The post Setting New Goals for the New Year appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

Here’s the thing – in order to grow your online business, you need to have a way of driving sales. And if all you’re doing is creating content. You’re missing out on a lot of business.

That’s why your sales funnel is so important. But most people get it wrong (or they don’t even do it).

That’s why I’m discussing the following:

• Why it’s important to understand your audience and what questions you need to answer before creating ANYTHING.
• The value pyramid, and how this can set you up to create the write offerings.
• Options for everything from your free public-facing content all the way to your high-priced product.

Go ahead and listen to the episode.

The post 393 How to Build an Effective Sales Funnel appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

Need help?

Do you need help on this journey of starting or growing your online business? Then you should check out Monetize Your Message. It's my three-day virtual event where I help you create a blueprint for your online business.
If you attend, you will leave with a very clear action plan on how to build a business that's focused on your message. Don't know what your message is? No worries. I will help you with that too.

Click Here Now

Infographic

 

 

The post 392 What it Takes to Build a Serious Online Business appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

The post 391 What Role Does God Play in my Business? appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

The post Introducing “Monetize Your Message: A Virtual Experience” appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

In this interview, Kaitlyn Study from South Street Marketing shares her tips on doing all of those things. By the end, you’ll have a step-by-step action plan for building your successful marketing agency.

Listen to This Episode

Life Before South Street Marketing

After graduating with her marketing degree from the University of Central Florida, she found a job in a dermatologist office. She was responsible for doing all of their digital marketing.

At the time, they had ten offices, and she was responsible for helping them grow using the internet. While she had some preparation from her course of study at UCF, it was time to expand that quickly.

So she started reading blogs, printed out, and highlighted a bunch of articles. She learned about websites, SEO, and social media marketing. Fortunately, she was given the leeway to test things out and figure it all out.

During her time there, she worked on helping them develop memorable branding. She helped by pushing their businesses online, using SEO, and setting up an online booking option.

By the end of her time there, she had helped them double in size while learning a lot about digital marketing.

After a year and a half, she decided it was time to step out on her own. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, she had a desire to build something that belonged to her. She wanted to create something she could be proud of. 

Combine that with her desire to help other small businesses know what direction to go, and the result is South Street Marketing.

How to Start (and Grow) a Digital Marketing Agency

The rest of this article will cover tips on how to start and grow a digital marketing agency. These tips are based on Kaitlyn’s experience growing South Street Marketing. However, many of these tips apply to building any kind of online business.

Choose a starting point

When Kaitlyn first started, she did a lot of research to see what other agencies were focused on. She noticed that many were going after businesses in general. She decided to focus on local businesses.

While this gave her some focus, she did any and everything her clients needed. It was hard for her to say no, especially since she needed to make money. If she didn’t know how to do something, she researched it, figured it out, and then did it.

Over time, she started figuring out what she would (and wouldn’t) do. She narrowed her niche down even further to service-based companies that want to reach a local clientele.

You don’t have to have it fully figured out. You have permission to explore. But you have to choose a starting point.

Ask for Reviews

Once you start working with clients, it’s important to start collecting reviews. Reviews are especially important if you’re targeting local audiences. Once you complete a project, ask for a review. It’s easier to get it immediately than to ask for it at a later date.

Here’s an example email you can use:

“Hi [NAME],

Thank you so much for using us for your [Insert project name]. I’m so thrilled that it came out well and that you’re happy with it.

I would love it if you could leave us a rave review on Google so that other amazing customers just like you can find us online.

Here’s the link: [INSERT LINK]

Thanks in advance!

[Your Name]”

Kaitlyn recommends only asking for reviews from customers who had an amazing experience.

How to Get Your First Clients

When starting a digital marketing agency, finding clients can be a challenge. Fortunately, Kaitlyn has some excellent tips to share.

Get really personal on your social sites

It’s time to start leveraging your networks. Post on Facebook and LinkedIn to let people know about what you do. However, the focus should not be on selling. It should be on educating your target audience. 

When you do that, people will start seeing you as an industry leader. And when they need someone with your expertise, they’ll be more likely to reach out.

Kaitlyn recommends using your first post to give a background of your why. Why are you starting your digital marketing company? In that post, you can link to your site for people to find out more about what you do.

After that post, it’s time to start educating people via your future posts. Break it down into bite-sized pieces of content focusing on your target audience. What do they need to learn? Whatever that is, create content to educate them on it.

Get involved in the networks/markets you want to target

At first, Kaitlyn did this by joining networking groups. Through these groups, she met people in the industry. As these contacts started to understand what she did, they started referring people to her. Here are other ways you can get involved in the networks you want to target:

• Join Facebook groups
• Guest posting on other websites
• Engage with hashtags on Instagram and contributing to the conversation.
• Being a guest on podcasts

Have an Effective Sales Process

When Kaitlyn first started South Street Marketing, she didn’t have much of a sales process. So she hired a sales coach who helped her set up a sales process. Here’s what that sales process looks like:

• Start with a free 30-minute call. On this free call, your goal is to make sure the client is a good fit and that you can help them.
• Research their business. This gives you insight that you can use for the 2nd meeting.
• Do a second meeting. This is a 45-minute call where you talk about competitors, goals, social media posting, timeline, and expectations.

Have a proposal meeting. In this meeting, walkthrough every section of your proposal and ask them if they would like to move forward.

What goes into the proposal

Kaitlyn’s goal with the proposal is to answer all their questions. It’s something she’s always tweaking. Here’s what it contains:

• Cover page
• Table of Contents
• Brand Outline/Strategy
• Investment (with three plans): She uses the word investment rather than pricing. 
• Timeline
• Additional expectations: Anything that’s outside the budget (i.e. ad spend, hosting, etc).
• Due date – 2 weeks later:

Why Kaitlyn Works with Coaches

Coaching has been a big part of Kaitlyn’s journey. After reading this book, she realized that pro athletes all have a bunch of coaches. They have a team behind them. For them to reach their peak states, they need support.

To help her get to her peak, Kaitlyn works with multiple coaches and mentors. She has coaches in the areas of business, sales, and life. She also has five or six other mentors in her local area.

In her words – “Without coaches and mentors, I would’ve run into so many more brick walls.”

Scaling the Business

To grow your business, you have to grow your team. But you don’t want to have too many employees and not enough work. On the other hand, you don’t want too much work and not enough employees.

Kaitlyn knows how many hours go into each client. Based on that, she will allocate those hours to employees. If the hours start to exceed the number of employees, it may be time to add team members.

Kaitlyn also relies on programs to streamline her processes. She uses Zapier as her “connector program.”

