Why should you launch a movement and not just a product? How often should you publish content for your audience? How should your strategy change when you sell to a large group?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expert Secrets<\/em> by Russell Brunson answers these questions and many more. The book serves as a how-to guide for creating excitement for your idea that turns potential customers into lifelong buyers, focusing on how you can tap into your audience\u2019s emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Continue reading for an overview of this book, and learn the main \u201csecrets\u201d that will help you create loyal customers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Imagine you have a product or service that can change people\u2019s lives\u2014one that can help them reach their most ambitious goals<\/a> financially or personally. If you don\u2019t know how to effectively market it, your idea won\u2019t make a difference in anyone\u2019s life. Expert Secrets<\/em><\/a> by Russell Brunson aims to solve this problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson made his name selling online marketing tools specializing in sales funnels<\/em>\u2014preset buying experiences that guide online visitors to additional sales opportunities. He\u2019s the author of DotCom Secrets<\/em><\/a>, in which he outlines his funnel system, and Traffic Secrets<\/em><\/a>, in which he expands on more tips for online selling. He also runs ClickFunnels<\/a>, a software company offering training and tools to incorporate funnels into online businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that to successfully launch a business, you must start by solidly identifying your market. Until you know who you\u2019re aiming for, you can\u2019t effectively come up with details for your offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, identify your core market by figuring out which of three basic human desires your product appeals to\u2014wealth, health, or relationships. Brunson argues that every purchase is an effort to enhance one of those areas of the buyer\u2019s life. Therefore, figure out which of these your idea appeals to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He further argues that within these categories, the most important thing people seek is status<\/em>. He writes that when people are looking to improve any aspect of their lives, the question they\u2019re asking themselves is whether a purchase will increase their status in the eyes of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson also advises that when determining your core market, you should consider whether people within that market are passionate about that aspect of their lives<\/strong>. Look for signs that would indicate passionate fans: Does this market have active communities using blogs, online forums, and so on? Do they use unique terms that people outside the market won\u2019t know (like nicknames or shortened versions of terms)? Do they participate in events, such as conferences or workshops? Does the market have already established experts and celebrities, indicating a thriving subculture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further, consider whether people within this market have money and are willing to spend it. If you want your company to be financially successful, Brunson cautions that you shouldn\u2019t target people who either don\u2019t have money or aren\u2019t interested in spending it to improve that aspect of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson advises that within your core market, you identify the submarket you want to reach (for example, within wealth, you might focus on real estate investing), and further, the niche within that submarket (you might focus, for example, on short-term rental investing). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, within that niche, figure out what category you can create that you can dominate. Brunson emphasizes the importance of creating a new category within your niche rather than competing within an existing category<\/strong> because existing categories will already have a market leader<\/a> and it\u2019s generally not possible to dethrone an established leader. Instead, look to become the market leader in your own new category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a new category, look for customers who are unhappy with the offerings they\u2019re using now\u2014people who will readily complain about a company, product, or service and who are actively looking for a better option. If you come up with a solution to fit their needs and answer their dissatisfaction, you have a ready-made market that you can dominate. Then, position your offer as different from what\u2019s already out there. Brunson cites the example of Dove, who positioned themselves as \u201cnot soap\u201d even though their product was quite clearly soap. They created a new category of \u201cmoisturizer soap\u201d that set them apart from their competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that, to launch a business that changes people\u2019s lives\u2014and also makes you lots of money\u2014you\u2019ll need to launch a movement<\/em>, not just a product. The movement is what will inspire people to adopt your ideas and become lifelong customers. Your product is merely the tool to support the movement<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He writes that every successful movement has three elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll examine each of these three aspects, and how you can bring them into your movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that people may check out your business because they\u2019re curious about your product, but it\u2019s your personality and their relationship with you that will convince them to stay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, he advises that you create an attractive public personality and then build a relationship with your customers\u2014specifically, one in which you act as an expert who can guide them to achieve their goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson notes that leaders of movements are inspirational. Thus, to attract people to you and your message, aim to inspire them: Encourage them to dream big and aim for high goals, and calm their fears by helping them see hope that they can achieve the goals they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, make them feel you\u2019re on their side against their enemies<\/strong>. Show them that you care about their struggles, can identify with what they\u2019re going through, and want to help them vanquish their enemies. Help them understand that they\u2019re<\/em> not responsible for their past failures but instead, the previous systems and tools they used were flawed. This will create an \u201cus versus them\u201d mentality through which they\u2019ll see themselves as part of your team, and which will foster loyalty to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your customers will stay loyal to you and your company if they see you as an expert who can guide them toward their goals. To become an expert<\/a> they\u2019ll trust, learn as much as you can about your field. Read, go to seminars and events, and even start a show or podcast, which will enable you to interview experts you otherwise wouldn\u2019t have access to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve developed expertise, it\u2019s time to get people to see you as the expert you\u2019ve become. To do so, Brunson advises that you share your message consistently and frequently<\/strong>. Publish daily for at least a year. This will help you develop a unique voice that will set you apart from your competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It will also ensure you work through the initial phase of putting your message into the world\u2014the phase when you haven\u2019t fully developed your voice and your posts aren\u2019t high quality yet. He writes that everyone goes through this low-quality phase, but not to worry: In the beginning, you won\u2019t have a large audience, so few will notice. By the time you\u2019ve attracted a sizable audience, you\u2019ll have developed an effective voice and a strong message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson notes that the idea of publishing every day can be intimidating because people often don\u2019t think they can come up with content daily. He offers some tips to get past this difficulty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make it easy: <\/strong>Instead of creating lengthy, original content full of teaching or marketing materials, simply document your thoughts: things that are important to you, your journey, your process, what you\u2019ve learned, and so on. This is still original content, but it\u2019s easy to come up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be a little strange: <\/strong>Don\u2019t shy away from saying things that are slightly unusual or controversial. No one gets rich by being ordinary because run-of-the-mill ideas don\u2019t attract attention<\/a> and people won\u2019t pay for them. Brunson notes that even if some people don\u2019t like your message because it pushes boundaries, that can work in your favor: When people are vocal about their dislike, they can bring even more attention to you. However, he cautions that your message shouldn\u2019t be too off-the-wall because, if you appeal to a too-narrow niche of consumers, the mainstream will view you as too weird and won\u2019t pay attention. He advises that you find the sweet spot between \u201cstrange enough\u201d but \u201cnot too strange.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that to create a movement<\/a> that attracts people, you have to offer a vision of an idealistic future in which your customers are better versions of themselves. This vision should be one of both achievement and transformation, and Brunson emphasizes that it should be more than a mere improvement plan\u2014it should prompt your audience to envision a completely new identity for themselves.<\/strong> For example, instead of selling an exercise plan that merely shows people how to do better sit-ups, help your customers envision themselves as masters of their health and bodies. <\/strong>This will engage them emotionally and turn them into lifelong customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To encourage your customers to envision this new identity, Brunson recommends that you create a manifesto stating your company\u2019s vision in an inspiring way and helping your audience see themselves as part of a group with special characteristics. One way you can do this is to name the kind of customer who uses your product and describe them\u2014for example, for Brunson\u2019s company, ClickFunnels, his manifesto said, \u201cA Funnel Hacker is a new breed of entrepreneur\u2026\u201d and it went on to describe \u201cfunnel hackers\u201d as people who \u201cdefine their own identity\u201d and \u201ccreate their own luck.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can take these statements a step further to foster a sense of belonging<\/a> by creating swag, such as t-shirts or mugs, that sport \u201cI am\u201d statements mirroring your manifesto (such as, \u201cI am a Funnel Hacker\u201d or \u201cI create my own luck\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third element of a movement is a new opportunity<\/em>, which is the product or service you\u2019ll offer to solve your customers\u2019 problems. Brunson writes that you must ensure this idea isn\u2019t merely an improvement on an existing product, but instead is something entirely new and original\u2014this is how you\u2019ll create and dominate an original category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson argues that unless your product creates a new category, you won\u2019t create a movement that engages people and creates fans<\/strong>. He notes that Steve Jobs didn\u2019t just offer a faster or bigger CD player but instead created a new category\u2014a way to carry your entire music collection in your pocket (with an iPod). If he\u2019d merely developed an improved music player, he wouldn\u2019t have inspired the following he attracted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that, to be successful, you can\u2019t just sell a product<\/a>. Instead, you must sell a product within a<\/strong> framework<\/em><\/strong>\u2014a set of predictable steps your customers can follow to achieve their goals using your product. This framework will be so integral to your product that it will be inseparable from it\u2014without the framework guiding customers, your product won\u2019t be nearly as powerful and your customers won\u2019t be as interested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He cites his own marketing tool as an example. His company, ClickFunnels, sells software to help online businesses create sales funnels that upsell additional products. What makes the software stand out from competitors<\/a> are the frameworks\u2014predictable, repeatable steps\u2014helping customers incorporate this software into their businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To develop frameworks for your product or service, first research existing successful frameworks. Find successful people and find out what they did to reach success. Often, they\u2019ll talk freely about their process in interviews, podcasts, live events, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, take the elements of those processes that appeal to you and incorporate them into new frameworks designed for your specific goal. Test your framework on yourself and make adjustments as needed. Name it, as this makes it easy for people to recognize and remember it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, test your framework on other people to ensure it works for them, too. Initially, don\u2019t charge people to use your framework\u2014at this point, your goal isn\u2019t to make money but instead, to perfect your framework, get experience, and build a track record that shows your framework is effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, we\u2019ve examined Bruson\u2019s advice on how to create your product and your company. We\u2019ll now turn to Brunson\u2019s thoughts on how to present<\/em> your product and company in a way that will excite customers and turn them into lifelong users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that, to effectively engage your customers, you need to tell them not only about your product<\/em> but also about the story<\/em> behind it<\/strong>\u2014the problems you faced and how you came up with your idea to solve them. By sharing this story, you\u2019ll help your audience understand the \u201caha\u201d moment that hooked you in to your idea emotionally, and it will likewise hook them<\/em> emotionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson emphasizes that this is the only way to spur them to become customers because people make purchasing decisions<\/a> when they\u2019re emotionally<\/em> invested in an idea, not when they logically<\/em> understand it<\/strong>. Thus, even if they mentally understand and agree with your concepts, they won\u2019t adopt them if they\u2019re not emotionally involved, and your company won\u2019t change their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To tell a story about your product, Brunson outlines a set of steps\u2014a framework that\u2019s proven to be an effective way to convey the important details of your product and get people excited about it. He calls it the \u201cEpiphany Bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson\u2019s Epiphany Bridge<\/a> framework has five parts, and he writes that it\u2019s useful not only because it inspires excitement but also because it allows you to go into as much or as little detail as you need when presenting your idea. If you have an hour-long training session, you can review each of the steps in detail. But, if you have only 60 seconds, you can give a quick overview of your product by focusing just on the broad concepts of each step, but your message will still be effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The five parts of the Epiphany Bridge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson notes that the steps of this framework are similar to many traditional storytelling structures, which start by introducing the hero\u2019s original world and then bring in antagonistic forces, failed attempts at success, helping characters, struggles (both internal and external), and finally, resolution and success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Start by telling your audience your framework\u2019s name and then giving some background about what your life was like before you came up with your idea (your \u201coriginal world,\u201d in storytelling language). Mention the problems you faced\u2014both externally, like financial struggles, and internally, like having a fear of never reaching your potential<\/a>. Brunson advises that the problems you name should be similar to problems your audience faces, so they\u2019ll identify with you and your process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, mention some things you did to try to resolve your problems but weren\u2019t successful at (for example, maybe you tried selling dog-training services but couldn\u2019t get your business off the ground).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this step, you\u2019ll describe the inspiration that started you on the path toward your idea. For example, maybe someone asked you why you aren\u2019t targeting pet stores, and that got you thinking about the potential of that business model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, describe the obstacles you faced\u2014perhaps your attempts to contact pet stores were ignored, or your initial classes went poorly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, mention in this step what you stood to lose if you failed\u2014the stakes of your story. Were you close to being evicted from your apartment? Would you not be able to afford grad school if you couldn\u2019t develop this source of income?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this step, you\u2019ll discuss the epiphany you had that led you to your solution. You\u2019ll talk about the expert who guided you to your aha moment, the realization itself, and the new opportunity you developed based on this epiphany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you could tell them about the zookeeper who taught you how to speak an animal\u2019s language, and your aha moment when you realized that if you could teach others how to speak dog<\/em>, your dog training classes would take off. Then you\u2019d describe the dog dictionary you wrote and the audiobooks you recorded as part of your training classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here you\u2019ll describe the framework you\u2019ve developed to accompany your product. You\u2019ll start by outlining it in broad strokes, touching on its goal and the main steps needed to achieve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson warns that if you\u2019re using this Epiphany Bridge to sell your product to potential customers, you shouldn\u2019t go into further details in this step. Outline your framework\u2019s strategy but not the specific tactics and techniques