WiRE Blog

Dear WiRE  ladies,

Thinking big, dreaming big!!!

I trust you are well and embracing our autumnal months:) Rain, sun, rain.. it’s tricky knowing what to wear hey? So, it’s a matter of carting around a wardrobe and brolly hey?!!

I am busy putting the final blonde touches to my marketing to women course and site, which I am really rather excited about to put it mildly

Anyway, back to seeing how I can help you ladies… Well, I am thrilled to give you the final post featuring Donna on the Beach,’ which frankly showcases her speciality, which is wonderful for you ladies who are keen to think big and dream big, this is different I imagine to anything you have read before and undoubtedly will leave you just a little bit inspired and ready to go for your wildest dreams in both your business and in your life!

Over to Donna on the Beach….

So, Carrie asked me to do a blog post for you guys on “Thinking Big” and “Keeping Moving Towards Your Big Dreams”.  These two subjects are really close to my heart as they are the reason I am a coach!  One of my favourite things in the world is getting to the centre of what drives people, what they are passionate about, what they love and where they want to go…and then helping them to get there.  Delightful. 
 
So let’s start with thinking big.  You may have heard of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely), and although this is sensible and logical, it is also BORING!  When I take my big ideas for my business and run them through this method of goal setting, I lose most of the OOMPH behind them.  Business plans have the same effect.  They take the inspiration out of your ideas and make them tedious.  Thinking big won’t always get you to be Mistress of the Universe, but thinking small DEFINITELY won’t, and being realilstic, logical, sensible cuts your ‘big ideas’ down to a size that has no juice left for you!  Bleurgh.
 
So let’s talk about SMILE goals instead (I just made this up by the way!) – does your vision for your business make you Smile?  Does it have a touch of Magic about it?  Is it Inspiring to you?  Do you have Lots of enthusiasm for this?  Does it give you Energy?  If yes, Woohoo!  Go get em Tiger!  If not, what is your biggest vision for your business?   To find that big vision, try these exercises:
 
Imagine that you have a time machine and you can go 5 years into the future – everything has gone better than you ever expected…what has happened in your business?
 
Sandy Grason of www.sandygrason.com suggests you set a timer and try the writing prompt “Your Perfect Day”  – what would that be like?  What would your perfect business day look like? 
 
What is the best you can imagine for your business and your life?  Don’t worry about the ‘how’ for a moment, just allow yourself to dream big.
 
Spend a bit of time thinking about what your big vision would be.  Most of us only allow ourselves to think about modest goals…and most of us are capable of achieving far greater.  Many people believe that if they don’t have big dreams, they can’t be disappointed.  Unfortunately, when we keep ourselves small that disappoints us more than trying and failing ever could.  And the joy is in the journey – it really is.  If you have a big dream, a big vision, a big idea, you will grow and learn and develop so much you won’t be able to recognise yourself!  Whether you reach that big goal or not.  I was once told to set the goal of being a millionaire.  Not for the money, but for what I’d learn along the way. 
 
Get a vision that excites you!  Get a vision that delights you…in fact, I say ‘get’…but you already have that big vision inside you.  Let it out.  You wouldn’t have it if you couldn’t do it.  Ok, it is possible that you may not reach your ‘big vision’…but you just might!  And you may well get a lot further than if you stay safe, stay small and stay sensible, realistic, timely, blah!  And maybe the reason you don’t reach that big vision is because along the way the big vision changes – mine has changed beyond recognition in the last 5 years.  I’m glad I never got my 2005 version ‘big vision’ because it sucked!  My 2010 big vision however, ROCKS!
 
Now, once you’ve got your ‘big vision’, how do you achieve it?  There are 3 vital parts to achieving a big goal:  1.  Be flexible  2.  Keep a sense of humour  and 3.  Keep moving.  The first two are important – I can guarantee that there will be days you think you’re never going to get there, days when things go horribly wrong, days when every door seems to have shut in your face, days when you doubt yourself, days when you wonder how the beep you’re going to do this.  On those days, you will need flexibility and a sense of humour!
 
Clients often feel there is something wrong with them or their big vision because it’s not as easy as they thought it would be.  Unfortunately in my experience it never is “easy”!  When we see people who have achieved great things, we almost always gloss over the fact that they have worked for 20 years to get where they are, or the sacrifices they had to make to get where they are, or the days they thought they couldn’t do it.  And let me tell you that everyone who has achieved something great had doubts, bad days, crises of confidence and moments (sometimes thousands of them!) of failure.  It is not ‘just you’. 
 
The difference between those who get there and those who don’t is the 3rd vital part.  Keep moving.  Step by step by step by step by step by step.  Breaking your next move down into baby steps and moving.  For example, creating a website might be a next move…but it is more than one baby step!!!!  To break it down, you might say step 1 is brainstorming what you want your website to be – a brochure, a lead-catcher, a force to be reckoned with?  Step 2 might be writing the copy for the home page.  Step 3 might be deciding on the names for the other pages.  Steps 4-12 might be creating the copy for those pages.  Step 13 might be to find a web designer (or this might be step 1, depending on what feels right to you).
 
50 steps later, you have a website.  And you’re ready to take the next step.  Most people get stuck because they try to take those 50 steps in one stride, then fall flat on their face.  An absurd and unrealistic undertaking!  This is one of my achilles’ heels (I have many!) – I try to get way ahead of myself, and then just end up falling behind.  But when I remember to decide the next baby step and do that, then decide the next baby step and do that, I make progress.  I stay flexible, I keep my sense of humour…and every now and again I remind myself of that vision that makes me smile, has a touch of magic, inspires me, gives me lots of enthusiasm and energy – and that big vision pulls me forward into the next steps.
 
You cannot climb a mountain in 2 leaps – it takes thousands of small steps.  This may be disappointing to the impatient among you (like me!) but actually it should be encouraging – you keep putting those small steps together, keep flexible, keep a sense of humour and you will conquer that mountain!
 
Donna offers coaching sessions to help you create your big vision or take the next steps, go to www.donnaonthebeach.com to find out more. 

Thanks again Donna, and ladies do let me know if you have any questions regarding overcoming chocolate addiction and marketing to women which I will happily answer here as a blog post!

Email me at: chocolaterehab@gmail.com

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxxx

Dear WiRE ladies,

Help for women in business..

It’s the start of the term, for many, and often the renewal of a business idea , and indeed start of a business for others in the lead up to Christmas.  For me, I am about to launch the Blonde Marketing Goddess fully, and I must confess that I  have been struggling rather a lot on what to charge.

I happened to chat to Donna recently about this and she came up with the following helpful tools below which I trust will help you ladies as much as it has helped me!  I am sure there are some of you out there who are starting out and are having problems setting your rates and also some of you out there who are already established but have been considering raising your rates in line with your experience, if so here are a couple of marvelous tools to help to to gain crystal clarity on your fees, honouring your skill set and your clients and potential clients

First over to Donna who is going to tell you her story about charging, so that you can understand where she is coming from. Over to you Donna…

Donnaonthebeach:

I have felt the same way – I really struggled with charging for my services when I first started. In my case there were 3 things going on: my confidence in myself, my confidence in my service, and my belief that taking money for services was somehow wrong or slimy. As my confidence in me and what I did grew (partly from doing a great job for low/no cost) it got easier…but there was still that belief that taking money for services was a bit dirty. But when I pay for a coach, or a CD, or some clothes, I don’t feel that it’s dirty at all. I love spending money! I don’t expect other people to work for free. When they do I am so grateful…and then there comes a point where I feel uncomfortable not paying, so why wouldn’t they feel the same?

Unsurprisingly, when I was uncomfortable charging, I attracted people who were uncomfortable paying me! Lol. Now I rarely come across these people – and when I do, I don’t take it to mean I am not worth paying for, I give them what feels comfortable to me and I am clear that if they want more, they will have to pay for it. My experience has also been that when people don’t pay or underpay, they don’t get the same from it than if they make the financial commitment.

So, that’s my story! My first suggestion is to figure out what’s going on underneath – the whys behind the discomfort about charging. Then work on moving those whys forwards so you can feel great about charging for your service. 
 
Pick a number, any number
 
Putting an actual figure on your services or products can be tough – there’s all the advice out there about “charging what you’re worth”, “Sell low, sell lots”, “Price it right”, “imagine the VALUE of what you are selling if they use it to it’s full advantage”…and as usual, all the advice is conflicting and ends up confusing us more!  Lol.  Don’t get me wrong, all these pieces of advice ARE useful to consider in your decision making BUT they are not critical.  What is critical is what you KNOW inside.  You know what price feels right for you.  The only piece of advice I think is absolutely correct is “be able to stand behind your prices”.  This does not mean charging a ridiculously low price and undervaluing your product or service.  It means getting really comfortable with what you charge.  And one last thing to consider:  clients will pay more than you think when they really want something.  Don’t fall into the trap women often fall into of patronising your client – if we women can pay £100 for a pair of shoes, we can pay for other products and services.  This is not to fleece your customers dry, but to trust in their ability to pay for the things they want – a very empowering viewpoint.  I once did a ‘pay what you want’ promotion for my coaching services – MOST people paid ‘just’ under my normal fees – no one really took advantage of the offer to pay a ridiculously low price!
 
Here’s a couple of exercises to try:

To find the “right price” for you.   What is the maximum price you think you could charge for your product/service?  What is the minimum price?  Double your maximum and start playing with the figures.  Try £1, £200, £46, £73, £102.50 – just play around with what you could charge.  What figures are jumping out at you?  (this is an intuitive ‘jump out’, not a logical one!)  Take the 3 figures that are ‘jumping out’ and write them down on a piece of paper.  Leave the piece of paper overnight, then look at it again in the morning.  One of the figures will jump out at you as ‘the right price’ for YOU.  (If it feels a little high, don’t worry, the next exercise will sort that out!)  If no figure ‘jumps out’, play again with the figures and repeat the exercise.  Let it be easy, let it be fun.  You can always change the price later if it’s not working.  Be willing to make a mistake…and be willing to trust your intuitive knowing!!! 

Getting comfortable with your price.  This is great fun!  Take the price you have decided to charge and multiply it by 10.  Now practice saying “My product/service costs £x10”.  For example, if your product/service is £100, you would say “My product/service is £1000”.  If you can get a friend to play along with you, get them to ask “How much?”  and you reply “£1000”.  When you are next talking to a “real” client, you will feel that your £100 product or service is fantastic value and this will come across!!!  If you cannot stand behind your pricing, your customers will sense that and will assume it’s not worth what you’re charging.  Many of my female clients undercharge outrageously and STILL feel they’re charging too much!
 
You can always change your pricing, so for me the most important piece of advice I can give anyone worrying about setting a price is:  RELAX!  Pick a number and run with it.  If it doesn’t work, change it!  Most of the time, your price revisions will be upwards which gives you a great marketing opportunity:  “My prices are going up in January 2011 by 300% – get it now or pay more later!” (by the way, be authentic with this – do put your prices up!).  If you feel the need to revise your prices down, have a ‘sale’!  Again, a great marketing opportunity.  Who doesn’t love a bargain?!  Trust yourself.  You know what price to charge.  Get comfortable with it, and get that amazing product/service of yours out there for the people who need you to buy!

