Ever wonder how a niche audience and the right bonus strategy can put you in the Top 3 of a $5.7 million affiliate launch? Today, I\u2019m bringing back a return guest to show you exactly how she did it. She used prep courses, long-term funnels, and collaborated with other affiliates to absolutely rock this promo and earn nearly $100,000 in affiliate commissions. Listen up to find out how!<\/span><\/p>\n Click Here for The Written Transcript of This Episode<\/a><\/p>\n Links Mentioned in this Episode<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Heidi\u2019s Facebook Page<\/a><\/p>\n How to Start Your Affiliate Program<\/a><\/p>\n Get Started with Affiliate Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n Your First 100 Affiliates<\/a><\/p>\n TEXT ME:<\/strong> +1 (260) 217-4619<\/p>\n $5.7 Million Affiliate Launch Secrets: How Instagram Fueled a Top 10 Finish<\/a><\/p>\n $5.7 Million Affiliate Launch Secrets: How Justin Demers & Sara Temte Climbed to Second Place<\/a><\/p>\n $5.7 Million Affiliate Launch Secrets: How a Beginner Earned $18K on Their First Promo<\/a><\/p>\n $5.7 Million Affiliate Launch Secrets: How to Create Irresistible Opt-in Offers<\/a><\/p>\n $5.7 Million Affiliate Launch Secrets The Affiliate Playbook Part Two<\/a><\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: You ever wonder how a niche audience and the right bonus strategy can put you in the top three of uh, a $5.7 million affiliate launch? Well, today I\u2019m bringing back a return guest to show you exactly how she did it. She used prep courses and long term funnels and collaborated with some other affiliates to absolutely rock this promo and earn nearly $100,000 in affiliate commissions. So listen up to find out how she did it.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get started. Well, welcome back to the final episode in this seven part series on our 5.7 million dollar affiliate launch breakdown. Uh, if you\u2019ve made it this far, thank you. First of all, thank you. Uh, you should thank yourself because, uh, you\u2019ve learned a ton, I\u2019m sure. Uh, we have covered a ton in this series. We talked about the strategy behind the launch itself. We talked about list building tactics. We uh, talked through what\u2019s working now for affiliates with small audiences and large audiences, uh, Instagram focused strategies, paid workshops, joint promos, you name it, we have covered it all.<\/p>\n Everything that was working in this massive launch, we have covered it all. And today I\u2019m wrapping things up with someone who absolutely crushed it. Uh, Heidi Easley is not new to affiliate promotions, but she is proof that you can take everything you learn from one launch, refine it and come back even stronger the next time. Uh, the launch before this one, she barely cracked the top ten. Uh, that\u2019s great. But it was still not where she wanted to be this year.<\/p>\n She came back and finished top three in the entire launch and didn\u2019t miss out on winning by very much. As you\u2019ll, as you\u2019ll hear in this and in this interview, she\u2019s walking us through exactly how she did it and what I love most about Heidi\u2019s approach. It\u2019s not about gimmicks, it\u2019s not about hacks. Uh, it\u2019s really about like you\u2019re going to learn some cool new stuff. But it\u2019s really about how she executed the basics and that\u2019s an important lesson.<\/p>\n How she knows her audience really, really well and she served them really, really well. She created bonuses that actually filled a gap for them. This is one of the biggest lessons you can possibly learn is how to use bonuses properly. Some people just, oh, uh, just create some bonuses. No, you create bonuses that fill a gap for your audience.<\/p>\n She talks about using a prep course to get her audience ready for the promo and how she thought through her long term funnel strategy, how she partnered with other affiliates in a way that didn\u2019t actually. It didn\u2019t comp. Actually complementing each other. And I think that\u2019s really powerful lesson. So whether you\u2019re an affiliate manager, you\u2019re trying to help your affiliates, um, make more sales, or you\u2019re an affiliate yourself looking for some really smart. This is thing, like, everything is actionable in this. So if you\u2019re looking for actionable ideas you can take for your next promo, either one of those, you\u2019re going to want to listen closely to this one. So let\u2019s jump right into my interview with Heidi Easley. Heidi, thanks so much for being with us today.<\/p>\n Need help activating your affiliates? Use my proven email templates for getting inactive affiliates in the game and making sales! Get them here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Heidi Easley: You\u2019re so welcome. Thanks for having me back.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah. Uh, super cool. And like, we had you on literally almost a year ago talking about the same promotion, but I think you finished. Was it ninth place or tenth place last year?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So tenth place.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Last year, tenth place, which was, like, really awesome. And I was like, that\u2019s amazing. And you were like, yeah, it was super awesome. And then this year, I mean, like, holy crap.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: M. I\u2019m still mad about this year.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: We\u2019re going to talk about it, though. We\u2019re going to talk about it because to give you guys kind of the very quick background, um, you know, Heidi promoted, uh, Stu McLaren\u2019s tribe, uh, course this year and finished in third place, which is amazing enough. But she was in first place for, like, the whole thing just about up until the very end. And when I say third place, it was not like a third place. A lot of times third place is like, you know, the leader of third through tenth place. Right.<\/p>\n Uh, it\u2019s so far from first and sometimes even so far from second. There\u2019s not really like a real third place. No. Like, the top three spots in this launch were close enough that we didn\u2019t announce the winner for almost 24 hours after the launch ended. Because it was so close. We had to, like, go in and do the audits and all that to see. So it was like. Oh, it was like, it was so close. Um, close enough that, like, based on the prize money, the average sale that first place made over third place was worth, like an additional 3,000, $4,000 a sale. Um, because first place is $100,000 so you\u2019re rabbin.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Salt in the wood. Okay.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: What I meant was first place won by a lot, and Heidi never really had a chance. Uh, so don\u2019t feel bad. Three were just like, um. It was so stinking close.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So close. I know. I told my husband, I said, you know, I don\u2019t feel like it was a failure. It was more like defeat. It was that feeling of defeat. And I. And I even told Stu. I was like, please don\u2019t take my. The way I\u2019m feeling about this as ungrateful, because that is not what I wanted to get across. But I get so, so competitive, and I get very excited about a leaderboard. I don\u2019t know why, but I do. And so when I was, you know, on, um, the first place for so long, and then knowing just by. Just by a few, like, I was this close, and it was, you know, I told my husband, I was like, it was for the glory. Like, I wanted the glory of having that place.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: It\u2019s an intense feeling. Like, I mean, we\u2019ve been there before. Where, um, you know, we were up there, like, right. Right up at the top. I mean, the first one I ever won, man, is like, five years ago. Um, smaller launch. You know, I think we did. I think it was probably like a, you know, half million dollar launch versus this one, you know, being north of $5 million. But I remember that last day. I remember staying up, like, until the cart closed.<\/p>\n I was up until three in the morning, like, Eastern. Like, is there anything I can be doing to move sales right now? Because I think at the. I think at that time, it was like, $10,000 was the first prize, and, like, you know, 3,000 was second. And I\u2019m like, 7,000 bucks is a lot of money to me at this time. Like, I\u2019m gonna. I did everything I could. And we were, like, tweeting people, we were responding to emails. Um, you know, small team. At the times, it was all me. Like, I did everything I could.<\/p>\n And then we won. And I\u2019m like, yeah, you know, it was so fun. Um, so, yeah, I mean, we just. You did an amazing job. Just for the record, uh, make that very clear. Um, and we\u2019re gonna talk about what you did. So let\u2019s talk a little bit. Just quick background. If anybody wants, like, Heidi\u2019s background. We do talk a little bit about this in, um, literally a year ago, guys. So, uh, we\u2019ll link to that below. You guys can watch that previous interview below and learn how she finished in 10th place last year and learn a Little bit more about her. But let\u2019s just dive into this promotion. So the price point was, was $2,000. Uh, the commission amount was basically $800. A 40% commission. When I say 2000 is $1997. Um, how many affiliate promotions have you done? I mean, I know you did try at least once. Um, how many other affiliate promotions have you done over say the past five years?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: I would guess maybe 10 total.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah, maybe 10.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: And it\u2019s usually that like I have just a few people that I just frequently, you know, promote once or twice a year. So, you know, I don\u2019t have, um, I don\u2019t know. And I\u2019m very, very selective of who I choose to affiliate with because I, you know, I want to make sure whoever I bring to my audience is something that they really need. So I\u2019m very, very selective. So I\u2019d say maybe at the most 10 over the past five years.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Wow. So, you know, two a year. So enough practice. But still you\u2019re, you\u2019re still kind of getting your sea legs a little bit with what this is and to do what you do was awesome. So tell us real quick, I know we talked in the last time we talked about who your audience is, but give us just a very quick overview of um, you know, both like from an, from a what you do standpoint in terms of your audience and what they come to you for, but maybe a little bit of demographic, you know, info on them and who they are.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So I teach people how to make money teaching paint parties online, in person and with art kits. My demographic is really crafters, creators, artists. And um, a lot of them are doing this as a side gig. Like, you know, they have their full time job and then they\u2019re doing this because they\u2019re passionate about it, but it\u2019s also bringing them extra money. And then other people are just retired and they just want like this next act and they\u2019re doing something fun for retiring. So that\u2019s who I serve. So it was really cool because, you know, I have this group of business minded entrepreneurs that want to make, you know, um, and they want to help people in the art space and so they follow me and then they start learning more about what I\u2019m doing and they\u2019re like, wait, can you teach us some of that? Like, I want to learn more. And so it really just became a natural fit whenever, um, I promoted tribe.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Okay, and so how do you take. I know you said it\u2019s a natural fit, but I think there\u2019s still, there\u2019s got to be Some strategy here.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yes.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: You take people who want to learn how to do paint parties. I mean, I\u2019m going to assume that\u2019s what, 99.99999% female. Um, you have, like, you know, all the men by name. There\u2019s two of them, right?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, we have like six. We have six men now. I think we have 2,400 members, and about six of them are guys.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Um, and so you take this audience that comes to you about, you know, how to do paint parties, and then, you know, Tribe guys, as you probably know from past insider profiles, is all about creating a membership site, creating recurring revenue. It definitely falls under the bucket of what I would call Internet marketing products or online marketing products. Online business. How do you take that audience to being interested in this product?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So, great question. So the first time I promoted Tribe was really out of just people asking, and I said, oh, that\u2019s a great commission. I\u2019ll send my link. And I remember selling 19 of them and thinking, oh, crap. Like, that\u2019s a lot of money. Like, that\u2019s really great.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah, just about.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, yeah. And I bought this huge, you know, computer that I\u2019m looking at you right now through. Like, I spent all this money on this really nice computer and just really cool. But what happened was I saw these 19 creatives and, um, that were paint party people that were just floundering.<\/p>\n So I had already had the background of email marketing. You know, I spent my entire first year of learning online business on how to build email lists. So I love that kind of stuff. And so I saw, you know, these 19 people join tribe and they didn\u2019t even understand, like, what a funnel meant, what email marketing. They didn\u2019t even know the base glossary terms of online marketing. And so it. It broke my heart because it\u2019s like I sent people, you know, who I trust with, you know, with everything. I sent them to Stu. But then I felt like I let them down because I felt like there was this kind of gap. And so, um, the next year, you know, we. I basically, I was terrified, but I knew I had to do it. I was so scared that. Okay, do you know how sometimes, like, when you\u2019re scared of doing something or you\u2019re scared of launching something because you think it\u2019s going to fail, that you, like, start doing random crap around the house just so you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: You can tell. You can tell when I\u2019m procrastinating, my office will be spotless. Oh, man. If you.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: If.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Here\u2019s what you can watch. If you ever Watch. So this is how the studio set up now.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Mhm.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: If this thing here is over here in three weeks and there\u2019s new decorations and new books and new artwork up there and this and everything, it\u2019s. You will know that at some point in the previous few days, I had a big project do that I didn\u2019t want to do. And instead I\u2019m remodeling the studio.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yes, yes. So, okay, so I was like taking curtains down off of my windows and washing curtains. Like, who washes curtains? Like, I am not like a homemaker type personality and I\u2019m watching wash curtains. I didn\u2019t know either. And so like I\u2019m washing, I\u2019m doing everything. And so I was like, you know what? And I was sick at my stomach because I knew I had to launch this course. And my course is called Paint Party Outer Limits.<\/p>\n And basically what I did was I said, you know what, I am terrified to do this, but I know there is a gap. I know that these Paint Party people need to know the basis of this stuff. So when I promote Tribe again, which I will do, they will be ready for it. And so I talked to Stu about it and I even had, you know, Stu\u2019s a guest in my course. Like, I wanted to make sure, you know, everything was okay. Cause I was teaching them how to start building your audience. All of these things that I knew they needed to prep for that. I have spent, you know, tens of thousands of dollars and multiple years learning. And so when I launched it, I kind of gave myself an out. I said, you know what, if just 10 people will sign up for this, I\u2019ll feel like that\u2019s a success. And so I launched it and a hundred people signed up for it. And I was like, okay, note to self, like, they really want this. And so then we launched Tribe again and I ended up top 10, which blew me away. And so then I was like, you know what?<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Top 10 had to have been 60 sales. 50 to 60 sales, at least.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: 75.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: 75, yeah. Wow.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, 75 sales, which, you know, was amazing.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Most of those probably came out of that hundred, didn\u2019t they?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yes, yes. So basically, basically I created a funnel that not only helps me, but it helps my customers.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: So price point on that prep course.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So it was 397 if you were a member, and then it was, um, 597 if you weren\u2019t a member. Which this year we\u2019re going to raise it because we totally overhauled everything. We have it so much better because, you know, like, whenever you Launch a course or something. At first you kind of, or trying to do what you think you need to do. And then this past year we like, I mean we just, we nailed it. It was so awesome. And people were like, oh my gosh, I would have paid so much more for this.<\/p>\n Like, I don\u2019t want to say that but this is so good. And we really did do a good job like of what they needed. And so um, so what we ended up doing now is this past December we did the pre launch for it. We had 27079 people sign up for Paint Party Outer Limits. So it went from me hoping 10 would sign up to 100 signing up to 279 signing up. And so now and again Stu was a, ah, he was a guest in that course and we talked openly about funnels, about membership, about you know, this is the next step if you want this.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s what led to um, the affiliate I think being so good and tried this year is because we have been prepping all year for it. So now the cycle starts again. So right now, even in my membership, you know, some people are like, well, I want to know about memberships or I want to know about, you know, email marketing. I\u2019m like, that is for Paint Party, Outer Limits and for Tribe. Those are things that come up once a year.