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IBM 31 | How We Created Two Webinars that Generated nearly $100,000 in Sales?

Jay (Jason Van Orden) 20 Comments

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Where have we been the last couple months?!…off making money of course. And in this episode we outline the process that we developed for running our coaching programs after months of planning and surveying our communities. These coaching programs resulted in almost $100,000 in sales.

We reveal the tools that we used to create the course materials, including a revolutionary presentation tool that gives PowerPoint a run for it’s money! Some of the teaching techniques we used in this coaching course have never been used like this by anyone else.

We also introduce new open music, close and production elements to put a shiny spit shine on the show.

Items mentioned in this show:

Jay’s Twitter Page
Sterling’s Twitter Page
GetMyWebinarTool.com – the webinar/screen-sharing tool we used
Camtasia – the screen recording software we used
iShowU – a screen recording software for Mac
Special voice over deal for Internet Business Mastery listeners
Sterling’s recommended affiliate tool

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This post is in: Creating Information Products, Internet Business Case Studies, Podcast

20 Comments Leave a Comment


Great show as always guys! Thanks. I love the new opening!

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Hi Guys,

Thanks so much for the mention in your last show. Here’s a link to a page on my site where I did a mini-review of your service. http://auctionwally.com/antiquesandcomputers.html .
It’s good to have you back after the long break, I was jonesing there a bit :)
I really appreciate what you do, and subscribe to the philosophy of helping people become self sufficient on the web, it’s what I try to do in my business.
I conduct free online antiques appraisals on my blog and I’m always looking to give people tips and advice on antiques, auctions and business in general. I figure that the better informed my clientele is the more they’ll recognize a square deal.

Thanks again,

Auctionwally

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Mark

Hi Guys – I’m a recent fan. Thanks for your teachings. I’ve learned a lot. Glad you’re back!

I think the new voiceover is pretty good. I prefer the quicker ones interspersed throughout the show, instead of the intro, which I find kinda wordy…but it’s definitely cool that you tried something new!

I want to convey some critical thoughts about your strong book recommendation, “The 4 hour work week”. Not sure if this forum is the place, so forgive me, but here goes anyway.

I definitely gleaned cool ideas from it, but I don’t think it’s worth the raves you gave it. It’s mainly a lifestyle book for young, single, self-employed people. And you have to plod through lots of self-aggrandizing and vague, confusing writing. I visit Ferris’ blog, but more and more I find him kind of unlikeable and self-obsessed. I think you guys do good, honest work — you teach, you share your knowledge. Ferris does to a degree — he offers a new paradigm and good resources– but I think he spends way to much time promoting a self-obsessed lifestyle of trivial pursuits and seems to care little about breaking promises to business associates.

I’d be more inspired by Ferris if he spent his mini-retirements helping people less fortunate than himself. He’s obviously a smart guy with a strong grasp of new media. He could be a real force for good.

On that note, you might enjoy Cameron Reilly’s recent blog post about using new media in ways that help the world be a better place. He calls it Geeks For Good:

http://www.cameronreilly.com

Anyway, Thanks Sterling and Jay…I’ll continue to listen! I’ve referred your podcast to many friends…

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@Mark,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feedback. I can see where you are coming from on the Ferris book. I didn’t subscribe to every last detail, but a couple of the things he taught were extremely significant which is why I still highly recommend reading it. The overarching premise is powerful.

I take the approach that not everything will apply to my circumstances. There are parts of the Rich Dad books that I don’t align with, but still the books have a strong impact.

Here are some more specific responses to your comments on the Four-Hour Work Week.

It’s mainly a lifestyle book for young, single, self-employed people.

I think there is a lot in there that applies to married couples and older people as well. Sure he is a 30-year old male, but lifestyle design is something I would hope people would apply their whole lives.

And you have to plod through lots of self-aggrandizing…

I can certainly see where you get this. It got to me at times as well.

I think you guys do good, honest work — you teach, you share your knowledge. Ferris does to a degree…but I think he spends way to much time promoting a self-obsessed lifestyle of trivial pursuits and seems to care little about breaking promises to business associates.

I was also uncomfortable with some of the small “white lies” he recommends to gets things done. I prefer to refrain from even seemingly harmless “white lies” in my communication.

On another note, Tim does spend time money and resources on philanthropy. Here is an example:

http://bub.blicio.us/?p=442

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Mark

Hi Jason – great responses to my comment. Thanks. I’m glad you mentioned Ferris’ philanthropic endeavor.

You raise great points. Yes, it’s usually worth the time investment to read books that provide at least one good life-changing strategy. I admit- I get swept up in the excitement and hype of some business books & gurus, only to crash when I realize many of them are snake oil salesman. Point is, as you suggest; it’s best to be your own best guru. Take what works for your life, leave the rest, and realize that many of these gurus who so confidently toot their own methods often have cracks in the foundation. It’s good to maintain a critical eye. Not swallow the whole package. Play devil’s advocate.

Anyway – you really provide awesome, helpful content. Your desire to share the wealth is inspiring. Thanks again!

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Emmon

Hi Jason: Would LOVE to find out more about the music business CDs you mentioned.

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Emmon

Hi Mark: I’ve been so smitten with 4HourWorkWeek that it was refreshing to hear your take! Maybe it’s because I work in marketing for a traditional company, but I love Tim Ferris’s attitude toward rule-bending. At work, it’s helped me go for more visionary results, and away from work it actually helped me connect with my friend John as he lay dying of brain cancer!

Last month, I got the nutty idea of taking my digital keyboard to John’s room in the cancer ward (and playing Beethoven for him) when my wife said a totally sensible thing: “Is it allowed? Won’t someone stop you?” Pre-Ferris, I probably wouldn’t have tried it. But this is a post-Ferris world for me! I figured: “If someone stops me, I’ll just take it back to the car.”

I marched to the 8th floor cancer ward with my keyboard – no one said a word – and played for two hours. John loved it, the nurses asked me to stay longer, and it led to my playing every few days up until he died. Those are some of the most heartfelt moments I’ve had at a keyboard (not to mention my life) and I believe it was Tim’s book that helped make them happen.

Mark, thanks again for bringing up the topic! -Emmon

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Emmon,

Thanks for sharing that story. Regarding my wife’s course for musicians, she’s still putting together and editing the course materials as well as her site. It will be available here:

http://www.punchbuzz.com

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Great work guys!

I think it is a great idea to have the “Bookmark/share this article” at the bottom of each post. Is that an addon to WordPress or do you manually put it in each blog?

I was also wondering about the site look and feel, did you make the template custom?

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Mark

Emmon,
That’s a really touching story. It’s awesome that Ferris’ book inspired you to break free of your confort zone. Hey, again, his book inspired me too in several ways. I guess I just find it important to look at books/gurus with a more critical eye these days. He recently posted a blog that encouraged letting “small bad things happen”. Some of those things involved blowing off interviews and reporters while he traveled the world. I just don’t subscribe to that philosophy, and a lot of his fans praised his post and him, which I found kind of scary.

The ultimate rule-breaker was Hunter S. Thompson. (Read “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”). Talk about NOT sweating the small stuff! I wouldn’t do a fraction of the crazy stuff HST did, but like yourself I WAS influenced by his devil-may-care attitude.

I’m not trying to bash Ferris entirely here folks. When I heard the raves I investigated, and found some gems in his book – but I had to dig through a lot of filler to find them. Just my opinion!

Here are some books and audio lectures that have really impacted me, that you can buy:

Tony Robbins’ “Powertalk” interview series. They’re all amazing, but I highly recommend the one where he interviews Barbara DeAngeles because part 1 is Tony monologuing about “The Power of Questions”, one of the most life-changing things I’ve ever heard. http://www.anthonyrobbins.com

“The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. It’s targeted toward writers and artists, but applies to anybody starting a business. It’s about how “Resistance” can beat you – if you’re not careful…and how to overcome it. If it weren’t for that book, I never would have finished my first picture book and gotten it published. http://www.stevenpressfield.com

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@Jeff,

To add the bookmarking links at the bottom of the posts we use a plugin called Sociable that we modified a bit. I wrote a post about it here.

The “look and feel” of this site is based on a pre-made WordPress template that we modified as well. I forget the name of it now.

@Mark,

Thanks for sharing other books/programs that have inspired you. I need to check those out.

Anyone else have books to share that have really inspired them?

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You bring up an interesting point Mark, that helped me realize how I filter what I read. I really loved the 4 hour work week, but my brain filters what doesn’t work for me or any other thing that might bug me about a book. If I get ONE thing that makes a change in my life, I really like a book. If I get 5 things, let’s say, then I rave about it. Now, Tims book has lets just say 14 things to take from it and I had a life change with 5. I never think about what doesn’t work for me, just the stuff that does. The stuff that doesn’t work gets automatically filtered to save brain time.

