As a solo entrepreneur, you know you have to invest in your business. But how do you know where to invest your money for the best return? When can you afford to be thrifty, and when should you avoid cutting corners?

Here are three tips to help you spend your money wisely.

1. Does it affect your brand?

When it comes to building and protecting your brand, don’t cut corners.  You want a consistent, professional brand image.

Let me give you a few quick examples.

I’m running a group coaching program and have developed a special members’ area. I made sure to use the same colors and look that I use on my main website. I also invested in a special program to allow the participants to easily interact with one another and with me.

Here’s another example, and in this one I did something smart and something stupid. I’m creating an affiliate program for my new Home Study Program, “Dominate Your Niche with a Personal Brand that Sells YOU”. I researched various affiliate software programs and at first chose one that was inexpensive but was recommended to me by a trusted colleague. The problem was that it didn’t protect my brand because it led the customer away from my site into another system. No good. So I researched some more and came across another program that was highly recommended. It looked great. The problem was I decided I could install it myself. I’m pretty tenacious and spent hours doing the install, and I still messed it up.  What a waste of time. I could have paid to have it installed for me – and the installation cost is not even expensive!  What was I thinking?  This leads me into tip #2.

2. Does it allow you to leverage your time?

If you can pay someone else to do something that doesn’t leverage your time and talents, doesn’t it make sense to do so? That way, you can spend your time on lead-generating and money-making activities.

I’m not suggesting you outsource everything. In fact, I think it’s a good idea to learn enough about the activity that you can outsource it intelligently.  That means you know what you’re looking for and in some cases, know enough that you can tweak things as you like. A perfect example is your website. Say you’re using WordPress.org (which I highly recommend). You may hire a web designer to build your site for you, but you need to learn enough about WordPress to maneuver around your site.

3. Does it help you get unstuck and move your business forward?

This is a really important question. How many times have you invested in a program because it was marketed so well that you didn’t want to miss out? The big gurus are all plugging it, and everyone else is doing it, so you’ve just got to get on board. Before you invest, ask yourself this question. Is this program going to help you overcome a hurdle that you’re facing in your business right now?  If not, then understand that you’re only going to retain (at most) 50 percent of the information you learn, so that by the time you get around to implementing it, you’ve lost a tremendous amount of value. That is, if you get around to implementing it all.

Figure out where you’re stuck in your business, and then invest in the help you need to overcome that particular hurdle so you can take your business to the next level.

And above all, remember this. There is no magic bullet. The answers and the solutions are within you. Sometimes you need a little help and guidance to find those answers, but you have to make the solution your own.

That’s why I love what I do, on two levels. I help solo entrepreneurs find and attract their ideal niche. And at the heart of their niche is themselves. What solution do they provide for their target market? I help people find that solution within themselves.

On the second level, is coaching. A coach is a guide, support system, accountability partner, and soundboard. By asking the right questions, I help my clients find the answers within themselves. Investing in a good coach is going to help you over the hurdles. Find a coach who has expertise in the challenge you’re currently facing, and then trust the process and look within yourself to find the answers you need. You’ll be amazed at what you find.

What tips do you have to help small business owners invest wisely? Share your tips in the comments below. And, oh yeah, thanks for helping me spread the word by sharing this on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Warm wishes

Technorati Tags: money saving tips, small business budget, Small Business Marketing Strategies

I was recently invited to speak at an event in Portland about how to build a successful coaching business.

Here is an excerpt from the presentation (If you can’t see it, then click here).

In the presentation, I covered everything a new (or struggling) coach needs to build a successful coaching business:

• How to find your coaching niche
• How to identify and attract your ideal clients
• Creating your marketing pipeline
• How to do a free session that converts to paid clients
• How to leverage your time and create multiple streams of income
• and more…

These are such important topics for coaches. And to better meet that need, I’ve introduced a great opportunity for coaches to learn more about all of these subjects. It is a Group Coaching Program called “Coaching Business Mastery”, and it’s going to be fantastic!

Coaching Business Mastery gives you everything you need to set a solid foundation for your coaching business.  It helps you gain strategic focus, work with the clients you’re meant to help, and skyrocket your success as a coach! It’s all about creating a successful coaching business, and not just a coaching practice.

Many coaches struggle with their businesses. They have a hard time choosing a niche and clearly explaining what they do in such a way that their ideal prospects actually come to them. They don’t understand how or when to offer free sessions so that those prospects turn into paid clients. And they get burned out trading time for dollars and creating leveraged, passive income.

There is a better way. Let us show you how to create a successful coaching business that leverages your time and expertise so you can help the people you were meant to help without getting burned out.

The program begins August 4, and will run for 10 weeks. There will be a 2 hour session every second week.  You’ll have access to a special member’s site, where you can access all the recorded sessions, powerpoint slides, worksheets, and forms. You’ll have a special members forum where you can interact with me and the other participants.

I’m also including as a special bonus to participants, a free copy of my Home Study Program, Dominate Your Niche with a Personal Brand that Sells YOU!, a $97 value.

If you have any questions or would like more information about Coaching Business Mastery, just fill out the form below.

Article marketing is the best free marketing tool on the Internet today. It gives you FREE publicity and allows you to position yourself as an expert in your niche.

Here are five tips that will help you energize your business marketing articles, driving more people to your site and positioning you as someone people want to do business with.

1. Use powerful titles. No matter how great article might be, if your title doesn’t grab people’s attention, then it won’t get read. So learn how to create a compelling title that is benefit-focused, thought-provoking, and intriguing. The title must also be keyword-rich so your articles rank well with the search engines.

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” -David Ogilvy

2. Provide Valuable Content. The purpose of writing your article is to provide valuable information so that you gain trust and establish yourself as a solutions provider. Learn how to write effectively with the needs of your target market in mind. Make sure your article is well-written, concise, typo-free, and above all, informative.

3. Submit Your Article to More Than One Site. You may be writing some great articles, but have you thought about how much more traffic you can generate if you submit your article at various sites? There are some great article submission sites that are free and can help you increase traffic. Ezinearticles and Article99 are just two examples. Google “free article submission sites” and you’ll find a wide range of possibilities.

4. Write a Great Resource or Author’s Box. Once people have read through your article, if they like it they will read the information about the author. Make sure you provide a short bio as well ascontact information (email, website, telephone number). Include a powerful call to action and consider offering freebies (e.g. a free ebook, newsletter or consultation) to compel people to visit your site.

5. Measure Your Results. Visit the sites where you post your articles to determine your open and conversion rate. If your open rate is not very good, then work on improving your article titles. If people are reading your articles but not clicking on the author box, then you might need to improve the content of your articles, shorten the length, or make your articles more focused on the needs of your target market.

Finding and understanding your niche is the key to successful article marketing.  If you haven’t yet done that, then grab your copy of my Home Study Program, “Dominate Your Niche with a Personal Brand that Sells YOU!”

Technorati Tags: business marketing articles, Small Business Marketing Strategies

Nothing is worse than pouring your heart and soul into your marketing, only to be ignored.

It can trigger feelings of frustration, insecurity and fear. You might feel like all of your time is wasted and you will never reach your goals.

Not to fear. All is not lost.

What you need to know is WHY people are ignoring your marketing.

Here are three questions to ask yourself if you are not getting the response you want from your small business marketing strategies.

#1. Is Your Marketing Targeted?

To be found and heard online, you need to have a solid niche marketing strategy. That means you need to identify a specific niche and focus all of your marketing on that niche. A “niche” combines your WHO (target market) with your WHAT (what solution are you helping your target market solve or what goal are you helping them achieve). To learn how to identify and attract your ideal niche, be sure to read my free report.

#2. Is There a Clear Call to Action With a Compelling Giveaway?

The Internet creates a level playing field for small businesses. Virtually anyone can implement a large-scale marketing program using blogs, article marketing, video marketing, and social networking.

Your goal is to get people to go to your site or landing page, and provide you with their name and email address. In exchange, you give them something for free which they perceive as valuable. This is known as an “ethical bribe”and might be a free report that teaches them something they want to know about, an audio interview with an expert in your field, an e-course,  access to a live or recorded webinar, etc. Once you have their contact information, you can then use an autoresponder system to continue to correspond with them, and build an ongoing relationship of trust.

#3 – Is Your Self-Doubt Sabotaging Your Marketing?

Getting a less than desired response to your marketing doesn’t mean that you’re not good enough or that you’re not going to be successful. In fact, you could end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ask yourself whether you are allowing your self-doubt to permeate your marketing message. Are you watering down your marketing because you are afraid that you can’t deliver the results? Are you doubting your small business marketing strategies, or have you not taken the time to clearly define them?

The beauty of marketing online is you can change your marketing message or call to action with just a few keystrokes. Don’t be afraid of what people will think. If they haven’t been paying attention they won’t notice anyway, so no worries.

Ask yourself these three questions and don’t be afraid to reach out for help to improve your results.

Please leave your comments below. And if you would share this article on Facebook or Twitter (or your social media platform of choice) that would be much appreciated.

Technorati Tags: Niche Marketing Strategy, Small Business Marketing Strategies

Last week I spent 4 days at a conference where I had the opportunity to learn some great small business marketing strategies from some top coaches, including Brian Tracy, Milana Leshinsky, Mari Smith, Lisa Sasevich and Christian Mickelson.

I promised my readers that I would share some of my key takeaways from this event. So here goes.

• Build your value.

Your goal as a business owner is to increase the value you offer your target market. We all start with zero value.  Your job is to gain the skills and knowledge you need to increase your value. The good news is that all skills are learnable.

So ask yourself 3 questions. 1) Where are you now? 2) Where do you want to be? and 3) How are you going to get there?

You have to take the first step with no guarantee.  You have to be prepared for failure and rejection. Develop an unshakable persistence and determination.

• Focus on the results you provide
  

Many entrepreneurs market the services they provide or the process they use. Instead, your marketing should focus on the outcome you provide.

This one speaks to me in particular, because I’m always helping me clients shift their perspective from focusing on their services to the benefits they offer.

• Invest in yourself

You can’t expect people to invest in themselves more than you’ve ever invested in yourself.

Don’t just try to copy what others are doing. Invest in coaching to learn what goes on behind the scenes, and to help you build your business much faster.

At this event, I signed up for an amazing program by Milana Leshinsky to help take my business to the next level.

• Outsource

One of your key small business marketing strategies should be to focus on your strengths. Hire people who play what you have to work at.  Support yourself with a strong, powerful team of people to work with you.

• Grow your tribe

When marketing yourself online, your goal is not to just share a message, it’s to get other people to share that message with each other.

Create a social media strategy with clear objectives.  Identify 25 key influencers in your market. Find them on Facebook and Twitter, and get on their list.

• Love marketing

You have to love marketing as much as you love what you do for your business.  Make marketing a part of your business. Invest the time to develop sound small business marketing strategies and implement them, one step at a time.

• Create multiple streams of passive and recurring income
  

No matter what business you’re in, find ways to leverage your time and create multiple streams of passive income and recurring income. Package and automatically deliver your knowledge, experience and ideas. Your products are your castle. Have people go through your products before they get to you personally.

For coaches, find ways to take your coaching process and deliver it to many people at the same time. You will help a lot more people than you ever could with one-on-one coaching, and make a lot more money at the same time.

• Focus on your niche

Every single speaker, no matter what their area of expertise, emphasized the importance of finding your niche and targeting all of your products, services and marketing to that niche.

As a coach who helps solo entrepreneurs find their ideal niche, and then create a marketing pipeline to attract their niche, this was a great message to hear. It’s my passion to help solo entrepreneurs tap into their passions and experience to find their ideal niche so they can market themselves authentically and get faster results. Creating a solid niche marketing strategy is the key to your business success and loving the work that you do.

If you haven’t yet read my free report, “Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche”, you’ll want to get a copy.

If you liked this article, please share the love by clicking on the Facebook or Twitter icons above. Thank you!

Technorati Tags: Niche Marketing Strategy, Small Business Marketing Strategies

As a coach, I learn as much from my clients as they do from me. Today was no exception. I met with someone this afternoon who asked a great question. She had just purchased a marketing program and wasn’t sure if she had made a good decision. I hear this kind of question a lot.

There are tons of great offers that come your way every single day. Those sales pages are amazing. The testimonials blow you away. The value seems great. And you want to buy them all. And sometimes you do.

Then you get buyer’s remorse. Or you simply get overwhelmed with too much information.

So what is the solution?

I have three suggestions for you.

1. Look at the major challenges you are facing with your business right NOW. What are the main things that are holding you back from reaching your goals?

For many of my clients, it is that they feel like they lack focus. They don’t know who they’re trying to attract to their business and what they have to offer. In other words, they haven’t found their niche. And that’s why they’ve decided to work with me, because they know I can help them with that and they understand that their niche is most important foundation for their business.

If you’ve already found your niche and have a clear niche marketing strategy, then look at what is holding you back from achieving your next steps. Do you know how to create a website and landing page? If not, what is stopping you? Is it the technical part or the marketing copy or the keywords (or all of the above)?

You get the idea.

The bottom line is you have to identify your main challenges and then invest in the programs that will help you develop the knowledge and skills you need to move your business forward.

2. Take things one step at a time. You might need help with more than one thing, but you can’t learn it all at once or your head will explode! Just take it one step at a time. Pick a program that meets your current needs and give it your all.

There is no magic bullet. No matter what you invest in, whether it is coaching or training or anything else, you are going to have to put in the blood, sweat and tears to make it work for you.

3. Rather than get sucked in by all those great sales pages, learn from them. Whenever you see a great sales page (or email), save it in a swipe file. Then when it comes time for you to create your own marketing copy, you’ll have some ideas to help you get started.

I hope you found this helpful. If you did, please share it with others by clicking on the Facebook and/or Twitter icons above. And be sure to leave your comments and questions below. Thank you!

Technorati Tags: Niche Marketing Strategy, Small Business Marketing Strategies

Many thanks for all the people who took the time to submit an entry in this contest to win a free ticket to Christian Michaelson’s live event “The Clients, Cash, Collaboration, & Contribution Event”

It was really close, but the winner is …

Drum roll please….

Carolin Hauser

Here is an excerpt from Carolin’s entry

“I have had some major breakthroughs over the past 3 months having to do with aligning myself with my purpose and vision. I know what it means to feel passionate about something.  I can’t stop talking, thinking and dreaming about it. It’s awesome!

But I still need help.

I have a big vision. The modality I am trained in is called “family constellations”. It is very widely known in Europe and is still spreading like wildfire there. Not so much here.

I want to be the wildfire maker here. I want to have people find me and this work. I want to get it to Oprah! I want to have people come to me from all over and also I want to travel all over and educate people and give workshops. I want to help 1000ends of people to transform their lives for the better.”

Honorable mention goes to Sherry Prince. You are amazing Sherry and I’m so excited to see all that you’re going to accomplish.

I especially thank you for these kind words. They demonstrate your compassion and desire to help people that are going to make you such a wonderful coach.

“I just want to say thank you Cindy for offering everyone this chance.  It is an amazing thing to do.  I am just happy that someone will be honoring that ticket!”

Thanks also to Yavonne Fuller for her generous spirit. Yavonne said “We do not end a day without learning something to help not only ourselves but many others”.

What an honor to have read all your entries. Thank you.

I found something that really resonated with me and I want to share it with you. I recently read “The Social Media Wealth Manifesto” by Katie Frieling and took pages of notes. She shares six steps you must take to successfully build your business online.

1. Brand yourself around your passions (my mission is helping others do that)
2. Create your wordpress blog
3. Build your value and create content
4. Grow your social media following
5. Build your own tribe.

It’s awesome advice, and I can tell you from experience, that it works!

For Step #5, Katie says that you want to grow a tribe of people who will follow and support you. You can only lead a tribe when you have a clear idea of where you’re going. If you don’t have that clarity yet, that is where I can help you. Just click here and we’ll set up a time to meet (my only condition is that you have read my free report “Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche” first).

But even if you don’t have clarity yet, you can still start building a tribe. How do you do that? By joining a tribe and partnering with like-minded people who can help guide you in the right direction.

Katie has put together a wonderful system called The Unified Tribe to help you do just that.

Here’s how it works:

Basically, you can have people like me (and many others) promoting your content every day! Imagine having leaders with thousands of followers tweet your blog post or share your content on Facebook.

It’s a fast and easy way to learn, grow, build and network.

For this week only, Katie is making her system (which includes a ton of free training) available for $25 to try it.

Be sure to connect with me once you’re inside!

Technorati Tags: Katie Frieling, Social Media Wealth Manifesto, Unified Tribe

I have exciting news.

I’m going to give away a ticket to Christian Michaelson’s live training event valued at $4,997 to one of my valued subscribers.

The Event:  “The Clients, Cash, Collaboration, & Contribution Event”

This is a 4-day event in beautiful San Diego, where you will learn the best coaching business building strategies, skills, and psychology so that you can move your business into the “empire phase” where you’re making a difference 24 hours/day, 7 days/week whether you’re coaching clients or not!

Here are just a few of the topics that will be covered:

• The “Successful Coach” Mindset
• How To Shift Your Marketing From “getting clients” to Creating A “Movement”
• Passive Income Products
• How to Write Marketing Copy that compels people to buy
• Social Marketing Success

In addition to Christian, there will be a number of guest speakers including: Jamie Smart, Dan Millman, Lisa Sasevich, Mari Smith, Suzanne Falter-Barns, and Milana Leshinsky. These are some of the top marketing coaches out there, and you get to learn from them for free!

To learn more about the event, click here.

Who is this event for?

Coaches that are committed to growing their business AND making a real difference. You don’t have to making 6 figures or have a full practice to attend. This event will help you no matter what stage your coaching business is in.

How to Win the Ticket

1. Email me with a few paragraphs (or a brief video if you prefer) telling me:  where you’re at right now with your business, your 12 month goal, the greatest challenge you face, and how you’ll use the info at this event to help you reach your goal.

2.  After reviewing each entry, I’ll select the one that most touches my heart and demonstrates the clearest vision.

Now, here’s the scoop. Seats at this event are limited. If you can get your entry in by Monday, April 26, you will be guaranteed a seat. After that, there isn’t a guarantee that seats will be available. So get your entry in fast if you can!  I’ll pick a winner by Saturday, May 1st.

If you have any questions, just email me at cindy@attractyourniche.com

Best of luck and I look forward to meeting the lucky winner in San Diego!

As a solo entrepreneur, developing your personal brand is key to your success.

But what is branding exactly?

According to branding expert, Dan Schwabel, personal branding is the process of how we market ourselves to others.

Your personal brand is about how you show up in the world – the impression you leave on others.

Branding identifies and differentiates you and your business. It helps you clearly communicate who you are, who you serve, and why you do what you do.

It is what allows you to distinguish yourself from everyone else and make yourself memorable.  It allows you to attract your ideal clients — clients who understand you and connect with you.

Now that the branding definition is clear, we can move forward to understand the two key elements that comprise a brand.

1. Your Niche

Niche Definition:  Your niche consists of two elements: WHO and WHAT.  Your WHO is your target market or who you are trying to attract. Your WHAT is the specific problem you help your target market solve, and the results you help them achieve.

You know you have nailed your niche when you can complete this sentence. It’s what I call your problem-solution statement.

I help _(WHO)_______ do __(WHAT)_______ so they can __(benefits/results)_________.

Here is my problem-solution statement:

I help solo entrepreneurs (WHO) find and attract their ideal niche (WHAT) so they can market themselves authentically and get faster results (results).

2. Your WHY

The second part of your personal brand is your WHY statement, and it includes:

• What defines you and your work
• Why you do what you do; and
• Why people should work with you.

As an example, here is my WHY statement.

I’m focused, strategic, results-driven, caring and fun, and I bring all these qualities to my coaching. I have a talent for helping people tap into their unique passions and gifts, so they can find their ideal niche and do the work they were meant to do. I believe we each have a special gift we were meant to share with the world, and mine is helping others find theirs. I’m also passionate about helping people be focused and strategic with their marketing so they can get faster results and not waste time spinning their wheels. Finding your niche is the key to doing just that.

So, what is branding?

Branding consists of 3 elements:

• Your WHO (target market)
• Your WHAT (solution you provide)
• Your WHY (why you do what you do and why people should work with you).

Personal Branding is one of your most powerful tools for success. To help you get started, you can get my free report, “Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche”.

I hope you found this helpful. If you did, please share the news with others by clicking the Facebook and/or Twitter icons above.  And leave a comment or question below. Thank you!

Technorati Tags: branding definition, Niche Definition, What is Branding