24 CONTENT IDEAS FOR FEBRUARY

KNOW, LIKE & TRUST!

Those are 3 words to concentrate on when it comes to building your business and creating content.

When you show up and share content that allows people to know who you are, like you (realising that you have similar interests and values) and trust you (confident that you know your stuff and can help!), it speeds up the connection and your Ideal Clients are excited to sign-up to work with you!

It’s February and the month of LOVE so I thought I’d share some content ideas for you to use this month that will help you to do just that.

It’s 5th February so I have 24 ideas that will take you to the end of the month. You’re welcome (wink!)

These are in no particular order.

1. Tell us what you love about what you do.

2. Tell us about your favourite service/offer/course/product and what people can expect from it.

3. 13th February is Clean Out Your Computer Day so why not show your home office or work space. 

4. Do a series of posts featuring your clients and their results/feedback.

5. Tell us why you started your business. Share your ‘WHY’.

6. Share your favourite inspirational quote and ask your followers to do the same.

7. Tell us what you do for self-care. 

8. Tell us something you love about yourself or are proud of and ask your followers to do the same.

9. Share how you’re going to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

10. 16th is Shrove Tuesday so tell us your favourite pancake recipe/ topping and ask your followers the same. 

11. 17th February is Random Acts of Kindness day so share a time you did this or were a receiver. 

12. Tell us what motivates you and ask your followers to do the same.

13. Tell us about any friendships you’ve made through your business. 

14. Tell us why you love working with your Ideal Client (a great way to make it very clear who you work with!)

15. Share your favourite self-care or mindset book and how it’s helped you. 

16. Share something you struggle/d with.

17. Quote yourself! Share a statement you stand for and believe in that you authored yourself.

18. Do a this or that post and share your answers too.

19. Tell us 5 things we don’t know about you - a great way to share your hobbies and personality.

20. Share a time-lapse of doing something you love or talk about a hobby you have/had.

21. Tell us about your word of the year and what it means to you.

22. 26th February is ‘Fairy Tale Day’ - share your favourite and ask your followers to do the same.

23. Share 1-3 things that you offer that your followers might not know about.

24. Share what you most love helping your clients do.

---

Which content idea will you use first? Let me know in the comment below.

EXPRESS YOURSELF THROUGH YOUR BRAND

Let’s talking branding!

A lot of people are concerned about how to stand out in the marketplace. They may fear that there are too many stylists, health coaches, relationship coaches, MUAs, massage therapists etc. Branding is what helps you stand out. Every new or existing entrepreneurs can differentiate themselves from others who operate in the same nice through branding.

People are often surprised to see that my 'brand colours' are not just on my website and social media but also in my home, wardrobe and accessories.

I didn't choose colours, fonts, photos because I thought they would work as a business.

My brand is an extension of me.

One of the mistakes I see many entrepreneurs make is trying too hard to DEVELOP a brand. A brand needs to fit YOU not the other way around.

If you are a service-based business then your clients are buying YOU. Not your brand or a product. You are your brand. People buy from people. Let them see what they'll be getting.

This is the fastest way to attract your ideal clients too because people love to do business with those with similar values and tastes. The Know, Like and Trust Factor is about building a rapport and a strong visual representation of what they get when they work with you will ensure you build a connection quickly.

Don't listen to others. This is a time to follow your gut.

Over the years, I've been told all sorts of nonsense:

"Your website is too pink."

(By a man that was advising me on my marketing.)

"You need to choose a brighter pink to attract entrepreneurs."

(By a female coach who used hot pink.)

"You need to only put photos of yourself on your About Page."

(By a branding 'expert'.)

But I followed my gut and my brand is ME. Maybe that's thanks to years of being a Personal Stylist and knowing the importance of letting your image reflect your personality.

And do you know what?

One of the first things many of my clients say is that they were attracted to me because of my 'brand'.

Do you. Always.

Want help making your brand an extension of you?

Then you'll love my 'Branding Like a Pro' Business Bundle. It's sooo much more than just colours and fonts.

It will also cost you less than the price of a meal out with your partner but will be one of the most effective ways to attract your dream clients.

