“Hi, how are you? I wonder if I could ask you a quick question?”

“Can I pick your brain?”

“Just a quick question for ya … “

How many times a week does that happen to you? You love your clients (of course) and are happy to be of service, it’s why you went into business after all. But there’s only so much of you to go around. You want to help – but how do you balance clients, emails, blogging, creating products, launching, AND advice too?

If you’re tired of people asking to “pick your brain”, maybe it’s time to try it another way.

While not everyone needs to hire you for a long term project, if they had an expert available to call on as they needed you, they wouldn’t need to pick your brain in the first place! This is very similar to the phenomenon that I’ve seen with clients, when one tells me, “I’m not making any sales,” only to find out they don’t have anything for sale.

So the first step – provide a way for people to contact you so they don’t have to ask to “pick your brain.”

Today we’re looking at three services that allow your customers and potential customers access to you when they need it most while allowing you to get paid for your valuable time and expertise.  Win – Win!

LiveNinja.com

LiveNinja is a live video chat marketplace that provides people with direct and personalized access to service providers, or people with expertise on any subject. There’s no upfront cost to register as one of the site’s experts, and once you’ve had at least one positive review, you’ll be added to their public marketplace.  This could be a great way to get in front of new potential clients.

How to get paid and the costs involved: You can choose how much to charge for your services and once your fee has been paid to your Live Ninja account, you can withdraw these to Paypal. Live Ninja takes a flat 20% from all of your fees.

Clarity.fm

Whereas Live Ninja offers experts from a wide range of subject areas and industries, Clarity.fm is specifically for business advice over the phone.  You need a LinkedIn account to signup and can include a video to encourage people to speak with you.

How to get paid and the costs involved: Clarity.fm will pay you every 14 days, direct to your Paypal account. Again, there are no up front costs involved and their flat rate is 15% per call.

Huddlewoo.com

Huddlewoo is a live-video platform that allows you to leverage your pre-existing social following into paid meaningful conversation. You set your hourly rate, tell your audience that you’re available and they pick three times that work for them. There is no restriction on the type of advice you can offer.

How to get paid and the costs involved: Huddlewoo takes a 9.95% fee to cover their costs, and use Paypal to deliver your money, which you can cash out at any time. 

Other things to consider:

While some of these services have places on their site to profile experts, you can’t rely on this. If you really want this model to work for you, you’ll need to be consistent about sharing your profile URL. Add it to your email signature. Link to it on your contact page on your website. Include it on your social media profiles.

If you have a lot of people asking you for advice on a regular basis, offering a service like this as an alternative to, or even as an introduction to, your paid one on one services, products, or events could be a great option.

Have you tried any of these services?

Let us know how it went in the comments below….by sharing our experiences we can make better decisions for our businesses. 

Format: we’ll list the title, who is launching the course/product/book/etc, a quick description of the item, when enrollment begins (and ends) – or when the product is available, and a link so you can go check it out.

Sacred Me Time

Jo Crawford

Sacred Me Time is a 21 day self-guided program to help you slow down, reconnect with yourself and find joy in your day-to-day. Treat, nourish and express yourself with self-care practices that are meaningful and do-able.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details: http://www.craftingthesacred.com/sacred-me-time/

Twenty-three Whispers

Teresa Deak

Take a light and beautiful journey to your soul – on the wings of butterflies – with the 23 cards of the Gratitude Tarot’s major arcana. 23 cards. 23 emails. 23 days. 23 butterflies. 23 moments rich with Beauty. Wake up to this Beauty and breathe in its wondrous gifts every day for the next 23 days.

In each email, view one card in the journey to Gratitude and read the butterfly invocation I wrote while entranced by the card. Hear me read the invocation to you, sharing the whispers the butterflies gave me. The journey to your soul can be as light and soft as the wings of butterflies. Let’s travel there together in these 23 Whispers.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details: http://handsongratitude.com/23whispers/

Radical Intimacy: How to Fall In Love Without Losing Yourself

Marsha Philitas

What if…

You didn’t have to walk into each date terrified to share your truth?
You had permission create your own rules for dating and partnership?
Your dating life was an extension of your spiritual practice — devoid of dogma yet full of compassion?
All your romantic interactions helped you to live a more authentic life?

While magazines have us convinced that all we need are 69 sex positions and 21 diet tips to create the relationship of our dreams, a deeper form of connection is possible that can satisfy our needs for relational safety while allowing room for growth and change. Radical Intimacy is the type of authentic connection that comes from allowing yourself to be fully seen. In this 10 day eCourse, you’ll learn how to create the love life you deserve, without compromising who you really are.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

Enrollment Ends: April 22nd

More Details: http://www.marshaphilitas.com/radical-intimacy

The 40-Day Feel Good Challenge

Kerrie Blazek

The 40-Day Feel Good Challenge is a pleasure-based action plan for spiritual development, taught in 6 weeks with live calls that include some of my favorite mentors and teachers. It’s about leaning into your darkness/shadow + celebrating your light/divinity — all while being cradled in sanctuary of sisterhood.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

Enrollment Ends: April 13th

More Details: http://www.inherelement.biz/coaching/40-day-feel-good/

Making the impossible possible, fun and very real in your life!

