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What My Search for a Bissell Sweeper Taught Me about Marketing

January 8, 2012 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment
close-lookThis is really a story about targeted persistence. 
 
I wanted to replace my small hand-run Bissell sweeper that I keep handy for light sweeping between major vacuuming.  So I went on line to Amazon and looked around. I put a couple of models in my cart but did not make a purchase. 
 
For Amazon that could have been the end of the story because I ultimately found what I wanted locally.  But Amazon doesn’t give up; it kept sending me options – sweepers on sale or sweepers like the ones I was interested in. 
 

They kept trying to fill my need!!!!!

That is so brilliant and so basic.  Our products and services must fill the needs and wants of our target community.
 

Sometimes we have to educate our target community

Perhaps we need to help our target community understand what our product or service can do for them.  We can help them see how they will benefit from using it and what it will help them accomplish. We can talk about the change they will experience.  I’d never heard of a lightweight electric Bissell.  How long did it run between charging?  How good was its suction?  I read the promotional material and I made a decision that was different than the one I started out with.
 

Sometimes we need to show why we are unique

When I found what I wanted in a local store I had two choices with a little different price range.  What made one better or more appropriate for my use than the other? What makes you unique? What about your work is different from others and won’t be duplicated anyplace else.  We need to let them know about that. Our personal uniqueness and how we express it will ultimately provide the final attraction.  They will identify more with us than with someone else. 
 

Sometimes we need to build trust

I trust Amazon.  They have earned it over time.  I trust the Bissell brand because it’s been around for years.  What are you doing in your business to help people trust you, to know that you will over deliver and the quality will be outstanding? 
 

Be persistent, not annoying

Since I bought my sweeper elsewhere there will be a point where I don’t want Amazon to send me any more suggestions on sweepers and I bet you they know when to quit.  But what if I still wanted a sweeper?  What if I hadn’t found what I wanted?  What if I felt better about spending the money on it a few weeks later?  There are many factors that influence a purchase.  Time and the degree of desire are primary.  A little persistence can go a long way. But know when to quit.
 

How do you put this lesson into action?

Look for and understand the needs of your community. You can find that in the comments on your blog, the questions from your clients, the ideas expressed in the blogs you follow.  Then you need to adjust your approach to include what you find.
 

Keep showing up  

I’m a business coach and everyone who has joined my community knows it.  However, in a recent newsletter when I wrote a gentle observation on what I can do for others in my coaching capacity it inspired several people to step forward to work with me.  They had been considering it and were finally ready.  My nudge was low-key and gentle.  And I had been consistently showing up in the form of my emagazine. 
 
I don’t remember the statistics and they may have changed but at one point I was told that a contact has to be made nine times before a sale is made.  That’s a lot of gentle persistence.  What are you doing to continue to deepen your relationship with your target community?
 

© 2012 Cara Lumen 

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To Brand or Sub Brand

July 7, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

To Blog or Not to BlogQuestion from a client:

I have been busy making jewelry. This isn’t the jewelry with the healing chip. I still plan on doing that line too. My question is would you suggest having a company name for each? Or do I stick with one name? I’m not sure at all what would be best to do.

My Answer

Each brand you establish takes a lot of time and a lot of marketing. You want to establish one brand for your business. It takes long enough to get people to recognize one name so having two brands is like starting over.

There are many ways to bring in sub-brands. For instance, I have the Magnetic Marketing Method and I build on that with courses like “Article Magnetism, How to Write Articles and Blog Posts that Attract” and “How to Write a Magnetic How to Book.” One of the things you can do with your jewelry is to have different collections within the brand. The “(Name of your Company) Healing Collection” the “(Name of your Company) Relationship Collection or whatever identifying sub-brand you can give them. But all of it is under your main brand. That way there is only one brand name to search for and you can tie your company name in with the keyword “jewelry” or “hand-made” or whatever sets you apart.

Having one brand makes it easy to make labels for packaging and shipping your products. It creates a uniformity that helps people remember who you are.

One of the biggest lessons in marketing is that we can’t be all things to all people. And we don’t want to. We want to choose our target community and make our products and services be just for them. You have a big category “jewelry” but you must decide on a smaller target audience. People who like hand-made jewelry. People who are attracted to self-healing products. The narrower your niche the more quickly you are recognized and acknowledged.

I hope that helps answer your question.

© 2010 Cara Lumen

Filed Under: Business Development Tagged With: , , ,

Does Your Target Community Know Why They Need You?

