I would like to share with you 5 tips I have picked up to get yourself into a millionaire mindset in order to move forward in your business and get what you deserve in life. We all want success right?
1. Get Crystal Clear On Your Vision
What do you want from life? What does your business actually offer people? Who is your dream client? These are all the things you need to be so crystal clear on. This way when you go to post or speak to your dream client you are able to word this in such a way so that the person feels like you are speaking directly to them. You will also be super clear on your vision and goals.
2. Get up an hour earlier.
I have recently been doing this following a talk I heard by Mel Robbins and implementing the 5 Second Rule. Counting back from 5,4,3,2,1 and jumping out of bed. I have also started to do this before making decisions and before speaking when I am not in the best frame of mind or is something annoys me. It really works and sets you up for the day.
3. Make a list every night for the next day.
Pick 5 things you need to do in order to move your business forward at night ready for the morning. This gives you a clear intention so you don’t get stuck scrolling on Facebook when you have tasks to be getting on with. Plus it is only 5 things which isn’t overwhelming, but that is 5 things you get can get done with ease and then by the end of the week you have completed 35 tasks. Amazing!
4. Change what you are listening to.
I have changed what I listen to why I work. I know listen to motivational speeches or audio self-development books. This way I am learning why I work the way I do, and this is what anyone who is successful does. They feed their mind with success and inspiration constantly.
5. Every day write down your goal as if it has happened.
If it is I am a Diamond Leader, I am A New York Times best seller, I Earn £100,000 a year write it down every day as if it happens. This is the Law of Attraction, you are writing it, seeing it, and believing it. Our words become reality, our thoughts become reality over time it will become TRUE.
Why not start these tips this week and let us know if you start to see a change in yourself and your business?
Instagram has become more than just a picture sharing platform. With stories and IGTv, and more people than ever using the platform, your Insta is more than just a feed. It’s as important as your website home page. And there is one Instagram trend that is sure to position you as an expert in your niche. This trend will get you noticed, get you followers and give you the Insta-fame you crave.
This particular Instagram trend works for businesses of any size, Instagram influencers and even personal brand accounts. You might even start seeing your friends doing it.
So go on – what’s the Instagram trend I need to know?
Boost. That’s it. Boost. Instagram in 2018 is all about the boosted post. You want more likes? More engagement? You want to be seen as the top dog in your niche? You need to boost.
Right now if your friends boosted that post of them sat in that coffee shop, you might wonder what’s going on, but this is set to become the norm on the platform. It’s a sure fire way of being seen.
You’re going to need to convert
I’m not talking religion here, or even from iPhone to android, I’m talking business accounts. If you want to use advertising services on Insta you need to convert to a business account. This gives you lots of extra little titbits like analytics on your accounts and individual posts. You might not be happy to know that this also means your pictures are shown to fewer people. Yes, that’s right, you won’t automatically appear in all your follower’s feeds. In fact, the more followers you get, the less likely you will be to be seen!
Yep gutted. That Insta-fame comes with a cost right!
And the cost is boosting that post! The surefire way to get you back in feeds and search results.
Why use a boost
I need a boost at many points in the day, from coffee in the morning, to being dragged to the gym by my gym buddy. This is a little social media boost to get your post and account seen by a target audience. It’s going to become integral to your growth on Instagram, and an Instagram trend that will be seen as the norm for businesses in 2018. It’s the one way to beat the dreaded algorithm.
Microsoft word is one of those tools which you have likely been using since go were a little child making up stories, and it is a tool which has grown up with us to make for a useful application for many different uses. Here are some of the things you need to know to be an expert on word this year.
Adding borders
A lot of the time when you are making a piece of writing it can look a little bit boring and dull. For a simple solution to this, you can go onto borders and add either a border around your title, an important quote or add a border to the entire page. Doing this can turn a boring looking report into something fresh and fun and it will make your life much easier.
Using grammar
When you are writing up an important piece of work you will want to make sure that you always use your best grammar. You can use a company like Wise Owl Training to help you master word, and you can utilise the grammar checker to ensure that you always make sense when speaking on paper. It can be far too easy to write how we speak, however, this won’t always work grammatically.
Thesaurus
The thesaurus can become your new best friend when you want to write an important piece of content and impress your peers. However be careful how much you use this tool because you could run the risk of sounding like Joey in that Friends episode. Try and use the thesaurus for words you always use in content and you can hopefully open up your vocabulary and find some new ones to use.
Use styles
Unless you want to spend the rest of your life using times new roman for EVERYTHING… you will want to start getting familiar with different fonts and styles. For example you can use different fonts for different purposes and they all have a certain character which suits your situation. The biggest no no would be to use comic sans for anything which is remotely serious… or anything at all really.
Inserting links
Hyperlinks can be useful when you are creating documents because you can end your social media details to a piece, send a link to an important piece of information or simply link back to your website. You can insert links by right clicking the word, scrolling to hyperlink and inserting a website. It is simple but can be an effective way to make your content stand out.
Use themes
One of the great features which has been added onto word in the last few years is themes. No longer do you have to design a CV or covering letter blind, because there are hundreds of helpful templates on word just waiting for you to use them. You can use these to your advantage and create some unique and clever content which will both look and feel amazing.
When businesses operate in physical spaces, they have observation on their side. If customers don’t like their displays, it soon becomes clear. The looks on customers faces will give the game away. If not, staff may overhear customer grumbles. And, your business can adjust according to recurrent issues. Things couldn’t be more different when it comes to your website, though. Whether your business is 100% ecommerce, or you have an online store, you’ll find customers silent. Sure, they’ll leave comments for lousy service. But, they’re less likely to tell you what they think of your website as a whole. Still, that’s not to say they aren’t giving a sign. As Boyzone said, you say it best when you say nothing at all. Or, in this case, your customers say it best. In fact, they’re probably giving you some pretty big hints about what they think. And, as you would in a physical store, you should notice and respond accordingly. Lucky for you, there are a few different ways to tell what your customers are thinking. Using website analytics is always a good idea for getting here. Equally, methods like user research can take you far here. But, neither of these would do any good if you don’t know how to interpret the signs. So, let’s consider what your customers are saying, and what it means.
If research shows customers are clicking away after ten seconds, the issue is obvious. Your welcome page isn’t doing its job. The reason for this can vary, but chunky paragraphs of text can be a real turn off. Equally, slow loading times are leading causes for clicks away. These are often due to advertisements or images. Your best bet is to keep your welcome page simple. Just display your logo and write a brief paragraph about what you do. One thing’s sure; you’ll struggle to grow your online presence if you don’t keep customers around longer than this.
Browsing without buying
It’s also worth looking out for customers who browse but don’t buy. In this instance, your welcome page has done its job. But, something else is stopping customers from going further. It may be that there are too many pages for them to select. Again, simple is best. Keep your pages to a minimum. It may also be that your product photography or descriptions aren’t up to scratch. In many ways, these are your sales assistants. Take time to find one who can secure sales!
Leaving with items in their basket
This can be most frustrating of all. Customers may get as far as clicking buy but still leave before completing. Your site has obviously done its job, but something’s still stopping you from sealing the deal. Often, this is down to your payment options. Sites that don’t offer Paypal, for instance, can expect higher abandonment rates. Instead, provide secure payment options your customers will put their trust in. It’ll make more of a difference than you would expect.
