Tweet

This is an article written by Client Attraction expert, Fabienne Fredrickson. So many times I hear lots of “reasons” why a client isn’t moving forward with their dreams and goals and when I read this article from Fabienne, it was a perfect way of articulating what we all can learn on how to get our businesses to the next level.

Enjoy,
Sue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve discovered something really interesting in terms of human behavior over the last few years. I’m shocked to notice how often people stop themselves by using excuses for not doing something in their business, and in their lives. The thing is, they’re not even aware of it. Here’s what I mean… People SAY they want something very badly, that they want a change, and theoretically, that they’d do anything to get it.

But when the rubber meets the road, it’s a totally different story. For many, when it’s time to take action, they’re not WILLING to take the steps or do the work that creates the result. And they use excuses about time and money as the trap door, their escape route:

“I can’t do ‘x’ because I don’t have the money right now”
“I can’t do ‘y’ because I’ve already got something planned for that day”

I see it plain as day and I see it happen EVERY day. It’s the “Inner Self-Doubt” that consistently has someone question every single move they make in growing their business or their income.

It’s that same inner self-doubt that creates the excuse that invariably comes up, either having to do with time OR money, or something along the lines of “I’m not sure this is right for MY business.” And what I’m convinced about, because I’ve witnessed it in my own life and then in the lives of hundreds (if not thousands) of my clients, is that this inner self-doubt, questioning everything and not taking serious ACTION when the solution shows up all boil down to one thing and one thing only. And in plain English, it’s called… SELF SABOTAGE.

(By the way, The same thing happens when you decide to do something and then you decide to back out at the last minute. There are people who do this again and again. It’s what I call “waffling” and it’s another form of self-sabotage, something that you use to keep yourself from playing a bigger game in your life.)

In all the years I’ve been working with solopreneurs, I have seen countless people beg for a change in their business, pray to make a lot more money, and yet, when the answer is delivered and it’s right there in front of them (in whatever form it shows up) they use excuses, turn away or question whether it’s right for them.

Realize that THE limitation around getting to the next level in their business is created by your own mindset. Then you can make a change in perspective, stop using excuses and “just go for it”, then the results show up. Here’s the process I’ve witnessed in myself and in my clients recently:

1. They make a firm DECISION (to succeed, buy something, attend something, or whatever)
2. They stop over thinking
3. They quiet the inner critic and the relentless self-doubt
4. They look for different ways of making it happen
5. They take action, IN SPITE OF the “fear”
6. They are then rewarded very handsomely.

Widening your perspective around success starts with a DECISION. Once you make a decision to succeed, it’s time to commit to doing whatever it takes to make it happen. Whatever it takes.

Instead of saying “I can’t afford this”, ask yourself “How *can* I afford this? ” Instead of saying “I’m already busy that day”, you’ll begin to find ways to move things around to make it happen. It’s a SMALL shift in perception, but it is absolutely life-changing when you begin to think that way. Instead of stopping the flow, you begin to search for opportunities, for solutions. You begin to act like a detective, looking for different ways to make it happen.

And that’s when it shows up.

I’ve often thought that, if I can’t get into a house from the front door, then I’ll look for the back door. And if the back door’s locked, then it’s time to look for an open window. And if all the windows are shut tight, then the storm door or basement door, etc. Too many people simply try the obvious way of doing something, often, by just looking at their bank account or their calendar. And then they stop there.

And you know what? There is ALWAYS a way. But only if you’re willing to look for a different way. Only if you don’t get stopped at the front door, thinking, “Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be!”

It’s about letting go of mediocrity and trusting that there IS a way to get what you want, or to do what you want to do for your business or in your life. You see, once you make the COMMITMENT to find a way to make it happen, the way to do that thing shows up. Always.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Let me ask you this…

What is it that you are wanting to do that you’re stopping yourself with excuses or money or time?
Make a list. If you can be honest about it, really honest with yourself and you see yourself doing this very thing, I want to ask you this… How BADLY do you want this thing, whatever it is? How BADLY can you taste it?

Before you say, “But wait, Fabienne. There ISN’T enough money for this in my bank account.” or “Fabienne, I’ve already got something planned for then”, notice that it’s all a question of your perception. If it were a life-or-death thing, you WOULD find the money, you WOULD clear your schedule. And so it CAN be done. And if it can be done, then the excuse is no longer valid.

