Video is one of the best ways to get people’s attention. The combo of doing something you are passionate about and then filming it, can be rock solid in getting others to feel what you do about your creative gift.

Recently, I ventured out as an painter after not painting for at least 5 years. I was nervous as I have been a business coach and an online marketing consultant for the last 2 years. But the beauty of social media is that when you are authentic, it supports you… even if it means you are multi-passionate.

I filmed my artistic journey on this day as I painted. I turned on the camera and just let it roll as I let my creativity pour onto the canvas. Once I was done, I produced the following video:

Here are a few key points that make this a “marketing” video vs. just a video of me painting. Turning it into a marketing video means that once I send it out into the virtual world, I can have it “work for me” by driving people that like what I do to my website.

1. Marketing Video must be shorter than 5 mins… truly, it should be no longer than 1-2 mins if you are posting on Facebook or Twitter. If it is a family video, yes… go ahead and make it an hour. But besides your parents, most people don’t really want to sit through an hour made video (not even your friends!)…. unless you are offering popcorn and drinks!

2. It should be fairly fast moving. I am talking about the pace of your video. If you are speaking, cut to the points where you transform people’s hearts… if it is your craft or skill, then make it move quickly and have great music behind the video. The beat has to be quick and captivating.

3. Share a little bit about your inspiration. For me, it was DEFINITELY the people of Prince George (the city I live in). Sharing what has inspired you to do the work you do, gives people emotional “handles” to hold onto. Be vulnerable and share what’s inspired you.

4.Have a call to action. I just decided on Thursday that I was going to venture back into my art…that means I haven’t had time to really thinking about what I am “creating”. But I do know that the key components of building a tribe of followers is to engage with them, so leading them onto my facebook page is my first goal. So when I put this video together, my “call to action” was to have people join me on my facebook fan page Shauna Mae Artist and “Like it”. Click here if you want to check out the page.

5. Create the funnel. When people go from my video to the facebook page, my hopes is that they will surf around and stumble upon the link to my website.  Even this early in the game, I made a VERY simple website to capture email addresses of people that might want to stay in the loop about my art. It is obviously best to have a “free gift” but I’m in the early stages… this means, imperfect action is better than no action at all. I set up a way to collect email addresses right on my website. To find out more about this funnel, you can download a free “marketing map” by clicking here.

6. Keywords and Posting on YouTube – Posting your video on YouTube and making sure you have the keywords attached. YouTube is one of the top 3 places online that people search for info. You want to be there! Keywords are words that I would like my video to come up under when people search. This video was painted at the Summerfest event in Prince George. I tagged the video with “Summerfest Prince George BC”, so next year, when someone Googled “Summerfest in Prince George”… it will hopefully appear. I also tagged it with the name of my city and what I do eg. “artist in Prince George”… this is important if you want to be known in your city. When you upload your video, you will be asked to put these in there. Make sure you put your name in there too.

7. Facebook- It is a MUST to have a Facebook Business page if you are a creative entrepreneur and especially if you are an ARTIST. I hate saying MUST… because I guess there are other ways of promoting yourself. And yes, there are some businesses that don’t need to be on Facebook. But as an artist, having a facebook business page means that people that aren’t even on facebook have a place they can search for you. For the other 700 million people on Facebook, it is the easiest way to be where the majority of people “hang out” online. Since sharing my video online, I had 4 other business pages share the video on their page. That kind of publicity is priceless.  To read more about the benefits of facebook business pages (instead of personal pages), you can  click here to get an article I wrote for one of my other sites. 

8. Twitter – Last, but definitely not least… Twitter… my favorite place to send videos out to work for me. Twitter is the best way to get NEW leads. What I mean is people that have no connection to you or your friends. Now if you are new to Twitter, you need to make sure more people that don’t know you decide to follow you. Because once you are done your video, sending it out into the tweeting world is the best way to drive new business to your FB page that will in turn drive it to your website.  I’m just in the process of finishing up a course that will be available very soon on how to use Twitter effectively for your business.. let me know if you want access. It will help you wrap your brain around the Tweeting World if you are not already hooked!

Don’t underestimate the power of Video. It is the closest way you can be right there with your potential clients. Post any questions you have below or better yet, if you have videos to share!

