Ask questions. Get answers.

Greetings Lina and Brad from rural Australia,

I'm gobsmacked by your response, Brad Lyons.

And green with envy.

1,000 customers a month from social media.

That is amazing.

I've looked at your profile, Brad. You're a consultant. And strategist.

These are one-on-one businesses.

How do you manage 1,000 new customers a month?

What exactly do you offer on social media that allows you to be flooded with customers for these businesses within an hour of putting up a post?

And why would a good offer be subject to complaints, as you discuss in this post?

What portals/social media platforms do you use?

Have you packaged your success into a step by step course yet? So many people just don't cut it with social media. I'm sure there's a ready and willing audience prepared to pay for what you know.

I'm impressed by your success, Brad. Not many people would be in your league.

Best wishes,

~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

Purveyor of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies

350,000 customers. In 29 countries.

Hi,
I have placed a few orders with Alibaba. They are fantastic. If you can find the products that you want you can speak directly with the manufacturer. They are really quick about getting back to you. Direct messages is the easiest way to go. They can respond back with videos and photos. Once you are happy they send you an invoice. Then after payment, they send your products. Mine arrived in less than two weeks. Communication the entire way. I was overall happy and really impressed with how easy it was. Hope this helps!

Digital growth experts are going to cost a pretty penny, simply because they are basically a higher rank of digital marketing experts. Growth experts are all about increasing visibility and gaining followers, so they tend to work mostly on email list building, SEO, PPC advertising, as well as social media following. 

Truth be told, it's hard to nail down what a digital growth expert will charge you, simply because they all have their own price lists and ways that they work. You really need to look at their price list to figure out what you will spend.

With that said, I can ballpark a general idea of what you might be charged at a typical growth agency:

• SEO - $1,000 to $6,000+ per month
• Social Media - $250 to $10,000
• Growth Diagnostic - $250, though some do this for free as a way of marketing their expertise. 
• PPC Advertising -  Between 5 to 20 percent of your ad spend, or a flat rate per month depending on the contract.
• Public Relations - $3,000 to $7,000 per month

While these costs may seem high, there's a lot more to the picture than just the price alone. You have to ask what you're getting, who you're getting it from, and what kind of results you're expecting. You should seriously vet your growth expert, simply because there is no specific qualifier for this title.

If you choose to hire a growth expert, the best thing that I can suggest is that you need to have an airtight contract that outlines precisely what you should expect to see happen. Moreover, you really should avoid any kind of vague promises that they could make. Hard numbers are a true growth expert's best friend. 

Thanks Phil. I've always wondered what the advice is. Surely not every great campaign idea came from a request made by the company! Some unsolicited ideas must have made their way through at times!

Key opinion leaders, or KOLs, are often seen as the step above an influencer. Or rather, it is a matter of how their opinions are regarded. To understand the difference between the two, you need to understand the basic ideas behind them.

When you are dealing with an influencer, you're buying the service of someone from the "in crowd." They are popular because they are entertaining and talk about a subject at length (sometimes). They are there because people follow them and their content is fun. People want to be like them.

Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, are people who are influencers---but only to a point. They are people wh others follow because they have a certain amount of expertise in their topic of choice. For example, a KOL in women's health would be a gynecologist. A KOL in home improvement would be a plumber with his own TV show. See the difference? 

Key Opinion Leaders can be pricey to book, at least when you're not getting pitched by their PR agencies. However, they do have a place in marketing. The best times to use them include:

• When you are trying to market a project, product, or cause that is related to medical or technological knowledge. For example, working with a KOL would be way better for a men's health company than it would be to hire someone who just works out on camera. 
• When you need an expert voice on issues that are backed by science. Getting an influencer won't get you the same respect or expertise. 
• When you are trying to expand into a country that prizes education or expert advice. In many parts of Asia, working with a KOL will get you far better results than an influencer simply because of how the culture is. 

Sometimes, it's not about making your product cool or hip. It's about bringing the science of it to the forefront or showing that people who are movers and shakers trust it. That's when a KOL would be your best bet.

The price depends on your targeting criteria and your competition. I've run CPCs from around $2 and run up to $4 or $5 per click, with the higher end typically coming into play when your click-through rates aren't fantastic.

Preferably before they get into a "critical" position. Coaches are there as sounding boards, to look at your business (and therefore you) to give perspectives on what is happening and what you can't see for yourself because you are too involved, and to motivate and push you outside of your comfort zone. My coach did actions and challenges for the week, and things have gone forward faster than I thought they would.

Also, you can try something from KeepSolid. I use their app https://vpnlite.net/vpn-software. It is free and easily will help you to change your location (there are 70+ locations). 

Hi Stuart,

I completely agree with the three points you made above - in particular, the last two.  The third point really leads into the second point.  It is often a really good idea for a small business to obtain input into what quality infrastructure and setup is best for their business.  If they obtain advice on this and have an IT contractor/external business/internal support person setting that up, then if there are problems these people are knowledgable about the systems and the solutions should be quick - or at least a lot quicker than calling in someone not familiar with their system.

I agree that technology is vitally important and we are now going to more seriously look into offering support services to small businesses around us here in Brisbane.