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As tempting as it may be to start an email list to promote your business because you've heard it is the thing to do, hold your horses! Emails may be easy to send, but you can screw yourself over if you start sending them out without being strategic in your approach. Some people do email marketing for a living, meaning that there are job titles for this marketing activity. This information should let you know that it may not be as easy as you think to execute email marketing campaigns. So before you step your foot into the email marketing pool, ask yourself the following: Do I have a brand strategy? A brand strategy helps you to communicate a consistent brand message. Your emails will be nothing but messages. You should want them to connect with your audience on a deeper, emotional level to give you a competitive advantage. Every business owner needs a brand strategy before promoting their business. The brand strategy will provide you with your brand's position, personality, voice, tone, message, and story. It will also give you direction as to how you can best express your brand. Until you have a brand strategy, you will lack the humanization of your brand that is needed for your email marketing messages to work well for you. Do I know who my ideal consumer is? If you do not know who you are trying to reach, what is the point of sending out emails? Knowing who your ideal consumer is will determine everything from when to schedule your emails to the type of information you will be sharing. You should know your ideal consumers' wants, needs, fears, and desires related to your services. Then, you want to speak to them in each of your emails while providing readers with value (education) or an opportunity to work with you. Do I know what I am going to write about? You can write about anything. But does it make sense to write about everything as a business owner? Probably not, as you should focus your attention on writing content that your audience wants to read. And like all pieces of content, your content should have a goal in mind or a call to action. Thoughtful emails take time, so make sure they serve a purpose. Some goals for your emails can be to: Sell a product (educational, digital, physical) Drive traffic to your website Build relationships with who you serve Increase subscribership Do I know how often I will be sending emails? How often do you like to receive emails from one company? Trick question. How frequently you send emails is never about you. It is about your audience. If you can share phenomenal content each time, then sure, send out emails daily. But if your subscribers start to run away, you may want to lower the frequency of your emails. I send an email to my list bi-weekly. It is a content schedule that I can manage. It is a schedule that allows me to write thoughtful content that people say they enjoy. The exception would be for promoting something time-sensitive, like signing up for a class by a particular date. When you are promoting something, you want to increase the frequency of your emails, sending out emails every few days until your event or sale ends. Would I enjoy reading my own emails? The best way to know if your email is enjoyable would be to listen to it. If it doesn't interest you or make sense to you when you hear it, edit your email or scrap it. You do not only want to listen for the quality of your emails, but you want to determine if it is really of interest to your audience. You don't want subscribers to read your email and feel like they could care less. And if you are using images, do your pictures support the message of your email? Lastly, reading starts with your subject line. Would you click on your email in your inbox if you read your subject line in it?

Social media platforms are great tools for achieving brand awareness, building a community around one's brand, and sharing what you are passionate about with others. However, when you want to achieve your business or marketing goals, you need to create measurable objectives. So, it would be best if you created a social media plan. Because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and I know you don't want to fail. Starting Your Plan If you plan to be on social media, your social media plan should be an extension of your marketing plan supported by your brand strategy so that you approach social media clear about your brand personality, purpose, vision, mission, and values when you start. If you do not have a clear core message to convey and a personality to match, you will start social media off on the wrong foot, and it will show throughout your social media content. Track Your Numbers Once you have your brand strategy in place (what I was alluding to above), create a tracking sheet. You want to keep track of your current metrics (i.e., followers) right now. Tracking will let you know if you are making improvements over time. It would be best if you did this for each social media channel you are on month-over-month. Conduct a Competitive Audit Check out 3-5 businesses doing about 30% better than you are and ask yourself: How many people are following them? What channels are they using, and do you see a definitive trend? What type of information are they sharing with their followers? See what is really working for them. Use your competitors' tactics as inspiration for yours. But also find ways to stand out from them. Be Clear About Your Audience To reach more people, determine the audience you want to attract to your company. I know you want everyone to like you, but a gunshot approach to social media marketing is horrible! Instead, think about your ideal consumer (one person) and create content for them. What do they want to know about your business and services? How can you address their wants, desires, and fears? Communicating with Your Audience Create content that aligns with your brand's personality. Bringing a personality to that table will increase your chances of connecting to your audience emotionally. And it is all about the emotional connection. You also want to use social media to prime prospects to buy from you. Every piece of content you create should have a job that supports your business goals. Social Media Channel Selection Secure your name on all the most popular social media channels. But only promote yourself and remain active on one social media platform in the beginning. Master using that one channel and then become active on another, especially if you have a small team. And only promote yourself on the number of social media channels you or your team can manage. Also, check out the chart below for the best channels to start with based on your industry. Photo: Accion Creating an Editorial Calendar Social media marketing is a brand awareness activity. In driving brand awareness, you need to let people know: Who you are and your values The services you offer and the benefits of those services What you do and why it is important to your audience That you are informed about your subject matter to build trust That you can solve their problems by providing small wins from how-to content Outcomes they can have working with you and what happens if they do not work with you On social media, you want to create a schedule for this type of content. Sell 20% of the time, and provide value 80% of the time. Once people know you are the one to turn to for real advice and real solutions, they will trust you. But just like any friendship, trust takes time. And just like any great friendship, make sure to have fun with the people who follow you. Be silly and open up from time to time. And consider relevant holidays, both official and fun. Observance-focused social media posts will help align your brand with new audiences. It will also generate more social media engagement. In Conclusion Implementing a social media plan can increase brand awareness. It can also occasionally bring in new leads (more if you go live). If anything, social media is a great way to remain top of mind with prospects. Do your best, and don't get discouraged. It can take two years or more to see real traction with your social media accounts if you are not relatively famous or well known.

