[BONUS] How to turn your in-person services into online offerings

If you deliver in-person consultancy, training or coaching in your business you will almost certainly have been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Perhaps you’ve had client meetings cancelled. Or maybe you’ve had workshops/consultancy gigs postponed or put on hold. It could be that you’ve had to cancel live events/workshops of your own. All of which is likely to have an impact on the bottom line of your business. Health always comes first of course. But with little sign of the crisis abating, it’s sensible to consider how you might offer online alternatives to your offline services.  Not only is this sensible in the midst of a worldwide flu epidemic, it’s also a way to start generating passive/semi-passive income in your business - which means you can stop trading time for money (or certainly do less of it)). In this special podcast episode, I’ll show you four ways you can start turning your offline services into offerings.  Delivering in-person coaching online  Turn your coaching/consultancy programmes into online courses/memberships Turn in-person workshops into webinars/online masterclasses  Launch a playbook/ebook {Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode} Delivering in-person coaching online  Booked to deliver 1-2-1/group coaching in-person? This can easily be delivered online, using a free video-conferencing software like Zoom which allows you to share your screen and participants share theirs with you. You can also share documents and chat ‘live’ with participants. And you can send them the recording afterwards in case they want to go over anything again.  Alternatives to Zoom: Go To Meeting, Team Viewer, Join.me, Google Hangouts, Meet.me & BlueJeans. If you’re worried your clients will be overwhelmed by the tech, you can send them written instructions and/or a video using a free tool like Loom showing them how to use it (including how to join).  To ensure the session is productive, I’d recommend creating a sequence of emails that includes: Information on how to book in a 1-2-1 session with you (they can use a tool like Calendly or Acuity Scheduling to book straight into your diary)  Information on how to prepare for the session including information on any information on what they might need to bring to the session. PLUS how to use the video conferencing software from their phone/desktop.  Information on what to do after the online session (this might include a link to the recording), any action points agreed and follow up work  These emails can be re-used and adapted - saving you hours of time in the long run. In fact, the whole process can be automated so people can book straight into your diary, be delivered the link to join the call and reminders before the call.  I include template/swipe files for this sequence of emails in my How To Turn Your Offline Services Into Online Offerings masterclass [xxx].  If you’re worried that what you teach/coach can’t be delivered online, I’ve personally worked with a pilates instructor, bread making teacher, psychologist, personal trainer and jewellery- making teacher - all of whom deliver their training/consultancy online. And if they can do it, so can you.  Turn your coaching/consultancy programmes into online courses/memberships Booked to deliver in-person training or a workshop? This can be delivered live, using a free video-conferencing software like Zoom (or one of the other examples mentioned above) which allow you to share your screen, share documents and chat ‘live’ with participants.  With a bit of tweaking, it’s possible to make online sessions really interactive. Not only can you use the ‘chat’ function to ask and answer questions, but you can also share your screen with participants and they can share theirs with you, which means you can give feedback on literally anything. So if you’re a tennis coach, you can give feedback on technique. If you’re a pottery or sewing teacher you can check peoples’ creative work. And if you’re a singing teacher you can advise on pitch and tone. With the right technology, pretty much anything is possible.  And you don’t have to deliver the training live. You can record the sessions in advance using video conferencing software like Zoom and/or a screencasting software like Screenflow (for Mac) or Camtasia for (PC) which allow you to talk over your slides  You can host your video tutorials free using a site like Teachable or Thinkific. But you don’t need dedicated software to host video tutorials/or an online course. You can upload them to a video hosting site like Wistia or Vimeo or simply add them as unlisted/private videos on Youtube. Any digital downloads e.g. workbooks, cheat sheets, checklists can be stored in a file hosting service like Dropbox or Google Drive (you can just paste a link under the relevant video tutorial). This is exactly what I did for the BETA launch of my online podcasting course: Get Your Podcast Live in 60 Days.  You can use these resources to create audio files/podcasts (or use a digital recording app like Audacity). These can be hosted on any of the platforms above or you can upload them to Soundcloud.  Think what you teach can’t be delivered online? Check out an online course site like Udemy where you’ll find digital resources on everything from surfing to singing to gastric bypass surgery.  Want to learn more? I cover how to launch an online course/workshop in my online masterclass How To Turn Your Offline Services Into Online Offerings masterclass [xxx].  Turn in-person workshops into webinars/online masterclasses  Run your own live workshops/events? This can also be delivered live, using free video-conferencing software like Zoom (or one of the other examples mentioned above) which allow you to share your screen, share documents and chat ‘live’ with participants.  While I’d recommend promoting live events/workshops at least 12 weeks ahead, you can promote webinars/online classes less than a week before the event. In fact, promoting them too far in advance can mean you actually get fewer people showing up (people just forget about it).  