Let's chat freebies. Do you have one? How many? Are they working for you?

A freebie may not make you money directly, but it will be the most important resource you create in your business because this is what will "hook" people and get them interested in what actually does make you money. Freebies are also known as list builders or lead magnets. 

You want your lead magnet to be straightforward and simple, something that can provide your audience a quick, immediate win. Freebies commonly take on the form of checklists, templates, or worksheets. Quizzes are another direction you can pursue to obtain leads. They don't offer the value that the other freebies might, but for some reason, everyone loves a good quiz and they typically work extremely well. 

My best performing lead magnet to date has been a free welcome email template. I've also had a lot of success with an entrepreneur-related Harry Potter quiz (yes, I'm a huge HP nerd).

Now, my Harry Potter quiz was extremely successful, b...

Environment is everything. It impacts how we feel, the way we work, and even how productive we are. I've learned this the hard way: from a series of less than ideal living situations that negatively affected me in many ways, only to make me appreciate my current environment that much more. 

Let me take you back. After graduating from high school, I moved to the Twin Cities to attend a private college. Even though my roommates were amazing, living in such close quarters with 3 other girls in a big city, which has never been my thing anyway, was pretty terrible. Then I transferred schools and moved in with my boyfriend and his parents. He traveled most of the year, so at the time, it didn't make sense to pay on his own place when he was hardly there. Again, his parents were great, but that's no one's ideal situation. Next came a rental that was always meant to be short-term, even though it ended up being longer-term than we had planned. The common denominator with all these places? I co...

How do you know what words and phrasing you should be using in your content? Let me let you in on a little secret. The language you should be using is the exact language that your audience uses. For instance, if you hear them complaining over and over again about needing help meal planning, or not being able to find the motivation to turn off Netflix and get off the couch, create content that not only revolves around those topics, but uses those exact words. Maybe you create a freebie that is titled "Motivate Yourself To Get Off The Couch in 3 Easy Steps." See? In this way, you don't need to come up with your own content! Your ICA will tell you exactly what they want from you without even knowing it. And by using their actual words, you ensure your content will resonate with them too. You could create the same freebie with the title "How To Exercise in 3 Easy Steps" and even though it might contain the exact same content, chances are it won't get nearly as many clicks in the first plac...

Whether you're aware of it or not, you are leading your customers through an experience every time they purchase from you. It can be positive or negative, purposeful or not, but it's there. What I want to show you though, is how to create a purposeful and strategic customer experience that will increase your brand loyalty and get you remembered by everyone that buys from you.

Chances are, other business out there offer something similar to what you do. So how do you set yourself apart from them? How do you get noticed in the crowd? Two words: customer experience. 

I have a digital marketing course for small business owners that I launch a couple times a year. When someone purchases my course, I send them a surprise gift package that goes along with the course material. How many other course creators do that? This is one aspect of my course experience that my students rave about. Do you think they're going to forget me and their unique experience any time soon? Nope! I want to make th...

Do you feel like you're marketing to crickets? You're putting out content consistently but it just doesn't seem like it's resonating with your audience? I know how discouraging it is. Try my simple approach that will prevent this from ever happening again. 

First, you'll need to decide which search engine will better serve you in this exercise. The options are Pinterest or Google. The way you'll choose which search engine to use is by identifying where your ICA (ideal customer avatar) is hanging out. Are they present on Pinterest or would they visit Google to answer their questions? Whatever your answer is, use that.

Second, type in key words related to your industry/business. These search engines will auto-populate what people are searching for most in relation to those key words. For instance, when I type in marketing, the results I get are: 

1. marketing ideas

2. marketing strategy

3. marketing strategy social media

4. marketing quotes

5. marketing plan 

6. marketing tips

S...