Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hello, and welcome to author Nation. Today we are diving
into group programs where we'll explore the benefits, the challenges,
the essentials of group programs for authors. I'm your host, Melanieanne,
and I'm here to guide you through actionable insights because
we don't just want to listen to this. We want
to be able to go out afterwards and build that
(00:32):
momentum that will really bring us the success we want
as authors. Because at author Nation, we are committed to
your success. So if you want, pop over to authornation
dot online and find a treasure trows prove of resources
for wherever you happen to be right now. So whether
you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a
(00:52):
long day, settle in as we explore how group programs
can transform your and your reader's ex experience. So it's
not just for your readers, it's not just for you,
but there's this beautiful both of you are transformed by
this experience. So before we dive in, let me introduce
my guest. Carrie Dobson is the group program Architect. She
(01:17):
helps authors plan and leads signature group programs that deliver
real impact impact for the participants and impact for the author,
a true win win experience. Carrie is passionate about groups
and has led oh has created and led over one
hundred group programs and helped more than two hundred people
(01:39):
lead their own groups, many of them authors and soon
to be authors. What she's learned from her experience and
her graduate degree is the true power of groups when
created and led well, Groups ignite passion, create long lasting
and meaningful connections, and through the support and accountability, results
(02:01):
were almost guaranteed. Let's welcome Carrie. Hello, Carrie, how are
you today.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I'm excited to be here, Melody, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I love your focus on action and it speaks so
much to what we love to see in groups.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So I think this is going to be a great conversation.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Wonderful. Yes, and you've led hundreds of groups. So how
did you get into this? What inspired you to first
focus on helping authors specifically transform their work into group programs.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Well, so, I had a whole corporate career in learning
and development, so so much of that work was in
groups for different organizations across you know the world, really
and I eventually went into my own business and I
started with coaches that was kind of the first group
that I started working with, and about a year in
(02:51):
I kind of did an evaluation of who are all
the people I had worked with and who are the
clients that I enjoyed the most, got most out of it,
And what I discovered was that was authors.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
So I hadn't intentionally said I'm going to work with authors,
But the reason authors are such a great fit for
this is because they've already done the hard work and
sat down and said, what do I have to say?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
What is most important?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
And that is the hardest step, it really is. And
so what I found was authors were just so well
prepared to start considering a group program and how can
they help their audience or their readers take their wisdom
and actually do something with it.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, brilliant. I love that. And so just for authors
who are sitting there thinking, but I'm not a coach
and group programs mean coaching or whatever other myths that
are happening out there, could you explain what is a
group program and what makes it such a powerful tool
for nonfiction authors?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Absolutely so, group I think gets thrown around quite a bit.
So my definition of a group is you're bringing a
number of people together live in person or online, and
you're saying, we're going to spend X amount of time together.
So there's a start date and an end date, and
here's our program. Promise. This is what I promise you
will accomplish or experience. And really what it is is
(04:17):
imagine having the opportunity to talk to your readers and
find out what are they struggling with, what successes are
they having, You know, all that information that you couldn't
include in the book. Suddenly you have these people who
are asking for really specific support in what they're dealing with,
and now you're able to kind of share that wisdom
(04:39):
in a different way. So groups are really that opportunity
to say, Okay, you're inspired or interested based on my book,
Now let's really do the work of putting it into practice.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Yeah, And that leads me to another question. And I
hear this a lot from authors. In fact, I just
spoke to an author who said this to me, why
would they.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Go to a group program?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Everything's in the book.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
About humilody, but when was the last time you read
a book that had such a great idea and you thought,
I need to do that, and you actually did it right, Like,
there's a difference between being inspired or encouraged by wisdom
or information in a book and actually doing something with it.
(05:25):
Our brains are literally wired to have us repeat the
same day that we had yesterday. So unless we have
some kind of very conscious support in saying I'm going
to do something different, those great ideas never get put
out into the world.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, and I think that really covers what the benefits
are for the participant in having a group What are
the main benefits for the authors who turned their nonfiction
book into a group program.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So the first kind of benefit that I see is
it's an additional revenue stream. So so many times, you know,
we think, oh, the book is going to be our
revenue stream, and the reality is is for most authors
that's just not the case, right, It's it's not where
they're going to make their money. But they have this
opportunity to say, what else can I do with my readers,
and their choices are. They can be speakers and be
(06:18):
on stages and you know, get invited to conferences and
into organizations. They can create an online course where they're
trying to enroll people into those online courses. They can
have a membership or a community where people can join
on kind of come and go as they want support.
And one of the other options is the group program.
So the beauty of the group program is there's an
(06:41):
impact that you have in the group program that I
don't know that you get in the same way with
those other options because you're you know, I always say
it's down and dirty, like you are there with them
as they're trying your resources, as they're going out into
their world and saying I'm going to do something different.
And so the impact you have it's that it's that
(07:01):
real ripple impact that you thought you were going to
have when you wrote the book. And then the last
benefit that I think is really important is you have
a longer term and a deeper relationship with your readers
because you've worked so closely with them. So they're the
ones that are going to read your next book, they're
the ones that are going to do your next group program.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
They're the ones that are going to say, yes, what's next?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, I love that. That makes perfect sense. So group
programs benefit both the both the reader participant and the author.
And would you say facilitator Is that the word you
would use? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:37):
So I typically will say guide because there's there's something
there's this belief, and I think it has to do
with kind of how most of us went to school,
where it's like you have to be at the front
of the room telling people everything. And the reality is
with group programs, yes, you want to share some of
the information, but more importantly, you just want to support
(07:58):
them as they're trying to take your information and implement it.
So you're guiding them, you're encouraging them, and you're creating
it in this group space. So not all the pressure
is on you. It's about creating the space for others
to connect and support on based on the information you're
sharing with them.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yeah, that makes sense. Now, I know people are out
there listening and thinking, but would my book really make
a group program? Is it even suitable? So how do
we answer that question?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
So the first thing, do you want a group?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I think there's so much pressure out there right now
that everybody has to have a group, everybody has to
be a speaker, everybody has to have a community. And
so the number one is do you have an inkling
or an interest in having your own group? If the
answer is yes, or.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It's that I think so but I'm scared, then it's
probably something you can do.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
The only kind of books that I find are really
challenging to create into a great group is really a
purely memoir book, right, Like that is very difficult because
it's kind of like you can you can have beautiful
conversations with people about your memoir and your story, but
helping them to do something from it can be challenging.
(09:18):
But if you have anything in your book that is
about them taking action and resources that they can use
and encouraging them to see things differently, you can create
a group program around that.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
So if you're out there thinking, oh wait, I have
a nonfiction book and it's not a memoir or it's
a memoir slash self help, and you're thinking, oh wait,
I can make a good group program and I want one.
It's not about the pressure, but and I want one,
then you want to get in touch with Carrie and
you can find her at jjdak dot com. And so
(09:52):
if you want an impactful group program, go there and
get started right now. All right, so are what are
some of the common challenges? Now people are all excited. Sorry,
we're going to bring it down. What are the common
challenges our mistakes that authors face when they try to
launch a group.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah, so first and foremost is way too much content.
So you think, oh, I have this whole book, I'm
going to put the whole book there. What I joke
with my clients is like, you had all this wisdom
and then you wrote a book, so you squished it down,
and now you're going to have a group, So you're
going to squish it down even more because you're going
to really pull out the key messages, the key resources,
(10:33):
the key framework. So first challenge is cutting out content
that you think is so valuable, and it is valuable,
it's just.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
About when they need it. The second one is is that.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
You make it all about you, or you put all
the pressure on yourself, so you think you have to
do all the talking, you have to do all the controlling,
and a great group is really about you kind of
creating the boundaries of the container and allowing people to
take an act. And then the other thing I would
say is a challenge is that sometimes people are creating
(11:08):
the group in a silo or kind of away from
their audience, and they try to put it all together
and then start talking about it and getting out there.
I want you to talk about your group as soon
as you're thinking about having one. I want you to
talk to your readers, the clients or the readers that
you love that are like just so supportive of you.
As soon as you're thinking about a group, start having
(11:30):
conversations with them.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah, now that makes sense. I'm always saying to people
who want to write a book, it's, well, you know,
who are your readers and have you spoken to them?
And what are their DeVault desires, what are their fears?
You know all of that stuff. So that makes sense.
So what's the best way for authors to gauge interest
and gather valuable feedback?
Speaker 3 (11:50):
So the first thing that I always encourage you to
do is have a general idea of what I call
the program promise. So that's what you promise they will
accomplish or experience in your group program. So what are
you going to help them to do? And then you
want to talk to the people who have already been
supportive of your book. So those are your early readers.
Those are the people who have already created a review
(12:12):
or have signed up that they're going to do a review.
And it's also the people that if they were in
your group, you would just feel so excited about we
all have those people that it's like could you believe it?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
If?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Right?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So what you want to do is you want to
have a conversation with them. So you want to reach
out to them if you have by DM on social
media or if you have their email, whatever it is,
and you just say, I have this idea and I
would love your opinion on it. And it's not a
big long conversation. You're just getting kind of their initial
reaction to this is what I'm doing. So I first
(12:45):
kind of share that program promise, and then I would say,
what is it that you absolutely would need to have
happen in this group for it to be of interest
to you, Like what would you need to experience or
accomplish to make it super enticing to you?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And those are just the two questions.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And you want to have where possible, have the conversation
because they'll give you information. And the other thing that's
beautiful about that is almost all the people you have
that conversation with, most of them will say, when you
do it, please tell me about it. They're going to
be the people who are going to sign up for
before it even goes public.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah, exactly, So it's a bit of a chicken and egg,
I guess question. So you want to go out and
talk to people, do you? You know? How do you also?
You also want to go to your book and identify
key messages or themes because, as you said, you know
all this content and you just can't put all of
it into a program. So how do you kind of
go through the book to find those key messages or
(13:43):
those themes? And do you do it before or after?
You talk two years?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
So that's there's no right or wrong answer to that.
You can do it before or after. It doesn't matter.
It's just a different conversation if you have What I
will say is that the things that you want to
pay attention to you and your book are what are
the things that people always talk about when it comes
to your book, Like those ideas or those concepts, the
things that they just keep kind of talking about in
(14:10):
the reviews or they're like, I can't believe that that
one whatever resource it was, they'll tell you in their
reviews and their conversations with you what really had the impact.
So pay attention to what people tell you anyway. And
then the other thing is knowing what you know, what
must someone know or do in order to be successful
(14:31):
in what you're encouraging them to do through your book.
You already know, right, all the extras are there because
you're trying to be really supportive, but you know this.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Is a must have. If it's a must have, you
want to include it in the group. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
And you know, I'm just going to say when you
get to your must have, if you start listing and
you're down to twenty, bring it back up to five. Right,
So low down there, because I know that you know,
helping people books, they tend to you know, it's like,
you know, what do you want in your book? And
they give me enough content for five books? Right?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yes? Down one? Are those top five things that this book?
Speaker 1 (15:10):
If you could only say five things, what would they be?
Is that a good number for you as well? Like
one of those five key messages?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Yeah, I'd say between three and five, because what happens
in a group is it's not just about sharing the information,
it's then about them implementing it. So you're you're helping
them to come up with what's their action plan? How
can they do this? Then you're going to want to
have some support, like how did it go? What obstacles
did you run into? So the more key messages you have,
(15:37):
the more time you need with them, and then the
longer and longer your program becomes brilliant.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
All right, So everyone is sitting there, they've been listening
to this, they're excited about it. They want to do something,
and they're like, where do I start? So if somebody's
there going what do I do next? What are the
top three things they can do right now just to
start building momentum, taking actions so that they can move
forward and actually do this successfully.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
So the first one is know your own why? So
what is it that's so appealing about it?
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Again?
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Is it this pressure you feel you should have a
group or is something in this conversation just getting you excited?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Right?
Speaker 3 (16:13):
So typically it's what is your why? And how does
that make it so that a group program is kind
of that obvious next step. The other thing is talk
to people, So those ideal people that you'd love to
have in your group, have some conversations with them. And
the other one is find that three to five key
messages from your book that you would create your group
(16:34):
program around.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Brilliant, Thank you, Now, something else? I noticed that you're
a podcaster, and so I want to ask you about
one of your podcasts. And I'm assuming you have a
podcast about group programs. And so if people are out
there and they're listening and they're like, yeah, this is
really exciting and I want to learn more, can you
tell us the name of your podcast when it drops
(16:56):
and just give us, you know, give us a one
minute summary on what people might expect one listening to
your podcast.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Perfect.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
There's actually two podcasts that I'll talk about here. So
one is I have a public podcast series called the
Book Desserts podcast Series. It's a twelve episode series specifically
for authors, where I talk to experts in kind of
author world. I talk to authors who have actually created
group programs, and I take books that are on the
market already and say, if I was working with this author,
(17:25):
here's what I would think about. So that's a whole
series that's available publicly. But the private podcast I have,
which launches I do episode every second Sunday, is The
Great Group Revolution. It's a private podcast where in every
episode we talk about a tool or a tactic or
a perspective on great groups. And you're always invited to
(17:46):
take an action for each episode for your own great group.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Brilliant. Thank you so much, and we will drop the
links to those in the show notes so that you
can find them and go listen to them. I love
the say the title of the first one Again book.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Book Desserts podcast series.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So it's the sweet side of author led groups.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Love. I love that title, right, desserts. It just it
sounds like so much fun. Thank you so much. Yeah,
thank you so much, Carrie. Thank you for sharing your
insights into group programs and you know, helping us kind
of get excited about creating them and giving us some
really clear, actionable ideas. It's clear that you know, turning
(18:29):
a nonfiction book into a group program can actually be
a really trans transformative experience for both authors and participants.
Do you won't have any final words for us before
we close up.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
I just want to encourage anybody that has that inkling
for a group around their book to do it.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Just do it.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Let's get those groups out there. People want your wisdom,
they want your support, and they want to make changes.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Yeah. Beautiful, Thank you, and thank you for joining Author
Nation Interviews today. We hope this conversation has provided you
with the valuable and actionable insights, plus the inspiration you
need to get excited to actually go out and do
those things. Remember to visit us at authornation dot online
for your treasure trows of resources. And I don't know
(19:15):
if you guys can tell, but I have a cold.
I feel like I'm not actually saying my words properly today,
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(19:35):
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