Help! I can’t stop buying biz stuff and freebies from Facebook

I’ve spent $770 on Facebook and counting… 

That damn algorithm has got me good. Everytime I scroll I’m captivated by fabulous one-time-only offers. 

These mind readers know I’m upping my game this year. It’s exciting and overwhelming. I want to s-m-a-s-h goals. Facebook knows. 

It knows I’m creating a corker plan for 2020. No more bouncing around from one shiny plan or project to the next. 

So, it delivers up bloody good offers. I can’t resist. I’ve spent $776.99. Seriously, I have to stop going onto Facebook. It’s the only way to save my hard-earned clams.  

So, what did I buy? 

*I bought these all on the same day: 23 December 2019 

Side note: I also bought Bec Sparrow’s Just Between Us, an online club for Mothers and Daughters. Did I mention I have three daughters? I like them. So, I’m using this program to make them like me back. Going well so far. 

But did I stop there?

No. I did not. I also got busy downloading lots of freebies: 

• Helen Pritchard’s 5 Day LinkedIn challenge
• Elizabeth Warren’s about page template
• Andrew McWhirter’s The Influencer Project Exponential Growth Guide
• The Bulletproof Business Mindset Challenge 
• Yael Keon’s 80+ Fill The Blank Email Ideas  

Oh. Did I mention that I did all this during the busiest month of the year? Clients have by-the-end-of-the-year demands. Kids have-end-of-year-bring-a-plate-paries. Shopping. Parties. Baking. Presents. Family wrangling. As Abbie from Bachelor says, it was A LOT. 

Anyway, my brain snapped. I turned to Facebook in my down time. I started buying stuff and I can’t stop. Please send help. 

Was it worth it? 

Here’s my definitive ranking of the PAID items. 

#1 Digital Picnic VIP Membership 2020

Okay, so I’m excited about this. It’s TDP so it must be good. I admit I’ve only got one email from them so far. But it was brimming with TDP personality. By far, this was the most expensive purchase. I actually thought about this purchase first. The reason I bought it? I pictured myself seeing other people gush about how amazing it is. I knew I’d feel utterly jealous. Also, I figured that cool people would also join. And I want cool people to know and like me. 

#2 Full Focus Planner

It’s true that I haven’t got this in the mail yet. It ships from the USA. But I watched a video on it (another more considered purchase). I reckon it looks good. Please let it arrive soon. Because I have all the goals to achieve this year. Plus, Amy Porterfield uses it and we all want to be like her, do we not? 

#3 Amber McCue Fresh Start 2020 Planathon

This is a program and Facebook group, designed to help you create a plan for 2020. I bought this because I have plenty of big goals for this year and I know I need a plan. I liked this book, and I made it halfway through. But then, I got busy with client work. I ended up creating my own Excel spreadsheet plan which I’m loving. I liked Amber’s plan so during the quieter month of January I’d like to get back to it. Then again, I say a lotta things. 

#4 Marina de Giovanni, Lifestyle Blogger’s Guide 

This was a whim. I’m not planning on becoming a lifestyle blogger. But Marina nearly had me converted. This book is basic. The reviews on GoodReads are not kind. But, I did not check those reviews before I purchased. Hey, it’s less than a tenner, so I think it was okay on value. I bought it because I was thinking of blogging about how I got sober in 2018. I decided to focus on my core business instead… But this book is quite good, and cheap. Bonus: she’s Australian. But wait. There’s the funnel. More on that later. 

#5 Allie Bjerk Prosperity Lab Livestream Planning System 

Oops. I haven’t looked at this either. But it seems pretty good? It’s a bunch of prompts for going live on social media for every day of 2020. It’s customised for different industries. So if you’re a coach, e-commerce retailer or health and wellness practitioner, there are different prompts for daily live chats. I bought this because I like the idea of going live on socials regularly. This helps me work out what to say. I watched a few videos with Allie and she seems… a bit flat? There’s plenty of value adds with this purchase. I’m not that inspired, perhaps it’s just me. I’ll stick to The Digital Picnic and Kate Toon’s Clever Copywriting upcoming content marketing session. 

What about the freebies?

#1 Helen Pritchard’s 5 Day LinkedIn Challenge

This was epic. Helen gives away plenty of value. I found the way she ran the course fascinating. She held daily tasks, with daily lives for Q&A sessions. Because she’s in the UK the time difference (or cultural references) didn’t always work. But, I’m excited about working on LinkedIn now, and I never thought I’d say that. 

#2 Bulletproof Business Mindset 

Another confession: I didn’t make time to get involved with this program. It helps business owners develop a positive mindset with tapping. 

I’ve worked with Catharine and she’s been very helpful to me. You tap on your face (yes, it’s heaps weird) and then you feel better. I dunno how it works but it works. Just go with it. 

Did you know that you can complete units of work in Facebook groups now? You watch the video, download the worksheets, do your homework and tick off each unit as you complete them. Clever.

#3 Yael Keon’s email ideas swipe file  

I’ve heard Yael’s name bouncing around the traps for a while. So I already felt a level of familiarity and trust (which helps). Her free download, 80+ email ideas tempted me. My plans for world domination, or just being annoyingly in everyone’s face, includes email marketing. Because it works. So this was a good one. 

#4 Elizabeth McKenzie Eyes On You About Page Template

Why did I get this? I’m a copywriter. I KNOW how to craft about pages. But Elizabeth offered me a free template. I got imposter syndrome. Perhaps Elizabeth’s system is better than mine? If you need a good about page template, I’d get this. It has good advice. But nothing I didn’t already know. I’m ranking this low as punishment to myself for being a twat and doubting my ability. 

#5 Influencer Project eBook 

I didn’t read enough of it to form an opinion. The advice was solid but quite basic, like ‘know your why’ and ‘features versus benefits.’ On the plus side, it’s a long book, 180 pages. So there’s depth to it. I’ve learned that an e-book is not a good lead magnet because people are busy like me. And they don’t read them. 

Learnings from buying all this stuff from Facebook ads

1. Landing pages really work. Even if you scroll through them, the main points are there. I enjoyed all the landing page goodness. So many best-practice examples.

2: One guru at a time. If you want to get value out of programs, you need to make time to absorb the content and do the work. Not what I did: buy random stuff and not use it. 

3: Oh, the funnels I’m in. Marina has sent me 30 emails over 11 days. I will unsubscribe soon. But jeez, she’s pushy. It’s a good way to get people in your funnel. Just take it easy with the spammy stuff. Yes, that means YOU, Marina. 

4: Aussies are better. Whoops, that came out a bit racist. I just prefer my gurus to be local. We have a different culture here. I’ve realised I like to follow local thought leaders. They understand the market, the landscape and the culture here. I still like Amy Porterfield and Helen Pritchard. But at the moment, I’m enjoying content from Kate Toon, Suz Chadwick, Stevie Says Social, Erin May Henry and Katie Maynes. 

5: Facebook gives you more of what you like. Oh the dastardly money-stealing ruffians. My feed is inundated with more of the same. So much more. I’ll have to retrain Facebook. I want the usual regime of hand cream and BuzzFeed cat stories back. 

6: See what you’ve clicked. Every mindless click is valuable to Facebook. Check the Recent Ads Activity to see what you’ve been doing. I promise: you’ve been clicking on more than you realise. 

7: People are too busy. As freebies, checklists and downloadable charts are better than eBooks. They’re more likely to have the customer engage, because they’re digestible.

8: People value what they pay for. I’m more likely to engage with the content I bought because I want to get the value. I put my dollars into it, so I put my time into it.  

Learn from my mistakes 

Questions to ask before you buy stupid business shit on Facebook. 

• Can I get this elsewhere for free?
• Have I heard of this person before today? 
  • If not, can I listen to a podcast or watch a video from them to get to know them better?
• Do I have the time to get the value out of it?
• Is there an Australian expert who is better placed to guide me? 
• Does this fit into my marketing plan?
• Is this activity a priority for me right now?
• Will I want this tomorrow after sleeping on it?
• Do I have the budget for this program?
• Does it meet the ‘one guru at a time’ policy?
• Have I checked the reviews of this book or person before buying? 
• If it turns out to be crappy, will I care? 

You can help me.

If you book some copywriting jobs, I’ll have to get to work and I’ll stop getting distracted by shiny things on Facebook.

Have you ever bought dumb business stuff on Facebook? Tell me about it in the comments.