Market My Holistic Biz

A "Win-Win" Flash of Brilliance

 

 

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I don't know about you but I just love win-win situations and this morning I woke up with a win-win trifecta running through my head.

How'd ya like to:

• learn how to use social networking for business, in less than 60 minutes a week
• put a few less tax dollars in Uncle Sam's pocket and
• make a lasting impact on an impovished family all in one swoop?

Usually when something sounds too good to be true it is.  Not this time!

It started with a piece of "junk mail" from Heiffer International. You can get their full story here but in a nutshell:

Heiffer works to end hunger and poverty through gifts of livestock and training, helping families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. The animals are actually  "living loans" because in exchange for the livestock and training they recieve, families agree to give one of its animal's offspring to another family in need so every gift multiplies for years to come!

This is a really great organization which I've personally supported for many years.  So here's my win-win idea:

Part 1:  I teach a class (at a super savings!) on how to use social media to attract clients in less than 60 mintues a week.

Part 2:  You sign up and I donate $100 of your tuition to Heiffer so they can help a family in need.

Part 3:  You get a tax deduction for your CPA to work her magic with and help you keep a little more of the money you worked so hard to earn this year, PLUS get a bunch of new clients from the social media magic you learn!

Even though I love what I do, it's not everyday that I get to feel this good about it!  

My goal is to donate an Ark - that's 15 pairs of animals that will begin the cycle of empowering hundreds of families for years to come.  The donation for an Ark is $5000.   

This is a simple way to make a real difference. Let's team up so  you can reach your business goals and I can reach my giving goal!  

Click here to get the details about the class  and check out the quickie video I whipped up for you :)

 

How is Less Marketing More?

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There is a definite line between effective marketing and being a pest.  I was going to call it a fine line, but it really isn't.  It's actually a pretty blatantly obvious line when you apply common sense.

The same rules you learned on the playground apply to making and keeping friends when you're marketing with things like social media, email marketing and blogging.

• Have fun - don't be afraid to let your personality come through in your tweets, updates and blog posts.  It may take a little practice before you feel comfortable allowing your playful side into the office but, belive me, it can really pay off in terms of relationship building.  Authenticitiy is THE marketing buzz word of the day!

• Invite others to play - Internet marketing is all about interaction.  The more you encourage others to respond to what your doing by inviting their opinions, shared experience or welcoming support when you need it, the stronger the bonds you'll build.

• Share the ball - As important as inviting interaction is offering it.  Comment on blog postings and Facebook updates.  Reply when others comment on yours. No one likes to feel ignored or invisible and even the briefest acknowledgement will go a long way in warding that off.

• Tell the truth - And we're back to autheniticity.  Be real and you'll really make an impact.

• Don't be mean - Unless you're modeling your business on the FOX Network, negativity is a sure fire way to drive folks away from engaging with you in meaningful ways.  That doesn't mean you can't tell it like it is when you're having a rough day.  Just stay focused on trying to pull the best out of the worst of things.

Bottom line?  The secret to successful internet marketing (which I define as attracting the exact type of customer or client you are best suited to serve) is less bombardment and more consistent, authentic communication.  

Got a success story to share about how you've attracted a new client just by being you?  Why not post it here for everyone's benefit?

How To Make the Summer Months Pay Off

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It's that time of year again for power washing the patio, filling up the propane tank, pulling off the pool cover and gearing up for summer.  Anyone living north of the 36th parallel (which is about half the population of the planet) scrambles to make the most out of the outdoor opportunities that accompany July and August.

I'm as much of a fan of lazy days at the beach as the next guy.  In fact, a little R&R can go a long way toward recharging your business-mind battery.  Too many business owners resign themselves to lower income levels just because it's summer and folks are having fun.  What if your income didn't have to take a vacation just because you did?

Think about it. 

• Aren't you in the business of providing solutions to people's problems?
  

•  Do you think problems are kind enough to take the summer off? 

That means the summer months are still full of plenty of people in search of solutions yet fewer business owners are focused on offering them.  Oooo, did you hear that?  I think it is the sound of opportunity knocking!

You can make your summer months payoff and still get in plenty of play time by putting a great deal of your marketing on auto-pilot.  A little advanced planning and the power of internet tools like social networking will do the trick.

