HOW I do it all. (Detailed Instructions).

This is how I approach my career, and all the gear I use. It's what I'd do if I started over too.

Detailed Instructions On How I Approach My Career and All the Gear, Systems and Team Needed Have you ever wanted to start a career like mine? Or are you looking to scale your existing audience? Would you like to be an author, speaker, life coach, business advisor, online trainer, or social media influencer and thought leader? Then you're in luck. Today, by popular demand, I'm starting a new series for you guys called the Influencer Series "Let's Get to Work." It's a free series I'll be sending you, with full behind-the-scenes instructions about my career. Whether you want to be a full-time, highly-paid *influencer* or not, this series will show you how I approach business, marketing, team, leadership, selling, and standing out in a crowded market. I'm asked those questions all the time, so I finally put together a series for you. Today, I'm beginning the series answering the question I receive the most:   "Brendon, HOW do I do all this? What tools, strategies, systems, and cameras do you use?" To give context, let's start with how I define my career. My mission is to inspire and instruct others on how to improve their lives and achieve their goals faster. It's about changing lives. On the "influencer" or personal brand part of my business, it's simple: I train and coach people on personal development or business marketing. Those are my two areas of passion expertise: personal development (emphasis in high performance) and business (emphasis in marketing and sales). To demonstrate my passion and expertise in these areas, and to engage an audience who cares about them, I post videos, blogs, and social media that adds value. Every. Single. Day. To make the career a real business, though, I monetize my content and experience by selling books, seminar tickets, subscriptions, coaching programs, and online courses. That's how I make a living. (I'm teaching all the business stuff, with some other top influencers, at INFLUENCER 2019 in San Diego, Oct 10-12. Tickets on sale here.) What's Your Marketing Strategy? 1. I post 4 times per day on Facebook, 2-3 times on Instagram (plus daily stories), and once per week on my blog, YouTube and LinkedIn. (In fact, the blog, YouTube, and many of the social media posts are actually all quotes or video clips from ONE video I do each week. It's usually 10-20 minutes long, then we put it on the blog and cut it up into social media. We also pull the audios from the video and make them podcast episodes. (More on that below). 2. To drive actual sales for the business, I've always kept it simple. I post things on social media or run Facebook/Instagram ads that drive people to an "optin page" where I capture emails. Once I have someone's email, I send 4-5 extremely valuable training videos to them, at no cost. Then I send some emails that offer more help and tell them about my products and services. It works really well and keeps a good balance. People love the value and don't mind the sales because you've given so much at no cost. People like knowing that if they want to go deeper there are options for that. 3. I have two podcasts, The Brendon Show Podcast and HPX Podcast. Both debuted #1 in their category on no budget. People always ask about tech, and it's super easy. I record my podcasts with my phone, video camera or a travel microphone that plugs into my computer. Like most podcasters, I host the podcast on Libsyn, which is where Apple, Google, Spotify, and Stitcher "pull" the audio from. What about interviewing other people? I don't do that, but if I did, I'd use this H6 recorder and these fancy microphones plugged into it. (You need two mics - one for you, one for your guest, both plug into the recorder). If I wanted to sound as good as Joe Rogan, I'd upgrade and get these world-class microphones. (I used those for Transformation Week and loved loved em!) For audio software, I just use Garageband on my Mac, or my team uses Adobe Premiere for fancy stuff. 4. I don't get sponsor ads or affiliates for any of my social media, YouTube shows, or podcasts. But I'm not against it. I prefer to write my own destiny and not rely on them. Sponsors and affiliates take a lot of work away from creativity for me. Personally, I love the fact that I'm not putting advertising from mattress companies or underwear or nonsense in your ears! This was a significant choice: after a decade, tens of millions of downloads and hundreds of millions of views -- I probably said no thanks to an estimated $21 million by now. But again, I earn money from selling my own books, courses, events, subscriptions, swag, etc. It's easier, more lucrative, and more in line with my art and lifestyle. But there are plenty of models for getting sponsors, affiliates, partners, and investors, all of which we will also be teaching at INFLUENCER 2019. What Other Gear & Systems Do You Use? Technically, almost everything I do involves posting content on public systems (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn) that require no technical knowledge. The hard part *used* to be building marketing pages, accepting money online, and hosting courses. Now that's much easier with all the new systems available today.  The gear is also easier to use, and cheaper. Honestly, you could do 50% of this entire business with just your phone. But if you want the real scale and moola, then you'll need websites, email providers, systems and such. So here's E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.... For building web pages, capturing email, sending automated emails, accepting money, and creating membership sites and subscriptions, I use Kajabi. One system. They do it all, and they're the best membership system on the planet. It's stunningly simple for me and the team to use, to sell anything! (Disclaimer: I loved Kajabi so much, I invested in them, mostly so they'd build everything I asked them too faster :0). I got you a 30-day trial here if you'd like to use them. For cameras, it depends on how "fancy" I need. I use my iPhone to film socials and ads. When I'm vlogging, I use a Sony RX100 for simple stuff, and if I want it fancier I use a Panasonic Lumix GH5 with this lens. For online courses, major interviews, or documentaries, I've always used the Cannon C100 or C300 with this lens because those can record for hours and hours. I shot over 20 online courses with the C100. But, honestly, if I was starting over I'd just use that GH5 setup - way cheaper. (If you prefer Sony to Lumix, or need a camera that's great for low-lighting situations, then I'd use the Sony A7). The benefit of the RX100 or GH5 is that the screen pivots out and flips so you can see yourself when vlogging. You'll need a microphone for the top of your GH5 or A7 camera, and also a wireless lavalier to pin on your shirt or for interviews. When out and about, I just put the camera on a GorillaPod Tripod.) Don't forget to order SD Cards with your camera because they don't come with them. For lighting, I keep it simple and use either a Ring Light or fancier light boxes when filming courses or longer YouTubes. For office setup, I'm a NUT. I have this standing desk in all white. I purposely like the manual lifting, but I also own this electric one. I hang white sound panels on the wall from these guys. (I use big ones! The 8'x4'x2' panels. I get the white fabric in the standard DMD Fabric and Roxul Rockboard Core (Standard). I also use smaller lighting sticks like these in my home office if filming, because I don't like the bulk of the big lighting boxes. (These days I just built-in a bunch of LED lights on top of the sound walls or hanging from the ceiling so the whole room is like daylight all the time!) *NOTE: I am absolutely *NOT* sponsored by any company above. However, some of the links are Amazon affiliate links, meaning I may be compensated if you purchase them.   What about Team? As far as team, I was solo for my first seven figures in revenue. Yes - I literally did it all. For a DECADE, I built every webpage, sent every email, did every post when social media came along, coded every checkout... e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Why? Because I'm a geek and wanted to control my destiny by learning the critical skills. I don't think I hired anyone until I'd made a few million bucks. No kidding. Then I started working with contractors slowly, mostly for customer service, fulfillment and seminar support. Today, I have about 20 people on teams who focus on my personal brand and programs. They keep everything running while I focus on creating content and delivering training or coaching. I love them like family and they take great care of you guys. At my events, we also have my mom and an extended family of volunteers who help us manage the huge audiences. I'm always fond of reminding people that I began and made quite a mark solo. This is *not* a business you need a huge team. I have a team because I had larger ambitions to serve more people worldwide. But still, if you look at it, I basically only added perhaps one person per year during my entire career. Could I have a bigger reach now if I'd hired earlier - sure. But I also had unbelievable lifestyle. I may not be the biggest, but I'm the happiest. I found my preferred balance. To start... you just need YOU... the you that shows up ready for work. When you knock on the door of opportunity, never be surprised that it is Work who answers. Follow the strategies we're all teaching you at INFLUENCER 2019 and you'll be just fine. No doubt. When thinking about team, begin with the end in mind. What do you want your lifestyle to look like? What aspects of the career would you enjoy, versus prefer to delegate? How large of a company do you want? Local or global? Thousands of customers or millions? For roles, the larger teams in our industry ultimately grow into needing roles like CMOs, COOs, project managers, video editors, graphic designers, funnel builders / email team, customer service, ads team, social media team, partner manager, etc. Like I said, at the beginning, that was all ME, for a long time. A decade. And I LOVED IT. When I was ready for major scale, I hired in this order: customer service, operations/fulfillment manager, event manager, videographer. That was pretty much it for 7 or 8 years I think. I outsourced some ad stuff, then brought it in house. Then I got more customer service support and event support. In the last few years, I went from basically 4-5 people to 20 as I decided to bring on more marketing support, video, podcast, project management, social, and high-end customer liaisons (team who supports our VIPs). What If You Had to Start Over? Well, it depends on my goals. Of course it would be different for everyone. At heart, I am a writer first, a coach second, and an online trainer third. Those are my passions, so I want a career and model that allows me to do those things. Yours might be different, which is why you should absolutely attend INFLUENCER to know your options. Personally, I would: Go live every day or every other day on Facebook and Instagram. I'd share my goals and my journey, and teach some good tips for how people can succeed. Every other session, I'd mention an optin page where people can go to enter their email for something awesome from me (video, PDF, webinar, challenge). Start a weekly blog, YouTube video/vlog, or podcast. I'd do a significant post, longer format, every single week. Then I'd cut that up and post it all over social media. If I was going all crazy, I'd do all 3 -- blog, YouTube, podcast --- which of course I do today. I'd use that content to post 2-3x per day on Instagram, 4x/day on Facebook, and 1-2 LinkedIn. I'd also start going strong on TikTok if you're targeting a younger audience. Nothing against Twitter, Pinterest or others, but the audiences that drive the real scale and revenue in our industry have traditionally been those I mentioned. I'd sell a subscription program, where people get new live training from me every month. The business would be entirely built around subscription program. I would also create and upsell online courses and higher-fee group coaching or one-to-one coaching, because that's how you gain skill and margin. Yep, we'll teach all that at INFLUENCER too. I would send an email my list once per week, no matter how small it is, directing them to the blog, YouTube, or podcast content or sharing something awesome. I would go to marketing conferences like INFLUENCER 2019 or enroll in online courses relevant to what I wanted to do. (My dad, who was my biggest influence, lent me money to go to my first conference. It changed my life forever). I would network network network because that's how you find promotional partners and learn what's working now. I would stop pretending that perceiving myself as a "perfectionist" was helpful, and I'd just go get stuff done. Perfectionists aren't real and their stories to themselves ultimately hinder their learning, progress and impact. Care about excellence, but go and iterate and "perfect it" as you go. For too long, I was being a perfectionist about my art, especially my writing. But no art is perfection, and no perfection can be sought without releasing art. I would never, ever, under any circumstances, doubt my ability to learn, to figure things out, to add value to others. With enough time, focus, and persistence, I would know that I could master the fundamentals and succeed. I wish I knew that even earlier. I would be okay with the fact that my audience would be tiny at first, but that after years and years it suddenly would be larger. I wouldn't treat 50 subscribers any differently than I would 500k. Just. Deliver. Value. I would bring the joy to this career, and heck, every activity of my life. I would remember that the first time I began, it was like this - just me, sitting here, typing you a love letter and hoping to add some value and one day meet you.  Want More Help? Well, there you go. That's how I'd do it. If you like this kind of thing, and want my entire playbook for building a personal brand and becoming a highly-paid and impactful influencer, be sure to join us at INFLUENCER 2019 in San Diego. Prices go up $100 on Monday, so go get your tickets now.    Hurry! Tickets go up $100 next week!   My Vision for this Series My hope is this new series inspires you to share your voice, build a larger audience, and bring your life's passions and experiences to the world. It's time each of us take our roles as potential influencers and role models seriously. So I'm giving you everything I got. I believe we all have a lot to share, and too often people don't take their lessons learned in life and share them with others - so it feels like we're all reinventing the wheel, and each generation isn't learning from the mistakes and advances of previous generations. Know what I mean? So, yes, this isn't about just *marketing* to me. It's about a meaningful mission where you turn to others, and inspire them so that we can all be better and live in a better world. Your voice and experience matter. My deep desire is that this series will show that, and help you with next steps. Every day, you have a platform to influence others. Whether that's a platform as a parent, leader, employee, giver, creator, volunteer, or any other role. That's powerful. So what do you want to say? Figure that out. And if you want to have a career like mine, keep opening my emails because in the next email, I'll send you more strategy and insights I've learned the hard way, in the trenches every day for the last 18 years. (My first book came out in 2001!). Remember, INFLUENCER tickets go up $100 on Monday, so go get your tickets here and save. Talk soon, - Brendon PS. I go to work every single day for you guys. THANK YOU for having supported my books, videos, courses, podcasts, and events. More than you know, your support has so often lifted my spirits and helped me carry on throughout these last 16 years of this career. So, thank you. Now let's put good content out there and change the world, together.     INFLUENCER Tickets On Sale! Tickets go up $100 on Monday! REGISTER HERE   Hey - you're awesome. I love creating training for you. Hit reply if you need anything, we always have your back. Of course, you can unsubscribe, just please be careful, bc that means I can't deliver your emails anymore, even for things you asked/paid for, as all our services are tied to your email address. But you can reach me anytime at support@Brendon.com or PO Box 5368 Portland, OR, 97228.