June 16, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment
 
reach-outAt a recent face-to-face Linchpin meeting, one of the participants had just sold his business of ten years and wasn’t sure what he was going to do next.  His company created specialized software for other companies. He said the problem was that his potential clients did not even know they needed what he had to offer or how to find companies like his that specialized in creating it.  Educating our community is an ongoing process.
 
I can talk till I’m blue in the face about what can be accomplished by working with an experienced coach, but if my community is content to spend a lot of time searching out new information for themselves they won’t understand that I could save them time and money. I have already spent years exploring and learning many of the choices available and I could get them off to a really fast start by helping them choose the right ones for their strengths and passion.  
 
If someone came up to you and said “What do you do?” what would you say?  

Your who and do what statement

 The who and do what statement goes like this: “I help (your target community) do (what they achieve with your help) so that (the emotional reward)  
 
“I help entrepreneurs who love to write create meaningful signature products so they can increase their expert status and make passive income. “ 
 
“I help beginning bloggers create a well optimized blog site and the cornerstone content that attracts the community they are meant to serve.”
 
“I am the Idea Optimizer, I help visionaries capture their ideas and organize them into a profitable product or service. I help them believe they can.”
 
Your turn. What is your “who and do what statement.” 

Express your passion

At this same Linchpin meeting I turned to the woman beside me and asked, “What are you taking away from this meeting?” She said, “That not everyone knows their passion.” If you don’t know, others won’t get it and your passion is the most attractive thing you have to offer – your passion and your enthusiasm for following it.  
 
Get clear about you want to offer.  Don’t look at what others are doing or even that long list of what you could be doing.  Follow your heart. 
 
Another person at the meeting is a real estate person who specializes in people who are downsizing.  She is doing well because people are referring others in their same situation to her.  Downsizing is an emotional process and people will gravitate to someone who understands their emotional needs.  She has some coaching background and it all seems to flow together.  She said she didn’t want to shut out other potential clients, but as we all know, the more focused your niche; the more focused your success.

Explain it to a child

It’s way too easy to fall into jargon when trying to explain your business.  Keep it simple.  Keep your words basic so the meaning is clear.  I used to use a phrase “I help you uncover your passion, define your purpose, identify your path, make money from what you already know and attract the people you are meant to serve. But most of all I help you believe you can!!!”  That’s way too much and that’s how I do it, not what I do.  “I help you turn your ideas into profit.” That ultimately sounds too commercial for me; my business is more spiritually based; my emphasis is on building your business from your inside out but that phrase is a bit airy-fairy.”I keep you passionately on purpose as you work to make a difference in the world.”  I like all those phrases, but they are not emotional enough or results oriented enough.
 
My blog is rather philosophical and the less concrete your business is the trickier it is to explain it.  What is “serenity,” what is “inner peace?”  Identify your benefits in concrete terms, “Sleep better at night.” “Feel the relief of being safe.”
 
“I’m your Idea Optimizer” won’t do for a child but it might open a conversation.  To a child I might say, “I help you take your best ideas and make something special from them that others will love.”
 
When you get really fundamental about how you explain your business, you will get clear and then others will get it too.

Write good cornerstone content

Someplace on your web site or blog, you need to do some educating.  You have to address the emotional need of your target community and the problems that keep them awake at night and let them know what you can do for them.  For a blog it’s your Cornerstone Content, that series of posts that lay a foundation for your reader to understand what they need and how you will provide it.  
 
For the phrase “I help you take your best ideas and make something special from them that others will love.”
I might write a series like:
 
• How to choose your best ideas
• How to leverage your ideas into a profitable signature product.  
• Who needs what you have to offer?
 
I have written: 
 
 
Write a series of articles that address the concerns of your community as it relates to what you have to offer.  Show them how you can help, how their lives will be different after they use your product and service and how to recognize others that might need you too. Educate your community so they know they need you.
 
©2010 Cara Lumen

 

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Wheeling and Dealing for Today’s Economy

May 5, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

money-bagsToday’s economy demands that we get very creative when it comes to packaging and pricing our services. On Good Morning America recently in Mellody Hobson Personal Finance segment she was talking to a teen ager who having little success finding a summer job. Mellody suggested she get really basic with what she was offering to do – like babysitting. The teenager said people were not spending much on that. And the Mellody suggested she lower her price – if her normal price was $10 an hour then offer to do it for $8 an hour if she would be guaranteed a specific number of hours, a compromise on price in exchange for guaranteed employment. She stressed how important it is for all of us to be innovative in today’s marketplace when it comes to positioning our offerings.

Create different levels with specific results and obvious benefits

In every business there is some core work that must be done before you can proceed. For instance, you have to have defined your target market and your niche before you create a blog or write an ebook. When I first began coaching people in creating web sites I would say we would need six coaching sessions. But then we would start and find they had not done their basic branding and marketing plans and we had to back up and do that before we could develop the site. That stretched our coaching time into 10 coaching sessions and of course increased the price. So I now divide my work up into several levels. If you have your core marketing work done you can quickly move on to level two or even three.

In modernizing your business for today’s economy set up small packages with achievable and visible results and price them both as separate packages and as a special price if they sign up for levels one, two and three for instance. Be certain specific goals are achieved at each level and the progress is measurable. Levels are also easy to promote because there are specific results and obvious benefits from each level. Think smaller steps with tangible levels of achievement when marketing to today’s economy.

Create a collaborative partnership that offers greater results

My Magnetic Blog Builders partnership with Nancy Hendrickson is a perfect example of two people being able to offer more than just one person can. She is a WordPress Wizard, I’m a Writing Wizard, between us our Ready, Set, Blog package gets people on the fast track to a magnetic blog in 30 days.

But I have set up another program to compliment that offering. Build Your Blog Community Coaching  is for people who already have their blog set up and are ready to move on to a structured blog content development plan that will help them build their blog community and attract the people they are meant to serve. And I have added an optional aspect that helps develop your writing strengths.

Both of these packages are honed down to the most important essentials so the results can be immediately perceived and appreciated. And they get people up and running fast.

Think collaborative partnerships.  Think individualized packages when planning for today’s economy.

Give them choice

We’re all looking for ways to make our pricing more “acceptable” in this economy. My Build Your Blog Community  series has two components. The core offering is a monthly brainstorming, half hour accountabily coaching session in which we continue to build cornerstone content and plan all the post for the next 30 days. We also explore leveraging opportunities for future signature products. The client can then spend two days writing and scheduling their posts and complete their blogging for the month! It’s a small monthly investment in a coaching partnership to maintain strong and accurately targeted content. That’s the core package.

The other optional, additional feature is to increase the coaching calls by 15 minutes and use that time to develop your writing skills as you learn to strengthen some aspect of the crafting great blog posts. This can be headlines or lead paragraphs, or setting up a system for tracking internal links, or how to become a guest blogger. The topic choice is the client’s. They can add this 15 minute classroom to their calls or not. It’s very tailored to their needs and their current needs.

I set a time element on this basic program. Five months total – 1 major intake session to brainstorm cornerstone content and focus your blog plus four half-hour editorial calendar and leveraging sessions with or without the added writing skills development segment. Five months is long enough to establish a habitual pattern of success. And because of the flexibility, the writing skill development segment can be dropped as the client continues on with their monthly idea-focusing sessions.

To position yourself in today’s economy, give your clients choices in a variety of combinations. Let your clients pick exactly what they want at this point in time and give it to them. This accommodates their time schedule and their current budget obligations. Let each person select what they want and need right now.

Offer to do ordinary tasks

What do you love to do that others often do not? I love to find internal links and optimize posts. I could offer that as part of my service if I wish. It takes a bit of time to set up an emagazine account. You need a good bio, a strong research box, and you have a lot of decisions to make. But once it’s set up posting an article is just a matter of time. If I choose to offer those task I would charge more for the set up because I will be certain their contact information is compelling. But I can lower the price on simply submitting articles. Now we’re back to the idea of the baby sitter cutting her price if she gets a certain number of hours. It’s in the bundling.

Are there some ordinary tasks you would be willing to do in combination with your major offering that would serve your clients and give you more work?

Make yourself indispensible

I am naturally enthusiastic and full of ideas. The people that choose to come work with me to build their blog content and community will be inspired and motivated and kept on track each month. I’ve always been an over-deliverer. And I’ve priced this offering modestly. I think people will find this combination of coaching, accountability and motivational inspiration will not only move their blog forward but spill over into the other parts of their life. I am "Your Idea Optimizer:" and love to leverage ideas into new products, new articles, new services.  Your own unique blend of who you are and what and how you offer it will make your Indispensible

See how you can make yourself indispensible in today’s ecnomy – offer tremendous value and achievable and rewarding results.

Narrow your niche

The narrower your niche the more extensive and targeted your products and services can be. For this new offering I’m focusing on people who use the Writing Strategy for one of their major marketing tools. This still leaves me a lot of things to offer. For instance, I can coach people in curriculum development for teleclasses and radio shows, ebooks and other signature product development; I can help strengthen a book proposal; I can write a workbook to go with a published book since I’ve already done three of those for major authors. All of these come under the niche of using writing to promote your business.

When you narrow your niche you will expand the specific offerings you can make.

Write cornerstone pieces about your narrowed niche

Now that I have focused on this new segment for my business I get to write a series of Cornerstone Content about the value and usage of the writing strategy. I can write about how to write and what to write and… you get the picture. I can do radio shows on those topics and look for places to guest post and bring guests on my show and talk about how to get the most out of the writing strategy.

I actually don’t like the terms “wheeling and dealing” that I used in the title but we do need to stay flexible and accommodating in order to move ahead. Right now in order to attract clients in the current economy, we do have to look for new approaches and new offers and new ways to connect. Today’s economy calls for some new thinking. What can you do that’s different?

©2010 Cara Lumen

Filed Under: Business Development, Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Trust. Do You? Do They?

April 4, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

reach-outTrust is the cornerstone of all relationships. It is a two way street. We have to learn to trust in ourselves, in our judgment, and our choices. And as a friend and business person we have to earn the trust of others.

There are so many powerful synonyms for trust: faith, belief, hope, conviction, confidence, expectation, reliance, and dependence for starters. When I read those I wondered how many of those I had going for me.

How much do you trust others?

The issue of trust is coming up for me because I’m going to have knee replacement surgery in a few weeks and I have to trust a lot of people I have never met before. I’m new in town so I followed my insurance to the orthopedic surgeon. I simply called up the office and said, “Who does knees?” It turns out this surgeon has an exceedingly fine reputation. So I trusted my instincts that had me ask for the one who does knees and trusted that this unknown choice would be the right one. I have faith that I have been guided to the right team of people for this particular moment in my life. And I have the expectation of getting literally “back on my feet” easily and rapidly. Faith and expectation – both elements of trust.

There are a lot of people that I don’t yet know that I now have to rely on. The operating team, the nurses, the physical therapist. I have to trust that these people are well-trained, love their jobs and are doing their best work. I have to expect that – its part of trust.

So I’m sitting here thinking about how we are inspired to do our best work when we are with our ideal client; how they motivate and inspire us. And I wondered, what can I do to be the ideal patient so those people are inspired to do their best work on me? I’ll remember their names, or try to since I think drugs are on my agenda. My daughter who has done orthopedic surgery three times says I’ll hurt but I won’t care. I have to be prepared to do my best work as a patient: do the exercises I am given, send healing thoughts to my body so I recover rapidly. And I’m at a bit of a disadvantage because I’m the recipient, not the giver. How do I become a cheerful, cooperative, appreciated receiver?

I have never before been so aware of how I must trust others and how I can inspire them to do their best work – on me.

Do you trust yourself?

I’ve had a really good life so the idea of signing up for pain with this surgery had me worried. I did some EFT Emotional Freedom Technique)  and I can no longer get a rise out of that concept any more. I’m a Reiki Master Teacher so I’m already sending energy ahead to the whole experience. I can’t drive for six weeks so the thought occurred to me that I would be lonely. But I’ve figured out that before I go in I’ll go to the library and get books on the history of the Kansas City area – the Indians, the pioneers, all that took place in this jumping off place for the untamed West. That would be fun. If I read a business book I’ll want to get up and create something, so I want balance there. I have confidence on my inquisitive mind to keep me entertained. Confidence and expectation – both elements of trust.

Why do others trust you?

Now that I’m on the need-to-trust others half of trust I have a better idea of how I can earn trust in my own life and my business.

Have I built a reputation of being really good at what I do (like my surgeon has)? He obviously is skilled, he keeps up with the latest innovations in his field, and he loves what he does. And from the experience I’ve had with his staff so far, he over-delivers.

Can people tell I care about them and what I can do for them? I have seen my surgeon for about 5 minutes so far because I think that’s the norm with surgeons but I have spent 45 minutes with the former surgical nurse who he has selected to orient me to my choices. She was kind, articulate, and thorough and I felt well informed and well cared for.

Does my team reflect competency and caring? The scheduler for my surgeon was warm and efficient. There have been great follow up literature to assure me all is well and will be fine. I have some special class room orientation with a nurse that will give me information on what to expect. Good follow up is an important part of building trust.

Do I offer high quality services and follow up? My sense of the mid-west is that this is the most kind and caring community I have ever met. So yes, I expect to be well cared for.

Being in a position to need to trust others because they have skills I do not have has been revealing. It has given me ideas of how I can build trust. I can anticipate needs, give the best that I’ve got, be reliant in my delivery, and show up consistently so others know they can depend on me. I can help them get great results so they have confidence in me and believe that what I offer will make a difference in their lives.

Think a minute about who you trust and why. What do they do that makes you trust them? Then go forth and do likewise.

© 2010 Cara Lumen
 

Filed Under: Business Development, Marketing, Personal Development Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

What’s The Trickiest Thing To Figure Out In Your Business?

April 2, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

close-lookThe title of your blog or web page is important, but not as important as the power phrase you put next to it. The URL or title is only a word or two that only suggests what you do. You need to have a seven to eight word byline that not only catches the readers’ attention but holds an emotional appeal that keeps them eagerly reading.

You have 7 seconds to convince people to stay on your site. So the first words they see better be emotionally appealing – not a feature (how you do it) but a benefit (what it will do for them.) Finding that short power phrase, that tag line, is one of the most important discoveries you can make. And it takes time.

Today I helped a client  find hers. We brainstormed for half an hour on our coaching call. Because she had created the system she was selling, she was filled with “how it works” phrases – phrases that mean nothing to the newcomer to the site. They don’t care how you do it they just want to know what’s in it for them.

How would you explain what you do to someone who knows nothing about your business? In seven or eight words? As my client talked about what she did I wrote down phrases based on what she was saying and we chose parts of them that resonated and built on those. Over and over we had to stop listing features. At one point we realized we liked positive, hopeful statements rather the ones that emphasized the problem. That was good to know.

This power phrase is an element of your brand. It is not your who and do what statement – I help (who) do (what) , It is an identity, a short statement that lets people really understand what you can do for them.

Adapt the beginner’s mind

Do you know where you will find that statement? When you try to explain what you do so others can understand it. When you search for the meaning of your work in the simplest of terms.

Begin by explaining what you do to your friends, particularly the ones that know nothing about what you do. Get in their beginner’s mind and figure out what they need to know. Eliminate jargon, those words and phrases that may have meaning in your field but mean nothing to the uninitiated. Look for airy fairy phrases like “It will bring you peace and serenity.” Restate those words into recognizable daily experiences that have an emotional appeal. One of my major lessons has been to learn to explain esoteric results in concrete terms. The more you explain what you do to people who know nothing about your work, the easier it is to find that power phrase.

Look out for features

It’s so easy to get caught up in features – the how you do it. That’s where your mind has been, you’ve been putting your system into place. You are steeped in how you are going to deliver your product or service. But people don’t care how you do it, they care what results you will get for them. Spend your time looking at the essence of what you do for others and then find the words to express it. Part of my power phrase is “I help you believe you can!” I don’t talk about how I do that, I don’t say what I can help you believe you can do, I just indicate that I help people believe in themselves, in their dreams, in their value. Look for that core message that encompasses what you do for others. We could call this your heart phrase – how you are touch the lives of others – heart to heart.

Know your power phrase will change over time

My client is working in Word Press which means she can easily make changes any time she wants. So putting the power phrase we found up on her banner is as easy as typing it in. If it were a web site done in DreamWeaver it would take a web designer to make that change in the banner. So we’re not worried that the phrase we chose might change. I hope it does. We found one that works but as she continues to develop her work she will find that perhaps her emphasis changes or her niche tightens, or she may find her clients are asking for one element she offers more than others. I was “The Vision Distiller” for a few years because I felt I was helping my clients bring their vision to life. Then I realized that I really am “Your Idea Organizer,” whether it’s for planning your web site, developing your initial business, or leveraging your ideas into signature products. It’s about helping you make money from what you already know. And yes, that last sentence has been a tag line along the way.

Allow your power phrase to evolve

Even if you hit on a hot power phrase, be open to letting it change. In helping my client today I realized that our power phrase for Magnetic Blog Builders is actually very weak. It needs to be strengthened. We put that site up in 48 hours so we were moving off of first impressions and making fast decisions. As we begin to define our offerings and write content to explain what we do and set up our packages, another phrase will emerge. And I also realized that what we have there now is a label, not an emotional hook that says what we can do for people. I can’t tell you what that will be right now because I haven’t figured it out. But now that I know I’m looking for a better power phrase, it will show up as I continue to talk and write about what we do.

Be patient with yourself. Keep your eyes open. And let that power phrase find you.

© 2010 Cara Lumen

Filed Under: Blogs, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Why You Should Write Your Landing Page First

March 20, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

check-listYou have an idea for a new teleclass.  It’s sort of dancing around you in the air, unformed, changing shape, but eager to come in.  How do you capture your product ideas and begin to shape them?  By writing your landing page first.   Yup, before you even create the product you need to know 1) if there is a need for your product and 2) what exact needs your product will meet. And interestingly enough, writing the landing page will also let you decide things like how many weeks, and what price and what will be offered each week, because you have to write it all in the landing page.

