Oh no! ANOTHER social media platform?

Oh yes – and it’s one you might want to take a look at, to see if it makes sense for your particular business. But a caution here – even it it does – don’t feel you have to add it to your social media marketing. If you’re already overwhelmed and just keeping up with your current social media efforts, then leave Pinterest be, at least for now.

But if it appeals to you and makes good business sense to add it to your business platform, here are five specific ways you can use it in your marketing efforts:

1. Less Clicks = More Conversions

The less clicks your visitor has to make to get to the information or product they want, the higher your conversion rates. With Pinterest, there are just two clicks from first seeing something of interest to visiting its site of origin. That translates into more leads and more sales.

For example, let’s say you have a book for sale and you pin the image of the cover from the book’s sales page to your board. When one of your followers sees your pin and clicks on it, it will allow them to share it with others immediately. And if they click it again, it will take them to the site where the image was pinned from, in this case, the sales page for your book.

2. Drive tons more traffic to your site

Because Pinterest has such a large following (10 million unique views at this writing) it’s a great tool for driving more traffic to your site via the links that are attached to the pins you make to your board.

In fact, there are tracking stats that are showing Pinterest is driving more traffic back to websites than Facebook or Google+.

3. Easy for people to share your content

Pinterest makes it super-simple for your followers to share your pins and therefore links back to your site. Because every pin includes a link leading back to the source of the image, this can translate into a lot more inbound links to your website. So the more followers you have, the more those followers share your pins, the more traffic to your site.

4. Gain from user addiction

Some markets have already fallen in love with Pinterest, with more to come as more people become aware of and start utilizing this new social media platform. If your market is a fan of Pinterest, then you need to get onboard and get in front of all that traffic. Just start with one board, pay attention to what your followers are re-pinning (sharing with others) the most, and pin more of that content.

5. Connect it with your other social media sites

Since I’m all about leveraging your time and talent, if you’re going to use Pinterest, then you need to connect it with your other social media platforms to do so. You can connect Pinterest with your Facebook profile (hopefully they will add the ability to connect to your fan page soon). You can also connect your Pinterest account with Twitter so your pins are automatically tweeted. And you can add a "pin it’ button to your website, much like other share buttons, so your visitors can pin for you.

I’d love to know your thoughts on Pinterest – share with me below…

Tweet

Related posts:

1. Holiday Lull: 5 Ways to Use It to Your Advantage You may be too busy during the holiday season to...
2. 5 Easy and Effective Ways to Give in Your Business It seems that, at least in the US, the holiday...
3. 3 Strategies to a Solid Brand for Your Business Are you like many business owners who are confused or...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ever have someone copy your idea, your sales page, your emails, or anything else you’ve created in your business?

Yeah, it’s not a good feeling.

Yeah, yeah – I know that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ and that we’re all of ‘one mind’ and all that, but really? There is a line that no one should cross.

I’ve dealt with this on numerous occasions in my own business (frankly dealing with it now with someone who certainly doesn’t need to copy me – who has an extremely successful business already so I know that it’s about something else entirely) and while sometimes it is easier and ok to just let it go, other times it’s not.

So what do you do when you feel compelled to do something about it?

Here are 4 ways of dealing with copycats:

1. Vent

First, get on the line with a business best friend and have a good vent about it. You need to get it out of your system before you can approach the copycat from a place where you’re more likely to have the situation resolved.

2. Call them on it personally

I like to contact people personally first, and give them a chance to make things right. I don’t have my assistant do this – I reach out myself usually via email, with a gracious note that I’ve noticed something they are doing is very similar to mine and I wanted to point that out – that I wouldn’t want their people thinking they’re copying me.

In one case, the person in question immediately responded with a gracious note back, offering that she was ‘modeling’ me and others and told me she would make changes to the page in question and send it to me for approval. She did and I was satisfied with the changes she made and all was well.

If it doesn’t go that way then…

3. Call them on it officially

Get your attorney involved and send them a ‘cease and desist’ letter. That will usually do the trick.

4. Move on

Once you’ve handled it either personally or officially, move on. Don’t hold a grudge against the person, just let it go. It’s not worth any more of your energy or emotion and recognize that the reason behind the copying has nothing to do with you. And then use the situation to be even more creative in your own endeavors going forward.

