1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,740 Robert Plank: Marketer of the day. Episode 734, dreams, goals, 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,580 fears and success, build a thriving business with Platform 3 00:00:08,580 --> 00:00:16,560 University Dean John Mies, Hey everyone, and welcome back to 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,240 the marketer of the day podcast. We are here with John meese from 5 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:24,560 John meese.com and from platformuniversity.com. John 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,220 meese is the dean of Michael Hyatt Platform University. He 7 00:00:28,220 --> 00:00:31,340 leads a team focused on simplifying online marketing for 8 00:00:31,340 --> 00:00:35,360 professionals, and he runs three successful businesses, including 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,380 a co working space. And maybe we'll jump into how that's kind 10 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,820 of a mixed bag with recent events, but John's passion is 11 00:00:42,820 --> 00:00:47,080 teaching entrepreneurs and busy professionals how to systematize 12 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,140 their business and build an engaged online audience. John, 13 00:00:50,140 --> 00:00:53,260 glad to be talking to you. Glad to be here. Robert, thanks for 14 00:00:53,260 --> 00:00:58,300 having me. Glad to have you. And I think I read Michael hyatt's 15 00:00:58,300 --> 00:01:01,560 platform book about 10 or 11 years ago. I know a few people 16 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,800 who know him, but I haven't actually known him. But Michael 17 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,460 Hyatt has always amazed me when, back before social media was 18 00:01:08,460 --> 00:01:12,060 really a huge thing, and he had a blog with comments. Every blog 19 00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:15,960 post had 100 to 600 comments. And then on social he always 20 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:20,480 gets us hundreds of comments. He's a huge beast of marketing, 21 00:01:20,660 --> 00:01:26,000 and every I think I took the life score at one point, he does 22 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,020 a lot of things, right? And it would be, yeah, I'm excited to 23 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,320 find out about him, about you, about what you have going on. So 24 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:36,620 how are things these last however many weeks, it's been 25 00:01:36,620 --> 00:01:39,440 like, I don't even know what month it is or what day it is, 26 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,460 but these last several week of several months, what has been 27 00:01:42,460 --> 00:01:44,200 your passion? What have you been working on? 28 00:01:46,060 --> 00:01:48,220 John Meese: Well, you mean the last several weeks or several 29 00:01:48,220 --> 00:01:50,080 months while the world's been turned upside down, or, 30 00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:52,780 Robert Plank: yeah, when we have no idea what time of day it is, 31 00:01:52,780 --> 00:01:56,080 what day of the week it is, but somehow time just moves so slow 32 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,080 it feels like this year has been 10 years. 33 00:01:59,380 --> 00:02:02,820 John Meese: Yeah, I've been I've been walking every morning from 34 00:02:02,820 --> 00:02:07,440 my house over on Second Avenue in Columbia, Tennessee, to my 35 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,080 private office, formerly known as coworker Columbia, my giant 36 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,300 private office, formerly known as the coworking space, ever 37 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,940 been walking every morning here just to, kind of like, get some 38 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:17,760 physical activity in my day. And so this morning, I was passing 39 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,780 one of the guys who, like, is sitting outside washing cars for 40 00:02:20,780 --> 00:02:23,300 people every day. He looked at me. He was like, another day, 41 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,180 another day, John. I said, Yeah, another day. I said, What? Wait, 42 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,080 what? What is today? And, like, legitimately, this morning. I 43 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,960 couldn't figure it out. I mean, I was, I thought, like, maybe 44 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,360 it's Friday. He said, No, it's, it's Thursday. And I was, okay, 45 00:02:35,420 --> 00:02:37,460 well, yeah, that's just the world we're in right now. It's a 46 00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:39,860 little, it's a little weird, for sure. So, you know, I've been 47 00:02:39,860 --> 00:02:42,940 good All Things Considered. I mean, the reality is, like, so 48 00:02:42,940 --> 00:02:45,220 much to be grateful for. It's, it's weird though. I mean, like, 49 00:02:45,340 --> 00:02:48,880 I so I run Platform University as the brand director, and so 50 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,520 Michael height started platform mercy, and then I took it over 51 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,460 three years ago as a really, like, I still work with Michael, 52 00:02:54,460 --> 00:02:56,740 but I really just took it forward to say, like, we want 53 00:02:56,740 --> 00:02:59,140 to, kind of, like, go into the new frontier of, what does this 54 00:02:59,140 --> 00:03:01,800 look like to have a dedicated team focused on helping people 55 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,320 build an online audience or on their expertise and monetize 56 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,920 that. So that's been, you know, that's that's kept me very busy, 57 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:11,280 and it's an exciting way. But one of the things that I've been 58 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,400 fascinated with for several years has been this day of co 59 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,100 working spaces and how they create this physical community. 60 00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:19,440 As someone who does digital marketing all day long, 61 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:24,500 essentially. So maybe January 15, 2020. Wasn't the best time 62 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:27,920 to open a co working space, but I did it. And so we were open 63 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:32,300 for 58 days before we closed voluntarily, and then an 64 00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:35,960 executive order kept us closed. And so I think today's day 49 65 00:03:36,140 --> 00:03:39,200 that we've been closed. So however, in the midst of that, I 66 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,860 will say one of the things that I've learned from like personal 67 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:45,580 brand marketing totally applies to my coworking space, which is 68 00:03:45,580 --> 00:03:48,640 that it's like in today's world, it doesn't really matter what 69 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:50,680 you're selling or what you're creating. It matters more who 70 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,920 you're trying to serve. And so from the beginning, we said, 71 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,440 Okay, well, our mission is to help Columbia's entrepreneurs 72 00:03:56,500 --> 00:04:00,180 