| OCTOBER 23, 2008 |
| In This Issue |
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In the last week alone, I have been invited by a Programs Director to speak to a parenting group, I have been approached by another coaching company interested in collaborating with me on some teleseminars, and I have been interviewed for a mini radio documentary about my Mom Biz Coach business. Woo hoo! My head is spinning! Seems that my online presence officially has a pulse and is alive and well!
This issue's feature article is all about Social Media and how it can work for you. Since there's so much to cover, this will be the first of a three-part series of ezines dedicated to helping you understand how you can make Social Media work for you and your business.
And since I love connecting people who can share, grow and learn from each other, I'm starting a new MasterMind Group, where mom entrepreneurs can gather on a monthly call to support each other. Details at right.
Last, but not least, help me celebrate the success of new friend and mommy entrepreneur extraordinaire, Leslie Haywood of Charmed Life Products, LLC, our Featured Mom Biz for this issue. Woo hoo Leslie!
To your success!
Lara |
| OCTOBER 23, 2008 |
Featured Article:
Why Social Media is Critical for Mom Entrepreneur Businesses--Part 1 |
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Those of you who have spent any time around me, or on the phone with me, or reading my blog have heard me get a little preachy when it comes to Social Media and its marketing capabilities. Especially now, when the economy is giving us "the gift" of more time to plan, organize and market our businesses, I'd like to help you get some great exposure for the hard work that you do. For FREE!
As I mentioned above, I've been busy. Yahoo! In fact, I'm thrilled to have just received another invitation to be interviewed by a talk show hostess this morning.
How did all this happen?
I didn't cold call anyone. I didn't take out a large print ad in the local magazines and newspapers. I didn't pay for specialized SEO for my websites. I didn't pay for a booth at a networking event. I didn't send out a press release to anyone. In fact, I didn't pay for anything and I was probably wearing my pajamas in the comfort of my own home when my marketing was working for me. And rather than "pushing" my marketing message out to the world, I'm "attracting" an audience who is interested in what I do.
So what is Social Media? The easiest way for me to think about it is to compare it to a Chamber of Commerce or a small business networking group (like BNI). All of us entrepreneurs know that marketing is important, but we seldom choose to allocate large portions of our budget to it. Instead, we often choose the "free" marketing route of appearing at various business networking events, introducing ourselves to other small business owners, exchanging business cards, and giving and asking for referrals.
I did this for the first two or three years of my business. But then, when I moved across the border to Windsor, and had no babysitters for these morning Chamber/BNI meetings, I started seeing just how much these "free marketing" opportunities were costing me in time and headaches. As a mom of three kids aged six and under, attending a weekly 7am coffee at the local chapter of BNI simply doesn't work. So how can we mom business owners effectively network, give and get referrals, and in general get the world "buzzing" about our businesses?
Enter Social Media! You may also have heard some other terms associated with it, like Social Networking, Social Marketing, Viral Marketing, etc.
Here's the skinny:
Social Media is a fast, professional, easy and effective way to market your business. And in my own humble opinion, it beats using the traditional methods (print ads, radio ads, tv ads, booths at tradeshows, etc.) since it is 1) free and 2) working for you when you're not even awake!
Some examples of Social Media I'm using are LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter and my wordpress.com blog. There are countless others out there, but I'm going to focus on the ones I use. Each of these sites allows me to set up an account for free. I create a profile of my business (including my bio/resume sometimes, or my background and interests, or my expertise on a certain topic), upload a professional photo of myself, and include links to all my other sites (websites, blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter accounts).
All of these media allow me to build my online network by making connections (LinkedIn), inviting more friends (Facebook), increasing my followers and the people I follow (twitter), and offering an RSS/subscription service (blogs). Just as you would build your professional network via business card exchanges, referrals, attending networking events, etc., you build your community of people you are interested in and who are interested in you. Unlike traditional networking and marketing, you don't have to hire a babysitter, dry clean your suit, and spend time commuting to and from your home or office. In fact, I do most of my social networking just two or three minutes at a time with at least one child on my lap.
As a coach, I'm in the services business. I don't have a product (other than myself) to sell (yet!). My intention when I market my business is to get people to know, like and trust me. People like to buy from people they know, like and trust. Of course, you can use Social Media platforms to socialize with friends and family, but the reason I use it for business is because I find the online business community to be extremely approachable. I am able to introduce myself and be introduced to others by typing a quick message like, "Hi! I love your work. Look forward to learning from you!"
In very little time, I usually get a message back. There: a virtual handshake that's informal, yet powerful. And if this new contact is interested in learning more about me, s/he can do so via my profile, which in turn links them to my websites, blogs and other Social Media platforms. After reading about me in these platforms, a potential client is pre-qualified to do business with me since I explain how I work, what I offer and what I charge on my website. So you see, I can end up with a pre-qualified sales lead as a result of typing 11 words and hitting send. How easy is that?
And it can be even easier. Since most Social Networking platforms (like LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter) allow all of my friends/connections to see who I'm connected to and to read my posts, I often get messages from people who are "friends of my friends" who I never contacted directly. This passing of information continues to spread, like a virus (hence the term "viral marketing") to all of my friends, then to their friends, and so on. And it travels fast!
So this is where I'll end my first installation about Social Media and why you should be using it to promote your business. I hope you'll take a peak at some of the options out there. I'll go into greater depth about how it works (including some examples) and offer some resources for more information in the next two issues of my ezine. If you have questions, please ask. I'm excited to help you grow your business!
Thanks for reading! If you know someone who could benefit from this, feel free to forward it to them.
Not a subscriber yet? Like what you've read? Sign up to get future issues delivered straight to you: http://www.mombizcoach.com.
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| ABOUT LARA GALLOWAY |
Lara Galloway, the Mom Biz Coach, is passionate about helping moms in business make more money doing work they love while taking care of priority #1: family. Find out more: www.mombizcoach.com. |
NEW MASTERMIND GROUP FORMING:
NEW MOTHERHOOD AND RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS |
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Are you interested in collaborating, sharing ideas, and getting feedback on how to grow your business? Want a group of peers you can count on for support to keep your business running and yourself sane?
I facilitate these MasterMind Groups via monthly telecons and would like to find some others to join. For more info on how these groups work, please visit www.mombizcoach.com. Click on "What I Offer," and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Registration deadline is October 31st!
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| LATEST BUZZ... |
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> Stay tuned for the recording of my interview with CHRW radio in London, Ontario. It's about how the economic downturn might be causing more moms to consider starting their own businesses. I'll post a recording of it on my website.
> I'm working with the talented Natalie True on an upcoming workshop series for new moms called "The Nine Myths of Motherhood," based on Natalie's book. We're offering the workshop as a "brown bag" series at a corporate office in Metro Detroit. Do you know of an organization that would be interested in having this type workshop for their employees? Let me know! email: lara@mombizcoach.com
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Featured Mom Biz: Charmed Life Products LLC
Leslie Haywood,
Founder and President
Wife and mother of two in Charleston, SC
- What you love most about your biz:
I love logging onto the computer never knowing what's waiting for me. It's such a thrill to open my inbox to see... Did I get that big account? Is there another order? Did someone I admire acknowledge my product? It's like Christmas every morning!
- Why you decided to become a mom entrepreneur:
It kind of chose me. I was going along my merry little way being perfectly happy as a stay at home mom to two beautiful daughters, when during one of our dinner parties, I was inadvertently given the wrong piece of chicken off the grill (too spicy!). That very spicy light bulb moment led to my inventing, manufacturing and marketing the MUST HAVE grilling accessory known as Grill Charms(TM).
- Your biggest challenge as a mom entrepreneur:
Finding that balance between mom and entrepreneur. It's a balancing act that is perpetually out of balance. I try my hardest not to let the kids pay the price of having an entrepreneur for a mom, but I'm also not kidding myself. They watch a little more TV then I'd like and there have been days that I have snapped at them when they didn't deserve it because the stress of doing both just broke me down, BUT I really make a concerted effort to do both and do both well. By the same token, to some degree, my business pays a price for me being a mom. For example, not too long ago my 5 year old was very sick and the marketing efforts I had mapped out for that week had to be put on hold.
- A tip you'd like to offer other moms in business:
When you take the plunge to become an entrepreneur expect the unexpected and never give up. I am learning that it's pretty common to have to scrap what you initially thought was the prefect process, material, design, plan, solution etc... and just start fresh. You shouldn't let that discourage you; it's all just part of the journey. You will run into roadblocks and there are people and circumstances that will try to keep you down. PLOW THROUGH! You are in control of how this crazy entrepreneurial story goes; don't give away the pen to another author. Stay in control, stay focused and when plan A, B, C and D fall through, E, F and G will be there if you know where to look.
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