Ladies I trust that you found value in this post by Donna ( www.donnaonthebeach.co.uk) who I met in person again yesterday, such a lovely lady who was every bit as inspiring and lovely in person as when I spoke to her last week, which is always reassuring isn’t it!

Do let me know if you have any questions or any issues you would like me to look at here on this blog regarding marketing  to women and chocolate addiction – email me: carrie@chocolaterehab.com

Wishing you every success with whatever you set your heart on in your business and life, you can do whatever it is you desire, you really can!

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxxx

Dear WiRE ladies,

Long time, no speak, well I must be completely honest with you, this is because…. I have been rather overwhelmed… with strageties…. .. and so I procrastinated and procrastinated and then did a LOT of clutter clearing realising that I have far too many files of information that  no longer resonated with me from courses that I have attended both in person and virtually worldwide…

Then, one day, as if by magic I had quite an ‘aha moment,’ as I just realised that in essence relationships are built on how that other person or product makes u feel, and when you have a heart-felt connection with them and their service or product you find them irresistible!  I know you all know this and so do I, especially as women this is instinctive for us but I had lost touch with this, as I had been very much in overdrive about social media, which resulted in overwhelm!

 I felt that tweeting so much and facebooking was a bit too much like shouting when nobody was really listening, and I was getting annoyed with all the tweets and fb updates from others myself too!!Who really needs to know what everybody is doing ALL the time?! I certainly don’t not everyone, maybe a few people I would like to know some of the time, but not all of the time!!

  Then… I just so happened to..re-connect with the lovely Donnaonthebeach who, for me, is the business discovery of the decade as she’s so much fun, and so talented in quite a humble way! She epitomised heart-felt connections, and her energy makes her positively irresitible, let alone her wonderful business insights ladies, I cannot recommend this lovely lady enough!

I truly understand  about how to systemise and leverage my work!   Really. And,  I know that there are certain steps that would help me to bring in consistent income, ie a membership site, but much of the technical stuff ie structuring my work in autoresponders, building my visibility on facebook, twitter, blogging and linked in was becoming such a headache! Added to my own blonde reality that through learning about the technical bits of driving traffic to my site, with the lovely and talented Nicola Cairncross, ( she’s AMAAZING BTW, i whole-heartedly recommend her!)  I managed to delete my own blog! At the time this was  not funny at the time as I did not back it up, at all though I thankfully have 90% of my blog posts printed out so I just need set it all up again!!!

So, ladies, I asked Donnah if she would kindly share a few words of wisdom to help you feel less overwhelmed with your social media presence. I trust this helps you, it most certainly helped me!

Donna – what are your current feelings on the overwhelm, especially with Social Media that our members might feel?

It is overwhelming when you try to become an overnight expert in something you have no experience with! So here’s my advice: when you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop, breathe, relax, go have some fun and come back to it when you feel better. If you still feel overwhelmed, break it down into a step by step process and just do one step at a time. I find when people are overwhelmed by social media, they are usually trying to do too much too quick, they don’t know what they are doing or they’re confused by the conflicting advice of the “experts”. So taking a step by step approach will help you reduce the overwhelm.  Also, give yourself a chance!  Women in particular have a tendency to be way too hard on themselves – don’t beat yourself up for being overwhelmed by social media!

Donna – how do you cope with it?

I cope with it by doing exactly as I recommend – I stop, breathe, relax and take a ‘time out’ to do something fun – 10 minutes playing with my dog, reading, connecting with friends, dancing round the office, whatever will get me out of the immediate stress. Then when I come back I figure out what the next step is and do that. Sometimes the next step is “figure out what I’m doing” or “make this more fun” – if you don’t know what you’re doing, how can you do it effectively?!  And if it’s not fun, why do it?!  I also make sure I set myself up for success – caring for myself, managing my energy, enjoying life and connected to my vision for my business and to the energy of life.  Most of the time when I am overwhelmed, I notice that I am pushing myself too hard so it’s good to stop and re-connect.

Donna – what strategies have helped you which you would wholeheartedly recommend?

Here are my top five social media strategies:
1. HAVE FUN! Find a way to make your social media activities fun, then you’re more likely to do them in the first instance and keep them up in the second.
2. Experiment. Try things out. Don’t expect to become a social media expert in 2 days flat! Allow yourself to be a beginner for a while…and give the social media experiment time to work, rather than giving up without giving it a good chance. Also make your experiments one at a time – eg try Facebook for a few months, then add twitter. Trying to do everything at once puts too much pressure on you.  Give your experiments some parameters that give you a good chance of success!
3. Trust your instincts. Some experts will tell you that you need to tweet 1000 times an hour…I don’t follow anyone who does this, even if I like their product or service. It’s annoying. And the only ‘followers’ you’ll get are ‘collect-a-friend’ marketing types! Trust yourself to know what your customers will appreciate. (tip: they’ll often be people like you, so what do you like in a Tweet?)
4. Set reasonable expectations and know why you have social media. For example, I tweet, facebook, linkedin and blog because it is a way for me to reach new people who can get to know me. My reason for doing it is to give some fun/useful/inspiring information and entice them to find out more! I don’t expect them to buy from me instantly – I’m still there to build a relationship.
5. Ask for help. Find people you like who are doing the Social Media you want to do well and ask them for advice.  There is a lot of bull written about social media, but if you find someone who is using it effectively, their advice will be more realistic.
 
