FamilyEbiz Podcast

Hosted by Kerry Beck

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129

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Aug 2026

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FamilyEbiz podcast helps families start their online business & skyrocket it . . . so they can find the freedom & flexibility they are dreaming of.

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August 24, 20267 min

129: Stop Adding More: The Real Secret to Business Growth

Business growth doesn't always mean adding another product, platform, strategy, or piece of content. Sometimes the smartest move is to stop adding and get clear about what actually fits your strengths, solves a real problem for your audience, and can lead to revenue. In this episode, you'll discover 3 questions to ask before adding anything new to your business. You'll learn how to spot ideas that are simply creating more work, protect your time, and focus on the opportunities that can actually move your business forward. In this episode, you'll discover: ✅The 3 questions to ask before adding a new strategy ✅Why more products don't automatically mean more sales ✅How your strengths can point you toward business growth ✅The question that reveals what you're doing just because someone said you should ✅Why knowing your audience's real pain points can change what you sell ✅How to recognize ideas that may look good but won't actually move your business toward revenue Ready to simplify your business growth? Get the free Marketing Business Roadmap by clicking the link below. Resources for You Free Business Marketing Roadmap Maximize Revenue course Show Notes: Your Strength Is a Clue — Not a Command You might be great at social media, but you don't need to build a social media-driven business. You might love writing, but you might not need to be a blogger. You might be a great teacher, but you don't need to create 15 courses. Your strength is a clue, not a command. Today we're talking about how to use your strengths to actually grow your business. Nathan Barry and the ConvertKit Story Nathan Barry didn't start with the business he has today. He began as a designer, then moved into writing books and building an audience. In 2014, he created what many of you know as ConvertKit — or Kit as it's known today. He saw a need among content creators and had the strengths to meet it — design, writing, teaching, audience building — and those strengths shaped the direction of his business. He describes the journey as moving from freelance web design to iPhone apps, books, courses, email, and eventually Kit. The lesson isn't build an email software company. The lesson is this — your business can evolve as you discover where your strengths and your audience's needs intersect. Let me repeat that. Your business can evolve as you discover where your strengths are and where your audience needs intersect. More Is Not the Same as Growth Don't confuse more with growth. More products do not automatically mean more sales. More content doesn't automatically mean more revenue. Building more products and creating all those things that many of you are making does not bring more sales. You've got to go back to the basics. And sometimes the best growth move is eliminating something. I've had to get rid of some products because they weren't serving my purpose. So ask yourself this — what am I doing because someone told me I should? And then ask the better question — what am I doing because it actually works? Think about your current business and your list of ideas. Pick one thing you've been considering that is not necessary for your current business right now. I don't want you to write not now — I want you to actually set it aside. This is not quitting. This is protecting the business you are actually trying to build. You've got to get rid of the ideas that are not going to bring in revenue. Where Your Strengths and Your Audience's Pain Points Intersect What is your strength? What are your people's problems? And where do they intersect? That is the question. If you think something is just good for your audience so they should buy it — that's not going to help. You need to solve their problems. You are a painkiller. You need to kill their pain with your solution. And if you have not had a real conversation with your audience — texted them, DM'd them, emailed them — about their actual pain points in their own words, then stop this episode right now and go take care of that. If you're guessing at your audience's pain points, you will never build a revenue-generating business. Three Questions to Ask Before Adding Any Strategy Before adding another strategy, grab your phone or a piece of paper and answer these three questions. Is this something I'm naturally good at, or willing to become good at? Nathan Barry may not have been the greatest at creating a software platform from the start — but he was good enough at enough things, and he could build from there. Does my audience actually want this or need this? They may need it, but if they don't see it as something they want, they're not going to buy it. Stop selling vitamins. Start selling painkillers. Can this eventually lead to revenue? Is this something that could actually sell, or just something you want to create or think would be good for your audience? If the answer is no to any one of those questions, pause before adding it. This is what keeps you from building a business that looks impressive but is exhausting to maintain — and probably not making you any money. Your business should fit your strengths and solve your audience's problem — not require you to become a completely different person. I have two resources for you. The first is our free Business Marketing Roadmap — the link is in the show notes. The second is my Maximize Revenue course , which is specifically designed to help you identify your strengths and then use them to maximize your revenue based on where your business is and what your weaknesses are. Both links are in the show notes.

August 17, 202611 min

128: Stop Copying Others & Use Entrepreneur Strengths

You tried the podcast, the membership, the course, and the coaching model — because someone successful was doing each one. Your business feels like a Frankenstein of everyone else's advice . The fix is not another strategy . It starts with your entrepreneur strengths. This episode walks you through 4 questions that reveal exactly what your business model should be built on — so you can stop chasing what works for others and start building something that actually fits you: ✅Why your shiny object syndrome creates a Frankenstein business that does not fit anyone ✅The difference between a business that works for someone else & one that works for you ✅Why evergreen content built around your strengths compounds and grows over time ✅The one thing people already come to you for — and why that is your foundation ✅4 questions that reveal your real business model in under 30 minutes ✅How to identify your strengths and build your next 4 focused weeks around them Click the link below to grab the free Business Marketing Roadmap and start building from your strengths today. Resources for You Free Business Marketing Roadmap Maximize Revenue course Show Notes: What If the Business Model You're Building Doesn't Actually Fit You? You look around and see someone doing great with podcasting. Someone else has a huge email list. Someone else is selling courses. Someone else is coaching. And you think — maybe I should do that too. But a successful business is not created by collecting every strategy that works for somebody else. That's called shiny object syndrome. You can't create your system based on what works for everyone else. You need to look at you. The Frankenstein Business Problem One entrepreneur says you need a podcast. Another says you need to be on Instagram every day. Someone else says memberships are the thing. Someone else says courses are where the money is. Everyone has their strategy and they want to sell it to you. And all of a sudden, your business is a Frankenstein business made from everybody else's advice. The problem isn't that those strategies are bad. The problem is they may not match your strengths. And that's what we need to look at. I have a podcast — you're listening to it. I have memberships. I have a homeschool course that works very well for me. But does that mean it's going to work for everyone? No. You've got to figure out what works for you. There is no one right business model. Blogging can work. Podcasting can work. YouTube can work. Email marketing, courses, memberships, services, coaching, networking and partnerships — all of it can work. The question isn't which one is best. The question is which one allows you to use your strengths to serve your audience best? What Are Your Strengths? For me, email marketing is my number one asset. I personally believe it's one of the most important assets for any online business. But for some people, advertising works. For others, it's something else entirely. You've got to look at your strengths and your season of life. If you have little kids and you're working at home, you don't have as much time. If you're an empty nester, you have more time. You've got to account for where you actually are — not where someone else is. Grammar Girl and the Power of Playing to Your Strengths Mignon Fogarty started Grammar Girl as a simple quick tip podcast about writing. That's it. But eventually it became huge — a massive podcast audience and then an educational business. Her strength wasn't trying to be everything to everyone in the education market. It was taking something she knew well — grammar — and communicating it in a memorable, easily accessible way. What did she figure out? Evergreen content works. Utility-driven content compounds over time — through SEO, through Pinterest, through YouTube, through a podcast, through a blog. It keeps working over and over. I have blog posts from 10 years ago that are still getting great traffic. One is about Lucky Charms graphing for St. Patrick's Day. Another is about a Christmas Eve family service. Another is about Bible snack activities for kids. For a long time, some of those didn't even have a call to action. When I kept seeing them at the top of Google Analytics, I finally went back and added one. Every blog post, podcast, YouTube video, or email needs a call to action. Grammar Girl built a recognizable brand by staying in her lane — language and education. She developed her business around her strengths. And that's the model to follow. Three Questions to Answer This Week Stop right now — unless you're driving. Grab a piece of paper or open a note on your phone and answer these three questions. Number one: people come to me when they need ___. For me in the homeschool market, it's homeschool tips from an experienced mom who already raised her kids — proof is in the pudding. And it's also people who want to give their kids a different kind of education. Number two: the part of my business I naturally enjoy is ___. For me, it's videos, getting on calls with people, helping moms have that aha moment. I also genuinely enjoy the marketing side of it. What do you enjoy? What could you outsource because it's not your thing? Number three: the thing I could talk about, teach, create, or solve repeatedly is ___. For me, it's homeschool problems, encouragement, and how to know you're doing enough. I also love talking about marketing — I can spend an hour on a call with someone talking through their marketing system and love every minute of it. And then — what is one tip you can share in the next four weeks? You don't need to build your whole business model. You just need to start with your raw material. Your Challenge Take these answers and run with them for four weeks. Identify the thing people already come to you for. Start there. Repeat one tip over and over for the next four weeks and see what happens. If you don't think you can get started before the end of August, plan it for September. Four weeks. One problem. One tip. Repeat. I have two resources for you in the show notes. The first is my free Business Marketing Roadmap — it will help you get organized and figure out your next step. The second is my course called Maximize Revenue , which walks you through identifying your strengths and weaknesses and how to use your strengths to actually maximize your revenue. Both links are in the show notes.

