What makes a brand a brand? 

Is it the pretty colors? The fancy font? The pictures? The words?

Our guest today shares some tips on creating and evolving your brand that don’t require you to change the look of things and she believes that a company’s branding happens in the brain first as an experience not just by the oohs and aahs we might utter when we see a new font.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Pamela got her start (and it wasn’t online)

• Some reassuring tips from Pamela’s first launch

• Her simple approach to finding the right blogs to guest post and 2 big sites where she nabbed recurring writing roles

• The only type of launch Pamela likes to do...and she does it every single time she launches

• Pace Smith’s Tier System for launching

• How to figure out your brand message and why it’s so important for your next launch

• The one thing that you gotta know before you pick colors, fonts or any other type of visual styles on your website.

Connect with Pamela Wilson:

Big Brand Marketing

Posts on Copyblogger

Posts on Constant Contact

Pamela on Twitter

Pamela on Facebook

Mentioned on the show:

Pace Smith

Kelly Kingman

Ebook Evolution (aff)

Copyblogger

Constant Contact

Open office

Ever noticed how other people are running their businesses and wonder - how can I take a note from them and improve my business too?

Now I don’t mean you look at them and wonder - how I can BE like them. Or - why am I not as good as them? Or why can't MYYY business be THAT successful?

No, not envy.

I mean - really looking at the things they do every single day, every week, over and over again...and thinking hmmm maybe if I did those things I could improve my business too?

Over the last few weeks I’ve shared some business owners who taught me something about the way I want to run my own life (and business).

We looked at Amy Porterfield who shows by example how to be practical, take action, and keep things very simple and straightforward.

We featured Corbett Barr who believes in being useful and running a business with integrity at all times.

Then - last week we listened to Erika Lyremark who showed me the power of confidence and self-acceptance.

This week - we’ve got one more interview to point you to and that person has a little of all the first three in her. She’s been on the show before, but this interview was recorded back when she was taking the leap into the unknown and changing her business.

She leads by example always saying you can have the business you want - you get to choose. It’s your business, right?

I’m talking about Laura Roeder.

Check this final #TBT interview out where Laura talks about changing her business model when she first created a program back in July 2012.

Is there something in your business you want to change, but aren’t really sure if you should?

Listen to Laura and how she made her decision to change her own business.

In fact, check the show notes below and check out our interview from July 2014 where she talks about yet another venture she’s jumped into and succeeded. 

Get To Know Laura

LKR Social Media blog

LKR's on Twitter

LKR Social Mediai on Facebook

Show Notes

Meet Edgar (Laura's latest big business addition)

Ever wished you could find someone to help you whip your business into shape?

You know - someone who’d be honest and would call you on it when you were being completely off your rocker or kick you into motion if you were letting things slide?

Yeah, me too...which is precisely when I discovered and first worked with our featured business influencer.

Today’s episode features my #TBT interview with Erika Lyremark.  Erika has so much to teach women business owners about the power of confidence and the impact it can have on your business.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Her dynamic and varied work experiences prepared her for starting her own business and have continued to be a big part of her business growth.

• Some juicy details about her very first launch -- including pricing, her fears and getting support

• Why Erika thinks it’s more important to gain confidence than to make money.

• What Erika learned about hiring before you’re ready - and how that’s not always a good idea

• Erika also shares how she likes to be an elegant hustler...and what that means!

Keep in mind that Erika’s business has evolved even more now - and if you’re curious how, I highly recommend checking her out...and being part of the next round of her signature program….which is so much more than the Morning Whip.

Connect with Erika

Erika’s website

Erika on Twitter

Erika on Facebook

Lyremark Business Design

Mentioned on the show

Dyana Valentine

What You Should Do Right Now

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now - both require you take action.  

First thing - Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and and help other people find it too!

Second thing - click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

Today I answer the question - who has been your biggest business influence and why?

There’s more than one answer to this question, so I decided to do a multi-part series featuring the people and also doing a bit of a throw back Thursday. These are interviews from the archives.

They are super relevant to anyone just starting out...because the common thread is...we all start somewhere.

The first person I’m featuring is Amy Porterfield. Amy and I met back in 2009 or 2010...I kind of can’t remember…we hit it off immediately on a personal level, but even though I’ve gotten to know her pretty well, I also watch how she grows her business. I’m so inspired by the way she is so direct and clear in everything she does. It’s easy to get kind of wishy washy when you’re starting your business...and Amy has always been that person who inspires me to be clear about what I do, who I do it for, and what drives me to keep doing it.  

Maybe it’s her family values, maybe it’s the way she gives it all during her courses…or maybe it’s because she’s so supportive of me… or all of that. But Amy has influenced me by reminding me to be practical and realistic.

Here are the topics we cover:

• The truth about getting to 1,000 subscribers

• Big lessons you’ll learn from making launch mistakes

• How to find the right team for your budget

• The importance of keeping momentum after a launch

Show Notes (People we and stuff we mentioned)

Tony Robbins

Harley Davidson

Traffic Geyser

Lewis Howes + Sean Malarkey

FB Influence

FB Marketing All-in-One for Dummies

What You Should Do Right Now

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now - both require you take action.  

First thing - Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and and help other people find it too!

Second thing - click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

This week - I’m doing things a little different and since I did a pretty meaty webinar a few weeks ago, I thought I’d edit it up for you and serve the best parts as a podcast.

 

Here’s what you’ll learn:

 

    The one area where you’re wasting the most time and that could be the cause of all your launch problems

    Why knowing how to set your launch goals, sets you up for bigger success

    The key phases in your launch and the exact action steps you can take today to make each one feel easy peasy.

 

No matter when you’re planning to launch - next month or next year, you’ll be able to take action during and after you listen to this episode.

 

If you want to hear and watch the whole webinar replay, you can jump over here right now and still grab it...I decided to leave it up for you, even though Fearless Launching closes this Friday, October 10th. Click the link below to watch it.
Show Notes (Stuff I mentioned)

Launch Essentials Workshop - webinar replay

B-School

LKR Social Media

Jonathan Fields

Leadpages (aff)

Infusionsoft (aff)

Fearless Launching

Jessica Kupferman’s workflow episode

She Podcasts (awesome podcast)

John Lee Dumas (Entrepreneur On Fire)

 

*Did I miss anything? I do that sometimes, so let me know and I’ll update the notes for you!

 
What You Should Do Right Now

 

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now - both require you take action. 

 

First thing - Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and and help other people find it too!

 

Second thing - click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

Sometimes we set out to do a new project in our business and reality sets in to what it really takes to make it happen.

Check out today’s Fearless Launching Show where I share:

• My initial plan for the podcast

• What I didn’t really plan for before launching

• How I’m changing the show moving forward

• The exact tweaks I’ll be making

• And how you can hold me accountable

Spoiler alert: Weekly shows officially start TODAY and a renewed commitment to quality...

A few weeks ago - I got this email from Racheal Cook, friend, past client, and amazing entrepreneur.

Here’s what Racheal said:

Just wanted to reach out to let you know the results of the Fired Up + Focused Challenge that you helped me map out early this year. Basically... it's been the most awesome thing ever!

Since launching the challenge -

• Email list has DOUBLED {all organically with only a few emails to my own list to kick it off and NO Facebook ads}

• Converted 4.5% Challengers into PAID CLIENTS {previous launch strategy of 3-part video series converted less than 1.5%}

• January 2014 was the best month EVER - over $75K! - between sold out CBD + mentorship clients

By the time I close out 2014, this challenge alone will have 3x my biz over last year.

I knew I had to bring Racheal back because I’ve worked with her a few different times for different reasons...once after becoming a new mom and then awhile later when she was ready to shake things up.

Here’s what we talked about today:

• Racheal shares her previous launch strategy - and why she decided to change it

• How long it took her to realize she wanted to improve sales and conversion

• How we worked together and came up with the idea of the Fired Up and Focused Challenge

• The shift she made and the exact results it has brought to her business and launches

• What you need to know about testing, playing around, and changing things up in your business

Plus - she sums it all up to the biggest reason she’s had so much success this year (and it’s something you can start doing way before you launch)

Since I’ve spent the last few weeks talking about launches, how to launch alone, why launches aren’t working… I decided to switch things up and feature one of the stand out students in Fearless Launching. She is such a great example of what it takes to build an empire one launch at a time.

Theresa Reed is also known to many as The Tarot Lady…I just know her as a seriously bad ass entrepreneur…And to me this is a huge eye opener.  You wouldn’t think that someone who reads tarot cards for a living is such a shrewd business woman.

But she is.

Theresa joined Fearless Launching back in the early days and to be totally honest, I had no idea what I could possibly teach her.

Theresa is what I call a serial launcher, but she launches in a smart well thought out way.

She’s launched everything from live events to ecourses to group training...and earlier this year I was on her business focused monthly radio show Talking Shop which she does with Bri Saussy….and she provides a much needed service to other tarot professionals and other spiritually minded and aligned entrepreneurs.