As far as him being self-obsessed and the like, when I meet him and there was nothing about him to let me know he was a wealthy, self-obsessed person. In fact, he was quite gracious and very friendly. Had I not keep asking him about himself or I wouldn’t have even known he wrote a book!
So, I came into reading the book with that image of him, which may have made it easier to get through anything that may have sounded arrogant. It’s definitely hard to present tone in text…

I would say that you have to now know that when we present a book that changed is it may just be 3 points of 10 points in the book that made the change. Being a person that loves inspiration and passion, I really hone in on a book if it inspires me to change. That is what makes me recommend a book.

Sterling

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Mark

Sterling – I hear ya. Great comments about your filtering process. It’s a real positive spin and it kind of lightens me up about the whole thing.

But still – I feel that my time is valuable. I think I’ve just read too many quality books – tightly written, well edited. It hurts slogging through books that are filled with bad writing. I just finished Joe Vitale’s “Hypnotic Writing”. He’s one of the guys from “The Secret”. I wanted to learn about copywriting so I bought it at the airport. The book is equal parts awesome and crappola. For every gem of wisdom you get, you have to endure his shameless self-promotion and long-windedness. It’s masterbatory. Ferris’ book is kinda like that to me. It’s a frustrating reading experience!

I find my early recommendation, “The War of Art”, the ideal book; each page is a tightly written paragraph – with no BS. A thing of beauty. Is it for everyone? No. He spends the first three-quarters of the book delving into how sneaky Resistance is and all the ways it beats us. Then he tells you how to beat it. The last quarter of the book he discusses Muses – (the angels that bring us inspiration) and how they work for us. That might turn some people off. But this is not a new-agey man. Pressfield is a man’s man who writes historical fiction. He wrote “Legend of Baggar Vance”.

Anyway, I really like the way YOU guys promote yourselves. You serve up loads of helpful information, and then at the end subtlely mention your site. You deliver so much, I’m happy to come here….

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Emmon

Jason: I was very inspired by “Small Giants” and Ari Weinzweig’s “Guide to Giving Great Service”!

Speaking of Tim Ferriss… has anyone tried his “comfort challenge” of lying down for 10 seconds in the middle of a busy Starbucks? I tried it today. (Not easy.)

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Emmon,

Please tell me you have video or photos of you lying down in Starbucks!

I’m impressed. I can’t say I’ve tried that one.

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Emmon

Sorry! I did it solo, so no video! If you’re seriously interested, though, just say the word and I’ll try it.

I HIGHLY recommend this challenge. In the 48 hours since I did it, I’ve done half a dozen “gutsy” things — including a difficult but wonderful visit to my recently deceased friend’s family, a powerful negotiation with a two print vendors (where I saved hundreds of dollars), and committing to play a knuckle-busting piano piece at a large church this Sunday.

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Emmon,

You should definitely get this on video for two reasons:

1. I would post it to the blog here.

2. It has tremendous viral potential. Put an appropriate intro telling what you are about to do then record it in action and then BE SURE to brand it somehow to drive people to your site when they see it.

Note: If you get in any…uhhhh…legal trouble…I didn’t condone this behavior. ;)

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glad to see you guys back. Just to comment on what an individual person gets from a book ( I taught college Mass Communications). I won’t bore you all with details, but there are things like “selective perception” (we see what we want to see) selective retention ( we only retain things we see that support out previously held beliefs). I used to ask my students, if 100 people watched the NBC nightly News with Brian Williams, how many Brian Williamses are there?

100, we each see, read, perceive things through our own unique filters. No two people will see the same thing and come away with the exact same information. It’s one more reason why, when trying to communicate to a mass audience you need to keep it simple, straightforward and direct.

As Marshal McLuhan said “the medium is the massage.”

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Hi guys,

Great show. I’ve been doddering over a membership/coaching site for a while now and am newly inspired following your podcast.

Am going to be a bit of a party pooper here though – I didn’t really like your new intro. The old one was much cooler – maybe I’m just averse to change … You wouldn’t consider some sort of Yak mooing set to a hardcore beat ?

Thanks again for the great info in the podcast.

Reply


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