If you’ve found your way to this post, you’re likely a hairstylist, beauty influencer, or beauty educator who has asked yourself if what you do could ever be transferred into a passive income source online.
After hustling in the beauty, health and wellness industry for five years I was confused about how to grow in a way that didn’t trade time for money. I decided that if there was a way to make money without trading my precious time, then come hell or high water, I was going to figure out how to do it.
I’m a mom of three with a husband that works an insane amount of hours. My biggest goal has been to create a business that works on its own.
Don’t get me wrong, I put in time to run my business. But managing a business and hustling a business are two very different things.
I don’t have a boss, I make my schedule, I decide what each day looks like, and I can work from anywhere in the world (that has internet access).
I decided early on that I only wanted a 4 day work week and that’s pretty much how I’ve built my entire business. I can’t even tell you how amazing that it feels to have control over my time.
If you…
- Are tired of hustling Instagram with little to no return on your efforts
- Feel like you are participating in a popularity contest on social media to stay “relevant”
- Are tired of chasing brand sponsorships that never return your emails
- Are you ready to stop trading time for money and create a passive income online in the beauty industry
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then today’s post is going to tell you exactly what you need to starting building a sustainable business online.
It is my personal hope that you find value and clarity in everything I am sharing today.
Before we get started, I want to invite you to get on the waitlist for my signature course that is launching this fall.
It’s called Elevated Beauty Entrepreneur – “A step by step online marketing strategy for stylists and beauty entrepreneurs to create passive income”
In the exclusive course, I’m sharing my proven strategy on how to create passive income online in the beauty industry.
It will only be available to a very small amount of people because I will work one on one in small group coaching to help you see REAL results.
Click below to get on the waitlist and be the first to join the program!
Important note: As you learn more and more about online marketing, please keep in mind that there is A LOT of information on the internet.
Both incredibly helpful but some can be slightly misleading.
I advise you to find a handful of influencers, or bloggers that you admire their specific business plan and really hone in on their advice. One of the biggest things that hold people back from building a solid business is being able to focus and implement specific steps.
How Stylist And Beauty Entrepreneurs Can Create Passive Income Online
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning that at no cost to you, I may make a small commission on anything you purchase through my link. But don’t worry, I never promote products that I don’t believe in or truly love <3 This just allows me to continue publishing quality content regularly. You can read my full privacy policy here.
Vision Cast
I realize the whole idea of a vision or dream board has been a bit overused and sometimes even misused.
My idea of “vision casting” is not about setting untenable goals, and then writing affirmations that support them.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in dreaming big and I use positive affirmations daily. I truly believe that “as a man thinks, so is he” Prov 23:7
That being said, I don’t at all believe that you have to put your entire life on hold so you can hustle it away and reach for unrealistic goals by using the “law of attraction”.
I spent the first three years in online marketing hustling social media to find clients, had no email list, and only made money when I hustled.
It took me taking an eight-month sabbatical to realize the business I was building wasn’t sustainable.
During that time, I learned that I had to start from the ground up and build a business that would create revenue while I sleep.
And I cannot tell you how exciting it is to now be at a playdate with my kids earning money from my automated offers.
Let me tell you that If I can do it, literally anyone can.
I digress….
My point is that vision casting is SUPER IMPORTANT!!
You can’t get anywhere without knowing what you want, why you want it, and where you want to be in the next 3,5, and 10 years.
The reason this is important in terms of building an online business is that depending on your goals and vision for life will have a huge impact on your business structure.
For example: If you want to have kids in the next year or two, then starting a business plan that requires you to travel to events or taking one on one clients might not be a good fit.
When you have a solid vision plan in place that complements your goals and values, it will help you make better decisions when purchasing courses or taking on new clients.
Define Your Niche
This word has been a total buzzword lately but it’s oh so important when it comes to marketing.
You need to get stupid clear on defining it.
A niche is an exact thing you want to talk about. Think about a smaller industry within your industry.
If you are in the beauty industry it is not specific enough.
Likewise being a stylist is not specific enough. You need to define a niche within your industry.
And the more specific you can be, the better.
For example, I am a haircare blogger. But even more important than that is that I am a 3a curly hair blogger.
By niching into 3a curly hair care, I am setting myself apart from the beauty industry as well as the hair care industry.
When you choose a very specific niche, you will be able to attract a much higher quality lead which means you will have a much higher conversion rate and will not have to have a massive following.
Yes, you can (and should be) monetizing your audience even in very small numbers.
Remember, the more specific you can be within your niche, the better.
When choosing a niche, keep in mind that things like special talents, special features (like curly hair), or something you are really good at within your niche.
Or, you could take the approach of filing a void within your niche.
If there is an obvious missing gap that you are always trying to learn more information about, that could be a good indication that there is a need for more content and education surrounding the gap.
Define Your Avatar
AKA the exact person you want to work with.
Out of curiosity, I asked google to define the meaning of avatar. These were the first two definitions I received.
- a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher.
- an icon or figure representing a particular person in video games, internet forums, etc.
Keep those definitions (particularly the second) in mind as we talk about an avatar and how it relates to your business.
An avatar is an exact person that you would like to serve. Think “ideal client”.
It differs from niche because when we talk about an avatar we are referring to the exact person you want to reach within your niche.
For example: If you are in the beauty industry, and you are talking about curly hair, your avatar might be an ambitious businesswoman, a stay-at-home mom, or a working mom.
All three avatars are in your specific niche but have very different needs.
The reason it is important to define your avatar is that you need to know EXACTLY who you are talking to as you create content.
The more you can serve your exact avatar exactly where they are at in their journey, the more engaged they will be, not to mention the higher chance of them purchasing from you.
I truly believe the thing that will make you stand out online more than anything else is to be able to nail a specific niche and specific avatar.
Create Content That Converts
Ok, now that you are clear on your specific niche and you’ve defined your avatar, it’s time to start serving!!
Content creation = serving in case you weren’t aware.
The number one way to create raving, loyal, clients is to create valuable content that solves their exact pain point.
Whether you are publishing on a blog, Instagram, or making youtube videos, it’s important that you stick to one specific topic.
Don’t be afraid to go in-depth and give your reader a bunch of tips and tricks on that specific topic.
When creating content that converts, I use a 2 step method.
Step one: write an anchor post. This is a post that is all-encompassing about your topic.
Example: The post you are reading is titled How Stylists And Beauty Entrepreneurs Can Create Passive Income Online.
Within this post, you will find 8 super important tips that support the title.
I could easily write (and will) posts on each and every tip found in this post.
I call those secondary posts, pillar posts.
Your goal should be to write one anchor post that encompasses your niche, then follow it up with 15-20 pillar posts that support all the questions surrounding your anchor post.
This way, you are not only serving at a very high level, but you are also taking your avatar on a journey throughout the entire process.
When you create content in this way, you will be able to connect with your avatar and create a relationship with them they won’t forget.
Create An Email Opt-In That Converts
Email marketing is not A way to make passive income, it’s THE WAY to make passive income online.
People will tell you that email is out and social media is the way to create income online but that is only partially true.
If you want to hustle social media forever and never make money while you sleep, then stick to Instagram and never prioritize email.
But if you are like me and want to leverage the fact that you live in a time that you can make money from anywhere in the world on auto-pilot, then you need to make building an email list your top priority.
People buy products primarily through email. You can make some sales on social media, but the majority of your sales will come from your email list.
The way to build an email list is to create an opt-in that closely complements your content, and offer a simple but effective freebie in exchange for their email address.
If you follow all the steps I’ve laid out above, then this step will be super easy.
You simply take your anchor post (like that one you are reading now) and condense it into an actionable ebook or download and promote it within your anchor posts and all the pillar posts surrounding it.
IT’S THAT EASY. DO NOT OVERTHINK THIS STEP.
Keep it short, sweet, and most of all actionable. Your freebie should not be more than 2-3 pages long.
Promote On Social Media
Now that you’ve laid a solid foundation for your business, it’s time to spread the word.
This part is really fun because you get to see your work come to life.
Important note: It is super easy to get caught up in vanity metrics like the number of likes, comments, and shares.
These metrics ARE IMPORTANT but only to help grow your following.
Remember that true connection (and making money) is in your list.
The number one metric you should be focused on is to drive traffic back to your email opt-in.
I want you to write in your brain and remember it forever.
Because chasing vanity metrics is the best way to stay in the Instagram rate race forever.
If you want to create a sustainable business online, it means taking a step back, laying a solid foundation, building a consistent following, and driving that traffic to your email list.
Once you’ve laid the foundation with your anchor and pillar post, you will have a plethora of content to reformat and reshare on whichever social media platform is best for you.
When it comes to platforms, my top recommendation is a blog, Pinterest, Instagram. In that order.
Create A Pocket Product
This step is fun because this is where you start to actually make money. As a quality content creator, our goal is to serve our avatars, get them the answers they need, and make money doing it.
Now that you know everything about your avatar and have been answering all their questions, it’s time to create a product specifically for them.
At this point, you should have a small but significant email list and you probably have a good idea of what type of product they need.
The best way to really hone in on what type of product your avatar needs is to survey them.
I cannot tell you how many times I really thought my list would want one thing but they ended up wanting something totally different.
Don’t let the size of your following trip you up on this step. You only need 5-20 people in order to do a survey.
You can shoot it out to your list and all social media channels.
Once you’ve gathered information on what type of product would be best for your email list, then you can create a pocket product.
I consider a pocket product something that is an introduction to a topic and is typically priced between $35-$97 depending on your niche.
For example, My pocket product is a curly girl starter kit which is a compilation of several different books that break down different topics in the curly world. You can see it here.
Write an Email Marketing Campaign
Now it’s time to sell your product to your email list.
Since you’ve already built an email list full of buyers that know, like, and trust you, they are going to be excited to hear about your product.
When writing an email campaign, you will want to give them the what, but now the how.
For example: In my curly hair email series, I lead by telling them what they need to do and why they need to do it. But in order to get the “how to do it”, they have to enroll in my online course.
Think of your email series as a teaser for a new movie.
You want to give your readers enough content to really hook them in, but keep what’s inside your course a mystery.
In conclusion
Create a vision plan – When it comes to creating a long-term sustainable online business, you have to lead with a solid vision that compliments the lifestyle you want to live.
When you are clear about what type of business you want to create, you can choose a niche that reflects your vision plan.
Define your niche – Once you’ve chosen the right niche, it’s time to figure out who the heck you are talking to by defining your avatar.
Remember, the more specific the better.
Define your avatar – Now that you know who your person is, start serving them by answering all their questions. Remember that the more in-depth you can be, the better connection you will have with them.
Create an opt-in – After you connect with your person through all that high-quality content, always point them back to your email list by offering a high-value freebie.
Share on social media – Now it’s time to spread the word! Start sharing that high-value content on all your social media profiles. Don’t forget the goal is to lead them back to your email list.
Create a pocket product – Next, it’s time to take that relationship one step further by creating a product they are excited to buy.
Write an email campaign – And once you’ve done all the steps above, create an email campaign that invites your list to enroll in your pocket product.
Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!
This process truly is simple. Not easy but simple.
If you need any help or support along the way, you can download my FREE ebook on 8 Tips To Creating Passive Income Online As A Beauty Entrepreneur. You can get it here!
Xoxo
Colleen
P.S Don’t forget to join the waitlist for Elevated Beauty Entrepreneur here.