---

What are your brand colours, I'd love to know? And are these the colours that you wear, own, decorate your home in and just feel right? Please comment below.

HOW TO GET MORE CLICK-THROUGHS FROM INSTAGRAM

Are you on Instagram?

I have to say it’s my favourite social media platform (Facebook is a close second).

But the issue is you can’t just add links in the same way as other platforms.

Instagram only has one clickable link and that’s in your bio.

So, how do you make the most Instagram so people can see what you have to offer and also sign-up to multiple things at once?

This is where Linktr.ee comes in.

It’s free and I love it.

Yes, you can of course create a page on your website to direct people to with different links but I’ve found I get a better response (and sign-up rate) when I use Linktr.ee.

Below is a video I made for my Mastermind

I share how and why to use Linktr.ee to get people converting from Instagram to where you actually want them...your lead magnet and website.

Enjoy! 

Emma xx

P.S. I created this for the Mastermind I ran specifically for Personal Stylists (I don't just work with stylists, I work with any service-based entrepreneur) so that's why I used 2 examples for stylists.

Click the button below to watch:

Know someone who’d love this blog/video, why not share it with them.

How to Price Your Business Services

One of the questions clients always ask is,

"How much should I charge?"

or

"How do I raise my prices?"

If you run a service-based business then it can feel daunting to know where to start when pricing your services.

It’s all too easy to just look around at the ‘competition’ and position yourself somewhere in between the lowest and highest price range.

But this isn’t an effective way to run a business. We have no idea what overheads other people have. What one person is happy to receive in exchange for their time and effort does NOT need to be what you charge. Plus people have all sorts of limiting views around money (and themselves) that causes them to feel very uncomfortable charging and even talking about their prices.

it’s always best to ignore what everyone else is doing and price your business in a way that reflects you and the service you provide.

I’ve created a PRICING GUIDE audio sharing how I recommend my clients decide on the best price for them.

This audio is for you if you:

• Are just starting out and feel unsure what to charge;

• Want to feel more confident when talking about your prices;

• Feel ready to increase your prices but aren’t sure what to make them;

• Realise that your own thoughts on money may be affecting your business;

• Are ready to make more money without having to work harder.

Click the button below to listen to the ‘Pricing Guide Audio’

Know someone who’d love to listen to this pricing guide audio, why not share it with them.

READY TO GET YOUR BUSINESS FEATURED IN NEWSPAPERS & ON RADIO?

I get so excited when I see my clients featured in their local newspapers or on the local radio. 

It’s such incredible FREE marketing for your business. 

You don’t need me to tell you that though.

We can often feel intimidated by journalists but remember they often have a tough job trying to fill their papers and ‘air time’.

They are crying out for decent news!!

(PHOTO IS OF ME FEATURED IN THE NEWSPAPER AS A PERSONAL STYLIST.)

---

So, what is ‘news’?

It’s something that is well…NEW!

It’s something that’s different and that people are interested to read/hear about. 

It could be a new launch, announcement, success story, tips on a hot topic or even controversial comment.

You have a stand-out story, I’m sure of it.

HOW ABOUT ONE OF THESE?

• You did a survey and it revealed that _____.

• You’ve got something to say that you know will ruffle a few feathers.

• You’ve just helped someone achieve an amazing feat.

• Your book has just come out.

• You’re the only person in your industry to specialise in ______.

• You’re running a workshop that they’d be interested in. Just like my client, Jill Stander, having her ‘New Year, New You’ workshop featured (see photo below).

---

OKAY SO YOU HAVE A GREAT STORY. WHAT NEXT?

1. Decide who you want to reach - who is your Ideal Client.

2. Find out which radio stations/newspapers they’re likely to listen to/read. Not sure? Ask them!

3. Gather contact details for relevant journalists and editors. Try Twitter and LinkedIn. Don’t go for generic email addresses like news@ because they’ll likely not get checked. You want specific names!

4. Do your research. What kind of stories do they cover? 

5. Write an email pitch or press release. 

Local newspapers are often short-staffed, so a well-written press release, with all the relevant information may be printed with very few changes. There are plenty of examples of press releases on the web. Outsource if you’re not confident in your writing skills.  Use an email subject line that includes the phrase 'story idea' and a compelling one-liner that describes your story. It's absolutely fine to pitch ideas over the phone too. Just avoid obviously busy times.

6. Be prepared to follow up!

---

Have you been wanting to get yourself and your business OUT THERE but either aren’t sure you have anything decent to contribute or the thought terrifies you?!

Get in touch with me, this is exactly what I am passionate about helping my clients to do.

8 Money Making Activities In Your Business

If you’re a business owner struggling to know where to focus your time and energy in order to become profitable, this episode is for you! 

It’s all too easy to get to the end of the day (or week!) and have spent all that time doing ‘busy-work’ but not feel like you have much to show for it.

I know you work hard and I know you want to optimise your time.

In today’s video, I’m sharing my TOP Money Making Activities so that you no longer feel like you’re spinning your wheels and instead can spend your time on activities that generate new leads and clients!

In the video below, I talk you through 8 different money making (i.e. client attracting) activities to do in your business every week.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO

---

There’s the list - the video explains what I mean by and gives examples of each:

1. GET VISIBLE

2. CONNECT

3. BUILD YOUR LIST*

4. SALES CALLS

5. CREATE CONTENT

6. SELL/PITCH

7. ENGAGE & NURTURE

8. FOLLOW UP

*Please note you must ensure you are GDPR compliant when collecting any/all email addresses. You CANNOT just collect email addresses and start sending people promotional emails - this is against the law. You must make it very clear what people are signing up to. Please contact a lawyer to help you with this, if you are unsure.

---

What other ways have you found are effective money making activities to bring you clients? I’d love to know, please share them in the comment box below.

THINGS TO DO BEFORE & AFTER PUBLISHING A BLOG POST

One of the things that I find really helps me to plan out my days and weeks in my business is to assign a timeframe to a task. The problem is that there are some things I do that I never used to have a clue how long they would take. For instance, I’d write ‘Send email/newsletter to my list’ but then I’d schedule an hour and wonder why it seems to take me all flipping afternoon and the other things on my to-do-list didn’t get done.

So, one day I decided to write out EXACTLY what ‘Send email/newsletter to my list’ entailed and I was shocked to think I could do all that from scratch in one hour.

It was the same for my blog posts. I’d wanted to add regular posts to my website but since I’d never looked at all the action steps involved, it always felt like an overwhelming task (that I then put off!) because I didn’t get why writing a few paragraphs and then hitting PUBLISH seemed to take me sooo much longer than I expected.

Sound familiar?

Here’s what I recommend you do:

• Sit down with a pen and paper and write out all the steps involved BEFORE you even hit ‘publish’ on your site.

• Then write out all the action steps involved AFTER you’ve published it. There’s no point creating great content if no-one gets to see it so sharing and marketing your blog are just as important as actually writing it.

• Assign a time to each task to give you a much clearer idea of how long it will take.

---

Now, everyone works differently so your list of tasks may look very different to mine. But I know I love to see how other people work and my clients tell me it really helps them to hear how I plan out content and implement the actions steps in my business.

So, here’s my list.

(By the way - I’m NOT adding/sharing my timeframe for each task because we all work differently and I don’t want you to think that is the optimum time…it isn’t…it’s just how long it takes ME.)

Things I need to DO BEFORE publishing a blog post:

ONGOING = Come up with ideas – keep a constant list of ideas in a book for when inspiration strikes.

1.    Decide on idea/specific content for blog post.

2.    Set aside time and a quiet space with no distractions (turn phone onto airplane mode).

3.    Write out main points to the blog post.

4.    Add detail to points.

5.    Create title for post with keywords for SEO.

6.    Decide which opt-in/service/blog will be the best to share so people continue reading on.

7.    Write a clear CTA (call to action) linked to #6.

8.    Ask for comments/shares.

10. Decide on tags/category relevant to blog.

11. Record reading of blog post.

12. Change any typos noticed when recording.

13. Final spell check and proofread.

14. Send recording to Dropbox.

15. Decide the day it will be published.

16. Add blog text/copy to website (if not already typed into it).

17. Sort layout of blog and choose text colour/size.

18. Choose and add image that will relate to post.

19. Upload blog recording to website/blog.

20. Create Pinterest size graphic for people to share from the blog.

21. Set date to publish.

22. Set alert on phone/calendar to remind me of date.

things to do AFTER published blog post:

1. Create copy for email to be sent out.

2. Decide on subject line for email linked to blog.

3. Create copy for social media.

4. Create tiny url (or bitly) link.

5. Create email in Mailchimp.

6. Email out to my list.

7. Share in FB group.

8. Share on Pinterest.

9. Share on IG story.

10. Share on FB page.

11. Share on Twitter (if you use it).

---

HERE’S A BONUS TIP

Highlight the tasks that can be outsourced to a VA (virtual assistant), even if you aren’t ready to hire someone yet. It will give you a really clear idea of where YOUR time needs to be spent and where you’re spending time that could be given to someone else.

Here’s my list of items that can be outsourced:

Are there any other steps that you do (or think you need to do)? I’d love to hear them. Please comment below and share with anyone you feel would benefit from these tips too.

Want help with content planning?

Here’s another blog post I think you’ll like:

17 WAYS TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST

Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to grow your client base and get paid to do what you love. It’s not the ONLY way but it’s definitely an area you can’t ignore.

The first step is having a compelling reason for people to sign up to your list in the first place. This is where you’ll create a value-packed freebie (called an opt-in or lead magnet). I have a video training on this in my Facebook group.

Then, ideally, you’ll set up a series of welcome emails for your new subscribers to get to know you. Again, I’ve discussed this in videos in my free group.

I’ve talked about the importance of email marketing many times, so let’s discuss HOW you can actually get more subscribers!

Below is a video talking through 17 different ways you can position your landing page (the page they actually sign up with their name and email address) so you can grow your list.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO

---

There’s the full list - the video explains what I mean by each:

1. When Hosting an event

2. Leverage business cards

3. Organise a giveaway

4. Optimise your website for opt-ins

5. Build with your blog

6. Engage through social media

7. Joint ventures 

8. Collaborate 

9. Pop-up box

10. Don’t forget your own email

11. Encourage forwarding

12. Inside-the-box

13. Invoices 

14. Networking 

15. Add a call-to-action button to your Facebook Business Page

16. Pinterest

17. Guest blog for other websites with a call-to-action

---

What other ways have you found are effective to grow your email list? I’d love to know, please share them in the comment box below.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU MARKET YOURSELF?

So, you run a service-based business?

The chances are you show up on social media, you’re working on building your email list and have pitched yourself to both platforms; maybe you’ve made a few calls and even paid for some advertising.

But if you’re like the majority of business owners I speak to, you’re wondering why you aren’t drowning in new clients. Especially when you feel like you’re doing ALL the things and are constantly working on your business.

The truth is you most likely need to market yourself a hell of a lot more. By that I mean you need to PROMOTE yourself and your services constantly. I’m about to show you why.

I can pretty much guarantee you aren’t marketing yourself as often as you think you are.

I know because I was like that for years!

You need to be SELLING/PROMOTING yourself and your business in some way every day.

Below is a great article written by Thomas Smith in 1885. It’s as true today as it was then and in actual fact I think we could actually increase the timeline it tasks for someone to notice us.

Take a look at the point at which people start to pay attention to a strong marketing message. This was using adverts as the point of focus but you could substitute that with ‘sales email’, ‘networking event’, ‘strong call to action on a post’.

