solopreneur – 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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Thoughts on delegation

Ask Me Anything, Segment 18

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I give some brief thoughts about delegation.

Written summary here:

In this segment, I give some thoughts on delegation
I do not delegate much in my business.
You don’t have to delegate to have a business – it’s not inevitable.
I don’t like managing people as much as I like doing things and working with clients. If you don’t love to manage people, you may not want to delegate as much.
I love to learn and tinker, and that’s one of my favorite parts of being a solopreneur. If you love to learn and get a rush from learning some new skill, you may be happy doing more of your business work on your own.
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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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How to communicate with your audience

Ask Me Anything, Segment 16

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Once you start building an audience for your coaching, consulting or service business, you’ll need to communicate with them on a regular basis to build credibility and demonstrate your ability to help. This tip talks about how to communicate with your audience. This is Ask Me Anything Segment 16. Link mentioned in video: www.michelechristensen.com.

Summary here:

This is Segment 16 of the Ask Me Anything series, and it’s a continuation of segments 12-15, in which I answer the question of how to find coaching clients. You will get the most out of this video by watching segments 12-15 first. You can find all segments of Ask Me Anything here.
In previous segments, I taught how to build an audience for your business and how to attract just the right people to that audience. In this video I talk about how to communicate with that audience.
The short answer is that the best way to communicate with you audience is however they like to receive information! However, email is the go-to tool for my own business and for most of my clients.
Specifically, I am referring to building a list of people who have signed up and actively said they want to receive emails from you.
Never add someone to your email list without their clear consent. It’s annoying, it’s against the law in many countries, and it makes you look like you don’t know what you are doing.
Once you start a list, you can start establishing your credibility by delivering valuable content to them.
You will also need to make offers at regular intervals so people can actually buy from you.
With an email list, you’ll never have to try and sell your coaching services to a “cold” audience. You can keep in touch and demonstrate your worth before you ever offer something for sale.
Having a list lets you control the timing of when people hear from you, and lets you take full responsibility for making sure you stay in touch. You don’t need people to remember you and your website in order for them to see what you are offering.
Takeaway: Keep in touch with your audience regularly in a way that is appealing to them. Email is a great tool for making sure you communicate with your audience regularly.
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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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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What kind of clients do you love to work with?

Ask Me Anything, Segment 14

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When building an audience for your coaching business, it’s important to focus only on attracting those people who you love to work with and who get great results from your work. In this video, I teach how to spot those people. This is Segment 14 of the Ask Me Anything Series.

Summary here:

This video goes further in answering the question “How do I get coaching clients?” It’s a continuation of Ask Me Anything Segments 12 and 13. If you haven’t read or watched those, I suggest you do before reading or watching this segment because you will get more out of it. Click here for Segment 12.
In the last segment of Ask Me Anything, I talked about building an audience of people interested in the work you do. In this segment, I help you get very focused on a specific subset of those interested people, your ideal client.
There are lots of terms you could use to describe the people you really want to work with – people use target market, niche, demographic, etc. but your ideal client is a specific subset of these terms.
I could teach an entire series on describing your ideal client, and some people do, but in this video I’ll present a short list of characteristics to think about in describing your ideal client.
Your ideal clients are the people you love to work with. For me, that is super-creative “right brain” people. I’m very concrete and linear, so working with right-brain people creates magic!
They get great results when they work with you.
They have a specific challenge that you totally geek out on! They struggle with the one thing you love to talk about.
They value you and your expertise.
They are able and willing to pay for your service.
They follow your advice and love the results they get.
The final and very important characteristic of your ideal client is that you like them! Don’t fill your practice with people you don’t like. Neither of you will get good results.
Now that you know what kind of people you are looking for, in the next segment I’ll teach you how to attract those specific people.
Takeaway: Get really specific about the kind of people you want to attract to your coaching business.
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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Build an audience of interested people (Ask Me Anything Segment 13)

Ask Me Anything, Segment 13

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Instead of trying to sell to people right away, focus on building an audience of people who are interested in the services you provide. That way, you can build credibility and connection before you try to sell anything. Link mentioned in the video: michelechristensen.com.

Summary here:

This video goes further into answering the question “How do I find coaching clients?” You’ll get the most of out this video if you’ve already watched Segment 12 of the Ask Me Anything series because this video expands on that one.
In the last video, I made two points to start with finding coaching clients: don’t try and sell “coaching,” instead focus on the change your work provides, and second, know who is will benefit most from your work and tailor your message to them.
Building on those first two points, before you try to sell anything, start by cultivating an audience of people who would be interested in the services you provide. The people you want to be building a relationship with are people who may at some point make a purchase if the right offer comes at the right time.
You can build your audience on social media, speaking, by building an email list or a number of other ways.
By building an audience before you begin selling, you will have time to build rapport, show that you can help and demonstrate your expertise.
Takeaway: To find coaching clients, first build an audience of people who are interested in the change your work provides. In the next few Ask Me Anything videos, I’ll show you how to do this.
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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Your solopreneur business: one big experiment

When you are trying something new in your business, it’s almost impossible to get it perfect on the first try. That’s why I suggest that you always be experimenting with your business. Even if a new idea that you try works out great, it’s valuable to learn why it worked and how to repeat it.

There is no limit to the number of things you could be doing in your business. If you are randomly doing new tactics and not stopping to measure your results, you are probably wasting time on things that aren’t working.

Before you start anything new in your business, know what you want from that effort. If it’s a new product, you probably want sales. If it’s a listbuilding event, you want people to sign up for your email list. If it’s a social media campaign, you may be trying to make new connections or grow your influence. The point is, always have a goal in mind and a way to measure if your efforts are working.

In the book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works,” I teach you how to get started with metrics, or measuring results in your business. Metrics is the only sure way to know what works for your specific business, and you’ll have everything you need to get started in this book. Grab your copy in the Kindle store! (Note you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books. You can get a free Kindle app for your device or desktop.)

Have a practice in place for writing your to-do list (To Do List Tip #6)

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Keeping a to-do list isn’t just something to be done occasionally – solopreneurs have way too much to juggle to be haphazard about their workload. It’s important to have a regular practice of keeping your to-do list up to date.

Link mentioned in video: https://www.michelechristensen.com/daily

Summary here:

This tip is about having a regular practice of writing and maintaining your to do list. Your to do list should never be an afterthought.
There are lots of right ways to keep a to do list. The important thing is that you have a regular practice that works for you and that you follow your practice.
Your brain is not a good place to keep lists and minutiae. Keep your to do list somewhere other than your head, and free up your mind to do more of what you are great at.
By consistently recording your to do items in a reliable system, you’ll feel more on top of things and be better able to prioritize your work.
Takeaway: Have a practice for recording your to do list and follow it. Make sure it is something that works for you so it’s easy to stick with.
If you liked this to do list tip, you can download a free copy of my special report called “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To-Do List and How to Avoid Them” by clicking here.
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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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