In today’s video I am going to declutter my home office with the intention of manifesting a whole bunch of money! No- I’m not going to be showing you how to use an app to sell things you aren’t using online, today I’m going to talk about a formula that I have used in the past to bring in serious abundance and show you how I’m going to do it again!
In the video you will learn about:
✔︎ The exact process I use and how I implement it
✔︎ An awesome book you should read on the topic
✔︎ A simple but effective tool to keep you on track
✔︎ The AMAZING results I experienced in less than 2 weeks!
I hope this video and the process helps you maximize productivity and manifestation with your next declutter project! I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below and for more of the behind the scenes of my productivity, life and business, make sure you are following me on Instagram @MissTrenchcoat!
CALLING ALL BLOGGERS and aspiring bloggers as well! I’ve got a great FREE resource I want to share with you.
Let me introduce you to BLOG SMARTER, NOT HARDER:How to Start a Successful Blog that Attracts a Readership and Grows Your Influence Online!
This FREE 40 page ebook covers all the essential topics for starting a blog, especially if you are someone who is interested in using a blog to earn an income or as part of your online marketing for a business.
After reading the book, you will understand:
→ Why blogging is a helpful tool for growing your influence online
→ Which platform to choose for your blog
→ How to name your blog (and online brand identity if applicable)
→ How to develop great consistent content
→ The Do’s & Don’ts of good blogging ettiquette
→ How to get organized and manage your time for blogging
→ The software and hardware essentials you’ll need
→ How to use other social media to promote your blog
→ How to take great photos for your blog
→ How to network with other bloggers to grow your following
I have just created a new FREE online business training class I thought you’d want to know about called The Female Entrepreneur Online Business Toolkit!
In this class I discuss 30+ essential tools I use and recommend for online business including:
→ HARDWARE: Computers, data storage, photo/video equipment and office accessories
→ SOFTWARE: Word processing, photo/video editing, and business applications
→ WEB APPLICATIONS: Website building, hosting, plugins, and email marketing
→ BUSINESS PLANNING & COLLABORATION: Project management, video conferencing and team management.
→ BUSINESS INFORMATION & STRATEGY: Branding, platform development, content creation, advertising & marketing, business/income building
When you sign up, you’ll also receive a FREE PDF Resource Guide + Checklist to use to keep track of all the tools you are interested in for your business.
As always I hope you find this video class informative and best of luck to you as you build your business!
How to Use Instagram Stories to Grow Your Brand & Business?
If you’ve been a follower of mine for a while, you know that Instagram is one of the main platforms I use to grow and promote my business online. I’ve written before about how I made $1,000 in one day from a single picture, and I’ve explained my best tips for growing your following, but today I want to tackle a new topic, the Instagram Story! For those of you who aren’t familiar, your Instagram Story is a live “in the moment” timeline separate from your standard Instagram feed. In your standard feed, you post pictures and videos with tags and descriptions that remain as a permanent part of your account unless deleted, but the Instagram Story feature is a short-term snapchat like feed where pictures and videos disappear after 24 hours and the maximum video length is 15 seconds. You access your Instagram Story through the camera icon on the top left side of your home feed and can view the Stories of those you follow at the top of your home feed or by tapping on their profile picture if its highlighted with an orange circle. Now, Instagram is always changing and updating and their Stories feature has probably received some of the most interesting updates of all in recent months. So I’d like to share some practical strategies related to these updates!
>> CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @MISSTRENCHCOAT! <<
(It’s a great way to thank me for my awesome strategies and helpful advice!)
What to Share on Instagram Stories vs the Standard Feed?
One major question that online marketers and business owners ask often is what you share on your Story vs your feed. Since the two have different parameters, it’s important to optimize the content you are putting on each. As you know from my previous posts on IG, the standard feed requires high quality images, styled photos and carefully edited promotional videos that fall in line with your branding and business products, services and goals. The Story, however, is a place where you can have a bit more fun, show the behind the scenes of your brand and business and worry less about quality and more about sharing your brand story. On the IG Story feature, I’d recommend sharing content from other platforms like blog posts and youtube videos- just a quick shot of the content with a call to action for your audience to check it out. Video footage of your workspace, projects or processes that gives your audience a peek behind the scenes is also a productive use of the feed. Since your posts to the IG Story only last 24 hours, it’s also a great place to make quick announcements, run sales, poll your audience with a quick question or share a bit more of your personality through images and videos that show your audience sides of you, your brand and your biz that they might not see interacting with your more formal content. Selfies utilizing the Stories’ SnapChat like filters, videos of your daily routines, or even quick product shots throughout the day can help boost your business without seeming like spam in the more temporary format of the feed.
How to Grow your following via Instagram Stories?
The great thing about Instagram Stories that other short term photo and video sharing platforms like SnapChat lack is the integration of discovery through your Story. Unless you specifically change your IG Story settings, your story is visible to the public, not just those that follow you. You do have the ability to block specific individuals from viewing your story, but overall, when you keep your story public, it helps increase discoverability if you optimize the content on your Story. You can do this by using text hashtags and geotags in your IG Story posts as often as possible. When you do so, these tags integrate your story into feeds that other users are searching through for Stories in their area or via hashtags which are the default search feature of content on Instagram. You should only use one or two of these features at a time, and of course, always use relevant hashtags and geotags in your Story posts, but when you do, you increase the likelihood of your Story being discovered by other users searching for topics similar to the content you are sharing.
How to Monetize your Instagram Story?
For a few years now, Instagram has unfortunately built up a reputation as being unfriendly to online business and marketers. Yes, it’s a fast growing platform that has helped many build their brands however, it always lacked a direct linking feature that would help convert your Instagram followers into customers. In terms of the standard IG Feed, their is just one single place you can put an active clickable link, and that is in your profile. I’ve talked about getting around this with short links in post descriptions, but since no links within the description are clickable, it makes conversions more difficult as followers need to physically type in the link address instead of clicking to move to a webpage. However, Instagram Stories has recently updated to give you the ability to add a link to your Story posts! When you take a picture or video in the IG Story feature, you will see an icon of a chain link on the upper tool bar that allows you to any webpage. Users then need to swipe up on your IG Story post and the link is opened within a browser inside the app. This seriously changes the game for business on Instagram because you can now link directly to your product and service pages, opt-ins, or content on other platforms, giving you a much stronger conversion than ever before.
I hope these strategies have given you some additional insight in how to use Instagram and specifically it’s Story feature to grow your brand and business online. If you enjoyed these strategies and would like to learn more about growing a successful brand online, I welcome you to sign up for my FREE On-Demand Training called Entrepreneurship is the New Black! This training is jam packed with information and strategy for you to make the most of your online platforms, including Instagram to support the development of your brand or business online!
Welcome to Empire Building, a Modern Approach to Building a Successful Online Business, created by me, Alexis Giostra. Empire Building is a self-paced online business course that teaches my 5 Pillar Method for Building a Business Online using tried and true methods and principles that I have learned as I have built my own media business over the past 8 years. Whether you are looking to start a Blog or YouTube channel to earn an extra income, or want to start your own Online Shop that gives you the flexibility of working from home, Empire Building is your guide to setting up and maintaining a successful business online!
At the Core of Empire Building is a lesson plan of 6 Video Lecture Modules that include guided workbooks with numerous activities and worksheets to help you apply the lessons of the course to your business. The first five modules of the program cover each of the 5 Key Pillars to Online Business Success, and the sixth module, Business Administration, will cover key topics aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs should know in order to manage their business successfully.
The 5 Pillars of Empire Building
The Empire Building Model is a structured blueprint for building and marketing your online business from the ground up. The model begins with Branding, the foundation of a good business and is crowned with Income, diversifying monetization so you can earn more while working less.