There are a number of amazing benefits that come with being an entrepreneur. You get to make money doing something you love, have control and flexibility over your own time, and don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself. Unfortunately, entrepreneurship does come with its drawbacks, the most obvious being the huge financial risk. No one wants to imagine their business failing, but if yours did, you’d need to make sure that you’re prepared for the blow. With that in mind, here are five ways can you maintain financial stability as an entrepreneur.
Separate Your Business And Personal Finances
You might see your business and yourself as one of the same, but if you want to protect yourself later on, then you need to rethink this mentality. There should be a separation between you and your business, particularly when your finances are concerned. This means you need to set up a business bank account and pay yourself a fair wage, as you would for any employee. This will save you money later, and also protects you from being held liable for corporate debts.
Earn Money Many Different Ways
Your small business may be your main source of income, but it certainly shouldn’t be your only one. If it were, and your company went under, you’d be left without any cash whatsoever. Because of this, you should consider investing in real estate, trading on sites like CMC Markets, and writing a blog. You could also think about writing an ebook or creating online courses. If you had the cash, you might even want to consider becoming a silent partner in another business.
Make Sure You’re Financially Organized
There’s no way to be financially stable unless you’re financially organized. With that in mind, it’s vital that you know where all of your money is coming from and what you need to do with it, whether that’s saving, investing, or something else. This is crucial for your personal finances, just as much as your business’s. When you know what’s happening with your money, you’re much less likely to get into debt.
Build Up An Emergency Fund
Running a business is no simple task. Things might seem to be running smoothly at one point, only to run into disaster a moment later. Unfortunately, in many cases, these disasters require a substantial amount of money to be fixed, which is why you need to ensure that you build up a business emergency fund. This way, if something were to go wrong, you’d have the cash to cover it, without having to borrow money and put yourself in debt.
Get Advice From A Professional
Regardless of your financial goals, or the shape or size of your business, it’s always a smart idea to speak to a professional financial planner. They will be able to offer advice on budgeting, saving, investing, and more, which can help you to save cash and put you in a much more stable position financially. Many entrepreneurs don’t take this step, as they see it as a waste of time, but it actually takes very little time at all and can save your business and your personal finances.
Getting your finances in order can be a challenging and intimidating task, but, hopefully, with these tips, you’ll find the process a lot easier and much less stressful.
Growing your online presence is so important if you’re going to make a name for yourself, grow your brand, and make a profit. The online world is vast, and it can take a lot of work to get your business out there. You need to make sure you’re differentiating yourself from your competitors, consistently working on your growth, and keeping that momentum up so you don’t get complacent and fall behind.
In this step by step guide, we’re going to talk about growing your online presence. Read on if this is something you know you need to do:
1: Create Your Website With Your Target Market In Mind
Make sure that before you build any part of your website, you’ve done a ton of market research so you can build it with your target market in mind. They should be at the forefront of everything you do. How will they like the layout? The branding? The content? Will they find the site easy to use? Make sure you consider everything and make the experience as enjoyable for them as possible.
2: Choose The Right Platforms To Grow Your Brand
You can’t use every single platform online to grow your brand. Well, you could, but not at the beginning. In the beginning, you’re going to need to choose the most effective platforms. You’ll need to work out where your audience is, for starters, and consider which type of content suits your brand most. Pictures, like those posted on Instagram, or short bursts of info used on Twitter? Hiring a social media manager could be a good idea if you want to master social media, as it can indeed take up a lot of time.
3: Incorporate Video
Video is huge: in fact, YouTube is the second largest search engine right now. If you can create video content, you’ll increase your chances of people sharing your information, improve your reach, and help your users with valuable video tutorials. Video allows you to get more information across in a shorter amount of time, and usually in a more attractive format!
4: Work With An Experienced, Established Company
To grow your online presence, you’re going to need a company that offers SEO Services online, as well as other services that can help you to get your company name out there. It’s important to note that not all marketing companies are created equal, so you must do your research.
5: Be Responsive To Your Audience
Being responsive to your audience is a must. It’s how you build relationships, generate returning customers, and build loyalty. It allows you to show your brand personality, provide fantastic customer service, and more.
6: Ensure All Content Is Valuable And Shareable
All content you create must have value, whether that is because it’s helpful or humorous. Make it as shareable as you can!
7: Track And Analyze
Tracking and analyzing consistently is the only true way to know how you can move forward with your strategies. Keep an eye on your analytics and you’ll get a good idea of how you can grow!
Marketing definitely is a powerful tool, and we love the power that it holds in the business world. It’s that powerful, that there shouldn’t be a business out there who aren’t using it as a technique. In fact, it’s one of the main ways that a company can gain exposure, push for growth, and boost the appeal of products or services. But, for all of the power that it holds, some companies just don’t know how to use it. Instead, they’re using the wrong techniques, investing in the wrong companies to help them, and could potentially be doing more damage than good to their company. Remember the recent H&M scandal with the supposedly ‘racist’ marketing campaign? Well, it just shows that whilst marketing has the power to bring a company to the top, it also has the power to completely damage a reputation. So, we want to show you why we love the power of marketing, and how you can use it right for your business.
What It Can Do For Your Company
This is where we want to talk about why we love marketing. We love it because it can simply do everything for your company. Whether you’re just starting out, or whether you’re a few months in and still finding your feet with marketing, it can make your business one of the best. That’s only if you use the right techniques of course. If you use a combination of techniques, you increase your chance of exposure and profit increase. But, if you focus on the wrong techniques, or try the right techniques in the wrong way, then it’s never going to do anything for your business. Take social media marketing as an example. It’s usually a great way to market your business, but it’s just as easy to be left in the dark. Everybody is on social media, so getting your posts and your company noticed is going to be hard. But, if you do a lot of research into what to post when to post, and how to boost your posts, then it could work amazingly for you in conjunction with other techniques.
The Areas You Should Be Focusing On
There are a few areas that you should really be focusing on. One of the biggest is your website, the design, and how you market it. Believe it or not, your website design does play a big part in the success of your marketing efforts. If your website content is SEO optimized, and the design is conversion rate optimised, then it should be unstoppable. Afterall, people visit your website the most to make purchases, so making sure it’s in the front of your marketing efforts is key.
How To Use It Right
To use it right, you’ll have to outsource. Unless you hire a team of people to be employed on your payroll, you’re not going to be able to keep it in-house. But, you don’t want to go for a company who is the cheapest, you want to go for the company that gets results, no matter how expensive that might be!
If you are looking for a new career to start this year and you are sick of working in an office, a wonderful change of career could be to become a caterer. If you have a love for good food and meeting new people, this can be the perfect job role for you. Here are the top reasons you should think about a job in catering this year.
Making people’s day
If you work as a caterer such as abm Catering, you have a unique opportunity to put a smile on many people’s faces. When you are hired to make food for an event the food needs to be great, and it can ruin a night if the food is terrible and everyone ends up ill. When you cook for a party you can see the smiles on everyone’s face as they try and love the food you serve. You can make their day and they will make yours in return.
It’s creative
If you are a creative soul, there is nothing worse than being stuck in a job where you have to crunch numbers all day. Catering is an amazing job option for anyone who loves to be creative because you can come up with your own menus, recipes and even come up with a certain way that you like to present the food to your audience. You can be as fancy or simple as you like and you will have lots of chance to try new things.
You can travel
The beauty of choosing a job such as a caterer is the fact that you are not nailed down to staying in one place for the rest of your life. You have the freedom to go wherever you want because people all over the world need someone to make food for their events. You could be a mobile caterer and travel around the country or even move abroad and set up your own catering business somewhere completely new.
