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How to Keep Business Going During COVID

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Adaptability is the name of the game in business, and that’s truer now than ever.

COVID-19 has made an impact on nearly every industry. Some, however, have felt it harder than others.

Restaurants, brick-and-mortar retail, gyms, and entertainment venues are among those facing particular challenges.

Stuck somewhere between essential and non-essential, these types of businesses face uncertainty about when, how, and even if they’ll be able to reopen.

Not to mention, in the back-and-forth fight against the curve, they’ll be first on the list for shutdowns if things get dire.

So how do you cope as a business owner? How do you keep business going during COVID?

We’ve gathered these resources to help you figure out an effective plan of action:

If You’re Closed

You can still push your business forward, even if you can’t open:

 On Again, Off Again

Opening and closing with your area’s phases can be exhausting and confusing for customers.

  • Regularly update your website and social media pages, and make sure they clearly state if you are (or aren’t) open
  • Use email lists to alert customers you’re open, and entice them with special offers
  • Consider partial service options, such as carryout or curbside service
  • Hire salesman or marketing experts to help you reach out to new markets

Open for Business

Focus on keeping your employees and customers safe once you reopen.

Finally, remember to take some time for yourself.

It’s easy to spread yourself too thin when coping with uncertainty.

However, your business needs you at your best.

Schedule some self-care and downtime into your routine, and you’ll be able to take on every challenge the pandemic puts in your path.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

About the Author:

Elena Stewart is a certified life coach who specializes in the teachings of Brené Brown, Danielle LaPorte, and Marie Forleo. She successfully transitioned from the corporate world to running her own business, and she now helps others achieve their career goals and dreams.

Author Website: ElenaStewart.com

10 Recommended Books on Digital Marketing

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Books on Digital Marketing may feel as short-lived as books on How to Use Computer Software because the marketplace is changing so rapidly. As soon as a book goes to print, the advice is already obsolete.

Thankfully, like the timeless non-technical advice from several sources that can be applied to How to Grow an Email List, many books on digital marketing are more about strategy than technology.

Digital marketing is also referred to as content or copy marketing for the web. It takes the proven value of the written and spoken word and applies it to digital channels like blogs and emails.

What follows in this short article are 10 recommended books on digital marketing.  The first two books are not about digital marketing per se, but they are about sound marketing strategy.  The next four books (3 to 6) are about specific digital marketing strategies. The last four books (7 to 10) offer sound advice on content writing for the web.

One Unexpected Book on Digital Marketing

One additional book – based on hostage negotiations! – is also mentioned at the end of this post because of its potential to completely change (and improve) the way you communicate in life (and therefore, how you also communicate in digital marketing).

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10 Recommended Books on Internet Marketing

A summary from Amazon.com is included for each book for your quick reference – along with a non-affiliated link to the resource on Amazon.

  1. Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D.

    “The author of the legendary bestseller Influence, social psychologist Robert Cialdini shines a light on effective persuasion and reveals that the secret doesn’t lie in the message itself, but in the key moment before that message is delivered.  

    What separates effective communicators from truly successful persuaders? Using the same combination of rigorous scientific research and accessibility that made his Influence an iconic bestseller, Robert Cialdini explains how to capitalize on the essential window of time before you deliver an important message. This “privileged moment for change” prepares people to be receptive to a message before they experience it.

    Optimal persuasion is achieved only through optimal pre-suasion. In other words, to change “minds” a pre-suader must also change “states of mind.” – Amazon Book Summary

  2. Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions by Carmen Simon, Ph.D.

    “This practical guide is filled with case studies, examples, and a checklist to help you put the power of cognitive science to work for your business. Whether you’re giving a presentation, conducting a meeting, delivering training, making a sales pitch, or creating a marketing campaign, these field-tested techniques will help you develop content that speaks to people’s hearts, stays in their heads, and influences their decisions. It’s not just memorable―it’s Impossible to Ignore.” – Amazon Book Summary

  3. Invisible Selling Machine: 5 Steps to Crafting an Automated Evergreen Email Campaign That Literally Makes Sales While You Sleep by Ryan Deiss

    “In the Invisible Selling Machine, entrepreneur, Ryan Deiss, walks you through all 5 phases of the prospect/customer lifestyle, and shows how each step can be automated and perpetuated to invisibly convert strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into raving fans. This book is for startup founders, small business owners, marketing professionals, consultants, service professionals, authors, speakers, and even brick and mortar butcher, baker and candlestick makers.” – Amazon Book Summary

