Category Archives: websites

Website shame.

Published October 1, 2013

As I talk to business owners about their message + writing, one subject keeps surfacing.

It’s that many of you don’t like how you come across on your website.

It’s your red-headed stepchild.

The thing I want us to have a conversation about is that certain things are important on your website, and certain things LOOK important… but aren’t.

The Basics — what’s important on a website
(1) A clear message – the urgent problem you solve, who you solve it for, and your “point of view” on the subject (for example, if you’re a weight loss coach, what’s … Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to sell, how to write, websites

How I Fill Group Programs Online

Published October 30, 2012

Have an audience that is engaged & interested

For many service professionals and coaches, there’s a time when you say to yourself:

“I love my one-on-one clients, BUT…”

And that sentence usually ends with a curiosity about offering a group program with a lower price point.

Let’s be clear: a group program is typically NOT what you offer first.

You fill your business with 10-20 private one-on-one clients.

Because it’s easier to find 10 people to work with your privately over time, than it is to find 10 people who all want to start working with you on the same day.

But once you’ve done THAT, you’re probably … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, business, copywriting, marketing, marketing online, websites

4 questions to improve your marketing

Published October 23, 2012

Answer the questions to help you focus on the marketing that works for you.

This Saturday, I just taught an Intensive for students in my Unleash Your Crusade program.

And I asked them 4 questions I want to ask you, too.

Because I’m realizing that there are a lot of smart people talking AT you in the “how to grow your business” world.

But rarer are the people who are showing you how to tap into your OWN smarts.

So, I’ll talk at you about your marketing here, first. And then, I’ll ask.

Lately, I’ve been finding myself sounding like a broken record on several points, namely:

You do not need to do EVERY

… Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, business, copywriting, marketing, marketing online, websites

A wife in business owner’s clothing.

Published October 16, 2012

You gotta WANT to go for it in your business

You know what’s pissing me off?

Marriages that shelter mediocre businesses.

In my talks with business owners, there sometimes is a moment where I instantly get that the person I am talking to has an income source that has nothing to do with her business.

And it’s her husband.

Let me say that I have clients and colleagues who have an income-earning partner… and who STILL hustle their buns.

But there is a phenomenon where a marriage causes a women to shrink—instead of expand—when it comes to her business. And from where I sit, that sucks.

Here’s what I’ve noticed: … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, business, marketing, marketing online, websites

How to forget that marketing is manipulative

Published October 9, 2012

It’s a whole new world for your marketing.

The first time I ever went scuba diving, I was scared out of my mind.

I was in Thailand, and my friend Sue (a certified diver) and I had signed up with a diving outfit (probably illegal) to take us out for the day.

The boat set off for a place called “Shark Point.”

What?!

I hopped in the water, freaked out by the idea that for the first time in my life, I wouldn’t have access to an unlimited supply of oxygen. I’d just have whatever supply was strapped to my back. What-what?!

My dive instructor (crazy, Argentinian, looked … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, business, copywriting, marketing, marketing online, websites

How to speak the language of results

Published October 2, 2012

Express yourself more fully by being more creative, real and whole

When it comes marketing your business, there are really two languages.

Most business owners speak the language of “what I do.”

I’m a life coach.

I’m a financial planner.

I’m a nutrition nerd.

You see this a lot on websites. “Here’s what I do!” the website announces. “I am open for business!”

Trouble is, this may as well be written in Urdu, Farsi, or Mandarin, for all the business it will win you.

The SECOND language is not only understood by your ideal clients… it … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, business, copywriting, marketing, marketing online, websites

Ernest Shackleton didn’t need a fancy website (neither do you)

Published September 25, 2012

Being an entrepreneur is an expedition – not a cruise

Is it just me, or do we live in an age where “having a website” means that you are REALLY in business?

I talk to business owners ALL THE TIME who tell me:

“I just need a website, then I will go get clients.”

That’s a lie, by the way. A business needs a website like a fish needs a root canal. For your business to really soar, what you really need is CLIENTS.

And I know this is going to sound crazy, but the fastest way to get clients isn’t to diddle about how to write about what you … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, business, copywriting, marketing, marketing online, websites