[00:00:00] Tracie:

Hello, everyone. Tracie here, your resident business, rebel, and your listening to Digital Business Your Way podcast. The show that lets true stories and insider secrets of online entrepreneur life unfold. Our business world is growing and as an online business coach and digital product creator, I believe you didn't become an entrepreneur to grin and bear your way through business. So I'll be your guide.

[00:00:24] As we drop in on coaching calls, have intimate sit downs with online personalities. You love. And discuss ideas, opportunities and strategies circulating our online world. So pop in your earbuds, tap, follow, and join me as I demystify. This thing called business. Hello, everyone. Oh, my goodness. Is it okay that I'm saying hello? It's, it's good to be back for what is, well, accidentally season two. , a lot of things happened and we'll, we'll dig into that in another episode, but let's say that last season [00:01:00] we dug into what it really means to run an online business on, on your terms.

[00:01:05] Right. And wow. Thank you. Because your response was incredible. I mean, the people who have come up to me in real life events and have like drop me DMS and just told me. that they listen and what it means to them. It, it, it, it always makes me blush. And um, it's, I don't know, it, it, you know, it means a lot. It, it does.

[00:01:29] And uh, I'm, I'm very grateful. And Thank you. Thank you for, for the trust and for the attention. And, you know, I always want to make sure that these mean something to you. So I look at what the downloaded episodes are. I look at your comments. I look at the questions that you ask and, you know, I pay attention to those to see what do you want more of, right?

[00:01:50] Um, so some of our most downloaded episodes last season were all about low ticket offers and sales strategies and industry trends and where you want to get [00:02:00] rid of some of that jargon, right? What, what do we need to get back to the root of what it means and, uh, where we need a bit of a detox. And of course those, those ask me anything episodes, um, you know, keep those questions coming in because clearly you love.

[00:02:16] That little business real talk, which, I, I enjoy too, I will say, and if you're here because you want to build a business that feels good and sells well, well, you're in exactly the right place. And this season we're, we're going to double down on that idea that your business, your offers, your sales strategies, that.

[00:02:35] They're going to work for you. You know, that it's not just some copy and paste bullshit that drains your energy and feels completely misaligned. So, the theme that we're going to kind of in on this season, it's definitely about embracing that, that unique style. That's you, right. You know, transforming that authenticity into profit.

[00:02:57] I mean, that, that's the whole reason that I built my [00:03:00] business around the your style method and we create, your offer style and your sales style and your launch style and your community style is. So that way it can all be about you. So we're going to talk about how to break free from these rigid one size fits all tactics and create strategies that actually fit your strengths and your value and your audience at the core.

[00:03:23] Because when you sell in a way that aligns with you, well, that's when things really start to click. Right. And of course we have some amazing guests lined up, some familiar voices, some new faces, and they will all be sharing their expertise. And we're going to talk about things like how to make these meta ads actually work for you without wasting your money.

[00:03:47] Right. Cause nobody likes to waste money. We don't like to waste effort. And You know, people have so many things around these platforms. Well, what else is out there? What, where else can we be? And if we're going to be there, how do we do it? [00:04:00] Well, right. about like leveraging YouTube to grow your business without a huge production team and Pinterest.

[00:04:06] And of course we're going to talk about launch strategies that actually match your energy and how to stay true to yourself when creating offers and writing copy and even what it takes to build a business with your partner who, yeah, without, you know, like strangling each other on a daily basis. So, you know, I, I love surprises.

[00:04:26] Hopefully you do too. So we're going to have some unfiltered solo episodes. We're going to do some deep dives and, and of course, more of those ask me anything sessions. cause those kind of feel the show, right? So whether you've been here since the beginning or you're just jumping in now, I'm glad that you're here.

[00:04:45] And make sure that you have subscribed so you don't miss a single episode. ++ And if you're loving the podcast, um, I'd love it if you left a review, you know, let me know, let me know what you think. Let others know, cause it, it also helps people find [00:05:00] the show. And it helps me know exactly what you're after and what you want.

[00:05:04] So let's, let's get into season two. It's your business, it's your way, and let's go.

[00:05:11] Today we are diving into a topic that it's been on many, many minds. it time to burn the rule book on what should work in business? Cause if there's one question I've been asked over and over again from business owners and really business owners at every level.

[00:05:33] I mean, people that are well into seven figures, probably even eight. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it's what's actually going to work in 2025. Right. And we're already, you know, a couple months in to it and people are still. Well, kind of throwing away their, their plans that they made last November.

