Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

You Have to Be On It

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You Have to be on ItI was talking with a client the other day about their ongoing marketing efforts. Thank you notes, holiday cards, phone calls on birthday’s – they are ON IT. As we were talking about what’s working and what needs to be kept up, they reminded me…

You Have to be on It

Always.

This is one of the hardest things I see for business owners. There’s so many different hats you wear as a business owner, and yes your marketing efforts are one of those hats. I often see people drop their marketing efforts when business gets busy. It’s the worst thing you could do. Why? Because it won’t always be busy and you’re going to need more clients – cultivate them when you have them so they’re ready when you’re ready.

Continue to have good marketing habits throughout the year. Go to your networking events, schedule that call or coffee meeting, even if you don’t think they’re ready to hire you. Send your newsletter, do your follow up, engage on social media. Run your business. Continue to blog (this one might just be a reminder for me…)

Having systems and schedules in place makes your life a whole lot easier. If you haven’t downloaded my free Monthly Marketing Calendar – I give you a good place to start and make sure that you’re considering all the marketing efforts out there and available to you. They’re usually FREE and with some setup it won’t take you much time. You’re busy running your business, keep doing it. And don’t forget to keep on it along the way.

5 Tasks to Add to Your Blog Post Checklist

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5 Tasks to Add to Your Blog Post ChecklistThe other day while chatting with a client she asked if I have a checklist for blogging. I sure didn’t (well, I do in pieces in my head) so I decided we should create one.

A few years ago I wrote about how 40% of my traffic comes from social media – but let’s update that for 2019…

  1. Linktree – If you’re using Instagram as part of your social media then you know that you only get ONE URL in your bio. Which is DUMB. With Linktree you create a page that has all your relevant links to your recent blog posts and any other links you reference in your Instagram. Check mine out…
  2. Buffer – you need a social media sharing tool to help keep you sane. I pay for Buffer and it’s awesome. I still mostly stick to this social media sharing schedule from this post a few years ago. Lately I have been monitoring how many tweets are scheduled/work/promo and how many are LIVE me. Evaluate your social media regularly to make sure you aren’t talking AT your audience but are talking to and with your audience.
  3. Add to your Newsletter – each month in my newsletter I feature a few of my latest blog posts. It’s a great way to get some additional exposure to folks who many not follow my blog.
  4. Reference Your Posts – a lot of my blog posts (this one included) are written so I can easily share my recommendations down the road without having to write this all out again. Make sure if you took the time to write a helpful blog post that you’re sharing it with your clients or a specific audience when the time comes. I was on a group call last week where we ended up talking about a topic I have written a few posts about so I was able to share those posts and get new eyes on my website.
  5. Add to Google My Business – Now that G+ is going away don’t forget that you can add a post to your Google My Business page! It expires in time but once you start posting you get a heads up – which might even prompt you to write another post!

What other behind the scenes tasks do you do on your blog?

Guest Post: The Same Goals Get the Same Results

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goal without plan is just wishToday’s guest post is from one of my favorite people, and my business coach, Debbie Page. Trust her wisdom, heed her advice, she’s the real deal folks. 

It’s the time of the year where e v e r y o n e is talking about goals. Asking if you’ve set ‘em, and what’s different than last year?

Do you ever find yourself with goal shame?

You’re not alone. Many of the people who I work with come to me with goal shame and fatigue. They’ve been setting the same goals again and again because they never hit their marks. Stuck in this cycle of set – not reach – repeat they are horrified at the thought of downsizing their goals. Because you just don’t do that, right? Wrong. You can. It’s your business. Downsizing a goal to the right size is a strategic business move.

As a business coach to women one of the first things I do with a new client is ask them how they set their goals for their business. Often times the answers start with, “I picked numbers that seemed reasonable.”

Ok, and then what? (Insert cricket sound here…)

Often underestimated by entrepreneurs is the fact that goal setting is a process that requires several hours of evaluation and projection. It is a process.

These are 3 ways to get your goals right this year:

  1. Gather your data – Gather it all. All your inquiries, where they came from, your conversions your sales cycle time, your average sale, your average revenue per sale. Each of these provide invaluable information for you to understand where you’ve been in order to determine where you are going.
  2. Look for inconsistencies in execution – What are your real marketing numbers? If networking was to be one of your initiatives to grow your business, how many events did you attend and how often. If you only attend when business is slow you will not get sustained results. Consistency in marketing is a critical factor in your success.
  3. Constantly measure, review and adjust when needed – time on your calendar must be scheduled to regularly adjust and modify as needed.

Goal setting for results is possible. It’s not necessary to repeat the same goals year after year hoping you’ll get a different result. To get something different you have to do something different.

If you are ready to do something different I have two resources for you to consider:

Request access to my 6 Days to Ultimate Business Success Challenge. A challenge where you will ultimately determine what you really want in business, how to navigate your business fears and take confident action, develop a higher money consciousness and how to pay yourself first.

Join my Free Facebook Group, The Women’s Business Profit Lab where you can find a library of nearly 50 video trainings as well as access to nearly 800 women business owners from around the world who share ideas and best practices on running and scaling their businesses.

About Debbie: I’ve been a business owner and entrepreneur for more than 22 years now…and yup – it freaks me out to say that – because in my mind I’m still 26…anyhoo. I might be like you. I’m an accidental entrepreneur.  I said yes to one opportunity, and then another. I’m the leading authority on cash flow and profitability for women in business and a systems and process nut and love teaching people how to leverage and scale their business.