Hosting an Online Challenge can Explode Your Email List!

QUESTION: Have you ever thought about hosting an online challenge? 

I’m sure you’ve participated in one at some stage to learn how to do something in your business. They are extremely popular!

But what you may not know about challenges is that they are great for building your email list!

If you’ve secretly ever wondered how to succeed in hosting an online challenge, read on, because this blog is going to change the way you talk about and introduce people to your products, position you as the go-to expert, and grow your email list!

******

How to explode your email list by hosting an online challenge

You may be wondering, what is an online challenge and why should you care?

Zach Spuckler from Heart, Soul & Hustle, is about to show you how to use online challenges to your advantage.

An online challenge is a marketing activity that delivers value and demonstrates your expertise over a set number of days. They can range from 3 to 5 to 7 days, right up to 30 days. The reason why so many people love hosting online challenges is that they are a great way to grow your email list and deliver massive value to your community at the same time, with the end goal being for people to take the next step to work with you.

Your participants love it because they see instant results from working with you over a short time, therefore building massive trust as well.

You will love it because it will grow your leads and client base and allow you to have a greater impact on your community.

******

There’s never been a better time to get started and scale with online challenges

If you want to scale or just get started on your launch journey, let’s take a look at how hosting an online challenge can work for you.

With the pandemic, your ideal audience and clients now have more time than they ever have done before simply because of lockdowns and being online more – so now is the best time to be hosting an online challenge. The pandemic has allowed business owners to up the ante online and pivot their business to include more online marketing components.

Being different and evolving in business is always going to serve you well and the world is never going to stop changing – so take advantage of the situation online right now and “have a go!”.

******

Simple tips to set up, organise, and start hosting an online challenge

A 5-day challenge is a simple way to launch a product or service by delivering valuable content, followed by a pitch, followed by an offer to work with you. To have success, follow this framework.

• Create a cohesive system

If you are thinking of hosting an online challenge, learn a cohesive system in which to deliver your challenge. For example, the structure Zach uses consists of:

• Five days of content
• Pitch your product on the last day
• Give 2-3 days for people to enrol in the product (courses, services, consulting, and so on).

• Know your avatar, then decide on your topic

Know your avatar and know what they need, then serve them well! The biggest mistake business owners make when it comes to hosting a challenge is they make the topic too broad. That won’t speak to the core desires of your audience.

You need to be really specific. What does your audience want and need, and what is the gap between those two? That’s the secret ingredient.

EXAMPLE: 

Challenge: 5-day Sales Funnel Challenge where people build a sales funnel using Facebook Ads to drive traffic

Product offering afterwards: A Facebook ads course

Map out your content for the five days. What value will you share and how are you going to help people? Next, be clear on your offer. What is the next step people can take after the challenge to continue on their journey? 

• Promote your event

Once you have clarity on the content and the offer, it’s time to market and promote your challenge.

• Set a date
• Set up registration components
• Set up your landing page
• Set up your “Thank you” page
• Start promoting your challenge EVERYWHERE

There are 3 ways to drive traffic:

1. Paid traffic – Advertising
2. Referral traffic – being interviewed on podcasts, media, guest posting, and so on. Referral traffic is using someone else’s platform to refer their audience to you
3. Organic traffic – podcast, blog, social media, etc.

Choose 1-2 ways from each area of traffic above and then use all of your energy to drive traffic to your free resource; in this instance, it is hosting your online challenge.

• Deliver really valuable content

Map out your content and deliver it with gusto and high energy. Get people excited. Make sure you deliver it logically over each day. Don’t give too much away – as in, don’t overwhelm your participants with too much content. 

• Have people lining up to buy your next step

When you do a challenge right, it will sell itself. Zach says he has had people in challenges asking what the next step is on Day 3 of the challenge or telling him they don’t care what the offer is, they just want in. When your content is valuable, people will naturally want to take the next step with you.

******

What else you need to know … 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a big following or a huge email list. Zach says everyone starts at zero and you can build your business by launching with challenges.

Be sure to share your challenge with the people you do have on your list and socials.

HOT TIP: Buy a domain for your challenge, and then ask people to share it. 

Then, keep creating relationships and sharing your content when you are not running a challenge. In the interim, use organic marketing to build your audience and anticipation for your next challenge.

What next? Be realistic. It takes time to organise and run a successful challenge. Everyone makes mistakes, so just run with it and keep learning.

“Imperfect action outperforms inaction every single time!” – Zach Spuckler, Heart, Soul & Hustle link Heart, Soul & Hustle 

******

Are you starting or scaling your business? The Online Business Liftoff Podcast can help 

Our passion is to help small business owners succeed with their online business. One way we can help you on your entrepreneurial journey is through our podcast which showcases amazing experts. 

Listen to what more Zach Spuckler, from Heart, Soul & Hustle, has to say here Blog — Heart, Soul & Hustle