[00:05:52] And they're trying to figure out what are they going to do? Cause 2024, it didn't go as expected for a lot of people. And when I say a [00:06:00] lot of people, the trend that I noticed as I was having these conversations and as I was listening to others and, and seeing the kind of, The emotions that were around it, I noticed that the people who were having these feels tend to be the businesses that followed more, shall we call them traditional methods, right?

[00:06:23] Those were the ones that tend to find the launch numbers weren't the same, the offers, the, the methodologies that used to convert easily. They started feeling harder. Even business owners pulling in high revenue, they found themselves questioning their next move. So today we're going to talk about why these old strategies, why do they feel like they're failing now?

[00:06:46] You know, what's really changing in our industry and how you can approach business differently to stay ahead. Because 2024 was a year of unexpected twists for many in our industry. Like I'll, I'll [00:07:00] save old school strategies because they, supposedly were standing the test of time, right? Cause our industry has been around for a good 30 years.

[00:07:09] And so far over and over they were working, they were working, they were working with just minor tweaks, which is minor accommodations. And this time, a lot of them broke. Right. Strategies at once delivered these consistent results. They just kind of faltered and it wasn't just the experiences of emerging entrepreneurs trying them for the first time.

[00:07:33] It was, you know, these people, like I was saying, like well into seven figures and multiple six, you know, it's not the first time they've, they've done these things. People that were not necessarily You know, just on rinse and repeat, but they had these things down where they had their systems. They had their SOPs.

[00:07:52] They had this stuff going that most people are trying to get to, right? They know [00:08:00] how to read data. They know how to look back at things and it still wasn't working. There were still these challenges. There were still these parts that just felt like, what is going on? So if you've been feeling like the things that once worked, they, they didn't anymore.

[00:08:19] You know that you're not alone. That wasn't some, you know, weird, what's wrong with me sort of feeling. You're very much on point here. Because the online business space, it's shifting fast, as it should, right? Because we're online, we're digital. Our stuff should be going fast. And the same old copy and paste tactics, they're not landing like they used to.

[00:08:39] And we're going to talk about, like, three very specific reasons. Um, but the beauty of this is that there can be a myriad of them, right? And, and I love hearing from you. What, what do you think? What are your takes on these? What do you think about the ones that are brought up? And what do you think about the ones that I didn't dive into here?

[00:08:54] Because we can of course have multiple conversations about this. Yeah. Because we've talked about on [00:09:00] past episodes that marketing consumer sophistication has increased, right? And I applaud this. I think this is a beautiful thing. because this is a beautiful opportunity for differentiation and for coming into your own.

[00:09:13] Right? But as a whole, like, what does it mean? What are we looking at? It's that people are more selective about who they buy from and they expect more from digital products and from coaching programs because they understand the game. They've seen it before. So they're a bit more leery. And for the many who have had, shall we say, less than stellar experiences, which, I mean, you all know how I feel about those.

[00:09:40] I'm very, very unhappy about these things. Well, it's now your job to help rebuild that trust that other people have destroyed just in order to get your message through, let alone to get any sort of buying experience to come out. Right? the second one, I find kind of interesting and I'm, [00:10:00] I'm going to throw two statistics at you.

[00:10:02] First one comes from financial times that the online education space is seeing an investment slowdown. It's dropped to 3 billion in 2024 from its peak of 17. 3 billion in 2021. And the decline was attributed to the rise of free generative AI tools. Those have basically like diminished the demand for paid online learning tools, right?

[00:10:28] So what this is basically saying is that the traditional courses, they're not selling like they used to, that people want something different. So in 2021, we had this peak of 17. 3 billion. And in 2024, we were down to 3 billion. Yeah. Yet the international coaching federation, It's estimating that the coaching industry, which it has already valued for 2024 at 6.

[00:10:54] 25 billion, they're projecting it to reach around 7. 3 [00:11:00] billion in 2025. So the coaching industry is double what the online digital course space is, and they're expecting it to grow. Now I'm pointing these two out because one, a lot of us that coach, we also have digital products, right? We see this as a, a whole offer suite that these things kind of go together.

[00:11:21] It's a way for us to duplicate our efforts and work with many people. Yeah. But I also want to point out that these shifts, it shows us that this, this consumer behavior, right? That these people who are buying, they're seeking more genuine connection and tailored solutions. So while the decline of the online education space, the Financial Times is saying that it's, it's less demand for paid online learning tools that they're not selling like they used to, because people are able to get it for free through AI.

[00:11:56] Yeah. But then the coaching space is bigger and is [00:12:00] also growing because people are able to get genuine connection and tailored solutions in that space, right? So what can that mean for you? It doesn't mean even if all you have right now are digital courses or digital products as a whole, right? It doesn't mean that people aren't buying it means that they aren't investing what they can get for free.

