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A Funnel or a Straw? Thoughts From Stretch Yourself Challenge

Every year in September, I join Kelly McCausey’s Stretch Yourself Challenge.

It’s a content marketing challenge that helps people reach new heights of both productivity AND satisfaction with their business presence.Every year, I learn more about myself and get better at choosing my goals. Last year, I had a bit of an epiphany about what I had and had not been doing with my content.

As a result, Kelly made a video about why YOU may want to build up long-term content (AKA evergreen content) and what it can do for you when you do. She calls it: Do You Have An Offer Funnel or a Straw?

Do You Have a Funnel or a Straw?

This year’s challenge is coming up! If you want to improve YOUR Content Marketing, and make sure you have a strong, healthy funnel, I urge you to join us for the challenge.

BONUS: Signing up before August 13 will earn you the Early Bird Bonus of a print copy of the Challenge Guide.

2021 Stretch Yourself Challenge

How We Spark Our Creativity!

In the creative business community, there’s nothing worse than coming up short on ideas when you need to be busy producing. Authors and artists will tell you of their writer’s block or those empty canvas blues. Even the most successful creative entrepreneurs get stuck sometimes.

The difference?

They have some interesting ways of sparking ideas when they need them the most. I reached out to several of my creative colleagues to ask them to share a few of those ideas with you.

Read on for some unique tips that will get you on your way to creating again, and be sure to add your own thoughts and methods in the comments section!

Adalia John Rekindled Her Spark

Staying inspired was easy for me. Maybe, it was because of my 4 children, whom I raised single-handedly. My creative spark kept me fired-up. Every challenge was met with a determination to overcome it.

I brought that same determination and creativity to my online business but when my vision wasn’t realized, I lost my creative spark.

Guided Meditation Rekindled My Creative Spark

A meditative state is achieved by focusing on a sound, your breathing, or a physical feeling. The goal is to remain in the present and be self-aware. You embrace your thoughts instead of judging them. The more disciplined you are with meditation, the stronger your mind and body connection will become.  You’ll have a greater understanding of who you are and the direction you want to take your life.

A meditative state that’s achieved by listening to someone’s voice is called Guided meditation. A facilitator tells you what to focus on. The focus could be to overcome a specific challenge, such as getting out of a creative funk. Studies (posted on Science Daily) suggest that some forms of meditation can promote creative thinking.

Guided meditation helped me to rekindle my creativity. I gained clarity for connecting with those who will benefit from my work, and I attracted the people and the resources to help me achieve my vision. Have you lost your creative spark? Guided meditation could get you back on track.

Adalia John is the mother of 4 adult children and the grandma of the extraordinary Jasmine. Her conversations with women from all walks of life, (especially entrepreneurs)  help them identify their success-stoppers and confidence-destroyers and the tools to annihilate them. Her passionate purpose is to offer no-nonsense solutions coaching to help others live their vision. Visit Adalia at Adalia Confidence And Success Blog.

Gabby Conde  Scribbles Her Way to Great Ideas

One of the most surprising ways I tap into creativity came from an art therapy technique to get clarity. It’s called a Scribble Drawing.

And just like its name, that’s what you do. First, you think of what you need clarity on. Then you scribble. When you feel the drawing is complete, stop, and look for 1-3 shapes. You can label these with numbers. Then ask yourself what they represent. From there, use these as prompts for what your soul wants you to create.

I’ve used the Scribble Drawing to kickstart products and products and to find insightful resolutions to decisions.

Gabby Conde has worked as a healer and psychic since 2008 professionally, and has taken courses, received certifications, and is finishing her Master’s of Science in Clinical Counseling next year (1 more internship to go!). She has industry experience and years of working with clients, and has worked in digital marketing and content creation since 2006. She has found that her clients and other business owners often struggle with creating content, and she loves being able to help with that. Find Gabby at A Cup of Zen.

Rena Tucker – A Brainstorming Buddy!

This may be counterintuitive–and a bit edgy–but the best and most consistent way I’ve found to spark creativity and break through a creative block is to call up one of my artist buddies and ask if I can coach or brainstorm with them on *their* business or artwork. By this, I don’t mean critique the art itself, but kick around all the ideas I can think of about how they can leverage it.

