Some of you may have noticed that I stopped writing about digital marketing- instead, it’s about loneliness and conversational skills.
In today’s post I’d like to cover my new project, what it aims to do, my struggles with it, and my goals for it- publicly.
I’m considering openly writing on a personal blog my progress with it, to inspire other entrepreneurs, and also hold myself accountable.
Anyways, here’s everything about the project as well as my struggles.
The Cure for Loneliness?
The aim of my project is to “cure” loneliness. This means taking someone that feels 7/10 or greater loneliness, and bringing it down to 3/10 or less- permanently.
Before I began this journey, I was focused on a lot of B2B (business to business) digital marketing.
This is great and all, especially because I have one really awesome high-ticket client, but many clients are…. Ugh. Finding great clients takes work.
In a couple instances I would launch Facebook Ads for clients, only for the clients to not call the leads I got them within a reasonable time frame (24 hours or less).
Do you remember the ads you saw 5 days ago? I didn’t think so. Yet still these clients were angered that the leads didn’t immediately convert into paying customers after procrastinating on calling the leads despite my explicit orders to call them ASAP (I even setup a system that auto-emails them every phone # IMMEDIATELY).
Ultimately I just wasn’t feeling too passionate about it, and I’ve known for a while that I’d rather do digital marketing for myself. I’ve developed some great skills, and many people can’t value that, or they have requirements I refuse to fill (ie. showing up at an office).
I LOVE making Facebook Ads, and it’s something I could easily do for clients that were giving legitimate value to their prospects. However finding great clients like that that also didn’t have a great marketing team already proved difficult.
I enrolled in a business program, Sam Ovens Consulting Accelerator and it’s taught me a lot. It’s also helped me redefine how I can help people.
One of the exercises was to ask many of your friends what your strengths & weaknesses are.
It became apparent to me that most people valued my social skills, which is NOT something that I was born with- I worked hard to develop exceptional social skills.
I then sought to define what problems teaching my skills would help, and at first I thought it would involve something like teaching how to pick up girls or something, but then I went even deeper:
“What problem are those guys struggling with?” Loneliness.
I created a research form, which got nearly 1,500+ responses overnight with little promotion.
Boom, the project was validated.
Now the goal of the program is to “cure” feelings of loneliness by addressing the main causes such as:
- Logistical skills (ie. learning how to leverage social circles, find groups, etc.)
- Self-esteem (increasing confidence, taking action)
- Conversational Skills
- Authenticity (you’ll feel lonely if you aren’t being authentic/purposeful in your life)
Very quickly I got the first client for the program, and the next person I helped gave me an exceptional video testimonial.
How the Program Helps People
By addressing the 4 causes listed above, people will naturally stop feeling lonely.
This is something I’ve done in my own personal life, and something I’ve helped friends & acquaintances with naturally, without asking for payment.
Right now it involves 12 weeks of 1 on 1 coaching, however I’m finding this to be much more emotionally taxing and exhausting than I had anticipated. Adhering to a stricter schedule is a bit difficult too.
I knew since the beginning I wanted to create an online version of the program- it’s easier for me, my clients, and everyone involved. They can get a lot of advice quickly, whenever they want, without having to show up to a call.
The program will also involve group coaching and an online platform, all aimed at helping people to feel connected, purposeful, and authentic.
Problems & Struggles
Every path in life has its problems, and this path is not unique. This new venture has brought with it some unique problems I had not faced before.
Calling prospects and people interested in the program is time-intensive, and not yielding the best ROI that I would’ve liked, when considering that I’m also putting in the work to organically get the prospects.
The program outline is great, but I’ll also have to sit down and spend weeks (or months) recording the online program, worksheets, and other tools necessary.
I had a virtual assistant that didn’t perform so well, and claimed to work a lot more hours than he possibly could’ve worked considering his result output was ridiculously low.
Promotion & Testing
The biggest struggle is in promoting & testing the program. I’ve already validated the offer both in terms of form engagement and buying prospects, but now I’d like to validate the online version of the program.
I’d also like to remove myself from the buying equation, and allow people to purchase via a sales page or webinar instead of having to call with me. This is the only way I can scale up and help more people in the process.
I’ve struggled with defining how exactly I should promote. Some methods are obvious, like:
- Creating YouTube videos (which I’ll do)
- Creating FB videos (upload YT to FB as well)
- Posting on FB, and add friends in mental health support groups to funnel them in
- Email list, except for writing about this topic
- Blog / SEO
However, most of these things are long-term, and harder to quantify. They’re HIGHLY effective, especially SEO & YouTube videos (and then engaging the Email list once it’s built), just now short-term.
I’d like to find something shorter-medium-term, and I know just what it is, but there leads to the next problem.
Facebook Ads & Testing Ads
I know I can create great Facebook Ads. Naturally that’s what I want to do, but first I must create the initial offer.
That’s left me locked, as there are a couple different strategies I could go about doing, all of which are great (but what’s most effective)?
I’m also trying to figure out the most cost-effective method to test the ads. Herein lies the problem:
My program is extremely valuable, and I know it helps people. I’m also putting in a TON of time & effort into creating it, and offering other things such as group coaching calls. I intend to price the program to at least $1k, but very likely much more.
If I run ads for a $1k program, I MUST have a larger ad budget to test.
For example, I can spend $900 to make 1 sale because that profits me $100. However, I don’t know which ads will work, therefore I’ll have to spend $2,000+ to test in ads, and I might not make anything back.
There’s a lot of risk involved when testing ads for a high-ticket offer, and I don’t have thousands upon thousands to throw around.
The SECOND option is to create a low-ticket offer, for example $50 small-version of the program. It could be like the basic fundamentals, or “9 epic conversational tricks.”
While this program wouldn’t be as profitable, it would more quickly allow me to build an Email list, YouTube channel, and other followings. Why?
Let’s say I have that $50 offer. I can test with $200 on ads on Facebook, and if I don’t make any money back, that’s totally okay- I only lost $200, so I can refine the offer and then test another $200, repeat until success.
Do you see the problem here? The $1,000+ offer makes me profit big-time, and it is the true value of the full-scale program, however I do NOT have the budget to test a high-ticket offer with ads, only a small-ticket offer.
Also, the low-ticket offer would NOT have the goal of making a profit. My goal would be to spend $50 to make $50, thus building an Email list of people that are interested in improving their lives and willing to improve.
THEN via Email marketing I would sell them on the high-ticket program.
If I try to sell simply the high-ticket offer, I will likely have to use organic methods to promote it, and if I sell the low-ticket offer, I can use ads (which I’m better at), but then I’ll have to create a longer, more complicated sales cycle to make profit later.
Long-Term Sustainability
Another thing that’s been on my mind is whether I should sell the high-ticket program, or create a subscription product on the low-end that offers long-term support.
For example, create an online program that has continuous video updates for $37 per month.
This creates long-term revenue streams, as people stay engaged in the course and continuously improving their lives. It also allows me to help more people because more people can join.
Some course creators such as Mark Manson price their exclusive blog posts + programs as low as $6 per month… BUT it adds up SIGNIFICANTLY when you consider just how many people are subscribed to him!
I don’t always read his premium posts, and I’ve only gone through one of his courses (the long-term travel one, several years ago), yet I remain subscribed to his program because “it’s only $6 per month.”
Pick One… or All?
There are 3 main ideas in my mind with program pricing:
- #1 A single high-ticket ($1k+) offer
- #2 A low-ticket offer ($50-ish), combined with a high-ticket offer (via Email marketing)
- #3 An affordable subscription product ($37 per month or less).
#1 is profitable, probably sustainable for several years, forces people to commit to their improvement, BUT I won’t be able to run ads for it just yet (need to close more deals to reinvest in ads).
#2 is more work, but allows me to run ads ASAP, which is my forte. However, to make real profit I’ll have to wait longer, and spend more time working on a long-term sales cycle.
#3 is a proven, sustainable model for long-term success. However, profit will come slower, ads may not initially be profitable, and the cheaper pricing may contaminate the program (in the sense that non-action takers will join then complain about not getting improvements, as the price point isn’t enough to kick them into action).
Business Mastermind
I’m not a genius. I’m sharing this publicly to get some feedback on your thoughts on this.
My goal is to maximize value to customers, change the world, and cure loneliness. I also want to make sure that I create abundance for myself and those involved in the project long-term.
Of course there will be iterations for down the line, but for getting moving right now… Do you have any thoughts on what’s best?
If you’re doing any personal development or entrepreneurial stuff, then also hit “reply.”
I’d like to create a mastermind of people committed to changing the world, improving, and growing a successful business. I’d like we all grow together, so reach out to me if you’re interested in growing (and more importantly, contributing, as we must all give to help each other).
Excitement & Accountability
At any rate, I feel very excited. This path is my “true path,” and I’ve known it for a long time.
I’m writing this in Montreal, Canada. I remember 2.5 years ago at the cafe down the street I was talking to my friend about creating an online course for his art business.
I was talking too much, but afraid to do what I really wanted. I had created an online store, but turned off the ads too soon (I even made a little profit from some ads!).
B2B was never for me long-term, at least in the way that I’ve been doing it. Working for clients is great for providing for yourself but it doesn’t give you long-term freedom (unless you’re willing to improve your methods, which I was unwilling to because I knew in my heart THIS path was for me… Maybe it’s for you).
I’ve always wanted to sell B2C (business to consumer) online, whether it be via a store selling funny T-Shirts (which was a side-hustle I did 2.5 years ago, make some profit, but gave up too soon due to losing money for a hospital visit).
Now I’m on that path.
I’m sharing this so ya’ll can hold me accountable to this path. Right after I write this post, I’m deleting all video games… Normally they’re deleted, but since returning to Phoenix I had re-downloaded some.
Lesson learned (yet again): video games, for me, are an immense, soul-sucking distraction!
This project is much more fulfilling, I feel better after a day of work than after a day of gaming.
So, hold me accountable and make sure I change the world. Join my mastermind if you’re on a similar path, and let’s upgrade our lives together (while helping others and providing real value to the world).
Have a great day, and keep crushing it in your own path.
Thanks,
-Michael