  4. Dotcom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online by Russell Brunson

    “If you are currently struggling with getting traffic to your website, or converting that traffic when it shows up, you may think you’ve got a traffic or conversion problem. In Russell Brunson’s experience, after working with thousands of businesses, he has found that’s rarely the case. Low traffic and weak conversion numbers are just symptoms of a much greater problem, a problem that’s a little harder to see (that’s the bad news), but a lot easier to fix (that’s the good news). DotComSecrets will give you the marketing funnels and the sales scripts you need to be able to turn on a flood of new leads into your business.” – Amazon Book Summary

  5. Ask: The counterintuitive online formula to discover exactly what your customers want to buy… create a mass of raving fans… and take any business to the next level by Ryan Levesque

    “Do you know how to find out what people really want to buy? (Not what you think they want, not what they say they want, but what they really want?) The secret is asking the right questions – and the right questions are not what you might expect. Ask is based on the compelling premise that you should NEVER have to guess what your prospects and customers are thinking. The Ask Formula revealed in this book has been used to help build multi-million dollar businesses in 23 different industries, generating over $100 million dollars in sales in the process.” – Amazon Book Summary

  6. Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams by Jeff Walker

    “Launch is the treasure map into that world—an almost secret world of digital entrepreneurs who create cash-on-demand paydays with their product launches and business launches. Whether you have an existing business, or you have a service-based business and want to develop your own products so you can leverage your time and your impact, or you’re still in the planning phase—this is how you start fast. This formula is how you engineer massive success. Now the question is this—are you going to start slow, and fade away from there? Or are you ready for a launch that will change the future of your business and your life.” – Amazon Book Summary

  7. Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

    “In Platform, Hyatt will teach readers not only how to extend their influence, but also how to monetize it and build a sustainable career. The key? By building a platform. It has never been easier, less expensive, or more possible than right now. . .  The book includes:

    • proven strategies
    • easy-to-replicate formulas
    • practical tips

    Social media technologies have changed everything. Now, for the first time in history, non-celebrities can get noticed―and win big!―in an increasingly noisy world. Amazon Book Summary

  8. How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards

    “Writing copy that sells without seeming “salesy” can be tough, but is an essential business skill. How To Write Copy That Sells is a step-by-step guide to writing fast, easy-to-read, effective copy. It’s for everyone who needs to write copy that brings in cash – including copywriters, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. Inside, you’ll find copywriting techniques for email marketing, web sites, social media, sales pages, ads, and direct mail. – Amazon Book Summary

  9. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

    “Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer. If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers. Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by short and snappy, by click-bait headlines and Twitter streams and Instagram feeds and gifs and video and Snapchat and YOLO and LOL and #tbt. . . does the idea of focusing on writing seem pedantic and ordinary? Actually, writing matters more now, not less. Our online words are our currency; they tell our customers who we are. – Amazon Book Summary

  10. Master Content Marketing: A Simple Strategy to Cure the Blank Page Blues and Attract a Profitable Audience by Pamela Wilson

    “During her award-winning 30-year marketing career, Pamela Wilson has helped local, national, and international clients communicate their messages effectively. Her passion is teaching — and she has a gift for making complex topics simple and easy to understand. She wrote Master Content Marketing to provide step-by-step help to empower people (even non-writers) to create effective content marketing in a stress-free, fun, and repeatable way. What will happen to your online presence when you lose your fear of hitting publish? Read Master Content Marketing and find out.” – Amazon Book Summary

Plus One Unexpected Book on Digital Marketing…

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss

“A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations – whether in the boardroom or at home. After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists.

Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator.Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’ head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: in saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles – counterintuitive tactics and strategies – you, too, can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal lives.

Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.” – Amazon Book Summary

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Other Resources for Your Online Success

  1. Lead Magnet Guide (5 essential characteristics of a lead magnet)
  2. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project launching June 2017)
  3. Lead Magnet Examples (email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  4. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)
  5. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (along with the reasons why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

5 Email Autoresponder Tips for Your Welcome Message

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When people join your email mailing list to receive your lead magnet (see also Domain Name Advice: 3 Tips for Your Lead Magnet), the welcome message they receive from your email autoresponder – short for “automated response email” – is a critical next step to grow your business.

While the welcome message is automated, it is personal to the person who receives it.

Treat any email autoresponder with the same level of care as you would an in-person conversation with a potential customer.

It can be the start of a long-term relationship with a professional.

It can also be the quick end to one as well.

Therefore, plant your relationships carefully and professionally – starting with an email autoresponder welcome message.

What follows are five email autoresponder tips for your welcome message, plus an email autoresponder example from this site to quickly demonstrate all five recommendations.

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5 Email Autoresponder Tips for Your Welcome Message

Email Autoresponder Tip #1: Personalize your gratitude.

If you capture an email subscriber’s first name – in addition to her email address – you are able to personalize the welcome message.

It’s recommended you include a first name field in your opt-in form, but do not make the first name field mandatory (you can view an opt-in form example in the sidebar of this web page – if viewing on a desktop).

Whether you are able to include the subscriber’s first name or not, start your welcome message with a word of thanks to the person.

Email Autoresponder Tip #2: Deliver your lead magnet.

Immediately after a word of gratitude in your email autoresponder welcome message, deliver the lead magnet you promised.

If your lead magnet is a downloadable resource like a guide, do not attempt to attach the file to the welcome message (it’s an email security risk and will likely be blocked by your email service provider). Instead, provide a link to the lead magnet within your message.

Additional Note: If you are seeking project guidance on the design, integration, and marketing of a professional lead magnet to grow your email list, you may be interested in joining the new interactive Lead Magnet Project. 

Email Autoresponder Tip #3: Set expectations with your subscriber.

Your email autoresponder welcome message is the perfect opportunity to set expectations with your subscribers about what’s next in terms of future messages.

Specifically, you want to be upfront about when they’ll hear from you again, how often, and what you will send them.

If you are planning to send out new content to your email list once a week, for example, it’s also recommended you pick a specific day and time each week to do so. That way, your subscribers know when to check their inboxes for your content.

Email Autoresponder Tip #4: Highlight your other resources.

Just like in your professional Lead Magnet (see the 5 Essential Characteristics of a Lead Magnet), it is appropriate to cross-reference the other resources you have available or planning to have available.

Email subscribers know you are in business (or starting one).

Do not be afraid to share resources that you feel will help people – just do so in a succinct and professional manner. 

Email Autoresponder Tip #5: Reinforce your expertise in your signature.

Lastly, close your email autoresponder welcome message with your email signature.

Specifically, you will want to include your full name, your professional credentials, and a short summary of what you do.

It is also recommended you include a small photo of yourself in your email signature. It further personalizes your welcome message.

Email Autoresponder Example

For your quick reference, here is a snapshot of the current email autoresponder welcome message sent to Graceful Resources subscribers from ConvertKit. The five recommendations are labeled accordingly.

email-autoresponder-example

If you would like to join the email list and receive this actual welcome message, simply click here.

Thanks,

Brent

How to Grow an Email List (Professionally)

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Once you have a professional lead magnet in place, there are many online strategies to further grow an email list for your business.

How to grow an email list professionally though requires one critical mindset – more on that in a moment (along with two lists of supporting resources).

The Pace to Grow Your Email List

From a timing perspective, you can go for the sprint or you can run the marathon.

If you are seeking immediate traffic to your lead magnet and email opt-in form (the sprint), you can pay Facebook and Google for sponsored ads, for example.  This short-term strategy requires a greater investment of your money than your time.

If you are in it for the long haul (the marathon), you can generate organic traffic to your website through search engine optimized content. This long-term strategy requires a greater investment of your time than your cash.

Which Pace is Better to Grow Your Email List?

The short answer is … there’s not a right or wrong answer.

You may discover the right strategy for your business is a combination of both races.

But when you plan for and run at a marathon pace, you have greater opportunities to make business adjustments as you go along.

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How to Grow an Email List (Professionally)

Independent of the pace you select, the secret of how to grow an email list professionally is one of mindset.

This may sound counter-intuitive but to grow your email list professionally…

You do not want to try to be the hero.

Yes, heroes are winners in some aspect of life. They may have achieved success in business, life, or the playing field.

But they achieved success because they were mentored by others.

In real life, the coaches are the ones to hire if you pursuing similar success.

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How to grow your email list professionally…

You want to be the guide.

(Additional resources supporting this strategy are included below for your reference.)

The truth is you already have:

  • Sufficient life experiences to be the coach for someone else.
  • Invested your own sweat and tears.
  • Succeeded and failed.

You have learned through the arena of real life.

Now it’s time to stop trying to reach some arbitrary form of success.

The world doesn’t need more heroes.

It needs more guides.

It needs you.

Maintain this critical mindset and you’ll grow your email list professionally.

Here are some additional resources that reinforce the value of being the guide over the hero:

  1. Be the Guide, Not the Hero (LinkedIn Pulse Article)
  2. Be the Guide, Not the Hero – How to Explain Your Story Better (Interview with Eric Hinson, Explainify CEO)
  3. How to be the Guide and Attract More Customers (Author Donald Miller – Interview with Dave Ramsey)
  4. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (Book by Ann Handley)
  5. How to Write Copy That Sells (Book by Ray Edwards)
  6. Marketing: A Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers (Book by Bernadette Jiwa)
  7. All Marketers are Liars Tell Stories (Book by Seth Godin)

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Graceful Resources to Grow Your Email List Professionally

  1. Recommended Website and Email Resources (along with the reasons why)
  2. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project launching June 2017)
  3. Lead Magnet Examples (email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  4. Lead Magnet Guide (5 essential characteristics of a lead magnet)
  5. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

5 Essential Characteristics of a Lead Magnet

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A lead magnet goes by many names (see what is an ethical bribe?), but what is most important to know, is that a lead magnet is essential for your business growth.

Your lead magnet inspires people to join your email mailing list when they visit your website or landing page.

Without an email mailing list, you can’t grow your business online.

Why Your Email List Matters

Without an email list, you can’t build relationships with your audience.

Without an email list, you can’t notify your audience of new posts.

Without an email list, you can’t share information with them about your new online course, ebook, project, etc.

Without an email list, you can’t segment your audience based on their interest (ConvertKit is recommended for this aspect – here’s why).

Without an email list, you can’t grow your business online and be profitable.

Without an email list, you can’t give yourself time and money back for what really matters in life.

Characteristics of a Lead Magnet

5 Essential Characteristics of a Lead Magnet

You now know that an email list is critical for your online success.

But without a good lead magnet, you can’t start or build a relevant email list.

Not all lead magnets are created equal.

A professional lead magnet has five essential characteristics.

Rather than outline the case for each of these five lead magnet characteristics in a really long and less memorable post, the essential characteristics are now packaged for your quick reference in a (you guessed it) lead magnet!

Specifically, the lead magnet is a 9-page guide titled The Five Essential Characteristics of a Lead Magnet. Click here for your complimentary copy.

You’ll also receive professional advice once a week to apply to your own lead magnet and to your corresponding web pages and email marketing.  There is no spam and you can unsubscribe from the list at any time.

If you choose to stay on the email list, you can also showcase your own lead magnet web address free of charge on the Lead Magnet Examples page here on the Graceful Resources website.

If you need professional assistance with a new lead magnet and the technical integration of web pages, opt-in forms, and email marketing, you will also receive a 25% discount to the strategic Lead Magnet Project.

Receive Your Free Guide

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent

What is an Ethical Bribe? Here’s Another Perspective

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An ethical bribe is a fancy term for an opt-in incentive to join an email mailing list.

In other words, it is a lead magnet (here are some lead magnet examples for your reference).

A Form of Business Exchange

A lead magnet or ethical bribe is a form of exchange.

You gain someone’s contact information (e.g. email address) and the other person receives your ethical bribe.

For example, the person who signs up for your mailing list receives the benefits of the ethical bribe (such as a free resource guide) and the additional benefits of the email subscription. Your business, in exchange, receives the person’s contact information (typically an email address) to stay in contact and build a relationship with the person.

A good ethical bribe will:

  1. Attract the right leads to your mailing list and business.
  2. Grow your online business automatically.
  3. Give you time back for your family and friends.

Another Way to Look at an Ethical Bribe

Long before the information age, an ethical bribe had a very common name and that is…

Free samples.

Chances are, if you walk into a local bakery or café, you will still be treated with a delicious sample from the chef.

Ethical-Bribe

Why do these small businesses give away food for free?

The reason is obvious.

The free sample demonstrates their expertise in food preparation.  If the sample is delectable, you will likely pay for more of it.

You will also feel the need to reciprocate the free offer.

In the digital world, your online ethical bribe is your free sample.

Keep it simple and related to your area of expertise.

Just like a bakery chef shouldn’t offer free wine tastings of someone else’s wine, you shouldn’t design a lead magnet that is unrelated to your line of work.

The gesture may be appreciated by someone, but the connection is lost.

Give your leads a free sample that builds trust in you and has them asking for more from the ethical bribe chef!

Ethical Bribe Example

For your additional reference, click here for an ethical bribe (lead magnet) example that outlines the other four characteristics of an essential lead magnet.

Receive the Free Guide

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent