Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

Have you visited Youtube yet? No, it’s not just for high school and college kids any more…it’s for coaches and entrepreneurs too!

Increasingly, coaches, authors, speakers and consultants are using video (on Youtube or on their own site) to promote their services and products. Video gives the viewer a real-life, three-dimensional experience of you. And for coaches and other information professionals that do much of their work virtually, it can be the bridge to credibility – and therefore help the prospect build the confidence he/she needs to buy – in ways no other medium can.

Here are 5 ways you can easily and effortlessly start using video to improve your business and marketing results.

1. Put a short introductory video on your home page.

Whether you use an opt-in format like we do at www.careercoachinstitute.com or just sandwich the video in among other content, putting video on your home page has been shown to improve conversion and opt-in rates by as much as 50 percent! That’s nothing to sneeze at! The video we are using was filmed in a professional studio, but as you will see below, that is not necessary to get great results – even a webcam can produce the quality you need!

2. Use video to introduce yourself before an in-person appearance.

Frequently, part of an exhibitor package for a conference is obtaining the pre-conference list of attendees and having a one-time opportunity to introduce yourself to them and invite them to visit your booth. This has typically been done in an email or a pre-conference postcard mailing. But as I prepared to go to a recent conference this year, I thought, “why not use video as an introduction?” So I hooked up my $50 camcorder (a Logitech, if you’re curious about the brand), wrote out a script, and did an introduction! In just a few minutes, it was uploaded to Youtube and the link ready for the recipients of my email to view.

3. Create your own keyword-optimized YouTube channel.

If your clients typically find you online, as our students do, then you want to be accessible through a variety of means and channels. (Have you Googled yourself lately? See where you can be found that you may not have even known about!) You should be using LinkedIn, Facebook, your own name as a web site (e.g., www.marciabench.com) – and Youtube too! Rather than just having random access to your videos if people happen to put in the right keywords, you can customize your own “channel” in 10-15 minutes and have them all available in one place. (Check out mine here.)

4. Also place the Youtube videos you make on your own site or blog.

While it is great to upload videos to Youtube, taking people there doesn’t get them to your web site – and that’s where you can sell to them! So we like to also upload videos that are previewing an upcoming event onto our site for search engine optimization purposes.

(You might also consider the low-priced software Oovoo, which we are using for our ongoing series of Purposeful Entrepreneur Models Interviews – you can view 2, 3 or more people all at once on screen!)

5. Burn your video to DVD and send it out to prospects.

Recording a video of you talking about what you do best, and sending the physical DVD out to your prospects, can be one of the best ways to introduce yourself to them. Just as mailing a physical copy of your newsletter will be read more than an electronic version, video works the same way!

These are just 5 simple ideas, which you can implement with a webcam or an inexpensive camcorder almost immediately. What else can you do with video? The sky’s the limit! If you hit a “home run” with one of your video campaigns, be sure and let us know so that we can acknowledge you. Happy filming!

Copyright © 2010 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

If you own a coaching, consulting, speaking, healing or other service business, no doubt you have been challenged by the upheaval of the last 2 years. But what if the events that contributed to that upheaval were the very ones that will also catapult your business to the next level?

They are.

I have worked with heart-centered and spiritually oriented service entrepreneurs for more than two decades, and there has never been a more exciting – nor fearful, for many – time than right now. But where too many business owners are finding themselves caught now is “holding back,” waiting until something shifts or changes outside them until they take the steps they want to take to build their business.

It’s time to stop waiting.

You see, waiting to move forward also holds at arms-length the very clients you want to attract. So you become part of the problem, not the solution, by hesitating! Consider these three dangers which I see as monumental – yet very much surmountable – as you envision your future.

Danger #1: Blaming the economy for not moving forward.

Certainly these have been “interesting” economic times of late. But did you know that the vast majority of the companies now in the Fortune 500 were begun during a recession or depression? This is where the opportunities lie! If you are willing to see things differently than the masses – and find opportunity in the midst of chaos and change – you can literally open up a gold mine for your business.

