Marketing Trend Update: 3 Simple Tips for Creating Engaging Video

 Video is the hot marketing strategy right now.  Whenever a lot of people start using one strategy the key for YOU is to get creative so your video stands out and more importantly, your potential clients watch it.  You don’t want your video to get lost in the internet clutter. 

 

Here’s 3 quick tips for Creating Engaging Video:

 

1.       Don’t just stand in front of a blank wall.  It works when you are just getting started but you’ll want to find a spot in your home office or home where there’s a lovely picture or bookcase.  I often will use my Vision Board as a backdrop.

2.       Use a flipchart.  Low-tech meets hi-tech!  Want to make 3 points in your video? You can use your flipchart (with clear big handwriting) to add interaction and movement.

3.       Show up a prop.  Do you offer a product or program?  Are you talking about a favorite book?  Talking about how simple something is?  Show it to us instead of just talking about it.

 

En-JOY!

Laura

What Will It Take For YOU to Become a Go-To-Goddess?

 I am tingling with excitement to share this with you!

It’s something NEW, POWERFUL and business-shifting!

I am opening up my brand new program:

How To Be a Go-To-Goddess So You Attract All the Clients, Joint Ventures and Media Opportunities You Can Imagine!

This 7-week program is designed for women at every level of business success: from the newbie – fresh with enthusiasm - to the seasoned business woman – who is looking for those mindset shifts to move to the next level of success.

We’ll focus on "Create a plan and then Co-Create with the Universe." I'll share with you the same tools I share with my private clients on spiritual centering, practical marketing strategies, and how to take the actions to support your success.

It’s like no other program out there… blending the inner wisdom and grounding with the outer practical, simplified actions.

Already we have up and coming Go-To-Goddesses joining this program – and you can too!

You’ll find all the juicy details at www.joyfulbusiness.com/gotogoddess/.

Oh, and to make this commitment to your business easy, I am offering an EASY YES Incentive. This $497 program is ONLY $99 for 3 months, saving you $200 and easy payment option. This affordable plan is only good through tomorrow, FRIDAY at midnight.

So join us now! www.joyfulbusiness.com/gotogoddess/.

Now is NOT the time to stick your head under the covers and wish for the world to slow down – it’s YOUR TIME to claim your inner and outer Go-To-Goddess!

I can’t wait to see your name in our community of Go-To-Goddesses!

 

P.S. You’ve been asking for an affordable program from me... here it is... and now is the time. Find out more and register here.

Yes, You Can Easily Create a Compelling Sales Page Filled with Heart. Here's How...

Over my ten years in business, I've become more and more clear that "my movement" is to help women be more successful in their business! That's why I work with women entrepreneurs to blend the smart business tactics with the more feminine and spiritual way of being in the world.

For heart-centered, women entrepreneurs, it's easy to get caught up in your passion and purpose, and maybe not spend so much time on the business and marketing side of your business. To help you bridge the two with ease, grace and more success, I'm creating the Business Goddess's Guide to.... series of information products to give you practical tools to help bring your message into the world in a bigger way with authentic marketing.

I am pleased to announce my newest product to help you: Business Goddess's Guide To Creating Powerful Sales Pages with Ease, Authenticity, and Heart.

Creating sales pages will help you get your work in the world in a bigger way, and they are the foundation of online marketing.

Sales pages don't have to have an "ick" feel or be overwhelming. I can teach you how to create sales pages easily that are full of beauty, connection, and realness AND will showcase your service or product in such a way that people want it and will be compelled to buy it.

The best part is that the Business Goddess's Guide To Creating Powerful Sales Pages with Ease, Authenticity, and Heart is a system, which means you can use it over and over again. For every program, preview teleclass, teleseries, telesummit, package, info product, self-study system, you name it that you offer... you need a sales page.

If you want a system to easily create sales pages so you can create trust, connection, and authenticity - that have a greater impact than what you're already experiencing - you'll want to check this out.

Just the bonuses are already getting rave reviews, and women entrepreneurs are putting the information to use all around. When you pre-order now, you get INSTANT ACCESS to my 45-point Checklist for Sales Page Success, my Guided Visualization, AND MORE!

To find out more and how you can get your copy of the Business Goddess's Guide to Creating Powerful Sales Pages with Ease, Authenticity, and Heart AND SAVE $100, visit www.authenticsalespages.com.

I can’t wait to share this with you and make your business more successful!

EN-Joy

Laura
 
P.S. There is no product out there that helps women create sales pages to promote their business authentically and with heart. Get your copy now! You get INSTANT ACCESS to the valuable checklists, my visualization, and interviews with experts in the field. You can get started applying this information and these tools RIGHT AWAY.

Visit www.authenticsalespages.com and start creating your own sales pages with ease, authenticity, and heart.

Free Teleclass: Yes, You Can Create Powerful Sales Pages With Ease, Authenticity, and Heart

Does the thought of creating sales pages make you shudder?

So much so that you don’t even create a sales page? You just put some information about your product or service up on your website and hope people are compelled to buy it? (This works fine for catalogs where you are buying "stuff," but it doesn’t work well at all for transformational products and services.)

Maybe you dread the process of creating a sales page and feel confused about what to put on your page – wondering all along if you are either "selling your soul" in your marketing or "not embracing selling enough." And you worry you won’t be successful in selling your products or enrolling in your programs. What a catch-22! D- if you do or D-if you don’t!

Or perhaps you’ve made peace with creating sales pages, but you feel exhausted just thinking about all the components and wish you just had a system and a checklist to make it easier and faster!

What is a conscious, spiritual entrepreneur who wants to change the world to do?

The problem is that most heart-centered entrepreneurs feel that sales pages are, well, too sales-y. Too masculine. Too in-your-face. Not in alignment with the passionate, purposeful business owner you are.

It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, I am committed to a way that combines being conscious with being practical. Join me for my newest, FREE teleclass:

Yes, You Can Create Powerful Sales Pages
With Ease, Authenticity, and Heart.

Tuesday, May 4
1:00pm eastern / 10:00am pacific / 6:00pm UK
REGISTER NOW

 In this teleclass you'll learn:

• What is possible for you when you embrace creating heart-based sales pages for the sake of helping your potential clients - sales pages that work are no less spiritual than slapping up your information and playing small. In fact, I'd say that playing small and NOT learning how to create sales pages with integrity is not coming from your divine power.
• 5 traps that heart-centered entrepreneurs fall into which stop you from even creating a sales page or creating ones that are boring, lifeless, and small and that don't attract clients or make you money.
• How your Feminine Qualities can actually help you create a "kick-skirt" sales page - it's not all about the traditional masculine in your face and aggressive sales tactics.
• My biggest secret for jump-starting your sales page creation process to put YOU on a successful path
• 3 Things You Can Do Right Now To Get Better Response from Your Sales Pages - all with integrity and heart!
• A new product I've created about Creating Sales Pages that …. and this is true… my clients begged me to create! (Literally, over and over they said, "Laura, please create a checklist for a sales page…please tell me how to do this!") You'll want to hear about this as I'm offering a special launch pricing and bonus classes! Imagine the sales page process being easy and even fun!

Register Now and Join me and other heart-centered entrepreneurs to shift into your power in your business - starting with sales pages!

FREE Teleclass:

Yes, You Can Create Powerful Sales Pages
With Ease, Authenticity, and Heart.

Tuesday, May 4
1:00pm eastern / 10:00am pacific / 6:00pm UK
REGISTER NOW

What if creating sales pages was not only easy, but a delightful way to connect with your potential clients and give them access to the products and services you've developed to help them? That's how I approach my business, and I want to share more with you!

I look forward to "seeing" you on the 4th while I show you just how easy and delightful it can be!

EN-Joy

Laura
 
P.S. You won't find this type of "spiritual meets practical" marketing information anywhere. Which means you can sell your programs and products and bring your message to the world in a bigger way. And isn't that why you're a heart-centered entrepreneur in the first place?

Business Goddess Marketing Tip #6: Systems = Freedom

Business Goddess
Audio Marketing Tip Series

Helping you market
like a Business Goddess...
from the inside out

Welcome to the Business Goddess Audio Marketing Tip series - my free gift to you to help you market like a Business Goddess - from the inside out.

Today's Business Goddess Audio Marketing Tip is that a Business Goddess knows that systems = freedom.

Business Goddess Marketing is not just about the actions you take, but connecting to that deeper power inside that leads great marketing actions.

To listen now, visit http://www.joyfulbusiness.com/audiotip/tip6.html

EN-Joy

Laura

Free Joyful Business TeleEvent! The Real Secrets for Platinum & Premium Program Success

If you're thinking about adding a Platinum or Premium program to your own business (and adding a significant source of income to your business), then you won't want to miss my upcoming FREE teleclass, The Real Secrets for Platinum & Premium Program Success on Thursday, February 18, at 2pm eastern / 11am pst / 7pm UK.

In this teleclass, you'll learn:

**What platinum style and premium programs are and how they are different from your regular services
How you know if you are ready to offer a premium experience

**What you MUST have in place before offering your program (or you'll launch and no one will notice - talk about frustrating!)

**What they don't tell you in training schools, which keeps your business small and unprofitable and keeps YOU feeling like you are running on a hamster wheel!

**The top mistakes service professionals make when launching a new premium group program or private coaching experience

**The 3 secrets driving your potential premium level clients, which you need to know in order for them to feel confident in engaging you at higher financial commitment

Join me for this inside look into Platinum and Premium program world:

Thursday, February 18: The Real Secrets for Platinum & Premium Program Success
Time: 2pm eastern/ 11am pst / 7pm UK

Click to read more and to sign up now!

This is a free teleclass, and you won't want to miss this inside look into the world of platinum and premium programs.

I look forward to busting the myths floating around on the Internet about premium and platinum programs! And giving you the REAL truth about these programs and how to run them successfully.

EN-Joy

-Laura

PS: I'll also give you a peek into my own SpiritRICH™ Private Platinum program. I only have enough room in my business for one new client, so this isn't a hard sell teleclass. You'll get plenty of content, and for the right person who is ready to step into her business success in a big way, you'll get your questions answered!

5 Creative Planning Tips for a Joyfully Successful 2010

A couple of weeks ago in December, I offered five Creative Planning Tips for a Joyfully Successful 2010. In case you missed them, here they are again in one place. If you like these tips, check out the sale on the Joyful Business Guide at the bottom.

Tip #1: Schedule a creative planning day on your calendar
This time is important. It isn't an urgent fire you have to put out, but it will be some of the most important time you will spend on your business. This time will shape the success of your business, your focus, and the outcome for your entire year! It can be a half day, whole day or a weekend. It will be worth it to focus on what's possible.

Make sure you spend the time planning. Don't use it as a clearing house for all those daily to-do's. Use it to actually plan 2010.

Tip #2: Get out of your home office
I find that creativity, sparks, ideas, and inspiration don't usually come when I'm sitting at my desk. Going to a new environment like a café, a friend's retreat house, the lobby of a beautiful hotel, or even renting a lovely space for the day will shift my energy. What does shifting energy mean? Instead of having a "head down - what needs to be done next" focus, I'm able to have a "heads up and looking at the horizon" type of perspective.

By shifting your location, you are able to shift your perspective, and then you shift what's possible. New ideas come to you. Just the act of planning to go on a creative retreat outside of your office will subconsciously start pulling new ideas and thoughts toward you. Suddenly you will find that you are making notes of ideas to explore when you have your retreat time. Your commitment will cause your creative momentum to start moving in that direction.

Tip #3: Bring creative supplies
You don't want to develop your marketing strategies, creative ideas, and inspiration with a boring yellow legal pad. Pack your favorite markers, pens, or pencils, add some colorful, fun sticky notes to capture spontaneous free flowing ideas, bring paper or a tablet for making mind maps of ideas (a great way to access your right-brain creative thinking before your left-brain logic kicks in).

Do you have stickers or a favorite pen that you love writing with? Do you have cool big planning calendars or pads that you can't wait to dive into?

I find that the more I can support my creativity around planning for making more money, rolling out big marketing campaigns, or committing to a big project or that new platinum program - then the more tapped in I am to my creative flow, ideas, inspiration… And it's so much easier this way!

So - whatever makes you giggle with delight - bring with you on your creative planning day.

Tip #4: Set the stage for inspiration
I find that inspirational ideas don't always just happen when I say it's time. It's better to prime the pump. When I go on creative retreat time, I bring an inspirational book. Something by Wayne Dyer or Marianne Williamson works well when I want to be called into my purpose and passion; SARK books work well when I really want freedom to express my joy.

Bring along your favorite magazines like O, Ode (an entrepreneur type magazine which will help you get you sparked), Inc Magazine (with stories of other entrepreneurs and small business owners). Read a few pages to get the creative juices flowing and ideas moving.

I also find that connecting with my mastermind group or a coach will open up my inspiration in all new, big ways that I would have never thought of on my own!

Tip #5: Bring your Joyful Business Guide™ system
The Joyful Business Guide system provides the smart business tools you'll need - for getting clear about your ideal client, marketing system, team planning, and vision story, along with the attraction tools for setting your intentions and focusing on your projects.

I hear stories all the time from entrepreneurs all around the world using their Joyful Business Guides in cafes, libraries, cabins in the mountains, and at oceanside retreats and having a surprisingly wonderful time planning for their business. (It's like they are breaking all the rules! Planning and joy working together!)

And to help you more joyfully plan your successful 2010, I'm offering $50 off the Joyful Business Guide system.

The Joyful Business Guide usually sells for $249. Through Friday, January 8, you can get it for only $199. Use coupon code JOYFULLYCREATE to save $50 off the Joyful Business Guide. Click here to learn more and get your Joyful Business Guide.

Do you have the tools you need to plan an amazing 2010?

En-joy

Laura
 
P.S. This isn't just a product I sell.... The Joyful Business Guide is a system of tools for right-brain creatives, and I use it myself - everyday. It's helped me grow my business and double my income in 2009. What can it do for you and your business?

What You Need to Breakthrough to the Next Revenue Level in Your Passion-Based Business

You’re a passion-based entrepreneur, which means you’ve created a business you love, that feeds your soul, fuels your passion, and gives life to your purpose.

And for that business to be viable – to *really* make a difference – it – and you – needs to be profitable. What most entrepreneurs don’t understand is that there are revenue plateaus. You reach a certain level. You stay at that level.

At any level you can’t keep doing the same things you’ve been doing and expect to double your sales results. There are only so many hours in the day.

Here are some of the revenue levels, as well as their breakthrough points, that I’ve worked my own business and my clients through.

$25,000 Breakthrough – You are at a choice point. Is this a hobby or a business? You have to choose to truly be in business. Which means it’s time to attract more clients. Decide that you do want more clients and are willing to put yourself out there to increase your visibility through a website, blog, writing and speaking. Then, you claim your clients and step into the next level.

$50,000 Breakthrough – Not only do you have a breakthrough to work beyond, but you are also at a choicepoint. To break through this level, you have to decide that, in fact, you are not just in business as a coach, consultant, speaker, author or whatever your service is, but that you are a business OWNER. There is a mind shift that happens when you decide to be a business owner delivering your particular services. You stop running your business haphazardly. You make different decisions. You market your business at a new, deeper, committed level. You also have to trust that you can still enjoy your business, even as it grows into a “real” business.

$100,000 Breakthrough – This is a big one for many business owners – it’s that place where you know you are a business owner (see the previous breakthrough), and seems to be the point at which you really feel legitimate – breaking through six figures. This means that you have to move from delivering your services hourly to creating and offering packages of your services.

You shift how you spend your time. You apply more of your creativity to marketing - building your visibility and credibility within your tribe. To shift into six figures, you need to start hiring more team members so that they can take care of your behind-the-scenes to-do’s, and you can be out there developing relationships, creating new programs and content, and delivering your services.

Here is where you realize that systems = freedom. Implementing systems, procedures, and checklists for your team will make things go more smoothly, which is where you get to be free to create, attract, and connect. Here you have to let go of those things *you* can do but that aren’t your genius. Having other team members do what’s important (and doesn’t need you personally doing it) is what will move your business forward.

$250,000 Breakthrough – First of all, at this level and beyond, self-care becomes non-negotiable. Your business won’t grow if you aren’t taking care of yourself and you are stressed and tired. To grow your business bigger--reach more people, have more clients go through your programs, launch bigger programs--you have to do things differently. There aren’t more hours in the day to expand your business – it’s about doing things more efficiently and effectively. It’s also about letting go of control so that you can let your business grow. Any money issues or limited beliefs about how much you can charge, how much money you can make, or how having more success will change your life or impact your family need to be shifted into supportive and empowering beliefs. This is a time for strong, clear boundaries to protect your creative time and your life enjoyment time. To more than double your income at this l evel, you’ll need to reexamine your systems, teams, pricing, packages and your time to see what needs to change, shift or be let go of so you can reach more people, attract more visibility and make more money.

What’s interesting about these breakthroughs is that it’s not necessarily about creating more products, programs, or services, although that’s certainly part of it. It’s really more about the limiting beliefs you have to change and the mind shifts you have to work through.

What do you need to break through in order to get to your next desired revenue level?

En-joy

Laura 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success Kit

Eight Places to Look for Opportunities to Create Systems in Your Small Business

 Part 2 of 2

As a small business owner, you may be a classic do-it-yourselfer. And it got you pretty far – but then you got stuck. Your growth came to a standstill. So now, as you attempt the leap to the next level – it makes sense to scour your business for system-creating opportunities. After all, you need to create time for your “great work,” or what you’re passionate about.

Here are a few more places to look:

5. Co-Creating With Your Team. This will sound familiar to my coaching clients: if you want to increase your capacity for greater growth in your business, you must expand your team. A caveat: just putting a team member into place isn’t enough. You’ll want to co-create systems for your success with them. For example, my assistant, Jan, helps me get my newsletter out by sending me our newsletter template when it’s time for me to write it. She doesn’t wait for me. She knows the schedule, she fills in what she knows we are going to promote (teleclasses, blog postings, etc) and then sends it to me to write the welcome, article and make edits. We co-created this system together. It helps me get the newsletter out consistently, and helps her plan her work schedule as well.

What systems can you co-create with a team member to support YOUR success?

6. Personal Systems. One of my favorite personal systems is my Daily Giggle Goals. Each day I sit down as I’m planning out my priorities for the day and I pick 3 goals (bite-sized is key) to get done today. These are 3 things that would have me smile and giggle with delight at the end of the day when I know they are done. For me, this is about being purposeful – having my actions aligned with my purpose. If this sounds like it would be a good focus tool, check out the Joyful Business Guide for a whole system of attraction tools to help you “focus and flow” in your day.

Another favorite personal system is related to time management. When planning my time, I group similar types of activities together (like writing, creative brainstorming and reflection). Each of these activities takes similar energy and inspiration, so I find I can get on a roll and accomplish more when I group them together instead of trying to do a little here and a little there.

When will you schedule your similar activities this week? Do you think you could be more effective if you weren’t jumping from one unrelated thing to the next?

7. Internal Energy Systems. We all have days when we wonder if we can “do it,” we doubt our ideas, or our confidence wobbles. It’s important to have systems in place to help you shift your energy and beliefs so you don’t get stuck in that mindset.

Consider having a support team you can tap into: a massage therapist, energy worker, Reiki specialist or Homeopathic doctor all can be part of your team that helps you shift your energy when you need it. Whether it’s stress manifesting as a muscle ache, your thoughts, or a sinus infection wanting to happen – your team stands ready to help you manage your energy – physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

The next time you experience an “off” day, who will you call on to help manage your internal energy? What can you do to care for yourself?

8. Working with a Coach or Mentor. When it comes to marketing and building your small business, there’s no need to spend your precious energy reinventing the wheel. One of the best time-saving systems of all is to find a mentor or coach who has been there, one whose values and business you admire. You can learn from their mistakes, successes and resources, and experience accelerated success in less time.

Who is a model of success for you? How could you work with them to gain greater momentum in your business?

En-JOY!

Laura

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success Kit

Eight Places to Look for Opportunities to Create Systems in Your Small Business

Part 1 of 2

So you’ve made the commitment to yourself: you’re determined to find ways of systemizing your small business. You know that conserving your energy for your “great work,” or what you’re most passionate about, is the key to your success.

The question is, where do you create those business systems? Here are the top eight places to start looking:

1. Marketing Basics. It helps to create systems for those repetitive marketing basics – like having a variety of photos and bios on hand and ready to go. Keep your professional and casual photos of yourself easily accessible, along with short and long versions of your bios – so you can respond to opportunities quicker, with less “thinking,” and less stress!

What is one marketing basic you use over and over again that you could put into a system – so next time it’s quick and easy?

2. Client Relationship-Building. Think about your relationship-building process for a client from beginning to end. Every stage can be systemized so that it takes very little time.

Your initial follow-up system could include a business card scanner, thank you cards or e-cards. Create a system for your initial consultation (I use a client questionnaire to get the ball rolling), and a New Client Package, even use email birthday alert systems or online appointment setting systems once they become clients.

These systems not only make you look more professional – they inspire confidence and position you as an expert. You must be, because you have a system for handling these things!

What is one Client Relationship-Building system you can add to streamline your client nurturing right now?

3. Online Marketing. To fully utilize online systems that can automate your marketing – so you can reach more people with less effort – it helps to have a great support team that knows how to maximize the programs. Shopping carts, autoresponders, an online newsletter, blogs, and social networking sites can all work together to support marketing you and your small business. A great assistant or virtual assistant can set up and maintain these for you – allowing you more time for marketing, working with clients, or relaxing at the pool.

Another area to consider for time-saving systems: if you have standard information that you share frequently, such as in teleclass introductions and scripts, podcast openings, thank you pages for your products, etc. In all of these, you basically say the same thing over and over. Take a few minutes (or get a team member) to put this information into a template. I find it’s easier to get inspired when I’m working from a template – instead of a blank page staring at me!

What is one “script” you find yourself saying over and over again? How could you simplify it into a template?

4. Recycle & Reuse. Recycling isn’t just good for the environment – it’s good for your business! You can take content you’ve created in one format and repackage it into multiple formats (this is often called “repurposing”). For example, this blog post came from a teleclass I gave on systems. I recorded the teleclass for a future audio product. Then it was transcribed for a supplemental booklet. I then used the transcription as the basis for an article that appeared in my newsletter and on Facebook. Then my team will publish the article at online article sites, as well as on community sites where I am on their Expert Panel. One idea: a minimum of eight ways to use it!

What is one idea you could take and reuse in another area of your marketing?

More “Places to Look for Systems in Your Business” coming…

En-JOY!

Laura

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success Kit