By coming up with different ways to present their art, promote it, price it, find new buyers, reengage with collectors, come up with seasonal offerings, etc., I get tons of ideas about things I could do for my own art and business while bypassing my tendency to overthink it.

By the time we’re done talking about their art, I’m so fired up with possibilities, I can barely wait to get back to my studio to paint and promote!

Rena Tucker is a commissioned portrait painter and expert on artwork commissioning. She works with smart, talented visual artists of all genres and media who want to develop a commission-based art businesses without taking years to get established. Find Rena at R Tucker Studios.

Amanda Myers is One Creative Cat Lady

My 6 cats inspire me to be Creative. I’m a photographer and they love to pose and model for treats. I’m always looking for fun and new props and ideas to create cool photos of them.

I also come up with random creative ideas while driving, taking a shower, and I sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night with an idea!

Sometimes when I’m stuck on a point, all I have to do is talk out loud to someone else—and they don’t even need to answer! Just saying my thoughts out aloud sometimes Creates an Ah-Hah! moment and the New Creative Idea is formed.

I am a morning person and so is my cat, Summer. She was me up at 4 or 5am every morning. I spend the first few hours of the day photographing products in my studio and editing photographs. While shooting and editing, I come up with even more ideas for new photo shoots and creative projects.

There are times when a creative block lasts longer than the usual. I meditate and relax in such times, spending quiet moments petting my cats. The peace and joy it brings is a bonus to get the creativity flowing as soon as I have unwound.

Amanda Myers is a pet and product photographer, whose love for pet photography was inspired by her Aunt who loves to dress up her dogs and cats in holiday costumes.  Amanda has adopted 6 rescue cats that love to model with pet products and are always excited for their next photography project. Visit Amanda at Create Meow.

Kelly McCausey Creates Dream Teams!

I’ve derived unexpected and intriguing insights about community building from playing an online video game. Sound bonkers? It’s true!

The game I play is called ‘Don’t Starve Together’. It is a survival/base building game. When you play you choose one of about a dozen possible characters. Each character has a specific set of strengths and weaknesses and a few of them have been designed to compliment one another in an obvious way. Some characters can thrive independently, but time proves it’s more fun when you cooperate with others.

After several years, I decided to begin streaming my game play on Twitch.tv. This has brought me into contact with other dedicated players and we’ve enjoyed creating dream teams who can get far in the game. We build bigger bases, conquer enemies faster, enjoy more of the benefits.

All of this cooperation and community inspires me. Don’t I do the same thing in business? I have strengths and weaknesses, I find and cooperate with other people who fill my gaps and bring special abilities.  Just like I don’t enjoy playing the game alone. I don’t enjoy doing business alone all the time.

By embracing community, we’re building business together & I love it.

Kelly McCausey is a blogger, podcaster and business coach. With a focus on content marketing and community building, she knows you want to publish content you’re proud of for people you love. Connect with Kelly at Love People And Make Money.

Val Selby – Runaway Creative

When I am really stuck in an unproductive rut, I runaway. I don’t just close the computer and leave it for a while, I take off on some kind of trip and leave the computer at home. We’re lucky that our daughter lives in a place we love to visit so we can go crash at their house any time.

I’m finding that if I’ve completely lost my creativity and motivation it’s because I didn’t realize how many days in a row I’d worked way too many hours. I need a full reset. It’s one of the tough things about working for yourself and loving what you do. Next thing you know it’s been 14 days straight and your brain says…NO MORE!

When I need that midday boost, I’ll switch the music to get me bouncing in my chair and more energized. I have some of my favorites set up in pandora so I can quickly switch stations as needed. Could be 80’s hair bands, 90’s hip hop, heavy metal, or Lizzo lol Just depends on what mood I need to get into or out of.

Val Selby is an empowerment coach to women over 40. Helping them find the confidence and grab dreams forgotten as they took care of their families. You can guarantee there will be belly laughs even as you are working through some hard stuff to create Your Bold Life. Check in with Val at Your Bold Life.

Robin O’Neal Smith Cleans House!

My favorite way to spark creativity is to do something different. I spend far too much time at my desk, and when I feel like I’m not thinking straight or I have lost my creativity, I look for something totally different than sitting at a desk.

I find if I go for a walk, enjoy nature, relax by a stream, river, or fountain, I feel more creative and energized. For some reason, the sound of running water usually gets my creative juices flowing.