There are the big social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ now too.  But have you heard of Pinterest? Neither had I until a few days ago!

As soon as I signed up (via my Twitter Site), I realized that 149 of my followers were already on here. How did I miss this?

Seriously, check out my profile (click here) if you want to get a taste of what it is. Short version: you essentially can collect and ‘pin’ pictures from anywhere on the web onto boards. It is similar to vision boards, but without trying to find your scissors or get glue all over your hands.

It has only been 5 days, but now I even have my husband addicted.

Through my Consciously Creative site, I talk more about the creative side of this amazing site. And through my LiveWorkPG site, I go into more detail about the social media high points of this site. But here, I want to touch upon the business side.

As a hobby some like to collect DVDs, others old cars… for me, it is watching how creative people start and grow a business.

Pinterest is just one of those companies that has caught my eye. I love to watch start up creative businesses to see how they unfold their marketing, how they engage and keep their customers.

This site is free to the user. So how do they make money? I have no concrete proof, but what I do know is that probably like most social networking sites, it is all about getting people to the site.

What they have done so beautifully is NOT to monetize it… just yet.

Now if you are a client of mine, I am sure I have you falling out of your seat in shock!  Usually the first question out of my mouth is “How are you going to monetize it?”

The planning and having streams of income in your business is OF COURSE important. However, as a new start up, it is key to make sure you also have your list.

You have probably heard the phrase “The Money is in the List”. Whether you are offline or online, without a group of people to market to, it doesn’t matter how incredible what you have to offer is… you can’t leverage a list you don’t have.

You need a group of people that want to hang out on your site. In this case, so that you can monetize it down the road. I am not sure how they will be doing it, but what I love is that they are just trying to grow their following and list first.

If you are an entrepreneur starting out, this is similar to you not quitting your day job as you are growing your company. It is about strategically planning ahead of time and growing your list of followers that like what you have to offer (be it through writing, offering your services for free or at a discount to get experience and testimonials, or test marketing your product to make sure you have something sellable).

Pinterest is supported through investors. They have investors that believe that what they have to offer is going to get a mass bulk of people onto their site. When they are on their site, their “customers” are sharing what they love, dream and hope to one day have. Um, pretty good way to eventually monetize when you know your customers well.

This is all speculation, but perhaps they will sell advertising or link with site like “etsy” and ask for an affiliate/commission for orders purchased from their site. Or perhaps they will give priority display to certain links. Either way, only time will tell.

Another AHA I noticed when I looked at their company was how they rolled out their membership. Google+ did this too… limiting membership creates demand. By creating a “waitlist”, they are able to create a demand.

The other option to join is through an invitation from another member. This means when a friend says, “This is the coolest thing ever… because I have tried it” it gives both social proofing and provides a bit of the trust factor in the virtual world. They essentially are leveraging the networks of their current membership.

Personal invitations are similar to the “old boys club” way of creating an elite group. The “Yes, you can join us right away if you know someone” group.

Creating a demand for what you offer (illusion or not) creates a premium. You have to know someone, who knows someone, to be let into “the club”.

Worry not. If you want access, just email me at support [at] shaunaharper.com with the Subject: Pinterest Invite and I’ll set you up. It helps to know people in high places

As I step down from my virtual high horse, the last thing I noticed about Pinterest is how easy they made it to use or join. You are able to download the “Pin it” tool onto your browser OR surf them via your smartphone.

On top of that, when I signed up, I was able to sign up via my Twitter account (option can be Facebook as well).  This meant I didn’t have to go through the pain of having to write my bio, upload my photo and do all the painful things it takes these days to join another social network

It also meant that they had me automatically follow 149 friends that I was already following on Twitter.

In this day and age, leveraging the databases and systems that are already out there in social networking is key. Also making it easy for people to do so from their handheld devices means that they will “hangout” there more.

Whatever you are creating, be it a product or providing a service, making it EASY for your customers to use what you have to offer is important.

Even if the only thing you currently have to offer is your website, you can make it easy for your customers by making it “mobile” ready. (Meaning they can access a quick version of it on their smartphones)

I love Pinterest… if you want to find out more about the social networking perks of this site or how it gets your creativity flowing , check out my other articles.

In the meantime, I would LOVE to know your thoughts if you have already joined and of course, see your boards.

Happy Pinning.

This is a must watch video for EVERYONE in business. It is a short 5 min video talking about Crowdsourcing vs. outsourcing.

I have been outsourcing in my business for the last few years. I have a number of assistants that work virtually from their homes. After having to manage employees, I thought this was such a great system.

Well today, I have just learned just how to take your entrepreneurial vision to a whole new level by leveraging people on the internet.

This video is from Scott Klososky at the Tony Robbin’s Business Mastery Retreat. Crowdsourcing is the concept of using the internet “herd” to do the work on your behalf. Benefits: Cutting costs, more time and room for creativity and top quality.

I have seen it on a small scale, at 99designs.com. Scott mentions something similar on http://www.Logotournament.com . And I guess I have used companies like oDesk and Elance that are both companies that work is “bid” on.

However, listen as he describes other ways to build content, get books written, create videos and even crowdsourcing your PR. Tony Robbins actually used crowdspring.com to get his website designed. The difference is that you have freelancers not just “bidding” on the contracts, but giving you proposals of their idea concepts.

Love how this supports the entrepreneurial spirit. Enjoy!

PS. As much as you use it to get the work done in your business… you can also make money bidding on contracts as well.

“First off, breathe!” That was my advice to a client that emailed me in a panic about feeling overwhelmed in marketing her business online. It isn’t surprising when people get caught up in the details and get stuck in the overwhelm versus the excitement of sharing their passion with more people. When you hit that wall, how do you move through it and still let the creativity and momentum pull you through to success?

We often lose the vision of the reasons for the outcomes we are hoping to get. Sometimes it is the panic and the “feast or famine” mindset…the “need to bring in cash” mindset of fear that sets us into overwhelm. Other times we follow the instructions of our mentors/teachers to the “T” and get overwhelmed by all the little details that it takes to orchestrate these online launches instead of just taking what resonates with you.

There are definitely a lot of moving parts to successfully market your business online, however, if you are in the overwhelm or that energetically “stuck” place, you need to start listening to the whispers.

It is important to always hold the energy of the outcome you wish to receive and then take inspired action to move you through to success. Here are 2 steps to help you do that.

First Step: Take out a piece of paper (or better yet, in your journal), write out the ideal outcome of what you want to happen.

In this, you need to include the details of the feelings you feel when it happens. What are the things that “magically come together” when it happens? What desired results will you get and your customers get? The key is that it all has to be written in the present tense… like it is happening right now!

You want to list in detail the types of people that you either know or don’t know yet and write out their raving words of gratitude.  This action alone will pull you forward energetically.

Now that your energy has shifted to a more creative and positive place. Read out loud the outcome and sit silently absorbing in the feeling of it.

Second Step: Once you feel that energy, think about the way you are currently trying to market your program, product or service online. Now, ask yourself, how would you do it differently?

Often times, we get stuck in the details because we don’t authentically resonate with the way we are promoting or marketing. Authentic online marketing comes from listening to these whispers when we get stuck.

It could be that your initial steps just needed to be tweaked. Perhaps you just need to ask/hire more help to get the details done. Or that what you were offering needs to be repackaged. Or maybe it is just fear creeping in because you are about to hit a breakthrough and grow as you put to the test a new way of marketing yourself.

This isn’t about ditching all the work you have done so far… it is about getting your brain to think about other options, outside of the direction you were going to go. (As well as listening and tweaking the options you already have).

For example, when we market online, we often don’t think about ways we can also tie in local or direct mail marketing with our online campaign.  Building the ‘know, like and trust’ factor any way we can is key to any successful business whether you reach your clients online or offline.

Using the internet is just a tool to be in contact with more people. You still need to grow these relationships and show them the value they will receive from working or buying from you.

This is why it is always important to surround yourself with mentors & peers that stretch your mindset of possibilities, resonate with how you want to market and also teach you new methods to inspire your creativity.

Overwhelm does not need to paralyze you or stop you in your tracks. It is just a flag to listen and move to a place that energy flows, and the excitement of sharing your passion out weighs the overwhelm.

Brand awareness happens when your customers recognize and associate your service/products with your brand. So how do you raise your online profile and get more brand awareness as a solopreneur?

Now with technology and social media there are a number of ways you can market and also a number of places you want to be online.

