Jumping into live broadcasts?

Don’t do it, just to do it!

Be sure you are building your list with them so that you’re creating a loyal audience.

IE 45: How to Build Your List with Live Broadcasts

Over the past few weeks I have given you a ton of information about how to do your live broadcasts; from how to structure them, to some amazing ideas for content, to overcoming the fears associated with going live. But even with all these great ideas, there is one thing I keep saying…

If your live broadcasts don’t have a purpose, if it isn’t leading back to something, there is no reason to do it. Your live broadcasts should have a purpose behind them! Never do a Facebook live just to do a Facebook live!

 

Changes in Social Media Land

Today, I am going to talk about one of the main purposes of doing live broadcasts and that is growing your email list. I was recently chatting with Holly Homer of the Kids Activities Blog. Holly has over 3 million Facebook followers.

In 2016, Holly stated that she didn’t need to take sponsored posts for her blog because of the amount of money she was able to make from ad revenue due to the huge traffic numbers the blog received from Facebook.

But a year later, Holly is now seeking out sponsored content because of the changes that the Facebook algorithm has made in her traffic. Facebook no longer drives traffic like it did a year or two ago, so bloggers are having to make adjustments in order to maintain their income.

Okay, I hear you…I have spent the past few podcasts telling you how to do Facebook lives, how to structure them and what to say, and today I am telling you how to use them to grow your email list. But I just said that you can’t be dependent on Facebook for growth.

What????

Algorithms and How They Affect Your Business

Here’s the thing; Facebook is pushing live broadcasts right now.

I have just signed yet another contract with a brand and they want Facebook lives as part of this campaign. Why? Because they see the reach and the engagement that comes with live broadcasts.

So what’s the problem? It’s the same thing as always. Facebook owns everything that happens on Facebook. They could change their algorithm again next week to penalize live broadcasts! There’s no way to know what is coming and what changes social media platforms are going to make.

But you own your email list! It’s yours. Instead of relying on Facebook, or Instagram or Pinterest for that matter, to drive traffic to your site, you have to create an environment where people want to engage with you and are anxious to not only get your emails, but to  respond to them.

Your Audience Wants to Know You

The main reason to get in front of your audience is that they want to know you. When you are live, they get to see your mannerisms. They can see when you’re being sarcastic or silly. If you include a crutch in your live broadcasts, they can see how you parent or how you interact with your partner.

Your audience wants to know the real you. I have people watch my live broadcasts just to see me interact with my daughter, Avery. They want to see me parent her; how I remain patient when she’s silly, how I keep things on track, and what crazy thing she might do next.

Your audience wants to see whether or not they like you.

That might sound crass, but it’s true! Would they want to be friends with you in real life? If so, they will be open to giving you access to their email inbox. And if you have a business where you sell products, that is exactly the types of friendships you want to be developing.

It’s been proven that people need to be exposed to your product 7 times before they will consider purchasing. This includes blog posts, emails, and social media posts. But when you include live broadcasts in your campaign, it dramatically lessens the number of exposures that it takes to get your audience to purchase.

Gone are the days of hiding behind your computer to grow your business. Nowadays, there is so much content out there to consume that you have to find a way to set yourself apart. One way to do that is through live broadcasting.

Now that I’ve reminded you of the importance of doing live broadcasts and told you what they can accomplish for you, let’s talk specifically about how to grow your list through them.

You Must Have a Lead Magnet

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a high-quality freebie that you give your audience in exchange for their email address.

This freebie has to be something more than an ebook like everybody else is giving away. It has to be something that draws them in and makes them want it. Let me give you a great example-

Debra, who blogs at Bowl Me Over and belongs to my membership group, recently released a lead magnet that is just fantastic. It’s a mini-cookbook for autumn that not only has amazing recipes, but includes the shopping list and a conversion chart to adjust the amounts to suit your family.

If Debra does a live broadcast where she cooks a pot of soup, it is only natural for her to direct her audience to her website to sign up for a cookbook so that they can get even more recipes.

In each live broadcast you do, you must give a call to action. The most important call to action you can give is to sign up for your email list.

It is also crucial that the content you are giving away for free is directly connected with the content of the live broadcast. If Debra does a Facebook live in the spring, she will need a different lead magnet for that because autumn recipes have nothing to do with spring. Keep your content related to what you are doing.

Keep in mind that you want your link to the lead magnet to be in the video description. Think about it friends, if you put the link in the comments, when somebody shares your video, the comments don’t go with the share. It is very important to have it in the description so that it stays with the original content.

Do a Series of Videos

Since every broadcast you do needs to lead to a high-quality piece of content, I want you to think about doing a series of broadcasts that all relate to one lead magnet.

Going back to Debra again, it would make total sense for her to do a series of videos on fall recipes, while linking back to that mini-cookbook in each broadcast.

Another friend and student of mine has jumped right into the deep end of the pool with doing live broadcasts. Morgan, from Morgan Manages Mommyhood, did a Facebook live series on creating cute Halloween snacks.

Morgan had a Halloween post from 2016 that was still getting her a ton of traffic so she decided to take it to the next level. It all started back in the summer when Morgan was taking my course and she noticed that the traffic to her post on Chicken Boo-dle Soup was already picking up and it was only August.

Morgan created a lead magnet of easy Halloween snacks that were super cute and done in a just a few minutes. Morgan’s audience is made up of mostly millennial moms who want things quick and easy. WIth that in mind, she then turned around and created a Halloween series of Facebook lives making those quick and easy things.

She also included a link to her lead magnet on the same topic in her video description.

Creating a Product

Let’s stick with Morgan’s story for a minute because she really took things to the next level. After creating a lead magnet and a series of live broadcasts related to it, she then created a product that she was able to pre-sell because of her email list. This product is an ebook of lunch ideas that gives you over 2,000 combinations to create for your child.

This product isn’t seasonal, obviously. But once Morgan had her audience’s attention and they knew they could trust her to give them quick and easy ideas for Halloween snacks, it wasn’t a stretch to offer them a product that went a step further into lunch ideas.

Morgan was also marketing to the same audience. The moms who will take the time to make special Halloween snacks for their kids are the same moms who want more than the same old tired PB&J, Nutella, and yogurt for their kids’ lunches every day. True confession- I bought Morgan’s new book because I am that mom too!

I hope you will go back to Episode 40 if you haven’t listened to it already. In that episode, I share exactly how to structure your live broadcasts in order to get more engagement. When pitching new brands, you want to be able to share with them what kind of engagement you have with your audience.

Growing your email list is the best way to increase your reach and engagement. Even if you have a small audience, if your audience is engaged, you will have higher open rates than someone with a larger audience but less engagement.

Now, go! Grow that list!!

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