August 10, 20268 min

127: Fix Your Conversion in Marketing With 1 Sentence

What if the reason your sales page is not converting has nothing to do with your offer — and everything to do with one word swap you have not made yet? Conversion in marketing is not about more content, more modules, or more bonuses. It is about helping your audience see who they become when they say yes. In this episode, you will discover the simple messaging shift that turns browsers into buyers — and why the most successful brands lead with transformation, not information. Here are 5 things that will change how you write every sales page, email, and post from here on out: ✅Why listing features is quietly killing your sales — and what to say instead ✅ ONE sentence every product description needs to answer before someone buys ✅ The WIIFM shift that makes buyers feel seen before they even click ✅ How to future-pace your followers so they can already feel what life looks like after your product ✅The messaging shift from "I teach" to "you'll finally" that flips the whole conversation ✅What the most loved brands do differently to make people buy Ready to rewrite one sentence and change how your audience responds to your offer? Grab the one-on-one OR group coaching resources mentioned in this episode by clicking the link below. Resources for You One-on-one coaching with Kerry Beck — personalized help on your product and sales page Group coaching programs (two options) — get specific feedback on your offer and messaging - Family Ebiz Mastermind - Homeschool Blogger University Boost — 5-step business system course mentioned as a transformation-messaging example Show Notes: Your Audience Doesn't Buy Information — They Buy Transformation Have you ever been on a sales page that listed 12 modules, 35 videos, worksheets, and bonuses — and you still didn't really care about it? Why? Because information is not motivating. Transformation is motivating. Today we're talking about how to show your audience the transformation your product will give them. The WIIFM Radio Station What happens is creators love talking about their videos, their PDFs, their templates, their bonuses. But customers are tuned into one radio station — WIIFM. What's in it for me? They're thinking, what will this actually do for me? So instead of saying 12 lessons, say know exactly what to do every week. Instead of saying 50 printable planners, say never wonder what comes next. There's an emotion there and an action that solves their pain point. I mentioned CD Baby last week — if you didn't hear the whole story, they took a regular shipping confirmation email and turned it into something people shared all over the internet. Instead of saying your order shipped today, they created a brand of delight. Transformation isn't just in your products. It's in every interaction you have with your audience. The Sentence That Changes Everything Think about this. My customer starts here — but after working with me, they can finally ___. Put something down. Don't improve it yet. Just finish the sentence. After working with me, they can finally ___. That is gold. If you can identify that, you have the core of your marketing messaging. Most websites are describing what is happening today — 80% of the page is about the content, the features, the format. But 80% of your page should be telling people what will happen tomorrow. How will their life be different? How will this solve today's problem? Ask yourself these questions when you're trying to come up with this messaging. How will they feel? What becomes easier? What disappears? What becomes possible? Real Examples From My Own Courses Let me share two of my own examples — and I've had to tweak these several times. For my Boost course , here's what I wrote. Imagine what your business looks like four weeks from now. What if you opened your laptop Monday morning and actually knew what to do? No second-guessing, no tab hopping between courses, YouTube videos, and Facebook groups hoping someone gives you the answer. Just a clear, confident next step every single day. That's what Boost does for you. Did I tell them there were four modules? No. I said four weeks from now. Did I list the topics? No. I told them this is what will happen when you put this course into practice. For Raising Leaders, Not Followers, here's the introduction. What if every homeschool decision you made came from a place of confidence instead of fear? Here's how to get there. Yes, I want to ditch the overwhelm and gain confidence. That's their number one problem — they've told me over and over. And so the copy asks — what if you made decisions from a place of confidence instead of fear? It's all about what will happen if you take the course and how it will help them. People Buy Identity Before They Buy Information Yvon Chouinard built Patagonia not around camping supplies but around a larger transformation and mission. Customers identified with the values and the identity. They wanted to become a part of what the company stood for — keeping the earth clean, giving back, using fair trade practices. People will spend extra money to buy into what he is doing. People often buy identity before they buy information. What identity is your product helping your audience step into? The Simple Messaging Shift Instead of saying my membership includes — say my membership helps you ___. Instead of saying I teach — say you'll finally be able to ___. Instead of me saying I teach leadership education — say you'll finally be able to help your children make wise decisions and think critically. Those are the things they want for their kids. It's simple, it's clear, and it's transformation-based. Write one sentence. My product helps people ___. No features. No lessons. No numbers. No bonuses. What is the transformation you will help your people experience? Your audience doesn't want another printable, another checklist, or another course. They want to become someone who is confident, organized, gets clients, grows revenue, and finally feels in control. They want to become something. And the clearer you describe who they become, the easier it is for them to say yes. If you need help with this, I offer one-on-one coaching where we can work specifically on your product, your sales page, and your transformation messaging. I also have two group coaching programs where you can get that same help in a community setting. Links are in the show notes.

