EP65: Beyond the Dream!
We ALL want things to work exactly the way they are in our minds. Our business plan is perfect. The goals we set will become real. But, life gets in the way. Reality takes over. Things change.
As you know, together, we have discussed having dreams.
Your dreams…
My dreams…
Our audience's dreams…
And
Still, we haven't fleshed out any of those dreams at all.
Now have we?
How do you take what is in your head and your heart, and break it down into actionable steps that can be acted upon?
First of all - this is NOT a topic gurus usually address, because we all have different dreams (goals).
Maybe they [the guru] are afraid to say something that may not always be correct for everyone - so instead they just ignore it.
I don't want to ignore it - because it is a real question people do have.
“How do I make my dreams real?”
So, I will speak about this topic as simply as I possibly can while still giving you a canvas that can be modified to meet your needs. So you can paint the picture in your heart.
Working Backward
When you are looking for a goal to be manifested [your dream] or a combination of things to become real, it is easier if you start from the end and work your way backward.
Similar to painting a landscape picture. The first thing you MUST have is an image in your mind of what you will be painting.
It kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?
You need to see it in its entirety.
This is where you start.
The END.
From there you work on the background with broad strokes, blending them to form the sky or horizon.
Next, you work in the middle ground imagery and finish with the foreground.
Later you add landscaping, trees, and bushes as they were in the image you first saw.
Upon completion, you have created the PRODUCT of your mind, for all to see and experience as well.
You must do this too.
Supposedly, you know what you want. Right?
At least I would hope so.
As someone brilliant once said, “if you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you have arrived.”
So it is crucial to understand what you want.
To understand what it is so well that you can see it when you close your eyes, you can feel it, and even smell it if you visualize it strong enough.
It should make your heart beat faster when you think about it.
If it does, and you can experience it emotionally, then, you are one step closer to achieving it.
The problem though is this.
Most people…
Most marketers…
Most dreamers…
Just stop at visualizing their dream.
They want it…
There is no doubt about that.
However, they disconnect from the process that should deliver their most precious thing to them.
Maybe they lose focus.
Maybe they just get scared.
Maybe they feel they don't have the resources to bring it to life.
All of these issues can be overcome.
By working hard and doing it with a purpose.
Break down the dream you have into manageable steps.
Like a painting…
Remember?
You cannot do too much at one time. Becoming overwhelmed is where beginners start on a downward slope.
To stop that before it happens, plan your steps in easy and manageable portions that can be accomplished and build upon each subsequent step until the goal has been reached.
The secret is in the mini-goals that you set and are then accomplished along the way.
Mini-goals are smaller pieces of larger goals you may have. Broken up to be manageable and layered upon one another to manifest the larger goal.
When you set goals that are too difficult and/or are uninspiring you have lost before you even started.
Remember this is your dream you are working to bring to life.
You’ve been bragging about it for who knows how long.
Days?
Weeks?
Months?
Years?
But now…
Now!
You have built up your confidence and found the time to work on it.
This is YOUR time to shine.
Don't let it all be in vain.
You don't need to knock it out of the park to be successful.
Your first time doing anything entrepreneurial is going to be scary and intimidating.
You may even fail.
Let me share a secret with you - you probably will fail…
At first…
But…
Not as a person; as an idea.
I like to say, “you found another way NOT to do something”.
It took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries to get his light bulb to work.
9,999 failures…
And yet…
He was successful.
We have no idea what those 9,999 other tries were like to Edison. But we know he never gave up.
And you too can be successful as well.
Fail your way forward. Just like Edison.
Tim Ferris
The author of “The 4-Hour Workweek” was turned down by about 25 publishers before finding one who agreed to publish his work — which later became a best-selling title.
Sir James Dyson
Dyson wasn’t always a well-known name associated with vacuum cleaners. It took Sir James Dyson 15 years and all of his savings to develop a bagless prototype that worked. He developed 5,126 prototypes that failed first.