"Ain't nobody messing with my clique," according to Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Big Sean (clean quote). And like any clique, there are standards and a general way people in a group operate. Playing Into the Collective Your ideal consumer is also likely in a group or two. For many, their group affiliations come from a sense of who they are. Group affiliations give people their social and community identity. It helps many to feel socially accepted. Socially accepted group behaviors often shape the behaviors of individuals in the group. And the more defined the group image, the more likely people are to tout being in it. Understanding this will help you create messaging that supports your ideal consumer's chosen identity. You can then tailor your marketing to the habits and hobbies of the group. Attitudes and values can also be tailored to drive decision-making. Setting and Reinforcing Consumer Expectations On the flip side, you can also promote your services to give people new identities. You can then find ways to reinforce these new identities by setting expectations. Essentially, you can encourage people to behave or act in a particular manner for their desired outcome. But a better way to go about this would be to meet instead of set expectations. The best way to meet expectations would be through asking. I am talking about surveys, individual interviews, or focus groups. You want to ask the members of your target audience what they expect from your business, let's say, after hiring you. From their answers, you want to analyze the gap between what you think and what they think. This insight will help you bridge the gap to helping more people. Know that the more you can meet expectations, the happier your consumers will be. They will also be more likely to speak positively about your company. Accelerating Word-of-Mouth Marketing You can also get people talking about your business by focusing on a social "object." A social "object" is something people collectively speak about. So really, it can be a person, place, or thing like they say on Wheel of Fortune. The concept is that people don't engage, spend time, or socialize randomly. Instead, people must have a topic of conversation. To think about it, not having a topic of conversation would be boring in any respect. If you can create a topic of conversation that is important and relevant to your target audience, you can get some more traction for your business. You can also find out what is most important to your target audience by asking people who belong to it for answers. Market research is the key to so many marketing problems, so invest in it.

You may have been in your industry for years. You may have been doing this for a few weeks. But, no matter how long you've been in your industry, you've got to market yourself well. Here are some tips to help you market yourself well this year. Make Sure You Look Professional Online If you have the design chops and about 20-60 hours to create your website, go forth and design one. If not, you should pay for website design, development, and SEO-friendly content. Outsourcing will help you save time and from a headache. But, don't deal with various people when you don't have to do so. If you stick with one vendor, you will have an easier time keeping your brand look consistent. You will also have someone by your side who becomes more than a vendor but a partner. If you decide to build your website, be sure it has your logo, business name, and grammar-free content. Nurture Your Network When you meet new people, follow up with them within 24 hours with an email expressing your desire to keep in touch with a monthly letter. In your letter, tell the person what your emails will include and the value to them. Let the person know that they may unsubscribe at any time as well. And when you see content that you think they would like to read or a virtual event you think they would like to attend, share it with them. Use SEM and SEO for Your Business Search engine marketing (SEM) is when you pay for clicks on advertisement placement on a search engine results page (to have a sponsored ad). Search engine optimization (SEO) is when you add keywords or phrases multiple times on your website in a natural way to rank higher in search results pages for relevancy. Both methods involve researching keywords or phrases others will use to find you online. You want to use these keywords or phrases in your site content for SEO. For SEM, you select terms or words you would like to target so that the clicks you pay for are from decent leads. The cost will vary depending on the marketing demand and terms chosen. Educate and Be Relevant You should also focus on becoming a thought leader, even if you are not confident writing, speaking, or in front of a camera. If you want your company to grow, you will have to step outside your comfort zone. Educating others or sharing your opinion will help build your reputation as an expert. People like and trust experts. Create a Realistic Budget I know you may want to do everything yourself to cut business costs. But are you willing to do your dental work? If not, why create a website without knowing that a site has to be more than pretty. There are many things to consider, like gestalt, whitespace, color theory, reading flow, readability, and more. Paying for a website created using a web designer who knows all this is the cost of doing business. Creating a realistic marketing budget considers website costs. By the way, the average cost of a 7-10 page website can be about $3,500 - $6,500. So keep this budget in mind when creating your budget. Also, chew on this. Nearly 95% of people see companies as more trustworthy if their site is put together well. Therefore, think of your website as a complete reflection of your work.

