The Success Magnets with Cara Lumen

Six Thoughtful Ways to Make Room for Change

My quest for a way to make room for change was prompted by the need to schedule more time to do copy writing for my clients. The first question was how much time do I schedule when I don't know how much time it will take to do the job? In order to make room for change, I had to rethink what I already had in place.

 

1.  Rethink your own rules

 

I have used an Excel spread sheet to block off times for client appointments, creating new information products, writing client copy, writing and posting articles and working my business. I have been setting Mondays aside to work on expanding my own business. But maybe I should rethink that. Maybe Mondays are not the best day, maybe I need to choose Fridays instead. Maybe I have to spread my business development time over several days. I began to let go of what I had in place and began to rethink my own system.

 

2. Make use of your fritters

 

The first thing I noticed in creating my new self-schedule was that I like to watch The View on TV every day at 10 AM. Now frankly, 10 AM is too early for me to take a break and as I looked at my schedule I thought, "That could be a whole hour out of my work day. Unless…." I very much need to put more exercise in my life so guess what…I'm going to bend and stretch and move my body while I watch the intelligent women on The View. It's a win-win solution.

 

I started tracking my "fritters" — those things I take time for that do not move me forward in my business or my work load. I began to look at why I was doing them – was I putting off something hard or did I simply need a change of tasks?

 

Not every time out is a fritter. I talk to my friend/ web designer partner every day. We talk about our lives, our families, our clients and our business decisions. Every conversation nourishes and balances me . It’s a meaningful pause in my productive day.

 

3. Get real about what's NOT working

 

Just as I found a way to add another dimension to an hour of TV that would make it contribute to my life, I began to look at what's NOT working.

 

It recently took me a long time to create an introductory email to a new client about an element of my services. I have now saved that in a New Client Start Up file and when another new client appeared I found that it was easy to adjust.

 

I have developed very strong intake forms that make starting with a new client easy and effective for both of us.. I have another intake form for gathering the information I need to write strong sales pages. And every time I have to write a lengthy explanation about something to one client, I create it as an article for my Magnetic Marketing Coaching Library so it's ready for the next time that question is asked. I keep an eye out for information I am repeating that could be automated, even if it's as simple as having a few often needed responses already written than only take a few minutes to adjust and send.

 

I need to keep myself clear from interruptions, particularly when I am writing copy. What are my choices? I could use my voice mail if a call comes in. I can look at my email at noon instead of first thing in the morning so I use my fresh, creative mind time to its best advantage. I could go to my desk earlier and get in an hour or two of uninterrupted time. I can set boundaries with my clients so we agree on a time to call rather than have them call me spontaneously.

 

I have options. I have choices. I can make changes.

 

4. Do the math – what do you need to attract

 

What does it take to create the income you need and want? How many clients? How many hours of copy writing? How many actual income-producing hours do you need to schedule into your week? Get that number in mind, hold that intention and make room for them in your weekly schedule.

 

Be clear about what is producing income. I may love writing articles and doing podcasts but I also need to be clear about how much income they are measurably generating and balance the time I spend on them accordingly.

 

If I want more copy writing assignments then I have to be certain my web site reflects that. That may mean additional keyword research, new copy, and setting up new intake systems so I can do the job efficiently and effectively.

 

Your job is to stay close to the money. Put your time into actual client/customer interaction. Farm out the administrative stuff if you need to. Stay active where you can most affect your business.

 

5. Re-think your system and be willing to change

 

Cluster your clients and pick specific session times to fill. Mine are 11, 1 and 3 PST on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That leaves me Mondays and Tuesdays plus other times to write copy for others, prepare talks, write more information products and work my own business.

 

A fellow copy writer who does ghost writing said he knows he has to write 1,000 words a day to finish a book in four months so he blocks off his entire morning. He doesn't answer the phone, he doesn't answer email, he just writes. His afternoon is more flexible. When his children come home he does his Dad thing but he often returns to work in the evening when his family activities have slowed down. I often fit in another two hours of work in the evening.

 

Create a schedule that works for you and your family.

 

6. Make a new plan and try it out – then schedule a time to check it again

 

Your plan is just a plan; it's one way to do it. I always love it when the Universe hands me an unexpected opportunity. I lovingly rethink my whole system to accommodate the new invitation.

 

I also follow my moods. If I'm in the mood to devour a new business book I sit down and do it. If an article starts popping in I sit down and write it. If an idea shows up I stop and take time to write down enough about it so that I have captured its essence. I definitely allow for the creative muse.

 

Take one step at a time.  Get that never-ending "to-do" list out and schedule some of those things onto your calendar every week. Allow them to organically pop to the top. If they don't get done in a reasonable length of time, take them off the list, they're not going to happen..

 

My new plan feels great. It has given me new perspectives and new priorities. I'll try this one out for awhile and then reexamine, rethink and recreate and make room for more change.

 

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, is an internet marketing coach, content strategist and  entrepreneur who combines innovative ideas with attraction marketing to help proactive entrepreneurs create a compelling and profitable presence on the internet. An international author, a motivational teacher, an engaging speaker, Cara love to help others bring their vision to life. Find more articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com

 

Does Your Web Site Mean Business?

Remember brochures? Those colorful and expensive folded pamphlets that you hoped people would pick up and read. And maybe, just maybe they would call you? Do you remember folding, stamping, mailing, or putting them in holders at your booth? Brochures and flyers have their place, but if you are on the internet you must remember that your web site is not a brochure!!!!

 

It can be, of course, it can be a decorative internet presence that lets you say "You can go to my web site at …." That is a placeholder that simply gives visitors a way to contact you.

 

But a web site should be and can be so much more.

 

Ask for Action-Action-Action

 

As an internet marketing coach I would never encourage you to settle for a brochure web site. If you are going to play on the internet, play for keeps! And that means creating a web site that is compelling and has a clear call to action.

 

What makes a web site compelling?

 

I'm an Attraction Marketer so I am aware of the instant connection that comes from the mere energy behind a web site. I certainly have come across web sites that make an immediate connection with me based on their energy alone. And I have had people tell me that coming to my web site feels like coming home. There is energy that reaches out even before the words and design make an impact.

 

Give them the vital information

 

As an Internet Marketer I believe in giving people the information they need to make an informed decision. I don't scare them into buying, or yell at them with big fonts and loud yellow boxes, I approach them as a new acquaintance, someone who might be interested in what I offer provided I listen to what they need and truly try to stay in service.

 

Build a friendly relationship

 

As the content progresses I address their needs, not in a negative manner, but in a hopeful manner. Not "Are your painful knees wrecking your life?" but "How would it feel to be able to take a long walk in the woods again? I want to give them hope, a joyous expectation of what is possible, and then let them know how what I offer may be of service to them.

 

It's like meeting someone new; you don't move in with a hard sell, you get to know them by exchanging information. In fact, if you're really good, you don't sell anything at all, you simply express you passion and enthusiasm for what you do.

 

Ask for another "date"

 

So, if people only spend about a minute on your web site, how can you build a relationship? If they go away you'll never see them again. But if you create an opt in offer that invites them to give you their email and name along with permission to email them again, you have made a prospective new friend. It means they are interested enough to explore your relationship a bit further.

 

If your web site does not have a compelling opt in offer it does not mean business. It is merely decorative.

 

If you are going to have a web site, put it to work for you. Create a strong opt in offer, write a mini-ecourse for your autoresponders, begin to collect those names. 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your list. Do the math. You have to have a list. And building a list takes time. You have to have a list of people who are interested enough in your work to want to hear more from you. That means you must have an opt in box on you website or you are wasting your time.

 

You must have a clear call to action

 

As big as the temptation is to tell everything you do to everyone who comes you must have only one clear call to action per page. In the case of your home page it must be your opt in box which must be placed in the upper right hand portion above the fold. All you want to do on your home page copy is tell them what you can do for them (not how you will do it),interest them enough in what you offer and entice them enough with your opt in offer, that they give you their name and email. One request. One call to action.

 

Do you see why a brochure approach is so weak? With a little effort, and an investment in a strong foundation like Easy Web Automation Shopping Cart that allows you to create compelling autoresponders and make relationship-building broadcasts to keep in touch and build trust you will have a web site that means business.

 

 

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, is a content strategist and internet marketing coach who combines Attraction Marketing, innovative ideas and creative insights to help proactive entrepreneurs create a compelling and profitable presence on the internet. Her Magnetic Marketing Method is filled with ebooks, audios and home study courses to help you take your business to its next level. Find more articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com

 

 

 

How to Find Your Own Rhythm in the Middle of it All

I'm coming to the end of a three month commitment. I'm tired. I have some end-of-the-course leader things to do and I'm about to have time to find my own rhythm again. And I wonder - where did I get out of sync, how did I let it happen, and what do I do to regain it?

Where did I get out of sync with my own rhythm?

I let myself get out of sync with my own personal rhythm gradually. It went unnoticed. I just added more and more things to do, did them and in doing so, pushed aside some of the nourishing things I know to do for myself.

How did I let it happen?

The operative word here is "let." I let myself get out of sync with my own personal rhythm when I made the choices I did. When I stopped reading for pleasure because I was too tense or didn't have time. When I stopped taking time to exercise or cut my walks short because I had too much to do. When I didn't take time to connect with a friend. When I didn't take time to think, to contemplate, to consider what I wanted and needed. Little by little I sabotaged myself and changed my rhythm to accommodate that of other people or the work I chose to do. It is only when a natural pause presents itself that I know that I want to rethink my choices.

What do I do to regain my personal rhythm?

I always go within to see what I really, really want. I make new choices based on what I have recently learned, who I have met, what new ideas I have. And most of all I check within to be sure I am still aligned with my vision and my core values. It may take a few days. When you are ready to regain your personal rhythm, start thinking and journaling. Notice what's different about you and what is in your life. Rethink your intention, your direction and make some new choices.

Go back to your original purpose

At the core of what I love to do is teaching. I love to learn, I love to create ways to share what I have learned with others, and I love to teach it. That means that for me to be the happiest and most satisfied, all my choices need to be about my original purpose - doing things that allow me to learn, create and teach.

What is your original purpose? Make a list of the things people continually ask you to do and what they compliment you on. Then circle the ones that you love to do, that you do easily and well and eagerly. That's gives you insight to what you are supposed to be doing.

Then look at your passion

Whether you are starting your own business, selling a product or service, writing an article, or reaching out to a friend, it is your enthusiasm that will work the magic. And your enthusiasm comes from your passion. I love to teach but what exactly do I love to teach, who do I want to teach, how do I want to teach? One of the things I do is help people bring their passion and vision into a tangible, profitable product or service on the internet that other people need and want. It gives me great joy as I help people achieve their goals while nurturing my own need to be creative and teach. Once you find your passion, look for the people who need want you want to offer. And let them know what you have to offer.

Self-contemplate your way to success

I do a quarterly Magnetic Marketing Method Business Alignment in which I examine where I am and where I want to go. I listen to my body for what it needs – more rest, more laughter, more structure. And I redesign my next three months; not with the idea of adhering closely to the plan, but with the idea of recording my observations and intentions based on what I discovered when I take time to do a "reality" check. What I have experienced today is here because I thought about it yesterday – both the good or bad thoughts. What thoughts do I want to hold now in order to create this next quarter, how do I want to honor my own rhythm, how do I want to keep myself in sync?

Take time to pause, to contemplate and then act upon what you discover. That's how you find your own rhythm in the middle of it all.

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, is a content strategist and internet marketing coach who combines Attraction Marketing, innovative ideas and creative insights to help proactive entrepreneurs create a compelling and profitable presence on the internet. Her Magnetic Marketing Method is filled with ebooks, audios and home study courses to help you bring your vision to life. Find more articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com

It's OK to Charge for Thinking….

It's really ok to charge for the time you spend thinking about and for your client, It took me a while to figure that out – until I realized that the time I spent studying the clients present material and position, letting the myriad of ideas that came to mind expand my vision for them, and then giving a lot of thought to the best direction for them to take was the most valuable aspect of my services.

And at one point I wasn't charging for that!

I expect to include 15 minutes before and after a coaching call with the price of the call. I use the first 15 minutes to study their Coaching Call Prep Form to see what they have accomplished and what they want to talk about. That form also lists their homework for the past week so it is easy for both of us to keep moving forward. The 15 minutes after the call is spent in condensing my notes into the Coaching Call Prep Form for the next session.

Humm, let me think. Knowing that I spend an hour and a half per coaching call makes me wonder - am I charging enough? Perhaps not.

But it was when I started tracking the other times I spent planning for a client that I began to build a Planning Time & Review Charge into my proposals.

For instance, when it comes to web design I partner with Judy Stewart of www.jstewartdesigns.com. She's the artist. I'm the content developer. But we may spend 30 minutes on the phone working out details of a design or copy placement for a client. Why should either one of us give that important time away for free.

Another client had a very complex site that he wanted to redo and I spent about an hour and a half studying his site, and figuring out the best site map navigation and plotting our strategy. I need to be certain I charge for that. It is after all, the core decision making process that will fuel our mutual success.

Don't sell your brain power short

I'm selling my brain power – my creativity, my intelligence, my vast spectrum of knowledge and experience. I'm selling my ability to see the client's vision and help her bring it into a tangible and profitable internet business. That's worth something. In fact that's worth a lot!

In your proposal build in special pricing for planning – your planning time. It takes time to read through a new client's web site and get a picture of who they are and what they want. It takes time to update and track the decisions and planned actions. I have a very strong Client Intake form that I ask my clients to fill out before we begin. It takes time for me to read that and pull out the strategy we should pursue.

Put a price on your thinking

I have two types of pricing. One is for a coaching session. The other is for the time I spend writing copy, strengthening copy, doing research and designing their marketing strategy. I charge by the quarter hour and I list on the invoice exactly what I was doing - created site map, wrote copy for home page, etc.

Don't give your ideas away for free

I also don't give a free consultation. I have too many great ideas that will make money for my clients to give them away. I do have a free initial exploratory conversation to discover their needs and how I might best serve them. Then I write a proposal – a Scope of Action. This gives me time to look at the notes I took while I talked to them and personalize my proposal and plan exactly how I'd like to proceed and what the client can expect to accomplish and by when. I also send them my Magnetic Marketing Method Client Intake Form which gives me powerful information upon which to build our sessions.

It's hard to predict how long we will work and I’m still working up the nerve to say "You need to work with me for six month." I know I have to have ten sessions minimum to bring the content for a complete web site into readiness. I probably ought to make it 12. People usually want boundaries – an end in sight – an estimate for their budget.

I have several packages of varying lengths for coaching but I always add a price for my thinking time in my proposal. No one has every objected. My intelligence and creativity is the most valuable thing I offer and it's worth every penny – or should I say every dollar!

It pays to get paid for thinking!

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps proactive entrepreneurs translate their passion into a profitable presence on the internet with a minimum investment by using time, energy, information, and imagination. Through The Magnetic Marketing Method she offers innovative, inexpensive, and impactful ideas for internet marketing, content strategy, and signature product development. You can find more insightful articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com

Beyond Booked Solid by Michael Port - A Book Review

The times they are a' changing, and we have to be prepared to rethink, reposition and restructure our business. Michael Port's Beyond Booked Solid not only shines light on the path ahead but it offers us innovative "next steps" to stay ahead of the game .

Michael knows we have to build our business from the inside - from our passion, our beliefs, and our values. As we get busy learning and applying new action steps to build our business, it is easy for us to lose track of that core foundation that contains the reason for all we do. Michael asks us to move beyond our unconscious beliefs and perceived limitations and go for the biggest, highest, most unbelievable vision we can conjure up.

And then he shows us how to structure it.

A Cornerstone Business Book

I've have already read Beyond Booked Solid twice and I know it's going to stay handy on my office bookshelf just like Michael's "Book Yourself Solid" has done, because there are so many important ideas in it. This is a cornerstone book, a book upon which to build a strong business foundation even as it helps you turn the corner into a new vision and version of your business.

As an invited early reader for Michael's manuscript, I quickly realized he was asking us to move to a new vantage point, to begin to see our business as a structure for which we are the sole designer of its architecture.

When Michael asked me to create the BBS Toolkit to accompany the book I got to read the manuscript again, this time looking for ways to create questionnaires and exercises that would help me (and therefore you) really apply this important work.

The Beyond Booked Solid Toolkit that comes as a free download with purchase contains 40 thought-provoking, insight-revealing exercises that have been developed from the content of this remarkable book. In fact, the realizations you reach from moving through these exercises and studying the concepts in this book are so revealing that I have added them to my own personal Quarterly Business Review, a sort of Solstice, Equinox ritual, during which I look to see if I'm truly going where I want to be going.

It's all inside

In Beyond Booked Solid we are asked to create an open space in our mind, creatively articulate our vision, and define and design our business architecture to bring that vision into its perfect form. We are then guided to innovative action steps that help us maintain our new structure and keep it aligned with our passion and values. We are guided to build our business from the inside out so that it is truly an expression of our uniqueness.

Michael Port is an explorer and a visionary and Beyond Booked Solid is one of those exceptional books that absolutely belongs on your business book shelf - one you will pull out to refer to time and time again.

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps you focus your passion and vision into profitable course of action. Through internet marketing, content strategy, signature product development and her own information products she helps pro-active entrepreneurs become Success Magnets. www.caralumen.com

How to Effectively Position Yourself in Social Media

OK, we have this new opportunity going on that everyone is doing, but not everyone understands. I've joined Linkedin, FaceBook, and Squidoo. I blog and I podcast. I'm working up nerve to get on YouTube. But wait. What am I going to get for all this? How much time do I need to spend? Where does this fit into my marketing strategy?

There is no question but it's a happening thing

FaceBook is adding a million adults per week to their rosters.
YouTube gets over 50 million unique visitors per month.
FaceBook and MySpace have the equal daily traffic of Google and that's going to double!

So how do you get in touch with all those people? How do you make social media work for you?

Social Media is about collaboration

It is said you already know enough people to network out to any resource you need. Social Media is about becoming a strong link in that networking web in which information, resources, ideas, friendship and inspiration are shared.

Casual vs. Purposeful Interaction

The easiest two places to start are Linkedin, which is focused on business and job related networking, and FaceBook, which seems more animated with people sharing everything from Karma Links to Groups for specific causes. Posting on forums is both causal and purposeful. For these versions of Social Media you just have to show up and participate. It's all very casual and conversational.

It's the blogs and podcasts and wiki's that are more purposeful. They can be specifically targeted and used to actively build your business.

You need both the casual interaction and the purposeful content.

People are no longer willing to be sold

However, because there is so much hype, so many "buy now" urgent sales messages with "last-chance-to-buy" calls to action, we, as a buying public, are no longer listening to or being swayed by that approach. We are becoming immune. Internet readers want information from the internet. They don't want advertising or marketing or some sort of pitch.

Don't sell yourself - Be yourself

You know about the Law of Attraction, where your personal vibration attracts to you the essence of the energy you are emitting. Just be yourself and the perfect people will find you. Notice exactly how you are sharing. Are you helpful? Supportive? Friendly? Are you putting out the vibration that will attract the people you want as clients and customers? If not, get conscious about what you say, do, and write.

Hang out with your target market

Narrow your niche just as you have for your business. If you are in business go where business people hang out and relate to each other. If you are in health and fitness, join groups where people with that interest hang out, just as you would if you were joining a networking group in your area that you felt would lead you to new contacts.

Listen before you leap

Listen to what is going on in the social environment you choose to join before you start to post. Ease into the conversations. Keep your comments relevant. Offer suggestions and resources but do not promote yourself. Join forums that allow you to put your web site in your signature so people can get to know you more. Ask questions. Answer questions. Make friends. Build relationships. Keep listening for what other people in the social environment need to hear from you. Engage in conversation. This is not about you being a teacher or lecturer or even an expert. It is about engaging in a conversation. It is about building community. It is about establishing trust.

Get them to invest in your advice

So here's the plan. You go on these social media environments and start relating with others. You post short supportive messages to friends and acquaintances you haven't talked to in a long while. You post new discoveries you have made that others might like to know about. You share of yourself and your insights. And gradually you will establish yourself as a go-to person. And at some point, they will come to you to invest in your advice.

The bottom line is trust

Haven't we been taught over and over that we need to build trust with our prospects and clients in order to see them purchase from us? Every time I offer a new teleclass or ebook, it's the people who know me that purchase, the people from my list that I have been developing relationship with over the years. Sometimes they tell a friend but the major purchases come from people who trust me because we have built a relationship over time.

Don't say it till you mean it

I have found a weight loss program that I really like. It is multilevel marketing and my upline was eager for me to get two people under me so I could get my product free. But you know what? I wasn't ready. I was about ten days into the program and was getting results but I wasn't ready to talk to anyone about it yet. My upline urged me to tell my prospects about what other people had achieved. But the people I want to reach, the people who know and trust me, only want to hear my personal recommendation.

After a month on the program I had results I was eager to talk about and share. I could come from my own heart, my own conviction and my own experience and really listen to and address the needs and concerns of my friends who I think might benefit from having information on this product. Please notice, I'm not going to sell them anything, I'm going to give them information so they can make an informed decision for themselves.

As one friend said, "Your word is gold with me." What an honor. What trust. I want to always share from a place of personal integrity. I want everyone to know my word is gold with them.

Get yourself a platform for your passion

A blog can be up in five minutes. A podcast can be only 3-5 minutes long. Focus your content on something you care about, something you want to learn more about or help others do. Link that back to your web site where your services are listed.

Solve a problem

Look at your business. Look at your clients. What solution can you give them to a common problem that will bring immediate and noticeable results? Make a video with that solution and put it on YouTube, MySpace and FaceBook with links back to your main website.

Just having a blog and posting a video will help you establish more Web 2.0 presence than 90% of your competition. It's that easy.

Social Media as a marketing strategy

Engaging in social media is both an Outreach Strategy and a Keep In Touch Strategy. You make new friends, develop relationships and support each other with your goods and services. After all, what are friends for?!

© Cara Lumen 2008
www.caralumen.com

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps proactive entrepreneurs translate their passion into a profitable presence on the internet Her Magnetic Marketing Method guides you through internet marketing, content strategy, and signature product development and helps you become a true Success Magnet. www.caralumen.com

How to Organize Your Content so it Practically Writes Itself

I once wrote a play. Well actually I wrote a lot of scenes and found myself laying them out all over my bed trying to sort them in some sort of sequence. (This was before computers). It was the only way I could take what had emerged from my imagination and make any sense out of it.

Of course, now I know better. Even now if simply start writing content as I get inspired, I find it much, much harder to organize than if I had a plan in the first place. Being able to see the overview of what you are going to create is actually a talent, but it is also a skill you can learn. Here's my method.

Find your core message

Why are you writing this? What one point do you wish to make above all else? I'll use the example of a book I'm working on now. It's "How to Write Magnetic Sales Pages." My purpose is to create a ebook/workbook that helps people pull their ideas and phrases from their subconscious and put it into a specific structure in order to create a compelling sales page. That makes sense. This core message is the clothes line that will go from beginning to end upon which I will hang my points, one chapter "clothes pin" at a time.

Find your beginner's mind

Who are you writing to? How much do they know? What foundational material do you have to include in order to orient them to your content? I'm beginning my book with information on why people buy. That makes sense. We're writing sales pages to get people to purchase so understanding that process is an invaluable foundation upon which to build.

Build your path

Lay out your stepping stones. What do they need to know next? What after that? These are your chapter headings. Don't worry about the name for them, just get the idea. In my case, I need for people to get very clear about the purpose of their sales page so I have organized my chapters and exercises to help them make internal decisions that will affect their content. It takes them step-by-step to a finished product.

Choose your equipment

What "tools" will your readers need in order to reach the conclusion you are taking them toward? Again, in my example, it's fairly easy to see. We have to talk about the mechanics of creating content – headlines, subheads, keywords, the circular paragraph, etc. Fill your reader's toolkit before you move on.

The key question

Now comes the magic organizer. Imagine that you have just mapped out a nature walk. You have posted signs along the path to mark the places you will stop and discuss with your students the scene before them. Why did you choose one viewing point rather than another? You have to know exactly what you want them to learn. The most powerful phrase you can ask yourself is "Students leave with an understanding of…." If you place that question at the beginning of every chapter heading you have created and answer it, your content will practically write itself.

The first time I created a Table of Contents for the Magnetic Sales Page book I found that on one chapter heading, when put in the line "Students leave with an understanding of…." I had to answer it with "I have no clue." Needless to say I rearranged that particular point.

This key question is a powerful measuring stick for making certain your content is heard and understood.

Review your overview From your work so far, create your table of contents and look it over for a logical sequence. Do you need to move the chapter on one topic higher up? Have you answered a question in another place? Do chapters need to be combined? Remember your beginner's mind and build your case one logical sequential step at a time. Look at your core "clothesline" theme. Look at the "garment" chapters you have hung on that line. If you have made your point, if you know what your students will leave with an understanding of… start writing.

Are they students or readers? We all want to be heard. We don't write unless we want to communicate. Whether it is fiction, a how to book or a sales page, we want our content to be understood, So of course, we want to make our point. For me a reader can be a casual observer. A student, on the other hand, really wants to "get it." That's why I use "Students leave with an understanding of…" and let my content write itself.

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps pro-active entrepreneurs translate their passion into a profitable presence on the internet. As a content strategist she guides you to copy that compels and sells. Her own information products are noted for their clarity and richness. Through The Magnetic Marketing Method she offers innovative, inexpensive, and impactful ideas for internet marketing, content strategy, and signature product development. Find more articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com

The Psychology of Pricing - How to Position Your Products to Sell

In his article "Pricing tips for selling in a tough market" in the Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Clements presented pricing tips for the difficult housing marketing. Using this universal psychology of pricing I have translated his concepts to help you price your products to sell.

Make your first number count

Have you noticed how $4.99 looks like and feels like a lot less than $5.00? Manoj Thomas, a marketing professor at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management explains, "We read from left to right so we anchor our judgment on the first thing we see. We make that judgment in a fraction of a second." A $99 home study course will look more affordable than a $100 one. A $124.75 teleclass series will feel like a better bargain than the same one at $125. Pay attention to number on the left. It's the one your prospect will remember.

Make effective price comparisons

One study of price comparisons found that, if the left digits are the same, buyers will focus on the right hand numbers. Thus an ebook at $12.75 feels a lot more expensive than one at $12.54. Have you ever been on Amazon ordering a book from an outside source? The prices vary by only one penny, but you inevitably go for the cheapest one. We love bargains.

It also turns out that buyers perceive the discount to be larger if those numbers on the right are declining from two to one rather than from nine to eight. Go figure.

Sometimes comparisons get out of hand. Have you ever been on a sales page that says you are getting $3,572 worth of bonuses? I personally don't need that much information, so it is a comparison that is not compelling to me. But if you tell me there is an Early Bird Special in which a $125 teleclass I'm considering is available for $99 I may jump on it. And you know what, that's a 20% savings. Which number did you respond to—the dollar amount or the percentage amount? I'm a dollar and cents type of person but it doesn't hurt to use both in your copy providing it’s a good percentage drop.

What is a reasonable price?

The best way to make a pricing decision has never been determined. There are guidelines, but no easy to apply rule. Obviously you want to be within the range your market dictates. When I priced my first ebook, a colleague said, "Oh well, you can always offer a discount." I knew then that I had priced it too high. You may not be able to sell an ebook for $29.95 since you are probably sitting there with a bookshelf full of very informative hard cover business books that average $12 each. It's very common to look at the amount of effort that went into creating your product and over price it.

Another decision is what your target market can afford. Eckhart Tolle prices his book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose at $7.70. In doing so he made it available to anyone who wants it. He wants to get his message out. And it will be since he's an Oprah book club selection. Suze Orman felt so strongly about getting her message to women that for 24 hours she recently gave away a free PDF of her book Women and Money also through Oprah. If you have a book that you want to reach as many people as possible, keep it in a price range that will entice them.

Another consideration is that academics are used to paying more for a text book than the average reader. Research your market and stay within a reasonable price range for those you want to buy your product and services.

Do you want to convey quality or a bargain?

An interesting discovery about the psychology of pricing is that a round number will convey quality. A precise number will indicate a bargain. Vicki Morwitz, a marketing professor at New York University's Stern School of Business says that's because we associate precise numbers with lower-priced products. A precise number also indicates you have given a lot of thought to your pricing. Look at Amazon prices, the last two numbers are all sorts of un-rounded numbers – $14.37, $12. 64. It makes you feel like you are really getting a bargain because you assume they have arrived at those prices in order to be the lowest source for that product.

Make the discount easy to calculate

Make it easy for your buyer to relate to the price cut. If it is difficult to do the math, they will perceive the savings as small. A drop from $149.85 to $127.48 taxes anyone's math skills. But with a drop from $149.85 to $129.85 you can see a $20 savings. And in a drop from $150 to $130 the $20 savings is extremely clear.

Instead of cutting prices, add bonuses

In my coaching practice I have two ways for people to pay for my major package. They can pay in two payments, or if they pay in one payment, they get a bonus of four of my ebooks that are related to what they will be doing in our coaching sessions. My reasoning? Every time a prospect pulls out her credit card, she has the opportunity to reconsider the purchase. Fortunately my shopping cart can automatically charge monthly payments but my clients have an opportunity for some valuable bonuses if they pay in full. What kind of added value can you add to your bundles?

Don't stay married to your price

Price your product or service reasonably and if it doesn't sell lower your price. If it rushes out the door, consider raising your price. You could easily do some split testing by having identical sales pages with different prices and send half your list to one and half to the other and monitor the results.

Give it time

It takes prospects as many as nine exposures before they purchase. That's why building your list is vital to your success. An opt in list gives you permission to market. The prospects are willing to hear from you again. Through emagazines and special offer promotions, you will have time to speak to them often enough to build their trust and get ultimately them to purchase.

One last thought on information products

An information product is not your business, it is an adjunct to your business. It enhances your expert status, it lets people move up your marketing funnel. When people come to me for help in developing an information product, I make certain they have a strong name capturing system in place on a compelling web site with strong content that stimulates conversion. Laying that strong foundation is paramount to your success. Then you can create all the products you wish and use the psychology of pricing to position your products to sell.

Want to post this article in your emagazine? You may as long as the unedited article is printed in its entirety, and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps pro-active entrepreneurs translate their passion into a profitable presence on the internet with a minimum investment by using time, energy, information, and imagination. Through The Magnetic Marketing Method she offers innovative, inexpensive, and impactful ideas for internet marketing, content strategy, and signature product development. Her own information products are noted for their clarity and richness. Find more articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com

How to use testimonials to handle objections

There will always be objections raised in the selling process. What if…I can't…maybe… An objection means they don't have enough information. It's that simple.

Now it's one thing to be in conversation and hear an objection voiced, you can immediately begin to determine what they are thinking and ask questions to identify and clarify their objections. But what do you do when you are writing a landing page and are essentially having a conversation with yourself?

You have to anticipate.

Make the "what if's" part of your content

When you do your homework to identify the problems of your target market, also write down some of the perceived objections that might be raised. If you have had conversations with friends that represent your target market, be certain to explore their possible objections. Put yourself in the shoes your target market. Is the objection money, time, fear, lack of information, lack of need?

You want to beat them to the draw, so to speak, by addressing those objections in your sales page content. And what better way than to have someone else tell them what your product or service did for them.

Let testimonials handle the objections

"Although I've been a professional magazine writer for years, I didn't realize the incredible marketing potential of articles until I took Cara's class, Article Magnetism, How to Write Articles that Attract. Cara's class material was worth ten times the cost of the class and her vast experience helped point me in directions I would not have thought of on my own. If you want to learn the nuts and bolts of effective article marketing, Article Magnetism is the one class you can't afford to miss."

Nancy Hendrickson
www.CyberBookBuzz.com

Nancy identifies herself as a knowledgeable person, indicates her problem of not having realized the marketing potential of writing articles, and indicates the class raised her awareness and moved her to a new level. This well-crafted testimonial is only three sentences long and addresses value, benefits and results.