Within each module is a wealth of information, tips, tricks and a series of worksheets designed to help you make the most of the content while creating the foundation of your own business. These worksheets aren’t just learning activities, but powerful tools that will help you build your business as you work through them.
Bonus Upgrades
Empire Building now includes 4 NEW Upgrade Blueprints to cover some specific topics in depth outside of the individual Blueprints, as well as a few Video Master Classes on dedicated topics.
The 4 Upgrade Blueprints Include:
Writing Your Business Plan
Creating Click-Worthy Headlines & Content
Pricing Strategies
Email List Building
Bonus Master Classes:
Blogging Master Class
New Year Business Planning Session
Planning for a Successful Holiday Promotion
New Content & Updates
Because the climate for online business and digital marketing is always changing, as a member of Empire Building you will automatically receive all future content and updates to the program. Although I have some amazing bonus content already created, I am always planning more and new content and resources are added to the course multiple times a year!
Mentorship & Business Consulting
But great content, bonus’ and continuous updates are just the beginning! Empire Building is also meant as a mentorship opportunity where you can get my help and advice while you are creating your own business, piece by piece!
Private Facebook Group
As a member of Empire Building you will be given access to a dedicated member’s only Facebook community where you can interact and network with the other students within the course. Empire Building boasts a roster of many excellent online business owners and entrepreneurs with a variety of business’ and experience. Here is a sampling of the types of business you can network with inside the Facebook group:
BUSINESS SERVICES: Business Coaches, VA’s, Editors
HEALTH & WELLNESS: Wellness Coaches, Nutritionists, Trainers, NPO, Women’s Wellness
ARTS/CRAFTS: Writers, Novelists, Hand Crafters, Musicians, Actors, Fine Artists, Makeup Artists, Photographers
AND MORE!
Mentorship with Alexis
An additional bonus of Empire Building is that you have access to Alexis as your personal business mentor. This means that any questions or concerns you have about your situation can be brought directly to her and she will work with you to ensure you are getting the answers, support and resources you need. Empire Building is truly a unique program, because as a member you are given direct one-on-one access to the creator and Alexis will give you her best advice to help you advance in your situation!
Optional Consulting Path
Empire Building also includes an optional consulting path where you can upgrade to receive one-on-one calls with Alexis to help you apply the lessons in the course to your business and get you moving forward with a personalized plan for your year. You can choose to purchase this path of the program outright OR you can start with the basic Blueprint Path that gives you access to everything mentioned previously, and then upgrade to consulting by simply paying the difference between your initial investment in the program and the current price of the consulting option.
The consulting option is called Architect Path and it includes:
EVERYTHING ALREADY OUTLINED ABOVE
ONE (1) 60-MINUTE QUICKSTART CALL OR SKYPE SESSION WITH ALEXIS TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY THE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO TAKE TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS AND BRAND
ONE (1) 90-MINUTE BUSINESS PLANNING SESSION WHERE ALEXIS WILL HELP YOU MAP OUT PLANS FOR PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT, CONTENT AND BUSINESS PROJECTS FOR THE NEXT YEAR
Deciding Your Path
To recap, let’s cover the options you have to join Empire Building and work with Alexis to build your online brand and business moving forward!
Blueprint Path
Blueprint Path is a full membership level of Empire Building that includes the following:
Full Membership into the Empire Building Course Website
6 Video Modules and coordinating Blueprint Workbooks and additional resources
4 Bonus Upgrade Blueprints & 3 Bonus Video Master Classes
Access to the Private Facebook Community
Unlimited Q&A Mentorship with Alexis
All future updates and upgrades to the program
Architect Path
Architect Path is a full membership level of Empire Building that includes the following:
EVERYTHING listed above in Blueprint Path
One (1) 60-Minute Quickstart Consulting Call with Alexis
One (1) 90-Minute Business Planning Call with Alexis
So, are you ready to get started building your own online business with me? Great! I’m so excited for the chance to work with you, but you will need to act fast to secure your spot in my consulting path. I only open limited for the Architect Level Path at a time, so if you want in on serious one-to-one consulting with me, you need to act fast!
Tonight at midnight eastern, my sale on the new and improved Empire Building eCourse comes to a close. So, I thought it might be helpful for any of you still on the fence about joining the program, if I did a little Q&A covering some of the most frequently asked questions I receive about the program.
Q: How long do I have access to EMPIRE BUILDING?
A: You have lifetime access to the program. This means that for as long as the course is available you can access it and you will get course updates, like the major upgrade I just completed, as well as the forthcoming additional master classes and educational webinars I have planned for 2017 and beyond!
Q: Can I buy now and get in on the sale price but then start when I’m ready?
A: Yes! Empire Building is intended to be completed at your own pace. You get all the information and materials upfront and can follow along with the courses as structured or you can jump around to the workbooks and modules that you need the most.
Q: If I have a question about the course materials or applying different aspects of it to my business, who do I go to for support?
A: Me, of course! As a member of Empire Building you get direct support from me via email and inside the community on Facebook. Remember, part of Empire Building is that I am your personal mentor here to guide you, answer your questions and provide additional resources as needed- so you aren’t alone on this journey.
Q: What types of businesses are already inside the program?
A: I am very pleased and honored to work with a variety of different businesses within my program and have students from a variety of online business fields and backgrounds. Students and businesses inside the online community include:
Business Services (Coaches, VA’s, Editors); Health & Wellness (Health Coaches, Nutritionists, Trainers, NPO, Women’s Wellness);
Finance (Accounting, Investment, Bookkeeping); IT/Web (Designers, Bloggers, YouTubers, Social Media Pros); Spiritual (Reiki, Tarot, Astrology, Ministry); Arts/Crafts (Writers/Novelists, Hand Crafters, Musicians, Actors, Fine Artists, Makeup Artists, Photographers)
And more!
Q: Do I need an existing business or idea to get started?
A: You don’t need an existing business BUT, I do think you’d get more out of the program if you have an idea of what you’d like to do getting started. Going through the program will certainly present you with different business opportunities online and different ways to make money. I do encourage you to consider different options to add to an existing business or idea in order to maximize your revenue online but I always think having your own idea first is best. I’ve had many students join Empire Building with an initial idea and then working through the course they figured out what they really wanted to do and were able to become successful at it in a short period of time. I’ve also had students come in with a general idea of want to start a blog or youtube channel and then come up with a complete business plan to execute with multiple streams of income. It’s all up to you and how diligently you work to apply the lessons of the program to your situation.
Q: Will this course teach me how to set up my website and/or online shop?
A: Yes, within the course I provide resources including step by step video tutorials for how to set up your website, blog or online shop.
Q: I need a community where I can get feedback, is that available?
A: Yes! That is included in Empire Building. You will get access to the private Facebook community for Empire Building where you can connect with my other students as well as me for additional support and feedback. But, the community is not available separately.
Q: My business (or idea) includes lots of different income sources and elements, will I have to streamline down or apply your program to each of those individual elements?
A: No, you do not have to cut out elements of your business unless you choose to do that on your own, but you may find that you’d like to apply the program to certain elements separately. I am a firm believer that a multifaceted business is the best type of online business because you are maximizing revenue with different streams of income, and within my program I teach that as long as the different streams fall under the same overall brand, there is no need to treat them like separate entities. However, sometimes the streams do fall under distinct brands and it’s best to keep them separate so they are more effective. If you have questions, this is definitely something I can help you address.
Q: Do I have to sell my own products or services to make money online with your program?
A: Nope! I’m going to teach you how you can make money without having to start a product line or building services. I know it sounds a little too good to be true but it’s not!
Q: Does the program apply if I’m planing to create a YouTube channel to make money?
