Brilliant Ideas

#25: How Renee Moten Built a 20,000+ Community Around Knee Pain Relief

• Alyssa Bellisario • Season 1 • Episode 25

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Renee shares how she transformed her personal knee pain journey into a thriving business that helps thousands of women worldwide regain mobility and freedom from pain. She reveals the simple strategy that grew her email list to over 20,000 people and regularly fills her webinars with hundreds of engaged participants.

• Discovering alternative methods to healing knee pain after traditional medical advice failed
• Building a community of women supporting each other through healing
• Going from small webinars with 30 people to events with 900+ attendees
• Creating group programs after initially working one-on-one with clients
• Using social media effectively without getting overwhelmed
• The power of consistency in posting content across platforms
• Customer service strategies that keep clients coming back for years
• Importance of active listening and making clients feel heard
• Healing from the inside out with techniques like lymphatic drainage massage
• Investing in self-improvement to become a better leader and coach

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Renee:

And I know one of the main things that you have to be able to do is you have to hear what they're saying and the next time you see it repeated again, that tells you that anytime you can share with people that you're listening to them, it's absolutely golden.

Alyssa:

Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of some of the most inspiring digital products created by solopreneurs just like you. I'm your host, alyssa, a digital product strategist who helps subject matter experts grow their business with online courses, memberships, coaching programs and eBooks. If you're a solopreneur with dreams of packaging your expertise into a profitable digital product, then this is the podcast for you. Expect honest conversations of how they started, the obstacles they overcame, lessons learned the hard way and who face the same fears, doubts and challenges you're experiencing, from unexpected surprises to breakthrough moments and everything in between. Tune in, get inspired and let's spark your next big, brilliant idea.

Alyssa:

Hello and welcome back to the Brilliant Ideas Podcast. I'm your host, elisabeth Serio. If this is your first time listening, you've just found your go-to podcast to help you launch your course, build that membership or create that ebook that actually sells, using real strategies from successful business owners who've done just that. And here today is Renee, who isn't just a knee pain expert. She's a marketing genius with over 20,000 people on her list and zoom calls packed with 900 women. Multiple times, she's turned her mission into a thriving business and she's here to share her story, so let's dive in. Welcome to the show, renee. I am so glad you're here.

Renee:

I am really glad to be here. I love talking about what I do.

Alyssa:

I know and, renee, I was reading so much about your story you know, where you suffered from osteoarthritis, knee pain, and then going, going, you know to, to the traditional doctor route and then you kind of discovered, like the holistic alternative methods to healing your knee pain. And then you discovered, you know, you rediscovered, um and you regained your mobility, your stability and then your confidence from that experience and so you've really become known as, like this, knee pain expert. And my question to you is that what motivates you to want to take your experience now, everything that you've gained over the last you know, 10, 15, 20 years, um and turn it into something that is purposeful and mission driven and um to now help hundreds of people?

Renee:

Well, thank you for asking. Well, I think the main thing that first started off when I just had an ankle injury I just had an ankle injury that went into foot pain and then foot pain went into knee pain and that information is not talked about at all. And so, as I was going to the doctors and going to the doctors four different doctors I went to and I did all the exercises and I lost the weight and it still did not. It still did not help. But I think the other part of it that is Alicia I want to pronounce your name correctly oh, alyssa Alyssa. Okay, thank you. I want to pronounce your name correctly. Oh, alyssa Alyssa.

Renee:

Okay, thank you, alyssa is that my mother was on a walker and my sister is on a walker, all because of joint problems, and so that was another motivation that well you know I can also help them, give some information about what's going on with their joint pain, and also for myself. So that was my other motivating step into making this out of a mission. And also because knee pain. I found that it's not that easy, it's not that hard to get rid of your knee pain. You have to maintain it, but it really isn't that hard. But when you see that people are suffering I mean literally suffering because of their knee challenges, their joint challenges I said I just can't keep going on like this when I know I have the answers. And once I got the answers in 2014, it was off to the races after that.

Alyssa:

Wow, and it seems like it's a big passion of yours as well, and that you've taken something that was your experience and you've learned so much about it over your years of trial and error.

Alyssa:

And then you've taken your what you know and you turn it into a community around your work. Like you know, when I was reading about it, you've grown your email list to over 20,000 people and you have hundreds of women showing up on to your Zoom calls, and that's a dream for a lot of business owners. When you look at the typical attendance rates for you know, like events on Zoom and you know, of course, if they're paying to be there there's a high chance you'll get, like, a lot of people on your calls. But even beyond that, your numbers are extremely high, which tells me that people are coming because you're solving a very specific need or desire to get rid of that knee pain or, you know, to gain more flexibility, mobility, something that they wish they had more of. That really tells me that you've really cornered a market here where you're able to take something as simple as you know knee pain and you know that kind of you know that thing that they want to fix and you've turned it into something that you know where you can actually help people hundreds of people and and. So what kind of strategies have you used to grow your email list and also kind of have that attendance rate? I mean people showing up on your zoom calls every single time because they know they need you.

Alyssa:

What has been? What has the? What does that have been like for you?

Renee:

Wow, um, uh, the the strategy that I was. First of all, it's very important for entrepreneurs to have coaches. I mean, they may not want, they may not say they can't afford them, but we do need coaches. And one of the things I was told to do was to put stuff out there on a certain social media platforms, and whatever social media platform got the most hits. That's the one I worked on.

Renee:

So when I found out, I had one one, one little ad that was started to get some traction. That's the one I started to put on event bright. I started to do things on event bright and probably 16 people showed up. 16 people showed up and then in that time was only like maybe 30 people showed up. 16 people showed up and then in that time, it was only like maybe 30 people showed up. But here's the key. The key is who is showing up? Was it women or was it men? Who was asking the questions? Was it women or was it men? And the women were asking the questions and the men just would not participate. So I did that for about four or five months just 30 people, 10 people, that thing until December 2021.

Renee:

When I changed the one word in my ad to all women and it went. It went viral. So I was. I went literally from 30 people coming to my webinars to in January of 2020, I'm sorry, it was 2021, 1,500 women signed up Okay, that's not how many showed up, but that's how many signed up. And probably by February of 2021, there was 3,000 women that were signing up. And see, I only thought that knee pain was in America, but it wasn't, and that's where it escalated. But you have to really look at your numbers. Who's showing up, who's asking the question? Sometimes you just have to do a little tweaking and that's when it kind of exploded.

Alyssa:

Wow, that's such an interesting perspective and it really highlights that you really need to know who you're talking to Like and for you, were the women like? What age group were they and did you have a? Was it like very consistent the ages that were coming onto the calls there was?

Renee:

mostly 50 and over and in very, very bad shape. I'll say that for sure. I sometimes my webinars would last for four hours because I just would not get off until I answered all their questions, because they were in such dire need, they didn't have any hope and they were just in so much pain that I just stayed on there. And so much pain that I just stayed on there, me and my assistant. I had to take a potty break every now and then but we stayed on there quite often for like four hours.

Alyssa:

Wow, and so your method. So how long? Like? I mean, I hate to put you on the spot, but how long does your method take, or how does it? You know? Can you walk me through, like just an example of how it works, when someone goes on to your Zoom calls?

Renee:

Oh, you mean if they come onto my webinars?

Alyssa:

Yeah, like your live webinars that you host, Like what you know, what kind of things happen in those webinars, Like you know, because you stay for four hours. So what are you doing during that time hours?

Renee:

Like you know, cause you stay for four hours. So what are you doing during that time? Well, the in the very beginning, I always talk about something that they know, but they don't even know what they don't know, cause they don't really know why they even have their problems for so long. I mean, why do you keep knee pain? I had knee pain for 20 years. Why why do you have knee pain for 20 years? And so when I started to break that down, they were like, oh my God, and they were just so excited about it. And then, when I got to my story, they were just all tears and all that because they started to see the hope.

Renee:

So, from that particular place, once you understand that your message is getting across, you see, they don't know what they don't know. And then they start to trust and believe you. And that's where it has to happen. It has to be a trust factor. There I talk their language. We have to talk people's language.

Renee:

That's what I did on the webinars a lot, and I wasn't really asking them for anything. At the very end I said I just want to sit and talk with you, I just want to find out more about what's going on with your knees and for that the webinar would probably last about an hour and a half or maybe hour to 45 minutes, but two hours were just all of me answering their questions and those women stayed on there. Hundreds of them stayed on there for hours just listening. It was so rewarding. It was scary as heck because I've never done it before. You know, I was only doing like 30 people 15 people now I have, like I think I used to have like 900 800 on my webinars 900 people and that's where I got mine.