I've been interested in article marketing for nearly a year now but I felt stuck and hadn't done much with the information I'd received. In three weeks of Cara's class I've been inspired to write 7 articles and have brainstormed a list of 27 more article ideas to write about. She's really pulled this topic together for me so that I can write with confidence, ease, speed, organization and pleasure. I don't feel like I have to write an article anymore. I want to write an article!

Cara gets herself and her students right into the beat of this topic, with each and every session. No one is looking at their watch, multi-tasking or asking "where's the beef" in this content rich class. Her original (and really generous) bonus materials are great and her tips and resources are not the usual ones that everybody lists.

I really loved this course. Anyone who orders it will be richly rewarded.

Beth Borray
www.redpeony.com

This is actually a bit long and I could easily edit it but I include it because Beth speaks of her emotion, how stuck she felt and how relieved she was to actually want to write an article instead of feeling she had to. And she gives insights into the richness of the content and value of the course.

And I didn't have to say a thing. You sometimes don't have to do anything more than include the testimonial in your marketing material.

Use the parts and pieces

Some of my best testimonials come unsolicited in an email comment from people I interact with. First, I save them all in my "Acknowledgment" file so if I ever start feeling dumpy I can go look at the great things people see in me. But I also email them back and ask if I can use an excerpt as a testimonial and if so, how would they like their name and URL listed on my web site. Who can turn down an offer like that!

By asking for an excerpt I can take the short, juicy phrases out of a longer rambling testimonial and make a major point with just a few words. Don't hesitate to edit the testimonials that are offered.

Place the testimonials where they count

A good testimonial helps overcome objections so place them strategically on your sales page where an objection might come up in a conversation or the natural thought process might be "I'm not sure…"

You could even go so far as to have a sub heading "Not convinced? Read what Nancy has to say about this class." But more often setting the testimonial apart by indented italics or in a colored box is enough to help them stand out.

I'm not a fan of complete pages of testimonials. I don’t think many people go read them, but a short well-placed testimonial in a sales page can humanize you and your process.

Keep them colloquial

You want testimonials to be written as people speak, not as a slick, well-crafted advertisement. Keeping them colloquial makes them more believable. Testimonials are like a pat on the back, congratulations on a job well done, an expression of gratitude. Let others see how much your offerings are appreciated and more importantly, what they helped others achieve.

If you don't have them, ask for them

Here are the questions you’d like to see answered in a testimonial:

• Why they came to you in the first place
• What was decision that made them say "yes?"
• What happened?
• What was the result of the process?
• What the future will be because of this process

Use testimonials to convey your benefits and help you achieve credibility. Ask for feedback when you give a teleclass or a workshop and from your clients and ask for permission to use excerpts when you do. Sure, you can write leaders in your field for a testimonial but the voice of the person whose heart you touched will count for a lot more.

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps you focus your passion into profitable course of action. Through internet marketing, content strategy, signature product development and her own information products she helps pro-active entrepreneurs become Success Magnets. www.caralumen.com

The Product Factory is the Wind beneath my Wings

If ever there was a driving force in my business life, it has been The Product Factory, that incredible 90 day course in product creation. Not only do you create a unique product, but you learn project management skills, online and offline marketing techniques, how to write compelling sales pages and resources on every product creation subject imaginable.

I'm about to start my fifth time through, my third time as Team Leader of The Success Magnets. Last time we won and our whole team has received a free return trip. .

The people are incredible. We work in teams and in forums because there are over 100 of us but we interact with resources and ideas and support from every team. As a Team Leader my job is to create a supportive learning environment, help you keep on target with your project, and do whatever it takes to help you get your product completed. .

In the end, your product goes on The Product Factory Wall of Fame where over 35,000 people are invited to take a look. .

Michael Port and Mitch Meyerson created the Product Factory. I have never known two people more in service to others. They give us everything they've got, share everything they know and are totally invested in our success. Michael is the author of "Book Yourself Solid" and "Beyond Booked Solid" and Mitch is the author of eight books including "Secrets of the Online Superstars" and "Mastering Online Marketing". They are both mover and shakers and great teachers. They have truly been the wind beneath my wings. .

The Product Factory is offered only once a year and it starts Monday February 25th. There is a weekly call with Michael and Mitch and then a team call you select that fits your schedule. And the rest is up to you. If you stay with the assignments, take advantage of the multitude of rich resources, and stay steady on your course, you will learn more than you ever imagined, make long-lasting friends from all over the world, and come away with a unique product for your business and know how to make many more! I hope to see you there! .

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps you focus your passion into profitable course of action. Through internet marketing, content strategy, signature product development and her own information products she helps pro-active entrepreneurs become Success Magnets. Join her on The Product Factory and subscribe to The Success Magnets emagazine at www.caralumen.com