Doing something fun often sparks creativity. Riding bikes, walking, dancing, kayaking, and cooking will spark creativity.

Strange as it may seem, cleaning my house also seems to get my creativity stirred up. I hate to clean. But when I clean my house, I always come up with new and creative ideas for writing, client work, and things around the house.

I also plan little getaways for just a day or two to do something different than the norm.

Usually, I have my tablet out on the way home, and I’m writing up a storm, filling the tablet with ideas for stories, projects, client ideas, etc.

I’m convinced it is the change of focus. When you switch gears in your brain to something totally different, you set off the creative sparks.

Robin O’Neal Smith is a freelance writer and virtual expert, who has learned how to get noticed by the search engines. With eleven articles on the first page of Google, she has mastered the art of SEO.  She provides quality writing and video content for clients, as well as editing, formatting, and ebook publishing. Find Robin at Expert Content Creation.

Maria Silvo, On The Other Hand…

Creativity differs from person to person. Over time, I have discovered ways to express mine. A technique that gave me amazing results was writing with my non-dominant left hand. It’s pretty much like automatic writing that needed no conscious thought. It was hard to fathom how I was able to create amazing children’s stories in 15 minutes. It felt like connecting to an invisible force, my inner child perhaps, who was feeding me these stories. It was draining and after doing five, I stopped.

Other techniques that work for me are asking “what if” questions, doodling or drawing in circular motion, watching how-to videos or movies, doing cross-crawl brain gym exercises, looking up or to the right side or moving my eyes back and forth from left to right, taking breaks, and thinking hard about a problem or question and then totally abandoning it.

I haven’t been using these techniques deliberately to spark my creativity. Creativity strikes anytime and anywhere and when it does, I act on it as soon as I can. I write or plot out my ideas on paper, computer, cellphone, or any surface I can write on. I open Adobe Photoshop and create. I draw.

I have many unfinished projects as a result of my impulsive, creative behavior. However, I also have many completed ones. I am gradually coming to terms with my creative process. That’s just how I am. For now at least. It can change as I evolve.

Maria Silvo is a self-taught artist, product creator, and creative entrepreneur. She runs Artsy Challenge where she sells private label, low content products like hand-drawn coloring designs, journals, embellishments, among others. Her vision is to make her site a place where doubting creatives can start creating. Check in with Maria at Artsy Challenge.

Karen Robinson Changed Her Thinking

I grew up believing that I was not creative or artistic. I found art classes stressful because my art did not look as good as my classmates. Home EC class resulted in a finished skirt and blouse, but I never wore them because of the flaws I knew existed. I somehow thought being creative equaled having talent in all things crafty.

I experienced a change in my mindset after being injured in a speedboat accident. The medication made my vision too blurry for in-depth reading. I stumbled upon art junk journaling and could not believe how relaxing it was to cut paper, paint, and design. It opened a different channel of thinking for me!  I purchased “The Artist’s Way” and lots of supplies.

Becoming a creative being helped me become “unlocked” when feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unmotivated in my business. Time blocking to include time in my workday for creativity is a game changer. I have learned that creativity is not about talent as that improves over time, it is about having time to play, relax, and let the mind wander. The lesson is that creativity spurs us to grow and develop spiritually, personally, and professionally when we let go of perfectionism and go with the flow.

Karen Robinson is a licensed therapist with 22 years of experience. Karen is service driven, specializing in trauma recovery, holistic care, and transformation. “Heal Thrive Dreams, LLC” opened with her daughters to create an impact for trauma survivors globally.  Services include coaching, therapy, virtual courses, digital products, and on-line memberships. Karen loves reading and spending time with her family. Visit Karen at Heal Thrive Dream.

Amy Smereck Makes Something New From Old Ideas

I have discovered that content creation requires Mining, Melding, and Time. I believe that there are no purely original ideas (or if there are, they are extremely rare.) Mostly our creativity flows from being able to make something new from all that we have learned and information that we are continually taking in. This is the Mining step.

There are some active techniques that we can use for the Melding process in which we mix, process, fold, and combine ideas into something new. One is to “photograph” your topic in your mind. Use the zoom feature of your imaginary camera to get an extreme closeup of one aspect. Alternatively, zoom out or use a “panoramic” viewpoint to get a bird’s eye view. Sometimes changing the perspective gives us some new angles to work with. (I list more Melding techniques in my Content Brainstorm Book.)

