If you’re a subject matter expert making around $100,000-$400,000 per year congratulations.
You’ve created a solid offer and sold that offer to your current audience successfully.
You can have a very successful expert business with a small but strong network of contacts selling a high-end offer.
I have several friends and clients who have reached that level just off their personal contacts and warm connections alone.
And it certainly is the fastest path to cash as my friend and mentor Adam Urbanski says.
But at a certain point, you’re going to need to expand outside of your existing audience.
Here are six ways I have used to add over 15,000 subscribers the past couple of years and you can use to expand your profits and audience.
Online Summits
“Online summits are dead.”
I hear this one all the time and laugh a little inside.
Sure they’re not the mass market rage they were a couple of years ago. Similar to webinars.
But do they work well?
Of course. If you EXECUTE well.
Ask people like Navid Moazzez, Liam Austin, or Mitch Asser if they work well.
They have added tens of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of thousands of dollars to their businesses using summits.
I have personally added over 7,000 subscribers from hosting two online summits. The revenue both directly but mainly indirectly from my summits has been at least a couple hundred grand.
Summits can help you build a number of important components for your expert business.
- Your email list
- Your authority
- Your network
I love the summit model when done right.
Partner Lead Magnet Mailings
This is one of the simplest ways to bring in new leads and grow your subscriber list.
While you may only get a hundred or so subscribers at a time, the amount of time to set up these mailings is very small.
You simply create a free item. It could be a guide, a cheat sheet, a video, or anything that is attractive to your ideal client. You set up a squeeze page and have your partner’s email to your landing page.
You likely already have something like this in place.
I have a short email automation behind the opt-in giving value, indoctrinating them further, and giving a call to action to book a call with me.
Partner Webinars
This is how I got started expanding my audience. I would do a JV webinar with a partner who would email his list to my webinar. I would grow my subscriber list while getting a chance to offer my product or service to their audience.
You can also host a webinar one day each month and have several partners email to your webinar so you can avoid the time involved in doing one to one JV webinars.
My friend Charles Byrd has built a sizable list and audience all using this strategy.
Paid Traffic Funnels
This one can really accelerate your profit and audience expansion quickly.
You need to be willing to INVEST money upfront to do this one.
I would recommend having at least $5,000 set aside that you don’t mind INVESTING.
If you’re selling through a conversation (and not a sales page), a simple paid traffic funnel could look like this…
Ad > Lead Magnet > VSL (Video Sales Letter) > Indoctrination Email Drip X 5-7 with CTA for a Call.
An email could invite them to join your Facebook group and to like your page.
You can also host webinars or Facebook Lives to your house list to attract more prospects.
Start by building a simple funnel.
Adding a self-liquidating funnel is a bit more advanced but can also help you expand while covering some if not all the ad spend.
Be a lead investor at this point.
Contests
I have only done one contest myself with moderate results. I have friends who have used them successfully in mass markets.
The issue is, you tend to attract the lowest level of consumers. People looking for freebies.
It really depends on your market but for most coaches, consultants, or service providers selling high-end services, contests are not going to be the best idea as you are looking for quality over quantity.
Podcast Interviews
I have personally spoken on dozens of podcasts over the past couple of years.
I rarely decline an interview and here is why.
- They are great social proof you can leverage in your sales process.
- You get a chance to meet the host and expand your network.
- You get a chance to get in front of their audience for only 30 minutes of your time.
Now, some podcasts have more reach than others.
Don’t expect a flood of subscribers or followers from 99% of them.
But they’re still a solid way to build your authority and reach more people.
Launching with Partners
Partner launches are used by experts who want to bring in an influx of revenue and rapidly grow their audience.
We are all familiar with the PLF model for launching. 4 videos. We know what’s going to happen.
While a great strategy for growth, I do have a few issues with large-scale partner launches.
Most are built around selling a $2,000 plus course.
90% of the people who buy during these launches are complete beginners and are not in a position to get results from the course.
According to best-selling author Seth Godin, 98% of people who start an online course, don’t finish them.
So it’s basically a bunch of marketers with lists getting together, to sell a “magic pill” to people who don’t know any better and think this is the “missing ingredient” to their online riches.
Some of the smartest experts who are focused on client results are adding more support to their programs to increase client outcomes.
Partner launches can be a great growth strategy but often at the expense of the beginner market.
There are a number of ways to expand your profits and your audience as an online expert.
I recommend you pick one or two and get really good at growing through those.
As you systemize, then look to add other channels to create that “You Everywhere” effect for your tribe and for new prospects.
Thanks for reading this post.
If you found it helpful, please share it with others you feel could use this information.
If you would like to discuss using these profit expansion techniques in your business, go here and tell me more about your business. From there we can jump on a call to make sure working together is a good fit.
