Podcast

Whether you’re keen to have a rolling roster of new clients, or to launch a programme and get a bunch of people signed up in one go – this episode will help you to devise a plan. We talk about using Instagram to meet prospective clients (personal brand VS business accounts) and how niche to go. Also, the benefits of growing a Facebook group community, leveraging sign-ups from your email list and the power of podcasts in terms of growing your online profile, and introducing the ‘real you’ to the world. As usual, lots of swearing, jokes and tangents.

Show(biz) Notes

– Annie’s Instagram post asking what direction her profile should take
– Join our Facebook group for riveting conversations
– Sign up for our emails

Once your courses are up and running (and SELLING), it’s amazing. But what does it take to get to that point? In this episode, we talk about getting started on creating an online course – according to Rich, this is the hardest part. And we offer ideas for breaking down the process. Then how it can feel when you’re ‘in it’ and can’t decide if your course is absolutely amazing or utter shite. And onto the launch – selling spaces. Not selling spaces. How to sell more spaces. It’s an honest account of course creation, with a load of tips thrown in.

Show(biz) Notes

Join The Online Business Programme before Sunday for a bonus one-hour Facebook ads call with Rich, and a PR story edit from Annie

Like most industries, the e-learning world has people who sell with integrity, and people who don’t. So how do you work out whether a course will offer good value for money? In this episode Annie and Rich talk about what you’re paying for when you sign up to an online course; where the value lies, and the importance of transparency when it comes to selling your courses, programmes and consultancy/coaching packages. We include two examples of when we each felt a bit…. scammed.

Show(biz) Notes

• Ray Dodd’s journalling course
• Holly Curry talks about online courses on Instagram

More from The Robora…

• Is there a market for your online course? (Free downloadable guide)
• Three daily rituals for optimum productivity (free downloadable)
• Our perfectly-priced, extremely good value online courses

We’re told to go niche; to really narrow down what we’re offering, and exactly who it’s for. And of course, this makes sense: when you’re clear on who your product/service is for, you can get it in front of the right people. They see it, and think: this is for me. BUT what if you want to keep your niche a bit broader, so as not to leave people out? In this episode, Annie and Rich discuss their slightly different ideas about how niche to go. With examples. And a bout of hysterical laughter.

Show(biz) Notes:

– This is our ‘DIY PR’ course – it teaches you how to grow your profile and secure press coverage.
– Want to be more productive, while taking care of your mental/physical needs? This is the course for you.
– If you’d like to launch your own online course, we can teach you how.
– And for those looking for launch a business or go freelance, you want Becoming your own Boss.

You know what holds people back from doing Instagram Stories, talking to camera? And putting their prices up? And being the ‘face of the brand’? They’re worried about what their friends and family think. Not the millions of strangers who might notice them. In this episode, Rich and I talk about the times our friends have judged us, and why we’ve ploughed on anyway. We discuss: imposter syndrome – and overcoming it, pricing with confidence and developing an online persona.

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Want to start an online course business? Join our signature programme: The Online Business Programme. It’s a banger.

It’s time to call bullsh*t on the promise that setting up an evergreen funnel will get you a certain amount of sales every single month. It won’t. Because that doesn’t take into account changing behaviours, world events, seasons and the general psychology of sales. In this episode, Rich and I have a meeting about the reality of having a launch VS the ‘evergreen’ approach. And disagree on a fair few things. Including whether or not this is actually a meeting.

In this episode, we invite you into our garden office to listen in on mine and Rich’s work meeting. It’s unfiltered, unscripted and we are sharing the first and only take. We talk about what we’re doing with the business – including our current marketing and sales strategy – and what future plans we have. Plus we throw in some office banter because, well, we’re co-workers as well as a married couple.

Show(biz) Notes

Join our online programme
Book a power hour
Learn how to be more productive
Read our blog posts
Join our Facebook group
Get our emails

In this episode, I ask Yvadney Davis – fashion stylist, painter, the woman behind #mumsthatslay and founder of Musingo Bingo – how she’s used Instagram, and blogging, to grow an online profile. We talk about creativity, doing lots of different jobs – alongside motherhood – and she tells us about her productivity planner. Also, Yvadney shares the secret to getting the visuals down on Instagram and building a brand on a hashtag. So much good stuff in here. Enjoy!

Follow Yvadney for her styling work
Check out Mums that Slay
Sign up for Musingo Bingo
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And if you want to learn more about online business from The Robora…
Follow us on Instagram: @therobora
Sign up for our emails (The Robora Recommends)
Join the Facebook group to meet other female founders and freelancers
Check out our online programme, teaching you how to launch a course
Have a read of our Q&As, and online business tips on the blog

To work through feelings of overwhelm, firstly we need to recognise what it is causing us to feel overwhelmed. Being overworked? Under-supported? Ummm… a pandemic? Whatever it is, once the root of the overwhelm is clear, we can look at gently navigating the trigger, and then creating a plan for moving forward. This involves breaking everything down into manageable tasks. And weaving lovely little things into our days. I can help you with that…

Whether you’d like to schedule in more rest time next year, write a novel or earn £100,000 – you need to plan this. In this episode, I share the three-step productivity process I’ve designed that will help you to work out what you want, what’s stopping you from making it happen and how to plan for success. Success, of course, means different things for all of us – for me, there’s an element of work-life balance in there, as well as realising my dreams. And I share news of a recent REJECTION too, as it’s relevant to this episode.

Show(biz) Notes:

How to be more productive (my new online course)

On a PR push for your business? If you’re asking yourself: how do I get my business featured in a magazine? I’m here to help. As a journalist for national press and women’s magazines, as well as an editor (of my own digital platform), I know about pitching for press from both sides – I’ve pitched, and I’ve been pitched to. So I explain why press releases are no longer the done thing, and what you should be doing instead. With a guest appearance from my three-year-old son, and a little treat if you listen to the end.

Show(biz) notes:

Here’s the ‘DIY PR’ course I mention: DIY PR: Secure press coverage and grow your profile.

When it comes to making online course sales, timing is so important. And right now, we’re in the middle of a rapid launch, as we’ve opened doors to our Online Business Programme for two days only. So while we’re ‘in it’, I wanted to share exactly how we do it. Because in realtime, I can better explain both the marketing and the mindset. In this episode I’ll cover a three-week launch – which is our usual approach – but also the two-day launch. Because both can work well for different reasons. Let’s go.

Show(biz) Notes

The Online Business Programme (for those ready to take their skills online, with our support)

If you’ve been blogging for ages and are yet to make a penny. Or you’ve launched a digital platform and still can’t work out how to monetise it. Or you’d love to start a podcast, but you’re not sure it’s worth it – this episode will talk you through what content is, and how to make MONEY from it. Because I’ve churned out thousands of blog posts without making a penny. But then I discovered ways to get brands to pay me for sponsored posts. And now I have a six-figure online business that is based on online content.

Show(biz) notes:

The Early Hour – my original ‘online content’ platform.
The Robora – our online course platform.
The Online Business Programme – our banging (latest) creation.

And the stats:
According to Buzzsprout – ‘there are at least 600 million blogs, 23 million YouTube channels, but only 800,000 podcasts in Apple Podcasts.’
And population figures: London – 8.9m, UK – 67.8m, – The world – 7.8b.

Women do more of the caring. More of the planning. More of the (boring) domestic duties. And sometimes, it gets too much. That’s what happened to me, so I decided share my three-step plan for getting back-on-track. The first step is acknowledgement and taking responsibility: what are you finding hard? Why? Do you owe anyone an apology? The second is around self-care: right now, what you can do to feel better. And the third is PRACTICAL. I’m talking: downloading an app to help you manage the load.

Showbiz Notes:

Brene Brown’s podcast interview with Harriet Lerner. ‘I’m Sorry: How To Apologize & Why It Matters’ 

Some people tell me I charge too much. Other people tell me I don’t charge enough. So I’ve stopped listening, and worked out my own method for pricing up my products (online courses) and services (one-to-one time). For anyone else wondering how to set their prices and fees, this episode will give you both practical advice and confidence-boosting tips. Because as women, we massively undervalue ourselves in the workplace and it’s time that changed.