A: Yes! It applies to starting a YouTube channel to earn money, a blog, or any social media platform really!
Q: Do you offer a payment plan?
A: Yes! I Do! However, it is ONLY available during this sale period, so click here to access the first installment of the 3 Payment Plan before the offer expires at midnight tonight! Payment plan is 3 payments of $100, each paid once per month over a 3 month period and your content is dripped to you within the course website.
Q: What is your refund policy?
A: Due to the digital nature of my programs and course materials, I do not offer refunds. So, it’s important to read through my program descriptions and ask me any questions you have before you purchase. I am committed to ensuring complete satisfaction from my students and if you do experience any unforeseen issues with the program, let me know immediately and I will address it with you quickly and find a solution we are both happy with!
I hope this Q&A has been helpful to you if you are still on the fence about joining Empire Building! Remember, the sale ends tonight at midnight eastern, so let me know if you have questions- you can email me here!
If you recall from reading last month’s installment of my entrepreneurial series, you know that I got something of a slow start to the year. Thankfully, however, February was a much more productive month for me in many ways. I would say possibly transformative, but it’s honestly too soon to say. What I can say for sure, however, is that I spent much of February laying a solid foundation for the future of my life and business. I was recently talking to a member of my community about Empire Building and entrepreneurship and how I really believe that what makes an entrepreneur successful is their devotion to the idea that they need to live their life in a particular way so their routines and days set them up for success. In many ways, I feel like I took a step up on my execution of this idea and it certainly had positive affects on my success this month. So let’s get into what I did this month to make it all happen.
What I Didn’t Do
1. Overwork: Perhaps it was a left over from January, but I made sure I didn’t overwork myself this month. Did I get everything done? Of course! But I didn’t push myself to work just for works sake, and I made a lot of time for myself, rest and self care.
2. Switch my focus between multiple priorities: I had a pretty single focus this month, which was the upgrade launch of Empire Building. Nearly everything I worked on in February was related to the launch or supported it. I really liked this approach because I feel like everything I did was moving that project forward and I was able to dive deeper into the topics of my launch because I had spent so much time thinking about it and working on it without switching to a different priority or focus.
3. Pressure myself to execute new habits: I know building my magnificent seven habits was a goal for myself this year, but I didn’t worry about those too much this month. Some items, like self care, where done daily, but others like journaling were pushed to the side. I’m okay with this because I know that had I forced myself to check a box
What I Did do
1. Hosted a webinar: It’s been a few months since my last webinar and I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how it would all turn out. Luckily, everything ran smoothly the day of the event and because I was keeping a single focus on the launch this month, I was able to spend a good amount of time creating key marketing materials around the replay!
2. Launched an upgrade: Like I already mentioned, my Empire Building Upgrade Launch was my primary focus this month. This was the biggest upgrade to Empire Building so far and transformed the program from a workbook based course to a video module based course. With the addition of a new 6th module on Business Administration, I know Empire Building is now an even stronger and info packed program!
3. Talked one to one with my community and customers: Again, having that single focus this month gave me a lot of time to get creative with marketing and promotion. One of the things I was happy I had a chance to do this month was actually schedule some one-on-one chats with potential Empire Building students in order to help them decide if the program was right for them. It’s very important to me that I get the right people into the course
What I Learned
1. Single focus is a magical state: Because I was able to keep a single focus on an important project this month, I was really able to find success with my new launch and lay the ground work for long term business success through different marketing collateral and assets I built up. Purposely making sure you have less items or priorities on your plate so you can spend dedicated time on a key priority really makes a difference in quality of output!
2. To keep it simple: In order to ensure I had the time to dedicate to my single priority this month, I also made sure to keep everything else about my life and days as simple as possible. I meal planned all month, making bulk meals for lunch and dinner to make sure I had my food situation in order, and I kept my other obligations to a minimum.
3. A well laid plan is the key to success: As much as I am all about planning as a time management and success tool, I often get into ruts or states of mind where I don’t believe the plan will work. It’s like, because I can’t see the outcome, I begin to fear failure. This happened to me once again this month with the launch of my upgrade. I began to worry that things weren’t going to work out, but instead of panicking and changing the plan mid-stream, I told myself that I had to stick it out and if I failed, I failed and it would be a lesson. Of course, I was proven wrong in the end. The plan did pan out, and by sticking to it, even in those tough moments, I was able to ensure I stayed on the path I had so intentionally laid out before my journey began.
Again, I hope you have found this post insightful and if anything in particular stood out to you, feel free to tell me about it in the comments. I’d so love to know how your month has progressed, so feel free to share some details as well!
If you haven’t heard the excellent news yet, EMPIRE BUILDING HAS REOPENED and I’m currently welcoming new students to the program as we speak! This year is a major year for Empire Building, because I spent the last few months completely upgrading the program from a workbook based course, to a video module course. Yes, that means it is even easier for you to enjoy every bit of information contained in Empire Building and get yourself up and running with your online brand or business even quicker. But the new format is not all that’s new with the program this year, I’ve also built out a dedicated membership site for the program so finally everything for the course in terms of materials and bonus content is under one virtual roof! My favorite part of the upgrade, however, is the completely NEW Business Administration Module I’ve added to the program! Yes, you read that right, Business Administration! This means my best tips for helping you with your business planning, systems and finances. This module is information I have never shared before that gives you insight into how I plan and execute for my business goals and bring multiple projects and products to fruition each year for additional income and growth! Of course, Empire Building is loaded with extra workbooks, dedicated single topic master classes and of course our awesome Facebook community where you can chat and network with other like-minded online business owners in the process of building their empires as well. So, are you ready to get started building your Empire with Empire Building? I’ll leave that to you to decide!
How to determine if you are ready to BUILD YOUR EMPIRE:
• First, check out my latest FREE Business Webinar ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK. You can sign up for the webinar here and get access to the replay and some additional Q&A as well! If you watch the webinar and decide you’re not on board with my strategies for online business or you aren’t interested in building a multiple income stream business, we’re all good. No harm, no foul! BUT, if my strategies make sense to you and you want to replicate success like mine online with passive income and social media marketing, you are in the right place and can proceed to the Empire Building Questionnaire below!
IS EMPIRE BUILDING THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU?
This questionnaire is designed to help identify whether or not Empire Building is right for your business. Check off each statement that applies to you. If you check off all statements, the Online Business Bundle is a fit for you and your business!
I am interested in generating income via online platforms (check if any apply).
I want to start a product or service based business that sells or promotes online.
I have an existing business that operates off-line but I would like to use the internet and social media to promote or sell via online platforms.
I have or would like to start a blog and earn income from it.
I have or would like to start a YouTube channel and earn income from it.
I would like to become a social media influencer on ________________ and earn income from it.
I would like to add new online income streams to my existing business.
I am interested in creating and selling physical OR digital products.
I have or would like to start a non-profit organization that promotes online.
I have the temperament for an online business program (check if all apply).
I have a Do It Yourself spirit (I’m willing to do things myself to save money).
I am not looking for an easy button solution (I know this doesn’t exist).
I am open to business advice, and am willing to try new strategies and ideas.
I am willing to accept constructive critical feedback from others.
I have realistic expectations for my business growth/revenue (check if all apply).
I do not expect to be an overnight success.
I prefer steady growth through consistent effort as opposed to using questionable marketing ploys to gain a temporary advantage.
I understand that the actions I take (or fail to take) directly impact my success.
I know not every strategy will work, but I am willing to test different ones to find what works for me.
I believe that I will get as much as I am willing to take from any program or course.
I plan to use the information I learn for my own personal business (check if all apply).
I am not creating a product or service, digital or otherwise, that competes with the Online Business Bundle or either of the programs contained within.
I plan to use the information and resources shared within the bundle programs for my own personal businesses now and in the future and will only share them with mutual business partners on a need-to-know basis.
I will not knowingly or willingly distribute the copyrighted information or resources shared within the bundle programs.
So how did you fare? Are you ready to get started BUILDING YOUR EMPIRE with me and Empire Building? If so, CLICK HERE to get started now!
It’s no secret, we all LOVE free stuff! Especially if that free stuff is information in the form of a free webinar filled with information on helping us build a better business! I join my fair share of business webinars, they are one of my favorite ways to consume information online, and of course, I host quite a few myself as well, like my new webinar ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK that opens today! So, with hundreds of hours of webinars under my belt over the past several years, I thought I would share my best tips with you for how to make the most of a webinar. After all, a free webinar isn’t like a free t-shirt or pen, it doesn’t have an intrinsic use and it does take us a dedicated period of time to absorb the lessons and information. So it’s up to us to make sure we are paying attention to the content, applying the information to our own situation and acting on what we learn.
Here are my BEST tips for making the most of a FREE Business Webinar:
• Show up LIVE: When I sign up for a webinar, I always put the date and time into my planner. I know most, if not all webinars provide a replay for at least a limited time, but for one reason or another I rarely watch the replay. I always get the most out of a webinar when I have time blocked off to watch it and show up live to make the most of the experience like I’m taking a live class.
• Remove distractions: As much as we have been mislead to believe we can multi-task, the truth is that humans cannot do to things at once successfully. So, I make sure that I remove distractions when I am actively trying to learn via a webinar. I’ll mute my phone, turn off notifications on my computer and put away other work. If I’m at home, I make myself comfortable at my desk, and if I’m out of the house for some reason, I wear headphones to keep myself immersed in the experience. I find that if I get distracted during a webinar, I end up loosing my place and don’t end up learning as much as I’d like, or worse, end up having to watch the replay just to catch the bits I missed and that ends up wasting a lot of time. It’s easier to just watch a webinar once and pay attention to learn what I need to know!
• Take notes: Most webinar hosts provide a download or worksheet to help you follow along with their information, but I think there is no substitute for taking your own notes as well. Note taking will not only give you information to refer back to, but taking notes also helps you to retain information better. Again, I don’t want to waste my time rewatching a webinar I’ve already blocked out time for, so I always take notes to make sure I am capturing all the key information I need.
• Watch actively: Along with taking notes, I also make sure I am watching actively. That means I am thinking about the ideas and information presented in real time. Although a webinar is a virtual experience, I approach the situation like I am watching a speaking live in front of me, sitting up straight, pen in hand, and fully emerged in the content.
• Keep track of ideas and inspiration: It’s not just notes on the content that I will track as I’m watching a webinar, but more importantly, the inspiration and ideas that emerge from the new information I am receiving. When watching a webinar, it’s not uncommon for me to think of great ideas that apply to my business or to learn specific steps I need to take moving forward. All off this is crucial information for how I can apply what I’m learning to my business immediately!
• Put actions on your to-do list: Once the webinar has ended, I review my notes and make sure to put any specific actions onto my to-do list or on a project plan. I want to make sure those activities actually get done and that I act on those great ideas that came from the content I learned in the webinar!
I hope you found these tips helpful to you for the next time you find yourself signing up for a free webinar! If you haven’t already, make sure to sign yourself up for ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK, my new FREE business webinar that opens today. You can consider it practice for this post and pick up some excellent tips and strategies to use for your own brand or business online. Win-win situation if I say so myself!
