Hello beautiful people!
Now.
There’s a LOT here.
I know.
And your job is not to watch all of the vids, download all of the PDFs, take all of the notes, and show up to our monthly Zoom meetings ready for your final exams on everything you had access to.
Nope. Not at all.
Your job is to show up to the monthly Zoom meetings feeling ready for the convo of how to build your creative business in as joyful a way possible, with as much ease as possible, feeling SOURCED for the work of it all.
Just knowing you have access to these resources should help you relax about how the monthly meetings are going to go.
Our goal is to talk through issues around the five principles of JFDI with Bon as they’re showing up in your business, doing some hot seat action for you and your colleagues, providing lots of support and idea-sharing with one another, leaving feeling ready to take on the next step in moving things forward… incrementally.
As of this moment (January 2022), the majority of the members of our monthly Zooms are people who jammed together from March 14th 2020 through June 30th 2020, in the pop-up offering of JFDI with Bon. We have folks who are just starting out, hoping to make their first buck with their creative business… and folks who have decades of experience already bringing in money with their creative business, looking to create some energetic shifts in the coming years.
There is no ONE perfect business and there is no “getting graded” on any of this work. You can choose to participate as much as you wish. Even if you just watch on replay, we know you’re getting what you need.
What exists on this page is each of the five principles of JFDI with Bon (one vid for each principle) and a bonus mini-version of my soon-to-be-famous 5×5 Content Planning Method. There are also PDFs and images and links to other resources peppered throughout the page.
I recommend that you start in on these vids with the goal of getting comfy with our style and being prepped for how your experience in the hot seat may go. As this is now an ongoing mastermind, we can go ANYWHERE in the convos we have. However, we want everyone well aware of what the five principles of JFDI with Bon *are* — so we can identify which of these areas may be tripping you up, from time to time.
IF you are able to hop in the hot seat with the knowledge of which of the principles is your starting point, that will help everyone help you the most. And, when you help others in the mastermind, you’ll be pulling from a similar foundation, even if you were not a part of our 2Q 2020 pop-up course.
With that, I’ll leave you to the content. Take your time. This stuff isn’t going anywhere. 😉 Just start.
And we’ll see you in the monthly pages from here, for ongoing convo before and after our monthly Zoom mastermind sessions.
See you soon!
Woo HOO! Our first module is all about the question: What’s Your Undervalued Superpower? (This is when we figure out what business you’re going to build!)
There was a live Zoom on Friday, May 1st 2020, at 10:30am PDT. Here it is, along with its chat, for you to enjoy!
~ When you’re with friends and all eyes turn to you, what are you most often talking about?
~ Look at your text history and DMs. What do people reach out to you for help with, support for, etc.?
~ Go through your Facebook GROUPS membership list. Outside of the groups you’re a member of because they help YOU get a leg up in your business pursuits, what are the groups you’re a member of… and what do they have in common? To what email lists do you subscribe for enrichment?
~ What lights you up every time you do it? Not just something you’re good at, but something that energizes you to do?
~ What product idea might you have… something that meets at least 1 of the 5 criteria for buyer motivation?
What are the 5 criteria for buyer motivation? I’m so glad you asked!
~ makes or saves someone money
~ saves someone time or effort
~ comforts someone or improves their health
~ helps someone avoid pain
~ creates the perception of status for someone
Let’s always remember module 1’s mascot Annie Potts:
You do NOT have to monetize everything that you’re good at! Make sure it lights you up, has you connecting with people you adore, and most of all… is FUN to do! (And if the only fun it gives you right now is that it puts a little money in your pocket, that’s fine. It’s only temporary, in that case.)
Keep those suits out of the writers room, y’all. 😉
Woo HOO! Our second module is all about the question: Who Benefits from Your Superpower? (This is when we use my famous targeting method on your buyers!)
This live Zoom took place on Sunday, June 7th 2020, at 12pm PDT! And you can watch it back now, right here. Yay, you! Here’s its chat for you as well.
~ Really picture your target buyer. That person who is the best fit for what you have to offer. Her life is better for having met you. She is so glad she found you… your marketing feels like the BEST THING she ever saw in her feed because it solves a problem she has.
