I’m hard pressed to think of anyone who isn’t experiencing email overload on a regular basis (except my grandmother, she still loves getting new emails!).

That’s why I think it’s so important for each of us to take on the task of learning some new strategies to reduce email overload.

Today’s getting techy with it tip is all about installing a little-known feature in Google Mail to save you time.

Email Overload Gmail Tip

I love Gmail, and I have video tutorial on setting up Google Apps for small business here – in case you haven’t set your account up yet.

How Inbox Zero Reduces Email Overload

Beyond the quick Gmail tip I showed you in the video, you’ll want to learn the Inbox Zero philosophy to email management.

Inbox Zero is all about moving, filtering, and processing emails so that your inbox is NOT your to-do list.

Admit it… sometimes your inbox turns into your todo list, and you dread looking in there because each new email represents another task you need to handle.

With Inbox Zero, email overwhelm is a thing of the past.

What Other Email Overload Tips Do You Have?

Since we’re all email users, I’d LOVE for you to share your email overload reducing tips in the comments below.

I love books, and especially business books that are jam packed with inspiration and actionable advice. This is definitely the case with Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Startup, a tome full of bootstrapped startup success stories and lessons learned along the way.

I’m especially excited to be sharing this book review with you today because of a few reasons:

1. I believe it is possible to build a bootstrapped startup, which means that you don’t need to get a huge bank loan or get venture capital funding. This book shows you how.
2. I’m honored and thrilled to be featured as one of the case studies in the book, starting with my Raw Foods Witch business journey.
3. I believe that this book covers one of the most difficult parts of starting a business: figuring out what you’re going to offer to customers, to ensure it’s something they want to buy.

Without further ado, here’s my book review of The $100 Startup.

Bootstrapped Startup Stories in The $100 Startup

Grab your copy of Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Startup on Amazon and Kindle.

Over To You Now… Any Bootstrapped Startup Stories To Share?

Chris Guillebeau interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs for the book. Do you have a bootstrapped startup story that you’d like to share in the comments below?

Either way, I’d love to hear your advice for bootstrapping a business – either on the side of a full-time job or as a main gig but on a budget.

Leave a comment below!

You could learn a thing or two from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Not just about tolerance and changing the world, but about improving your business. To wit:

People don’t want just a solution. They want something to believe in.

TOMS Shoes aren’t popular because of the shoes themselves. They’re popular because they tell a story worth believing in.

Apple isn’t popular because of the functionality of its products. It’s because of the mystique, the culture, the story.

Martin Luther King didn’t lead a world-changing civil rights movement by having the best plan. He did it by having the most compelling dream, and by sharing his dream effectively.

If that’s not marketing, I don’t know what is!

How you can apply this to improving your business & getting more buyers

What’s your dream? What do you believe in? What do you care about?

Take that dream and apply it to your business. Make it your core marketing message.

You know features and benefits, right? Well, what about the benefits of the benefits?

For example, say your business is a dog walking service, and your dream is to travel the world with your family. You might say, “My dream is completely unrelated to my business,” but what about the benefits of the benefits?

“My dog walking service will help you have more time.”

So what?

“Having more time will help you do more of what you love.”

Be more specific!

“Having more time will let you spend more quality time with your family.”

There you go! Now that’s something worth believing in.

Having a business worth believing in creates raving fans and more buyers

A dog walking service isn’t worth talking about. But a movement is.

If your dog walking service is in service of a grand goal, like helping more humans and dogs be happy and healthy — even if it’s just a small piece of that grand goal — people will talk about it.

People will do your marketing for you, because something worth believing in is worth talking about.

And when they make a buying decision, they’ll choose to do business with you, because you stand for something worth supporting.

Having a business worth believing in changes the world

Changing the world doesn’t always require a strong leader like Dr. King. Sometimes the world is changed by thousands of voices, each singing a different song, creating a beautiful harmony.

Sometimes the world is changed by thousands of small business owners, each doing their own small part, each creating something worth believing in and backing up those promises.

