Technology is an incredible thing that seems to keep getting better and better over time. It is becoming more and more advanced and the doors of opportunities that it opens are outstanding. All you need to do is look in hospitals to see how far we’ve come. We are able to do the impossible now because of tools and machinery that have been made to be noninvasive while doing an extremely difficult procedure, and the number of lives that are now being saved because of it just keep increasing. Technology doesn’t just help medicine though, it helps us in our everyday lives too, regardless of who we are and what we do for a living, and the more help that you know exists out there, the simpler you can make things for yourself and others.
Managing money
We are always trying to find new ways of saving money so that we can have the things in life we enjoy, but it’s no secret that living is an awfully expensive thing. Almost everything has a price, and however sad that thought may be, there’s no point dwelling on it too much since it really won’t change anything, with the right attitude and actions, the easier things will become. Let’s take buying a car for example, this is a huge moment for some if they’re doing this for the first time, but as we know it is also expensive too – along with buying a home. This is why the common thing to do is to take out a loan, but sometimes it can be very hard to know how much money you actually need for that car or home because there are so many different fees and hidden costs involved. Thanks to technology though, you can now have the answers you need by using a car finance calculator that will do the math for you and give you an overall cost of how much money you will likely need.
Managing business
If you own a business, then you’ll know the constant struggles that you will be faced with in order to be successful and start making a living doing what you love. That’s doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try just because it might be difficult, it just means that you’ll need to build a tough exterior and be driven and focused on your goals. One of the most important things in your business are your customers and the feedback they provide you, but one way you can take things even further and get as much helpful knowledge as you can, is with data. Data analysis is a type of technology that has been designed to collect everything that happens within your business, and then feed it back to you. From this, you will be able to source out any underlying problems or issues that may be going on that you would have never noticed otherwise. You can also learn the ins and outs of your sales and buyers, and adjust anything when need be – improving as you go with the information you accumulate.
If you’ve been in the entrepreneurial world for awhile, then you know it can be easy to feel a little lost sometimes.
Whether you’ve just sold a business and are wondering what to do next, or you’re neck deep in one of your big ideas, being an entrepreneur is a commitment to walking through unknown territory.
What should we do when we feel lost?
I’ve been running my own business for many years now and here are a few things I’ve learned along the road.
You Are You Even Without A Plan
When you have a plan and a path to walk down, you likely feel more confident and self assured. When you are in the “grey area” of not knowing what’s next, that is when you can feel lost or insecure about who you are. But it is important to remember that regardless of the situation you are standing in, you are still you. Whether you just sold a million dollar business or are staring at bankruptcy, your value and worth as an individual are still the same. You are still you, even when you’re “lost”.
The People Around You Validate Or Invalidate Your Identity
Whether we like it or not, the people we spend the most time with are constantly validating or invalidating our identities. It is important to spend time with people who believe in you, who help you be your best, who push you to higher ground and still think you’re amazing even when you are feeling small and unsure. Do you feel supported, respected and loved by the people you spend time with? Do they help to inspire and uplift you?
Look Back On Times When You Felt Confident, Passionate & With Direction
Take some time to reflect on your past and find time periods where you felt driven, confident, passionate and with direction. The things that were going on are not necessarily important, but I want you to remember how you felt during these times in your life. Why did you feel the way you did? What brought the feelings of fulfillment and drive? How can you step back into that version of yourself?
Who Do You Want To Become?
Focus on who it is you want to become. You’ve likely already been on quite the journey in your life. Who do you want to become now? Rather on focusing on what you want to do (which you may or may not know) focus on WHO you want to BE. Then take the road that will lead you there.
All these steps will help you create a new mental model that will move you forward into the next stage of your business and life.
According toHuffington Post, the number of women entrepreneurs in the United States increased by double that of their male counterparts from 2015-2016.Women own over 11.3 million of the businesses in America, and statistics show that not only do women make great business owners, but their companies often perform twice as well as those run by men.
BOOM!
Now more than ever women feel empowered to step up and into the role of entrepreneur, making the scary leap of working under a corporate umbrella to making their own rules and running their own companies.
Even though it’s an exciting time to be building your own business, it’s still not easy. There are lots of things trying to get people’s attention nowadays, and to stand out you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves, be constantly learning and willing to evolve.
As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve learned a lot about what can make or break one’s career as an entrepreneur! I wanted to share some of my top tips with you today.
Here are a few strategies to help increase your chances for success and profitability in the women’s business world:
#1 Focus on Your Dream Client vs A Demographic
Old advice would say to focus on a specific demographic (i.e. women over 40). But this is not effective. You want to think about WHO your dream client is and why she needs you. For example, your dream client may be a woman over 40 who is feeling burnt out in her career, tired of climbing the corporate ladder, who wants more time and freedom to focus on doing what she loves. She isn’t afraid of taking risks and she is motivated and driven to reach her goals. Get specific and speak directly to HER. In your content, ads, product labels, opt-ins, sales copy, etc. talk pointedly to this type of client. If you do this and do it well, your dream clients will listen and take actions.
#2 Spend Wisely & Build Capital
Nothing kills a business faster than no money. You can have the most incredible product or service on the market but if you are in debt or are under-capitalized, you won’t be able to create the impact of growth you need to truly succeed and become profitable. Always have a “cushion” for when things don’t go as planned. Budget for your business and your personal life so that one or two bad months don’t crush you. This is a great area to hire experts or mentors to help guide you!
#3 Prioritize Quality Over Speed
The first several months to a year of building your business you are faced with decisions that can either lead you to success or hinder your progress significantly. An estimated 75% of startups fail; generally because they run out of money, try to grow too quickly, hire the wrong people, lack proper marketing or don’t take the time to build something high quality. It can be tempting to take off at full speed and build out a team and rush to “the finish line” but this will likely end your business in flames. Build slowly, hire the right people, stay financially on course and be patient. Entrepreneurship is not a “get rich quick” scheme!
Being a business owner can be an incredibly fulfilling experience. Take the time to do it right and don’t be afraid to ask for help or mentorship so that you have the best chance for success.
This is a no cost to you event full of powerful women entrepreneurs who have walked the path of creating, launching and successfully running a business! Join me as we listen to advice and strategies from the best of the best.
Do you feel like, unless you know the magic spell, you won’t ever get the results from social media that you want?
A lot of my clients wonder: What is the secret to creating a viral piece of content that will benefit my company? Is it even worth the effort with changing Facebook algorithms?
Social media can be a very valuable piece to your content marketing strategy, but you definitely have to be committed to build a reputable, stand-out brand on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Here are 9 tips to creating content your audience will want to share:
#1 Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
Your priority should be creating consistent, quality content. This doesn’t mean you need to post every single day. It is MORE important that when you DO post, it is valuable, awesome (edited & proofed) content. When your audience gets use to you sharing high-quality stuff, they are going to look up to you as a reputable source of information and will be more likely to notice and share.
#2 Format For Quick Readers
People scrolling through social media aren’t looking for 3000-word articles to read. They want content that is to the point, easy to skim and has an obvious purpose. If they click on something and see a poorly formatted wall of words they are going to click outta there faster than you can unbutton your overalls.
When you write content, use short paragraphs and headers to break up the article. Opening sentences should be attention-grabbing. Quick tip: people love lists!
#3 Provide Value, Not Just Information
Information is good, valuable action points are better. I like to follow a WHAT – WHY – HOW format when I write blog posts. What are you talking about? Why is it important to the reader? And HOW can they change their life/business/health/finances/etc. based on the information you teach them?
#4 Focus on Solving Pain Points
When you are coming up with content ideas, start with the question: What are my dream clients/audience/readers/fans struggling with? What do they want more than anything? What is keeping them up at night? What are the biggest problems they are facing? Formulate your content to address, validate, relate to and provide solutions for their pain points.
Spruce up your social content by using quote images, infographics and other artistic pieces of content. These tend to do well on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. These are also super easy to make from content you already have!
#6 Spark Emotion
People on social media are seeing a LOT of marketing from other companies. Unless you pull your reader’s emotions to the surface (hopefully positive ones) your message just becomes background noise. Utilize emotion in your content to help you stand out from your competitors. You can do this by telling stories, speaking about personal experiences, getting vulnerable and honest, speaking about your audience’s dreams and ambitions, etc.
#7 Offer Giveaways & Other Incentives
People love free stuff! Use drawings, giveaways, free content & guides, etc. to entice people to click on your content.
#8 Videos!
Take articles and turn them into engaging videos using thisFREE tool!
