Have you set your 90-day goal yet for this quarter? How are you working to achieve it?
Join us today in my first Focus2Finish session with Debra Butterfield that may give you insights to help you achieve your goal.
Listen Below:
Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes | Stitcher | RSS
Click here to leave an iTunes review and subscribe to the show. Read my step-by-step tutorial and find out all the details here. If you have a specific question, I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a message here.
Brainstorming with Debra Butterfield
SHELLEY: Have you set up your 90 goal for 3rd quarter? Hi, my name is Shelley Hitz, I’m the creator of Author Audience Academy, and I’m on a mission to help you reach more people with your message. It’s time to let your light shine.
One thing I’m just opening up is Focus2Finish sessions with my Author Audience Academy Members. This is my first one.
In these sessions we will go through their 90 day breakthrough goal, and start to develop a plan. So, Debra, thank you for being the very first one.
DEBRA: You’re welcome.
SHELLEY: I’m here in Colorado Springs, and Debra, that’s where you’re from too, aren’t you?
DEBRA: Actually, I used to live in Colorado Springs, but I live in Missouri now.
SHELLEY: Yeah, we met at a conference in Colorado Springs.
DEBRA: Right.
SHELLEY: Yes, awesome. This is the first time I’m using OBS in this way too. Always something new, right?
So we’re going to dive in. I love mind mapping, because it really helps me as a visual learner to visualize and help my clients. I’m going to open in prayer, and then we’re going to dive in to your 90 day goal, and plans on how you’re going to achieve that goal. Does that sound good?
DEBRA: That sounds great.
SHELLEY: Awesome.
God, I thank you for this time. I thank you for this Focus2Finish session. I thank you for Debra and all the gifts and abilities you’ve given her. Thank you for the technology where we can share this with many people. I pray that Debra would get a breakthrough; that she would get a clear plan and have clarity as a result of this session. Also, that those watching would learn and be able to apply from our conversation, from this coaching session, to their own situations. Lord, I thank you for this, and I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
DEBRA: Amen.
SHELLEY: So, you went through PlanIt Day, correct?
DEBRA: I did.
SHELLEY: And you set your 90 day breakthrough goal. So, share with me what your breakthrough goal is.
DEBRA: My breakthrough goal is to be earning $2,500 a month through my business.
SHELLEY: What is your business?
DEBRA: I’m an editor and a writing coach.
SHELLEY: Awesome. So what kind of services do you offer as an editor?
DEBRA: Editing their manuscript, manuscript critique—which just involves looking at the first 50 pages and letting them know what issues I see in what they have. Whether they have a bible story book…
SHELLEY: Is that mostly fiction, or nonfiction too?
DEBRA: Either one. I do mostly specialize in fiction, but I am doing nonfiction as well.
SHELLEY: OK, good to know. Do you have any other editing services, or are those your primary editing services?
DEBRA: Those are the primary ones.
SHELLEY: OK, cool. And you said you’re also a writing coach?
DEBRA: Yes.
SHELLEY: So tell me a little bit about that.
DEBRA: That involves working one-on-one with a writer; much like we’re doing right now. I spend time prior to our meeting reading through a portion of their story, making edits, making comments, and then we Skype for an hour and talk about the edits that I’ve made, any questions that they have, how they can apply those edits to further down in the manuscript, and talk about questions.
Why did I do this? Why did I do that? Why didn’t I do this?
I provide motivation. I advise them on things they should do when they are not writing, like building their platform, that kind of stuff. We do that as many times as necessary to work our way through the manuscript.
We can meet as often as they want; once a month, once a quarter, whatever they need. I’m pretty flexible on how often we meet.
SHELLEY: OK, awesome. I have people that will email me and say, “Will you read my manuscript and do all this?”
I’m a different type of author coach in that I more into giving you strategy and ideas. I love how you really dial in and read their manuscript, because people are actually looking for that type of coach and that’s not me.
We all have our gifts and I’m not an editor. People keep asking me to edit their books and I’m like, “No, you don’t want me to edit your book.”
So, are those your main sources of income?
DEBRA: Yes.
SHELLEY: OK. You had told me that you’re currently at around $500 a month, correct?
DEBRA: That’s what I’m averaging, yeah.
SHELLEY: Going through PlanIt Day you’ve set your breakthrough goal, so what is your plan that you initially set to get?
DEBRA: Well, I haven’t laid out a complete plan because I wanted to wait until we met.
I did mind map several channels that I can use to accomplish this. I just wasn’t really sure where the best place was to start, and that’s what I hope to gain from today’s meeting.
SHELLEY: Let’s start with that, what are you currently doing to market your business?
DEBRA: That’s a problem. I’m not doing a whole lot to market my business.
SHELLEY: Anything?
