How I actually monetise my personal brand (+ how you can too)
I've never revealed this before...
Sam Winsbury
July 10, 2023
Hey Engineer,
I don’t think revealed this anywhere before…
But this is the exact process I’ve used to ACTUALLY MONETISE my personal brand.
Note - this is for people selling high ticket offers. 4 figures or more. If you’re selling lower ticket products, you don’t need all the stages in this process. However the theory still applies.
Here’s the thing…
most creators have 100,000s of followers but only make 5-10K a month, if anything at all.
On the other hand, some people have 5, 10, 20K followers and make 5x that, and some.
There are 3 reasons for that:
They understand the importance of authority
They have products that actually get results
They understand the ‘commitment ladder’
I’m about to show you my process for turning followers into clients, but I just want to explain the commitment ladder very quickly (or the process won’t make sense):
Most people expect followers to randomly get their cards out and ask to start working with them through a LinkedIn message.
That’s not how this works.
Think about it…
Agreeing to work with someone is a big commitment.
(Especially when they’re investing, 4, 5 or even 6 figures.)
Reading and engaging with their content from the comfort of their own living room isn’t.
In fact, there’s a massive commitment gap between the two.
You can’t expect people to jump such a wide gap on their own.
Some will (about 5%), of course, and your personal brand should bring you direct inbound clients.
But 95% aren’t ready to make that commitment leap.
So what we have to do instead is nurture them by creating incrementally bigger commitments.
E.g. Attending a webinar is a bigger commitment as people have to give up more of their time, and maybe their email address.
So a webinar makes a great middle ground between consuming social content and paying someone for help.
Our task is to build flows which increase commitment.
Here’s what a typical flow might look like:
Engage on social
↓
Have a casual convo via dm
↓
Sign up for a newsletter
↓
Attend an event
↓
Do a free trial
↓
Become a paying client
We use flows like this to land high-paying clients every month (with 5 figure LTV).
We generally use 3 systems that you can copy:
Lead Magnets
Live Events
Newsletter
Lead magnets and live events work in a very similar way, so let’s take them first.
1). Every month we publish a Lead Magnet or Live Event.
We mix these up between beginner-level content and advanced strategies to attract prospects at every stage.
Beginner content might be a LinkedIn live Q&A or hook templates resource. Advanced ones include our recent ‘mastering influence’ webinar.
Beginner resources tend to have mass uptake but lower conversion rate. Advanced ones have lower uptake but higher conversion rate.
You should do both.
2). We use the same structure every time.
These resources are in-depth and usually include 3 key strategies we want people to take away (3 is a magic number) sandwiched in between an introduction (context) and a CTA (to encourage the audience to book calls)
3). Packaging and positioning are vital here.
The more valuable your audience perceives your Lead Magnets or Events, the more brand equity and conversions you’ll see on the back end.
They should have their own design, landing pages and funnels, etc.
4). These resources are gated.
We gate these resources, meaning our audience exchange their email address for access (their commitment) - this is important for our 3rd system (Newsletters)
5). We then deliver on our promise.
This is the most important part people miss.
If your resources don’t provide genuine value, you damage your brand and lose any hope of converting.
We give it all away here because we know our target audience are probably too busy to do this themselves and value the structure and strategy we provide on an ongoing basis.
6). Earn the right to ask
Once you’ve delivered on your promise, you have earned the right to ask for a bigger commitment.
This time it will take the form of a 1-to-1 call.
Note: this is not a ‘Discovery Call’ - it’s an Audit.
7). Consult with them 1-to-1
When you get prospects on this call, you should diagnose and add value.
Ask what they want to achieve, where they’re struggling, what’s holding them back - and offer solutions to get them there.
The best way to sell is by consulting and adding value upfront (plus it’s extremely authoritative).
Once you’ve spent 20 mins doing this, you have your big moment.
You offer to explore helping them further.
Not a pitch, but a conversation exploring your paid work.
8). Seal the deal
And if they commit to this (most will)… you’re in business.
You’ve got a highly interested prospect who’s fulfilled every step of the commitment ladder and is ready to be presented with a 4+ figure offer.
Remarkably simple right?
Yeah it’s meant to be.
But there are a lot of stages and a lot of tweaks you have to make over time to get them operating at maximum efficiency.
The third way to authoritatively monetise your influence is through a Newsletter.
Right, cards on the table, what you’re reading right now is a lead nurturing system.
I don’t just write this newsletter because I’m a lovely guy and want to help you for free (though that is true).
I also write it because I know some engineers will realise I can help them become thought leaders and reach out to work with me.
You gave up your contact info to read this and allow me to land in your inbox with some 🔥 every week.
That’s a slightly bigger commitment than liking my social content, right?
It doesn’t mean you’re ready to be pitched right now, but one day you might be ready to click on one of the links below and book a 1-to-1 call.
Until then, I’ll keep building trust.
That’s how these systems work.
You build trust. Your audience justifies commitments.
Up and up each rung of the commitment ladder until you’re working together.
Some of your audience will scale that ladder in hours or days.
Some could take years.
The important thing is that the ladder is there, building your authority and providing opportunities to monetise 24/7.
And that’s literally it.
That’s how I turn social followers into paying clients.
All yours to copy.
Now go get some 💰
Me in buying scented candle after a good month of implementing these strategies.
Speak soon,
Sam
ps. Here are a few ways I might be able to help you:
1. Building a Personal Brand. We’ve built over 130 at Kurogo!
Need something else?
I also open up 2 spaces for private consultation every month. Reply to this email if you need something bespoke.