~ Even though you have ONE specific buyer in mind for this research, you may end up creating an offering and using marketing language that attracts a broader audience. That doesn’t mean you’ve gotten anything wrong! It means your specificity is *so* on point that others feel “that’s ME” about it too.
~ Go on a deep dive research expedition to learn more about your target buyer. Name her, create a vision board for her, as you observe things in your day-to-day life really consider what HER opinion would be about everything. We will be visiting with her in future modules!
~ This is someone you should enjoy working with, who needs you, who values what you have to offer, who can afford what you’ve created, who will get results from what you’ve built, and will HAPPILY tell others about it!
~ Don’t try to convert people from the population of thirds that are NOT YOUR BUYERS. Focus on your superfan third and create things for them. Listen up about the population of thirds, here.
Of all the alchemies of human connection — sex and childbirth and marriage and friendship — the strangest is this: You can stand up and tell a story that is made entirely, embarrassingly, of “I’s,” and a listening audience somehow turns each “I” into a “me.”
The best marketing language invites an audience member to become that “me” in YOUR story… and then become a “we” by connecting with your offering. There is no manipulation. There is no intimidation. There is no selling to the pain. There is only a flow of open communication that welcomes folks to experience something more fully than they can at the free level.
AN IMPORTANT CAUTION: Once this no longer feels like dispassionate research and instead becomes a way to activate the part of your brain that wants to tell you that you’ll never be able to make this work, clock out. Back away from the computer. Go outside and breathe some fresh air. Soak in the tub. Take a nap.
I would love to see you jamming below about your ideal buyer! Break out some Brandprov and roleplay one another’s target buyers. Heck, some members of this glorious community may be able to tell you where your buyer hangs out, what communities she’s a part of, what language she uses when she talks about things that she values. JOIN THOSE COMMUNITIES and lurk like the ninja you are! Take notes!
Your ideal buyer is GIVING YOU the language to use in your marketing! We’ll get to more of that in module 5 of course. 😉
Again, when you feel your recon changing from purposeful data-diving back to mindless scrolling and comparisonitis, stop. You are no longer doing homework. Reset.
There’s a lot to do between now and module 3, so have FUN with this and enjoy the feeling of this person being THRILLED to learn your offering exists! You just made her day with your creation! That’s amazing! Start feeling that right now… because it’s coming!
All right, let me see your workout! Tag me and use #JFDIwithBon out on social media so we can all celebrate one another as we do this! I’m excited to learn so much about all your beautiful buyers! Enjoy the research. 🙂 It *will* pay off!
Woo HOO! Our third module is all about the question: What’s the Best Way for You to Deliver the Goods? (Our most techie module; this is when we geek out together!)
This live Zoom took place on Friday, June 12th 2020 at 12:30pm PDT! And you can watch it back now, right here. Yay, you! Grab you some chat too while you’re at it. 😉
Here’s some lovely homework for ya! 🙂
~ Explore some of these free and low-cost offerings to help you get your business up and running. This is just a sample of the amazing resources available (do not overwhelm yourself by going in on all of it)! Discuss in the comments below if you want to be sure you’re getting what you need (you only need a way to take money and a way to deliver the offering you’ve created… a way to email people and/or connect with them on social… SUPER basic). Digital Marketer for loads of tutorials, Loom for recording your screen, HoneyBook for contracts and payments, Zoom for holding group or 1:1 sessions, and MailChimp for your first email system. Again, do NOT get overwhelmed! Click nothing if you’re already twitchy just looking at the list. 🙂
~ Decide which level of buyer you’re first serving (eventually, you can serve them all): unaware, problem aware, solution aware, product aware, or superfan. Meet them where they are and decide where you want to take them, along the success path of your primary offering on up through offerings you’ll build toward offering later.
~ Decide which level of offering you’re rolling out first: freebie/KLT-builder, low-cost downloadable, office hours, membership/group interactive offering, done-for-you resources, one-on-one guidance. Yes, you may end up doing them all… but not all at once. There is no wrong choice. Just pick!
~ If you specifically want to grow your Facebook fanbase, Rachel Miller has an offering called 100 Perfect People. It’s $10 and you work along with her and thousands of other people in a private Facebook group. In addition to good info about how to grow your Facebook following, it’s also a study in how to run a low-cost challenge FOR your fanbase. Tell her I sent you! 🙂
~ If offering a quiz is your jam, be sure to check out ASK goodness from Ryan Levesque. He has a ton of free resources, plus a book, and obvi a ton of for-pay offerings too. Remember… a quiz is a GREAT list-building offering. In exchange for an email address, you’ll provide deeper details!
~ If a Patreon subscription feels aligned for you, check out how Chris Brennan of The Astrology Podcast does his for a low price as a tripwire into higher-priced offerings that are more exclusive. His lowest-price tripwire is simply EARLY access to things he already makes available for free, plus support materials and downloadability of all the media. I’ve also seen people providing behind-the-scenes peeks (via the “Close Friends” setting at Instagram) of their podcasting process to certain tiers of Patreon subscribers. Very cool!
~ If you’re offering an online COURSE, you’ll want to read my blog post about how learning styles play into course completion (and why you should never beat yourself up for clients who DO NOT finish what you created for them). It’s all about value framing! 🙂
~ Read Denise Duffield-Thomas’ Facebook post about the 64 courses and info products she bought online and what that taught her about sales pages and marketing language. Do NOT get intimidated by this. Your work is not to create a marketing page that competes with the level Denise is discussing! This is just a really awesome overview of what works and what NOT to do. 🙂 (Stuff we ALL can do, no matter how long we’ve been at this and no matter how much we know better. See: *whispering quietly that we have something someone maybe could buy possibly*.)
~ Your KNOWING must trump your buyer’s DOUBT. Your awareness that what you’re offering can actually help them is key. They will doubt themselves and their ability to get what they need thanks to your resources (or any resources; because it’s *self* doubt they’re dealing with here). KNOW that you can make a difference. KNOW that you can show them they shouldn’t doubt themselves. KNOW that your offering is what they need to bridge the gap. Then lead them over the bridge. 🙂 This is the work!
Remember that you’re looking for the lowest-friction option for this first lap, y’all. Do not overwhelm yourself with ALL you *could* do. Just pick something and start pancaking. 🙂 We’ve got you!
Woo HOO! Our fourth module is all about How to Price Your Offering. (Here, we tackle money mindset, your values around value, and practical pricing.)
Of course, we had a session on Wednesday, April 15th 2020 at 12pm PDT and it’s here (along with its chat).
~ How long does it take you to create the thing you are offering? Consider the actual hours spent creating it, how much time you spent invested in learning how to master it, how much you must spend to support the offering (customer service, tech, support team, admin, etc.).
~ What value does this offering create in the life of the person who consumes it? Assuming they are not blocking themselves and they are actually DOING all the things you’ve outlined for them to do, implementing the goodies you’ve given them, what is the monetary value of the improvement they’ll have in their life in exchange for the investment?
~ Without getting into comparisonitis, take a look at what the market will bear for this type of offering. What are others charging for this or something like this? What financial range is the sweetspot for this sort of thing?
~ What dollar amount would allow you to sleep soundly at night, knowing you priced with integrity, didn’t attract the WRONG BUYERS by pricing it too low and sending the wrong signals, but didn’t gouge pricing just because others in your area may choose to do so? This is where we do “heart math” and possibly invite in exceptions for very special superfans. (Do NOT make pricing exceptions for the wrong buyers! You will repel the right buyers when you do this!)
~ Don’t be afraid to offer introductory pricing, inaugural pricing, founding member pricing, early bird pricing, etc. By making the offering accessible but still fair in the exchange of value for value, you attract the right people, reward those who see the value early on, and help build your business with the exact right energy for the experience!
~ That awesome $1M graphic is here. Pricing is everything!
Bonus listening: “Building an Empire One Piece of Content at a Time” (ep. 196 of the What Works podcast). We’ll do more in the whole content creation territory during our marketing and Q&A sessions. Yay!