The last component is Time. Often we have taken in plenty of information and maybe even are overloaded. Our subconscious mind does a pretty good job of helping us with the Melding process. How many of us have had great insights come to us when we are doing something mundane like taking a walk or washing the car? I believe that’s because we have given our subconscious mind some quiet time to work for us. It’s important to build a time buffer into any creative project so you can tap into this resource.

Amy Smereck was Director of Marketing for an I.T. firm before launching an independent freelance career helping clients with copywriting, content marketing, market research and business strategy. She helps others who are establishing freelance businesses and writing-based side hustles at Fruitful Freelancing.

And Then There’s Me: I Have Ideas!

I do get stuck sometimes, but it’s rarely for a lack of ideas. If anything, I sometimes have TOO many ideas. That’s what happens when you practice creativity for fun AND business purposes.

That’s also why one of the best things I’ve ever done to both harness the power of my creativity, and to spark more if it, was starting an idea file. You can think of your idea file as your “create someday” list. For me, it’s how I keep track, how I organize, and how I stay inspired.

Ideas come to me sometimes when I least expect them, and that isn’t always the most convenient time to examine them and plan them out. So when I’m busy on one project and an idea for another strikes me, being able to file it away without losing it frees my brain to continue what I’m working on. And if I ever do get stuck, those nuggets are still around, waiting for me to tend to them.

Some items in my idea file are fully formed thoughts, but many of them will be a word, a sentence, a description of an image or a smell. Does all of that translate to an actual finished product? No, not always. But sometimes it leads me to something great!

What About You?

Please share your own creative insights in the comments!

Sign Up to Download this Blog Post as a PDF and I’ll Send You an Additional 52 Creative Exercises + 7 Innovative Examples of Creativity in Action

Saying Yes to the Stretch

What scares you when it comes to growing your business?

There are a LOT of things in building and growing an online business (or ANY business for that matter) that will seem big and scary and intimidating at first. Some people never progress beyond a certain point because of it.

I often quote a coach of mine who says:  “You can have growth, and you can have comfort. You just can’t have them both at the same time.”

Growth is by its very nature uncomfortable. It causes you to stretch outside of your comfort zone and do the things that are hard and scary. When that happens, your brain may start sending you signals to retreat back into that quiet comfortable place and just forget about it.

Brains will do that. They have a built-in mechanism for protecting you from those scary things, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep you away from “danger,” and in the safe space.

But if you’ve ever done something big and scary and pulled it off, you know that magic can happen when you tackle the hard things. Good stuff is going on out there, just outside your comfort zone.

Don’t get me wrong, having a comfort zone is a good thing. It’s important to have a safe, comfortable place for peace of mind and recharging your batteries.

But sooner or later, if you want something more, something bigger, something NEW, you’ll need to stretch a little. That’s why every year, I join Kelly McCausey’s Stretch Yourself Challenge.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have great big huge results every single time. Heck, some years I haven’t even been a “finisher.” (That just means I haven’t completed the designated requirements to win a prize.) But I always get something valuable from the experience, even without a prize.

Whether it’s a new connection with another entrepreneur, or a new insight into my own personal obstacles, I’ve never been sorry about doing the Challenge – not once. And sometimes, something truly magical happens.

This year has been a tough one.

When it came time to sign up for the challenge this year, I very nearly skipped it. But I decided that my apathy was a good sign that I needed the challenge more than ever.

I started the month feeling pretty “blah” about the whole thing. Of course I jumped into the forum and tried very, very hard to manufacture the excitement I’d need to carry me through a month of stretching, but I was distracted and not all that thrilled.

Then, in a completely unexpected way, and at a completely unexpected time, I had a breakthrough moment – a moment where I got some clarity about what I’ve been doing (and NOT doing) in my business that really took my breath away.

I suddenly just knew I hadn’t really been serving my own needs very well – but on top of that, I hadn’t been making my knowledge and content as accessible to my audience as I could be either. After all, content marketing is about making that content AVAILABLE, right?

I have reasons (excuses?) for why I haven’t done it very well, and I’ve had PLANS for a long time to do it better, but this month I finally got really, really clear on what’s been going on. And that clarity makes it so much easier to tackle the problem head-on.

Suddenly, the challenge got exciting!

