4 days agoMember-onlyHow to Start Marketing Before Your Offer Is Ready To SellTwo techniques to save you from wasting time on products that won’t be welcomed by your market. Entrepreneurs and small business owners often believe the sequence “Idea → Create Offer → Start Marketing.” It sounds logical, doesn’t it? Truth is, if you wait till you’ve got a finished product, you’ve…Entrepreneurship3 min readEntrepreneurship3 min read
Jan 25Member-onlyHow To Earn Their Trust When You Can’t Get Client TestimonialsContent creation can give you credibility. Client testimonials matter. You’ve probably been told — many times! that prospective clients are looking for social proof when they sign up for your services. Nobody wants to be the first client …or worse, only client. People avoid restaurants that look empty. Lots of…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Jan 23Member-onlySEO for Entrepreneurs: How will it bring you more clients?Copywriting and content creation will also attract traffic. Recently a client said, “I’ve heard that SEO for entrepreneurs is critical to my success. I want to hire an SEO expert but they’re quoting me thousands of dollars. Should I do this?” I work with solopreneurs and small businesses. I don’t…Entrepreneurship6 min readEntrepreneurship6 min read
Jan 16Member-onlyThis advice will guarantee you a very, very bad storyStorytelling for small business: focus on building your brand After I wrote the first draft of this post today, I checked my email. A marketing coach was advising readers who were uncomfortable sharing a story of personal trauma. “People want to see you as a kind, caring person,” she said…Marketing4 min readMarketing4 min read
Jan 5Member-only“If you really hate doing it, it won’t get done.”Productivity isn’t about willpower and pushing yourself to work harder. I tend to write about fitness and I get teased (and sometimes criticized) when I talk about being fit. Many people assume I played sports as a child and grew into fitness easily. The truth is, as a child I…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Jan 4Member-onlyCareer Mindset: Not a Watched PotFor career success, stay detached and be responsive to serendipity. Recently I heard a talk about the energy of money. The speaker said that money grows when it is watched, measured, and tended. That may be true. But careers are more like “The watched pot never boils.” Careers usually move…Careers3 min readCareers3 min read
Jan 3Member-onlyMoving to the New Year: 3 Things To Take To 2023Entrepreneurship can give business planning a new dimension at the New Year. When I moved to Philly almost 12 years ago, I had to decide what to keep and what to toss. I was tempted to follow the maxim, “When in doubt, throw it out.” …Entrepreneurship4 min readEntrepreneurship4 min read
Dec 31, 2022Member-onlyStop writing content that makes you cringe when you read it a week after it’s publishedSo easy to make these mistakes Go through your inbox and you’ll find yourself responding to messages with, “I bet whoever wrote this is blushing beet red by now. The word ‘cringeworthy’ was designed for this.” We’ve all made at least one cringe-creating mistake and I bet you’ve seen plenty…Marketing3 min readMarketing3 min read
Dec 13, 2022Member-onlyBeware of false Santas bearing pseudo-giftsA lot of marketing advice sounds really good…till you look more closely. They say they’re giving you gifts…but they’re really gift-wrapping some pretty bad advice. Here are just 2 examples from my inbox. (1) I just downloaded a free ebook on how to pitch for a guest blog or guest…Markreting3 min readMarkreting3 min read
Dec 12, 2022Member-onlyHow to announce a price increase with the right story.Two common pieces of advice will actually alienate your clients and customers. I’ve used a particular massage service for years. Last week they sent all their clients an email message. They’d raised prices by about 20%. “Many of you tip by this amount,” they said. “So henceforth, we will no…Entrepreneurship4 min readEntrepreneurship4 min read