Natalia Chouklina

I’m Natalia, a life-coach who gets seriously turned on by working with you on making the impossible possible, fun and very real in your life! I just launched my website, a community for soul and health minded people, along with my coaching offerings to help you step into your magnificence.

Enrollment Begins: Currently Enrolling

More details: http://achievetheimpossible.ca/?page_id=372

Scratch your soul itch for a $1 donation to UK charity Give a Brick

El Edwards

We told you last month that El had re-opened the doors to her spiritual community. Well this month she has an extra special deal for you. Donate $1 or more to UK charity Give A Brick and she’ll give you 2 weeks membership of the community, her gift to you, to say thank you.

Heaven & El is the place to have a fun, honest, daily relationship with God in a way that feels most you.

Enrollment Begins: Currently Enrolling

More details: http://heavenandel.com/donate

Will you be launching something in May? Share it with us! The deadline for May’s Launch Shout Out is May 2nd.

Thanks to each and every woman who submitted their launch this month. We’re so honored to share your work with the world.

A. asks,

What should I do with my sales page after my launch is over? 

This may seem simple, but the first thing you should do after your launch is over, is save the page. I do this two ways – the copy in Google Documents and then the code in a text file that lives in the project’s files on my office’s server. That way you have the copy to refer back to or edit later.  

As with many of my “Ask Ethical Launch” posts, this one also starts with some questions to ask yourself:

1. How much traffic is the page getting? Is there any reason to believe it will see a major increase in traffic in the near future?
2. Will you be running the program again? 
3. If so, when?
4. If not, is there a self-serve version of the offer, or is there another service you would like to point the visitors to?

The reason I ask how much traffic the page is getting first, is as a sort of litmus test. The answer to this question will tell you whether this is something worth spending a lot of time on, or not. Note that I’m not saying to just leave the sales page there as is, because you don’t want people trying to buy something that doesn’t exist. However, if the page isn’t getting very much traffic, why not redirect it to your services page, or maybe a newsletter page? That takes 5 seconds, and you would still be capturing potential interest.

Basically, you’re looking to see how much bandwidth or attention this is worth for you or your team.

If this is a cornerstone program for you, and a very important part of your business, you probably know when you are running it again. In that case, a simple opt-in page with a little bit of copy would be great. However, if it’s a one-off class you ran, that isn’t as high of a priority and may not be worth the time and effort of a brand new page.

So in the end, here are your options:

1. Leave the sales page there and put a note at the bottom (or where there was a buy button) saying registration is over. If you do this, make sure you include a link to a page on your site where they can get more information about you and your offers (preferably a page with an opt-in form).
2. Redirect the sales page to either another service/product, an opt-in page, or a general informational page about your programs. 
3. Create a new page specifically for visitors to this sales page with an opt-in.

Here are some resources that might help you once you decide what to do:

• If you redirect, my favorite redirect plugins are Redirection and Pretty Link.
• For opt-ins I like Premise and Hybrid Connect.

Do you have a question for the “Ask Ethical Launch” series? Submit it here.

“How much time should I set out for building a launch? I’ve got a seed for a product. The core content can be written in two weeks. But I’ve got no clue how much lead time I’ll need to create a strong launch.”

First, let’s talk about all of the things I look at before I start to plan… these items are exactly why the answer to this question will vary.

In making a decision about timing and planning, here are the items you’ll want to ask yourself:

• What type of product are you launching? How complicated is it?
• Is it finished? If not, how long will it take to finish?
• How do you work best? (Deadlines or no? Last minute, or with lots of time to spare?)
• What commitments do you have on your schedule right now? 
• If you have a service business, what does your client load look like?
• Are you working with a team? How many? What is their lead time?
• What type of promotion will you be doing?
• Will you be doing any webinars/teleseminars or other types of events?
• Will you have an affiliate program?
• What technology needs to be set up, and will you be doing it or will you hire someone?
• What are your goals for the product? For example, do you want to create huge buzz at first or will it be a more long term endeavor, or a product that lives on your site and supports your services? (like our Sales Page Toolkit, for example)
• How much promotion will you need to do to meet your goals? 

Once you know most of the answers to these questions, it’ll start to become clearer to you how long you’ll need to schedule for launch planning.

As a general rule, I would love if clients had more than 5 weeks to plan and execute a launch…

However, it also depends on all of the questions above.  With more time, I find that our clients are less overwhelmed and burned out when the launch is over.

There are also a couple other things that should be considered that aren’t as cut and dry. For example, is this your first launch? If so, you might want to add more time than you think you’ll need. Talking with someone (a consultant like me, or a friend) can be extremely helpful to tease apart all of your ideas and prioritize them. 

How long do you generally set aside for launch planning? Would love to hear your process in the comments.

Do you have a question for Ask Ethical Launch? We would love to answer it….Submit it here!

Other posts on planning that might be helpful:

How to Create a Launch Calendar

The One Thing You Need to Become a “Launch Master”

How to Start Your Launch Planning Process With a Map

Launch Planning in Two Words  (Working Backwards)

Format: we’ll list the title, who is launching the course/product/book/etc, a quick description of the item, when enrollment begins (and ends) – or when the product is available, and a link so you can go check it out.

New branding, new website, and new program: Unmask your brand

Sue Kearney

Are you a passionate woman in business? Do you want your branding, web design, social media strategy, and marketing copy integrated with your most sacred heart’s mission and soul’s purpose, so that your passion is visible to your ideal clients? I offer you a heart-based way to have your ideal client feel heard and welcomed, tell others about you, and enroll in your programs.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details: http://magnoliaswest.com/unmask-your-brand

Kids’ Artwork Project

Laura Kelly

Make your child’s best artwork a masterpiece that will last a lifetime! Kids’ Artwork Project is a custom stained glass offering where I use your child’s drawing, painting, or other artwork to design an amazing 8 x 10″ stained glass panel. Instant family heirloom, cherished Mother’s Day or grandparent gift, great for school fundraisers.

“The kids went crazy when they saw their art in glass!” -Maria B

Enrollment Begins:  March 1, 2013

More Details: http://www.peaceloveglass.com/kids-artwork-project/

Kick Burnout to the Curb: A Workshop

Michelle Nickolaisen

Burnout is a minor epidemic amongst entrepreneurs, but we have very, very few resources available that get down to the brass tacks of how to avoid burnout. There’s a lot of vague advice, but even most of that is advice intended to help burnout after it’s happened. And the vast majority of burnout cases could have been totally avoided ahead of time, if only the burn-ee knew how to do so.

Michelle said, “With that in mind, I created a workshop – a live, one day intensive – that covers everything you need to know to build systems & strategies into your business to prevent burnout before it happens, instead of trying to fix the charred aftermath & losing time + money in the process.”

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling   Enrollment Ends:  March 27, 2013

More Details: http://www.bombchelle.com/burnoutworkshop/

Sketching and Watercolor: Journal Style

Jane LaFazio

Be inspired to record your life, a special trip, or your daily adventures in a loose, quick journal style format. Jane who is known for her friendly, encouraging teaching style, will teach drawing and watercolors using a straight-forward, intuitive approach. You’ll draw what you see, capturing the details of everyday objects and the small details of life on watercolor pages. Everyone has their own drawing style, just like handwriting, and Jane will help you to see and then record what you see on paper. The class is geared for beginners, but all levels are welcome. (Really, even if you haven’t drawn since 3rd grade, Jane can teach you!) Jane will help you compose your journal pages, and show you a number of other creative ways to enhance your pages.

Each week you’ll receive an email with a link to new lesson, with a different subject or technique. The lessons are available 24/7 and you’ll receive a downloadable step-by-step pdf to work from. There are videos and examples from Jane’s sketchbook to support the lessons. Just like in a real classroom, you’ll be able to see fellow students sketchbook pages and will be able to comment and praise their work and they’ll be able to see your pages too (as long as you post them!). And you’ll get honest and gentle critiques on all your work from Jane.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling   Enrollment Ends:  April 18, 2013

More Details: https://ruzuku.com/courses/1449/about

The Other Red Sock

Siân Harris

Helping folks find more confidence, clarity and self-control. 

Changing the way you think about a problem can make all the difference. The Other Red Sock was built to help you challenge the assumptions that hold you back and shift your patterns of thinking, so you can face and overcome your ‘problems’ quickly. Using a variety of powerful techniques, including hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ (NLP), I help you shift your patterns of thinking, to develop new and more positive behaviours that fulfil the same positive intention without the negatives.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling   

More Details: http://theotherredsock.com

Body-Transformation Bootcamp 2.0

Mary Weaver

Body-Transformation Bootcamp (BTB) 2.0 is a series of six live webinars (with Q&A sessions) for women who want to lose weight the safe and healthy way, speed up their metabolism, and reshape their body. 

Fat-loss coach Mary Weaver and mindset expert Victoria Morrison provide super-effective, proven strategies for fat-loss nutrition, effective exercise, goal-setting, behavior change, and eliminating limiting beliefs.
This proven program is covered by a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling   Enrollment Ends:  April 9, 2013

More Details: http://bodytransformationbootcamp.com

The Heaven & El Playground

El Edwards

The Heaven & El playground is the place to have a fun, honest, daily relationship with God. The Playground is a place where you can explore, ask the questions and voice the doubts, without fear of condemnation or judgement. The Playground is a safe place to explore your relationship with God, in a way that feels most you through 1 on 1 conversation, audio resources, email support and daily support via the secret Facebook playground. 

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling  

More Details: http://heavenandel.com

élanterra is open for business! Introducing WellBeing U.

Jami Scholl

What does élanterra offer you? PermaCoaching! What is PermaCoaching? PeopleCare, EarthCare and FairShare are the three ethics of Permaculture, an eco-design system for living lightly on the earth and that nourishes and sustains individuals and communities. PermaCoaching comes in three different options to include WellBeing, EcoResilience, and Strategic Intervention. Each option focuses on a particular need within a view of the individual as being a part of something greater than them self. WellBeing focuses on health, EcoResilience focuses on the application of Permaculture Design, and Strategic Intervention is Life Coaching based on the teachings of Tony Robbins and Chloe Madanes to direct the individual toward positive change through strategic planning find solutions to interpersonal conflicts, to prevent violence and to contribute to the creation of a more cohesive and civil community.