People are investing their money in what they value – and in what they see as the bridge to help them obtain their important goals. But they have to want your services, not just need them. Have you made an emotional, soul-based connection with your prospective clients? If not, they will keep shopping until someone does.

It is also dangerous to believe that once the economic indicators start to uptick, business will be “back to normal.” A whole new definition of normal is emerging! This is not just another economic downturn; it is the emergence of a new way of doing business – what I call the Entrepreneurial Renaissance.™ And it has a whole new set of rules that govern it. Small, virtual, home-based, and entrepreneurial is “in” (much like the emergence of the guilds in medieval times) – and large, red-tape laden, corporate structures are on their way “out.” Anything that is not authentic and aligned with integrity will be brought into the open and eliminated now. But here is exactly where the opportunities lie: in capitalizing on the needs and wants people have now for the personal touch, for meaningful services, and for opportunities to connect with people who share common interests and values.

Question to ask yourself: Am I making business decisions based on a pessimistic attitude or fear about the economy? If so, how can I make a decision based on my vision, with faith, instead?

Stay tuned for danger 2 next week!

Do you have a tendency to base decisions in your life and business on what is happening in your external environment?

For example:

• You shop at more than one store for groceries because “they” (the other store) has a discount or bargain on a few items?
• You drive less because gas prices are (or were) up
• You don’t market as much because you keep hearing that things are tight, the stock market is down, or it’s the holiday season
• You spend hours on the computer planning a trip – whether business or pleasure – trying to get the very lowest price for your hotel and airfare (and then when you arrive find out it really IS “discount” – in quality too!)

If you find yourself doing any of these things, consider that it is because you have not yet adequately embraced the principle that “Nature is an inexhaustible storehouse of riches. The supply will never run short. Original substance is alive with creative energy and is constantly producing more forms.” (Wallace Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich).

Perhaps you are waiting to promote your services or launch a new program because of the economy, the holidays, or any external reason, there are at least four important reasons why this will actually be detrimental, not “wise.”

1. There are actually more opportunities, not less, for coaches and other entrepreneurs in the down economy.

First, while coaches can thrive in any economy, they have increased opportunities when there are more layoffs and downsizings than are typical. After all, with more people in transition, there are more people that need our services! Tailor your marketing and the benefits you emphasize to the current conditions – getting a job or building your business more quickly vs. slow expansion or bettering one’s financial situation through a promotion – and you will have people lining up to work with you.

2. By not promoting and pursuing expansion of your business now, you become part of the problem.

You have heard the axiom that “what you focus on expands.” That is also true in this arena. When you hold back (consciously or unconsciously) by printing black and white instead of color, using solely online promotion instead of adding offline or radio or television, or just wait for a “better” time…you contribute that vibration and energy to the whole. And people pick up on your reluctance, they become afraid, and they pull back…and on it goes.

My mentors and coaches (as well as I) are investing MORE in learning and in our businesses and marketing during this time than ever – and breaking records left and right. Time your product release or program promotion based on what your heart wants to do, what you are feeling guided to do, not on what is happening in the external environment. (One of my colleagues just launched a new magazine and when someone commented they couldn’t believe she would do this during a recession, she said, “I didn’t even think about it, it was just the time to do it!” And it is very successful.)

3. Because many of your competitors are contracting now, you have an unparalleled opportunity to step in and own more of the market.

Many of your colleagues are NOT reading this ezine, and they are giving in to the fear and contraction that their base instincts want them to hear – and that the media is feeding them. (“Television” is literally someone else telling you what your vision should be…don’t you want to choose that for yourself??)

Step beyond your comfort zone, announce something new, finish that product and get it out for springtime promotions. Remember the principle of Raymond Holliwell that “no desire is felt until the supply is ready to appear.” (Working with the Law) So if you feel the desire to share this program or product, people are ready to consume it. Move ahead, don’t hold back just when you’re finally ready to grow!

4. By pulling back, you are depriving the people that are looking for you, that are longing for your work, and really need it, of the opportunity to obtain what they need.

It was a huge shift for me to realize that when I give in to my own fears and cancel an event or hold off on finishing a book or workshop, I am actually keeping my “people” – the individuals that I am destined to serve and who long for what I offer – from receiving what they need! My job is to say yes to the desires and call within me; then it is up to God and the Universe to bring me together with those people that are looking for me. It becomes so much easier this way!

Will this feel uncomfortable? Certainly, at times it will. You may attract criticism, people thinking you’re just a little crazy…and even your own inner voices may join the chorus. As long as you are fulfilling your divine destiny and purpose through the work you do, offering “more life to all and less to none,” you can trust your inner guidance and follow it – in any economy.

You know how important your brand, target market and niche are to your success, right?  But it can be difficult to see your own ideal brand (which is often so obvious we overlook it) without outside help.

We are giving away one FREE Brand Makeover to a deserving business owner who is ready to get your business on purpose and on the track to profits this year!  Here’s what you need to do to win:

Between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31, submit a COMMENT below stating your:

• name
• phone
• email
• businses name
• web site address
• why you deserve a makeover

We will announce the winner on Mon. Feb. 1.  Good luck!

Dear Purposeful Entrepreneur,

Thanks to all of you who sent me get well wishes during my recent 2-week illness. I’m happy to report I’m back to 100 percent, especially since this week’s Fall Equinox, which seemed to balance me out even as the planet did so! (Maybe you felt it too?)

I’m getting so excited to see many of you in person soon, whether at our Coast to Coast Tour stops in Oregon and Florida next month (www.evolveevent.com/tour.html) or at EVOLVE in November. It’s such a privilege to connect face to face and hear the success stories – and the challenges too – that you face as you launch and build your purpose-based businesses. Meanwhile I’m enjoying the beginnings of fall in the Northwest as the leaves fall and blow in the street. Even letting go can be beautiful, can’t it?

Want My Secret, “Behind the Scenes” Roadmap to Conscious Cash Creation for YOUR Business, Including Templates, Plans And Checklists?

The secret to success is not what you DO, but who you ARE – and how well you leverage the power of your mind, spiritual principles and the laws of manifesting and magnetizing. I’ll reveal to you EXACTLY how I have created 6-figure success, not once but several times! And I’ll give you my templates, plans, and checklists for how to design and run a business that blends spirituality with business and wealth creation so you can prosper in ANY economy and quantum leap your business NOW!

It’s all part of the Coach’s Conscious Cash Creation Roadmap™ I’m giving you at EVOLVE!, my live event coming up this November. If you haven’t reserved your ticket yet I suggest you HURRY! Reason is, we’re now OVER *30% SOLD OUT* and we’re keeping this event intimate so you get the high-content step by step training, coaching and Q&A with me that you’ve been asking for. If you want to blend spirituality with business so you can live a joyful, abundant, soul-rich life, then you must be with people that can help you do just that!

Click here to get ALL the details, including the exact templates, plans and checklists I’m including, just for you.

 
Wishing you the life of your dreams,

 Marcia

Have you ever wondered how you could use the internet to reach more people, make more money and fulfill your life purpose?

The key is to combine proven business strategies with the spiritual laws of business – and you will create a business you LOVE that makes money too. Most people who are trading hours for dollars now will eventually get to burnout…find out how to transcend that model and create:

• Passive income streams
• Information products that other people PAY you to create
• Joy and freedom in your life – !!
• More time off while increasing your revenues
• Spiritual fulfillment through your business

Discover the principles you need to use NOW – including actual examples of how people just like you are applying them and thriving, even in this economy – in this complimentary NEW call.

Register now at http://www.purposefulentrepreneur.com/growpreview.html

Talk to you tonight!

Marcia