Who are you becoming on the way to achieving your goals?

Business as usual

Blab... Fad or Fabulous?

The first I heard of Blab.im was when my buddy, Brian G. Johnson posted on Facebook he was hosting a Blab. Shortly thereafter, Joel Comm was promoting his Blab. Before I knew it, many of my friends and colleagues were Blabbing and having a great time doing so.

My initial thought was, “Oh no! Not another BSO – bright shiny object.”

With all the new distractions on social media, I truly thought this was just one more to add to the bone yard of soon to be forgotten ways to mindlessly fill time online.

Knowing Brian and Joel the way I do, Blab warranted further investigation. After all, both of these online rock stars seem to always be on the leading edge of how to serve their communities.

After closer examination I got the bug. AND I predict Blab is going to create immense opportunity to those who strategically utilize this platform and the incredible capabilities Blab offers.

The great thing about Blab is there are virtually no barriers to entry. Unlike Google Hangouts, Blab is very user friendly. Even the most non-techie person can get the hang of it from the start.

As with anything, there are always Pros and Cons. Here is my take on the Pros and Cons.

PROS

• What I really like about Blab is you can use it as an open discussion forum, training platform or simply talk about trending topics.


• Limited number of on-camera participants. Some people think that having only four people on camera at a time is a major downside. Personally, I like this feature. This prevents a free for all conversation that could quickly get out of control.


• If you’re the host of the Blab you have complete control on how long you let someone stay on camera. In other words, if you have someone who is inappropriate, tries to take over the conversation with their own agenda or is just an out and out jerk, you can X them out.


• The user interface is very simple and yet, it has room to grow.


• One of the nicest features is the Twitter integration. While on a Blab you can tweet out to all your Twitter followers by the click of the button that reads “Tell a little bird.” Participants can do the same. In very short order, your Blab is being tweeted out to untold numbers of people.


• From what some experts are claiming, they are picking up quite a following, their subscriber lists are increasing and their visibility is going through the roof.


• Another nice feature is the ability to record your session. Many experts are using their recorded Blabs for membership sites, podcast shows and creating more value for their community.


• You can go live immediately or schedule your Blab in order to let your community plan accordingly.

NOTE: At the time of writing this blog post, I have a Blab scheduled for later today. https://blab.im/kathleen-gage-speaking-to-build-your-business-and-brand

CONS
Although the Pros are plentiful, there are some downsides. Yet, the upsides far outweighs the downside.

• You don’t have privacy on Blab. Once you go live, anyone can join in.


• Blab has already proven to be a BSO for some people. The phrase, “Addicted to Blab” is starting to surface.


• If someone is using Blab simply for the purpose of filling their time, you can end up wasting precious time searching out high content Blabs.


• From what I’ve seen, there are more “time waster” Blabs happening than really useful ones.

Getting the most out of Blabs you host and/or participate in

The following recommendations are for those who want to use Blab to enhance their market reach, visibility and position their expert status.

• Use the Blab platform as you would any other training environment. In other words, treat the time of participants with respect and give them something useful from your Blab.


• Make sure the whatever shows on camera is not distracting. For example, don’t do the Blab in your bedroom with an unmade bed showing.


• Avoid noise and distractions while hosting, or participating on camera, with the Blab.


• Record the session in order to re-purpose into a podcast episode, content for a membership site, or added value for your subscribers.


• Dress and act the part you want to convey to the viewers. I can’t believe the number of people I’ve seen on camera with messy hair, eating their lunch or dinner on the Blab, picking their nose (yes, I did see one person pick their nose) and/or looking bored while others are talking.


• Have fun. This is key to others having fun. If they see you enjoying yourself, it’s likely they will too.


• Keep things on target. Unless your Blab is a free for all, keep the conversation on topic. It will keep your viewers more engaged.


• Acknowledge people as they join the Blab. A quick hello works great.

Ready to jump on the Blab bandwagon? Join me for my Blab Speaking to Build Your Business and Brand. Tuesday, September 22nd – 2 p.m. Pacific. https://blab.im/kathleen-gage-speaking-to-build-your-business-and-brand

Be sure to subscribe to my Blab station in order to receive notifications of my upcoming Blabs.

If you know others who would enjoy today’s Blab, click the share buttons below.

 

 

 

Blab... Fad or Fabulous?

Is your attention span less than a goldfish?

My emails aren’t getting opened… much less read!

This is an all too common issue for anyone trying to promote and sell via email marketing. People just aren’t responding to email marketing the way they once did.

There are many reasons for the lackluster results…

• People are on overload with the amount of information vying for their attention.


• There are many more distractions than in the past.


• People’s brains have literally been rewired due to technology.


• Email deliverability is much less reliable than in the past.

Here are a few questions to consider specific to email deliverability…

• Is the email address correct?


• Has your recipient’s email address changed?


• Is the recipient’s mailbox full or has their account has been disabled?


• Does the recipient have a SPAM blocker that prevents virtually any message sent in bulk to be blocked?


• Is your messaging engaging?

In addition to the common reasons related to email distribution there is also the issue of attention span.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, The Associated Press, the average attention span for adults online is 9.5 seconds. That’s literally less than goldfish.

If you’re feeling like people are not paying attention to what you are sending out, writing, saying or shooting on video, they probably aren’t.

The shocking truth is that people’s brains have literally been rewired due to technology.

On any given day we tweet, we post on our Facebook wall, we watch dozens of videos, we read dozens, even hundreds, of emails and we spend hours researching on the Internet.

All of this is impacting how our brains function. Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain, writes that our attention is seized by the Internet only to be scrambled by it.

According to an article in the Huffington Post; MRI research has shown that the brains of Internet users who have trouble controlling their craving to be constantly plugged-in exhibit changes similar to those seen in people addicted to drugs and alcohol.

When most people try to unplug for even a day, they tend to experience withdrawl symptoms similar to alcoholics and drug addicts.

This is frightening information and yet, information we can benefit from knowing. Here’s why…

If you continue to send information out as you did in the past, you are likely noticing a huge drop in open rates. Today, more than ever, you have to immediately grab people’s attention.

As you prepare your emails think through your subject line. Is it one that will spark the curiosity of the recipient? Is it engaging? Does it indicate the full message will solve a specific problem?

Once people open the message does it immediately grab the reader’s attention?

Not only have online attention spans dropped to mere seconds, the attention span during live, in-person presentations have dramatically dropped in the last couple of decades to less than ten minutes. This requires that speakers and presenters have pattern interrupts every few minutes if they want to keep their audience members fully engaged.

This would include audience participation, mini breaks, incorporating visuals into your presentation and demonstrations that require attendees use different parts of their brain. Moving from critical thinking to creative thinking can keep people’s attention.

Acknowledging the dramatic drop on how long someone pays attention to whatever we are doing is essential to addressing the issue. To pretend this issue doesn’t exists will put your messaging in the category of Dinosaurs…extinct.

Is your attention span less than a goldfish?

Are you spending or investing in your business?

It never ceases to amaze me how many newbie entrepreneurs will invest a boatload of money in a coach or consultant in order to get on the fast track of building their business. Yet, when the coach/consultant advises them on a software program, support team member or system that will save them time and help them achieve their results faster, they nickle and dime themselves saying, “I can’t afford it!”

If you’re failing to bring on the right support team, you’re trying to learn something technical when you are not a technical type person or you’re spending untold amounts of time trying to handle all the details of running your business while serving your clients, packaging your knowledge or simply enjoying the process suffers, this video is for you.

What are your thoughts? Post in the comments section.

Ready to skyrocket what you’re doing? Join me for Power Up for Profits Live! www.powerupforprofitslive.com

Are you spending or investing in your business?

Why email marketing is less effective than ever before...and what you can do about it

Ask most anyone who’s been online for any length of time if open rates on broadcast emails have gone done and the majority will give you a resounding YES!

By some accounts email marketing is in proverbial toilet. Yet, there are others who say email marketing is still one of the most effective methods they use to promote products and services.

So who’s right; the majority or the handful who swear email marketing is alive and well?

Actually, both. Here’s why.

The majority of people who use email marketing are still throwing mud on the wall and hoping something will stick.

Those who are getting incredible open rates are doing something the others are not; segmenting more than ever before.

You’ve heard how important it is to have a “sweet spot” niche market, but have you heard you need to go deeper into the process?

Case in point… The Women In the Pet Industry Conference. By far, it is one of the best conferences I’ve not only participated in, but also presented at.

As the title indicates, it is for women – and a few brave men. Additionally, the majority of those in attendance are entrepreneurs. Some are in manufacturing. Others are dog trainers. Still others are service providers such as Debra Hamilton, attorney at law, who is committed to educating pet owners on the ins and outs of making sure you and your pets are protected in case of accidents, illness, death and any unforeseen circumstance life may throw your way.

Although a woman who owns a multi-million dollar company that manufactures dog doors is in the exact same industry as someone who has a $100,000 dog training business, how you market to each is likely different; or at least it should be.

It’s the same with your niche market; there is likely an umbrella industry that has multiple segments within the industry.

Let’s say your market is the dental industry. Would you market the same to dentists as you do hygienists as you do office managers?

If you market the same to each segment there’s a great chance your email open rates are minimal at best. If you segment your marketing, there’s a great chance you’ll have a much better open rate by not throwing “marketing mud” on the wall and hoping it will stick.

According to one report by MarketingSherpa, 32% of marketers say segmenting their email database is one of their organization’s top objectives, while 52% of marketers say they have a great need to improve email database segmentation.

Not all buyers in an industry are alike. Nor do all buyers have the same buying cycle. Nor will they all buy the same thing.

In my business, I have various levels of investment my buyers make. There are those who are very seasoned, have been in business for years, make a great living and need something very different than those who are just starting out.

More seasoned entrepreneurs may choose my private consulting services over a $27 eBook. Or they may find a small group coaching program is far better for their needs than a $7 report.

What an entrepreneur who has been in business for 20 years needs is very different than the person who is just starting out, doesn’t even have a DBA and is trying to grow their business on a shoestring budget.

What the entrepreneur who has a wealth of knowledge looks for when they create multiple streams of revenue is night and day from someone who wants to create their first eBook.

So before you jump on the bandwagon of those yelling from the mountain tops that email marketing is dead, perhaps you need to look at your marketing behaviors and your overall messaging. Are you lumping all your subscribers into one group over and over? Or are you fine tuning what you’re doing in order to more fully serve your market with your messaging?

Here’s a real life example. On August 27th I’m hosting a webinar for established experts who are ready to turn your knowledge into multiple streams of revenue. This event is perfect for bona fide experts who are ready to quit trading dollars for hours.

If this describes you, join me for a content driven hour of exactly what you need to do to set yourself up for the next level of success.

http://www.powerupforprofits.com/wp/pcwebinar

So what are you doing to fine tune your marketing efforts? Are you clear on the needs of the various segments of your market? If not, isn’t it time to make the necessary changes in order to have a laser beam approach to what you do? I daresay it is.

Why email marketing is less effective than ever before...and what you can do about it

My business has gone to the dogs

We’ve all heard how important it is to niche what we do and who we do it with. Yet, a great many businesses are so flipping general in what they do they continue to flounder from day to day.

Then there are those who are so clear on what they do, who they do it for and why they do it, business literally comes out of the woodwork.

Something else almost every entrepreneur has heard is that it’s so much easier to do something you’re passionate about in business than to do something strictly for the money.

It’s true. When you find your niche and you do what you’re passionate about, you can weather the storms that are inevitable in virtually any type of business.

Case in point…Over the past couple of days I’ve been at the Women In the Pet Industry Conference. I’ve met dozens of entrepreneurs who are incredibly passionate about the businesses they run.

Many have their businesses set up to raise awareness about issues specific to animals. Whether it be dogs, cats, horses, birds, ferrets, goats or any of the other animals we have an affinity to, there are those who are overt about their love and passion for animals, and there are those who have businesses outside of the animal industry who continually contribute through a portion of their profits going to causes to improve the quality of the lives of our furry friends.

I’ve spent the past few days realizing how blessed I am to be one among many who love animals and have a commitment to doing what I personally (and professionally) can to raise awareness and funds for those whose life work is directly connected to the animals.

Between those in attendance, millions of dollars are generated yearly in their respective businesses and nonprofits.—money that goes to benefit our furry friends. Yet, there is so much more to be done. It’s truly a never-ending process.

On Friday, I was the opening keynote speaker for the conference. I succeeded in inspiring those in attendance to play at the highest level to do all they can to fulfill their mission with animals. Not only was the group incredibly responsive, we managed to raise a lot of money for some very worthy causes. More on that in a future post.

For now, I want to do a huge shout out to Shawna L. Schuh for creating such an incredible conference to bring together so many movers and shakers, who are incredibly passionate about the well-being of animals. When I think about how much is being done for raising awareness by each and every person here, it blows my mind.

With everything from solopreneurs to huge corporations being represented at this conference, this is business at its best.

My post wouldn’t be complete without recognizing the efforts of Yvonne DiVita—2015 Woman of the Year in The Pet Industry. As one of the founders of Blog Paws, Yvonne has worked tirelessly for years to create the largest community of pet bloggers. Blog Paws holds an annual conference that brings together bloggers from around the globe, who are also committed to the well-being and awareness about the needs of every type of animal.

Between Shawna and Yvonne, these two women are powerhouse entrepreneurs, who have overcome incredible odds to create a voice for the animals through their businesses.

They have shown, by example, that it takes more than simply having an idea, and that in order to make positive changes in the world you absolutely must put the idea into action.

Congratulations to Shawna for the success of the 2015 Women in the Pet Industry Conference! You knocked it out of the park.

And congratulations to Yvonne for being the well-deserving recipient of 2015 The Woman Of the Year In the Pet Industry.

I love and respect both of you! Keep doing such an amazing and PAWSOME job! You are a blessing.

My business has gone to the dogs