<\/p>\n And so it\u2019s basically like just notifying my audience, like, yeah, if you want to learn more from me, you know, you\u2019re paying so much a month right now, that\u2019s great and I\u2019m very thankful for it and we over deliver. But to learn that higher level, you know, online marketing, that\u2019s a different, different strategy, a different course, a different, a different path. So the ones that kind of know that will know, okay, I need to go this route with Heidi if I want to learn that. So it really was just a very, very strategic thing from the beginning. And um, I think that\u2019s why I just, when I, when I hit, I mean my goal was top five. But then once I saw myself in first place, I was like, okay, now my goal is first place.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: I never knew it was just top five because from about the word go you were like, where am I? Am I still in first? Am I still. Like there was no, like I just assumed you wanted to be first the whole time. I want to, I want to go back real quick and I want to come to where things are now with this, you know, the Outer Limits course. You mentioned something kind of interesting. You said, you know, that first year when you sold 19. You said, you know, people just, people were asking you. Mhm. And so you\u2019re like, well, let me get a link. And I sold 19. What were they asking you?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So they want basically like what I\u2019ve learned, and I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve learned this too, is anytime you start doing something and then you start doing it well, people want to know, so what happened with my Paint Party business? You know, I was doing that to make extra money on the side as a full time teacher.<\/p>\n And then all of a sudden I\u2019m doing paint parties of 100, paint parties of 130. And all of a sudden, you know, I\u2019m getting people asking me like, okay, Heidi, how are you doing this? And so it just, you know, brought me to the next step of, okay, well maybe I can teach some people how to do this. And again, you know, that brings you to the next step.<\/p>\n And so when I had Paint Party Headquarters, which I still do, um, it\u2019s three years old now and we have over 2,400 members. Um, it was one of those things where, oh, sorry, the Creative Club\u2019s calling. We have our group chat. Um, so it was one of those things where, um, where, you know, people started asking, okay, how are you doing this?<\/p>\n How are you making Paint Party headquarters happen? How are you making a membership happen? Because, you know, I was teaching people how to do stuff, you know, paint parties in person and online. And so then that started to become a question. And those questions are way more involved in than what they were paying me for Paint Party Headquarters.<\/p>\n You know, like, of course I\u2019m spending lots of money every single month learning from, you know, people who are way smarter than me, um, and then also studying myself. And so I was like, okay, how can I structure this? Because what I also noticed, Matt, was people were skipping over me to go to different people to learn from just because I wasn\u2019t offering it. And that kind of made because I remember going, wait a minute, I can teach them way better because I\u2019m doing exactly what they want to do. And I thought, and that\u2019s why I was washing my curtains, because I was so scared, so scared of like offering it. Um, even though I have found in this many years of doing business now, the things that I am most scared of are usually the things that bring me the most, um, the most money. Which is kind of crazy.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: That m was, uh, I\u2019m writing that one down. That was good. Um, so I\u2019m kind of like, that is super awesome. And that\u2019s a great lesson because it\u2019s like, people are asking you, then there\u2019s clearly a market for it. And what started out as 19 people, you know, fast forward two years. Uh, correct me if I\u2019m wrong, but you were 160ish.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: This year, I think we ended at 149.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: 149.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: And my goal was 150.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: No way. Did you really? Okay.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: I\u2019m really good with, like, having numbers and being, like, so close to them.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: But. So, um, that\u2019s part because I remember one year I had a goal in an affiliate promote Michael Hyatt\u2019s promo. This is forever ago. My goal was $20,000, and I made $19,991. And I was just like, I know sucks. And the worst part about it was I had a friend of mine, uh, really good friend of mine, who I was texting with, you know, on the last day, and he\u2019s like, hey, do you need me to go buy through you? I\u2019m like, no. I mean, like, I\u2019m m not gonna ask you to buy a course just to make me, you know, like, I think I joked, I was like, if you want to send me a hundred bucks, send me a hundred bucks. You know, like. And I told him. I was like, I should have said yes to you, but it would have cheapened it. It would have felt bad.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: I know. That\u2019s how I was. I was like, you know what? That was the number, you know. But it does have that feeling of, like. And then it becomes. And I know, like, people listen to this where it is about the money. Like, for many, many times, I mean, I\u2019ve gone bankrupt. Like, I know what it feels like to have no money. And so I have that feeling of, like, you know, like, that, well, it\u2019s still that many people, it\u2019s still that much money. But then there\u2019s something inside that, like, drives you competitively, where it\u2019s not even about the money anymore. It\u2019s about, like, that was my goal. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve set up for. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been working for for a year. Um, and yes, the money is great. Yes. I am so excited and have so many plans for that many coming in to help my family. But it\u2019s like, something about hitting those goals and those numbers that just make it, like, exciting.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah, I mean, it\u2019s, uh, I mean, it\u2019s just in that competitive nature, you know. I don\u2019t know about you, but, like, I mean, I grew up, I was a college athlete and, you know, played professional golf for a while, so it\u2019s like, my thing is, like. I mean, I remember there were times where I would win a tournament, but I, you know, I screwed something up in the last three holes, and I\u2019m like, that\u2019s what I was always focused on. Like, man, I should have finished two shots lower. It\u2019s like, well, you won by six. Yeah, but I should have won by eight.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, well, I was not an athlete by any means. And so I was definitely like the B team volleyball players, sitting on the bench, laughing, being stupid. But something with business, it\u2019s like, you know. You know, even if you know, those of you listening, if you aren\u2019t, like, it\u2019s different. Like, there\u2019s something with business that. Where you can have this competitiveness. And I like to turn it into game, so I like to make it fun. And we, you know, even me and my family get in. You know, my daughter\u2019s 14, and my husband. And, um, we\u2019ll get in on it, and we\u2019ll be like, so and so. Like, you know, we\u2019ll say names of the people that are on the leaderboard, and we\u2019ll like, oh, my gosh, we got to take them down. And it\u2019s all in good fun, but, like, the whole family\u2019s involved, and, you know, we\u2019ll be eating dinner. Like, well, where\u2019s so and so at? And we\u2019re like, I know we gotta take him out. Like, something\u2019s gotta happen.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Feeling like you have a dartboard with the faces?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: No, I don\u2019t, but that is a good idea.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Well, and in the spirit of this, like, I do want to share with everybody before people think that Heidi\u2019s, like, you know, plotting to, like, take these people down. And if anybody. If anybody ahead of Heidi gets food poisoning, it wasn\u2019t her fault. Like, when Sarah Williams won, uh, we\u2019ll share. There\u2019s a video hopefully I think we can get a hold of from Stu\u2019s team. Uh, when. When I have it. Yeah, when Sarah won, um, you know, um, I\u2019m trying to think when Summer on Stu\u2019s team had messaged me about two days before CART closed and said, hey, if Heidi or Sarah wins, like, I live, like, an hour from both of them.