I posted about my epiphany in the forum, and had some wonderful feedback about it, including some ❤LOVE❤ from some very dear email subscribers who are also doing the SYC.

So why am I telling you all this?

I want you to know that sometimes, when you start S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G out of your comfort zone, you may be 100% on board and excited…and then your brain starts sending you danger signals.

You may think the universe is telling you that you’re making the wrong choice because it seems like all sorts of bad things start to show up right after you start to shift and grow.

Other times, you may feel like your enthusiasm just isn’t there and you aren’t sure you want to stretch at all, but then you do, and WONDERFUL things happen.

Stretching is like that. It’s unpredictable and often scary. But it can also be exhiliarating and rewarding.

If you’re ready to do a little stretching, a little growing, a little improving – or a LOT of stretching, growing, and improving, I recommend you get the Self Study Version of the Stretch Yourself Challenge.

What Is Stretch Yourself Challenge Exactly?

The SYC is a content marketing challenge that comes with a training manual PACKED with challenges that you get to use to improve your business. And even though it’s a self-study training, you won’t be alone!

You’ll also get access to the private member’s forum, where you can ask questions, get feedback, report your successes, and meet new potential JV partners and collaborators.

Joining will give you the tools and opportunity to examine where exactly in your business you want growth to happen next, and the training to make it a reality.

With the Self-Study Stretch Yourself Challenge, you get to stretch all year long, and it’s made easier with a guide that shows you what to do, and the support you need to keep from retreating back to your comfort zone.

 

Stretch Yourself Challenge

Stretching When It’s NOT Easy

Difficult? Yes! Impossible? No! – handwriting on a napkin with a cup of espresso coffee

This week was the official kick-off of the 10th anniversay of the Stretch Yourself Challenge – a content marketing challenge designed to help you stretch out of your comfort zone and do great big things with your content.

I’ve done this challenge a few times in years past (at least twice, possibly three times, I can’t exactly remember.) As a challenge participant in the past, I wasn’t particularly successful as a Finisher. I won’t make excuses, but there WERE some pretty serious personal crises that happened in the past that interfered with my progress.

So why on earth did I choose to participate THIS year, when I’ll be away on vacation for more than half the challenge period?

Well, for one thing, that makes it a real stretch, doesn’t it?

But it’s not just that. Even though I’m going on vacation, and will be HAPPY to take some time off and spend with loved ones, I have some very real business goals that I want to keep the momentum going on.

Given that my “typical” vacation planning mode is to just shut down all new activity, and get into a what’s-it-going-to-take-to-maintain mindset, this is a big new thing for me. Which of course is the whole POINT of the Stretch Yourself Challenge: to do big new things.

Kelly McCausey, the host of the challenge, likes to pose the question: “What if it were easy?” That’s to get people thinking about what they would love to do in their business if it were easy. What could you accomplish? What would your goals look like if you didn’t have to worry about the tech challenges, and lack of skills, and all of those things that make things hard.

But this one is NOT going to be easy. When you stretch yourself, it’s meant to be a little uncomfortable. There’s a time and a place for a comfort zone, and when you’re looking for growth, that isn’t the time or place.

A very wise woman once told me: “You can have comfort or you can have growth, but you can’t have them both at the same time.”

The Stretch Yourself Challenge is a points-based challenge. In order to be a Finisher, I’ll have to complete at least one of the challenges from the guide, and also get at least 50 points, based on various activities (yes, this blog post is for points.)

Top points earners can win extra prizes, but I’m not even looking toward that. Even though I’m normally a pretty competitive person, I’m sure I won’t be a TOP points earner because of course I won’t be here the entire time. But I do plan to be a FINISHER and that’s going to be a pretty big stretch.

Interested? (I know you are!)

Stretch Yourself Challenge

NOTE: Even though the time has passed to join the LIVE Challenge for 2019, you can get the Stretch Yourself Challenge Self-Study Version ANY TIME!

Enjoy and be challenged!

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It’s NOT About Resolutions – It’s About Actions

[Email from Tuesday, January 8]

This time of year stirs up lots of talk of change, of goals, and of course, of “resolutions.” I do it too. For one thing, new beginnings are attractive to all of us. We get to leave behind what’s not working and start fresh.

IF we actually do that.

I’m tightening back up on my nutritional habits – not as a “New Year’s Resolution” but because the holidays are over and my relaxed habits of eating and drinking during the chaos of the holiday season don’t serve me well on a regular basis.

That doesn’t mean that I stressed or worried over those relaxed habits while I was doing them. I didn’t. I knew that during the holidays, I would eat a few more carbs; drink a little (or a lot) more alcohol, and not eat enough nutrient-rich vegetables.

But I also knew that it wasn’t my norm, and that I could deal with a brief period of “slipping” and still be fine. The same is true of my work habits.

They definitely got more relaxed during the holidays too. Taking half days off because John was here, getting less done even during my work hours because of distractions, planning trips out of town during days that are normally work days.

Of course, working at home gives me freedom to do those things, but I wouldn’t want to do them ALL the time. I would end up NOT having a business at all if I did that.

The thing is, whether you’re looking to change your health, your weight, your business, or your success, it’s all about your habits. It’s about what you do ALL the time. Not just once a year in January.  It’s just that January is a nice starting point for changing habits.

But changing habits means doing things differently – EVERY day. Having something different, means that you have to DO things different. You have to take different ACTIONS. Not just “resolve” to have something different.

It’s about what you DO.

What are you doing differently?

What are you leaving behind?

What are you taking on that’s new?

(You know that if you’re taking on something new, you also have to leave something behind, right? Gotta make room!)

If you want to make 2019 your MOST productive year ever, I have a few ways you can do that.

First, there’s this:

Make 2019 Your Most Productive Year Yet

Your Best Year Yet Super Stack is a hand-curated collection of the exact tools and resources you need to make 2019 your most productive year yet, including:

  • 16 premium ecourses ($2,328.99 value)
  • 4 bestselling ebooks ($212.96 value)
  • 10 goal-setting mind map templates ($30.00 value)
  • Private support community ($117.00 value)
  • Exclusive coupon codes for physical planners ($25.00 – $50.00 value).
  • 3 downloadable workbooks ($79.00)
  • 3x months access to Focuster ($87.00)

This is a super bundle from the people who put together the Write, Publish, and Profit Bundle last summer.  Now they’ve put together a bundle that will allow you to become a super-productive entrepreneur, with products and resources that cover the following focus areas:

  • STEP 1: TIME MANAGEMENT
  • STEP 2: GOAL SETTING
  • STEP 3: SUCCESS HABITS
  • STEP 4: MASTER YOUR MINDSET
  • STEP 5: PLAN YOUR BEST LIFE
  • STEP 6: LEAD OTHERS
  • BUT THAT’S NOT ALL – There are BONUSES to accelerate your results – see the page for details.

This is thousands of dollars worth of resources to help you become more focused and productive for one very low price, and it’s ONLY available for a week. Check it out!

Your Best Year Yet

Another way to learn to be more productive and successful is to find people who are successful and productive and get their stories.

You know that I don’t think you can completely copy someone else’s steps to success, but you can certainly learn from them, and apply the parts that fit your business.

Angela Wills is publicly sharing what she did last year to explode her business and have her first 6-figure year. Angela ALREADY had what many would consider a successful business, but she had some milestone breakthroughs last year, and you can find out what they were – for FREE.

Sign up for Angela’s Milestone Year

And finally, it’s no secret that I am a fan of creating content. Content is both WHAT you sell, and HOW you get found by the people you sell to. Learning to do it right, and do it quickly, is crucial.

Which is why I will be recommending Amy’s Content Profit Hacks for the month of January, while it’s on sale. It’s a 90+ page PDF training guide with step-by-step instructions for creating content FAST. It also includes over-the-shoulder videos AND a cheatsheet.

Inside Content Profit Hacks, you will discover the secrets to creating all kinds of content fast in a fraction of the time!

Coupon code: JANUARY10

Content Profit Hacks

And speaking of content, if you did NOT sign up for the 30-Day Info Product Creation Challenge during Blogmas, it’s STILL available on my blog here:

Turn Your Content Into Products – And Doors to Your Business

Let’s start the year with some NEW ACTIONS, shall we?

Much Happiness and Success!

Freestyle Friday [Week-at-a-Glance]

(Freestyle Friday from January 4)

Welcome to your first Freestyle Friday email of 2019. This is your week-at-a-glance summary of everything that’s been going on throughout the week.

Let’s Rock 2019 Together!

As I’ve been mentioning for the last few weeks, my holiday chaos extended past just the regular holiday dates. Yesterday I had to take my Mom to a doctor appointment (I pretty much have to always go with her anymore, because she needs help remembering what’s discussed.) Today, I have an appointment of my own, so I’m out of the office for most of the day.

On Monday, my darling hubby John will FINALLY go back to work. LOL Not that I haven’t enjoyed the extra time with him through the holidays, but I’m ready to get BUSY!

I have some big plans for growing and some changes on the horizon, and I’m excited to start sharing some of that with you.

It will be a gradual reveal, because I’m still working some of that out for myself. Growing always means that something has to be let go, and as I mentioned before, letting go of things can be the hardest thing for me to do. I get attached to the way I do things, so when change is going to happen for me, I often take a long time to think things over and plan, and then once I’m ready it’s like I jump off the cliff.

So yeah, it’s scary. But also very exciting.

I WANT to continue coaching. In fact I want to maybe even do more of it this year, because helping someone find their way is SO satisfying.

I will more than likely be letting go of the services part of my business. That one’s hard. It’s one of those things that I had already scaled back on quite a bit, but I wouldn’t let go of completely.

Partly because it’s always been a source of income that I could use as a “back-up” and partly because I wanted to keep my skills sharp.

But I can keep my skills sharp by working on my own stuff, AND move my business further along at the same time. Holding on to the services part is holding me back. I know that, so it’s time to let it go.

I have considered taking on a few people to teach them how to do what I do, and then referring clients to them, since I do still get requests for that kind of work (mostly through referral, since I haven’t advertised that in a very long time.) 

That’s something that I’ve got my planning pad out about, to see what that would look like. If you think that doing book formatting/design is something you’d be interested in doing for clients, let me know. I’ll keep you in mind when I decide what I’m doing about it. 

I also plan to do some streamlining of my “regular” courses/workshops, and turn them into Evergreen Self-Study Courses, with optional coaching add-ons. And of course, I want to put out some quality lead magnets that funnel subscribers to those courses. My affiliates will be able to send people to those gifts and then earn commissions when someone buys something after they sign up. (You can get on my affiliate email list below.)

And finally, I am playing around with another idea that I think will be pretty great, but I’m still working out some details there, so stay tuned. That one will have to remain a surprise, at least for now. 🙂

I still currently have a lot of my old product delivery pages on my regular Freestyle Author website, but I plan to get everything moved out of there and into Kartra in the next couple of months or so. I’ve decided that the only thing I’m going to keep on WordPress is my blog.

Again, I DO tend to move slowly when it comes to big changes – until I don’t. Then I will take a big, seemingly sudden plunge. That’s just how I roll. LOL

True story: when I was 24 years old, living in the town I grew up in, divorced and working as an optometric assistant, there were some things going on in my life that just weren’t…satisfactory.

Things were percolating in the back of my brain for quite some time, and then one day, when I was trying to talk a friend’s high-school-aged daughter into joining the military, something just clicked.

I made 4 phone calls to 4 service branch recruiters asking for information to be sent to me in the mail. I heard back from 2. (Air Force and Marines.) I chose the Air Force strictly because their basic training was shorter.

The thing is, that decision LOOKED very sudden to most people. But my mind was seeking change for quite some time before I made that move.

I’ve spent the last year looking for change for my business.

This is the year it’s happening.

Watch me.

Now, let’s get to this week’s highlights and deals.

Here’s what’s on the agenda this week:

  • Going, Going… – A ONE-DAY sale on a way to make money with super-short fiction.
  • Business Topics – I have a fun gift for you in the Business Section this week, showing you THREE great ways to plan your products for 2019 using done-for-you content.
  • Writing/Publishing Topics – Content Hacking is a GOOD thing! I love this one.
  • *Moneymakers – For those “side hustle” items. If you’re interested in adding other streams of income, you’ll want to check here.
  • Recommended Affiliate Programs – This is where I will tell you about affiliate programs you can sign up to promote and make money!
  • Gift Corner – Check This Week’s Freebies.

Thanks for being a subscriber and ENJOY!


Going, Going…

Flash Publishing Profits –  Mike Nielsen has put this one on sale until tonight at midnight (no coupon needed.) It will show you how to write flash fiction stories and publish them as individual books. It covers how to structure and write stories as short as 800-1,000 words, and 4 different methods of structuring your stories into a series that makes sense.

Price goes back up after Midnight Tonight.

NOTE: Flash fiction is a great way to make some royalties AND hone your craft at the same time. And as further incentive to get this one right now, you can consider entering your best flash fiction in the Writer’s Digest Short-Short Story Competition (for stories of 1500 words or less.) You can win magazine publication and some pretty great prizes, including up to $3000 in cash. The deadline to enter is January 14, so better get writing!


Business Topics

Coach Glue’s Planner Sale – I’m putting these planners in the business section this week, because I’m going to give you a little bit of a lesson with it on 3 ways you can use these planners for all year product creation and income. You can download your free tutorial below, but remember when you order your planners, use coupon code: 2019 to get your discount.

By the way, there’s a bonus mentioned in the free download too, so check it out and see three ways you can plan a year of products with Coach Glue Planners.

Freestyle Planner Brainstorming


Writing/Publishing Topics

Content Profit Hacks  from Amy Harrop is a 90+ page PDF training guide with step-by-step instructions for creating content FAST. It also includes over-the-shoulder videos AND a cheatsheet.

I love this one, because it shows how to produce a ton of great content, using mostly free online tools. Some of these I didn’t know about, but am sure happy to learn about. I wrote up a longer email with my review, and since Kartra doesn’t provide an email archive page, I’ve decided to start archiving emails on the blog.

Be sure to use coupon code: JANUARY10

You can read this one here:

How Can One Word Have Almost Opposite Meanings?


Moneymakers

This section is for those things that you may not want to be the full focus of your business, but that can earn you more money by adding them to your income streams. (Some side hustles can eventually BECOME the main focus, so if you find one you love – BONUS!)

This Week:

Speed Profit System– Amanda’s content creation training will show you how to execute and create content for your blogs, books, products, etc. AND how to profit from it with both long-term and quick cash strategies.


Recommended Affiliate Programs

If you want to make money by recommending your favorite products and services to your list, this is where I’ll share some of the programs I personally recommend.

Cindy Bidar – Cindy’s products are an easy sell, and fans of her work buy again and again. She also has a 6-Figure Systems membership, which would mean recurring income! All of that adds up to easy money. If you get her Perpetual Profit Machine training above, you can use that information to set up funnels and put strategic recommendations to Cindy’s products and membership inside. (That’s what I’m doing myself!)

The Laptop Lifestyle Business Club – Once you join the club, you will want to sing the praises, because it really is a great community. And once people join the club, that means recurring commissions for you. Get signed up today and be ready to promote the big launch coming next month.

Join MY Program – With the new year just around the corner, you can look for me to start sending out new affiliate opportunities soon. My affiliate email list is ONLY for affiliate information and links. I don’t email other offers to that list. 

NOTE: Do YOU have an affiliate program? If you do, and if you think your products might be a good fit for my audience, be sure to tell me about it. Send me the link to check out your products/services and to join your program. 🙂


Gift Corner

In addition to all of the great products, books, and training that are available for purchase each week, there are also some fabulous freebies out there!

Freestyle Planner Brainstorming – In case you missed it above, this is a free tutorial on how to use Coach Glue planners to schedule your product releases for an entire year. (Details a bonus for buying through my link.)

A Year of Business Plans – If you haven’t checked it out yet, go get Angela’s Digital Marketer’s Business Planner, and while you’re there be sure to watch the video that she just added showing how she created a content plan for a full year.

5 Simple But Powerful List-Building Improvements – This on-demand training from Cindy will show you how to make improvements to your list-building that won’t take a lot of time, but WILL add a lot of money to your bottom line.

Karmic Mastery – Free Training: What it takes to truly change your karma and attract the positive circumstance you want into your life.

Free Soul Realignment Online Training Event – This is the one that will show you the powerful new training that I am currently going through myself. It reveals how to unlock our Divine gifts in order to manifest the human experience we CHOOSE.


Wrap Up & Submission Info

Hope you enjoyed this issue of Freestyle Friday Week-At-A-Glance.

Please always let me know what you like, what you don’t like, and what you want more of. ​​​​​​​And if you just want to share your thoughts or say hi, please do that as well.

I love to hear from you.

As always…

Much Happiness and Success!

Teresa

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