Hey, how's everything going??
We've got some great gold nuggets for you this week so let's dive right in...
1. FBM EXPERT TIP: HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF BEING ON CAMERA
The first piece for this week is from our resident Linchpin funnel expert, James Curran.
If you know the value of recording video content but find yourself resisting getting on camera, this is for you...
"At the beginning of my business, I did NOT get on camera.
I would occasionally make posts, but I mostly focused on serving people who were already in pain.
Then one day I received a challenge to post daily and have been all in ever since!
Here's how you can too:
- Get an accountability partner and agree to a consequence that involves a loss of status
- Use a simple copywriting framework like Eric Thayne's 60 Second Perfect Webinar and use it exclusively
- Record each line as a separate video, trim the edges and bad takes, and stitch them together into a single edit
This lets you mess up as much as you want while also not coming off as "reading" with a teleprompter app.
If you got over this stumbling block and were actually able to post daily to the people you're called to serve, how much different would you feel?
How much more of an impact could you make?"
Theory is great, but the hardest part for most people is putting the theory into practice.
So, if you'd like James to take your funnels to a whole new level of success and give you more tips on getting yourself on camera, check out his profile here and send him a message!
2. MARKETING TIP OF THE WEEK: REACH YOUR CUSTOMERS ON SITES THEY TRUST
While there are over a billion websites out there, only a few are trusted by the masses.
Is it possible for you to capitalize on these websites' trust and popularity to boost your marketing efforts?
Certainly!
While most people in our world talk about advertising on social media, one HUGELY popular option that never gets discussed is running native ads.
Native ads are a form of paid ads that match the look, feel, and function of the media format where they appear. They fit “natively” and seamlessly on the web page.
There are several different native ad platforms such as Taboola, Outbrain, AdRoll, and more.
Most allow you to advertise your business on a wide range of truly impactful websites, from Bloomberg to NBC and USA Today, and place it in front of the most targeted audience.
This, in turn, increases user engagement and boosts performance. So you can earn more for every media dollar you spend.
Brands like Pandora, Eargo, and Lifeboost Coffee have seen better results on native ads than elsewhere:
- Pandora: +130% conversion rate
- Lifeboost Coffee: 700% ROAS
- Eargo: +35% Purchase Conversion Rate
If you're not seeing the results you'd like with social media ads, it's something to consider and something our marketing experts can help you with here!
3. COMMUNITY MEMBER TIP: HOW TO BUILD AND SELL A STARTUP IN UNDER 1 YEAR
Nico Jeannen built a startup idea and sold it for £200K just 11 months later.
Here is Nico's story of how he did it...
The idea
"I got the idea when trying to write a tweet using Google Doc's transcription tool, which was terrible.
I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one too lazy to type. I made my own solution, using AI to transcribe and reformat voice notes into any kind of content. I called it Talknotes, mainly because it was the only domain available!
Validation
My rule is to only reinvest what the project generates. After listing on startup directories and posting on X, I generated $700 in 10 days. It wasn't much, but it was enough to show interest and keep me motivated.
I added features requested by users, but the launch effect wore off, so daily revenue dropped to $0 after a few weeks. I almost gave up, but friends encouraged me to continue.
In October, I launched on Product Hunt. It blew up! It hit the number one Product of the Day, and reached $1.5K MRR, thanks to media coverage.
Then, I launched ads on Facebook, and I implemented a feedback loop:
1. Get new users.
2. Learn about them through onboarding.
3. Create more ads based on onboarding data.
This doubled MRR in just a few months.
Burnout and sale
In May, I had bad burnout after emergency bug fixes. This made it hard to work on the app. At this point, MRR was ~$7K, and total revenue was ~$70K.
I listed it on Acquire.com for $200K, which was a very good price for the buyer, considering revenue and growth. I could've gotten $300K with buyer financing or earn-outs, but I wanted cash. $200K today was more appealing to me than $300K a year from now.
Everything was smooth until we tried using Escrow, which almost messed up the deal. Long story short, we had to threaten them with legal action, and told them that we'd also create a sponsored post on X explaining what they did. They sent the refund the very next day, and we completed the transfer directly.
Now, this isn't an overnight success. It's the result of seven years of grinding. I've launched over 40 projects since I started, and most of them failed. I often work 100 hours per week, and I don't go out or meet many people. It's not for everyone, but I'm good with it!"
4. FUNNEL OF THE WEEK:
To sell for $200,000, Talknote needed to have a professional-looking landing page to inspire confidence in the buyer, so I've chosen that as the funnel this week.
Check it out below. It's very clean and well-organized:
Two interesting things I noticed are:
1. A lot of SAAS companies have this same purple styling. It looks nice. I wonder if it impacts conversions.
2. At the top of the page it says 'Trusted by +10,000 happy users'. Knowing the behind-the-scenes usage info, this sounds like a stretch, to say the least. I'd imagine this is another common practice and one that definitely impacts conversion rates.
5. FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
"If you're stuck on an idea... write. It feels counterintuitive to write when you're stuck. But writing unlocks thinking"
- Evie Chapman
And that wraps up newsletter 98.
Be sure to join us back here in two weeks. I'm going out looking for gold as we speak!
Lee
So close yet so far.