You can be your own boss
As a caterer, you will have the option to either work for a catering company which is already established or you can go it alone and do it yourself. If you choose to do it yourself you will no longer have anyone to answer to and you can become an entrepreneur in your own right. You could start a small empire and hire great chefs to work for you and to travel around the country. It is a unique opportunity to be a business owner and thrive in your career.
Not 9-5
Perhaps the best part of being a caterer is the fact that you don’t have to get up at 6am in the morning only to be stuck in traffic on the way to work. A catering job is usually for afternoon evening events which means that you can be more flexible with your working hours and work to a schedule which allows time for everything to be cooked and prepped. As long as you have enough time to get everything done, you should have no problems with working to your own hours.
Putting together your home business plan is still important. It doesn’t matter that you’re not planning on starting a multi-million dollar business that takes over the world. You still need to have your business outline written on paper. Why? Many reasons. It can help to keep you focused when you’re lacking in clarity. It can help you secure funding if you need investments. It can help you see what direction you should go in if things don’t go as planned. There are just so many reasons to create a business plan!
Here, we will talk about creating your home business plan in quick and simple terms. Enjoy!
Find A Template Online
Most people felt overwhelmed when creating their business plan and don’t know where to start. This is normal, so you shouldn’t worry. However, finding a template online can be a brilliant place to start if you’re feeling a little like this. A template can help you include all the relevant information, guide you on what to include and where to put it, and more. You can find both free and paid templates to help you create a plan that suits you.
Just remember, although you’re using a template, this doesn’t mean you can compromise on the quality of your business plan. You should still set time aside to create a quality plan. You might end up regretting it later on down the line if you don’t.
Do The Math
Make sure you do the math accurately. You need to know your numbers. Just look at Dragon’s Den and even the Apprentice, and how they get a huge dressing down when they don’t know their numbers properly, or their numbers make little sense. You need to know how much money you will need, your projections for the future, and more. Not only will this help you see if you’re on track, but it’ll also help you attract investors later on down the line. You can even look for small loans with resources like https://smallbusinessloans.co/, but you must know how much you need and what you will use it for.
Include All Relevant Information
Although you need to include all relevant information in your business plan, you need to make sure you find a balance between making it too detailed and not detailed enough. Too detailed and nobody will read it, not detailed enough and it won’t be taken seriously.
Make Sure The Lay Out Makes Sense
Your plan not only needs to read well, but the layout also needs to make sense too. Make sure you use headings and that it’s nice to look at – this isn’t the most important point, but it matters.
Hopefully, these simple tips help you put together a plan that really makes sense and helps you to grow your business. A business with a plan succeeds on purpose, not by accident. Leave your own thoughts and ideas below. Thanks for reading!
No one likes a rash. Left unchecked, these pesky skin irritations can soon turn nasty. Either through itching or severity, a rash can leave a nasty mark and even a lifelong scar. Admittedly, it’s unlikely your business is going to get red and itchy anytime soon. But, rashes come into play here, too, especially when it comes to big decisions. Making rash choices with a business you’ve worked hard to build is the worst thing you can do. In fact, far from slight irritation, rashness in business could see your dreams crumbling.
As such, it’s crucial you take your time over every decision. And, never is that more important than when it comes to employment. Given employees are largely responsible for success, you could say taking time here is most important of all.
Yet, a shocking amount of employers rush this. After all, employment is a sideline rather than a real focus. Yet, rash decisions here could leave the nastiest mark imaginable. So, we’re going to look at two times when speed definitely shouldn’t be the name of this game.
Hasty hire
Hiring in haste is always a mistake. We get it; this is a pain in your backside, and it’s taking you away from your work. Hence, you don’t bother with background checks or questions. Instead, you ensure candidates meet the minimum requirements before offering them the job. The trouble is, this is both damaging and, ultimately, more time-consuming. After all, how can you expect to retain your employees if you don’t even take time to discover their long-term goals? If you hire staff who intend to leave, you’ll need to start again, and thus spend even more time on this. Even if staff stick around, there’s no guarantee they’ll be right for you. As can be seen from sites like www.inc.com, there are certain questions you should always take time to ask during interviews. These are essential for determining how a candidate acts. They alone can tell you whether they’re a good fit. Rather than making a mark on your company, measures like these make sure staff fit seamlessly.
Fast fire
Fast firing is also a risk. You have a legal obligation to staff, and that works when it comes to firing, too. Even in the case of gross misconduct, the correct procedures should be put in place. Rather than rashly telling a staff member they’re fired, you need to suspend and investigate. You should also hold disciplinary meetings. If you’re unsure of the legality, you could work with companies like http://gbirnlaw.com/services/offer-letters-and-employment-agreements who can help you get this right. Either way, you can’t fire someone without taking time over it. Failure to follow the necessary avenues could leave you open to reputation-damaging lawsuits. As well as giving the impression you’re a bad employer; this could see the staff member reinstated. The last thing you want is a team member who has a grudge against you. And, all you need to do stop is it take your time!
You care deeply about your employees. While you may be the driving force and the vision behind your enterprise, you’re always sure to give your employees their due. Quite simply, you don’t know where your business would be without them. Your ideas, passion and sheer strength of will may have caused your business to rise up from out of nowhere to become the successful enterprise that it is today but it’s their inventiveness, creativity, hard work, passion, people skills and wholehearted willingness to invest themselves in your brand have been what’s helped it to go from strength to strength. As such, you want the best for them. You don’t want to be the kind of boss who’s an appalling micromanager, taking their responsibilities out of their hands and leaving their skills to atrophy. Likewise, you don’t want to be the kind of boss who sends their employees into potentially worrying situations unprepared.
A good entrepreneur understands the value of nurturing and supporting their employees. But while this is easy on the premises, it’s a little harder when sending employees out on the road. Even confident drivers can get skittish when it comes to using their vehicles for professional purposes. Fear not, here are some ways in which you can ensure that they feel safe and protected and thus are able to give you their all on the road.
Give them the very best training
Training is the single most way of driving professional standards and maintaining the quality you associate with your brand. But if you treat training as a “one and done” exercise, don’t be surprised if your employees’ skills start to erode over time or they lapse into bad habits.
The right ongoing training can ensure that your employees know exactly how to conduct themselves on the road and what to do in the event of an incident or an issue with their vehicle.
Show them that you have their back when incidents arise
Many roadbound employees worry that their employer will through them under the proverbial bus if they are involved in a collision, even if they are not at fault. You can demonstrate your commitment to them in instances like this by ensuring that they have proper legal representation to help them pursue justice. See more from Winer, McKenna, Burritt & Tillis. This will empower them and give them confidence without compromising their driving standards.
Let tech be their shield
Technology can be enormously helpful in empowering employees on the road. Telematics and GPS solutions can allow them to calculate safe routes and manage their time effectively while dash cams can help them to demonstrate that they are using the skills with which you imbue them and help them to defend themselves when involved in an incident.
Give them a direct line to you
If you have the trust and respect of your employees, it may simply be empowering and helpful for them to have a direct line to you personally should they need your help, advice or counsel. Needless to say, if you offer them this, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you can be reached on that number at all times.
Hello Mamas, how are ya? Are you running around, making sure the kiddos are sorted, the laundry is done, the dinner cooked? Oh, and don’t forget about sorting your partner’s lunch and dry cleaning, all while building your business and having life generally under control? Yikes, I am tired just writing that.
