How to Create Passive Income Online - Even With a Small Audience!
I'm really excited to share this blog with you guys - because, as you know - I am obsessed with passive income! I mean, I talk about it all the time. There is truly nothing like waking up in the morning and seeing that new students have enrolled in your course. And you've basically made money while you were sleeping. It's the coolest shit ever!! And I want everyone to experience it. But, there are definitely a lot of myths and misconceptions around what passive income is, what it looks like to set up, and just how to scale, and then maintain your growth. So we're gonna get into all of that here shortly…. The first thing to note - there are a lot of different ways to potentially make passive income. Today, I'm just going to be talking about what has worked for me and my online course sales. And what has been able to work for me, has been to be able to sell them on evergreen. Before I dive deeper into talking about evergreen - I realize some of you may be new to this term or have only heard about it in passing. So…what exactly does it mean to create evergreen systems in your business? A short and precise definition would be: evergreen content is SEO content that stays continually relevant and is always “fresh” to your online audience. When you build a sales funnel that is evergreen around, say - an online course, you basically are driving people to purchase your course/or content all day every day based on previously set up “systems” that continually run automated. So, you could be in Hawaii on the beach or deep in dreamland - when you receive PayPal notifications that someone just enrolled for your course. I want to teach you how to do this. So - let’s chat!
>> I cover all of this in my most recent solo episode on my podcast - so if you’d prefer to listen, versus read about how to create passive income for your online offer - you can do so below.
Let's start with one of the biggest myths that I see around passive income - because you know, the phrase passive income gets kind of a slimy internet marketing vibe. I'm sure you guys have all seen those YouTube ads. But passive income truly is a thing. The myth that I want to bust first and foremost - is that when you set up passive income, it doesn't mean that you're never going to work again, or ever do anything again, and you're just rolling in the millions. It doesn't mean that you're going to start making millions overnight either. I like to be really honest and upfront that creating a passive income system or an evergreen funnel, takes time to set up, it takes time to optimize and make the best that you can so that you're getting to a place where you are making 10s of 1000s, if not hundreds of 1000s from your course every single month. (Yes you read that right!) It does take time and effort to set up. I like to be really honest with you guys. Imagine if you could dedicate the next three to six months of the year, setting something up like this, that would set you up to be making hundreds of 1000s, if not more per year from your course. Setting up a passive income funnel AKA going “evergreen”… is definitely worth it. But there is a little bit of time, effort, and strategy involved. You definitely want to be following a system. So that you know, step by step what to do. Yes - there are lots of ways to make passive income, you can definitely make passive income from putting ads on your website or your YouTube videos. And those definitely work!! ***But I'm gonna be really honest with you guys, it's not very much.
What's really exciting about my passive income method is that you really don't need to have a huge audience for it to be creating a really sustainable lifestyle for you. And it's totally realistic to have, let's say, a goal of making $5,000 a month with an audience of a few hundred people. So I know a lot of you guys maybe have a couple of hundred Instagram followers or email subscribers, and I'm telling you, this is a great place to get started. And you can - if you're following a proven step by step strategy - start making passive income from your online course with this method that I'm about to share with you. Let's get into it!
Step 1
Some people don't necessarily realize that you need a digital offer to start selling passively if you're going to make passive income. You do! So, this could be an e-book, membership site, online courses, etc….
I recommend an online course because number one, with an online course it's the highest value. You're getting the best results for your students, which is a win for them, and you're also a to sell your course at a higher price point because you're getting people results. So it's a win for them, it's a win for you. And truly, it takes the same amount of effort to sell an online course that's a couple $100 as it does to sell a $15 e-book, so I'm all about getting the biggest return on your time and energy with less effort….
And FYI, you guys, if you don't have an online course to sell yet, you have come to the right place! I'm going to be talking all about where to go to learn more about creating an online course.
Step 2
Okay, so now you have your course set up, and you want to sell it for passively. Okay, so there are really two things that you can do. When you have your course ready and you're ready to sell it, there are two different types of launches or marketing plans. So the first one I'm sure you guys are probably very familiar with. And it's a live launch. So with a live launch or an open/closed launch, as it's sometimes referred to as basically means that the enrollment for your online course is during specific dates. So with this type of live launch, you're going to be actively promoting and talking about your launch on Instagram stories, your Facebook group, your podcasts, your emails, really wherever you have an audience online. And most likely, with a live launch, you know, you're going to be hosting some live trainings, webinars, or Instagram lives so that you can really increase interest and sell your course to as many people as possible during these specific dates. Because live launches are obviously a lot of active promotion, you really have to be “on” the entire time that you're launching, as well as be available to answer questions and be promoting and doing live trainings. Live launches are really something that you would only want to do a few times a year, just simply because they are exhausting. Live launches involve a lot of planning and a lot of energy. AND they have a ton of benefits. So I'll get into that.
Benefits of a Live Launch
Don't get me wrong, I love live launching - I've done it a lot and you're certainly going to get a higher volume of sales and students at once, which is of course exciting! And some people just prefer that live element. It's really kind of just personal preference - what you as the course creator want to do. But there are some downsides. Time and energy is the biggest. Your energy during a live launch may be pressed. But, again - it is totally up to you. And, it may be worth it to try both and see which suits you and your biz best.
Let’s Talk Evergreen Launches Now!
So an Evergreen launch essentially means that enrollment into your online course is always open. Now, here's the big caveat to this. Each person in your audience is going to have their own unique deadline for when they need to enroll in your course otherwise they miss out. Let me give you a quick example. Let's say person number one in your audience signs up for your free training or masterclass or webinar. And by doing so they get on your email list. Then they'll be redirected to watch your training or your masterclass via an email. And then because they're on your email list, the next day, they are going to get an email reminding them about watching the masterclass. And then maybe the following day, they're getting another email reminding them about your course that you pitched at the end of your masterclass and what's included, why they need it, what the benefits are, and when their unique deadline is going to be.
When I say a passive income funnel or an evergreen funnel - I’m talking about the same thing btw. An important thing to note is that you decide how long you want your evergreen funnel to be. And, when I say funnel - you can literally just picture a funnel. The top of your funnel is going to be where everybody out on the interwebs that are potentially attracted to your social media content is floating around, as they move down the funnel, that's basically when they are watching your webinar getting on your email list, you're kind of warming them up, and the funnel is getting smaller and smaller. And at the very bottom of the funnel is where you're making the sale, and they are getting into your course. So that's where the term funnel comes from.
Now a question that I get a lot about evergreen launches, or you know, passive income funnels is that people want to know, am I being deceptive? Or am I lying to my audience? Because the doors aren't technically closed when I'm saying that they're closed? And I totally understand this question. But my answer to this is no because you're never saying that your training is live. You can be totally transparent to your audience and tell them you know, they're watching a pre-recorded training, or they are watching an on demand training, which is how I like to refer to it a lot of times. It's actually benefiting the student to join an evergreen funnel, because this way, they can get access to the training, whenever they need it, they can enroll in your course, during the time that is right for them. And whenever they need it, you're not making them wait until the next time that you launch to sign up, because maybe the time won't be right for them. So it's a really again, a win/win, they're getting access to your course whenever they need it. And you are also able to make sales all times of day and night, all months throughout the year. So I am obviously obsessed with evergreen funnels (aka passive income funnels). And the method that I just told you guys about is how I sell all of my courses every single day at this point. So that's a huge, huge pro of having an evergreen funnel. This is what I've been doing for the past three or four years. With evergreen online course launches - everything is automated. Every. single. thing. I teach you this entire system inside my Passive Income Academy course!
I want business owners and new entrepreneurs who are hustling and thinking that they have to be working 12 hour days to make a six-figure income that that is not true whatsoever. We can totally work smarter and not harder and put these strategies in place to have our course be reaching and helping so many more people than if we were just doing one on ones or if we just did live launches.
You guys have probably noticed that I use a combination of both -live- and -evergreen- launches. I have my evergreen funnels running all the time. And then a couple of times a year, truly just when I feel like it, I do a live launch! I love this because throughout the year I'm making steadily increasing income. I make sales from my courses every single day. And then - a couple of times a year when I'll do a live launch, I will get a bigger spike of sales. I have found this combination is great. Deciding on the type of launch that works for you is totally up to you - your personality, your energy type, and what is right for your business.
Here’s a Question That I get Often…
“But what if I have a small audience? Where are these people coming from?”
And that's a great question.
Another thing that I teach in my Passive Income Academy is how to create free content on social media that is attracting the right people at all times of day and night again, and again. The goal is to have that piece of content working for you for years and years to come. So to give you an example of this - there are YouTube videos that I made three years ago, that are still:
Attracting the right types of unicorn students to my audience.
And then they join my email list
Then they watch my webinar
And then they're getting sold on my online courses
Again, without me doing anything!
So really, the key here is, even with your social media content, you can create it in an evergreen way, you make it one time, and it continues to grow your audience for you.
Another example of this is just to show you the difference between evergreen social media content vs. live social media content - is an Instagram story (considered live social media content as it disappears). Yes, it's great to engage the audience that you already have on Instagram stories, but nobody is going to be Googling “how to create an online course” and then finding your Instagram story. But somebody could do that and find one of my YouTube videos that I created a couple of years ago because it's just sitting there evergreen on the internet, waiting for people to find it. And that's the top of my funnel.
I want you to experience the whole thing - so you can join my free training on passive income by texting the word -passiveincome- *no spaces* to 44222. You'll get a text message with a link and just click to sign up for the free training. When you join this free training, I'm going to be teaching you how to create a funnel like I do in my Passive Income Academy course. You can also {click here} to register for the free training. This will take you to a landing page that's going to ask for your email, you're going to be directed to my free training to watch!! You are going to learn a ton about online courses, passive income - and then at the end - I'm obviously going to be pitching my course. So if you decide that's a good option for you, I'm going to tell you how to get it and you'll see the unique deadline for you to enroll by.
A quick recap on the steps for creating passive income with your online offer:
Step 1:
You need something to sell.
Step 2:
Then you are going to start creating evergreen social media content. So let's say you make a YouTube video that is kind of talking about one small piece of what your online course teaches. That way you're attracting the right types of people. Remember, this is the top of your funnel.
Step 3:
Then from there, you're going to be inviting people to your free training where they can learn more. And by free training, what I'm really referring to is a video training or automated webinar. This is the most effective way to provide a ton of free value to your audience, warm them up, tell them your story, inspire them about what is possible for them, and then at the end of it, you will pitch your online course or your paid offer. This webinar should be aimed at giving them a small piece of the puzzle to whatever they're struggling with. And during this process, you will also be capturing their email which you can use in the future!
Step 4:
Then from there, you pitch your course and they can sign up right then and there or, in the following days they’ll receive your automated emails. Remember, these emails are continuing to provide value, telling them the benefits of the course, why they need it, and include their unique deadline.
If you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed, I understand. When I first started my business, I would have been like, “Oh my God, that's exactly what I need. This sounds perfect for me,” “I can travel and make money at the same time.” But - “it sounds like a lot to set up,” “It sounds like I need to be really tech-savvy”. It does sound like a lot. But - I want to remind you guys that you set all of this up one time! It's a strategic plan that you set up one time and then it works for you in the background of your business for years and years and years to come. I am all about working hard once and reaping the benefits for years. This is how I was able to scale my business to over seven figures. I truly believe that setting up an evergreen funnel or a passive income system is the most effective way to create a really sustainable business that has a consistent income.
I would love to have you join my free training if you guys are interested in passive income, creating an online course, and of course, waking up to PayPal notifications while you're on the beach or while you're taking a day off!! To get access to the free training and to see this entire passive income funnel that I've talked about today in action, just text the word -passiveincome- *no spaces* to 44222 you’’ get a text with the link that will take you over to the landing page where you can sign up join the training.
I want everybody to create a passive income funnel in 2021 because I feel like this is the year that we all work smarter, not harder. Let’s do this in 2021.
See you in my free training!
>> P.S. - Are you wanting to create and scale your own profitable online course Click here to sign up for my free masterclass.
