Desmond Soon Archives

July 23 2016

YVRCommunities – How to Monetize your blog, podcast, and YouTube Channel

ftyang Archive, Business Seminar Business Seminar, Desmond Soon, James Martell, Tyler Basu, YVRCommunities 0

Date: July 12, 2016

Name: YVRCommunities – How to Monetize your blog, podcast, and YouTube Channel

Presenters: Tyler Basu, James Martell, and Desmond Soon

Social platforms have been a great exposure for entrepreneurs. However, many entrepreneurs have not been taught the successful way to monetize their social platforms. Ricky Shetty, the Founder of YVRCommunities, invites Tyler Basu, a professional Content Marketer, James Martell, the Co-founder of jambMedia, and Desmond Soon, the Pan Asian Serial Entrepreneur, to discuss strategies on blog, podcast, and video monetization. Entrepreneurs will discover ways to take their content into the next level. Moreover, all experts will reveal their secret steps to accomplish their goals, and entrepreneurs will be able to utilize their methods into their businesses.

How to monetize your blog

Tyler Basu is a professional Content Marketer. Basu has been blogging since 2011. In 2013, he hosted a podcast called “Chatting with Champions”. He is also the author of one of the bestselling book “Lifestyle Business Blueprint”. He is currently the Content Marketing Manager for Thinkific and the publisher for Lifestyle Business Digital Magazine.

Basu focuses on a the statement of helping entrepreneurs to create and promote content that attracts and retains their ideal clients. Basu believes the best way to monetize blog is to sell something. Entrepreneurs can sell products, services or traffics.

Many entrepreneurs could not distinguish between blogger and content marketer. Basu defines blogger as someone who can write online. On the other hand, content marketer is someone in business process for creating and distributing valuable and compelling content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined audience with the objective of driving profitable customer action. Both have different goals. The goal for blogger is to create content to share their thoughts, opinions and stories. Moreover, the goal for content marketer is to build and connect relationship that results in a sale.

Basu shares the 5 steps to create a content funnel that converts visitors into paying customers.

Step #1: Identify a specific target audience

Entrepreneurs need to understand their target audience’s demographics and psychographics. Basu advices entrepreneurs not to attract everyone because the result will be no one.

Step #2: Identify the pain point or struggle

Entrepreneurs need to discover clients’ problems. They need to understand what result are their clients looking for. Entrepreneurs can provide them information to the questions they are looking for.

Basu shares 2 ways to find clients’ pain points: market research and feedback loop. Questions and complaints can also reveal certain level of pain points, which can lead to business opportunities.

Step #3: Create and an EPIC piece of content that is actually helpful

Entrepreneurs can create blog post, podcast or video to share their advices online for their clients. Basu suggests entrepreneurs to aim long and not short. Contents with research, statistic or quotes for supporting documents are essential. The key is to provide content that can generate worthy comments, shares and bookmarks.

Step #4: Include a content upgrade to build the email list

Entrepreneurs need to create a lead magnet. Lead magnet can be an audio or video training, cheatsheets, resource guide, infographic or Ebook. Basu believes free resource can help entrepreneurs to exchange for clients email.

Step #5: Guide email subscribers through a sales process

Entrepreneurs must realize that people do not become clients automatically. They need to be guided. The truth is that no sales means no revenue, which results of no business. Basu suggests when entrepreneurs guide them to the sale process, they can invite them to a webinar, offer free coaching or link them to a sale page through email. The important thing is to make them an offer they cannot refuse.

“Do not all me something, solve me something”

Basu emphasizes entrepreneurs need to go through these 6 stages.

Target audience
Pain point
Solution
Content upgrade
Email Call the action
Product for sale

When every piece of content is part of a funnel, there is a measurable rate of return. Through the conversion rate (Free content, content upgrade, email list, sales process, and then customer), the conversation rate drops. The average is 1%.

“When you know how much a new client is worth, you know how much you can spend to promote your clients”

How to architect a podcast the speaks to your ideal clients

James Martell is the Co-founder of jambMEDIA. Martell is also the host of the Affiliate Buzz podcast. Moreover, he was ranked number 14 on top 25 influencers in Performance marketing for 2014.

In 1999, Martell discovered how to utilize affiliate marketing and it was the year he received his first cheque from online. In 2001, Martell started his first online marketing and wrote an ebook on online marketing. The book sold over 5500 copies. In 2003, he launched Affiliate Buzz Podcast. It was a new method of audio newsletter and this podcast had over 500 subscribers instantly. Martell believes podcast is an ability to build relationship with online audience.

“It started with a telephone conversation”

Martell shares the 10 reasons to start podcast.

Create an audience predisposed to buy
Strength relationship
Establish entrepreneurs as expert in their marketplace
Human voice is the most natural way to communicate
Easy to develop
Reach new market
Each episode works for entrepreneurs 24/7
Easy to start
Create huge impact with less than 1 hour
Podcast is the hottest

Martell shares his monetization strategy focuses on 5 major things: podcast, traffic, clear offer, email series and respond. Podcast focuses on the right clients. Martell will issue weekly episodes, which shows consistency. Quality production of the podcast is important.

Traffic comes from google search, email subscribers, social media. He will have podcast directories to direct clients to the right information. The offer must be easy to understand and easy to explain. The content should be useful, but incomplete because it can lead clients to larger sale. The key is the podcast must have high value for clients.

Email list is important for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs should collect addresses from subscribers. They will provide questions and testimonials. Entrepreneurs can respond to their clients by telephone calls, email inquiries, text message or even Facebook messages.

Martell reveals 5 killer tools for entrepreneurs to use for their podcasting.

Digital access pass
LeadPages
Spreaker
Basecamp
Upward

The number one mistake many entrepreneurs make is underestimating the work involved. Many entrepreneurs will quit after 7 episodes. Martell believes the solution is to have a virtual team that takes care of writer, graphic designer, voice talents, and editor. By hiring virtual assistant, entrepreneurs will manage to ensure all these task are done.

How to monetize videos

Many entrepreneurs refer Desmond Soon as the Pan Asian Serial Entrepreneurs. For over many years, Soon coaches many young entrepreneurs and professionals to develop profitable and sustainable businesses. With his mentorship, he is managed to shift them with his unique business lessons. Soon has appeared on many social medias. Many of his coaching revolve around his slogan of “Turning setbacks into comebacks”.

Many entrepreneurs have setbacks because they want to aim for perfection. Soon believes the first thing is to change the mindset of not aiming for perfection. The first step of monetization is to get OMNI presence. The key of the first step is to present offline and online as much as possible.

Soon believes every entrepreneurs will need 4 things: OMNI presence, sales, leadership and financial. Monetization starts off from OMNI presence.

Entrepreneurs can now upload their videos to market. Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram, Twitter or Periscope, can be utilized for monetization. For YouTube, entrepreneurs need to follow the setup Youtube procedure to complete the monetization. The setup is easy, but it is competitive because there is no barrier of entry.

Soon reveals the blueprint of video monetization. Entrepreneurs need to build their celebrity status online and offline. This attracts sponsors for funding. The celebrity status can gain subscribers’ attention to their businesses. Afterwards, entrepreneurs can give offer or pitch. Entrepreneurs can also create advertising type videos to promote their products. This will lead subscribers to lead capture page, which entrepreneurs can present their offer or pitch to prospects.

People want to know more about entrepreneurs. Video can capture their attention. The more views entrepreneurs can capture, the more subscribers they can receive. This will attract advertising sponsors, offers, and sales.

To create views, Soon suggests entrepreneurs to put out contents that people are looking for. There are 5 types of videos that people love to see online.

How to videos
Funny videos
Information type videos
Motivational or inspirational videos
Interesting videos

Keyword planning is important. Content can be overwhelm, so keywords can capture the right audience.

Soon shares the tools and software entrepreneurs need for creating videos.

Smart phone
Selfie sticks
Mini Tripod
POV style camera
Digital Camera / Video Camera
Tripod
Cowboy studio lighting kit
Professional Mic like Yeti Mic
Simple Mic like headphone
Lavaliere Mic
Computer
ScreenCastOMatic
Jing
Camtasia
iMovie
Window Movie Maker

March 12 2016

Achieving your way to entrepreneurial success

ftyang Archive, Business Seminar Business Seminar, Desmond Soon, Vancouver Social Entrepreneurs 0

Date: March 6, 2016

Name: Achieving your way to entrepreneurial success

Presenter: Desmond Soon

A distinct trait from all successful entrepreneurs is whenever they face fear, they never give up. Moreover, successful entrepreneurs will continue no matter what happens. Vancouver Social Entrepreneurs meetup invites Desmond Soon, a Pan Asian Serial Entrepreneur, to share his entrepreneur journey experience. In this presentation, Desmond Soon will provide his valuable lessons from his path to success and the common mistakes from entrepreneurs today. Moreover, Desmond Soon will explain the proper way to keep a right mentor and the action steps for entrepreneurs to take their success to another level.

Many entrepreneurs called Desmond Soon “the Pan Asian Serial Entrepreneur”. Soon helps many entrepreneurs develop profitable and sustainable businesses. Soon is also a qualified commercial pilot before his path of entrepreneurship. With over many years of experience working in major Fortune 500 firms, he is able to gain trust and support from major business players. Moreover, Soon appears in many social media platform, which influences many new entrepreneurs in this generation.

How to be successful as an entrepreneur

Soon believes to be qualified as entrepreneur, people need to have a business. Soon was born in Singapore. He spend 12 years there and immigrated to Vancouver after. He completed the qualification to become a commercial pilot, but the ambition of becoming an entrepreneur remains in his heart. Soon was the middle of 3 children in his family, and he considered himself as the black sheep and the entrepreneur of the family.

In his early age, Soon involved in many illegal activities. In the age of 14, he thought it was cleaver to sell drugs through wholesale system for business, but he never thought it was illegal. He got himself into trouble with the law. Soon broke into school to steal computers and got caught by the police.

When he watched his father cry with disappointment, it was a wakeup call for Soon. He started to realize the importance of getting a proper mentor and be successful. In his teenage years, he surrounded himself with mentors. He joined Amway and learned the value of reading business and motivation books. He used business knowledge for something more productive, such as picking up girls.

Soon believes it is important for entrepreneurs to find the edge. The edge is what makes the difference between any entrepreneurs.

After gained some small success, Soon decided to travel to Japan because he felt in love with Japanese culture and the business city of Tokyo. In his 12 years in Japan, he worked from corporate world to startup own companies. He managed to raise 1/2 million dollars of investors’ money at the age of 28 by sell Jewelry brand to elite and celebrities. He started to socialize and party; eventually, he ran out of the money.

He got bailed out by a Korean girl and eventually got married. Both of them worked in high end Fortune 500 corporate jobs while opening a restaurant. Soon shares he made a biggest mistake of not paying attention to cash flow and did not understand the restaurant’s break-even point.

“If you are not making money, you are not an entrepreneur”

While the restaurant was in survival mode, he had 2 babies and spend over 1/2 million dollars on restaurant. He launched a talent booking agency business to gain more cash flow, but the stress from the restaurant almost ended him marriage.

Soon emphasizes during that moment, he looked fancy from the outside, but he was living in poverty. He was far away from happiness. He was stressed, lack of money, and lying to his spouse. With endless fighting with his wife, he was exhausted and stressed.

He declared bankruptcy due to a Ponzi scheme. He borrowed from Yakuza in order to maintain his life style and pride. Furthermore, he had to steal diapers from the supermarket because he was so far in debt.

That moment Soon felt such a loser. He needed to sort things out to become a hero for his family once again.

“Take 100% responsibility everything happened in your life”

Soon called his mentor and his mentor said something he will never forget.

“Desmond, I am not going to give you a fish, but I am going to teach you how to fish”

His mentor gave him hope. He swallowed the pride and asked his network for help. People lend him the money to pay back to Yakuza, but at the end, he got evicted.

Soon moved back to Vancouver as a single father. He took his mentor’s suggestion to start internet marketing. He became humble and rebuild his career. He shared his story on video to inspire others. Now, he is earning 6 figure income and willing to help people to find ways to get back on their feet.

“Turning setbacks into comebacks”

Common mistakes from entrepreneurs

Soon believes many entrepreneurs have the problem of analysis paralysis. When they are lacking capital, they are trying to do things the wrong way. Pride and ego can make entrepreneurs think they know it all.

Mentors can be in different forms. Books and audios count as a form of mentors. Many entrepreneurs fail because they are trying to be perfect. In addition, many entrepreneurs are not willing to invest in themselves or their businesses. The amount of investment entrepreneurs invest in their businesses equals the amount of value created in their businesses.

“It is not what you know, but who you know; most importantly who knows you”

Soon reveals the top 4 evils that will screw up entrepreneurs.

Health
Emotional
Financial
Time

When entrepreneurs have poor health, they will stop pursuing their success. Instead, entrepreneurs must keep in balance with health and work because it will motivate them to get their message out. When entrepreneurs have emotional issues, their decisions will be interfered. Soon suggests all entrepreneurs when any decision is made, they must stick with it all the way. Business can fail with financial problem; therefore, entrepreneurs need to keep seeking opportunities to gain stable cash flow. Many entrepreneurs think they do not have time. In fact, time is based on the priority. When entrepreneurs do not have time, it usually means they do not have the priority to be successful.

Business starts like a baby, and it takes time to feed the baby to growth. When entrepreneurs make money from business, it is advised to reinvest back into business.

How to find and keep a right mentor

Soon believes mentors must be someone who has been where entrepreneurs are and where they want to be. Mentors must have financial interest in entrepreneurs. When working with mentors, entrepreneurs should be in joy. Mentors like entrepreneurs who take massive action. They must integrate everything mentors are teaching, training or doing. Most importantly, entrepreneurs must be coachable.

Soon wants entrepreneurs to know that mentorship is earned. When entrepreneurs find the mentors who has what they want and where they been, they need to follow these mentors, both virtually and the real world. Entrepreneurs must pay attention and implement their teaching. When entrepreneurs generate enough results, mentors will contact them personally.

Soon creates a 5 main action steps for entrepreneurs to accelerate their success. First, entrepreneurs must know their “why”. Second, entrepreneurs need to be clear on what they really want. Third, they must commit on willing to make mistakes. Fourth, entrepreneurs need to find the right associations, inner circle, mentors, books and other personal development materials. Fifth, entrepreneurs need to plan their actions, understand their numbers and start take actions.