August 3, 20269 min

126: Fix Your Marketing Messaging & Finally Make Sales

If your product is good but sales are slow, your marketing messaging might be speaking to the wrong thing entirely — and this episode shows you exactly how to fix it. Let’s be honest when sales are slow, the problem probably isn't what you're selling — it's how you’re talking about it. Buyers aren't looking for features or education. They're looking for someone who understands their pain right now and can make it stop. Here are 5 things you'll discover in this episode: ✅Why most creators accidentally sell vitamins instead of pain relief — and how to tell the difference ✅A simple "so you can finally" headline formula that creates emotional urgency ✅How to identify your buyer's current frustration — the real one, not the surface one ✅The difference between educational copy and buying copy — and when to use each ✅ How emotion drives action , and why your follow-up emails need this shift too Ready to finally write marketing messaging that makes people feel understood — and motivated to buy? Grab the coaching and community resources mentioned in this episode by clicking the links below! Resources for You One-on-one coaching — send your sales copy ahead of time for a personalized review and strategy session Family Ebiz Mastermind — monthly group coaching for online business strategy and growth Homeschool Blogger University — monthly group coaching for homeschool content creators Show Notes: Are You Selling Vitamins or Pain Relief? Have you ever created something you know your audience needs but hardly make any sales? The problem really isn't your product. It's probably how you're talking about it. People don't wake up in the morning thinking — I'm going to go get my vitamins. They wake up saying — how can I get rid of this headache? Are you selling vitamins, or are you selling a solution to your people's headache? Vitamins vs. Pain Relief — What's the Difference? Most creators describe their product based on how it prevents something. That's a vitamin. Buyers are looking for a solution. They have a hurt today and they want you to solve their problem right now. Compare these two. This course helps you become organized. That's a vitamin. Stop wondering every morning what you need to work on next. That solves a problem — because a lot of us don't know what we need to do each morning when we sit down to work, or homeschool, or whatever our niche is. Jason Fried and his team didn't market Basecamp as a project management system. They talked instead about the frustration of dropped calls, messy communications, and totally embarrassing client moments that stop your growth. They sold relief from chaos, not software features. People don't buy software — they buy peace of mind. Know the Pain Before You Sell Anything So I want you to stop right now — unless you're driving — and fill in this blank. My customer is frustrated because ___. Don't try to fix it yet. Just identify today's pain. Some of you think you know the pain, but what are they really frustrated with right now? Customers buy current frustration. Instead of saying learn better email marketing, say stop wondering why your subscribers never buy. Instead of saying build a healthier homeschool, say stop ending every homeschool day wondering if you accomplished anything. Those are emotional phrases. They create urgency. They speak to where your person actually is right now. Duolingo didn't build their app around learn grammar. Their mission centered around helping people learn a language they already want to use. They're not selling the mechanics of language learning — they're selling the confidence of speaking a language. People don't buy lessons. They buy confidence. Two Types of Messaging You Need to Understand There are two types of messaging. Educational messaging answers the question — what is this? Teaching is good. It builds trust. But it does not build sales on its own. Buying messaging creates movement. It makes your audience want to click the button and get what you have. You need both — but a lot of you are spending so much time teaching on your sales pages that people feel like they already have enough information. They don't see the transformation. They don't see how your product will actually help them. Educational marketing messaging says — five ways to organize your homeschool. Buying marketing messaging says — end your homeschool overwhelm by next Monday. One is a tip. The other is a promise with urgency. So I want you to take one headline — on a product, a sales page, an email, a landing page, wherever — and add this framework to it. So you can finally ___. Don't say I'm going to teach you this. Say so you can finally stop the overwhelm and find peace in your homeschool. Just rewrite the headline. You don't have to rewrite the whole page. How CD Baby's Shipping Email Became a Legend Derek Sivers built CD Baby, which shipped CDs for musicians back in the day. They built a hugely successful business. And he decided to have a little fun with the shipping confirmation email. Here's what it said. Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized, contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell across the crowd as he put your CD in the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved bon voyage to your package on this day, Friday, June 6. I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall of customer of the year. We're all exhausted, but can't wait for you to come back. These words create emotion. And emotion creates action. As I was reading this — and I've read it several times today — I kept thinking, how could I use something like this in my own business to draw people in, give them a good laugh, and build that trust and relationship? What to Do This Week Look not at how you're going to teach people, but at the problem you're going to solve. Then find your headline — so you can finally ___. Fill in that transformation. This kind of writing isn't just about your product. It applies to your follow-up emails too. Emotions create action. Action drives sales. If you need help with your sales copy, I offer one-on-one coaching where you can send me something ahead of time, I evaluate it, and we talk about the best ways to improve it and define that transformation. Link is in the show notes. I also offer group coaching through Family eBiz Mastermind and Homeschool Blogger University — we get together once a month and you can bring your sales copy, your headline, or whatever you're working on and get real help. If you got one thing out of this, would you please share it with a friend or colleague who would benefit? That would mean the world to me. And if you're on YouTube, leave a comment — or leave a five-star review on Spotify or Apple.

July 27, 202612 min

125: Digital Product Ideas Hiding in Your Free Stuff

You already have everything you need to start making money — it's sitting in a folder on your hard drive right now. Your freebies are not just giveaways. They are digital product ideas waiting to be packaged and priced. In this episode, you’ll discover how to turn your most popular free downloads into a premium bundle your audience will actually pay for — without creating a single new piece of content. Here are 5 things you will walk away knowing: ✅Why scattered freebies do not sell and and how a bundle changes everything ✅ 3-step method to identify which of your existing free downloads are already getting attention ✅The bundle formula that adds real value without creating new content ✅ ONE missing ingredient that makes people excited to pay for it ✅2 simple storefronts you can use today to start selling — no complicated setup Ready to stop sitting on a gold mine? Grab the Business Marketing Roadmap to help you organize your lead magnets and figure out your bundle by clicking the link below. Resources for You • Business Marketing Roadmap — to organize your lead magnets and identify bundle opportunities • ThriveCart (one-time fee shopping cart, affiliate link + 30-min setup consultation included) • Boost System — 5-step plan for online business success Show Notes: You're Sitting on a Gold Mine — And You Don't Even Know It Do you have checklists, cheat sheets, notebooking pages, all sorts of free downloads that you spent months or even years creating? You do — but then you're not doing anything with them. You're just throwing them out there as freebies all the time. And eventually you end up with a hard drive full of scattered, underutilized PDF files. Today we're going to make a paradigm shift. We're going to shift from all these free PDFs to actually selling. You don't need to keep creating new digital products. You just need to take what you already have and curate it together. What Emily McDermott Did — And What You Can Do Too Consumers don't want all your scattered files and different lead magnets. They will value something if you curate those together and solve one specific problem from start to finish. Emily McDermott didn't invent a complex app or write a massive book. She looked at the exact organizational tools and tracker sheets she was already using in her daily workflow — and she bundled them together. She went from making zero sales to $280,000 in passive income. Not from creating something new. From packaging what she already had. That is the mindset shift we're making today. Step One: Find Your Top Three Free Downloads Open your website, Google Drive, Google Analytics, or email marketing platform — wherever you can see your download data — and find your three most popular free downloads from the past year. Don't change them. Don't do anything to them yet. Just know where they are. Now ask yourself — how could I put these together as a digital package? If you're a homeschool blogger, you might combine a free daily reading log, a weekly lesson planner, and a history summary sheet. For me, I had a book called Drama Free Mom that wasn't selling well at $15. So I took two or three audio sessions I already had on that same topic and bundled them together. It started selling — because there was more value in it. I did not create any new content. Let me repeat that. If you're multitasking, come back to me. I did not create new content. Stop creating new content when your old content isn't even selling. Let's figure out why that's not working first. And one reason is that a single PDF just doesn't always sell well. No one wants to pay $15 for a two-page worksheet. But a curated bundle that solves a problem from start to finish? That has value. My Drama Free Mom Bundle — if you bought each piece individually it's about $45 or $46. I sell the bundle for $25. People see the value immediately. The Missing Ingredient: An Execution Element You've got to transform your free information into a paid product that ensures execution. How do they actually put it into practice? That's the missing piece. Add a visual progress tracker. A goal sheet. A 30-day checklist at the front of the bundle. When people have a structured roadmap that guides them to a finish line, they are more likely to consume it, see transformation, get excited about what you offer, and come back for more. That is what you want. For my Boost system, I have a five-step plan that tells people exactly what they need to do to see success in their online business. For my $15 bootcamp, I have a roadmap that walks them through five steps to a firm foundation. A roadmap connects the individual pieces and makes the whole bundle feel intentional. Where to Research Before You Build Before you put anything together, spend 15 minutes — not two hours — on platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy, or Amazon. Look at themed items, see what's selling, see what has high reviews, and look at how other people are building starter bundles. Not to copy them. Not to create something new. Just to see how they're curating and packaging — and then figure out how you could do the same with what you already have. Two Ways to Start Selling There are two options. The first is a marketplace engine — platforms like Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, or Amazon where the buyers are already there. This is especially powerful if you don't have a lot of traffic yet. You borrow their audience of active buyers, and they handle payment processing, file delivery, and sales tax. You just set it up. The second is your own direct creator storefront. I personally use ThriveCart — a one-time fee and you have a shopping cart forever with as many products as you want. If you already have a blog, podcast, or social media following, your own storefront gives you full control over the checkout. One-page checkout, one click, they fill it out right there. No clicking through a bunch of buttons. That converts better. Choose one. Either one handles payment processing, file delivery, and transfers money directly into your account. You Are Already Sitting on a Gold Mine Stop making new products or new lead magnets. Stop overcomplicating it. Take your free worksheets, connect them to some kind of progress tracker, and upload the bundle to an automated storefront or your own. I did this with my Busy Mom's Organizational Toolkit. I already had some organizational tools, so I created a few additional PDFs to help moms use those tools with their kids — getting themselves organized and working on goals together as a family. That bundle sells consistently. Pull three of your freebies together, see how they connect, and turn them into a bundle or toolkit. You could start making money off content you already created. If you want to get organized on your lead magnets first, grab the Business Marketing Roadmap in the show notes — you can list your top lead magnets and figure out which ones to bundle or point toward a paid product. If you use my ThriveCart link , I'll also offer you a 30-minute consultation call to help you get set up — because I learned a lot of lessons the hard way and I'd love to save you from going through the same thing. If this helped you, would you please share it with someone you collaborate with or someone in business with you? That would mean the world to me. And if you're on YouTube, leave a comment — I'd love to hear what you're going to bundle first.

July 20, 202616 min

124: The Tripwire Upgrade: 3 Quick Changes to Double Your Digital Sales Today

Every time someone opts in for your freebie and lands on a generic thank you page, you're leaving money on the table. Did you know that the moment someone enters their name and email is the highest point of engagement they'll ever have with you? Most creators waste it with a generic thank you page. If your list is growing but buyers are scarce, a well-aligned tripwire on your thank you page might be the single highest-leverage fix available to you right now. This episode breaks down exactly how a well-built tripwire can turn that moment into an instant sale. Here are 5 things you'll discover in this episode: ✅Why your thank you page is costing you sales the second someone opts in ✅The 3 elements every converting tripwire needs to have in place ✅How alignment between your freebie and your offer affects conversion more than price ✅How pricing, urgency, and alignment work together to turn freebie seekers into buyers ✅The timer mistake that destroys trust — and what to do instead ✅What above-the-fold checkout means and why it matters for mobile Ready to stop sending hot traffic to a boring confirmation page and start making instant sales? Grab the resources mentioned in this episode — links below! Resources for You Magic of OTO — step-by-step video course on setting up your first one-time offer and tripwire Business Marketing Roadmap — monthly planning page to map lead magnets, paid offers, and funnels Show Notes: You're Leaving Money on the Table Every Time Someone Signs Up for Your Freebie Content creators, podcasters, bloggers — we all celebrate when our email list grows. But a massive list of freebie seekers does not pay the bills. Most of you are giving away a free checklist or workbook and then sending people to a generic thank you page. You are missing a massive opportunity. The exact second that someone puts their name and email in is when they are at their highest point of engagement with you. They have their credit card out. They're on their phone. They're actively looking for a solution to the problem you solve. And you're sending them to a boring confirmation page. You're flushing away hot traffic and potential revenue — and leaving money on the table. Today we're going to talk about how to fix that. What Karinda Gosling Did Differently There's someone called Karinda Gosling. She shifted her approach and moved away from standard passive list building — just keep adding more and more people. Instead, she aggressively maximized immediate revenue through low-ticket offers. She captured that exact moment of initial interest and offered a small premium digital product right then and there. What happened? Her list started growing with buyers rather than freebie seekers. She used her standard freebie opt-in but in a way that turned cold audience into qualified buyers right away. That's what a tripwire does. And that's what we're talking about today. What Is a Tripwire — And Is Yours Actually Converting? A tripwire is a low-cost but high-value product offered immediately on your thank you page after someone opts in to your freebie. I typically price them between $7 and $27 depending on what it is. Never again are you sending people to a generic thank you page. When someone grabs your freebie, you offer them something so they convert from a freebie seeker to a buyer right then and there. Your lead magnet should be converting at 30 to 40%. That means three to four out of every ten people who land on it should be signing up — if it's solving their problem. From there, you should be converting your tripwire at five to ten percent. Most tripwires convert terribly. Here's why — either the page looks completely different from what they just signed up for, or the offer doesn't match the freebie at all. For example, if I offer a freebie called Read Aloud Magic and then send people to a trip wire about an ocean unit study, I'm going to have to do a lot of work to connect those two. They're not aligned. But if I offer my Charlotte Mason Toolkit — all about using read aloud books to homeschool — those two go together perfectly. Don't just throw out some kind of low-ticket offer. Make sure it's aligned with the freebie they just opted in for. Three Elements Your Tripwire Thank You Page Needs Number one — structural congruency. Your colors, fonts, and messaging should look similar to the opt-in page. Not exactly the same, but when they land on it they should think — oh yeah, I'm still in the right place. If they signed up on a page with pinks and greens and land on something in black, red, and white, they're clicking away. Number two — instant acknowledgment. Put something at the very top that says — woohoo, your freebie is on its way to your inbox. Identify immediately that they're in the right place and that you're sending what you promised. If people don't see this, they think there's a glitch and they hit the back button. Then you say — but wait, I have a special offer for you. That's the bridge. Confirmation first, pitch second. Number three — a no-brainer price. The price should be ridiculously low for the value you're providing. The buyer should not have to ask their spouse or check their bank balance. My Unit Study Toolkit is valued at $50. When I offer it on a one-time offer, I put a $7 price tag on it. People see the value immediately and just grab it. When the price is ultra-simple and directly aligned with the freebie, conversion rates go up — without needing a massive complicated sales funnel. Urgency Is Non-Negotiable You must have urgency on your tripwire page. That's why I put a 15-minute timer on mine. We are all chronic procrastinators. If your low-ticket offer is $9 always available, people think — I'll come back and get it later. Spoiler alert — they never come back. You've got to use a timer that actually works. Not fake scarcity. Not a timer that resets when they refresh the page. When solopreneurs use fake timers or timers that don't work, they destroy customer trust. Use a real timer that syncs with their individual IP address or email sign-up timestamp. When the timer hits zero, the page redirects to retail price — and that's it. I learned this the hard way. Years ago I had an Apple unit study offer on a thank you page with no timer. No regular sales. I added a real working timer and began having consistent sales from that page. I left money on the table because I didn't have the right setup. Now I do. Mobile Matters More Than You Think 80% of your readers, listeners, and viewers are looking at your information on mobile. If they have to scroll for two or three minutes to find the purchase link, you've lost them. Here's what to fix. Put a hyper-specific result headline above the fold — not improve your business, but something like get the exact five-step email template that closed $4,000 in passive sales. Then put your checkout button right under that headline. Don't use a two-step checkout that requires them to click somewhere else, open another page, and remember a bunch of steps. Make it one click. They click the button and fill it out right there. Some of y'all make it so complicated. Go back and look at your checkout system and make sure it is as simple as possible — because if they can't find the button, they're walking away. The Flow You Need The user signs up for your freebie — that's the top of the funnel. They land on your thank you page which is your tripwire one-time offer. A countdown timer shows exactly 15 minutes to claim the discount. If they don't buy when the timer hits zero, the page redirects to retail price. Automated, ethical, and completely on autopilot. Three elements — structural congruency, instant acknowledgment, and a no-brainer price. Add real urgency. Make it mobile-friendly. And let your thank you page fund your business growth. I have two resources for you in the show notes. The Business Marketing Roadmap has a page that helps you list your lead magnets, your paid offer, and plan it all out month by month. I also have a course called The Magic of One-Time Offers — it shows you step by step with videos how to set up your first tripwire and start making instant money. Links to both are in the show notes. Quit building a list of freebie seekers. Turn them into immediate buyers .

July 13, 202613 min

123: Shiny Object Syndrome Is Costing You Sales

Shiny object syndrome isn't just a productivity problem — it's one of the most expensive habits in an entrepreneur's life. Every time you restart, you reset your progress and delay your sales. This episode breaks down exactly why it happens and what to do instead. Here are 5 things you'll discover in this episode: ✅The hidden cost of constantly starting over — and why it delays income ✅Why being busy doesn't mean you're making progress ✅How staying focused on one thing creates momentum ✅The reason most entrepreneurs stall (it's not a knowledge problem) ✅A simple 90-day focus strategy you can name today — no planning required Ready to stop chasing every new idea and start building something that actually compounds? Grab the free Business Focus Assessment mentioned in this episode — the link is below! Resources for You: • Free consulting call — to discuss joining the mastermind when it reopens • Family Biz Mastermind — accountability, coaching, and strategy for online business owners Show Notes: Why Smart Entrepreneurs Lose Focus — And How to Get It Back Do you ever feel like you're working all day but your business hasn't really moved? You finish one course, then buy another one. You start a funnel, then switch to Pinterest. You start a podcast, then decide YouTube is the answer. You're busy, but you're always starting over. Today's episode isn't really about focus. It's about why smart entrepreneurs lose focus in the first place — and how to overcome that. Because when you can regain your focus, focus creates momentum. The Hidden Cost of Starting Over Many of us — myself included — have shiny object syndrome. We see something, go over there and spend six months on it, then go somewhere else and spend three more months. We can't focus on what really matters. And when we stay on that hamster wheel, we're not building anything. Here's what's really happening. Most entrepreneurs don't quit — they restart. And every time they restart, that new strategy comes with new learning, new tools, new mistakes, and new delays. Especially the last one — you're just delaying making sales. The problem isn't a lack of effort. It's constantly resetting your progress. About four or five years ago I was taking Amy Porterfield's Digital Course Academy, and she was talking about how she only sells around three courses at a time. And I thought — why am I trying to sell 25 things? How about focusing on one? That's when I started focusing on leadership education. There are supplemental things that go with it, but that's my course, and my Life Skills Leadership Summit all goes together and focuses on one thing. I'm not restarting all the time. James Hoffman decided that instead of trying to become an influencer across the coffee niche broadly, he became obsessed with one topic — coffee education. He focused on his YouTube channel, books, and courses around that one thing and eventually became one of the most respected names in the coffee world. He didn't chase every opportunity. He became known for one thing. And that focus created momentum. Busy Feels Productive — But Motion Isn't Always Progress Most distractions are productive distractions. Social media pulls you over there and you get something done. Redesigning a website, tweaking your branding, buying another course, researching software — none of those are bad. They're just not today's priority. Motion isn't always progress. Think about it this way. If you go out in the yard and dig 10 holes three feet deep, you're never going to reach water. If you dig one hole 30 feet deep, everything changes. Duolingo is a perfect example. They resisted adding lots of flashy features. Instead, they were obsessed with forming one daily habit — practicing language. Tiny improvements to streaks, consistent reminders, daily repetition. That focus helped grow them into one of the world's largest education apps. Their growth came from improving one system repeatedly — not constantly inventing something new. What one thing in your business are you improving every month, every week, every day? Just being productive doesn't mean you're bringing in revenue. Focus Builds Compounding Results Every week you stay focused, you gain experience. Every month, your systems improve. Every launch gets easier. Momentum compounds. But every shiny object resets the clock and you have to start all over — and that is expensive. Derek Sivers was building CD Baby. He ignored all the opportunities to expand into unrelated businesses. He focused entirely on creating the best possible experience for independent musicians. That focus helped CD Baby become one of the largest distributors for indie artists before he sold the company. His advantage over everyone else was not doing more or creating more things. It was doing less — exceptionally well. That's what you need to be doing in your business. Your business probably doesn't need another strategy. It needs more weeks spent on the right strategy. Why Entrepreneurs Actually Stall Here's where people go wrong — they think they need more information. Another book, another webinar, another course. But what they really need is accountability. The reason you stall isn't because you don't know enough. Y'all have taken so many courses you can rattle off things I don't even know. The real reason you stall is because no one is helping you keep the main thing the main thing. Sometimes one conversation can save months of wandering down a rabbit hole. Not someone who gives you another 100 ideas — you've already got plenty of those. Someone who helps you decide which of your ideas actually matter and which one will push you forward. Two Exercises to Do Right Now First — take 60 seconds. If you're not driving, pause this and write down just one thing. What one project would grow your business the most if you actually finished it? Don't plan it. Don't fix it. Just name it. Second — for the next 90 days, finish this sentence: I am saying no to ___. Fill in one distraction. Just one. For me, it's been saying no to speaker applications, no to certain promotions. Those things are good and they feel productive — but they're a distraction from what I really need to do right now. What would happen if you spent the next 90 days making one thing — only one thing — better instead of starting something new? I have something for you. If you want to get on a consulting call to see if the mastermind is a good fit when it opens again, sign up for that as well. I truly believe in this — you've heard so many of my mastermind members seeing great success and growing their businesses because they're in a small group with accountability. I'd love to help you too. If this helped you or you know someone who's stuck in shiny object syndrome, would you share it with them? That would mean the world to me .

