[ Download MP3 | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ]
Dr Joanna Martin used to be a practicing medical doctor in Tasmania, then left that role to become an aspiring actor. Today she is a professional speaker focusing specifically on how to sell from the stage.
Joanna makes incredible money, to the tune of a seven figure business, by speaking around the world, however that’s not what this interview is about.
In late 2009 Joanna and her husband Greg were at an Internet marketing event I attended and we got talking about selling info products online. Joanna wanted to create a new income stream from the web, selling information products like continuity programs and home study courses, based on the materials they already had.
While Joanna loves what she does on stage, having a stable online income source to match her profits from speaking is an important goal, so she’s not dependent on being somewhere presenting live to make money.
I gave Joanna and Greg access to my Membership Site Masterplan report and the Membership Site Masterplan course and they went away and immediately took action.
The end result was a small trial launch of an info product to their existing list of just 1500 people, generating more than $60,000 in sales in a couple of weeks – not bad for such a tiny list and no affiliates.
In this interview I asked Joanna to break down exactly what she did to launch her product and get such a tremendous return on such a small starting point.
If you’re interested in learning more about Joanna and selling from the stage, make sure you visit shiftspeakertraining.com/blueprint to download her free report, and also check out her personal blog, JoannaMartin.com.au.
[ Download MP3 | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ]
I’m building email list of financially challenged people, the rich baby boomers, who prefer expensive but unproven health supplements like colon cleansing over the same quality products you can find at Walmart for $4. There is a gold mine there. These people are good for continuity program and they will make me rich.
Wow, I don’t know if I like the idea of exploiting others for the benefit of yourself. But then, I guess, that’s the whole idea of capitalism…
No exploitation here that I can see! The teacher and the taught have shared their experience with us and I find it quite fascinating that a chance meeting could lead to such amazing outcomes!
I’m not talking about the post and the audio interview. I’m just replying to DotCom Note’s comment.
Sorry about that.
What an amazing testament to Joanne! And this really shows the power of a quality email list.
Hey Tom,
Its testament to Yaro really. He helped us heaps. And all his tips about getting a quality list are the best.
My site is still not as fabulous as his (you can see at http://shiftspeakertraining.com) but even just doing a little something helps!
Cheers,
jo
Interesting stuff.
Yaro, I mentioned in a comment the other day that we were officially launching our “Zero To A Hundred K in 30 Days” Blueprint on 1st May, 2010 – refer to http://www.yourlawnandgarden.com/2009/10/13/how-to-build-a-100000-a-year-lawn-and-garden-business-in-30-days-for-less-than-300/
I will keep you posted via the private forum for your Training Program Members/clients.
whoa, I don’t know about this idea because I’m still depending on traditional outsourcing.
Thats why I am on the blogger blog to collect some mails for further business, as this blog helped me to be aware about collecting those contacts for big and amazing deal.
Thanks Yaro.
1500? And to generate that much profit. Very impressive results Joanna and Yaro.
Certainly interesting to read about her experiences. I do agree with Andi to some extent.
Till then,
Jean
What exactly is a continuity program and what are the home based courses based on?
Hi Turkish- I teach speaker training in my continuity program.
jo
Wow she really is a good speaker. Great interview. Her original list must all idolize her 🙂 Great work Yaro and thanks for another quality interview.
What an amazing story!
This is another great story. An inspirational one to get me going.
I had a chance to listen to this interview today and actually loved it. I will definitely be checking to see what Joanna is up to in her free report.
I didn’t even listen to the phone conversation but I still learned something. I learned that if you establish a solid relationship and give quality content to your list you will make alot more money. The extra effort to establish relationships and write quality content pays off.
> she’s not dependent on being somewhere presenting live to make money
I think that’s also a key to get off the treadmill and create enough “space” to invest in yourself and create more value.
I am very impressed with what Joanna was able to do in just a few weeks with no affiliates. What a great inspiring success story.
So 1,500 on her email list is considered tiny. Well my email list must be minuscule compared to that.
That’s the part of the message that I got stuck on – my list is virtually non-existent if 1,500 is tiny. While I’m encouraged by Joey’s efforts and success, I wonder how I’m going to get to a list size that would be considered “just right”.
Hi Cheryl,
I reckon you just have to start. Facebook and Twitter are realy good for list building. Follow Yaro’s recipe. It works. Jo
I think i learn something from the interview. Thanks for the post Yaro.
She must have put in a lot of work to cultivate her list of 1,500!
While this is hardly a rags to riches story, it serves to illustrate the effectiveness of Yaro’s system very effectively. What gets me is the small mailing list generating some serious income, it really goes to show what quality vs quantity brings to the table.
Another great post again, I can’t believe she did all that with just a small email list
This is not just a small e-mail list but a full of hardwork within
I just stumbled upon this and am QUITE skeptical! People, run the numbers, please! It just does not add up.
1500 @ 100% conversion which is impossible = $40 per sale
1500 @ 50% conversion which is highly unlikely = $80 per sale
1500 @ 10% conversion which is likely for a well targeted email list = $800 per product!!!
So if she is not selling a recipe to cut cocaine and triple the stash you can sell on the streets, I don’t know what information that is worth $800! or $400 or even $200!
But then again this industry is built off of savvy online marketers duping people into “mentoring programs” and paying a monthly membership of $89+ which in the end would equate to $700/800/900 sales for information that can be found online for free! Just scope out webmaster forums for more info and guidance than any of these mentoring programs can offer!
Hey BobJ,
The product was $997 – I think, around the $1K mark anyway, hence the possible return on a small list.
Jo teaches people how to sell from the stage, which can be one of the most lucrative occupations available today, hence the potential to charge that much and have people pay is real.
Whether that represents “value” is purely subjective, but the results in this case show that some people were willing to spend that kind of money.
Hi BobJ-
Thats funny. Cutting cocaine and tripling the stash- I haven’t launched that membership program! Heheee.
I teach business owners how to make money with speaking. And its not uncommon for my clients to use my strategies to make $34,000 in a single webinar using what I’ve taught them.
Heres an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO39tMMwmHU
So investing $997 (or $97 a month) in learning how to master that skill is a no-brainer for them. I think thats an important lesson- making the value of the program high. KNow what I mean?
It has to be legit, or you’ll get a bad reputation really quick.
Hope that helps.
jo
There can be a huge difference in what is perceived as value, online training and courses represent fantastic value to similar “offline” content.
Medium to large business owners will often expect to pay thousands for a single product or to have “specialist training” delivered.
How much do you think they’d expect to pay for 6 months worth of training?
Two messages here. One again a personal touch to an important post and the fact that properly managed and thought out the small size of the mailing list did not matter. Quality over quantity won.
That’s really impressive! It’s crazy to see Joanna go from being a doctor to an actress to a public speaker and now an online marketer. Her story of success is sure to keep us motivated!
Yaro,
Thanks for the response. I’m just a little jaded at this point after seeing all these success stories. The average guy doesnt have a product he can sell for $900+ let alone probably $90. Text books and academic books take years to produce by the best authors and many of them cost $50 – 90.
So the average Joe needs a product he can price at $30 or so and will need to sell that 2000 times – and at 10% conversion rate, Joe will need a list of 20,000+ … but more realistically he will need a list of 40,000. Now, what kind of targeted traffic does one need to get 40,000 emails…120,000, 200,000, 400,000?
So yes, if you have been on the “circuit” for years and have a following, you can potentially make a killing off a small list. But for the majority of the readers, including myself, we dont have that sort of following. We may have a decent product but it most probably is more general than a highly specialized training program for a select few.
Example:
A trainer #1 who has trained NCAA players for 10 years can produce a program and get a list of 1000 people and sell his one on one coaching program for the off season for $1000+ easy. He gets 50 sales from serious basketball players and he has made a killing off a small list.
Take trainer #2 who has coached youth leagues and has decent general knowledge. He can create a program but its not going to be worth $1000 to any youth basketball player…so he has to sell it for $10 or $30 and has to build a huge list to make the same profits as trainer #1….and most 99% are trainer #2 if that.
This is not just a small e-mail list but a good list that can turn into sales. i am learning the art of list building
Yaro:
This interview is very misleading. She clearly indicates that she had help from YOU. She did not do this on her own.
If you’re going to showcase success stories, please make sure they’re authentic and not just members that you’ve coached and assisted. How about some “real people” for a change?
Your credibility is beginning to slip.
Layne, every launch I’ve had help from people. All my students have had helped from people, including me and others.
I’m not sure how this damages my credibility – that’s the whole point of getting coaching, to get help from people who have done what you want to do.
I’m encouraged that Joanna was willing to take such big risks at different points in her life. I can’t imagine it was easy for her to give up her medical training to go on the stage. Can’t imagine there were too many people willing to agree with her on that. It’s good to see that things have worked out for her.
On the contrary, I think that it enhances Yaro’s credibility and it is to his mentee’s credit that she acknowledges his contribution.
I don’t know what to say to this except that I don’t really anyone on earth that didn’t get help from someone else. this doesn’t only work in business, but for every area of life.
What’s wrong with getting a mentor?
Take care,
Franck
WOW Yaro – 3 days ago I joined your membership mentoring program, AND I’m already booked in to Joey’s 3 day training program next weekend – so when the email just came thru for this interview I kinda figured my world is turning exactly how it’s meant to be haha.
Just need to pour myself a wine and listen to the interview.
Stef
This is inspiring. It’s amazing that people are willing to spend that much money on a product. I love how you she mentioned that people, surprisingly, will value your product much higher than you will.
I guess that is true because in our heads, we see our imperfections. However, on their in they see value because we are coming from a place of expertise.
Great Interview Yaro!
That was a fantasic interview, I can completely relate to Joanna as I too went through a phase of ‘becoming a famous actor’. And I also read in her blue print, her minimalist attitude to materialism, that’s me all the way!
I also want to make a little comment on background noises from Yaro’s mic. If it’s not a roof load of birds squawking, it’s the blo*dy rain.
I may be exaggerating this as but it’s funny to me none the less.
Yaro,
I find this interview inspiring. Joann has a great SYSTEM, she just did not realized that the system she has is workable. When we launched http://www.youthconnex.com in 2007 we just never had a system but we had an active sign up of some 8000 people. Now that I am following your work, I am able to understand the importance of system and product launch.
Listening to Joann makes me realized the importance to create anticipation and to sell to your list. It’s a great concept.