In this packed 30 minutes you’ll learn:

• What Theresa does at the core of her business and how that’s shifted over the past few years.

• How she launched her first training courses after running a successful Tarot business for years.

• The moment she knew she was ready to launch.

• Her exact preparation strategy for every launch. (Secret sauce alert!)

• The one she learned from Fearless Launching that never occurred to her to do but makes so much sense!

• Theresa reveals her favorite favorite thing to launch and share and teach...

• She talks about how she determines launch dates… the key is ease and avoiding mercury in retrograde.

And as a special treat…(you gotta stick around till the end) Theresa reveals some months coming up that are super hot months and good for most anyone to launch.

Leave comments for Theresa over on the blog - she just might be able to give you the date you should launch your next product!

Is your business growing or failing? How do you tell?

Where do you go for answers?

 I’ll tell you where - > here! This episode features Google Analytics and SEO expert Liz Lockard.  

 I met Liz way back in 2012 during one of the first rounds of Fearless Launching. 

 I was eager to get her on the show because I’ve been able to see her grow from a consulting business only to scaling her business with group training programs...literally from idea to launch and then beyond.  

 She’s been seen all over the web (and around Philly where she’s from) -- at LKR Social Media, Rise To The Top, Social Media Examiner and more… prepare yourself from some giggles...but in between we manage to cover a bunch of more serious and useful topics.

 This episode is jam packed.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

•Tricking yourself to launch (and to do many other things)

•Why a little pig makes me so happy

•How Liz got the knack for numbers and data, and all that stuff that makes    most people sick to their stomach

•What Liz thinks about trying to keep your SEO tuned exactly to Google algorith

•How to look at your data and know that your business is growing or at least on track

•What’s more wayyyy more important than watching page views

•On site and off site methods of “doing SEO” for your business website

•The #1 mistake that new business owners are doing when they try to SEO their website

 We do a lot of giggling for a chat about analytics and data...so don’t be surprised, but I can assure you that we dig in deeper on strategies and tips to get you started with both analytics and SEO.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• What or Who is Edgar?

• How is Edgar different from other similar software like him?

• The first thing Laura did once you decided she decided to create it

• How did Laura come up with the idea?

• What Laura learned about the process of developing software and how it differs from creating online programs?

Plus we talk about what seems to be the growing trend of online entrepreneurs who are developing software, apps, and other non info-product-y products.

Today’s episode features Erin Stutland.  I worked with Erin on her first launch of the Shrink Session workout and since then the program has grown like crazyyyyy.  

I pulled Erin into the launch lair to talk about her recent amazingness launch for Shrink Session and the free challenge that blew the roof off the launch...but what we ended up talking about was how Erin’s launched other programs, changed her business over time.

We talk fear, fun, and crushing it.  Enjoy and make sure to leave her a comment below!

Visit annesamoilov.com/show for more details.

Today’s episode features Hilary Rushford - style blogger, stylist, and now entrepreneurial guide + strategist...and author!

This lovely has so much energy and insight to give, even seasoned business owners have something to learn here.

What I think I like most about Hilary is her story and how real it is--the journey of discovering the corporate life was not for her and how she went on a mega self-learning business school pilgrimage to figure it all out.  She's driven, smart, and really funny too!

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How to and how to NOT launch a book
• How far in advance did Hilary started prepping for the launch
• The exact launch team that evolved during the launch + who she wishes she would’ve hired first
• Why she chose to do an interview series + a blog tour as her prelaunch content
• What she’d do differently if she could do it again
• The types of products she sells + how she manages to serve two often different audiences
• And...we crack the case and share our favorite brands (clothes, people) and why

Today’s show features entrepreneur Jessica Kupferman, podcast, mom, funny lady…and word of warning - we always have a ton of fun together, interrupt each other and generally like to make a joke if things get too serious.

She's obsessed with podcasting and sharing why your business needs a podcast... and specifically why more women need to do podcasts!

Here’s what goes down:

• Jessica shares how she produces two shows per week (maybe more by the time this goes live!).
• An impromptu brainstorm how to make the content workflow easier.
• I also share my results with the podcast + she gives me a few tips.
• How to be an introvert and still manage to talk to people all day long.
• Find out what’s changed in her business over a full year of podcasting.
• Why podcasting is so cool for building an audience of people you don’t know already!
• Why we need more women podcasters!!

And you’ll hear Jessica go off on delegating, being interviewed, and helping me create the officially first NON-CLEAN interview, so grab your headphones for this one.