If you want something really badly, then you need to approach it as if it were a life-or-death situation. You need to have your ACTIONS match what you say you want. Otherwise, a year from now, 10 years from now, 30 years from now, you’ll be in the same place you are now. Is that what you really want?

It comes down to being WILLING to act differently. It’s not just thinking differently, it’s about taking bold and decisive action toward what you say you want in your business or your life. It’s about saying YES to what’s possible for you. Saying YES to the opportunities that are divinely given to you. And then taking action. Your business, your life, your in-come will never be the same. I promise you that.

Here’s a great opportunity for you to take action on as well. If you’ve been searching for answers to growing your business, then I want you to know about my brand new Get More Clients Blueprint DVD/CD Homestudy System (based on the SOLD-OUT live event). With this program, I take you by the hand and walk you step-by-step through the process of earning way more in your small business. Take a moment to watch this high content video that explains it all at www.JoinTheTop5Now.com. No more excuses!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System , the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your in.come, visit www.clientattraction.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tweet

Did you know that a leading institute on entrepreneurship recently reported that out of the 6 million people who open up their own business each year, only 5% of them actually make more than $100k in their own business?

Join Client Attraction Mentor, Fabienne Fredrickson as she shows you step-by- step how to be in that top 5%!

Fabienne just launched her brand new 4-part FREE video training course where she teaches small business owners exactly “How to Authentically Make $100,000 (Or More) Over The Next 12 Months.” It’s in-depth teaching and very high-content — no pitch.

I registered and have watched the first two videos and really appreciate the valuable information she shares on client attraction and how important it is in order to build a successful business. I can’t wait to see what the other videos are about!

See for yourself by registering here: http://bit.ly/mckRXX

There will also be a big bonus offered:

On Wednesday, May 18th at 8pm ET, Fabienne is holding a one-time-only telephone training call where she will put ALL the steps together from the video training and reveal even more great content. It will change the way you do business.

http://bit.ly/mckRXX

Here’s where you register for Fabienne’s important ONE TIME ONLY video training course, at absolutely no charge:

http://bit.ly/mckRXX

I encourage you to take advantage of this free offer, it’s well worth the time to learn this valuable information.

Sue

Tweet

Every day, we send emails to our friends, business associates and clients. Have you ever taken a moment to really think about what your emails are saying about you? More specifically, what unintentional impression are you leaving your reader? Are you giving them ample opportunity to misjudge your intentions and even your overall business brand?

In preparation of writing this article, I took a quick, unofficial survey of the volume of emails I work with on a daily basis. I receive approximately 100 legitimate emails and send out about 60 emails…a day. So of those 60 emails, I either have an opportunity to make a favourable impression towards my overall eVision Media brand or create a terrible impression on my professionalism…and the same applies to you!

You may not even realize it, but too often little details can be left out or inadvertently included that can suggest that you’re lazy, incompetent, inattentive, mistrustful, or unprofessional. Yikes.

Below lists some critical things to keep in mind when sending emails. Some may seem like a no-brainer, but it doesn’t hurt to have them serve as a reminder, as I know that I definitely make some of these mistakes sometimes!

• Spelling. Remember that spell checkers don’t know when you’ve used a correctly spelled, but incorrect word such as "their" instead of "there". Also be aware of similarily spelled words such as “lose” and “loose”, which I find is commonly done.

• Avoid using web/texting jargon, such as “this 1 is 4 u”, somehow this style of “English” has permiated from social media and text messaging to regular communications – yikes! ’nuff said.

• Grammar. Grammar is not just for picky English teachers. If your writing is grammatically incorrect, it has a much higher probability of being misinterpreted by the recipient. Often in this instance, miscommunicating is worse than not communicating at all.

• Signature Block. Do all of your emails contain a short, professional signature block with your contact information? Don’t make people look in their address book if they want to call you. Just have your information inserted in every message. Add in a brief, catchy sentence and of course, be sure to put your website address there too!

• Subject Line. Use the subject line to communicate useful information. Let the recipient know what the email is about so they can decide what to do with it. Useless subjects, no subjects at all, or misleading ones can be really annoying.

• Format. Writing large, impenetrable blocks of text in one long stream of consciousness paragraph. Break up your ideas so that they are easier to follow.

• Length. Emails should generally be short. Many people find it difficult to read long pages of text on their screen.