build thriving businesses. Well, they still need that, right, 73 00:04:00,180 --> 00:04:02,400 even if they can't come into the co working space. And so 74 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,860 immediately, when the co working space, when we had to close it, 75 00:04:04,860 --> 00:04:07,320 we started doing at first it was daily, and then it became 76 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,780 weekly. We started just doing something. We called it social 77 00:04:09,780 --> 00:04:12,480 distancing lunch break. And it was essentially just like a free 78 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,880 zoom call. We said, like, hey, grab your lunch. Jump on. Let's 79 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,120 just check in. But it turned into a sort of like a community 80 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,020 building event where people were asking questions. They were 81 00:04:21,020 --> 00:04:24,800 coming back. I canceled it one day and got an earful. I got 82 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,840 some messages from people saying, like, Oh, but I had 83 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,180 questions. Like, in my mind, I was just like, I was like, Oh, 84 00:04:29,180 --> 00:04:31,700 just lunch break. Today's not a good day for it, but it was a 85 00:04:31,700 --> 00:04:34,760 really reminder that this was really valuable to people. And 86 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,460 so we've started a pop up Slack community for local business 87 00:04:37,460 --> 00:04:39,920 owners to connect and really just say, like, okay, what are 88 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:41,920 you doing? How are we gonna reopen? How we're going to 89 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,680 rethink business. And so you know, what's working with the 90 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,440 coworking space is the same thing that's working online with 91 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,140 my blog or with Platform University, is to say, like, 92 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,620 focus on who you're trying to help. And in moments like this, 93 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,020 where the entire world goes on lockdown, where there's a global 94 00:04:56,020 --> 00:05:00,060 pandemic, if you're focused on your product too much, it's. A 95 00:05:00,060 --> 00:05:02,760 lot of work to figure out how to adjust your product, to make it 96 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,280 more relevant, right? To try to think, like, Okay, how do I fit 97 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:08,220 my product in today's market? It's more important and more 98 00:05:08,220 --> 00:05:11,100 helpful to focus on who you're trying to help, and then think, 99 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,500 what problems do they have right now? And then it becomes 100 00:05:13,500 --> 00:05:16,080 immediately clear how to help them solve those problems. And 101 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,600 so, yeah, so that's kind of like, that's what I've been up 102 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,500 to in terms of just solving problems on that side, inside of 103 00:05:21,500 --> 00:05:24,500 flow through a city. By the way, for the last, you know, several 104 00:05:24,500 --> 00:05:28,100 years, the idea of having an online business or having a blog 105 00:05:28,100 --> 00:05:30,800 or a podcast or an email list, that was like a cool idea to a 106 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,640 lot of people, but now it's a necessity. Now it's like, now 107 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,220 it's that your business, you know, is, for a lot of people, 108 00:05:37,220 --> 00:05:40,480 their business is just closed, and so they're like, What do we 109 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,720 do? And, you know, and they're, they're realizing that having an 110 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:49,360 online side to your business is an insurance policy, so that if 111 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,540 you your physical business does get closed down, you're still 112 00:05:52,540 --> 00:05:53,380 making sales. 113 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,340 Robert Plank: There's a lot to unpack in here so far. And and I 114 00:05:57,340 --> 00:05:59,560 think that you're so right, and I think that people need to 115 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,060 realize how huge that is, that idea that you focus on the who 116 00:06:03,060 --> 00:06:06,000 and then the what sort of reveals itself, right? Who are 117 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,460 you helping out? And that way, you don't have to have your 118 00:06:08,460 --> 00:06:13,080 product fit in this or that and it and it doesn't really outlive 119 00:06:13,140 --> 00:06:16,200 its use of the most because sometimes you know there are 120 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,660 marketing trends, right? Maybe you make this piece of software 121 00:06:18,660 --> 00:06:21,920 and then maybe zoom comes along, and then they use that instead. 122 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,800 But if you're focusing on, well, this kind of business owner that 123 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,760 I'm working with, then you'll know what to how to market it 124 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,820 and what to adjust it. And anytime I get stuck, as far as 125 00:06:31,820 --> 00:06:35,120 any kind of writer's block, I always go back to that. It's 126 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,600 like, who has a problem? And maybe that might be someone that 127 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,800 we meet on a zoom call that you're talking about, right? And 128 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,620 I've seen so many of these pop up where, like, people are using 129 00:06:44,620 --> 00:06:47,320 the Facebook groups. More people are using the they're just 130 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,380 posting a zoom link, and then in the comments under that Facebook 131 00:06:50,380 --> 00:06:53,020 post, say, here's the link if you want to join. And these 132 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,640 rooms just grow and grow. And, yeah, it's like, there are, 133 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,320 there's a never ending supply of little problems. They're not 134 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,720 huge problems. They're just little places where people are 135 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,500 stuck, and that's just an endless supply of the YouTube 136 00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:11,160 videos that we could be cranking out, or the blog posts or the 137 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,940 tweets or the products, or kind of the sales that are right 138 00:07:14,940 --> 00:07:19,140 itself just by focusing on the problem. So yeah, and I think 139 00:07:19,140 --> 00:07:24,380 that's huge, and I think also that I like your your thoughts 140 00:07:24,380 --> 00:07:27,500 here that, okay, say the the business is closed, right? Say 141 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:30,500 the hair salons closed. That seems to be the the topic of the 142 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:32,720 week, right? All these hair salons want to notice I was 143 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,500 getting a little Shaggy. I mean, I think we all are, but, uh, but 144 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:39,740 yeah. And it's like, yes, say the hair salons closed. I mean, 145 00:07:39,860 --> 00:07:42,400 like you said, now it's time to launch the YouTube video, right? 146 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,880 And it's like they have the whole hair salon space behind 147 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,880 them. They can probably still go into their establishment. They 148 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,760 just can't open their doors. You have your your background, you 149 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,400 have your prompts, you can do your little, you know, hair 150 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,120 cutting tutorials, or, you know, beauty whatever, tutorials. And 151 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,400 this is the only time when the bit like, there's not going to 152 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,700 be people coming and going and going and employees and 153 00:08:02,700 --> 00:08:07,080 customers like you have the space, the equipment's Yeah, you 154 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,020 have your studio. And instead of just letting it sit there and 155 00:08:10,020 --> 00:08:12,840 feeling bad that you're paying the rent every month and you're 156 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,900 kind of losing money, why not build up this online presence 157 00:08:15,900 --> 00:08:19,560 that you probably should have had as a fallback all along? 158 00:08:20,100 --> 00:08:21,320 Yeah? And I think, I think, I mean, 159 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,240 John Meese: we've done that exactly what you're describing. 160 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,280 So you're, you're, you hit the nail on the head, which is that, 161 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,100 like with Platform University, we had been talking for a while, 162 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:30,080 like, hey, we really need to focus more on YouTube. We 163 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,660 haven't done a lot there. You know, we have a channel sort of, 164 00:08:32,660 --> 00:08:35,720 you know, maybe it has 100 or so subscribers with some old videos 165 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,960 on it, but we should really do something about that. And then 166 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:43,120 the, you know, the crisis hit, and the, you know, the great 167 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,280 lockdown, as economists are calling it. We can call it 168 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,920 coronavirus, or covid 19 or whatever, but the great lockdown 169 00:08:47,980 --> 00:08:51,340 hit, and when that happened, all of a sudden we realized, like, 170 00:08:51,340 --> 00:08:54,160 wait a second, we they need this now. Like, this isn't this is 171 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,500 not like a trickle out thing. This is not like a gradually 172 00:08:56,500 --> 00:08:59,260 rollout thing. So today, actually, as you and I are 173 00:08:59,260 --> 00:09:02,940 talking, is day 30 of where we have published a like a 174 00:09:02,940 --> 00:09:06,660 professionally produced video tutorial, tip on something 175 00:09:06,660 --> 00:09:09,540 specific tactic you can be used to build your audience and make 176 00:09:09,540 --> 00:09:13,440 make revenue from your expertise online every single day. So for 177 00:09:13,620 --> 00:09:16,320 30 days straight, we publish a new video every single day, so 178 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,540 that YouTube channel that it just kind of sat there for a 179 00:09:18,540 --> 00:09:22,100 while with no activity now has over 1300 subscribers, and it's 180 00:09:22,100 --> 00:09:24,800 growing rapidly, and it's and these are people like, we're 181 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,320 just, like, eating it up. And so that's, um, that's cool for us 182 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,540 as a business, but it's also cool just to see these are 183 00:09:29,540 --> 00:09:31,520 people like, we kind of like, we're sitting in all this 184 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:33,680 expertise, and now all of a sudden people are saying, like, 185 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:35,900 they're realizing that even if they're even if they're not 186 00:09:35,900 --> 00:09:38,300 business owners whose business is closed, I mean, let's just 187 00:09:38,300 --> 00:09:40,520 say that there's someone who got laid off, or there's someone 188 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,880 who's working from home, and all of a sudden they're going, like, 189 00:09:43,210 --> 00:09:46,060 I don't know. I mean, like, what do I do? Well, a lot of people 190 00:09:46,060 --> 00:09:48,550 are thinking, maybe now's the time to start that blog or that 191 00:09:48,550 --> 00:09:51,550 podcast or that YouTube channel that I'm thinking about. And so 192 00:09:51,550 --> 00:09:54,070 we leaned into serving them, because we have clarity on the 193 00:09:54,070 --> 00:09:56,530 who we're trying to help, right? That's why it's so easy, because 194 00:09:56,530 --> 00:09:57,880 we're like, Well, if we get clear on who we're trying to 195 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:02,880 help, it's just the question of you. Okay, well, today, versus 196 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,580 two months ago or three months ago, to the people that we're 197 00:10:05,580 --> 00:10:08,280 trying to help have more problems or less problems, 198 00:10:08,340 --> 00:10:11,280 because our job is to solve problems, right? More they have 199 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:13,860 so many more problems, and so great, that's what we're here. I 200 00:10:13,860 --> 00:10:16,080 mean that, you know, not great in the sense we don't wish the 201 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,600 problems upon them. We're not creating the problems, but we're 202 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,980 saying like our job as entrepreneurs, as teachers is to 203 00:10:21,980 --> 00:10:23,120 solve problems. 204 00:10:24,260 --> 00:10:26,540 Robert Plank: And so out of these past 30 days, you've been 205 00:10:26,540 --> 00:10:29,060 making the these quick and easy videos, just to give us a taste, 206 00:10:29,060 --> 00:10:32,900 like what has been, maybe the most well received, or, if you 207 00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:36,500 don't know that, the most fun video that has been for you and 208 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:38,240 your team to create this last month, 209 00:10:38,300 --> 00:10:40,340 John Meese: we did have some fun with some of these. So you you 210 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:43,240 read about you kind of are right for guessing that. One of the 211 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,420 ones that I did, and it was just, it was a short one. Well, 212 00:10:46,420 --> 00:10:49,300 all of them are pretty short, but I literally the video starts 213 00:10:49,420 --> 00:10:51,460 and I'm like, looking at my phone like this, and I'm like, 214 00:10:51,460 --> 00:10:54,400 hold on a second, growing my email list. And I just like, and 215 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,980 then I go back to it, and I'm like, there, it's a and then I 216 00:10:56,980 --> 00:10:59,380 say, it's a little old fashioned, but the fastest way 217 00:10:59,380 --> 00:11:01,680 to grow your email list when you're just getting started, is 218 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:04,200 actually to pull out the phone and text or call people that are 219 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,960 in your target audience and just ask them, Hey, I'm creating this 220 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,420 new thing. Would you like to learn more? I'd love to put you 221 00:11:09,420 --> 00:11:12,540 on the list. So we got comments and people saying, like, first 222 00:11:12,540 --> 00:11:14,940 of all, the opening was hilarious, because I'm like, the 223 00:11:14,940 --> 00:11:17,280 video starts and like, it's like, I'm ignoring them. I mean, 224 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:19,800 it was just kind of goofy. But then also people were saying, 225 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,100 like, What do you mean old fashioned? Like, you know, pull 226 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:24,620 out my smartphone, like, it's a little old fashioned. And people 227 00:11:24,620 --> 00:11:26,780 were like, What do you mean old fashioned? So we got emails 228 00:11:26,780 --> 00:11:29,000 about that one, but people loved it. They thought it was 229 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,460 hilarious and it was also just helpful. I mean, really, we're 230 00:11:31,460 --> 00:11:33,800 just saying, like, the fastest way to grow your audience when 231 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,200 you're just getting started is to do things that don't scale. I 232 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,780 mean, that's not an original idea, but it's true. 233 00:11:39,980 --> 00:11:42,100 Robert Plank: Yeah, it lets you hit the ground running, right? 234 00:11:42,100 --> 00:11:45,940 You can, you can do a lot, and by contacting your your network, 235 00:11:45,940 --> 00:11:48,160 your inner circle, whatever, whatever you want to call it. 236 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:53,560 And so as far as you cranking out these videos, how long are 237 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:57,340 we talking and like, is there a process to it, or is it just you 238 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,360 come up with ideas and whatever fits well, 239 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,620 John Meese: I will say it's, it's, it's a serendipitous, 240 00:12:04,620 --> 00:12:07,980 maybe not a maybe not ironic. It's not ironic. And kind of 241 00:12:07,980 --> 00:12:09,840 don't really believe in coincidence, but it's 242 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,480 serendipitous that this happened at this time, because, actually, 243 00:12:12,780 --> 00:12:15,960 we produced all of these, like, we recorded all these videos so, 244 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,720 like, scripted and recorded a camera and had all the video 245 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:23,840 files with the editing team in February. So like, we actually 246 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,420 create all these videos, and the plan was to drip them out one a 247 00:12:26,420 --> 00:12:29,060 week. And like, whenever we were ready to launch it, like, we 248 00:12:29,060 --> 00:12:31,460 didn't really know exactly when the launch date was yet. We were 249 00:12:31,460 --> 00:12:35,720 thinking probably sometime late March, maybe in April. And so 250 00:12:35,780 --> 00:12:38,000 it's a little weird to say, like, yeah, I can show you the 251 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,520 process. But like, it's, it's, it's, it's almost like we saw 252 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:42,980 this coming. We didn't but it's almost like we saw this coming. 253 00:12:42,980 --> 00:12:45,940 Saw this coming because also so that's like a public facing 254 00:12:45,940 --> 00:12:48,280 internally inside of our membership site. Because 255 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,340 platform University's primary business model is that we have a 256 00:12:51,340 --> 00:12:54,880 membership site where people pay a monthly fee to get access to 257 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,700 training and community and coaching on building their 258 00:12:57,820 --> 00:13:01,080 online audience and turning them to a business inside of the 259 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,860 community, we also had built out this whole 90 day jumpstart 260 00:13:04,860 --> 00:13:07,260 program that we were launching to help people, you know, get 261 00:13:07,260 --> 00:13:09,480 their first 100 email subscribers, make their first 262 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,420 sale from a digital product in the first 90 in the next 90 263 00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:14,760 days, we'd already built out this whole program, and we were 264 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,580 like, ready to, like, hit, go on the inside of the membership 265 00:13:17,580 --> 00:13:21,200 site. And we produced all these videos for the outside, like for 266 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,720 the public, and then the coronavirus hit. And then we 267 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,780 looked at both of these things, and we were like, oh, man, now 268 00:13:26,780 --> 00:13:29,840 is the time. And so we hit, go on both of those and launch 269 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,860 them. So we actually worked with a professional team to produce 270 00:13:33,860 --> 00:13:36,620 the videos where, like, I just showed up on set, talk to the 271 00:13:36,620 --> 00:13:39,620 camera. It's our name, our Mosa. It's good friend of mine. Wes 272 00:13:39,620 --> 00:13:42,940 wages, who runs the company, her most great stuff, for Michael 273 00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:46,120 Hyatt, for Marie Forleo, for Amy Porterfield, for a lot of 274 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,600 people. And so they, anyways, they're good people. They 275 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,180 produce all these videos, and we just like, bash them. And then I 276 00:13:52,180 --> 00:13:54,460 just got in front of YouTube, and I was like, All right, we're 277 00:13:54,460 --> 00:13:56,440 gonna learn this. We're gonna master this. And we just 278 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,980 scheduled out everything with our team. So yeah, so it's not 279 00:13:59,980 --> 00:14:02,520 like a not like a, not like a standard practice by any means, 280 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,920 because we just, like, batched everything, and we started 281 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,800 before we needed it. And that's because we're always thinking, 282 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,620 like, okay, how can we better serve people? And so here's the 283 00:14:10,620 --> 00:14:13,140 kicker, by the way, about all of this content, because it's a lot 284 00:14:13,140 --> 00:14:15,480 of content, because each of them is actually, like a tip. It's 285 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,960 not just me talking or riffing or it's like, literally, like, 286 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,640 do this thing and you will see this result. Well, that's a lot 287 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,220 to produce in 30 days, and it's a lot when you think about the 288 00:14:25,220 --> 00:14:28,220 fact that I recorded all of those videos in about three 289 00:14:28,220 --> 00:14:31,760 hours, despite the fact that I have different wardrobes in the 290 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,500 different videos. So what we did was, actually, we