Creator Spotlight: Billy Broas is an expert marketer who specializes in selling premium online courses and programs. Since launching his first course in 2010, Billy has worked with creators from over 50 niches in building their programs (including David Perell, Tiago Forte, and Ali Abdaal) to create sustainable and repeatable marketing engines. What sets Billy apart in his approach to marketing, is his focus on messaging and relationship-building to create an authentic connection with your audience. Read more about my conversation with Billy below!
Billy loves telling stories. So much so, in fact, that he's based his entire marketing philosophy around the idea of storytelling. Don't worry if you're not a Hollywood screenwriter - just start with your own experiences, and you'll end up communicating in an authentic voice that your audience will appreciate.
Email is Billy's favourite medium for sharing stories and connecting with people, for two reasons:
- You own the contact list. If you build a following on Facebook or TikTok (or any other social platform), what happens when algorithms change, companies shut down, or users jump to the newest app? You risk losing everything. With email, you'll always have a reliable way to reach your audience.
- Email feels personal. Email is a great way for getting people to "know, like, and trust you." As Billy says, "it's the closest thing we have, digitally, to sending a letter to a friend." When you treat email as personal correspondence - rather than a sales pitch - you'll naturally develop a closer relationship with your audience.
Here are two of Billy's key lessons for your email strategy:
- Write regularly and write often. Billy recommends that creators send at least one email every week. You might find that two or three emails works even better.
- Slowly build excitement for new courses. When creators are ready to offer a new course, Billy recommends thinking about the audience's point of view.
"We expect that everyone knows what we're doing and who we are and what we're up to, but they don't. So you want to treat the launch like an event. You have to build up to it. You want to seed it. Think about what movie studios do when a blockbuster is coming out: they talk about what's going on behind the scenes, they drop hints about the movie. Lead with the customers in your emails, not with announcing your product."
Watch our full session with Billy below: