Content curation is a popular way to build an audience by providing value, without having to create as much content yourself.

Anyone can search Google for what they are looking for. But Google doesn’t add context or insight.

The idea behind search engines is that the highest quality content will rise to the top of the rankings. What shows up instead is content that comes from those who are best at SEO.

That’s where you come in.

Your perspective, insights, and knowledge can surface content that is relevant to your audience.

Curating content is a great way to become an authority in a niche, and keep your audience engaged and informed.

There are many approaches to using content curation. Below are the three strategies I see most often and use myself.

While it seems self-evident, I’ll still mention that no matter which curation model you choose, it’s important to select the best content to resonate with your target audience. Be picky, it pays off.

3 Strategies For Using Curated Content

100% Curated Content, a.k.a. Content Aggregation

This approach is the most basic and in most cases has the least value add. But that doesn’t mean it never makes sense.

The idea is that you’re aggregating content from many sources, curating what makes the cut, then sharing it with your audience.

This strategy doesn’t involve much original input by you. It’s a simple rundown of what you’ve found.

This approach is common for things like our Lifestyle Frisco “This Week In Frisco” newsletter. It’s a rundown of events with descriptions and links to the event page.

There’s not much need for commentary or editorial because we’ve found our audience doesn’t want it. They want to know what’s going on and when it’s happening.

We will add extended editorial for standout events that call for it. For example the annual Frisco Uncorked (wine festival). But otherwise, we deliver the facts.

Value Added Curation

Value-added curation is a model you’ve seen in newsletters like MorningBrew.

Here, there is editorial content along with each item curated. It’s often delivered with a dose of personality that fits your target audience.

The editorial content is short but provides a good summary of what the article is about and why it’s of interest to the reader.

The level of effort here is a bit higher and is often more engaging for the reader. Before clicking on a headline, they get a sense of what they’re getting into from a source they trust (you).

Original Content with Curation

Original Content with Curation centers around original content augmented with curated content.

This model can go in a couple of different directions so let’s look at some examples.

Many of you are familiar with Further.net. Further uses a hybrid approach.

It starts with a well-crafted intro to queue up the topic for the week.

Then several curated articles on that topic follow with original descriptions.

Third, there is an original article-length entry at the end.

Finally, there is a music video of the week, that may be unrelated to the topic. It’s a fun way to end things and it fits because the audience for Further is Gen-X, and our music rocks!

The effect is powerful and authoritative. It creates context for the topic while providing many resources written by outside writers and the Further team.

One of the benefits of this strategy is that the outside resources reinforce the editorial content you write. That makes your content all the more authoritative. It’s “guilty by association” in a good way.

Another example is how I sometimes use curation here at Rogue Mogul.

The emphasis here is on original content. But I also include references to outside resources that are relevant to the topic at hand.

Those resources have included a variety of curated content such as:

1. Twitter Threads
2. Articles
3. Stories of 1-Person $1Million businesses for inspiration
4. Links to podcasts (see below)
5. The inclusion of videos from others that compliment the topic of the week

Sometimes I group those references together, other times they’re scattered throughout the editorial. But I always try to wrap some editorial around the curated content, otherwise, it’s little more than linking out.

Learning More About Curating Content

Here are two podcast episodes from Unemployable that delve into curated content:

Dave Pell: The author of NextDraft, Dave delivers “the day’s most fascinating news” to more than 100,000 subscribers. Curated news is his jam, but it’s delivered with Dave’s unique perspective. In many ways, he was a pioneer in the modern approach to curated content. In this episode, Dave offers some great advice for becoming a trusted editorial voice.

How to Create the Environment For 7-Figure Small Success: Brian Clark walks you through using curated content to build your email audience as a path to building a 7-Figure business. Most of what I’ve learned about curated content, I’ve learned from Brain.

The post 3 Strategies for Using Curated Content appeared first on VS ELLIS.

I recently sat in on a presentation from Brene Brown and she said something that stood out to me:

Clarity is kindness.

~ Brene Brown

When it comes to writing, there are a lot of reasons to strive for clarity. Among them are:

• comprehension
• retention
• and action.

I’d never thought about the fact that it’s also kind.

Clear writing is kind because it respects your reader by respecting their time. It also demonstrates that you know they have a lot of things pulling at their attention.

When it comes to business, your ability to communicate clearly is the most powerful asset you have.

Remember, the easier you make it for someone to take action the more likely they will. Nothing will kill a conversion faster than confusion.

Finally, clear writing is powerful and confident. Let that sink in then let’s move on.
Here are a few lessons on clear writing that I’ve learned over the years.

Know Who You Are Writing For

It’s much easier to be clear when you focus on writing for a specific persona. By speaking their language the reading experience feels more personal.

Learn More: How To Know Who Your Ideal Customer Really Is

Tell A Story, But Keep It Short

Storytelling is a powerful tool for connecting with your reader. But with the realization of that power, many a creator has gotten carried away.

Pull up a recipe online and wade through paragraphs of someone’s childhood story and you’ll see what I mean.

Use story but keep it brief and use it to create context that will help your reader relate to what you are telling them.

Use Plain Language And Short Paragraphs

Simple language makes it easier for your reader to grasp concepts, and get through them fast.

It’s also easier to understand a new idea when presented in the simplest possible terms.

Using simple language is the act of decluttering your writing.

Don’t say “with the possible exception of” when you can say “except.”

Note: I’ve found this tip to have the single biggest impact on better writing.

Format Your Writing For Easier Scanning and Comprehension

Break up your writing with headers and sub-headers.

Use bullet points or numbered lists whenever you can. A good rule is if you have several items in a sentence separated by commas, they can often be a bullet list instead.

Number lists make it easier to refer to a specific item later in your writing or when presenting. It’s easier to say “in #3 ….” than “in the third bullet” which forces your audience to count their way through the list.

Use bold text to call things out, pull quotes, and italics.

The variations in formatting will cause pattern disruption in your reader’s mind and help keep their attention better.

I even use formatting in email and other communications to make my messages stand out and easy to consume.

Formatting can apply to:

• Forum posts
• Community Posts
• Social Media
• Email
• etc….

Lose The Adverbs

In Stephen King’s book “On Writing” he recommends removing adverbs from your writing.

Look for words ending in -ly and you’ll find most of them.

When you remove or replace adverbs your writing will be stronger and more to the point.

You’ll also force yourself to be clear about what you mean.

For example:

“These cars are essentially the same.”

vs

“These cars are the same but one has a bigger engine.”

Tools like Hemingway can also help.

Do a Lot of Reading, Writing, and Editing

The more you write the better you’ll get at it.

In Stephen King’s book “On Writing” he also says “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.”

We all learn from others (reading) and by doing (writing). If you want to become a better writer, do a lot of both.

But the unsexy truth of great writing is that you’ll spend as much or more time editing as you do writing.

One tip I’ve picked up on is to proofread in different mediums. The small changes in formatting will make things jump out that might get overlooked.

I re-read in my editor of choice, then again in WordPress, then again, as a preview of the newsletter before it goes out.

I find changes every single time.

When re-reading it also helps to ask “So What?” about the points you are making. It’s a quick test to determine if you’re getting to the real point and being clear about it.

Let it sit for 24 hours

Don’t write, edit, and blast it out. Instead, when you think you’re done, let it sit for 24-hours, then read it again with fresh eyes.

You’ll almost always find more to edit or tighten up.

Get Rid Of Ambiguity

Ambiguity is a dagger in the heart of clarity.

Be as specific as you can as often as you can.

Removing ambiguity, even when it seems like overkill, is a great way to reinforce ideas. It will also help you keep things brief without sacrificing important ideas.

For example, in the paragraphs above, I used the word “ambiguity” three times (including the header).

I could have started the third paragraph without it and you still would have understood the context. But I wanted to embed the idea that ambiguity hurts your writing so I used it again.

For a great Twitter thread on copywriting tips check out some tips from Alex Garcia.

The post Master The Magic Of Clear Writing appeared first on VS ELLIS.

Brennan Dunn is the founder of RightMessage and Create & Sell, which includes his Mastering Convert Kit course.

Brennan is an expert at audience segmentation, personalization, and the use of email as a marketing tool.

Through that experience, Brennan has developed clever ways of getting to know the email audience you already have.

It’s time to take email personalization past just dropping their first name in the opening of your emails.

When you get to know your audience you’ll be empowered to speak to them in the language they speak.

That means more people opening your email, reading it, and clicking on links.

It also means more sales.

In this video we explore:

• How Brennan goes about getting information about subscribers.
• Better ways of measuring engagement.
• Recommendations on how to personalize your email broadcasts.

Show notes and highlights:

• 01:54 Apple starts blocking tracking pixels and what to do about it
• 03:44 What to be careful of when scrubbing your email list
• 04:50 How to get to know the people on your list
• 07:30 Using email as a one-click survey and segmentation tool – Getting demographics and psychographics
• 08:55 Start customizing your newsletter content for different audiences
• 15:13 Does the size of your list matter for segmentation? And what to do when you have a small list.
• 19:00 Tags vs custom fields and how to use them in segmentation
• 20:52 Which custom fields to start with
• 26:06 How many versions of a newsletter you have to create for customization, and how Brennan does it.

Follow Brennan on Twitter
Follow Scott on Twitter

The post Easy Ways to Know Your Email Audience in Detail with Brennan Dunn appeared first on VS ELLIS.

Rand Fishkin, Founder and past CEO of Moz.com and now founder of SparkToro.com knows a thing or two about knowing your audience. He’s also an excellent teacher and very generous with his knowledge.

After a Rogue Mogul subscriber asked the question of how to get to know your audience, I decided to dig deeper.

This is a subject I don’t hear a many people talk about but it’s an important one if you want to be successful long term.

It’s also not easy.

The path to knowing your audience is generally not a simple, straight path. It begins with research that jumps off to any number of other places and concepts to explore.

And that path will be different for every audience.

While I want to be able to tell you step-by-step what to do, it isn’t that easy.

What we can help you do is look at examples of how it’s done, as well as frame up how to think about audience intelligence and approach it so you get the info you’re looking for.

I would also encourage you to come back to re-research your audience from time to time. As your business grows your audience will change.

If you get something out of this video, please hit the like button and subscribe. There’s more to come!

Show notes and highlights:

• 1:50 Serve your audience by starting with goals
• 5:00 Analyzing your followers and building a sample set as a basis for decision making
• 6:20 Three ways to go about knowing your audience
• 9:30 Using survey data to drive interviews for a deeper dive
• 13:30 Using language to understand your audience’s psychology
• 14:30 How audience discovery leads to better content (and how to create expert content
• 18:58 Using SparkToro for audience discovery
• 32:30 The advantages of being an early adopter in audience intelligence
• 34:08 “Influence” Marketing – building your business without Google and Facebook
• 36:40 Just for fun: How SparkToro got its name.

Follow Rand on Twitter

Try SparkToro

Follow Scott on Twitter

The post Rand Fishkin – A Deep Dive On Knowing Your Audience appeared first on VS ELLIS.

This week we’re tackling a very tactical topic by way of request from a Rogue Mogul subscriber.

I want your question and ideas so I can be sure we’re answering the questions you have. Don’t be afraid to reply to this email and let me know what questions you have.

The question asked is:

“The main thing I struggle with in audience definition is the feedback and/or identifying the demos and psychos of them. Is there a free way to get this data from your list?”

The short answer is yes, there are free ways to learn about the demographics and psychographics of your audience.

The catch is it’s going to take some leg work, so roll up your sleeves and get ready to dig in.

How To Approach Getting To Know Your Audience

Your approach is going to depend on the size of your audience and goals.

If you already have a large audience you may want to look at the top 20% or 10% those who most engage with your content.

If your audience is smaller you can look at the entirety of them or a larger percentage of that audience.

You’ll also want to vary your approach by channel.

For example, if you have a large social following on Twitter, focus on the people who most engage with you there.

If you have a small email list, you may want to look at everyone. Though I would still break that down to those who open your emails. Or break it down further by those that also click on things in your newsletter.

No matter which channel you use, the first step is to figure out who you’re going to learn about. It will almost never be “everyone.”

Now that we have some idea of how to narrow down who we’re looking at we can get to know them better.

Get To Know The Audience You Already Have

Run a survey

One of the easiest ways to get to know demographics and psychographics is to ask. It sounds too simple but it’s direct and you can gather the specific information your looking for.

Not everyone will answer the survey or every question and that’s ok. Because those who care enough to reply are more likely to be fans of what you’re doing and now you know who they are.

Pro Tip: Be sure to tag survey responders in your email list so you can keep track of who they are. They’re an important segment for you.

Do A Little Social Media Stalking

Since we’re doing this by channel and limiting the number of people we’re looking at it’s not hard to go account by account and build a profile.

That said, it will be time consuming depending on the size of your audience. I would consider outsourcing this task, but be sure to be specific about what info you want to gather. Also, expect they won’t be able to fill in every data point you want.

Some of the psychographics will entail a degree of judgement, so lay out the criteria you would use to make decisions for the person you outsource to.

When looking at individual social profiles, look beyond the obvious demographics. Look at the things they share, like, reply to, etc…

Keep in mind that in some cases you’ll learn about who they are, other times you’ll learn what they aspire to. You’ll also learn what they don’t like.

What Do They Click On?

When it comes to your newsletter, be sure to tag users based on what they click on.
In Rogue Mogul, I tag anyone that leaves a comment so I can get to know those who are interacting with me through the newsletter.

If you look broadly at your click analytics, you can get a sense of what people are most interested in.

One approach is to tag the individual links with demographic or psychographic tags. You’ll be able to tell what’s most popular with your audience, and hence what they’re acting on/interested in. But you can also see who is clicking on those things to better build an ideal customer profile.

Do they have a website?

Some of your audience members will have a website of their own. If so, give it a visit (look for the URL on their social profiles or ask them in your survey).

Their own website will almost always include an about page which is a gold mine for getting to know them.

An ideal about page will emphasize what you can do for your customer (hint: it’s about them, not you). But in my experience, most people spend most of their about page talking about themselves, so use it to your advantage.

Google Them

Yeah, I know it sounds a little creepy but most of us are leaving a digital footprint a mile wide these days. You may or may not find anything useful but it doesn’t hurt to look.

You can search on their name (if you know it) and on their email address.

Host an Online Event

Another way to get to know your list better, and to engage them more is to hold an online event. It doesn’t have to be fancy or high-production so don’t let this scare you.

Ideas for an easy online event:

1. Pick a subject, have another expert on with you to do a presentation. End with Q&A.
2. Do something more intimate for your most engaged subscribers like a virtual happy hour. Tip, have someone else on with you capturing info about the people your talking to. What do they like to drink? What do they do for fun?
3. Do a Q&A or A.M.A. (ask me anything). You can seed this format with questions you want answers to. Ask for feedback from your audience so you can gather info on how they respond.

Even if the audience is only asking you questions, the questions they ask will tell you a lot about what is on their mind.

Whatever you do be sure to record the session so you can go back and revisit it!

SparkToro (freemium)

You guys have already heard me talk about SparkToro but I’m mentioning it again because I’m in love with this tool.

It’s free with limited info or you can pay for it for full access (I do and it’s well worth it).

SparkToro will tell you things about what and who your audience is interested in based on who they follow, what sites they engage with, what hashtags they use, etc…

The trick to SparkToro is that it’s one step removed for your immediate audience. When using it to get to know your audience, you’ll need to look at the data SparkToro provides then make a judgment about what that means to you.

For example: I did the following SparkToro search:

My audience talks about: retirement

The results told me that the #1 news source for people talking about retirement is The Wall Street Journal. (BTW, this is just one of many data points I got from Spark Toro).

Then I did a Google search for “Wall Street Journal reader demographics” and got a link to a pdf of the WSJ audience profile.

The profile I found is a few years old but I can still learn a lot about that audience from it.

You will also see a column on your search for the top words that people use in their bio, hashtags they use, and frequently used phrases (which can help determine intent).

If you’re even a little interested in SparkToro go to their resources page and watch the first video “Getting Started: Become an audience intelligence pro in 12 minutes flat….”

There are endless ways to approach learning about your audience and it will change over time. Start as early as you can and establish the data points that are most important to your business.

Once you do the initial heavy lifting it will get easier as long as you keep up with it.
Let me know in the comments what kinds of things would be helpful here. Do you want templates, worksheets, a playbook?

Are you interested in a virtual event of our own where we can dig in more? If so reply to this email and say yes!

I’m also setting up interviews with a couple of experts on this topic to dig in a little deeper.

Your questions or comments are always welcome and if you know someone that might enjoy this newsletter please share it with them.

Business Examples To Inspire You:

At 22, Sophia Amoruso started an eBay store called Nasty Gal selling vintage stuff out of the back of an ‘87 Volvo. She scaled that business to $100,000,000 in revenue and wrote a New York Times Bestselling book about the whole thing and called #GIRLBOSS.

She wound up on the cover of Forbes and had a Netflix made a series based on her life.

She now sells courses, books, has a podcast, and is on a mission to share her knowledge with others navigating the waters of entrepreneurship.

Current Experiment:

Newsletter 90 – 96

While hitting 100 may be an arbitrary number I still want it. We’re so close yet it seems so elusive. If you want to share this newsletter with someone I would be grateful!

I’m still working on the Rogue Mogul stand-alone site. Since this is a side project it’s taken a back seat to some other projects I have going right now but it’s in the works.

The post How To Know Who Your Ideal Customer Really Is appeared first on VS ELLIS.

In case there is any doubt I can assure you the heady days of “if you build it they will come” have been over for a long time.

It’s our responsibility as business owners to meet our customers where they are.

In doing so, you can build an audience that is easier to connect with. Hint: That’s also why you build your email list.

But in the beginning, it’s a lot of work.

How do you know where to find those ideal customers to begin with?

There are a lot of creative ways to go about finding them but I’ll offer up a few to get you started. My hope is these suggestions will get the creative juices flowing and you’ll start to come up with ideas of your own.

If you want to share your thoughts or get feedback on an idea, leave me a comment.

7 Places To Find Your Ideal Customer

Note: I‘m giving you places to look but I’m not creating detailed tutorials on using each of these channels. There are plenty of tutorials online with specifics on how to use them. A quick Google search should give you all you need.

Also, the technical details of how these things work changes often.

If you do get stuck, leave me a comment and I’ll try to help out.

Finally, don’t think you have to use every recommendation below. Start with one or two and build from there. Don’t overwhelm yourself.

1. Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc… all seem like low hanging fruit and they are. The odds are your ideal customer is using some form of social media.

The question is which platform(s) are the on? In some cases it may be obvious, for others you’ll have to dig.

For the DIY art business idea we discussed I would look to the more visual outlets like Instagram and Pinterest.

If you’re in the B2B space, LinkedIn is the obvious place to go. I would be careful on LinkedIn though. A lot of people are getting very spammy in how they connect. Don’t be one of them.

You’re better off commenting on posts, posting your own content, and building momentum.

Relationships take time. If you do try to connect with someone on LinkedIn that you don’t know offline, write a VERY personalized message. If you won’t take the time to do so, why should they add you to their network?

Despite my disdain for Facebook, I wouldn’t rule it out. Their ad targeting is amazing and even if you don’t run an ad, I would use their ad tool to assess audience size and whether they are on Facebook.

Like Facebook, Twitter is a bit of a social media catch-all but is a gold mine for finding audience. A simple twitter search on a relevant phrase or hashtag can yield a windfall of results.

If you don’t find much on Twitter it may be that your audience isn’t as engaged there. But don’t get discouraged. There are a lot of other places to find your ideal customer.

YouTube is often overlooked. I have a difficult time qualifying it as social media but I’ll include it here for lack of a better place to put it.

If you’re creating video content of any kind, YouTube is a must. It’s also a long-term strategy.

Production quality is starting to matter more and more (don’t let that keep you from getting started). And it’s going to take time to build an audience there. But I can almost guarantee that you can find almost any ideal customer on YouTube.

YouTube is a part of my long-term plan for Rogue Mogul but I won’t be rolling that out for a while.

2. Reddit

Reddit is about community and conversation. There are a lot of great Reddit threads on almost any topic you can think of.

I’ve recently started using Reddit and don’t have a ton of experience there yet.

What I have learned so far is that you will have to spend some time building trust and taking part in the community.

Reddit is NOT the place to drop in from time to time, drop a link or ask a favor, and then move on. You’ll get flamed pretty fast and may even get banned from the subreddit. Redditors are very no-nonsense about that.

That said, like any community, you’ll get out of it the more you put into it. But you have to make those initial deposits first.

You can also gain a lot of knowledge about your ideal audience from reading related threads (a.k.a subreddits).

3. Quora

I love Quora because it’s a channel where I get to be helpful to someone looking for an answer to a question they have. It’s a great way to build trust and authority fast.

As you answer more questions in a specific area, Quora will start sending you questions that need answers for which your expertise will apply. That means you’ll spend less time searching for those questions making how you spend your time there more efficient.

Don’t be afraid to answer questions that have already have answers if you have a more complete or better answer.

Another tip for using Quora is to find related questions people are asking but aren’t so obvious.

Using our DIY art business example again, questions about stress reduction, improving focus, creativity, etc… may benefit by recommending art projects to help with those things.

4. Related Websites

This one is a little old-school but getting engaged on websites that aren’t your own can still yield benefits.

The key here is finding websites that have a reasonable amount of traffic, the audience you want, and open comments.

Don’t get in there and drop your link. Start by offering up something of value in a post, reply to others’ comments, and generally be a good steward of the community.

If you don’t, your comments may not get approved or worse will get marked as spam.

5. Forums & Communities

On-line communities like those taking shape on platforms such as Circle and Mighty Networks are offering a modern alternative to forums.

Still, there are active and viable forums still out there so don’t discount them.

A lot of communities are still using Facebook groups as well. In fact, there is one community I am a part of that still uses a Facebook group and it’s the only reason I haven’t deleted my Facebook account (sigh).

Some communities are free, others will cost money to join but can be a great investment.

Of all the options listed here, communities are one of my favorite because of the relationships I’ve built through them.

Two things to keep in mind with communities:

1. You get out what you put in. If you join a community, get active in it. Help other people and build relationships. It doesn’t have to take a ton of time but if you start strong then fade out, you’re wasting time and money.
2. Join 1 to 3 communities at most. Community participation does take time if you’re going to add value (and get value). I’m currently in 3 communities and it’s about as much as I can handle. 2 is a good number to shoot for. It’s manageable but enough to give you different perspectives.

Pro Tip: I block out 30 minutes a day for community contribution. It’s time I spend going into each of my communities to help others, answer questions, and keep a pulse on what’s happening. I recommend making it a part of your routine.

6. SparkToro

I’ve mentioned SparkToro before. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time.

SparkToro will help you located the websites and social accounts that your audience reads and engage with. It’s a gold mine of information that will accelerate your ability to locate your ideal customers online.

You can do limited searches for free or get a premium account to expand the results and number of queries you run per month.

If you want to learn more about how to use SparkToro to narrow in on your audience they have some great resources. But it was the thought process outlined in this tweet by founder Rand Fishkin that pushed me over the edge and got me to subscribe:

7. Real Life

Let’s not forget real-life. Conferences and events are going to bounce back. There is nothing like an in-person event to build your network, get new ideas, and connect with like-minded people.

Try not to get caught in the marketing conference echo chamber though. If your business is selling DIY art projects, then find conferences that apply to that audience.

Hint: Your audience isn’t showing up at the latest internet marketing conference. They’re more likely to be at a self-improvement, maker, or stress reduction event.

If you’re stuck here, respond to this email on your business or niche and I’ll see if I can come up with some ideas to help you along.

Business Examples To Inspire You

Krista Stryker is the founder of 12-Minute Athlete. Looking for a way to get the maximum results in the least amount while also eliminating the excuse of “I don’t have time to workout.”

Like many of us, her fitness journey was anything but linear, or easy. She felt like the non-athlete in a very athletic family. Everything changed once she found high-intensity interval training and the rest is history.

Krista launched 12 Minute Athlete in 2013 and has helped tens of thousands of people work toward their full athletic potential through her website, book, and app.

You can hear more of her story in her own words on her 7-Figure Small podcast interview.

Newsletter 86-90

The Rogue Mogul site design will be getting the final polish this weekend. We’ll launch the next phase of focus on newsletter growth once it launches.

To the 90 of you who have subscribed so far I want to say THANK YOU for joining me on this journey. I’m sincerely grateful to have you here. We’re a stones throw from 100!

Please don’t hesitate to let me know how I can help. Next weeks newsletter will answer a question asked by one of our subscribers and will be a fun one!

Your questions or comments are always welcome and if you know someone that might enjoy this newsletter please share it with them.

The post 8 Places To Find Your Ideal Customer And Build Your Audience appeared first on VS ELLIS.

For one-person enterprises, the ideal customer is the people that will benefit most from doing business with you.

When we first set out to define our ideal audience there is a tendency to want to make the audience as big as possible.

The belief is that a bigger audience means more revenue. So following that belief we define our ideal customer broadly.

At the opposite extreme is the common advice that you need to be very specific about who you define as ideal.

As with most things the truth lies in the middle.

How you define your ideal customer should take into consideration the stage your business is at. In the beginning, that means your ideal customer definition will be a little broader. As your business matures and you gather feedback your definition will narrow.

When To Define Your Ideal Customer

In the beginning, you may not know who your ideal customer is. You’ll have a rough idea of who they are, but you won’t know specifics yet.

You can guess at specifics but in doing so you run this risk of missing the mark and sending your venture off in the wrong direction.

That can be an expensive mistake, in terms of time and money.

Instead, start with a broader definition. As you refine your business and start gathering feedback it will become more clear who your ideal customer is.

At each stage you can get more specific about that customer.

I do believe it’s good to be as detailed as possible about your ideal customer once you have the feedback to tell you who that is.

Example Of An Evolved Customer Profile

When Brian Clark started his newsletter Further, he did so to focus on topics he has a personal interest in.

In the beginning his audience was anyone with an interest in health, wealth, and personal growth.

As Further continued publishing more people signed up, shared the newsletter, and engaged with the content. In time, it became clear to Brian that those who were most engaged fit a more specific profile.

They are members of Gen X.

In the beginning, it wasn’t obvious that Further would attract people in their 40’s and 50’s. But that is exactly what the data showed. Since then the messaging has evolved to match that more specific audience.

To see how Brian now positions Further I would encourage you to visit Further.net.

Example Of A Detailed Customer Profile

The athleisure brand Lululemon targets a very specific customer profile. According to Business Insider, Lululemon created a “muse” to inspire their merchandise. In doing so, they created a specific persona.

The ideal customer at Lululemon is “a 32-year-old professional single woman named Ocean who makes $100,000 a year,” Ocean is also “engaged, has her own condo, is traveling, fashionable, has an hour and a half to work out a day.”

The Lululemon persona is a good example of a specific profile that is also aspirational.

The importance of the aspirational aspect is that while they are aiming for a specific customer they also attract customers who don’t fit that profile but aspire to it.

How To Define Your Ideal Customer

To begin, start with a broad definition. It helps to have some idea of who you are targeting. But until you start collecting data you won’t know with as much precision who that is.

For example, with Rogue Mogul I’m focused on those who want to start a one-person business that grows to $1M or more in annual revenue. That’s pretty broad.

I’m already starting to see some specifics traits in my subscribers but that was my starting point. I’ll keep it there for a while until I have more data.

I can tell you that I’m also thinking about those avatars as characters in my business backstory. That backstory helps create a context for the “characters” I believe will be interested in Rogue Mogul.

If you look back to our discussion on How To Know If You Have A $1M Business Idea, we determined that a business for art projects for adults has potential.

The audience definition is pretty broad: Adults with an interest in DIY art projects.

As we dig into that idea, there were trends that supported the business idea as well as a more specific ideal customer. Some of the things we found are:

1. Working from home
2. Looking for stress relief
3. High frequency of search for our keywords in the adults 22 – 65 demographic
4. A desire for creative outlets.

As that business evolves I would expect to find more specifics on who those customers are that are most engaged with our brand.

The age range will likely narrow, we may find it skews toward women or men, they have a strong interest in art appreciation, etc…

Demographics & Psychographics

Demographics are quantitative data points on an individual. Things like age, sex, location, education level, etc…

A lot of persona building focuses on demographics. And while demographics are useful, they only paint a piece of the picture.

While our ideal customer definition is broad in the beginning, it’s fine for that definition to consist of demographics.

But as we get to know our customers better, we should narrow the demographic focus and include psychographics.

Psychographics are qualitative in nature and tell us more about the individual. They address things like:

1. Personality
2. Values
3. Opinions
4. Attitudes
5. Interests.

As our business evolves and we have more data on our audience, certain psychographics will emerge.

Back to our art example, an interest in art appreciation would be a psychographic trait.

It’s the psychographics that help to bring the ideal customer to life so that you get to a persona that is as specific as the Lululemon example above.

For fun, let’s break the Lululemon persona one down:

• 32 years old (demographic)
• Single (demographic)
• Professional (demographic/psychographic)
• Female (demographic)
• Makes $100,000 a year (demographic)
• Named “Ocean” (The name is to help bring the character to life).
• Engaged (demographic/psychographic)
• Has her own condo (demographic)
• Travels (psychographic)
• Fashionable (psychographic)
• Has time on her hands and spends it working out (psychographic)

You’ll notice a few of those traits are crossovers. My interpretation may not be the same ass yours but I noted them as demographic/psychographic for a reason.

They are quantitative in nature, but also imply something about the avatars psychology.

Professional implies that Ocean is also college educated and places a certain personal importance on her career. Like many, her choice of work is a part of her identity.

Engaged implies that Ocean puts importance on her love life, desire to have a family, and the social status some circles assign to relationships

Those are my interpretations but the point is that some traits can crossover depending on what they mean to you. This will be your audience after all!

In short, start with a broad definition of your ideal customer, then get more specific as you iterate in your business.

Why Define An Ideal Customer

I usually start with “why” when addressing a topic like this but in this case I felt it was important to set up the context first.

The reason we build a profile of our ideal audience is that it will shape how we talk to, target, and sell to that audience.

Having an ideal customer profile makes marketing and sales much easier. By creating an ideal profile we can go much deeper with that person and better personalize their experience.
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If you look again at the Further.net homepage, you’ll see that Brian is getting more specific about who he is engaging.

That makes writing copy, choosing images, and creating products for that audience much easier.

It also makes it more profitable.

If we start with too targeted a profile, we risk missing the mark completely.

But as you get to know your audience better, you can continue narrowing that avatar to the point where each person will feel like you are speaking to them.

In many respects it’s like playing darts. If you’re just learning to play, focus on trying to hit the board. As you get better, you can start to aim for the bullseye. You won’t always hit the bullseye but even when you miss you’ll still be on the board.

Our aspirational customers are the ones outside the bullseye but on the board.

We’ll get into how to find your ideal audience next week.

Before I wrap up I’d like to go back to the beginning about audience size. It’s true that a larger audience can bring in more revenue, but only if it is the right audience. And the right audience is what we are trying to get to here.

One you figure out who that is you can start to grow that audience with confidence knowing it’s the right one.

Business Examples To Inspire You:

Harry Ein is doing 7 figures ($4M+/yr as of the most recent info I could find for 2018) selling promotional items. You know.. swag.

He started off running Perfection Promo out of his garage (and may still be).

Harry has also been smart about how he runs his business. He outsources tasks like invoices and other paperwork so he can focus on what he does best, selling and building relationships.

In an interview with goprintandpromo.com, when asked what makes him different Harry had this to say:

I hustle and build relationships with my customers. We may not always be the cheapest for a pen or basic item, but our pricing is super aggressive, and we offer the best possible service. My clients know I will answer a call on weekends, or 5 a.m. or 7 p.m. They don’t mind hearing my son in the background, and know I will do everything I can to make my customers shine at their jobs. We also show creative products and partner with the best suppliers in the business.

I love this example because it’s not tech or any of the usual plays we hear about when looking at 1-person $1M businesses. It’s old school promotional products.

No matter what you’re interested in doing, there is a way to get to the $1M mark.

Current Experiment:

Newsletter Growth: 73 – 86
It’s still simple organic growth for now while I work on the site redesign.

I did get a nice 1-day bump in signups this week though I can’t tell why. Site traffic is up about 28% from organic search thanks to SEO efforts but I can’t attribute the signups to that.

I’ll keep looking and let you know if I figure it out.

Tools & Resources:

I’ve decided based on feedback to drop this section from the newsletter but you can find an updated list of my favorite tools and resources on the site.

Your questions or comments are always welcome and if you know someone that might enjoy this newsletter please share it with them.

The post How To Find Your Ideal Customer appeared first on VS ELLIS.

This week I promised to share the Rogue Mogul backstory with you. Before we dig in, I’d like to make sure we’re on the same page about your business backstory.

First, your business backstory doesn’t have to be long. The Black Spire Output backstory we referenced is four sentences.

Your business backstory isn’t the literal story of your business. Rather, it’s about creating context for your ideal customer.

Your business backstory isn't the literal story of your business. Rather, it's about creating context for your ideal customer.
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Finally, a good business backstory will answer some of the basic questions we know to ask but often overlook.

We’re talking about: who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Let’s take a closer look:

The largest settlement on the planet Batuu, Black Spire Outpost is an infamous stop for traders, adventurers, and smugglers traveling around the Outer Rim and Wild Space. Off the beaten path, this outpost has become a haven for the galaxy’s most colorful — and notorious — characters. Widely known for the petrified remains of its once towering ancient trees, the spires now stand guard across the river valleys and plains and have long captured the imagination of travelers to this planet. To the first settlers, these petrified spires became more than just landmarks; they became the heart of the outpost itself.

starwars.com

Who: …traders, adventurers, and smugglers… the galaxy’s most colorful — and notorious — characters.

What: The largest settlement…an infamous stop…

Where: …on the planet Batuu, Black Spire Outpost…the Outer Rim and Wild Space. Everything else is descriptive and added for color.

If they wanted to beef it up even more they could have added:

When: …after the fall of the Empire…

Why: …easy to avoid the First Order… (Note: Imagineers implied this by placing Black Spire Outpost in the Outer Rim. But you’d only know that if you’re a big Star Wars fan). Also, …a good place to connect with rebels looking to recruit for the cause…

Put those elements together and you have the context necessary to answer creative questions that shape other parts of your business. These are the same questions Imagineers ask when creating an immersive experience for guests.

Questions like:

What kinds of shops would exist on Black Spire Outpost? The kind of shops that cater to “..traders, adventurers, and smugglers… the galaxy’s most colorful — and notorious — characters.”

Of course that also means there has to be a cantina!

What ships would you find at Black Spire Outpost? The Millenium Flacon, an X-Wing, speeders, and a First Order ship or two.

By now you get the idea.

How To Build A Backstory – A Breakdown of the Rogue Mogul Backstory

Rogue Mogul is a rag-tag bunch of independent souls on a mission to control our time and create opportunity for ourselves and others. Hailing from the Island of Misfit Toys, we can live and work from anywhere.

Here, we’ll forge the tools and discover the ideas to build the businesses which provide the money we need to live life on our own terms. Through those businesses, we give back to the world in ways that matter most to us.

We do more before noon than most people do all day, and we do it in our sweat pants if, we’re wearing pants at all.

Many of us have had jobs but don’t fit into a culture that exists to build someone else’s dream. So we choose a different path. We see the opportunity provided to us by modern technology and are using it to build a better life.

7 sentences, that’s the story.

Keep in mind this is less than a week old so it’s subject to change and refinement. Don’t feel like you can’t adjust this story as you go.

Now let’s break the story down.

Who: Independent souls who value their freedom and helping others find the same.

What: A resource of tools and ideas for those who want to control their destiny. We understand that owning our businesses = money = freedom.

Where: Digital nomads, we’re location agnostic. We may or may not be on the go, but we always have the option. If asked where they fit it, most would answer “The Island of Misfit Toys.”

Why: We don’t belong in corporate culture. We own our failures and successes. We can’t stand the idea of getting paid to build someone else’s dream.

When: There’s not time like the present. (Implied, not explicit).

How: By taking advantage of the speed, scale, and reach of the digital world we now inhabit.

Also note, I wrote out my who, what, where, why, when, and how first, then crafted it into a story.

I’m now using that story to reshape Rogue Mogul and you’ll see those changes rolling out over time. The questions I’m asking are:

Based on the Rogue Mogul backstory:

• what should the website look like?
• what kind of language and tone should the copy have?
• what kinds of images, iconography, or video fit the story?
• where does my “who” hang out online?
• who do they follow?
• …and more.

This model also fits the classic “Hero’s Journey.”

In this case, I am the guide. You are the hero.

Together, we’re on a quest to break free from the old ways so that we can reach our goal of living life on our own terms.

Business Examples To Inspire You:

The idea of story is powerful in business. The guys at Tumbleweed TexStyles built their business by tapping into the Texas story and identity.

Founded by two Frisco, TX high school teachers in 2011, Tumbleweed TexStyles is nothing short of a Texas culture ambassador.

Jeb is an art teacher and a Brian a marketing teacher who is now full time in the business.

Tumbleweed started off with fun, handcrafted, and very comfortable t-shirts. Since 2011, they’ve added a host of products to their lineup and struck deals with Texas-based companies like Dr. Pepper and Whataburger.

They make it a point of giving back to their community and donate a portion of every sale to the Frisco Education Foundation. In true Rogue Mogul spirit, they’re creating opportunity for others.

From 2 guys, to a team of 8+, Tumbleweed TexStyles opened their flagship store in 2020 and are still going strong.

Disclaimer: Tumbleweed TexStyles was a long-time customer and partner of LifestyleFrisco.com, a business I am part owner of.

Current Experiment

Newsletter Growth: 66 – 73

Things picked back up this week and we’re within shouting distance of our first 100 subscribers. Six people joined this week and no one dropped out.

• Improving SEO of existing content. Traffic keeps ticking up. SEO is a long game but there was a 35% jump in traffic over last week. SEO and social signals both contributed to the jump.
• Social promotion. The new “click to tweet” box yielded a couple of shares last week so we’ll keep that going. If you see it above give it a try. Twitter continues to be the main social channel for now.
• Better CTA on all sign-up boxes. I’m going to continue to tweak this as I go. I’m getting on a call tomorrow where I’m going to get grilled on my CTA and looking forward to it. I’ll let you know what kind of feedback I get. I also think the changes to language and adding an “See an example newsletter” link helped with the uptick this past week.

If you’re inclined to help, feel free to forward this newsletter to someone you think will enjoy it.

Tools & Resources

Superhuman: It’s the email client you never knew you needed but can’t live without. I’ve been using Superhuman for over a week now and you couldn’t take it from me. It’s fast, convenient, and I spend far less time dealing with email than ever.

The team at Superhuman seem to have thought of everything. Features like Quick Quote are what make using Superhuman so fast and efficient.

If you’re someone who’s comfortable with keyboard shortcuts, Superhuman will supercharge your email. If you’re not comfortable with keyboard shortcuts they have an interface to access them that’s fast and easy to use.

Either way, you’ll be a power user in no time. And their training/onboarding is second to none!
Right now Superhuman is invite only. But if you’re interested in checking it out, reply to this email and I’ll send a referral for you.

5-Bullet Friday: I’m guessing most of you know Tim Ferriss. But if you’re not on his newsletter it’s worth signing up if only for the 5-Bullet Friday. I always look forward to the interesting things Tim shares on Fridays. Some of them are helpful for business, some on a more personal level. Some have value for being fun or interesting.

If you’re not already a subscriber, it’s one of a handful or newsletters I’d recommend. Best of all, it five bullets and very quick to get through.

