Offline: Online Business for Consultants, Coders, and Freelancers

November Updates - Killing Paid Emails and Getting Podcast Sponsors

Join Philip Morgan and Liston Witherill as they give their November business update, discuss paid emails and getting podcast sponsors. Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

Why Your Tools Don't Matter, and How to Use Email with Dan Oshinsky

Welcome to the Offline!  In this episode, Philip and Liston chats with Dan Oshinsky, the former director of newsletters at The New Yorker and Buzzfeed, and current proprietor of Not a Newsletter and Inbox Collective. They will dig into what makes a content great, Dan's new business, and embracing Google Docs. Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston  Offline's Internet MBA Challenge Not a Newsletter Dan Oshinsky  Mailchimp Hubspot BuzzFeed

What we've learned over 100 episodes

THIS IS NOT A DRILL! AND THIS IS NOT A RERUN! We've reached our 100th episode! Thank you so much for being a listener. We cannot express how grateful we are to have you. Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston Offline's Internet MBA Challenge

September Update - Direct Response and Consulting Windfall!

In this episode, Liston and Philip will share their September 2019 business update.  Philip will share his recent experience with direct response marketing and his future business plans. Also, let's find out how Liston closed over 40k in business for the past 30 days.

Direct Response Marketing and Sales Quotas

One of the best ways to improve your sales is to increase engagement in as many ways as possible. And, believe it or not, the best way to increase engagement is to simply ask your audience for it. The strategies used to ask your targets for more engagement are called “direct response” strategies. In this episode, Philip and Liston will walk you through their insights and experiences with direct response marketing and sales quota. Like what you heard here and want our help? Check...

How to sell something someone has never bought?

Many businesses have the luxury of selling familiar items to customers. However, you may be introducing something completely new to the marketplace. This creates a special challenge, one in which not only you have to convince people that you are the best at what you do, but that what you do is relevant and valuable to them in the first place.  In this episode, Philip and Liston will talk about how do you sell something that's never been bought before, and how do you extend that int...

Choosing Marketing Channels

How you decide to invest in marketing channels can make or break your business. That sounds like an obvious statement, but not a lot of people think about it critically. With so many different options in reaching out to your audience, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. You want to make sure you spend your time and money on the most impactful channels and tactics.   In this episode, Philip and Liston shared their insights on how you can choose marketing channels for your audience and wh...

How We're Applying the Internet MBA Challenge to Ourselves - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, we officially announced our Offline’s Internet MBA Challenge. This challenge is designed to give you exposure through experiential learning to the basic skills that you would need in order to start figuring out business on the internet. On the last episode of Offline, we talked about how Philip and Liston are going to apply the Internet MBA Challenge to themselves. Today, we’re going to deep dive into how Liston will market his book, Serve Don’t Sell. The go...

How We're Applying the Internet MBA Challenge to Ourselves - Part 1

A couple weeks ago, we officially announced our Offline’s Internet MBA Challenge. This challenge is designed to give you exposure through experiential learning to the basic skills that you would need in order to start figuring out business on the internet. This challenge has 3 core challenges: Challenge #1: Get 10 Email Subscribers  Challenge #2: Send Marketing Emails to Your List  Challenge #3: Collect at Least $1 From 1 Person And on today’s episode, we are going to propose on ...

Constraints to Help You Build a Publishing Habit

Content is such an essential part of marketing, it is very important to develop your ability to create content. Whether it's in terms of blog posts, ebooks, case studies, or other marketing collateral, pumping out content not only at a high frequency but also at a high level of quality is a critical skill to develop. In today's Offline episode, we’ll focus on the mechanics of high-frequency publishing. In this episode you'll learn: What are some of the limitations or constraints ...

Offline's Internet MBA Challenge

Today we're officially announcing our Offline’s Internet MBA Challenge! This is a series of three milestones that’ll take you from total internet newbie, never having sold anything online, to someone who’s collected real money from real people. No matter what kind of business you want - a side hustle, a consulting business, online products, whatever - this challenge will help you get there. The program is structured into 3 deceptively simple-but-difficult challenges: Challenge #...

Paul Jarvis on Building an Audience and a Company of One

Nowadays, people who are operating solo are increasing. Getting a solo business off the ground takes more than a great idea. Thanks to technology and a ton of talented independent contractors, the solo practitioner can bring in massive revenue with a company of one. Paul Jarvis is a creative entrepreneur. He self-publishes books, creates compelling courses, talented designer and develops software — all without a single employee. In this episode you'll learn: Sustaining Business G...

Getting Through Business Lifecycle Stages, with Brad Farris

While it’s fair to say that business is quite challenging, a look at each of the stages of the business lifecycle highlights a unique set of obstacles to deal with and overcome. You will have to be flexible in your thinking and adapt your strategy as you move along. Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors, he helps small business owners particularly service-based business owners improve. He is a business consultant and business coach. In this episode you'll learn: Lifecycle of a small bus...

How Much Luck Do You Need In Your Business? feat. Tom Miller

Luck has long been a contentious topic in sales. There's always one rep on a team who everything just seems to magically fall into place for, regardless how many calls they make or appointments they book. To be there at the right place at the right time, you need to be putting yourself out there. So whilst there is a lot of luck in sales, that luck is often from a lot of hard work, and you will find that the harder you work, the luckier you will get. In this episode you'll learn: ...

When to Quit, and Building Community with Margo Aaron

One of the most agonizing choices an entrepreneur inevitably faces is whether or not to close their business. The fear that you’re working on the wrong thing – where no amount of smart execution will guarantee that you win big – is paralyzing. At the same time, the fear that you might mistakenly give up on a great idea – that will rocket to success in someone else’s hands – is a fear-of-missing-out big enough to be a nightmare. Today our guest is Margo Aaron. She used to run a com...

Charging For Daily Emails and Selling to the Enterprise

What's going on in your business? We'd love to know, but for now we'll share what's up with us. Philip's been writing a daily email for several years now, and he has a crazy idea: to charge for it. He has a few paid subscribers already, as well as some really good reasons to do it. Liston grills him about why he thinks it's such a good idea, why anyone would need to pay for his daily updates, and what success looks like for him. Liston recently worked with a large client doing sal...

Republish: Direct Response Marketing vs Brand Marketing

There are many approaches to advertising, the end goal is that any advertising campaign will build a business by increasing certain variables such as traffic, brand consideration, sales revenue, brand advocacy or others. Two approaches that often seem at odds with one another: direct response and brand awareness. In this episode, we'll be talking about: How to balance branding and direct response Why small businesses should use direct response Emotional decision making How do y...

Building Your Business: Are you innovating or competing on spec and cost?

Business leaders know that innovation is critical to the growth and success of a company. You can ensure a steady flow of ideas that generate innovation in your business by having a strategy for innovation in your business plan. Thanks to the rapidly developing technological world, innovation is crucial for businesses to thrive. "Innovation" varies from field to field, but it is all built on carrying the entrepreneurial spirit into the future of a company. In this episode, we'll b...

Enterprise Selling for Consulting and Sponsorships with Mike Julian

Selling your service to large and enterprise sized businesses requires a different approach than selling to small and medium sized businesses. Remember that not all products or services are created equal in terms of how you sell them. And, not all customers are created equal, in terms of how sophisticated or needing they are for a product or service. Today, our guest is Mike Julian. He is the CEO and consultant for the Duck Bill Group. They help companies with very large AWS bills,...

The Four Orientations of Consulting Founders

How someone orients themselves to business development in their business? In this episode, we'll share our theory on the 4 different types of founders for expertise driven firms and consulting/agency firms. The employee - started at a company or agency and took their clients The connected - had a strong network that landed them their initial clients The charismatic leader - the person who requires little sleep and can network their faces off and hustle ad infinitum The marketer ...

What the Science of Virality Can Teach You About Marketing

Marketers love the concept of taking over the web and going viral - but actually making that happen is no easy feat. Understand the science behind this simple chain of events that forms the basis for viral marketing.

Networking and Marketing Online or In-Real Life - What Are the Tradeoffs?

Philip and Liston have both built their businesses online, but have recently had a more nuanced thought: In-person networking and marketing is much more powerful. Duh, right? In this episode, they contrast the differences between the two, including: The fastest way to build trust The cost and investment required for each (it's massively different) How the economics of your business factor into the choices you make about online v. IRL marketing Why it's a spectrum, not a binary...

Is Being the Best Expert Enough to Grow Your Business?

The most common myth people believe is that in order for you to build a business, you must rely solely on being the best in your field. That you must be an “expert” for someone to listen to you, to see you as an expert, or to ever purchase from you. Here are some insights...

Marketing Yourself In a World of Aggregators

We’ve been doing “online” for a long while now and we’ve seen many changes, but one thing has remained consistent: regardless of where you go or how you pitch, you must know your market and understand how to effectively reach them and abide by the rules of the online road. Today we'll be talking about online aggregation and the consolidation of the media on the internet. Mentioned in this episode: Facebook Google Amazon SEO

The Resistance v. Just Not Lovin' It

Have you ever quit something probably more than once, started a new routine and never followed through, made a decision to make changes to your life and then went back on your word, got an email with an opportunity and never returned it, bought an online program, signed up for a course and never even started it and obsessively think about the person you might become and how you’re going to get there…

Sales Call Checklist For Your Next Prospective Client Call

Today we will be talking about the sales call checklist. Listen as Liston breaks down Blair Enn's four conversation framework: Probative conversation Qualifying conversation Value conversation Closing conversation

18 Ways to to Get Email Subscribers

Why do you want email list subscribers in the first place? We share tips like increasing your surface area online, social media platforms to leverage, and networking to create a solid list of subscribers.

Developing a Worldview In Your Expertise

Developing your expertise is separate from developing your authority, and you need authority if you want to create inbound leads and charge a price premium. Topics we cover for developing your worldview: Research the competition Do a literature review Look to other fields Build a data set Personal experimentation Secondary review of data Asking a fundamental question that others think is already answered

Brand Marketing vs. Direct Response Marketing

The "direct" in direct response typically calls for aggressive calls to action, long sales pages, and psychological and sales tricks. It kind of "dumbs down" the CTA. For example: click this big giant loudly-colored and styled button. Brand marketing says, "you're smart enough to find us." There's a smart fusion between the two, and we discuss what that is.

#ContentMarketing With Email to Build Authority

If your goal is to build authority, what should you be doing with email marketing? Here's what we're talking about in today's Offline episode: • Daily Emailing • Scale & Intimacy in email • How to do email marketing people like • Rare, deep deposits of impressive value • Teaching/educating • Inspiring • Connecting

Authority Building With Content Marketing - Which Channels Should You Choose?

There are many different routes you could take to establish your expertise. We're talking about the pros and cons of each outreach method, and how to make each one work for you! Here's a quick rundown of a few things we cover in the podcast, and you should keep in mind the next time you're on a podcast: -Building a network -The difference between expertise and authority -How to gain authority -What kind of content you should create, and for what platform

Engaging Content Requires Passion - Do You Have It?

Creating engaging content requires passion - do you have it? And why is it so important?

Offline REBOOT!

This here podcast needs more than a coat of pain, so we're hard at work totally renovating it.

Roadmapping - The Exhaustive and Exhausting Guide to How and When to Do It

How to Be a Great Podcast Guest (and Learn From Our Failures)

Being a guest on someone else's podcast is a great way to get your message out to the world and a new audience. But being a great guest doesn't come automatically. Check out our tips for being a great guest, and learn from our past mistakes! Here's quick rundown of a few things we cover in the podcast, and you should keep in mind the next time you're on a podcast: Have your story nailed Know the basic bullets of what you want to cover Understand how to be valuable to the host an...

How to Experiment With Content Marketing

Getting started with content marketing. What 4 to 6 channels should you experiment with and how should you approach those initial experiments? Check out Episode 40 Lagging Indicators Philip's Specializing Without Failure Book a Strategy Call With Liston

Hobbies Are Saving Our Lives, and Why Else We Have Them

Running a business is HARD work, and you need a break from it every day. Having a hobby can help you get your mind off of work for a bit and reset - we'll share ours. In this episode, we'll cover: Why do hobbies matter Mentioned on today's episode: Liston email

Making the Transition from Done For You to Done With You and DIY

Are you interested in getting away from done for you work, and instead deliver coaching or a hybrid service model? Liston and Philip talk about how they did it, and why. Mentioned on today's episode: Download Liston's Email Templates Philip's Services

Buying Podcast Listeners and Minivans

In this episode, you'll hear about Liston's new podcast launch, hear the hard numbers, and know why his dream car is a minivan. Mentioned on today's episode: Consulting Pipeline Podcast Five Email Follow-Up Templates

Scaling Your Impact Through Content and Systemization

Scaling your revenue can't be done by scaling up your time. How do you separate the two? In this episode, you'll learn options for scaling your impact and revenue without spending every waking moment in your business. In this episode, we'll cover: What does it mean to have a scalable impact What are some ways to scale your impact Mentioned on today's episode: Five Email Follow-Up Templates Specialization School

Options Around Paid Acquisitions

Do you want to increase exposure? Let's discuss how to approach paid acquisitions. In this episode, we'll cover: How to approach paid acquisitions Choices around paid acquisitions- paying for traffic or clicks Mentioned on today's episode: Specialization School Consulting Sales Bootcamp liston.io show

Group Coaching and Education - Open Cart versus Rolling Enrollment

The way you sell your courses, workshops, and group coaching programs can have a big effect on your business, and the people you coach. We'll discuss the pros and cons of the dominant models: open cart and rolling enrollment. In this episode, we'll cover: What is open cart / closed cart and why you should use it What's the alternative (rolling enrollment, and why we use it) Mentioned on today's episode: Specialization School Consulting Sales Bootcamp Life Hack Bootcamp

Practice Sales With These Foundational Skills

Do, think, and act. In this episode, Liston discusses foundational skills you can practice to reach success in sales. The foundational skills you can practice are: Develop that empathy muscle Mindset: serve, don't sell Active listening Asking open-ended questions Practicing silence in a conversation Links mentioned in this episode: Specialization School Consulting Sales Bootcamp

Practice Positioning With These Foundational Skills

Wondering how to specialize your business, but you're not sure where to start? In this episode, Philip breaks down the foundational skills you can practice to begin the specialization process. The foundational skills you can practice are: Say no in small ways to client(s), culminating in passing on an opportunity Have a business conversation/learn something outside your scope of work about how a client makes or loses money Build an outbound marketing list If you have a few clie...

Setting Stretch Goals for Your Business, Without Overstretching

Ready to push yourself to grow with some stretch goals? Hold now, let’s not get too crazy. In this episode, we’ll talk about setting stretch goals without going overboard. We’ll cover: How to take on stretch goals How to build a great business How do you acquire new skills to make a change Mentioned in this show: Philip Morgan’s Specialization School The Liston.io Show, a podcast to help you build a better consulting business

How to Serve, Not Sell, But Also Make Money While You Do It

Let's break it down on how to effectively Serve and Not Sell, and how to know when to take it to the next level. Let's break it down on how to effectively Serve and Not Sell, and how to know when to take it to the next level. Ideas on how to serve and not to sell How do you know when to stop serving and start selling? Mentioned on today's episode: Consulting Pipleine Podcast The Liston.io Show

Building Confidence In Areas Outside Your Expertise

You're an expert, and that's why you sell your consulting services and expertise. But what about other areas where you're a bit...less confident. How can you start to build confidence? We'll break it down in a simple three-pronged model. Mentioned on today's episode: Specialization School (www.specializationschool.com) Liston's new podcast, The Liston.io Show (www.liston.io/podcast)

Ideas for Increasing Profitability In Your Consulting Business.

Marketing is tough to do when you don't have time. How do you do it? The first thing is you have to do is become more profitable. We'll tell you how. Full Description / Show Notes Marketing is tough to do when you don't have time. How do you do it? The first thing is you have to do is become more profitable. We'll tell you how. Here are some ideas: Move to fixed pricing Raise prices Moved to fixed scope or better defined scope Productize your service Sell products Advisory ...

Do You Have Time to Make the Biggest Changes In Your Business?

Making big changes in your business takes a lot of time! But if you want to make meaningful changes that will have a long-term positive impact on your business, you have to allocate the time. Where do you find it? We have some suggestions. Mentioned in today's show: Liston's Consulting Sales Bootcamp Philip's Specialization School

Generalizing Isn’t a Specialty or Market Position

Every now and again, we talk to people who think generalizing is specializing. It’s not, but it has it’s own benefits. It’s just not specializing, and we’ll tell you why. Also in this episode: Consulting Sales Bootcamp Specialization School