For example – When she gets a new client, Zapier will do all of the following:

• Create a project in her project management software
• Adds the client to her time-tracking software
• Create a folder in Google Drive.
• Create a spreadsheet for that client
• Other tasks (31 in total)

Agency Coaching

If you are interested in starting (or growing) your agency and would love to have some support, check out Kaitlyn’s Agency Coaching program. She obviously has the experience and can provide the guidance you need. In it, she will help you streamline your business, go over processes, determine your pricing, and much more.

Resources / Tools Mentioned

• Zapier
• FreshBooks

Infographic – How to Build a Digital Marketing Agency

The post 389 How to Build a Successful Digital Marketing Agency – Kaitlyn Study appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

Listen to the episode

Struggle 1: Fear

Entrepreneurs aren't strangers to fear. In fact, fear is a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey. It can be fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and even fear of success.

What separates entrepreneurs is not that they don't experience fear. It's that the move forward in spite of fear.

If you're experiencing fear as you build your business, know that you are not alone. It's normal. In fact, fear can often be a good sign. Use it as a barometer to let you know that you're stepping outside your comfort zone.

Struggle 2: Perfectionism

This is a big one. There are so many entrepreneurs that want things to be perfect before they launch them. Their blog post has to be perfect. Their ebook has to be perfect. Their course has to be perfect.

The problem is that perfection is unattainable. And in many cases, in waiting for perfection, you never take the step of actually launching.

There is a better alternative. Strive for progress, not perfection. This mindset allows you to launch, and then refine over time. It gives you permission to take the next step.

In doing so, you will get feedback. And you can use that feedback to create a better product because you're using actual data.

So stop waiting for perfectionism. Instead, take action and refine over time.

Struggle 3: Not knowing what to do next

Have you ever felt paralyzed because you don't know what to do next? This is a common problem with entrepreneurs. You're stuck where you are.

Here's what I love about this problem – there's always a way for us to figure out the next step. In the world we live in, knowledge is literally at our fingertips.

Go to Google and search for the next step. Find a YouTube video that shows you what to do next. Take a course on the thing you're struggling to figure out. Hire a coach to provide the guidance you need.

Use whatever resources you have available. There are many – both free and paid.

Struggle 4: Being Overwhelmed

With knowledge being right at our fingertips, it's quite easy to be overwhelmed. Information is coming at us left and right. Our inboxes are flooded. Social media is full of content that point in so many different directions.

Here's what I recommend – practice “just-in-time learning”. This is when you learn something right when you need to know it. If you're setting up your blog, you don't need a course on how to negotiate partnerships. That's not relevant right now.

Stick to content that helps you take the next step you need to take. That will reduce your overwhelm significantly and give you a clear path forward.

Struggle 5: Shiny Object Syndrome

We live in a very interesting time. There are so many new social platforms coming on the scene. Each social platform is also releasing new features that we feel the need to use.

There's also new equipment being rolled out that can help us create better videos. You just bought a new camera and the next model comes out the week after.

With all these new things comes FOMO. We feel like we need to get the next shiny object or we won't be able to accomplish XYZ.

But here's the reality. It's not about the next big thing. You don't need the latest and greatest technology to have an impact or to build your business. You just need something that works.

There are many examples of entrepreneurs who became successful using what was at their disposal. Those limitations can actually result in creativity.

Embrace your limitations and start creating.

Struggle 6: Not focusing on your main thing

One of the things I've noticed with bloggers (and many other entrepreneurs) is that they try to do too much. All the “gurus” have all kinds of opinions about what you MUST do. You try to do it all.

You're on every social platform trying to have an impact. You try to create every kind of content. And in trying to do it all, you end up spreading yourself thin.

I recommend doing the exact opposite. Instead of trying to be everywhere and do everything, figure out what your main thing is. What is the thing you can do where you can have the biggest impact?

Figure that out and focus the bulk of your energy on it. By focusing on less, you will accomplish more.

Struggle 7: Activity without strategy

You want to grow your business, so you keep yourself busy. You're doing a lot of things. You're creating content and promoting it on social media. But there's no overall strategy.

So while you're being active, you're not being productive. Your business is not growing. The solution – get a strategy. Take a course that will help you develop a strategy.

Or even better, get yourself a coach who can help you come up with a strategy.

If you're looking for a coach who can help you refine your strategy for growing your business, let's have a conversation. I work with a few high-performing clients to help them to achieve more.

If you'd like to find out more, contact me.

Infographic

Infographic: The Top 7 Entrepreneurial Struggles and How to Overcome Them

The post 388 The Top 7 Entrepreneurial Struggles and How to Overcome Them appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

But I know that trends come and go.

In this post (and podcast episode), I’m going to talk about the two trends that I’ll be exploring in 2021.

Listen to the episode

Trend #1: Short-form Video

This is a trend that is taking the Internet by storm. The video-sharing platform is literally the fastest growing social media platform of all time.

Of course, when the social media overlord (Facebook) sees this, they did what they do best. They stole the features that made TikTok popular and built it into Instagram. But they gave it a unique name – Instagram Reels.

Interestingly enough, it seems to be a feature that took off. Some of my friends, including people like Pat Flynn, seem to have been having great success with it.

The theft didn’t end there. YouTube also wants in on the action. So, they rolled out YouTube Shorts. These are vertical videos up to 60 seconds in length that try to tap into this popular trend TikTok started.

I’ve always said that if you want to see what to focus on for maximum exposure, follow the money. All of these platforms are aggressively trying to dominate in this space. So they are putting a lot of money behind short-form videos.

Not only that, Instagram and YouTube are both giving increased exposure (for right now) to creators using these features.

Why? Because TikTok has shown that the model works. And while they might be late to the party, they are definitely putting up a solid fight.

My Plans for Short-form Video

It has arrived at the point where I find this short-form video push to be very interesting. So, I’m gonna put on my scientist hat and start experimenting.

I’ll be starting to create some short-form videos and putting them on all three platforms. My goal is to see how well they work for me and on what platforms I get the most engagement.

I don’t know what the outcome will be. But I know I’ll be collecting data and using that data to make decisions about where I want to focus.

Trend #2: Clubhouse

If you haven’t already heard, Clubhouse is the latest social media craze. It’s a social live audio app where you can listen in on and participate in live conversations. It’s currently iOS only, but they are working on the Android version. It’s also invite-only.

Btw, if you’re on there, follow me @iamlesliesamuel. 

When you log onto the app, you see that there are a number of rooms where discussions are happening. These discussions are on a wide range of topics. Some of the topics include business, entrepreneurship, politics, education, parenting, and entertainment. Whatever your interests are, there’s probably a room for you.

