entrepreneur – Michele Christensen

Scheduling Social Media Posts

Ask Me Anything, Segment 19

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I answer a question about scheduling social media posts. I share the main tool I use to schedule my posts and give my biggest tip on using scheduled posts.

Summary here:

I use Hootsuite to schedule social media posts ahead of time
Scheduling some posts ahead of time is a good way to have a continuous presence on your social media sites, however it is critical to regularly interact with people in real time.
Be sure to be social when you interact with people. Ask questions, join conversations and contribute useful ideas.
Takeaway: You can use Hootsuite or any of a number of apps to schedule some of your social media posts ahead of time. However, make sure to actually put some time in where you are interacting and engaging people in real time.
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To make sales, you have to make offers!

Ask Me Anything, Segment 17

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I fill in the final piece of finding coaching clients. You have to make offers! If you don’t actually give your audience a chance to say yes and make a purchase, it’s much harder for them to say yes to working with you. This is Segment 17 of the Ask Me Anything Series.

Summary here:

In this video, I cover the importance of making offers for your coaching services and for other products or services.
It’s not enough to just have a website and hope people will visit and purchase.
After building an audience and regularly communicating to them with valuable content, you have to actually make an offer for which they can pay you.
Some offers are for a free item such as a webinar or teleseminar, however at some point you must make a paid offer in order to make money.
Takeaway: After taking the time to grow an audience and nurture your relationship with them, you have to make clear and specific offers for your coaching services.
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Use the right language to attract your ideal clients

Ask Me Anything, Segment 15

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One of the best ways to attract the right people to your audience is by using the right language for them. This may not be the same language you use when talking about your work to people in your field or people who aren’t interested in the results your work brings.

Summary here:

This segment of Ask Me Anything is on how to attract just the right people to your audience
Use the language your clients use when describing your work
Don’t use clinical, technical or industry terms
Don’t focus on showcasing your incredible vocabulary! Instead, focus on communicating in a way that makes your ideal client feel like you completely understand them and can help them.
Takeaway: By using the language that your ideal clients already use, you’ll attract those people to your audience
If you liked this tip, go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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How To Find Coaching Clients

Ask Me Anything, Segment 12

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I give the first of several tips on attracting coaching clients. This video explains how to view your coaching services from the point of view of your potential clients. Link mentioned in video: www.michelechristensen.com

Summary here:

In this video, I give the first of several tips on how to find coaching clients. The very first thing to understand is how to view your coaching services from the perspective of a potential client.
Nobody lays awake at night thinking “If only I had a coach….” What keeps people awake at night are the problems and concerns you help them with. People probably lay awake thinking things like “If only I could lose this 20 pounds,” or “If only I didn’t fight so much with my spouse,” etc.
So, in order to find coaching clients it’s important to think less about the fact that you provide coaching, and focus more on the fact that you solve problems that people suffer from.
It’s also very important to focus on who you help. Even if you do work with everybody, if you try to write or speak in a way that appeals to everybody then nobody will feel like you get them and their exact situation. Ideally, someone who would benefit from working with you will hear or read your words and say “Oh my gosh, how does he or she know exactly what I am thinking?”
In the next few Ask Me Anything segments, I’ll be giving you specific examples of how you can use this information to find coaching clients.
Takeaway: The very first step to finding coaching clients is to think about your service from the point of view of your potential client.
If you liked this tip, please go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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Every action you take in your business must have a purpose

Excerpt from the book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works“

Ultimately, the purpose of your entire business is to make a profit and to allow you to do your work. Therefore, every action you take in your business should have some positive impact on profit either directly or indirectly. I advise the business owners I work with not to do anything within their business without knowing the purpose for it. Even the most basic of things should have a defined and preferably measurable purpose.

The things you do in your business can impact your profit directly or indirectly. Examples of directly impacting profits would be things that either create sales or decrease expenses directly. Indirect examples would include things like expanding your reach. For example, you may build a social media following or attend live events with the goal of meeting new people. You may not expect to sell to them right away, or even soon, but you may meet people who are interested in what you have to sell or who can introduce you to people who may be interested in what you have to sell. So while building your reach may not directly contributing to profit it does indirectly contribute by giving you the chance to make more sales.

Don’t take for granted that you “have to” do anything. Even something as basic as having a website should have a definitive purpose. Why does your site exist? Is it to sell things directly? Is it to serve as an online version of a brochure and answer questions? Is it to collect contact information so you can follow up? Is it to educate people so they can make an
informed choice about your product? There are so many reasons to have a website that they could probably fill a book by themselves. Yet, so many people have no idea why they actually have a website or how it will make them a profit. It’s just become an unquestioned “given” that you have a website and so people don’t actually think about why they have one or what it
can do for them.

It’s almost impossible to know what will work in your business the first time you try something. The only way to know what works is to know why you are doing each thing in your business and measure your results.

In my book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works,” I teach how to get started with metrics for your business so you can get better results and save time. The book comes with a downloadable metrics starter kit to get you started even faster. Click the link below to check out the book and grab your copy!

The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works

What my clients have taught me about working with web developers

Ask Me Anything, Segment 11

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This video gives practical tips you can use to get better results when working with a web developer or anyone under a contract. You can find the entire Ask Me Anything Series on my blog or YouTube Channel under Ask Me Anything.

Summary here:

This video share practical steps you can take to get better results when working with a web developer.
Get everything in writing. It will reduce the chance for misunderstandings.
Know what the person you are hiring does well and what they do not do. Creating a website has many facets, and not all website creators do everything.
Think carefully about whether you want to revise both your business and your website at the same time. There may be no way around doing both at once, but both are big projects and if you can space them out without negative consequences it may make sense to do so.
Consider purchasing your own hosting. It may make sense to have the same person create, host and maintain your website if you want to be hands off. However, if you have your own hosting account you can discontinue working with a web person without changing hosts too.
Get informed before you hire out. The more you know the better customer you will be and the better chance you have of getting the results you want.
Check all references, licenses, portfolios, credentials, etc. for anyone you are thinking of hiring.
All of these tips are meant to help you work well with an honest person. The original question used the word “taken,” which implies dishonesty to me. I don’t believe I have ever had first-hand experience with a client having a problem with a web person that was due to dishonesty.
Takeaway: There are some things you can do to get the best results possible when working with someone on a website or other contract.
If you liked this tip, please go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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Write a daily to do list just for today (To Do List Tip #4)

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In this video, I teach you the practice of writing a small to do list that is just for today. It’s inefficient to pick from hundreds or thousands of tasks every time you need to make a decision about what to work on. Instead, make a smaller to do list just for today. Link mentioned in video: michelechristensen.com/daily.

Summary here:

In this video I teach you why it is important to write a daily to do list just for today and how to do it.
If you have a solid habit of writing things down either electronically or on paper, you may end up with hundreds or even thousands of tasks on you to do list. There may be a mix of small tasks and huge projects.
Make it a daily habit to create a to do list just for today. Once per day, scan that huge list that holds all your tasks and select just a few for today based on what your day looks like.
You can write your to do list at night, as a way to wrap up the day and be ready to go in the morning, or in the morning as a way to start your day.
The real value in this practice is that is saves you looking through those hundreds or thousands of tasks every time during the day you need to move to the next task. Instead of picking from a big number, you can pick from a small number of tasks that are relevant to today.
You can feel more confidence that you are working on the right thing right now.
The takeaway: Set aside a few minutes every day to write a to do list that is just for today. You’ll work more efficiently and confidently throughout the day.
If you like this tip, go to michelechristensen.com/daily and get your free copy of my special report “The Five Biggest Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To-Do List and How to Avoid Them.”
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How to get the things on your to do list done (To Do List Tip #3)

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After you’ve analyzed, prioritized and organized your to do list, it’s time to get some things done! Here’s a tip on how to tackle your to do list.

Summary here:

This is a tip for actually getting the things on your to do list done.
You already know you have to keep track of and prioritize the things you want to do. There are lots of good ways to do this.
Make sure to prioritize things that actually make you money!
One way to get your tasks done is to set an appointment with yourself dedicated solely to heads-down, uninterrupted time to crank out tasks.
Treat your task time like a “silo,” meaning it has defined walls and nothing else gets mixed in.
Takeaway: All the excellent prioritizing, tracking and analyzing you can do with your to-do list isn’t worth anything if you don’t actually do the tasks you need to.
If you like this tip, you’ll love my free report “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To-Do List and How to Avoid Them.” Grab your copy at www.michelechristensen.com/daily.
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Book Review – Launch by Jeff Walker

This post is a review of the book “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. In short, this book is great and has everything you need to follow his launch plan. You’ve probably seen product launches using his formula and just didn’t know it. That’s the beauty of “PLF” or “Product Launch Formula” style launches – they deliver great value whether the potential customer buys or not, and can be done without hype or aggressive selling tactics.

For an investment of less than $10, you really have everything you need to launch PLF style. There are a variety of case studies in very different niches, and these case studies had me continually saying “I can totally do this!” The case studies are a great way to show you the information in the book in action, but also a way to show you how different people use the PLF for their launches.

There are several types of launches presented in the book, but one of the most useful is the Seed Launch. This is, in my opinion, the most useful because it assumes you are truly starting from scratch. You don’t need a finished product, a list or even a website. Of course if you have any or all of those things, your launch will be much easier but the Seed Launch chapter demonstrates that you don’t need any of them to launch your first product. In fact, a seed launch can help you create your first product, start your list and make some money if you need it to get your website built.

One of the errors I see business owners making in launching is thinking that if they put something for sale that somehow people will find it and want to buy it. Once you realize this isn’t true, you are left with a problem of how to let potential buyers know you have something for sale and why they might want it. If you are like most people, you don’t want to sound like too pushy or sales-y. The Product Launch Formula gives you a step by step method that overcomes all of these problems. You’ll also have plenty of time and space to say what you need to in order for people to understand your product or service.

In short, this book delivers huge value for the money and has earned a spot on my Solopreneur Reading List. Grab a copy on Amazon here.

Image of Launch Book cover from Amazon.com

How to handle tasks that tend to expand (To Do List Tip #2)

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Some tasks can take up as much time as you are willing to give them. This video tip is on how to handle those creeping tasks. Link mentioned in video: www.michelechristensen.com/daily

Summary here:

As a solopreneur, you have to be an excellent time manager and this means not letting your day get eaten up by tasks that take as long as you give them.
For example, it may take a lot of time to keep up with your social media posting and email, or it can take hours to write a script for a short video.
People who work on the internet seem especially vulnerable because so many expanding tasks are right in front of you.
Today’s tip is to put edges on expanding tasks so you will know when they are done.
Some examples you can use right away: Use a timer or checklist for social media, empty your inbox completely on a regular basis, and set a limit on how much time you’ll spend on your writing.
Bonus tip: Don’t use your email inbox as a place to store emails. It’s a holding place for emails you haven’t processed yet.
Takeaway: Keep an eye on tasks that tend to creep or expand and put some edges on them so you know when they are done.
If you like this tip, go to www.michelechristensen.com/daily and download my free report “5 Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To Do List and How to Avoid Them.”
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