To ensure your webinar is productive, I’d recommend creating the following sequences of emails:  A four-day promotion sequence - promoting the webinar to people and telling them what will be covered A sequence of reminder emails  - reminding people about the webinar and any preparation they might need to do (setting a pre-webinar task can be a great way to keep people engaged before the session) A sequence of follow-up emails that deliver the recording, slides, handouts (and any other resources shared during the session) and offer and upsell to another product/service I include template/swipe files for this sequence of emails in my How To Turn Your Offline Services Into Online Offerings masterclass [xxx].   Don’t have an email list? Read: 39 surprisingly easy ways to increase your email subscribers. You should also promote the webinar/online masterclass across your social media channels. I included samples of the kinds of posts you might create in my How To Turn Your Offline Services Into Online Offerings masterclass [xxx].   Once your webinar is recorded you can turn it into an automated, on-demand webinar using a tool like Ever Webinar.  Launch a playbook/ebook Launching a playbook/ebook can be a great way to turn your knowledge/expertise into a valuable resource you can sell - without leaving your home office. A playbook/ebook is a digital download, typically of around 3-5000 words that solves a very specific problem for a very specific type of client.  I go into much more depth in my how to launch a playbook for your business online masterclass.  There is some work up front in writing the download. You may also need to invest time and/or money (if you don’t have the expertise yourself) for professional-looking design.  But once you’ve created your playbook/ebook - and automated the purchase/delivery process - you can (quite literally) sell it in your sleep. In the first few weeks of launching my Instagram Engagement Playbook, I sold almost 300 copies.  While you’re unlikely to make millions from a playbook/ebook (unless you already have a large audience) it can be a great way to attract qualified leads you can upsell to more high-ticket products.services.  Ideally, you’ll sell your ebook via your website (which means you can track who is buying from you and, crucially, get their email address for upsells/cross-sells) using a resource plug-in like Woocommerce or Shopify. To deliver the playbook/ebook, you’ll need to integrate this with your email marketing software. Converting the naysayers If you are taking services online that you have previously delivered offline, you may come up against some resistance from clients who don’t believe online training/coaching/consultancy can be as effective as offline.  It’s a good idea to create content that educates your clients on the benefits of online learning PLUS how it works (often resistance is based around fear e.g. of not being able to use the tech), Demo/sample videos can also help (once people understand what an online class might be like, they’re usually happy to get on board). Finally, gathering testimonials from your clients will also help a lot. If you can get testimonials in which they explicitly talk about how they were concerned about online learning, but their fears were totally unfounded that is ideal. Podcast shownotes About this bonus podcast episode (01:04) The four different ways you can take your business from offline to online (5:23) How to deliver your in-person workshop or consultancy online (6:46) Software to use for video conferencing and explaining the tech (7:49) How to streamline and automate the booking process of your online course (9:55) How to follow up your online sessions and what people need to know (12:01) Why you can deliver any type of training online (14:09) How to turn your in-person coaching/consultancy into an online course (14:49) How you can use video to give people feedback on online (16:30) Apps for presenting your content online and how to keep it simple (17:30) How to turn your in-person workshops into webinars/masterclasses (21:57) Why you don’t need a big lead time for promoting online webinars (23:52) Emails that you can send to promote your online webinar (24:50) Using your follow up emails to upsell (25:44) Why you need to have people on your email list (26:20) How to resell your webinar and use it in your sales funnel (28:49) How to generate sales and leads by creating a playbook or ebook (29:40) How to convert clients who don’t think it will work online (32:20) Resources Video Conferencing Software Zoom Go To Meeting Team Viewer Join Me Google Hangouts Meetme Blue Jeans Actuity Calendly Presenting software Screenflow Mac Thinkific Teachable Wistia Vimeo YouTube Audacity Soundcloud Masterclass - How to turn your in-person services into online offerings Masterclass - How to launch a playbook for your business Other podcast episodes [333]  39 surprisingly easy ways to increase your email subscribers (podcast) [335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast) [343] The three audiences you must build to create a successful online business (podcast) [348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast) [375] How to get your first 1K email subscribers (podcast) [378] How to use hashtags to build your online audience (podcast) [386] The four types of content to create that will help you make more sales in 2020 (podcast) [390] How to stop overthinking your content (podcast) [391] How to write better social media captions (podcast) [392] How to get more engagement on Instagram (podcast) [393] How to create engaging content when you only sell one product or service (podcast Get my  Instagram Engagement Playbook  How to create an editorial calendar for your business (blog post) How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass) Content Planning Masterclass Join the Media Diary Owners Club  Order your 2020 Media Diary here Join my Build Your Audience Programme How to add closed captions to your video using Rev and Kapwing Join my get your podcast live in 60 days course  #2021Sorted Buy your ticket  How to create a high-converting lead magnet course Buy my book Your press release is breaking my heart Rev.com* Kapwing Social Media Video Engagement Playbook Social Media Engagement Playbook Instagram Engagement Playbook LinkedIn Content Strategy Playbook Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn