Sherry Smilar on why she thinks MV is the perfect place to host challenges

Welcome to the "Made with MV" podcast! In this episode, we'll be exploring how Sherry Smilar uses MemberVault to host challenges and grow her business. Sherry, a virtual assistant and nutrition coach, shares insights into creating challenges using MemberVault and explains why it's an effective platform for doing so. From the difference between live and evergreen challenges to the intricacies of presenting content and engaging participants, Sherry provides a comprehensive guide to leveraging MemberVault for hosting challenges. Tune in as she delves into the details of running challenges, integrating email automation, and leveraging challenges as a pathway to introducing paid programs and courses.

Key Topics & Highlights

• Sherry Smilar's background as a virtual assistant and nutrition coach
• The use of Membervault for creating challenges for free offers
• Comparison of hosting challenges in a Facebook group versus Membervault
• Designing the structure of challenges with modules and lessons
• Options for live or evergreen challenges
• Strategies for maintaining participant engagement through bonus modules and unlocks
• Setting up email automation for daily challenge instructions
• Direct linking to specific challenge lessons in the email
• Incorporating promotions for paid programs after the challenge
  
  

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Full Episode Transcript

Hi, I'm Sherry Smilar of Simple Wellness Tech. I'm a virtual assistant and I help health coaches and fitness professionals simplify tech using platforms like MemberVault. I'm also a nutrition coach, and I've been using MemberVault for my nutrition business, since about last April.

One of the things I use MemberVault for is to create challenges to use these free offers. Today, I'm going to tell you how I create challenges and why MemberVault works so well for it. In the past, I posted challenges in my Facebook group. But that means the challenge can only be live. It also means either creating a pop-up Facebook group or letting everyone in the group see the challenge, whether they've signed up for it or not. It also means that everyone who signs up for the challenge has to go to the Facebook group to participate.

MemberVault allows you to host a challenge that can either be live or evergreen, meaning that someone can sign up and do the challenge at any time. So now let's get into a few more details about how I run challenges. If I'm hosting a five-day challenge, then I would have six modules. The first module is the welcome module, where the participants find out more about what to expect during the challenge. Then I have a module for each day of the challenge. If the challenge is evergreen, then these are dripped. So the participants see only one day of the challenge at a time usually start in one day after they sign up.

If you wanted to do a live challenge, then you would use the date drip option. Then you would set the the dates for each day to be live. You can run a challenge as live and then change it from date drip to time drip so it's always available. I have one lesson per module for each day of the challenge.

You do it this way because dripping occurs at the module level. But content is placed at the lesson level. For each day of the challenge, I have a short video and include a text file explaining what the participant is to do that day. I also include questions asking things related to the challenge. Things like which of these ideas were best for you? What surprised you the most? Things like that, although you don't get the group interaction, this way, you do get people sharing more than they wouldn't in Facebook groups, sometimes.

I found that with challenges people tend to drop off after a couple of days. So I usually provide a bonus module that's related to the challenge, a checklist or some worksheet or something like that. So you can use EP to unlock the bonus. Or you can have it unlocked after the completion of the day two or day three module, you want to explain at the beginning, that there is a bonus and how to unlock it so people know that it's there and we'll work towards getting that bonus.

One way that MemberVault really shines when it comes to challenges is the email integration. I set up an email automation, so a new email goes out each day with a brief explanation of what to do that day. And with MemberVault, you can link directly to the lesson for that day. So not just to the challenge, but to the actual lesson. So unlike a Facebook group challenge, there are no distractions, they're not getting distracted by the newsfeed or something else going on on Facebook or even in the group.

On the last day of the challenge, my video includes an introduction to a paid program, and the text also includes the links to the paid program's teaser page. You could also provide a coupon code if you'd like or a bonus for people who have completed the challenge. A short challenge is a great introduction to how you run your programs and courses. People who do a challenge with you in your MemberVault account know what to expect when they join your paid programs.

You can find me at simplewellnesstech.com, on MemberVault at simplewellnesstech.mvsite.app or an Instagram @simplewellnesstech. As I've been making my notes for this podcast, I've been taking your new challenge ideas so you might find one soon on my MemberVault account. And then you can get a better idea of how I do this. Thanks for listening.