Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with teaching writing lessons in a live format via Crowdcast.
So far I’ve done four live (paid) sessions that average about 10-15 people each as well as one free Q&A session (which had almost 100 attendees.)
So why have I been doing these? A few reasons:
I like the opportunity to practice teaching on video.
With a full course in the works, I wanted to get some practice in speaking and teaching lessons on camera and studying the footage to spot areas for improvement. It’s alarmingly easy to pick apart every little thing I do that is weird or could be better, so I’ve had plenty of fodder for analysis when I watch the recordings.
Because it’s live, it keeps me sharp.
You really have to stay on your toes when teaching in real time. It’s tricky sometimes not to stumble or lose my train of thought, but practicing is making it easier. I do plenty of pre-event prep, make lots of notes, and use my slides to guide the lesson. I think my favorite part though is when I get to chat with attendees and answer questions. Speaking of…
I like being able to answer questions from attendees in real time.
I can’t always know everything my session attendees want covered when I teach on a specific topic, so it’s great to be able to open up the floor for questions at the end so we can go over anything that wasn’t addressed or that they’re still curious about. This is also great insight for improving future events.
So what are some of the writing topics I’ve been teaching on so far?
1. Writing product page copy that sells
This topic felt especially relevant, as with everything happening around the coronavirus pandemic, retail has been rapidly shifting online. 43% of ecommerce merchants report increasing sales in recent months according to studies, and in some cases, it's like Black Friday every day. That's great news, but it also means there's more competition online than ever before.
So how do they stand out? An easy place to start is to step up the copy on product pages. And who better to teach folks how to do that than a writer who's been working in the ecommerce/retail industry for seven years? (Hey, that's me!)
This session was aimed at providing practical, actionable insights needed to upgrade product page descriptions to not only convert more sales, but also cut down on returns, to help shoppers find answers to key questions, and to help retailers *wow* visitors with a unique writing voice.
The pricing strategy: The ticket price for this session was set so that attendees could easily recoup the cost of the investment with just a few sales ($99).
(Psst—even though this event took place on June 30th, there are still a few spots available to get the material—and buying the $99 ticket will provide access to the full recording OR you can get just the slides for $65.)
2. Writing your About Page
People feel weird and gross writing about themselves. I get it. Writing an About page for your website is no easy task, but getting it right is extremely important:
This is often one of the first places you'll make an impression on someone looking to learn more about you (52% of site visitors look for an About page, in fact.)
It sends free organic traffic to your site (it’s often one of the first things people find when they search for you.)
It’s a place where you can grow your email list.
It’s one of the few places you can talk all about yourself without sounding like a total narcissist.
Lots of people expressed interest in more detail around how to do this well after I wrote this post, so this live session went deeper into some of the major dos and don'ts, offered up tips for writing a stellar About page, and reverse engineered some A+ examples.
The pricing strategy: It can be super expensive to hire a pro copywriter to build out this page for a website, so I wanted to offer a more affordable DIY option and priced the session at just $75.
(Again, this session still has just a couple of spots available for purchase where you can get access to the full recording.)
3. Writing to drive sales
I’ve written extensively on these topics over the past seven years, so this was a more general writing lesson wherein writers of all skill levels could learn how to leverage science and psychology to write in a way that drives conversions and sales.
We covered a few key topics:
WHY people buy
Leveraging emotions
Using persuasion/building trust
Scarcity
Classical sales copywriting formulas
Basic best practices
The pricing strategy: I tried something different with this one and offered two different pricing tiers:
$199 for live training + a personalized feedback on a piece of your choosing OR
$99.50 (50% of full price) for live training only, no feedback (code EVENTONLY)
Most people went the 50% off route. I left 15 spots open for this one in case there was anyone who wanted this info after the fact—access is here. (Coupon code is still good, and the feedback offer stands!)
4. Pitch class
Pitch Class was a session I did not once, but TWICE, where writers, journalists, and marketers could learn how to craft a compelling pitch for clients, reporters, and guest posts.
We went over:
How to come up with relevant story ideas for pitches
Nuts and bolts of crafting a strong pitch
Finding and connecting with the right people
How and when to follow up
General pitching best practices
Advice from established writers and editors
The pricing strategy: Again, I went with the tiered offering:
$199 for live training + a personalized pitch critique OR
$99.50 (50% of full price) for live training only, no critique (code EVENTONLY)
A lot more people were interested in the feedback for this one.
I left quite a few spots open for this one as well, as the material is evergreen. (Coupon code is still good, and the feedback offer stands for this, too!) You can also just get the slides for $65.
What would you like me to teach next?
I always want feedback on what writing lessons would be most helpful/relevant from my audience, so please let me know if there’s a topic you want me to cover in my next live session (coming late July 2020.)
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