Building a business is not for the faint of heart. It is for someone with a vision strong enough to not get swayed when the times get hard and they will get hard in business.
However, this past weekend when I attended the Personal Branding and Marketing Bootcamp in Orlando Flordia it was absolutely fun to be in the same room as some of the top marketers in the industry. If you missed the notes from Day one you can get them here
Howard Lim – Branding You
For 30 years, Mr. Lim has proven that, through strategically business planning and branding, any size company can accelerate in growth, profit, and value, while attracting quality employees and increasing shareholders’ value.
Your biggest asset in your business is you. You are unique, authentic and non-duplicatable to any other business leader. You have your own spin that you put on your business with your personality and with your ideas. There is no right or wrong in your brand. There is only one for you….yours.
Most new business owners are still in the “boss” mode that the person who brought them the opportunity are the only ones they can learn from and have to follow a guideline to build a business like everyone else around them. Your brand is simple it is what and who you are on a daily base. You don’t have to change your hair, start wearing high heels, or drinking martinis.
Just be you.
As you grow your business over time adding cool logo’s, business cards, and branded colors can be added but in the beginning, your brand is with you everywhere you go, so make sure you take care of your brand. Your spin on business is what will always make you stand out.
Building an email list
90% if the people in business leave this one tool completely out of their business or they think they have a list on facebook.
Your list is the most valuable piece of real estate you have in your business. The names and emails in the back of your companies website belong to the company even though you generated them. Your job is to get them onto a list that you control, so you can stay in touch with them in the future.
My choice is Aweber for my list building and many other successful people in the industry use Aweber because of the compatibility with most programs and sites, it is simple to learn and will grow as you grow in your business.
If you already have an email list that you are actively talking too and you were getting paid based on the content you emailed out how would your paycheck look?
Most people don’t take their list seriously and will email once a month because they don’t want to bother people or because they haven’t had time. Your list raised their hand and ask to hear from you in the beginning and that is why they are on your list. If they don’t want to hear from you, they will simply remove themselves from the list. No harm – No foul.
Each time you send out a message you should be teaching something that will match what they came to your list to receive and there should be a call to action giving them the next step to do. For example “Learn about list building on the blog” and attach the link so they go quickly and easily to the post you shared.
Be consistent with your list.
If you are selling or talking about something new every time you post you will confuse your readers and they will go silent, not open your emails, or unsubscribe.
Take people on your business/ life journey. If you are growing a slow business or a fast business there are people who enjoy watching your success share your story with your list, provide your blog post for them to read, or post your videos on your blog to grow your content. The more content you have on your blog the more you will be recognized as the expert and more people will join you on your list.
The number one reason we have a blog is to generate content that will generate our list
Kim Garst – Be You
Kim Garst is the Co-Founder and CEO of Boom! Social, a corporate branding and social media consulting firm that services over 32,000 subscribers and 100+ clients. She is extremely passionate about sharing how ‘you can do’ social media. Kim was also named by Forbes as one of the Top 50 Social Media Influencers.
Adding your own spin on your business is what makes you unique and stand out. People want real people to do business with. Kim says, that being authentic it is rare, raw and real which makes you more trustworthy.
Even though you have spent your entire life with yourself, discovering who you are and who your tribe is taking some time.
Your baseline has 5 top things:
- Faith
- Family
- Giving Back your knowledge or money
- Love what you do
- Financial or Time Freedom
Your top five maybe something else but living a life that you design is one of many reasons you have chosen this path.
Social Media is a connection space, not a sales platform. People get that confused and wonder why no one is talking to them, liking their post or sharing their stuff. People will always connect with you before they will a product or a service.
Stop selling and Start Serving
When you focus on the end results you will find what people need and you will stop trying to sell. Learn to listen to what people are saying you will find it easier to have normal conversations with potential clients and customers versus trying too hard sell them into something they are not interested in.
People seem to lose their mind when they make a decision to be in business and forget how to “talk” normal. Most people go in for the hard sale and cause people to back up within 5 mins of conversation.
- LISTEN
- Allow them to talk about themselves – they never get bored of talking about themselves
- Talk to people, not at them
- Engage in real conversations
- Ask… “How can I help” instead of “I have what you need”
There are roughly 1.6 MILLION active users on facebook. The number one word they all like to hear is their own name. The best conversation starter you can have is to make your “about you” part of the conversation short…then ask questions about them.
Leads are everywhere on social media. 900 million people are using messenger to have private conversations. Most everyone enjoys looking at images. There are lots of apps you can use to post a message on an image you take with your phone camera.
How to get people to reach out to you
Dean Jackson wrote about “The Amazing 9-Word Email That Revives Dead Leads”
It is a simple but powerful tip to use if you already have a list to wake up people you thought were dead fish hitting the reply button to respond. Last week I send out the 9-word email to a list of 2000 and got 50 replies, one business builder, a system customer and a product sale all from this very simple email. If you are not building a list for your business you really need to understand the power of a list. I personally use Aweber because it is simple, easy to learn and grows with your business.
A 9-word email doesn’t’ have to be 9 words exactly but the less you say the better. NO LINKS period! Change it up for the list that you are mailing out too so it makes sense to the reason they are on the list. Example: Hey [Name], Are you still looking at learning how to build a business online? Angela
Example: Hey [Name] Are you still looking to get in shape? Angela
Example: Hey [Name] Are you still looking for products to support your immune system? Angela
Make sure you only mail this on a day you have time to respond to emails and get on the phone to chat real quick with people who are responding. Try it and come back and leave a comment on how it worked for you.
If for some wild and crazy reason you got no responses wait and try again. Seriously this is crazy how it works.
If you’ve been trying to “get your name out there,” publishing content on your website, and doing all the things “they” have told you to do… but you’re still not getting the kind of attention, respect, and income you desire… then you need to drop whatever it is you’re doing right now and watch “7 Online Business Secrets to Get More Leads, Sales, Sign-Ups, Clients, Cashflow“ and how to Magically Make Money from Every Prospect You Talk To even if nobody knows who you are right now. Build a following and how to get started fast!
Angela Brooks is a retired nurse after working in mental health for 25 1/2 years. She built her 6-figure business part-time on her lunch break. Now she helps entrepreneurs use social media and a blog to build a wildly successful sexy business online.
We all have a message to share with the world – let’s get started! If you got value out of this post use the social buttons to share it to the world for them to see. Leave me a comment. I enjoy reading your insight to the blog post.
Angela Brooks Author
Email: Contact Angela
Blog: Part-Time Business
Facebook Page: AngelaBrooksBiz
Twitter: @angelabrooks
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My Personal Notes from the Personal Branding and Marketing Bootcamp
Excellent post about branding. Thanks for sharing.