Is there a need for it?

Before you spend anytime creating anything, and as hard as it is to do this when the idea is exciting, take time to see if it is really needed.  And if so, by whom? And how many "whoms."  I have certainly written my share of things because I needed to write them and create a system for me to work the strategy, but ideally, you want others to want it too.  So doing some research will let you know where your idea will fit in, who will buy it, and what it will do for those that do.  All questions you have to answer in the context of your product as well as on your landing page.

What will you product do?

“What will the product do for me?”  That’s the major question everyone asks, so you have to be clear about that and deliver those results in the product and talk about it on the landing page. As you write your landing page you are going to put yourself in the mind of the consumer and answer all the objections even before they are asked.  Again, you need to handle objections on your landing page but you also want to address those objections in your product. 

What will your product look like?

I don’t mean the cover or even the title, I mean how long is it?  What topics does it cover?  If it’s a class what will be covered in each class.  You may or may not list that on your landing page but you certainly will pull out bullet points of benefits they will receive because of your content choices.

As you write your landing page, you start making choices. Yes, you want it to be a webinar; no you do not want to create transcripts of the conference calls. Yes, you want to create a workbook rather than individual handouts. What bonuses can you give?  What added incentives like 20 minutes of personal coaching can you offer? You get the picture, when you write your landing page first you get to define your product and its intention very clearly before you write a single word.

A landing page makes you price out your offering, think up ways to bundle things together, find bonus items you can give to add value, and it makes you set up your shopping cart so you are ready to receive enrollments and/or sales. And create your thank you page.

One of the greatest gifts a landing page gives are the wonderful phrases that show up as you explain what you are going to accomplish.  Sometimes titles show up, sometimes new segments come up, sometimes whole new product ideas appear.

A Landing Page is Magic

Writing a landing page is like waving a magical wand and having your product created right in front of you in a day’s time. You have content, you have a marketing plan, you have pricing, and you have structure—all because you wrote your landing page first.

© 2010 Cara Lumen

Filed Under: Content Development, Planning, Product Development Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Blog Today

March 13, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

fix Where ever you are in the development of your blog – stop!  And start here.  The very first content you want to put into your blog is Core Concept Cornerstone Content.  It is a series of articles that explain the core of what you do and that you will refer back to over and over through internal links in later copy.  You may also want to place this content on its own page since it will deftly explain what you teach or sell or think. It contains core information you want your readers to have immediately. And when you start brainstorming these cornerstone concepts you will find yourself filled with ideas for products and services.

What do your services do for others?

Every time I need to explain something in detail to a client I write it up as a handout and put it in my Coaching Library to be used again for the next person. I can’t tell you the hours I’ve saved by having these handouts ready.  This Core Concept Cornerstone Content is like that.  It is a series of articles that explain what you want people to know about what you offer.   Begin with the concerns of your clients and start brainstorming the types of things you have to help them with when you first begin working with them.  For instance, I have to be certain my clients know their target audience and have defined their niche and I want them to think big so I have Is Your Ideal Client Big Enough for Your Vision?  in my pillar content.

Everyone goes into business to support themselves financially.  Write about how you help them do that. 10 Ways for You to Start Earning More Income

I’m a business coach so some of my pillar content is How to Choose Your Strongest Marketing Strategy and How to Create a Magnetic Sales Cycle

I am a content developer so of course I’ll include How Hiring a Web Content Strategist can Save you Money

And I help people create signature products so 12 Tips for Better Time Management When the Ideas Keep Coming In  and How to Write Content so it Organizes Itself  would be valid concepts to include.

You get the picture. Look over the benefits you give your clients and write articles that show that you know their concerns and needs and how you help them achieve their goals.  Then you have some strong positional material to refer back to through external links in future posts.

What products do you offer?

I have a series of home study courses so I could write about the advantages of home study. For instance, How to Learn More When You’re Full Up or How to Keep Learning Even if You Think You’re Too Old   I could have “How a good template can save you hours and keep you on target” ready to go with my Idea Generator book that is filled with templates.  Write about the use of your product. How it will solve problems.  How it has changed lives. 

What affiliate products do you offer?

Of course you only promote affiliate products and services that you use yourself.  As a web content developer I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used What’s in your Shopping Cart   It was one of the early pieces in my Coaching Library. I send it to new clients who are setting up their web sites.  It is an affiliate and I use affiliate links.  Write about the products and services you recommend in a useful way that helps the reader learn how to use the product to their best advantage. My resource page is filled with useful tools I use and recommend and many of them are affiliate links.

What philosophy do you expound?

This may not be appropriate for every situation but I find I’m writing a mix of philosophical personal development posts and practical application posts.  So articles like The Starting Over Syndrome  and How to Learn More When you’re Full Up  and Believe You Can!

Start wherever you are and do this now!

When you start thinking in terms of writing a Cornerstone Series you’ll be amazed at how the ideas come rolling in.  Create a separate page to list your series like my Business Building Ideas page  and use the Organize Series plug in to keep a list of the full series in each post so the reader can keep on reading   I’ve created a brainstorming tool to help think up ideas which will be included in my Idea Generator Workbook and of course I am developing it as I make the end result happen for myself.  Just start thinking “series.”

This concept is worth stopping what you’re doing and to make certain this is in place before you proceed further with your blog.  And you know what.  Writing this core content, these basic, foundational principles of what you do will help you clarify your niche.  I bet you come up with some great new marketing phrases too.  And of course, all of these ideas can be leveraged into other products and services. 

Go for it – today!  Write that core concept cornerstone content and start back linking to them.

© 2010 Cara Lumen







Filed Under: Blogs, Content Development Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Entrepreneur’s Cheerleading Section – Magnetic Momentum Builder 5:15 Report

March 7, 2010 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

winner_0 As entrepreneurs we are often our own support staff and certainly are our own cheerleading team. That’s one of the reasons I love using a 5:15 report.

The 5:15 report is a powerful tool for both support and acknowledgment. Whether you are facilitating a committee, an office full of people, or focusing on your own individual business, the 5:15 report will help you and the people you are working with to stay on target, shorten meeting times and allow space for everyone to acknowledge what they accomplished, what worked and what they would like to change.

If you are working with others a 5-15 report lets each team member know about what’s going on with specific projects, people and processes. It helps to quickly identify what is working, and what is not. It provides a forum for celebrating success, asking for help when needed, smoothing potential pockets of disharmony, and passing along information of interest.

The 5:15 should take no more than 15 minutes to write and 5 minutes to read. The process has three parts:

  • A simple description of what you did during the week/month. (I do mine weekly).
  • An honest description of your state of mind and the climate you see around you.
  • One idea that will improve your job, department, or organization.

The Magnetic Momentum Builder Captures Feelings

As I worked with the 5:15 format I began to personalize it.  I turned it into the Magnetic Momentum Builder that tracks not only my actions for the week but my feelings.  Was I relieved, excited, amazed, satisfied?  Emotions are a big key to where we should be moving.  Noticing them helps us hear our inner guidance. I write them in my Magnetic Momentum Builder which is simply a table in Word.

The Magnetic Momentum Builder is a Motivator

I have also created my Magnetic Momentum Builder to act as a motivator – to capture areas I want to be certain to take action in – article submissions, blog posts, radio show scripts, my outreach strategy.  It becomes a nudge as well as an acknowledgement list.

Here are some of the things I include:

Major Wins - It’s important to notice and acknowledge our successes. This could be a “little” success like finally figuring out how to do a small technical task, or an unexpected windfall.  Just give yourself a pat on the back and add some gratitude in there for what has shown up in your life. 

Unexpected Blessings - I have categories for people, ideas, prosperity. Noticing the unexpected gifts that have shown up in your life again deepens our awareness of the signs and signals and guidance we consistently receive from the Universe.

Qualities for the month - What do I want to embrace – my creativity, higher completion, do I want to focus on deepening relationships?  This gives me the opportunity to consciously emphasize a quality I want to embrace. 

Specific Achievements - You can have your Magnetic Momentum Builder include a list that includes things like clients you served, courses you took, collaborative partnerships you formed, or products you created.  It should include personal breakthroughs and skills you have developed. Take time to look for all the good that has come your way and acknowledge yourself for what you have achieved. And remember to write down how you feel about them.

The original 5:15 report only asks these questions:

  1. What I accomplished
  2. What’s working?
  3. What could be improved?
  4. How am I feeling? What is the climate of the group?
  5. Good Idea (what one thing will make the biggest improvement in my life, work or the organization?)
  6. What concrete steps will I take to make this happen? By when?

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Filed Under: Business Development, Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Let Writing Expand Your Sales Cycle

March 7, 2010 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

by Cara Lumen

writer_0 Your marketing strategy should be built on your strengths.  If you are a good networker, focus on networking, if  you are a good writer you can leverage that strength into a complete sales cycle. 

Michael Port has put out a call to his Book Yourself Solid Coaches to help him revise his cornerstone book Book Yourself Solid and of course, I answered.  In fact, I volunteered to organize the original signups for what sections people wanted to work on.  And that’s what gave me the idea for this article.  Several coaches had really focused on networking. It is their natural strength and they have developed that into their major marketing strategy.  There’s going to be a new section on Social Media and several coaches had been taking more training in that as they made that a major marketing strategy for themselves.  But me, I signed up for the Writing Strategy – my absolute favorite thing to do.

Writing is good for your soul

It’s Sunday morning as I write this and although I have 12 to15 posts in varying degrees of completion, it was important for me to bring something new to life – to explore this topic and see what I uncovered.  I use my writing to sort myself out, to expand a concept, to learn something new, and to teach.  It allows me to capture the ideas that are swirling around me in nebulous form and bring them onto the physical plane for examination and consideration.

Write to sort yourself out

Journaling has long been a cornerstone of self-understanding.  When we write it down it stops spinning around in our head and becomes concrete for us. We can make lists and compare opportunities and make choices once we bring our ideas into form. 

I wrote an article about my cat Sebastian who was busy pulling push pins off of my bulletin board.  I saw that as an opportunity to think and write about curiosity and exploration and how we might increase that in our lives.

When I moved from California to Kansas City to be near my children I wrote all sorts of articles on choices, and giving stuff away, and rethinking where you put things in the new environment. 

Emerson says  “For the instinct is sure, that prompts him to tell his brother what he thinks. He then learns that in going down into the secrets of his own mind he has descended into the secrets of all minds. He learns that he who has mastered any law in his private thoughts, is master to that extent of all men whose language he speaks, and of all into whose language his own can be translated. The poet, in utter solitude remembering his spontaneous thoughts and recording them, is found to have recorded that which men in crowded cities find true for them also.”.
 
Our thoughts have value.  Our insight will be the insights others need to hear. Writing is a great way to think outloud on paper and figure things out for you and for others.

Write to expand a concept

This article is an example of expanding a concept by writing about it.  My participation in Michael’s book revision made me very aware of how I very much prefer the writing strategy above all others and I wanted to look to see what that meant for my choices and my results and how that might also be applicable for others.

Write to learn something new

When I read a book I underline and I take notes.  Then I go type those notes into my computer.  And ultimately I try to explain some of those concepts to someone else – which helps me learn it even better.  And often there is a phrase or a word or a concept that inspires me to write about it.  What does it mean to me?  How can I apply that to myself. 

Write to teach

When you teach you learn.  I love to do this.  Several years ago I wanted to get better at writing and submitting articles so I created a teleclass Article Magnetism, How to Write Articles that Attract.    Recently I spent a lot of time creating my own marketing plan and decided to teach a teleclass on that, which I did and will again.  Ultimately I put many of the great systems I had created into an ebook How to Write a Magnetic Marketing Plan

As I coach I create new handouts for my clients.  They are part of my coaching library and many have become articles.  I’ve created so many great systems that I’m working on combining them into one book Your idea Generator. 

Writing as your sales cycle

So here’s what writing has produced for me so far. 
1.    I have lots of blog posts which are often the starting point for exploring and expressing my ideas.
2.    These turn into articles which I post in article directories like Ezine Articles where I am a Platinum Expert
3.    Posts and articles often become part of my radio show Passionately On Purpose
4.    I write articles that become my cornerstone series
5.    I turn those ideas into ebooks
6.    I turn them into teleclasses and home study courses
7.    My coaching handouts become articles and enter this cycle of possibilities

A sales cycle consists of products and services at different price points so people can join you wherever they will.  Think of it as a merry-go-round where people can choose their adventure – their entry point – the steady benches, the off-the-ground-but-steady pony or the exciting and adventursome galloping horse.  Your sales cycle must contain a product for each of those levels.  This may mean price point and it may mean beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.  Think variety, think levels of opportunity and engagement.

One idea wears many hats

I think of ideas as actors – they can put on different costumes and play different parts.  When you have an idea that appeals to you, begin immediately to see how many ways it can be presented. Chunk it up, or chunk it down.  Make it a series.  Take each point in one article and write a separate article for each point. Leverage your ideas into your sales cycles from many different directions.

If you are a writer, there are many wonderful ways to add value to your business.  Go exploring and see where it takes you.

©2010 Cara Lumen

Filed Under: Business Development, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,