[00:12:21] But they are hunting for what only you can provide that connection, that tailored solutions, not the stuff they get online as people are scrounging for SEO credits. So they're just, you know, making open public blogging, everything they can and open sourcing at all, or what an AI can spit out. They are hunting.

[00:12:44] Um, for a place where someone can say, this is how it applies to you. This is how we make this very standard, very, tried and true methodology. This is how we make it work for you, right? [00:13:00] That is very real. That is very sellable. That is something that we can continue to do over and over and over again.

[00:13:06] And as we know, it works beautifully. with our digital products. It's something that we can see how can this fit into our capacity and still continue to grow. This is something that we can easily build into our launching systems. Easily build into our marketing messages. Right? So it's not a case of this stuff isn't working anymore.

[00:13:29] It's as the marketing consumer sophistication is growing. Then let's match them. And guess what? We crave that too. We're craving this connection. We're craving to know these people. We're wanting to have that and they're wanting it as well. So this actually sounds like a win win for us. We just have to walk away from those fear based copy and paste tactics and instead come together to build the things that both of us want, the consumer and the creator.

[00:13:59] Yeah.

[00:13:59] [00:14:00] And then the third one that we were talking about that I hinted at with that second one with the AI portion, right? AI and automation, they're, they're changing the way people consume content. They're changing the way you and I do what we do, right? Just look at your own behavior. Look at the behavior of the people around you and business owners who rely on these kind of, you know, I mean basically templated the, the sales strategies without any form of personalization.

[00:14:27] You're going to continue to struggle. You're going to continue to struggle to stand out. Right? Because we have to have those differentiators. People don't just want more information. They want thoughtful, personalized experience. This is the same thing that happened whenever the dawn of the information age with the internet to begin with.

[00:14:48] People could now just search for things, they could find things for free. They didn't even need to buy encyclopedias anymore, they could look it up. Right? This is why wikis are so popular. The information is out there, the information is [00:15:00] free. But how to apply it to your situation. How to have someone come that has passion, that has understanding, that can take on the situation.

[00:15:12] Right? That is something that comes from a human to a human experience. That's somebody who knows how to tailor your guidance, whether you choose to record it or do it live or do it through audio or do it in video or do it in a PDF. It doesn't matter. That's just the vehicle for delivery, right? What they're after is the passion, the understanding, your ability to take on that situation.

[00:15:38] Um, and to say, this is my lived experience and I'm going to use it to help you get through what you're going through right now, right? Thoughtful personalized experience. That's the part that cannot be duplicated right now. We have to help people apply the knowledge to what's going on with them.

[00:15:58] And what does that mean? As we [00:16:00] continue into 2025, well, hopefully it's becoming cleared that the key to success lies into developing these personalized sales and offer strategies, The ones that actually align with who we truly are, with our values, with the kind of businesses that we want to build with the communities that we want.

[00:16:18] It's moving away from generic tactics, this copy and pasting of other approaches. And instead, tailoring these strategies to reflect your unique strengths, your unique values, what you feel, what you want to be, who you want to be like, what you want others to see, but you will still leverage technology thoughtfully.

[00:16:40] Yeah. Embrace digital tools, embrace the platforms. They will enhance your ability to connect with your audience when you do it right, when you do still do it to that extent of aligning with their values, right? When your values become that litmus test, yeah? [00:17:00] And that is, that's how you're able to find that, that beautiful harmony.

[00:17:05] Of your capacity so you don't accidentally give so much that you have nothing left for yourself or for your family, right? Is by leveraging that technology, but thoughtfully and then focusing on that genuine engagement, prioritize building real relationships over transactions, right? That's what we always say around here.

[00:17:23] Connection over transaction. How do you want people to feel being in your space, reading your messages, being in your programs? Infuse that everywhere and into everything, right? By aligning our business approaches with our true selves, we not only differentiate ourselves in a crowded market, but also foster deeper connections with our audience, leading to sustainable success.

[00:17:50] Okay? We're going to dive deeper into this idea specifically around launching. And I'm excited to announce a, a coming limited series. It's going to run [00:18:00] tangentially with the podcast. So you'll get a regular podcast episode and, a, limited series, which is called. Your launch style stories and, if that's something that interests you, of course, please listen.

[00:18:12] But I also wanted to make sure they were separate in case it's not something that interests you. But in this series, I'm bringing real business owners, some who have found their launch rhythm and some who are still figuring it out, to talk about the strategies that worked and the ones that didn't. Yeah.