What are you creating that’s worth believing in?

And what can you do, today, to communicate that dream to the people who need to hear it?

Is your writing falling flat? Maybe you’re not communicating your dream effectively. We’ve got a free course for you called The 6 Steps to World-Changing Writing. In 6 fun and informative video lessons, you’ll learn how to make your writing inspire others to action!

Click here for the free course!

Pace Smith is the co-leader of the Connection Revolution, where she helps dreamers change the world through connection. She speaks, writes, and teaches workshops to foster understanding, healing, empowerment, authentic communication, and personal growth. She’s happily married to Kyeli, her partner in life and in business. She loves to play Dance Dance Revolution and carries a spare spleen with her everywhere she goes.

What do I mean by that? Find out in this week’s video…

Your Website Hub Is Vital

3 Key Reasons Why Your Website Hub Should Come First

• You have total control over your website hub and your email list: social media sites and other content outlets might shut down, delete your account, or otherwise change the game on you. When you’re in control of your online business assets, you have the freedom to build and change from there.
• Not everyone is on social media sites, but everyone uses email: it’s great to engage with your audience on as many outposts as you can, but not everyone is on all the social sites. On the other hand, everyone uses email.
• When you create content for your own website, you’re able to organize and deliver a much better experience: you’ll have an archive that anyone new to your world can browse. With social media marketing, your messages usually disappear if they aren’t consumed right away.

Stay tuned for more website hub marketing advice… I’m putting together some of my best how-to videos and training materials and you won’t want to miss this upcoming free training.

Be sure to jump on the email list to be notified when it’s ready for the big reveal.

Pinterest has been making waves in the online marketing world… but the question remains: is Pinterest for business really worth your time as a busy entrepreneur?

As you’ll remember from its debut here on Nathalie Lussier in the comment section of the Stylish Geek post… Pinterest is all about photos.

It started off with photos of fashion and clothing, moved onto recipes, jokes, beautiful scenes, animals, and now info graphics and full on marketing materials and videos.

Let’s dive right in and answer that pesky question: is it worth your time?

Pinterest For Business Getting Started Guide

Follow me and my boards on Pinterest here!

Use Case #1: Pinterest For Business Crafters and Artists

If you happen to run a business that lends itself well to the type of content that Pinterest users love to re-pin, then YES! Think hand made items, crafty artsy stuff, photography, prints, designs.

The more visual, the better, and the more likely you are to “go viral” on Pinterest.

Use Case #2: SEO Linking Using Keywords

You know I’m all about WordPress SEO, but there are other components to getting better search engine rankings. And building links to your content is one of them.

So why is Pinterest good for SEO? Because as of this writing, Pinterest links are “do-follow” which means that all of the authority of a big site like Pinterest is getting passed onto your site through the links.

Use Case #3: Pinterest To Generate Buzz with Contests

The other great thing about using Pinterest for business is the unlimited ways in which you can leverage the social aspect of Pinterest.

Think outside the box about the different ways that people can re-pin your content and gain an entry in a contest you can run. One pin means one entry, and if you make your graphic catchy enough you’ll get some major traction!

Top Take Aways for Small Businesses

1. Be sure to add a “Pin It” button your site to allow easy pinning.
2. Create your own Pinterest account, and add useful and relevant content.
3. Put your thinking cap on to create pinnacle content that just begs to be shared.

If you enjoyed this techy tip, sign up for The Cue where I’ll send you free weekly tech, marketing, and small business advice.

First off…

What is RHH B-School?

Obviously, no RHH B-school review is complete without an explanation of exactly WHAT B-school is… It stands for Rich, Happy, and Hot Business School. I think “b-school” sounds cooler though, don’tcha think?

Unlike most business schools though, you don’t come out with a degree and nothing to show for it… you come out with a business that works better.

You might be wondering about the “Rich, Happy, and Hot” part, and that’s Marie Forleo’s brand for women entrepreneurs who want all of the above… and aren’t willing to settle for just one. Marie’s definition of rich doesn’t restrain itself to just money, but she does know a thing or two about running a multi-million dollar business.

Who is RHH B-School For?

Not to jump ahead in my RHH B-school review, but before we look at what kinds of results you can expect from B-school, we need to look at who will benefit the most.

RHH B-school is designed for people who already have a business. That means either a brick and mortar business, a service business, or an existing online business.

If you’re just starting out online, and you don’t know exactly what you want to do, and you need help figuring out your business idea – this is not the right program for you.

Marie Forleo is clear that this is the right program to help people turn what they’ve got into an even more kick ass business. Of course, if you’re a fast learner and implementer and you don’t yet have a business… you might be able to ace your way through the course and come out ahead.

Why RHH Bschool?

I signed up for Rich, happy, and hot B-school because I knew there was a lot more I could be doing for my business, and I knew that a traditional business school wasn’t where I was going to learn it.

I wanted to get my online business foundation shored up, because I knew a lot of things but B-school really put everything into a step by step plan for me.

If you’ve done a lot of online courses, maybe you’ve done trainings where they told you this was the best thing since sliced bread but you never got results… it’s probably because you didn’t have the big picture action steps in place before you applied this specific strategy.

I’m thinking of things like Pinterest, SEO, Facebook Ads, all of these are great sources of traffic but you need a business foundation in place before you get into any of these.

Who is Leading RHH Bschool?

When it comes to investing in yourself and your business, I have a pretty strict guideline. I only work with people who are successfully doing what I want to do, or have experience making what I want happen for their clients and customers.

Seems pretty straight forward, but there are tons of programs and books to choose from, so focusing in on those that are taught by people who are masters at their craft makes picking and choosing so much easier, and less stressful for me.

Marie Forleo and her programs definitely fall into this category.
What I love about Marie Forleo is her ability to practice what she preaches. She’s been in business for over 10 years, she’s honed her marketing and coaching skills, and you’ll get a generous dose of both by participating in this round of RHH B-School.

The Curriculum

Here’s what the course covers in terms of content, and each week there are strategic coaching calls, reviews, and other goodies to help you implement what you learn.

Weekly Modules Include the Six Pillars of Building Your Online Business:

1. Profit Clarity
2. Websites That Sell and Don’t Suck
3. Slam Dunk Communication Plan
4. List Building Mania
5. How to Create Products and Services That Practically Sell Themselves
6. Marketing Wisdom That Works Across Every Industry

There are also implementation weeks, so you don’t have to feel like you’re drinking from a water hose of information. This gives you a chance to put into practice everything you’re learning so that you can begin to reap the benefits even before the course is over.

Why RHH B-School is Not Like Other Programs

I’ve taken my fair share of online programs, and nothing compares to RHH B-school. From the community of go-getting women (and cool men) to the variety of businesses and backgrounds… it’s truly a sight to see Marie Forleo bring together such a great group.

Everyone in the program is ultra supportive of one another, and there even seems to have developed a B-School economy, with many people becoming partners or providers of services and products to each other.

Beyond the social aspect, which is a huge benefit and advantage that I haven’t seen in many other programs, RHH B-school really cuts to chase.

There are a lot of online programs “padded” with extra videos and content to make them appear more valuable. That’s not the case with B-school, and the training videos are short enough to be watchable and digestible.

Another benefit of taking RHH business school is something that few programs offer: hands on support, advice, and critiques. If you often feel like you’re too close to your business to get some perspective, Marie will zero in on your challenges and give you clear advice. She’s got a keen intuition, and years of marketing experience to back it up.

Should You Buy RHH B-School?

Photo credit

Alright, so I’ve waxed poetic and gushed about Marie Forleo and Rich, Happy, and Hot B-school till the cows came home… now it’s time for you to decide if it’s right for you. Just because it’s a great program, it doesn’t mean that it’s the right choice for you right now depending on where you are in your business.

