What about doing more with what you already have?  I discussed this in two other articles: What’s Hiding in Your Business Closet and Maximizing Your Business Assets.

Today, we’re specifically discussing your content marketing plan.  Every piece of content you create (a.k.a. “article”) can be repurposed.  And each time you reformat/repurpose the information, you’re going to reach more and more of your ideal audience.

Cool, huh?  You can download your own copy by right clicking and highlighting “save image as” — you can also save it as your desktop background to keep you motivated.

Let’s walk through it (I’m going from left to right on the chart, but you can do in whatever order you wish and you can leave some items out if you prefer:

1. Write 400-500 word article (you could start with an audio if you prefer)
2. Put your article in your newsletter or send a solo email to your subscribers
3. Post the article on www.EzineArticles.com (“EA” in picture)
4. Group several articles on a similar topic and publish them on both Kindle and as a downloadable ebook on your website
5. Post the article on your blog
6. Join a tweet ring with colleagues where you automatically pull their blog posts into your social media and they do the same for you using a free service like www.Twitterfeed.com.  This will ensure that every blog post reaches not only your community, but everyone in your tweet ring’s community
7. Link to your blog on your social media platforms: Facebook, Linked In, Google+
8. Enable Twitterfeed to post old blog posts on your social media as a way to give your blog archives some new life
9. Open up PowerPoint (or your software of choice) and create some slides from your article content — works great with bulleted-style content
10. Post those slides on social media and YouTube
11. Record your article as an audio and post to iTunes as a podcast in just a few minutes using same tool
12. Post your audio recording on other podcast directories (use your search engine of choice and type in “your industry name + podcast”
13. Using your slide and/or audio content, create a webcast training as a list builder
14. Break your article up into shorter tips and post on social media (like my #SmarTini tips)
15. Repost your article as a Facebook Note (this is NOT a post — it’s under “Notes” in your FB account, both personal and biz pages)

Are there more things you can do?  Absolutely, but this gives you a great start and, once you do the basics, you can delegate or automate the rest.

Feeling overwhelmed and wondering how the heck all of this fits into your business?  Check out our new “SMAC: Where Results are Created” — it may be just what your business ordered (3 spots remaining).

Would you prefer to listen to this article? If so, please click here to listen.

During a recent call, a client asked me what, in the most basic of terms, did I think it took to be successful with an online-based business.

Hmm…

After taking a few seconds to prepare my thoughts, here are what I consider to be the 3 keys to a successful online-based business.  Please note that while there are several definitions of “successful” and we all define what it means for us, I’m using the simple definition of “business success = positive profits”, hence the title of this article.

What are the 3 keys to a successful, a.k.a. profitable, business?

1      Become an expert or a reporter.  Pick the field, it could be anything from making homemade dog food to gardening to coaching to caring for koi or making smoothies and knowing how to find the best fishing holes in local lakes.  Things will be much easier and success will come much quicker if you choose something you already know and love. 
When it comes to becoming a “reporter”, think of Napoleon Hill.  He interviewed a specific group of individuals and then reported on his findings and that book is one of the best books in the business/self-help genres.
2.       Have something to sell.  Sounds simple right?  You’d be surprised, shocked even, at the number of business owners who complain they’re not making any money and when you look at their website, they’re not actually selling anything.  Create products or programs, offer services.  If these things scare you, consider becoming a resource for affiliate products (just be sure to test them yourself first) or changing your plans.
3.       Create engagement and campaigns and have the tools to manage them.  Build relationships by offering information on your topic and following up using the principles of Extreme Client Care™.  Get to know your community, interact with them, listen to them and create programs, products or services they want and need.  Once you have those, plan regular campaigns to offer those programs, products and services.

A “campaign” is not a single email or a few posts on social media.  It’s a strategic, integrated plan involving both online and offline media tools and can often take several weeks to fully implement.

In order to do the above, you need the right tools.  If you try and piecemeal together a hodgepodge of “this and that”, you’ll spend more time, money and energy trying to make everything work together and filling holes (or paying your team to do it for you) than you would have if you’d done it right the first time.  Successful businesses cost money to create.  You have to invest, and invest smartly, to profit.

If your business is lacking and not bringing in the revenue, and profits, you’d like it to, chances are you’re missing one of the above three items and/or your mindset around your business and why you’re doing it isn’t congruent with who you are and what you really want.

MY REQUEST TO YOU  

Do a quick business check-in.  Are you happy with where your profits are right now?  If not, why not?  This is the hard question.  Be honest with yourself.

If you want some assistance with the above, click here to learn more about a Strategy Session.  I’m ready if you are. 

You feel like you’re working hard in, and on, your business, yet the revenue just isn’t there.  You’re not making the revenue everyone talks about and which seems so easy for them.  So what’s going on?

I’m going to be blunt.  The answer typically comes down to a few things:

1. You either haven’t earned, or kept, the trust of your readers.

Let me explain.  If your website indicates that you send out a weekly newsletter and you send it out every other week or “when you get to it”, you’re telling (through your actions) your readers that you’re not credible and shouldn’t be trusted.

It’s simple.  If I can’t trust you to send out a newsletter (or even a one paragraph tip) when you say you will, why would I ever trust you to do anything else you say you will?

And a special note here…the “fault” may not be yours.  You may be doing all the work and your team (virtual assistant) may be inadvertently making mistakes with how new prospects enter your community or how your newsletter is sent (this recently happened to a client of mine as her VA “thought” she understood the system and didn’t).

2.  You’re working hard, but not smart.

You’re in your office working more hours than you, or your family, think you should be for the amount of revenue that’s [not] coming in.

You think you’re doing all the right things – in reality, you’re likely using a mishmash of strategies and techniques with no unifying plan.

In addition to the lack of consistency and cohesion, if you’re not sure what your business truly does and has to offer, your prospective clients will be confused and a confused person never purchases and certainly doesn’t see working with you as an investment.

3. You’re busy, not truly productive.

Like #2 above, you’re in your office working more hours than you think you should be – especially given all the “I work part time and earn 6 figure” stuff that’s out there.

Unfortunately, if you were to honestly (brutal honesty here) review everything you’re doing on a daily basis, you’d find that you’re busy. . .not productive.

How many of your activities track to revenue?  Or to building your community?  Are you consistent?  Do you find yourself saying “there’s not enough time” or “I was too busy to do X”?

4. Your business is an expense.

Prospective clients need to see what you do and what you offer as an investment — in themselves, their businesses, their mindset, something which will “pay them dividends” over time.

How does what you do save your clients time, mo.ney, or effort?  Or how does it help them be happier, live a more fruitful life, etc.?  Become an investment, not an expense.

If you’ve resonated with any of the above, or become irate and wonder “How dare Sandy say I’m inconsistent, not productive, etc.?”, you’ll want to take a close look at what you’re doing in your business and the results you’re getting.
5. You’re overwhelmed.

You’ve got a list a mile long and not sure where to start so you procrastinate and do other things (see #3 above) while those things which bring you closer to revenue are neglected.

Also under this category is when you’ve spent so much time getting ready for a new program or product launch that by the time you’re ready to announce it to your community, you’re overwhelmed and/or bored with it.  Your campaigns aren’t campaigns, they’re single announcements and you’re wondering what happened and why people aren’t investing.

And if you’re not sure what to do, check out my upcoming course on How to Create Engagement, and Paying Clients, through Nurturing — for less than $70 and happening this Friday.

In an overcrowded marketplace, everyone is looking for a way to get noticed.  I think one of the great paradoxes we’re all living with (and through) is that the more connected we become the more difficult it is to be heard.

You could try and get noticed by putting on a show.  And some take that route.  You could give yourself a catchy ‘persona’—and there are plenty of self-anointed Diva’s, Gurus, Czars and Queens out there to be sure!  And, to a degree, these tactics work. If done right, they can be fun and effective.  But, if done wrong, you risk becoming an inside joke.  Not the best way to get noticed and make a serious impact on the world.

Here’s what I think.  I think the best way to stand out is to be yourself—to discover your own unique approach or way of working (and being) and claim that as your “signature”.  Signature is about fully being yourself and amplifying the elements that make you memorable to those who experience you and your work.   Signature isn’t about putting on pretense.  It’s about dropping it.

Signature is….

… claiming your brilliance and being willing to show it off a bit

…being more of yourself

…being grounded in values that guide you no matter what is going on in the market

…expressing your point of view, your creativity, your unique take on life and business

…standing confidently and clearly in your message

…having a style or approach all your own

…being different because you ARE different

…creating an experience for your clients, customers, prospects and those who experience your work

…taking the lead more often than you follow

…stepping out of convention and challenging assumptions (especially your own)

…making an impact with your gifts, talents and strengths

…taking a stand for something of meaning to you and to others

…trusting your own wisdom as much as you trust the insight of your mentors and advisors

…finally being ok with who you are…and who you aren’t

It may seem like a tall order.  At first, it may even feel scarier than playing a part, right? I don’t intend it to be.  In fact, when you finally grasp that all you really have to do is be yourself, you may breathe a sigh of relief!  When you let yourself off the hook about having to ‘get it right’ or do things exactly like others are doing them, you begin to recognize your distinct difference.  That’s when things get exciting!

Finding your signature difference is about finding the place where what you do and who you are is strong, clear and confident.  I’m often asked how to figure this out.  So here are 5 really straightforward ways to uncover your unique difference.

1. What is the experience you want your customers, colleagues and others to have when they interact with you and your company?  What words do you want them to use when talking about you and your business?  These can become the “signature” elements you put in place to stand out.
2. Think about the 5 proudest moments in your business life.  What words, phrases, feelings and images come to mind?  Consider how these might showcase the best and brightest about you and your business…and how that might just be your “signature” difference.
3. What compliments do you hear over and over again?  If you don’t do it already, I highly recommend keeping a file dedicated to all the random and not so random feedback, compliments,’ thank you’s’ and appreciations you receive.  These are clues to your signature approach and to what people value most in working with and around you.
4. Make a list of 5 favorite clients, customers or projects you’ve ever worked with.  What was it about those experiences that made them so memorable for you?  What were the results?  What was unique about these 5?  What was similar?  This is like a little treasure hunt leading you to your signature ‘thing’!
5. Fast forward 3 years.  You’ve achieved more than you could have hoped in the last 3 years.  Your local newspaper is coming to interview you to share your success story.  What have you accomplished? What are you known for?  What are you proudest of?  What stands out about you to get you noticed and acknowledged?

Take a look at the connection points and common themes.  They point the way to what makes you unique…and where it’s time to amplify your message.

If you’re ready to claim your distinct difference and grow your business based on YOUR unique edge, please join Shawn for her free training on “How to Get Known for Something Uniquely Your Own”.  Learn more here….

About the author:

Shawn Driscoll, known as the “Trailblazer’s Coach”, believes the fastest way to build a respected and profitable business is to dare to be distinctive.  With a keen eye for strategy and a sixth sense for seeing ‘hidden’ systems within businesses, she has fast become a sought-after coach to many trailblazing entrepreneurs and leading experts internationally.  Connect with her at www.ShawnDriscoll.com

It’s your relationship with your community (a.k.a. “list”) and audience.  When my business first broke $100,000 in revenue, there were 82 people on my list.  It’s completely possible and totally doable.

That said, you do need more than your family, friends and pets in your community (or on your list).

Whether you’re holding a “list building” event, participating in a teleclass/telesummit, offering a complimentary training or participating in a giveaway, here are a few tactics and strategies (a.k.a. “how and why” ways) to handle things on the backend:

1.     “Here you go/Pay it forward” Extreme Client Care™ Option:  Create a page on your site and give them the link of your report, giveaway, gift.  Invite them to sign up for your list/updates/newsletter, but don’t require it (sample “here you go/pay it forward” page).

Why you would use:  Shows visitor that you’re more about providing information than list building and makes assumption that if you “do your job” by providing visitor with relevant, helpful info that she’ll want to sign up and learn more/receive more.  Great for building relationships and credibility with those who resonate with you.  Has the added benefit of confusing those with a skeptical mindset of “why would you give without receiving”. 

2.     “Soft Squeeze” Option:  Create a page (sample soft squeeze page) and request visitors share their name and email address information in order to receive “the thing” (report, giveaway, etc.).  Allow them to enter your website or click through to other pages if they choose not to give that information.  They may not yet know/trust you enough to share.

Why you would use:  When combined with a graphic representation of your giveaway, studies show that this has a higher opt-in rate than #1 as you’re requiring the info in exchange for content: visitors come to the page and decide if what you’re offering is something they’re willing to exchange their info for.

3.     Shopping Cart Option:  Create a zero cost product within your shopping cart.  When promoting the giveaway, use the cart’s product link.  When people sign up to receive, they’ll enter their mailing address as well as name and email.  With this option, you don’t need to create a full page unless you wish to/need to extol the benefits of your giveaway.  You can see a sample of how I did this in the current Learning Survey (need to take Survey, then go to Gift page and scroll down to my name to see).

Why you would use:  There are several strategies behind this option, including: No double opt-in needed as the cart considers these individuals “customers” since they went through the “product door”; you now have the ability to send snail mail since they shared their mailing address, this is great to surprise them with a special non-selling item in their mailbox (creates a feeling of Extreme Client Care™ while building credibility); you can add them to multiple nurturing sequences simultaneously, great for Client Care when done properly (never bombard new readers with too many connections/emails and easily allows for nurturing through segmentation).

This option works great for bonuses on other people’s websites/with their products, as part of telesummits, etc.  Just be sure to either use a link shortener (such as http://tinyurl.com) or a redirect link as the shopping cart links are long, ugly and likely to get broken.

Can you see how tactics without strategy are meaningless and strategy without the right tactical info is a waste of good strategy?  It’s not enough to know what you’re doing — you need to understand the “why” behind it.

If this information resonated with you and you’d like to know more, including the strategies (and tactics!) behind how my business created over $100,000 in revenue with a tiny list, join me on Friday, May 10th for a 3-hour session on Creating Engagement, and Paying Clients, through Nurturing.

Some days it’s as if there’s no “off” switch — meals are missed, personal relationships are neglected, mail piles up, you get the idea.

That’s why we see so many books, articles and businesses designed around helping us incorporate self-care into our lives and businesses.  Important?  Absolutely.

And if you’re currently in that mode, it’s time to step away.  Force yourself to unplug for a few hours or, better yet, a couple of days.  Reconnect with those important to you, discover a hobby outside your office, volunteer somewhere, take a child to a museum, go for a bike ride or a long walk. . .

But what about the “other side” of that self-care coin? 

You know, the one where we often feel overwhelmed and so incorporate more self-care activities into our lives:

• Taking a nap or an afternoon off
• Hanging out on Facebook and convincing ourselves we’re “networking” or “building relationships”
• Chatting with friends and calling it “masterminding”
• Tackling easy tasks and avoiding bigger, more difficult projects
• Generally finding anything to do so long as it’s not “stressful work”

Do any of these sound familiar?

If not, congratulations, you’re one of the few this has never happened to.  If so, let’s look at what you can do to jump start yourself and get back to work when it does happen:

1. What’s your “why” for owning your own business?  Note that the reason is never just m.o.n.e.y, it may be things that money can help provide such as a financially-free retirement, college for your children, etc.  Whatever your “why”, get back in touch with it.  It’s motivating.  Inspiring.  Pulls you up when other things fail.
2. Assess where you are in your business
   1. Do you need clients?
   2. Do you have too many clients and need leverage?
   3. Do you feel you’re doing everything “right”, yet something’s missing?
3. What’s one step you can take today, right now to move you closer to your goal?
   1. Follow-up with those who have shown an interest in your work
   2. Look at the work you do with clients, bundle the most popular of it and create a group program with an e-learning platform
   3. Invite someone outside your business in to take an objective look

As important as it is to ensure you take time off, relax and have interests outside your business, it’s also critical to spend time getting working on the “right” things to make your business successful – as you define it.

Self-care is like most other things in your business and life – you need balance.  Things likely won’t balance daily or even weekly, but your goal is to make it all work for you and your family:  choose self-care activities which nurture and support you, choose business goals which inspire and motivate you and, most importantly, ask for help as necessary.

We can best serve others when we first serve ourselves.

The ground is shifting very quickly when it comes to education and the delivery of training materials and information.

I’m teaming up with Karyn Greenstreet and a few colleagues to discover exactly which ways you like to absorb new content, learn new skills, acquire new knowledge for your business and professional life.

We’re asking small business owners to take this quick, 2-minute survey with six easy questions — there’s no selling and it’s anonymous.

Can I ask you the favor of taking just 2 minutes from your schedule today to take our survey? Here’s where you can take it online.

Thank you for your help and I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this survey with others in your community — just give them this link: www.EscalatorMarketingPlan.com/survey. The more people who participate, the better the data will be and that benefits us all.

Even 2 minutes is a lot when you’re busy, so we’re making it irresistible by offering you 26 practical, helpful free educational bonuses, just for completing the survey.

The gift I contributed is worth $97 and was recently described as “the best product you’ve created yet” by a client on Facebook. Take the survey at www.EscalatorMarketingPlan.com/survey to receive it today.

Thinking back to my days of internal auditing with the Federal Government, I was looking for the measurement.

Then an email arrived from someone indicating that she owed us an apology as she hasn’t written her newsletter or provided informative content in quite a while, but it’s okay because she’s been behind-the-scenes revamping her business and would now like us to invest in her new programs.

And that’s when I realized that we can measure integrity — both our own and others — by asking and answering the simple question “Did I/they do what I/they said I/they would?”

That’s the measurement.  It is that simple.  Not a number, but proof that we did what we said we’d do and when we didn’t do it (as will happen for any number of reasons), we own up to it.  We mess up, we’re human.  That’s okay as long as we acknowledge it and do our best to fix it our customers and clients will continue to trust and have confidence in us.

Here are some recent instances where I’ve seen proof of a lack of integrity and no attempt to either own up or fix:

• Affiliate payments — this one is rampant in the online-focused world.  Biz owners who ask for help in sharing/promoting something and when the affiliate payments are due to go out either don’t pay, push payments out a ridiculous amount of time or tell you they’ve “spent it” meanwhile showcasing their latest vacation on social media.
• Consistency — simply not doing what they committed to as in the example of the business owner above.  Had she sent out a simple email stating that she was taking a brief sabattical and would be back soon, all would be well.
• Client Service — this one really gets me.  Biz owners who work hard to get new clients and then lost them because they don’t take care of them/don’t deliver on their commitment to provide “X”.  I want to yell, “Seriously?!?!”, after all, they’re hurting their reputation, credibility, etc.
• The Half-Assed Attempt — sadly, I’m seing this one more and more and while it could definitely be combined with “Client Service” above, I feel the need to break it out.  Rather than doing a good job, doing the least amount possible to “get by”.  This comes from either not asking clarifying questions, making assumptions or plain doing a “just barely satisfactory” job of something (think a “C-/D” in grade) so one can move on to the next thing.  Augh!

My recommendation:

• Check and see where your business may be out of integrity with your standards and values.  Many times this is happening and we’re totally unaware of it.  An example in my business was when I discovered that a nurturing sequence wasn’t tied to a product so here I am thinking the clients are receiving this great “add-on” info to what they invested in and they were receiving nothing.  I only learned after asking a client how they were liking the info.
• Ask your clients how you’re doing.  Keep this anonymous to ensure you receive totally honest info that you need to hear — not always what you may want to hear.  It’s more important that your business, not your ego, benefit from the responses.
• For those who you’re doing business with and you feel they’re out of integrity, address it.  Take the approach that they’re not aware of it and ask/let them know nicely.  As the saying goes, you’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar and they may truly not realize what’s happening/not happening.  Make your decision about future interactions based on their response.

We’re not perfect, likely never will be and that’s totally okay.  We’re not “out of integrity” because something was missed or a mistake was made — it’s when we fail to address it that the issues arise.

Recently I was interviewed on the subject of Extreme Client Care™ for a book and we spent most of that call on what it is and how business owners can easily and inexpensively incorporate it into everything they do.