• Urgent Indicator. Using the urgent indicator for clearly unimportant emails gives the appearance that you have no regard for the time and attention of the reader or that you suffer from a personality disorder that leaves you with delusions of self-importance. Either way, it’s not a good impression to give so only use the urgent indicated for truly urgent emails.

• Bandwidth Usage. If you’re sending attachments, be careful of the image size – 1 MB is TOO LARGE for those people who still get email over the phone line. It wastes lots of their valuable time waiting for it to download. If there’s no need for sending big files, don’t. If there is, find a way to reduce the image size first or let the person know in advance that you’re sending the large file so they can be prepared.

• Delivery Receipt. Unless you are sending a very important contract or time sensitive document, avoid using the read receipt feature. Most people want to read their emails in private and don’t want to be made to feel you don’t trust them to read your emails. The exception to this rule is if you fear your email is not being delivered to the intended person and you want to be assured they received it.

• Proof-Read SLOWLY. Studies show that the human brain can easily “fill in the blanks” of a sentence or not register a double word like “the.” However, that doesn’t mean you have licence to take advantage of that! When you proof read your email, carefully read E V E R Y W O R D to make sure that your sentence makes sense and isn’t missing anything.

• Understand the difference between TO: CC: and BCC: Rule of thumb, if you want a response from someone, put their email in the TO: field. If you are sending an email to more than one person, the people you are including just as an FYI go in the CC field, this way they know they are not expected to respond. If you don’t want anyone to know that you are sending an email to someone else at the same time, that email address goes in the BCC field. IMPORTANT: If you are sending an email to a bunch of people that don’t know each other – ALWAYS use the BCC field for ALL email addresses. It is a privacy violation and security risk if you share email addresses with other people in your contact list that don’t know each other.

• Never send an email when you’re angry or upset – 9 times out of 10 you’ll regret it the moment you hit the send button. Go ahead and write your emotionally charged letter and then walk away without sending it. Come back when you’ve cooled down and either send a re-written letter or better yet, pick up the phone and communicate that way. There are times when email is simply NOT the best form of communication and the phone is always going to be better when a disagreement has formed, misunderstandings are happening, or emotions get charged.

• Finally, remember that email does not include tone of voice or body language - so all the person reading your prose has to work with is your words. It’s amazing how quickly those words can cause people to jump to the wrong conclusion, misinterpret your intentions and even worse, be offended by the attempt at humour that didn’t quite translate properly.

Can you think of any other things that annoy you about email? Submit your comment below!

Have an amazing day,
Sue

Tweet

Have you ever wondered, “now that I’ve got a website, what do I do?”

Is having a website stressing you out because it isn’t giving you the return on your investment you were hoping for? Are you worried because it isn’t producing the results you thought it should?

The old adage, “if you build it, they will come” simply doesn’t happen in the World Wide Web. In order to get visitors to come to your web site, you need to make a concerted effort to attract them.

Here’s a checklist of basic things you could be doing now to start promoting your website and getting those desired results:

1. Use your domain name for your email address in all of your email correspondence. This way, with each email you send out, you are advertising your website URL. For example: if your website domain is www.mywebsite.com, then you should ensure you use an email address that uses “mywebsite.com” like susan@mywebsite.com or info@mywebsite.com. This technique also promotes you as a professional; often seeing a Hotmail or Gmail address can appear to others as “amateurish”.

2. Create a signature that goes on the bottom of all your emails that you send out. In your signature, put whatever caption you like – such as, “Contact me to find out how you can [fill in the blank]” along with your contact information and of course, your website URL!

3. Put your website address on all of your print/promotional material such as business cards, promo cards, letterhead etc. Often your website is the first point of contact for new and potential clients. Make it easy for them to find your website so they can find more information about you and your business and feel comfortable about contacting you directly.

4. Create reciprocal partnerships with complementary websites to do a website link exchange. The more high-traffic websites that link to you, the more the search engines will think you are a high-profile website and your search engine ranking has the potential to go up.

5. Send out regular e-newsletters or some form of written communication to your existing and potential customers. Have a prominent sign-up form on your site so people can receive your e-newsletters on a regular basis. The more people trust you and what services you have to offer, the more likely they will contact you or purchase your product!

6. Share the benefits of what you can do to help others; what need can you fulfill for them? Be sure to list those benefits on your website and use it as a reference point to send people to for more information.

7. Encourage referrals – your existing customers can be an amazing promotional tool for you. Offer a referral incentive program if you can.

8. Take advantage of any upcoming holidays – what contest can you run? What special can you put on? (Caution, try to avoid discounting your products or services, this devalues what you have to offer. Instead, offer gift with purchases or entries to a prize draw as an enticement to make a sale)

9. Bonus tip: Engage in Social Media such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Create a professional profile and have conversations with your followers. Engage with the intention of being helpful and offering useful information. This will build your credibility as an expert in your industry and start to create an important, “know, like and trust” factor that is needed to attract clients.

There are many things to consider before having a website created for you. You first need to have a thorough understanding of what you want it to achieve – and be reasonable about your expectations. Will it be a simple “brochureware” piece that is meant to provide visitors with a basic overview of your products and/or services, or is it going to actively sell for you? Hiring a professional website developer can help you sort through these questions, create a design to best achieve those goals, and produce an effective site that will deliver what you want.

Once built, be sure to follow the 8 9 simple steps outlined above and you will be well on your way to having a website that is working for you and your marketing efforts.

Susan Friesen
eBusiness Mentor and Developer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have my full permission to use this article on your website, blog or social media sites. Simply ensure this complete credit is found at the bottom of the article:

About the Author: Susan is president/founder of eVision Media, a web development and eMarketing firm specializing in building effective brands for entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations for over 11 years. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, she is able to provide an authentic and personalized service for those wanting a trustworthy member of their team for their brand & marketing design, website development and SEO/eMarketing needs. Visit www.evisionmedia.ca to receive your free report, “10 Key Strategies You Need to Know Now to Prevent Your Website from Being a Marketing Disaster.”

Tweet

Have you heard the buzz about Social Media Success Summit 2011—the web’s largest online social media marketing conference? http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

Before I tell you how this virtual summit will help your business attract great customers and prospects, gain a unique competitive advantage, and measure your social media results, let me share a story with you.

PROOF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORKS…

In October 2009, Michael Stelzner started Social Media Examiner, a blog for marketers and small business owners. Almost overnight, his site became one of the top business blogs in the world.

He didn’t advertise, didn’t rely on the press and almost none of his traffic came from search engines.

Slightly more than a year later, his site has more than 57,000 email subscribers, over 31,000 Facebook fans, a half-million page views a month, and has generated nearly $2 million in sales.

Everything he does focuses on delivering high-quality content coupled with intelligent social media marketing.

Michael’s story is not unique. A significant 73% of business owners and marketers plan to increase their use of social media in 2011 (2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report).

What’s the connection? Your customers (and prospects) are using social media every day. Social media is a new marketing frontier because it bypasses all the costly middlemen and allows you to engage directly with your customers and prospects! AND this presents an enormous opportunity for you.

Check out this video:

SO WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?

Michael (and his team) have been working for months to bring the best minds in social media together in a fully online event called Social Media Success Summit 2011.

A significant 2,500 marketers and business owners from around the world attended his last Social Media Success Summit. Businesses were transformed. In fact, 96% of attendees said they’d attend again.

This summit’s focus is to empower you to implement successful social media marketing tactics, track and measure your social media ROI, and see how successful social media campaigns were executed. Twenty-two of the world’s leading social media superstars will be summit instructors.

Presenters include Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter Group), Brian Solis (author, Engage), Frank Eliason (Citigroup), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Erik Qualman (author, Socialnomics), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner), Dan Zarrella (author, The Social Media Marketing Book), and experts from Boeing, Intel, Verizon, Cisco and LinkedIn.

Plus join Andy Sernovitz (author, Word of Mouth Marketing), David Meerman Scott (author, Real-Time Marketing & PR), Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Hollis Thomases (author, Twitter Marketing), Steve Garfield (author, Get Seen), and Ann Handley (MarketingProfs)–just to name a few.

Attendees at our two last summits included well-known organizations such as General Electric, American Express, Staples, General Mills, Microsoft, Harvard, San Francisco Giants, MetLife, Kraft Foods, Hyatt Hotels, Stanford, Ben & Jerry’s, IDG and Disney. But you don’t need to be a big business to benefit!

This is the world’s largest online social media event designed to empower marketers and business owners to master social media marketing. And the great news is it’s a live online conference you can attend from your home or office.

Go here now to learn more: http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

Here’s to your success!
http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

P.S. Twenty-two of the most successful social media pros will show you how to use social media to market and grow your business. Remember, the experts teach the sessions live (and it’s all online). So you don’t need to leave your home or office! Go here to see how this works: http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

P.P.S. As a way of saying “thanks” for checking out the summit, there’s a gift just for marketers called “8 Steps to Creating a Winning Social Media Strategy” by Jay Baer (valued at $59) waiting for you. Go get it here: http://bit.ly/socialmediasummit2011

Tweet

Over a year ago, we decided it was time to give eVision Media an updated look. The colours were getting old and tired, the website was definitely out of date, and none of our marketing materials were truly depicting the quality and scope of services we offer.

We were definitely suffering from the old Shoe Cobbler’s Son Syndrome! Well, our poor son finally graduated from wearing a pair of cheap thongs to having nice, new and shiny shoes!

In order to re-brand, we first needed to get clear on who our ideal target market was so we could make some changes to our brand positioning that would allow us to specifically attract new entrepreneurs as well as established business owners.

The first step to our re-branding was to update our logo. As much as we loved our old logo, it was time to make it more polished and professional looking. (Many thanks to Daniel’s mom for drawing that first penguin and her chick, it will be cherished as our first baby forever!)

During the logo design process, we also made changes to our brand colours. These new colours are not only fresh and more contemporary, but  were specifically chosen to appeal to our target market.

Many proofs and logo versions later, we finally decided on the one you see on the site today. Our new brand had been established!

Now it was time to get busy and re-design and develop our website along with all our other marketing materials.

It took our whole team to get involved in this process. Due to us being such a busy firm, it was hard finding the time to spend working on it! Many months later, we can now proudly send people to our site!

While you are here, please sign up for my brand new free report called, “10 Key Strategies You Need to Know Now to Prevent Your Website from Being a Marketing Disaster” over on the right hand side or click here.

I guarantee this report will enlighten you on important aspects to consider when developing your website and marketing your business.

Thanks goes to our whole eVision Media team for all the hard work and effort in getting our new brand and new website launched!

Sue

PS Along with this new launch, we have also added a new service offering. Well, it’s not really new but let’s just say it’s official now! Click here to find more information about my new mentoring packages!

Tweet

By online business consultant, expert and author Biana Babinsky

Many of my clients have asked me over time whether running a blog is worth the time and effort that goes into it. The answer, as always, is “it depends”. For me, my blog has made a major contribution to bringing leads and clients to my business. I estimate that about 20% of my clients have found me through my blog, got to know me and then decided to attend my classes or purchase my other products.

If you learn how to run a blog and how to use it to bring clients to your business, it will become a great tool to get clients for your business. You need to create a plan for bringing your target market to your blog and converting this traffic into clients.

Will you be required to invest a lot of time and energy into blogging? Actually, blogs do not have to take up that much time and energy. Your blog posts don’t have to be as long as your articles, as long as they are of interest to your target market. The effective blog post is not long; it is written on the topic of interest to your target market. The blog post helps them learn something and at the same time leaves them wanting more. You also don’t have to blog every day – blogging a few times a week is fine. Some people only blog once a week.

Here is how to create a plan that will turn your blog into an effective tool that will drive potential clients to your business 24/7:

• Define Your Goals For Your Blog. If this is a business blog, your goals could be to become more known to your target market, attract more newsletter subscribers, attract clients to your business, etc.
• Pick Good Blogging Software. Blogging starts with picking the blogging software that’s right for you. I strongly recommend evaluating a few different options before deciding on the one that is right for you.

  The one I recommend to use is available at wordpress.org. This software can be installed on your own web site, is easy to use and is highly customizable.

• Find Topics That Your Target Market Wants To Read About. Since your goals for your blog include using your blog as a tool to get clients and newsletter subscribers, your target market has to be interested in reading your blog posts. Do research through online social networks and search engines to find topics that your target market would like to read about.

  Always write blog posts that are of interest to your target market.

• Bring Traffic To Your Blog. Just writing posts on your blog isn’t going to do much to improve your visibility and get more clients. In order to get the benefits from blogging, you need to create a strategy to bring traffic to your blog.

  Some ideas for bringing traffic to your blog are search engine optimization, social networking sites, article marketing, commenting on other blogs and more.