What about YOU? Have you asked yourself how YOU are doing lately? You are important. This is where self-care comes in. You know, making sure your glass is full. If you aren’t feeling like YOUR best self, how can you perform your best in your business?
You’re not alone!
You are not alone if you are scratching your head thinking, ‘What self-care? When am I supposed to fit THAT in?!’ Well, let me tell you how.
Sometimes self-care can get muddled up with long, lush baths, facials, massages, etc. Sometimes it can be a super sweaty session at the gym or a long run. That is SO not my definition of self-care, but it could be yours and that is the beauty of self-care.
Some people’s self-care is just having quiet time while their little ones are still asleep, reading or meditating. Or perhaps your self-care is sitting in a cafe with a good coffee or eating a good, nourishing meal. The point is, self-care is whatever gets YOU back in that alignment and fills your cup up.
So how do I do this self-care thing?
So how do you figure out what the heck fills your cup up? Well, it is pretty simple-what lights you up? What makes you feel good, like really good? The best version of yourself? No rules, everything goes here. Some examples are:
Having a bubble bath with essential oils and Epsom salts
Get a back massage
Go to a sweaty OR relaxing yoga class
Dance around your kitchen-Impromptu dance party with your kids
Make a super lush meal and eat it with reverence
Now, how the heck do I fit it in? If it works for you, invite a friend to do it with you. Perhaps you want to start a new morning routine and waking up early works-do that! Schedule it. As a Mumpreneur, we tend to be ALL about the schedule. So do that-schedule your self-care in. That gets it done, right? Finally, skip lunch. I know, I know, sounds counterproductive. However, if you work or freelance in an office, see if they offer fitness classes during your lunch break. You get up, you get to move. If they don’t or you don’t work in that environment, go for a walk. Getting out in nature can really help fill your cup up if that’s your bag.
Conclusion
The point of this article is that YOU matter. You can’t be your best self if you are tired, cranky, annoyed, anxious. You can’t be the best mumpreneur, mum, partner, friend if you are all of those things. How can you expect to grow your business in that situation?
Let me know how you have decided to take care of yourself with your self-care!
Guest post was written by Sarah
I am a Mama and a Mrs, a yogi and an essential oils junkie, as well as a Holistic Wellness Coach. I have been leading Mamas on their unique wellness journeys for the past 5 years, starting with yoga, moving on to essential oils, and now incorporating it all in Holistic Wellness Coaching. My motto is to have fun and to laugh our way through the education-if you aren’t having fun, then we aren’t doing it right!
As much as we might wish, no magic spell can bloom our businesses overnight. Startups demand motivation, dedication, and lots of time to trek to progress. There’s one element that can boost growth though and it’s called blogging. It can help drive more audience to your business site and boost your conversion rates. At the same time, it can craft a personality for your venture and increase your engagement with potential clients.
53% of the digital marketers commend the role that blogging plays in growing a business. Hard to swallow? Check out Hubspot that offers sales, marketing, CRM, and customer services software. It runs an incredible blog that provides informative posts and gets 4.5 million average views every month.
Let’s walk you through some significant benefits of business blogging:
Shapes your business’s personality
In the present times, nobody wants to do business with lifeless scarecrows. Customers want to learn more about the people at the helm of things. The CEO of Modify Watches, Aaron Schwartz explains, “We work hard to make sure people think of our business as comprised of a group of real individuals, and not some soulless enterprise.”
To this end, the company uses blogging to express its personality. As you write blog posts for your business, you develop a slow but significant voice for your startup. Plus, blogs mirror your business values. Have a look at Gap Inc.’s blog. Their blog reflects the brand’s personality by showing its vision and values.
Takes your SEO game up a notch
The content that you write for your blogs gives you an ample opportunity to insert a keyword into it. Keywords are the phrases or queries that people type into the search bar. These are the fundamental pillars of search engine optimization (SEO), as they bait clients for you.
With the use of a keyword, there are increased chances that the search engine will rank your business blog high. Consequently, more people can find your initiative. Research reveals that brands with blogs tend to 434% higher indexed pages. Therefore, blogging is a cost-effective approach to driving organic traffic to your business. Plus, keyword-enriched blogs enhance your search engine visibility.
Provides content for your social media networks
You can share your blog posts on your social media channels too. These posts can multiply your exposure as well, as people love sharing informative blog content. 94% of the folks share blog posts on numerous social media platforms. Hence, blogging helps you with your initiative’s social media marketing.
Helps you educate your potential customers
Customers just don’t make a beeline to a business unless they have worked with it before and are fully satisfied. Instead, before shopping for something or availing a service, customers conduct thorough research. Reports confirm that 81% of the people research online before purchasing something.
You can use this pre-shopping behavior to your use. Update your blog with long posts that solve customers’ problems. For instance, if you sell accessories online, you can always write blogs about hot accessory trends or how-to styling guides.
Increases engagement with customers
Blogging gives you a chance to engage with potential and existing customers. You can leave questions at the end of the post and interact with people as they leave comments under your post. These also serve as an excellent means to get feedback from your customers.
What’s more is that you can provide a call to action (CTA) button at the end of each post. A CTA delivers clients a simple and direct path to connect with you to get your product or service. Therefore, blogging assists in generating more leads.
Key takeaway
Summing up, blogging is a useful tool to boost your business. Regular blogging drives more audience to your website, works wonders for your SEO, increases your leads and conversion rate, and allows you to interact with your clients. It gives your initiative a voice and establishes you as an authority in your niche too.
Blog success, or as we like to call it, the Garden of E-Blog-den, Blog-adise, Shangri-blog-la or even Blog-topia. But those titles wouldn’t exactly be the best for SEO now would they?
There are so many blog posts across the wide, wide web that explain how to start and build a blog all the way to success-ville. I’m sure you’ve heard a million times: don’t compare yourself to anyone, find a niche, engage with the audience and be consistent. All of those are very true but we know this by now. Let’s step outside of the box together and unveil some magic tricks of the trade.
We’ve broken it down to seven ways to snag a one-way ticket to fulfilling the American success dream in the US of B. (United States of Blog-merica).
1. Just another Manic Business
Make a schedule from the very beginning. Or at least try.
Why? Because otherwise, you and your blog will deteriorate like Britney Spears’ career in the 2000s. We just implemented a schedule a few weeks ago with Google Calendar and it’s been a godsend. Before that, we did whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. It worked for a while and before we knew it weeks had gone by and our blog was as dry as the Mojave.
Then, opportunities started flooding in with no Noah’s Ark in sight. We were missing deadlines, blogging all over the place and playing catch up.
Keeping a schedule will make it easier to organize tasks efficiently, set goals, and track progress. To top it off, there’s still time for all your Netflix binge-watching needs because you’ll be working smart in addition to working hard.
I would recommend Google Calendar because you can access from anywhere. Whether you’re at your in-laws for dinner or sitting in a space station. All I need to do is log in to my Gmail account and I’m good to go.
2. Why be a patchwork quilt when you could be melting pot?
There’s nothing wrong with looking at other blogs for inspiration but don’t try to be them. If all your time is spent trying to make your blog look like everygenericblog.com’s, any personality or authentic voice will get lost. I’ve seen so many blogs where I recognize the exact theme and stock photos. It gets boring!