<\/p>\n I want to. What do you think of, you know, taking, like, a large one of those, like, Publishers Clearinghouse checks and, like, doing a whole thing? I was like, that would be awesome. You know that you would do that. Yes, please. Like, I\u2019m, um, signing you up for that. I had no idea you were going. So, guys, when Sarah won, like, this. Like, this super Tight competition, less than 10% separating the entire top three. And they wanted to beat each other so badly. And, you know, again, I\u2019m not rubbing this in, but, like, we\u2019re talking an $85,000 difference between first and third. Like, it\u2019s a. I don\u2019t know if people remember, like, realize that is more than the average American family brings in an entire year. Yeah, it\u2019s a lot of money, super competitive. Then I see, like, I see summer. I\u2019m expecting to see Summer. And there\u2019s Heidi, like, going to congratulate Sarah and taking the, you know, the big check. And I just thought that was super cool.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Um, Sarah is one of my dear friends, and every day. So on Sunday, she\u2019s like, I don\u2019t know. Should I promote? And I\u2019m like, yes, you should promote. Like, I talked her into being an affiliate. I was like, yes, you have.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Thank you.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: You\u2019re welcome. I was like. I was like, you have the perfect audience. You know, I mean, I\u2019m an affiliate. I actually pushed some of my people to her, so I\u2019m like, actually, technically, you probably have some of my sales. Like, I was giving her a hard time. But, I mean, we were on the phone every day. That was actually who called earlier and, you know, just heard it. It was from that group. And so. And so we\u2019re on the, you know, every day. We\u2019re on the, you know, the phone every day, like, strategizing. Where are you at?<\/p>\n Where are you at? Okay, what can we do now? I mean, there was nothing. She held back or I held back to have a more competitive edge. Like, we were both, like, you know, wanting each other to win. And I think it. That\u2019s when it made it so fun, because, like, for her, you know, in some sorts, it stresses her around. Like, no, it\u2019s fun. Like, let\u2019s have fun with this. Like, let\u2019s just go for it. And so, yeah, so we had a she, you know, especially with me being in first place.<\/p>\n Um, the first several days, she was like, saying, hey, I\u2019m going to show up at your house with a big check. And so once we heard. Once you and Stu made the announcement, I remember, um, you announced third place, and you said my name, and I typed the word, damn it. And I was like. I was like, immediately, um, Shanna saw it, and she knew, like, I didn\u2019t mean it in a mean way. She knew that I was just. I was so close. I wanted second. And, um, so I went on a walk with my husband right after, and I was like, I\u2019m not. Like, I don\u2019t. I\u2019m not. It\u2019s not failure, it\u2019s defeat.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: And we were talking about the feeling of it, and I was like, hey, I said, we\u2019ve got to show up at Sarah\u2019s house. Like, we have to bring a big check. We have to. Because she had been talking about doing it for me. And I was like, we got to show up. Like, let\u2019s drive two hours. Let\u2019s go surprise her. And then the next day, Summer had contacted me and said, hey, do you want to do this thing with me? I was like, yes, we\u2019re already planning it. Like, yes, let\u2019s do it. And so. So, yeah, um, it\u2019s all in good fun. So it\u2019s all in good fun and just, I don\u2019t know. I love it. There\u2019s something about it. Even though I wasn\u2019t competitive in sports, there\u2019s something about business when I know it\u2019s a right fit for my customer, it\u2019s different. If this is something that, like, I\u2019m trying to sell my customer that I know they don\u2019t need. Um, but when it\u2019s something that I know they need and they want, like, I am like, game on. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: That is so cool. I have so many questions for you now. Um, it\u2019s, you know, just guys. I\u2019ll let you know, insiders. Uh, we\u2019ll be. We\u2019ll be talking to Sarah, uh, to give you kind of the background on that. She had nine sales last year, and this year had more than 160 and won the $100,000 first prize. Like, that\u2019s. That\u2019s what\u2019s possible when you go all in. Like Sarah and Heidi both did. Um, I want to talk about the prep course for just a moment, because I think this is a really cool concept, something that we\u2019ve been teaching for, uh, forever.<\/p>\n You know, like, you find. You kind of find that part of your audience that, first of all, they\u2019re willing to invest, you know, a little bit more. Uh, but secondly, like, they. They end up being the people who are one step ahead of everyone else, so they\u2019re more prepared for the thing that you\u2019re offering as an affiliate. Um, and so I want to, like, talk about, first of all, when is that prep course, because it gives people\u2019s perspective. You start pushing people into the tribe launch in late March. We\u2019ll just say April 1st, just. Even though I know you started in late March, but, you know, that\u2019s kind of the prime time is from April 1st through the first week of May. Um, so what does that look like in terms of the prep course? When does that happen?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So right now, I mean if it comes up naturally or during a training, I say that\u2019s for Paint Party Outer Limits. So I\u2019m already seeding the fact that I offer a course once a year. December 1st is when I officially open it to Paint Party Headquarters for pre buys. So the course does not start until February 1st. Um, but what I like to do is give people an option to do a payment plan. So what I\u2019ve decided is I do a webinar like the beginning of December for Paint Party Headquarters, which is all the people that are in my membership and I give them a huge discount. So this year it will go up.<\/p>\n So it\u2019ll be um, instead of 397, it\u2019ll be 497. But they have three months to pay it. So we do a three month payment plan. So before they ever start the course, like they\u2019re on their third payment and now we\u2019re starting the course so it\u2019s paid, you know, they\u2019re done and paid for. Um, and then January 1st, so they all get that discount if they\u2019re in Paint Party headquarters. And then January 1st is when I launch it to the public. So I do like a big launch to the public. And I was really surprised. This year we had a lot of um, just new people that were paying the 597, um, and to do the course. So that will go up to 697 this year. But the coolest part was pretty much by the time everybody starts February 1st, they\u2019ve already done two, possibly their three payments. And then, um, and then what I do is I just hold it all. Like I don\u2019t spend a dime until the course because it\u2019s a, it\u2019s a 10 week course. So all of February, all of March, and then it basically just butts up to. That\u2019s when tribe starts.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: That was the next question. Yeah, I mean that 10 weeks starting February 1st would be about April 10th, 11th, 12th somewhere and there would be the end of it. I mean, 10 days later, tribe workshop started.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Well, and a lot of people have been asking for like a mastermind level or for me to help them more. And when I did the survey, um, last year, and this may be something I want to do in the future, but right now I don\u2019t want to do it. Um, and I\u2019m like, if you want more time with me, you sign up for tribe and then I give them another 10 weeks of study group where I Go live once a week and answer their questions. So it was almost like a way where I can still bring in, you know, a really great income for my family, but I\u2019m not having to push myself in every direction because it. It can be overwhelming because once you start seeing opportunities, opportunities show up everywhere. And so once you train yourself to see those, it\u2019s like, oh, well, I could do this, I could do this, but that\u2019s going to be an energy sack or time suck. Whenever I can just focus on, okay, paint party headquarters to outer limits to tribe, and then just have that very clean m, you know, funnel that helps my members.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: That is so cool. You see, earlier, and you said this a couple of times because you got a call and you mentioned the creative club. And I know a little bit about the creative Club from a few years ago, I think with stuff. But I know this is a little bit off topic, but I\u2019m kind of curious. Tell us what that is real quick, if you don\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Um, oh, not at all.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Because I think there\u2019s some lessons in there that people would get some value out of. So what is, uh, this Creative Club?<\/p>\n Get my #1 affiliate recruiting email (the one I\u2019ve personally used to recruit thousands of affiliates in dozens of niches). Grab your copy here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Heidi Easley: Okay, so, uh, when we first took tribe, this will be, uh, my fourth year going through it, there were several of us that kind of just got put in a Facebook group that were all artists. Well, it kind of dwindled. You know, some people would interact, some people wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n And so there\u2019s basically nine of us girls in there that have all gone through tribe at the same time, have all grown our businesses pretty similar, like, as far as, like, revenue and growth. It\u2019s almost like. It\u2019s almost like we push each other.