You have a list of things to do.
I know you do! And I do too. I have an online calendar, but I keep my main list inches away all day long. At the top of my list – every single list I create, every day – are three words written in RED INK:
Make Money Today!
I see the words “Make Money Today” at the top of my list throughout the day. Sometimes it’s just ignored, but at some point and in some part of my brain, those three words remind me of why I have a list of things to do. Why am I writing this blog post?
Why am I creating a landing page for another collaboration with an art organization? Why am I editing a video for my new online courses? Why do I need to get my next event up on my events page on this site?
Your list will be very different than mine. But growing your business takes time and growing your brand is never ending. It’s step-by-step and piece-by-piece. And when I look at my sales for this month, I will either have done enough to move the needle or I will want to double-down next month and get more marketing assets up and running.
So many channels
Of course, my followers all know that I will yell across the globe from the top of the tallest coconut tree out here in Hawaii that you MUST be doing everything you can to get your email marketing up, running, and grow your list every single day. That is a given – if you don’t already know.
(Okay… here I go again…. Go read the Golden Triangle of Sales Success and then return here. Even if you’ve read it before, let’s all get on the same page for this blog post, okay?)
Welcome back.
Now let’s expand the prospecting beyond that foundational system and create a list of other ways to get attention.
It’s fine to get yourself all cozy with all kinds of social media IF (really big IF) you know your target audience will be in that circle. Facebook is still the big dog, but for some of you reading this, you have found a home at Twitter, or Pinterest, and so on. However, this list is a very different group of tools.
Easy to Use Channels
Each of this channels is getting simpler to use every day. These are not in a particular order and not all will be effective in all industries. But take a moment to imagine which if any of these you might be able to use to grow your brand, online presence, and ultimately make more money.
- Video Blogging – AKA Vlogging – basically creating a blog on camera. It’s pretty easy to do these days. If you have a phone, laptop, or desktop you have a camera and you can Vlog. Most experts will tell you that you need to create at least one video a week and I agree. But what lures me to this idea, is the fact that it can be somewhat spontaneous. In fact, if you are already blogging, then you can take that same content and turn that into a Vlog. You will grow a different audience who love to watch more than read. And honestly, this post will take me a few hours – or more. A Vlog could take so little time. (Well, except I might need to clean my office!) Encourage email sign-ups along the way.
- Webinars – I don’t have to explain what this is, but I do want to encourage anyone with a service or product to sell to consider getting in front of a group of registered viewers. They have signed-up. They volunteered to attend, not randomly shown up to watch your video. You can replay these in the future, too. Just like a video (they are a video), just load them into Youtube or Vimeo. There is extra value because you will gather email addresses you received during registration and be able to continue to reach out to them.
- Facebook’s Live Streaming and Twitter’s Periscope are a couple of other options, but both require a little marketing to grow the audiences. Facebook, who notoriously no longer sends out many notifications when you post on your pages, is apparently even stingier with Live Streams. Twitter is much more friendly and posts the Periscope notification to all your Twitter followers. Still, it would be smart to set up an event time so your peeps can join without you depending on notifications. This is by its very nature a kind of “on the fly” communication. Keep it simple and fun and don’t overthink it. Oh… and ask for email sign-ups.
- Podcasts – there are still big open spaces waiting to be filled in the podcasting arena. For anyone who is a little camera shy, this can certainly be an easy way to share your information in a very easy to digest format. For your potential audience, you could likely become the Monday Morning commute routine or the 30 minute Sunday Afternoon gardening buddy. Clearly, this is a format limited to certain industries. But many industries can benefit – a car mechanic or an insurance agent might be able to find a devoted following. Encourage email sign-ups along the way.
- SlideShare – is a tool that can take a little work, but it can be a powerful tool for some industries. With its significant sharing tools and the fact that it is part of LinkedIn, it’s powerful. If you have anything to teach, share, or otherwise bring to people interested in your product, art form, or service, this is another free tool with a potential deep reach. If you teach painting or run a photography studio, this is built to give you exposure, too. This can be a powerful online “portfolio” of your skills. And you really only need to create it once and then just keep sending potential clients to view it 24/7. Encourage email sign-ups along the way.
- Online Courses – are still growing a huge audience and they can be monetized, too. This can be a big boost in your influencing your followers. Whether you have a landscape business, are a massage therapist, or teach watercolor classes, you have an audience waiting to learn from you. It’s a place to gather, a place to learn at one’s own pace, and fits nicely as a way of marketing your skills or ideas to your audience and building trust. You will automatically receive email addresses and reach out with news of new courses or other interesting news is easy.
What are you using to build your brand?
Hopefully, you main go-to is email marketing, because using “reach” to determine your success at marketing would be like counting how many bank accounts you have and considering yourself rich. You can’t pay your bills with “reach”. Where ever you plant your flag on the internet, plant an invitation for your fans and followers to join your list. (I stink I have stressed that a few times so far?! LOL!)