A big focus for clubhouse is clubs. Members can create clubs and those clubs can have members and followers. When you create a room in a club, the people who follow your club get notified. You can also have other people create rooms in your club.

Why is all this interesting? Well, it’s interesting because of how quickly it’s growing right now and how engaged the users are.

Since launching in April of last year (2020), it has grown to 6 million users. It was at 600K users in December (less than two months ago). It’s currently valued at $1 billion. It’s one of the most downloaded apps in the app store at the moment and users spend an average of 90 minutes a day on the app.

Now if you know me, you probably know that numbers aren’t enough to convince me to use a service. But here’s the compelling part.

I’ve joined a few rooms and have had conversations with a bunch of people on the app. I’ve experienced people’s lives be positively impacted by the things I’ve shared there. I’ve seen people make commitments to do things that scare them. It’s a place where genuine connections take place and I love that.

My Plans for Clubhouse

It should be no surprise that my plans for clubhouse are similar to my plans for Short-form video. I plan on experimenting. I’ll be doing a number of different kinds of rooms. The topics I’ll be covering are entrepreneurship, blogging, social media marketing, faith and business, and others. I might even play around and do some music stuff.

I will also be starting a few clubs on clubhouse. Once they get approved, I’ll be hosting rooms in those clubs. It should be an interesting experiment.

How about you? What’s your focus for 2021? Are they similar to mine? I’m curious to know more. Let me know in the comments below.

The post 387 Top Content and Social Media Trends I’m Exploring in 2021 appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.

I remember reading that quote a few years back. It was one that stood out to me when I read the book, “Start with Why”.

I've been in business since 2008, and full-time since 2014. Every so often, I have to remind myself why I do what I do.

In this episode, I share my why. Why am I sharing it? Well, it's only partly because of the quote above.

The other part is that from time to time, I need to remind myself why I do what I do.

So, go ahead and listen to the episode, and then come back and answer the following question:

Why do YOU do what you do?

The post 385 Here’s My Real Why appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

In this post, I'm going to share why it's important to do so as well as how to make it a reality.

Listen to the episode

Leaving my job

In 2013, after a conversation with my wife, I decided that 2014 would be my last year at my job.

I had been working as a university professor for two years and things were intense. Since I was a new professor, there was a bunch of work I needed to do to stay ahead of my students.

As a result, I was always working. It was not the kind of life I wanted to live. I hardly made time for my family and that didn't sit well with me.

But here's what got me. When I looked at the other professors in my department, they seemed to be working just as much (if not more). Even the ones who had been there for over twenty years.

It was as if I was looking at my future and it didn't look the way I wanted my life to look. I wanted to create a lifestyle where I had time for my family.

The life I envisioned was one where I had the flexibility to work from anywhere. And one where I could take time off. That's what I'm creating and I want to share what I've learned with you.

The Gary Vee Mentality

Are you familiar with Gary Vaynerchuck? His book, Crush It, played a major role in my early days of online entrepreneurship.

And if there's one thing I learned about from him, it's that to make it, you gotta hustle! Work like crazy to accomplish your goals. Outwork everyone and make it happen.

Well . . . that doesn't work for this Caribbean boy. I don't want to be always on. I don't want to be spending tons of time on social media. I don't want to be a hustler, and that's ok.

Fortunately, I've also been able to learn from entrepreneurs who do things a different way. People like Tim Ferris, author of the Four-Hour Workweek. People like my coach, Rich Litvin.

It's possible to be successful without hustling. But how do you make it a reality?

Determine the life you want to live

One of the questions I ask potential coaching clients is the following:

What would your life look like if everything were perfect? For this exercise, I ask them to imagine that anything is possible. There are no limitations.

In most situations, they come up with something that seems attainable. When we break it down, we often find that they can accomplish their dreams with a few tweaks.

It's not always the case that the life you want to live is way far off. And even if it is, knowing what you're going for is the first step to getting there.

Figure out the kind of business that will facilitate that.

Once you've determined the kind of life you want to live, let's think about your business. What kind of business will help you create that kind of life?

If it's important for you to have ample time with your family, that will inform the kind of business you can have. You can't have a business where you're required to be on the road for the majority of the year.

You may want to focus on an online business where you can create leverage. One where you don't always have to be online to make money.

Leverage automation in a way that makes sense

One of the beautiful things about building an online business is how you can use automation. There are so many tools out there that can run parts of your business for you.

You can set up an email sequence that delivers a lead magnet and nurtures your subscribers. You can use marketing automation that will send the right kind of email based on activity.

Or you can send out emails automatically depending on what page someone visits on your site. It's a beautiful thing.

The great thing about doing this is that once you set it up, it can work for you. You don't have to do those repetitive actions. Technology can do them for you.

Create systems for getting things done

In every business, there are repetitive tasks that need to happen. Take this blog post, for example. We manage all our content in Asana. It's our project management system.

For each piece of content that gets published on the blog, there are certain things that need to happen. It starts as an outline. From there, I write an article. Then, my assistant will add the article to WordPress and create images. The infographic and slide decks get created and added to the post.

We have systems in place for making sure all those things happen. We don't have to figure it out each time. Create systems for getting things done in your business. And make sure each team member is on board with, and understand, those systems.

Build and empower a team

This is something I'm actively working on. I know that my business can only do so much if I'm the only one doing stuff. That's why I have an assistant, and now a video editor. I also have someone who manages my social media.

Having a skilled team takes your level of impact to the next level. And if you can empower them to take responsibility for the growth of your business, that's great. You're setting your business up for success.

Plan your time off

You know what kind of life you want to live. You choose a business that can facilitate that lifestyle. You are leveraging automation and have systems in place. You're building and empowering a team.

Now it's time to actually take time off. This is something you want to plan ahead of time. That way, you and your team can do what's necessary to make it a reality.

Every year, my family and I travel to the Caribbean for a month around Christmas time. We alternate between my home (St. Maarten) and my wife's (Nassau, Bahamas).

During that time, I plan on taking two weeks off. My assistant is also taking that time off. So to make that happen, we are working on getting ahead on our content. That way everything can be pre-scheduled by the time I go to St. Maarten.

Because we made a plan we can now make it happen. You do the same.

Establish habits that get you ahead

Habits are essential for helping you to get to your goal of taking time off. Because I have to get ahead with my content, I took up the habit of writing. Every day (except Saturdays), I write for a minimum of 30 minutes.

This is helping me to get ahead with my content. As a result, I should have the content for the rest of the year written by the time I leave.

What habits do you need to put in place to help you get ahead?

Take time off

This is it. You did everything you needed to do. Now it's time to celebrate by actually taking time off. And during your time off, give your business a real break.

I've come to realize that completely unplugging from business helps my business. When I get back to it, I'm able to come at it with fresh ideas.

You put in the hard work. Now it's time to stop, take a break, and rejuvenate. You earned it!

Infographic

The post 384 How to Structure Your Online Business So You Can Take Time Off appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

Are you trying to take what you're doing to the next level?

In this post, I will walk you through a process that will help you have the best year ever.

Listen to the episode

The New Year

It's almost here. 2020 is almost over and 2021 is right around the corner.

For many people all across the world, 2020 has not been a good year. The Coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down.

People are losing their jobs left and right. Businesses are shutting down. Families are struggling to make ends meet.

That's the reality that so many people are facing right now, and it sucks.

Others have had a very successful year. In some industries, the growth has been staggering.

Take a company like Zoom for example. They are seeing a tremendous amount of growth due to the changing nature of work.

People are working from home in greater numbers than ever before.

Regardless of where you find yourself on the spectrum, there's a lot that you can do to have a successful 2021.

In this post, I want to give you some ideas that can help you do just that.

My “Get-It-Done” Spreadsheet

I created a spreadsheet that will help you do all the things I walk you through all the steps I recommend in this post. That will help you get on the right track for rocking 2021.

I want access!

Decide that 2021 will be your best year

Yes, I know that sounds like an oversimplification. Deciding doesn't change anything, right?

Hold up now. I've actually come to realize that when you fully make a decision, you can make magic happen.

But that only happens when you commit to that decision. 395 days ago, I DECIDED that I was going to be healthier. I decided to exercise every day for at least of 30 minutes.

This morning was day 395, and I don't plan on ever stopping. At what point did I achieve something amazing? For me, it was on day 1. Because I decided, and committed to that decision.

This is the first step in the process.

Take Inventory of where you stand

If you want to make 2021 your best year to date, you have to know where you are starting from. Take inventory of where you stand in the following areas.

• Work/Business
• Finances
• Spiritual
• Health & Body
• Relationship with others
• Personal

You will do this by giving yourself a score on a scale of 1 to 10 in my Work-Life Inventory sheet.

Here are some examples of how I've rated myself on a few of the statements:

Work/Business

• I enjoy what I do for work – 8
• I embrace the opportunities for advancement in my work – 9
• I finish the tasks on my to do list each day – 6

Health & Body

• I am happy with my current weight – 9
• I take regular physical activity every day – 8
• I don't smoke or drink alcohol excessively – 10

Personal

• I like myself – 9
• I treat myself from time to time – 6
• I have a life outside of my work – 6

There are ten statements in each of the categories. The idea here is to take inventory of where you are, and to reevaluate periodically.

Once you complete your inventory, it will automatically plot your Web of Balance. This will show you if anything is out of whack.

If you take a look at my web of balance, you will see that I need to make some improvements in the area of my finances.

What I've noticed from doing this a few times is that each time I do it, my circle becomes a little more well-rounded. That's exactly what we're going for.

Pick your goals

Now that you have an inventory of where you stand, it's time to choose some goals to focus on.

Since the purpose of this post is about having the best 2021 in your online business, let's focus on that area.

What goals do you want to work towards in 2021? Here are some great examples of some goals you can set in your business:

1. I will increase my email list by 3,000 subscribers by December 31st, 2021.
2. I will grow my revenue by 15% in 2021. Or – I will increase my monthly income to $3,000/month by July 1st, 2021.

What I want you to do is create a list of short, medium and long term goals. And for each goal, write down WHY that goal is important to you.

Break down your goals

Now that you have your goals written down, it's time to break them down. Choose your first three goals and answer the following questions:

• What is the goal? Write it down.
• What are the benefits of reaching that goal? List every benefit you can think of.
• What is the pain associated with not reaching that goal?
• What resources/knowledge do you need to gain to reach that goal?
• What are the steps involved in reaching that goal? Be as clear as possible with this. And if you don't know the exact steps, list the steps you need to take to find out the steps. For example, you may not know how to launch a podcast, but you can take a course on the topic.
• By what date will you reach that goal? Yes, give it a specific date.

Track your daily and weekly activities

This is where the magic happens. Having goals and knowing what you need to do to accomplish those goals is great. But your success happens as you take action. Here's how we're going to do this…

Every week, write down your the three goals you are working towards for the quarter. Then, write down the goals you're working towards for the week. Do this at the start of the week or the end of the previous week.

At the end of each day, check where you stand. What did you do that brought you closer to your goals? What went well? Where is there room for improvement?

By writing these things down daily and weekly, you will be getting closer to your goals every day.

Revisit your goals on a regular basis

One of the reasons many people never accomplish their goals is that they set it and forget it. That's not what you're trying to do here.

So it's important for you to revisit your goals on a regular basis. I recommend revisiting your goals every quarter. That way, you can see where you stand and adjust accordingly.

If you are falling short, you can be proactive about adjusting course. If you're doing better than expected, you can set bigger goals.

In fact, it's a good idea to redo your inventory. How did things change? How does your web of balance look? Is it getting a little rounder? Great, you're making progress.

Build the right habits

2020 was a significant year for me when it comes to habits. I had some health and fitness goals. So I decided to make exercise a daily habit. I committed to exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes every day.

I knew that if I got into that habit, I would get much closer to my health and fitness goal this year. Well, today is day 402 and I'm in the best shape of my life.

What I've come to realize is that goals are best accomplished through habits. Choose the habits that will help you accomplish your goals and then commit to making it happen.

Let's wrap this up

2020 is almost over. And while we don't know exactly what 2021 will hold, here's what we do know.

The only thing you have any real control over is your actions. What you do can set the stage for your success or your failure.

Being out of shape is hard. Being in shape is hard.

Being lazy is hard. Being productive is hard.

Pick your hard. The bad stuff is hard because of the consequences that come as a result. And the good stuff is hard because of the effort you have to put into it.

Every step you take in the right direction gets you one step closer to your goals. So take that first step!

I want access!

Infographic

The post 383 How to Make 2021 the Best Year for Your Online Business appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

In this post, I’m going to give you some practical steps for creating your Social Media strategy. 

Listen to this episode

Why Social Media

Over the last decade, social media has come a long way. Check out these numbers from 10 years ago: 

• Facebook had 608 million users 
• Instagram had 1 million users 
• Pinterest had 10,000 users 
• Twitter had around 100 million users 
• TikTok was the sound of a clock. 

