The Way Millie Adrian Made $400K by Training aspiring social Media Influencers
Millie Adrian is on a task to train new social media influencers on how to earn money from Instagram.
Her love for content creation was first discovered at a young age. In 2008, she created an YouTube channel with her little brother, which lasted nine years. "It was for enjoyment," she says. "We produced funny videos, skits and mock-ups and tried out different ways to live our lives. ."
Once she landed a corporate job in her early twenties and was bored with the artistic opportunity that video-making gave her. So it was that she decided to give it a go Instagram blog on top of her regular 9-5. She positioned herself as a lifestyle blogger and posted "anything and everything," sharing photos related to travel, food, fashion, coffee, wine, books, and even her dog.
Her Instagram account @itsmodernmillie rapidly grew, and she was being asked all kinds of questions from her followers. They wanted to know why she was growing, how she took specific pictures, and how she got so much engagement. In order to provide her fans with the most relevant answers, she decided to launch an additional YouTube channel. Then, the teaching of Instagram turned into her specialization.
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"My YouTube was growing and then my Instagram began to expand, and it created the whole effect of aiding more people," she explains. "I thought I would check which platform was the most successful and then run with the platform that was successful. But they really just interacted naturally over a ."
In October 2019 she left the corporate world and was full-time creator of content. Sincethen, she's accumulated an Instagram following of 117Kand an YouTube channel that has 246K subscribers, and -following the launch of online classes in 2021 -- enrolled 600 students, and earned more than $400,000 USD. "Next year, I'd like to reach seven figures,"" she says, beaming.
Here are the 10 ways she earned more than six figures during her initial 16 months of selling courses:
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- Her gut instinct was the one she followed
- She launched three courses
- She carried out market research to determine the right pricing
- She developed her content in response to what her target audience wanted
- She is constantly improving the learning experience for her students.
- She was very generous in her knowledge
- She created a simple sales funnel
- She gave away freebies to each course
- She overcame burnout
- She stays consistent
She listened to her instincts
While working for her company, Adrian created content for Instagram as well as Youtube during the weekend. It was a way to rekindle the spark of her creativity as she began to crave more time for it.
While she loved working from 9 to 5, she began having an unsettling "gut sense" of knowing she was meant for more. "I couldn't sleep because the inside of me felt that I was capable of dreaming higher," she shares. "I knew there was more for me out there ."
She decided to leave her job after she was consistently making more than half the amount she earned at her current work as a content creator for a company. "Everyone will have their different non-negotiables for that transition," she says.
After achieving this target, she quit her job and stepped into the world of self-employment on the 4th of October, 2019. With the support of her followers and an abundance of time it was decided that the next stage of her journey was online course creation.
She also launched three different courses
In the present, Adrian has three courses: The Modern Influencer, which is her highest-ticket course with a price of $997 USD. Email List 101, which is her middle-ticket course priced at $297 USD, as well as The Reels Roadmap, which is her cheapest course with a price of just $97 USD. The courses she offers teach people how to grow as an online content creator However, The Modern Influencer is her primary focus.
The original plan for the Modern Influencer was a course it launched in the month of the month of July in 2021 began as a six-week group coaching call for $597. After that, she was able to convert the group program into a three-month, one-on-one coaching program. However, Adrian discovered that she wasn't in enough time to instruct hundreds of individuals one-on-1. She decided to make The Contemporary Influencer into a pre-recorded course instead.
When looking for the right online course hosting platform, she was drawn to her previous experience with a variety of online courses while a student was among her top choices.
"From students' perspective this is the most efficient approach to learning, and also the most simple."
Along with offering three courses, she now offers extra resources that she sells during checkout in order to boost sales, like Pitch Email Templates, Pitch Slide Deck Template and Kit Guide for Media, Kit Guide, and 100+ Caption Ideas.
She did market research in order to find the best price
In the case of pricing the Modern Influencer The Modern Influencer, she conducted market research; she was interested in knowing what other creators were charging for similar courses. She also the content she created with theirs. "I looked at what they taught, as well as my own teaching style of," she says.
"I could never discover a school that could teach the use of Instagram as well as brand collaborations. I combined both," continues Adrian. "That's the way I learned to determine the appropriate price ."
She developed her content based on what her audience wanted
Adrian created her courses not based on the things she was looking to impart and what programs were not available.
She asked the audience how many of them had taken a course on Instagram and the information they'd like to have learned but weren't. After that, she developed The Modern Influencer's syllabus using "brain-dumping" everything she was aware of onto sticky notes. "The table was a disaster of sticky notes" she jokes.
She organized the sticky notes beginning with A to Z. They covered everything necessary for someone to transition from being completely ignorant about Instagram to becoming a full-time content creator. Every A Topic was turned into sections, while other sticky notes became lessons. While she says that the class is predominantly focused on Instagram, it's constantly evolving and every year she will add more lessons. Plus, she can see herself adding lessons on YouTube as well as TikTok because they're what their users are asking for.
Her courses are delivered in a few media; she alternates between videos of her talking slideshows, slide presentations, and screen recordings. "It is all about the topic and how I believe the students will best digest the information," she says.
Furthermore, her videos are entirely pre-recorded, with the exception of the occasional Q&A session which she holds in her Facebook group.
She continually improves her students' experiences
The group on Facebook is where The Modern Influencer students are added. They have lifetime access to the group. It also offers a forum where they are able to ask them questions about creating content.
Aside from the group on Facebook She's also played about with various strategies to keep people interested within The Modern Influencer; she's currently considering developing an Modern Influencer certification that shows they've taken the course and are certified influencers. Additionally, she'd like to help connect people who've earned the certification with brand agreements with a PR checklist. "I do not want to become an agency. I just wish to assist people in taking that next step," she says.
She also wants to give students an opportunity to become affiliates for the course, meaning that Adrian will give students a share of course price by referring other students. "Those are just some suggestions we're exploring, and we'd like to come up with the best strategies for next year,"" she explains.
She was generous in sharing her expertise
Her followers are young influencers -- also known as people who create content and want to be the face of their brand's online presence.
"I don't work with businesses or any other person who does not want to get into the spotlight since a large portion of the techniques I employ involves creating your own personal connection to your viewers on camera" she declares.
As with her students, making Adrian's public audience a reality required her to step out of her comfort zone yet, as she says, "you don't grow from the comfort zones."
She says she has built her following by investing in herself and her education. "For a long time I would attend free webinars, and I was studying what other people were doing," she says. "I quickly noticed the change in my life as I began purchasing online classes to give me the results I desired. ."
Her number one tip to help content creators build their fan base is to share their ideas for what they would like to share; she strongly believes that creators should not be an information gatekeeper.
"Don't be afraid to share the information you have, and be generous with the knowledge that you have.Once I said , 'no way' and just started teaching everything I knew without the intention to get paid I was able to find my audience."
She designed a straightforward sales funnel
Instead of being intimidated by fancy sales funnels, Adrian decided to keep the funnel easy.
A few months before the launch of The Modern Influencer, she created a waitlist using the Google form and put the information on her website along with all of her social media sites. Then, once she launched the course, she was greeted by many people who were waiting for her confirmation email.
She recommends that course creators avoid letting sales funnels scare their customers. Instead it is recommended that they make a funnel that is simple, such as waitlists so they can create leads and get people eager to buy their courses once it's launched.
She offered freebies for every course
The sales funnel of Adrian is now a bit more elaborate and includes free materials that correspond to each of her classes. "When people download the freebie or engages with the content, they're then inserted into an email automation where it'll upsell them eventually by sending them emails" she says.
For The Modern Influencer, she has a 60-minute webinar which provides the 100-day Instagram plan -- i.e. everything people need to do to reach 10,000 followers and make $1,000 in 100 days. After the training program, people are upsold the program.
In The Email List 101 course, there is a cost-free 10-page PDF that shows individuals how to begin, grow and serve an email list. Then, for The Reels Roadmap course, she has a freebie that helps people increase views, capture attention, and help their reels be viewed by millions of people.
She overcame burnout
Although Adrian's business has grown rapidly but it has come at an expense: her mental well-being.
While she worked hard to get her dream job however, she was caught up in the pattern of working too much. "I worked every waking minute of every single working day." the woman says.
After suffering from panic attacks and burnouts for several months after the launch of her first course and she decided to employ an outside team to assist her handle the administration of her enterprise. "If I'm not making content, my business dies," she explains.
Now, she has an online business manager, a funnel strategist, an engaging and community expert, a virtual assistant, video editors as well as a brand collaborations coordinator and an SEO specialist as well as a Pinterest supervisor. After bringing on a team, she's been able establish more professional and personal limits on taking care of herself. As a result? More freedom to focus on creating content rather than being in the weeds. "I've been forced to discover lots about myself to not hit those tipping points again," she says.
She is constant
One of the most important aspects that Adrian realized during her content creation journey -as well as her burnout experiences -- is that it's a marathon not a race. Adrian suggests that all creators adopt this approach, too, especially for avoiding burnout and creating an enterprise that will last.
"You're in it for the long haul," she explains. "You don't need to see outcomes right away or require immediate gratification."
In fact, she advises makers to tackle their company every day, in tiny chunks. "It isn't necessary to have everything occur at once," she adds. "This is the game that lasts. If this is something you're trying to achieve then improve 1% every day. When you do it just by focusing on one aspect at a over the course of three years, you'll have so far more success than any other person who tried to do everything at the same time. ."
The greatest achievement has been obtaining her YouTube Play Button -- an honor given to one of YouTube's top-rated channels. "It was a full circle moment of my journey," she says with a smile. "I want to revisit my past and say to 12 year old Millie that those dreams that she had in her head might come true. ."
Another thing she wishes she could go back in time to remind herself to be a believer in the process. To other aspiring online creators she suggests they concentrate on the benefits of slow, steady growth. "Don't think about how long it will take you," she advises.
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