How to Sell on Facebook (A Plan for Facebook Group Owners)

If you want to sell an online course, you're likely to need an audience. And ideally, you don't have to wait until after the creation of your course to start building that community. One thing I've learned from my experience as an entrepreneur, it's that creating an item and then seeking out the right people to market the product to is similar to making the cart go before the horse. A better approach is to establish a network first, find out exactly what they are looking for, then market to them that.

The creation of a blog is a fantastic method to create an audience for your online courses. It can help you create a network of potential customers and leads who can provide a window into what they want, need and are likely to purchase. In a Facebook Group you can watch posts and tap into the desires of your followers, their languages, and areas where they're not getting what they want - then provide them with exactlywhat they're looking for, with less effort than having to work out the details on your own.

In this post I'll show you how to build communities using the Facebook Group, tap into this group for the things they need, and then before you create the group.

  A fatal mistake to stay clear of  

Through my many years of consultation and launching online courses, I've seen one fatal oversight that I'd like help you avoid. The mistake you make is to launch a course before you have a community.

You may have witnessed it happen, or worse yet, you've witnessed it for yourself. You spend countless hours building your online course. You're excited to make sales and serve and you process the course's online version with great enthusiasm - only to release that course for the world to see and...

... crickets.

There is no need to buy.

It's sad, I know. And unfortunately it happens much more frequently than the course creators are willing to admit.

Instead of focusing on what might or might not be a good idea the product, invest your energy in creating your own community first. Once you're the community's leader, you'll find it's very easy to make profits from your courses, coaching or whatever you want to offer.

When I began to build my business, I struggled for a viable way to build a community around it. It was a blessing that I decided to put the focus on the Facebook group over everything else, including and podcasting. When I think back the factors that helped me promote the online class with such incredible force - it was definitely my Facebook group. This group has become a solid source of contacts, networking as well as socializing. It also tapped into what an already-built audience wanted.

  Build A Community Around Your Theme  

If you are planning to market your online course to participants of the Facebook Group, you first have to create the group in a way that's relevant to your and niche.

As for me, I've built many groups. One of the ones with the highest returns for me has been my Podcasters Secret Weapon group along with the Paid2Podcast groups (the latter is a paid group). A group that is specifically designed that is specifically for podcasters has enabled me to make sales to individuals within the field of podcasting.

If I had created communities that were dedicated to fasting weightlifting, dieting or anything other than my specialty I'd be able to build a community of folks who wouldn't be interested in my on-line training on podcasting.

So, if you haven't already, I recommend you sign up to Facebook and set up a newly created Facebook Group. Once you do this then you'll have to think of the name of the group. That is the reason for my next tip:

  Make Your Facebook Group Name for SEO  

If a lot of people join a group, they try to create catchy titles. However, on Facebook this doesn't go so well. If you think of Facebook as a type of search engine, you'll notice that it's super savvy in crawling for information - rather, it employs terms that have more meaning.

If, for instance, your group was named "Fantastic Beasts" and it's a group for gym enthusiasts, Facebook doesn't know that. Make your group's name, "The Weight Room" or "Gym Enthusiasts - Who Want to be Ripped." Make use of the option search term "Gymnasium" in your group name.

If your group is intended for social media marketers or users - put those keywords into the title of your group. The only time you'd do better to think about fancy titles is when you've already established a following that is strong and can direct a good stream of people to your group. If you've got a solid foundation and a large audience (like Lewis Howes or Hal Elrod as an example) You'd be best to incorporate your name in the name. However, if you don't have many followers who will likely search for your name on Facebook or contact via advertisements, emails, your podcast or any other means - use the keywords which reflect the subject of your class in your group name.

  Have A Clear Focus for The Facebook Group  

Akin to my first idea of forming an online group with a niche and pertinent to the target people for your online class, your group also needs to have a purpose.

The goal of your group isn't to market products (including online courses) to its members. Sure, you'll be using this group to build leads to your business, gain customers, and also offer more courses, however, don't frame it in that in a way that isn't logical.

A great instance of a group with a an important goal is the Order Of Man Facebook Group. With more than 40 thousand active members, and growing Ryan Michler's page has become an online community that is different from other groups on the internet. Many posts in that group are between fifty and often in the hundreds. The clear focus helps men connect, discuss an issue that is clear: what it means to be a man as well as how to grow as a man.

If you decide to create an Facebook Group to build a community of your target audience, make sure your group is focused. As you've seen, all the groups I've listed are concentrated and possess a clear purpose. Having this strong focus will assist you when it comes time to promote your program to the community you're in.

  Ask People To Join Your Facebook Group  

Building your community is hard work. If you don't already have a community, you'll need to put some effort into it, but in the final, you'll be rewarded. According to Arne Giske is a Facebook Group Growth Hacker told me in the Thriving launch Podcast: "At first it'll require a lot of effort. If you're just starting out, you'll need spend some time and effort on it. But once you have this community, you'll be able to sell the things you've got. In addition, you'll be able to have a community which will let you know what they'd like and you'll just have to create it and sell them that."

The initial work involved is well worth the effort in the long run.

One of the first methods to build this community is simply creating Facebook posts. This is how my client Tim Hoover did with his Elite Fitness Group. Without an email address and no existing community, he used this method of posting posts inviting his followers to join his fitness group, and now he's got over 500 highly engaged members. Similarly, this is the way I approached it when I first started and after a short amount of time I stopped requesting for people to join my group because my friends began to refer and join their friends.

It might sound daunting or time-consuming to create an online community, especially if you do not already have a following - but all of us have started from scratch. Take Arne Giske as an example. When he first started his group, when he first started it, he was only 23 years old and living in the basement of his parents without a job and brand not yet a part of the internet marketing world. He stuck to this approach of continually asking members of his target members to join the group, and today his group has more than fifty thousand active members. If you're one of the Millennial or entrepreneur, you should join his group to see the strategies he's using so that you can replicate his methods to your group.

  Here are a few alternatives to tell people about your community:  

• Videos appear on Facebook (if you're new to advertising on the internet, take it easy on this)
• Your audience via email or friends whom you believe would be interested
• Private Facebook message inviting people who you think would be interested in the page and its contents
• Link to your group in your menu bar or the content of your site
• Social media posts that include hyperlinks to your organization
• Shout outs on your podcast about your group
• Requesting your friends to share the news with them about your group and to post on social media about your group

  To Increase Membership In Groups By The Giving of Incentives to Join  

Membership can be rewarded by hosting giveaways, or by offering unique video tutorials, training materials or other content that isn't available elsewhere.

You can also give a bit of extra time for you and your group - - time that will not be offered any other time. The specialness and exclusivity will also help in establishing you and your team as an authority for top-quality care and expertise on your subject.

  Here are a few concepts for giveaways:  

• Special PDF reports
• Hacks you haven't seen or are sought-after by others that usually only provide to your clients
• Video training and walkthroughs that users would like to see
• Courses online for free

This is the kind of stuff that makes people desire to send their emails attention, time, and assistance. And it's exactly why people are drawn to become part of a community.

Giveaways and special gifts is exactly the kind of thing Ryan Levesque was doing when he was building his Next Level Mastermind group (it's part of a paid course however he is able to demonstrate this type of example to perfection). As he launched his group, he gave away some tempting giveaway prizes. He gave gifts to the members who contributed the most post in the group (which inspired members to write and post, which they actually did!). Then he offered affiliate prizes to those who had signed up the most people.

This strategy Ryan Stewman utilized to grow his, sales talk with sales Pros group to become the biggest and most active sales group on Facebook. Incentivize people to sign up. Utilize whatever resources you have. At first, it'll seem like you're giving away everything in your artillery however, as you build an army of loyal and grateful members, it will pay off in dividends.

The value you give to a free group may appear exhausting, but it's how you're winning the attention of others. This is how you'll win fans. If you think it's tiring and not used to give for attention like this take a look at what Gary Vaynerchuck is saying in this video: "I Day Trade For Attention." In the sales world, attention is essential. It's the reason Coca-Cola, TMobile, and every giant corporation spends billions on running ads and capturing your attention.

The value you are trading in exchange for loyalty and attention and can help you build a community of committed clients and loyal fans.

Use the Facebook Group You're in to Conduct Market Research

Now, we're getting closer selling, however we're not there yet. You're currently in the group. It's focused, it's going along and more members are signing up. Your contribution is valuable and you're building loyalty and engagement.

The next step is to begin asking the people you know about their issues. Find out what they need. Dig into what they're at and find out details about them, all so you can create an online course that's exactly what they want. This ensures when you go make an offer - they'll buy.

Keep track of their comments, struggles, pain points as well as all the necessary information to selling the course.

  Here are some methods to conduct market research within your group:  

• Participating in polls with the group ( here's how you can do it)
• Asking questions about pains
• Inviting discussions
• commenting on the statuses of others and provoking deeper dialog

Markets don't need to be difficult, it's just as simple as asking. Note what's being spoken about and what the people are looking for.

  Make Use of The Data Pre-Sell Your Course  

I'm not a huge fan of the old adage "build it and they will show up." I would rather let them arrive in, gather and sell them what they want.

Like Russell Brunson has said in his book, Dotcom Secrets in which people meet, there are business opportunities. In the past, it was hard to find communities, tap into them, and ethically use them to sell and marketing Facebook Groups allow you to do this all on your own with little investment.

When you've tapped into an audience that knows what they are looking for They trust you and will gladly purchase from you.

It's not that difficult since you've done the legwork to establish trust, build communication, and capture interest.

Now you'll have to start talking about your desire to build a course that serves the requirements of your target audience (which you've spent time with and research has helped you collect the information). With posts and content you'll be able to figure out how to develop an online course to help them solve the issues.

Instead of creating your course only to fail with no revenue You can sell your course to a set of beta users. As the course is currently live and in beta, it's not as expensive, live and offers specialties that won't be available at a later date. If you've researched properly you know what people might be looking for from on-line courses, so the pricing won't be hard to figure out.

Since you've built confidence and trust, your audience are going to read your blog and interested in what you're working on (which is essential to sales). Since you've given value for free, it's only rational that your pay-per-view content can be superior and more worth the investment.

In my case I've achieved this using the help of my Pay2Podcast class and also my ProfitFromFB Course. Both of these courses were validated by real sales which justifies the need to market the courses to those who are not part the confines of my Facebook Group.

  Create Your Community Prior to You Create Your Course  

If you stick to the guidelines I've shared with you in this article If you follow these suggestions, there's no reason why you can't develop a network of involved people who are interested in your course subject. If you do this you'll avoid making a course that nobody buys, by confirming what they want to learn prior to developing a course to teach the students precisely what they would like to understand.

Luis Congdon is a digital marketing expert in business. He's been featured and quoted on the Chicago Tribune, Forbes, JP Morgan, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Huff Live, Elephant Journal, and several others. For the free training in digital marketing and increase sales on the internet visit ThrivingLaunch.com