Why Your Program Isn’t Selling Like You Want It To (and How to Fix It)

Courtney Elmer  0:00  

Welcome back, you're listening to the AntiFragile Entrepreneurship™ Podcast. This is Episode 150, which feels kind of like a big milestone because that means we have released an episode once a week, every week rain or shine without fail for the past three years. And it's been incredible to see the growth of the show over that time span and also to hear from listeners like you to hear how this show is making an impact in your online business. And my hope for you is that today's episode more than lives up to those expectations. Because we're going to be talking about why your program isn't selling like you want it to, and how to fix it, which is quite timely, because if you didn't hit your revenue or your sales goals this year, and if you feel like your marketing efforts are just not converting like you want them to despite the time and energy you're putting into them, then pay close attention because the episode ahead is for you. And this is a meaty one, my friend. So buckle up, we're going to be debriefing our recent podcast program launch, I'm going to show you what worked, what didn't, and how you can apply these same takeaways to increase your sales for your next launch to increase your engagement for your email marketing, and to increase your overall conversions, onto your email list and into your courses and programs. That's all coming up next. So stay tuned.

Courtney Elmer

Globally ranked among the top shows in online business and education. We're known for one thing, helping overworked entrepreneurs like you learn how to run your online business like a true visionary leader, because when you get the right systems support, and structure in place, you can spend more time in your zone of genius. So if you're tired of listening to today's online business influencers teach this same old worn out marketing strategies that aren't making you any money, it's time to take a look under the hood of your online business and fix the engine itself. Because the truth is, you don't have to work as hard as you are right now to scale beyond six figures and create the greater influence income and impact that you deserve. The secret to scaling starts on the back end of your online business. This is the System's Made Simple™ Podcast.

Courtney Elmer

Now as I mentioned at the start of this episode, we just relaunched our pod launch program. Now pod launch is our signature podcast coaching experience. Where we show online business owners online experts, coaches, consultants, authors, course creators, how to leverage their message via a podcast, launch it to a community of raving fans from day one, hit the top 100 on the Apple charts and drive consistent leads and traffic to their online business on autopilot. So chances are if you're part of our community in any way, shape, or form, if you follow me on Instagram, if you are on our email list, if you listen to this podcast, then you heard us talking about it, you probably saw our reels for it advertising it, you probably got emails about it. And it was a great launch. 

Courtney Elmer

Typically we only open the doors to this program once a year, this program has been around for over two years now. And we've launched it several times, each launch has gotten progressively better, which is what you hope for right when you launch your stuff, you know the first launch, we don't really know how it's going to go. But once you do that first launch, you get your benchmark in place, you get your baselines, and then each subsequent launch, you can test and tweak and test and tweak until you've got a well oiled operation. And that's what we did for this launch. But what I noticed specifically that was different about this launch compared to previous launches of the same program was that our engagement both on the live workshops in our inbox and in our DMS was through the roof. Like there were days where I almost didn't get to all the messages we had so many messages coming in.

Courtney Elmer

 The feedback that we got on the content in the workshops itself was so positive people were messaging us saying how valuable it was how they had never heard anyone explain lead generation like that before, how their perspective had shifted. And suddenly they were thinking about their email marketing in a totally new way. The attendance rate was as we expected for a three day live workshop. It was actually a little lower than we anticipated. But the drop off rate was close to zero, which means that the people who attended the workshops, which mind you was a three day event. So they attended all three days. They stayed till the end on each of the days and those who attended kept coming back each subsequent day. Which was incredible. 

Courtney Elmer

The open rates on our email list for the emails that we sent out promoting the workshop and also promoting the program, once the door is open, or extremely high compared to previous launches, I'm talking to open rates in like the 40, percentile, 50, percentile, 60%, open rates, and really high click throughs as well, I think our click throughs ranged between three and 13% click through rates, which is really high. Also, one thing that we noticed that surprised us was that the unsubscribe rates were very low, very low next to nothing. Even after we started this sales email sequence, most of the emails that went out had a 0% unsubscribe rate, which is not what you typically see, right, you start sending those sales emails, people jump off, because they're like, Oh, this is not for me, not the right timing, too expensive, whatever, whatever. And that's normal. And you normally see that, but we really didn't. And that was very interesting to us to notice. 

Courtney Elmer

And ultimately, as far as sales, conversion rates go, our overall conversion rate was 3.9%, against our entire launch list. And when we measured our conversion rate against the people, the number of people who attended the workshops, those who actually showed up live, our conversion rate was over 36%. The industry standard is two to 3%. So I'm sharing all of these numbers with you. Because what I want to show you is that having numbers like these, if you're seeing these kinds of conversion rates and these kinds of open rates for your programs, then that is a really good indicator that you're in a solid position to start scaling that program. The problem is what most people try to do, when they go to scale a program is that they look at the conversion rate. And they try to increase the conversion rate. So they might tweak their messaging, they might tweak their webinar, they might tweak their email sales sequence, they tweak the sales page. And certainly we tweaked all of those things for this launch and tell you what we did, how we did it and why we did it. 

Courtney Elmer

But we were not looking necessarily to increase our conversion rate, because our conversion rates were already pretty strong from previous launches. They went up a little bit for this launch, we had also increased our prices for this launch. So it was great to see those conversion rates actually increase for this launch compared to previous. The problem with the conversion rate and for focusing only on that number is that most people look at how can I increase the conversion rate, when really if you have decent conversion rates, right? If you are converting at that industry standard minimum two to 3%, you need to focus on increasing the size of your launch list. Most people chase higher conversion rates. But again, if you know what the industry standard is, and you're hovering right around there or higher, then yeah, sure, you can do whatever you want over time test and tweak to try to increase the conversion rate. But the quickest way to increase sales, is to just increase the size of the list the number of people that you're launching to. So here's some easy math for you. 

Courtney Elmer

Let's say you have 100 people on your launch list. This is not your entire email list. This is the number of people who have opted in to your launch, they've opted in to watch the webinar that you've put together, or they've opted in to participate in your live workshop or your challenge. Let's say you have 100 people who have done that for the sake of easy math. And let's say you have a 5% conversion rate, that'd be pretty high right? Compared to the industry standard, that'd be really good. Well, that would mean you'd get five new students. So you could go into your next launch focusing on that conversion rate saying okay, I want to get that higher, I want to get that higher, we want more students, I need to increase my conversion rate. That's one way to look at it. Or you could focus simply on growing your launch list. Because if you got five new students at a 5% conversion rate with a launch list of 100 people, imagine if that launch list was 1000 people times 5%. That's 50 new students. So if your conversion rates are at or above average, then where we need to focus next is visibility. Because when it comes to launching, the bigger the list, the bigger the launch.

Courtney Elmer  9:32  

It can also be said that the launch grows your list. So they go hand in hand. Certainly we want to be focusing on visibility throughout the year, so that by the time you go to launch something next, whether you open the doors once a year, every six months or once a quarter, whatever it is, that your list is naturally bigger, you have more people to sell to and certainly you could run ads to cold traffic as well to incur As the size of your opt ins and your launch list, but at the same time, notice how every launch because you're really driving traffic will also subsequently grow your list in general, your email list, which is a good thing, because by the time you go to launch again, the pool of people that you're email marketing to, is bigger. And I should specify and say, the pool of warm people. And people who know you, they know what you do, they're on your list now, and they're paying attention. 

Courtney Elmer

So starting to look at these numbers is one way that you can start to predict your launch revenue. And once you've gotten several launches under your belt, and you start to see those conversion rates holding strong, if not improving, every time that you launch, then you just have to run some simple calculations to predict the revenue of your next launch. So let's just say that your program is $2,000. Let's say you enroll five students, that's a $10,000 launch. But with a bigger launch list, with a 5% conversion rate, and 50 new students at a $2,000 price point. That's $100,000 launch. So if you're on the same page with me, then let's continue. Let's talk about what to do if your list is small. And if your conversion rates aren't where you want them to be. That's the focus of this episode. Because if your conversion rates are high, and your launch lists are big, and you're happy with the money that comes in every time you launch, this might not be the episode for you. But if your conversion rates are lower than you want them, and your list is smaller than you want it to be, then listen closely to my voice right now. We've run this launch many times. 