July 6, 20269 min

122: Email Marketing Automation That Feels Personal

If you've been avoiding email marketing automation because it feels cold or robotic, this episode will change how you think about it completely. Done right, automation doesn't replace your voice — it makes sure your message reaches the right person at exactly the right moment. Most content creators avoid automation because they're afraid of losing their voice — but the real problem isn't automation itself, it's lazy automation. This episode will show you a better way. Here are 4 things you'll discover in this episode: ✅ 4 simple automations every content creator should have running right now ✅How the right automated emails feel more personal than a broadcast ever could ✅How your business should keep serving people even when life gets in the way ✅ 3 questions to answer before you build any automation sequence Ready to let email marketing automation work for your business — without losing your personal touch? Grab the free consulting call and workshop details & links below. Resources for You: Stop Sending the Same Email to Everyone: An Email Marketing System That Works — July 7th Workshop (members only) Free 15-minute consulting call — to see if the July 7th workshop is a good fit for you Family Biz Mastermind Homeschool Blogger University Show Notes: Automation isn't about saving time, it's about serving people better. Automation is not cold when it's done right and when it's done well. It can actually make your communication more thoughtful, more timely, and more personal. Automation creates better relationships because people hear from you in a way that matches where they are in the buyer's journey. I'm Kerry Beck with Family EBiz, where we help families start and scale online businesses, so they can find freedom in their life to do what they're called to do. Today, we are talking about automation and freeing up some of that time you have, so that you're not sending individual emails about all of that. A lot of times, I think content creators think that if I put it on automation, it's going to sound like spam, robotic, or it's going to lose my voice and my touch. But really, bad automation is lazy. Good automation is intentional and responsive. Sending the Right Emails to the Right People I mentioned this last time, but I use AWeber as my email service provider. When you get into what they call a workflow, or an automation, you can actually send people down different channels. You can have a little tree branch. If they said yes, or they clicked, here's the email they get. If they haven't clicked anything, here's the email that they get. They can get different tags that could start another automation as well. We're going to be talking all about that tomorrow in our workshop, but the goal is not more emails — it's the right emails for the right people. Lead With Purpose: The Patagonia Lesson I don't know if I'm going to say this guy's name right, but Yvon Chouinard built Patagonia. Most of you have heard of this company. He built it around a clear purpose and a long-term relationship with customers, not a transaction mindset. A lot of you are thinking, I just need to make some sales. That is a transaction. You need to build your business, I personally think, with a relationship mindset. He believed in doing the right thing and still making money to pay the bills. He wanted less harm to the environment, and he gives away 1% of sales. In 2018, he said they are in business to save our home planet. Why are you in business? He has a clear message, and I would encourage you to think through that this week. His story is a reminder that when the mission is clear, systems can serve your people without being manipulative. Automation Feels More Personal When You Do It Right I know sometimes automation can feel more personal if you do it the right way. Manual emailing, or what I call a broadcast, means sometimes you don't do it till you remember to do it. I actually, a week ago from when I'm recording this, forgot to send the email out about that weekly podcast, because it wasn't scheduled. Automations can avoid those kinds of problems. Automation lets you respond to a behavior, to a click, to a sign-up, to a purchase, or to a period of silence. That means the right person gets the right message at the right time, and that feels like you care more about your audience instead of just sending a random blast to everyone. So what are some simple automations that you could set up? A welcome sequence — a lot of you that I've talked to already have welcome sequences. This helps a new subscriber know who you are and what to expect. The follow-up after a click. This responds to interest. They were interested, they're a warm audience, so let's follow up with them. A re-engagement sequence. This checks in with people when they fall quiet. Or a buyer sequence — this helps customers feel seen after their purchase. Those are just four types of simple automations you can use to build relationships with the people on your list. I would challenge you to pick one of those automations for this week. I want you to write three bullets: what triggers it, who gets it, and what the goal of it is. Do you have a goal, or are you just making up a bunch of automations, follow-ups, and sequences? You don't need to build a whole system all over again. You just need to know what the system should do, and once you have an understanding, you can serve your people better. Automation Keeps Your Business Running Through Life's Interruptions Now, I do know that life gets in the way, and we have life interruptions, but they should not cancel your business. They may interrupt your consistency, but you should have automations in place so your business continues to run. A few of them that I think of: it's summertime, people going on vacation. When I go to speak at a conference, my business doesn't shut down because I'm out of town. This coming week, from when I'm recording this, I'm going to help my mom with her surgery. I will be gone, and who even knows what kind of internet I'm going to have. She was just telling me, "Mom, Kerry, we've got this new fiber thing, but it's supposed to be slow." Anyway. Life does have interruptions, but your business should not stop just because you have an interruption. Automation keeps serving people even when you're launching, when you're traveling, when you're homeschooling, or simply having a hard week. That steadiness matters, because that way people grow to know you, to like you, and to trust you. I'm going to go back to Barbara Corcoran's story, and we talked about it in the last episode. If you didn't hear it, it's a phenomenal story — go back and listen to last week's episode. Her long-term success came from discipline and repeated habits. She did not just get one big break, but she spent time getting to know and build relationships with people. Time and networking. A lot of people think networking is just going somewhere and passing out a bunch of cards, and you're going to get business. No, networking is work. It takes work to build relationships. It's not net-sitting, it's not net-eating, it is net-working. And so the lesson we can learn from Barbara Corcoran is repeatable systems create repeatable service. You're continuing to serve them because you have a system in place. Consistency is a form of care. Get Clarity, Then Book Your Free Consulting Call I want you to think about this: whoever we were just talking about, whichever automation — who is the person that's getting it? Like, "this email is for new subscribers who've downloaded my free guide but haven't joined the next step yet." That's who's in this sequence. You need to know specifically who is in the sequence. We'll talk all about that tomorrow. I'm going to give you details and everything. In fact, I still have a few free consulting calls available today, and even in the morning before I go live and teach the class at 1 o'clock. See, when you have clarity, your people are not going to be confused. You're able to serve them, and everything follows because you have made some decisions and have clarity about what this system is all about. You quit speaking to everyone the same way, all at once. If you're always sending an email to all your active subscribers, you need to rethink that, and start to segment, and start to put some things on automation. The goal is not to send more emails. The goal is to send the right emails to the right people, and automation is just a way that you can do that and scale the emails that you are sending. So, if you're still on the fence thinking about coming to the July 7th workshop, sign up for a consulting call , and we will do it really quickly. I will be watching for those every hour, and I would love to meet with you. I'm Kerry Beck with Family Ebiz. We'll talk to you next time.

June 29, 20269 min

121: Email Follow Up: The Step Most Creators Skip

Getting someone to opt in feels like a win — but if your email follow up stops there, you're leaving the relationship (and the sale) on the table. This episode breaks down exactly what needs to happen after the click to turn interested subscribers into buyers who trust you. Bloggers, podcasters, and online business owners who have an email list, but aren't seeing consistent sales will find this episode especially practical. Once you understand the buyer's journey your subscribers are on, email follow up stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like relationship-building. Here are 5 things you'll discover in this episode: ✅Why the opt-in are just the handshake — not the sale ✅What the gap between interest and income is costing you ✅How to use segmentation as a relationship tool , not just a tech feature ✅ 3 emails every lead magnet needs after someone says yes ✅ Why some buyers take months to say yes — and how follow up keeps them warm Ready to stop losing subscribers after the opt-in and start building relationships that lead to sales? Grab the free 15-minute consulting call and workshop details mentioned in this episode — links are in the show notes! Resources for You: Stop Sending the Same Email to Everyone: An Email Marketing System That Works — July 7th Workshop (members only) Free 15-minute consulting call — to see if the July 7th workshop is a good fit for you Family Biz Mastermind Homeschool Blogger University Show Notes: A Click Is Not a Conversion — It's the Beginning of a Relationship A click is not a conversion. A click is the beginning of a relationship. The money really is in the follow-up. And for many solopreneurs, content creators, bloggers, and podcasters, the question is not how do I get more clicks. The question is — what happens after someone says yes once? The Freebie Is Not the Finish Line Many online business owners treat the freebie like the finish line. Oh, I got some more people to sign up for my freebie. But that is really just a handshake. The opt-in only tells you someone is interested. It does not mean they are ready to buy, ready to trust you, or even remember why they signed up. If you stop communicating right after the opt-in, you leave the relationship undeveloped. And you are not going to make any sales. What is your follow-up system in your business? Do you even have one? Barbara Corcoran Didn't Wait for Perfect Conditions Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank made straight D's in high school. She was labeled as a dunce. She had 20 jobs by the time she was 23 years old. She quit her waitressing job and borrowed $1,000 to start the Corcoran Group — now known as one of the largest and best-known real estate brokerages in the business. How did she do that? By staying visible, persistent, and relationship-focused instead of waiting for perfect conditions. Some of you are waiting for just the right time. Waiting until your course is perfect. She was building relationships when things weren't going perfectly. Her story is a reminder that growth comes from repeated follow-up, not a single event. Some of my Raising Leaders students joined after a year or two — or more. Some things take time for people to get to the point of saying yes. The timing has to be right. The first yes matters, but it's the follow-up that turns interest into income. Let me say that again. It is follow-up that turns interest into income. The Gap Between Interest and Income There is often a huge gap between someone joining your list and someone trusting you enough to buy. That gap is where creators lose people. They assume one email is enough. They send the same email to everyone all the time. Your job is not just to attract attention. Your job is to keep shaping the relationship after the click. Do you understand the journey your people are going through to buy from you? How does someone go from downloading a lead magnet to two years later becoming a student in your course? Understanding your buyer's journey is everything. What to Do This Week Choose one freebie or one lead magnet and write out the next three emails that you wish existed. After someone opts in, what are the next three emails you will send? Maybe a welcome. Maybe pointing to their pain. Maybe an invitation to a next step. You don't need to create the full system today. You just need to name the next three touches so the relationship does not go cold. Segmentation Is a Relationship Tool, Not Just a Tech Tool Not every subscriber is in the same place. Some are warm, some are cold, some are browsing, some are not ready yet, and some are hot as can be. The creators who get the strongest engagement are speaking different messages to different people on their list. They are not sending identical messages to everyone all the time. This is where email list segmentation becomes a relationship tool, not just a tech tool. For me, the people who click links in my emails are hotter — so I can send them a different email than the people who haven't opened anything in a week or two. In AWeber, you can actually set up a flowchart — if someone clicks, they get this message. If someone doesn't click, they get that message. Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir Eat, Pray, Love became a massive success because it spoke to a very specific person in a very specific emotional season — women in uncertainty, women trying to reinvent themselves, women longing for meaning. It resonated because it was not a one-size-fits-all. Are you treating your list like a one-size-fits-all? Different people need different words after the click. Consistent Follow-Up Builds Trust Over Time Follow-up is simply saying — I'm still here. I still understand your problem. You matter even if you didn't buy today. Consistency builds credibility over time, especially for people who are watching quietly before they act. They are thinking it all through. And those are often your best buyers. Add one line to your next email that invites them to the next step. Something like — if this is the season you're in, reply with the word followup and I'll send you the next resource. Put it in the PS — that gets read a lot. The point is to move one small step beyond the click. Not overhaul your entire funnel. Just one step. The money really is in the email follow-up. People buy when they feel known and remembered. If you want better results, you need a better post-click experience — not just more traffic. I'm offering free 15-minute consulting calls to see if my email marketing workshop on July 7th is a good fit for you. We're going to be talking about email follow-up systems, segmentation, automations, and the buyer's journey — all the things that turn clicks into sales. The link to sign up for a call is in the show notes.

June 22, 202612 min

120: The Email List Segmentation Mistake Costing You Sales

If your emails feel like they're going nowhere, email list segmentation might be the one thing standing between you and real results Sending the same email to everyone on your list could be the exact reason your open rates are low and sales are flat — and email list segmentation is the fix most creators skip. Bloggers, podcasters, and online business owners who've been frustrated with their email results will find this especially useful. Once you understand who's actually on your list, communication gets easier, engagement goes up, and sales follow naturally. Here are things you'll discover in this episode: ✅The 4 types of subscribers hiding inside your list right now ✅Why generic emails get ignored — even by people who like you ✅Are you making this email mistake…and how to fix it ✅A simple 1st step to identify your key audience segments (no tech required) ✅Why most creators never implement this — and the real reason you stay stuck Ready to stop sending one-size-fits-all emails and start getting real results? Resources for You Stop Sending the Same Email to Everyone: An Email Marketing System That Works — July 7th Workshop (members only) Free 15-minute consulting call — to see if the July 7th workshop is a good fit for you Family Biz Mastermind Homeschool Blogger University Show Notes: The One Email Mistake That's Costing You Sales Have you ever sent an email to your list and thought — why is nobody opening this? Why is no one clicking? Why isn't this converting? Raising my hand, I've had those thoughts. What if your email isn't the problem? What if you're sending the right email to the wrong people? Different people need different conversations. Let me say that again. Different people need different conversations. Your List Is Not One Audience Most creators see one email list, one audience, and one message. But the reality is, inside your email list, there is a variety of people. You have brand new subscribers who are still learning who you are. You have regular readers who consume everything you publish. You have buyers who already trust you. You have people who click. And you have people who haven't opened an email in months. They are not the same people. And yet most of us — content creators, bloggers, podcasters, online businesses — talk to each of them exactly the same way. Should all of those groups get the same type of communication? Probably not. Maybe your list isn't ignoring you. Maybe you're just talking to everyone the same way. What ConvertKit and AWeber Understood When ConvertKit built their platform, they built it around the idea that creators needed to build deeper relationships with their audience. They added subscriber organization and segmentation tools because creators serve different groups of people. They said — we know your business is personal. It's how you support your family, share your expertise, and serve your community. AWeber does the same thing. On AWeber, I am so thankful they give me tools to send one email to this group and a different email to that group. I have a homeschool business and a Family eBiz business — two different lists. But within each one, I have all different groups of people, because they're different kinds of people with different needs. Four Groups That Need Different Conversations Here are just four groups that exist inside most email lists — and each one needs to be approached differently. A new subscriber is still learning who you are. They don't know you yet. Do they like you or trust you? You've got to address that. A buyer who's purchased from you in the past already trusts you — you don't have to rebuild the know, like, and trust factor from scratch. A dormant subscriber may not even remember who you are, so you need to approach them completely differently. And a regular reader who consumes everything you publish — they need a different conversation too. Those are just four. There can be many more depending on your niche and your offers. Relevance drives engagement. Generic messaging just gets ignored. Even if they open it, they're thinking — this isn't for me. And that's why people unsubscribe — not usually because you've emailed too much, but because the content feels irrelevant, it doesn't match where they are, it doesn't solve their current problem. I had a woman reach out a couple of weeks ago — she was new to my list, had bought two or three products, and was getting messages from all of them. She told me she was overwhelmed. But she did not want to get off my list. She said — these are things that can help me, but I'm overwhelmed by the emails. That was great feedback. She was a recent buyer getting relevant content — it was just a lot. She didn't unsubscribe. People unsubscribe when the content feels irrelevant, not when it's relevant. The Skimm Got This Right The Skimm grew by understanding exactly who their audience was and speaking directly to their needs. They are dedicated to succinctly giving women the information they need to make confident decisions in their lives. Their success came from relevant communication, not generic. They chose a tight niche and spoke specifically to the people inside it. Do you know who your audience is? And do you have subsets of that audience you need to speak to differently? I took a Facebook ads seminar a few weeks ago, and they suggested having different sales pages — one for your cold audience, one for your webinar audience, and one for your warm audience. I didn't have time to implement it at that moment, but it's something I'm planning for the next time I launch Raising Leaders. My cold audience coming from Facebook ads or affiliate lead magnets needs me to build that know, like, and trust from scratch. My webinar audience and my warm audience — I don't have to give them as much background. I can dive straight into how it will help them. Different people need different conversations. Why Most Creators Never Do This Most creators know they should organize their lists better. But they never do it. Not because they're lazy, but because they're alone. They spend hours watching tutorials, hours researching, hours trying to piece together advice from different sources — and then they never implement. They get stuck in decision fatigue. Sometimes a five-minute conversation saves five hours of frustration. I can get on a Zoom call for five minutes with someone who's a peer and solve a problem I'd otherwise spend hours researching. Community matters for solopreneurs. One of my mastermind members, Chris, was pivoting her business and realized her list didn't include all of her target audience. It took a couple of mastermind meetings and some research to get there. She's like — okay, I'm going to focus on the people that are my target audience and talk specifically to those people. Group coaching often reveals audiences you didn't even realize existed. A lot of members say — just talking it out in our meetings has been totally helpful. What to Do This Week Think about your list. What groups are inside it? I don't want you to build anything yet. I don't want you to create tags or segments. Just write down up to five main groups you think exist inside your list. Do you even know who they are? Do you need to go back and look at what types of emails people have been opening or responding to? Start there. Five groups. Write them down. Once you understand who those audiences are, communication becomes much more effective and much easier. We're going to be talking about this exact topic — email list segmentation, tagging, automations, building a buyer's journey — in our Family eBiz Mastermind and Homeschool Blogger University training on July 7th. We'll demonstrate how to build relationships with your buyers, what the buyer's journey looks like as people come in, and we'll have Q&A at the end. You do have to be a current Family eBiz Mastermind member or HBU member to attend. Family eBiz Mastermind focuses on growing and scaling a business. Homeschool Blogger University is built for homeschool content creators and bloggers to scale their business. And next week — we're going to talk about what happens when someone clicks, and what some of you are doing wrong after those clicks.