There is no doubt that you want to be searchable for your expertise or for what you want your brand to be known for on Google, Facebook and You Tube. These 3 sites are still the forerunners for where people are looking first online. How do you get more brand awareness via these sites? Here are 4 ways you can start:

1. Blog Posts – Blogging is an oldie but a goodie. I am currently doing a Blog competition for 30 days. Being a part of this competition, people are sharing my blog posts with their friends and passing along the information. Whenever you write a blog post, you are showcasing your expertise. But also, you are allowing (through properly researched keywords) search engines like google, yahoo and msn to find you and share you with even more people looking for what you have to offer.

2. Article marketing - Similar to blog posts, article marketing is key to have a great online profile. All article marketing means is writing articles and instead of posting them on your blog, you post them on other Article submission sites. When you submit articles to Article sites like ezinearticles.com you again are recognized as an expert in your field, but you are also giving more touch points online for customers to find your site and hopefully connect with you back to your own site.

3. Video Marketing - Video marketing is probably the fastest growing way to grow your online profile. Because the world wide web is so large, video is becoming the best way for potential prospects and clients to get to know, like, and trust you quickly via the connection they build on the internet.  Videos rank very well via search engines. When your videos are tagged with certain keywords it is more likely to have people searching for what you have to offer. A video is the next best thing to having you sit directly across from your client to share who you are and how your products/services can help.

4. Word of mouth referring and social proofing via all social media platforms. Although technology is a wonderful way to build a business… we are all still human. When a friend or a co-worker recommends a service or product, you are more likely to sit up and listen because of your emotional and friend connection vs. seeing an ad and taking action on your own. This is social proofing. Having people share your content (be it video, articles, blog posts or just your thoughts) with people they know, means that you now have a higher chance in getting more traction and increasing your online marketing profile. It is now easier than ever to have your followers re-tweet on twitter, or share your content with their list on facebook.

I would love to hear your thoughts. And how can I end this article without asking you to tweet or Facebook about this article.

Let’s face it, the internet is NOT going away any time soon! People arevgetting more and more comfortable building relationships and doing business online. A simple way to build relationships with others online is to make sure you set up your Gravatar.

What is a Gravatar?

A Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar of yourself or company logo that you use to brand yourself. Most blogs are now wordpress based. When you comment on blogs, you will see that some people have their pictures beside their comments and others have that blue symbol like the one I have in this article.

Why use a Gravatar?

Now, the picture is of course important, but more importantly is what happens when the reader clicks your picture.  If the blog reader (or comment reader ) liked what you said, they will click on your image and it will lead them to your blog. It is a great way to get back-links onto your site (great for traffic and great for google!).

How to set up a gravatar?

I would highly suggest you use your face vs. a logo. This is of course is a personal choice… however, here is my opinion: No matter how big you want your company to appear, people still connect with people. So, let’s see those pearly whites!

1.To Set up your FREE gravatar go to : Gravatar Account

2. Create a free account by entering a password and email address. Make sure you enter the same email address as you use when you comment on blogs. That way, your photo will pop up once you have posted your comments.

That’s it … simple but key to making a connection. Looking forward to seeing you !

What I learned from hosting a Telesummit. About a month ago, I interviewed 7 speakers at the first ever Gift of Fear Solopreneur Telesummit. Here are some of the lessons I learned from that experience:

1. Your team is everything.
Without my amazing team I don’t know if I would have been able to pull it off. A few weeks prior to the telesummit my son had a series of medical tests and my time always goes to my family first.  Furthermore, I had no idea all the “moving pieces” there would be in organizing an event like this. I realize now the value of a Virtual Event Organizer (Google Leesa Barnes if you are looking for one!). My own virtual team stepped up with all their different strengths and managed to pull it all together for me.

2. Joint Venture opportunities are everywhere.
Prior to this event, I never even imagined that I would be Joint Venturing with any of the speakers. In fact, I remember being quite afraid to call some of them as I felt like they were “too big” to want to do an interview with me.

Not only was I pleasantly surprised at their responses, I am now in the process of Joint Venturing to come up with an amazing coaching program to help reach more people with both my gift and the gifts of a few of the experts.  I’ll keep you posted!

