578. Lisa Carlin, Growing a Membership Community

Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Lisa Carlin, founder of Future Builders Group, discusses her experience in consulting and the need for a more passive income stream. She has over 50 strategy execution projects and programs that focus on business strategy, project management, and change management. Lisa believes that achieving scale in these areas requires changing the focus of the business and execution messages to what is important to the culture. In this episode, Lisa talks about developing and running a membership community.

Building a Subscription Business

The TurboCharge Hub membership offers a platform for functional experts to learn how to develop and execute strategies. The group is currently launching its own website called TurboChargers.com, and she meets with members twice a month on Zoom. One of the biggest lessons learned from her experience is the importance of understanding the client's pain points and tailoring their solutions accordingly. As people join, Lisa learns about their ideal customer profile and their biggest pain points, which allows her to provide key messages to the market.

Lisa also shares her lessons learned from her own experiences, such as being clear on the ideal customer profile and understanding the key message. By learning from her clients and focusing on their needs, she hopes to help others build their own successful memberships.

Key Steps in Recruiting Members for a Subscription Business

Lisa shares how she built a following, which included learning more about building a strong brand, and reaching out to B2C and B2B communities. She started doing podcasts, signing up for conferences, and having a lead generation machine set up on LinkedIn. This has been effective in growing her LinkedIn profile and inquiries. She met with people she knew would sign up. The next phase of people signing up was people who heard her on a podcast or at a conference. The audience is mostly business leaders, CEOs of medium to large organizations, and entrepreneurs with a strong innovation flair. Lisa has also learned to hone her writing skills and set up a newsletter. The community now consists of 7300 people, mostly CEOs of medium to large organizations and entrepreneurs.

Working with a Podcast Agency

Lisa discusses their experience with a podcast agency and the results she has received from it. She shares information on fees and services, which involves developing a podcast profile and reaching out to potential clients. The agency also offered the opportunity to choose the podcasts she wanted to produce and post them on LinkedIn as native content and as YouTube clips for their YouTube channel. She also mentions that she has not considered offering a special discount code for listeners of the podcasts, but she is interested in taking on affiliates to distribute their software. She is also interested in partnering with consultants to help spread the message that understanding culture is essential for success.

The Benefits of the Digital Funnel

Lisa shares her experience with the digital funnel and the benefits it provides. She has a cohort of about 40 subscribers, some of whom are clients and colleagues, and some are paying members. She uses Tekmatixs software, based on a system called Lead connector, which includes an education platform. The platform allows users to sign up for a newsletter, access a lead magnet, or resource, and eventually become paying members where they can access the modules, master classes, and playbooks of frameworks. The system also includes access to Tekmatixs, which is an affiliate link for those interested in trying the system. Group coaching sessions are also available for users to take and participate live. Lisa also shares her experience with email marketing and conversion rates.

Working with a Podcast AgencyLisa discusses their experience with a podcast agency and the results she has received from it. She shares information on fees and services, which involves developing a podcast profile and reaching out to potential clients. The agency also offered the opportunity to choose the podcasts she wanted to produce and post them on LinkedIn as native content and as YouTube clips for their YouTube channel. She also mentions that she has not considered offering a special discount code for listeners of the podcasts, but she is interested in taking on affiliates to distribute The Turbocharge Hub. She is also interested in partnering with consultants to help spread the message that understanding culture is essential for success. The Benefits of the Digital FunnelLisa shares her experience with the digital funnel and the benefits it provides. She has a cohort of about 40 subscribers, some of whom are clients and colleagues, and some are paying members. She uses Tekmatix software, based on a system called Lead connector, which includes an education platform. The platform allows users to sign up for a newsletter, access a lead magnet, or resource, and eventually become paying members where they can access the modules, master classes, and playbooks of frameworks. The system also includes access to Tekmatix, there is an affiliate link for those interested in trying the system. Group coaching sessions are also available for users to take and participate live. Lisa also shares her experience with email marketing and conversion rates. Becoming a Speaker at Conferences The conversation turns to getting booked at conferences and identifying potential speaking engagements. Lisa finds that it's easier to pitch her content when people are in a defined niche, such as change management or AI. She also participates in mastermind groups, where she speaks to 15 CEOs at a time and shares her material with the group. This process helps build reputation and attracts more subscribers. She discusses the various conferences on functional areas such as strategy and project management culture and mentions that industry players and executives typically attend industry-focused conferences, such as the auto industry or waste management conference. She mentions that there are various industry associations, such as marketing and finance associations, that focus on project management and transformation, and virtual conferences that offer virtual speaking opportunities. Lead Generation SuccessLisa shares how she has gained 7,000 subscribers on her newsletter. She mentions SkyLead, a tool that can target a group of people who have commented or liked a post. She shares results on a tactic where she received a 72% rate on connection requests. She has also used SkyLead to send connection requests in three different ways: direct email, direct connection request, and in-mail messages and she shares the results. She also mentions that the messages are incredibly sensitive to the length of the connection request, which can sometimes lead to a 10% decline in response rates or acceptance rates by adding three words. She concludes by emphasizing the importance of short, concise messages in connecting with people who have commented or liked her posts. Lead Magnets and Email Strategies that Work Lisa shares her experience with experimenting with different methods, such as sending lead magnets or emails, which had varying degrees of acceptance. One example was sending an email message to someone who agreed to subscribe to her newsletter, which she found to be more effective than sending a direct message. She also mentions a passive approach to managing connections. Her goal is to provide value to her connections and make it easy for them to unsubscribe if they want to. She talks about the platforms she uses to increase the number of connections and convert them into subscribers. She also emphasizes the importance of providing value. SkyLead allows users to send connection requests, emails, and both free and paid in-mails. It also offers a built-in algorithm to ensure that messages are only sent to people who have not been previously connected with the platform.

Timestamps:

06:06: Marketing and growing a membership business for functional experts

12:18: Podcasting for business growth, with a focus on strategy execution and culture change.

17:42: Digital marketing funnel for education business

24:22: Growing a community through newsletters, conferences, and mastermind groups

30:53: Speaking at conferences, lead generation, and newsletter subscribers

37:04: LinkedIn automation tool Sky Lead, with 72% connection request acceptance rate

43:46: LinkedIn connection requests, email newsletters, and automation tools

50:42: Using LinkedIn's Skylight system for automated messaging

Links:

Website: http://www.futurebuildersgroup.com/

CEO Guide: Boost Your Productivity with AI Tools for Strategic Initiatives: https://learnadmin.futurebuildersgroup.com/grab-your-ceo-guide-boost-your-productivity-with-ai-tools

5 Future Trends in Change Management https://learnadmin.futurebuildersgroup.com/grab-your-5-future-trends-in-change-management

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Connect with Lisa Carlin on LinkedIn

17 top transformation tips, the checklist behind the 96% success rate in strategy execution

Turbocharge Hub, for frameworks, learning and community to reach your full potential as a change leader.

FutureBuilders website

Lisa Carlin New YouTube channel

Lisa’s Tech Tools:

• SKYLEAD LinkedIn automation

• Tekmatix CRM Newsletter Education Workflow Calendar tool

Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.