Hey there…
Do you often find it difficult to make time for your marketing activities? Or do you find that when you do market, it’s not consistent enough to bring you the results you want?
Marketing your business is as important as what it is that you do. If you embrace that, you will stop struggling and reach a whole other level of success.
Before my business evolved into what it is now, I was trading my time for money. As a webmistress, I charged by the hour. As a writer/editor, I charged by the hour. As a public relations and marketing consultant, I charged by the hour.
Do you see the problem here? đ
There are only so many hours in the day, right? And if I wanted to pay the rent, I needed the majority of them to be billable hours, which left little to no time for marketing. As you can imagine, I struggled to get clients.
But I don’t struggle anymore, and here’s why: it’s called leveraged income – multiple streams of leveraged income – that enables me to work with much fewer (but more of my ideal) clients one-on-one, and gives me much more time for marketing and growing my business with a lot less effort.
Here are 3 steps to implementing this model into your business:
1. Use the funnel method of marketing.
I talk about this constantly, but it’s such a powerful model (that actually works) that I want as many people as possible to embrace it. If you set your business up within this system, it will automatically do your marketing for you. And it’s the best kind of marketing – the “set it and forget it” kind!
2. Stop trading time for money…
…and start creating products that will bring you leveraged income. You can create products from knowledge you already have, in a way that is easy to package and deliver, such as an ebook. Taking your expertise and packaging it actually allows you to help more people than you ever could one-on-one, and it lets those prospects who might not be able to afford your one-on-one fees an option of still working with you, just in a different format.
3. Raise your fees.
Once you start offering products and start bringing in leveraged income, raise your one-on-one fees.
Now don’t gasp! đ
What will raising your fees do? It will allow you to gracefully let go of some of those less than ideal clients and let you work with more of those whom you are best suited to serve. The increase in fees will, at the very least, offset the loss of revenue from the clients that have dropped off, but ultimately you will bring in more revenue by taking your business to a higher level of quality and commitment. It will also give you more time to create more products.
Structure your business around this model and you will enjoy working with more of your ideal clients and customers, create more income by way of packaging your knowledge into products, and give yourself more time to spend building your business to the highest vision of it you can imagine.
Your Turn: I’d love your thoughts on how to best implement this model in your business – please share in the comments below.
Cheers,
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As creative entrepreneurs, we often have more ideas than time to bring them into fruition. (And all ideas aren’t meant to be implemented either… ;-))
If you’re feeling like your business is overwhelmed with ideas, your message tries to encompass too much, or you have more offerings than you can effectively market, it’s time to let go, streamline, and blossom.
Here are 3 steps to help you do this:
Step 1: Let go
It’s ok to let some things go, whether it’s a product you love but simply doesn’t sell anymore (tip: turn it into a freebie), or clients who are no longer ideal, or ideas that you’ve been wanting to implement but simply haven’t happened – and it’s likely they never will.
Start letting go of these things because they are holding you back, from more sales, from more ideal clients, from better ideas that simply can’t get through to you because you don’t have the capacity at the moment to see them.
My clients who take the time to cull their content, their message, their clients, once a year always end up with far better results, easier flow, and more momentum then they’ve experienced to date.
Step 2: Streamline
After you’ve let go of what’s not working or holding your business back, take a look at what’s left. Assess its effectiveness, tune into your own enthusiasm, and be certain that everything in your repertoire should still have its place in your business today. Keep the things you’re really excited about and move the things that you’re still interested in to a secondary position in your business. Focus on the primaries first, and when you have time and/or team to help, focus on the secondaries.
Step 3. Blossom
It’s from this place that your business will grow and blossom. If you go through this process at least once a year (instead of continuing to just do what you’re doing because you’re not sure what else to do or you’re afraid to change things (!), you will reap the benefits of paying this kind of strategic attention to your business.
What can you let go of today? What can you streamline? Where can you see your business blossoming because of doing this?
Share with me below.
Just dropped Jack off for his first day of 3rd grade – woohoo! And since Chloe started 6th grade yesterday, it’s back to business for me – and my Back-to-School Business Bundle for you!
Here are just 5 of the 32 trainings you’ll have instant access to:
1. How to Prioritize All You Do
Overwhelmed? Confused? Immobilized by the sheer number of items on your to-do list? You are not alone. Itâs the entrepreneurâs trap and this is the training call that will free you.
(this is one of my all-time favorites)
2. The Simple 7-Step Autoresponder Sales Sequence
In this training call, Alicia will teach you how to write a quick autoresponder email series that sells a product or service on autopilot.