For more words of wisdom, fun and inspiration from Donnah- visit: www.donnaonthebeach.co.uk

I wonder if any of you are interested in making a difference to 14 horses who live in Wythall, as Sue Gessey &  Richard Keogh have a lovely local charity called: ‘ The Animal Healing Trust,’ and this week-end they are having an open day to raise much-needed funds to build a shelter for their 14 horses, so you could pop along to meet the horses this Sunday from 11-3pm- more information visit: www.animalhealingtrust.org- See you there!

Any questions ladies on overcoming chocolate addiction or how to market to women, just ask chocolaterehab@gmail.com

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxx

Dear WiRE Ladies,

Now, being quite a big Sex in the City fan it’s tricky for me not to mention the new film, which I am planning on seeing this week! I  just love those ladies, on screen and off screen they have quite simply revolutionised so many things; from relationships to fashion J

How can Sex in the City help you market your business to women?

There are so many ways this phenomenal series and film can help your business. For example:  I  watched them all being interviewed last week, and what the ladies said was very interesting and rather fitting for our social media sessions with Shurti tooJ When SJP was asked why after four years they had finally decided to make the first movie and then last year make another she quite simply said because the audience wanted us to!  Each of them had had the experience of women on the street constantly asking them when they were making the film!! This is a very,  very useful lesson in marketing that all of us often forget and the most obvious that is to listen and respond to your audience’s requests and feedback .

The other pertinent lesson to be drawn from the Sex in the City success is that it was because of the personal relationships between the four ladies, not really about the sex! Obviously, a little… but mostly about female relationships! Interesting, as I have , mentioned before women respond best to personal, emotional and transformational stories, and Sex in the City is so all about this!!

Remember Charlotte’s birthing problems, or how Miranda unexpectedly became a mum, how Samantha had breast cancer and how Carrie ‘s success as a writer intimidated her boyfriend ( the one who spilt up with her on a post-stick remember!) ( You can tell I am a little bit of a fan!) These were very inspiring, moving, transformational and heart-warming stories of how these women supported each other through these life-changing moments, which is what women naturally do, and it’s no different in business. So, it’s just a matter of weaving these aspects in your marketing ladies,  and you will really reap the profits and loyalty from the ladiesJ

Now, back your final Social Media lesson ladies, remember never has it been easier to get audience feedback! 

1. Provide good useful content- if you post something your readers will feel a connection to and will teach them something they can use, then they will be more likely to buy from you as they will automatically associate your brand with quality.

2.Keep the shopping experience fun and stress free- women like to shop= and shopping online comes naturally. The key is making the experience as seamless and fun as possible. You need to remember that women tend to be the CPOs( Chief Purchasing Officers) in their households, and that they tend to  ask friends for advice about brands and products. Women are more than happy to share a good deal when they find one.

3. Finally, women are social shoppers- as much as they like to be heard- if they have a bad experienced then they will not shy away from telling everyone else, so never take advantage of your fans. The last thing you want is your target demographic badmouthing your brand on a viral platform like Facebook. Keep your offers and processes clear and honest and always respond to feedback and criticism.

Ladies, I trust that you have enjoyed your Social Media lessons in facebook and that you have found value in them. Shruti can be found here : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shruti-Gupta/294709749418

I  am as always ready to answer your questions you might have about how to market more effectively to women so please do email me: theblondemarketinggoddess@gmail.com  or post a question on my facebook fanpage about chocolate addiction:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolate-Rehab/32303182142?ref=ts

Until next time, I’m so excited about the Film, I might have to go twice, three times, or maybe four!

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddins xxx

Dear WiRE Ladies,

I trust you enjoyed the last post and found the facebook marketing information useful, so let’s continue with our Social Media Mastery with Shruti Gupta shall we?!

Here are three more of her top tips:

1. Engage in conversations / ask for feedback or comments- Women like to be heard. Stand out from the crowd and engage us. By creating a two-way conversation, you are personalising your brand and making it one that can be trusted.

2. LISTEN! Not only do we like to be heard, we also like to know we are actually being listened to. If a fan posts a question on your page, answer it. If she complimens your brand, thank her. And if she complains about it, address her concerns and reassure her that you’re working on fixing it. This is a great way to build trust and showcase the great customer service and support your company offers.

3. Find new ways to get your message across. Facebook users do not want to see the same message posted multiple times in their feed. So, if you’re promoting something through your Fan Page, be sure to reword it and provide additional value before you post it a second time.

Thanks Shruti, some of this social media business is really just what us ladies do naturally, yet we often to do not value it enough, and this is true of business in particular, as I have found when chatting to ladies about how to market effectively to women.

Now,  I would like to know what have you learned recently ladies, aside from how to use Facebook better thanks to Shruti? I have learnt to the importance of trusting my own female intuition more, not only in my personal life but in my business life too! I have realised that no matter what the eternal circumstances may appear to be, or the ‘experts’ viewpoints about things, when I just take a moment and listen and trust my intuition, iet never, NEVER lets me down.  Do you listen and trust your intuition in your business? Well, if you do not, or maybe you do not know just how to do it, I have  written a few tips below to help you.

Remember, as part of the Goddess Age, I mentioned that intuition will be a skill that will be more and more in demand as despite the access to more and more amounts of information, the best possible source is within you, no Google required, no books and no external input!

Can you give me a few tips on intuition Carrie?

Well, here are a few rules of your manicured nails for you to follow:

1. Sometimes your intuition will keep popping up in visions, pictures, sounds, tastes or feelings depending on how you prefer to receive information. For example: I tend to get a picture and a feeling as I am visual and kinasthetic learner. So, get clear on your learning styles, and then take note when you get these signs and see how they feel. Do they feel good? Do they feel bad? You will just know when it’s right the information you receive, even if it does not mesh well with your ‘rational mind, you will just get a strong feeling. You will sense whether to go with an idea or to scrap it, you will get a feeling, in your gut as to it’s future success

2. Sometimes, letting everyone know of your intuition is not a good idea as it can bring out the ‘dream stealer,’ in themand they might well ‘rain on your parade,’ so hold it close and let only a few people close to you who will help you to treasure it, nurture it and follow it through.

3. Sometimes you might not know how to follow through with your ideas from your intuition and that’s often the way. Be reassured that the more you follow it, the more information will be revealed. I know, I know this is the part where your ego appears angrily wanting everything to be controlled and set out in a rigid plan but that’ not how your intuition works. So, watch out for this, and keep on trusting your intuition ladies and trust you will find a way through to following it as you will if you just keep putting a heeled fooot in front of another

Okay ladies, that’s it for today, remember any questions, please just email me about marketing to women issues: theblondemarketinggoddess@gmail.com or for chocolate addiction issues to: carrie@chocolaterehab.com

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddins

Dear WiRE ladies,

A hung Parliament no longer and a political revolution at the same time! Wowee, so whatever happens from here on in, our country’s political landscape is never going to be the same again- exciting stuff! And this was accurately predicted by astrologer Shelley von Strunckel, and am sure a few more .

So, ladies, back to my previous post regarding my promise of giving you some tips for connecting with your female audience with social media!

Now, I’m sure you are all on this trend aren’t you? Tweeting, face booking and blogging yourselves into relationships with your female audience and all the way to the bank!! Yeah?

Well, if not, or even if you are,  I am sure you will learn something from this talented lady, and Social Media Expert,  Shruti Gupta,  who I have thankfully persuaded to  help you, here with your facebook activities  She’s very. Very successfully on facebook and is truly rocking it

Firstly, here are reminders of a few key rules which apply to ANY social media or in any aspect of your business when targeting a female audience.

a) Relationship first, business second, is how women tend to do business.

b) The more personal the better, so she can get to know you more! Yes really, that’s one big reason why women love social media!

c) She loves to be asked her opinion, and chat (no surprise re the chatting!! LOL!!) So social media is made for her- so getting interactive with her, you’ll be amazing what you will discover which you can use later on in product development too)

Now, over to Social Media Expert, Shruti Gupta, who can give you her top tips on when marketing to women on facebook.

Women have firmly established their presence on the social web, and account for the majority of users on many popular social media sites. There are over 56 million women using Facebook in the USA, and for marketers this means one very important thing- if you have a brand, product or company that targets women, facebook is the place to be.

What does this mean for the future of women in social media?

One word: OPPORTUNITY.

Companies looking to reach women- whether as consumers, entrepreneurs, employees, or advocates having an unprecedented opportunity through social media to engage them. For women, social media presents abundant opportunities to lead, effect change, innovate and build relationships across sectors, locally, nationally and globally.

Why does Facebook appeal to so many women?

Because we are good at building relationships and people do business with those that they like and they trust, and so what better way to build a relationship than Facebook?

Social tools help people to connect across cultural, social, and other barriers to interaction. For women in business, this is especially good news, as they often confront difficulties in securing capital, gaining access to key decision -makers, and finding opportunities to demonstrate their expertise. The ‘flattening’ effect of social technologies allows women to develop relationships with people previously out of reach, and they can demonstrate their expertise using blogs, webinars and other social tools.

Wow, thanks Shruti, this is very useful stuff, hey ladies?!!

Now, here are three of nine hot tips for marketing to women, from Shruti on facebook:

1. QUALITY COUNTS: Facebook is no different than the ‘real world; constantly being pitched to and spammed is annoying. The main difference between Facebook and the ‘real world,’ is that on Facebook, fans can ‘hide’ your marketing message much more easily than they can avoid the billboard on the way to work. As a result, you are going to have to try your best to connect with them. On Facebook, quality rises to the top more often than not.

2. CREATE AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION:  Something that ignites a reaction like’ Wow, that’s me! Will encourage women not only to respond to your messages, but actually remember them. Making an emotional connection is one of the best ways to motivate women to use your brand or service.

3.  BE CONSISTENT:  It will allow you to create a relationship with your fans. Create a series of posts that your fans can look forward to on a daily or weekly basis and be consistent. Habits are easily to form and if you are providing good information on a regular basis, your fans will start to automatically look out for it and follow you. It will make it much harder for your fans to block your updates if they have something to look forward to.

There will be more hot tips from Shruti in the next two posts this week which I will be posting here for you ladies

I’m now doing my 12 Step Chocolate Rehab Programme ongoing as there are so many female chocolate addicts out there who are queuing up for Chocolate Rehab! If you know any female chocolate addicts who are interested in feeling their way out of their addiction to chocolate into an orgasmic life, then they can join my facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolate-Rehab/32303182142?ref=ts Also, they can sign up for free Mini Chocolate Rehab at:www.chocolaterehab.com

And finally, you can find Shruti Gupta, who I am sure you will agree has been very insightful here, and generous with her time and strategies: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shruti-Gupta/294709749418

Until next time, and as ever ladies, any questions please just ask me here, about marketing to women at@ theblondemarketinggoddess@gmail.com; or about curing your chocolate addiction: carrie@chocolaterehab.com.

Namaste giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxxx

   * Even though many households are dual pay-check, women still spend 80% of both combined incomes . . .

   * Nearly 3/4 of all mothers are in the labour force. Even among mothers with young children, 70% work outside the home

For me, our hung Parliament, is just an illustration of part of ‘The Goddess Age,’ that humanity is evolving and becoming more about ‘we’ than just ‘me, me, me!’   As we all let go of the outdated, scientific  reasoning  that we are separate individuals, and start to look at another reality of us all being one, together and beating from the same heart, like the native cultures still believe, but we have largely lost touch of.

a)      Appreciate  that when you are marketing to women, you are marketing to her whole ‘team,’ be it her immediate family, her BFF, her work colleagues,  her gym buddies, her drinking pals, and ever her neighbours!  So, try to add value for her to pass on to them, as it’s likely she will do it anyway! I.e. a 50% off voucher, a 2-4-1, loyalty points, which are not just for Boots or Tesco you know!!

b)      Create a special competition for her and her friends or ‘team’ to enter, to win something that she could most definitely use, like a High Street voucher, a Spa-Week-end, or even just a supermarket voucher, as Tesco says ‘every little helps!’ Then, in order to enter the competition, ask her a few questions about your area of business, and see what she would the really, really want and not want! This will give you an opportunity to tailor your business to her needs and her team’s needs and she’ll love you for it! Women love this, and really love being asked, polled and, they LURVE competitions!!  And you will build you list of potential ladies to market too, of course  J

 In my next post, I will talk more about this! Please get a Facebook fan-page for your business if you have not one already, it’s a must! It’s a great please to connect, relate and get to know your audience, female or not! Mine is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolate-Rehab/32303182142?ref=ts

I wonder how much chocolate has been eaten amongst the Party leaders this last week! A LOT! Can you imagine how many ‘chocolate runs,’ have been ordered?!!

In case you are wondering, my marketing to women business is currently being made ‘blonder,’ so I will announce its location very shortly here on the blog!

Dear Ladies,

I trust you are well and those of you who attended the WiRE conference enjoyed it! I was sorry that I was unable to attend this year, I wonder did they record it? Maybe next year ladies, it would be great for those ladies who are unable to attend to invest in a recording of the presentations? Of course, the face-to-face connections that were inevitably made cannot of course be ‘recorded,’  LOL!

I’ll keep this brief as I know you are very busy ladies!

First off, let’s address how to affordably market to women, using colour!

Well, I am sure you have noticed over the past few years that companies have switched onto the reality that women prefer to invest in things that are more colourful! Colour therapy is very much a way of life for women, who tend to  be more tuned into it’s power than men, therefore women will often buy things sometimes just for the colour of it and how it made them feel!  I am sure you have all done it!! I so have, many times! LOL! I have often heard women say: ‘ Oh Carrie I bought the car as I just loved the colour,’ to men’s disbelief and horror! So true!!

The most obvious example of this is the power of pink in the Breast Cancer charities, using the colour pink to sell anything from Pink eco-bags, to pink purses, to pink lipsticks, pink filofaxes, in fact pretty much anything! But of course,  us women are not just ‘pinkaholics,’ are we?! Nope, that’s far too simple a statement to make, we love many colours!

Dell computers recently cottoned onto this and developed coloured laptops, in red, yellow, green, pink, green, and blue; moving away from just the  black and grey-coloured modules. I am sure that they sold more to women than men purely based on the colour of the laptop, making them more appealing to the ladies! Same with Ipod’s;  Apple marketing many different coloured ones taps into the female sensibilities big time!

So my question to you ladies, is what aspect of your business can  transform through changing the colour of? Could it be part of your site? Your business card? One of your key items? I am sure there is something that you could inexpensively do that would drew the ladies to you! Play around with it and see how she responds to your changes; however small!

Secondly, I am proud to announce my  12 Step Chocolate Rehab Programme, helping female chocolate addicts to feel their way out of their addiction to chocolate and into an orgasmic life! If you would like some free mini Chocolate Rehab, just go to www.chocolaterehab.com and sign up

Any questions, please just ask me: carrie@chocolaterehab.com

Finally, here’s an exciting competition you might be interested in entering?!!

Jean Maund, lovely lady and a very talented Internet Expert is doing a survey on women just like you, enter by the end of May to stand a chance of winning a site review or having your business idea checked out by this very, very wise lady! To enter, just go to: www.womeninbusinessurvey.co.uk

Good luck ladies!

I look forward to hearing from you regarding any feedback you may have and any questions you would like answering!

Namaste,

Carrie Eddinsxx

Dear Ladies,

I appreciate a long time no post but I’ve been preparing a series of posts that will come out in succession so as to help you the best I can, as for me this blogging role is for me to see how I can help you all as best I can market to women, and maybe even overcome your addiction to chocolate!! You never know..

First off, I am writing a book about what I am calling ‘The Goddess Age’, in other words the ‘age of the heart’, where people are feeling connected on many levels from emotional, spiritual, to physical. ‘The Goddess Age’ comes after the previous ages of the ‘Information Age’ and ‘Industrial Age’ etc; a natural evolution for humanity, I feel. In my heart, ‘The Goddess Age’ is part of ‘The Conceptual Age’ which Daniel Pink discusses in ‘the whole new mind’ which is characterised by right-brain capabilities: non-linear skills of: intuition, wholistic and non-linear, creativity, meaning, empathy and entrepreneurialism. Oprah Winfrey truly rates him! So, worthy of looking into.

What marks this age in particular Carrie, and how exactly can it help me?

The Goddess Age is marked by the greatest Mum of all, Mother Earth coming to the fore to help balance ourselves, our conscious and the earth out. She is guiding us through our intuition, or ‘inner-tuition’, therefore it is no coincidence that people worldwide are suddenly more eco-conscious and are more aware of the impact that they are having on the planet and each other. It’s the time of the ‘sacred feminine’, where softness rules, and heart-centred lives are what matters, making our lives more meaningful, loving and creative!!

How can it help you in your businesses ladies?

Good question!! Well, first off, given that you are living embodiments of the Goddess, as you are female you have a head-start, or rather ‘heart start’, meaning that when you connect with yourselves from the heart and bring that essence and empathy into your business, if you do not do already, you will work wonders. As after all, one of the things that the ‘billion dollar man’, aka Jay Abraham said that one of the biggest things that is vital to establish with your customers is empathy, and if you connect to your heart, it will naturally come.

Another quality to nurture, is that of tapping into your intuition. When you listen to it you will know, when following a particular business strategy is right for you; you will know whether working with someone would be beneficial for your business, and know whether tweeting or facebooking all day is really going to help you build relationships online which are worthy of building or just whether you are just trying to look popular!! You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all done it; including me!!

And finally, the quality that is vital in every relationship you have including with yourself is that of trust. When you focus on nurturing trust with your clients so that whenever they have a problem they will automatically think of you! A lady who is great to model at this, is the lady who has the most influence, arguably, in America, Oprah, of course! Millions across America, who I look at as ‘America’s ultimate Mum, or Mom’, as people quite simply trust her like you would a Mum! She’s been nurturing this of course for many moons, but a lot can be gleened from how she operates. She’s very open, to the point where some people are truly uncomfortable at times, but you know what people love it; especially the ladies!!! We love to build a real human, authentic connection with people and feel more empathy and an emotional bond when we can relate to an experience that someone has gone through, you know this to be true hey! For example: Oprah has a long standing ‘battle’, her words not mine, with her weight, and she often discusses it with her expert panel and her best friend Gail on air, and women quite honestly love her for this as it helps them to feel more normal and less freakish!!

So there you have it ladies, those are my top three tips on how to thrive in the Goddess Age.

1. Show empathy to your clients of where they are and how they are feeling, yes feeling and not thinking. A great way to do this is basic ‘non-violent communication’, made public by Marshall Rosenburg, a great chap, where you just consider: ‘what are their feelings and needs’ here. For example: a client might be in need a new graphic for their website but feel overwhelmed by the choice out there not only of designs but of who to work with. They might fear being ripped off and also fear being bamboozled by technology. What they might need is to have a real honest chat with a consultant to really listen to her needs and acknowledge where they are at. Yes, it’s quite simple yet very powerful. Try it and let me know. It could be that when you have had a chat like this with a prospect you will not end up with a client but you might be able to refer them and you know what that builds… TRUST. So either way it’s a win/win ladies! And they will respect you for your honesty, I know it.
2. Look at how you can use your inner-radar to tap into the heart of your business in every aspect of your business, whether it’s which marketing strategy you use and how, to which client you select. Yes you have the ultimate choice about who you work with, oh you do, to which networking event to go to! Whatever it might be the key question here to ask yourself is: ‘How does it feel?’ And if you don’t know, close your eyes and have a few quiet moments to connect with yourself and tune into your intuition and you will know, you will so know; especially after a little practice!
3. Trust, building trust is where the gold lies. To build it making your views about your business and your life visibile through tweeting, facebooking, blogging; it has never been easier! You can even do a Q & A, on your blog, in your newsletter asking your clients if they have any questions that you could answer on your blog etc. It will help prospective customers to understand where you are coming from and build rapport with them, as they will be like ‘aha she likes that, so do I’, etc. And of course if they don’t like what you are talking about and feel that you being so personal, then it’s not a bad thing as it’s great to know that you are not the right fit with each other so that you can both move on to a better one!

And here’s the chocolatey bit.

The first step to overcoming any addiction is to admit you have a problem! Oh yes indeedy. I know I didn’t want to admit I was addicted to chocolate, I so didn’t; and especially as it is such a socially-acceptable addiction, especially with ladies who create any excuse to bring out the chocolate from celebrating a deal made, to it simply being a ‘thank Crunchie it’s Friday’, moment, to just having a silly Maltesers’ moment, love those adverts. You know what I’m talking about I have no doubt. When I gathered a few observations together of my addiction to chocolate it was plain for me at least to see I had a problem that was negatively impacting my life. For example: I conducted a German Oral about how chocolate was important in my life, I honestly did. I used to whilst at University sneek out of halls in the middle of the night to get chocolate. I often preferred chocolate to sex, which I know is a common thing with women! Whenever I was stressed I preferred to ‘eat’ away my emotions with chocolate.. and so the list goes on….

But Carrie, what makes me a chocolate addict, is the key question here isn’t it?

Aha, of course. For me, what makes someone a chocolate addict, is someone who is eating chocolate to avoid addressing issues like their self-esteem, confidence, stress, intimate relationship issues, work issues, etc. and the endless issues go on. Essentially, I am not personally stating that there are so many chocolates or chocolate bars that you need to be eating to make you a chocoholic in the similiar vein for people to be considered alcoholics if they are drinking so many units of alcohol. No, what I am saying is that you will know when your chocolate addiction is having a negative impact on your life. Admittedly, it might feel uncomfortable to acknowledge you have a problem with chocolate, but you will know that you would greatly benefit from looking at how you can overcome it whether it be through Chocolate Rehab or something else. But step one, admit you have a problem!!!

As ever ladies please post your comments here as I’d love to know if what I have written has been useful and if you have any questions. I would love to know too if there are any issues you would like me to address here under the umbrellas of how to market effectively to women and how to overcome chocolate addiction !

And finally, a lady who I whole-heartedly trust and know to be amaaazing at what she does, full of empathy, who most certainly listens and follows her intuition, is Judith Morgan who has helped me in so many ways since I have known her in 2003; has a really cool competition for those of you who might be interested. The deadline is 17/3/10 so be quick ladies!

http://judithmorgan.com/12000-free-prize-giveaway

Wishing you a properous and joyful time.

Namaste, giggles & light,

Peacefully yours,

Carrie Eddins xxx

Dear WiRE Ladies,

Thanks for the feedback so far, please do post a comment below, as a key point of these blogs is to promote and provoke discussions!

Whilst I am waiting for the first lovely lady to come forward I thought it might be best for me to offer some of my top tips to help you on your way, in terms of feminising the appeal of your marketing! And do you know what, even if you are marketing to men, the ladies still predominantly hold the purse strings, and the influence on where the money is spent, as the men ask their wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and colleagues for many of their buying decisions; even if they do not wish to go public on this!! They do, and for you this is true too I am sure. So, let me show you no matter what business you are in, how to align your marketing with the ladies!

Also, do feel free to email me: theblondemarketinggoddess@gmail.com  especially if you would love for me to critique an aspect of your marketing to appear on the blog or behind the scenes for a minimum donation of just a tenner to the animalhealingtrust.org

Remember: me saying last time, women are all about ‘relationships first, and business second’? Well, how can you build a relationship with her?

Many, many ways! I know, I know I can hear you, but Carrie I only have so many hours in the day, like we all do! I can’t spend hours on the phone or in person just for one small sale?!!! ( More on this in our next blog entry!!)  I geddit completely! So, ladies how can you leverage yourself, and your team, if you have one to build a relationship with your prospective female clientele?

1) You can get online and get blogging & tweeting ( or of course via email, in a newsletter or broadcast, in a Facebook fan page etc) – letting them know who you are- not just that you might sell soaps but about yourself- your likes, your dislikes, what you do in your free times, your opinions etc! I know this might sound a little bit too American for some of you, but ladies love it!! And of course some of you already have American clients, so know what I am on about.

Also, you must, I am sure, when you go networking in person, know that women want to know about your family, or your relationships, your pets etc. and not just what you are selling, so  leverage yourself  online, by doing   it once (a day, a week, a month etc),  and put it on your site et voila! And,  instead of them coming to your site in the middle of the night, or whenever just seeing what you are selling they get to know you a bit better and stand the chance of warming to you that little bit more!!! AND please have a picture of yourself on your site, ideally on the frontpage if possible as this builds a huge amount of trust with women especially online, they can feel it’s ‘cold-hearted,’ without one.

2)  Make it all as personal as possible! Yes really. For example: do you have a section on your site where you describe why you started out?! Or why you are selling a particular item or service? (e.g. for ethical reasons, because you could not find them and needed them, or even because you love them so much! For example:  I was driven to coach people to overcome their addiction to chocolate because I had overcome my addiction to chocolate and it just became a by-product, and as I can really relate to choc addicts pain, it seems a natural progression. So on my site I talk about my painful journey to get to where I am today; including quite embarassing realities too, ( i.e. loneliness, very low self-esteem, fear of intimacy, doubt about my abilities to do anything, so I turned to chocolate as my ‘secret friend’, but women have LOVED reading about me, and have even emailed me about with ‘I know how you feel as I feel it too, or my friend is just the same’. Women do this ALL the time and love this level of communication in  their personal lives and in business it is no different whatsoever.

3) Wrapping up your ‘facts’, in an emotional story.

Here I am suggesting building on the ‘making it as personal as possible, adding as much emotion as possible’. Why Carrie? Well, ladies respond to emotional copy and wording much, much more than men. In fact: men prefer to receive the ‘facts and figures’ about your business in a much more formalised way than women. You must have witnessed this ladies, but women, often are keen to know about the person or people behind the product, and often go through personal recommendation of how their  colleagues, friends etc. experienced a particular person in business; therefore it is critical to present yourself in this way. Of course, this might sound like it is ‘going against’ the traditional schools of thought in the business world and marketing world and IT IS! Absolutely IS!
Because….. women respond MUCH BETTER THIS WAY! Try it, I dare you, and let me know how you get on!  You only have to look at how breast cancer has been presented through the media with the ‘Race for Life’, or whatever campaign, with the campaign material presenting a mother, a sister, a daughter, an auntie, or a grandma for example who had died, with the powerful emotions and ‘cancer-awareness facts’, wrapped up in such tragic stories. I have no doubt you have seen them! They are wonderful examples of what to model!

I’ll leave it here for now and I welcome your feedback, and I would love to have  you come forward for me to critique your marketing on the blog, and also privately for a donation to the charity. Please don’t be shy, it is a great learning opportunity here!

Also, any of you who wish to enter the competition for ‘Chocolate Rehab’, if you don’t have a video, please just write it out, your ‘chocoholic confessions’, I truly look forward to reading them!

Namaste,  giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsx

carrie@theblondemarketinggoddess.com
http://www.twitter.com/blondemarketing