DEBRA: Well, I have the author page on Facebook, and of course I post whenever I have a new blog on Facebook. I also put that out on Twitter.
I do have a landing page but I’m not utilizing it nearly the way I need to. I know that and that’s part of what I need to begin doing.
I do have a couple of books and I do promote the books every now and then, but that’s not gaining me business just book sales.
SHELLEY: Is your landing page for your email subscriber list?
DEBRA: Yes.
SHELLEY: How many subscribers do you have right now?
DEBRA: Somewhere around 77 to 80, something like that; not a whole lot.
SHELLEY: OK, we’ll just say 80 right now. Have you been emailing them?
DEBRA: No.
SHELLEY: OK.
DEBRA: I mean, they get an email whenever I post a blog, but I’m not doing a newsletter. There again, that’s something I know I need to be doing and working out.
SHELLEY: No problem, that’s what these sessions are for. There are also a lot of holes in my business, and when I work one-on-one with my business coach there are times when I’m like, “No, I’m not doing that.” So I know how that goes.
So they do get notified of the blog posts?
DEBRA: Yes.
SHELLEY: Alright, are you getting traffic to your site? are you monitoring that?
DEBRA: Yes. Actually, the traffic to my website is mostly through organic search, because I post quite often. I posted publishers that are accepting submissions; I post agents, and stuff like that.
So, people who are doing a search on Google for that kind of information end up coming to my website, and that’s the majority of my traffic right now. That’s nice, but at the same time, not enough of them are signing up for my email list.
SHELLEY: Do you have a related offer or lead magnet on those pages that they come to?
DEBRA: No.
SHELLEY: So you’re already getting traffic there, and would those be some of your ideal clients?
DEBRA: I would imagine so, yeah.
SHELLEY: Just repeat to me again, what are they coming for?
DEBRA: They are coming to find out the information about publishers in that area accepting submissions. Which means, they’ve written something, and they’re looking.
SHELLEY: So that would be your ideal audience. Could you put together a checklist that goes like
“The top ten things you need to do before you submit your manuscript to publishers,”
“The top ten mistakes that authors make” or something like that?
DEBRA: That wouldn’t be hard at all. When I was doing some brainstorming on lead magnets earlier this week that was one of the topics that I came up with. That was probably the first one that I’ll do.
SHELLEY: They call this a content upgrade, what is your website URL again?
DEBRA: DebraLButterfield.com.
SHELLEY: What you can do then on that page is add either a graphic button or link that says,
“Make sure you are prepared for this submission.”
SHELLEY: That way, if there is somebody that’s already on your list right now who needs an editor, they can reply back to you and you can start the process with them.
I would do those two things immediately.
Now, as far as getting anything new, you can possibly do webinars. Tell me what you think about that?
DEBRA: I’ve always wanted to do them for a long time, like years!
I keep telling myself that “I need to do webinars, paid webinars and teach the stuff that I teach at conferences.”
DEBRA: I was looking at the author leads and author links plugins that I downloaded. That’s something that I need to do, and put that link on every one of those blog posts.
SHELLEY: Yes, because you’re already getting traffic and the people, so the plan would be “Create Lead Magnet for Google Traffic.”
Then, what I would do, is have a follow up email sequence. Do you have a session where they meet with you one-on-one to see if you’re a fit as an editor?
What’s your process if they come to your site and say, “Yes I have a manuscript and I want to submit to these places, make sure I’m not making these mistakes, and I’m not doing these things”?
So they get your lead magnet, then what would be the next step for them to work with you?
DEBRA: I guess to contact me via email. What I normally offer with the coaching and editing is a free edit of their first chapter. That way they see how I work and I get acquainted with their writing and know what kind of mistakes they are making, if any, in that first chapter.
SHELLEY: Would that be something you could offer in an email follow up series?
You can say “If you’re looking for an editor right now I have spots open, and this is how we can see if we’re a good fit. I’ll edit your first chapter.” Is that the next step?
DEBRA: That would be perfect.
SHELLEY: What I like to do is I like to have forms that they fill out if they’re interested. You could just have them reply to email, but I like to automate as much as I can so that I have everything that I need.
So, you could have some kind of form that contains some of these information;
- What genre it is
- How many words in their manuscript
- If they have any deadlines
- What they need
- And a place to upload their first chapter.
You could have all that automated. You get that, screen them, and let them know if you’re a good fit. If not, you can refer them to other editors. I know you’re part of the Christian Pen and there may be other people to refer them to, so that’s what I would recommend.
Would that work for you, or do you have another idea for that?
DEBRA: That would work. That would just mean creating that form. How though? As a page on my website?
SHELLEY: Yeah, so do you remember when you went to the Focus2Finish application form for this session?
DEBRA: Yeah.
SHELLEY: I just created a page, and you can go back because the link is in Author Audience Academy.
I used Formidable Forms, it’s a paid service, but there are a lot of other regular forms you can look at too. If you need help brainstorming that, just post that in the private Facebook Group and we can do that. I used Formidable Pro, but there are lots of free options you can check out too.
You set it up there, and what they normally do is give you a short code to put on your page of your website.
So that’s a little tip on automating the process so you’re not sitting in front of your computer always. Maybe they don’t give you all the information you need so you go back and forth in like five emails. Has that ever happened to you?
DEBRA: No.
SHELLEY: No? They always submit everything you need?
DEBRA: I do have a form, a submit form, on one of my pages that is pretty basic. It says, “Give me this information” and usually that comes through in the first email and we go from there. It’s rarely back and forth that many times.
SHELLEY: Okay. Then maybe you don’t need a form, but that’s something that you can do for that lead magnet. That’s just for that traffic.
Have you ever asked your current subscribers or offered them your editing services? Have you ever offered the free chapter edit to your 80 email subscribers?
DEBRA: No.
SHELLEY: Okay. So I would suggest that when you write up that email for your follow up series, make sure you have it as a template. I’m able to save my emails as a template in Get Response. That way I can reuse them and edit them a little bit.
Or you could write it in word and save it; then copy and paste. You can also send the same email you write for the follow up series as a broadcast to your current subscribers. Does that make sense?
DEBRA: Yes, OK. It’s the whole technology-related stuff that has kept me from doing it as well as some personal fear in the whole issue. It’s just me. It’s not like I can reach out to somebody and say, “Hey, can you help me with such and such?”
I don’t have friends that are involved in that kind of stuff.
SHELLEY: I read that. That’s been the number one thing that has grown my business.
I now make a full time income from my author coaching stuff, I’m still getting my book royalties, and it has allowed me to have extra to hire staff.
So now I’m not as stressed, I’m not doing the stuff I don’t like to do, and because I have the extra income I’m able to have the staff and do the things I need. We’re still on a fairly tight cash flow, because we’re hiring staff, but how would that feel to you to have consistent flow of income?
DEBRA: Oh that would be awesome.
SHELLEY: So you said you’re a conference speaker?
DEBRA: Yes.
SHELLEY: I’m a speaker too, yet even if you’re a speaker, I think there is an intimidation factor to webinars because of the technology and all the moving pieces.
We talked about it a little before starting this, because this is the first time I’m doing OBS with a Skype interview and I’m jumping in and you’re like, “Wow, you just kind of do it.
So I think, my personal challenge to you, besides the two things I just told you, is to plan your webinar strategy and really dive in for the next 90 days. Just say, “It’s do or die.”
You already have content, you already do a ton of speaking, and it’s well received, correct?
DEBRA: Yeah.
SHELLEY: And how many years have you been an editor and/or an author coach?
DEBRA: Six.
SHELLEY: You’ve helped many authors with their manuscripts, and you’ve done the speaking. So what would you say is the main thing holding you back at this time?
DEBRA: As far as doing webinars? I think it’s really just the technology and being comfortable with looking at me on the screen.
SHELLEY: You’re on the screen today! You did it!
I think you look great. It seems that we are our worst critics and people don’t want perfect. Perfect makes them feel like they’re not good enough. You can just do power point and slides, if that is holding you back.
So the first goal would be to decide on a platform. We can brainstorm this inside Author Audience Academy.
Then you need to do a test webinar. Maybe have a friend or family member get on and do a test run with it. After that, you need to schedule your first webinar.
Will this be a free webinar to get clients, or a paid webinar that people will be paying for to get the content?
DEBRA: I think for my first one it will just be free because I don’t know what might go wrong. I feel more comfortable doing something free before I dive into something paid.
SHELLEY: Great! Do you think it would be realistic for you to schedule your first webinar in the next month?
DEBRA: Yeah, probably, because I’m preparing to go to a conference down in Atlanta and I have power points to prep for that. But I could probably have one ready by the end of August.
SHELLEY: So that would be in a month. You could actually reuse something you’ve already given in the past that was well received.
I’d like to say “What is your signature speech?” but that is trademarked by my speaking coach Felicia Slattery.
But think about these;
- What is your core message?
- What is your core speech?
- What are some of your best information?
For me it’s the book writing formulas; 3 Proven Book Writing Formulas Every Nonfiction Author Needs to Know. That’s my core signature speech. When it comes to the marketing side I have another one called, Amplify Your Message, and Five Ways to Sell More Books Without Being Pushy or Self-Promotional.
I want you to narrow down on that. You have to look at all the things that you’ve given, or the information you have, and think;
- What would solve a pain point?
- What would really give a lot of value
- What would make people think, “Wow, I want to work with her.”
Does that make sense?
DEBRA: It does. It’s not a topic that I currently speak on, but it wouldn’t be hard to put something together.
SHELLEY: Okay! So what topic would it be?
DEBRA: The Step to Follow to Make Sure that Your Submission is a Good One.
Just this morning I got an email from somebody with a submission, because I’m an editor for a publishing company, and there was nothing there. It was like, “Here are a few pages from my book,” and that was it. That’s not going to get a viewing.
SHELLEY: So would it be like Book Proposal? Or is that more about preparing your manuscript?
DEBRA: Yeah. It’s about preparing your manuscript and what to do in order to increase your chances of having that submission actually 
looked at.
SHELLEY: I recommend that you go into Author Audience Academy, use the Title Wave Tool—it’s in the bonuses – and post your title for the webinar in our private Facebook Group for some suggestions.
Then we’ll talk through that once you get a title. Does that sound good?
DEBRA: Sure.
SHELLEY: Then I think the last step is to give it on a regular basis. One of the things you can do is find JV partners. Do you know what JV Partners means?
DEBRA: Yes.
SHELLEY: I think your topic selection would be good for certain types of people. So you want to have someone who is non-competitive to you. You can do webinars for the publishing company that you work for, if they allow you.
It’s not that you’re going to get extra paid clients, but you’re going to get practice and be able to work with them.
Or you can also think of other options:
- Small publishers
- People in the author realm
- Or another editor
You can ask them and do a collaboration.
I also encourage you to brainstorm ideas of people who might be willing to host you on a webinar. But for these types of webinars, you have to offer a win-win situation to the hosts. You can maybe set a referral fee to the host whenever there’s a sign up on your webinar they hosted.
That’s what happens a lot of times with affiliate or JV webinars. You have to find out what makes it a win-win. You should answer the question, “Why would they host you on their stage? “
You still have such a small audience right now so it’s either going to be through JV partners or Facebook Ads to fill your webinars. We can brainstorm, and I can give you a lot more information on that in the private Facebook Group; but those are probably the easiest ways to fill your webinars.
I started off giving my webinar once a month and I’ve gotten really good at it. Now I have it automated because I’m focusing on my book project for the next few months.
I gave it live, once a month, then I went to twice a month. In every single live webinar I’ve done I have had a new client or new member sign up for Author Audience Academy. Every single one!
DEBRA: Wow, that’s great.
SHELLEY: Your situation might be different, I don’t know, but I haven’t had one where one person has not signed up. We’re running out of time, but what do you think about this plan?
DEBRA: I think it looks great. A lot of it is exactly what I had brainstormed, but thank you.
SHELLEY; So, are you committed to following through and taking the action you need to take these next steps?
DEBRA: Oh yeah. I have to be. Otherwise, I have to go back to the 9-5 world, and I don’t want to do that.
SHELLEY: OK, so you have a strong, strong reason.
I kind of had the same one when I resigned from my position in 2011. Things didn’t turn out the way we thought it was going to turn out for us, so I was like, “OK, what am I going to do?”
God can give you wisdom and He can continue to lead and guide you, but I think these three steps are important:
1) Optimizing the traffic you’re already getting from Google.
They’re already coming to your site and they already want the information. So capture their information, get them on a list, and offer them a free edit.
2) See who is ready for an edit or a coach in your email subscriber list.
You can do two different emails; one for the editing and one for the writing and you can do it two weeks apart. You can do that this month; just send them information right away.
3) Webinars; that’s going to be your bread and butter, it really is.
I can’t emphasize it enough. Webinars are the number one method I recommend to market your products, sell services and build your platform as it builds your email list at the same time. It’s great.
We can continue to brainstorm things for these steps inside Author Audience Academy, and I think it’s a good plan.
Where can people find you if they are interested to contact you to get a free sample edit and see if you’re a good fit; or to talk about working with you as a writing coach?
DEBRA: My email is Deb@debraLButterfield.com
SHELLEY: And then your website is DebraLButterfield.com as well.
If you want to submit your manuscript to different publishing houses, definitely check out her site, her blog posts on different things, and email her. Get connected with her and get her advice.
This is not something that I specialize in as I specialize on self-publishing.
Thank you so much Debra for being brave, for coming on here and for being on my first Focus2Finish live Facebook session.
I’m excited to see what you will do over these next 90 days and I’m excited for your first webinar in 30 days, right?
DEBRA: Yup.
SHELLEY. We will be brainstorming more in the Facebook Group.
Thank you so much for joining us on this edition of Focus2Finish. I would love nothing more than to serve you as an author coach inside AuthorAudienceAcademy.com.
If you ever have questions on whether it’s the right fit for you just reach out to me at Shelley@ShelleyHitz.com.
Watch the Video Below:
Click here to get notifications for my Facebook Live training.
Have Comments or Questions?
Share them in the comments below.
Leave a Reply