Time is precious, so why waste it on tasks that you don’t have to do yourself?

Whether you’re formatting notes from meetings, managing your leads or just sharing posts on social media, your day can quickly be overrun with menial tasks. Sure, you could outsource these to a VA, but your dollars could be better spent using platforms for tasks that do not require actual human input.

For example, instead of having someone create an invoice, format it up, then send it off, you can jot down the important details and have a machine do all the work for you.

Still, business automation through integration with platforms like Zapier can be a bit of a handful at first, and to get the most out of it you need a little inspiration to see the possibilities. So, let me give you a head start and highlight five common tasks to automate for a company of any size to save time and focus on the work that matters.

Organizing meeting notes

Meetings are best when they encourage productivity, but having to take time to organize and format your notes after every meeting completely counteracts your productivity goal.

The solution? Use Zapier to automatically shift your meeting notes into a format you’ll use.

For example, when my team has a meeting we’ll run our meeting checklist – a quick list which helps us stay on track and lets me take notes as we go along, including links to recordings of work that is presented.

Once the meeting wraps, I tick off the final step in the checklist and Zapier automatically pulls the notes and links from it and formats them into a snippet which is sent as a message to our Slack channel.

In other words, I take notes, then Zapier formats and pastes them into Slack. It’s a relatively short time saver, but with 4 meetings a week it more than builds up (both in time saved and keeping me productive by not messing around with notes).

Generating invoices

Invoices are not only a bit of a pain to create for every payday, but if they’re not done correctly (e.g. a new employee doesn’t quite understand what it needs to include) then the results can be disastrous.

So, we took out human error and now automatically generate perfect invoices every time.

Once again, we use a checklist to record the important information (invoice, client, and personal details), tick off the final task, then Zapier formats it into a document ready to send off. You could even go one step further and use a multi-step Zap to send the document to a set email address!

Creating new documents

Much like formatting meeting notes, creating new documents isn’t a huge time waster – the trouble lies in the potential to break you out of your workflow. Do that, and it’ll take you the better part of half an hour to get back into the swing of things.

We manage our projects using Trello, with separate boards for blog posts, guest posts, and knowledge base updates. Each board contains columns (“Ideas”, “In Progress”, “Needs Review”, etc), and each task we have becomes a card in those columns. For instance, when we start working on a blog post we’ll move it from the “Ideas” column to the “In Progress” column.

That creates an opportunity. Zapier can detect when a card has been moved in Trello, meaning when we move something we can trigger a new document to be created and save ourselves the trouble.

You don’t even need to search for the new document yourself, as Zapier can paste a link straight back to it in a Trello card’s comments. Easy.

Triggering checklists

I’ve talked a little about using checklists to trigger automations, but the same is true in reverse – you can trigger checklists to run when an action in another app is taken.

At the cost of a little setup time, you can automatically trigger any of your documented processes to run when a relevant trigger is detected.

For example, you could run a pre-publish checklist for each blog post put in your “waiting review” Trello column, an image creation checklist for new tasks added to a specific board.

Your imagination is literally the limit.

Social media sharing

Social media channels are fantastic for gaining extra exposure, creating a dedicated audience, and getting your readers engaged. Having said that, manually sharing material can easily amount to a full-time job.

Buffer is a brilliant way to stock up a chunk of posts to share over time, but we can go one step further in taking the work out of your social media sharing. By integrating Evernote (or any other note taking app of your choice) with Buffer, you can automatically move items into Buffer to be scheduled for sharing.

That way, rather than having to open Buffer and add posts, you can instantly schedule it by saving it in Evernote as you find it. This will require you to set up a filter (you don’t want to share every note you make in Evernote) in Zapier, but this can easily be done so notes with a particular tag are sent to Buffer.

Automation cannot do everything – it can’t write an engaging post from scratch, and it can’t send personalized guest post pitches. However, with these systems as a base and a little creativity, you’ll be well on your way to cutting the shovel work out of your organization.

What tasks do you automate? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Guest post provided by Benjamin Brandall. Brandall runs content marketing at Process Street, where he writes on startups, SaaS, and workflows.

The post 5 Tasks You Can Automate to Focus on What Matters appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

A virtual summit is when you interview several experts around a central theme with interviews being released over a set window of time to participants. A virtual summit might also be referred to as a telesummit with all interviews conducted via phone or you may opt for a video summit.

Each guest expert promotes the virtual summit to their list allowing you to reach a larger combined audience.

There are many reasons to host a virtual summit:

• Build credibility… and your brand
• Become seen as an influencer in your industry
• Grow your list… attract clients
• Generate income… fill programs and sell products
• Increase invitations to speak at events

The most common reason for hosting a virtual summit is list growth. Regardless of your business stage, just getting started or an established expert, you will always need to infuse your list with a fresh pool of potential clients seeking the support you provide.

If your main goal is list growth, you still achieve all the other benefits when you host a virtual summit.

Here are 7 steps to hosting a virtual summit that will build your brand, grow your list, and multiply your sales:

7-Step Virtual Summit Blueprint

Step #1: Determine the virtual summit theme to best attract your target audience

You are hosting this virtual summit to grow your list, BUT you don’t want to attract just anyone to your list. You want to attract your target market. People seeking the products and services you provide.

You must ensure your virtual summit focus will be of interest to your target market.

What problem(s) are they trying to solve? What solution(s) can you provide via a virtual summit?

What will be of value to them?

Example themes:

• How to be a client attraction magnet
• Finding the perfect partner
• How to increase virtual sales
• Menopause survival
• Thyroid wellness
• Creative leadership skills for women
• Parenting teens so they are well equipped for college
• How to hone direct sales skills

When determining your virtual summit theme ask yourself: “Is the person who would want to attend this virtual summit and learn this information going to be a person interested in the programs and services I offer?”

Step #2: Select the right guest experts to ensure a wide-reaching virtual summit

Invite guest experts that are not only well-known in your industry but active in the online world. The success of a virtual summit is contingent on the combined list reach of your guest experts. They need to have their own email list.

A social media following is a bonus, but social media promotion is significantly less effective than email promotion. Do not accept speakers that have no email list or who are unwilling to promote the summit via email.

There are exceptions to the rule, such as a big-name speaker where simply having them participate would be a major draw for your audience.

I cannot emphasize enough this an exception, not the rule.

Does the speaker have…

• An audience interested in your summit topic?
• Does the speaker have a significant following/list size?
• Does the speaker understand the promotional requirements to send at least 1 or 2 solo emails?

It is critical your experts send a minimum of one solo email promoting the summit. You will see greater results if you require two solo emails from each guest expert. One pre-summit and one the day their interview releases.

Research potential speakers before sending invitations.

They need to have an opt-in form on their website and it should say more than “join our mailing list”.

Sign up for their list and monitor emails. Are they emailing their list? If not, then it doesn’t matter what their list size is, they are not engaged with them.

Check social media reach. Do NOT go on social media alone, but this gives you an idea if they are active online and might be a good guest. Again, social media promotion does NOT replace solo email promotion.

And finally… ask. In your invitation email, be upfront about list size and promotion requirements for participating.

Step #3: Secure an experienced support team

There are many moving pieces as your plan and prepare to how a virtual summit. You will be more successful if you secure an experienced support team.

If you have never hosted a virtual summit, surround yourself with a team who has experience with virtual summits.

Here are potential team members needed to host your virtual summit and example tasks each team member will handle.

Virtual Assistant

• Set up and send speaker release
• Create lists/tags in list management system
• Set up summit affiliate program and generate affiliate URLs
• Set up and schedule summit emails

Web Developer

• Develop all summit web pages
• Release/pull interviews during summit window

Graphic Designer

• Provide all design files and summit style guide to web developer
• Create images for promotion

Copywriter

• Web page copy
• Summit emails
• Promotional copy

Video Editor

• Edit video interviews

Transcriptionist

• Transcribe audios

Summit Manager

• Coordinate tasks with team members
• Answer team and speaker questions
• Provide examples
• Monitor and follow up on summit promotion

Step #4: Virtual summit opt-in page creation

The opt-in page should focus on the problem people are joining the virtual summit to solve, your personal connection to the problem (why you are hosting this virtual summit), and move into the guest experts that are going to provide the answers.

The summit opt-in page must quickly convey why potential participants should opt-in. Have the problem/solution you are providing front and center in the headline and sub-heading.

Make sure the opt-in page copy includes:

1. Summit dates
2. Space for an opt-in form to be located above the fold
3. Clear language that this is a free virtual event (i.e. participate from anywhere)

The opt-in page will include all your guest expert headshots, names, and interview titles, along with two to three opt-in box locations spaced throughout the page.

If you are adept with video, include a two- to three-minute video on the opt-in page to increase opt-in page conversion rates. Use the video to further convey your message, the problem, how you are providing the solution, and why they need to opt-in now.

Step #5: Facilitate and monitor virtual summit promotion

Speaker and affiliate promotion

Make promotion effortless for your guest experts and summit affiliates. Provide swipe copy and images for promotional purposes.

Experts and affiliates may opt to tweak the copy to fit their voice and audience as they see fit.

Swipe copy you provide includes:

1. Pre-summit solo email
2. Day summit starts or day interview airs solo email
3. Newsletter highlight
4. Facebook status updates
5. Twitter status updates

Deliver swipe copy a minimum of one week before promotion starts. Be respectful of your guest’s time. Do not send the copy the day before summit promotion is to begin. Allow adequate time for them to review the copy, tweak it as they choose, and then pass on to their team for setting up and scheduling.

You compromise summit results if you deliver promotional copy last minute.

Use an affiliate platform to generate a unique affiliate/tracking URL for each guest expert and summit affiliate.

Provide a unique affiliate URL to each guest expert and summit affiliate with instructions to utilize the affiliate URL in all their promotion. The affiliate URL will redirect to the virtual summit opt-in page.

Select an affiliate platform that provides clicks, leads, and sales data.

Monitor guest expert and affiliate stats throughout the promotional window. Follow up as needed.

Remind speakers and affiliate regularly about promotion.

1. Follow up the day summit promotion begins.
2. Touch base the day before their solo email(s) is to send
3. Send a reminder day one of the summit
4. Follow up the day before their interview airs

Host promotion

You do not promote the virtual summit heavily to your list. However, send at least one invitation to your list. The summit is an additional opportunity to provide value to your current audience and further build your relationship with them. Some of your summit sales will come from those already on your list.

You will promote heavily on social media. Write and schedule status updates to send consistently throughout your summit promotional window and summit week.

You may also post the summit to one or two event list services.

Create tracking links for each platform so you know what worked and what did not for driving traffic.

A virtual summit is a tool you can use over and over again to bring in a fresh infusion of potential clients. Track data summit to summit to continually improve results.

Step #6: Engage with participants throughout the virtual summit

Each day of the virtual summit, send an email providing an outline of that’s days interview(s) and where to access.

Each daily email should include:

1. Schedule for the summit
2. Link to access current day interviews
3. Invitation to Facebook page to engage
4. Invitation to purchase the summit package

Be present on your Facebook page throughout the summit. Engage with participants as they post comments and questions. Post your own takeaways from each interview.

Copy or take screen shots of comments that can be utilized in daily summit emails and/or post-summit emails.

Monitor your support email and respond to participant questions.

Monitor your summit web page to ensure all interviews release and pull as needed.

Step #7: Cash in on post virtual summit sales

Don’t drop the ball and skip post-summit promotion. Most summit sales typically occur post-summit.

The summit has wrapped. People are raving about the quality content and lessons learned.

Many participants likely did not get to listen to all the interviews.

They want access.

Increase post-summit sales by having a time sensitive offer. For example, they must purchase the summit package before the price increases on a set date and time.

Include testimonials, feedback, comments you received from summit participants strategically in your post-summit promotion emails.

Your post-summit promotion period should wrap three to five days post-summit and should include approximately three to four post-summit emails. These emails should recap summit content, share participant feedback, and invite participants to purchase the summit package for unlimited access.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson

The post FREE Virtual Summit Blueprint appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

I enjoy the clients I support, but I also enjoy the creative side of running a business. I must consistently come back and remind myself to implement these three strategies to increase productivity and consistently grow my business every day.

As we discuss each strategy, my reference to a “to-do” list does not encompass all the tasks/work/email conversations you are performing for clients. I am referring to the tasks you need (or want!) to complete to further grow and develop your business.

#1 Start the day WITHOUT email.

Do NOT start your day by opening your email inbox. Instead, dedicate the first hour of each day to working on your business.

The minute you open your email inbox you can be sucked down various rabbit holes and before you know it the day is ending and you completed nothing on your business to do list.

Do not have your email inbox as the home page of your internet browser. Instead, have your calendar as the home page. Review your tasks and activities for the day and select one or two business tasks you can complete. Complete those tasks, remove them from the to-do list, and then open your email inbox.

Examples of tasks you could complete without distraction…

1. Write a blog post
2. Write and send a newsletter
3. Record a teleclass
4. Research and outline a program module
5. Reach out to potential clients to schedule a strategy session (May require email, so approach cautiously… will need to implement blinders if you enter your email inbox!)

This is not a time to multi-task. One hour of dedicated work. One task at a time.

#2 Maintain an organized to-do list.

A never ending to do list is just a fact of life. You will always have something you need to do. However, everything on that list is not critical right now.

If you want to be productive and efficient you need an organized system. A bunch of post-it notes, plus notes on your phone, plus notes in various emails, and so on isn’t going to cut it.

One location.
Everything listed.
Easy drag and drop feature to reorganize
Quick access for adding/deleting

Have a consistent, easy to manage location where you keep track of all to do’s. I manage tasks via project management systems and google calendar. Google calendar is my hub.

Maybe you need to start your productivity journey with one hour tomorrow morning getting yourself organized. :)

Once you can see everything you need to do, you assess and move the three highest priorities to the top of your list. Focus at least the first hour of every day on these top priorities. Once complete, reassess priorities and move on to the next set.

#3 Break down big tasks into smaller steps.

Some tasks will be on the to-do list for months. This isn’t necessarily bad, but if you have something hanging over your head and causing your anxiety because it isn’t done, stop and assess the task.

Is the task too big and daunting? If so, breaking it down into smaller steps will allow you to move forward.

For example, “host a webinar on xyz” is a big task. I’m speaking from experience on this task. This has been hanging over my head and causing me angst for a few months now. I finally dug in and broke it down into smaller chunks and I’m seeing the light. For example, individual components would be…

1. Research and select webinar platform
2. Write webinar opt-in page copy
3. Create webinar script
4. Create webinar slides
5. Write reminder emails

You get the point. Big projects need to be broken down to make them more manageable. Plus, I’m all about checklists and I’m happiest when I can check a task off as done!

Increase productivity and get more done

Where do you struggle? Do you have any great strategies you implement to consistently stay on track?

All the best,
Lisa Nelson

The post 3 Steps to Increase Productivity and Get More Done appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

Blab.im is no longer available. This platform provided multi-person livestreaming. It worked well for interviews or panel style videos.

There are also rumors google hangouts is going away.

Some alternate options…

Zoom Video Conferencing

This system works well for virtual trainings, virtual summit interviews, and client masterminds.

A perk of this platform is the ease of use for your guests. It’s mostly “click a link to join” format. Plus, you can easily pull the mp3 from the video file. Great for virtual summits.

Facebook Live

A multi-person livecast version has not been released, but is highly anticipated.

A problem with Facebook Live… when do you start presenting content? You don’t want to begin until you have a decent audience, but those who arrive early get tired of listening to “filler” information and leave before you really get started.

Facebook is to release a feature resolving this issue. In addition to a multi-person livecast, Facebook is to release waiting rooms and pre-scheduled broadcasts so attendees can assemble before the live-stream starts.

Livestream

This video live streaming platform has been available since 2007, which means you aren’t dealing with a lot of kinks new services are still ironing out. You pay for the service and get access to a dedicated support team.

Other services to consider:

Appear.in
Huzza.io
Crowdcast.io

Do you have a live streaming platform you use and love? If so, please click reply and share. I’m always looking for good resources. :)

All the best,
Lisa Nelson

The post Are google hangouts going away? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

Summits and giveaways leverage the lists of your guest speakers/contributors to grow your own list.

What is a virtual summit?

A virtual summit is when you interview a group of experts on a specific topic. Interviews can be live or pre-recorded, video or audio, and may last anywhere from ~30-60 minutes. Interviews are released daily over about five days and are available for free to all participants during the replay period.

One summit example is the Creating Unstoppable Teens event. Maggie hosted 20 experts all focused on helping teens develop the skills they need to thrive in and out of the classroom. This event was targeted to the parents of teens, which is her target audience.

What is a giveaway?

A giveaway is when you coordinate with a group of experts to “gift” services or products for free to all participants during the giveaway window. The giveaway window may range from one week to several weeks.

A giveaway example is the Done4You Giveaway. This giveaway is targeted to business owners and provides a wide range of business and marketing gifts.

Effective, quality list growth

You seek list growth so you have a larger audience to offer your services to and increase business profits.

These events can grow your lists by thousands over a few weeks. However, the quality of those subscribers varies… will they become paying clients?

For both, you want to make sure the summit or giveaway target audience is specific to and interested in a problem your business can help them solve. You want participants to be interested and in need of additional support you can provide post event.

A negative I see is the giveaway mindset. It revolves a lot around “free”. Participants come because they are getting something for free. Who doesn’t love to get something for free?

These individuals often grab the gifts and run… unsubscribing after they download the gifts that appeal to them.

Of course, that doesn’t apply to everyone who opts in. There are participants looking for support in a particular area and the giveaway provides the opportunity to learn and test drive new service providers to see who may be a good fit to hire.

But… do you want to attract a high number of freebie seekers or people willing to invest to get what they want?

Now, virtual summits are also free events, but from a slightly different perspective. It’s not quite the same “yes, because it’s free” mentality. Participants have to invest their time within set constraints to gain access to the free information you are providing. The event topic must directly address a problem they are working to solve and the interview series must be appealing enough that they are ready and willing to “spend” their time to receive the information.

A positive aspect of hosting a virtual summit is the ability to establish a relationship with participants. They will hear your voice in a telesummit or even see and hear you in a video summit. This allows them to get to know you on a couple levels which is a part of the “know, like, and trust factor” you often need to establish before a new client is willing to purchase your services.

Granted, not everyone who opts in for a summit will actively participate and you will have people unsubscribe just as you do with a giveaway.

Other benefits to hosting a virtual summit

List growth is not the sole benefit of hosting a summit. Summits increase your visibility and establish you as an expert in your field. By simply surrounding yourself with other key people in your industry you become seen as a leader in your industry.

Hosting a summit will open the door for speaking engagements and joint venture opportunities to further grow your business post event.

A summit also allows you to create a digital product you can package during the event or post event as a program now available for purchase.

These are some benefits you do not necessarily receive when hosting a giveaway.

Virtual summit vs. giveaway: Which is right for you?

Hosting a summit comes with a few more benefits, but you have to decide if those benefits outweigh the cons for you. For example, a giveaway allows you to avoid public speaking, which for some may be a significant con. However, if you want to quickly move new subscribers into paying clients post event, the time invested into interviews and allowing participants to get to know you faster may be well worth it for your business.

What questions do you have about hosting a virtual summit?

There are a few Virtual Summit Strategic Planning Sessions available.

CLICK HERE to secure your session.

If you have questions about hosting an event, you’ll get answers. You’ll receive guidance to ensure you are taking appropriate action to ensure a successful event. You’ll also receive information on support packages available to help you deliver the event you envision.

Lisa Nelson
Detail Project Management

P.S. Get answers to questions. Receive guidance so you plan a successful virtual summit. Learn about support options. CLICK HERE to secure your Virtual Summit Strategic Planning Sessions.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The post Virtual Summit vs. Giveaway: Which is More Effective to Quickly Grow Your List? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

How do you make a return on investment with a Virtual Summit? Here are just 3 ways:

1. Event upgrades

The purpose behind the virtual summit is often list growth. Therefore, it is a free event anyone can attend, but access to each interview is limited to a 24 or 48-hour replay period. If you miss an interview or want to re-listen to a particularly useful segment, you may purchase the event upgrade package. The upgrade package might include downloadable mp3s, transcripts, a bonus gift collection, and/or special q&a only available to those who upgrade. An upgrade package often costs $97 during the event period with a price increase post event.

2. Affiliate commissions

You may sign up as an affiliate for each of your speakers. Your speakers offer a gift to your participants. Participants opt in for their gift and then move through that speakers sales funnel. You make a commission on any connected sales.

3. Post summit program launch

This is where the bulk of your virtual summit income will be made. After the virtual summit wraps, you invite event participants to take the next step towards solving their problem. The solution is packaged as a group coaching program or 3-part webinar series or something else that allows you to deliver the answer they seek. Once the program wraps, you then offer a higher level program that further increase your return on investment.

Want to make sure you are setting your virtual summit up for success?

#1 Rookie Mistake Even Pros Make When Hosting a Virtual Summit (And the Simple Steps How to Avoid It!)

If you don’t get this right, you could put together an amazing line up of experts, but then have practically NO ONE attend your virtual summit. If you do your research and plan properly, which I walk you through in #1 Rookie Mistake Even Pros Make When Hosting a Virtual Summit (And the Simple Steps How to Avoid It!, your list build can be greater than you even anticipated!

CLICK HERE to access.

All the best,

Lisa Nelson
Detail Project Management

P.S. Receive instant access to “#1 Rookie Mistake Even Pros Make When Hosting a Virtual Summit (And the Simple Steps How to Avoid It!)” here.

The post How do you make money with a Virtual Summit? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

This is a main obstacle you may face when planning for a virtual summit.

• How do you find speakers for the virtual summit?
• How do you secure big name speakers?
• How do you get speakers to accept if this is your first time and you don’t have other speakers yet lined up?
• What can you do to attract speakers to leverage their lists if you have no list yourself?

Let’s shift the way you are thinking when it comes to speaker invitations for a virtual summit.

Your list size is not really relevant.

Part of the agreement when you confirm a guest speaker is that they will invite their list via a set number of solo emails.

Therefore, you are leveraging the lists of your guest speakers.

For example, guest A has a list of 3000… you now have access to a list of 3000 for this event. Guest B has a list of 4000… you now have access to a list of 7000 for this event. Every speaker you add increases your event list size reach.

This leverage is one of the reasons why virtual summits are so effective at quickly growing your list.

That being said, you do have an initial hurdle to cross… confirming your first one or two speakers. After that it is easier to approach remaining speakers because you can then “name drop” speakers already participating in the event.

When you brainstorm and then research your speakers… rank them.

A-lister: List size greater than 10000
B-lister: List size of 5000 to 10000
C-lister: List size 3000-5000
D-lister: List size 1000-3000

Granted, your ranking right now is an educated guess based off your research. Regardless, rank your speakers as best you can and start by reaching out to some C-listers. After you have a few confirmed “yeses” for your event, move on to target B-listers, and then finally work to secure one or two A-listers.

Make sense?

Want to make sure you are setting your virtual summit up for success?

#1 Rookie Mistake Even Pros Make When Hosting a Virtual Summit (And the Simple Steps How to Avoid It!)

If you don’t get this right, you could put together an amazing line up of experts, but then have practically NO ONE attend your virtual summit. If you do your research and plan properly, which I walk you through in #1 Rookie Mistake Even Pros Make When Hosting a Virtual Summit (And the Simple Steps How to Avoid It!, your list build can be greater than you even anticipated!

CLICK HERE to access.

All the best,

Lisa Nelson
Detail Project Management

P.S. Receive instant access to “#1 Rookie Mistake Even Pros Make When Hosting a Virtual Summit (And the Simple Steps How to Avoid It!)” here.

The post How do you invite virtual summit speakers if you have no list? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

There are many reasons to host an event:

• Build credibility
• Become seen as an influencer in your industry
• Grow your list… attract clients
• Generate income… fill programs and sell products
• Increase invitations to speak at events

The most common reason for hosting an event is list growth. FYI – You still get all the other benefits even if your main goal is list growth. :)

They work because you are leveraging the lists of others in your industry. You could have a small list and you can still host an event. Your list size doesn’t matter, because you are capitalizing on the lists of your guests.

Virtual summits are an excellent launch platform to drastically grow your business in a relatively short period of time. You not only grow your list of potential clients, you instantly position yourself as an influencer in your industry.

By surrounding yourself with other key people in your industry, you immediately accelerate your ascension as a thought leader within that industry.

The virtual summit puts you at the summit!

You start collaborating with other who's who in the industry and by the virtue of doing so you become one of them. Immediately.

So it's a total bypass of a huge credibility building curve. What would take you two years, can take you three months.

However, hosting a virtual summit is a major undertaking with many moving parts.

What questions do you have about hosting a virtual summit?

Summer is the ideal time to brainstorm and complete initial prep for a fall event.

There are a few Virtual Summit Strategic Planning Sessions available.

CLICK HERE to secure your session.

If you have questions about hosting an event, you'll get answers. You'll receive guidance to ensure you are taking appropriate action to ensure a successful event. You'll also receive information on support packages available to help you deliver the event you envision.

Lisa Nelson
Detail Project Management

P.S. Get answers to questions. Receive guidance so you plan a successful virtual summit. Learn about support options. CLICK HERE to secure your Virtual Summit Strategic Planning Sessions.

The post What questions do you have about hosting a virtual summit? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

I’ve heard these “words of wisdom” from various sources in the business world. I’ve always struggled to fully accept this way of thinking.

You want to make sure the systems you use to run your business do not hinder your business growth. True. BUT you also want to manage your finances wisely and committing to high monthly overhead costs while building up your client base might be foolish…especially if you have a large learning curve when it comes to your target market, marketing strategies, what works/what doesn’t. It could be a chunk of time before your monthly income covers your overhead costs…let alone leaves you money to live on.

Plus, as a business develops, it evolves. When you are just getting started the vision you have for your business could do a complete 360. If you select a system for where you want to be…it may not be the right system in the end.

The systems you need will change as your business grows.

When getting started you can often successfully combine two or three platforms to meet your needs while you learn how online marketing works, such as Mailchimp or Aweber for list management paired with PayPal for ecommerce. All low cost investments that are manageable while sales and marketing strategies start to build.

Now, your business will reach a stage where you are ready to up level and you should step back and really look at your business systems first.

Is it time for a change?

Do you need more functionality…affiliate program, automatic marketing system based on subscriber actions, more robust follow-up system or client management?

Or you may find what you have is really all you need. Don’t assume you MUST pay for a high dollar system simply because you have a thriving business. Also, don’t automatically purchase what everyone else is using. Investigate and purchase what is right for your business and your long term goals.

For a good year or more I’ve been itching to upgrade to Office Auto Pilot. I’ve utilized the system when working with various clients. I love the bells and whistles of what you can do. I WANT it! However, I always step back and look at my business…where do sales come from, what is my current follow-up system, do I need to change it to bring in more revenue? I always come back to the same answer, no. I want it, but I don’t NEED it.

Your systems are the foundation of your business. You want a solid foundation. This is not the place to try and cut corners to save a few dollars.

Invest wisely.

Step back and look at your systems…

What do you use for list management? Is it working well? If you want your business to grow, do you need a new system?

What do you use for ecommerce? Again, is it working? Do you need a system that works better in order to reach your business goals?

With the right systems (and depending on your business), you should see…

• Daily new subscribers
• Systematic marketing
• Timely client follow-up
• $’s made “while sleeping”

If your systems are not working, it’s time to investigate and invest in the right option(s).

Poor systems equal a poor foundation equaling lost $’s, dissatisfied customers, and struggles growing your business.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson

P.S. When analyzing your systems and business needs, ask yourself, “Is it a system I can use?” Meaning, do you have the technical skills needed to jump in and make an edit? Could you set up and send a quick email if needed? This post script is geared towards InfusionSoft, which is a robust system meeting many business needs. Great if you have a skilled team that supports you and you do NOT need to use the system yourself. More challenging if you like to be hands on and struggle with tech.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The post Are you using the right business systems? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.

I’ve started utilizing Facebook ads as a means to grow my email list and generate more sales.

This is for a heart health branch of my business. I’ve sorely neglected the Facebook page for this business. Created the page probably 2 years ago and it achieved a whopping 30 likes over 2 years. Yes, pathetic.

Well, I set my business goals for this year and I’m on a mission to more than double my annual sales from one home study program.

Bing ads flop

Played with Bing ads for a few weeks. Even spent time consulting with their support team to get everything set up just right on two ads I was running and it still wouldn’t track results. If you can’t track…you are wasting time and dollars! Nixed that avenue, purchased a Facebook training course and I like where I’m headed.

Facebook ads success

Implemented my first like ad a few days ago and I’m already up to 500 likes! Now that’s what I’m talking about.

Each like is costing only $0.18. Here’s a screenshot of the ad:

Very pleased with the ability to target a specific audience and the insights provided by Facebook on who likes you page is wonderful.

As soon as I hit 1000 likes, I’m going to run a new ad to entice my fans to opt in for my free ecourse, which then takes them through my sales funnel. Guess what? It costs less to run an ad targeting your own page fans than it does to target the Facebook community as a whole.

That is worth repeating…you will save money on Facebook ads by first getting your target audience to like your page. Then run Facebook ads targeting just your Facebook page fans for lower cost ad conversions.

The post Are you using Facebook ads to grow your email list? appeared first on Detail Project Management | Lisa Nelson.