Never forget: you cannot spend likes, hearts, or follows. Click To Tweet
So grow your channels, but consider them doorways to more opportunities to grow your list.
I would love to know what you are doing to expand your brand and grow your audience. What do you do every day that brings you closer to a sale? Are any of you using anything from the list?
Please do share your experiences and feel free to add to the list while you’re at it!
Hi Mckenna,
Thanks for these ideas, Mckenna – I think I’m starting to “get” the marketing system and see some good results. I made a short video of me printing an etching and it was such a great tool to engage people on a number of different platforms. People now come up to me and say “I loved the video, I understand what you do now” and sometimes they make a purchase! It got shared around a lot on FB and sent a lot of people to my website some of whom subscribed. I’m trying to think of new ways to use video to spread my message and my art. Here’s the link if anyone’s interested:https://youtu.be/67Kws1imWqg
BRILLIANT! You are so amazing, Rebbeca. This is very well done. If I were to add one thing: a close up of the first plate you pulled would have been good. For future reference: people might not actually “believe their own eyes” and not understand that you have filled in those white spaces with ink from the next plate. The matching registration is the REAL trick! Wow… you are amazing.
Of course, you do know that you can embed your video in your Constant Contact emails, right? Not just the link, but the actual view of the video with the link. VERY effective tool. And then be sure to use “share this with a friend” just below. AND make sure you are using the share bar at the top so the entire email can be shared with their own social media sites.
And you can also (go do this NOW!) ask for people to “join my list” on that Youtube video. Put in your LINK that you use everywhere else that sends people directly to your email sign-up box.
And you should have this in your studio, so that when people want to know what/why they can just take three minutes while still in your shop to learn. YOU no longer need to be a tour guide!
Thanks for your kind words about the video. I didn’t know any of the things you suggest so will definitely check those out. There’s so much to learn in this internet marketing game! I did send a link in an email to my list but I didn’t know about the embed thing or how to encourage them to share it. Will work on that for next time… and do the You Tube sign up…
Yep… so much to learn! I will reach out to you in a PM, Rebecca and show you how to do this in a quick video. Bottom line: whenever you share content (emails, videos, blog posts….) you want to encourage people to sign up. You never know where the traffic will come from and just sending them to your site, is no guarantee. So everywhere you have a profile, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn and so forth, you can put a sign-up link!
Hi Mckenna,
I made an infographic to try to get my head around the things you have to do to be seen online. a digital strategy for artists – but none of those things are on my list – i should have them there (i have never done any of those things but want to one day)
would love to hear what you think about this and maybe i will start working on a ‘version two” update for later
http://mandyevansatuni.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/mapping-customer-journey-infographic.html
I will keep watching you, Mandy. Your mind is quite active! But just like the topic of this blog post – did all that effort (I see weeks of work in that page) bring you sales? Rhetorical question, of course. But sometimes we need to focus on the Top of the List: Make Money Today! Just sayin….
Thank you McKenna for covering this content.
I Can’t decide whether I should include pop ups for sign up on my website or not. Also, I read to not use the usual terms or words such as”sign up” or “join” my list but rather something catchier. Any thoughts…
Not sure where you read the advice not to use sign-up or join. And I am trying to guess at what could be catchier…”Become a Member” or “Be part of the Collector’s Club”? Being straight forward creates more trust and getting too fancy can create confusion. Tell it like it is.
I went to your site (oh by the way… I had forgotten how glorious your paintings are!) and took a peek. I think you have done an excellent job on creating plenty of very clear CTA’s (calls to action) for sign-ups. BRAVO – everyone should check out Nadia!
I love that you entice with gift giveaways and news. The number one thing to avoid is being miss-leading. Read this post in case you missed it – all about creating sign-up offers. About the ONLY place that I could imagine adding a pop-up, would be on the “Paintings” page. It could be delayed for 15 seconds, show in the bottom right-hand corner and be very subtle: Want to know when I post new work and other studio news? Join my list.
I have no idea Weebly offers, but I am sure you have an app of some kind that will do as I have just described. If that is not available, the next best timing (or maybe they are equally good choices) is when they are about to leave the page – they should both be available tools with most pop-ups. Just remain enticing in your offer without being spammy.
You are awesome! will do.
I think they meant to keep what you preach in mind, offering them something or rather what is in it for them, such as “receive” your free ……
Thank you for viewing my site McKenna. I am getting ready to launch a “premium” group of larger paintings. Previously, I simplified the navigation of viewing my art by eliminating categories… so all the art is on one page and they don’t have to keep jumping around.
Now, I’m not sure how to present this premium group to make it stand out. I’d like to not have them all in small images as shown now…larger images such as 2 or one at a time would require a new template page.
Should I continue on the same page but put headlines to separate them? or create a new category?
I am open to consulting with you on this privately. Let me know.
“Premium Group” WHAT a compelling title! Love to do a private consult – I could really sink my teeth into this idea, Nadia. Head over and set up an appointment. I am so excited for you!