WiRE Blog

Dear WiRE ladies,

Outsourcing help, PR tips for small business

I trust you are well and working towards some inspiring, big business goals which help you to feel that you are doing something meaningful with your business, but ladies are you keeping yourself and your business a secret and trying to do everything?  If so, then Louise Thornton’s second of three blog posts will help you to look at this more strategically, and start to create a plan which helps you to maximise your time, your skills and to get your business’s name out there into the wider world! Right, now over to Louise….

When you begin working for yourself, the temptation is to work all the hours you can which inevitably means things like seeing friends / family fall by the wayside.  Yet, it is incredibly important to try and strike a happy balance between work and family as far as possible.  No-one appreciates being neglected!
 
However, if you don’t have the budget to outsource projects / tasks from the outset then you need to be particularly tough and focus your time on the tasks that are important and leave the less important tasks to one side until you have time to deal with them.
 
If you need additional help but have a small budget, then one option available to you is to hire a Virtual Assistant.  The beauty of this service is that it is usually completely flexible meaning that you only pay for the hours that you need.  Search online and ensure you pick someone you can work effectively with – there are plenty to choose from.
 
Alternatively, if you have absolutely zero budget for any outside help then something you could consider is a bartering system where you ‘swop’ your skills.  Providing there is trust between both parties then this can be a really good option.
 
Raising the profile of your business is essential for building credibility and awareness of your product / service.  The beauty of public relations is that it is (usually) completely free and once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to incorporate it into your regular marketing strategy.
 
There are many areas that public relations cover – it is no longer the domain of printed media only.  If you properly distribute and tag your press release it can live on indefinitely on the internet and be picked up by a variety of sources including media, bloggers and social media. 
Given that the internet is such a huge presence in our everyday lives it makes much more sense to ensure that you optimise every press release for maximum coverage!
 
Tips to get your press release noticed
 
1.       Planning is key – have the outcome you want in mind as you write.
2.       Know your target audience and distribute to relevant publications.
3.       Post your press releases on your blog / social media pages – viral traffic is good.
4.       You are more likely to get editorial coverage if you offer something for the reader – this could just be specialist advice, not necessarily a product.
5.       Be consistent – issue press releases regularly.

Louise would love to hear from you ladies, with your questions:  info@louisethornton.co.uk

I trust this blog is useful for you ladies, I know it is so easy to feel and think that you have to do everything and especially when your business is like ‘ your baby,’ it can be a little uncomfortable at first, I completely understand but keep going with it and trial out different strategies. Consider, just because you can, does not mean to say you should do something! I know recently, for me, I have been  looking for a Head Coach for my Chocolate Rehab Coaching Programme for 2011, as I have other things that I intend to be doing, and as if by magic,  I have found a lovely lady to do it, which does feel a bit strange but this strangeness is far, far outweighed by the relief of knowing that I do not have to do it! Yep really.

I look forward as ever to your feedback and questions at: carrie@theblondemarketinggoddess.com

Until next time,  I wish you every success in your endeavours

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,

How to successfully market to women using silliness!!

On my way home from shopping today I saw the new Nationwide ads, at my local Bromsgrove branch and they made me laugh out loud featuring Matt Lucas and David Walliams.  This  made me think about how marketing can be funny, and well silly J  Take a look here: www.nationwide.co.uk

Bring on the silly!

Women are so used to being  so responsible for pretty much everyone,  that encouraging a  more light-hearted connection with them is more likely to get them to take notice of you! This works like a dream in social networking, and it can in other ways too.

Let’s look at a national example of silliness, of this courtesy of their  ‘daily giggle.’

Consider how funny  the Maltesers  ads are, as they promote their chocolate as ‘the lighter way to enjoy chocolate!’  This is very clever as they use both silliness and they use their low calorie amount to promote their lightness, so then you have to, ‘find new ways to be naughty,’ hence the ads.  

Here are two of their ads:

1.      This is the shrinking trouser one, remember?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJzxaYzUqk&NR=1

And this one is the office scene where the one lady lifts up her shirt!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPKIixluNzk&NR=1

I know they make me chuckle and  thousands of other women  too.  Also, I am sure that their sales must have rocketed as a result!!!!!!!

Here’s a  regional example of silliness:

A local Bra company in Bromsgrove in Worcestershire,  2^nd Skin Lingerie, recently attempted a world Conga record wearing bras.  I have no doubt that the connections made, and the coverage that they received, from this will result in a big leap in future customers and  PR for them! It is a perfect example of bringing on the silly and weaving it very cleverly into becoming more successful in your business.  Do check them out on facebook.

A personal example of silliness:

For me, just having the word ‘blonde,’ in my business title, first off makes people laugh and secondly it adds a human touch and  is quite a leveller, so straight away I build rapport with them before anything has happenedJ And as for ‘Chocolate Rehab,’ chocoholics both laugh and cry J J J

Q: What can you do ladies, even if as a one-off experiment in ‘bringing on the silly,’ to connect with your market?

Can you do a funny fundraising event? Can you tweak a product or service’s marketing campaign bringing in a lighter, more fun element to the picture around it and the words I wonder? I am sure you can.

I would be very interested in hearing how you get on with this and love to hear about your successes.

Think about it , when we have fun, when we laugh and  when are silly our guards are down and we are more likely to be ourselves, away from the stress that often can come with running a business as well as into the favourite part of women’s lives which is RELATIONSHIPS!!!

 Remember, me saying that for women it’s about relationships first and business second? Aha, so you can see how bringing on the silly can help you to powerfully build successful relationships with people, and consequently build a more successful business  J

Okeydoke, now for the ‘Chocolatey Section:’

STEP THREE OF THE 12 Step Chocolate Rehab Programme.

 So, by now you have admitted you are addicted to chocolate even if to yourself and you have also gained clarity in your journal as to why you are so addicted to chocolate, so it’s time to go to Step three, but before I do, let me address a common journaling question.

Carrie, why is it  important to write down things in a journal?

Well, the simple answer is that when you write something down something magical happens, and it helps you to take what you write more seriously when you transfer your thoughts and feelings to paper.

STEP THREE: WHY now Chocolate Rehab?

Grab your journals ladies,  as now you need to write down your ‘Choco-story,’ namely I would like you to build on the previous step, and write down in as much detail as possible why you are ready to now overcome your addiction to chocolate.  The more you can write about this the more motivation and encouragement you will have to keep you going when the Chocolate Rehab gets a little tough and challenging which it inevitably will, as it can be a little painful as we grow and let go of stuff that no longer serves us.

A great question here to draw upon is Dr Phil’s who says: ‘ What is ( ie your addiction to chocolate ) costing you?

For me, my own addiction to chocolate was like a substitute boyfriend, and it allowed me to hide myself away on so many different levels from intimate relationships , my bank balance, to my abilities , my social life, and my friendships, well pretty much every aspect of my life, much to my surprise! Yes really.

I appreciate that your addiction to chocolate may not be as dramatic as mine, or might be even more dramatic and also might be costing you in different ways, which is absolutely fine! Just write down what feels right for you, and in as much detail as possible.

Again, ladies I would love to hear how you get on with the above, both the’ bring on the silly’ and Chocolate Rehab Step Three.

Any marketing questions email me: brainyblondbusiness@gmail.com

Any Chocolatey questions: carrie@chocolaterehab.com

Bring on the silly!!!

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsx

Dear WiRE ladies,

Helping women succeed in business, is why this blog is here and why WiRE was created, and why I am blogging too:)

So, let me get on with it then I wonder are you all World-cup ready? I so am J I am really looking forward to seeing our boys play and whatever happens I know it will be an amazing journey which could well result in us holding that all-special World cup!! I am a believer, are you?

How can the World Cup help you ladies in your business?

Well, here are my top tips, imagining that I was our supremely talented Fabio Capello

1.       Get rid of what no longer serves you, be pretty ruthless here! For example:  He balanced our the England teams male egos, and limited their contact with the WAGS and their performance improved dramatically ensuring an easy qualification into the World Cup, no Euro non-qualification scenario here J

For example: do you have daily habits that frankly are limiting your income-generating activities and thus your  business success? Ie Do you surf the net when you scheduled to write that traffic-generating blog post? Do you keep focusing on trying to do too many things, instead of looking to make just one or two products or services of your business successful? Are you trying to do too much, so not achieving anything? Okay then it’s time to eliminate these unhelpful habits!!  Just Do to it, as Nike suggests J

And ladies being ladies, I imagine you are doing a lot more things for others than for yourself and your business, so what can you let go of here? Could you say no a bit more? Could you delegate more? Just think about it. Remember,  you don’t need to become all cold-hearted and uncaring, just trim off the unnecessary fat so you can become more you and more successful in your business okeydoke? J

2.       Being prepared, if you fail to plan,  you plan to fail J

I imagine that this World Cup, Capello has actually got the boys thinking and believing in holding that trophy,  despite Becks and Ferdinand being injured you still sense their palatable belief unlike the last time around! So, ladies, what ‘trophy,’ or achievement are you aiming for, and just how much are you preparing and planning this to happen? If not, why not? Then just get writing a plan right now .  For example: are you looking to have so many twitter followers, by the end of the month, or are you looking to have secured so many clients per month by the end of the Summer. Whatever it is, get going on the plan, and it will more likely happen., and then WORK THAT PLAN!

3.       Are you just being tactical and not strategic?

Here, I imagine that Capello has been getting the boys to play out their tactics in each and every game pre World Cup  which is all a part of his successful preparation strategy, as you cannot just rely on tactics alone, they need to be woven into a long-term strategy, or bigger picture . For example: I am sure that in every interview that the boys have been a part of, I imagine that Capello has demanded  them to adopt a winning attitude, as that is a part of his overall, long-term strategy not just a daily or short-term media tactic.

So in your business, do you have crystal clarity on your bigger picture and if so are you working a plan for it’s realisation in your day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month tactics? Or are you just working on your tactics and wondering why you are just experiencing limited success?.

Ladies, is it time to re-visit your original business plan or marketing plan and sit down with a cuppa and make some more compelling and appealing plans and look at chunking them down into  both challenging and easy-to-achieve goals ? If so, then go for it ladies!

Now, here’s the chocolatey bit: Step Two of Chocolate RehabJ

So, just as a reminder, Step One was to finally admit you have a problem  with chocolate, so it calls for: ‘ Hi, I’m ( insert name) and I am a chocoholic,’ kind-of-announcement, even if just to yourself, it’s an all-important starting point.

Over to Step Two:  Now ladies, I encourage you to ask yourself ‘Why Chocolate?

Here, I invite you to grab a journal, or a lovely book and write down your personal reasons for your addiction to chocolate. Remember, as chocolate is such a socially-acceptable addiction, it often gets overlooked as something very innocent, yet on deeper inspection more often than not it acts as a cover-up for women for a multitude of issues from low self-confidence to sexual frustration to boredom, to stress and many more!

For me, there were many reasons, from it being like a ‘boyfriend’ to me, to it just giving me that  pick-me-up’ when  I felt lonely, depressed, or stressed, or even upbeat, excited and thrilled! Essentially, I ‘’used’ it as something to hide behind, big time.

So get really personal with yourself and write down what you feel you are ‘using’ chocolate for.

Any questions about this process please do email me: carrie@chocolaterehab.com

Until next time, let’s cheer on our boys on Saturday!!!

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddins