by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Success, Vision and Goals
Okay. Okay. I know that you have lots of work to do sitting in that chair. Yet all of the experts tell us to get up and get moving.
Of all the things you can do to boost your mindset, exercise is near the top of the list. It not only improves your mindset but does so with relatively little mental “work” compared to most of the other methods you can employ.
So what are the top 5 benefits of exercise?
1.) Exercise Makes You Feel Good
Exercising causes your body to release feel-good hormones. Norepinephrine, Serotonin, and Dopamine are released in your brain to lift your mood, make you feel better physically, and make you more optimistic.
These hormones are noted for reducing depression, improving self-esteem, and increasing your confidence.
2.) Exercise Clears Your Mind
One of the greatest benefits of exercise is that it helps you clear your mind of distractions. It gives you something to think about other than your problems and your to-do list.
This “blank slate” effect both boosts your mood and temporarily improves your mindset.
3.) Exercise Reduces Stress Levels
Are you feeling stressed?
Go out and exercise. Working out physically burns stress chemicals out of your body, making you feel better and improving your mood and mindset.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take a lot of exercise for the good effect. A brisk ten-minute walk is enough to do it.
4.) Exercise Improves Your Ability to Concentrate
The benefits of working out also extend to what you do afterward. Getting in a good workout improves your ability to concentrate on other tasks for several hours after you finish.
This makes you more productive and puts you in a better mood.
5.) Exercise Results in Better Sleep
All of the other benefits of exercise combine to create one more: better sleep.
Exercising results in improved sleep, both in quality and quantity. Getting enough good-quality sleep is one of the most important parts of improving your mindset.
Good sleep makes everything seem better and lack of it makes everyone grumpy.
Exercise has many important benefits other than its effects on mindset and personal development, of course.
It improves your health and longevity, just for starters.
But its effects on your mind shouldn’t be understated.
So start an exercise program. You decide what will work for you.
It’s not necessary to hire a personal trainer or join a gym to get these benefits. Start by walking a few days a week. Ten minutes is enough to start. Gradually increase your walks to 20 or 30 minutes and you’ll feel better in every possible way.
Get up and get moving in the way that works for you!
For more about Secrets of Happiness, check out this Done-For-You Content for you and your clients.
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Vision and Goals
What’s the number one factor that determines whether someone succeeds at achieving a goal? Do you know?
Is it genetics? Luck?
What about skills or natural talent?
Hard work has to be in there somewhere, right?
How about networking and getting the right degree?
All of these factors are important, some more so than others, but none hold the number one spot.
So, what’s number one?
Mindset! That’s it! Research has shown that mindset is a better predictor of future success than every other factor you can consider, including hard work and natural talent.
You and your clients can improve your mindsets with this Done-for-you package
This is the case with every endeavor. Whether it’s graduating from high school, getting a promotion at work, buying a home, starting a business, or making it into a professional sports league, mindset is the most important determinant of success.
Do you remember the saying: If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right?
Obviously, your mindset has to line up with your skills. Not everyone can be a pro-football player or a rocket scientist. There are natural skills involved.
Yet there are many who have the natural skills but who haven’t developed the mindset to believe in themselves.
Why is mindset so important? What makes it so important that it overrides many other factors which can influence success?
Mindset is what drives you, what motivates you, and what makes you get up to try again when you fail.
No one succeeds on the first try. No one, no matter how talented, gets where they want to be without some failures or setbacks. Those who don’t have the right mindset -who have a fixed mindset or a negative mindset -will give up well before they reach their goal.
They’ll conclude that whatever it was isn’t for them and move on to something else.
People who have a growth mindset will get up and try again. They’ll find another way to get where they want to go. They’ll work harder and smarter, get coaching, ask for help, and do whatever else they can to reach their goals. They see failure as an obstacle and a challenge, not a final verdict on whether or not they can get where they want to be.
Mindset gives you grit, determination, and stamina. It can keep you going when everything seems lost and hopeless. This is why mindset is the number one predictor of success. If you want to up your odds of achieving your goals, you must cultivate a growth mindset
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
Today marks the last day of our 30 Day Email Marketing Challenge. We looked at many aspects of our marketing habits, and hopefully discovered some areas for improvement.
I certainly did!
As I have delved into the many aspects of maximizing email success, I have learned – or relearned – bunches. It’s good to take an inventory – or audit – of our practices so that we can improve and continue to grow.
As a reminder, email marketing is the most effective marketing strategy to date. Even compared to social media marketing. Your industry or niche doesn’t really matter; you will see a high return on investment if you implement the proper email marketing tips and strategies in any niche.
As a recap: Here are the major areas you need to refine in order to maximize your process.
- Enhance your Opt-Ins and Freebies for Higher Subscription Rates
You must generate leads by strengthening your opt-in forms and your offers.
Small eBooks, discount codes, or simple newsletters are a great place to start. Make sure the opt-in offer you use is what your readers want or need, and be sure to execute on that promise as soon as possible. If you know your audience struggles in a certain area, then this is the best place to start when developing opt-in or lead magnet content.
2. Value Your Subject Lines
While subject lines are short and sweet, you should take the time to craft the most compelling ones. In fact, you should create at least two to three for every email you send and test them among different subscribers to pick the ones with the best return.
3. Perfect Your Calls-To-Action
Always include a call-to-action and be sure it is consistent between email and campaign.
Don’t add more than one type of call-to-action per email, or you will likely confuse your subscribers. Instead, pick one goal and then perfect the call-to-action to optimize your chances of accomplishing it.
4. Focus on Personalization and Quality Content
A huge benefit to email marketing is how powerfully it can increase your authority, credibility, and trust as a brand. The more personalized, engaging, and valuable the email content, the more likely you will convert your subscribers to paying customers.
Valuable and quality content is key to gaining the trust of your followers. They must believe in your word.
Your honesty, integrity, and high quality products allow your subscribers to get to know you and learn to trust you. As they know you better, they will trust you more with their time and money.
5. Create Multiple Landing Pages for Each Campaign
This one is a bonus. We really haven’t talked about landing pages much. Yet they add a new dimension to your marketing plan.
If boosting your sales is your email marketing goal, as it is for many, then you must create landing pages for each campaign you create. Landing pages are sales pages that further describe, entice or invite someone to join or purchase your products.
Your call-to-action should lead them right to the landing page. From that page they can purchase your products, join a group, or sign up for your next project.
Some themes and many email providers have landing pages available to make this step easy.
Some pages are pre-designed and all you have to do is change the pictures and text in order to have professional looking landing pages.
So there you have it. A wrap up of our challenge.
Each piece is an important piece of the email success puzzle. As you evaluate your practices, you will find some “aha” moments when you’ll see how to accomplish something better.
You’ll find that working on each part of the email marketing process will be your key to success.
If you’ve missed some posts, you can read back through them. I think you’ll find some great ideas or reminders which will boost your email success.
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
They signed up for your email list. That’s terrific!
So what’s next?
Next is what is called the “Onboarding Sequence.” The sequence of emails you send out immediately. Obviously, this sequence should be on your autoresponder. So they will automatically receive these emails – immediately, then the next day or two, then a week later, etc.
Just signing up for your email doesn’t mean that the person will be a super customer. But then again, they may be the best customer you will ever have.
So you want to welcome them and give them a chance to see what you are all about. What you have to offer and if this is a good fit.
I would like to share some tips which will help you optimize your sequence
Always Start with A Confirmation
This is vital to ensure the deliverability of your email. Sometimes subscribers fill in the wrong information and they never receive the email. However, a double-opt-in form where the reader must confirm their address reduces this chance.
A confirmation is also a great way to personalize your introduction and further increase their interest.
Focus On Benefits Not Features
When subscribers first join, show them the benefits you promised in the opt-in. Don’t just list features.
This is probably the number one rule for sales anywhere.
You can list tons and tons of features. But what they want to hear is how it benefits them.
For instance, a feature might be: I will send you a daily scripture verse. The benefit: You can start your day full of faith with the impactful daily scripture verse I’ll send.
A feature: I have a huge selection of courses on how to write and publish your book. The benefit: You will have guidance every step of the way as you listen to my instruction on book publishing.
So you see the difference? The feature is what you have to offer. The benefit is how the feature will impact them.
To really understand this difference, think about automobile commercials. They don’t major on what’s under the hood. They display the dream that beautiful girls will flock to the guys who drive this car. Or that if you have this car, you can get away from all of the city hustle and enjoy the beauty and adventure of a secluded trail in the mountains.
You can see what I’m saying. When you are introducing yourself, try to focus on what they will get out of hanging around you.
Also, provide real value. Give them instant satisfaction by joining your list with hardly anything in return.
Develop Inactive and Active Reader Sequences
Be sure to segment your list in terms of their behavior and how they respond to your emails. If they don’t click them, they should be moved into different sequences or emails to persuade their interest further. This way, you know every email you send can accomplish its goal more effectively.
Use Calls-To-Action to Accomplish Your Goals
Make sure that every email has a call-to-action. Show and tell your subscribers what you need them to do in exchange for all the valuable content you provide through email. Make them clear and straight to the point.
Actually clicking on your links and buttons helps solidify the loyalty of your customers.
Be Fun and Engaging
Personalize and humanize your content. Speak to them as if you were talking to a friend, not a business lead. You want to focus on growing their trust and show them that you are worth the time and effort.
Invite them to other platforms or ask them to reply to your email to get them to interact, engage and feel connected.
Keep It Short and To the Point
Your email copy length should be around 125 to 250 words or so. You don’t want to offer too much information all at once. Instead, each email should guide them along short and different journeys that all work together to share a similar message or goal.
Provide Generous Incentives
Make it even clearer to your new subscribers that you value their time by providing generous incentives that align with your call-to-action.
Free and low cost options. A chance to join a group.
These are a couple of ways that you can encourage your people to know that you are interested in them. It’s also a way that you can gain influence with your offers.
As you can see, the Onboarding experience is more than just acquiring new subscribers. It’s about showing them the value you have to offer and what your company is about.
Finally, it’s about exceeding their expectations and giving them a great experience to transition into a loyal subscriber and customer.
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
You want people to sign up for your email list, so you have a sign up box (or opt-in) on your website. You might also provide a chance for them to sign up when they make a purchase, on social media, or in ads.
Not everyone who sees your sign up offer will take the opportunity. Yet there are some proven techniques which will cause more people to do so.
One of your primary business aims is to increase the number of email sign ups. Just remember, those sign ups are new customers. And that’s the major way your business grows.
A savvy business person knows that their success is in watching the percentages. Not everyone who has the opportunity will sign up for your emails. And not everyone on your list will purchase from you. But a certain percentage will do each of these things.
So how can we increase the percentage of people signing up?
Let’s look at five tips for increasing the percentages on our opt-in rate.
- Be Sure to Provide Something of Value in Exchange for their Email Address.
Spend some time thinking about your customers’ needs and desires. What would really benefit them? Then start planning a response to those needs and desires. Your lead magnet.
You could send out a questionnaire asking for your customers’ wishes. Or you could check out the magazines in your niche. A lot of marketing savvy goes into magazine articles, so you can trust that the subject matter displayed on the covers is what the customers want.
For instance, every January many magazines feature articles on weight loss and organization. Why? Everybody’s New Years Resolution is to lose weight and get organized. This is the year!
So find what your people need or want and meet that need. It can be an E-book, a Tip Sheet, a One-on-One Call, or a Webinar.
Just make sure that you are offering them targeted value, and they will want to sign up for your offer.
2. Use Pop-Ups
For many years, I avoided pop-up opt-ins. It annoyed me when I was trying to read a page and these boxes kept popping up, so I didn’t want to use them.
However, many marketers insist that the opt-in rate is greater with pop-ups, so I installed a couple of them to see for myself. Now I have to agree that pop-ups can be a great reminder for your viewers as they are leaving or browsing your website.
However, I still say, don’t overuse them, as they can quickly become annoying. Most readers expect a few, but if they pop-up too frequently or make it too difficult to browse the site, the readers will simply get discouraged and leave.
3 .Make the Opt-In Process Obvious and Easy
Be sure to optimize the signup process for the devices your readers use the most. It’s a good idea to always plan for smartphone use, since many are using them for emails.
If the opt-ins or lead magnets are not optimized for their cell phones, they won’t be able to complete the process. Many readers will abandon a brand or business altogether if the business hasn’t adapted to their audience.
Then, keep the opt-ins organized and straight to the point. Don’t overload the reader with too much information. For the most part, the opt-in should be scannable and understood in a few seconds.
4. Add Prominent Testimonials
This is a great idea I heard just recently.
Even when you are attempting to sign up people for email, testimonials from other customers can validate your business.
If you do this, make these testimonials obvious and near the signup button to show your readers that you are trustworthy. If others are seeing the benefit you promised they will want to participate.
5. Use the Fear of Missing Out
Urgency is a useful tactic to get your readers to act now. Discounts with deadlines or early bird tickets for hands-on classes are great examples of these.
Most people can’t pass up a good deal, nor do they want to miss out.
Creating this sense of urgency can make the difference in someone signing up -or not.
6. One More Thing…
Humans love to feel like they are important or part of a community. Whether you are inviting them to a short one-on-one call, a free webinar, or offering a Tip Sheet, be sure to make them feel valued. And that there is a real person who cares on the other side.
It shows that you are there for more than just monetary gain. Increasing their trust and loyalty to the business.
Overall, providing value is key to increasing your opt-in rate and achieving your email marketing goals. So spend time planning and developing what your customers will receive in exchange for their email address. Then try these techniques for increasing their response.
You’ll find that your results will be worth the extra effort.