<\/p>\n So if I see oh, so and so\u2019s got 2,000 members now, well, I need to get to, like, it kind of like makes us want to, like, do better, but in another way. Like, we meet at least twice a year and we go rent a beach house. And we actually already have our August one scheduled and we usually do four or five nights and we do, um, one morning as a mastermind where we actually, like, go through, you know, the problems we have. And because we\u2019re all at the same level, it\u2019s not like this complaining type atmosphere where a lot of times when you\u2019re just getting started, it\u2019s like, well, I don\u2019t know where to. You know, you just find that out and really you\u2019re just needing help tweaking. But what the coolest part has been is I think just that, um, like, like I said, they were calling just A second ago. But we\u2019re on a constant Facebook chat at all times. Like, I talk to them more than I talk to my family because we\u2019re constantly on a. On a chat. Like, what\u2019s going on? Here\u2019s this. Check out this.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: What?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: You know, and it\u2019s. It\u2019s not all business related. It\u2019s personal, it\u2019s fun. It\u2019s, you know, check this out. Oh, my gosh. This is the TikTok when we\u2019re 70 and we\u2019re going to the beach and it\u2019s two old ladies, you know, who\u2019s going to be those two, you know, and we\u2019re like, you know, naming each other out. Like, it\u2019s a bunch of, like, different stuff. But it\u2019s so cool because we\u2019re all, um, we\u2019re all cheering each other on and then we\u2019re all helping each other. So, like, Tamara is one of them.<\/p>\n For example. She just messaged me the other day and she\u2019s like, oh, my gosh, I had a cancellation. Can you jump in and fill in this spot for a guest, Guest artist? And I\u2019m like, yes, no problem. What do you need? Tell me when, where, how to do it, and then it\u2019s done. It\u2019s. No, it\u2019s like we, it didn\u2019t just happen and we didn\u2019t, like, all of a sudden just have this trust for each other. It took, you know, a good year of, like communicating online and then meeting each other and then knowing like, oh my gosh, we have so much in common that our families are sick and tired of us talking about Stew or Tribe or whatever it is that we can come to each other and, you know, what do I need to do with this? Where, where do I need to be with this funnel? Why is this not converting? And, um, even, um, during my launch. So I went from Stu\u2019s launch straight into my three year anniversary launch, which I\u2019ve changed the dates for next year because it was too intense because I had gone. So, like, I went. You saw me.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah, you were. I mean, those were full work days, like, for Tribe. Yeah.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yes. And in the background, we were prepping for my launch too. And so it was, it was a lot. And we, we still, we didn\u2019t hit our goal, but we still welcome like 520 new members into Paint Party headquarters on the back of another launch. But, but what I have to say about that is like, you know how, like, when you do a launch, the first two days, you can kind of tell where it\u2019s going? You can tell based on those numbers.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: What.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: What it\u2019s going to be. And, um, and I had messaged the Creative Club girls, and I said, y\u2019. All, I was like, this is killing me. I was like, I am nowhere near my goal. What am I going to do? Like, and they know I\u2019m very, very goals driven. And, um. And they\u2019re like, you know what? You know, what do I need to do? And, um. And they\u2019re like, oh, my gosh. I just went and watched your live. You need to do this. You need to talk. I mean, immediate, immediate response.<\/p>\n And then I was able to tweak. And those last two days were so much better. And one last thing I want to say about the question, Creative Girls, because this is really telling. So you and Stu were still live, and you were still. You were still talking, and you had just announced, you know, the winners or whatever. And oh, my gosh, within two minutes, they started a group call, and it wasn\u2019t about Sarah. Congratulations. You won.<\/p>\n It was like, heidi, are you okay? I mean, it\u2019s like. It\u2019s like, that\u2019s how we are. You know, like, just like, I drove to Wichita to go tell her congratulations and celebrate her. It\u2019s almost like they knew, like, that was. That was killing me because I wanted it so bad. And so I\u2019m like, no, no, Sarah, this is about you. You won. Like, congrats. And they\u2019re all like, but we know, Heidi. Like, we know what you are feeling right now, and we just want to be here and, like, know that you did everything you could. And I think that is the power of, like, when you\u2019re doing this entrepreneurship thing, whether you\u2019re doing affiliates, whether you\u2019re building your business, like, find a group. I mean, I never thought in my 40s I would find eight other girls that I could call at a moment\u2019s notice and talk business with. So that in itself is worth more than any money I\u2019ve made over the past few years. It\u2019s been pretty incredible.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah, that is super powerful. And that\u2019s why I knew where you were going with that, and I wanted you to share that because I think, um, you know, all of our members and all of our. Really everyone you know in this journey. I know it\u2019s cliche, but you really can\u2019t. You can\u2019t. You can do it alone, but it\u2019s just not. It\u2019s just harder.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: It\u2019s not fun anymore.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: I mean, it\u2019s crazy. Like, you would probably agree. I know. Uh, I find this, like, I have a group, you know, that\u2019s similar. We can Solve problems that I\u2019ve been beating my head against the wall. Um, because my default, like, my default is to get very insular, you know, Insular. I don\u2019t even know how to pronounce that word.<\/p>\n But, like, you know, it\u2019s like, oh, I got to solve that problem. All I need to do is like, think. Like, think really hard for an hour and I\u2019ll come up with a solution. And sometimes I do, and then sometimes I don\u2019t. And I go to the mastermind and like, one thing, they\u2019ll just say one thing. Like, what if you tried this? I\u2019m like, oh, actually, no, I\u2019m gonna just do. Nope, you gave me the idea.<\/p>\n Boom, we\u2019re good. And it\u2019s like, yeah, why don\u2019t I just do that from the get go? You know? And that is that power of community. So, guys, if you\u2019re. If you\u2019re interested, we\u2019re gonna put a link below to our mastermind. One thing you said in there that\u2019s super important is you guys started at the same point. You were in very similar starting places, and you\u2019ve each grown. So even four, three, four years later, you\u2019re still pretty much roughly at the same level.<\/p>\n It\u2019s really important to get around people who are at that same level because you\u2019re around people who are way too advanced, they have different problems than you. If you\u2019re around people who are way below, they have different problems than you. Like, if you\u2019re in a million dollar business and people are asking, like, how do I set up my email list? That\u2019s the wrong question to ask. Yeah, same thing. If you\u2019re in a.<\/p>\n You\u2019re in a thousand dollar a month business starting out, and people are talking about hiring their 43rd employee. It\u2019s like, I don\u2019t know what to tell you, you know? So, uh, we\u2019ll put a link below, guys, where you can sign up for our mastermind. Um, and, um, you know, and get into that because it\u2019s all beginners. So if you\u2019re more advanced, uh, don\u2019t click the link, don\u2019t sign up. So I wanted. I want to talk real quick. Um, one of the things that you did that I thought was super awesome when we ran the very early. We called it the way too early to mean anything leaderboard. Um, I mean, unlike April 1, now the workshop, guys, doesn\u2019t start till April 22. So we\u2019re not even talking, like, the promotion starts for another two weeks. Really, you are already thousands of leads. So your Runway was like a month prior to the workshop. Um, I mean, I\u2019m curious. Is that something that you think worked? Would you change? Would you change that? Would you start later, sooner next time? How would that go?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So the Runway was actually earlier than that because it was an outer limit. Like, we had. Yeah, we had Stu as a guest for 200 and something people inside Outer Limits, um, while that was going on, way before his stuff started. So, um. And yes, I would definitely do that again because I won that. You know, how y\u2019 all do those different contests. And, um, because I won the contest, basically, I won enough money to pay for all my ad spend for the entire tribe launch. So at the beginning, I was like, oh, my gosh. You know, um, because I had spent, like, 15,900 for the tribe launch, for my ads, and I had won 15,000 by Tuesday. I was like, ads covered.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: So people know. I mean, you won $2,500 for most workshop leads, $2,500 for most webinar leads, and $10,000 for most overall, um, m leads. So, I mean, that\u2019s that power of. It\u2019s really hard to do that unless you have, you know, hundreds of thousands of people meet like, a half a million people on your list. It\u2019s really hard to do what you did in five days. You can only do what you did if you have a few weeks, which was really, really cool.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Um, yeah, And I just went by Stu. He always talks about the long Runway. And, you know, and that\u2019s what I kept thinking in my head, like, okay, if they\u2019ve heard about him, they know they want to go this route. You know, I already had people. That\u2019s the thing, too, that was really, um, curious. Was a lot of people that wanted to take it last year that couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n They immediately signed up like they were ready. And so I wanted to be that link for them because, you know, I knew they were ready. So it\u2019s just a matter of, you know, when they\u2019re gonna hit that link. You know, they\u2019re gonna. As soon as they see it, they\u2019re gonna sign up because they\u2019re ready. And so I had a lot of people this year that basically, you know, it\u2019s like, promo is like, pre advertising for next year that are ready to take it next year. And I\u2019m like, you have 365 days to get ready. You know, and I offer all this cool stuff that goes with it. So it\u2019s okay. Just take it next year with me. And so, uh, I think that\u2019s the cool part, is it starts to Compound. And then people know almost, they almost know the sales cycle, you know, as well.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: So yeah, you have a certain number of people. I mean, I don\u2019t know how many of the 149 this year you had lined up, but let\u2019s just say it was maybe 30. You know, you had 30 people who like, they were like, they knew last year they were going to buy tribe through you this year.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And you made so 120. You had to bust it for 129. You had to really work hard for one, uh, hundred nineteen, whatever the math is on that. Math was never my specialty. Um, but next year you\u2019ll have 60 who were like, they\u2019re ready in June of this year, you know, July. Like, they\u2019re ready 10 months in advance to join next year. They\u2019re already like, some of these people, they\u2019re saving up their money. M. You know, they\u2019re, they\u2019re, they\u2019re getting domain names. Like they\u2019re doing some of the pre work. Like they\u2019re going to be ready to go on April 21, 2022. Mark your calendars, tell all your friends. Um, like they\u2019re going to be ready. Right. And so you could maybe do the same number of work for it. Sales 119. And just make 30 extra sales. Mhm. Of course you\u2019ll make more than 119.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Oh yeah, I\u2019ve got, um.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Oh, I know you are. Next year it\u2019s like it\u2019s 250 or bust.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: It\u2019s 250. I haven\u2019t said my number officially, but it\u2019s.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: I think it\u2019s 250.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: I like that number.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And here\u2019s the thing, I just want to point out one other thing is like a lot of people think, oh, with the early Runway. Yes. You know, sure, she won the early contest. And maybe the overall, you still won the webinar leads contest, which is pretty freaking amazing because like, this happened. Just to give you, uh, guys some perspective, the webinar registrations really didn\u2019t start until, you know, after about the second, you know, day of the workshop. So the webinar registration period is like five to six days, maybe seven if you go a little long.<\/p>\n And you think, oh, m. People are probably tired of Heidi and Stu by now. No, I mean, they like you still. You won that thing as close up until about the last 36 hours. And you blew everyone out of the water. I feel like it was really, really close going into like the last two days. And it was like, I\u2019m just watching. It\u2019s like Heidi\u2019s up by 100, 200, 300, 400. I mean, it\u2019s like she\u2019s lapping the field all of a sudden, the end. And that just shows, like, the early Runway didn\u2019t stop that late push either. I mean, it just made it even better, I thought. So, um, last few questions here. Heidi, what would you say the number one thing. What was the number one thing you did that led to your success in this promo? Because it really was an amazing promotion. I\u2019m curious if, uh, there\u2019s probably a hundred things you could point to, but is there, like, one that stands out that you say, if, like, if I hadn\u2019t have done that, this would have been a lot worse.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah. So one of the things that you were telling me to do, that I was terrified to do. And the reason I did it is because I was terrified. And I knew. I knew if I. You know, like I said earlier, like, when I\u2019m scared of something, I wash curtains, you know? So, like, I was like, okay. So I remember messaging you and being like, okay, you\u2019re talking about doing this, this private group. And I was terrified. I didn\u2019t want to do it. I don\u2019t know why I was so resistant to it, because last year I was basically, like, sharing all of Sue\u2019s stuff into my membership, which caused a ton of confusion.<\/p>\n People who were, you know, not wanting to do it were starting to feel pressured, um, and they were just wanting to learn how to do the paint party. And here I am, like, blasting, you know, membership, Do a membership, do this, you know, all of this. And so finally, after, like, about two weeks of battling it and just being like, dang it, I don\u2019t want to do it. Like, I don\u2019t want to do it, but I feel like I need to do it. Um, I started this group called Artists who Want to Create a Membership Site. And I remember asking you, I was like, how can I do this where it\u2019s very. Just done right? Like, I don\u2019t want to be tied to it.<\/p>\n And you said something like, well, just do like a 10 day or a 20 day. And I literally named it, um, and 20 day, I named it artists creating membership sites. 20 day pop up group. And within a couple of days, I had over a thousand people join that group. And I just advertised it to my paint party headquarters and my Texas Art and Soul page. And I said, hey, this isn\u2019t for everybody, but if it\u2019s for you, this is where we\u2019re going to be talking about all, ah, things, memberships for 20 days. That\u2019s it. You got 20 days. We\u2019re going to talk about it. I\u2019m going to, you know, if you\u2019re a fit for Tribe, like, I was very open about my, um, I was never like that.<\/p>\n Like, oh, you\u2019re going to get something for free. Oh, here, buy a $2,000 course. Like, I was very open with. He\u2019s going to talk about a course he offers that has changed my life. Like, I was very open about that from the beginning. I never wanted anybody to feel like it was a bait and switch. Like, we\u2019re getting you in this group, and now you\u2019re going to, you know, hopefully we can psychologically sell you on this. No. Like, even in my course, when I had Stu as a guest and when I talk about, you know, tribe, I always, always openly say, this is a course he does once a year. It costs this. But, you know, it\u2019s, you know, we. We think it costs this this year.<\/p>\n This is what it cost last year. And I always kind of over. I\u2019ll say, I think it\u2019s around 2,500, because in case he raises the prices, um, and so I\u2019m very open about it. So they know it\u2019s coming, and they either know they want to learn it or they don\u2019t want to learn it, but they\u2019re never going to come in thinking, oh, Heidi\u2019s doing this free thing for me, and now she wants to. Like, I never want that feeling because I\u2019ve done that before, and it. It bites me in the butt. Like, it\u2019s. It\u2019s bitten me in the butt a few times, and I\u2019m like, I don\u2019t want that feeling.<\/p>\n And I don\u2019t want my artists who were very sensitive souls, like, we. We. We are hard on our sleep. And so I was like, I don\u2019t want to do that to my audience. And I really value, um, how much they trust me. And I really, like. I really put a lot of effort into not just being, here\u2019s something you have to buy because I\u2019m going to make a commission off of it. Like, I tell them this. And so that group was really cool because, um, I could be very unapologetic about. This is what this is about Stu\u2019s lives now. Here\u2019s his sale, here\u2019s his webinar, and I can immediately start, you know, pushing as much as I wanted in that 20 days. And I never felt bad about it because they knew they were coming in for that. So that was a really big tip. So thank you, Matt. I really appreciate that.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: That\u2019s awesome. And I love, I love the name, you know, because like I know it\u2019s what we, um, you asked me, I think it was in Facebook messenger, like, well, what do I name the group? And I\u2019m like, let me give you the formula. It\u2019s audience who wants to blank whatever they want to do.<\/p>\n You know. And I was, and I remember we did the training was like, um, I\u2019m pulling up the example. Like bloggers who want to create recurring revenue. Artists who want to start a membership. Like you just say what it is. Gym owners who want to start an online platform. Stay at home moms who want to earn a side income. Like when you\u2019re naming these groups, people are like, oh, I got to get like super creative. And like use the thoris.comm the source. Yeah, whatever. Um, hard word. Like I, I grew up in North Carolina and went to government run schools. Pronouncing words like that is difficult for me. Look it up and get like super. Like no, you just say the audience who wants to and then the result. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s the name of your Facebook group. You can change it later if you want to come up with something creative.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Well, and what I love about that is again you were saying exactly what you\u2019re going to be talking about. So there\u2019s no question. And I can unarchive this group next year. And now I\u2019ve already have like this huge base of uh, potential customers who really wanted to, I mean a thousand something people didn\u2019t sign up. So I know I already have, you know, almost 900 people that want to potentially sign up for next year.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And I love it because when you start talking membership sites. Membership sites, they\u2019re not confused because the top of the page it says artists who want to start a membership site. And like, uh, you know that the people that are coming there are at least on some level an ideal client. And in a way you kind of want your Facebook page or your Facebook group name to repel people.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yes.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: I mean I want them to look at it and go, that\u2019s not for me.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, I even have a picture of um, me and Stu. I was at a training, so it\u2019s him teaching me something so that they can immediately relate. Oh wait, this is not only artists creating membership sites, 20 day pop up group. But this is Stu teaching Heidi. Like to relate Stu to.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Especially when your audience is, you know, almost 100% women and then suddenly you introduce a dude.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah. They\u2019re like, who\u2019s this guy?<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah. And there can And I know, I mean, you know, like 94% of his audience is female, but they don\u2019t know that. You know, there\u2019s still that like, wait, you know, it\u2019s. You\u2019re from tech, you\u2019re a female from Texas, and he\u2019s a dude from Canada. Like, could you get any more polar opposite, you know, demographically? Right. And so, yeah, creating those, um, like those connections and tying, you know, can like just those subtle things where it\u2019s like, oh, yeah, that\u2019s the guy that was on the whiteboard teaching Heidi. Oh yeah, he\u2019s cool. You know, like. No, there\u2019s no suspicion. So right here\u2019s kind of. As we wrap up the last two questions, what would you do differently? I\u2019m very curious. I. And I truly, I kind of felt like that your number one thing would be. Your number one thing. Uh, just I was narrowed it down to two things. Um, this one, I really don\u2019t know what you would do differently. I\u2019m curious to hear from you.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Oh, uh, my gosh, more sales.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: I know, but still.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, I definitely. Yeah, one more sale for sure. I should have just bought it myself. No, no, I would not have felt right. And um, I think I. For sure, which we have already tweaked and are ready for next year, that I moved my May launch, which I\u2019ve always had because it\u2019s kind of like anniversary, you know, it\u2019s my third year anniversary. We just had our May launch. So, um, I moved my. I already have my plan, my marketing plan for 2022.<\/p>\n And so I moved my, um, my big spring launch to March. So that is the biggest thing because then that new influx of people is done. And I\u2019m already in the middle of teaching Outer Limits, which, you know, I pre record. So that\u2019s kind of already off my shoulders. And then I\u2019m just, you know, helping people, um, and doing, you know, the Q and A and stuff like that. Um, but as far as like strategy, um, wise, I mean, we went, we went all in. So like, I think, you know, maybe I don\u2019t know if I would open up the artists who want it, you know, the 20 day pop up group.<\/p>\n I think I would still keep that at 20 days. And um, I think I will still, you know, hopefully be learning some new tips from you, Matt, that will help me be able to do that, you know, even to hit those higher numbers. Um, I think I would maybe take a day or two. Like, I know this sounds cheesy, but I think I would just schedule out like time to go out to eat every day of the launch. Because I think what happened was I got very focused and then I just. I didn\u2019t even. I just worked, worked, worked, worked, worked.<\/p>\n And it got. I kind of got a little. A little obsessed and so maybe like, you know, put it out all on the table just like I did. I would definitely still. And I will be going just as strong as I did last year, but, um, but maybe taking, like, some moments to just like, I mean, we had fun. Definitely. Like, I had so much fun with it. I will definitely add more of that in, like, the trash talk. Like, I love that. Like, I think that\u2019s getting, um, my whole thing, get my teenage daughter to trash talk people on the leaderboard. Like, that is so fun to me. Um, in a competitive spirit. I hope y\u2019 all can hear that. But I think just having like an hour a day to just go, okay, this is real life. Like, this is fun. This is intense for a few weeks, but we still have real life. You know, maybe that, but I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know. Like, I. Maybe I\u2019m just still too close to it to know for sure.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah. And I think it\u2019s important. Like, you know, it\u2019s cliche, but self care and keeping up your energy for the end so that you can. You can be creative. Uh, here\u2019s what I would say to that, I think, pre your launch, because, you know, your launch will be in March now, and you\u2019ll need that decompression time between, of course. Um, so pre your lunch. I would do as much. You know, I would probably plan like a full strategy day.<\/p>\n You may even do this with your creative club, you know, and your team and do it to get, you know, just kind of like get away and do like a planning for this launch and outline even right down to like the email themes. And, you know, you might even like, have subject lines in mind and things like that. I would analyze what worked from this one and keep like, you know, let\u2019s just say I\u2019m just making up the numbers. You sent 10 emails, and seven of them had really good open rates and really good click rates.<\/p>\n Well, let\u2019s just keep those. But let\u2019s completely go back to the drawing board on the other three. Let\u2019s everything about them. Let\u2019s redo it, you know, and then I would. I would come up with my stories and my content. Like, I would have all that you mentioned earlier, like, all the content for the Facebook group. You had to, like, invent that this time, you know, and you\u2019re coming up. Uh, sometimes you\u2019re coming up with it, like, and posting it live, maybe, you know. Well, then next year, it\u2019s like, we did this with one of the Facebook groups that we run for a challenge.<\/p>\n Oh. We preloaded everything. Um, like, these. These posts would go out, and I was like, oh, yeah, we scheduled that, like, four weeks ago. Like, nice. You know, and so you can schedule those things in advance. Right. And then, like you said that frees you up to, like, to execute the plan, to do the lives, to do all that. Like, you said, to be able to watch a movie, you know, and to go for a walk. And so if I know, for me, when we\u2019re running these big launches, as you can imagine, it\u2019s, you know, it\u2019s 14 hours a day for about three straight weeks. It just feels like it\u2019s go, go, go. But one of the things that we instituted this year was we, um. Basically. So Robby and I alternated, um, nights and weekend days. So I was off a full day every week of the launch.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Oh, good.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And I was off, um, three or four nights of the week. So even if you. Even if. Just for the record, even if you got an email response from Matt McWilliams, it was Robby.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Um, you know, like, I wasn\u2019t working. And I just remember, like, I got to go to my kids soccer. Uh-huh. And it felt like. And I got to eat out and life was normal m. Half the time. And then the other half, it was complete and utter chaos and busyness and people messaging me, you know, and. And just what am I doing? Oh, that\u2019s. Shoot, I forgot to send that email. Let me type. You know, that\u2019s what it was only half the time as opposed to all the time. And so when it got to the end of the launch, like, you saw this, like, we did some really creative things, you know, during OpenCart. Most of that stuff actually came up on the fly because I actually had the mental bandwidth to be able to do those things. Whereas normally by about the third day of OpenCart, I\u2019m like, I just want this launch to end.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And so that\u2019s important. If you plan out as much, advance and then, you know, and reuse as much as possible, identify where it\u2019s at, and then, yes, take, you know, take the time for self care. Get the exercise. Like, that was like, I didn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t work out like an hour and 20 minutes. I was working out, like, 40 minutes, but it was 40 minutes, like, every day. Come Hell or high water. I was, you know, I was in the gym. Sometimes I\u2019m like on the phone. I remember one day I was talking to, uh, um. Shoot. Who was it? I think it was Paul. And I was on the road. I\u2019m like, dude, if you\u2019re gonna talk to me right now, I\u2019m on the rowing machine. He\u2019s like, it took me like three minutes to explain something that normally takes five seconds because I was like, okay. What? You. Yeah, and so, yeah, that\u2019s, that\u2019s, uh, super important. I think that\u2019ll keep you going through the end, which will help you finish strong.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, I think so too. I think just moving that launch, you know, ahead, it\u2019s going to help a lot. And just taking a lot of the things I learned. And also the, the, um, tip you gave me at the end was so, so helpful that I\u2019m like that I\u2019m sorry email and that I\u2019m sorry. And, um. Oh my gosh. I had people like messaging. They were just like, oh, my gosh, thank you so much for that. They were feeling so much pressure, you know.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And this is. Which email was this? Because I. There\u2019s two that I might have given you.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So this one was the. This was the last. Um, you said it was from this cupcake girl or Kara Andretta.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: The Carrie Andretta email. Yeah, yeah. So we name all of our emails. We name our emails after people are, um, you know, kind of like the theme of the email. So a lot of them, like we have a John Workman email, We have a Kara Andretta email. Uh, we have the screw you, Matt email.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: What\u2019s that one about?<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Oh, the subject line is screw you, Matt.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Um, what do you send them? Like, I think I\u2019m seeing emails.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: It\u2019s a re Engagement email that really works well. Uh, actually, I know we got a bunch of replies to it recently and it\u2019s basically like, uh, hey, I noticed you haven\u2019t opened any emails recently. Are you saying screw you, Matt, or what?<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Oh, my gosh. My audience would not be okay with.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: That because they haven\u2019t opened an email and you know, in like, in so many days. So it\u2019s like I need them to open this to get reengaged, you know, So I get it. And like, we get a couple of anger emails, but it\u2019s like, well, you haven\u2019t opened an email in three months.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah, we\u2019re paying for you to be on that email list either.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Get out. That\u2019s why you\u2019re getting this email. Uh, I\u2019m cool if you Unsubscribe. But, yeah, so we have, like, the tough questions email. We had the midnight, you know, the midnight mover email. But, yeah, the Kara Andretta email. So that\u2019s. That\u2019s a good one. Um, tell it, like, tell us about how you use that real quick, and then we\u2019ll. We\u2019ll wrap up.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: So basically, it was basically kind of giving them an out. So it was like, you know, I\u2019m sorry, and it\u2019s okay, or no, it was more like, it\u2019s okay. And it was about, um, you know, it\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t do this. I\u2019m still gonna love you if you don\u2019t sign up for this. You know, course it. Maybe it\u2019s not the right time for you. And so I did three different things with this basic script.<\/p>\n I sent an email and, you know, typed it up, and then I sent, um, a voice message, actually. I filmed it as, like, a video, and I, um, put it on YouTube. And then I sent it through my community app and said, I filmed a short video for you. Please watch. And so they immediately, from their text message, could see the, you know, it\u2019s okay video. And then I also, um, ran it as I did a Facebook Live, or I took that same video. It was like a minute long. And then I ran it as a Facebook ad to all the people that I had been running ads to for the past few weeks, because I wanted them to see, you know, and I just put in the subject, it\u2019s okay. And then that way, they wanted to watch it because they\u2019re like, wait, why is it okay? What\u2019s she doing different? You know? And so it really. I think it went a long way with, um. Again, I have an artist creative group that\u2019s very sensitive, you know, and so talked about that.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: Yeah.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah. When they\u2019re getting hit a lot and they\u2019re filling this. I mean, I literally, before I had sent that, I had gotten a message on my, um, text acts. I have about 3,000 people on my texting. And, um, one of the ladies was like, I am so sorry I let you and Stu down. And I\u2019m like, you didn\u2019t let us down. Like, I mean, they are taking it to heart. And I\u2019m like, oh, my gosh. So then. So then I, um. So once I sent that, it was almost like the ones that couldn\u2019t do it or weren\u2019t ready for it, because a lot of people, you know, they.<\/p>\n Especially if you\u2019re following somebody. And I know I do this too. Like, if I\u2019m following somebody, and I just want to know what they know. Like, if they tell me to buy something, I\u2019m just going buy it. Like, I usually don\u2019t question it. And, you know, if it\u2019s a 2000, our course, of course we got to have a little bit more of a talk about it. Sure. You know, but when you have somebody you respect and has always led you in the right direction, and then they\u2019re telling you, buy this, buy this, buy this for, you know, well over a week. And, um, some of my members. And I\u2019m so glad you had sent me that idea. It\u2019s like they needed to know it was okay if they didn\u2019t buy it, that I was still going to love them, that I was still going to show up for them. So that, um, really went a long way with my group. So I appreciate that.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And I mean, admittedly, it works to sell, too, you know, because it\u2019s, um. When you kind of do, you know, we want to turn the pressure because most people respond to that. But, like, to your point, you know, I, uh, literally read this article today, and it was talking about, um. I, uh, forget the exact context of it, but it was talking about how, you know, as we\u2019re recording this, you know, the CDC has, like, completely reversed course in their messaging from fear to hope.<\/p>\n And the very simple reason they did that is psychologically fear. And there\u2019s a reason they call it fomo. It is genuine fear of missing out. Fear works. Fear is a great form of marketing for a very short period of time. And what the CDC finally got and this. I remember talking to people about this back in, like, January. I was like, like, I\u2019m not here to debate, like, the whole, like, wear a mask, don\u2019t wear a mask, get a vaccine. Like, that\u2019s not my thing. But you can\u2019t hammer people with fear for an entire year and expect that to work. It\u2019s psychologically proven not to work.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Yeah.<\/p>\n Matt McWilliams: And so they reverse course to this message of hope because the fear wasn\u2019t working anymore and they had to do it. And the same is true with, like, there\u2019s a deadline. There\u2019s a deadline. There\u2019s a deadline. There\u2019s a deadline. You\u2019re going to miss it for a year. For a year, For a year. Tribe only opens up once a year. Once a year. Once a year. And it\u2019s like, oh, my gosh. People start to get. They get paralyzed.<\/p>\n Heidi Easley: Ah.<\/p>\n If you are ready to take your business to the next level and start an affiliate program, start with my free report, Your First 100 Affiliates<\/i>. This report takes nearly two decades of experience, trial and error, and lessons learned about finding top affiliates in nearly every conceivable niche and puts them all into one report. Grab your copy here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nDon\u2019t Miss An Episode \u2013 Subscribe Below<\/h3>\n
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