• Convert Blog Traffic Into Clients. Just bringing traffic to your blog is not enough. You need to get people who come to your blog to take action with you! In addition to bringing traffic to your blog you need to have a procedure in place for turning your blog readers into clients.

Follow the above five steps to turn your blog into a tool for getting clients. Once you have a step-by-step strategy to bring your target market to your blog and turn it into clients, you will be able to get more clients for your business.

About the author: Biana Babinsky is the online business expert who teaches coaches, consultants and other service professionals how to get clients using their blogs. Get her Make Thousands Of Dollars With Your Blog Home Study Guide to learn how to start a blog and use it to get clients for your business.

Tweet

Get Clear on What You Need to Know before 2011…

If you are anything like me, lacking any kind of clarity in your life can truly be crippling. I remember there was a time a few years ago when I really struggled with “who I wanted to become” once I completed my education and the lack of clarity caused me to make choices I shouldn’t have. Subsequently, after a lot of wasted time, effort and money, it took me longer to get where I am now than it should have. I don’t want to see that happen to you!

That is why I am SO excited to tell you about this free telesummit series on clarity…

I have had the honour of working with some amazing people in putting this telesummit together (we designed the site and built the functionality) and really encourage you to take some time out of your busy schedules over the next few weeks and listen to these fantastic calls.

Experts like Libby Gill, Cynthia Kersey, Chris Howard, Ti Caine, Dee Wallace, Carol Tuttle, David Wolfe and so many more have been gathered to teach you how clarity in your life will make all the difference in the world on your self image, success, health, relationships, purpose and more!

After listening to this series, you will brim with self confidence, understand how to stop the blocks that are preventing prosperity, how to have all the energy you need to get through your busy day and so much more.

Can you tell I’m excited about this series? It truly is amazing. There have already been a couple of calls and can’t believe the pure content these experts are sharing – if you sign up now, you’ll still be able to listen to Chris Howard from today… it was inspirational!.

Do yourself a favour and sign up – it’s free and the calls are being recorded and available for 24 hours afterwards so you won’t miss a thing!

» Register for Free Here – Hurry, it’s on right now!

Sue

Tweet

Congratulations! You decided to write a regular newsletter and are psyched to get started (or start again as the case may be).

Before you dive into writing, it’s important to plan your newsletter so you get optimal results. Also, it’s very important to remember your newsletter is not meant to be a promotional piece but rather a content rich resource where your subscribers will want to ensure they don’t miss an edition because they know it will be worth their while.

Here is a brief summary of the components that should make up your newsletter:

1. A Personal Note: In order to build a “know like and trust” factor with your readers, you want to give them some insight to who you are personally. I’m not saying you have to share what you ate for breakfast that morning (unless nutrition is your business!) but do share something casual or interesting that your readers would love to know more about. If you feel uncomfortable with sharing personal information, then share what seminars you’ve taken, what books you’ve read, what hobby you’re into – anything so people make a connection that you are a human being just like them! Include a photo pertaining to what you’re talking about if you can as this enhances the relationship building you want to achieve.
2. Client Showcase/Raving Fans. This can be in the form of showcasing new clients or a way to post client testimonials who are your raving fans. Make this section more than just a couple of sentences – you want this to be more a short case study that details the benefits of what you did for a client and why they are so happy with your product/service. Have a photo of the client and link to their website so it becomes a win-win scenario and they get good exposure for writing you such a rave review.
3. Feature Article: this is the main point of your newsletter. There are a couple of ways to do this and I suggest you give them both a try and monitor your results:
   1. Place the full article in the body of the newsletter
   2. Have just the first paragraph of the article in the newsletter and then link to the full article that is also posted in your blog. This serves a couple of purposes: 1) sends people back to your website and 2) the article posted in the blog is great for search engines and can also be posted to your social media sites at the same time.

   Be sure to add a note at the bottom of your article inviting readers to repurpose it in their own newsletters or website. Give them a short paragraph that must accompany the repurposed article that provides a call to action for the reader to go to your site and get your free giveaway or sign up for your newsletter.