Books and a blog post mentioned in the episode:

– Otegha’s Uwagba’s We Need to Talk About Money

– Real Life Money by Clare Seal

– Money: A User’s Guide by Laura Whately.

– Keri Jarvis’ blog on the price of coaching.

Running a business isn’t just about your product or service. It’s also about getting those things out to the right people. AKA: marketing. And sometimes you’ll do a brilliant job, and other times you won’t. But whether or not the sales are flowing, there will always be people who find your tone or delivery grating. And who want to tell you. So here’s how I’d recommend dealing with those comments – including my reaction to two recent ‘real life’ complaints I’ve received. Thank you, complainers, for supplying me with the content for this episode.

In this episode, Annie interviews Tamu Thomas, founder of Live Three Sixty wellness brand and JOY expert, on wellbeing in the workplace. They discuss taking time for yourself while running a business – even if you only have a few minutes a day to spare – listening to your body, and respecting your essential needs. Also: working at 80% rather than 100% to avoid burnout, scheduling a staged return to work after time out – and how Beyonce, basically, has all the answers.

Tamu supports women approaching their 40s via her award-winning podcast Three Sixty Conversations, and she runs an excellent membership group. Follow Tamu on Instagram: @livethreesixty, visit her website: livethreesixty.com.

You may have had someone steal your business or creative ideas. You may have stolen – or been accused of stealing – other people’s. In this episode, Annie Ridout talks through the concept of sharing ideas, and copying what others are doing. She shares her own experience of being accused of copying, and of people ‘borrowing’ ideas from her – both with and without permission. 

Annie Ridout launched her first business – The Early Hour – while looking after her one-year-old daughter full-time. As in: no weekday help with childcare. She has since had two more children and now runs The Robora around her three kids (aged six, three and 11-months). Fortunately, her husband Rich shares both the business workload and the childcare/domestic duties. But the baby still keeps Annie up at night so in this episode, she shares some truths about being a sleep-deprived mother and running a business. Along with tips for coping. And a few anecdotes about being a former thief.

You might have a fantastic online course but unless you also have a marketing and sales strategy, it just won’t sell. In this episode, Annie Ridout and Richard Ridout discuss why some courses sell and others don’t, and offer a whole load of ideas for getting people to buy your online course. Including: testing the market, NOT being original, Facebook ads, brief ‘funnels’ chat, pricing and more. Plus, there’s a rather endearing childhood anecdote from Richard, relayed in a West Country accent. Here’s the online course we reference: Sell more spaces on your online course.

We all know about IQ as a measure of intelligence. Some will have heard of EQ (emotional quotient). But the new intelligence metric is SQ: spiritual intelligence. This is a measure of how spiritually connected you are. And it’s what some of the world’s most successful business leaders use to up their game: Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg. In this episode, Annie Ridout explains what it means to be spiritually intelligent and offers tools for incorporating spiritual practices into your work-life. By raising her own SQ, Annie has managed to secure two book deals, commissions from the Guardian, Grazia, Telegraph, Stylist and more. She’s spoken on Woman’s Hour and sat alongside celebrities on live panels. She’s also grown a six-figure online business from scratch, in a year, while raising three young children. She leads a fulfilling, exciting life – and this is down to the spiritual practices she incorporates into her every working day. Now, she’s ready to share them with you…

Growing a mailing list may be important. But not as important as the emails you send out. In this episode, Annie Ridout talks subject lines that will make people open the email, then content that will be exciting, not annoying, for people to receive.Once you’ve nailed your email content, this is such a good way to convert customers. So it’s worth getting it right.Recommended email lists to sign up to: Sophia Matveeva, Otegha Uwagba and Harriet Minter. Plus any others you come across that cover your areas of interest. 

In the first ever episode of The Robora podcast, host Annie Ridout discusses going from being a 10-year-old window cleaner to freelance mum (not, initially, her choice) and on to running a six-figure online business with her husband, Rich.