I want to let you in on a secret that I just can’t keep any longer. I’m working on a social marketing ecourse. I want to teach you, step by step, how to build your own social marketing machine.
When I first started marketing my coaching services, I found many entrepreneurs eager to learn what I had to teach, but there were always two obstacles that came up time and time again; time and money. If I offered my time as a consultant, my hourly rate was too high for most entrepreneurs. Their marketing budgets were not large enough to hire me. The second obstacle, time, was just as much of a barrier. These business owners did not have entire days or even half days to set aside to learn how to use social media. They were constantly being pulled in several directions at once as they wore multiple hats to keep their businesses running.
I was frustrated because I knew I had knowledge of strategies that would work for them. And the best part is these tools are free! I knew I could help these business owners increase their profits if I could get the information in their hands. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs in my family. I knew the challenges they faced. I knew that this obstacle of time and money was not small obstacle. It was big.
While continuing to study and absorb social marketing strategies, I came across an idea that would solve these two problems. I could offer an online course to teach these techniques and get them into the hands of the entrepreneurs who could run with these strategies and really make them work to increase sales. By offering an online course, I could create a good product and offer it at an affordable price. I could then sell this course to a wide audience on the internet, allowing me to keep the price low.
But I knew I still needed to overcome the problem of time. What could I do to make this course flexible and easy to fit into the hectic schedule of an entrepreneur? After more research, I found that I could offer a course that was broken up into small, easily digestable pieces. I could create videos and audio lessons that were no longer than 10 minutes each. I could structure the course so that it walked through, step-by-step, the process of setting up a social marketing machine that an entrepreneur could get started and easily keep running.
And so I’m creating the Social Marketing Classroom. This course will walk you through step-by-step how to get started on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and creating a blog for your business. I know the mistakes that most people make when they start using social networks. I will show you how to avoid those mistakes, saving you a lot of time and frustration. If you follow my system, one step at a time as I’ve laid it out for you, you will have a marketing macine that will bring customers right to your door, and you will need to spend only a very small amount of time each week to keep the machine working for you.
But I need your help. In order to make this course the best it can be, I want to know, if I were your coach, what would you most want to learn about social marketing? In the comments below, let me know what is your most burning question about using social networks. Your comments will help me create a really focused e-course for my entrepreneurial students!
Hi Deborah,
I love the site and wish you luck with your venture.
My questions are…
The business I will be launching in March 2010 is aimed at people of all ages and I ca’t really refuse friend requests from anyone least of all the students from my music school who have been so supportive and are really exited about the project. This generally result in my facebook page being littered with teenage trivia. Can I stop this? Should I worry about it?
I would also like to invite people into a networking group on linked in but unless you already know them it seems not to be ‘the done thing’ any advice on how to get around this?
Have a great new year and good luck with everything.
Patrick
I wouldn’t worry too much about it as long as the young friends are submitting clean posts. The fact you teach people of all ages can be part of your brand. And showing your students of all ages could be quite interesting for those who check out your wall. It’s only if they write on your wall that they will be seen.
I am working to create a blog for a client that is interested in making money on the blog. Any suggestions for getting sponsors (food industry blog)?
Start with a niche focus on the blog and write posts surrounding this focus. For instance, if the blog is all about wedding catering, your posts will be about isues surrounding this topic. Once you have several posts on the blog, you can approach businesses who sell to bridal couples, and ask if they would be interested in buying monthly ad space in the sidebar.
Another way to monetize the blog would be to produce an ebook or special guide on a topic such as, Ways to Save Money And Still Have Your Dream Wedding. You can sell this from an ad in the sidebar and your blog can make money that way.