4. Where You Are: If you do presentations, talks, demonstrations or anything where the public could come and see you, add this section in that details the dates of these events and what you’ll be doing. If you are wanting to showcase yourself as an expert in your industry, include other events such as attending seminars, high-end coaching sessions or travel destinations.  
5. Your Assignment. Often an article can be accompanied with a “to do” action item. Something you can tell your readers to do to get them into action with what they just read. Like what I’ll have below this article…
6. Recommendations: This section can be used for you to recommend something you would find of value to your readers. This can be a book, a recipe, a service or product… whatever you wish! If possible, you can use this opportunity to become an affiliate of the item you are promoting and gain commissions on any sales that might come of it.
7. Your bio/profile. Have a spot at the bottom of the newlsetter reminding your readers of who you are. Craft a concise “20 second elevator pitch” that speaks to the problems people have that you can solve for them. Finish with a call to action by contacting you for a free ‘get acquainted’ session or whatever your free offer is.

Your Action Assignment:
Think about a question a client asked you this week OR think about an interesting idea you came across you want to share with your readers. Start writing down what you want to say – don’t worry about the grammar, just get your thoughts onto paper. Once that hard part is done, then flush out the rest of your newsletter by following the formula above. For the intro, what personal thing can you share? Do you like to garden? Cook? Do you have an interesting hobby? What about your kids that you can boast about? Let your readers get some insight into your life so they can start to get to know the real, authentic you. Lastly return back to your main article and either refine it yourself or send it to your VA, assistant or newsletter guru to get it polished for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the Author: Susan is president/founder of eVision Media, a web development and eMarketing firm specializing in building effective brands for entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations for over 10 years. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, she is able to provide an authentic and personalized service for those wanting a trustworthy member of their team for their brand & marketing design, website development and SEO/eMarketing needs. Contact Susan today for a free 30 minute “get to know you session” on helping you build your website presence to be the effective marketing tool is can be. susan@evisionmedia.ca or visit www.evisionmedia.ca.

Tweet

Some might call me a work-a-holic. I must admit, I almost wear that title like a badge of honour; proud of my accomplishments and the long hours I have invested in order to achieve them. It was just recently when I had a moment of clarity as to exactly why I am a work-a-holic and trust me, wanting to work hard, long hours has nothing to do with it! Given a choice, I’d much rather be lounging poolside as I work on my glowing tan, sipping fancy drinks with those tiny umbrella’s in them and reading some trashy romance novel (well, ok, make it a self help book instead). Oh, but be a multi-millionaire too. Minor detail.

If you are familiar with "Sacred Gifts" then you might already know where my story is heading. You see, one of my Sacred Gifts is the gift of Assistance (as well as the gift of "Service" which adds to the mix). Those of us with this gift have an absolute need to be of service. We thrive on it; our self value often depends on it. Many times to our detriment.

Here are some of the traits of those with the gift of assistance: We are dedicated to the success of another, we easily anticipate the needs of another, we love to be more in the background being the helpers than being on stage, and we are committed to the people we are serving.

Does this ring true for you or perhaps you know of someone with these traits? They aren’t hard to find in a crowd… they’re always the ones putting their hand up volunteering, serving on committees, and always have the "just tell me what needs to be done and I’ll get it done" attitude.

This all sounds quite wonderful, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, there’s a darker side that many aren’t aware of… the true story that goes on behind the scenes. The problem is, us "Assistants" have boundary issues. Yep, there, I said it! Saying "no" to a client or letting them know they have to wait until the next day before something can get done is really tough for me. In my mind, I’ve let them down severely and I’ve convinced myself that most likely they will immediately go and find someone else who can help them quicker than I can if I do.

Oh, you say that’s not the case and I’m just being silly? Well, we do live in an "immediate" society where people want satisfaction now and can’t wait for someone else to get around to doing their bidding.

The problem is compounded when my own clients ALSO have the gift of Assistance. Can you see the duplicity? THEY have no problems working non-stop and helping others … often at the sacrifice of their health, quality family time and personal wellness, so they actually expect others working with them to be the same way as they. I know I myself have fallen into this trap when I deal with my own resources wondering why on earth can’t they move any quicker? After all, it’s only Sunday night after dinner – what else could they possibly be doing but watching TV anyway?

So there you have it. We were born this way and didn’t choose to be work-a-holics. I continue to work on my boundaries but dare say the moment a client even remotely shows disappointment when I try to enforce them, I’m quick to say, "Ok, I can do it now". Sigh. Is there hope for me yet?

If you are interested in hearing more about Sacred gifts, I learned about mine at a fabulous workshop in Vancouver in the spring and Monique is holding another one Oct. 2-3, 2010 near Vancouver BC Canada. http://bit.ly/9EEFFm

Sue