The 4 core components of my small business and how they generate my income.

The 4 core components of my small business and how they generate my income.

#1 Attention Engine

In today's online world, 'attention' is the most valuable of currencies. If you're not able to capture the attention of your ideal targets among the passing traffic, you'll struggle.

The two places small business owners most commonly seek attention are on social platforms and their websites - and in that regard, I'm no different.

LinkedIn and my website

I'm active on just one social platform and that's LinkedIn. I don't enjoy any social platforms, however, of them all, I dislike LinkedIn the least.

It also happens to be where my ideal clients hang out, which is the only thing that matters. And just for clarity, if I had to, I'd be active on whatever platforms my targets were, even if I didn't enjoy it (e.g. Facebook, Instagram etc.).

How I get attention on LinkedIn

I publish content regularly, normally 4 or 5 times per week. The content is aimed at helping my fellow business owners grow their businesses (and income) by employing proven strategies in email and content marketing.

The content formats vary from text only, text + images; text + carousel (i.e. a PDF document), and newsletter editions (these are like articles but in a collection and given a title - e.g. mine is called "Email Marketing with 'Kit" ('Kit as in ConvertKit).

In my content, I tend to use an educational approach - i.e. "this is what to do, and this is how to do it" style.

How I get attention on my website

I publish regular blog articles on my WordPress website, mainly with content that dives into three main topics;

• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• ConvertKit

I have Google index every article I publish, meaning there's much more chance of my content being found when people search in Google (this is part of what's referred to as 'SEO' - Search Engine Optimisation).

My articles are normally crafted to answer common questions that people have about my topics of interest, so increasing the likelihood of them being relevant answers to the questions being asked via Search.

I've been regularly posting content about ConvertKit and email marketing for quite a while now, and when Google directs searchers to the articles, it drives more website visitors.

Once I get the website visitors to my site, it's then my job to capture their details by offering something of value to them, meaning they share their names + email addresses in exchange for what I give them (e.g. a downloadable PDF, a video series, a digital course etc.).

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#2 Nurturing Engine

With my 'attention engine' doing its job, I get subscribers to join my email list. Once on my list, it's then my job to nurture the newly formed relationship and give more value until they're ready to buy from me.

My nurturing engine (all inside ConvertKit)

I have email sequences that are scheduled to be drip-fed to each subscriber, just at the right time.

Typically, for every lead magnet that I give away as part of my attention engine, I craft a lead magnet email sequence that helps support what I already provided.

For example, one of my most requested lead magnets is my downloadable PDF guide, "The Beginner's Guide to Email Marketing"; whenever someone downloads this, they get the PDF (as promised) but also then receive a series of emails (over a week or so) that dives even deeper into each element of email marketing and then provides a 7-day mini-course showing them how to get started with ConvertKit (my recommended email marketing platform).

I don't get a subscriber and leave them to it - I hold their hand until they're ready to fly solo.

Once they have gotten all the value from whichever lead magnet they asked for, I then move them into a welcome sequence where I share a little bit about me and what they can expect from me in the coming months.

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#3 Conversion Engine

After some time in my nurturing engine, I'll make an offer to each subscriber, to purchase a product or service from me that I believe will help them achieve the outcome they want in their business.

My conversion engine (all inside ConvertKit)

I have a series of offerings that range from low-cost digital courses to high-end premium 1:1 done-for-you services because subscribers have differing needs.

As part of my onboarding and nurturing phase, I collect zero-party data from subscribers, meaning I get an insider's view of what they do, what they like/dislike, what strengths/limitations they have, and what stage they're at with their email marketing - from this data (plus any previous purchase history) I can make a relevant offer, at an appropriate time.

My offers are made via sales email campaigns, with subscriber activity being tracked to better filter future emails, based on what they share.

For example, if someone clicks a link to let me know they're not interested, I'll move them out of the sequence and either into another one (maybe a down-sell) or back into a value-added sequence.

Sales (i.e. conversions) are what drives my business - without them, I have nothing - just a hobby, so that's why it needs to be effective.

I'm constantly addressing my offer stack to react to what I believe people want/need and I design and build products that my subscribers tell me they want.

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#4 Delivery Engine

Whenever someone buys a product or service from me, I then need to deliver it to the best of my ability. I'm a big advocate of under-promising and over-delivering, I love it when it happens to me, so I always strive to do it for customers too.

It doesn't have to be overly burdensome or time-consuming, but going the extra mile is always warmly received.

My delivery engine (various platforms)

To deliver what I sell, I use the following platforms;

• ConvertKit - to send onboarding and delivery emails
• ConvertKit - to provide access to digital courses
• ConvertKit - to provide member-only access to website content
• Zoom - to deliver 1:1 coaching, consulting, and training
• Vimeo - to host training video content
• TidyCal - to allow my customers to book appointments with me
• Google Workspace - to manage my public documents
• Stripe - payment merchant, via ConvertKit
• WordPress - to design, build, and launch websites (integrated with ConvertKit)

Once I've successfully delivered what my customers have bought (which can take months, depending on what they bought), they then move back into my nurturing engine where I share more value with them, whilst factoring in what I just delivered for them.

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⚡️ Summary

I have 4 core components to my business, each one an 'engine' in my business, serving a purpose;

1. Attention Engine
2. Nurturing Engine
3. Conversion Engine
4. Delivery Engine

If you haven't already, think about designing, building, and nurturing your 4 components for your business and you'll find that you'll provide a more robust and enjoyable experience for your customers.

People appreciate systems and processes - even if they can't see what's going on behind the curtains, they can sense processes and organisation.

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