Fast forward one decade and 

• Facebook has 2.7 billion users 
• Instagram has 1 billion users 
• Pinterest has 322 million users 
• Twitter has 330 million users 
• TikTok is still the sound of a clock, but it’s also a platform with 1 billion users. 

Social media is now a part of our every day lives – with users spending hours on the platform each day. With this comes significant opportunities for you and I. 

Never before have we had the ability to reach people as effectively as we can today. If you aren’t leveraging social media to grow your brand, it might be time to consider starting. 

But for many people, the thought of a social media marketing strategy seems daunting. With that said, the goal of this post is to help simplify that process for you. 

Identify your Social Media Goals

Here’s the truth – most marketers waste their time on social media. We spend countless hours browsing our news feeds without a clear goal. This is a waste of time. If that person is you, stop it now. 

Instead, let’s start by identifying your goals for Social Media. Here are some possible goals you may have in your business: 

• Grow your following: Maybe you have a message to share. And to get that message out there, you need to grow your following. 
• Increase engagement/connect with audience. Maybe you have an audience, but you’re trying to deepen the connection. 
• Drive traffic: Maybe you have a blog or other website and you want to get people there. 
• Drive sales: Maybe you have a business and you are trying to increase revenue by driving sales. 

All these are valid goals. But here’s my question – What is your ultimate goal for your business? If you’re running a business, the ultimate goal is most likely to drive sales. If that is the case, then everything you do in your business should have a way to tie back to that bottom line. 

Because if your business is making money, you will be able to do more. You will be able to grow your team, create more content, provide more value and serve others more. 

Have a system for tracking those metrics

Let's say you have a blog and an online store. You post content on Social Media to grow your audience and ultimately drive sales. Awesome. 

But if you don’t have a system for measuring your success, how will you know what’s working? 

A better approach is to create a system for tracking the ROI of your social media marketing efforts. And with a few tools, you can do just that. Here’s what I recommend: 

1. Install Google Analytics on your blog 
2. Setup goals in Google Analytics to track key actions (like product sales) 
3. Use Campaign URL’s whenever you share any of your content on social media 
4. Track the results and refine your campaigns. 

If any of that sounded like a different language, don’t worry. I created a free course on how to track the ROI of social media. 

Check it out and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a tracking ninja. 

Analyze top-performers in your industry

It's time for you to do some undercover digging. Well, not really. It's just time for you to see who's out there and what they are doing.  

Search on Google and on the different social platform to see who the movers and shakers. 

Once you find them, do a deep dive into their social media strategy. Ask the following questions: 

• What platforms are they focused on? Do you notice a trend among people in your industry to focus on a specific social platform? If you start noticing a trend, this will help you decide where you should focus.
• What are they doing? What kind of content are they creating? How do they promote their stuff. What are they doing to engage and connect with their audience? Are they focused on videos? Do they do a lot of stories?
• What aren’t they doing? This is a very important question that will give you insight into how you can stand out. If there's a clear thing that's missing, you can step in and fill that void.

Take stock of your assets 

As you build out your social media marketing strategy, it's important to use your assets. These assets come in different forms when it comes to your online strategy. Here are some of the main ones:

• Your Content. These are your articles, podcast episodes, and videos. Whatever content you've created, take stock of that. We have a spreadsheet of every piece of content on this blog. That comes in handy for deciding what to share on social media for different purposes. 
• Lead Magnets. These are great for helping you to grow your email list. And yes – you can share these helpful resources on social media as a part of your strategy.
• Products/Services. Remember, you're running a business. And businesses sell stuff. And every so often, you will want to sprinkle in some promotions to bring exposure to what you offer.

By taking stock of everything you have to offer, you can come up with a plan for promoting what you have. 

Choose your social platform(s)

We have set the foundation. It's time to decide where to focus. The reality is that if you try to be everywhere, you won't do a great job anywhere. Unless you have a great time of people helping you. 

That's why I usually recommend choosing one main platform and a secondary platform. Your main platform is where you will spend the bulk of your social media marketing time. And the secondary can will be . . . well . . . secondary.

Here are some of the questions you should be answering when trying to choose a platform:

• Where is your audience engaging? This is key. If your audience spends a lot of time on a specific platform, it's a good idea to be there. One of the indicators of where they are spending time is where influencers in your space are. And fortunately, you already know that because you read what I said about that already.
• Which platforms do you enjoy? It's a good idea to have fun in your business. If you love a specific platform, you'll enjoy creating on that platform. If you enjoy doing that, you'll be more likely to actually do it.

Use your answers to those questions to decide where you will focus. Here are some general guidelines that give insight into what the platforms are good at:

• Instagram: Instagram is a very visual platform that has a relatively younger audience. However.
• Facebook: Facebook is the largest social network at the moment with over 2.7 billion users. If you're target audience is alive, they are most likely on Facebook. Their users are older than Instagram users on average.
• Twitter: Very fast paced. 
• Pinterest: Another visual platform. I look at Pinterest as a digital scrapbook. If you're blog is about a very visual topic (i.e. food, recipes, etc), you may want to consider Pinterest.
• TikTok: The new kid on the block that's growing faster than any other platform to date. It's a short form video platform. 
• Other: get to know those platform. 

Create accounts on all the platforms

I don't recommend trying to be active on all platforms. But I do recommend creating your accounts on every platform. This will reserve your name so that nobody else can register it.

At some point in the future, you may want to expand to other networks. Reserving your names is a good and important step to take immediately.

Optimize your social profiles/pages

Ok, you've chosen your primary (and secondary) social profiles. Depending on the platform you choose, you will either have a profile or a page. 

For example, if you're using Facebook to promote your business, you will need a Facebook page. Using a profile for business purposes is against Facebook's Terms of Service. But on TikTok, you will be creating a profile. 

Regardless of where you are focusing, you will want to optimize those accounts. Here are some tips for doing so:

Make your message clear and concise

Each social platform will allow you to add your bio. This will usually be a very short byline. Since you only have a few words, make them count.

In a few words, make it known what value do you provide and who you provide that value to. Do you help people solve a specific problem? Make it clear. 

A great format to use is the following:

I help [INSERT AUDIENCE] do/become/achieve [INSERT OUTCOME]

Here are some examples of great bios:

“I help creative people start, grow, & scale a successful online business.”

Tyler McCall on Instagram

“Helping your family GROW in faith so you are NOT Consumed by life.”

Kim Sorgius on Instagram

“#PersonalBrand Business Coach, helping entrepreneurs build profitable, future proof businesses around their expertise! Proud ”

Chris Ducker on Twitter

“Passionate about empowering islanders to have global impact.”