You can enjoy tons of freedom and flexibility because of the future scheduling capabilities internet marketing tools offer.  That's right, a big part of your social networking can be structured to work for you while you aren't!

You can do things like:

• Write tweets now and schedule them for later with Social Oomph and keep people informed about your latest product or program.

• Tie your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media accounts together and get a message out to a bunch of audiences in a single tweet .

Did I hear you say, "That sounds great but just how do you do it?"

I was hoping you'd ask.  It's really pretty simple.  Well, it is the way I do it...and teach it. 

Truth is there are lots of ways to do these kind of things.  Many of them are free...unless of course you factor in the value of your time that will get eaten up trying to figure it out which ways are best for you and how to make them fit your needs.

You can spend a bunch of time fiddling and figuring or you can learn everything you need to get on the social media fast track with ease in the 6-week intensive teleclass I'm offering in a couple of weeks. 

The choice is yours but I sure would love to see you be the one building a bigger bank balance by coming to the rescue of all those consumers in need of your solution while your competition isn't this summer.  Learn how you can lounge by the pool and serve your peeps by clicking right here.

Tweeting Your Way To Increased Income

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Tweeting without a strategy is like strolling down the sidewalk talking out loud about your business to no one in particular.  People who pass will hear bits of what you are saying but even if it's an interesting bit, they'll have no idea what it really means, how it can help them or why they should care about it.

The most common concern I hear related to social networking is "I don't see how it can help my business."  My answer to that is, "it can't, unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish with it and have a strategy to do that."

Here are some ways you can purposefully put social networking into action for your business:

• Grow your mailing list -
• • Why is this important?  Only about 20% of the people you "speak" to will do business with you.  So, the bigger your audience, the more income you can create.

• Increase your Twitter followers and Facebook friends
• • Why is this important?  See reason #1 above!

• Promote a free teleclass
• • Why is this important? If you require people to register with an email address to attend....well, see reason #1 above once again.

• Ask questions encouraging people to share their opinion about an idea for a new product or program 
• • Why is this important?  Access to free market research so you can create and deliver what people really want leading to the outcome listed in #1 above!

• Share educational or inspiring information on topics that your ideal clients really care about
• • Why is this important?  Your building trust and your perceived value increasing the likelihood that you'll someday get the result specified in #1 above

Are you seeing a trend here? 

And this is just the beginning.  With the right strategy, you can tweet your way to a higher income doing exactly what you love to do with exactly who you love doing it with.  And because I know what my ideal client wants (a.k.a. you) I know the thought of accomplishing that goal makes your heart leap.

If you're ready to quit pussy-footin' around with this powerful tool, you'll want to talk to me about my class: Fast Track to Social Media Triumph - using Facebook and Twitter to turn ideal contacts into ideal clients. 

I hope you're not disappointed that I'm not sending you to some lengthy information page - I'm the information page!  If you'd like to know more, send me an email or call me (888) 299-3154 and I'll answer every single question you have and only accept you into the class if the fit is right for you; salesy pressure is not my style!  But do be quick about reaching out, the next class begins in just a couple of weeks!

Even the Dalai Lama Tweets!

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When it comes to Twitter, which one of these best describes you:

• Totally sold on it

• There's got to be something to it if so many people are into it but can't quite figure out how to tie it into your business

• Could care less (then you may want to read this USAToday piece)

If you're in the first category, what follows will amount to preaching to the choir. 

If you are in the third category, you've already stopped reading. 

But if you are in that middle category, congratulations because your curiosity will serve you well if you take the time and make the effort to "get" what Twitter can do for you and your business.

In my fondness for keeping things simple, let's take the simplest possible look at the value of Twitter from the two key benefits it offers:

1. Build an audience that will hang on your every word (like a lot of celebrities have done, or the social media news source Mashable)
2. Keep your eye on trends and what people are talking about

Now let's look at why you should care about either of these.

Building an audience:

• It's cheap: free is about as cheap as it comes when you're talking about marketing tools!

• It's easy: sharing a thought in 140 characters doesn't require a degree in creative writing!

• It's powerful: Sheesh! if a spiritual leader like the Dalai Lama sees the value in how it can touch lives, can you open up your heart to the idea that it may be good for your business as well?

Keeping your eye on trends:

• People talk about what matters to them

• People spend money on and in support of stuff they care about. 

