Making money online is easier than it’s ever been before. The opportunities are also much more varied. There are people making money from their blogs. Others start their own companies online. Some people earn a little pocket money taking surveys and testing websites. Some work as freelancers, spending their time providing their skills and services to others. Some of these people even employ other staff, giving them the same chances to work online with flexibility. This is fantastic. The world of online business is open to everyone, and it gives people a brand-new way to earn money for themselves. But, it also has its disadvantages.
The wealth of people making money online means that it can be much harder to be taken seriously. You say “blogger” or “online entrepreneur” to some people, and their eyes will roll. They think of all the people that they’ve seen advertising poor products and scams on social media and they fail to realize that there’s a lot more to working online than this. Presenting yourself as a serious business can be the best way to get taken more seriously, helping your business to grow and develop. Here’s how to do it.
Make Sure Your Website Works
Do you ever go on to a website only to click away after a few seconds because it hasn’t loaded? Or, try to shop on a mobile site only to find that the store doesn’t work well on a small screen, and you can’t make your purchase? Don’t let your website be one of these.
See your website as the face of your company. It’s your chance to sell yourself and make a great first impression. But, only if it works well and is easy to use. The first thing that you need to do is audit your site. Check out the test my internet speed page, to make sure your site runs quickly. Then, test it out on a mobile screen to make sure it looks great and works well. Check it for broken links and poor placement, and if you run a store, make sure the checkout process is simple. Then, take a look at your site. Are your fonts easy to read? Are the colors easy to look at? Is it easy to navigate through your menus and sections? Do you have a search box and easy to find social media icons? Go through your website like a customer, making sure it offers a great user experience.
Change Your User Names
Are you still using your Hotmail email address from 2004? Are your social media account names silly? If so, you need to change them. You’ll never get taken seriously with daft usernames and email addresses.
You might want to keep private accounts, as well as business accounts. But, it’s still a good idea to be more professional on your private profiles, as they could get found.
Change Your Profile Pictures
Your profile pictures are a big part of the first impression that you are making online. If you want to be taken seriously, get some professional headshots taken and start using them.
As an entrepreneur and business owner, one of your primary concerns is earning enough revenue so that you can continue to be an entrepreneur and live a comfortable lifestyle!
Nowadays, many business owners are getting distracted by different marketing methods, but are not making enough traction to be worth the time and energy they are spending.
Whenever a struggling entrepreneur approaches me for advice, one of the first things I ask them is, “How is your email marketing going?”
Many will sigh, chuckle or wipe the sweat off their forehead and admit that they haven’t sent anything to their list in weeks OR they don’t have a solid email marketing strategy.
I quickly reassure them that email marketing is NOT dead and that they are missing out on an incredible opportunity by not fully utilizing their email list. Some would say the most important way to earn revenue as a business owner, practically on demand, is to build a healthy email list full of prospects.
Are you intimidated by email marketing and don’t know where to start? Have you tried it a few times and been unsuccessful? Here are my top strategies for successful email marketing that you can start implementing today:
Strategy One: Bring In Subscribers With An Irresistible Offer
In order to have a good email list, you need a steady stream of subscribers. The easiest way to get subscribers is to give away something and require only an email address to get it. You want to create something that really stands out to your target audience. Common opt-ins include eBooks, pre-recorded webinars, eCourses, reports, tools, tips, etc.
A lot of business owners are hesitant to give away something really valuable for free. But remember, the better the offer, the more subscribers you will attract which will help you grow your list and earn more revenue.
A couple of tips for your offer: make it stand out with a great headline and a professional cover/banner. Give social proof that lots of people are signing up for it, and the power of FOMO (fear of missing out) will get you more subscribers.
Strategy Two: Put Your Irresistible Offer Somewhere Lots Of People Will See It
There are a lot of platforms where you can drop your opt-in where potential subscribers will see it. Consider where your target audience is hanging out the most. Instagram? Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Browsing Google? Your blog? Put your opt-in wherever the most potential clients will see it. Test it for a while and if it isn’t working, adjust your offer. Keep adjusting until you create something people really want. This doesn’t mean writing an entire new eBook or eCourse. Sometimes simply changing the title or making a better cover will do the trick!
You can also try putting a pop-up or banner on your website (people hate popups so make it worth their time!) If you have an effective popup you can 10x your amount of daily subscribers.
Strategy Three: Set Up An Autoresponder Series For New Subscribers
Using a good email marketing program like ConvertKit (you can try it for free), you can set up an email series that will automatically be sent to new subscribers! Once you set this up, it can run forever without you even thinking about it! I like to call this a “welcome series” and will write up 3-4 emails introducing them to my brand, thanking them for subscribing, letting them know what I have to offer them and giving away lots of goodies. If they like the first few emails they get from you, they are much more likely to open stuff from you in the future.
The biggest thing you want to remember when creating a welcome series is to provide VALUE, VALUE, VALUE. Make it worth their time to open your emails and read them! As you know, everyone is getting tons of emails every day. You want yours to stand out. You want them to open your welcome series and immediately think, “Oh, I really like this. This is valuable to me.” This is the key to creating engaged, active subscribers!
Strategy Four: Create A Consistent, High-Quality Email Marketing Strategy
As your list continues to grow, you want to become consistent in their inbox. I like to stay in touch with my email list once a week. This is regular enough that they know who I am and expect me but isn’t over the top or annoying. I also make it a priority to provide them (you) with high-quality content that is valuable and can have a positive impact on their life and business.
If you don’t have the time to write weekly emails, consider hiring someone to help you. Make sure your emails stay personal, personable and high-quality. Do not spam, do not email every day, and do not make every email a sales pitch. Treat your email list like a relationship, where you have to fill up their “bank account” before asking them to make a deposit into yours!
Tip: it looks much less spammy to have your emails come from YOU than your BUSINESS. When they see your email it should say it is coming from your name and not your business’s name.
Strategy Five: Plan Ahead
We talked a lot about planning ahead in marketing last week, if you missed it, click here! I like to plan ahead my email marketing strategy at least a month or two in advance. When you do email marketing on the fly, you might get some sales and make some progress, but it is often more stressful and less organized. Planning in advance gives you the opportunity to be intentional with your strategy, your content and your offers. You can also more easily plant seeds for soon-to-be-launched products or services.
Many entrepreneurs and business owners who commit to their email list make up to 80% of their revenue this way!! It is definitely time well spent and has both long-term and short-term benefits.
Not ready to run an email marketing strategy on your own? Need some help with the technicalities? Wondering where to start? I would love to chat with you!
We know that one can attain some success by using last-minute marketing campaigns, but we also know thatthe key to success is…planning ahead.
Look at your marketing strategy more as a marathon instead of a sprint- even in the age of instant information and social media, it takes time to build trust and get noticed by your target audience.
Here are 3 tips to help you during the planning stage of your marketing campaign:
#1 Intentional Strategizing
When you plan ahead, you have time to sit down and decide exactly what you want to achieve and how to do it. This will help you to stay focused and not get sidetracked easily by impulsive ideas. I suggest using a big calendar to put up on your wall where you see it every day, with all events and promotions marked for the coming 6-12 months. This way you can easily get started on projects before deadlines. If you aren’t a fan of wall calendars you can also use a google calendar where you can input your events and promotions and even color code them.
Remember, marketing is never a “one-and-done” proposition. It takes time to get the message out and get people to answer your calls to action. They’ll need to see them in multiple ways. Create a separate plan for each product and marketing channel.
#2 Stay Ahead Of The Competition
You should be looking at your marketing strategy for several months ahead. There are certain times of year that your potential customers are more likely to buy and you can use marketing data to determine these times. Then, you can map out and plan everything in advance. When you enter prepared for a summer sale, Black Friday offer or Christmas product, instead of panicking that you don’t have anything ready and throwing something together, you will cruise in like Santa on his sleigh, with all the hard work behind you. And hopefully the competition as well!
#3 Less Stress & More Success!
I know for some it can be exhilarating to fly by the seat of your pants. But if you want your company to succeed and LAST, you need to be focused on the big picture. Patience and intentional planning will pay off in the end. Dig in your heels and do what it takes to set up your company (and yourself) for long-term success. When you are planning all the projects for a marketing campaign 2-4 months before it launches, you will do it with a level head. If you wait until the week before to throw it together, you will feel stressed, and this will impact not only the quality of work but also your quality of life.
As you can see, learning to plan ahead has many benefits. Even if you are use to doing things last minute or enjoy the pressure of a fast deadline, you can learn to plan in advance and use more of your energy towards the success of the launch.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or you need support for your next big launch,book a discovery callwith me. I would be happy to spend some time going over your launch idea to see how I might be able to help ease the stress and improve your success.
Have a great week!
Robyn Bennett
PS:Remember that you don’t have to go it alone, you can reach out and get the support you need to reach your goals,click here and let’s chat.
Think about all the emails and sales pages you’ve seen in the last week, offering a new class, product, or service. Often some marketers will highlight the features and benefits of their latest creation but then fall short because they didn’t include a story.
The art of storytelling in business can be crucial to your success. It can mean the difference between having a sales funnel full of leads or barely making ends meet because you’re connecting with the wrong audience. People will spend their money with you only after they know, like, and trust you. What better way to build that relationship than with your storytelling skills.
Connect with the Right People
Of course, your storytelling skills are wasted unless you identify your ideal clients and where to find them. Think too broadly and you’ll attract freebie seekers or others who will want a price reduction. Or maybe you’ll find those who can afford your price point but who don’t want to do the work. Narrow your sights on your ideal client and create a storyboard with their demographics. Where do they live? Are they married? Do they have a family? How old are they? What are their pain points? How can you help them?
By stating these specifics, you will paint a clear picture of who you want to help, who you want to attract into your funnel, and where you can find them to start interacting. Focus on building relationships instead of selling products. Not everyone you meet will be ready to buy or maybe they are just on the fringes of your ideal market and not the right fit. Keep growing your network and you will find your tribe who will appreciate what you are offering and trust your judgment enough to make purchases.
Make Your Connections Personal with Stories
Your audience wants to connect with YOU, not with your product. What more personal way to make a connection than with a story, or two. Your customers or clients want to know your history, why did you start your business, and how can you help them. How are you different from all the other coaches out there? What is your inspiration? What personal struggles have you overcome?
Yes, at some point they will want to know about the features of your product and how it can help them but start off by allowing your audience to know you. You can show your human side by telling your stories on video. They don’t have to be as polished or as lengthy as a TED talk but you’ll be surprised how many people prefer video over reading outrageously long pages.
Show your human side; don’t edit out all your flubs. What better way to portray yourself as human than to show some bloopers. Showcase your expertise but show your tribe that you’re accessible by answering questions and asking them directly what kind of help they need.
When you decide to connect on a human level instead of always pushing a sale, people will naturally be attracted to you and will want to learn more about you and your business. Be patient; relationship building takes time but the sales will follow.
Have an awesome week!
Robyn
PS: Are you looking for support for your online business? Having the right support is crucial and it will make all the difference for your bottom line. Click Here and Let’s Chat.
In order to build a profitable business, something important you need is a go-to marketing strategy for getting your new products/services in front of ideal customers.
If you create this in an organized fashion, you can rely on it for years to come. Of course, sometimes tweaking may be necessary as you gain experience or the market changes, but having the basic outline will save you a lot of time and money versus starting at square one for every new project.
Other benefits of having a go-to marketing strategy include:
Shortening the time it takes to get new products/services on the market
Helping to minimize cost and work efficiently
Improving company growth and development
Boosting your confidence and assuredly
How can you build an effective marketing strategy, that can be used over and over again? Although it will vary depending on exactly what it is your business offers, these are the main points to cover when designing a customized strategy:
#1 Define Your Target Market
Get very clear on WHO you are marketing to. Who are your dream/ideal clients? Who needs what you have? Who do you want to notice and pay attention to what you’re marketing? Consider age, demographic factors, location, types of careers (if applicable), income brackets, etc. The more specific and detailed the better.
#2 Set Your Value Proposition
How valuable is your service or product to customers? What advantages does yours have over your competitors? Is your product meeting a need or solving a problem for your clients? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you to find the right audience for your product as well as set a price they will be willing to pay. You can also decide whether you want to use a subscription to lower cost, or another pricing strategy such as value-based pricing or skimming.
#3 Brand Positioning
How will you place your brand in front of different audiences? If you have multiple target markets, you may need to come up with a separate plan for each of them. If your product will appeal to multiple age groups, for example, you are going to need to market them differently to each one. Will you have promotions? Discount opportunities? That all falls under this step.
#4 Choose Sales Channels
Determine the most effective places to promote and sell your product. This will depend largely on WHERE your target market is shopping and/or spending most of their time. Are they out shopping at physical locations? Or do they spend most of their day online? Do they shop at malls/outlet stores or places like Walmart and Costco? Are they on Facebook or Instagram? Twitter? Pinterest? Other social media channels? Do they take recommendations from influencers?
Whatever you choose, be sure to create a CONSISTENT experience for your potential customers. Whether they purchase your service or product online, in a store, from a booth or at a trade show, your brand and message should remain clear and consistent.
#5 Measure And Adjust
Have clear methods and parameters for measuring success. As time goes on, you will likely need to alter your strategy to increase profit and create maximum impact. Be flexible and conscious. Recognize what isn’t working and be willing to shift it as needed. Set high but achievable goals.
By taking the time to create a go-to marketing strategy, you will be giving your business a better chance at making it in the long run.