Enrollment Begins:  March 3, 2013 

More Details: http://www.elanterra.com

The Calling Cycle

Lissa Boles

The Calling Cycle is a 6 week course for entrepreneurs to help them build a stronger, more sustainable business by learning how to recognize and appreciate their creative rhythm. Lisa says, “This is about learning to see + understand the 4 distinct parts of The Calling Cycle™ — Distintegration, Reformation, Rooting + Taking Flight— so that you can embrace whatever phase you’re in, love it, learn from it, and better prepare yourself for the big work to come.” The idea is that when entrepreneurs are clear about what is going on, where they are in their process, and the signs signaling them to move forward (or not), business is less confusing and isolating, they have less anxiety, and it’s easier to be “clued-in about why you’re here + what unique gifts you’re meant to contribute”.

Enrollment Begins: Now    Enrollment Ends: Soon!

More Details: http://thesoulmap.com/the-calling-cycle/

Beta Author Boost

Debbie Weil

If you’ve had a book sitting in your “idea file” and just haven’t been able to get it written, Debbie’s Beta Author Boost aims to help you get the first draft of your book written in 8 weeks. It includes one-on-one coaching with Debbie, interviews from guest experts like Pam Slim and David Meerman Scott, an intimate community of fellow beta authors, and all the information and resources you need to get your writing done.

Enrollment Begins: Now  Enrollment Ends: March 6 

More Details: http://voxiemedia.com/programs/beta-author-boost/

Will you be launching something in April? Share it with us! The deadline for April’s Launch Shout Out is April 2nd.

Thanks to each and every woman who submitted their launch this month. We’re so honored to share your work with the world.

However, this can be a tricky area because there are so many solutions available, and there isn’t one that stands out above the others as the “best” solution. Choosing an affiliate program plugin or software for your business depends on weighing several factors.

The first questions you need to answer (before you go on a hunt to find your solution) are:

• How will people pay for your products?
• How do you keep track of your customers? Do you use a CRM? Does it need to integrate with your affiliate tool?
• How do you communicate with your customers after the sale?
• Do your customers need access to anything after they purchase? (ie: a membership area, downloadable files, etc)
• What would you like to give your affiliates when they refer a sale to you? (money? products? something else?)
• Do your affiliates need access to anything to promote effectively? (links, copy, images, etc)

After you have the answers to those questions, take a look through the different solutions and their features. What are your non-negotiables? Start there, then figure out which features would be your “nice to haves”. At that point, narrow your choice down to two and try them if you can. Also ask around to see if any of your friends/colleagues have used the two you are considering.

Types of Solutions

Before we get started, it will be helpful for you to know that there are basically three types of affiliate management solutions: shopping carts, WordPress plugins, and platforms.

1. Shopping Carts

Shopping carts are exactly what they sound like – they are the way your customers will purchase your products. Some shopping carts have integrated affiliate management tools.

2. WordPress Plugins

WordPress Plugins integrate straight into your WordPress install, and can coordinate with other plugins to create a full featured store/membership site/etc on your website.

3. Standalone Platforms

These are standalone affiliate management tools. Some integrate with other tools like your shopping cart, and some are completely separate platforms built for large affiliate programs.  

To help with your search, we’ve compiled a list of affiliate tools and plugins.

Comparison Criteria

To be eligible for this comparison, the tool had to be immediately available. I did not want to talk with someone and get a quote before using the product.

Comparison Format

Each tool has a summary of its major features, plus a sentence or two about why you might want to use it (or not). For a more detailed breakdown including features and cost, download our Affiliate Management Comparison PDF at the end of this post.

Shopping Carts

eJunkie

Popular with Paypal users, eJunkie is an affordable ($5 per month) way to setup an affiliate program. If you have a couple affiliates who have used eJunkie before, this might be a good bet for you. However, it won’t be the easiest solution for your affiliates to use…I’ve heard many affiliates say this is one of their least favorite tools. When you have multiple products at multiple price points, it starts to get confusing for the people promoting you.

1ShoppingCart

1ShoppingCart is a full-featured shopping cart, store creator, and email marketing platform in one. Available in several different price points, it is one of the most widely used shopping cart solutions online. For $99 a month, you have the ability to create digital products and multi-tiered affiliate programs. The affiliates are given their own portal that you can customize, giving them images and copy to help promote your products. It integrates with Paypal, Authorize.net, Google Checkout, and other payment providers.

So those are the pros to 1SC. The cons? It can be really confusing to set up (and even more confusing to customize). The interface is dated and not at all intuitive to use. However, for $99, it can be a good solution if you must have your affiliate program and your shopping cart with the same provider. A word to the wise though: be careful about doing your email marketing through 1SC. There are rumors that their deliverability is not that great, but I don’t have confirmation of that.

OfficeAutoPilot, Infusionsoft, and Nanacast

Each of these bill themselves as “business automation” services. They cover everything a business might need, from email marketing to customer relationship management to membership sites and (obviously) affiliate program software. They are expensive compared to some other solutions, but the convenience of having everything you need from one provider can be totally worth it if your business is at a certain point in its growth.

WordPress Plugins

WP Affiliate Platform Plugin

The WP Affiliate Platform Plugin has a lot of great features. My favorite feature is that it has a “self-managed” affiliate platform so your affiliates can sign in and see how they are doing plus change any of their details. It also integrates with lots of services (Aweber, Mailchimp, etc). The creator of the plugin also has several other WordPress plugins – WP eStore and WP eMember. For under $200 you can have a store, membership site, and an affiliate program on your WordPress site.

Affiliates Pro for WooCommerce

WooCommerce does not support affiliates straight out of the box, but you can install an affiliate extension for WooCommerce. This might be a good choice if you’re already using WooCommerce for your products. 

MagicAffiliate

A WordPress plugin that was created to integrate with Magic Members (a membership site plugin), Magic Affiliate has some unique features. For example, it has a five tiered affiliate structure – meaning that your affiliates can have their own affiliates and so on. Of the plugins we looked at, five tiers seems to be the top range. It also seems to be very flexible as far as commissions go. You can set up different commissions for different products/people.

Platforms

Clickbank 

Pretty easy to set up, Clickbank is the standard affiliate platform for many internet marketers. They handle your affiliate payments for you, so you don’t have to keep track of or talk to your affiliates if you don’t want to. They also have a huge network of affiliates looking for products to promote. A tip, though…. make sure you take a look at the type of products in your niche to see if your product would fit in before you sign up. 

Ambassador (formerly zferral), Hasoffers, ShareaSale: These solutions were created with large affiliate programs in mind. Each has an extensive feature set, but they also require more of an investment. If affiliate marketing is the main way your business brings in new customers, one of these platforms may be worth looking into.

iDevAffiliate

iDevAffiliate comes in two flavors: self-hosted and hosted by them. The hosted service has a monthly fee whereas the self-hosted version is a one-time fee to purchase the iDevAffiliate software. Within each version they have several levels (Standard, Gold, and Platinum) which each have different features. Honestly, I find it a little bit confusing. However, they integrate with a TON of shopping carts and services, plus offer several different payout structures for your affiliates (not just pay per sale like most of the other options we’ve covered here). If you have unique needs, iDevAffiliate might be just what you’re looking for. They are also the preferred affiliate software for Wishlist Member.

JVZoo

JVZoo looks a lot like an alternative Clickbank. It works the same way in that you set up your vendor account and add your product to their marketplace, where affiliates can choose to promote it.  

Simple Selling Services

Sellfy 

Sellfy is probably the easiest affiliate tool to set up. You upload your product and select the percentage you want to give affiliates, and you’re pretty much done. If you have a great idea that you want to ship ASAP but don’t want to go through the process of researching other tools, this is probably your best bet. We use Sellfy here for our Sales Page Toolkit, if you want to see how it works.

Need to choose the best affiliate software for your business? 

Leave your name and email below, and you’ll get access to our Affiliate Tool Comparison Chart – a PDF listing and comparing the major features of 13 affiliate program tools, plugins, and platforms.

In the PDF we list the major features for each as well as which services it integrates with and pricing.

Have you tried any of these services?

Let us know how it went in the comments below….by sharing our experiences we can make better decisions for our businesses. 

Format: we’ll list the title, who is launching the course/product/book/etc, a quick description of the item, when enrollment begins (and ends) – or when the product is available, and a link so you can go check it out.

Pinterest Savvy - How I Got 1 Million + Followers

Melissa Taylor

Start with the basics and grow to be a rock-star on Pinterest. You’ll hear from experts from PBS to top bloggers like Amy of Living Locurto and get hands-on, business-specific advice and action steps.  Pinterest Savvy includes Strategies, Plans, and Tips to Grow Your Business with Pinterest.

Enrollment Begins:  February 7, 2013

More Details: http://pinterest-savvy.net

“Draw and paint what you love”

Pauline Agnew

*Draw and paint what you Love” is an Ecourse that connects drawing and painting and helps artists of all levels of ability from complete beginner to more experienced to get comfortable with combining these two activities, not treating them as separate aspects of the creative process. Children do not think this way, they make images with whatever means they have at their disposal. We need to take a ‘note to self’ from our children! PAUSE the inner critic button that clutters the adult brain and PRESS PLAY !!

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling      Enrollment Ends:  February 18, 2013

More Details:   http://www.seedbedstudio.net/home/small-image/

Foundations of Marketing eCourse - 

You Can Serve the World through Your Marketing!

Erica Holthausen

You want to build a vibrant, life-sustaining business, and you love what you do, but the whole marketing and sales piece feels disconnected from your life’s work. If you’re struggling with your marketing, either because it feels overwhelming or disingenuous, this six-week class is exactly what you need. Through a combination of self-paced coursework, community discussion and three 90-minute group mentoring sessions, we’ll take a look at our marketing mindset and learn how to identify and change our limiting beliefs; we’ll reconnect to our passion, purpose and core values and examine how those powerful pieces can help direct our marketing efforts; and we’ll identify our just right people and learn how to connect with them in a way that resonates and is true to you. By the end of this course, sales and marketing will be an integrated part of how you serve the world.

Enrollment Begins:  February 5, 2013  Enrollment Ends:  February 19, 2013

More Details:  http://www.honestmarketingrevolution.com/foundations.html

Walking the Artists Way

Joanna Weston

Walking the Artist’s Way is for anybody who has ever had an urge to create, whether they want to build a house or a business, make a poem or a painting, or just live their lives with more gusto. Creativity is about more than just art; it’s about fully inhabiting your life. Julie Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, has created a process that has helped thousands of people to move through blockages and back into flow.

Walking the Artist’s Way is best done in good company, with compassionate guidance and plenty of love and laughter. And so, we created this course, just for you. We are gathering a dozen people who are ready to start on their path to creating a full, expansive, amazing life, and dare to do it with openness and honesty. Yes, that vulnerability thing is definitely part of it.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling  Enrollment Ends:  February 14, 2013

More Details:  http://www.3speedlife.com/coaching/walking-the-artists-way/

Monthly Workshops from That Super Girl

Nikole Gipps

Are you ready to dig into your business and online presence?
Join Me for a Free Workshop Series!

These workshops are NOT fluff, lengthy sales pitches, or teaser information.
These workshops are hands-on, detailed action plans for you to get started NOW.

The workshops consist of video, audio, written content and/or downloads, depending on the topic.  I am offering each unit on a limited-time, on-demand basis because I don’t want you to dive into the materials unless you are ready to pull up your sleeves and do the work during the workshop. I will give you one week to view the materials every month, so you won’t need to make a specific time slot but you will need to finish the workshop before the time runs out.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details:  http://www.thatsupergirl.com/workshops/

Zero to Adventurista

Shannon Lynberg

Do you have extreme wanderlust and constantly find yourself craving a new journey or more adventure in your life? Are you less than satisfied with your current job? Do want more freedom? Do you have the desire to do something BIG?

You’ve thought about taking the leap, maybe even starting your own business, but then you find yourself worried about finances, how people will react, or you get caught in your pesky negative self talk. I know, because I’ve been there too!

It’s time for you stop sitting in your cubicle and wondering what could be. Sign up for Zero to Adventurista and make 2013 the year you started living life for you. In one hour, we will come up with an action plan to get you from Zero to Adventurista. (Think of it as your Personal Adventurista Map!) We’ll plot and plan exactly what it is you’d like to make happen in the next year. Plus, you’ll walk away with at least three concrete things to do in order get moving. So what are you waiting for? Adventure and freedom are calling your name!

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling  Enrollment Ends:  February 28, 2013

More Details:  http://lifeadventurista.com/zero-to-adventurista-2/

The Inner Goddess Circle and Book Club

Megan Potter

We’re inviting women to join us as we journey to discover what the Divine Feminine looks like in, and for, us through a book club with some of the classic books (fiction and non-fiction) featuring issues around feminine spirituality.

The circle offers a free Book Club only tract (read along with us, engage, join the conversation) and a paid Circle Membership (take it deeper, get connected, be supported). We all go on a journey to discover what it means to us to be a woman, but we don’t have to go on that journey alone!

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details:  http://www.yourinnergoddesscircle.com/join-us.html

Style UnVain

Marija Maxfield

Style UnVain is a PRIVATE community of women who want to create a meaningful style and image using strategies the European women have been using for years. If the chic European style speaks to you, join us. Our first lesson begins Feb. 4. Just in time for a lovely Valentine’s look. Best part – it’s free.

Enrollment Begins:  Now!

More Details:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/StyleUnVain/

Foundations. Building the Base for Your Freelance Business.

Emily Hudspeth

This 3 week intensive online bootcamp is a group workshop that will give you the foundation for establishing your own business as a stylist or makeup artist. Make your own hours, work with the clients that you love and build a sustainable, profitable business. Space is limited! Subscribe to the email list for the latest information and my guide to building a rocking pro makeup artist kit.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details:  http://moneymakingmakeupartist.com/signature-offering/

We’re all teachers now: Six simple steps to sharing your genius through amazing learning experiences

Larah Ritchie

Through this self-paced workshop you’ll learn the six natural steps to designing learning experiences that connect, engage and inspire. You’ll also get access to incredibly useful tools, course planning worksheets and a supportive community.

At the end of the workshop, you’ll know exactly how to turn your desire to teach into stunning, engaging, and effective learning programs.

Enrollment Begins:  February 11, 2013

More Details:  http://mindmeldcreative.com/coming-soon/

Be Your Own Guru 4-week teleclass

Laura Gates

Taught by spiritual coaches Laura Gates and Sarah Nicotra, with 3 years of experience and training between us, this is a grounded, practical course to help people learn to tap into their own spiritual wisdom, create healthy energy boundaries and better command their time, energy and space. Join us for a 4-week journey to tap into your soul’s purpose. All levels of experience are welcome, this is not a technical class as much as an experiential class with practices in between calls, guided visualizations and opportunities to share take aways in a private online group with like-minded fellow travelers.

Enrollment Begins:  Currently Enrolling

More Details:  http://www.spiritualmomma.com/current-offering/

Step Into Your Starring Role

Tanya Geisler

If you’ve been an understudy in your own role for too long, feeling like an imposter, that you’re not good enough, or maybe you aren’t ready for your own magnificence, Tayna Geisler has created this Dress Rehearsal for you. A group of 20 like minded women exploring what it means to step into their starring roles by rolling up their shirtsleeves and getting messy, real, and most of all, having fun.

Enrollment Begins: Currently Enrolling Ends: When it’s full!

More Details: http://www.tanyageisler.com/step-into-your-starring-role-the-program/

Will you be launching something in March? Share it with us! The deadline for March’s Launch Shout Out is February 26.

Thanks to each and every woman who submitted their launch this month. We’re so honored to share your work with the world.

5 minutes? 10? 2 hours?

And how much time have you spent on the process AFTER the sale? 

With so many processes, emails, and bits and pieces in our businesses, it gets a little overwhelming to craft all of those emails in a way that is aligned with your brand…but that attention to detail could be the very thing that helps your business rise above the noise to convert a new customer or fan.

In fact, that attention to detail is what creates your brand.

It is the difference between having someone who has just purchased something from you and having a raving fan that talks about you all the time.

Two weeks ago, I was approached by Vitamix, the super-powered blender company, about reviewing their blender. Something you may not know about me…three years ago I founded a website that supports people with jaw pain (TMJ disorder), called TMJ Hope. Over the years it has grown dramatically to the point of being the largest website of its kind. Vitamix knew that people with jaw pain (including me!) depend on liquid meals much more often than most people, and reached out to us to see how they could help.

A couple days later, a brand new Vitamix blender arrived on my doorstep. 

As I tore open the box and plugged in the blender, I couldn’t help but notice the attention to detail that went into the Vitamix and its packaging. 

It wasn’t just a blender…it was an invitation to join a family.

Every piece of communication, every recipe in the 3 ring binder they included, the warranty, the professionally shot welcome DVD, and the flyer that urged me to register the machine, was aligned with their brand, their values, and their mission at Vitamix.

The Vitamix mission… To create a passionate family of Vitamix customers that demand more nutrition from their food and for their families.

It was obvious that they had taken time and that they CARED about my experience with Vitamix, and their values were baked in every step of the way.  

How can you bake your mission, values, and brand into your products and services?

1. Revisit your welcome, thank you, follow-up, and after the sale emails.

How could you make them more personal? How could you present your brand in a way that your customers would immediately align with? Spend some time crafting your follow-up sequences, it’ll pay dividends in customer loyalty.

2. Add in special surprises when your customers least expect it.

For Vitamix, this means sending a nice 3 ring binder full of nutritious recipes for us to try. The binder even has a special indentation so it can be set up as an easel on the counter while I’m cooking. Neat!

3. Give incentives for joining the family.

Along with the binder of recipes is a flyer that encourages me to register my blender, not just to get product updates or activate my warranty, but to get a set of special recipes they’ve created just for new Vitamix owners.

How can you incentivize your customers to take action and bring them deeper into your brand?

4. Reach out personally.

Yes, we do business on the internet. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to form relationships with people! Besides, the best way to learn what your customers need is to talk with them.

Before I owned a Vitamix, I couldn’t understand the positivity surrounding the brand…after all, it’s just a blender, right?

Wrong. It’s an experience.

And that’s exactly what you should be creating for your customers.

Case in point, yesterday I was watching and listening to one of my favorite people, Michelle Ward, interview Kate Spencer, a VH1 writer/correspondent/yoga teacher/renaissance soul. During their chat, Kate mentioned that growing up she didn’t really feel like she had a “thing.” That her thing was being funny and talking a lot.

Little did she know that years later, that very thing would become one of the reasons she got a great gig as a VH1 blogger. She discounted the thought that her talents, her “thing” was not enough to make a career out of.

A couple weeks ago during a mastermind group call, one of my friends mentioned that sitting at dinner with a group of women business owners at a small retreat, they each, one by one, entered their emails into her iPhone’s “to” email field so she could send them a blog post of mine.

I listened intently as my friend recapped the story. She said that the women were so excited to hear that someone had help for them, that they demanded she sent the blog post immediately. They wanted help with this problem that bad, and they were willing to take time out of their dinner to be sent a blog post of mine.

I couldn’t imagine which blog post she was talking about. I threw out some possibilities. “Was it the one with the tips for planning? or the one about my secret launch planning sauce?” No and no.

Turned out, I would have never guessed which post they wanted, which problem they wanted help with ASAP.

The post was a technology post, running down some options for selling products online. I would have never pegged it as the post a bunch of people would get so excited about, but they did. Over the next several weeks, that one friend referred several women to me for a service that didn’t even exist on Ethical Launch.  

It was a service I had totally discounted.

We haven’t offered any technology services on Ethical Launch.

I’ve been online for so long (been blogging since the late 90′s…anyone remember Diaryland or the first Blogger?) that technology is one of my “things.” It comes easy to me, and I don’t think of it as a skill or a “career choice.” But when my friend told another referral that I knew “more than anyone she has ever met” about online tools for running a business and launching products, I stopped and thought about it.