looked at a 291 00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:39,320 year's worth of newsletters, because every week we send out a 292 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,220 free teach it forward newsletter that has, it's written, it's 293 00:14:42,220 --> 00:14:45,160 like, Article style, and has, like, a, you know, an example 294 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,400 and a tactic is thing you could do. And we looked at a year's 295 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,860 worth of those, and pulled out the best of the best. And then I 296 00:14:50,860 --> 00:14:53,200 just kind of, like, had some talking points. Some of them 297 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,540 were word for word scripts, and most of the videos were just 298 00:14:55,540 --> 00:14:57,700 like talking points. Of like, you know, remember this, teach 299 00:14:57,700 --> 00:15:00,120 it forward. Issue here was the topic. Like, for example. The 300 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,880 email subscribers. One was like, hey, fastest way to build your 301 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,820 email list to get 100 email subscribers with your phone. And 302 00:15:05,820 --> 00:15:08,580 then, literally, like, while we're hitting, like, record, I 303 00:15:08,580 --> 00:15:10,980 was like, Wait a second, and I pulled out my phone. I was like, 304 00:15:10,980 --> 00:15:13,440 All right, now go, you know? And then I did that first part. I'm 305 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,600 really just saying, like, I want this, we want this to be 306 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,000 informational, educational, but we also want it to be 307 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,040 entertaining. I mean, it's infotainment, you know, that's 308 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,460 like content marketing today is, like, it has to be entertaining 309 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,220 because there's just so much boring stuff on the internet. We 310 00:15:25,220 --> 00:15:25,940 don't need any more 311 00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:28,880 Robert Plank: of that. Oh, okay, well, that's a lot to take in. 312 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,780 And I can tell from hearing about your thought process and 313 00:15:32,780 --> 00:15:35,840 what you've been doing and, like, planning ahead and staying 314 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,900 consistent and diligent, I can tell that you're a guy with a 315 00:15:38,900 --> 00:15:41,920 lot of ideas, right? I mean, you open the co working space, 316 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:46,720 almost for fun, as like, as like, a side project and and so 317 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,800 like, but I also, I checked on your YouTube, YouTube channel 318 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,860 and your website a few minutes ago, and there was even, even 319 00:15:53,860 --> 00:15:57,160 more crazy stuff, right? Like, you have this UN copyright 320 00:15:57,220 --> 00:16:01,200 concept on your your site where you say, my site just doesn't 321 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,500 have any copyrights. I release copyrights. Teach it forward. I 322 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:09,600 know that you have an opinion about personal social media 323 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,600 accounts, so you have all, all these ideas and so out of all 324 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,380 the crazy things swirling around, I mean, what? What's the 325 00:16:16,380 --> 00:16:19,980 big idea moving forward into the future? What? What kind of with 326 00:16:19,980 --> 00:16:23,060 all things to be working on, like, what's what's on the 327 00:16:23,060 --> 00:16:25,700 horizon that maybe is not created yet? 328 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,240 John Meese: Well, I appreciate you asking that, and I am a 329 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,300 thinker like and so, I mean, that's like, I think a lot. I 330 00:16:32,300 --> 00:16:34,400 mean it's kind of what I think, and I talk for a living, 331 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,000 essentially, so, which is a privilege, and I am grateful for 332 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:44,680 that. I, you know, I appreciate the good intentions behind all 333 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,320 of the government programs going on right now to try to, you 334 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,140 know, recover, you know, recover the American economy and small 335 00:16:50,140 --> 00:16:52,540 businesses and all that good stuff and all over the world, 336 00:16:52,540 --> 00:16:55,120 some version of that's going on over the world. I've just right 337 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,820 now caught up in my own little, my own problems here in, you 338 00:16:57,820 --> 00:17:00,880 know, our own little country. So I'm grateful for that and the 339 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,900 good intentions behind that, but I don't really believe that 340 00:17:03,900 --> 00:17:06,420 that'll solve any of our problems. I believe it's a band 341 00:17:06,420 --> 00:17:09,000 aid, so I believe it will solve our problems. Are entrepreneurs, 342 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,700 because that's who always solves problems. Because entrepreneurs 343 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:13,920 are problem solvers. That's what they do. They go out there and 344 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,260 they see a problem, they solve it, and they get compensated 345 00:17:16,260 --> 00:17:19,440 accordingly. And so I am passionate. My life's mission is 346 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,300 to help entrepreneurs build thriving businesses now directly 347 00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:26,420 related that for me, that means without sacrificing family life, 348 00:17:26,540 --> 00:17:29,360 because I'm myself, a family man, I've got three beautiful 349 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:31,880 little kids. I say little because they're like, little. I 350 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,040 mean, I've got, like, one just turned five. I got a three year 351 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:38,000 old, and I've got a five month old all home all the time right 352 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,040 now, no preschool or anything. And then my my wife and I are 353 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,380 like, our family is really important to us, and that's what 354 00:17:44,380 --> 00:17:47,260 drives me as an entrepreneur. And I know that some version of 355 00:17:47,260 --> 00:17:49,900 that is true for most entrepreneurs. And there's this 356 00:17:49,900 --> 00:17:52,120 idea out there that you kind of have to choose, right if you're 357 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:55,180 going to be a succeeded business or take care of your family. And 358 00:17:55,180 --> 00:17:59,860 I just don't buy it. And so my passion is helping entrepreneurs 359 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:03,480 build thriving businesses. Now, one way to do that is through a 360 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,900 platform, is through a blog or a podcast or a YouTube channel or 361 00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:09,480 just an email newsletter that you can use to share your 362 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,420 expertise with people who need it and make money from doing 363 00:18:12,420 --> 00:18:15,300 that. And so that's what we teach at Platform University. 364 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,120 And I feel like we choose that really well. I mean, our results 365 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:20,520 show so I mean, but by the way, like you mentioned, the book 366 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,640 platform, you know, came out a while back. Yeah, we've been at 367 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,740 this a while. I mean, there's a lot of people today who teach 368 00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:27,080 you how to, like, become an Instagram influencer or a tick 369 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,200 tock influencer, and, you know, you know, make six or seven 370 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,480 figures or whatever they promise. We've been teaching 371 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,960 like Platform University as a membership site, has been active 372 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,100 and teaching 1000s of people since dozen, 13, which in 373 00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:43,240 internet years is like, I don't know how many decades, but it's 374 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,180 a long time, and we serve more than 25,000 students in doing 375 00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:48,040 that. So I'm really proud of everything that we've 376 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,560 accomplished with that. So Platform University for the 377 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,960 online business side, but that's also why I started this co 378 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,240 working space, is because I love the small town I live in, 379 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,340 honestly. And I just looked around and I said, Man, all the 380 00:18:57,340 --> 00:18:59,860 stuff we're teaching in Platform University, and all the stuff 381 00:18:59,860 --> 00:19:01,800 I've learned about entrepreneurship online. A lot 382 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,920 of it translates to these brick and mortar, you know, bookshop 383 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,520 bookstores and restaurants and hair salons, and that's the bulk 384 00:19:08,580 --> 00:19:11,760 of small business, the small business world. Even though a 385 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,040 lot of us who like work in digital marketing, like we're 386 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,140 always like talking to and listening to these, like 387 00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:18,900 internet entrepreneurs, that's actually a really small subset 388 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,640 of, like, America's entrepreneurs. So that's why I 389 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,340 started the co working space, was I wanted to help our local 390 00:19:25,340 --> 00:19:27,980 community and really just connect to local entrepreneurs. 391 00:19:27,980 --> 00:19:31,580 So I'm sure that what you'll see for me in the future is more of 392 00:19:31,580 --> 00:19:36,380 the same. Now, right now, like, you know, two months ago, in my 393 00:19:36,380 --> 00:19:39,500 mind, it was like, All right, help the entrepreneurs build 394 00:19:39,500 --> 00:19:42,220 thriving businesses. Okay? So right now, that's adapted a 395 00:19:42,220 --> 00:19:44,560 little bit. Right now, right now it's, I want to help 396 00:19:44,620 --> 00:19:48,580 entrepreneurs survive and thrive in the new economy, because 397 00:19:48,580 --> 00:19:51,220 building a thriving business that's kind of like not on most 398 00:19:51,220 --> 00:19:53,320 people's radar right now. Most right now, they're just trying 399 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,660 to figure out how to survive and how to adapt. And so that's 400 00:19:55,660 --> 00:19:58,120 really where the, you know, foundation needs to be laid. And 401 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,620 so that's, you know, on. My own personal YouTube channel and on 402 00:20:01,620 --> 00:20:04,260 my blog, that's what I'm talking about with core Columbia and 403 00:20:04,260 --> 00:20:06,840 with Platform University. It's really just saying, like, how do 404 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:10,680 you adapt? Because there's no snapback to what we were had 405 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,380 before. I'm not saying what we have right now is the new 406 00:20:13,380 --> 00:20:16,260 normal, but if you think about just 911 as the most recent 407 00:20:16,260 --> 00:20:21,080 example for most of us of just an event that shook our nation 408 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,260 just shook, shook the US and shook the world. We've never 409 00:20:24,260 --> 00:20:28,040 gone back to pre 911 there's still the TSA in every airport. 410 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,680 Allegedly, I haven't been to an airport in a couple months, but 411 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,380 allegedly, there's still the TSA in every airport. There's still 412 00:20:33,380 --> 00:20:35,600 piles of paperwork you have to fill out when you're opening a 413 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,240 bank account to say you're not funding terrorism. There's still 414 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,840 the Patriot Act, you know, there's all these signs like 415 00:20:41,020 --> 00:20:45,700 they're just like marks on their scars, on our culture from this 416 00:20:45,700 --> 00:20:48,520 big event. And we're gonna have something similar to that with 417 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,340 coronavirus, with covid 19, with the great lockdown. I don't know 418 00:20:51,340 --> 00:20:54,160 what exactly it's gonna look like, but we're this is a new 419 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,040 economy and a new world, so how do we adapt to it? And that's 420 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,280 the question that I'm asking every day, right? Yeah. 421 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,880 Robert Plank: And I mean, I like the way that you put that, 422 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,580 because you hear a lot about that lately. Of they say, you 423 00:21:05,580 --> 00:21:08,040 know, things will never go back to the way they were. And 424 00:21:08,220 --> 00:21:11,700 sometimes, when you watch TV shows, well, the ones that are 425 00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:15,120 still coming out, because even TV shows and movies are sort of, 426 00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:18,900 I don't know, slowing down, but when you watch a movie or TV 427 00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:21,860 show and there's a gathering of 10 plus people you're like, When 428 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,220 is the last time that I see that no one, no one's wearing masks? 429 00:21:25,220 --> 00:21:28,580 No, no one's rubbing the the hand sanitizer? It's weird 430 00:21:28,580 --> 00:21:31,100 stuff, and people say it'll never go back to normal. And 431 00:21:31,340 --> 00:21:34,820 that sounds scary, but what I'm hearing from you is that the New 432 00:21:34,820 --> 00:21:39,920 World, world 3.0 whatever will come out of this might be maybe 433 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,240 it's been a long time coming, because you hear a lot about how 434 00:21:43,540 --> 00:21:47,140 the old way of doing things was working that nine to five until 435 00:21:47,140 --> 00:21:50,620 you were 65 or like how you mentioned you sacrificed the 436 00:21:50,620 --> 00:21:54,640 family to do the work, and yeah, the new way is you people, some 437 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,640 kids these days, are pursuing the side hustle, just making 438 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,380 enough to pay for them to travel the world. People might have to 439 00:22:01,380 --> 00:22:04,560 shift careers again and again. Work at a co working space 440 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,340 instead of opening up a huge office, do online stuff, because 441 00:22:08,340 --> 00:22:12,000 we're all going to live to to 100 and the robots and the self 442 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,900 driving trucks will do whatever. So trying to act like it's still 443 00:22:15,900 --> 00:22:21,680 1900 may not be the best solution, but then all of the 444 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,920 like, what a bit kind of an AHA that I heard from you as we're 445 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,140 kind of winding down our interview here. But a big aha 446 00:22:27,140 --> 00:22:30,800 was that a lot of the things us entrepreneurs have been doing 447 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:35,120 all along. Every business owner should have been doing this, 448 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:38,480 right? Every business owner should have been posting a blog. 449 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,020 Should have been growing their social presence, should have an 450 00:22:41,020 --> 00:22:45,280 email list, should have a YouTube channel, and and now 451 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,800 they now, it's kind of like, well, if they don't have that 452 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,520 now, they'll be weeded out. And it even makes me think of when I 453 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,340 was looking on your YouTube channel, about when you visited 454 00:22:54,340 --> 00:22:57,520 all the closed businesses at the town square of your hometown. 455 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,780 Some of them just said, we're closed, or you didn't. You just 456 00:23:00,780 --> 00:23:03,780 said, I'm just going to read the headlines. But some had the QR 457 00:23:03,780 --> 00:23:07,620 codes on the on the on the door. Some said, here's the number to 458 00:23:07,620 --> 00:23:10,320 call for online delivery. Some said, here's the yeah, here's 459 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,040 the website. And I mean, a confused mind never buys. If 460 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:18,000 someone these places make the curbside or the online ordering 461 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,660 difficult, then those would be the businesses that weeded out 462 00:23:20,660 --> 00:23:25,100 and those that adopt the digitalness of today. Those are 463 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:27,860 the ones that, like you said, maybe not thrive quite yet. 464 00:23:27,860 --> 00:23:30,620 Those are the ones that survive, the ones that embrace a lot of 465 00:23:30,620 --> 00:23:33,800 this internet stuff. But in the past, maybe they thought, oh, 466 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,860 that doesn't apply to me. And this whole time, Platform 467 00:23:36,860 --> 00:23:40,100 University, I'm sure, has been saying, Well, no, no matter what 468 00:23:40,100 --> 00:23:42,280 industry you're in, like you need to be pursuing this 469 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,760 internet thing. It's not a fad. If you don't pursue now, then 470 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:47,320 you'll go by the wayside. 471 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:49,720 John Meese: Well, it's a fad, just like the automobile or the 472 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,900 airplane, right? I mean, there are innovations that stick 473 00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:55,660 around for a while, so eventually we may move on, but 474 00:23:55,660 --> 00:23:57,940 we may move on to flying cars and transportation and 475 00:23:57,940 --> 00:24:00,160 transporter devices, I don't know, but we're not there. And 476 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,760 the same thing is true for the internet. We're still reliant on 477 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,300 this as how we connect to people and how we how we do business 478 00:24:06,300 --> 00:24:09,780 and how we do life. So yeah, you summarize very well. I think 479 00:24:09,780 --> 00:24:13,260 what I'm trying to say really, which is just that there's not 480 00:24:13,260 --> 00:24:15,780 really anything radically new about what I'm saying or what 481 00:24:15,780 --> 00:24:18,180 I'm teaching, versus now, versus three months ago, it's just more 482 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:20,340 relevant than ever, and more people are listening. I mean, 483 00:24:20,340 --> 00:24:22,980 even people who've been in Platform University as paying my 484 00:24:22,980 --> 00:24:25,760 university as paying members for years and kind of like planned 485 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,580 on getting into it. Well, right now they're into it. I mean, 486 00:24:28,580 --> 00:24:31,820 right now we have, we have over 100 posts a day for more than 487 00:24:31,820 --> 00:24:35,660 2000 users inside of our student community, where it's more 488 00:24:35,660 --> 00:24:38,660 active now than I've seen, you know, since it doesn't well 489 00:24:38,660 --> 00:24:41,800 actually, ever. So, yeah, that's kind of, that's, it's kind of 490 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,080 fun to see, you know, but it's, that's a challenge for us to 491 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,360 resource, of course, but that's our problem. That's what we're 492 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:46,660 here 493 00:24:46,660 --> 00:24:48,520 Robert Plank: for, yeah, and it's a good problem to have, and 494 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,360 it reminds me a lot of being back in school when maybe you 495 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:56,200 had a stressful test coming up, or a final project, or you had 496 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,920 to study for exams, and sometimes it's crunch time. 497 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,120 Right? And it doesn't mean that you have to let the stress get 498 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:05,700 the best of you. It doesn't mean it will always be like this, but 499 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:08,820 sometimes there's just a period of you have to pick up the pace 500 00:25:08,820 --> 00:25:11,880 slightly, and then you get that, that result, and then you can 501 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,000 take a little bit, a little bit of a break. So maybe it's time 502 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,840 for some of the these businesses to, like you said, Finally, 503 00:25:18,900 --> 00:25:21,500 maybe they've been in Platform University all these years, 504 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,440 maybe they only visited it. They logged in, like once a month, is 505 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,200 to see what was new. Now, hey, it's time to actually, like, 506 00:25:27,260 --> 00:25:31,460 take some steps and assign some tasks to the virtual assistant 507 00:25:31,460 --> 00:25:35,060 and get some stuff implemented and and Platform university.com 508 00:25:35,780 --> 00:25:39,740 is the place to go and use you said, there's tons of videos, 509 00:25:39,740 --> 00:25:43,120 tons of community, community. I mean, so is there a way to 510 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:46,300 sustain, like, maybe five or six bullet points. What are what 511 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:49,240 people get inside Platform University? Yeah. 512 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,280 John Meese: Well, we really what platform mercy is all about, is 513 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,440 helping you translate your expertise, which, by the way, 514 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,540 first, you might not know what that is, right. So we help you 515 00:25:55,540 --> 00:25:58,600 identify that, but translate your expertise into an online 516 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:02,280 income in terms of products or services. We walk you through 517 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:06,720 creating a website, an email list, a content strategy, you 518 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,900 know, social media as it relates to building your email list, 519 00:26:09,900 --> 00:26:12,780 which we didn't get to talk too much about that, but just kind 520 00:26:12,780 --> 00:26:15,540 of showing my cards there, and also launching digital products, 521 00:26:15,540 --> 00:26:17,940 like an online course. So we walk you through step by step. 522 00:26:17,940 --> 00:26:20,180 We have a step by step curriculum that you can go 523 00:26:20,180 --> 00:26:23,420 through in 30 minutes a day to make progress now. Right now, 524 00:26:23,420 --> 00:26:25,460 you may have more than 30 minutes a day, and you may be 525 00:26:25,460 --> 00:26:28,760 like, I want to like, you binge this, and that's great. Go for 526 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:30,800 it. You know, put in the work. There's a lot of people who are 527 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,980 doing that right now. So we actually, up until recently, 528 00:26:33,980 --> 00:26:37,100 platform received, we only open enrollment once or twice a year. 529 00:26:37,100 --> 00:26:39,200 But because there's so much demand right now, we actually 530 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,500 just opened the gates and we said, look, it's just open, like 531 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:44,140 we're just here to help. And so we even did something we've 532 00:26:44,140 --> 00:26:46,840 never done before, which is we now have a $1 trial option for 533 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,020 people who want to just check it out. So you can find information 534 00:26:50,020 --> 00:26:51,640 about that at platformuniversity.com/robert, 535 00:26:52,540 --> 00:26:57,220 plank, or you can also, if you're if $1 is too much to ask 536 00:26:57,220 --> 00:26:59,680 right now, you can still subscribe to our free 537 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:01,980 newsletter, and we have other resources there to help you, 538 00:27:01,980 --> 00:27:04,680 including an online income checklist, which is a seven step 539 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,040 action plan to quickly generate revenue from a blog, vlog or 540 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:09,120 podcast if you already have 541 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:12,120 Robert Plank: one. And where do people find that freebie to sign 542 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:13,320 up for? That's 543 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,000 John Meese: right there, at platform, university.com/robert 544 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:16,380 plank. 545 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:18,720 Robert Plank: All right. Super cool. So plat from 546 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,220 university.com forward slash Robert plank is the place to 547 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,540 claim that $1 trial to get that free resource. And then John 548 00:27:26,540 --> 00:27:32,480 meese.com that is J, O, H, N, M, E, E, S, e.com, if you want to 549 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,500 see even the overflow of the marketing ideas and things that 550 00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:40,780 don't even fit into the 30 day video, or there are the 90 day 551 00:27:40,780 --> 00:27:44,020 challenge. And like, like John has been saying, this is the 552 00:27:44,020 --> 00:27:47,380 time to step up your game and figure out what you need to do. 553 00:27:47,380 --> 00:27:50,800 And what's always good is now that we're all we've all figured 554 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,020 out the video chat, the zoom, the Facebook groups, the 555 00:27:53,020 --> 00:27:55,600 membership sites. You're not alone. There are other people 556 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,300 going through the same thing as you are, but you need to be 557 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:01,320 doing some of these things, especially building the email 558 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:05,880 list. John meese.com, and product, universe or platform, 559 00:28:05,940 --> 00:28:10,860 university.com/robert plank, two P's, easy to get it mixed up. 560 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:14,460 Plant from university.com forward, slash Robert plank, 561 00:28:14,580 --> 00:28:17,460 anything to say, John, before we wrap up? Wind down here. Any 562 00:28:17,460 --> 00:28:19,620 parting thoughts? Yeah. I mean, I just want 563 00:28:19,620 --> 00:28:21,780 John Meese: to encourage anybody who's listening that if you're 564 00:28:21,780 --> 00:28:24,740 an individual, you know, like marketer, whether you work for a 565 00:28:24,740 --> 00:28:28,160 company or an agency or you're a freelancer, what you do is, you 566 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,740 know, your job is to really spread the good news. And so 567 00:28:30,740 --> 00:28:33,860 right now, I think it's all it's the job for all of us to look 568 00:28:33,860 --> 00:28:36,560 around at what we can where we can help people solve problems, 569 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:38,960 where the businesses that we work with can help people solve 570 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,860 problems, and just communicate that lens with empathy and 571 00:28:41,860 --> 00:28:44,740 intelligence, and just recognize that everybody on the other end 572 00:28:44,740 --> 00:28:47,620 who's receiving this information is a real human being with real 573 00:28:47,620 --> 00:28:50,020 problems right now, and we got to make sure that we're not tone 574 00:28:50,020 --> 00:28:52,360 deaf to that. I mean, we got to make sure that that doesn't mean 575 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,700 we don't sell. That doesn't mean we stop selling, because what 576 00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:57,880 we're selling is the solution to their problem, right? And if it 577 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,320 is, then how dare you keep that from them, get out there and 578 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:02,220 sell that stuff. 579 00:29:05,700 --> 00:29:07,800 Robert Plank: Thank you for listening to marketer of the 580 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,700 day. Subscribe and listen to other shows at marketer of the 581 00:29:11,700 --> 00:29:11,940 day.com/episodes,