Just as I am always trying to share what I know with you, I try to seek out others to teach me.
Today I am beginning a new course on building an email list and writing a newsletter. (For those of you who are already on my list, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Hang in – things are about to get better.)
If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, now is the time to do it.
Not only will I share with you what I’m learning, but you’ll get to see it in action. Please note that I am not implying that I will be taking the lessons I am getting from someone else and giving them to you. That would be unethical and not something that I would ever do because its not right.
However, what I can do is to tell you about the course in general and my experiences taking it, plus each time you get my newsletter, you get a real live demonstration.
So, please, sign up for my newsletter and we’ll all learn together!
Last time, we talked about the list and why it’s important. Basically, people who trust you enough to give you their name and email address are interested in hearing more of what you have to say, and eventually, those people could become buyers.
So how do you get the names and email addresses?
Well there are two things that you need to do. First, offer them something of value in exchange for their name and email address. It could be an e-book, a 5 part mini lesson, an audio recording or whatever you want.
The key here is to make it valuable.
Yes, you are giving it away, but this free gift should showcase your expertise. You want your readers to think “wow, if I get all of this for free, imagine how great her products are”. Take some time to really make this something special.
Next, you have to communicate with your subscribers.
They signed up for your newsletter because they wanted to hear more from you. Your newsletter is a chance to show off your knowledge even more and to help your subscribers get to know you as a person.
The more they get to know you, to like and trust you, the more likely they are to buy from you.
Your newsletter gets your name out there and lets people get to know you better. It is one of the keystones of a successful online business.
One of the things that you hear quite often from internet marketers is about the power of the list.
List? What list?
The list is your list of all of the people who have signed up to read your newsletter. The list is one of the most important aspects of your online business.
The list is made up of all of those people who comprise your target market. OK, well not all of them, not yet, but getting to know the people on your list is a good way to get to know your target market.
So how do you get people on your list?
You need a few things:
A way to collect the names and email addresses
A way to send out your newsletter
Something of value (a free gift) that will get people to sign up for your list
The first two things on the list can be covered with an autoresponder. An autoresponder lets you write and send newsletters and emails to your list. It will also help you collect the names and email addresses and keep track of them for you.
There are a lot of autoresponders out there, and many of them are free. There is only one, however, that you should be using: Aweber.
Aweber is very inexpensive – less than $20 per month. Aweber is extremely reliable and it is the only autoresponder that you will ever need.
Trust me on this, please. You won’t regret it.
You see, when people tried to tell me to start with Aweber, I didn’t listen. I used another program instead that didn’t offer me as much as Aweber did and cost just a little bit more. How dumb was that?
By the time I finally figured out that Aweber was the better deal, I had over 700 subscribers on my list with the other company.
And since it’s not ethical to just transfer people over from one list to another, I had to ask them all to re-subscribe. I lost a lot of people that way and there was no need for it.
So trust me when I say, start with Aweber and you won’t regret it. It’s the service that people making the big dollars online use. Pay attention next time someone asks you for an email address to sign up for a newsletter. You’ll see who’s using what.
Signing up for your autoresponder is step one in harnessing the power of the list. Next time, we’ll talk about how to get those names and addresses.
Does it make sense that at some point in your online business you need to stop learning?
Well, yes and no.
I believe that we are all lifelong learners, or at least that we should be. There is always more out there for us to learn, whether it’s something entirely new or a subject we’ve dealt with for years.
On the other hand, when learning stands in the way of action, it’s time to stop learning and start doing!
Some people get caught up in learning, especially when they’re new to online business. There are so many people out there who have so much to share. Some do it with free teleseminars and free ebooks, and others have mini courses and year long courses and all kinds of learning products to sell.
It’s hard to know where to begin and even harder to know when to stop. What if the next great idea is the one that will help you make a million dollars? How can you stop?
Here’s a little hint or two: anything that guarantees you will make a million dollars is probably not worth whatever they’re charging. RUN.
Almost every well respected internet marketer out there has something of value to teach you. And in many cases, it’s the same lessons, especially when you’re a beginner.
The challenge for you is this: find one person or program that you believe in and can afford. Do some checking to make sure they’re legit. Follow up on the testimonials they provide and ask others what they know about that person.
Once you’ve decided to invest with them, buy their product or join their membership site, take a good hard look at what you’re getting for your money. Does it seem like a good value? Do you understand most of it and can you ask questions if you don’t? How’s the customer service?
If everything is to your satisfaction, then you’ve got yourself a winner. Now the hard work begins.
Here is the real lesson that you need to learn:
You can become successful with almost any respectable internet marketer’s program or product. The secret is not in their learning materials: it is in YOU. Your actions alone make the difference whether you succeed or not.
When you first begin your online business, there’s so much to do and learn. It can easily become overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
There are a lot of sources for help available to you. Consider taking advantage of some of them. You will take some of the workload off of you and allow you to really focus on what you do best.
Start with a list of the things that you’re good at doing. Maybe you’re great at writing or networking, but web design is way out of your league.
Now write down the things that are frustrating you.
When I first went online, web design made me crazy. There were days when I would literally spend 8 hours or more trying to get my site to look the way I wanted. That was stupid. It exhausted and frustrated me and it wasted a lot of my time.
I finally realized this after spending way too much time on my site design. I took a long hard look at my budget to see how much money I could squeeze out and decided to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA). That was one of the best decisions I ever made. In 3 hours, she solved problems that had been bugging me for weeks.
That’s my advice to you. Do what you do best and find ways to get help for the rest.
Moms Biz Kit is a great place to start because of the wide range of advice and help we offer. It’s a great value for the price.
Here are some other ideas:
Look for a VA to help you with the things you are struggling with. When you get more successful, you can have a VA on staff to take care of the things you’d rather not do. You can search online or check some moms in business forums to find another mom like you who can help you out. You will find this method to be more affordable than hiring someone from a large firm.
Consider getting a business coach to help guide you through the process of establishing your business.
Find another mom who’s starting her online business too. The two of you can support one another as you learn and grow.
Keep you eye out for websites like Moms Biz Kit that help moms start their new businesses. Often they will offer a free ebook or teleseminar that can help you out. Get on the mailing list and learn from those who are already successful.
One of the most important things that you can do to insure online success is to make sure that people can find your site and get to know you. Here are 5 ways to get traffic to your site:
1. Write articles – submit articles related to your site to online sources like Ezine Articles. These sites let others use your article on their website to add fresh content. In return, you get to add an information box to the end of the article that tells the reader about you and your website. You can read more here.
2. Email signature – every single email that you send out, no matter who it is for, should have a signature line that tells people about your business. For instance, my email signature might say “Want to start your own online business? Moms Biz Kit can show you how!”. Be sure to include a link to your site.
3. Leave comments on other blogs – find other blogs that have a common interest with yours. They could be your competitors or just something your readers might be interested in. For instance, if you sell clothing for dogs, you could comment on other blogs that sell dog clothes, or sites that make specialized things for dogs, like biscuits. Most will let you include your site URl and your name. Be sure to be positive in your comments!
4. Join forums – find forums, again ones that your readers might frequent. Join a few that seem active and become a participant. Some forums will let you add a signature line that has your website and others will not. That’s OK. Use your real name so people know who you are and be sure that your website uses your name as well.
5. Social networking – Facebook, Twitter, Linked In – join several and be sure to contribute on a regular basis. These sites will let you get your name and your website information out and let you show your expertise. Facebook and Twitter are two of the most well known, so be sure to start with those.
It seems like there are a lot of moms out there who dream of owning their own successful online business, but who never turn those dreams into reality.
What are you waiting for?
Here are some typical excuses and the reasons why you shouldn’t let them stop you.
I can’t afford it. Complete nonsense! If you can find an extra $20 or so a month, you can afford to start your own business. I have been in business online for years now and my basic business costs are about $16 a month. I pay for hosting my site and I pay for an autoresponder and that’s what they cost together.
Of course, I do have other expenses, but they are because I choose to. For instance, I spend money each month on education so that I’m always learning more about how to succeed. And once a year, I spend $11 per website (I have 3) to keep my domain names.
I can’t afford to quit my job. No one is asking you to quit! I know lots of women who are successful online who started their business while they were working. If you’re passionate to succeed, you can find the time. I started two of my businesses while I was working 50 hours a week. You don’t know how good it felt the day I walked out of that place for good!
Seriously, if you give up an hour of your TV time at least 4 or 5 times a week, you can do this. What are you waiting for?
I don’t know where to begin. Do you have kids? If you do, well maybe you knew where to begin , but what happened when the baby finally arrived? Did you handle new motherhood as if you knew it all? Probably not.
And what about that fulfilling job you’re working at now? Did you know how to do it all the first day? Again, probably not.
Starting a new business can be overwhelming and yes, it’s certainly hard to know where to begin, but hey, that’s what Moms Biz Kit is here for. And to be completely fair, there are other resources out there that you can learn from too. Sign up for Tool Kit #1 and it will walk you through the beginning steps for free.
You’re never going to get to stay home with your kids and make money at the same time unless you begin.
Here at Moms Biz Kit our motto is “Take Action, Be Consistent, Never Give Up!”.
There’s a reason for that; it’s a big part of what it takes to help you succeed at online business.
If you are determined to succeed, and you take action consistently and never give up, you can achieve your dreams.
(Note: I realize that it may not seem to you as though I am taking my own advice. After all, you can look at how often I post to see that I am not taking action and being consistent here. Health problems have sidelined me for a while, but I’m back now and ready to go!)
OK, so let’s break down the Moms Biz Kit motto:
Take Action: too often when we start out in online business, we get overwhelmed with all that there is to do. In response, we freeze, waiting until we’re sure what to do next. Sometimes we fall into the education trap, buying product after product in the hopes that the next one will give us the step by step directions we need to succeed.
All of the information in the world, regardless of who it is from (me included) won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t take action and put your new found knowledge to work.
Are you going to make mistakes? Of course! That’s how you learn and that should never be a reason not to try. Here at Moms Biz Kit, we try to minimize the mistakes you will make so that you can get to success that much sooner.
Be Consistent: being consistent means doing some of the same things over and over again. Posting to your blog on a regular basis – ideally 4-5 times a week. It means showing up on Facebook and Twitter and other places and getting your name out there.
Consistent action will get you results.
Never Give Up! This is probably the most important part, although if you only continue to dream about your online business without taking consistent action, you’re not going to succeed. All 3 steps have to work together.
So never give up means that you’ve got to have some patience and to be able to see your success in the future. You’re always competing against yourself. If you had 3 unique visitors to your site today, aim for 4 tomorrow.
Believe it or not, when I first started ADD Moms, I kept track of my daily stats in my datebook. Yes, the numbers really were that small in the beginning, but they’ve continued to grow on a daily basis. Now, two and a half years later, I have several thousand unique visitors each month. And remember, more visitors means more people willing to buy.
If you have put off starting your online business because you weren’t sure what to do, start now. Sign up for the Moms Biz Kit Tool Kit #1 and start taking action!
And if you’ve started, but stalled, vow to take action today and start over. You can succeed!
How can I possibly succeed when there are already so many other people out there doing what I want to do?
Did you do a Google search and find tens of thousands of websites already doing whatever it is that you want to do?
Did it discourage you?
It shouldn’t.
How many people are there in this whole entire world who are exactly like you and have had your same life experiences?
Zero. Zilch. None.
You are your very own unique person with your own set of skills, talents, and experiences that make you different from everyone else. Those gifts are part of what can make your business stand out from everyone else’s.
There are people out there who can relate to you in ways that they can’t relate to someone else. Maybe someone who is doing the very thing that you want to do.
Figuring out what makes you special and unique is part of developing your USP: your unique selling proposition.
And discovering the kind of people who relate to you and your gifts is part of finding your target market; your people, your tribe.
Neither of these things are easy to do, but they are vital to your success. Don’t look at them as a one time thing, either. You can start with what you know now and refine those views as you go along. Get to know your readers or clients a little better and you can adjust your ideas about your target market.
Oh, and all those other sites out there doing what you want to be doing? That’s a good thing.
Lots of competitors means a good healthy market.
Besides, you can learn a lot about how to succeed from your competition. Let them do the work and you can reap the benefits. Moms Biz Kit can show you how. Why not join today?
Have you ever heard of a Mastermind group? If you’ve been online a while and are interested in online marketing, then maybe you have.
A mastermind group is simply a group put together by someone who is already successful online. The group members join because they can learn from this person and from each other. The group members also support one another and help each other out. The masterminds I am referring to are dedicated to online success and marketing.
If you’ve ever belonged to a forum that was very active and where the members really related to one another, you may have experienced something similar to a mastermind group.
When you are just getting started online with a new business, there is a lot to learn and even more to do. It can get so confusing and of course you want to make your time and money count.
I look back now and can’t believe some of the things that I really struggled to learn; those things now are no big deal at all. In fact, I’ve gone way past them and learned much more difficult things.
Moms Biz Kit is here to teach you as much as possible and to help you get started online, but because (for now) there is no interaction among all of you, a mastermind is worth considering in order to get you to success that much sooner.
Some masterminds are quite affordable, and others can charge $10,000 or more. Really. I can’t imagine that, can you?
I think in general, the more affordable a mastermind is, the more likely it is to be a good fit for you. People who don’t think twice about paying $10,000 to join a group are obviously more knowledgeable about online success than someone who is just getting started.
Most mastermind groups charge a monthly fee for belonging. Some may have a definite length, such as a year, while others offer ongoing learning.
Here are a few I would suggest for beginners:
Mom Masterminds – this is the first mastermind group I ever joined. I liked the fact that it was made up of other moms (like me) and that it could teach me very basic things. I have learned more from this group than any other I have ever belonged to. The amount of resources in this group is amazing. Log in once and you’ll feel like you have enough material for you to learn from for the next 10 years. New material is added monthly.
I have made friends at Mom Masterminds that I still keep in touch with. When I first joined, several members went out of their way to help me get noticed online. I have belonged to this group for almost 3 years. I really like the fact that if you keep up your membership for 12 months, you become a lifetime member.
This is an excellent mastermind group for a real beginner.
Association of Work at Home Women – I love Carrie Wilkerson! She is just so full of life and so very nice, plus she has been online for less than 2 years and has already made 1 million dollars. Wow. This is a lady you want to learn from, and she always gives you a ton of value for your money.
Obviously, this is a group aimed at women working from home. I would say all of them, or almost all, have a website or are getting one. The level of experience and expertise in this group varies from those quite new to marketing to those who have some experience. There are a lot of resources to learn from – articles, podcasts and recordings, and a forum.
The Barefoot Executive – This is Carrie’s other mastermind group – actually, more of a mastermind than AWHW (above).
If you have some experience in online marketing (ex: if you know what a squeeze page is) then Carrie’s mastermind might be for you. This particular group often has a varied membership: men, women, those fairly new to online marketing and those who are already successful online. It is definitely a group to join if you want to take your business to the next level.
There are other mastermind groups out there for you to join; I have given you details on the 3 that I have belonged to. If you find one you’re interested in, but aren’t sure about, email me at brenda@momsbizkit.com and I’ll get back to you.
, but what happened when the baby finally arrived? Did you handle new motherhood as if you knew it all? Probably not.