Like I mentioned earlier, this probably not a good program for you if you’re brand new to business. It’s also not right for you if you’re not willing to learn new ways of doing things, and applying what you learn to see results.

In my personal experience, it’s been the most beneficial to work with the leaders in their field. That definitely means Marie (did you know she was nominated for Marketer of the Year at the Digital Marketer conference?) and it absolutely applies to B-school.

If you’re on the fence or not sure if it’s the right investment for your business right now… take a step back, feel whether you’re anxious-excited or anxious-fearful.

If you’re feeling fearful, then it might not be the right fit for you. That’s okay, there are times when it’s right and times when it’s not the right move.

If it’s more excited, and you’ve got the financial means to make this investment in your business… then it’s time to sign up for RHH B-school. I’ll be the first to welcome you aboard!

Click here to sign up to RHH B-school now, I am a proud affiliate and graduate two times over.

2012 B-school Bonuses

Now, I’ve personally gone through B-school twice, and this time Marie asked me to lead some of the B-school training. Woohoo! I’m the tech expert who is teaching B-schoolers to get techy with it!

So of course I’m a little bit biased when it comes to recommending B-school as an investment in yourself and your business.

But I understand that it’s an investment, and that it can be overwhelming to take on a course like this. So I’ve come up with the best way to support you throughout B-school…

If you sign up for B-school through my affiliate link, you will have access to me via email throughout the course, and each week I will compile everyone’s questions and send them out to the group of B-school students who signed up with me.

Think of it as private tutoring, with one of the teaching assistants of B-school. You’ll learn a ton from reading other people’s questions and the answers I give them.

You’ll also get access to my entire digital training library, which includes List Building on Autopilot, Simple SEO, and my acclaimed Launch It Yourself programs.

And if that’s not enough, you’ll also get a 30 minute strategy session with me at the end of B-school, so you can get hands on business coaching (this time alone is worth $500). This session will be scheduled so it’s convenient for both of us, and must be scheduled within the month after the B-school graduation party.

So if you’re looking to sign up for B-school, and you want some private tutoring to really apply this stellar course to your business, click here to sign up through my affiliate link.

I will get in touch with you as soon as B-school kicks off, and we can get down to business!

P.S. The bonus 30 minute strategy and access to my digital training vault are only available after B-school’s refund period is over, so it’s nice and fair for everyone.  Click here to sign up for B-school and get all of the bonuses, extra coaching, email support, and in-depth video training.

Tongue tied?

Words aren’t flowing? Not sure how to describe your product or service?

That’s where Words that Sell: More than 6000 Entries to Help You Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas comes in.

When it comes to website copywriting, it helps to have a manual at your side for those times when you need a really good word.

A Website Copywriting Handbook: Words That Sell

Get it at Amazon, or for your Kindle.

More Website Copywriting Tips

Other than grabbing your copy of “Words That Sell”, here are a few other tips to take your website copywriting to the next level.

• Write Like You Talk: More people have gotten used to corporate speak, but it’s not how people really talk to each other. When you can bring your language back down to a natural speech pattern, and write in that voice, you’ll connect with your customers in an entirely new way.
• Use Words Your Customers Use: If your customers would never be caught dead talking about “fishmongers”, but they do like to say “gone fishing”… use their exact words!
• Omit Unnecessary Words: This website copywriting tip could apply to all written work, but keeping your writing tight and to the point will only earn you bonus points with your readers.
• Use Headlines and Bullet Points to Break Up Text: No one likes to sit down and read a huge block of text. Use headlines and subheads to create space on the page, and bullet points to convey more information without the long sentences.
• Don’t Forget Your Call to Action: Tell your readers and potential customers what the next steps are. If it’s to leave a comment, subscribe, or buy – tell them how and why.

And now over to you…

These are just some of the website copywriting tips I’ve gathered throughout the years being online. What nuggets of copywriting words that sell have you found?

Share in the comments below!