Instead, take bits and pieces, tweak them, and turn them into your own. For example, we loved the idea of a heinously large landscape header like the Nomadic Boys but it just wasn’t working on our blog. It made our blog look like a big ol’ slab of cold lasagna. Instead, we discovered sticky headers and that’s been the best thing since pre-sliced cake because it gave us a happy medium.
Take the time to surf around different blogs, do some trial and error with ideas and find what fits your personality. make your blog stand out! What’s going to make more headlines: a naked streaker running across the field or another shirtless Joe-schmo wearing a cowboy hat in the crowd?
3. Drake’s right – you’ve gotta start from the bottom
Your first posts and ideas are probably going to suck. Seriously. Don’t believe me? Just look at these heinous logos we designed on Canva before realizing we needed a pro like Miranda to create one for us. Why? Because even though we saw ourselves improving we got tired of waiting for our strengths to grow to where we wanted them to be.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with recognizing what your strengths and weaknesses are and using them to your advantage. The main thing to keep in mind is that even if your first blog post is the worst thing since smooth peanut butter, it’s something you did to the best of your ability. That’s fine because everything you do after is only going to improve.
So embrace what you’ve accomplished, put it out there, be open to feedback, and grow from the advice and criticism you get. If you don’t share your masterpiece with the world, how can it improve?
4. Mirror, mirror on the web
The blog is a reflection of you and you alone. think of it like a first job interview.
Would you hire someone who walked into an interview wearing a chimp suit, munching on tree bark, wearing a banana peel necklace, and grooming their dry patches? Or would you hire someone who came in looking fresh with their hair brushed, clothes pressed, and black coffee with one milk and no sugar in tow? (People who drink coffee with one milk and no sugar mean business.)
Probably the second one.
In an interview, first impressions matter and the same goes for your blog. Display any aspirations, skills, and talents right off the bat.
Good at scheduling? Be known as the reigning king of consistency in the blog jungle.
Genius at drawing? Design all your icons yourself.
Got a knack for organizing? Have an epic, easy-to-navigate blog layout.
We spent hours doing colour contrast tests for our logo to make sure the blog readability was the best it could be. The original colour was yellow, which looked great on the logo but if used for writing no one was going to be able to read anything!
Paying attention to those details matter because it makes all the difference in showing your dedication, work ethic, and eye for detail.
5. Join the Proud Family
Be proud of what you’re sharing with the troops and don’t just settle for good enough.
If you’re not your biggest fan, who’s going to be? The more effort put into the blog, the happier you’ll be with it and the more you’ll want to promote it and put it out there. People will recognize the pride and hard work. Here’s another imaginary scenario.
Tweet 1:
“Hey everyone. I started a blog about mops. It’s kind of boring but the mop industry is lacking information. Check it out if you want.”
Tweet 2:
If there’s one thing people know about me, it’s that I’m a mop queen. Nothing gets me going like a fresh Pinesol soaked mop: they clean, make my floors shiny, and keep those diseases at bay. I started this blog to share all my mopping tips and tricks over on lordofmops.com. Mop on over and check it out!
Which one are you more likely to click on? The second one of course.
People will only care if you care. So care.
6. Give people an experience
People don’t want spammy BuzzFeed posts like “Five Things I Wish I Knew About Squeegees” or “How to Build a Raft with Cotton”. People also don’t want just another basic lifestyle blog about OOTDs, beach-grams, and DIY didgeridoos.
Think of your blog as a counsellor. Are you more likely to go to a blog with the same information as every other blog in the world? Or are you more likely to go to a blog with new information conveyed with a unique voice?
Even if it’s something people already know about, like hammers, make it seem like it’s the most valuable and novel information. When people are on the Internet, they’re either looking for answers or entertainment. So why not combine both.
Here’s another thing. Make people feel like they’re being heard!
When we picked a blog layout, we had no idea that you couldn’t click on the picture to read the post. We never noticed that but other people did and complained about it so we’re going to change it!
Listen to people’s feedback and use it to improve. It shows you care what the audience thinks and they feel heard. At the end of the day, give people an experience that they can’t stay away from. That’s what will keep them coming back over and over again.
7. Prioritize your stacks
Try everything for free before deciding to toss stacks at things.
As a beginner, it doesn’t matter whether you have Canva, Tailwind, an email provider, a hosting site, a site designer, and a logo all rolled up into one gourmet sandwich. Blogging is all about building online relationships. Having all this will give a boost but if the writing isn’t engaging and you don’t form connections, all that money for the gourmet sandwich has gone to waste!
Prioritize what you spend your money on. As a lifestyle blogger, Pinterest might be perfect. As a news blogger, having a good email service provider might be more important. Or if you’re a burger enthusiast, a top-notch mallet magazine subscription could be vital to your success.
We decided to spend money on getting a logo designed because we wanted something to reflect our personality and our blog’s brand. The last thing we wanted was a pixelated, planet-shaped hot-dog logo designed on Canva.
So $ave Dat Money and spend it carefully.
Blogging isn’t going to be easy. There are going to be a ton of setbacks and bumps in the road. Like breaking your website or not getting that one affiliate.
It’s going to be more of a bumpy bus ride than a smooth Tesla autopilot journey. But there are things you can do to march your way up the ladder of success:
Make a schedule
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there because you will improve
Put your best face forward
Be proud! You’ve worked hard to get where you are
Spend your money where it matters.
Be open to feedback! Listen to what people are saying and use it to improve.
What’s one piece of advice you’d add to this list? Or would you rather just have a pile of dogs around you while you work? Comment below or email at alieneatingblog@gmail.com
Being in business can be very hard, especially on days when you have a list of tasks you need to do but no motivation or willpower to do them. Unfortunately, it’s these tasks that will keep your business moving along the track to success. Today I’ll share my tips to get you completing those niggling tasks that you really don’t want to be doing!
1. Outsource Tasks!
If you really don’t want to do the task then take a look at what options are available. Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant or freelancer is a great option. They can complete tasks you do not wish to do yourself or don’t have time for.
Virtual Assistants vary in price and quality so do some research first, you never know you could find a good one that will do more of the tasks you hate.
2. To Do Lists!
We all know that to do lists are really helpful, but they can also be a real pain and never get touched as other things pop up during the day. One thing a business mentor taught me was to make a list of 10 things you must complete by the end of the day (non-negotiable things).
If they do not get done that day, add them onto the list for tomorrow’s 10 things, but never carry them over onto a new week. This way each week you have covered the tasks you needed to do that week and you feel like you have accomplished something.
3. Make a done list!
This is like a to-do list but in reverse. Once you complete a task write it down! This way it is making you feel more productive and you are able to feel proud at the end of the day even if it was just one thing it was one thing that you did.
4. Get Motivated!
If you are not in the right frame of mind you may struggle to get motivated. We all have that one thing that motivates us to be creative and get down to those tasks. Read a motivational book, listen to a Ted Talk, put on some tunes, get that energy high and you will find yourself in a better place ready to tackle that list.
5. Look at why you don’t want to do it!
There comes a time when there is something on your list that you really do not want to do, like making a phone call, doing a live training, doing a podcast, completing your tax return whatever it is you need to look at why you do not want to do it. Are you scared? worried? Find the reason and address it.
Once you have got over your fear you will feel so much better when you have achieved it.
6. Get rid of distraction!
If you find you’re trying to get tasks done, but not getting anywhere, then it could be time to remove distractions, switch the TV off, turn off the phone, step away from social media. These will just suck you in and stop you from getting anywhere. You know it’s true!
7. Plan your work!
Being organised in the first place will set you up for success and help you achieve your goals. I sit and plan everything on a Sunday ready for when Monday comes around, I know what I need to achieve in the week and I make room in my plan for when something pops up unplanned so I don’t feel overwhelmed.
This helps my productivity no end.
8. Reward yourself!
If you get through your jobs then give yourself a little reward. Celebrate your success!! If you have a list of 20 things to do by 6pm and complete it on time, then reward yourself. Have a glass of wine, do a face mask, take a bath, order a takeaway, watch a movie! Whatever it is you enjoy make sure you do more if it to reward yourself!
To wrap up…
I use to be someone who feared the to-do list, but once you implement a few simple strategies, you will find it more enjoyable and easier to get through.
Do you have any tips that have helped you? Drop them in the comments below or contact us!
As I hovered over the publish button, my overthinking mind got into gear.
“What would people think of me?”
“Who the hell am I to post something on YouTube?”
“What if my school friends see it and laugh at my expense?”
If only I’d have acted in courage immediately and hit submit straight off, my overthinking brain wouldn’t have been fed.
But that’s how I roll.It only takes 5 seconds of hesitation and I start to doubt my initial enthusiasm and my overthinking mind goes into overdrive.Hello self-sabotage.
However, I did hit publish and the world didn’t stop turning. I didn’t hear any distant giggles of ridicule either.Instead, I felt empowered. But I had wasted precious energy on overthinking the what if’s again. It’s not my best healthy habit.
And it’s not just for my online business, it’s life in general.Have you ever overthought and overanalysed a simple text message?
The text after a first date.Sent with love and then when an immediate reply doesn’t transpire, we analyse our “Hi”…should’ve put “Hey” He’s only put x1 kiss at the end of his text and last time it was x4.This is the beginning of the end of our blossoming relationship. And on and on our minds’ go…
The amount of times my overthinking brain has conjured up the most intricate stories and STOP!
STOP overthinking and overanalysing.It’s done, it’s dusted, move on.
How then can we deal with the overthinking habit?
1. Chunk it down
Confucius says “The man who moves mountains begins with carrying small stones.”
So strive for regular baby steps as opposed to huge daily goals and you’ll find your overthinking muscle gets weaker.
2. Get cool with failing forward
Often we stop ourselves because of the risk of failure. Yet making mistakes are our greatest lessons, so if we prevent this experience we prolong our path to success.
3. Bust out overthinking
When you start to play out all the negative scenarios of what could happen, acknowledge this, be kind to yourself, pack away your crystal ball and switch your thoughts to action and just make it happen.
4. Congratulate yourself for inspired action
Hi-5 yourself for actually DOING something. Making a decision.Moving yourself forward towards your goal.As soon as you feel yourself going over and over your decision, switch off and look at the positive.
Now, without overthinking this, what is the one thing in your business that you want to achieve one year from now?We’d love to hear your work goals! Let us know in the comments below or contact us here.
And remember small steps towards your goal, quit overthinking, make a decision and just go for it! You’ve got this.
Guest post was written by Dawn Barnes.
I’m getting my shine back after having children, helping other mothers on my way. I’m on a big mission to help and inspire ambitious women to feel fabulous again and get more out of their life.
WordPress is an efficient platform for managing content for your business. It powers around 14.7% of the world’s top 100 websites with 17 new posts published every second. It has a market share of about 60%. On top of it, WordPress is the fastest growing content management system (CMS).
If you’re a WordPress user, you’re probably beaming with pride right now for deciding to use this tool for your e-business. There’s more to this tool though. You can easily empower your platform with the help of plugins that drive up its efficiency.
In this regard, here are some of the best WordPress plugins that you can use to ante up your business’s game:
JetPack
This is an exclusive plugin for WordPress users. Running a business without the numbers is like building a house on a weak foundation. You need to know the statistics which give a picture of the customers visiting your site. JetPack does the math for you. It keeps track of your visitors, daily users, traffic, tools, and the like.
The plugin allows you to customize your website as per your taste. It also provides security features for your site. It is an excellent tool for image optimization, traffic growth, website appearance, performance, and security. JetPack creates sitemaps too so that your website can be indexed easily by search engines.
Yoast SEO
Your business will never make it to the right audience without the help of search engine optimization (SEO). It’s the key to bringing your website into other people’s attention. Companies spent $65 billion on SEO in 2016. So, it isn’t something to be taken lightly. To this end, Yoast SEO is an all-important tool to add to your business arsenal.
The plugin aligns all the SEO-related actions under the post that you write. With this plugin installed, you can add keywords, fix your URL for better browser visibility, craft a catchy meta description, and so on. It is also useful in helping you determine your content’s readability, which further strengthens your search engine ranking.
WPForms
A Google report highlights that business websites that provide sufficient contact information are considered trustworthy. The takeaway is that you need to provide your visitors and users with a substantial amount of contact information.
A good means to this end is the WPForms plugin. It is beginner-friendly content form tool for your website. The tool allows you to create contact forms, order forms, email subscription forms, payment forms, and other online forms with only a few clicks.
Sucuri
It’s common knowledge that cybercrime is on the rise. The damages that it costs are estimated to reach a pointer of $6 trillion by the year 2021. Save yourself from the trouble of security infringement with the help of Sucuri.
This WordPress plugin is dedicated to shielding your website from hackers and blackmailers. It gives you complete control of your site. The plugin allows you to augment your existing security measures too. With Sucuri, your site will be protected against brute force attacks, DDoS, malware threats, and XXS attacks. You can also take post-hack security action with this tool.
BackupBuddy
BackupBuddy is your partner in times of distress. It is a crucial crisis prevention weapon, which protects you in the case of data loss. The fact of the matter is that data loss, server malfunction, hardware failure, data breach, and hackers are not mythical matters. These are very real, which is where this tool comes into the picture.
BackupBuddy is easy to use. It backs up your business site on numerous remote locations like cloud storage, your computer, FTP server, and the like. You can preserve significant customer data with the help of this plugin. Furthermore, you can schedule backups, so you don’t have to worry about running the backup operations by memory.
Key takeaway
There are tons of WordPress plugins that you can use to harness the full potential of this CMS for your business. In this context, these listed tools help you with some of the most basic functions that form the backbone of an online business.
Productivity – that endless quest to get more done!!
“You whaaaat?”
“I set my alarm 30 minutes earlier than the kids wake up.”
“Are you crazy? I mean… WHO really does that?”
“I do.”
I understand that a sleep-deprived, exhausted Mum loves her sleep.Who doesn’t? But I can hand on heart say when I rise before the house wakes up – my day just goes better.
And that 30 minutes of calm in the morning is like gold dust. My heaven time. My time. I love it.
I’m not saying it’s easy to get up before the house stirs but it 1 million per cent gets me and my day started in the right way.
It’s my secret on how I get my stuff done and how I can remain sane for…well, at least the first hour of the day!
Whether it’s to tick off a couple of important daily tasks, reconnect with myself or simply enjoy a hot cuppa tea in peace, it’s absolutely worth getting up when the alarm goes.
So, how can breaking the snooze habit of a lifetime really help you?
1. Wake up when YOU decide
Up until now, is it when the kids come bounding into your bedroom that breaks you from your deep sleep?You get an arm in your face and the volume is turned to LOUD and before you know it, your groundhog day has started again.