[00:18:28] And, you know, we're going to like kind of dive into what it actually takes to create a business that supports your goals and your life. So stay tuned for those episodes, which, you know, they're, they're going to be available alongside no, no opt in required. because that fits well into my values and you don't want to miss them.

[00:18:46] But as, as we embark on like. Well, basically like the rest of the year and this new season, I want to encourage you to reflect on what are your current strategies. Okay. What are the things that you have going on? What are the kinds of things that [00:19:00] you are witnessing and ask? Are they truly aligned with who you are in the business you want to create?

[00:19:08] Are they with your audience? You know, Many of you know that I teach an approach called observe, analyze, and act. Yeah. I've done, you know, previous episodes on this. It's a simple but powerful way to start uncovering what's working for you and what's not. And it's a great one to bring into this conversation as we're talking about what on earth is going to work in 2025.

[00:19:31] Yeah. So observe, we're going to start by paying attention to how different strategies feel. Like, like physically feel, okay, look at your own launches, your sales process, and even how you are engaging with other peoples. What feels forced and what feels, I don't know, kind of, kind of yummy. You know, I feel like the word aligned is said a lot.

[00:19:55] I feel like I've said it to me too much in this episode, but it's, it's like what, [00:20:00] what feels good. What feels light versus what feels forced. And just start noticing these things, all right, step one, observing, then we move into analyze. We're going to take a step back and ask, is this working? Is this draining me?

[00:20:17] Sometimes we stick to methods out of habit, but a lot of times it's out of fear. We're outsourcing our power, really, you know, it's like, oh, but somebody said this is going to work. Oh, but this person knows more than me. Oh, but this person has been at it longer. Oh, this person makes more than me. That, you know, they have this perceived advantage, authority over us.

[00:20:38] And so we, we stick to their way when everything in us is like, this is so gross. I don't want to do it anymore. So that's what, that's what we're asking. Is this working? Is this draining you, right? Because we want to find the things that we're sticking to, not because they're actually serving us. What feels like an uphill battle?

[00:20:58] Because that's a sign that something needs to [00:21:00] change. And also, what do you feel neutral about? Right? Because, you know, you've made a lot of observations about your stuff and somebody else's stuff. So, what do you feel neutral about? What feels exciting? What feels fun? What feels light? Okay? Good, bad, indifferent.

[00:21:14] We want to observe it all. We want to analyze it all. act. Cause once you have the awareness, well, that's when you get to start shifting, right? That's when you get to clean up your stuff. Okay. Cause Lord knows this does not mean burning everything down. It just means testing with small adjustments.

[00:21:34] Simplify those offers, shift the messaging, even just taking out one sentence, even just changing one word, even just altering the images, right? Rethinking these certain strategies. The idea is to change in a way that matches your strength and your energy. This is where micro actions can be your big heroes, right?

[00:21:55] Because we don't want to make too many changes at once or we start to kind of, you know, [00:22:00] kind of hyperventilate and freak out a little bit and nothing feels safe anymore. You know, we always keep our central nervous system settled. Yeah. We always keep that grounded energy. Okay. This is exactly the kind of work that we're going to dive into all year, figuring out what actually works for you.

[00:22:17] If you want more conversations like this, if you want these kind of like short punchy things, if you want to dive deep and get all like academic and jargon busting, you know I'm here for all of it. So, you know, subscribe. Let me know because this season is going to be packed with experts, with real talk, with strategies that you need to grow your digital business your way.

[00:22:37] If you found today helpful, leave a review, send me a DM, you know, find a way to help other entrepreneurs find the show. Right. And please join the conversation. cause I, I love to hear from you. The, the AMA box. Yes. It's to ask questions, but it's also just to like submit ideas and leave comments too.

[00:22:57] Yeah. Just away, away to, to [00:23:00] send me a message, but. This one's going to be a little short and sweet today as, we kind of, you know, reflect back and look to what's coming up, because I really want to hear from you and know, how was your 2024 and what are you thinking as we move into the third month of 2025, are you excited?

[00:23:23] Are you wondering what on earth am I doing? You know, are you sitting at your next launches or your next sales things trying to figure out how to move forward or should you just go ahead and do what you've always done because you're not even sure what to do, right? So lean into observe, analyze and act and lean into these conversations and until the next episode, be well and have some fun. Thank you for joining me here on Digital Business Your Way. Be sure to check out the show notes for all the links mentioned today. And while you're there, I'd love for you to rate and review the show. And if you have a topic or question [00:24:00] you want me to answer, I want to hear it. Head to TraciePatterson.com/AMA and ask me anything about business.

[00:24:07] If I don't know it, I'm bringing up with one of my guests. And until next week, be well and have some fun.