Courtney Elmer

So we know that these numbers weren't an anomaly, they were rather a direct result of some of the very specific tweaks we made for this launch compared to previous launches of the same program. And I'm going to walk you through the biggest tweak we made today because I want you to get the same results. When you launch your own programs or your products or your courses, there is no greater feeling to know that what you have worked hard to build and to create is out there converting because what does that mean? It means that you're going to be able to help more people. Yes, you make money in the process. But ultimately, it helps you achieve your goal of impact. Now, to be clear, there were several tweaks that we made. And a lot of these tweaks, this is exactly what we teach our students inside of our signature online business Systems Program, autopilot. But of all the tweaks we made, I'm going to give you my favorite one, because it's the simplest to apply. 

Courtney Elmer

And it is the most impactful because it can be applied throughout your entire launch, from your email marketing, to your workshop or your webinar, to your sales, emails, any follow up emails that you send your sales page, social media posts, podcast episodes, all the things. And the Tweak is this. In your email marketing and in your messaging, you must focus more on your ideal clients problem, and not your solution to that problem. A little louder for the people in the back. In your launches, and in your email marketing for your launches, you need to focus more on the problem that your ideal client is experiencing, and less on your solution to that problem. This is a huge mistake that overlooked entrepreneurs make. I made it for years, focusing too much on the solution that I had to offer and the benefits that they would get when they enrolled in my program or when they worked with me and not on the problem that my ideal client was having. 

Courtney Elmer

Now there's a few reasons why overlooked entrepreneurs struggle to effectively communicate the problem that their solution solves. They're focused on the solution. They talk about how great it is, and how awesome it is and all of these benefits. But what they don't focus on is communicating how that solution solves the problem, the acute pain point that your ideal customer is experiencing. And some of the reasons for this is number one, you might not actually know the problems your audience is experiencing. But you know that you can help them fix it. So you teach the benefit. And I should be really specific here and say you might not know the specific problems your audience is experiencing. You know that they're struggling, but you might not know with what exactly or with what specifically, but you know that if they work with you, then those problems will disappear. So you teach the benefits of your program or of your solution. 

Courtney Elmer

Another reason for this is that you might not know that problem I'm focused email marketing is far more effective than solution focused email marketing. And it's also easier to talk about the benefits that your client will get than it is to talk about the problems they're experiencing. Plus, what we see most influencers and most thought leaders out there online doing is talking about solutions. And what everyone else is doing online doesn't mean that you should necessarily do it too. But because other people have been successful, we tend to copy them. But what happens is this makes you blend in, not stand out. So shifting our focus from solution focused email marketing to problem focused email marketing, was the most impactful tweak we made in this launch. And I'll give you a clear example of this in just a moment. But looking at all the many elements of our launch, our landing pages, our sales pages, our emails, all of them used to be focused on what a podcast could do for you. 

Courtney Elmer

It would help bring you more leads, it would help elevate your voice, it would help you reach a wider audience with your message, it's going to save you time on content creation and cut your email marketing time down by half or more. All of these are good things. All of them are true. But what I learned in my own research and study, and most importantly, application of that research and study over the years, is that your ideal client does not care how you can help them till they know how much you understand the problem that they're experiencing. So I'm gonna borrow this example from my colleague, Brandon Lucero, if you listen to his podcast, I highly recommend it. He talks about all things email marketing, and messaging. And he shares this example often on his show, and it's a great example. And he says, you know, let's say, if you were to go to the doctor, and you go to the doctor, because you have a very specific problem, you have a headache, that appears only at night after 8pm When you lay down on your pillow, and it goes away when you stand up during the day. 

Courtney Elmer

So you go to the doctor, and let's say you see Doctor a right and Doctor a takes a look. And he asks you some questions. And he says, All right, you know, this is kind of a common problem, not really sure what's causing it. But here's a prescription that will help this prescription is going to help you get rid of the headache, it's going to make the headache go away, you'll be able to function, you'll get a better night's sleep, all you have to do is take this medicine, and you say, Okay, thanks. But something doesn't sit quite right with you. So you're like, you know what, I'm gonna get a second opinion. So you go see Dr. B. And Dr. B gives you the full workup. He asks you some questions, he asked you some of the same questions doctor a asks you, but he takes it a few steps further. And he asks you some different questions. And he says, you know, do you eat a certain food before you go to bed? Or do you drink a certain liquid before you go to bed? Or do you notice it only on certain days of the week, right. 

Courtney Elmer

And instead of just handing you a prescription to solve the problem, he orders more tests before he makes a diagnosis. And when he does make a diagnosis, he says, Okay, I need you to sit down because I have some news for you. And what we found as a result of the tests that we ran, is that you have a brain tumor pressing on your brain at the base of your skull. And this is why you feel the way you do when you lay down, because the pressure of you laying on the pillow is pushing up against this growth inside of your head. Now the good news is we caught it pretty early. So the outlook is good. I would recommend surgery, we've got to remove this brain tumor. Because if left unattended, here's what's going to happen. Three months from now, you might not be able to sleep at all. Six months from now, you will notice a growth on the back of your head, it will be obvious to you and to everyone and it's going to start causing you pain during the day as well. If you let it go unattended for a year, it could start causing some serious neurological problems. And of course, if you don't treat it at all, it could kill you. Now the surgery that I recommend is $400,000. Insurance is only going to cover 25% of them.

Courtney Elmer  19:34  

I do recommend you get the surgery sooner than later because again, the longer you wait, the more pain you're going to experience. Now I can set you up with a qualified surgeon next week who specializes in exactly this type of surgery. He's done 1000s of surgeries like this. You are in great hands with him. What do you want to do next? So imagine you're that patient Right, imagine that you're sitting there. And this is what the doctor is telling you. First of all, which doctor would you trust more? Doctor not be I was gonna say doctor number B, right, Dr. B, right, who took the time to diagnose the real problem. He also talked to you about the consequences of doing nothing. Now, the solution to the problem is not an inexpensive solution.

Courtney Elmer

 But what would you do if you were sitting in that chair, let's say you've got young kids at home, you've got a future ahead of you. Right, you want that quality of life, you don't want to die, you're gonna find a way to come up with 300 grand to get that surgery, you will find a way whether it means you have to sell your house or finance it or whatever it is, you will figure it out. And so this is the power of focusing on our ideal customers problems, the real problems that they're experiencing. Why? Because when we do, it increases the desire and the demand for the solution that you offer. Doctor a wrote you a prescription, that's a solution. Sure, it might have gotten rid of the headache, but it would have not solved the root cause of the problem. And he didn't do enough testing to even know what the specific problem was. Let's say he gave you the script and it took the pain away, but you didn't actually treat the root cause a year from now you could still wind up dying. 

Courtney Elmer

And this is what we see happening so often in today's online digital course creator world. And it absolutely drives me bonkers is that people are email marketing solutions to you. And so you go and you invest in a solution because you think it's going to help with your pain point, even though you might not even really be clear on what that pain point is and on what the specific problem is. And as it turns out, you spend weeks and months and years investing your time and your energy and your money into so called solutions that do nothing. How many times have you walked away from a course or a program that you spent good money for? And you didn't get out of it what you hoped you would, it didn't solve the problem. 

Courtney Elmer

And so this is why as an online leader, as an online thought leader and an expert, not only do you have to have a good solution to actually solve the problem of your ideal client, you like Dr. B, have to get clear and specific on what exactly that problem is. So that you can bring about the desired result and transformation for your client. Otherwise, they're going to walk away disappointed, that affects your reputation that affects your status, that affects your ability to earn referrals and repeat online business. So this is why this is so important. To be an effective coach, or course creator, or thought leader, you must first become an expert at diagnosing the problem of your audience, then, and only then do you offer your solution. Because when you do that the solution is an easy, easy sell. In fact, you don't need to sell at all you're gonna have built so much desire and demand for it simply by focusing on diagnosing the problem more than your solution. So that when you offer the solution, it is an easy yes. 

Courtney Elmer

That's pro tip number one, make everything everything in your launch up until the point of sale, problem focused your email marketing, your email sequences, your podcast episodes, your webinar, your workshop, your sales page, a lot like what I'm doing right now talking about the problem of why your conversion rates are low, and the specific actions you're taking right now that are causing the problem such as not focusing enough on the problem in your email marketing. So I want to give you a really cool example here because I was looking back from previous landing pages for previous launches, compared to the landing page that we created for the webinar for this launch. And I had to chuckle to myself because it became so obvious how I was like Dr. A, originally I was talking all about how awesome podcasting is and how much it's going to help you in your online business. And I wasn't giving any time of day to talking about how a podcast will solve the problems you're experiencing in your online business right now. So I want to read to you what our landing page used to say now, for our landing pages. We are Always very copy light, we do not have a lot of words on them. We've got a countdown timer. 

Courtney Elmer

We've got a signup box register now. That's it. And this is what the landing page says. It says, imagine if you never had to worry about where your next lead was coming from ever again. Okay, cool. Yeah, our people want more leads, that's probably got their attention. And the next it says, discover the proven framework to create, launch and leverage a profitable podcast. So you can go from overlooked entrepreneur, to respected thought leader in your niche. I start selling the solution. Immediately. You notice that big mistake. And then below that we have some bullet points. And it says, By the time you walk away from this webinar, you'll be able to avoid the three major mistakes most online business owners make when launching a podcast. Huge mistake. Why? Because our people who are landing on this page don't even know if a podcast is the right solution for them yet, but here I am trying to sell them on it right. Another bullet says position your expertise so that your podcast stands out in a sea of competitors.

Courtney Elmer

 Well, great, that is definitely something they want after they've made the decision that a podcast is the next best step for them in terms of generating leads. But they're not at that point yet. And so I go on to talk about how to it'll help you grow your following. And you're welcome a steady new stream of leads each week you can drive more sales, you can lay a solid foundation for long term show growth. Great Courtney big work, but I don't care. Because right now I'm reading your landing page, and I am your ideal client. And I had this major problem where I lay awake at night and I don't know where my next lead is coming from none of the email marketing that I'm doing is working. I have tried everything and I can't figure it out how am I supposed to know if a podcast is going to be the thing that I actually need. Or if it's just going to be another shiny object. For me, that's going to be a waste of my time and my energy and my resources and my money. That's where our ideal client is when they land on this page. And before I actually knew how powerful problem focused email marketing was, this was how we marketed to people. And yes, everything that I said on the page is true. 

Courtney Elmer

These are all valid things that our program helps with. These are all things that ultimately my ideal client wants. But the problem is they can't get emotionally connected to what they want, until the problem that's getting in the way is removed. You see what I'm getting at here. Kind of like if you tell someone, hey, when this headache is gone, you're going to be able to enjoy your life so much more, you'll have energy, you'll have clarity, you'll have focus, that sounds great and fine, and you want that. But it's not priority to you right now. All you care about is getting rid of this debilitating headache. That's all you can focus on. So let me read to you what the landing page says now. Same photo, same opt in box, same register now same countdown timer, but the copy is different. It says Are you an online business owner who is sick and tired of trying one email marketing strategy after the next, but still can't figure out how to get consistent leads to your online business? Do you feel frustrated? Because no matter what you post online, you never seem to get the kind of engagement that you want? Are you starting to question your own expertise because others just aren't seeing the value in what you have to offer? If you answered yes, this event is for you. When you register now you'll discover the number one reason you aren't getting consistent leads to your online business. You'll also learn why most organic email marketing strategies fail to grow your following and find out the missing piece to your email marketing puzzle and discover why every online business owner needs a podcast say same exact workshop. Which one would you register for?

Courtney Elmer  29:03  

And more importantly, do you notice the shift here? If you're hearing my voice right now, and this is making sense, let's continue. Because we applied this strategy throughout our entire launch from the landing page to the content that I taught. In the workshops to the sales page to the emails, we did not run ads. We had a launch list of 204 people register for this workshop, all organic traffic. Compared to previous launches, we did run some ads we had about the same launch list size, we might have had slightly larger sizes of our launch list for previous launches and a slightly lower conversion rate. But the feedback on this specific launch was that it was so valuable, more valuable than many of the webinars and workshops that those who attended our event have attended in the past. And why why do you think that is? Because it's more valuable. To help someone stop making the mistake that's causing the problem than it is to teach them how to solve the problem. I'm going to say that again. In our digital age, we are inundated with email marketing with messaging with noise.

Courtney Elmer

 Everyone is overwhelmed. We are consuming content at such a rapid rate that we consume already with a sense of anxiety and overwhelm, even when we're consuming the content. So what's going to feel less overwhelming if you're someone who feels anxious who feels overwhelmed already, and you're following different influencers? And one of them is telling you here's exactly what you need to do. First, you need to do step A, then you need to do step b, then you need to do C and D and E and F and G, you're going to be like, exhausted before you even get to step a right? And what are the chances that you'll actually do it slim to none? Or as another influencer, who's a bit more marketing savvy, might tell you, you know what, I know you're experiencing this problem in your online business right now. pretty frustrating, right? I know, I've been there too. And chances are, you didn't know that this is the action that you're doing right now that's causing this problem. 

Courtney Elmer

This is the action that when you stop doing this will actually help to alleviate the symptoms that you're experiencing. It is a whole lot easier and requires a whole lot less energy to stop doing something than it does to start doing something. And this is why when you stop teaching how to content and start teaching people what they're doing that's causing the problem and why they should stop doing it. And also, what will happen if they continue doing it? Or if they do nothing. That is far more valuable for someone because it's actually actionable. How many webinars have you ever attended, where you just left feeling? Totally fire host totally overwhelmed? No way in heck did you want what that person was offering? Because if the webinar was this overwhelming, holy cow, I can't even imagine what the course would be like, Have you ever had that experience? 

Courtney Elmer

Or how many webinars have you attended where the host taught you how to solve the problem on the webinar so that by the end of the webinar, there's no need to buy their program to solve the problem. They just taught you how to solve it. And these are two of the most common problems that I see overlooked entrepreneurs having online when it comes to selling their products or their programs or their services. I don't care if you're reals program is the greatest of all the real programs out there. What I care about is can your strategy help me solve the frustrating problem of low engagement and lack of interest on my reels, every time that I post, I don't care. If you have put more research into your fitness program, then this other fitness person is teaching and if you have more experience than any other fitness trainer out there, until I know that your method is going to help me actually lose the weight compared to all the other things I've tried.

Courtney Elmer

 And ultimately to overcome the lack of confidence and the self disgust that I feel towards myself when my favorite pair of jeans just don't fit. Do you see the difference? Okay, so here's what I want you to do next, for your next launch. For your next promotion for the next email that you send for the next reel that you post, I want you to first identify the problem that your ideal customer is experiencing. Now, inside of both of our programs, autopilot and pod launch, I take you through a very deep dive of how to do this because it is the key to getting the reach you want and the engagement you want and the sales you want, and to making the kind of money you want to make in your online business. But I will give you a pro tip here. Because the best place to start, unlike what most people think, is not to survey your audience. It's not to look at what they're saying to you. But it's to simply look at the actions that they're taking or not taking right now that's causing them not to get the result they're looking to get. 

Courtney Elmer

So if you teach reels, what are the actions or mistakes someone is taking right now that's causing them not to get the engagement. Talk to them about that. If you teach nutrition, what are the actions someone is taking right now that's causing them to feel tired all the time to not have energy? Talk about that. If you teach fitness, what are the actions or mistakes someone is making that's causing them not to get results in the gym to go to the gym but to not see progress. Talk about that. Help them remove the mistakes to stop making the mistakes we got to help them identify and clear those out first. Then from there, you can focus your content on teaching your audience what to do instead, and why they should do it your way. Notice, I didn't say how you're not teaching them how to do anything. You don't go from teaching them, hey, this is the mistake you're making in the gym that's causing you not to get the result. So let me show you how to squat better, so that you can get the result you want. 