Ife Badejo on Facebook

Where can they connect with you

Since you are using Social Media to promote your business, this part is very important. Let people know where they can connect with you? 

Should they visit your blog? Or even better – do you have a specific resource that can benefit them? Include a link. In a perfect world scenario, you'd have a platform-specific opt in page set up. 

That way, when they land on that page, it feels like you created it for them.

Of course, this takes a lot of work. At the bare minimum, you should have a link to a page that's relevant to what you do.

Decide on a social media posting frequency 

Your posting frequency on social media is important to think about. You want to post enough to remain top of mind for your audience. But you don't want to try to post so much that you get overwhelmed with the thought.

Here are some things to consider when choosing your posting frequency:

What’s working for others? 

Remember those industry influencers you researched earlier on. How often are they posting? Are they posting daily, weekly, or otherwise? Do you see a relationship between posting frequency and engagement? Analyse what's working for them and take that into consideration.

What can you sustain? 

While you might see the influencers in your space posting a ton of content, that might not work for you. It's very possible that they have an entire team helping them create content. You're most likely a solopreneur. 

But that doesn't mean you won't be able to have a significant impact with your posting. Choose a frequency that you can sustain, even if that's only a few posts per week.

Create content 

This is where the magic happens. You've done your research. You've seen what others are doing. You know what value you have to share and who your target audience is. 

It's time to start creating content. When it comes to what you're doing directly on social media, your goal is to engage people. You want them to see your content and interact with it.

There are different types of content you can create that engage people in different ways. Everything from status updates to pictures, pre-recorded or live videos to stories. 

Test out different forms of content and tweak based on engagement. What you will notice is that some of your posts will get more engagement than others. Pay close attention to this.

A good rule of thumb for your posting is to use the 80/20 principle. 80% of your posts should be content that's used to engage and connect with your audience. 20% of your content should be promotional (since you're running a business). 

This is not a hard set rule. But it's a good place to start. Here's the thing – people aren't on social media to see promotions. They are there (generally) to connect with others.

Focus on the social part of what you do on social media. And sprinkle in the promotional stuff so that you can have a good balance.

In the process, monitor your analytics to see what resonates with your audience. If you see certain kinds of posts getting more engagement, create more of those. But make sure the content you post resonates with the brand you're trying to build.

Use Campaign URLs 

One of the big issues many social media marketers face is not knowing how to determine ROI. How do you know what's actually working when it comes to growing your business.

Fortunately, there is a way to do that. You are able to determine exactly how much a post is worth, so that you can tell what's working. You can do this with campaign URLs.

This is a topic all on it's own. In fact, I created a free course that walks you through exactly how to do that. 

Check out How to Track the ROI of Social Media.

Grow your social media know-how

Social media marketing is a complex topic that goes much deeper than what I can cover in one post. Each social media platform has its own nuances. And these nuances seem to change almost every day.

That's why it's very important to study what's actually working. There are many courses out there on the different social platforms. I recommend going through some training for your primary platform.

Not sure where to start? I've had the privilege of working with some of the top experts on social media marketing. These are the people I recommend you follow for learning about any of these platforms. 

Facebook Marketing

• Amanda Robinson

Instagram Marketing

• Sue B Zimmerman

Twitter Marketing

• Madalyn Sklar

Pinterest Marketing

• Kate Ahl

TikTok Marketing

• Rachel Pedersen

Infographic

The post 382 How to Create Your Social Media Strategy appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

I will not write a book unless I feel compelled to do it. 

Here’s the fact – a book takes a lot of work (if you want to do a great job). I’ve heard some describe it as similar to childbirth – a painful process you go through with a tremendous reward at the end.

Now – I can’t speak firsthand about the process of childbirth, but it’s not something that I’d volunteer my body to take part in.

In the same way – if I was going to commit to the process of book birth, it needed to be something special.

Listen to the Episode

My History with Books

My history with books has been quite an interesting one. As a child, I hated reading. I was a terrible student, and reading just seemed boring.

We were required to read a lot of books in multiple languages in high school in St. Maarten. In my last year of high school, I was supposed to read 15 Dutch books, 12 English books, 8 French books and 8 Spanish books.

As part of our grade, we had to do a written report of each book (in the relevant language) and then an oral report/defense for our exam. Of the 43 books, I only read one and it was only 48 pages long.

Needless to say, it didn’t turn out too well. Listen to the episode above for the full story. I didn’t start reading “real books” until college. And when I did, everything changed.

I started to see that there was so much knowledge out there that I could access in books. This started my entrepreneurial journey. It started with Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and then went to the 4 hour work week. From there, I went into a bunch of other business and mindset books, and the rest is history.

Books have changed my life for the better, and I knew that if/when I write one, it had to be because I couldn’t NOT write it.

Why I’m writing one now

Over the last few months, I have been going through some changes where my business is concerned. I’ve made conscious decisions to focus on going deeper. I shut down my membership site and started focusing on coaching (one-on-one and group coaching).

And throughout the process, I’ve felt a tugging on heartstrings. I have a story that needs to be heard. Yes, it’s a story that I’ve shared before in different formats. But what if I could do it in the format that has had the biggest impact on my adult life? What if it’s time to write a book?

I was emceeing an event last year where I met a guy. He shared with me that he was a book coach. I felt compelled to reach out to him to talk to him about writing a book. Eventually, we got on a call, and spoke about an idea for a book.

He asked the right questions and pulled my story out of me in such a compelling way that really got me excited. 

So what I want to do is share that story with you. I would love to get your feedback.

My Story

When I was in college, I wanted to become a University professor teaching advanced biology classes. The problem was that I didn’t have a pHD, nor did I want to get one. But I was passionate about teaching that content.

So I decided to do what other professors weren’t doing. I decided to teach exactly what I wanted to teach how I wanted to teach it. The main difference was that I taught it on the internet.

I posted YouTube videos, and added them to my blog. And it was that act that later landed me my dream job as a university professor. 

And the reality is that just as I created my way into a dream job, you can create your way into all kinds of amazing opportunities. Whether you want to land your dream job, or build an online business, you have the ability to create something awesome. 

In the book, I give you the steps you need to take to make it a reality.

My Why

I grew up on the beautiful island of St. Maarten. It’s a small 32 square mile island in the Caribbean. At the age of 17, I moved to the U.S. After failing at school, things really turned around for me.

Part of that, as I mentioned before, was because of the books that I read. But there was one thing that was glaringly obvious – there was no book out there that had an impact on me that was written by someone who looked like me. There was no book from the perspective of someone coming from my background.