Marketing communication is an extremely diverse industry, encompassing all aspects of branding, promotions and relationship building. For those entering the job market, searching for a new opportunity or simply trying to understand where a marketing communications degree can take them in their career, it can be difficult to understand what a day in the life of the overwhelming number of career options looks like. The WVU Marketing Communications network has students, alumni, faculty and professionals working in all aspects of the industry across a variety of specialities. Three WVU Marketing Communications alumni share a look in to their career and tips for those interested in pursuing similar opportunities. Vanessa Matthew M.S. Integrated Marketing Communications Founder and CEO, VCM Strategies Exciting Milestones Featured speaker for the Harlem Community Development Corporation entrepreneurial education series Featured speaker for the Small Business Services entrepreneurial education series Featured speaker for the FastTrac® NewVenture™ for the Female Entrepreneur Bootcamp Featured speaker for Start Small Think Big June 2020 Member Spotlight for the National Association of Women Business Owners 2020 Marketing Committee Member for the National Association of Women Business Owners Acquired NYC MWBE Certification Secure 20 business clients in less than two years 2. What does a day in your professional life look like? I work from home as a brand strategist and marketing consultant, and every day is different. But I try to focus on my health and wellness at the start of every day. This is extremely important for any entrepreneur. After I take care of myself, I focus on how I can be of service to others. I prepare by creating a to-do list focused on three priority tasks. Having three priorities means that despite what happens during the day, I aim to achieve those three tasks. Tasks can range from networking with others to secure new business to working one-on-one with clients to create their brand strategy or website. Sometimes, I only get one thing done on my list, especially if I have a day jam-packed with meetings. But not all meetings are with clients. As a growing business, some meetings are to network with others, because who you know, as a consultant, is just as important as what you do. 3. What is your favorite part of your current career? What I like most about being a consultant is bringing joy to the lives of others. When business owners or nonprofits work with me, they have big visions for their company or organization, and I can help them move steps closer to the growth they foresee for their business or nonprofit. 4. How can those interested in starting this own consultancy/agency begin their journey? For those interested in owning a consultancy, you must know your subject matter well. You must be a life-long learner. In my case, I must know marketing and the marketing process intimately because clients are looking for a roadmap, and you must be clear about yours. As for what you need to know to build a consultancy, three books changed my approach to running one: Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port The One Thing by Gary Keller The Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice by Bruce Katcher For those in grad school, be sure to take a course or two on entrepreneurship. However, nothing will prepare you for the real ups and downs of entrepreneurship. No matter how long or hard you think it will be to grow your business, it will be longer and harder. But being a marketing consultancy owner will be the most educational marketing experience of your life. You will experience lots of personal growth as well. It is a transformative experience. 5. Did the Marketing Communications Graduate Programs help you in your journey? West Virginia University’s IMC program helped me with my journey. My class on entrepreneurship gave me the confidence to become an entrepreneur. However, my capstone project, with David Marold, summed up the framework for how to best create marketing plans and campaigns for clients. Original post (updated text above for new business name): https://marketingcommunications.wvu.edu/industry-insights/marketing-communications-today-blog/2020/07/09/alumni-career-feature

VCM Strategies is a brand strategy consultancy for service businesses and organizations. It was created from the owner’s desire to understand marketing. Then, to share her understanding with others when it began as a blog in 2007. VCM Strategies services include brand strategy, messaging framework development, and content and creative services to express a brand after a strategy has been created VCM Strategies challenges clients to think about marketing authentically and from a holistic perspective to build a community around their brand. Clients are also pushed to make marketing decisions based on consumer insights and not haphazardly. Why did you choose this particular business/industry? “I’ve been engaged in some form of marketing or another since I was in high school when I started my own cake business to pay for college applications at 15 years old. My cake business was called Divine Cakes.” Who is your ideal client? “A purpose-driven brand guardian motivated by the desire to serve more people positively. This person would be someone who doesn’t look at marketing as a commodity but values a seasoned marketer with a strategic thinking approach to human-to-human marketing. Most importantly, a brand guardian who will not try to negotiate way below my rate or believe that marketers and strategists should guarantee results to be paid for their efforts.” What would your clients say about you? “My clients speak very highly of me. I haven’t had a negative review yet. Clients have said that I show a personal interest in their success and enjoy working with me. Clients have also told me that I’ve given them brands they’re proud of showing off. Most recently, two clients praised me for a wonderful experience. They highlighted my professionalism and passion for marketing and brand strategy. Clients have also called me a Godsend. One client so happy with the work I did for her she began to cry. Better yet, one client said, and I quote, “You know you’ve found something special when making that monthly vendor payment is more of a celebration than a pain point.” What do you love about your life? “I love that I have a wonderful husband and many people in my life who love and care about me.”

Every business should have a website. But, a poorly structured business website can result in the loss of a new lead or sale. People will judge your business based on its online home, and you don’t want your audience running away from yours, fearing how solid your business must be if you cannot get your website together. And like any home, there are standard rooms we are familiar with and must-haves for an ideal home. In this case, we are talking about the pages you should have on your business website. So here are seven must-have website pages you should have on yours and tips on creating them. Homepage Think of the homepage as the facade of a house. It will either make people "oooh and aaaah," or question what is inside. Like a house, if your homepage looks old and decrepit, no one will bother to venture through it. Instead, the person will leave your website, and you may never hear from them. Think of your website as a house you are putting up on the market. Ideally, it should look nice enough to pique the interest of a potential buyer for a walk-through. So, when it comes to your website, think about it from the buyer's perspective. You should make sure everything looks nice and modern and that your content has been well written. You want to make the first impression count. Your homepage should also make it clear to a visitor: That they are in the right place because your website is branded Who you serve, because you've articulated this in your content What you do/how you help people, because what you do matters What they should do next because your website is like a sales funnel To point number four, calls-to-action (CTAs) should be obvious, especially how to contact you. And you should make all the above clear without cluttering your homepage. Do this by making sure that there's plenty of whitespace and balance between your design elements when it comes to your website’s homepage design. It’s better to be minimalistic than to go overboard and lose visitors with your "creativity." Unless you're a website designer or have a creative eye, keep your website design simple, or reach out to a company like VCM Strategies for help. About Page Regarding your website’s about page, try your best not to boast about how your brand, or you, are so amazing. Instead, this page is your opportunity to make an emotional connection with a prospect. You want to share your brand story, values, position, and promise. For example, I created a brand story for a client who was not afraid to be honest. Her story connected with so many people. She acquired business just from people inspired by her story and the impact she aimed to achieve. You can use your about page to humanize your business, too. The about page is where your brand archetype should shine the most. You also want to let people know what about you or your brand makes you qualified to help them. I've even seen some companies express who they do and do not work with. Then, after you tell your story and more, let people know whose part of your company and their credentials. Of course, people will always want to know who they are thinking of doing business with. And this information above will help your brand differentiate itself from others, as you or your team's experience will always be unique and help differentiate. Lastly, don't forget to include a way for a prospect to contact you on this page. If they've made it this far, they are likely looking to engage with you. Services/Digital Product Page If you have a service business, you're either selling services or digital products. It would be best if you let people know what your services or products are on your website. A service or digital product page is where you are looking to convert a visitor to a new lead or buyer. When crafting your service or digital product descriptions, sell the benefits. Sell the result. Sell people on the transformation they will experience after doing business with you. Remember, you are providing a solution(s) to a problem(s). And if you have a lot of information about a digital product or service, don't cram all the information onto one page. Instead, create a page for each digital product or service (if you can afford it, sometimes you can only afford a long-form, one-page website if you hire a designer). The more information, the closer you move visitors to an informed next step. Tell more, sell more. Also, transparency creates trust. Doing this is also great for SEO. And with this page or pages, don't forget to include CTAs in a few different places. A person shouldn't have to reach the bottom of your pages before asking them to contact you or take some sort of action. Blog Page But before you start blogging, remember that you are strapped for time. You need to have a strategic approach to the content you create to make these entries count. Start by opening up a notepad (digital or not) and write or type out: The purpose of your blog The voice your blog posts will have Who are you writing your blog posts for Topics your blog will cover based on why a visitor would be on your website in the first place Once you are clear about your blog's direction, you want to start writing some quality content. Take your time. Quality is more important than length. Make sure your posts are thoughtful and that they offer information your readers will value. Try your best not to hard-sell your services or digital products in blog posts. Instead, it is best to use your blog posts to: Educate people on your service processes Share case studies Position you as an authority in your niche Improve your Google search ranking Talk to your visitors about a particular topic Offer solutions to their problems Drive free traffic to your website, which means more potential clients Share your expertise and position yourself as a go-to resource and trusted advisor Grow your email list by offering gated, free resources Contact Page As a business owner, there’s nothing more important than having someone contact you for your services. So, make sure you have a page dedicated to this. Your contact page should list your: Social media accounts Email address Business hours Physical address (if applicable) or at least where you're located Or, you can simply use a contact form or link to your calendar and allow people to put time on your calendar. You can do this by using services like Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, or Appointlet. Providing many options for how you can be reached is ideal because everyone has their preference. You also want to let those who contact you know how soon you will respond to them. What about FAQs and Testimonials? It is best to include the answers to what you would put in the FAQ section on the pages they pertain to. Then, you can elaborate more on what you say on each page or prompt people to click on a text link to learn more. Once they click the link, provide the person with the answer to the common question right there. Convenience is everything! As for testimonials, add them to website pages where they are contextually relevant. If possible, the testimonial should include the person's picture. You can also use a video testimonial to establish trust and credibility. Terms and Conditions Page As a service provider, you should be quite familiar with legal documents. Terms and Conditions are one of those legal documents you should have on your website. The Terms and Conditions outline what people can do and not do with or on your website. For example, it would limit your liability if a client were to take you to court over something on your website. It will also help to protect the rights to your website content. There are Terms and Conditions generators online you can find from a Google search. The other option would be to have an attorney create one for you. If anything, I'd at least have an attorney review the one you've generated if you did it yourself. Privacy Policy Page You need a Privacy Policy on your website if you want a site visitor to trust you. This policy lets visitors know how you plan to use the personal information you get from them. You want to tell people if you plan to use their data for targeting, retargeting, email marketing, etc. You can go through the same steps to create a Privacy Policy that you would go through to make your Terms and Conditions. In Summary What is a website without key information visitors come to expect? It is an empty shell of missed opportunities to get new business leads, so you shouldn't overlook ensuring that every page of your website asks a person to take at least one action you desire from them. You don't want to provide information only but also encourage outreach.

After speaking to a frustrated small business owner, I wrote this article. She couldn’t understand why a marketer could quote a price but not guarantee results for her marketing investment. I had to tell her that any marketer who guarantees a return is lying. No marketer can guarantee results because marketing is an art and science with educated guesses grounded in primary or secondary research. So the question isn’t, do you guarantee a particular outcome? But rather: If I invest $20,000 into creating a marketing plan, will I make $60,000 this year? Will I double my clients if I send out ten new emails this month? If we create a month of social media posts, will my followers grow by 200%? The question should be, will you continue to help me position my business strategically and with a level of professionalism that will help me reach my business goals as long as I pay you your worth? Asking a marketer about ROI in marketing actually lets most marketers know two things: You don’t know how marketing works, or you would never ask the question. You’re operating your business without confidence. Either because your service is not that great, or you don’t believe in yourself or your business 100%. So, what CAN a marketer do for you? Think about it this way. If you have a child, you’re responsible for feeding your child and taking care of it. And one day, you send that child off to college. You or someone pays for that child to receive a great education that will pave the way for that child’s future. Professors teach your child what they need to know for a career at school, but there’s no guarantee that your child will be a millionaire when they graduate. Your business is the child, and you are its parent. Marketers are the teachers you send your child to with hopes of them picking a great career path with a high earning potential. Although it is a process-based discipline, it will always have inherent risks because PEOPLE are unpredictable. Your consumers are not predictable, and neither are you. Hard Questions to Answer Like you, your customers are looking for more than flashy marketing images and nice language. If you can’t deliver on your brand promise, there’s no point in investing money in marketing. So, what you have to ask yourself before you engage a marketer should be: Are you wasting everybody’s time because your business is rocky in more ways than one? Are your services competitive? Are you wowing those who do business with you with your services? Do people like you? Because if you are not likable or your service delivery is trash, marketing will do nothing for you. Marketing isn’t a magic wand. Marketers are Like Scientists Better yet, think of marketing as a science experiment. The more trained the scientist, the more likely you will get desired results. Marketers lean on data, experience, education, and best practices like scientists. We use all of the above to find the best possible solution. But, like any science experiment, or even a survey, there is always a margin of error to be expected. Does this mean you then put, let’s say, a cure for a new disease in the hands of someone who knows nothing about science? No, you trust the scientists because they’ve studied long enough to have a fighting chance of figuring things out. So treat educated, seasoned marketers like scientists. If you don’t know this, marketing is called “an art and a science,” and solid marketers are here to give you THE BEST SHOT at achieving the level of business success you want. Other Things You Take Risk On Let me give you more examples of things you spend money on without an ROI. You spend money on trips with no guarantee of a good time. You spend money on a car with no guarantee that it will always work. You spend money on movies with no guarantee that you will like them. You spend money on a home with no guarantee that the roof won’t leak. You spend money on rent with no guarantee that you will have peace and quiet. You go to a doctor without a guarantee that you will feel better after seeing them. You spend money eating out with no guarantee you won’t get sick. You are brought into this world, and there’s no guarantee that you will live to 100 years old. For many of us, life is just the process of trusting those who know more than us to do their best to do right by us. We trust the concierge has been at the hotel long enough to tell us the best places to go. We trust the car dealer to get the best car on the lot. We trust the roofer that he sealed the roof well for no leaks. Yet, life happens. Better yet, do you go back to your doctor asking for your deductible when the doctor said you should feel well in a week, but it took two weeks? Did the doctor not give you the best possible medical options given their expertise? Do they not deserve to get paid if what worked for others happened not to work for you? What You Should Look for in a Marketer I am not saying you’re to spend your money on marketing blindly. Rather, do your due diligence to determine if the marketer you’re interested in working with knows marketing. Then, find out if they have helped anyone achieve any business growth. What a marketer can and should speak to are the results they’ve achieved for others. This could be from their past jobs or as a freelancer or business owner. You can only look at their past performance to trust that the marketer will likely give you a similar return on your investment. But an ROI cannot be predicted or guaranteed when it comes to marketing, especially since every company is different on some level. And how they connect to an audience will not be the same as another. A marketer should also: Garner your trust Help you make an informed buying decision Educate you on their process Provide you with testimonials/social proof Let you talk to other clients about their experience And deliver excellent customer service from the very beginning The marketer you want to work with should also be honest with integrity. You want someone who won’t make false promises. Instead, work with someone not afraid to set realistic expectations for your marketing. You want transparency, and that is what VCM Strategies promises, along with promises to: Be a partner to a healthy business relationship Gain an understanding of your business and audience to make informed marketing decisions Test and measure marketing efforts and pivot quickly when necessary Bring ideas to the table informed by consumer insights Keep you “in the know” about marketing progress What to do if a marketer makes a guarantee? If a marketer tells you that they can guarantee any ROI, you need to run or get ready for many disappointments.

It took me months to get up the nerve to write this article, but I was told to tell my story. So, I will tell you about a business coaching experience I had that started with tears and left me with mixed feelings. How It All Started Like many, people get coached by someone they've grown to feel a level of trust for or someone referred. The person who ended up coaching me is someone whom I knew for years before they coached me. I knew them from an excellent marketing class they had taught at a college. So, familiarity with this person created a level of trust. But sadly, for me, the familiarity left me blindsided. After meeting up with this coach to catch up on life and business in this person's office, we went out for a quick bite before leaving the city to go back to our homes. But, during the time out, the coach spoke to me about my commitment to my business. The coach assessed how it seemed like coaching at the moment looked to be ideal for me. And I did agree, but I told this coach that I seriously did not have the money for coaching at that time because I had just left my job, got engaged, and was planning for a wedding. The Deception When the bill came, we took out our credit cards, and the coach asked to see mine. I figured it was for the check. But, instead, this coach ran my credit card for $3,000. So unreal to me, I went home thinking this coach was joking. But then, I got on my computer to see that he really did it! Without a contract, this coach ran my credit card for $3,000 from their cell phone. I called this coach in tears, pleading for my money back, for this coach to tell me that the fee was non-refundable. And oddly, my credit card wouldn't stop payment. I should've done more in hindsight, but I felt defeated. [Later, this coach revealed that they didn’t take me saying that I lacked the funds seriously. This is now a charge I am still slowly paying back now after promises of help landing clients to make up for the charge]. I felt embarrassed having been taken advantage of in this way – by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Then, I had to convince my family and fiancé that I wasn't an idiot and that the coach had good intentions. I blamed myself for this coach essentially scamming me, as most do when taken advantage of. Talk about a quick life lesson. The Fall Out But despite the deception, which I addressed at length with this person, they convinced me that I was making the right decision by investing in myself. And, as livid as I was, I knew I needed to invest in myself. I then rested on the coaches' reputation as a reason to give them a second chance. If this ever happens to you, sue! A person who operates this way should not be trusted. Take it from me. Lessoned Learned From The Wolf Since I didn't sue, here are some more quick takeaways for what you should never accept from a coach during the sales and onboarding process. The first two points were covered already... Never give a coach your card even if they say they "just want to see it." Always get a contract before making any payment. In my case, the coach did not give me a choice. A coaches' sales process should not involve deception or high-pressure sales techniques. You should feel 100% sure about your decision to work with a coach because you genuinely see the value of working with them. Now, on to service delivery. Seeing how this coach took my money in such a horrendous way, I was determined to get as much from my coaching experience as possible. Was Anything Salvageable? Sadly, looking back, I wish I had sued this person for my money instead. Here are some things I wish I had during my coaching experience that would've made it better. I wish I didn't have to be the one to push for a rundown of what was going to be covered in the coaching program. I wish the coaching program had structure. I found myself having to instill structure where none existed. I wish I had detailed weekly assignments. After a while, it seemed like this coach was winging it as we went along. I wish the coach provided me with the recordings from our session to have something to look back on for the moments when valuable information was presented. Unfortunately, I had to be the one to ask for them instead. And, if I did not ask, my sessions were never sent to me. I wish the coach stuck to the contract terms (that I should've received before [thief of] payment). I was supposed to get long-form workshops. I asked for them, but the coach continued to reassure me there was time for them. My time with the coach ended, and no long-form sessions. I wish I didn't feel like this coaches' guinea pig for a new program launch. For me, I learn best in a structured learning environment. And I will not deny that I learned new tools for running a business. But weeks after working together, this coach said they did not feel like they left me with proper direction. Say what?! Sigh. But did this person offer free help or a refund? Nope. The coach just left me hanging. So, what does this mean for me? When I coach others, I will always make sure the sessions are structured, systematic, and calculated to get a person from point A to point B. I will never deceive a potential coaching client. I would never want anyone to go through what I went through. I will let people know that it is okay to have worked in a business function but struggle with having their own business. It's hard coming to terms with the reality that you may have built up a long-standing career in the corporate or nonprofit world and that as an entrepreneur, you have to build up your reputation again. Despite my ordeal, I will continue to be a lifelong learner and someone willing to make investments into my business and personal growth. I am eager to play the long game. And as a business owner, you have to be a life-long learner. Not knowing everything about having a business will always push me to study marketing and business every day to provide my clients with the best information. So Comment... Have you ever been through a coaching experience you wish you could take back and how have you moved on from it?

The life of a business owner is a demanding one. Who has time to think about the client’s experience when you are focused on getting work done? But, the client experience is as important as the service. We’ve all been there. The client doesn’t grumble, so we think everything is going well. But in the meantime, the person couldn’t be more irritated, annoyed, or just plain unhappy. This is why you have to delight your clients with excellent customer service mindfully. If we don’t wow them, how can we ever ask for a referral or testimonial? Here are a few ways that you can start delighting your clients today. Create an Amazing Sales Process With a prospect is on the heels of doing business with you, do you have a sales process? Unfortunately, few people follow a sales process when they know they should. Even I am at fault for this sometimes. And, unless you are a born salesperson, the sales process is not easy unless you practice it. But, first, you must know what it means to have one. What is the sales process? A sales process consists of repeatable steps you would take to move a prospect (new lead) to a paying client. Steps in the sales process include: Pre-Sale (Strategy) Prospecting Preparation Approach Presentation Handling objections Closing And, follow-up You should standardize this process for your business to close more clients and to see what is working and not working in your sales process. Then, you can make improvements with one in place. You want your sales process to align with your clients' way of buying, not how you want to sell. But, I struggle to find anyone willing to speak about their sales process online. So, here is the sales process of an event planner that nailed it for me. 1. The business responded quickly to my inquiry. She was only one of three event planners who responded with 1-2 business days, which was great. No one wants to wait days to hear back from anyone. Especially not from a business. It’s just as bad as holding for 15 minutes to speak to an operator with terrible music playing in the background. 2. The business was prepared for the first call. Before the call, the business owner was ready. She had a base-level cost for the services that I was looking for. In this case, the event planner also knew a few average prices for vendors often hired for an event like the one I wanted. 3. The business owner took the time to learn about my wants. The business owner asked questions to learn more about the type of services I wanted. And, before discussing the budget, she gave me a rundown of her service processes. This included what I could expect from her that she felt made her an ideal hire. She then asked me about my budget and made sure I was realistic about what could be accomplished for my budget. She also reassured me that I was in good hands. 4. The business owner was transparent about her fees. She set up a video call to discuss a realistic budget based on our last call. On the call, she told me her minimum fee and reviewed package options with me. This was enough information for me to determine if I could afford her. From experience, business owners who provide a service should stick to their fees and decline service to those unable to pay. 5. The business owner quickly followed up after our video call. After our video call, the owner emailed me her packages. But the packages came with a time limit on how long the package pricing would be valid. The longer I waited, the more expensive her packages and fees would become. This motivated me to buy a package sooner than later. Creating an Amazing Client Onboarding Process The client onboarding process is the process of welcoming a new client to your business. Closing a client is not the finish line. During this process, you address your new client’s questions and concerns and set expectations for what is in store for them. Here is how this event planner shined during her onboarding process: 1. She set expectations immediately. The owner set up a kick-off call. Along with the call, she provided me with a drafted timeline for my event using a critical path with key dates I should be aware of. A critical path for how long a service will take to complete can be done for any service-based business. 2. The business owner shared all service details with me. The owner discussed the budget with me in more detail after I signed the proposal. She then set up a shared Google Excel document with tabs correlating to each part of the planning and service process, from budget and décor to timetables and catering. The budget is a roadmap for event planners, so an event planner should create a budget estimate before planning or hiring vendors. 3. She set up a weekly check-in meeting. With me worrying about the next steps, she reassured me that she was about her business with weekly calls. The calls allowed us to discuss what was new and what I should be aware of. This call also gave her time to ask me any questions she needed answers to. Her accessibility made the experience a really nice one. She also stuck to her meeting times with me instead of canceling, showing me that she knew how to manage her time. 4. The business owner held a check-in call every 30 days. She scheduled a Zoom call every 30 days to recap all activities done over the past 30 days. She did this to make sure I understood her work's value and to address any of my questions or concerns. Creating an Amazing Service Process The service process is how you provide your services to a client. This means creating tasks, schedules, activities, and routines for how your service will be delivered. Part of this process includes the service itself. It also includes levels of client participation and contact. For this event planner, she not only pulled off a fantastic event but added a few touches to her service process that were memorable. Memorable Service Delivery Elements When she was not available, she had an email autoresponder that thanked me for reaching out. In addition, the autoresponder provided her office hours and when I could expect to hear back from her as well. Sometimes clients forget boundaries. Being reminded of them in a friendly way has to be respected. She put me on a mailing list that provided me with weekly tips and trends that her clients should know. Given that this was an event, the planner made me feel like a guest at my event instead of an event planner, too. Question How have you improved your sales, onboarding, or service processes that you now see delights your clients? Leave your answer in the comments.

Email marketing can be one tricky marketing strategy. Knowing that our emails landing into a folder of any kind can give us sweaty palms. It is because we know ourselves and that if the email does not sit in the primary inbox of an email recipient, they may never see it. So, how do you lower the chances of your email landing in a dreaded spam or promotions folder? First, you have to respect some email marketing best practices, as this is the only way to get email marketing to benefit your business. Therefore, you should... 1. Get your emails whitelisted. Getting your emails whitelisted is not as complicated as it sounds. All you have to do is ask your email subscribers to add your email address to their contact list. If a subscriber takes this action, it will show their email service provider (i.e., gmail.com) that your emails are important to them and should be in their inbox. This is the best thing you can do to improve your open rates. 2. Not directly email people on email lists you've purchased or borrowed. Just don’t do it. People who do not know you will mark your emails as spam, or their inboxes will do it for them. If enough of your emails end up marked as spam, you might tank your business. The "powers that be" will blacklist your IP address, killing your ability to email anyone from your home or business. You don’t want that, do you? Instead… 3. Collect emails organically and keep your list clean. Collecting emails organically means that people sign up to receive your emails because they want to read your content. They are also more likely to open and read your emails. A great engagement rate increases your chances of not landing in your subscribers' spam or promotion folders in the future, too. And, just because you have email addresses does not mean all emails are created equal. Twice a year, run your email addresses through an online email verification system. By doing this, you will make sure that all your emails are still functioning. Sometimes, we have company-based emails on our email list. And, when people leave their companies, their email addresses are shuffled out with them. To improve your open rate, make sure you do not have these types of dead emails on your email list. 4. Automate. Don’t call yourself launching an email campaign with one email auto-responder. Instead, put time aside to create and schedule 2 to 3 months’ worth of emails. Writing your content in bulk will help you craft thoughtful emails you know are unique. It will also help you to create a sequence of emails with a flow. And, to make sure people feel like the emails you are sending are meant for them, personalize them. Refer to email recipients by their first names. You can program emails to populate names automatically with an email service provider, which will increase your click-through rates. It would help if you also were careful not to send prospects emails meant to convert them to clients. Or sending clients emails intended to keep them as clients or to onboard them as referral sources. It would be best if you had different goals for each audience, which should be reflected in two separate email drip campaigns. 5. Design all your emails for mobile. I don’t care if you are writing an informal follow-up email. Make all your paragraphs 1 to 2 sentences long, or they will look like big chunks of text on mobile devices. People have very short attention spans, and they will glaze over a dense section of text. And, with most people reading emails on mobile phones, don’t let your content look too dense on them. With this said, also try to put your email’s main message above the point at which a person would need to scroll down to see more information on their cell phones. This way, the person will get the point of your email as soon as they open it. 6. Optimize your email subject lines. Do a Google search for free email subject line testers, and find one you like. Then, use it to write better email subject lines. Also, learn which words are considered spammy and avoid using them. Pull out the thesaurus and find new words to use. It will also help you to expand your vocabulary. *Perk* Seriously, creating an email subject line is one of the most challenging parts of email marketing. The subject line must be compelling, concise, optimized for mobile reading, and devoid of spammy words. 7. Avoid using "no-reply" or "info@yourcompanyname.com." As a business, don’t you want people to contact you if they want to know more information about your services? Well, sending emails from a “no-reply” does not leave this door open. Instead, it tells your readers that you do not want to hear from them and are unwilling to help them. “No-reply” email addresses will also make it hard for people to opt-out of receiving your emails if they do not want them. Don’t create barriers for people to leave your list. If they want to go, let them — even celebrate them leaving. Sometimes it’s a harsh reality, but it is what it is. Also, avoid using info@ email addresses. Emails like this, and ones like “contact@” and “admin@,” are considered catch-all email addresses. They are not only impersonal but more likely to be flagged as spam. In Conclusion Let’s do a quick recap: 1. Keep your emails simple. 2. Don’t buy or borrow email lists. 3. Collect emails organically and keep your list clean. 4. Don’t wait. Automate by programming emails in advance of launching a campaign. 5. Design all your emails for mobile. 6. Optimize your email subject lines. 7. Avoid using "no-reply" or "info@yourcompanyname.com."

Are you wondering how email marketing can make a difference for your business? If so, read until the end to find out. Articles upon articles say that email marketing is the bee’s knees if you're a business owner. But, I know you are scratching your head about what type of emails could do wonders for your business. So, let’s start by going over the importance of email marketing for any business owner. The Importance of Email Marketing To sum it up, big businesses won’t stop emailing us, so something must be working! In all seriousness, email addresses hardly ever change. And, people rarely ever stop using the ones they have. Emails are great for wooing prospective clients. And, they help past clients remember you in the event they need someone with your superstar talents. Emails are also known for having the biggest ROI based on many market research studies. But I know. It is hard to believe that marketing works sometimes. So much of how marketing works goes unseen because it is all about getting into someone’s conscious and subconscious. And, to be a thought or afterthought, someone has to know, like, and trust you. Why People Should Know, Like, and Trust You When people feel like they know, like, and trust you, they are more willing to do business with you without hesitation. There’s no magic — no red or blue pills. There is only the opportunity to be first to mind when someone is looking for a service provider like you because they know, like, and trust you. Emails can help do this. But, you have to consider the consumer decision journey first. It is simple. You must consider how a client engages with you before, during, and after a sale. In the context of email marketing, you want to try to get a person’s name and email address before the sale. And then use email marketing to foster the relationship. Pre-Sale Email Address Acquisition So, how do we get email addresses before the sale? There are two ways to do this. Option #1. You request an email address when someone fills out your website’s inquiry form. Option #2. You offer a lead magnet or something of value (e.g., a worksheet) in exchange for an email address. Let’s address getting an email address with Option #2. For example, in exchange for a prospect's email address, you could offer: A list of questions clients should answer before contacting a person like you. Or a worksheet to help potential clients determine if they should hire someone like you. As you can see, both lead magnets will help you get a prospective client’s email address. They will also help potential clients qualify themselves. And after a person downloads one of these lead magnets, you can send them a sequence of emails. These emails can educate the person on your process until they are ready to hire you. Emails for the Sales Process Next, you need to have some email communications ready to go once a person reaches out to you. You may think this is unnecessary because you’re responding to them after an inquiry. But, depending on form responses, you can tailor email communications. For example, you can automate an email sequence so that they provide the reader with: A resource list Tips on how to choose someone like you A trend report from your industry A checklist Links to your portfolio and/or testimonials Don’t be afraid to provide value during the sales process. It will boost the chances of your new lead becoming a new client. Emails After the Project Is Over Now, let’s say a person has decided to do business with you, and that you’ve tackled their problem(s) like a Super Bowl champ. You want to re-engage these past clients. You can re-engage past clients in many different ways, including: Asking them for a testimonial (video or written) Asking them for introductions or referrals – encourage them to give others the same joy they experienced working with you. Reaching out to congratulate them on any milestones you know of. Quarterly asking them if they need help with anything you specialize in. Sending them a survey asking them to help you improve your service delivery. The key is to spread these communications out in a way that makes sense. Don’t send all these emails right after you finished working with a person. Wait at least 2-3 days or so before asking for a testimonial or referral. And for all other emails, how they are to be sent is totally up to you. But, make sure you reach out at least every three months or every quarter. After all, happy clients are your best future clients. And, a referral is more likely to do business with you because someone they trust told them that they should.