Courtney Elmer

No, all we want to teach them is what they should be doing, why they should be doing it differently, how it will bring about the result that they want, when they do it differently. And the how remains behind a paywall. If they want your help to do what you're telling them they need to do. Well, that's what they pay you for. So it's time to step into the position of authority in your online business and to be the expert to be the guide that your people need. What are your people doing or not doing that's causing the problem? And what do they need to be doing? instead? It is that simple. You can apply this to all of your email marketing. Also, why is it important that they do it your way, and not another way. This is how you differentiate yourself. What will happen if they continue making these mistakes, this shows them the consequence of continuing to take the action that they're taking, or taking no action at all, which helps to intensify the pain they're feeling and create more desire and demand for what you offer. 

Courtney Elmer

And when you shift your email marketing to being problem focused and not solution focused, you will sell more, you will see more engagement, you'll get the results that you want from your community and see growth both of your audience and and your online business. So that is my challenge to you today. I want you to look back at recent content that you've created. And I want you to pick a piece of content, where you have focused on your solution, for example, why you need confidence and what will happen when you have it, or why working out is good for you or the benefits of eating healthy, or the things you'll get whenever you get your finances in order, or how awesome it'll be when you're booked and paid as a speaker, or how great a podcast will be for your online business. Right. All those things are solution focused. So I want you to go back and look at your content. And pick a piece where you have focused on the solution that you're offering. And reverse it. Identify the problem that your ideal customer is experiencing what is the result that they're trying to bring about if they want more leads, if more leads is the result, the problem right now is that they don't have enough leads. You see how that works. And then from there, you're going to identify the actions that they're taking right now or not taking to try to bring about the result, but that it's the wrong approach. It's the wrong action to be taken. And you're going to call their attention and awareness to it. Then I want you to create a piece of content that educates them on what this action is why it's a mistake, and show them how it contributes to the problem. And this is really important. Please do not forget to do this. You're also going to need to validate that it's normal, that they're experiencing this.

Courtney Elmer  38:25  

You can tell them lots of people are experiencing this. And it's normal to feel this way. It's a logical action step to take, right? But here's why you need to change it and you're going to show them the cost of not fixing it, and teach them what to do instead, not how, but what. So let's say again, you're in fitness. And let's say that one of the reasons your person is not getting results in the gym, is because they aren't resting a proper amount of time in between their sets. Maybe it's something they've tried, maybe it's something they haven't given any thought to be you're going to call their attention to why they're not getting the result. And then it has nothing to do necessarily with the exercises that they're doing. But more to do with the amount of rest they're giving themselves in between the exercises. And you're going to teach them that when they start to calculate their rest intervals correctly. Well, guess what? They're going to start seeing more progress. 

Courtney Elmer

You're not teaching them how to calculate the rest interval. You're just telling them what's going to happen when they stop making this mistake and when they start doing it this way instead. Does that make sense? All right, if you're with me, and if you want to see some examples of this in action, go to my Instagram page. Scroll back a little bit and look at any of my talking head videos, not the trending ones. I've done quite a few more trending ones lately. We've been testing out some different content ideas, but the talking head video is just me talking to you on the camera. This is exactly what I'm doing. Notice what I'm talking about, and how I'm talking about it, and how I'm calling your attention to the problem and telling you what we need to do instead. And while you're there on Instagram, if you are not following me already, I would love to connect with you. 

Courtney Elmer

I was just reviewing our core values this week. With our team we're planning at the time of this recording, it's the end of 2022, we're going into the year 2023. And we were just planning out our entire year, our vision, our quarterly goals, etc, etc. And so we were reviewing our values. And one of my all time top values is connection. So when I say that, I mean it. I want to connect with you. I want you to send me a DM. And let me know, what was the biggest takeaway you got from this episode? What jumped out at you? What caused you to think about something differently? Did I help to shift your perspective on anything? If so, I would love to hear it. Now coming up next week on the show, we're going to talk about how to stop overthinking. Yes, my friend from your content to whether or not you should join that program, to what to say in your next email to what online business strategy you should try next. Everything because like I mentioned at the time of this recording, we are headed into a new year. And if you want to grow your online online business next year, you have to more fully step into your role as the visionary leader of that business. And next week's episode is dedicated to helping you do just that. So I will see you back here next Tuesday. And until then, go live your EffortLESS Life®.