- You always know people at events
- She reached out before Ontrapalooza to fellow speakers via Twitter
- Started her business in the summer of 2008 when gas prices went up
- You have more control over your grocery bill
- Three phase approach to launching her business
- August 21, 2008 the name "$5 Dinner" just hit her
- She was already blogging on Blogspot
- October 2008 she put ads on her site, which had good traffic due to the topic and she made a few hundred bucks and she knew she was onto something
- Trial and error and a lot of research
- Had a good circle of friends who shared tips
- Consumer behavior has changed around coupons
- Didn't do any PPC since 2016 and then only for a bit then she started it up in 2019
- Has decent SEO but great domain reputation and good social media platforms that have grown with her site
- Pinterest is #1 for her and Facebook is #2
- You have to feed all of them..."We're trying to fill the internet with our content."
We're trying to fill the internet with our content."
- Be consistent in providing value and serve your community
- "What's working in Erin's kitchen?"
- Some of this is personality driven
- It's relatable
- "The struggle is real."
- "Email is still #1. It's where you talk to your people."
- Signed on with St. Martin's Press in February 2009 to do three cookbooks
- She had a Yahoo Group and moved them to the next viable platform
- Hired her first contractor in 10 months as soon as she could afford it
- This is a "freight train."
- Two meal plan memberships were created because people asked for it
- Listen to the needs of your community
- She is fearless and has a great team so she launches quickly
- 2020 slowed down her launches tremendously, but it was a minor launch
- She has eight launches planned for 2021
- Kept the lights on and listened in 2020
- She has to remind herself to stay in her lane, which is food
- Give yourself space and permission to expand your creativity if you have that itch/need
- Still runs everything on Ontraport but augmented it with Shopify, which is integrated
- Any and all technology will break so focus on your offer
- Flip the excuse into an expectation
- "The internet is drunk this week."
- You have to set aside time to learn your software and tools
- Your software can replace one or more staff members
- If it's not broke, don't fix it
- She will "audit" her courses and programs annually to make sure things are as they should be
- Plan. Implement. Evaluate.
- Make video tutorials for her team to train her assistant and staff and to catch what she missed
- Follow a regular promotion schedule
- She'll do some "hidden" or internal promotions regularly
- "We've never done this before."
Links Mentioned In The Sales Podcast
Check out Erin Chase's first appearance on The Sales Podcast back on episode 169.