Do you ever find yourself in the middle of a challenge with your business and wondering,“How did I get here…again?!”Nothing feels worse than the suspicion that you’ve been spinning your wheels for the past month. (Or quarter. Or year.) The last thing we want is to get caught in a downward spiral, where we never get to overcome our struggles and rise past a certain level.But what if that spiral was actually going up, not down?I spoke with Nathalie Lussier, world-class digital strategist and email building expert, about this problem that confronts all of us: how to understand the recurring patterns in our business.Not only does she give some sage advice on how to deal with these patterns, but she shows how embracing them can actually help you build your business by narrowing your niche.We usually think of business strategy as being a line between Point A and Point B…and measure our success by how straight that line is.But in real life, Nathalie says, the path is more like a spiral staircase. As we make our way up to the next level, we revisit the same issues, challenges and themes over and over again. When you come up against circumstances that make you think “How did I get here again?”, flip the way you’re looking at them. Even if it’s the same issue, you’re in a different place with it than you were six months (or even six weeks) ago.What’s more, each time you revisit that same situation, you learn something a new and deeper lesson about it, which you can then pass on to your target audience. They’re all climbing spiral staircases of their own, and they need your story to help them keep going.EPISODE FREEBIE Click Here to Get Nathalie's "Spiral Staircase Exercise" FREE DOWNLOADNarrowing Your Niche Helps You Ask for What You WantThink about some of your mini-goals for this quarter. Maybe you want to get published in a prominent magazine or website. Maybe you want to speak at someone’s live event, or host an event of your own. Maybe you want to join forces with another business.These kinds of opportunities don’t usually come knocking—you have to ask for them. Chances are, you’re one of several people asking.But when you have a clearly defined, highly specific niche, you’re bringing something to the table that will stand out. Your niche gives you leverage to show why what you have to say matters, who is going to listen, and how success in that opportunity can be measured. Those are win-wins for you and the person you’re asking.EPISODE FREEBIE Click Here to Get Nathalie's "Spiral Staircase Exercise" FREE DOWNLOADNarrowing Your Niche Reconnects You with the Deeper Meaning of Your BusinessTake a minute to really search your soul. What are you really passionate about changing in the world? Whom do you feel the most empathy for? Whose troubles do you burn to solve?Your compassion is a powerful indicator of where your niche really lies. Identify the people whose struggles motivate you the most, and let them become co-creators of your business by defining your work around their needs.“A lot of times, we get caught up in the logistics and the analytics, what’s the conversation rate, what’s the opt-in rate… Just remember that there’s a human being on the other side of that screen who has their own heartbeat, hopes, dreams and goals. When I’m sending an email, I’m not sending an email to my list—I’m sending an email to all these incredible human beings.”Next time you find yourself in an all-too-familiar position in your business, don’t lose heart. Look for the opportunities it offers—opportunities that you’d never have seen last time you were in this place. There’s nothing wrong with a spiral if it’s leading you upward.

I started out this year with a fully fleshed-out calendar. I knew exactly what I was going to do, when we were going to promote, when we were not going to promote, when I was going to take vacations, etc. Everything was planned.Well, as you probably know, things change as the year gets going. As entrepreneurs, the challenge is to be flexible enough to seize good opportunities, but not so flexible that we lose all our momentum.Now that it's July--where did the time go?--I decided to hit "pause" in the calendar flow and regroup.I'm going to walk you through a simple, powerful exercise to evaluate where you are right now in your business, what’s working, what’s not working, and what needs to change.I've also created a downloadable template that helps you chart your progress in this exercise. You can get it by clicking here.EPISODE FREEBIE Get the "Back On Track" Action Assessment FREE DOWNLOADReady? Let's get started.Step #1 - Review Your WeekWrite down every single thing you can remember you’ve done in the last seven days. I mean everything--creating content, training, phone calls, reading emails, writing emails. It's crucial to know how you've been spending your time.Step #2 - Perform a Brain DumpThink ahead to the next six months, and write down all of the things you need to get done. People to contact, products to create, events to attend, blog posts to write . . . I mean everything. (Warning--don't use this as an opportunity to come up with new ideas! This is just for what you've got in the works right now.)Step #3 - Identify the RevenueNow that you've got your list of six months into the future, take a highlighter pen and highlight every item on that list that will produce revenue for you, either directly or indirectly.Learn more about how you can successfully "regroup." Click here to listen to the full episode.Step #4 - Identify Misspent TimeNow take another highlighter pen in a different color, go back to the list you made in Step #1, and highlight the tasks that were either a big waste of your time or that you could have delegated but didn't.Now go back to the Six Month list, take a third highlighter pen, and highlight all of the things that you could either do farther into the future, or that can be leveraged or delegated.Lots of highlighter action, I know. But this is all about identifying where you should and shouldn't be spending your time.Step #5 - Color Code Your CalendarI use Google calendar, which makes it very easy to highlight each entry in a certain color. The point is that to have different colors for different categories--planning a project, upcoming deadlines, content creation, podcasting, being interviewed with someone else, even time off or personal errands (like getting my hair cut).Once you do this, you can step back and see the big picture of your schedule. Where are your biggest blocks of time being spent? Is that enough, given what you know about your work flow? Are you spending enough of your week doing the things you really love?After all, isn't that a big part of why we start our own business?Don't forget to download Amy's template that walks you through this whole exercise, step by step. Click here to get it.EPISODE FREEBIE Get the "Back On Track" Action Assessment FREE DOWNLOADAt this point, it's time to pat yourself on the back, take a walk, breathe deeply.That's the whole point of this exercise--giving yourself more room to breathe. You now have a bird's-eye view of what your schedule really looks like. You know where you need to focus your time. You know what things you can quit doing or delegate.Without these moments to regroup, the day-to-day hustle can start to consume you. These regular check-ins with your schedule will put you back in charge of your business.

For busy entrepreneurs, the About page of a website is one of the easiest to put off. You might throw a few vital details up there, like your name (always a good place to start) and your credentials, and promise yourself to fill it out later. Maybe you even go back and try adding some details that paint a fuller picture of you as a person.But for many, no matter how hard they work on it, their About page just falls flat. It feels fake, like you’re pretending to be someone you’re not. And that makes sense—we’re all taught never to brag about ourselves…so it feels pretty strange to suddenly write a whole page about why your customers should think you’re so great!That’s why I’m so happy to introduce you to Melissa Cassera. She’s a publicity expert (as well as a screenwriter and an actress), and if you read her own About page, you can see that she is an expert on how to write about yourself in a way that comes out warm, genuine and authentically irresistible.Why Is An About Page Important?Melissa compares the About page to the gown a Hollywood actress wears on the “red carpet.” It’s the way to show off both your importance and your individuality at once, impressing people and engaging them at the same time. The About page is where you give people just enough information about you to want to know more.In other words, you don’t want to give away the whole story on your About page—it’s their intro to all the excitement that awaits if they choose to work with you. For the reader, it should feel like they’ve met you in person, looked you in the eye and shaken your hand.So how do you convey that feeling in words?Think About How You Serve the WorldRather than begin by talking about what you do, begin your About page with a line or two about why you do it. This should be the element that guides you through the writing process for your About page. If you get stuck or are wondering if you are including the right kinds of details, ask yourself if what you’ve written paints a picture of the world/society/lifestyle/change that you are trying to build with what you do. Show Your Non-Professional SideWould it surprise you to learn that the part of your About page that really sells you is the part where you talk about something besides work? This, Melissa says, is what really seals the emotional connection with people and allows them to get to know you on a more personal level. Not only that, but this section is what sets you apart from your competition. Nobody else has the same story, the same style, the same lovable quirks and personal motivations that you have.As Melissa says in her "Better Bio Challenge" blog post,"Personal details aren’t 'frivolous' — they anchor you in the reader’s mind and showcase the 'person' behind the 'business.' Try to include at least ONE little detail about your passions, guilty pleasures + personal life, in your bio — and you’ll sparkle off the page, every time."Create an “Action Step”By now, your audience has fallen head over heels in love with you…so what’s the next step? Where does the relationship go from here? Melissa says this is the moment to offer them a concrete action step. Offer a free opt-in gift, list links to your five most popular blog posts, tell them to contact you to set up a consultation. Whatever your specific action step is, make it simple and immediate for them to make the next move.Get more of Melissa's suggestions for making your About page actionable. Click here to hear the full interview.The Bottom Line: What Is Fame For? Melissa has a stellar blog post called “Four Questions to Help You Identify What's Not Working in Your Biz...And Make It Better.” In it, she offers this really thought-provoking quotation:

Two weeks ago, in Episode #62, I reviewed the project plan I use for all of my promotions. And if you downloaded the free Project Plan Checklist that I offered, you might have had some questions about the bigger action items on that list.I'm going to break down some of those bigger items in upcoming episodes. Today, though, I'm going to walk you through some of the details that led to the overwhelming success of this promotion.This blog post is going to be just a tease for the podcast, for the simple reason we cover a lot of ground in the audio version! If you haven’t listened to this week’s episode yet, I really encourage you to download and enjoy the whole thing.But for now, here are the basics:Launch in ReviewMy recent launch of the Profit Lab was very different from past launches. I took some risks by changing things up and I’ll be honest—I was a little worried. But those risks paid off in a big way. It turned out to be the most successful launch I've ever done, with sales just under a million dollars, and some amazing new insights that will make future launches just as profitable.Here's what really paid off this time:Consistent ContentSurveying My AudienceA Targeted GiveawayEducating My Target MarketRebrandingEPISODE FREEBIE Get Amy's "Profit Lab Ad Creative Setup" FREE DOWNLOADRetargeted AdsThere are so many more details of this launch that I want to share with you, including what worked and what didn’t work so well, especially when it came to running Facebook and Google ads. These details will be immensely helpful alongside this week’s free download.

Last year, one of my most popular podcasts was an interview with John Lee Dumas. But I invited him back this week because I wanted to talk about podcasting again, in a whole new way.Today, I want to focus on about podcasting for somebody who already has a platform. Maybe you have a business with a blog. Maybe you have an online training program or course that you’re constantly perfecting and promoting from one year to the next. Maybe you are a coach or consultant.Bottom line, you have something important to say. And maybe you’ve been thinking the podcast thing seems to be growing even bigger, and might be a good way to help your business get bigger, too.Well, you’re right. It is.No question, podcasting requires a fair amount of work, especially to get it all set up. But it can also be a huge boost to your business’ visibility, to establishing your brand as a leader, and ultimately to your sales.John is a podcasting superhero. His show Entrepreneur on Fire is consistently ranked among iTunes’ top business podcasts—he even got a Best of iTunes recognition within his first year! More impressively, though, he puts out a new episode every day! (As in seven days a week—no weekends off for this guy.) This makes him the perfect person to explain why podcasting is worth it, how he gets it done, and how he manages to stay fired up about it every single week.Why Should You Podcast?As entrepreneurs, we are always looking for other avenues to grow our audience. That’s why we use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, that’s why we blog and send emails to our list. The podcasting sphere is just another way to reach more people—a lot more people. iTunes has 525 million active subscribers, and SoundCloud, Stitcher and Spotify are catching up fast.Podcasters are an obsessive crowd—they are constantly looking for new content to listen to during their commute, while walking their dog, while they’re waiting at the airport…you name it!That’s the great thing about podcasting—it doesn’t require you to say “no” to something else, the way a lot of content does. In our multi-tasking culture, it’s the perfect way to get your message heard and deliver free, valuable and consistent content to your audience.But Wait...There's More!John has some incredible free content for you. If you want to learn about how to find your ideal podcast topic, your ideal podcast listener, how to get your show noticed in the ever-growing podcast arena, and so much more, click here to get into his free podcasting workshop.

You know me--I teach what I know best. And what I know by now, more than anything, is that the key to making a sales plan work is having a proven, foolproof system. So today, I'm going to walk you through my project management system, line by line. This is one I've spent hours mapping out with my team. Some of it will be familiar to you, but it's in the little details that you'll find the most value--the tiny things that make your promotion polished, professional and, most importantly, effective.Another great thing about putting together a promotion with this system is that it sets up your content to be "evergreen"--meaning you can use it over and over again to sell your product and build your business.There's a lot of content in this post and in the podcast. But don't worry. I've put together a special checklist for you, so that you can put all this information into action right off the bat. No matter what kind of promotion you're planning, this checklist has all the basic steps you need to make sure it launches successfully. Click here to download it instantly.EPISODE FREEBIE Click Here to Get "The Project Plan Checklist" FREE DOWNLOADI divide all my promotional planning into three categories: The Pre category is everything you do before the cart opens (i.e., your product becomes available for sale). The Live category is everything you do when the cart is open. The Post category is everything you do after the cart closes. I've launched promotions in the past that I've had just a few weeks to pull together. As my business has grown, I've had more time to plan and prepare. But here's the thing: it's never enough time! Let me encourage you to always get started on this system earlier than you think. There will always be last-minute tasks that have you scrambling. That scramble will be a lot less stressful, the sooner you get started. (Right now, I'm already starting on this system for a promo set to launch in October!)Category #1: Pre-PromotionCategory #2: Live Promotion Maintain the New Customers AreaCategory #3: Post Promotion Shut Down Ads Redirect Promo Pages to Your Waitlist Remove Promotional Imagery from Website/Social Media Celebrate! I’m always ready for a virtual champagne toast by the end of the process. I also send out thank-you notes to everyone who has helped: team members, affiliates, experts, etc.

As humans, we are hardwired to connect emotionally with visual content. Pictures in particular--we process them very quickly--faster than text, video, or audio. Pictures allow us to make a really quick decision about whether we are going to engage with something.It's no secret that some of the most successful brands in the world owe their popularity to their visual content strategy. Notice I said strategy--in other words, not just any visual content will do.Fortunately, one of the world's biggest experts in visual social media and content strategy is also a good friend of mine.You probably know Donna Moritz already as the power behind Socially Sorted, the award-winning blog about using visual content on social media. I know her as my #1 student from the very first Profit Lab course I ever launched. She's also shown up on this site more than once.But today, Donna is here to school me--and you--in how to set up a visual content strategy that supports your sales and sends your message.She's also put together an amazing freebie for us--a three-part video series that walks you through the process of creating polished imagery. This is where you'll learn how to use all the tools mentioned in this episode. Trust me--it's a must-have.EPISODE FREEBIE Get Donna Moritz's Free Guide To Creating Visual ContentFREE DOWNLOADBefore she became the renowned expert she is today, Donna learned all the ins and outs of visual content strategy through simple practice. After working in several different businesses--sometimes for others, sometimes for herself--she saw how visual content really created that initial resonance with a target audience that makes them want to learn more.The main thing with your visual content is to "stop the scroll"--in other words, arrest your audience's attention so that their finger pauses above their mouse or smartphone screen, and they take the time to engage with your message.The more Donna learned, the more excited she got about the potential of various kinds of visual content. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer variety of visual content styles out there, don't worry--Donna is here to break it into three basic levels.These are the really easy-to-create, easy-to-share individual images that would be on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Think funny photos, behind-the-scenes shots, images that incorporate quotes, tips or other short bits of text. They are really a good jumping-off point to lead into a longer message.2. Step-by-Steps3. ShowpiecesThere's so much more to learn about visual content strategy in my interview with Donna, so make sure to listen to the whole episode. Also, click here to get the amazing freebie she designed for us--it's a three-part video series where she walks you through the specifics of how to create images. It's a must-have for anyone who's ready to put their visual content strategy into action.EPISODE FREEBIE Get Donna Moritz's Free Guide To Creating Visual ContentFREE DOWNLOAD

When it comes to communicating the value of a product or service, Ray Edwards is a true legend in the industry. I met him way back in my corporate job days when my boss hired him to work his magic on a new sales letter for a product we were launching. That was when I saw the true power that words can have in generating sales and building a business. Since then, I decided to become a devoted student of copywriting, and a student of Ray’s, in particular.Why Is Persuasion So Important?In a perfect world, we could just say “Here’s what I have, it’s good, buy it if you want to,” and all the right people who need our product would click Purchase. But the thing is, we’ve all become really smart, and really skeptical.Ray points out that even Apple isn’t immune to the need for writing sales copy—they’re just so good at how they present it that we don’t realize we’re consuming their copywriting!Very few of us like thinking about “sales writing.” It makes us think of smarmy used car salesmen, trying to con hardworking people out of their money. Ray is familiar with this aversion to copywriting, and here’s how he explains the way to avoid sounding “sales-y”:"I think people get confused about persuasion versus manipulation. I like to define the difference this way: persuasion results in you making a buying decision that you will celebrate later; manipulation leads to you making a buying decision that you will regret later."The key to guiding your clients toward a decision they will celebrate is—no surprise—knowing your clients really well! You think of the problem that you’re solving, and you write about it from the perspective of the person who has the problem, and you describe their pain. Someone once said that the more accurately you can describe the pain of the person you’re selling to, the more they feel as though you automatically have the solution to the problem.Whew. Great stuff, huh?Get even more of Ray's insights on how genuine, emotionally persuasive copy can make selling a breeze. Click here to listen to the whole episode. Okay, now let’s get into the nuts and bolts of writing great copy.Ray has a couple of frameworks that he teaches anyone who is trying to improve their copywriting skills. The first one is called...The "Pastor" FrameworkThis one gets its name from the original meaning of the word “pastor”—having to do with being a shepherd. (Kind of an old meaning of the word…look it up.) Not only does this word help you remember the purpose of your business—to help and take care of people with what you sell—but it also just happens to be a handy acronym for setting up the points of your sales page.P — ProblemA — AmplifyS — StoryT — TestimonialO — OfferR — ResponseAsk people to take action.EPISODE FREEBIE Get 100+ Email and Headline Templates from Ray EdwardsFREE DOWNLOADThis last piece of the Pastor framework brings up an important point that should be present in your copy:Any Decision Is Better Than No DecisionStep #1: The Existing SituationStep #2: The Dream SolutionStep #3: Discovering the Trusted GuideStep #4: Presenting the Unique SolutionStep #5: Describe the FeaturesStep #6: Describe the BenefitsStep #7: The Transformative OfferStep #8: Present ProofStep #9: Justify the ValueStep #10: Eliminate Fear and RiskStep #11: Offer BonusesStep #12: Invite a DecisionMake sure to listen to my full podcast interview with Ray Edwards--we covered so much more than I could fit into this blog post! And don't forget to sign up to receive more than 100 templates for writing your own persuasive headlines and emails. This is the stuff that Ray normally offers only to students of his copywriting course, so you're not going to want to miss it!

One of the business guides I return to again and again is the book Great Leads. This book tells you everything you need to understand about communicating with your audience in a way that cultivates the relationship and results in increasing sales.No matter how many times I've read this book, I'm always blown away by the statistic they open with:“80% of emotional impact will be determined by the first 20% of the copy.”Did you know that? Because I sure didn’t!The first few hundred words of your copy are known as “the lead.” And if those first hundred words are the entryway to a sale, your headline is the front door that every client has to walk through, in order to get to your product.Of course, what you really want is for them to be stampeding through!To get this, you need a killer headline for your sales page.Four Essentials of a Killer Headline#1: The Rule of One#2: You need to provoke emotion.#3: Determine Which Lead to Use#4 Determine Your Reader's Awareness LevelCreating a Gateway for Your Ideal CustomerAs you might remember from earlier episodes, there are a few different ways to determine your target market's awareness level. Go back and listen to Episodes 55 and 56 if you need a refresher.Or, if you're ready to take a deep dive into the strategies for finding your ideal audience, you can sign up now for the Profit Lab--but hurry! Registration is closing soon, and today is the last day to get a massive "early bird" discount on this course.Finally, click here to download this week's free guide--it will walk you through each of these four essentials to create a killer sales page headline of your very own.

Last week, I put out an invitation on my Facebook page. I invited you to throw all your questions about online marketing at me! What do you want to know? Where are you stuck? What are you confused about?Well, the overwhelming majority of the questions people posted on my Facebook page were about--surprise!--Facebook. And the questions showed me that it's time for a major reframing of how we think about Facebook. Most people are just not looking at Facebook in a way that's going to serve them.And since my mission is to help you get results with your online marketing, including your Facebook marketing, we’ve got to address that...stat!The Facebook System that Changes Everything!Larissa asks:"How do I increase my FB followers? It seems I have hit a plateau. Also, I don’t want to spend copious amounts of money with FB ads…I feel they keep changing the algorithm to line their pockets by making you pay for advertising through them, and no one will see your post." If you feel this way about Facebook ads, then I’m guessing they haven’t been working for you. And believe me, I don't want you using Facebook ads if you're not generating revenue.This is where we need a reframe. I want to help you see FB as a place where putting in a little bit of money will result in bringing back a lot of money.The first thing to realize is that Facebook ads cannot work on their own. You have to incorporate them into a social media sales funnel--a system that turns your fans and followers into subscribers to your email list, and turn those names into paying clients. I know lots of people who make money every week from Facebook ads, but they aren't just using that ad to send people to their sales page. They're using those ads as part of their sales funnel system. That’s the key to getting the Facebook marketing results you’re looking for.How to Make Your Business BloomTara asks:"I would love to see a visual of how your business blossomed. I mean, there are so many things we’d like to do in our business, but how did you prioritize the tasks over the years, and most of all, what makes sense to do what when?" Back in 2010, I’d just quit my corporate job. I didn’t have a product ready to sell yet, so I took some social media consulting clients. By the end of 2011, I looked at my business and thought “Freedom is a joke!” I was a yes machine to 8 bosses, practically chained to my desk but never working on what I really wanted to do. I’d tried to sell a couple of my programs, but they never went anywhere…much like what some of you are feeling!We all talk a lot about freedom when building our businesses, but there’s not really freedom when you’re not generating revenue!2012 is when I hit upon the importance of this sales funnel system. With a product to sell and a lead magnet to capture interest, I fell in love with Facebook ads, because I realized how to make them work!The secret to my business blossoming is all in using this system.I don’t want you going to bed each night worrying about where the next dollar is going to come from! All that does is squash your creativity and confidence.Instead, I want you to wake up excited to build your business each day, enjoying the freedom to work on all the projects that help your business grow, and taking time for the rest of your life.*The masterclass registration has passed but to be sure to stay on the list for future webinars! Subscribe to my list or checkout one of my free cheat sheets here.