Discover how to quickly create content that converts
As you may have noticed there are a lot of gurus preaching about how to make money online. Some are great and provide real value, some are super shady and are just trying to make a quick buck.
Justin Welsh is the perfect example of an expert who authentically provides real value in a practical way. He skips all the fluff and instead focuses on sharing content that you can immediately apply to grow your brand and revenue.
In late 2019 after burning out in the corporate world, Justin started creating content on LinkedIn with the idea of being a consultant for SAS companies. But after experiencing success with his writing and content, he started building online businesses in addition to his consulting work.
Now, as a solopreneur, he’s made over $1.3 million from online courses. But here’s what separates him from many experts; he builds in public and openly shares his entire business strategy.
And that’s exactly what he did during the latest episode of the Launch Your Business podcast.
I’ll share some of my favorite takeaways below.
How to create content that converts
Justin always thinks about social media through the lens of a sales leader with a traditional marketing funnel.
You need to move people through the following phases with your content.
- Awareness
- Interest
- Decision
- Action
Because Justin prices his courses at what he calls “impulse buy” pricing, he can walk his audience through the steps of that funnel every week. He starts on Monday with awareness, something that connects with a reader or viewer. By Friday he’s teasing out content for his newsletter, The Saturday Solopreneur, and growing his email list.
We’ll get to how he does that shortly but we’ll start by reviewing an awareness-focused post.
Notice he shares valuable information and then provides a link for his audience to learn even more. Please steal this strategy! It’s the key to getting your audience off of social media and on to your own channels. In this case, his website.
How to repurpose existing content
After clicking the link on the post above you’re taken to Justin’s website but pay close attention here. The link leads to a page on his website that features content from an email he sent out 8 months prior.
The information is still helpful so he continually repurposes it as an idea for a LinkedIn post and a way of getting more traffic to his website.
Again, steal this idea. Far too many entrepreneurs just send out a newsletter without utilizing the content beyond the initial email blast. But if you follow this process you can create more content with less effort and drive people further down your marketing funnel.
How to grow your newsletter
Justin has two great strategies for growing your newsletter, and they both include providing value in exchange for your audience’s time and attention.
We’ll cover the first by continuing with the example from above. Once you’re on his site and read the back issue of his newsletter he overtly encourages you to join his email list. Notice, he clearly explains what you can expect “Every Saturday morning, you’ll get 1 actionable tip on audience and revenue growth for your online business.”
Now is a good time to take a look at the lead capture form on your website. Does it say something basic like “Join my list to get all the latest updates” or do you clearly explain the benefits of joining your newsletter?
His other tactic is sharing a preview of the content you’ll gain access to once you join his newsletter. Notice, he’s not just asking you to join his list. He’s providing useful information and then letting you know how you can get more details.
If you leverage the same approach you can expect an influx of new people joining your list. And by posting back issues on your website you’ll still be able to share this information with people who view it after the original email has been sent out.
How to sell without selling
So now you have people engaging with your content and subscribing to your newsletter. The next big question is how do you actually make money from your list? If you’ve ever managed a newsletter you most likely noticed that people tend to unsubscribe when you overtly try to sell them something.
Justin has an easy way to solve for this. All of his blog posts and emails end with a very simple call to action. You can view it below.
His call to action is noticeable without being salesy and the language used is helpful as opposed to being pushy. Can you do something similar? Perhaps it’s a link to book a sales call with you, check out a case study or buy a product.
What’s next?
Ready for more practical guidance on how to grow an online business? Here are a few more ways to learn from Justin.
Listen to my interview with Justin
Take his course, The Operating System for LinkedIn Creators
I purchased his course earlier this year and was amazed with the impact. My LinkedIn content views increased by 58% as compared to the previous month which also led to revenue generating opportunities. Beyond that I was able to create content much quicker by leveraging the frameworks he shares.
As an added bonus he helps you make money by selling his course as an affiliate. I paid $150 for his course and have already made $450 as an affiliate. So, the course literally paid for itself even if I didn’t learn anything from the content.
Fortunately I learned a LOT and I that’s why I highly recommend checking out The Operating System for LinkedIn Creators if you want to grow and monetize your LinkedIn account as well. And by the way, yes, this is an affiliate link. Meaning, I’ll get a percentage of the revenue generated.
But like Justin mentioned in the interview, there are plenty of ways to monetize content, and they all start with providing value for your audience.
This article was written by Terry Rice, and originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com.