Listen in to this episode where I share:

• how long in advance of a launch to run Facebook ads

• what type of Facebook ad worked best for me

• how long it took to see any results

• what I didn’t know that I will do different next time

• the exact leads brought in by 2 types of ads

...and I’ll also share my upcoming ads testing!

Also - visit the blog for more details on the tests and some screenshots of the actual ads I used: http://www.annesamoilov.com/real-facebook-ads-results/

Today's episode features Hillary Rubin, a Spiritual Life and Business Coach, creator of the coach training program The Art of Becoming A Coach, training program where she coaches coaches to create their unique style of coaching and birth a practice they love.

Hillary's been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Yoga Journal and The Daily Worth.com. She was named one of the top 25 Women Entrepreneurs to Love in 2012 and one of the top 50 Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter in 2013 by SheOwnsIt.com....

But let's get to the good stuff.

So, today’s episode we’re chatting with Jen Louden about her approach to teaching and how she’s created a program that dives deep into the topics of student engagement, the course creation process, and some hidden things that prevent people from sharing their goods in the first place.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

• The truth about getting people to learn  

• The one thing you should do every single time you start a course to get people engaged quickly

• I ask Jen to expand on why less is more when you’re creating a class of any kind

• How to make sure people remember what you’re trying to teach them

• How to structure your course for different levels of people

• The ideal process of creating a class

Question…

Do you only take on projects that you’re “qualified” to do?

Would you accept a client or project or job where you weren’t technically trained to do it, but you knew you could learn?

If you’re willing to be totally honest with the people involved, these types of opportunities might be more available to you than you think.

And that’s just what happened to Kelly Kingman!

Read more over on the blog:  www.annesamoilov.com

Being an entrepreneur is like being a detective.

You’re on the hunt for people who have the one big problem you solve.

So you try all different types of things to find these people.

You’re testing all sorts of ideas in your head, with your friends…teasing them out to the readers of your blog.

You’re looking for that worthwhile “thing” to launch or to put you on the map. Make you legit.

Truth is: getting any idea out into the world, takes thought, effort and so much more than someone making a move, clicking a button or saying yes.

So the mere act of launching gives you so much klout as a business owner (even internal klout counts).

Today’s episode of The Fearless Launching Show covers those lessons you can learn faster and more effectively when you launch an idea.

Read the full story: http://www.annesamoilov.com/5-business-lessons-can-learn-when-you-launch

-Anne

We’ve all been there.

It’s the morning your launch opens.

You “un” redirect your sales page and excitedly send out the “we’re open” email.

Your preloaded social media messages trickle out during that first day. You wait - hopefully for the first, second, and third sales to come in.

And maybe you get some, maybe you don’t.

But - after that initial open - and perhaps a few more emails, maybe some other “launchy” content.  What do you do to make sure your launch isn’t a bust?

In today’s episode of the Fearless Launching Show I’ll be sharing 5 simple actions you can (and should take) if people aren’t buying your offering.

So if you’ve been reading my blog over the past 2 years, perhaps even following along with me over the lastfew weeks, in my newsletters, the podcast and even on social media – I stick to a few topics that I’m seriously passionate about.

I dive into the process of creating amazing online products, how to reach the right new people, and of course how to launch your products and services online.

But more than that – I get excited to share resources to help you build your business – anything that gives you a proven framework and then sets you up for an easier launch.

Marie Forleo’s B-School is one of only 2 programs I tell people to take before stepping into the Fearless Launching clubhouse.

Listen in my behind the scenes - very personal take on working inside B-School and being a student.

Plus - find out what I'm giving away to anyone who enrolls through my special affiliate link! 

If “keep doing something until it no longer works” is your motto - does that mean you shouldn’t make business changes and do the same exact thing until NOTHING’S working?

At what point do you decide to change things up?  Do you have to change everything?

If you’re not thinking about these questions, start today.

There’s this idea spreading around the online business landscape that says anyone can package up their knowledge and sell it.  And while that’s true – in order to stand out – it’s important that your training sticks with your students. Can you say that is true about your own product with complete confidence?  Do you know what your customers will remember after they leave your course, finish reading your book, or stop working with you?  Karen Sargeant of the Sunny Patio Project joins us today on the podcast to discuss...

A launch is a series of moving parts that can get complex and overlap.  Because of this - mistakes happen.

Even the absolutely flawless launch plan can end up slightly mangled.

Tech problems, systems breakdowns, team members who don’t deliver, team members that do deliver, team leaders that change their minds constantly… it’s all part of the process of launching.