Make sure to create videos that are designed specifically for every social platform. E.g., square videos work great on Facebook whereas landscape videos get more engagement on Twitter and YouTube. Use a tool likeWave.videoto create videos in different aspect ratios.
#9 Would You Share It?
If you’re still not sure something you’ve created is “shareable”, ask yourself: If I saw this on a friend’s page, would I share it? If the answer is “no”, “maybe”, or “I’m not sure” then it’s likely your audience will feel the same way! When all else fails, create content that YOU are excited to share.
I hope this sparked some new ideas for your social content endeavors!
If you are hitting roadblocks in your business and need some help, let’s chat. I offer consultations to discuss areas your business that can be improved and streamlined. Let me take some weight off your shoulders!Sign up here and let’s talk!
Do you have a strong welcome series for new people on your email list?
First impressions in the marketing industry are huge- and if yours doesn’t go well, if can be hard if not impossible to come back from!
A high-quality welcome series for new leads is vital to:
Creating a positive first impression
Motivating your readers to keep opening what you send
Building a solid foundation for future sales.
Your leads likely come from opt-ins where you give away something your target audience wants. People give you their email not because they WANT to subscribe to your list necessarily, but because they want your opt in.
Your job then becomes to convince them that your company ROCKS and that they should be excited every time one of your emails pops into their inbox!
How can you do this effectively? Here are a few tips:
#1 The Welcome Email
In your welcome email you give your new reader access to the opt-in they wanted. This may seem like a simple task, but remember, this is your FIRST IMPRESSION of your company! According to data fromExperian, the average open rate for welcome emails is 58%. That’s probably the highest open rate you’ll ever have for any one email!
You want to personalize the email by:
Addressing the reader by their name
Including your photo and signature
Making it obvious and easy to find support/help if needed (even advertising a free consultation, if that’s something you do)
Adding some personality to the text- it should read like a letter from a friend, not a textbook
Ensuring your opt-in is exactly what they were hoping for and MORE
Over-delivering
Psychologically, people want to know you are competent and have good intentions. If they feel like you underdeliver, are unprofessional, sound fake or like you just want their money, they will likely unsubscribe immediately OR never open one of your emails again.
Tip:At the end of your welcome email, include a “curiosity loop” in the P.S.! This is a teaser that gets them excited about your next email.
#2 Provide A Quick Win
At the end of your welcome email you should have ended with a promise/teaser about what would be in this email. Give them what they want right away (i.e. Just as promised, here is the WXYZ).
I recommend giving something that will provide them a “quick win” that they can use immediately to help improve one of their pain points.
For example:
How To Find Your Target Audience For FREE
The Secret To Attracting A High-Quality Man
DIY Toxic Free Cleaning Products That Won’t Cost You A Dime
5 Strategies To Find New Clients In 24 Hours
Don’t worry about a fancy CTA in this email- your focus should be on GIVING them tons of value without asking anything in return.
#3 Create Emotional Connection & Relate To Your Audience
The third email is all about YOU and your brand and how your relate to your audience. In this email, consider all the following points:
Why should your reader care about you?
How do you relate to them?
Why should they LISTEN to you?
What problems did your reader sign up to solve, and how are you the answer to those problems?
Get vulnerable and real with them. Create a vision in their mind of your brand and purpose. The more you can relate to them, the more they will trust you. Go deep into their pain points by expressing how you once experienced them too. Then show that you overcame them and can help them do the same.
This email might end with a CTA inviting them to sign up for a call with you or start one of your programs. You should also invite them to follow you on social media, sign up for a free Facebook group or become a part of your community.
#4 Surprise With More Value
Remember, you will build trust and a favorable impression as you continue to overdeliver. In your final welcome-series email, provide more value for your reader. Point them to your most popular blog posts, give them a free PDF download, show them your favorite resources, etc. Basically, give them free stuff that they want and need!
You can also include a time-sensitive CTA in this email. Encourage them to sign up for a call with you (and emphasize that spots are limited) or offer them an exclusive deal only for new readers. You can also include some testimonials or success stories in this email.
How Far Apart Should These Emails Be?
Your audience will be themost engagedduring your welcome series because you are new and exciting. Stay on the top of their mind by sending them 1 email each day. After your welcome series is over, I recommend sending 1 email to your list on the same day every week.
Need help setting up a killer welcome series? I have some effective email templates that I would be happy to share with you! For access to them or for any other related questions, claim aspot on my calendar here.