Imagine a time when you were the captain of your dream ship and you actually got up in your time, in your own way and you had time to breathe.
…and back in the room.
Set your alarm 30 minutes before they typically wake up. Don’t hit snooze.
2. Get time to yourself
Any mother will vouch that a little time to herself is her sanctuary. Chance would be a fine thing!
Well, make that chance.Get up earlier! You know what you can accomplish in 10 minutes without the little ones.Imagine what you could achieve in half an hour ALL BY YOURSELF!
It might be some peaceful moments of calm and stillness that is most needed or focus time to really check-in on your business plan.Whatever serves you best, getting this done and dusted first thing before the day runs away with you, is good planning in my book.
3. Get on top of the important things for increased productivity
Chances are if you’re running the house, running a business or running a full-on job, no doubt, your schedule will be packed and your priority list hefty.
Although we incessantly pray for more hours in the day, with all the will in the world that just ain’t gonna happen.We need to carve out more time and it’s there if you truly look.You may prefer to stay up late to get your shiz done but there’s something to be said about waking up when the day breaks and ticking off a few vitals before the chaos begins.
4.Gain back control for more productivity in your day
Arguably, how you wake up is as important as when you wake up.
By getting up earlier you are in control of how your day begins and as the late Louise Hay says:
“how you start your day, is how you live your day, and how you live your day is how you live your life.”
Although it may seem madness to deprive yourself of an extra 20 mins in bed once you get into the habit of getting up earlier your sleep cycle will thank you for it. You’ll find productivity just comes naturally when you do this!
5. Reduce the Mum guilt
Do you promise that tomorrow you’ll give yourself more time to get ready, that you will be more productive?
Many a time, I’d underestimate how long it takes for me and the little ones to simply get out the door on time.I swore someone robbed me of those last 10 minutes!Stress levels rising, I’d end up screaming and shouting at the kids to hurry up!!! Seconds later, I’d feel the Mum guilt as I hadn’t wanted to lose my cool. Again.
This wasn’t the best start to our day.
If only I could get up earlier and prep the morning better, I could be one of those, you know, organised ON Time mothers.I like that!
Do it. Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier and just GET UP!
6. Improve your wellbeing
Whatever the studies show that morning people lead happier more productive lives, what I know for sure is, the days I get up earlier I feel happier, more positive and calmer.
If your fitness excuses ramp up, use this early time to get your daily workout done and not only will you feel smug as you like but you’ll be well on your way to feeling better thanks to exercise-induced endorphins.
You may not always feel like jumping out of bed with a happy smile on your face at early o’clock but it’s absolutely worth a go to see how getting up earlier shakes up your day.
We’d love to hear what your morning routine looks like. How do you try to keep up productivity? Drop a comment below or contact us here and let us know!
Guest post was written by Dawn Barnes.
I’m getting my shine back after having children, helping other mothers on my way. I’m on a big mission to help and inspire ambitious women to feel fabulous again and get more out of their life.
On some days blogging is a dream filled with positivity.
Life is glorious – you win an award, get a house-sized million dollar check, a thousand retweets, a Nobel Peace Prize, and become World Dominator of Blog-nation.
On other days, the world comes crashing down. The house is on fire, the dogs are throwing up in the kitchen, the Internet isn’t working, Yoast is broken, and your entire blog closely resembles Gotham City. Except with no handsome husky-voiced Batman to save it. All that comes to mind is chucking the computer out the window and joining “The Quitters Family”.
No matter what, it seems impossible to stay positive and you’re on a full-speed, Nascar-level overworked blogger train non-stop to “I’m gonna delete my blog”-ville.
I’ve heard pretty bad things about that place so here are a few tips to get you off the Highway to Hell and back on the Stairway to Blogging Heaven.
1. Just let it out.
Let’s be real. Sometimes, we all need a good ol’ cry-fest. There’s nothing like a cathartic session of crying à la red face and wheezing at the computer. So sit on your chair, bed, the roof, an elephant, the Kennedy Space Center, the moon – wherever your little heart desires and just cry. Go ahead and unzip those tear pockets and let it all out.
Trust me, it works.
My co-blogger and I work out of a PC room in Korea and we’ve bawled our eyes out with 30,000 boys around us playing PubG. I’m talking loud crying that leaves you gasping and wheezing so loud it wakes up the Sleeping Buddha. Tears that flood like Hurricane Katrina and short circuit the building with a horde of enraged teens after me.
I hate public crying as much as the next person and would rather face a locust plague and The Purge but bottling it up is much, much worse.
It sets you up for failure when everything from that point on is done with a negative mindset and a heart full of frustration and confusion.
Remember people, bottles are for juices and other beverages. Not tears.
If crying isn’t your cup of relaxing chamomile tea, do whatever it takes to get those emotions out.
Punch a brick wall? Sure. Hospital trip guaranteed.
Bash your head into the computer? Go for it.
Take a baseball bat to a car windshield? Yeah, I guess if a jail cell brings you relief…
Get some fresh air, grab a snack, and do some quilting.
Basically, it’s important to remember that as bloggers, we’re creatives. Positivity equals productivity and doing anything in a negative manner ends up with a catastrophe worse than a Level 9 earthquake.
Is it MailChimp? Google Analytics? Writer’s block? Your dog’s incessant barking? A zombie outbreak?
Dig deep down with a bulldozer to figure out what’s causing the frustration and anger and take a step back. That in itself will help stop that Burnt-out Blogging Rocket. If you focus ten hours on one tiny little “Vienna sausage sized” problem, it becomes difficult to look at the delicious “Costco-style Polish dog” big picture.
Identify the problem, address it, and come back later to solve it. Take a step back and reset the positivity switch. Do another less mind-numbing blogging task like catching up on emails or joining a Twitter hashtag thread. Anything to get you away from the gas can and back on the money-making train.
So many people think building an empire is this easy-breezy-Cover Girl journey. In reality, it’s time-consuming, exhausting, and most of us are working other jobs until the business turns into a money bagger. It isn’t a first-class Caribbean cruise with Michelin-star food and live Ed Sheeran every day. It’s more like building a raft with twigs and twine with a small branch for an oar for a trip from the Panama Canal to Greenland.
Remind yourself why you started the business. The independence, being the boss, or the control over every single aspect of it. Visualize your success and think it into existence. Whether it’s being in Forbes 30 under 30 or standing next to Marie Curie reincarnated. Casting out a line of positivity energy out will only reel it back in.
4. Don’t overwork yourself.
It doesn’t end well when you’re burnt out and left feeling like a wilted head of lettuce.
When I first started blogging a few months ago, the first thing I did every morning was:
Check Facebook
Join a Twitter thread
Check my email
Check Pinterest
Reply to emails
Respond to blog comments
Start a new blog post
Add another guest post to my list of “Guest Posts To Write”
Check stats, views, and 404 errors
Try to fix said 404 errors
Basically, have an all-nighter work session before even wiping out those eye-crusties.
Don’t do that. Don’t be that chump. All this does is leave you in a mood that rivals Regina George. Take at least half an hour in the morning as “me-time”. Drink some coffee, listen to music, pet some silky dogs, go for a run, or climb Mount Everest.
If you wake up in the morning to face a work avalanche, everything from then on will be done with a negative mindset and a heavy heart. Instead, start the day off right by taking time to yourself so that every challenge and setback can be faced with a positive attitude.
5. Give yourself a “Best Participant” trophy
While having a hustle mindset is great, it’s equally as important to take some time to reflect on how far you’ve come, think about any tiny victories, and pat yourself on the back. Things as small as having one more view than last month to things as huge as landing a guest post on your favourite blogger’s site, She Hustles Inc of course. Go down the street to your local Sports Authority and buy the biggest, 7-tiered cheerleader trophy available, make them engrave a personalized message for you, place it in a glass box and put it on your mantle. Be proud of yourself!
Starting a business is a huge endeavour that most people wouldn’t even attempt. Have a drink, make yourself some fancy smoked salmon canapes, stare at your trophy’s and reflect. Get that positivity running back through your veins so you can get back to work stronger than ever.
6. Take a day hiatus.
Sometimes being positive is really hard and nothing works. The only thing that comes to mind is how starting this business is the worst decision since the Big Bang happened and the blog-universe was created. No matter how much you b**ch or cry or stare into the clouds or take some me time, everything leaves a sour taste.
At that point, take a step back from the giant red “delete” button and take a damn break. So many people think of taking a break as being synonymous with weakness. Blasphemy! Taking time to take care of yourself, your kids, your dogs or polishing your snow-globe collection is just as important as making those money moves. Refreshing the mind for new ideas, clear thoughts, and progress will get you farther and in the end, you’re only human. Not Moses parting the Red Sea.
80% of businesses and 99% of blogs fail within the first year for a lot of different reasons. People get bored, lose motivation, realize it’s more of an investment both financially and let’s be honest, emotionally. Negative thoughts begin to seep in and eventually take over so much that it seems you’ve actually grown horns and your drivers license says Lucifer McSatan age 1,007. Shut that entire scenario down real quick.
Have a cry
Find the root of the problem,
Remind yourself of the opportunities that having your own business is going to lead to
Take some “me time” every day
Celebrate the successes no matter how small
Take an entire day off
At the end of the day, remind yourself what you’ve built – whether it’s two months in or ten years in. Bring the positivity back and make the best business the world has ever seen. Besides Crocs. Crocs will always be number one.
-x-
What are you doing to build an empire? Have you found the perfect spot for a cry-fest yet? Leave a comment or email at alieneatingblog@gmail.com.
Ever wished you could pinpoint exactly who your ideal customers were? That you could understand what they really want, how to help them solve their most pressing problems, and market your business to appeal to them? Well, that’s exactly what buyer personas can help you do! Follow She Hustles Inc’s guide to improve your marketing today!
What are buyer personas?
A buyer persona is basically a fictional representation of your ideal customer, based on real data and educated speculation. Personas generally include information about who your target customer types are, where they tend to be located, what they’re looking for, challenges they face, solutions they seek, other brands they like, and more. Knowing your target customers is a vital first step in marketing your brand and getting sales. And that’s where buyer personas come in.
In fact, a whopping 71% of companies with documented buyer personas beat their revenue and lead goals.
Not bad, right?
The process of gathering the information needed to make a buyer persona is an excellent way to get familiar with your customer base. As a result, you’ll be able to create content that your customers actually want to see, reach them on the social media sites they spend the most time on, and even improve your products/services to meet their needs.
How do I create buyer personas for my business?
Don’t let the marketing jargon put you off. Creating buyer personas is actually a pretty simple process. You’re basically just looking at your existing customers/ideal customers and making a list of important common traits they share. Who are they? What do they do for a living? What do they need? -List their common challenges and needs. What do they want? -List out the goals they tend to have and how your product/service can help them.
Maybe your online nutrition planning service can help them get healthy despite a busy schedule?
Or your social media management business could help them expand their audience without forcing them to learn the ins and outs of new platforms.
Remember, every customer segment values different things when buying, so make sure you’re not marketing your product’s low cost to a customer who cares more about quality or prestige (or vice versa).
Write out the common objections you hear when they’re deciding whether or not to purchase your product/service. Doing this will help you create content and marketing that overcomes those objections.
What do they look for in a brand? List similar brands your customer base tends to trust and buy from.
This information will eventually help you highlight what your brand can offer.
When gathering answers to these questions, the specific path you take will depend on whether you have existing customers or not.
Gathering persona information from your existing customers:
To better understand your target customer, dig into Google Analytics and Facebook Audience Insights. These two tools can help you uncover:
Age, education, gender, relationship status
Location/language
Devices used online
Purchasing information
Your target audience’s favourite pages
Interests
Don’t worry about segmenting this information into similar types yet. For now, just focus on gathering as much relevant data as possible.
Try a survey; get persona information directly from your customers by creating a short survey with a service like Qualaroo or a free alternative like SurveyMonkey. You can email opted-in customers a link to your survey or simply host it on your site via a pop-up. Offer giveaways for participation and keep the questions brief to ensure more people follow through.
Don’t have a ton of customers to gather insights from yet?
No worries! You can still get the persona information you need, even if your business is brand new.
Two ideas you can try right now:
Do competitor research
Competitor research tools like Alexa or Quantcast can help you get an in-depth view of the types of customers you should be targeting. Just type in the URL of your main competitor’s site to see visitor information like browsing location, sites visited before that site, visitor gender, education level, keywords used, and more.
Follow your completion on social media
Finding out what kind of audience your competitors have on social media is a great way to determine who your ideal customers are and what they’re looking for. Look at their followers’ pages for background on age, location, and profession.
Pay attention to the kinds of posts they respond to most from your competitors, as well as their comments and questions. You’ll find plenty of psychographic information here to fill out your personas with.
Creating your personas:
Now that you’ve done the research, it’s time to start fleshing out your personas.
Give your personas names and make educated guesses based on the data you’ve gathered. If the majority of your target customers have kids and high pressure jobs, you can guess that one of your persona types is pressed for time.
If they follow certain fashion influencers on social media, you can guess that on-trend brands and products will appeal to them. Obviously, you don’t want to get carried away and make stuff up. But it’s very important that you use the data to make informed assumptions about who your customer is.
Remember those social media comments you looked at earlier? Well, take a couple of the most common ones and add them to your persona template under the “quote” section. This will remind you of what your target customers are saying online.
Keep in mind that as you interact with your customers/audience, you’ll learn more about them. Maybe some of the assumptions you made will turn out to be false. That’s absolutely fine. Buyer personas are meant to change over time to reflect your understanding of your customer base.
And finally, keep your finished personas in mind as you create content and marketing for your business.
You’ll be surprised by how much more focused and effective your content is when you’re trying to reach certain types of people rather than just a nameless “audience” out there.
The wrap-up:
Now, more than ever, customers want to feel that the brands they buy from “get them”. Generic content and broad marketing simply won’t do the trick any longer. Luckily, buyer personas are an easy-to-create but powerful tool to help you identify and truly understand your primary customers. Try creating a few of your own to start seeing the benefits to your business now.
Have you created personas for your business yet? If not, what’s holding you back? Share your experiences in the comments below!
Author Bio: Hulua Seyoum
I’m a digital marketer and business writer. Entrepreneurship is my jam.
HubSpot Inbound and Content Marketing certified and borderline obsessed with helping businesses grow.
Also obsessed with: travelling and finding the ever-elusive perfect cup of coffee.
Follow me on Instagram @inboundmarketinglounge for more marketing tips to boost your business.
Right now if your friends boosted that post of them sat in that coffee shop, you might wonder what’s going on, but this is set to become the norm on the platform. It’s a sure fire way of being seen.
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