Content Development

What My Search for a Bissell Sweeper Taught Me about Marketing

January 8, 2012 By Cara Lumen

This 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?

Why Is What You Do Important?

September 15, 2011 By Cara Lumen

We all want to feel useful. We all want to feel that what we do has meaning. How do we take what we love to do and put it in service where it can really make a difference?

Why do you do what you do?

We do what we do because we love to do it. We do what we do because we are good at it. I love to write. I love to teach. That has turned my life work into coaching and teaching and writing. Those activities fill my heart. They get me excited as I help people in person or through something I’ve written. I have this huge collection of ebooks and teleclasses and radio shows I’ve created and each one of them taught me something. I do what I do so I can learn and grow and be creative.

When I was a young housewife with four children I decided to find out why each of the men in our collection of friends did what they did for a living. One was in the same job he had gotten right out of school. Another was in his father-in-laws business. When I asked one of them what he would do differently he said he would work outside more. Too often we are unconscious about why we do what we do. But you’re in business, you’ve made a choice. Why did you make that choice?

What elements of what you do excite you? Are you interactive with people? Do you work by yourself to create something new that didn’t exist before? Do you love to use your organizational and management skills to turn around companies? Look at your passion – those things you have loved doing all your life – and be certain what you do today still contains that passion. Your passion contains your purpose.Why do you do what you do?

Why is what you do important to the people you serve?

Here’s the rub. If you love to do something and no one needs what you create you’re in a bit of a bind. Sure, you can create and keep what you do to yourself but that’s not what our life’s work is about. Our life’s work is about making a difference in the lives of someone else. That can be one person or it can be a country full of people. Whatever we do needs to be useful to others.

I’m suddenly attracting more people to sign up for my two blogs and I’m not certain why. I’m looking to see what has changed in me and what has changed in what I’m doing that is drawing more people to me. The answer is going to be in the topics I am writing about on my blogs and the fact that I am posting regularly in one article submission site. Those are the two obvious physical changes I have made – exposure and content. What is less tangible are the inner changes within me that have altered the topics I explore and how I express myself. My business focus has moved into helping people build their business from their inside out. My articles are self-examining and they are hopeful. That is important to the people who are fining me. And it is attracting new people e to my community.

Focus on the difference you can make in the lives of others. What do your services do for your community? My business is about helping people teach what they know. When you make a difference in people’s lives you make a difference in your life. Why is what you do important to the people you serve?

Why does the existence of your work matter?

We came into this world to give our gifts – those unique combinations of talent, skills, beliefs, personality and passion that make us individual. That we offer those gifts can make a difference in the lives of those around us. What is really special is when you put something out there and it makes a difference in the life of someone you don’t know. What I wrote recently touched new people and caused many of them to join my community. They wanted more from me. I have no idea what chord I touched but I do know that what I wrote came from my heart and the topics were about our inner work. My goal has always been to help those who set about to help others. My work helps them do their work better and they in turn can touch more lives. My purpose will never be about being the head of something, or running a huge organization. My purpose is about changing the world one powerful life at a time. And that is going to make a very big difference in the world. That’s why the existence of my work matters.

You never know when you will have an effect. In a telecourse I gave several years ago there was one five-minute section on forgiveness. One small section in the entire 90 minutes. At the next class one of the students shared that she had really heard that section and made moves to reconnect with her father whom she hadn’t seen for years. You just never know how your heart and your sharing will change a life.

Follow your passion

If you are passionate and excited about what you are doing you are working close to your purpose. The journey to find your purpose can be an adventure. You may explore many paths. When you find it you will sigh and settle into an inner serenity that you know will carry you forward one authentic step at a time.

When you identify your purpose and start focusing on it, others will get excited about it because you’re excited. Your enthusiasm will shine through everything you do and become contagious. When you have a purpose it helps you easily make decisions because if an idea or action doesn’t support your purpose you simply don’t do it.

Here’s your assignment, should you choose to accept it. In a quiet place center yourself and one at a time search for the answers to these three questions.

Why do you do what you do?

Why is what you do important to the people you serve?

Why does the existence of your work matter?

Out of that inner inquiry you will begin to find your true purpose. You will see why your work is important. Or you may identify the small changes you need to make in order to place yourself more deeply into service. This is your calling and it is worthy of giving it everything you have.

How Your Niche Is Just Like you

September 3, 2011 By Cara Lumen

Like attracts like. We are most drawn to people who share our interests, our values and our experiences. You may be drawn to the idea of helping people move from a situation you have overcome and you want to support them on their similar journey. You may have a personal passion you want to fulfill or explore and would like to share that passion with others. Your niche is about working in an area that is meaningful to you with people that engage your passion and respect. When you are in the right niche it will draw to you like minded people. Whatever niche you choose you’ll find that you know more than you think you do about the way that community thinks and what they want simply because the people in your niche are a lot like you.

Take a look at where you once were

Your personal journey may define your niche.

Perhaps you were overweight and found great ways to lose the pounds. That is a whole journey to help people through. That may be the niche you serve.

A professional golfer may be passionate about helping develop young champions

A single mom might want to help other single moms. A person whose family is multi-lingual may want to help families learn English.

Part of my journey was as a spiritual counselor and that still infuses my work. People that are drawn to me are consciously aware of their spiritual service in the world.

Take a look at your personal journey and what you have accomplished to see if you have something you want to teach. To settle into the perfect niche follow your passion.

Look for groups you want to help have a better opportunity

You may be drawn to helping a specific group. It could be animals, the planet, preteens, pre-schoolers, at-risk teen agers, working moms, women up against the glass ceiling or seniors. Your passion will help you identify this group. What need speaks to you? Look for ways you can be of service to those people.

Look for people who need your expertise

Your talents help determine your niche. Are you good with people? Are you a teacher? Are you a thinker and philosopher? You will be drawn to serve people who will benefit from what you know how to do. When I figured out that I love to help people identify their vision and sort out their ideas to bring that vision into existence I applied that talent to helping people build their single-owner businesses. And because I am a writer and natural teacher I also help them organize their ideas into compelling information products. What is your area of expertise and how can you help people?

Look for ways you can use your own interests

Sometimes we choose a niche to work in because we want to learn more about the topic for ourselves. I often give teleclasses or write ebooks about areas I want to explore more deeply. When you teach you learn. What do you want to learn?

As you learn more and mature in your experience your interests may change. For instance, my work has always had a philosophic bent but it got very practical for awhile. Now I want to return to more of the personal growth exploration so my work and my offerings have begun to reflect that. Watch for those subtle shifts in interests as you grown both personally and professionally.

Fulfill your own vision

You may want to build an organization that helps you bring your vision to life. You may want to give courses to large groups of people. You may want to coach individuals to greatness. I have always known that I wanted to help people who were already making a difference in the lives of others. My work helps them touch the lives of even more people. How do you see yourself in service? What is your own vision for helping others?

Let the niche choose you

Who is already coming to you for help? What are they asking you for? What part of what you do for them do you find the most rewarding? What are the needs and desires of the people you are drawn too? What are qualities you want in the people you are to serve? Answering these questions will help identify how you can serve.

Choose your ideal client

One of my clients is a weight loss coach who initially attracted two age groups, 30-somthings and seniors. It didn’t take her long to realize that she did not want to work with older people who had to balance medications and were in a more cautious physical condition because it was not in her own experience. She chose to focus on the 30 year olds. It didn’t take a pro golfer client long to figure out he wants to work with young people who are on the championship track. He also knows they have to be committed to being the best they can be. What are the qualities of the person you want to work with?

I am blessed to continue attracting coaching clients who are passionate about their calling and are eager to do the work I ask them to do. They are all enthusiastic about how they can be in service. That makes it fun and rewarding for all of us. Choose only those clients who excite your passion. Don’t accept everyone who comes to you. The poorly matched client will make it difficult for you to do your best work. Take care of yourself. You are in this to fulfill your passion. Keep accepting and serving your ideal client.

Your niche community has similar problems and desires to yours

Because you closely identify with your niche community you will easily recognize their problems and desires. I only work with single business owners because that’s what I am and what I love to do. Although I know the principles for other types of business, I will be more in tune with a service professional like me.

Who you choose to serve will determine what you offer, how you offer it and the words you use to let them know what you do. The young athlete who wants to earn a golf scholarship has a different motivation than the weekend golfer who wants to improve his casual game. The younger weight loss client will be interested in learning how to be in a relationship given her new self image while the older weight loss person will be primarily looking to improve her health. Can you write about the benefits of your work and reach most of your target community? If not, it’s a sure sign your niche is too broad. Narrow it.

Not everyone who reads my blog wants to craft information products so I add personal development posts. Not everyone in my niche wants to write a teleclass so I write about other ways to earn passive income. You may be interested in serving two niches but for the purpose of establishing yourself initially pick one and learn how to serve that niche. If you want to serve another niche start another branch of your business.

Look for the overview

When I use the tag line “I help you build your business from your inside out” it ties together both personal development and practical business information. I get to write about both and people won’t be confused because that one line ties them both together. Look for that over-arching place of service that ties the elements of your business together.

Look for what sets you apart

My golf pro client is going to help young people play championship golf but because of who he is and what his passion is his program will be filled with personal growth lessons, inner work, personal strength awareness. Those choices influence the types of programs he creates, the words he uses to let people know what he does and it will set him apart in his field.

My weight loss coach realized from her own journey that the most difficult step was learning to be in relationships when your self image has so radically changed through large weight losses. Her programs will focus on that need.

How does your approach set you apart? What is it about you that makes what you offer stand out? That awareness will influence your niche.

Choose your niche

What is coming up for you? Do you have a better idea of who your niche should be? Write down your values. Those are the values you want in your clients. Write down the problems you have solved or want to solve. Those are the problems of your potential target community. What are your desires and visions? Those are the desires and visions of your target community.

Try it on for size

Begin to work with your niche. See how it feels. Do some research to see if what you want to offer is needed. How is it unique? Do you need to tweak your approach? Outline a series of topics you could write posts about or teach classes on that will inspire and motivate your target community. You will continue to adjust your niche as you build your services and respond to the people who are attracted to you. When your ideal client shows up clone her!!! Let your niche find you and don’t be surprised if it’s a bit like looking in a mirror.

Pick an Idea – Any Idea

July 29, 2011 By Cara Lumen

The ideas are coming in like a whirlwind, each one is fascinating, each one would be fun to do, and many of them would be profitable. The fact is you can’t do them all so how do you choose the best idea?

What do you need right now?

The first thing to look at when choosing an idea is where you are at this point in time. What skills do you have? What skills do you lack? What is your passion? If you don’t know how to write articles then you are not ready to write a complete book. If you have not taken steps to build a target community following then it’s not the time to launch a high end coaching program. Do a reality check about the skills, talent and resources you have to make happen. What does your business need? What does your community need? Do you have what it takes to make this idea happen?

What do you want to accomplish?

What will this great idea accomplish? Do you need to make more money? Do you need to attract more people? Do you need to create passive income through information products? Do you need to identify the unique system you can teach? Identify what your business needs at this moment in time. Choose ideas that further that objective.

What is needed?

Ideally you start looking for ideas by addressing a specific need or a burning desire. But ideas don’t always show up like that. So look at what your idea will accomplish and go see if it is needed in your target audience. See what is out there that is similar and look at how you can make your offering unique.

How long would it take to get that idea out there?

Let’s say you have identified three ideas that fit in with your objective. How do you choose just one? What does your community need first? If you don’t have a strong online presence and a way to attract and capture the names and emails of people that are interested in your work then that needs to come before you write a teleclass or make a video. But if the three ideas are similar in purpose, choose the one you can get to market first. That way you have a product, it can produce income and interest while you work on the next project. It will also give you a sense of completion and forward movement that will propel you to the next project.

What to do when ideas come to you from others

I am busy enough trying to sort through my own ideas so when someone approaches me with a new opportunity that is very appealing, I have to have some way to evaluate that opportunity. People connect to you for various reasons but the one I like best is when they are intuitively drawn to my energy – to what I have written or what I have taught. If they feel a core connection I want to listen to them. I had this happen to me recently and I have had to look carefully at what is right for me to do at this point in time. Is it an opportunity I should consider or does it pull me off my current path? Is my current path still leading me to the results I want and need? Paths are meant to be changed, new routes are meant to be explored, but when an unexpected opportunity comes up take time to go within and see if it really resonates to you, your work, your passion and the people you serve. Listen to what’s beneath the offer and see if there are other reasons you should connect with a new person.

Stop jumping from one idea to another

This is fairly typical of entrepreneurs – we are new idea people, not maintenance people so the fun and challenge and creativity comes from thinking up new ideas. But if none of those ideas get to other people what good are they? I can’t tell you the number of times I have had an idea pop to the top and when I think about it and look through my computer I often find I have some version of that idea partially started or nearly completed already or at the very least research and ideas gathered for it. Completion is a very, very good thing. Learn to deliver one idea before moving off to the next one.

Pick an idea, any idea and make it happen.

Once you weigh your choices and chose the best idea for you to develop right now in this time and place – do it!!!! Completing a simple project teaches you the steps involved with everything from time management to content development so the next time you do a similar project it will be easier and faster to complete. We are meant to share our ideas. Pick one idea and make it happen. Only then do you choose another idea to complete.

Is Outdated Content Turning People Away?

July 6, 2011 By Cara Lumen

When a new person discovers your web site are they seeing the best, most current reflection of what you do? Or is it a reflection of where you were last year – or even the year before that? If you haven’t reviewed your primary web content in the last six months you may be losing new clients. I’m talking about your landing page, your opt in offer and your mini-ecourse in particular, those three foundational introductory pieces that attract and convert and begin to build trust.

Put on your Beginner’s Mind, enter your web site and see what the new person is seeing. Does your landing page clearly tell the visitor what’s in it for them? Does it say who you serve and how to serve them? Does your opt in offer guarantee such great results that people are eager to sign up and join your community? Does the mini-ecourse explain your core concepts while it builds trust? When did you last look at your Work With Me page, your About Me page, your Media Page? How has your target community changed? What are their new needs and desires? Have your keywords changed? You get the idea. Once a year you should look closely to be certain your major content is relevant and effective.

How quickly we forget

I was really surprised to have it called to my attention by a new member of my community that a link in my mini-ecourse didn’t work. Of course it didn’t, I had not looked at that mini-ecourse since I wrote it (and I don’t know when that was). That product had taken another form and I had forgotten that link was there. Not only that, my business position had been tweaked in the last six months and that mini-course no longer reflected what I wanted to share. I immediately sat down and rewrote it. It’s important to make certain that our introductory content is up to date.

We need to update because we have learned more

Not only has my business focus changed a bit but I now know more. I always learn things when I create new information products. When I was writing “How to Craft a Magnetic Opt In Offer that Captivates and Converts” and “How to Craft a Magnetic Mini-Ecourse That Builds Trust” it became clear that it is vital that those two introductory items not only contain relevant and valuable information but that they create recognizable measurable results. With those specific criteria in mind I went back to see if what I had created two years ago was living up to those qualifications. I had a new awareness and new knowledge and I made some changes.

We need to update because some things work better than others

Look at the measurable results you are or are not getting. I did some exchange coaching with a fellow Book Yourself Solid coach who focuses on websites and what she saw from my Google Analytics was that my main website www.caralumen.com has a 60% bounce rate which is really, really good – it means people are hanging around to read. The blogs were not doing that well. The measurement of that specific result prompted me to go back over that major site to make certain it still reflected what I do now. I also made some changes on both blogs to tie in better with that site.

It if works keep it. If it doesn’t work change it or drop it.

We need to update because our emphasis has changed

I have begun to put more emphasis on helping people develop valuable information products. I’ve spent a lot of time developing my Magnetic Content Development System and working on the “How to Craft Series” but I’m not certain that every web presence I have up reflects that.

A small change in focus can affect everything you do. I even created a separate blog www.magneticsignatureproductsguild.com to focus on the information product aspect of my business. Then I had to look at who my other blog www.passionatelyonpurpose.com was serving and if I was giving them what they wanted and expected. I made some changes.

Pick a focus and stick with it.

This is a hard one for me. I’m interested in a lot of things so I share those interests in my writing. But that isn’t going to work on the receiving end – the person who comes to the blog thinking they will get one thing only to find I’m off on some tangent that wasn’t what they expected. It’s a definite disconnect. I haven’t solved that one yet – my passion is eclectic. Look to see if you are delivering what people expect to find when they come to your site.

Update regularly

Twice a year look over what new visitors see when they come to your web site for the first time. Can they identify themselves as the kind of people you work with? Do you solve their current problem or answer a current need? Do you clearly explain what you can do for them – not how you do it. Always talk about the results you can help them get and how their lives will change for the better because of it.

I seem to redesign my web site every three years or so. I’m getting ready to do it again. This will be the first time I have consciously applied my Magnetic Content Development System to the landing page of my main site. I know that my system helps me get clear about my target community and identify exactly the results I want them to achieve. I know it helps me choose my best ideas and organize them so people really get them. I’m starting with the exercises in “Landing Page Magic” and I’m excited about what I change and the new results it produces.

Rethink your business

There are two times of year that I rethink my business In the fall as I prepare new products and services for launch in January and in the summer when things are slower when I time to look at what’s working, what’s not, review what I have up, take down what is no longer relevant, and rewrite what needs to change. Use the summer lull to evaluate, review and update; the fall for launch preparation.

Don’t let outdated content turn people away. It’s an easy fix. Look at your landing page, opt in offer and mini-ecourse to be certain each new visitor gets the message you intend for them. Update regularly. Schedule review time on your calendar. Then make those changes!