While this never impacted my ability to make something of myself, I know that’s not the case for many kids who are coming up behind me. There is no black/Caribbean version of Tim Ferris, Robert Kiyosaki, or Napoleon Hill. 

Kids from my background don’t have books to read from people like them showing that they can accomplish amazing things. And rather than wait for that person, I’ve come to realize that I can be that person. So that the little 17-year-old Leslie could read this book and get ahead at an earlier age. I want to be the little Leslie’s unfair advantage, and I’m determined to be that person.

But beyond that – I know that in helping 17-year-old Leslie, I can also help you. Because distilling the things I’ve learned in a book format is something that can benefit anyone who has a dream they want to accomplish. 

Your Feedback

This is the reason why I’m posting the episode. I really want to get your feedback. My goal is to create an impactful book. To do so, I need to understand what you need in a book like this. So, please listen to the episode (above), and then give me your thoughts.

What’s missing? What would make this awesome? What would put this book on the level of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and the other highly impactful books out there. Please let me know in the comments area below.

The post 381 I’m Writing a Book and I Need Your Help appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

Colin recently made a huge shift in his online business. While he has been building his business full-time after leaving his job, he had never fully focused on his online business until this year.

Instead, he was a Lift driver and made the bulk of his income there. 

As an entrepreneur often does, he took a big leap to leave Lift behind. It had been his security blanket for years and he wanted to shift that and make his main business his main business.

When we had a coaching call 3 months ago, he was very nervous about the idea of going all in on what he really enjoyed (and is very good at) – building his business and selling. But he committed to going all in.

Today, his business is more successful than ever. Last month, he made $9,800. In fact, when he checked after our coaching call, he realized that he actually passed the $10,000 mark. Needless to say, that’s a great feeling. 

But regardless of his financial success, he was still dealing with fear and insecurity.

In this coaching call, we dig deep into this fear. We also explored his perception of himself and what he has been able to accomplish.

By digging deep into these concepts, he was able to experience tremendous clarity. He went from being unsure of where he stood to being confident in what he has accomplished. 

And in a moment of clarity, he was able to clearly articulate what he wants to create in the world and how to get there.

He stated his goals for the next 6 month and 12 months. He has a plan for the product he wants to create and the kind of coaching practice he wants to build. 

And he ended with his plan for the next step – to create and launch his course – From Employee to Entrepreneur.

This is the power of coaching, and this is the kind of insight I like to help my clients achieve. 

If you’re an entrepreneur who is having success in your business, but also feel like you can benefit from more clarity in your business, let’s have a chat.

Contact me to enquire about coaching.

The post 380 Dealing with Fear and Insecurity in Business – A Coaching Call appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

The post How to Evaluate the Results of Your Social Media Campaigns appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

The post UTM Tracking Tutorial: How to Create Campaign URLs appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

The post How to Setup Ecommerce Tracking in Google Analytics appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

The post How to Setup Goals in Google Analytics appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

If you want to track the ROI of social media, you have to identify and break down your goals. This will inform how you set up your tracking and set a firm foundation for your online marketing.

In this lesson, I will show you how to set trackable goals to start the process of determining ROI.

This is your first step for tracking ROI, and will help you know if what you're doing is working. There are a few questions you need to answer to do this right:

Question 1: What is the ultimate goal of your business?

In other words, who do you help and how do you help them? Here are some examples of different goals people might have in their businesses:

• I help entrepreneurs break through their current barriers to achieve true success. That’s my main focus.
• I help busy moms create healthy meals for their growing families quickly and easily.
• I help church musicians get better at playing gospel piano.

Question 2: What metrics tell you whether you're accomplishing that goal?

In other words, what can you track that tells you whether you’re headed in the right direction? Here are examples:

• How many people I give free coaching experiences to.
• How many coaching clients I sign up.
• Number of meal plans sold.
• Number of signups for a free chord chart that you give away to email subscribers.

These are all trackable, and that's awesome.

Question 3: On what platforms do/will you connect with your audience?

Will you be using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or LinkedIn? Do you have an email list? Will you be doing podcast interviews? Wherever you plan on marketing, put those places down on the list.

Organizing your platforms into campaigns

Now that you know the answers to these questions, it’s time to organize these platforms in two levels. These two levels will be your campaign names and your campaign sources.

Here's an example:

The first campaign is Social Media. And the Campaign sources in this campaign could be Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The second campaign is Collaborations. And under that campaign, the sources are Podcast Interviews and Live Shows.

These are examples and you can use them, or you can create your own. Do whatever makes sense for your business.

Also, leave a comment letting me know one campaign name you plan on doing for your business.

And with that, what are the campaign sources that will go along with that one campaign. I would love to hear from you.

The post How to Identify Your Goals for Social Media Marketing appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.

In this post, I will discuss the pros and cons, as well as give some insight into which you should choose. I will also share why I’ve decided to switch to a personal brand.

Listen to the episode

Why You Should Build a Brand

I’m somewhat of an Apple fanboy. Yes, I have a PC that I use for live streams. But when it comes to everything else, in our home we have an MacBook pro, two iPads, Apple watch, iPhone 11s Max, two Apple TV’s, HomePod and AirPods pros. I’m also a subscriber to Apple music and iCloud.

Man, now that I’ve typed that out, I just realized that I might have a little bit of a problem, lol. I’ve drunk the “Apple Juice”. I just love the brand, and if they come out with something new (i.e. the HomePod mini), I almost always think of ways to justify buying it.

If you look up the definition of a brand, here’s what you’ll find:

“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”

Whenever you see a pair of shoes and it has a swoosh symbol, you think of Nike – because that’s the brand they built.

Successful companies have powerful branding.

If you drive by my home at a specific time on certain days and see a box with a little graphic that looks like a smile, you will immediately know that I’m one of those people that shop on Amazon (a.k.a. our overlord).

These companies have established brands, and that is powerful. But a brand goes beyond just a symbol, name or design. A brand also has a personality. And when a company does a great job at building a brand that people love (like Apple), there’s a sense of loyalty that comes along with that.

There’s something significant that we can learn from these big companies. They were intentional about building their brand in a way that’s memorable – one that (for better or worse) brings loyalty. That’s exactly what you want for your business. You want people to remember you, and even more – to seek you out.

What is a Personal Brand

A personal brand is a brand that is tied to a person. Some examples of very well known personal brands are Oprah, Will Smith, and Lady Gaga. You read those names and instantly knew who they were. Why? Because they have built very successful personal brands. In the case of Oprah, her personal brand is so well known that I didn’t even have to include her last name.

In the online marketing space, there are people like Chris Ducker, Lewis Howes, Marie Forleo and Amy Porterfield. These individuals have built strong personal brands with loyal followers.

The concept of a personal brand

Some well-known personal brands.

When it comes to my online business, I’ve stayed away from building a personal brand for the longest while. I used to think it was a bit self-centered. I always said things like:

• I don’t want to be famous.
• My business isn’t about me. It’s about the people I’m trying to serve.
• I don’t want to seem self-centered.

And for those reasons, I didn’t want to build a personal brand. But then I realized a few things.

As I built my business, people started following me because they were getting to know, like, and trust me. I’d go to events and people would come up to talk to me not because I was the “blogging expert”.

They were coming to talk to me because, in some way, they felt connected with me. Some had been listening to my podcast for a while and would come to ask me questions about my kids.

And the more I shared what I was doing, including the things I struggled with, the stronger that connection grew.

And as my business grew, I started realizing that it was growing because of the connections I was establishing.

With connection comes opportunity. And the world of opportunities started to unfold as a result of those relationships.

The downsides of a personal brand

Whenever someone asks me whether or not they should build a personal brand, I’ve always listed the following as downsides:

1. You are creating a brand that you aren’t able to sell, or that is much harder to sell. If your goal is to have an exit strategy, this may not be the best route for you.
2. It makes it harder to include others in your content if your name is in it. If you’re planning on having a multi-author blog (for example), you might want to consider something else.
3. It takes the focus off the audience and places it on you.

But over time, I’ve come to see that these are all limiting beliefs and I no longer use them as excuses. While yes – it’s MUCH harder for me to sell iamlesliesamuel.com, I would never want to sell my main platform.

I can build parts of my business under the iamlesliesamuel.com brand, and those individual parts can be sellable. But I don’t have any plans on no longer being an entrepreneur that shows up in service to others. That will remain a permanent fixture, so I will need a permanent overarching brand.

In terms of including others in my content, there are many examples of people who have done that successfully under a personal brand – i.e. Dave Ramsey, Tony Robbins, and Leslie Samuel (projecting into the future )

My struggle with personal branding

For the bulk of my life, I’ve struggled with something. I tend to make myself shrink so as not to make others feel bad about themselves. There’s something in me that feels like if I show what I’m capable of, someone else will feel “less than”.

I hate the idea of making anyone feel that way so much, that I will put myself down to try to avoid even the possibility of that happening. I hate making other people feel bad. And somehow, I managed to convince myself that if I shine too bright, I will cause others to feel dim.

This is my struggle, and it’s a big one.

A paradigm shift

I love personal branding — people connect with people NOT businesses.

Until recently, I would not have thought to build a personal brand. Now, I LOVE the concept of a personal brand. Why? Because people connect with people – not businesses.

And the reality is – my business will grow in proportion to the strength of the relationships I establish with the people I connect with. The more I connect with YOU, and other people like you, the more I’m able to grow.

Also, the more I show who I really am, the more I connect with the kind of people who will resonate with my message. In essence, my personal brand really isn’t about me. It’s about me connecting with you.

It’s a constant reminder to share myself in an authentic way, so that I can attract the right people. So I’ve decided to FULLY embrace the concept of a personal brand. This is why this blog will no longer be called “Become a Blogger”. Instead, it will be “I am Leslie Samuel” from now on.

And my podcast will be called – the Leslie Samuel Show.

What this shift allows

This shift pushes me to share what I’m experiencing and learning as I’m experiencing and learning new things. I started out as a blogger. However, that has shifted over time to where I’ve embraced other forms of content creation.

I have my podcast and my YouTube channel. And I’ve learned a lot about podcasting and growing on YouTube. I’ve worked with bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, and digital marketers to them grow their businesses.

Through everything I’ve done, I’ve come to realize that there’s one common thing they all share. They are all CREATORS. You are a CREATOR. I am a CREATOR.

We take ideas and turn them into things . . .

Things that can have a positive impact on the world.

Things that can help us build successful businesses.

Things that can free us up to spend more time with our families, while still being successful.

This change encourages me to share more of those ideas.

Even more than that, I’ve started speaking a lot more. This will allow me to highlight what I’m learning about becoming a better public speaker.

And more recently, I’ve shifted my entire business model to focus on Coaching – one-on-one coaching as well as group coaching. This shift frees my mind to be able to share all of the above with you.

https://www.slideshare.net/LeslieSamuel/personal-branding-why-im-embracing-a-new-direction

My survey results

I conducted a survey a few weeks ago because I wanted to find out what you were struggling with, and how I can best help you. If you haven’t yet completed that survey, you can do so here.

In that survey, I learned a lot of things that will help guide how I create content in the future, as well as the kind of content I create.

Insight: The vast majority of my audience (78.9%) would like my podcast episodes to be 30 minutes or less.

Decision: I will keep my podcast episodes to 30 minutes (with rare exceptions).

Insight: The kind of content most people want from me are video tutorials, PDF guides and podcast episodes.

Decision: That’s the kind of content I will start creating more of. I will post new videos every Monday. My assistant is already creating PDF guides for the things we do in the future. And my podcast is back on schedule. A new episode will go live every Wednesday at 6 am EST.

Insight: The three most requested topics are scaling your business, email marketing, and organic social media marketing.

Decision: I sat down last week and created an editorial calendar that emphasizes those three topics.

Insight: The top three social media platforms you want to learn about are Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. I’m not sure why, but I was surprised to see that Instagram was number 1.

Decision: I’m going to be bringing in some Instagram experts to cover that topic in depth. Since I’m already focused on growing my YouTube channel, it will be easy for me to share what I’m learning. And Facebook is the platform that I use most. So I will definitely be sharing more about it.

Insight: 32% of you are making money with your online business. This number is higher than I’ve seen in the past, which is very encouraging. And of those that are making money, 71.4% are making more than $100/month. And 39.2% of you are making over $1,000/month. That’s actually quite awesome.

Decision: I really need to focus on giving concrete steps for growing your income. I will be emphasizing that more in my content.

My Coaching

The focus of my income-generating activities is on coaching. I’ve shifted the bulk of my revenue to client-based revenue from one-on-one clients. However, I’m launching a group coaching experience that begins next week.

If you’re a creator who is having some success with your business but want to step it up a notch, let’s have a conversation. I’d love to be able to coach you along with a group of creators who are doing good stuff.

My goal is to challenge you and push you to step outside your comfort zone to create the future you want to see. If you are interested in exploring this further, reach out to me.

Infographic

The post 379 Personal Branding: Why I’m Embracing a New Direction appeared first on Leslie Samuel by Leslie Samuel.