What we didn’t really cover and what’s hit home for me over the last week is what it’s not.  A couple of examples to illustrate what I mean:

A tale of two banks

I have accounts at two different banks and 99% of the time finds me at their drive-thrus.  Bank 1 greeted me, commented on the nice weather, cashed my check, gave me a butterscotch candy, dog biscuit (note that I didn’t have any of the dogs with me this trip) and thanked me for choosing them.

As I was thinking about the great service from Bank 1, I drove to Bank 2 to deposit cash.  The teller also greeted me, in a way which made it clear she didn’t really care whether I answered the question or not and in a way which made me wonder if someone was threatening her if she didn’t spit out the requisite phrase.

Thinking this may be a fluke, after all, we all have off days, I repeated the above 3 more times in the same week with the exact same experience.

Both banks “did their job” — the technical aspects of what they did was flawless, yet only Bank 1 practiced Extreme Client Care™.

Dinner out

After a busy day in the office, we decided to go out for dinner.  Not a super expensive place, but not fast food either.  The goal was to have a delicious meal prepared, put in front of us and taken away with no clean-up (ever had one of those days?).

Our server was incredibly friendly.  She couldn’t have been nicer.  Score 1 for Extreme Client Care™.

Sadly, that’s the only point.  She messed up my beverage order, then forgot to fix it, told DH the wrong vegetable side and didn’t catch it until he asked where his “proper” side was and completely messed up his other side by bringing the wrong dish.

In this case, the “service” in terms of her friendliness was perfect, yet the technical aspects of her job were severely lacking and so the restaurant fails, in this instance, in practicing Extreme Client Care™.

As I was sharing this experience with my sister, she had a very similar experience at the same restaurant about a week after we went.  Once, a fluke.  Twice, the beginnings of a trend.

MY REQUEST TO YOU  

Extreme Client Care™ isn’t just about being nice and friendly or doing your job well.  It’s about both.

You want to relate to your clients and customers as people while doing a great job.  One without the other creates an experience of lacking.  Something’s missing.

It’s almost worse to have one without the other as the one which is *on* calls more attention to the one which isn’t.  The contrast becomes stark.

What are you doing to ensure your business reflects the tenets of Extreme Client Care™ — service and skill?

In my opinion, there’s more talk than there is adherence to what I consider the basics of “being in integrity”.

Here are just a few examples:

1. After a program closes (for whatever reason – date, number of members, etc.), do you keep offering it or let people in?  In my opinion, “no” – to do so puts you out of integrity with your information page and will *tell* the other members that you can’t be trusted to do what you say you will.  After all, it all comes down to trust.
2. Do you give testimonials that aren’t deserved?  I received a great testimonial from someone whose event I spoke at.  A colleague who had a tough time in his presentation received the same great testimonial.  That testimonial has been taken off my site as it’s automatically discounted by the testimonial she wrote my colleague.
3. Then there’s the online business owner who recently promoted that there were only X number of a physical product available so “get it before we run out”. Subsequent emails trying to get us to buy and showing how many more were sold (plus other calls the business owner had pitching the product), added up to almost double the original “get ‘em before we’re sold out” quantity.
4. And there are those who believe it’s okay to “pretend” until they achieve a certain goal – the concern here is that others are investing in them believing that goal has been reached and all the challenges that came were surmounted.

The issue for me — aside from the blatant untruths — is that these business owners, like so many others out there, preach and teach the concept of integrity.  It’s become a case of “do what I say, not what I do”.

So what does “integrity” mean anyway?

According to www.Dictionary.com, “integrity” is:

1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the intetrity of the empire.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

Looking at the first definition only and then PAYING ATTENTION to several online businesses, I have to ask, has the definition changed?  Is it now a matter of “integrity when convenient”?

I hope not.  It’s not how I run my business and I pray it’s not how you run yours.

In addition to everything I share above, I believe the Universe supports us in our integrity and “waits” for us when needed:

• If you’re overwhelmed and not delivering for current clients, new clients won’t be showing up
• If you have “money messes” that you’re not cleaning up, new money isn’t going to appear

On the other hand:

• If you’re serving your current clients and taking consistent action to move your business forward and show (not just “say”) that you’re ready, new clients will appear
• If you’re paying attention to your money, doing what you can to clean up anything that needs cleaning up, you’re showing that you’re ready to receive more and more will come