• Staying in tune with what people care about most, presents you with the opportunity to package and deliver your unique gift in alignment with what people are most interested in NOW.  Twitter gives you access to a free, up-to-the-minute gigantic marketing focus group!

Whether your goal is to build a REALLY big, 7 figure-impact-thousands-of-people-address-audiences-from-stages-around-the-world kind of business or you just want to be a big fish in your small local pond, Twitter is not to be overlooked as a means to your desired end.

How Can You Tell if It’s Working?

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So, you have your BIG 3 - Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn - accounts set up.  It’s really the BIG 4 when you add in YouTube.  But don’t worry if you’re not ready for video yet.  It’s okay to grow at your own pace with this stuff.

You’re talking about your life and your business and you may even be having a little bit of fun doing it.  But you’re still not convinced about the benefits to your business because it’s so hard to tell if anyone is paying attention.

It may not be as hard as you think to tell who is listening.  In fact, here are 4 easy-to-track indicators that will let you know if you’re Tweeting up the right tree.

1. Retweets:  Are you tweeting about stuff that has enough interest and value to inspire others to retweet it? 


2. @replies:  Are people responding to you by replying with a comment about what you’re saying (the Facebook equivalent is comments on your updates)


3. Clicks on the links in your tweets: If you’re a KISS’em Klub member this is being monitored for you, but if you are on your own, make sure you’re using a url shortener  – like bit.ly – that provides stats so you can tell when you've struck out or knocked one out of the park!


4. Growing followers:  If your networks are growing, it’s a good sign.  It means your reach is extending farther and creating a bigger pool of peeps who may eventually do business with you.  However, the first three are better ways to take the pulse of how close those folks might be to becoming paying customers.

So, you see, it’s not nearly as hard to tell how well your social networking efforts are paying off as you might have thought a few minutes ago.  It just takes a little extra effort. 

If you’d like to have the info but can’t stand the idea of tracking this stuff yourself, you may want to take a look at how the KISS’em Klub works. 

Content is King

Social networking is the hot topic in the marketing world.  And it should be.  It's cheap, effective and powerful!  But there is one huge and critical component to making social networking work for you and that is fresh content.

This video clip shows you the 2 basic ways you can easily deliver fresh content on a regular basis

1. Create your own (you'll learn the 3 main ways to do that)
2. Connect to other people's (you won't want to miss the important "catch" to doing this right)

I've even included a couple of examples to help illustrate. I think you'll agree that the simple 3-step blueprint for maximizing your social networking outlined at the end will be well worth the 4 -investment.

Is Your Business Ready for the Next Decade?

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The end of this year also marks the end of the first decade of the 21^st Century and a natural time for reflection and introspection.

Take a moment and visualize the path your life and your business have taken over the last year and decade.  Picture it as a two dimensional map with this moment marked by a bubble that says, “You are here.” 

• Is that bubble where you thought it would be by now? 
• Are you further along the path than expected or not far enough? 
• More importantly are you on a journey that excites you when you picture yourself at the end? 
• Is your passion the vehicle moving you forward or have you traded it in for something more sensible?

Life is a journey and your business is a big road trip on that journey, full of lots of smaller trips.  The trip I took a trip to Greece earlier this year, offers a great illustration of my point. 

Going to Greece was a big road trip.  But when I got there I took several little trips.

• I took a foot trip to the Acropolis from my hotel
• I took a day trip to Delphi. That one involved a cab with a hired driver.  
• I took a trip to the island of Santorini, requiring a plane ride.

Visiting Greece was a lifelong, passionate ambition of mine - maybe you feel the same way about your business.

Thinking about going to Greece over the years created both excitement and anxiety.

• Excitement: when I visualized myself actually standing in front of the Parthenon or sailing on the Aegean Sea.  (Both of which I did while I was there.)
  

• Anxiety: when I thought about figuring out the details of turning such a big dream into a reality, including minor details like how I would pay for such a trip!

How quickly the flame of excitement can be extinguished by the rain of anxiety and stall the forward motion of your “you are here” bubble.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  With the right guidance from the right people, you can keep your bubble rolling along at a nice clip. 

Getting to Greece meant enlisting the help of people who had successfully pulled off a trip like the one I had my sights set on.  It meant being willing to invest both time and money to create a plan that would bring the dream to life.