Why have I been discounting the very “thing” that comes natural to me, that I like doing, and that I do anyway?

After hearing Kate talk about her “thing” and my friend describe my thing (better than I could myself…), I realized, yet again (because this is one of those lessons that keeps showing up) -

Often, the very “things” we discount are the qualities that will help us stand out and the messages that will propel our businesses beyond the void. The very qualities that we don’t think about being our talents could actually be the answer to our ideal client’s frustrations, and our next offering….

And with that, today is my birthday, and a perfect day to launch our new service.

Introducing: the Tech Finder Service - the strategy and support you need to stop piecing together your technology and systems, so you can grow in 2013.

Woothemes has been teasing about this new plugin, forever (or at least several months . As a pretty devout Woothemes fan myself (this site is built on Genesis, but it’s the first time I’ve launched a site not using a WooTheme!), I’ve used many of their themes and plugins, and always had a great experience. So I’m excited to review this plugin today, because I think it will be a great addition to our arsenal as online business owners, and I’m always happy to have another option to deliver classes.

Sensei Overview

First things first – let’s talk about what Sensei is and what it can accomplish. Sensei is a plugin (not a theme) that

Add your course

enables you to run courses on your WordPress site. Your courses can be free or paid (with the WooThemes WooCommerce plugin). It is compatible with any WordPress theme (not just Woothemes), though they did create it with their Definition theme in mind, so it works well with it.

You can have multiple courses which each contain lessons. The lessons are essentially WordPress posts, in which you can embed class material (PDFs, video, etc). You can also let the student know how long the lesson will take to complete and its complexity.  

Quizzes

After each lesson, you can create quizzes for your students to take, which they have to pass (with a certain percentage, if you’d like) before they can move on to the next class.

Course Progress

Your students also have a dashboard that lists all of their classes with a progress bar to show them how far they have gone so far.

 Once you have several courses, you can require that students have completed another course as a prerequisite.

In the back end, you are also given some analysis on your students, like the average number of courses per learner, the average grade on quizzes, and a list of your students (name, email, how many courses they have taken, how many they are taking now, their average grade, etc).

Putting Courses Up for Sale

Since this is a Woothemes plugin, they have integrated Sensei with their WooCommerce shopping cart. To bridge the two together, you create a product in WooCommerce and link it to a course. The payment is done through WooCommerce, which integrates with Paypal, Authorize.net, and other payment gateways. This means you need to install Sensei and WooCommerce to sell your courses.

What About Sales Pages?

You might be wondering how you can actually sell your class now that you have it uploaded into Sensei. This plugin was built as a “learning management system,” so the feature set is focused on the learning (courses, lessons, quizzes, etc) and less on the marketing.

It doesn’t have a “sales page” function like Premise, per se. However, since it is a plugin, nothing is stopping you from creating a page in WordPress without sidebars for your sales page, but it doesn’t have a dedicated sales page function. This isn’t a problem if you don’t use Premise’s sales page features (built in graphics, price comparison tables, etc). If you love those features of Premise, Sensei may not be for you.

Another consideration is that Premise and Sensei might work together. I have no confirmation of this yet, but it seems like you could probably use Premise for your sales page and Sensei for the actual course/lessons/quizzes/etc. The advantage in this approach is that you would be able to have the easy sales page features of Premise with the nice lessons/quizzes of Sensei. 

Once I can confirm (or deny) this would work, I’ll update this post.

Sensei vs Wishlist Member

Sensei and Wishlist Member are two totally different plugins. While Sensei helps you run and organize courses and lessons, Wishlist Member helps you to create levels for your classes and control the access to certain members. The bottom line is, if you have several levels in your classes, you will still need something like Wishlist Member to control that aspect of your class.

There are also preliminary reports that Sensei works with S2Member, a Wishlist Member alternative, however I have not tried this yet.

Sensei vs Premise

Premise is Copyblogger’s sales page, membership access plugin that is widely used for online classes. At this point, since Premise is the more mature plugin, it has more features than Sensei. 

Premise features that Sensei does not have yet:

• Membership levels
• Built in sales pages, landing pages, opt-in pages (though these can be created in WordPress with Sensei, there is no specific sales page function)
• Built in graphics for your sales/landing pages
• Integration with Mailchimp and Aweber (though WooCommerce does integrate with Mailchimp and Aweber)

 Sensei features that Premise does not have:

• Lessons
• Progress dashboard
• Quizzes
• WooCommerce integration

What do I think?

If you are already using WooCommerce for your website, this could be a fantastic addition!

If you’re already using Premise, I’d only recommend you switch to Sensei if you really like the lessons, quizzes, and progress dashboard of Sensei.

If you haven’t installed any plugins and you’re still making the choice, Sensei is worth a look.

Click here to learn more about Sensei and WooCommerce.

Any questions I can answer? I’d also love to hear from you if you’re considering this plugin – or if you’ve used it!

*PS – the Woothemes & Premise links in this post are affiliate links, so if you purchase through them, they will fuel my espresso addiction (we would never recommend something we didn’t love).