Your questions or comments are always welcome and if you know someone that might enjoy this newsletter please share it with them.

The post Breakdown Of A Better Business Backstory appeared first on VS ELLIS.

The word “experience” gets overused but the concept is worth paying attention to.

Last weekend I was watching a special on the creation of Black Spire Outpost, Disney’s new Star Wars destination.

It got me thinking about the lengths Disney Imagineers go to when creating an experience for guests.

It’s not only the incredible detail. It’s how they arrive at those details that intrigued me, and why the details they focus on are important.

Let’s start with the description of Black Spire Outpost from starwars.com:

The largest settlement on the planet Batuu, Black Spire Outpost is an infamous stop for traders, adventurers, and smugglers traveling around the Outer Rim and Wild Space. Off the beaten path, this outpost has become a haven for the galaxy’s most colorful — and notorious — characters. Widely known for the petrified remains of its once towering ancient trees, the spires now stand guard across the river valleys and plains and have long captured the imagination of travelers to this planet. To the first settlers, these petrified spires became more than just landmarks; they became the heart of the outpost itself.

starwars.com

The description makes it clear that Imagineers didn’t settle for creating something. They gave that something a backstory.

I’m sure the Imagineers dream up even more backstory than we’ll ever know. But the point is that even if you’re never told the backstory, that’s what brings the part you experience to life.

Backstory creates context, which in turn creates immersion in the experience you're creating.
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How does Imagineering apply to our businesses?

The customer persona is a concept that has been around for a long time. Personas are a powerful and useful tool for helping you focus your messaging and attract the right customer.

They’re also a pain to create.

What if, instead, we started by creating a backstory. Storytelling is a more natural way for us to create the context in which our customers will interact with our business.

The benefit of creating a backstory is that your customers will relate to your business through an experience rather than a transaction.

Experience taps into emotion, and emotion is a powerful trigger for motivating action.

So my challenge, and yours, is to create the backstory for your business.

Once you have that backstory, think about how that translates to:

• your website
• your copy & the language you use
• the images you choose
• your tweets, instagrams, and other social media communications
• your color palette
• your logo
• and so on…

Aligning those elements is much easier when there is a cohesive story binding them together.

Also, I’m not recommending that you don’t create personas. But I am advocating that you create the backstory first.

For example, from the Black Spire Outpost description we could create personas for the characters they mention in their story:

traders, adventurers, and smugglers

After all, these are the people attracted to Black Spire Outpost.

If you want to dig in a little more here is the Disney Imagineering process summed up:

• Blue Sky: What could it be?
• Concept: What is it?
• Feasibility: What will it take to make it real?
• Design: What are the details to bring it to life?
• Production: How do we build it?
• Installation: How does it all fit together?
• Opening Day: How did we do?

Read more about the Disney Imagineering process.

Note: On the site linked above, they gloss over the backstory part but I know it’s there from the documentaries I’ve watched.

I’m working on the backstory for Rogue Mogul now and will share it with you next week.

I would encourage you to do the same. If you want someone to go over it with, share it in the comments or send me an email. Either way, I’m happy to dive in and help.

Business Examples To Inspire You:

Sol Orwell founded Examine.com, a research site dedicated to well-researched, authoritative, Nutrition information.

Sol grew the company to 7+ figures by building out detailed processes and systems that freed him from the day-to-day tasks that bog down many business owners.

Orwell went on to scale the company in a more traditional way by adding employees.

With that structure in place, the company runs in a way that does not require Sol to manage everyone leaving him the freedom to travel or follow other pursuits.

The bottom line, document your processes and systems so you can free yourself to grow the business and pursue other things.

Current Experiment

Newsletter Growth: 66 – 66

It’s been a flat week for subscriber growth. A few new people joined (welcome!) and a few dropped out. Time to up our game on driving a lot more subscribers.

• Improving SEO of existing content. Traffic is finally ticking up. SEO is a long game but after a few weeks, we’re seeing results. Organic traffic to the site jumped 6% this week.
• Social promotion. I’m using SparkToro to find new places to engage the ideal audience. I signed up yesterday so I’ll let you know how it goes. See Tools & Resources below. Also, you might have noticed the “click to tweet” box in the first section. Since Twitter is my main avenue right now I thought that would be worth trying. Give it a go if you want and let me know if you like it.
• Building a dedicated landing page for the newsletter. Had to bump this one for a week but it’s still a work in progress.
• Better CTA on all sign-up boxes. I’m keeping the “Join the Movement” CTA for now but made a few other small aesthetic changes and updated the copy. We’ll see how it performs and report back.

Tools & Resources

SparkToro

Yesterday I added SparkToro to the list of tools I pay for. I had been playing with the free version for a while but this tweet from Rand Fishkin got me over the hump for something I’ve been working on.

SparkToro is a way to discover what your audience reads, watches, listens to, and follows. And once you get the hang of searching, it’s quite powerful.

In their own words:

SparkToro identifies your customers’ biggest sources of influence, and the hidden gems⁠—so you can reach them where they hang out.

Your questions or comments are always welcome and if you know someone that might enjoy this newsletter please share it with them.

The post Delight Your Customers By Imagineering Your Business appeared first on VS ELLIS.

Coming up with a name for your business can either be a lot of fun or a total pain.

I can tell you that coming up with Rogue Mogul was a pain.

It started off as “Business by Design” until I stumbled across James Wedmore’s site. He’s since rebranded but “Business by Design” is the original name.

So it was back to the drawing board.

Coming up with a name that makes sense and fits your concept is hard enough.

Finding available names, including a suitable domain name and social handles can feel impossible.

What follows is the process I went through to come to “Rogue Mogul.” It’s not a rigid process, but more of a collection of things I do to spark ideas or find inspiration.

The Psychology Of Naming Your Business

Before you dig in, I’d recommend watching this 11min video with Eben Pagan, “The Psychology Of Creating A Name Your Customers Can’t Forget”.

He has some great tips that will get you thinking about creating a name that sticks.

You’ll notice his tip about repetitive sounds and rhythm happens in “Rogue Mogul.” That’s not by accident!

Recognize The Different Kinds Of Names

If you look at all the businesses out there you’ll notice most of their names fall into one of 4 categories. There are variations of course and each has pros and cons.

Descriptive names tell you what the business does. They tend to use clear, simple terms to describe the nature of the business.

Descriptive names include examples like:

• American Airlines (U.S. based airline)
• Lifestyle Frisco (lifestyle information for Frisco, TX)
• Duct Tape Marketing (marketing systems for small business)
• Digital Photography School (learning digital photography)

Descriptive names are sometimes condensed into acronyms.

For example: International Business Machines is better known as IBM.

Pros:

• Descriptive names will often contain keywords that can help with SEO.
• There’s little ambiguity. It’s clear what your business does.

Cons:

• Their basic nature can make finding available domain names and social handles challenging. Modifiers can help (more on that below).
• If the name is too vague, it may be difficult to trademark.

Real names are, as you might expect, the names of people, usually the founders. Real names are common for professional services firms and fashion brands but aren’t limited to them.

Real names include examples like:

• Nieman-Marcus (High-end department store)
• Ralph Lauren (fashion brand)
• Peters, Johnson, Staley, & Co. (certified public accountants)
• Newman’s Own (food products by actor Paul Newman)

Pros:

• Good for personal branding.
• Are often distinct, especially if combined with a modifier or partners name.

Cons:

• Associates the brand with the owner so much that it may be challenging if you try to sell the business.
• Once established may be difficult to separate you from the business.
• May not scale well as your business grows or pivots.

Side Note: My business name and website URL, is VSEllis.com (my first two initials and last name). I chose that back in 2001, long before I was thinking about starting a business, SEO, or any of the things that matter in a modern business name.

By the time I was starting my business the domain had authority and content so I ran with it.

I don’t recommend this for a lot of reasons. I’ll spare you the long description but in my case it’s not easy for people to understand or read. I will be changing it at some point.

Compound names get a little more creative by mashing two words together.

Compound name examples include:

• DoorDash (food delivery)
• Netflix (streaming movies and tv)
• Snapchat (mobile social platform)
• YouTube (online, user-generated video)

Pros:

• Compound names can be fun and memorable.
• There are a ton of creative options leaving open more domains and social handles.

Cons:

• The easy ones are often already taken. Be prepared to do a lot of brainstorming.

Abstract names are conceptual in nature and speak to the business is a less obvious way or have no literal meaning in the business’s context.

Abstract business names include:

• Amazon (the largest online retailer on the planet named after the largest jungle)
• Twitter (social media)
• Zapier (no-code API based automation software)
• Uber (transportation-related businesses)

Pros:

• You can get as creative as you like.
• You and your customers create the meaning of the name.
• If you really knock it out of the park, your name represents a whole class of something. The way every bathroom tissue is called a “Kleenex.”

Cons:

• Not at all obvious what you do from the name.
• Takes time to build the association with what you do.

Start With Brainstorming

When naming a new business I start with a brainstorming session. I try to come up with words that have some meaning or association with the business as a starting point.

I’ve noticed that brainstorming is difficult for some people. The key is not to worry about being too literal or refined. Get anything that pops into your head down on paper (digital or otherwise) and let your mind wander.

Once you have a list and nothing else is popping into your head, assess what you have.

Are there any words that make sense to you as a business name already?

Are there any words that in combination make sense to you?

If so, you’re off and running. If not, don’t worry.

Expanding Your List (a.k.a. The Rabbit Hole)

Next, I like to use Thesaurus.com to find related words or words with the same meaning.

I spend a LOT of time in Thesaurus.com and find it helps to expand the word list but also my conceptual ideas.

When coming up with the name “Rogue Mogul” both words came from spending time in Thesaurus.com.

Since Rogue Mogul is about building a one-person $1M business, I started with related terms.

For the “one-person” part I was searching for terms related to: solo, individual, loner, entrepreneur, etc…. which led me “Rogue.” I also liked the slightly edgy nature of the word.

For the “business” part I was searching on terms like: owner, founder, boss, manager, enterprise, business, etc… which led me to “Mogul.”

Neither word came up fast. I spent hours searching terms from my initial brainstorm and other words I was finding as I was searching.

Go down the rabbit hole and see where it leads you.

There are also name generator tools that can help. I’m not a big fan of them for finding an actual name but some of them do a good job of sparking new ideas and concepts. Here are a few I’ve found helpful:

• Namemesh: which will give you name ideas along with available domain names.
• Business Name Generator
• Inc File

Domain Names and Social Handles

This is where things get difficult. Domain names and social handles are often taken. If it’s another active business, you’ll want to rethink the name.

Even if that’s not the case, those domains and handles will often be owned by hobbyists or squatters. To combat that situation, prepare to use modifiers on your name to help grab relevant resources.

Examples of modifiers:

• Your
• Get
• The
• Go
• My
• Pro
• DIY
• … the list goes on.

Example: Better Back founder Katherine Krug chose the modifier “get” allowing her to have consistency across her domain name and social media properties. Everywhere you find her business it’s “getBetterBack.”

Where To Go From Here

Block out some time, do the brainstorming and research, and prepare for it to take a while.

I’ve had names come to me right out of the gate. Rogue Mogul was a work in progress that took months while I was preparing the site, planning the content, etc… I hope it doesn’t take you that long.

If you ever want to bounce ideas off of someone feel free to DM me on Twitter or reply to this email and I’ll give you my honest feedback.

Business Examples To Inspire You:

While working around the clock for a startup, Katherine Krug started having back problems, specifically sciatica. While researching ways to deal with the pain she stumbled across her $1 million idea.

The more she mentioned her “back strap” idea to people the more she realized she was onto something but she didn’t want to go back to the intensity of the start-up grind that led her here in the first place.

So she designed her new business around the lifestyle she wanted. Katherine used Kickstarter to test the viability of her idea, contracted out work, and was off and running. Given how much time we all spend sitting, it’s no surprise she found success.

Read the full story on Katherine and Better Back.

Current Experiment:

Newsletter Growth: 61 – 66

It’s been a slow week for subscriber growth but signups are still happening.

• Improving SEO of existing content. Traffic was flat this week with a nominal improvement in traffic from organic search.
• Social promotion. Twitter continues to be the main source of social activity and sign-ups. I’m trying to get more engaged in Reddit but not finding a lot of targeted activity there. Rogue Mogul has its own Instagram now if you want to join me there. I haven’t dropped any content yet but will starting next week.
• Building a dedicated landing page for the newsletter. I have a simple placeholder and am reworking the copy and formatting. That will also go live next week (or this weekend).
• Better CTA on all sign-up boxes. Based on this tweet from Brain Clark I rethought the button (it wasn’t “Subscribe” but was equally generic.) Not sure if this one will stick but going to try it for a while. The new button says “Join The Movement.” I’m also going to update the bullets and make the sign-up box on the homepage a little more aesthetically appealing.

Tools & Resources

I mentioned Namemesh above but I want to plug it again. When I’m exploring new business ideas and need to search for domain name variants and business names it’s my go-to.

Namemesh is free and generates variations based on:

• New and extra top-level domain extensions (e.g. .io, .co, .email, .blog, etc…)
• SEO friendly options
• Common names
• Similar names (using a thesaurus)
• Short names
• Fun names
• Mix names (mixing words and popular suffixes)

As always, if you found this helpful, please feel free to forward it to a friend or colleague.

And questions or comments are always welcome.

The post How To Create A Compelling Name For Your One-Person Business appeared first on VS ELLIS.