Milton Hershey
Hershey’s is one of the most recognized names in chocolate. But before founding the company, Milton Hershey was fired from his apprenticeship with a printer. And then he tried to start three different candy companies, all of which failed, before starting the Lancaster Caramel Company and the Hershey Company that made his sweet confection a household name.
So again, you too can be successful as well.
There may be some steps you will have to take that may very well be more difficult than others. In those instances, take your time and get it done right. Don't rush through, just to get it out of the way.
Let the other marketers do that.
You're different.
You know your dream is going to be out there doing great things for your audience.
You're going to take your time to develop your product or service so it stands up to criticism.
Don't just build simple plain Jane products.
Build products that solve real problems.
The problems you may have had and eventually overcame.
The problems your audience is experiencing right now!
The problems YOU know all too well.
These are the DREAMS worth fighting for.
The DREAMS worth doing.
Dare to dream.
Dare to create.
Dare to be…
YOU!
Just be you!
As an example…
Let's say you have a service you want to promote.
You NEED customers to purchase this product.
You need sales as soon as possible.
After all, you love creating things - helping others - but you must still have sales.
Without sales, you're not a business.
You are a hobbyist.
Nothing more.
So let's go and find some customers.
We're assuming you don't already have a list.
Ok?
For me, without a lot of time to wait for organic blog posts and other social media to get traction - it would be time for advertising to do its magic.
I would use Facebook - but at any time, social media can and will change. Then you would use what works at that time.
For now, though, let's start with a long-form FB ad to target an audience.
The GOAL of the FB ad is to attract your audience and repel everyone else.
Yes, I said you would intentionally REPEL people that do not fit the audience you want to serve.
Believe me, I know that is not how most gurus teach marketing.
Well, I'm not a guru, and you need sales, not tire thumpers wasting your ad budget on curiosity.
Let those deep-pocket guru waste their money trying to attract everyone.
Your ad should be between 600 and 1000 words long.
In there, you have the time to develop a hook, a convincing argument, and a call to action.
The hook is the first two lines of a Facebook ad. It has been called by many names.
It is also called a headline.
Your headline or hook is the first line or two of copy your reader is going to see in your ads. A strong headline will hook the potential customer and compel them to read more about your products and services. You may come up with a great ad that doesn't require a headline, but those are rare. Let's not test new waters here - go ahead and use a good hook.
Shawn Twing said his two favorite hooks are dialogue and questions (which can be combined too).
If you’re writing a 1,000-word Facebook ad, start with the main takeaway you want the reader to believe (that’s your controlling idea).
Then, identify the three things that a person needs to believe to accept your controlling idea.
Make sure those ideas make sense and that they follow logically from one to the other.
Next, you need to support each of those three main points with (up to) three proof points.
Finally, after you’ve made your case (like a prosecutor), tell the reader what to do next.
Your Call to Action must be specific.
Tell them - your preferred audience - what you want them to do.
Click here.
DM me.
Email me.
Call me.
They need to know what to do.
It may seem obvious, but far too many marketers skip this step entirely, thinking, I suppose, that the audience can just figure it out.
Don't do that.
Because they DON'T just figure it out. They just move on, figuring if there was more you had to say or wanted them to do - you would have mentioned it!!
Tell. them. what. to. do!
Here below are the steps I believe you should employ to successfully sell your product.
Each one of these, including FB ads, has its podcast episode for more detail.
I'll include a link to my blog post where I include the audio and text for you, for each of them.
Here they are …
Your Steps to Success
FB ad
Landing page [Sorry guys - I must have overlooked creating a podcast for this. I'll get to it soon!]
Relationship building emails
Bridge email [Part 1 and Part 2]
Promotional email sequence
That's it for me…
This ends another podcast.
I hope you are better off after listening than you were before.
Have a great week.
And I'll see you again next week.
Until then...
James "Still Dreaming" Brown
P.S. - In the event, you DO find that once an episode has been produced and posted, that YOU really would like more information, just let me know. Use the Podcast Questions link, click on the link here. Or you can just leave a voice message here.