3. You can’t please everyone.
On the day of the event, I posted an email out to the subscribers to let them know of the upcoming speaker about 10mins prior to the call. I did this to be of service to the people that signed up. In the past, I have signed up for a call, but my day gets too busy and I forget about hopping onto the call. I have been very appreciative of the times that I have received a reminder email with the link or call-in information.

Well, on the last day of the telesummit, I got an email from a woman that said that an email every hour was too much (4 had been sent to her that day for the 4 calls). I replied quickly between interviews and apologized (as we do) and began to wonder what everyone else thought too.  To be completely transparent here, her email made me question what I was doing and I began to have one of those running conversations in my head.

However, she emailed back that night saying that she understood, but I was still a little frazzled about her first email.  Then about a day later, I got an email from a woman that said she really enjoyed the interviews and she really appreciated my organized follow-ups to remind her of when the calls were.

BINGO! Major AH-HA! The Ah-ha wasn’t that I was right and the lady from a few days ago was wrong. She was definitely entitled to voice her frustration with my follow-ups. It was that I can’t please everyone all the time, and that if I always come from a place of service and my intention is to serve, then I will be closer to my goal of reaching as many people as possible… and also be always in integrity and authentic. So thank you for that lesson.

4. Get a good phone.
After listening to the recordings I realized that I definitely need a new phone. I purchased what I thought was a fairly high end $200 phone as I knew I would be doing more teleseminars.

However, after listening to the recordings, I realized that the static was horrible and the quality was compromised. With a bit of research, I purchased a phone amplifier and headset so that future teleseminars and calls will have much better quality.  Luckily the content was so great!

5. Social Media Works!
I did around the clock promotion on Twitter about a week before the telesummit. About 40% of the sign ups happened a few day before the event. But what was most interesting was that I also increased my followers on Twitter substantially because of my activity on Twitter. In all my future campaigns, I will make sure that Twitter plays a much larger role in the launching of my events.

Hopefully some of those lessons I learned will be useful for you.  I LOVED the telesummit business model of connecting to my niche and getting to interview all these fabulous speakers. It is definitely something I teach my clients, as it is a great way to leverage your time and talent. Feel free to ask me any more questions.

PS. Don’t forget that if you are looking for other leveraged business models to increase your income and free time, make sure you seriously consider the “Leverage You” mastermind program. It starts in less than a month. Don’t wait… as the Jump Start bonus of $500 off ends this friday get your application in even if you are just considering it. We will have a chat and see if there is a true fit.

The times are changing, are you? Transparency in your business and in your life allows you to connect more authentically with your clients. Social Media is turning the tables with the way we connect online. At the same time, I think the transition from real world to social media has people often confused. Here are 5 key things you should know about social media to get more customers

1. Larger number of followers or “Likers” does not equal more sales.
“Connecting” is still key… there is a big myth out there that more is better and that larger number of Fans (on FB) or Followers (on Twitter) is better.

But the key is still that you want qualified leads that are either within your niche OR that are raving fans of what you sell and can connect you to a lot of people in your niche. At the end of the day it is still more valuable to have fewer fans that absolutely love what you sell than thousands of people that will never buy from you or don’t rave about what you do to their friends.

2. The grassroots of marketing still are King…Connect, connect, connect!
This is really a continuation of number 1. Social media is just a tool to get people to “know, like and trust” you. It definitely expedites this process because of the transparency (see #3) you find online, but at the end of the day, you need to reach out and have conversations with your list and see how you can be of service. This is called connecting.’

Through social media you are able to see what interests or hobbies your fans/followers may have and connect versus just a blatant sales pitch. Essentially you are able to “speak their language”.

3. Being real and transparent will go a long way.
You may be noticing a trend here! Everything is building on the next thing. Connecting with your clients requires you to be more of who you are and be transparent.

The Apple vs PC Computer ads are a perfect example of the changing times. People are no longer looking for the stuffy big corporation or the hands off approach. Customers are looking for people that are real, personable and human.

Finding your authentic voice is the only brand you should have in your business. It is the best way to guarantee your uniqueness and attract the clients who are meant to work with you.

4. Being online doesn’t give you the right to be a pushy sales person.
Please read that again! There is a fine line that is often crossed in social media. As soon as some one friend’s you, they are on your page posting what they are selling or directing you to a sales page via a direct message.

This would be similar to walking into a store and the minute you smile at sales person they say, “Do you want to buy my …fill in the blank!”… GROSS! That just doesn’t happen! They usually say, “How’s your day going, the weather is quite nice eh?” (if they are Canadian! ).

And from there they would let you browse around the store (your site/page) and then get into conversation with you to see how they can be of service. There should be no difference online. You need to build rapport with your fans and followers and have them find that what you have to say is of value to them before you begin your sales process.

5. Make sure you still give customers a way to buy from you or get more of you.
Now, I know this sounds like it is completely opposite to #4, but it actually goes hand in hand. I see so many people on social media not give enough ways for people to buy from them.

Business is still about making money and you can only transform people’s lives and make money doing that when you make them an offer and let them know that something is for sale.

One of the biggest mistake is that solopreneurs assume that having their website listed in the info tab is enough to get people to buy. You need to make it easier than this my friends!!!

You can have welcome tabs that offer free gifts that would attract your target market so they don’t have to make another connection to your website. Every marketing campaign that you roll out should have tweets and fb posts with direct links to whatever you are trying to sell.

This gives people a way to actual buy what you are talking about if they are interested in what you wrote. Directing them to your general home page of your site will not get them buying if they have search your website to find what you are talking about.

Social media is constantly evolving and changing as the general population gets wiser and more real online. If you have made any of the mistakes up there, don’t beat yourself up over it. The reason I know they are mistakes is because I made them too .

It’s time to pick yourself up and start again now. That is the beauty of social media, you are able to connect with literally billions of people out there if you choose. The most current social media techniques is always a KEY part of all my coaching programs as it is essential in building a leveraged business model. Let me know how I can help.

PS. I’ll be sharing some key obstacles that are holding people back and other strategies that you can implement in your business today on June 15, 2010 at my Free Teleseminar on “How to Save 2010 and Live your BIG Purpose”.  I hope you will join me. Click here to register your spot today

Growing your network is the fastest way to grow your business. In good and bad times, it is who you know more than what you know that grows your business.

If you are just showing up at networking meetings, losing hours on social media or calling your friends for support and wondering why your business still isn’t growing like you had hoped, then you definitely want to continue reading this article on 3 Ways to REALLY Grow Your Business Through Networks.

1. Network Groups – It is easy to join a network group in your community. However, what you want instead of just a list of business cards and phone numbers is a way to truly and authentically connect with people in business.

A network group is something everyone has access to no matter how big or small your city maybe.  However, in order to really take the relationship to the next level and actually see impact or growth in your business, you need to build on the initial connection made at the network group. This needs to start small with one person at a time. Going for coffee or making a phone call to meet up at another time is the best way to do this. To develop honest business relationships, you must always come from a place of service not sales.  How can you help this person? What can you offer them in their business? Why would they see you as a valuable asset? The approach you want to avoid is the “I wonder if this person will want to buy my product or service”.

Often times, some of our best clients are not directly from our marketing or advertising but from word of mouth of friends and colleagues that champion our products or services. By coming from a place of service when you go to networking groups, you begin to develop lasting and authentic business relationships.

2. Social Media Networking – A term that I first heard from my social media mentor is to “Think UP” in your business. Through social media, we are exposed to a vast number of people in many different kinds of businesses and interest. Instead of looking at connecting directly to one customer at a time that you think fits your perfect “target market”, look to connect with connectors. These are people who are already connected to many people online.  Use your energy to think of creative ways to develop a relationship with them.

Building relationships on Social media is all about “social proofing” to expedite the “know, like and trust you” factor. Social proofing is when some one you trust recommends something to you… your chances are trying this new service or product is going to increase dramatically. So “Think Up” in your business and connect with the connectors to promote and social proof who you are and what you do.

3. Business Mastermind – Join a business mastermind that is going to challenge you. One of the fastest ways to expedite growth that I have found is through the high-end Mastermind Groups I am a part of. There is a well-known theory out there that your life, business and income usually is the average of the 5 closest people to you.

Business Masterminds have been key to pulling me forward in my business and expanding my world of possibility.  Who are the people you mastermind with? Who holds you accountable to do what you say you are going to do? How are you looking at your business to leverage the way you do things and create wealth in an exponential way?

Join a Business Mastermind and show the universe you are ready to play bigger in your life and business…. and that you are ready to create the business of your dreams and the wealth that your deserve.

Definitely join me on June 15th, 2010 at 5pm Pacific if you wan to turn 2010 into your best year yet.  On this complimentary call, I will share with you 2 Roadblocks that are holding back most solopreneurs in reaching their financial goals, 3 strategies on how to transform your business, and also how to shift from overwhelm to joy with  2 simple steps.  Register for this free call at: http://www.tinyurl.com/save2010

Looking forward to “seeing” you there.

PS. Even if you can’t be on the call, register and you will be sent a link once the event is over. Register here.

The purpose of building your list is so that you can do less work, make more money and reach more people with your gift.  Building a leveraged business means focusing some time on growing your list so that it can begin to work for you.

You could roll out a great campaign or be marketing your next project until the cows come home, but you still need an audience of people.  The bottom line is that you cannot leverage a list you don’t have.  So from the beginning, I love to brainstorm ways my clients can build their list and grow their following.

There are 3 simple strategies that can be used by any kind of business.

Write Articles. By writing articles about what you know/teach or on topics around products you sell, you begin to get recognized as an expert. Furthermore, when you select the right keywords that are highly searched in your niche, you begin to direct traffic and leads to your site. Once you have these articles, finding article websites, like Ezine Article, is the best way to drive traffic to your site.

Free Taste on your site. One way to get people to sign up for your list is to give them a reason to give you their coveted email address and name.  Before you could offer just a “free” newsletter… but that is just not enough these days. You need to step-it-up a bit and offer either an audio recording or perhaps a report or even a special quiz that your target market will be interested in. So figure out the problem you solve for your niche and give them a product they can’t refuse when they land on your site.

Newsletter. Once you have them on your list, you want to make sure you provide content and value. Regardless of whether you are promoting something to your list, you should be in contact with them. Be careful not to ONLY contact your list when you have something to sell. You want to be in conversation with your list on a regular basis, providing them with content and value.  I usually suggest to my clients to be in touch with their list at least twice a month. Once a week is best, but at least twice a month so that your list recognizes your name and what problem you solve.

Like all of the listbuilding strategies I teach, these ones are not costly or difficult to implement. It is just a matter of scheduling the time to incorporate it into your weekly day timer. Don’t let being disorganized or being overwhelmed stop you from leveraging one of the highest commodities of your business, your list.

PS. If you are not thinking about building a list because you are so overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done….then you definitely don’t want to miss my “Fear of Overwhelm” interview with Linda Chu on June 3, 2010 at the Gift of Fear Telesummit. Sign up for your  FREE Spot www.solopreneurtelesummit.com

“Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie. They listen first and sell second.”  As a business coach constantly trying to figure ways to leverage the way I build my business, mastering social media has become one of my latest obsessions.

I can’t help but want to scream from the rooftops to all my clients that social media is NOT a FAD… it is here to stay. The more I learn about social media the more I realize that businesses that ignore social media as a key team player in their business, the more they are holding their business back.

I recently signed up for a course with @LinsdayWilson. I love how she shines a light on the obstacle that stops most people from using social media in their business to a level where it generates sales. She says, “Social Media is a Sales Tool. It is NOT a technology you must learn. It is an opportunity to be immediately connected with the people who need you internationally”.

So if you are sitting on the fence about really using social media to its fullest in your business, you need to check out another video from Socialnomics and also join me as I interview @LindsayWilson at the Gift of Fear Telesummit  June 1-3, 2010. Reserve your free spot today! www.solopreneurtelesummit.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is the online business “Blueprint” changing? How can we make more money doing what we love without getting burnt out creating ebooks and selling mini products to get our customers to hopefully try the larger ticket items or services we offer?

The online business blueprint has been the rave over the last 3-5 years. Internet marketers and business coaches have all been selling it in one format or another. Perhaps you know it as the Pink Spoon Business model .

The Pink Spoon online business model is illustrated via the ice cream shop example that offers a free taste. On your website, you can have a great store front that attracts your clients… once they are “in your shop” (or on your website), you want to entice them with a “free taste aka the pink spoon”… something that would be of value to them.

