What’s Stopping You?

Denise Wakeman — Wed, 07 May 2014 13:19:52 +0000

Over lunch during a recent workshop, I was chatting with a woman about her business. She was despondent about her lack of success and why it seemed so difficult to attract clients, despite her experience. It felt like she was on the verge of giving up on her business dream because she was struggling to make a go of it.

Every business has its ups and downs. Before I could offer any words of encouragement or suggestions, I asked what she was doing currently to get the word out about her business. She looked at me and after a few seconds of silence said, “Nothing. I don’t know what to do.”

I cry inside when I hear a response like that. There’s so much information about marketing online and offline, I have to ask, “What’s stopping you?”

Much is available for free. There are workshops (we were at a business development workshop); there are low-cost courses; there are ebooks and videos and podcasts and membership sites. The list goes on and on.

There’s so much information, that may be the problem…you don’t know what to do or where to start. So, if you feel like my colleague, you do nothing. And, unfortunately, nothing gets nothing.

Do something. Do anything.

Start with your foundation (think blog – your own digital real estate).
Identify your ideal client and where you can find them.
Create an editorial calendar and plan your content around your core message.
Amplify and distribute your content (blog posts) on social networks.
Always be listbuilding.

Your Content Plan

Lunch with my colleague was brief and I didn’t have a lot of time to go through the five steps listed above. What I did share with her was a quick way to create a list of 50 topics for her blog so at the very least she could be creating doorways to her business via her content and search.

The excerpt embedded below is from an article I wrote in 2011. It’s still relevant today.

Create a list of topics you can write about and plug them in to your editorial calendar.

Another way to look at what’s outlined above is with a mindmap. Below is an example of mapping out five subtopics for one primary topic.

Create a mindmap to plan your blog content.

Go through this process for ten topics related to your business and expertise and you’ve got a content plan for 50 blog posts.

Better done than perfect

Whether you own a small business, run a non-profit or are a solo entrepreneur, doing nothing is not an option if you want to keep your dream alive. What’s stopping you from acting on your business dream?

Need help with your plan? Let’s talk.

The post What’s Stopping You? appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

Ideas Into Income – What Lessons Have You Learned? [Contest]

Denise Wakeman — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:35:53 +0000

The recent publication of Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas Into Income, compiled by Marnie Pehrson, revealed the stories of 19 entrepreneurs who trusted their instincts (gut, heart, intuition) and were able to build successful businesses despite many obstacles and challenges. One of my favorite parts of each chapter are the "Lessons Learned." This is where you get true insights into how each entrepreneur was able to prevail and create the business of their dreams.

While I know you expect tips and tactics for for marketing your business on the Web, it's also important to look beyond the marketing tactics to the strategies and activities necessary to establish your awesome business.

I want to know what lessons have helped you on your path to entrepreneurial success. So, I'm having a contest and giving away a copy of Trust Your Heart. Simply answer the following question…

What's the most important lesson you've learned as you have created your business and transformed your ideas into income?

Two ways to enter:

Post your lesson learned in the comment box below.
Use the Twitter or Retweet button to share this post and your lesson. Use hashtag #bizlesson so I can track the tweets.

The contest is open through Wednesday, June 8 and I'll pick two winners: one from the comments posted and one from the tweets. I'll announce the winnes on June 9.

That's it. Here's one of the lessons I learned and share in Trust Your Heart:

Model the leaders. I was following the leaders [in my industry], but I didn't stop there. Implementation is everything when you're in the "idea to income" phase. When you discover a strategy or tactic that is working for someone else in your industry, study it and figure out how you can adapt it to your idea.

In addition to the "lesson learned" contest, you also have a chance to win a copy of Trust Your Heart when I interview Marnie Pehrson next Tuesday, June 7.

I'll be giving away a copy of the book during the interview. The interview is going to focus specifcally on how Marnie turned her idea for the book into a bestseller on Amazon using social media to build massive visibility, buzz and drive traffic and sales. Marnie used some creative tactics to hit bestseller status in less than 24 hours. You'll want to be on this call and it's free! Register here to get the dial in details and post your questions for Marnie. You've got to be on the live call to be eligible to win the book.

There you have it…I'm looking forward to reading the lessons you've learned on the road to entrepreneurial success…now go post and tweet!