Curated

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

The Power of Book Funnels

One of the most powerful ways to grow a list for any business person is to give something away. But when you do it, you should have a plan for what comes next.

I found this article by Russell Brunson a pretty fascinating look at how he set up a full funnel for giving away his books – and at his follow-through.

Interesting to note that he actually gives away physical books, (free + shipping) and has that built into his funnel. Since giving a physical book away is something I’ve taught multiple times in live workshops, I found this particularly relevent.

NOTE: Brunson is the owner of ClickFunnels, a popular funnel-creation software-as-a-service. Of course he recommends that service for creating your funnels. If you don’t already have a page builder, then ClickFunnels is certainly an option, and it comes with a free funnel template just for books. Otherwise, you can replicate what he talks about here with the builder of your choice.

Russell Brunson’s 2017 One Million Book Journey Update

Choosing the Right Publishing Keywords

Keywords are tricky, right?…OR are they?

This article from Dave Chesson from KindlePreneur.com will help you to not only choose the RIGHT keywords when you publish, but will also help you understand how those keywords work to help your ranking and your sales. That understanding is the key to finally “getting” the whole keyword thing.

I trust Dave, because he has studied keywords and Amazon marketing IN-DEPTH, and is the creator of one of the most popular and most effective marketing tools for authors, KDP Rocket. While I DO recommend the software, I think it’s important that you understand the rules and tools first.

This article will give you a FREE education that’s well worth your time!

The right kindle keywords can make or break your book sales. Choose wisely with these steps, my friends…Dave Chesson / KindlePreneur

Fix Your Writing BEFORE You Hire an Editor

As a self-published author, you’re responsible for a lot things on your own that would be taken care of for you if you went the traditional route. That’s good, because it means you have more control, but it also means you have a lot of expenses up front, before you ever earn a dime from your books.

One of the most important expenses is editing. It can also be one of the most costly, particularly if you dump a first draft on an editor and they have to clean up all of the things you should have already handled.

You can and should get friends and family to read your manuscripts and give you feedback, but that won’t replace doing your own diligence with finding weaknesses in your writing…and fixing them.

That can be a difficult thing to do – after all, there’s a reason for the famous “kill your darlings” advice for writers. We fall in love with our own words and deleting any of them feels downright murderous.

But you CAN learn to tighten up your own writing, before passing it off to an editor. One way to do it is to become someone else…your own writing teacher. That’s what’s suggested on EnchantedMarketing.com in an article entitled “How to Spot 8 Weaknesses in Your Writing (and Fix Them)”

When we become our own teacher, we can be both kind and tough, and perhaps it won’t feel quite so deadly to trim the fat.

For more help on fixing your writing:

Get Your Freestyle Author’s Quick Guide to Grammar, Spelling, & Punctuation Fundamentals: Help with your self-editing and proofreading, including basic pointers on common mistakes, and quizzes for helping you to become more adept at finding those errors.

Creativity is a Skill – & How to Develop It

I’ve considered myself a creative person all my life – “It’s a gift.” I’ve been told that and believed it for a very long time.

But now that I TEACH creativity, I’ve learned a very important fact: creativity can be cultivated, even in those who believe they don’t have the gift. The fact that it CAN be cultivated means that in the end, creativity is more skill than gift.

So exactly can you become a more creative indivdual? The obvious answer is to practice more creative activities, but there are other ways you can boost your inspiration that may surprise you.

And as an added bonus: they’ll have a positive effect on the overall health of your brain too. As a woman of a “certain age” that’s something I can really appreciate!

In this article from BeBrainFit.com, you’ll find 10 ways to boost your creativity. Some you may consider obvious, but I’m certain some of them will surprise you.

How to Be More Creative: 10 Surprising Ways

And for more creativity, how about picking up a FREE copy of 5 Freestyle Mindmapping and Brainstorming Exercises below.

Includes Guidance + Mind Map on Each of the Following Exercises:

Exercise 1: Mind Clearing
Exercise 2: Inside the Box
Exercise 3: Opposites
Exercise 4: To the End
Exercise 5: Unusual Answers

Finding Success When You Feel Inadequate

If it sometimes seems like everyone else gets more done than you, you’re NOT alone. I’ve had that feeling for years – since LONG before I became an entrepreneur, in fact.

Back when I was raising a baby and working full time and going to college classes, I was barely hanging on with everything that had to be done – and I was exhausted. In comparison, I had a friend who had TWO little boys, also worked full time, took MORE classes than I did, and still had time for working out at the gym and entertaining on a regular basis.To say I felt inadequate was an understatement.

And of course when it comes to working as an online entrepreneur, there are SO many who seem to get way more things accomplished in a shorter period of time than I do. Comparing myself to these over-acheivers can at times make me feel like a real slacker…which is why when I recently read Tiffany Lambert’s blog post about going from slacker to success, it really hit home for me.

Tiffany talks about how not everyone is born with a drive to be a success, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still become one. Thanks Tiff, for that reminder!

To figure out how you can create your plan for success, even if you feel inadequate, read through the six steps at Tiffany’s blog. Step #3 is all about how to go it Freestyle, and step # 6 is one I’m just starting to master.

From Slacker to Success: How I Turned Myself Into a 6 Figure Entrepreneur