1. The first time someone looks at an advertisement, they do not see it.

2. The second time, they do not notice it.

3. The third time, s/he is conscious of its existence.

4. The fourth time, s/he faintly remembers having seen it before.

5. The fifth time, s/he reads it.

6. The sixth time, s/he turns up their nose at it.

7. The seventh time, s/he reads it through and says, “Oh brother!”

8. The eighth time, s/he says, “Here’s that confounded thing again!”

9. The ninth time, s/he wonders if it amounts to anything.

10. The tenth time, s/he asks their neighbour if they have tried it.

11. The eleventh time, s/he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.

12. The twelfth time, s/he thinks it must be a good thing.

13. The thirteenth time, s/he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.

14. The fourteenth time, s/he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.

15. The fifteenth time, s/he is tantalised because s/he cannot afford to buy it.

16. The sixteenth time, s/he thinks he will buy it some day.

17. The seventeenth time, s/he makes a memorandum to buy it.

18. The eighteenth time, s/he swears at their poverty.

19. The nineteenth time, s/he counts their money carefully.

20. The twentieth time s/he sees the ad, s/he buys what it is offering.

How does it make you feel to read that? Are you starting to realise that you need to be really SEEN a lot more than you thought?

If you’re not sure what to do to market yourself effectively then you can download my FREE 36-page workbook that takes you through 23 different ways you can market yourself without spending a penny on advertising.

---

Does the thought of SELLING yourself MORE send you into a hot TIZZY?

Do you feel guilty, icky, or bad when sharing your offers or services online?

Is one of your greatest fears that you'll come across as pushy or 'sale-sy'?

Do you worry that if you promote your services/products too often you'll be viewed as spammy?

Does your confidence waiver when it comes to the 'sales conversation' with a potential client?

Then yoU’ll love my ‘Fall In Love with Selling’ course.

AN EASY WAY TO COLLECT EMAIL ADDRESSES AT NETWORKING EVENTS

It's important to collect email addresses to build your list. Here are some stats to help you see why people say, 'The money is in your list!' when you run a business:

• Less than 6% of your followers actually see your posts!
• The online marketing world believes that 1 subscriber = $1/month.
• 3.57% of people click through on links on email compared to 0.07% on Facebook.
• The average order value of an email is at least three times higher than that of social media.
• Email marketing has acquired 40x more customers than Facebook and Twitter combined.
• 66% of consumers have purchased something directly from email marketing.
• 72% people prefer to receive promotional content through email COMPARED TO 17% WHO PREFER SOCIAL MEDIA.

So, you can see why it's important to build your email list and keep sending them regular emails. 

Okay, so the rest of this blog post will assume that you:

1. Have a Mailchimp account. 
2. Have set up a list you want people to be added to.

And preferably (but not required!) also have:

1. A freebie/lead magnet to incentivise someone to join your list.
2. Even better if you have created a sales funnel (series of emails) to automate the way you welcome new subscribers into your Tribe (email list).  

IF YOU USE MAILCHIMP, THEN THIS IS HOW TO SET UP THE MAILCHIMP APP TO COLLECT EMAIL ADDRESSES WHILST YOU'RE OFFLINE. IT'S PERFECT FOR networking EVENTS, WHEN GIVE TALKS/PRESENTATIONS OR MEETING NEW POTENTIAL CLIENTS WHEN YOU'RE OUT AND ABOUT.

Gone are the days where you can (or even need to) put out a sign-up list for people to add their name and email addresses. However, speaking at an event (whatever the size) is the perfect place to get ICAs onto your email list. 

If you have a iPad then this is what I recommend you do. 

1) Download the MailChimp Subscribe app - this one.

2) Sign in with your username and password.

*To be GDPR compliant they need to know you will be emailing them regularly (they don't just get your free resource and nothing else) and that you will be sending the occasional promotional email. 

9) If it works then you're good to go! I take an iPad stand so it becomes part of my 'display' on stage. This will also remind you to tell people to sign up. Do this at the end as your last CTA.

10) Keep your iPad somewhere safe!! It sounds obvious but your mind won't be on your tablet - it will be on delivering a good speech. Have it next to you or ask someone to be in charge of it. 

11) Make sure you tell people what they get for signing up! Don't just say it's a newsletter - they need to be excited to hand over their email address! 

12) Once you get home, make sure your iPad is connected to the internet and then it may do it automatically but if not you click on the + again and select 'Sync All.' 

DONE. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GROWING EMAIL LIST OF WOMEN WHO ARE EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU AND BUY FROM YOU.

---

NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING WHO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT IS AND WHAT YOU CAN CREATE AS YOUR LEAD MAGNET TO GET PEOPLE ONTO YOUR EMAIL LIST?

THAT'S ONE OF MY SPECIALITIES!

LET'S SET UP A TIME TO TALK TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY BESPOKE BUSINESS COACHING & MENTORING PROGRAMS.

HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM NAME TAGS

So, Instagram has brought out a new feature: Name Tags.

I was having fun playing (ahem working) with it this morning. 

I've had lots of questions from people in my Facebook group about how to set it up and use it so thought I'd create a how-to guide on creating your own Name Tag, how to use the feature to find other people and most importantly...how this can help you grow your following and your business. 

HOW TO CREATE YOUR NAME TAG

1. Click the bottom right to get to your profile/feed. 
2. Click the Name Tag icon. 
3. Click the top bar to choose either an emoji, colour or selfie.
4. If using an emoji, tap the one it gives you (smiley face) to change it to one that represents your business. 
5. If using a colour, tap the background to change.
6. If using a selfie, it will bring up the camera. Take your snap then click one of your little selfies to change to hearts, glasses or unicorn overlay!

Here are some screenshots to make it easier (cos I'm a visual person too!)

1) 

Click the bottom right to get to your profile/feed.

3)

Click the top bar to choose either an emoji, colour or selfie.

5)

If using a colour, tap the background to change.

2) 

Click the Name Tag icon.

4)

If using an emoji, tap the one it gives you (smiley face) to change it to one that represents your business. 

6)

If using a selfie, it will bring up the camera. Take your snap then click one of your little selfies to change to hearts, glasses or unicorn overlay!

---

GET CREATIVE

You can of course use a colour or a selfie, but I'd start by having some fun with emojis. I've seen some great ones. Think about what would represent what you do in your business. For example:

Stylist:

• Dress
• Shopping bags

Relationship Coach:

• Hearts
• Couple holding hands
• Engagement ring

Marketing:

• Selfie
• iPhone

Essential oils

• Nose
• Herb

Etsy shop:

• Shopping trolley

Working with children:

• Unicorns
• Parent and child

Personal Trainer

• Cartwheel
• Biceps
• Weigh-lifter

Spiritual/Holistic Healer

• Crystal ball
• Head massage

Then, you have the more obvious choices of: yoga/meditation, music, pens, books, pens, paint pallet, massage, manicure emojis, laptops, flashing camera, bride, engagement ring, lipstick, pregnant women, baby, fruit & veg and sooo many more . Have fun. 

---

HOW TO USE THE NAME TAG FEATURE TO FOLLOW PEOPLE

1)

Click the Name Tag icon.

3)

Line up the Instagram icons so it can scan.

2) 

Click 'Scan a Name Tag'

4)

It will then bring up their account and you can follow or view (I, of course, followed her :-)).

---

HOW DOES THIS HELP YOUR BUSINESS?

Then,

you can save it to your photos. To share on social media and your website.

This is not just for following your girlfriends when you meet up in-person. 

The idea is you will have your own scannable code. Once you're happy with your Name Tag, you can download it to your camera roll on your phone. 

Then you can share your personalised Name Tag on social media and your website and people can whip out their phone, click on the nametag icon on the Instagram app and then scan to follow you without having to type in and search for you with your handle/name. Try it out on my Name Tag here.

Obviously, this means you'd have to be looking at another device other than your phone/tablet to do this. It needs to be screen-to-screen.

BUT...it would be amazing for getting new followers when you're marketing your business offline, for example:

• At networking meetings
• Running workshops
• Hosting events
• Meeting potential clients in-person

I'm also hoping, if you make it the right size to scan, then it would work added to printed marketing materials too like business cards!! Now THAT would be amazing. 

Such a fun new feature. 

I hope this how-to guide was helpful. Please feel free to write a comment below and if you're reading this on your phone I'll add an easy to follow clickable link to find me online (wink).

Follow me on Instagram

Join my Facebook group where I share all things mindset and marketing to take your business to the next level.

Emma xx

---

READY TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS NEXT LEVEL?

CLICK BELOW TO GET MY FREE 36-PAGE WORKBOOK: