 JV partners and affiliates are a huge asset for any business owner. They’re the ones who are out there singing your praises, spreading the word about your services, and helping you reach a larger audience than you could on your own. Not only that, but they generously lend their good name and reputation to your business, so it makes sense that you want to treat them as well as possible. But there are some mistakes that product sellers make over and over again that will frustrate and even turn your potential affiliates away. Here’s how to fix them. No Promotional Calendar Busy entrepreneurs are obsessive planners. They know they need to produce content, mail their lists, create products, speak at events, and all the other marketing tasks that go with owning a business. They very likely maintain a calendar that helps them stay focused and on track. If you want them to promote you, it’s a good idea to publish your own promotional calendar so they know what’s coming up. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy, and it doesn’t have to stretch for weeks or months ahead, but it should give them a bit of notice about upcoming launches so they can work your products into their schedule. Launching Without Them Got a big product launch coming up? Excellent! But don’t even think about launching without your affiliates on board. Your lists most likely have some overlap, and promoting to your list before you allow affiliates to mail will result in lost sales for them—and angry JVs who won’t be anxious to promote you again. Stealing Their Sales This should go without saying, but if you’re considering creating your own affiliate link for your products, stop. Mailing your list or posting on Facebook with your own affiliate link will—in most systems—result in your promotions overriding those of your affiliates. In short, you’ll be stealing their sales, and no JV partner will want to promote you after that. If you need a tracking link, there are far better ways to go about it than to create an affiliate link in your own system. Slow Pay No excuse is ever good enough for failing to pay your affiliates on time. If you promise to pay monthly, then you must make that a priority. It’s never okay to “borrow” from your affiliate payments to cover an unexpected bill or take advantage of an opportunity. To do so is bad form, bad karma, and will give you a reputation for unreliability. Your JV partners and affiliates are some of your most precious assets. Treat them as such, and they will return the favour with increased sales, more leads, and plenty of social love. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com Check out the Freedom Academy- Click my pic!
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 No matter how proudly you embrace the “solopreneur” title, there comes a time when you absolutely must reach out for help. And for savvy business owners, that help often comes in the form of JV partners. Also called affiliates, JV partners act as your own private sales army, spreading the word about your products and services to a whole new audience—theirs. Not only do you reach people who might otherwise never encounter you, but you also benefit mightily from your JV partners’ existing relationships. By promoting you, an affiliate is endorsing you to their audience. They're saying, “I know this seller; I trust them, and you should, too.” READ MORE: Spend less time on paperwork and do more of what you love But even with all those many benefits, business owners sometimes struggle to find great partners. Sure, lots of people will register for your affiliate program, but the Pareto Principle is alive and well when it comes to JV partners: 20% of your affiliates will do 80% of the work. That means your goal is to recruit higher performing partners. The only question is, where do you find these great partners? Pick Your VA’s Brain READ MORE: Spend less time on paperwork and do more of what you love Chances are good that your VA works for other business owners in similar niches. If you’re a business coach, she very likely works with several other coaches, and she’s in a position to know...
Look to Your Best Clients Especially if you’re a coach, your clients might just be your biggest fans—and they’re in a position to recommend you to friends, family, social connections, and elsewhere. READ MORE: Spend less time on paperwork and do more of what you love Be sure your clients all know that you offer a referral/affiliate program, how to sign up, and what the benefits are. Your Competitors It’s true—your competitors might just be your biggest affiliates, if you give them a chance. In some circles (such as business and relationship coaching) clients tend to “graduate” from one coach and move to another. This is normal and to be expected. And when you’re on good terms with your competitors, the coach their ex-clients move to might just be you. READ MORE: Spend less time on paperwork and do more of what you love Don’t be afraid to look in unusual places for your next JV partner. You really never know who can connect you with potential clients and partners. Think about all your relationships—from your team to your social circles to your competitors and colleagues—and consider all of their relationships and how far that might stretch. Then pick up the phone or draft an email, and start leveraging your contacts! To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com Check out the Freedom Academy- Click my pic!  When it comes to leveraging your time, automation is the sharpest tool in your toolbox. It allows you to get more done in less time, and to smoothly move people through your sales funnel. For many small business owners, though, the one area that’s often overlooked is your website. READ MORE: Here's the secret to more business and more free time Use Your Blog to Build Your Mailing List Like any smart business owner, you likely have opt-in forms on your website. They’re in the sidebar or maybe the footer, and you might have a pop-up to capture attention as visitors are about to leave. But do you have a solid call to action at the end of your blog posts? When a new reader is finished consuming your posts, they are primed to learn more. Give them the opportunity by offering an opt-in at the end of each post. Even better, make it a logical next step by creating a related offer for each post. Called a content upgrade, these offers typically consist of a simple checklist or worksheet, and capture attention by providing even more information about a topic they’re already interested in. READ MORE: Here's the secret to more business and more free time Keep Them Reading With Related Links How often do you revisit old blog posts to link to newer content? This is an important maintenance job that will help provide visitors with the information they’re looking for by linking related posts together. Not only is this strategy good for keeping visitors on your site, but Google approves as well. Posts that link to each other encourage search engine bots to crawl your site more thoroughly, and help boost the rankings of your most relevant posts. READ MORE: Here's the secret to more business and more free time [Hint: This is a perfect job for your VA.] Make the Best of Your Download Pages Whether you’re giving away a free report or paid product, your download pages can pull double-duty by offering visitors a “what’s next” option. For free download pages, a related, low-cost product is best. It gives readers the chance to learn more about you with a small investment. READ MORE: Here's the secret to more business and more free time For paid products, consider offering a complementary product instead. If you’re protecting your download pages with a membership script such as Customer Hub, you can even offer upsells based on what they already own, making the choice even easier for them. And if you’re using a double-opt-in mailing list, make use of that confirmation page, too! That’s the perfect place for a quick upsell or an invitation to join you in your Facebook group or weekly Facebook Live. READ MORE: Here's the secret to more business and more free time . Here’s a good rule of thumb to follow on your website: Whenever a reader lands on a page, they should be offered the next logical step. When you write your blog posts or create your download pages, keep that in mind, and your funnel will practically fill itself. To Your Success Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com Check out the Freedom Academy- Click my pic  For something so popular, there certainly are a lot of myths surrounding WordPress, its uses, and its viability in certain situations. READ MORE: Download your FREE weekly social media planner If you’re searching for a website solution for your coaching business, you’ve likely heard many stories—both pros and cons—about WordPress that have left you scratching your head in confusion. Here are some of the most common misconceptions, and what you really need to know. Myth: WordPress is a Security Risk Fans of static HTML sites like to drag this out as the reason for remaining stuck with difficult-to-manage sites. While WordPress is definitely less secure that HTML (that’s just the nature of php-driven websites) it is by no means the security risk some people would have you believe. READ MORE: Download your FREE weekly social media planner Fact: Good Security Practices Greatly Reduce Your Risk Driving a car increases your risk of having an accident, but that doesn’t mean you don’t drive. It just means you takes steps to reduce your risk. WordPress is no different. With a few security measures in place, your risk of being hacked is nearly non-existent. To start:
Myth: WordPress is Difficult to Learn. Most often heard when discussing drag-and-drop website builders such as Wix, Squarespace and Weebly, this myth is the one that keeps many people from even considering WordPress. READ MORE: Download your FREE weekly social media planner Fact: Every Website Builder has a Learning Curve Yes, WordPress can be pretty overwhelming at first glance. But here’s the thing: any software that offers as much flexibility and versatility as WordPress does is bound to have a learning curve. And those other builders? They all have their own quirks and difficulties. The difference is that the WordPress community is huge and incredibly helpful. If you need to know how to do anything on a WordPress site, simply spending 30 seconds on YouTube or Google will reveal the answer. Myth: WordPress is Only for Blogging While it’s true that WordPress was originally developed as a blog platform, changes over the past several years have made it the ideal choice for a variety of website needs. READ MORE: Download your FREE weekly social media planner Fact: Plugins and Themes Make WordPress Work for Nearly Every Application Whether you want to build an ecommerce site, a business directory, a membership site, a sales page, or a simple “brochure” style website, WordPress is designed to handle it. Thousands of plugins and speciality themes exist that extend its basic blogging functionality to encompass nearly anything you can dream of. WordPress is by far the most commonly used content management system online today. That alone should reassure you that these myths are just that…myths. But don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself, and I think you’ll agree. Is your email marketing making you money?  You know you need to do it. You’ve had it on your to-do list for years. . And yet…nothing. It’s not that you don’t recognise the benefits, or that you don’t want to have a published book on your resume. You just struggle with it, and probably for the same reasons many others resist publication. READ MORE: How to write your book in 30 days You don’t have time. Here’s a biggie. Everyone is busy. We all get that. But that’s not a good excuse when it comes to growing your business. Rather than lamenting your lack of time, you should be prioritising your day to accommodate the important things, like writing your book. Maybe that means getting up 30 minutes earlier for a focused (if short) writing stint every morning, or turning off the television after dinner so you can write, or even setting aside several hours each Sunday morning until your book is done. READ MORE: How to write your book in 30 days The point is, you must make this a priority. Block out the time in your calendar, and treat that time as sacred. Pretend it’s an appointment with your most important client, and do not allow anything to get in the way of keeping it. You can’t write. Many, many people claim they cannot write; yet when you look at their blogs, there are hundreds of posts. What it really means when someone says they can’t write is that they don’t like to. READ MORE: How to write your book in 30 days Luckily, you have plenty of options for overcoming this particular hurdle. Hire a ghostwriter. Start with PLR. Repurpose your blog posts into a book. And if all else fails, speak. Simply record using your favourite MP3 app and then have it transcribed. You can’t organise a long project like a book. Ok, so you’re great with blog posts, and you don’t mind writing them, but the thought of writing an entire book makes you stare at your blank screen like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. READ MORE: How to write your book in 30 days First, if you can write a blog post, you can write an entire series of books. The process is all the same, after all. It’s just putting words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and so on. But if you really feel you can’t manage a long project, then an outline is going to be your best friend. Start with a broad overview of your project, and then break it down by sections, then chapters. Make notes about what you’ll cover in each, and then it’s just a matter of filling in the blanks. READ MORE: How to write your book in 30 days There are dozens of reasons to write a book. It’s important for establishing your expertise, for growing your audience, and for solidifying your message. But none of that will happen if you don’t actually write it. So it’s time to get beyond your hurdles and get your book done. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   When you hear the word “copywriting” do you immediately think of long sales pages, squeeze pages, and unwanted bulk mail? You’re not alone in that thinking, but the fact is, copywriting is more than just sales messages. In fact, as an online business owner, most of the content you produce could be called copywriting at least in some sense. After all, if you’re creating content with the ultimate goal of selling something, that is by definition copywriting. READ MORE: How to Write Copy and Create Content That Will Get More Clients to Say YES Facebook: Sure we all like to hang out on Facebook and chat with friends, catch up on the latest funny videos, and enjoy a mindless “quiz” or two. But for business owners, Facebook is much more than that. It’s a place to connect with potential clients, and that means that when you’re sharing your latest blog post or product with your business friends, you have to keep good copywriting in mind. READ MORE: How to Write Copy and Create Content That Will Get More Clients to Say YES LinkedIn Profile: What makes you stand out from the other entrepreneurs in your niche? Your LinkedIn profile is where you share what makes you the best person to solve your ideal client’s problems. It’s where you shout about your credentials and let your ego run the show. Think of your LinkedIn profile like a resume, and be sure to list your most impressive credentials. READ MORE: How to Write Copy and Create Content That Will Get More Clients to Say YES About Page: Here’s your chance to have some fun while blowing your own horn. It’s important to know that the about page is often the most visited page on a website, so it’s a critical piece of your overall brand and message. The purpose of your about page is to entice people to want to learn more about your services, so be sure to include a call to action on the page. Blog Posts: All blog posts have a job to do. Maybe they’re meant to lead your reader to a sales page. Perhaps you’re asking for readers to subscribe to your mailing list. Maybe your blog post is designed to start a conversation. Or maybe it’s just sharing great content and inviting readers to learn more by clicking on related posts. Whatever the job, it’s copywriting that entices your reader to take that next action. READ MORE: How to Write Copy and Create Content That Will Get More Clients to Say YES Twitter: One hundred and forty characters is precious little space for creating compelling content, yet that’s exactly what you must do if you hope to use Twitter as part of your overall marketing strategy. Think of tweets like email subject lines, and craft them to convey as much information as possible while still enticing readers to take action. Email: Whether you’re sending an email about a new product or service or simply letting readers know you have a new blog post up, your email definitely qualifies as copywriting. In fact, even the personal emails you send to prospective clients contain what we would call copywriting READ MORE: How to Write Copy and Create Content That Will Get More Clients to Say YES The fact is, copywriting is everywhere in your business, from your sales pages to your invoices. Whenever you ask a reader to take some action, you’re writing copy, and the more comfortable with the idea of it, the better (and more natural) you’ll become. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   It’s an undeniable fact. When you trade time for money—whether you’re a business coach or a brain surgeon—your income potential has a cap. There are, after all, only so many hours in the day. You can only book a limited number of coaching hours and VIP days.Of course, you can (and should) be raising your rates periodically. As your skills and expertise grow, so should your profits. But you’re still constrained by the number of hours in your day. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days Savvy coaches have figured out how to scale their business to earn nearly unlimited income, and you can, too. Group Coaching Creating a group-coaching program is a fantastic way to expand your coaching audience, help more people and earn more profits. Group programs can have a small handful of members you personally connect with, or hundreds of members who have access to you via a private forum or Facebook group. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days Most group coaching programs feature some kind of training, either weekly video or written lessons, live Q&A calls, or a combination. The best programs are step-by-step with a clear goal and end date. As a coach, it’s easy to ramp up your current one-on-one offerings to a group plan. All that’s required is to document your systems and organize them into a logical training order. Product Creation Another great way to earn higher profits is to create self-study products your potential clients can purchase for a one-time fee and use to learn at their own pace. These can run the gamut from a simple Kindle book to a comprehensive, multi-week training that’s delivered via membership site. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days In fact, the more variety you have in your products, the more opportunity you’ll have to reach a larger audience, and to turn new visitors into one-on-one clients by leading them strategically through your funnel. The best news of all, though, is this: You already have everything you need to create group coaching programs and products. It’s in the training you provide to your clients every single day, and in the systems and processes you use in your own business. Your documentation, checklists, brainstorming and other materials can easily be organized and packaged into one-off products and step-by-step group coaching programs your clients will love. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   Just because your live event is over, doesn’t mean your webinar stops working for you. In fact, with a bit of planning, your replay can get as much—maybe even more—traction as the live webinar did. READ MORE: Download 149 Quotes: Copy and paste these for your social media updates Add the Replay to Your Autoresponders Evergreen webinar topics are always welcome additions to your autoresponders. They give your loyal readers another way to learn from you, and their high value (video is always well received) means they’re more likely to be watched than your blog or ebooks are to be read. But don’t stop with just the video. Offer readers a chance to download just the audio so they can listen on the go, and have the entire webinar transcribed for those who prefer to scan the content. Use Handouts as Opt-In Incentives Checklists and worksheets are extremely popular when it comes to enticing people to opt-in to your mailing list. It might seem counterintuitive, but sometimes less really is more. In fact, your readers will appreciate short, to-the-point checklists more than they will a 50 page eBook. Rather than creating new offers, simply repurpose the worksheets you’ve created for your webinars. READ MORE: Download 149 Quotes: Copy and paste these for your social media updates Transcriptions and Slides Find New Homes As surprising as it might seem, not everyone wants to watch a video. For those folks who are pressed for time, a transcript they can scan is the perfect answer. Not only that, but since Google can’t (yet) crawl video, the text version of your presentation is far better for SEO purposes. There’s no end to the places you can share your transcript, either. Your blog, slide sharing sites, article directories, and LinkedIn are all top choices. You might even choose to do a little light editing and turn it into a Kindle book you can sell for a small fee. READ MORE: Download 149 Quotes: Copy and paste these for your social media updates Slice and Dice In any good webinar, there are plenty of sound bites just waiting to be shared. A good virtual assistant can take your transcript and pull out the meaningful quotes for sharing on social media, and perhaps even make a selection of “pinnable” graphics to post to Pinterest. Your presentation might even contain some of these nuggets, making her job even easier. A screenshot of a slide with a great quote or image makes the perfect update on your Facebook page or Twitter account. (Hint: keep this in mind when you create your presentation!) READ MORE: Download 149 Quotes: Copy and paste these for your social media updates And of course, don’t forget you can still offer your replay as an opt-in incentive, long after the event is over. You may want to record an alternate ending if you presented a time-sensitive offer, but otherwise it should serve you well for months or years to come. To Your Success! Lindsey Archibald www.digital-duchess.com   Been on a webinar lately? I bet you have. The fact is, webinars are one of today’s hottest marketing trends. Each and every week, you’ll find small business owners hosting webinars about book publishing, blogging, and even how to sell T-shirts online. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about No matter what your niche or industry, webinars are a great option for growing your market. List Building Perhaps the number one reason to host a webinar—especially if you partner with another business owner in a complementary niche—is to grow your list. Here’s why it works so well. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about As a business owner with resources and information to share, you’re in demand, and there are plenty of others out there looking to partner with you. Find a colleague in a related niche to host your event. Ask them to mail their list with an offer to join you both on the call. Collect emails in your mailing list system. Any sales you make from the event will pay your partner an affiliate commission. That way you both win: You build your mailing list, and they earn cash for her time. Show Off Your Expertise You’ve no doubt heard plenty of people talking about the “know, like and trust factor.” It’s a simple reminder that very few people will buy from you the first time they encounter your website or get an email from you. They need more info. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about A webinar is a fantastic way to build up their trust. Because they can hear your voice, and maybe even see your face, there’s an instant connection. Not only that, but you get to impress them with your knowledge of the topic. Your audience will walk away not only knowing you better, but also with the impression that you are the go-to person in your niche. Sell to a Captive Audience Here’s a fact you may not have considered: Webinar attendees are primed to buy. Make them an irresistible offer, and you’ll be amazed at how effective “selling from the stage” can be. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about What’s irresistible? Try these proven tactics:
Both plans have worked for thousands of webinar presenters, and will work for you, too. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about Whether you’ve never hosted a webinar before, or you’re already an old hand, there’s little doubt that this is a tool that really performs. The amount of time you spend preparing and promoting is minor compared to the potential returns, so get out there and start planning your next webinar event! To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   In any business, you’ll spend a certain amount of time on clients who will never pay you. Website designers quote jobs that never come to fruition. Car dealers spend hours chatting up customers who will never buy. Book agents read countless manuscripts they will never be able to sell. And coaches spend time giving out free advice to clients who cannot or will not hire them. Truthfully, it can be frustrating, and it’s definitely a drain on your time and energy. READ MORE: Do You Want a Lifestyle Friendly Online Business? But there are some things you can do to eliminate those who will never become clients without having to spend time with them first. Post Your Prices One of the most hotly debated topics among coaches and service providers is whether or not you should post your prices on your website. There are pros and cons on both sides of the fence, but the biggest advantage to posting your prices is that it immediately eliminates those who cannot afford you. READ MORE: Do You Want a Lifestyle Friendly Online Business? Of course, you don’t have to list prices for everything to achieve the same effect. If you offer private coaching and self-directed training packages, having a price tag of £700 on your “entry level” course makes it pretty clear that your private coaching is going to be at the high end. If you prefer to quote packages individually, a line that states, “Coaching packages start at £XXX” is a simple way to state your prices while still giving you some flexibility. Intake Forms Before you get on the phone with anyone, require that they do a little groundwork first. A client intake form should tell you everything you need to know about a potential client long before you pick up the phone. But what it tells you the most is how much work they’re willing to do. READ MORE: Do You Want a Lifestyle Friendly Online Business? Freebie seekers aren’t likely to do the work required to answer even a simple questionnaire, so those who do fill out your form are better prospects. Not only that, but you can include in your form a question about pricing, such as “What’s your budget for coaching?” Use a pre-defined list of answers that start with “£700 and up” rather than letting your potential client fill in their own amount, and those with smaller budgets won’t bother to complete it. Change Your Language Words have power, and if the words you use on your website and other marketing material are speaking to newbies or those just getting started in business, you’ll never attract the audience you’re seeking. READ MORE: Do You Want a Lifestyle Friendly Online Business? Instead of using words like “step by step plan,” say, “advanced techniques.” Rather than talking about “easy systems,” mention high-end, complex software by name. Simple changes can help you to automatically attract the right audience. You’ll still spend some time and energy on those who ultimately won’t hire you, but by making these simple edits to your website, marketing materials, and other business systems, you’ll begin to see more high-end clients and fewer of those you no longer wish to work with. READ MORE: Do You Want a Lifestyle Friendly Online Business? To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   If you want to earn top dollar for your coaching programs, it’s clear you’ll first have to become the go-to expert in your niche. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? You’re likely already working toward that goal, and probably have been for some time, but if you’re not quite there yet, here’s how to jump-start your career. Content Creation: This is by far the most important thing you can do to grow your audience and your credibility. Blog posts, podcasts, eBooks, and self-paced training programs—whether free or paid—are the building blocks of your empire, and if you want to earn top dollar, you first have to put in the work to create a solid foundation. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? Video: This is where a lot of people struggle. Maybe you hate the sound of your voice or you hate how you look on video. You’ll need to get over it. Your potential clients need to get to know you better before they shell out thousands for that group-coaching program you’re putting together, and video is the easiest way for them to do that. So get a makeover, hire a video coach, and start sharing what you know on YouTube and other video channels. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? Write a Book: The big daddy of content, a real, physical book can skyrocket your credibility and pave the way for the rest of your coaching career. Now, we’re not talking about Kindle books here (although they do have their place in your overall content plans). No, for this, you want to publish a printed book—and if you can attract the attention of a publishing house rather than going the self-publishing route, that lends even more credibility. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? Speaking: Nothing says “I’m an expert” quite like getting to take to the stage and speak in front of a group. Chances are your expert status has already attracted the attention of event organisers and you’ve been asked to speak. If you have, and have turned down the opportunity, now is the time to boost up your confidence and make the leap. If you haven’t, then go out and actively seek opportunities that are a good fit. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? Don’t be afraid to start small—at your local Chamber of Commerce or a recurring MeetUp group—but keep an eye on the big stage, too, and be open for the chance to wow a crowd with your expertise. Host a Live Event: Want to really blow your audience away with your coaching and business skills? Plan and host a live event. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? It doesn’t have to be huge—in fact a small, intimate venue is often the best choice—but do start making plans. Live event hosts are often viewed as the real movers and shakers in their industries (because they are). Remember, too, no matter which credibility-boosting method you’re using, it will only work if people know about it. So don’t just start a podcast, market it. Don’t step onto a stage of any size without shouting about it to the rooftops, and never ever write a book without a big launch. READ MORE: Do You Want to Stop Trading Time for Money? Credibility and visibility go hand in hand, so do everything you can to get the word out about your achievements. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   Here’s one sure way to build up a great following fast: do something just a little crazy. If you’ve ever watched a reality TV show such as Celebrity Big Brother then you know what a draw it can be to attempt something just a little crazy. Millions of people tune in each and every week to see what new catastrophes would befall the celebrities taking part. READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? Now imagine if you could generate that kind of traffic to your blog or website, just by attempting something off the wall. The fact is, this is a tried and true marketing plan that companies have been doing for more than a century, and you can easily do something similar in your business. Write a Book…Or 20 When Kristen Joy of TheBookNinja.com needed a boost in traffic, she turned to the medium she knows best: Kindle publishing. Accepting a challenge from her business coach, she agreed to write and publish a new Kindle book each week for 20 weeks. READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? As the word spread about Kristen’s plan, her traffic grew (and grew, and grew). Why? Some people no doubt wanted to see her fail? But most people rightly thought that Kristen must have something important to say if she had committed to such a large project. Nicole Dean pulled off a similar plan with her Blog World Tour. During the summer of 2009, she visited 15 blogs in 15 weeks, guest posting on the target blog for 5 straight days before moving on to the next. Did it work? Absolutely! Just like Kristen’s crazy book-writing spree, Nicole’s blog world tour gained her lots of traffic and thousands of new fans. Stretch Yourself A Little Now you don’t have to write a book a week for 20 weeks, or even spend the summer guest blogging. But there are plenty of things you can do to build some buzz and drive some traffic to your site. The key is to find something that would make most people say “I could never do that.” And then do it.
Whatever “stunt” you decide to pull off, it must have two components to be successful:
READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? A challenge of this sort must have one other component as well—your absolute conviction to finish. The last thing you want is to publicly declare your intention then quietly fade out mid-way to your goal. If you’re looking for a fun, innovative way to drive a lot of traffic to your website, and to get more eyes on your content, consider setting a big, outrageous goal for yourself. You’ll be surprised how many people turn up to watch and cheer you on, and you’ll have fun along the way. Not only that, but at the end, you’ll have lots of content you can repurpose again and again, and you will have learned a thing or two about your audience and yourself, too. READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? The Art of Being Shareable Ever wonder what makes some Facebook posts, videos, or blogs “go viral,” while yours are lucky to have 7 shares and two comments? While it might seem like some well-kept secret, the truth is it’s easy enough to create shareable content, if you put some thought and creativity into your efforts. Everyone Loves Infographics Whether you want to know more about how coffee is grown, or you’re looking for ways to boost your blog traffic, you’ll find a variety of infographics to fill you in. These colorful, easy-to-read graphics share vast amounts of data while still entertaining an audience. By condensing numbers and stats down to easily digestible bite-sized pieces, you can make valuable information highly understandable for any audience. READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? Even better, your market will be happy to share (and share and share). If you’re not artistic, or don’t have the skills required to create your own, you can hire designers from Fiverr and other job sites, or use a tool such as Piktochart to quickly make infographics your audience will love. **Pro tip: create an embeddable link for your infographic, and encourage other blog owners to share it on their sites. You’ll automatically drive traffic from every site that posts your content.** Create Valuable Posts Writing a blog post? Don’t just skim the surface of a topic. Dig deep. Provide as much information as you can on the topic. READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? While some bloggers will tell you that shorter is better, the truth is, posts of 3,000 words are more likely to be shared than their shorter cousins. So don’t worry about attention spans. Readers have proven they want good info, and they don’t mind digging into a long post to find it. Let Your Personality Shine No one wants to read or share another “me too” post. Not you, and not your audience. What they do want—and what they’ll happily share with their friends and fans—is personality-driven pieces that aren’t afraid to take a stand. That’s why coaches such as Jody Jelas and Marie Forleo are so popular. You know, simply by reading their content and watching their videos, that what you see is exactly what you get. Nothing is hidden; there’s no “corporate speak” to be found. READ MORE: Do you want a business that is flexible and one that will allow you to live life on your own terms? It’s easy to form a connection with someone like that, because you feel like you know them personally. And what do you do with your friend’s content? You share it, of course! It doesn’t take much to be shareable. Just be yourself, be transparent, and be valuable. In short, just do what you’re already doing, only with a little bit more oomph! To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   Struggling to bring in new clients? Not sure what to do next in your marketing plan? There’s one simple answer you probably haven’t considered:
Write a book. It’s true. This one thing—especially if it’s an actual printed book rather than a Kindle or eBook—has the power to grow your business beyond your expectations. You’ll experience a whole new world of opportunities simply by having your name on the cover of a book. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days Authority Imagine you’re at a conference or local networking group and you meet two entrepreneurs who both specialise in business branding—something you know you need help with. One says all the right things. She’s been in business for years and worked with some top-notch business owners. She has great ideas for how she can help you solidify your branding. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days The other has a similar history and story, with one added bonus: she’s just handed you a copy of her latest book. It’s a professionally printed, substantial publication that practically exudes confidence. Which entrepreneur do you think shows more authority in their field? The one with the book, of course. There really is nothing better when it comes to establishing your authority in any niche than having a book with your name on it. Expertise So why does a book speak so highly of you and establish your authority so well? Because it gives you a platform to show off your expertise. It’s like being invited to present on any topic you choose on the world’s largest stage. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days Not only that, but your readers are a captive audience. They’re listening—in that moment—only to you. That’s a powerful position to be in, and one that gives you an opportunity to really show off your stuff. Market Reach No matter how many readers Google sends your way, no matter how much traffic your YouTube channel receives, nothing will ever compare to the number of potential readers Amazon and other online booksellers can bring your way. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days Positioned correctly, your book can reach millions of new readers, and thousands of potential clients. Combine that with the expertise and authority we know comes with being a published author, and that’s a recipe for success that can’t be beat. Better Than a Business Card If you’ve ever been to a conference, you’ve no doubt collected a stack of business cards. You get home and toss them in a drawer, and six months later you throw them out, without ever having contacted the people who gave them to you. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days But if one of those people handed you a book instead, what happened? You’ve likely read it (or at least leafed through it). You almost certainly didn’t throw it away. And you remember it—and the person who wrote it. Press Opportunities Turn on your television to any interview show, browse through Huffington Post, or listen to any of a number of popular podcasts, and you’ll quickly see that most of the guest speakers and interviewees have written a book. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days The fact is, interview shows depend on interesting, insightful guests to keep their audiences listening, and there’s no better applicant than an author. Writing a book will open up many, many opportunities for appearances that you may never have without your name on that cover. Do you have to write a book to be successful? No. But there’s no denying the fact that a published author will find they have a much easier time growing their business than the entrepreneur who keeps putting it off until later. READ MORE: How to write a book in 30 days To Your Success! Lindsey x www.digital-duchess.com  Does the topic of money make your mouth dry and your hands sweat? Do you dread that point in a conversation when someone says, “So what do you charge?” You’re not alone. Most of us have difficulty talking about money—especially when it comes to quoting prices for our own work. But if you’re going to be successful in business, you have to get over it. READ MORE: Email Marketing: From Hot Mess to Mega Success in 7 Days Practice. The first rule for declaring your prices with confidence is simply to practice. Talk to yourself in the shower. Tell your dog what your rates are. Stand in front of your mirror and say, “I charge XXX.00 per hour.” The more you say your rates out loud (not in your head) the more natural it will be for you. Smile. Even if you’re on the phone or writing an email, smile when you say your rates. Your tone of voice changes when you smile (as does the “tone” of your typing), and that tone can convey confidence and authority, not to mention professionalism. READ MORE: Email Marketing: From Hot Mess to Mega Success in 7 Days Avoid being wishy-washy. Listen to yourself as you speak to potential clients. Do you say things like, “Well, normally I charge…” or “Actually, my rates are…” or “Do you think that $XX.00 will work for you?” These (and others like them) are all wishy-washy ways of talking that do not instill confidence in your client, and worse, they make you sound like you don’t believe in yourself. READ MORE: Email Marketing: From Hot Mess to Mega Success in 7 Days Rather than squeaking out a timid, “Um, I charge, like $1,000 per month,” straighten your back, smile, and say, “My rate for VIP coaching is $1,000 per month. Where should I send your invoice?” And then… Be silent. When we’re nervous or feeling intimidated, we tend to talk. We want to fill the silence with something, anything, just to avoid having to sit there uncomfortably and wonder what the other person is thinking. But guess what? He or she is just as uncomfortable with the silence, and psychologically, the one who speaks first is at a disadvantage. So when you’re talking price, avoid the urge to fill the silence (especially because you’re most likely to try to justify your pricing) and let your potential client take time to respond. READ MORE: Email Marketing: From Hot Mess to Mega Success in 7 Days Will speaking with confidence always land you a new client? No. But being able to share your pricing in a clear voice will help potential clients know that you’re confident in your skills, and consequently, that you are the right fit for them. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   It’s happened to every coach and service provider at one time or another—probably more than once. READ MORE: Here’s the secret to more business, more profits, and even more free time… You offer a proposal or contract, only to have your potential client respond with, “That sounds great, but I can’t afford it.” What do you do? For a lot of business owners, their first response is to lower their rate. After all, they reason: They really do need my help. Plus it’s good karma, and They’ll talk about me with their friends, and refer business to me later. Maybe, but more likely than not, what you end up with is a client who takes far too much of your time, for less money than you deserve. You wind up resentful, and wondering why you aren’t earning the living you know you’re capable of. READ MORE: Here’s the secret to more business, more profits, and even more free time… Sound familiar? I want you to make a promise to yourself right now that you will never again lower your rates to appeal to a client. Doing so devalues your services, makes the client less likely to follow through, and worse, makes you feel terrible later. Now, I’m not saying you can never offer special deals. But I do want you to change how those offers are made. Here’s how it works. READ MORE: Here’s the secret to more business, more profits, and even more free time… If your coaching package includes:
and your potential client claims to not be able to afford your asking price of $1,000/ £750 per month, rather than offering to reduce the price, you offer to reduce the price and the package. So the offer you make to them now includes everything BUT the mastermind retreat. Or everything BUT the in-person meeting every quarter. READ MORE: Here’s the secret to more business, more profits, and even more free time… You have not lowered your rates so far that you feel used, but at the same time, you’ve worked with them to create a plan they can afford. It’s a true win-win for both of you. The same technique can be used for any type of coach or service provider, unless you’re charging strictly by the hour. If that’s the case, take a look at how you can reduce the number of hours you need to invest while still providing value. READ MORE: Here’s the secret to more business, more profits, and even more free time… For example, rather than offering four one-hour calls, change your plan to just two calls, with email follow-ups. They’ll still get plenty of value, and you’ll free up some time by inviting email questions rather than blocks of time on the phone. Next time you’re asked to reduce your rates for anything, take a close look at how you can also reduce the work you’ll be doing. That way you’ll never feel as if you’ve been taken advantage of, and your clients will still get great service. To Your success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   Does the thought of blogging leave you cold? You’re not alone. In fact, if you ask most any online business owner what their most dreaded task is, blogging will likely rank right up there with bookkeeping and cold calling. With few exceptions, most people simply do not like to write, so they find any excuse not to do it. READ MORE: 50 things you can blog about And as you can imagine, their traffic suffers for it. The good news is, if you hate to write or feel you’re just not good at it, there are plenty of other ways to create shareable content on a regular basis without ever putting your fingers to a keyboard (much). Crowdsource Despite Google’s apparent dislike for it, guest blogging is still a fantastic way to both generate content and get in front of a whole new audience. Other bloggers, marketers, coaches and service providers are looking for ways to grow their audiences, and many of them would jump at the chance to appear as a guest on your blog. It’s a win/win for both of you. READ MORE: 50 things you can blog about Not into guest blogging? What about a text interview or cross-blog conversation? Simply supply a list of questions to your interviewee, and post her responses. The interview format is perfect for introducing your audience to someone they might want to get to know better. A cross-blog conversation requires a little more work on your part, but it can be a fun way for your readers to get to know you a bit better. A cross-blog conversation is exactly what it sounds like: a discussion that takes place on two different blogs, with you and your blogging partner both offering opinions about a topic, just as if you were having a chat over coffee. READ MORE: 50 things you can blog about Audio and Video Podcasting and video blogs are more popular than ever, and they’re perfect for those who don’t care for writing. With either type of content, all that’s required is you, sharing your thoughts. You don’t have to do anything as involved or complex as interviews, and you certainly don’t have to hire a studio for a day to record a series of “professional” videos. You can create podcasts and video blogs with nothing more than your laptop with its built-in camera or a headset and an audio recorder. Just fire up your computer and share your thoughts. Don’t worry about perfection, your visitors will love a chance to see the real you! READ MORE: 50 things you can blog about Curate If you’re like most people, you very likely share a variety of content on your social media accounts. You point out articles you’ve read, videos you’ve enjoyed, infographics that explain a complex idea in a simple way. It’s part of what makes social media fun and informational. But what if you took your sharing one step further, and posted your thoughts on your blog first, before linking on social media? READ MORE: 50 things you can blog about The result of this curation technique, where you add your opinion with a link to the original article or video, is that you drive traffic to your site rather than someone else’s. Not only that, but it gives you more opportunity to start a conversation with your readers about the content you’re sharing. Relying on Google or the other search engines to send you traffic can be an exercise in frustration. A better method is to encourage sharing on social media. But if you’re not a wordsmith, creating content can seem an overwhelming task. Rather than giving up and letting your blog languish, explore some other ways to create content your readers will enjoy and share. To your success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   The internet has an insatiable appetite for information. Billions of searches are conducted every single day looking for everything from how to bake an apple pie to why zebras have stripes. For anyone who conducts business online, these searches represent a steady flow of potential customers who are looking for what you have to offer. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about A blog is an easy, cost-effective method of being found by the exact people who most need, want, and are willing to pay for your services. But only if you have a good strategy in place first. Know your keywords. These are the search terms your ideal client is using to find answers to their questions. When you know what your keywords are, you can easily create blog posts that will:
READ MORE: 50 things to blog about Write for people. While it’s important to know and use keywords in your blog posts, it’s even more important that you write your content with people in mind over search engines. Your blog should be engaging, informational, and even entertaining, but above all else it must be readable. Be consistent. Content marketing—and blogging, by extension—is very much a numbers game. The more content you produce, the greater your results will be. That means setting—and sticking to—a content production schedule is a must. For most websites, a weekly schedule is both attainable and sufficient to build a steady stream of traffic. READ MORE: 50 things to blog about Keep long-term goals in mind. Blogging is not a fast business-growth strategy, but it is excellent for long-term sustainability. Those posts you write this month will continue to work for you many years from now, bringing in more and more traffic and potential clients. Use good SEO practices. Aside from keywords, great bloggers know there are many techniques you can use to bring in more readers, including:
READ MORE: 50 things to blog about Get the word out. Each new blog post is an opportunity to be seen, so take the time to share your content socially, and encourage your readers to do the same. Share your post on your Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and anywhere else your ideal client is likely to see it. Mix it up. Not every post has to be a 3,000 word article. Include other types of content as well, such as:
READ MORE: 50 things to blog about Have fun with it. Above all else, have some fun. Inject your personality into your blog. Not only will you more easily attract your ideal client, but you’ll enjoy blogging a lot more if you use your authentic voice. And the more you enjoy it, the more likely you will be remain consistent as well. To Your Success! Lindsey www.digital-duchess.com   Using Facebook Live to build a loyal audience can seem daunting, but also exciting. This checklist helps ensure you cover everything to get started with using Facebook Live in a way that helps you build your audience, get more subscribers as well as creating buyers. READ MORE: Download Your FREE Facebook Ad Campaign Checklist Gathering Tools When creating video it’s important to remember that how it looks and sounds is important. It doesn’t have to look like a TV show, but you do want people to be able to hear you and see you.
READ MORE: Download Your FREE Facebook Ad Campaign Checklist Creating Content
READ MORE: Download Your FREE Facebook Ad Campaign Checklist Engagement
READ MORE: Download Your FREE Facebook Ad Campaign Checklist Apps & Add-ons
READ MORE: Download Your FREE Facebook Ad Campaign Checklist Metrics
READ MORE: Download Your FREE Facebook Ad Campaign Checklist Tips & Tricks
Good luck with your Facebook Live videos and remember to have some fun with them. To Your Success Lindsey x www.digital-duchess.com  |
AuthorLindsey Archibald is a Journalist, Broadcaster, Digital Marketer, Author and Business Coach. Archives
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