Dolly Delong: Hey, all, and welcome back to another episode of the Systems of Workflow Magic Podcast. I am your systems and workflow and Launching guide, Dolly DeLong, and today; I am doing another solo podcast episode. I know, I know, I bet I have loved all of my DMs and emails and notifications about the recent masterclass that my friends, my best friends, Mara Kosarek and Becca Reed, and I led all about how to simplify your Black Friday launch with five trends to be aware of.
So, I thought sharing more information about better preparation would be enjoyable, like how to lay out better systems for yourself for Black Friday. Very specifically, as I was outlining this episode, I wanted to give you seven quick ideas instead. So, if you are a small business owner, you are on the fence about doing a Black Friday offer.
Right now, when this episode airs, it is the beginning of November, and Black Friday is probably on your mind. Or you’re probably like, “Oh, I wish I had a little more guidance on getting started.” So this episode is for you. Okay. So again, these are seven quick ideas for Black Friday, as in Black Friday, 2024, that aren’t just 40 percent off deals. So, not like, Oh, you’re going to slap a coupon code on your website and then hope for the best. I want you to be very intentional. And I want you to, you know, be strategic in how you present your black Friday offers. So I want these to be irresistible for you. So before we dive into today’s episode, which is all about quick ideas for black Friday, 20 24, I have a question for you.
If you want to plan your Black Friday sale in three hours or less, you need the simplified Black Friday planning kit. Mara Kucirek, Bekah Read, and I created this amazing kit packed with everything you need to design, plan, and execute a simple but powerful Black Friday sale.
So you can head over to the show notes. Or go to systems and workflow magic.com/black Friday, all one word, and let’s make some Black Friday magic or Systems Magic so you can have an easier and more profitable Black Friday. Or, I would say, a simpler Black Friday that is not so stressful. And if it’s just you writing the show, Show us.
I created this kit to help solo business owners plan Black Friday out in three hours so Lesston can have a very relaxed Thanksgiving and Black Friday week. Okay? So, let’s dive into today’s kit. The first idea I wanted to share with you is to sell templates to make your or your ideal client’s life easier.
As you may know, templates are gold. They make things easier for everyone at all levels of their business. I mean, I use templates for pretty much everything. I insert templates into my SOPs and standard operating procedures to make my time more efficient because I work. I try to work between 20 and 30 hours, sometimes up to 30, but I have found that sometimes I’m only at capacity for 20 hours a week.
So, I lean heavily toward templates for many aspects of my business. So, if you have templates that could help simplify workflows, processes, or communications, now is the perfect time to offer them. So, I wanted to give an example for every single point. Some of them are going to, I’m going to dive deep into it, and others are just going to be an overview, and hopefully, you’ll be able to take this idea and align it with whatever business you have.
So, in this example, let’s say you are a virtual assistant. Okay. So you could sell a client onboarding email sequence template for your business With a bonus workflow template. So what I mean by that is if you have something that you, let’s say, you don’t sell in your shop, or maybe you do sell it in your shop, let’s use the example of you don’t have it in your shop, but it’s something that you use in your business, and it’s.
Try to intrude on you, and it’s something that helps make your life easier, and you’re like, okay, I have been asked about this process, or people are curious. Then why don’t you take what is already working for you and create a template? You have already sold it and want to sweeten the deal. Maybe make an onboarding video or a tutorial video that would accompany it; a person who buys it from you can have examples to tour, like an over-the-shoulder look at how you would use it as a virtual assistant.
Your Black Friday offer could be to create a bundle called an AVA starter pack. You can combine your best templates with a how-to guide or a how-to video, or maybe you can have a bonus that you only give to your clients. Then you decide, okay, I have all these templates I already sell in my shop.
Why not sweeten the deal? Again, instead of offering 40 percent off, why not do your pack and add a bonus? This is only what I give to my clients. It will only be available for Black Friday as a bonus. Starter pack. So that is idea number one, just like selling templates to make your ideal client’s life easier.
And I have, um, a lot, again, I love templates so much. If you are a graphic designer, maybe create Canva templates, or if you are a designer, maybe create. A specific template is needed for a website host. So, like a show it page, a Squarespace page, or a WordPress praise. So, I want to help encourage you to think about how you can templatize what you do to make your client’s life more accessible and what they are asking you for or hinting at, which could be straightforward Black Friday. Idea. All right. So, idea two is to share a tutorial for a tool you use regularly in your business.
If there’s a tool you love, chances are someone else will love it too, or someone else wants to use it. So why not teach them how to use it and save them hours of trial and error or try to find tutorials on YouTube or Google? Why not create a tutorial for them?
So, an example of this is, as a social media manager, why don’t you create a mini chat tutorial that walks through setting up a bot? For Instagram DMS, and not just a simple one because you can go to YouTube, and I could quickly type in many chat tutorials. There are tons of different tutorials that are very basic, but why don’t you sweeten up the deal and add a bonus script template so that There are various types of templates?
I’ve seen a very simplified version, a more intermediate version, and a very complex version. Many chatbots have worked for several weeks because I’ve been put into somebody’s funnel on Instagram. So, showcase how to use the three different types of levels, and take it a step further, create a video tutorial over the shoulder.
I love over-the-shoulder tutorials if you can’t tell. That way, a business owner who purchases this from you knows how to use it for their business. It’s not just like, here’s a PDF, and you can guess your way through it. Here’s the tutorial, and here is me walking you through it. And again, if you use this regularly, you can easily create an SOP tutorial and a looming video, which could be the actual thing you sell.
Here is a video with the mini-chat tutorial. All right. So, number three. It is for all my service-based business owners who do not have a digital product, are not planning on having one, or have no desire to. So if you’re listening, you’re like, “These have nothing to do with my business, Dolly.” Then, point three is for you. Okay, I want you to consider sweetening your packages to fill the slower months.
Now, I am not saying to cut everything in half and only offer your services for 90 percent off to fill up your calendar. No, I’m not saying that, but think of creative ways to fill up your slower-season months from December, January, and February.
I know this as a photographer because my business has two sides. My slower season for photography tends to be the middle of December to the beginning of March. I do book sessions, but they’re typically studio sessions, and most photography sessions are outdoors. So that’s why Marc is in mid-March, too.
November, I’m like booked. I’m booking up. I’m booked out. Um, but during the slower season, it is like the colder season where I live. And so, for what I’m going to be doing, personally, I’m looking at these months, and I’m thinking, Okay, how can I potentially book out? My spots for photography are something that I know business owners need, and that’s headshots and branding photography because I offer minimal spots per I do branding photography, and even though I am mostly known for family photography, I have been working with business owners for several years; um, it’s super low-key. Still, I do get asked a lot about branding photography.
So I thought, how can I sweeten the package to where I’m still making a profit, but it’s a certain amount off per like what I usually charge? So, I devised a bundle of sessions for four businesses that may need branding photos in January or February. I scattered my availability so they can choose the dates that I’m available, and they will get a two-hour branding session with me, which will include a sweetened version, which is part of the deal for Black Friday.
They will get hair and makeup added to that at no additional cost. Part I had to sit down and think about was the free dates. In January and February of 2025, what would make this a sweet deal, and what would not cheapen the package because I didn’t want to be like, I’ll give it to you for a hundred dollars? That isn’t very good right there. Don’t do that. And so, um, I’m still profiting, but it is still like they’re getting an excellent deal from this. So, I want to encourage you to sweeten your packages to fill the slow months. A tangible example I just shared is that I sweetened my branding photography packages to include hair and makeup for the slower months.
I work with a hair and makeup artist, so we know the cost. So, you have to plan and look ahead to your calendar. Another example is if you’re a family photographer, maybe you’re Looking to see what type of mini session, like studio mini sessions, would suit your family, like early motherhood mini sessions or early newborn sessions.
Something like newborn motherhood or Valentine-related in the early and late winter months tends to book out. Um, but I want your reference or your audience you would like, or they usually want to book with and see how you can sweeten your most popular package for a Black Friday offer that would be carried through in your slower months.
So, hopefully, that makes sense. Like I said, I know I’m not explaining that well. You could presell it for Black Friday, and then Wpresellbuys will have a session with you during your slow months. Again, I would not keep it open-ended and say, “You can use this whenever in 2025.” No, you can’t. Use it only during your slow months, and you decide when those dates will be.
Again, you can transfer this idea to whatever service-based business you are, but think about, okay, how can I book out my Um, I don’t want to say book out, but how can I start filling up my calendar with some of my popular packages, and how can I sweeten up the deal to make it irresistible?
Okay, so. If I talk about all this, I know I’ve only shared three points with you all, but if you are listening to this and you’re like, okay, I’m starting to get a little bit more clarity on how I want to present a potential Black Friday offer. But if you’re like, how do I put this all together?
I want to help make this easier for you with a simplified black Friday planning kit. And if. Again, suppose these ideas are starting to spark some creativity,y and you’re wondering how to pull everything together, especially since the beginning of November. In that case, this will be made easier with the simplified Black Friday planning kit.
This toolkit gives you the templates, All the email swipe files, the Canva graphics, the Instagram captions, and the Instagram graphics. You must have your entire Black Friday sale plan in three hours or less, so grab yours at the swipe—com: systems and workflow magic. Com forward slash black Friday, all one word, because it’s designed for busy business owners who need a clear and strategic action plan without being overwhelmed.
Again, it will be in the show notes of this podcast episode. So, idea number four is to host a quick masterclass that solves a problem. Now, I’m going to go into depth in this one. Okay. Uh, because, again, it might spark a lot of creativity for you. First, master classes are a great way to provide value fast.
If you can help someone, your ideal client will quickly move from point A to point B. I think you’ve got a winning offer. The key is to focus on one problem, unlike ten issues. Choose just one problem your audience faces and show them how to solve it efficiently in a short amount of time. For example, let’s say you are a graphic designer and often get inquiries about creating lead magnets.
You have clients who say, “Help me design this lead magnet.” Um, because I need to start growing my email list. Okay. And so what if, returning to “Let’s pull,” I realized I’m all over the place? So, your graphic designer often gets inquiries about creating lead magnets.
Okay, we’ve established that. However, some of these inquiries and clients don’t have the budget to work with you since you do custom graphic design for these lead magnets. So instead of worrying, “Oh, I’m going to have to give away my services for 90 percent off to fill up.”
No, don’t do that. Instead, for Black Friday, why not offer a one-hour live masterclass? Okay. That is called designing your lead magnet in one hour. Okay. So, notice how you’re focusing on one specific problem. Your audience comes to you, too. One of the problems your audience comes to you for is designing a particular lead magnet, but they don’t work with you, and they may not end up working with you because it’s custom work.
So it is at a higher. This is good because you need to be paid for what you offer. To solve this problem for Black Friday, we designed our lead magnet in one hour. In this masterclass, participants will learn how to create an on-brand, professional-looking lead magnet using Canva.
And you’ll walk them through four different things, okay? So, first, choose the suitable lead magnet template in Canva. You’ll go over that with them in this master class. You’ll teach them to customize colors, fonts, and layouts to match their brand. You will teach them to insert engaging copy and where to put the call-to-action buttons in this template.
You will teach them or give them a run-through of how to export the final PDF and how to put it into their email service provider for deliverability. All right, so let’s talk about what makes this offer irresistible. Okay, first of all, it’s actionable because, in one hour, they will learn those four things.
All right. They go from having no lead magnet to getting a polished, ready-to-use PDF, like they’re walking away with that knowledge. And then maybe they could like. After they watch it, they could implement it in an hour, and they’ll have that lead magnet, okay? It has the appeal of DIY. So, some people want to work with you but may not be able to afford to because they’re still at that DIY stage.
So they still learn from you because you’re the expert, and now they’re getting to do it themselves by learning from you. They feel empowered to create their design without hiring and feel the need to hire out for custom work. Yes, later on in their journey, they cannot afford that custom work as they grow their business.
But right now, you’re meeting them where they are—in their business. Okay. Also, it’s a lifetime commitment. So, a one-hour class easily fits into busy schedules, and you can offer this as a Black Friday offer. Okay. You can have specific exclusive bonuses. For this Black Friday offer, you can offer a Canva template pack with three additional lead magnet layouts.
Okay. So if they buy it during Black Friday, they will get this as a bonus whenever you decide to have your Black Friday sale. All right? What if you have a VIP add-on?What if you included a 30-minute design review call for the first five people who sign up to buy this masterclass? During this call, you provide feedback and make personalized recommendations on their lead magnet design.
All right? Um, maybe another Black Friday offer you can do is a limited-time discount. So when they purchase, give the buyers a coupon code for 15 or 20 percent off your custom design services. So, they buy this masterclass, and then, for a limited time, they can utilize a coupon code for 15 percent off or 20 percent off custom design services to continue to buy from you.
Okay, especially if they want to upgrade to more professional-level work after the class. All right, so think about ways to help you plant seeds and how they can continue to buy from you. All right, now here’s a bonus tip. So if you’re like, but dolly, how do I serve people who cannot make it to it live?
Okay, so repurpose the masterclass Recording. I want you to open Zoom and do this through Zoom, record it, and then repurpose it. All right. If someone can attend the live session, offer the recording as part of the package. You can also include a PDF workbook summarizing the steps and a checklist. It’s all part of helping them stay on track. The other things I mentioned would only be exclusive to whatever level you want to sell it, so it’s entirely up to you. Still, I wanted to give you a profound, juicy Example of hosting a masterclass at the different levels of how this could look for Black Friday. All right, man.
I’m getting passionate, so I feel like I’m getting louder. I’m sorry. Okay, so idea number five is to launch a four-week group program in January.
So 2025. Okay. I know it hasn’t started; it’s November. Okay. And your Black Friday offer is kind of like pre-selling a group program. If you are preselling it, January is all about fresh starts. All right. It may also be a slower period for many business owners. So, offering a four-week group program will help your audience start the year with intention and momentum.
So. For example, if you’re a branding expert, like what, if you run a build your brand in 30 days group program, um, I’m going to use one of my client’s examples for this. So, I work with an ADHD coach for teens. Hey Kelly. Um, I’ve helped her launch. Um, now it is a second time, but I’ve worked with her, and she does a lot of private one-to-one clients.
She’s booked out throughout the year. She has a proven program. Um, but we were thinking about ways she could offer a Black Friday incentive in 2025 for her families to think ahead. And so we thought of, okay, when is it slower? I’m saying this in air quotes. You can’t see me, but, um, and she doesn’t have her capacity.
She has a little bit more capacity in January. So we looked at our calendar and thought, why not offer? Just like a specific group intensive for families of newly diagnosed teens with ADHD. So it’s not like, like she, cause she gives ADHD, um, coaching for teens, like for academically struggling students.
And so it’s like, It. These teens have known, like the parents have known, that my child has been diagnosed with ADHD. How do they stay engaged at school academically? And so Kelly, that’s her sweet spot, but she also has been educating parents of newly diagnosed ADHD, like, what do we do now?
Because they’re not talking about the thinking about academics, they most likely are. At the step one, like, holy crap, what do we do? Like, help us. And so she will be leading a group program for newly diagnosed teens with ADHD to help their parents out, like what type of routines to lay down, how to parent empathetically, and how to parent with patience.
It’s how to work with your team. These questions need to be answered before we get to the academic group program. So, I hope to give you some tangible examples of what happens if you are service-based but known for something. Again, you don’t have a digital product yet, but you do have something you offer that people come to you for.
Why not offer a quick startup, an intensive one, and you lay it out and plan it out for a slower month? Um, I would say not in December because December is very, um. It’sthe holidays. All right. There’s so much stuff happening in December unless your ideal client is working.
That’s when they’re thriving the most. But I’m mostly speaking to the business owners your clients like, and they won’t do the job. You know, they’re not going to do the work in December because life is happening. It’s not because they’re lazy or unmotivated. It’s because life is happening in December. The holidays started, and I’m recording this in October.
Life is busy because of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and December, so why not think ahead? How can you develop a quick, intensive program for your slower months in January and February? Or what if your slower months are June, July, and August? Think ahead. All right. And yes, it would be preselling seats.
And then I want you to take a reasonable and honorable stance. I wouldn’t say I like it. Sell them out and decide when you get to those months, “I’m not doing this.” That puts a bad taste in people’s mouths. Like the industry, I have seen that play out online. Don’t be that person. Okay?
Instead, genuinely plan out. Okay, this is when I will host the intensive and maybe make it two or three weeks. Alright, and then have a genuine outline. That way, when you resell it for your Black Friday sale, there’s proof of concept and a sale. Make sure all of that is written out beforehand, okay?
Alright, I’ll get off my soapbox; I want you guys to be honest about your pre-sells and not ghost people when the presents, alright? So, idea number six is to offer a service. Seasonal group training program. Okay. So this is for, like, another great idea is to align your offer within the seasonal event for a specific goal in 2025 because I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I am trying to help you talk to your clients, like to like better shape their future, like 2025.
The goal for black Friday is not to help like. Yeah, it is to help them. Yeah, you want to help them in 2024, but you want to help them cast a good vision for 2025. And so, let’s say you’re a fitness or running coach, and you want to help them. Your clients, um, get ready for a spring marathon, so why not offer an eight-week spring marathon prep program or like even a 12-week marathon prep program because I know, like marathons 26, but let’s do a half marathon, so eight weeks is more conducive with eight weeks.
A half marathon, whatever you think, maybe for the Black Friday offer, include a package like I’m Offering this to 10 people. Okay, and this will consist of eight weeks of training. It will also include a meal plan and a training schedule as bonuses for the first five sign-ups. I don’t know. I’m just making this up, but make sure that one already gnst with your services could also say that it is something that your audience wants and needs, and they are always asking you for help. And so a bonus is what they always ask you for help with. So if you are a running coach, for example, and you are training current clients to train for half marathons or even five Ks or 10 Ks or, depending upon the level, what would sweeten the deal?
An excellent bonus would include a meal plan and a training schedule because much of running is not just running. It’s also making sure your body is fueled. When your body is driven for an extended time, it impacts how you run. And you know that as a running coach, you know that as a health coach. Idea number six is to offer a seasonal group training program. All right. Finally, number seven is—I’m biased towards the—to create a private audio podcast with one actionable goal. Okay, so a private podcast series feels very exclusive, and it’s a great way to provide actionable, on-the-go value to your audience.
It’s not a free podcast, but if they want Actionable, like steps when they listen, they have to pay for it because there’s transformation. So, let’s say you are a productivity coach. Why not create a three- or four-part podcast series called How to Crush Your Morning Routine? And so, make the podcast and put it in some feed like Hello Auio, where they can only accept it through it.
It is through the. For Black Friday to sweeten it, why not add a progress tracker and exclusive access to a live Q&A session for specific dates so they are held accountable for taking action? Alright? Um, you know, I love a good private podcast. I have used private podcasts in my business for the past three years.
I’m trying to do the math. I’m looking back in my head. I would say two years for sure. Two years. I’ve always done private podcasts as a free hype event leading to my paid services. And they have excellent conversion rates. So I would say one, test it out, and see about the pay. And I have myself paid for private podcast training.
So, it does work. You have to see what your audience wants to learn from you. Also, if you watch, I know I’m all over the place, but I want to encourage you to watch the Black Friday training, like the 2024 Black Friday trends masterclass. I’ll be sure to put it in the show notes as well.
Um, Because I led that with Becca Reed and Mark Ciceric. We talked about the five trends of 2024 for launch strategies for Black Friday. One of the launch strategies is having a micro offer. That’s one of the reasons why I brought up point seven: creating a private audio feed that can be a micro offer.
That could be a seven or 17 offer—no more than 37. That way, a person can buy and consume it on the go. But the sweet deal is the Black Friday bonus of the specific dates you will help them implement. So again, I feel like I’m just dumping all these ideas, and I hope somebody takes one of these seven ideas.
I wanted to share these seven ideas beyond offering a 40 percent discount. All right. So again, regardless of whether it’s a template, a masterclass, or a seasonal group program, the goal is to provide meaningful value. Okay. And to set your clients up for success in 2025, to help them get from point A to point B in a very simplified, actionable way.
And. I have to say this. Remember, if you want to help plan your Black Friday sale in just a few hours, please grab the Simplified Black Friday Planning Kit. It has everything you need: the templates, the captions, the email swipe files, and so much more. Please head over to www.systemsandworkflowmagic.com/blackfriday, all one word, or to www.systemsandworkflowmagic.com Notes. Again, this is the beginning of November. So, if these ideas have sparked something specific in your brain right now, I want you to take that idea and use it with the simplified Black Friday planning ki. You will see how fast and easy it is to plan and execute your Black Friday sale and complete it before Black Friday.
Like, Whoa, like that. Is the Drea, right? Also, full disclosure. I use this Black Friday kit for my own Black Friday planning for both sides of my business, And it took it literally. Did I time it? It took me three hours for each one. So yes, I am offering two different offers, one for the photography side of my business and one for the system’s workflow and launching education side.
So I took it and ran it through the lens of this Black Friday clip kit. And it was magic. You all, I am so excited about this Black Friday. So anyway, I hope this was very helpful. I know this was on the longer side, and it was very conversational with me. I am just sharing insights and examples, and I would love it if you got anything out of this.
Can you please send me a DM on Instagram or even email me and let me know, like, what idea you’re going to be writing with and like a share, share wins from this episode? I would love to know. All right. So I will see you all next week with a brand new, Systems and workflow related podcast episode. I have a fantastic guest that I am so excited about sharing with you again.
She’s been on the podcast before and has a system to help you with email marketing. So, I hope you all will tune in next week. Until then, have a streamlined and magical week, you amazing muggle. I will talk to you all next week. Bye.