I’d love to know your thoughts on copycats – share with me below…

Tweet

Related posts:

1. Creating Supportive Environments – Part 2 Creating supportive environments is imperative to your success as an...
2. 3 Tips For Making Space and Opening the Flow For 2012 I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready...
3. 3 Tips For Making Space and Opening the Flow For 2012 – Part 2 I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

One of the things I enjoy about coaching is that I get to be creative with how I work with my clients. And I often ask them to create the program they’d most like, and usually we can make something up that works for both of us.

But in the ten years that I’ve been around the coaching industry, I’ve seen a rapid change from traditional 1:1 coaching of three 45 minute sessions per month for a monthly fee to session bundles, coaching programs that last as long as a year, in-person retreats, and much more.

And yet there are some simple ways that you can add value to your current coaching packages or offer these alternatives to phone-only coaching as stand-alone packages that can be very enticing to your clients. Consider adding any of the options below to increase the value of your packages, or offer them as a stand-alone package, giving them a way to work with you at a more accessible investment as well as help you as the coach to leverage your time.

Here are three of my personal favorites:

1. e-Coaching

In addition to phone sessions, one of the ways that I coach my private clients is through e-coaching, or coaching via email and/or instant messaging.

I hold a firm belief that email coaching is just as powerful, if not more so, than phone coaching – and here’s why:

When you send an email asking for help, the simple act of writing and sending it creates energy that initiates the process of an answer coming to you – and not just MY answer.

When you put a problem out into the world, not only do the synapses in your brain start firing (our brains can’t help but answer questions) to come up with a solution, but the Universe starts working in order to bring you a solution as well.

It’s why experienced coaches understand that the real coaching happens between the sessions…

And e-coaching is also just a whole lot easier – you don’t have to schedule a call, you don’t have to be tied to a phone, or even a computer (you can e-coach vie smartphone). And your client doesn’t have to wait until their next session to get the support they need – they just send an email!

(I LOVE e-coaching, so if you’re Interested in working with me this way –> go here now)

2. Audio Coaching

For those of you who would rather coach by talking instead of typing, here’s an idea for you.

I have a private client who is happy to receive questions via email but prefers to answer those questions via audio. What she does is simply call into her recording service (in this case AudioAcrobat, but you could record on your laptop), records her answer, and then sends the client the MP3 link to listen to. Simple and brilliant!

3. Video Coaching

Another alternative to phone coaching is to offer video coaching. I do this often with my clients who live outside of the United States, via Skype Video. It’s free for both of us and it is the next best thing to being in-person.

And you could also offer video coaching in the same way that I described above in #2. For example, I have a client who would much prefer recording a quick video where she can share screenshots, links and more in response to her client’s questions and requests for help.

Which one of these alternatives or additions to phone coaching could you add to your current packages or that you could create a stand-alone package to offer?

I’d love to know – share with me here…

Tweet

Related posts:

1. 5 Easy and Effective Ways to Give in Your Business It seems that, at least in the US, the holiday...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Chloe has a children’s book titled Milton’s Secret: An Adventure of Discovery through Then, When, and the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and Robert S. Friedman, which really simplifies the concept of living in the present moment, and how the practice of that will, for the boy in the story, eliminate fear and worry.

I wanted to explore that as it pertains to your business, with a slightly different slant. I wonder if you, like so many of my clients, and myself as well from time to time, are so hooked into the future that we’re missing the NOW and not fully enjoying the journey?

So how do we unhook from it to allow what we truly want to come to pass without always feeling like we’re striving for it? Here are 5 ideas:

1. Let go of the goals that take you away from the present.

Let me say first that you can have everything you want – and there’s no judgement here on what those things are.

That being said, do you want a mansion, to be the #1 speaker in your market, to be the one with the biggest email list in your market, to be a New York Times bestselling author, to make a million dollars? There’s nothing wrong with any of those lofty (and completely attainable) goals.

And, what happens is when we’re so focused on the sexy dream we tend to get ourselves so riled up about getting there that we miss all the amazing stuff happening NOW.

What I’ve noticed is that people get impatient, sad, frustrated, and even angry when they’re so focused on the future goal that the present seems uninteresting at best, despairing at worst. The antidote? See #2.

2. Polish the present

I want to encourage you to stop striving so hard and thrive in your present. What I mean is that if you make what you already have better, and polish what’s already good and working, you uplevel your life without expending that energy on something that doesn’t exist yet.

Yes, it’s about appreciating what’s already good and right in your world and in your business AND it’s about how you can make what’s already there fulfill you even more. It’s true that if you make the most of what you already have, you’ll get more and better of it with a lot less effort on your part.

3. Don’t plan so much

I’m all about having the big picture plan down to the day-to-day details, and yet I know that most of the time, the plan changes.

One of the reasons we – as business owners – plan so much is because it gives us a sense of control and it helps to alleviate the fears and doubts we have about knowing what we’re doing.

So have the plan and be willing to be flexible with it. Let it be a guide but not the only way. If you get wrapped up in THE PLAN you’ll actually hold yourself and your business back from being able to adapt quickly when things change – and they always do.

Assess if you spend more time planning than doing – and if you do, stop right now. And if you tend to fly by the seat of your pants more often than not, you might want a lightly-built framework around you to give you some sense of stability.

4. Get out of the striver’s club

Stop trying to acquire a better future with others who are striving. It’s just too exhausting. I’m not saying to surround yourself with lazy folks, but to get out of the overdrive club if you want to relax into a currently compelling present instead of an exhausting still ‘out there somewhere’ future.

5. Get off the ‘if/when’ rollercoaster

I admit this is a pet peeve of mine. Not from people who are decisive, but from people who use it as an excuse to not be happy now. When you make ‘if/when’ statements, you’re living in the future. Dreaming and visioning is one thing; otherwise it’s a holding pattern for you but even worse, you’re not enjoying where you’re at right now!

I’d love to know your thoughts on how to unhook from the future so you can enjoy the present – please leave your comments below.

Tweet

Related posts:

1. How to Unhook from the Future Chloe has a children’s book titled Milton’s Secret: An Adventure...
2. How to Unhook from the Future Chloe has a children’s book titled Milton’s Secret: An Adventure...
3. 10 Ways Showing Gratitude Now Can Increase Your Future Income As we head into the season of giving, now is...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’ve personally invested over $100k in my own business education (not including my MBA) and I’ve leveraged that investment into well over a half-million dollars in the last few years.

I’ve said before that I will make my million – in my time and on my terms. And because I’m sensing this strong undercurrent of desperation in many business owners about making 6 or 7 figures, I wanted to invite you to take a different tact:

Ask yourself, what’s the least income you can make right now and still live a happy life?

Not ‘I want to make a million dollars by the time I’m 40′ and you’re 39 now and the most you’ve ever made is $50k. Not ‘I want to make 6 figures by the end of 2011′ and your current monthly revenue is $2k.

So, what’s the least you can make that will take you to that very next step in your vision – not the BIG vision – but just the next bump up?

What’s the least amount of money you can bring in that will give your current lifestyle the boost that will make you smile, that will make you feel and know you’re moving forward, and that will continue to motivate you onward?

You see, I’ve been asking myself the same question lately. And the reason is because I’ve been starting to feel really stressed in my business and frankly I’m not having as much fun as I used to in it either.

And because of a few other things that are attributing to this feeling of heaviness that are outside my business, I’ve been feeling a need to shift things. Just small shifts for now, while allowing the bigger shifts to more fully form without pushing them into fruition until next year.

So here’s my answer to this question and how you can figure it out for your own business too:

Step 1: Get cash clear

Get crystal clear on how much money you really need to live the lifestyle that you’re happy with, not the one you’re striving for (I guarantee when you give up this grip, money will flow more abundantly to you).

This may mean having a conversation with a spouse or partner. Do it. Especially if you are in a financial partnership with someone else, you’re likely not the only one feeling the push and the pressure for more. Do yourselves both a favor and figure out what’s the minimum level for you. You may be able to give up or put aside one or more of your current income streams so you can have more of the time freedom you crave, knowing you still have enough to enjoy your life.

Step 2: Be sure all your eggs aren’t in one basket

If you’re relying on high-end pricing and programs to carry your business, you may be setting yourself up for a financial fall. Your clients and customers are being more and more discriminating about where they’re spending their money – and that’s not going to change anytime in the near future, not while our economic outlook is still bleak.

Be sure to have different ways in which you can serve your market, not just one-on-one. Offer lower priced programs and products to help more people as well as to diversify your cash flow.

Step 3: Build your business around your life

This is a mindset shift for many people. But if you’re in business for yourself, isn’t it so you can design the life you want to live? Not so you can work more, but so you can work less, and still enjoy a great life with the income to support it?

In order to do that, you have to schedule your life first, then your business-building activities around that. This is how I’ve been able to take off almost 3 months every summer for the last 6 years. My business doesn’t suffer; in fact, it grows because of my commitment to this principle.

Figure out how to make the money you want for the next level of your business (again, not the BIG vision, just the next bump up) in the time that is left after you’ve planned the life you want to live first. Then ask for the support or hire the team you need to help you make this happen.

When you put your life first, the time towards what makes you happy, the focus on just the next bump while you tend to LIVING, all the ‘more’ you want (which we all want, by the way – we are all here to grow and to be, do, and have more) will come. This I know for sure.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this – please leave your comments below.

Tweet

Related posts:

1. How Much Money Do You Really Need? I’ve personally invested over $100k in my own business education...
2. Don’t Let a Client’s Money Drama Become Yours One of the ways I see entrepreneurs staying small (and...
3. Creating Supportive Environments – Part 2 Creating supportive environments is imperative to your success as an...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Falling into fear and doubt as you build your business is normal, but there are many things you can do to catch yourself before you fall into what I call the Well of Despair. The Well of Despair is that cold, dark, spinning place filled with fear and doubt like…

“Can I really do this?”
“If this really going to work?”
“I’m putting in so much effort and it feels like I’m not getting anything in return.”
“I’m uncomfortable talking about my business because
I’m not where others think I should be and I feel like a failure.”

First, take heart. We’ve all been there, and back again. And while there are many things you can do to climb out of the Well of Despair or keep from falling into it in the first place, one of the most effective is to simply manage your own expectations about your rate of success. I’m defining success in this case as ‘consistent cash flow’ so here’s a time-tested (over 10 years) timeline to cash flow for your online business.

Knowing this timeline will allow you to manage your expectations, relieving fear and doubt that you’re doing things wrong or that you’re not doing enough. It also allows you to plan ahead so you can move faster through each of the phases OR pace yourself as best fits your lifestyle. The timeline also tells you what to focus on now or what to focus on next.

If you’re implementing the relationship model of building your business, it’s important to be prepared for the time it takes to build your business (this is not a get-rich-quick model, but a potentially highly profitable one with sustainability) and to set realistic expectations of when you’ll start to see a profit from your offerings.

Phase 1: Market and Message

You’ll move through Phase 1 typically within the first 3 months in your building your business. This is when you’re focusing on the problems you solve for your market. This includes discovering and defining the biggest challenges your market struggles with, and researching and/or creating the solutions.

Phase 2: Building Your List

Once you’re clear on who your market is and what solutions you offer to them, you’ll move into Phase 2, which is all about building your list. Currently, we’re striving to attract 500-1500 people to our email list by offering them a free sample of what we do. We start this process right after Phase 1 and focus on building the list as part of our on-going marketing efforts.

Phase 3. Making Offers

This is when you start focusing on how to generate an income with your multiple streams. This is typically done from month 7 onward.

This timeline will give you a sense of how long it can take to get to consistent (or even any) cash flow in your business, as well as stave off any frustration and overwhelm you may feel as you get your online business off the ground or continue to build it. Remember, it takes twice as much fuel for a jet to take off as it does to cruise at altitude. It’s the same in your business. You’re putting in more effort in the beginning but you’ll be cruising later.

Of course this is just a typical timeline. You can always move through it faster or slower, depending on your time and efforts.

I go into this Timeline in a lot more detail with my private clients as well as in our L.E.A.P.™ programs, so if you’d like to learn more, go here.

Where are you in the timeline and what’s your next step? I’d love to know so feel free to leave share your thoughts below…

Tweet

Related posts:

1. 3 Tips For Making Space and Opening the Flow For 2012 – Part 2 I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready...
2. 3 Tips For Making Space and Opening the Flow For 2012 I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready...
3. 5 Easy Ways to Always Give Your Niche Something New “Do I always have to come up with something new?”...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

You may be too busy during the holiday season to notice if your business is slowing down a bit, but in case you’re not, there are several things you can do to use this time to your advantage as you head into the new year.

1. Review your website

Take some time to review your website and make any necessary updates by removing old information and freshening up the rest of your copy. If you have a photo of yourself on your site, consider putting up a new one if your current one is out of date. And here’s a tip for getting more people to sign up for your Free Taste: put a squeeze page in front of your existing site that asks for just name and email address before they enter the rest of your site.

2. Update your Free Taste

Review your free offering and decide if it could use some updating as well. I’m updating mine again now so it will reflect my more finely tuned message and market. If it’s been more than a year since you’re breathed new life into your free taste, my coach’s request is that you do so now.

3. Have a Holiday Sale

If you want to create some cash, consider holding a sale on one, some or all of your products. Everyone’s looking for a break at the holidays, and there most likely are people on your list who have thought about buying one or more of your products or investing in your services, and a discount might just push them to finally doing so.

4. Clean out the clutter

One of the “powers of the Universe” principles I believe in is making space for things to come into my life. So every few months, I get a huge urge to purge (I’m in it now, actually). I go through my desk, filing cabinets, and bookshelves and either toss, give away or organize it. I also make new file folders for the clients yet to come… and it’s always fun to watch them fill up over the next few months.

5. Plan your first offering for the new year and start promoting it now

Decide what your first offering for the new year is going to be and start promoting it in your ezine, social media, or discussion lists (when appropriate), and through your other marketing channels. Having something already set up to look forward to will help keep you motivated after the hub-bub of the holidays.

And one more thing – don’t forget to enjoy yourself. As entrepreneurs, sometimes we find it hard to take a break, but do yourself, your loved ones, and your business a favor by taking some time away from your work and truly focusing on the people you love and the blessings in your life.

How are you making space and opening the flow for the new year? Please share your thoughts on my blog below…

Tweet

Related posts:

1. 5 Easy Ways to Always Give Your Niche Something New “Do I always have to come up with something new?”...
2. Creating Supportive Environments – Part 2 Creating supportive environments is imperative to your success as an...
3. 5 Easy and Effective Ways to Give in Your Business It seems that, at least in the US, the holiday...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready for 2012 – planning, organizing, strategizing, visioning, and more. There are many transitions and transformations on the horizon for me and my business, and much to do to prepare for them, so I’m making space and opening the flow.

In Part 1 of this article, I shared 3 ways you can make space in your business. Now here are 3 ways I’m opening the flow in my business that you can do too:

1. Escape Email Overwhelm

The number one distraction to moving your business forward by leaps instead of baby steps is email. So here’s my system for handling email overload. If you can practice this 80% of the time, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

a. Delete: scan and delete junk emails first
b. Move: move any emails into an appropriate folder – and create a rule to make that happen automatically
c. Delegate: delegate any emails that should be responded to by someone else
d. Respond: respond to any emails that only YOU can respond to

The goal is to only have emails in your inbox that require action from you!

2. Track your money

One of the easiest ways to open the flow of money in your business is to start tracking exactly how much comes in on a daily basis. I give each of my private clients a money tracking sheet that makes it super-simple for them to implement this tip, but you can create your own very easily.

Just create a simple form that lists the days of the month, with your monthly money goal listed as well. Each day fill in the amount of money that came into your business, and don’t forget to include affiliate payments and any other sources of revenue as well.

Just by paying attention to what’s coming in will open the flow to more, and before you know it, all the days of the month will be filled in with a number!

3. Don’t overbook

When putting together your master plan for 2012, make sure you don’t overbook yourself. If you do, you won’t leave space for other opportunities to show up that you likely aren’t aware of yet.

When I completed my own master plan for 2012, it was complete, but not overbooked. There was time off, as well as space for other exciting possibilities to come up.

How are you making space and opening the flow for the new year? Please share your thoughts below…

Tweet

Related posts:

1. 3 Tips For Making Space and Opening the Flow For 2012 I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready...
2. Creating Supportive Environments – Part 2 Creating supportive environments is imperative to your success as an...
3. Creating Supportive Environments – Part 1 I’m writing this on my laptop in a Cosi café...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.