within it. Only describe the specific techniques to customers who have already purchased your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson argues that withholding information is not just a way to protect sales, but more importantly, it\u2019s a way to convince people to adopt your ideas. It\u2019s a quirk of human nature that if people are told everything they need to know upfront, they\u2019ll listen, nod, and then go on about their lives as usual. It\u2019s only when you create excitement and desire but don\u2019t<\/em> tell them everything they need to know that they\u2019ll be motivated to fully buy into your program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, he writes that the only way to create true, lasting excitement for your product is to withhold the details of how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the final step, talk about how your framework and product have helped you achieve your goals<\/a>, both internal and external. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, lastly, discuss how your framework has helped others\u2014this offers the ultimate proof of your concept. People are likely to be skeptical<\/a> of any service or product if you can only show that it\u2019s worked for you<\/em>\u2014they\u2019ll assume you have special circumstances that helped it be successful (for example, maybe dogs in your training classes pay attention to you because you naturally smell like raw beef\u2014it\u2019s only when you can point to others who successfully trained their dogs using your dog-language lessons that your program will seem credible). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson notes that, if you\u2019re able to present your frameworks to a large audience\u2014for example, at a live event or through a webinar\u2014you can supercharge your business by selling a high volume at once. He cautions that you must use different strategies when addressing a large crowd<\/strong>. Since you can\u2019t ask questions of your audience as you would when speaking to one person or a small group, you can\u2019t respond to their individual answers, concerns, objections, and so forth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson offers a number of tips to help you succeed in a large gathering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that instead of trying to address all possible reasons your audience should want to use your product, you should focus on just one thing\u2014aim to change just one belief they hold<\/strong>. He argues that if you get them to believe one central idea, all their other objections and concerns will disappear, and they\u2019ll be eager to purchase your product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The central belief you should focus on is getting them to believe that the only way to be successful in whatever pursuit they choose is to use your product. This is where the uniqueness of your product matters\u2014if you\u2019ve come up with an opportunity different from any existing solutions on the market, you can convince your customers that the only way to success is through you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson also advises that you create three \u201csecrets\u201d that address three possible false beliefs that potential customers often hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These false beliefs are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t see how this framework will work:<\/strong> This is when people see a characteristic of your framework they don\u2019t fully understand. For example, they may be unfamiliar with a sales technique (like network marketing) or a product type (like a sales funnel<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n My internal obstacles will keep me from using this framework effectively:<\/strong> Sometimes people think they lack a skill or characteristic that the framework requires. For example, they might assume they need to be highly computer literate in order to use your service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My external obstacles will keep me from using this framework effectively:<\/strong> People might face challenges in their daily lives that they feel will keep them from success. For example, they might be working two jobs and not feel they have spare time, or they don\u2019t think they have logistical access to a certain customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunson writes that you can address each of these fears by creating a \u201csecret\u201d that highlights the benefits of your product and alludes to how easy it is to overcome these fears. He advises writing each of these secrets as a \u201chow to\u201d statement, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\nOverview of Expert Secrets<\/em> by Russell Brunson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Find Your Market<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Determine Your Core Market<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Specialize Within Your Core Market<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Start a Movement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Become a Charismatic Leader<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Inspire Your Followers<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Become an Expert<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What Should You Publish?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Offer a Vision of a New Identity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Offer a New Opportunity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Structure Your Idea in a Framework<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Use Stories to Sell Your Product<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Epiphany Bridge<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Part 1: The Introduction<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Part 2: The Journey and Conflict<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Part 3: The New Opportunity<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Part 4: The Framework<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Part 5: The Successes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
How to Sell to a Large Audience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Focus on Just One Thing<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Offer Three Secrets<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n