the internet. Now I'm not a blogging expert or pro but I’ve created success with my few blog articles. When you write up a blog post, you’ll want to include your lead magnet in the text. I’m sure you’ve seen examples of this when you’ve read your favorite bloggers' content. 

People get on google every day looking for solutions to their problems. You will want to craft your blog posts to solve those problems. Write good SEO content and eventually your people can find you. This takes time and patience, but it is doable. Here’s a FREE course on getting started with blogging.

Next up is Podcasting. You will drive traffic to your website with audio content. This is similar to blogging yet you’re doing it all on audio. Share value, offer ideas and support, and create calls to action. If you listen to my intro, midroll and outro, you’ll hear my CTAs or calls to action. I’m inviting you to engage...

Welcome back, welcome back. I hope you’re having a great day. The weather is gorgeous here right now. Spring is here! I’m going to get outside soon and take our dog, Lulu, for a walk. (Speaking of going on a walk, that’s when I listen to podcasts the most.)

I have a system for my mornings; I get up early, drink my coffee, think about what I will accomplish for the day (I write those things down in my planner/organizer). Speaking of planners, I love The Plan by Lauren Truslow. It’s a planner but it also has to do list, self-care schedule, even healthy recipes plus inspirational quotes. It’s the best one I’ve found to keep me on track.

I then either take Lulu out for a walk or I hit the gym. Any way I look at it, I have a morning routine or system that keeps me on track for reaching my goals, which by the way is to add more muscle and to do that I follow a system that I know works. This episode isn’t about my workout or muscle building goals it’s really about systems.

We have systems for all kinds of things when you really think about it. So why wouldn’t you have systems when it comes to your direct sales or social selling business? 

Systems for how you work your business. Systems for how you share your items with your customers. Systems for onboarding new reps. I mean when I started my job, there was an orientation I had to go through aka a system for learning how things work around here.

Systems really are important. They are your blueprint to navigating your path to reach your goals. When you follow your system, you’re taking the necessary actions on moving your business forward. Let’s look at systems for sharing your products and services with your audience and potential customers.

Now each company is going to do it differently right? And each rep is going to do it differently too. What is most important is that you do it in the way that feels authentic and congruent to you. 

What is your system for when you have a new product or service? Or even when you want to share something that is a big seller for your customers. What does your system look like? A lot depends on where your customers are. Yes, you can share in your Facebook group but not everyone is going to see your post because well, there’s a lot of things going on Facebook. It’s like distraction city over there some days.

Maybe your system isn’t always just posting to Facebook and hoping and praying your customers see it. I’ve seen many reps get frustrated and they end up quitting the business because they don’t think outside of the system of sharing to their Facebook group. Look to grow your business and get more sales, you need to do other things besides post in your fb group. 

I share with my VIP group, but I also share via text messaging. I send emails and I also go live. Now, I know this can sound like a lot but like I said systems are everything.

When it comes to Facebook, I've played around with different times of the day. Our products release at the same time and day each week so I’ve worked to train my group to know the items are coming out. 

When it comes to texting, I've played around with different times of the day, and it’s been hard to pinpoint the best time to text. I thought it would be evening but I can see my stats are lower when I text in the evening, so I’ve been texting around lunchtime. My guess is that people have some downtime from work, and they are on their phones. Evening hours may be tough because of a variety of things, like making dinner, kids are home, if they’re like me I tend to put my phone up in the evening. 

Email is similar but I find my open rates are better in the morning. It’s a habit for people to check their emails first thing in the morning so I...

Welcome back to the podcast! In this episode I share my number one social selling technique - the information is from a Facebook live I did last year yet it is still so relevant, and I continue to see results from it.

It’s going live on Facebook! Yes, video is still hot on social media platforms and if you want to grow your visibility and create new leads, consider going live.

In this training I go over the mindset shift I had to make to get over my fear of going live, tips for starting out with lives, and what you need to be sharing in your lives.

Plus stay tuned to the end because I give you 4 ideas for going live for your business

Before I give you my 4 ideas for going live, I want to reiterate the idea about traffic. As direct sellers we are always thinking about how to get in front of people who want what we are sharing. That’s traffic. They are out there we have to get their attention and when we go live and share solutions to their problems, we get new people following us and watching us. So, it’s not just going live for the likes and comments, the vanity metrics. It’s about showing up and being consistent. Some are going to be duds as in you may not get tons of views. But some will be incredible and will help you grow your visibility. The idea here is to make the decision to try this social selling technique and be consistent with it. 

Here are 4 ideas for going live:

1. Host a QnA
2. Showcase your product or do a demo
3. Conduct an interview with someone
4. Create a how-to video 

If you want more information on how to use Facebook live to grow your visibility - Here’s another training I did on the Power of Facebook Live for my company. 

I hope you found this episode helpful! If you did, please consider leaving me a 5-star rating and review on your preferred podcast platform.

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Earnings Disclaimer

There is no promise or representation that you will make a certain amount of money, or any money, or not lose money, as a result of listening to this podcast.

Any earnings, revenue, or income statements are based on actual individual results and/or estimates as may be stated. There is no guarantee that you will make these levels for yourself. If we know typical buyer results, they are listed. Otherwise, we do not know typical buyer results and you should take that into consideration.

As with any business, your results will vary and will be based on your personal abilities, experience, knowledge, capabilities, level of desire, and an infinite number of variables beyond our control, including variables we or you have not anticipated. There are no guarantees concerning the level of success you may experience. Each...

If you want to have a social selling business and you want to grow it online, you’ll need to have a social media presence. Perhaps you already have a great social media presence, but you want to transition more into posting about your products and business. Either way, this episode is for you.

When I first joined Facebook, I believe it was 2007 or 2008? And man has it grown and changed over the years. It's pretty amazing how social media has impacted our lives. I like to use social media as a way to uplift and inspire and connect with like-minded people, always have, always will. Truth be told, that's my mission not just on social media but in face-to-face day to day life. 

But when I first joined, I wasn’t in direct sales yet. My mindset around social media was that it was a place to share pics of my life and random thoughts every now and then. When I became interested in direct selling, I realized that I could use social media differently - I could create my personal brand and start to share content that would resonate with those in my network who might be interested in my products I was affiliated with. It all started to click and come together. 

Ok so how do you get started with social media marketing?

First of all, know that people dislike being sold to, but they sure do like to buy. So, when you put a picture up of your products or services with “buy the new makeup line it’s only $199!” they tune out and deem you just a salesperson trying to get their dollar. Yet when you share the benefits of the makeup line or the solutions the make-up products solve - people will pay attention and get curious. 

Here’s an example. I’m in my late 40s and as my skin changes, I’m looking for makeup that works with my skin. Could you come up with a post on how your make up line helps women in their 40s feel and look their best? Now that would get my attention. 

Think of your products. Think of the solutions they provide. Get creative with how you share those solutions. 

If you’re just getting started as a newbie, pick one platform. Don’t try to be on all the platforms because it can lead to burn out. Go with the platform you find yourself on the most or where your future customers are. When I got started, I chose Facebook as my primary platform. And then once I started to gain momentum, I added an Instagram account. Now it’s just me doing my social media at the moment but I’m considering hiring help soon, as I continue to grow my brand. You may be wondering, but I see a lot of the top earners in my company all over social media. Yes, but chances are they have help. If you work full time in and out of the home, start with one platform. If you try to be everywhere, you’ll burn out and honestly, you’ll be so busy sharing to platforms you may not actually be working your business. Social media marketing it about lead generation and if you’re too busy posting to all the platforms you may spread yourself too thin and miss opportunities to really engage with people.

Not every post you make is going to be about your products or services or opportunity though. Remember social media is here for being social so you’ll want to do just that! So definitely share things that you love, are passionate about, make you laugh, have fun and start conversations. Engagement is a big part of social media, so you’ll want to create posts and share content that brings engagement to you. 

As you start to post to your wall, be intentional and congruent with what you are posting and sharing. Yes, you’re getting on social media to be social and connect with people but you’re also working to create your brand which will attract your ideal customers to you.

So, the question usually comes up how many times a day or week should I be posting to social media. I recommend you post at the very least 1 time a day. (If you need help with content, download my free app -

Welcome to the first episode of direct sales and social selling with me, your host, Lisa Mustard. I’ve been in the industry for 9 years and truly love this business model. I’ve mainly built my business using social media but have been experimenting over the years with other forms of marketing. I’m excited to share with you all the direct selling marketing strategies I've used that have worked and the ones that have flopped. 

We're going to cover some basics on this episode, mainly questions I get from my social media network and circle of friends when it comes to direct sales.

I'm going to discuss what is direct selling, how to choose a direct sales company if you're not currently with a company, the money you can make, how to market your business and 5 different ideas for marketing.

This is taken straight from the direct selling association website: Direct selling is a retail channel used by top global brands and smaller, entrepreneurial companies to market products and services to consumers. Companies market all types of goods and services, including beautiful jewelry, cookware, home decor, nutritionals, cosmetics, housewares, clothes, essential oils, energy and insurance, and much more.

The direct selling channel differs from broader retail in an important way. It isn’t only about getting great products and services into consumers’ hands. It’s also an avenue where entrepreneurial-minded people can work independently to build a business with low start-up and overhead costs.

Direct selling consultants work on their own, but affiliate with a company that uses the channel, retaining the freedom to run a business on their own terms. Consultants forge strong personal relationships with prospective customers, primarily through face-to-face discussions and demonstrations. In this age of social networking, direct selling is a go-to market strategy that, for many companies and product lines, may be more effective than traditional advertising or securing premium shelf space.

Direct Selling Companies sell directly to the customer, with no fixed retail location or a retail outlet. Most of its product is sold via independent salespeople. Direct sales refers to selling directly with clients without any intermediary or middleman like a brick-and-mortar retail space. Typically, sales are conducted online or through a website, and they're usually conducted through direct interaction with customers in unconventional settings. 

Product sales go directly to consumers instead of through retailers and can be done through email marketing, blogging, social media platforms or online shopping platforms. 

Social selling is one way to market your direct sales company or business. It is a lead-generation technique where direct sellers directly interact with their prospects on social media platforms. I'll spend a lot more time on social selling in upcoming episodes. If social selling is a way you want to market your products and services, stay tuned for episodes to come on this hot topic.

There are hundreds of direct selling companies available in the market. It is essential for anyone choosing a direct sale business that you're excited about their product. You need to really love the products you are selling. I love my products; I use them daily. Think about what you're passionate about. For example, makeup isn’t for me. I wear it but I’m not passionate about it. I’m passionate about living a fit and healthy lifestyle so I’m drawn to products and services that would help me live a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

Unfortunately, I cannot give a number in this...