Bonus viewing: “How Women Sell in Business vs. Men” (and you know I go with “creatives” rather than drawing the gender line here) from Denise Duffield-Thomas. Isn’t she just adorable?
And, because examples like this are always so much fun, here’s a few shares from the “Stay out of everybody else’s wallet” department.
Continue to keep the convo going here and of course support one another with testing out your offering name, possible pricing tiers, anything you need data about!
Keep working out! Be sure you tag me and use #JFDIwithBon out on social media so we can all celebrate one another as we do this!
Woo HOO! Our fifth module is when we yell: Let’s Launch! (Ooh, baby, now you’re marketing your new offering in totally non-icky ways!)
We did a Zoom on Thursday, March 26th 2020 at 11am PDT and it’s here (along with its chat).
~ Create your “anti-person.” The person who is NOT your buyer also helps you refine the marketing language that will attract your buyer! The things that the anti-person would be allergic to are important words to put into your marketing language.
~ Write up what you want your buyer to say about working with you, buying your offering. “Every email is a sales email” is a mantra that can help you get less precious about marketing. You’re never NOT marketing in some way. You’re always telling the story — whether it’s in a newsletter, blog post, podcast episode, livestream, or social media engagement — of what it’s like to be on the journey from “pain island” to “pleasure island” with you.
~ Write up your list or essay — from your perfect person’s perspective — of life before, during, and after your offering. What words or phrases are everywhere, in this story? How can you regularly paint the picture of these stages in the journey… and does it change if the buyer is “unaware” vs. “superfan” or anywhere in between? (Hint: It does!) Why does your perfect person need you?
~ Take comfort in the fact that your work is not to try and make ALL THE PEOPLE get you, love you, want to do business with you. With 1000 true fans, you can be a millionaire! (And it may even be more like 100!) Note: The average conversion rate is 0.5% to 2% — so if your goal is 10 people buying, you need the offer to go out in front of 500 to 2000 people you’ve built the KLT factor up with over time! Get that content FLOWING, y’all!
~ If you get stuck for language, visit Visual Thesaurus as well as your DMs, text history, old emails… anytime anyone has talked about the experience of YOU (especially related to your undervalued superpower, but not exclusively), that’s fair game for language that could be in any of your marketing!
~ Thank you, Lenka, for the wonderful template for a pitch deck, when offering your services to a corporate client!
~ The Fascinate PDFs are here and here. Enjoy! But DO NOT SHARE these. They are from behind a paywall. Respect the access, please. Thank you.
I am so thrilled with all the goodness I see budding here! Please hug yourself again and be super proud of what you’ve built and what you’re continuing to build… and this is only the beginning! Yay, us! 😉
Woo HOO! This bonus session is all about content creation and setting up your editorial calendar for a whole freakin’ year. Yes, really. And it’s SO easy once you follow my 5×5 process! 🙂 Hooray!
Our bonus Zoom was Wednesday, June 24th 2020, at 12pm PDT and you can rewatch the mindmapping goodness right here. Yay! Of course, here’s the chat too.
If you’d like to experience the full course version of my soon-to-be-famous 5×5 Content Planning Method, you can get going on that here.
I’m stoked to see more of your workouts. Share your big picture theme, your categories, your breakouts, your topics, your headlines, and your destinations! As you can get things put into your content calendar for the year (or even for a few months or even weeks), you’ll never wonder what to publish when or where… because it’s all mapped out!
Remember, your offering is speeding down a busy freeway. Your buyer is on the surface streets nearby. If YOU don’t provide an onramp, you will only ever get the buyers who are brave enough to risk their lives to get up to speed with you. The work of building the KLT factor *is* you providing an onramp to what it is that you can do to make your person’s life better. It’s IMPORTANT. Consistency is EVERYTHING. Start now.
So freakin’ proud of y’all and the work you’re doing with this goodness. Thank you for keeping me inspired. Thank you for hugging yourself through this. That’s important.
Remember to tag me and use #JFDIwithBon out on social media so we can all celebrate one another as we do this! Keep rockin’ and I’ll see y’all on the next Zoom!
ONE LAST THING
Wanna see me being interviewed about how I built this exact pop-up offering?
All my love,