With the older model, the next level would be to get the client/customer to purchase something low cost.  In the ice cream shop, it would be an ice cream cone for about $2-5… online, it might be your ebook or cd workshop or something that is above the free, but below your largest item.

In the ice cream parlor model, the next level after the free taste and after the purchase of a cone, would be a pint of ice cream…and then to the highly expensive ice cream cake and then to the ice cream party at the parlor.

Now, this business model worked for some, but not everyone.  I have found many holes to this model.

Business owners would get stuck around the 2nd level and get burnt out trying to create and market all their mid range products.  Furthermore, they would not bring in a lot of revenue at this level and would not have the ability to work on or promote their upper level revenue streams.

The skeleton of this model still works, you still need to capture email addresses and build your list of customers.  However, what should change is the way you approach what I call your Profit Pyramid. The old model teaches that you need to get the lower cost items before you make it to the top.

The more I was coaching, the more I realized that in order to create momentum in your business, you need to create money… money is just energy… it is the energy that is needed to keep both spirits high, show you value for what you are doing, and also connect you with the ultimate clients that you are meant to work with.

To illustrate this, let’s go back to the ice cream model. Imagine the difference between selling a $3-5 ice cream once and the person leaving… to starting at the part of the model where you go straight for the ice cream parlor party or cake. In this part of your model, you get to show your clients the whole experience and joy of what ice cream can do for them in their parties and celebrations.

From their experience, you will have to work less to have them perhaps buy a pint of ice cream or an ice cream cone at a future date….they will want to visit the parlor because they already “get” what you offer and who you are…. yes, the whole parlor analogy is very 1950’s…but hopefully you get the picture I am trying to create.

When you work on the part of the model that brings in the most money 1st and also gives you the clients that are the most serious about working with you or buying the product you know they will love the most, the rest of the pyramid will fill up with more ease and grace.

This is how to build a business you love… and make you money doing it.

What are you focusing on in your business? How are you creating the energy(aka money) and the flow? How are you attracting your ideal clients right from the start? Do you have the right business money model to help you do that?

Would love to know your thoughts and ways I can support you. My passion is business money models and the more I look at the pink spoon and online “blueprint”… I can’t help but want to tweak and show you the holes. Would love to know your experiences.

PS. Don’t let the fear of going straight to the high ticket item scare you. Fear is a very real part of being an entrepreneur everyday…I swear! Think instead with your entrepreneurial cap…  how can you take the steps to move past that so that you can create a business that you love and that makes you a lot of money so that you can start to enjoy all those moments!

Last Wednesday I did a speech at my local Enterprising Moms Network Chapter meeting. I spoke about the importance of social media in EVERYONE’s business.  Well, today I stumbled upon a video (via social media …youtube!) that will have you  jumping off the fence if you are still on it about Social Media and what it can do for your business. Check out this 4.5min video here and be amazed at the current stats!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Times are changing fast, are you willing to change with it to grow your business and take it to the next level? The choice is yours!  To have a business create more “moments” for you to laugh, love and live… you need to have it at a level where your business provides you with the life that you deserve and desire. Connecting with your customers via Social media can help you to that.

Before you write your articles or blog posts (or perhaps you are trying to figure out keywords for your product based website), you want to make sure that the keywords or key phrases are being search each month by other people on the world wide web.  There is no point in writing an article when no one else is searching what you are writing about. 

Firstly, I will show you how to choose a keyword, and then how to check the competition of that keyword so that you have a good chance of hitting the first 1 or 2 pages of Google.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As most of you know, Google is the largest search engine out there. They essentially own the internet and make up the rules. You could see this as a bad thing… or a good thing.  I like to see it as a good thing. There is one giant player and when you learn to play the game the way they like it… You can win some points and do well. 

I have put together a video to help those of you with Blogs or websites to get what I call, more “Google Love”. This video specifically references how to get Google to find you when you have a blog. If you have just a website, you can go through the same steps, except for when you go to place the code, you need to do it to your front page. Your website designer should be able to help you put that in place as well. It is honestly a MUST … there is no use having a site that doesn’t get indexed with Google.  Google SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is like having your business in the yellow pages. Imagine not having your business in the Yellow Pages.

Anyway, watch the video and let me know your thoughts:

Click here to view the embedded video.