I use the same formula for my business.  I invest in support, guidance, education and mentorship from someone whose bubble is ahead of mine on the map. Now is the time to review your map and set your course for the next decade.   

Which ever way the details shape up, one thing is certain; social networking is here to stay as an important component of effective marketing. 

In the spirit of the season, I’m offering the opportunity to get that part of your plan in place with my most popular marketing service - the KISS'em Social Klub - and save more than just a few bucks in the process.  However, time is of the essence and she who hesitates does not save!

How to Build a Better Black Friday

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What do Black Friday and Mother’s Day have in common?  On the surface, not much.  But look a little deeper and you’ll see the connection lies in marketing ingenuity.  These invented events turn an otherwise ordinary day into an opportunity for consumers to purchase with purpose. 

When you think about it, the only things people actually need to purchase are food, clothing and shelter.  Pretty much everything else falls into the “want” category.  This dovetails nicely with the eternal human drive to attain a higher quality of life, providing plenty of ways for you to deliver the goods through your business.

And the really great news is that if you don’t like any of the current man-made marketing opportunities on the calendar, you’re free to invent your own.  One of the most recent examples of this is the invention of Cyber Monday (the online equivalent of Black Friday). 

So, what could you create?  The sky’s the limit. Here’s one of those places where being really clear about your niche and ideal client comes in super handy.  If you want to create your own Black Friday, start by answering questions like these:

• What is the biggest common problem your tribe seeks to solve? 
• What question do you most often get asked by prospects and clients? 
• What objection do they most often toss out as to why they aren’t taking action with you now?

Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees a problem in every opportunity and an optimist sees an opportunity in every problem.”

Your client’s problems are ripe with opportunities for your business.  The more creative you are at finding a way to serve them while solving their problems, the more commas you’ll have in your bank balance.

Using the Facebook Event Feature without Annoying Your Friends

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If you’re on Facebook, you’re probably well acquainted with the Event feature - even if you’ve never created one yourself.

Countless invitations to events from people you barely know urging you to participate in things that have nothing to do with your business or your interests may be clogging your inbox.

This promotional plastering can make it nearly impossible for you to keep up with messages about stuff that really matters to you and may leave you with the impression that using the event feature to promote your products and classes is a bad idea.  It’s not.  It’s a very good idea.  As long as you remember this:

How-to without strategy is the root of all promotional evil!

With that in mind, let me walk you through the how-to of creating an event on Facebook.  There’s probably a bunch of ways you can get to the starting point, but I’ll show you the path I use.

• Click “Applications” in the lower left corner of your profile page or fan page
• Click “Events” (you’ll see upcoming and past events listed)
• Click “Create an Event” and the system will walk you through the process.

CAUTION: “Step 3 – Invite friends” is the place to exercise some strategic restraint.

Imagine a team – any group of people working as a unit.  For this example, I’ll use football. 

There is a quarterback who throws the ball with precision, receivers who speed to the ball’s destination and pluck it from the air, defenders who anticipate and block the opponent’s movement and running backs who weave in and out of mountain-sized men evading tackles like a greased pig at a country fair.

These guys are all experts at the “how-to” of their position.  But if they showed up on the field at game time and just started how-to-ing it all over the place without a strategy, they’d never win a game - even if, individually, they were more skilled than the opposing players.

What does this have to do with Facebook Events?

Even if you are hosting the greatest event under the sun, if you turn people off with the way you promote it, you’ll have a flop on your hands.  And worse, you’ll be training people to ignore you!

Use the invite feature sparingly.  Once is enough and choose when wisely.  Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast way to do this.  You have to develop a feel for it, but here are a couple of sample approaches:

• You could create your event, post it to your wall, talk about it in a conversational way to spark curiosity and interest once or twice a week and include a link to it some of those times, then send an invitation.  OR
• You could create your event, post it to your wall, send an invitation and talk about it. OR
• You could create your event, send an invitation, talk about it, then post it to your wall OR
• You could create your event, post it to your wall, talk about it and never send an invitation!

Notice in all of these options there was never more than one invitation in the mix and one of them didn’t include an invitation at all – some events may not warrant an invite!  Just promotion.

The bottom line:  Just like a winning football team needs a coach to strategically direct traffic on the field, so do your promotional efforts on Facebook and elsewhere.  Learn to be your own promotional coach or hire one so you can get the results you want.