How I Made $1,000 from 1 Instagram Photo and the Strategies You can use to Repeat My Success
I get asked all the time, “Alexis, is it possible to make money from Instagram?” The answer is YES! Today I want to share with you a few strategies for how to monetize your Instagram account and tell you about a strategy that I use to regularly earn hundreds of dollars for each promotional image I place. Now, before I begin, I do want to be clear, that these strategies are not about earning hard money from each and every photo you post on Instagram, in fact, these strategies rely on the fact that you will be posting more than just promotional images onto your Instagram feed in order to build your following. These strategies are also not a one and done deal, meaning they are most effective when you execute them regularly as part of a defined marketing plan for your Instagram account. As always with me and my strategies, it’s about finding a strategy that works for your brand and business and then consistently executing it and growing your results over time. Let’s get started!
First things first, growing your following!
Before I talk about the strategies for earning income from Instagram, we need to talk about the fact that you first need to have a following on Instagram for any of these to work. How big the following needs to be honestly depends on your brand and the market you are selling to, but I do believe that even a small following of 300, as long as it contains a few dozen active followers, will yield results. Obviously, the more followers you have, the more income you can earn! In the meantime, just understand that more followers usually mean more sales (usually because you can’t try to sell something that doesn’t relate to your audience and expect sales) so your personal results will vary, but I have used one of these strategies in particular to earn over $1,000 in 24 hours! Yes, it happens people. It’s not a daily occurrence but when you start integrating these strategies consistently, it is possible to have days where you make big bucks from one single image!
Strategy #1: Affiliate Links & Income
The first strategy for earning an income from your Instagram account is to feature affiliate products and use affiliate links to help people purchase items in your image. If you aren’t familiar with the term affiliate, what this means is that you are promoting the products or services of others and earning a commission from your referral. There are many affiliate programs you can join to help promote the products of other businesses, and the way you use this strategy is to take a nice styled photo of the product in question and then share a link to where people can purchase it in the description. To help with this, I tend to create short links via bit.ly which makes it easier to direct people to the product. Take a look at the image and description for Strategy #1 and see how I have used this strategy in the past!
Strategy #2: Sponsored Posts
The second strategy for earning an income from your Instagram account is to make sponsored posts, which means that a company or business is paying you to share an image of their product in your Instagram feed. More and more this has become a common practice, however, this route does tend to have two drawbacks. First is that when you get paid to sponsor an IG post, usually the amount isn’t a large sum of money. Maybe $20-$100, so you would have to find numerous sponsors or alternate income streams for your IG account in order to make serious money from this strategy. Second, finding sponsors for Instagram is very much dependent on you having a large following in the thousands at the very least. So you do need to have a larger following for this strategy to apply to you, but I have seen some instances of smaller businesses working with niche IG accounts. For me personally, I haven’t engaged in sponsored Instagram posts for a long time, because since starting my own business, I don’t need to get sponsors elsewhere, but check out the image and description for Strategy #2 for an example of how I have executed a sponsored Instagram post in the past.
Strategy #3: (THIS IS THE BIG ONE!) Product Promotion
The third and final strategy for earning an income from your Instagram account is to promote your own products or services via your account! This is the strategy that I have used time and time again to earn hundreds of dollars per post. In this strategy all you need to do is share nice styled photographs of your products and, ideally, run some sort of short term sale or promotion to encourage people to purchase your product as soon as possible! That’s it! I know that sounds pretty simple, and it’s because it is. The hard part is growing your following to the level where you can share one picture and a sale here and there and it yields you incredible results. So, let’s go ahead and take a look at the example for this strategy, that $1,000 photo and description I used to get quick sales in one single day!
Now that you know the strategies for earning income from Instagram, go forth and execute! Of course, I have one more little tip, or resource really that I’d highly recommend you check out if you are serious about growing an income on Instagram. My new FREE Webinar ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE NEW BLACK is coming soon and it is filled with key information and strategies you will NEED to build a cohesive online business strategy around instagram! Sign up TODAY for this FREE offer and you’ll be well on your way to Instagram success!
xoxo,
This article was originally posted on StrangeCharmed.com on February 8th 2016 and is being reposted for the new members of my community who may have missed it!
