SFR 74: Publish! ...and get haters

WHEN To Interview, AND When NOT To...

Oh, what's going on everyone? This is Steve Larsen and you're listening to Sales Funnel Radio.

Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio, where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. And now, here's your host, Steve Larsen.

You guys, it has been seriously six weeks since I had personally done a podcast and I'm very excited for this episode actually. I hope you've been enjoying the last six episode.

What I decided to do is that, you know, when we found out that oh my gosh, look, there's six different categories really that most businesses fit in.

Almost all of them actually...

I was like, "Why don't I go find someone who's killing it with internet sales funnels? Let me go find that person. Let me go interview them and go dive deep with them." Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed it. If you've not had a chance to listen to each of them I would.

What was coolest to think through especially as the interviewer, watch all of these similarities that everyone one of them was talking about. A lot of it had to do with just standard marketing principles, but then also the very specific ways of like, "Hey, this works only in this industry," or, "This works only in this industry."

But what's funny, and the more I've talked with Russell and the more that I've learned from him, he's taught me in many aspects that a lot of the times some of the reasons why he goes and he crushes it so hard routinely, over and over and over and over again is because he will take tactics and use them cross-industry.

There's a great book ... Oh my gosh, I can't remember the name of it. It's the story of the dude that was selling snake oil almost literally and he made tons of money and people found ... Ah, man, I can't remember the name of it.

Crap, I should have found it before I started this episode, but basically what he's taught me is that hey look, one of the best ... And actually teaches that in the book too.

Is that one of the best places to find the best working marketing tactics out there is actually inside of the medical industry, right? They've got weight loss, they've got different dieting, they've got liposuction, they've got procedures, they've got high ticket things, low ticket things, supplements, continuity. You know what I mean? They've got all this stuff just over and over and over again.

There is so much money spent on having the best sales copy and the best advertorials, the best creatives, the best ...

You know, so if you think about different ways to do funnel hacking it's not always just yes, go find somebody inside your industry who's killing it.

Really red ocean. Funnel hack them and then take one step further, add your own piece into it and now you have a new niche, right?

That's how you have a new opportunity. Well, one of the other ways you can protect the niche and protect your business is to start studying cross-industry tactics. That's one of the major reasons why I'm telling you.

Even if it's one that you're like, "Hey, I did not think that at all I would get anything from that interview Steven did before," but my guess is that you will and that you'll learn something. Go, "Oh my gosh, if I was to take that from this industry and place it over here I wonder if it would work really well?"

Now you'd be prepared it might flop, but it's also highly likely that you're gonna ...

It's super fascinating to start thinking of it that way. Anyway, so go out and start trying to find different cross-industry tactics that you could be throwing in there. Now if you don't have a business yet, focus on the business.

Focus on creating something. Get something out there.

Start selling, start asking for people's credit cards...

Don't get distracted by that when I'm telling you right here. But if you've got something up and you know how it sells, you figured out what you're selling and you figured out how to sell it, now it's time to start going cross-industry.

Or maybe it is start going out and how can you create yourself to be more hard to beat, right? How can you create yourself even stiffer competition or stiffer for others to actually beat? Stronger marketing tactics, right? Make the offer even cooler. There's a whole bunch of different ways.

That's actually part of a presentation I give elsewhere that I should maybe show you here and ways to protect your niche. But anyway, I recently, while I was in the middle of those interviews, I had somebody reach out. And it's always so funny to me the people that react on what I publish. It's hilarious. You always get people who love what you do and it's super fun to hear from them. I love that. It keeps you motivated.

And then there's always people that reach out and you're like, "Did you get some kind of status by telling me how much you hated the last episode of something?" What was the motivation going on inside your head for why you felt you had to actually turn around and say, "Hey, that sucked." Or I don't know, when I knew it didn't. Or frankly I don't care. You know what I mean? If you're out there and you're starting to publish just understand it.

I wanted to just tell you guys why I actually publish. Why I do this. Because a lot of you know I did not want to publish for a long time and I want you to know why you should be.

I've written out several reasons here...

I want you to know why you need to be publishing, because this individual reached out and they were like, "Look ..." They said, "Steven ..." Which I totally disagree with, but I see what they're saying too. They said, "Steven, you're so much better interviewing people and you're terrible by yourself." I was like, "Mmmm, that's a strong opinion. I can see that."

But I want you to know why I interview and I want you to know why I will have ones where I just teach my own thoughts.

I recently was sitting in a room with JLD, right? John Lee Dumas, Entrepreneur On Fire. Great guy. Do not take anything I'm about to say as a jab at him. Understand that it is completely out of a positioning move of what I'm about to say. I listened to him teach on stage and the man is amazing. He's done how many thousand interviews literally. That's his whole model.

He interviews people like crazy, right? Like Letterman. You know, David Letterman. He just interviews. The interview and the interview and the interview and the interview and the interview and the interview. And that's it, and I don't know any of his personal thoughts.

While he was talking I had the very, very distinct thought pop into my head. I was like, "You know what's interesting ...?" Because he started doing Q and A and every single one of the questions that was coming to him all had to do on how he podcasts. None of the questions had anything to do about business or marketing.

It was all about, "Hey, how the heck do you pull off recording that many interviews? Oh my gosh. Hey, how on earth are you able to get it done?" And I'm not taking jabs at him. What he's done is fabulous. It's amazing. He's made obviously a huge name for himself, but when Russell stands up, who also has a podcast, who publishes in many places, people know very well who he is. People don't ask him how he podcasts.

Meaning he'll get that question, but it's not the main topic...

People don't ask me, "Steven, how do you podcast?" They ask that, but it's not the main topic. They ask me, "Steven, how did you build that funnel that made X number of dollars and broke records?" Or you know what I mean? That's more the type of question that I get.

I don't get questions about ... I mean more than two or three that I've had that has spurred a few podcast episodes where I teach you how I do my podcasts and how I publish, but I positioned myself as wanting ... You know, I want people to know that I'm in a unique spot where literally all day, every day I'm building stuff in click funnels in different industries and get to see cool places.

You know, "Hey, this works well here. This works well there. This doesn't work well here." That's a unique place to be in and I was like, "That's a unique place to be in." And I was like, "That's a unique positioning." I don't want to do interview after interview after interview where suddenly I become the guy who is just the interviewer. Right?

And so start think ... I want you to go publish.

It will change your life...

Give yourself one year to publish. Even just do a bare minimum once a week and I promise you your life and your situation and your trajectory will be in a different spot because of publishing. It helps you figure out your craft. And you know what? That person was right.

Especially at the beginning of my podcast show. You can go back and listen to them. They're not that amazing. Like what I am saying is good, how I'm saying it, my delivery, me, my message, my polarity, my attractive character wasn't that good and I know that, and Russell knows that and everyone who listens to it knows that. But the reason that I podcast and the reason that I do it is because it made me better.

I've been doing this over a year now, which I'm very proud of. I had some great episodes, had some ones that probably aren't that amazing, but the reason that I podcast and the reason that I do a few shows ... Yeah right, kind of sporadic in between.

There was a season there where I kind of didn't do many interviews, but I like to sprinkle them throughout and I've got some great interviews coming up for you guys...

Oh my gosh, it's so freakin awesome. I got some good ones coming up for you, but the reason I do is because I find my own voice by doing this and one of the biggest issues that we find why people are not being successful ... I'm about to go run a FHAT event tomorrow for three days. Why can I stand up ... And I'm not saying that I'm as good as Russell or I'm not trying to compare myself to him, but how can Russell Brunson let a guy ...

Again, I'm not tooting my own horn, but just think about this. I'm not drinking my own Kool-Aid. I'm very, very aware of that. Just think with me through this on the process.

How is it on earth that the CEO of ClickFunnels, guy like Russell Brunson, could let a guy like Steve Larsen stand up on his stage for three straight days and teach in his place? Well, it's because I've been practicing my own voice, right? I figured out my message, I figured out those things. There's a piece of value I can now give and at the beginning when I was publishing I didn't have those things, so I went and I interviewed and I found my voice along the way and it got stronger and stronger and it still does get stronger and more intense.

The power of publishing is ridiculous. It's amazing. If you think of it, it's almost like ... A lot of you guys know I like to backpack a lot. I love being out in the mountains. There's something about it. I think it's ... For whatever reason it's very, like, a combination of calming to the nerves but also I feel like there's a lot of great meditation, things like that, you can do.

I actually don't really know how to meditate, but I like the quiet and maybe that's close enough. I like the quiet and I like to think while it's quiet and dream and things like that. You know what I mean? And have my own little visions on where I want to be and things like ... Like that's cool. I really enjoy that, but just thinking about that, any time there's ever been a trail ...

You know, I've done a lot of high altitude backpacking where the oxygen is so thin the trees can't grow. You know, like the super, super high mountains. I love that stuff. It's extreme, it's hard, it's very challenging, it's very taxing on the body. It's fun to go through something like that. Well every time ... And you might laugh and go ... Anyway, let me finish that. Every time we go climb a mountain, if there are moments where there's no trail ... Which might shock you.

There's a lot of moments, especially high altitude where there's not a lot of people, humans, that have been up there like ever. You know what I mean? Not a lot of humans have gone in some of the places I've been, which is really, really fun. There is not enough feet that have hit the ground to create a trail, you know what I mean? And it's way harder to climb or it's a lot harder. I got to be more careful. The footing is different, it's more loose. It can be more scary, and so when you're climbing up these mountains and you're doing this stuff, when there is a trail it's so much easier.

Think of every episode that you publish like a brick and you lay that brick and you put it down there and just like ... It just popped in my head. Just like Will Smith says, "You lay that brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid."

And you put it out there as best as you know how, and you just focus on that one. Not on the whole road, not on the whole trail. I've never actually hiked a mountain where there's a brick trail, but just for the analogy. Okay, then there's another brick. Now you need to lay that brick as perfectly as that ... You know, and that's like another episode or another content piece or you've published something or whatever it is.

Another communication piece has gone out there. And you do it as perfectly as you can and you do the next one as perfectly as you can. Pretty soon you have a road. Does that make sense?

And it's easier for people to climb your mountain as you, the guru, on the mountain. Does that make sense?

It's easier for people to approach you when you have tons of episodes and you have tons of stuff published. That stuff doesn't go away. Do you know the SEO power behind the stuff that I've made with that? That's the reason that I do it. Anyway, that's just part of the reason I just wanted to share that with you that I interview people because of the ridiculous value. I know I'm not an expert in everything or barely even in one, you know?

And so I go find people who got great stories and I have them share their experience. Stuff that would take me their lifetime to learn also. I just got my own, so I go interview like crazy, which is super fun. Usually I'll batch interview and I'll get tons of interviews done at once and I'll just kind of drip-release them out.

And then there are moments when I'm like, "Hey, you know what? There's a cool thing that I just learned about X, Y, and Z and you know what? It has everything to do with funnel building. Why don't I just share it with you?" You know, right? It's just my episodes of myself.

Everyone that you put out there is kind of like a brick and guys, ah, it has helped ... Someone could have a great, new offer. They can have a great, new opportunity. They could have a cause, but if they don't have the charismatic leader, which is heavily dependent on finding your voice. If they don't have that last aspect it is very challenging to create a mass movement. It's very challenging to create a brand. You got someone super boring?

I don't care...

Guys, stereotypically in College, professors, they know a lot of crap, right? But a lot of times a lot of them are really boring, right? They're bored of their own message. They don't have the attractive character or charismatic leader and the ones that have that are the ones that really make you turn into a new person, right? Or challenge you or whatever it is.

Anyways, it helps you find your voice and the last part here is the revenue that a podcast can generate is insane, right? Last year I had a single product generate 50 Grand, a lot of which was kin or a lot of it came from the podcast. There's no ad spend. People found out because of this. Podcast listeners are typically buyers.

They're action-takers.

They're the kind of people who are doing things when they're out and about, right? They're listening to things when they're out and about. They're proactive people. They're not the kind of people who sit around and watch TV all day. YouTube audiences aren't really like that. Podcasters are, right? Facebook people, they're not usually like that also. They're kind of there for distraction and for entertainment.

Podcasters though? If you're listening to this podcast I know already that you're the kind of person who has dreams and goals and aspirations. You're trying to do something with your life and you don't give a crap if someone else is trying to make fun of you about it. Does that make sense? That's the people I want to hang out with, so that's why I chose podcasting, okay? The revenue that comes from it is crazy.

You'll find your voice, you'll become better, you will figure out your own craft. I can't think of a stupid reason or a bad reason to publish. Just know that when you get out there and you start publishing, you're going to get haters. It's stupid. I don't know why. What the heck else are they doing in their day? I have no idea, but that's why I publish and I want you guys to know that and if you feel awkward ...

I feel so, so excited and so happy. I've had I think at least four people that I know who've at least told me that because I said, "Hey, go podcast, go podcast, Sir," or whatever it is. "Go publish." Whatever it is that you love doing. They've starter their own show or their own channel or whatever. They've started their own publishing venue and because of it they've made money. Episode two, you know what I mean? Lots of it. Life-changing amounts and not just like one person that I know of. It happens over and over and over again.

Publishing brings an insane amount of authority behind it.

Anyway, it's getting late. I got to go to bed. I got the fad event, which if you don't know what that is, it is a three-day event where basically we help you write out your entire webinar script. We build the webinar funnel, we help you create a new opportunity, the attractive character. I mean every piece you can imagine. We have had many people ... We actually really only started doing this back in February, but that was kind of just to a closed-group. Publicly we've only been doing it for four months.

We've had several people make well over a million dollars from that event alone, so I'm excited. It's always a fun group to go to and it's part of the Two Comma Club coaching program that I'm the head coach for, which is awesome. Super fun. I really enjoy that program. Love hanging out with those people, but I got to go to bed because it starts at few hours and I'm going to be on stage for couple times for like 18 straight hours, so they're long days.

Super fun, but anyway, great stuff.

Anyways, guys, hope you're doing awesome and if you want to be interviewed on my podcast I want you to go to salesfunnelradio.com. I'll be updating that site soon. I'll be updating all the stuff I've been doing shortly, but I'm a little bit busy. But go to salesfunnelradio.com, scroll down and click on the green button on the right and it will record a voicemail straight off your browser right to me. And, you know, sell yourself. Pitch yourself. Tell me your story.

Tell me what it is that you do. I'd love to get more stories and such on here. I've got already a kind of a waiting list, but it's exciting. Not even a month ago we're at 50,000 downloads. We're already past 62,000. It's only been a few weeks. I appreciate all you guys. You guys are all awesome and just go make a lot of noise, okay? Whether it's publishing or whatever it is and know that you'll get a little backlash from it, but who cares? Whatever.

Alright guys, talk to you later. Bye.

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