Improve Your Marketing MESSAGE (How To Stop Guessing)

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Agree or disagree?

"Your message needs to come from your audience, not from your assumptions."

If it's coming from your assumptions, it's probably not going to connect.

Why? Because you need to make sure you're mirroring the language of your audience.

And How Do You Do THAT?

Well, we get this language by regularly surveying our audience asking a questions like this:

"When it come to [your subject], what's your single biggest challenge/problem/fear right now?"

We call this a deep dive survey and we talk about this A TON in our community...

Not Getting Traction?

So if you're not getting a ton of traction and sales, this is probably why.

Your messaging [and this is going to sound a bit counterintuitive]:

Needs to come from...

• Your audience, not your assumptions...
• Your community, not your cleverness...
• Your people, not your presuppositions.

Now, not everybody agrees with this practice.

In fact one of our beloved students actually pushed back on this idea in over in our private FB group last week:

She says:

"I don't believe that. Market is important. However, you have to dig deep inside of how you can serve and deliver. Marketing has no emotion to touch people. It's great for research."

So, I felt like I needed to address this and kind of contextualize it a bit.

Some Important Context

I would argue that your market is THE MOST important factor in determining your message, your content and your product...

AND that it's precisely HOW you dig deep so that you can serve and deliver.

IF you're asking your audience questions like...

"When it come to [your subject], what's your single biggest challenge/problem/fear right now?"

The responses you're going to get are going to tell you precisely what they're thinking, feeling and most importantly... the language they use to express that.

In fact, I NEVER create any new products UNTIL I deep dive survey my audience thoroughly....

(Btw, if you want an example of how I do this, just go to www.bradlong.co/dds) 

When It's ESPECIALLY Important

Now this idea that "your message needs to come from...

Your audience, not your assumptions...

REALLY comes into play particularly when it comes to course creation.

What I'm not saying is that EVERYTHING needs to come from your audience. No.

I'm quite sure you already have some pretty solid product ideas...

And we'll talk more about that in terms of "broccoli" in a couple of minutes.

You just want to make sure your product is what you're audience actually wants, SO THAT you can make sure they're going to land.

What I'm NOT Saying...

So again, what I'm NOT saying is that EVERYTHING needs to come from your audience.

What I AM Saying...

What I AM saying is that the language, the emotion and the passion they use to express their problems and steer your content and your products in the right direction is PIVOTAL, especially when it comes to the content and marketing of that course.

And NOT involving the audience in this conversation is a HUGE mistake I and so many others make, ESPECIALLY when it comes to course our creation.

Why? Because we all have our "pet ideas" we're absolutely sure will work.

My audience will say things like this all the time...

"But Brad, I already have SO MANY course ideas ready to go."

Totally get it, but you don't want to do it that way.

Instead, I want to propose that you do it this way...

👊 The Course Creation Success Path 👊

(aka: How to build a product "with" your audience instead of just "for" them...

So that you're building something they'll ACTUALLY want to buy...)

1. Start with something you already teach...

• *Example: "6 Steps To..."
• *One of your frameworks or processes...

2. Teach it as a free (live or recorded) workshop.

• *Go granular, but don't "give it all away"
• *Offer a "go deeper" cohort at the end

3. Create a "beta cohort" offer at the end of your workshop.

• *For people who want the "next level"
• *Create your 4-6 week deep dive into the material
• *Do a Kickoff Call before the program starts
• *Add a bonus week at the end (pitch another offer there)
• *Pick a launch date and "Just Do It Live"
• *Include a weekly Q&A.
• *Incessantly ask for weekly feedback

4. Offer it for free OR a discount, BUT make sure to explicitly ask for:

• *Weekly Feedback
• *1:1 Feedback at the end
• *Testimonials
• *Ongoing Case Studies

Don't be shy about asking for feedback, testimonials, etc....

• You're offering value for free or discount...
• This is about idea validation...
• And is a "quid pro quo"...
• For your audience...

THIS is how you validate your course idea AND

Build it WITH your audience...

This process is rock solid and will help you to...

Get out of your own head and into your customers'...

And, it's a way to tests what's in your head to see if...

That's what your audience ACTUALLY wants...

Your Ideas = Broccoli

What They Want = Chocolate

The Solution = Chocolate Covered Broccoli

Just remember:

💡Your course should come from your audience not your assumptions...

💡Your course should come from your community not your cleverness...

💡Your course should come from your enthusiasts not your imagination...

💡Your product ideas should come from your people, not your perceptions...

So, do you agree or disagree?

That's all for now,

Brad