Renee:

That's why I have clients from all over the world because of that. Webinars, those webinars.

Alyssa:

Wow, and so what happens after? So, once they come to the webinar, um, what happens afterwards? Do you do they enroll into one of your the programs that you have Like? How does that work?

Renee:

Well, I can tell you that this is why it was so important to have a coach, because I didn't know anything about building a program because I was doing everybody one-on-one, but my coach before COVID hit, she was telling us how to build a program. So when I first started in January, when I had all those people, I was still trying to do one at a time. That wasn't working because you got like 400 people. So I went in about going into about February, march that's when I started to actually build a program. So I built a four week program at first and then I built an eight week program after that. So it was a progression on from four weeks to eight weeks.

Alyssa:

Wow, okay, cool, that's awesome. And I know what you mean about the one-to-one because you know I have. I have it in both ways too, like I and for my business I have the one-to-one because I still find that with every person, every person has still yes, it's universal what the common problem is, but every person has individual needs, and so I could see how a program would be hard or difficult to create if you're working one-to-one and you're really getting to know everything about that person and what they're struggling with and then creating that kind of custom approach. But then also, if you're having 900 women show up on your calls, there's just no capacity on your end to be able to address every one of those women. So creating a program like that makes sense, right.

Renee:

Well, it's very interesting you say it like that, because what I'm finding in, see, I'm creating what they call a paradigm shift. What I mean by that is I don't talk about strengthening your leg muscles. I don't talk about all the things that the doctors are talking about, that you're going to need surgery, that I can't do nothing for you. I'm talking about starting at your feet, starting at your ankles, starting at your shins. We got to get you into alignment. We have to get you rebalanced.

Renee:

So people women just wasn't really buying it Okay. However, when they get in a group when they was in my group of like 30 something women and this one woman said, oh, this is really helping. And then the other one said, this is really helping. That helped me tremendously. I didn't know how much, but I needed them to help reinforce what I'm talking about, because what I do, no one else is doing. So there was a big trust factor there that they had to get, and they got it from each other. I mean it was incredible how rewarding and crying Everybody was crying because it was getting well, but they were supporting each other from all over the world it was incredible, and that's the missing key for a lot of programs.

Alyssa:

They are missing that community aspect that you've mastered, because now it's like they're able to rely on each other and get tips of what worked for them, and then it's just kind of like a domino effect which I love and it's like it doesn't even really need to involve.

Alyssa:

Yes, at some point you are involved, but it can also survive without you being there every step of the way, because they have partnerships and accountability and buddies, and so it's a really interesting way to have a program with a community and then be able to rely on that community for long term you know to, for long term and then keeping them inside your world, and so and I do I also think that this didn't happen overnight, right?

Alyssa:

I think you know, as you had mentioned, you know your whole story.

Alyssa:

This is like years in the making and nothing is built overnight.

Alyssa:

These, all the things that you've done, that you've cultivated or have, are months and months of planning, um, and speaking on that, as we kind of organize and plan our content and our webinars and our events and things like that, um, I find that there's many business owners who find social media to be one of the biggest like time suck when it comes to like planning these types of events and and marketing the programs and things like that, and so, and they're probably thinking that they're at their capacity themselves, like you know, the one to one is great, but they do want to be creating programs that, so they can alleviate some of the stress of working with too many clients at once and then burning out, and so, and maybe also, they don't have a social media team themselves.

Alyssa:

Like a lot of the listeners right now, they are solo printers, they wear a lot of hats, they, you know we really don't have a team of people helping them, and so what would you say your approach is when it comes to marketing on like TikTok, instagram, facebook, youtube, like how do you make it? How do you make it all manageable?

Renee:

Oh, the one thing that one of my coaches told me to do to launch my business in the first place. She said I want you every day to get up and just put something on every last one. I'm just something, just put something out there. And she said the reason for that and this is why this was so critical for me was that when my business started to launch itself, people had to find me. So if I didn't have all that stuff out on Facebook or TikTok and Instagram, then nobody could find me. So, even though people may not be finding you, you still need to put that stuff out there just so that people would know about you. That stuff out there, just so that people would know about you. But I basically what I do is I have I did have an assistant that was doing my follow-ups. Basically, when people would comment, she would do the. She would be, she would answer the comments. So it's good if you have somebody that can do that for you. So I had her for a little while. Of all my social media stuff, she would answer the comments. That's where I went at the most, but I used to put stuff on. Right now I've had like three videos that have gone viral on TikTok. But it happens.

Renee:

But it's very interesting that again, you have to see who is engaging with you. Linkedin we're not compatible yet. Facebook, yes, instagram not compatible yet. You still put stuff out there, but who is talking with you? And also, each one of them needs something a little bit different. From my TikTok page to my Facebook page. Something has to be a little bit tweaked in order to be able to touch base with each one of them. My social media platforms you're great. You're great. You're great. My TikTok page how crazy can you get? I need some music in here, I need some movement in here. So it all depends you know. So you have to get to know each one of those social media platforms.

Alyssa:

That's a great way of looking at it. Like, if you're going to go onto another platform, how can you make it different from the other? And then maybe you'll attract another group that you weren't even thinking about as well. Like, right now I'm only on Instagram, but I would love to go to TikTok someday, you know at one point. But now that's a really good point. Like, how do I tweak it so that it's a little bit more entertaining, since TikTok is, I mean, for myself? I use TikTok because it's I want the entertainment value, um and so, even when I'm learning about like educational things, I want to be entertained at the same time and not just have a talking head. So that you know, it's something that's really great advice.

Alyssa:

And I think I think there's also this like kind of like invisible expectation that we have to create more, be more creative, do more, post more, and it just kind of feels like we're never doing enough. So I kind of love that. You're just like, but just put something out there, like you're just, you know, it's so casual. I didn't even think that. I always thought that you had to like plan meticulously every single post that you put out there, be very intentional. But you're. You know, your take is like just put it out there. Your take is like just put it out there, let people find you, and it's like that is so. I love that and it's just so and it's so chill Because I think that's if we're doing already so much in our business, then if we're just putting something out there then that takes a lot of that stress off of us.

Renee:

If I showed you I can't even find it right now If I show you the TikTok I mean the Facebook ad that over a million people looked at you're like why, if I show you the TikTok ad that's gone viral you're like why, see, you don't know, you don't, you have no clue. I mean, you, you can think you may know, but if you keep trying to strategize, you don't know what's gonna, what's gonna spark people. I mean, that's what I've learned because things have gone viral like okay, thank you.

Alyssa:

It's so funny. Like the ones that don't that I don't do any kind of planning involved, those, those are the ones that do well. Like what? How is this possible? Like it literally took me two seconds to create and it's doing far better than the ones that I had, like a talking head video and it didn't do. It didn't do so well and so I'm like wait a second. Okay, I need to change my strategy here, because clearly people want more of my like B-roll type of content than they do with like talking heads. So you know, it's just all about tweaking and strategy and things like that.

Renee:

So the one that went viral. I'm just sitting there talking for like three minutes. That's amazing.

Alyssa:

Two minutes or three minutes or something like that no, but you said something that that resonated with them and that's you know. And then you, you take that and you're like, okay, well, let me just replicate it and keep replicating it. There you go. Yeah, exactly, so let's switch gears to your eight week program. I you know it's it's no small task, I think, to create a program that delivers results but also creates that connection that is so strong that people stick around for like a long time after the program. So this is another dream I find for a lot of businesses who you know they're turning, they want to turn one-time client into a long-term relationship. So how do you keep, how do you get your clients to keep like reinvesting in your programs that you offer?

Renee:

Well, one thing that I have as a personal trainer I used to keep my clients for 15 years, 20 years. Right now I have my exercise class. They've been in it for three years. I have a very good I'm very good at that. And one thing that is such you have to get good at is customer service. You have to get good at customer service. You have to get good at self-improvement.

Renee:

When your people come into your space, there's certain things that they are looking for, and I know how to deliver those types of things. To keep people trusting in me and coming back for more, and I know one of the main things that you have to be able to do is you have to hear what they're saying and then next time you see them repeat it again. That tells you that anytime you can share with people that you're listening to them can share with people that you're listening to them is absolutely golden. Inside of my classes that I have, they know I'm the boss I'm not going to say the boss, but they know I'm the leader, the coach. They know I'm the coach and I keep everybody safe. They have to feel protected in those classes. They have to feel safe in those classes. They have to feel that whatever they say won't go outside of that room and also each one of them.

Renee:

Even though I am running a class of women, I speak to them throughout the week also, because it's not. I do make sure that I speak to them one-on-one throughout the week so they know if they have anything personal that they need to talk about, I'm there to help them. I basically do not. I really just try to talk to them as that. I want to be there to help them, that I'm their coach, that I'm their mentor and whatever they ask me I can see what I can help them with.

Renee:

Also, it's very important for us as coaches to have a lot of resources, so when they do ask us, we don't know everything, but we need to say, okay, well, go try this, go here, this is what I've tried, you can try that. But it's very important for us to customer service galore. I'm never, ever late. I'm always on time, very respectful of their time, and also you have to really work on yourself, a lot of self-improvement. I've been doing that stuff for years of being a trying to be, a working on being a better person, a better coach to all my clients and to my family.

Alyssa:

And just to be a role model as well. Like you know, lead the type of life that they look at you and say, wow, I want that too, and I want to be a part of that and continue to be a part of that as well. And I love what you said about customer service and making it about the person, the client, not about what it can do for your business. You know, it's like, yes, it would be great to have your clients for years, because that means that you're maintaining, you're growing your business and things like that. But it's also a benefit for your clients to stay with you because you can offer that sense of support, continued support, that they wouldn't otherwise have if they were to just do it themselves, you know, or just go off and watch some videos online, like they have you in their back pocket, and that's the whole point is to create an experience, a continued experience for them. So that's the whole point is to create an experience, a continued experience for them. So that's such valuable insight. And, you know, also just active listening as well as just listening to, but that active listening as well as knowing exactly what they want and they need, or what they want more of as well.

Alyssa:

I always find that you know, with my own clients, like I asked them what else am I missing? You know that. You know you've gone through, you've worked with me, what else can you, what else do you need? And then trying to weave that into what your offers and seeing if you can create something else that can better serve them. So that's also, you know, can can also help as well. And so you know, speaking of kind of like these takeaways, um, it's time for one of my favorite parts of the show. This is called the brilliant bite of the week. This is where we share a quick, actionable tip or piece of wisdom that can spark some inspiration for our listeners, um, and can take that next step. So what would you say is one piece of advice that you'd like to share that they can go out and now implement?

Renee:

One thing about our bodies is we can heal ourselves. Everything about what I do when it comes to knee pain or joint pain, it's all about healing from the inside out. So what I'm suggesting for people to do is to take things such as certain type of massages. There's something called a lymphatic drainage massage. I highly recommend it. Anybody has any type of challenges with any type of pain. We all need to get what we call a lymphatic drainage massage. Find a good therapist and do that, so we need to heal from the inside out. Get information from that person can really help you along your way to stay in a healthy and pain-free way.

Alyssa:

That's great, and for our solopreneurs as well, for those who also want what you have the community, the loyalty with your clients, the um. You know, what could you offer in terms of um? Maybe it could be a mantra, it could be advice or like insight about, you know, growing their business with you know, live calls or um having programs. What, uh, what could you, what could you offer in terms of advice or wisdom?

Renee:

One thing I highly recommend is, I mentioned before, it's always about self-improvement. If you want to be a good leader and a coach, you have to read about good leaders and good coaches, and so that's what I would highly recommend. I have an audio book of all kinds of coaches and leaders so I can learn about how leadership skills and so I can be able to take those skills onto my coaches, onto my clients, and be a good inspiration in their lives.

Alyssa:

That's great advice. I love that and it can, I know. I think the self-improvement is really good, because then you can tell your clients what you've tried and then what you're doing more of now, and so you've kind of become your own experiment.

Renee:

For 20 years. You try a lot of things, yeah right.

Alyssa:

I know, I know and so we've learned so many practical takeaways today and sharing your story and all of your wisdom. So thank you so much. And so, for those of you that are listening who want to learn more about Renee's work or connect with her directly, all the links are in the show notes. So make sure to check them out. And if you're at the stage where you're struggling to find the perfect name for your program, I do have a prompt in my in the show notes that called the viral name validator, and it's an ultimate tool for testing um, if your name is going to be attention grabbing, memorable and just ready to sell.

Alyssa:

So the link is in the show notes if you want to go ahead and download that um. So thank you for listening and I'll catch you next time on another brilliant idea. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of brilliant ideas. If you love the show, be sure to leave a review and follow me on Instagram for even more insider tips and inspiration. Ready to bring your next big, brilliant idea to life? Visit AlyssaVelsercom for resources, guidance and everything you need to start creating something amazing.