(one of clients implemented this right away and saw instant sales – and she was amazed at how a simple it was!)
3. Advanced Signature System
Got your Signature System outlined? Aliciaâs going to show you what to do next with it, and how to create additional revenue streams from it, quickly and easily.
(This is HOW my business passed the 6-figure mark and then the million-dollar mark)
4. 22 Ways to Instantly Boost Your Sales Page Conversion
Want to get more sales from your current and future sales pages? In this training, Alicia will share 22 easy ways to make sure your conversions are as high as they can be.
(another checklist-style training to be certain you’re not leaving money on the table!)
5. How to Multi-Purpose Your Content
Following my Content Leverage Flow Chart, weâll work together on implementing each piece that makes sense for your business so you can finally start drawing more people to you.
(I teach this process in-depth at both my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop as well as at my Gather Your Clan workshop – but you can get it right now – this one alone is worth your tiny investment).
If you want to build your lifestyle business (yes, that kind of business that puts your LIFE first – letting you focus time, energy and money on what’s truly most important to you), you’ll get 32 of my most effective programs for just $97-.
These trainings are comprehensive step-by-step trainings and were only available to private clients who invested $2k or more to learn what you have immediate access to below for a fraction of that.
This offer is good only until Friday, September 9 so don’t delay, ok?
I don’t know why but some of us seem to be hard-wired to go it alone! I know that my tendency is to figure it out for myself before I will ask for help. Yet over the last few years, I’ve learned to embrace that asking for help is not a reflection on my inability to go it alone, but in fact a reflection of how much I think what I do and who I am is worthy of receiving help.
Here are 3 simple ways to ask for help in your business that will move you towards success with much more ease and grace:
1. Inner Circle Support
I’m blessed in that I have a husband who supports the work I do and the business I’ve been creating since its inception in 2001. Yet I know this is a hot button for a lot of entrepreneurs, that they don’t feel they have the spousal or partner support they crave.
While I don’t have THE answer to getting your significant other onboard, I did have a personal aha that I will share that may help a bit.
The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if your spouse, partner, parent or anyone else significant in your life thinks what you do matters. It only matters that YOU think it matters.
Logically, you know you can’t change people, only your response to people. You may wish you felt more support than you do, but wishing won’t make it so. What will change your feeling is if you change how you feel about what you perceive to be their lack of support. If you remember that it only matters that YOU know what you do matters, that will make all the difference.
2. Peer Support
Whether you invest in a group with a leader or gather your best business friends together on a regular basis, give yourself the gift of peer support in some way. It’s critical for ongoing help but even more important during those times when you’re between private mentor support.
At an event I attended recently, I was surrounded by colleagues who had become friends over the years, and it was very clear to me that the support I was receiving from those friends was more important that the actual content I had come to learn. But if I hadn’t reached out asking for that support, I wouldn’t have had the critical shifts I needed to experience at this point in my business to move it forward.
3. Outside Support
Sometimes we need support for our business from places outside it altogether. Whether it’s engaging in a favorite sport, hobby or activity, or meditating or journaling, taking time off and completely unplugging, or having a conversation with a supportive friend who doesn’t have anything to do with what we do for work and just might have that unique perspective to shift ours that we need.
Where in you life can you ask for support that will help your business?
And that’s the point – to ask for the support we need. Take it from a former lone ranger… once you start asking and stay open to receiving, miracles can happen.
Designing a life you love that’s supported by a business you love is one of the pillars on which I stand and teach. Learn how to do this for YOUR business (and life) at my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop HERE.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below…
Listen to this post…
Did you know that almost every person who visits your website will leave without buying?
I know that sounds disheartening but it’s true. Just think of all the sites you’ve been on yourself that you haven’t bought from, right?
But don’t be discouraged. There are things you can do to get the most from your website visitors that can make a big difference in your bottom line.
Here are 4 of them:
- Use Pop-Ups…
Yes, they can be annoying, but internet marketing stats tell us that they work.
If you don’t want to use a pop-up that shows immediately, you can set it to show up 20 seconds after someone lands on your page. Or consider using an “exit pop”, which says “wait! before you leave… take advantage of this…”.
You can also use pop-ups to implement any of the following strategies:
- Invite them to be on your list…
Most people won’t buy from you on the first pass. You need to build a relationship with your prospects in order for them to feel comfortable investing any of their hard-earned cash with you.
Give them an opportunity to join your list so you can build that relationship. Invite them to receive a free taste of what it is that you’re offering – special report, checklist, audio – so they get on your list. That gives you the opportunity to market to them over time, which will build that relationship, which will lead to more sales.
- Find out why they are leaving…
If you’re using the right service (like InfusionSoft), you can ask them why they are leaving your site. Not everyone will tell you, but the feedback you do receive is gold. You can then make any appropriate adjustments to your website to increase your sales and opt-in conversion rates.
- Make another offer…
If they didn’t purchase on the first pass, make them another offer. Offer them another product or program of yours that’s at a lower price point. This is called a downsell and can be very effective in creating more sales immediately, as well as further on in that customer’s sales lifecycle.
Pick one of the above, test it and see how it works for you. You’re sure to increase your list numbers as well as your sales numbers if you start implementing even one of these strategies today.
Making small changes can lead to big results – this concept is one of the cornerstones of my Online Business Breakthrough Workshop. Click here for details about OBBW7.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this – please share them below! đ
Whether you’re publishing an ezine, sending an ecourse, posting to a blog, or building an email list of clients and customers in another format, there are a few things you need to know to make sure that you’re complying with the legal aspects of sending email as well as for making your list-building efforts that much more effective.
1. Only Use Permission-Based Email Marketing
Simply put, opt-in email (also called âpermission-basedâ) is email sent to people who have given you permission to contact them via email. So if someone hasnât directly requested information from you, they should not be on your opt-in list.
2. Single or Double Opt-in?
Depending on the email list service youâre using in your business, you may have a choice between single or double opt-in email. With single opt-in, someone gives you their email address once and they are added to your list. With double opt-in (also know as confirmation opt-in), someone gives you their email address, to which they then receive an automated response from your list service asking them to click a specific URL to confirm that they do in fact want to be added to your list. Only once they click that link are they then added to your list.
So, which should you use? It depends, but for your main email list, I want to encourage you to use the double opt-in process. It means that you will lose a certain percentage of those people who signed up for your list because they then donât confirm their subscription, but it protects you from being labeled as a spammer â something you want to avoid at all costs.
3. Post Your Privacy Policy
Wherever you give people the option to sign up for your list, make certain your privacy policy is clearly stated. Something like âWe will never share your email address, periodâ should be fine.
4. Have a Clear Unsubscribe Link
In every email you send to your list, have a clear way for your reader to unsubscribe if they desire. Usually this is in the form of an unsubscribe URL at the bottom of the email. When someone clicks on the link, they should be taken to a page where they can remove their email address from your list. Just make sure your unsubscribe function works!
5. Multiple Lists
In the beginning, youâll only be setting up one list, most likely for your ezine. But at some point youâll want to have multiple lists, for different products or programs you offer, to more easily connect with specific people on your list.
For example, I have a list for my ezine subscribers, one for the members of my group coaching program, one for my live event, and several others that perform various functions for me.
When youâre choosing an email list service provider, this is something you want to keep in mind â the ability to create and manage multiple lists.
6. Qâem up
Being able to compose your email messages ahead of time and then queue them to be delivered on the date and/or interval of your choosing is another great benefit to using an email list service provider.
For example, you can set up an 30-lesson ecourse to be delivered once a day for 30 days. Or create 26 issues of your ezine and set them up to go out every two weeks. This is one of my favorite things about using an email list service â itâs the âset it and forget itâ kind of marketing â my favorite kind.
I use and highly recommend Aweber as your email list service provider.
7. What about my shopping cart?
Some shopping carts also act as an email list service, but I actually recommend you use both Aweber along with your shopping cart.
Hereâs what I mean:
Use Aweber for your listbuilding, autoresponders, ezine (and ecourse) distribution, and any other mailings to your list. Let Aweber be your email list manager.
Use PayPal to process payments (it integrates with Aweber). THEN when you start consistently bringing in $500-$1000/month in income, sign up with a shopping cart Thatâs when the fees of using a merchant account and a shopping cart become a wash.
Use your shopping cart for selling downloadable products, payment processing (it also integrates with PayPal), subscription/recurring payments, running special offers, affiliate marketing, and housing your customer list (meaning those people who have bought from you).
Only use your shopping cartâs autoresponder system for confirmation emails when a customer buys something from you, and only use their broadcast system when you want to send an email (for a special offer, for example) to your customers.
With this method, your MAIN list of prospects (which will include both those people who have bought from you, assuming theyâve come to your offers via your communication to them via your list, and your potential clients and customers) are always kept at Aweber, so you never have to move (and lose) your list once you migrate from PayPal to your shopping cart.
I’d love to know your thoughts – please feel free to comment below – thanks!
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