There’s a mistaken belief that we need to include anything and everything that we’re doing or offering on our website, to give visitors every possible option so that hopefully something will appeal to them and “stick”.

The truth is, most people will just click away and not spend any time trying to figure out what to do on a site like that. It’s too much, and very confusing.

Instead, your goal should be to make your website as clear and appealing as possible. You want to give your visitors some options, but not too many. And it needs to be clear what they need to do next.

So focus on just the first 2 or 3 steps that you want people to take when they first find you. Those steps should be something they can do to get more information, connect with you, or any other “introductory” actions that you want them to take.

Your goal is to give them a couple of options without overwhelming them. You want it to be very clear to them WHAT they need to do to learn more and get them to take that step.

To determine what actions you want them to take, think about what will give them a nice taste of what you have to offer, or what they need to learn in order to work with you. Imagine that these people are going to become your client or customer; what steps do they need to take right now to start them down that road?

Some common first steps you might want people to take:

• Signup for your free opt-in gift and get on your email list.
• Become a Fan on your Facebook Page or Follow you on Twitter (or any other social media sites where you hang out).
• Apply for a complimentary strategy session or consultation to find out how to work with you.
• Leave a comment on your blog.
• Purchase a lower end product or program.

Identify what you want your people to do when they enter your world and then focus your website around that. Once they’ve taken that initial step and signed up or connected with you, then you can offer them more. But initially, you want to make it super simple and easy for them to take that first step.

Before you put anything on your website, ask yourself: Is this going to help people take one of those actions, or is it distracting them from taking that step?

Now TELL Them What to Do

Once you know what step(s) you would like them to take, make it super CLEAR to them. Spell it out. Tell them, and then tell them again. If you want them to sign up for your free gift and get on your mailing list, then have a catchy, attractive signup box in a prominent spot on your website AND tell them in the copy on your homepage where they can get that free gift AND setup a box at the bottom of every blog post that entices them to get your free gift AND…

Are you starting to get the idea?

Don’t just assume that if you mention it once they will see it and take action. Remember that people will be coming into your website at different places – they might click through to a blog post, or go directly to your home page, or come in on your Services page. You don’t know where each person is going to enter your site, so make sure that it’s very clear and obvious throughout your site what steps they need to take. Look at each page on your site through the filter of what action do you want your visitor to take and make sure that it’s clear and easy for them to take that action.

As you focus your website around those 2-3 actions that you want people to take, you’ll find that more people start taking those actions and your website starts to get better results.

Take Action

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify those 2-3 actions that you want people to take when they come to your site. Write them out and keep them in a place where you will see them when you’re working on your website (or when you’re telling your team what you want done) so that you stay focused on what is most important for your site to convey.

And share your 2-3 actions in the comments below. I’d love to hear about what your website is focused on.

All web designers are not created equal, so it’s important to do your research. If you want your website and blog to truly work for you, to help you attract your perfect clients and grow your business, then you need a designer who gets internet marketing and can see how it needs to work for your specific business.

Here are 3 tips to help you find the perfect web designer for you and your big vision.

1. Get Clear on What You Want

Starting out with a clear vision of what you want and what’s important to you will go a long way in helping you find the perfect support to make it happen.

• What qualities would you like to see in your web designer?
• How do you want to feel while working with this person?
• How do you want to feel about your completed website and online presence?
• What specific features, colors, capabilities, etc do you want for your website?
• What other websites have you seen that inspired you?

From my perspective as a designer, it is a delight to work with someone who is clear on what they want and where they are going. You don’t need to have all the details figured out, but having that overall picture of what you want will help your designer to figure out all the pieces and details to make that happen for you.

2. Ask the Right Questions

When talking to designers you need to know the right questions to ask to make sure they are going to be the right fit for you and your vision.

• Do they work with WordPress and are they able to customize it to create a unique look and feel for your website?
• Are they savvy with social media? Email marketing? Blogging? Branding? Opt-in offers? Shopping carts? Working with someone who can set up your complete online presence (not just a website) will be a huge advantage for you. (More about this below.)
• Are they excited about your business and what you’re up to? Can they catch even just a glimpse of your vision? (This one you won’t need to specifically ask them, but just note it for yourself, based on their reaction, responses, attitude, and how you feel when talking to them.)
• How do they work? Through email, over the phone, Skype, etc? And are you comfortable with that method(s)?

If you were to only ask ONE question of a web designer, find out if they have the skills and knowledge to help you build a complete platform that includes ALL of the pieces you need to grow your business online.

I work with my clients from start to finish and have the skills to do pretty much everything they need for their website, social media, email marketing, branding and even right down to things like business card design, to help them really match everything up and create a consistent look and feel across everything they are doing. This saves you so much frustration and overwhelm, because you have that one person who is supporting you through the whole process, who gets you and what you’re up to and can really help bring it all together for you into a powerful online platform for your business.

3. Ask Around within Your Community

One of the BEST places to find that perfect designer for you is to ask like-minded people who they use or recommend. These are people within your community (including any online communities where you hang out) who inspire you and you feel that resonance and connection with who they are and what they’re up to.

• Your coaches and mentors, people who have significantly contributed to your business growth and know where you’re at and what you need.
• Friends and colleagues, fellow business owners and people who hang out in the same circles as you.
• People you admire and follow, whether you’ve actually worked with them or not.
• People you see online who have a gorgeous, effective online presence. In other words, people who have what you’re looking for.

If they have a designer they work with and love, this is a great place to start, as it is more likely you’ll find someone you really resonate with. And getting those recommendations from people who know you and what’s important to you OR people who are right where you want to be with their online presence, will get you in contact with designers who are far more likely to be a good fit for you and able to support you and make your vision a reality.

Ultimately, the best designer for you is going to be someone who gets who you are and what you’re up to with your business, and who has the skills and knowledge to help you take that online with your website, social media, email marketing and any other pieces that you specifically need for your business.

To find out if you are the perfect client for the web designer you want, check out my guest post over on the Prosperous Coach Blog, The Perfect Client from a Web Designer’s Perspective.

And if you’re currently looking for a designer to help you take your business online, I’d love to talk to you about what you are looking for! I have a couple of spots open for a complimentary Be Irresistible Online Strategy Session, and I invite you to fill out an application here.

The problem with this is that people want to do business with people, they want that personal connection. Especially in the online world, where you can’t physically be in front of them, it’s even more important to bring that personal connection into your marketing.

Far too often, I see people making this mistake of leaving themselves out of their website and marketing. They are still stuck in that old, traditional business mindset that says in order to be “professional” you have to be “businessy” and formal, with more of a corporate look.

But business is changing and you can still be professional while also bringing in that personal connection. Being personal does not equal being un-businesslike or unprofessional!

YOU are the face of your business, YOU are the reason your customers buy from you. YOU are your business. And YOU need to be front and center on your website.

Remember that big message you have to share with the world? Remember your purpose, that burning desire to do what you are here on the planet to do? If you truly want to embrace your purpose, make a difference in the world and help the people you are here to help, then it’s time for you to SHINE and be seen in and through your business!

Please don’t hide your brilliance behind a logo and company name. Your perfect customers are wanting to connect with you and your purpose here on the planet is to be the biggest, boldest YOU that you can be.

So go on, shine your light, share your message, and be the brilliant, beautiful you that you are meant to be!

What does it look like to put YOU into your website?

• Put your picture and name in your website header.
• Write your About page in the first person (I, me, we).
• Create a brand and design that feels good to you and makes your heart sing.
• Write as if you’re talking to a friend.
• Invite people to connect with you through social media and email.
• Use stories and examples from your personal experience.

And trust me, when you start to embrace who you are and shine, bringing the real you into your business and marketing, your people – those precious souls that you are here to help – will LOVE it! They will find you irresistible and will want to hang around and learn more about you and how you can help them.

Here’s What to Do Next:

Have you been missing from your website and other marketing? What one action are you going to take to start shining and put you into your website? (Pick from the above list if you’re not sure where to start.) Share in the comments below.

Image credit: nasrulekram on Flickr

But you can’t just throw up just any old website and expect it to work miracles! There are some very key pieces that you need to have in your website to make it really work. If you want a successful website, I have some secrets for you that will help you to make sure you get those most important pieces into your website so you can get the results that you want out of it.

Secret #1: Speak Directly to Your Ideal Customer and Her Pain

Most people miss this piece and end up with a website that is bland and boring and simply does not capture the attention of the people they are trying to reach! And if you can’t capture their attention, how are you ever going to be able to tell them about what you have to offer and how you can help them?

It’s vitally important that you write your website with your ideal customer in mind. When you sit down to write anything for your marketing, picture that one ideal customer and write to her (or him).

The second part to this secret is to address that ideal customer’s pain. What is the problem, frustration or desire that has brought them to you in the first place? Identify that, then talk about it right on your website! The first thing a visitor to your website reads should be written to specifically address that one thing that brought them to you.

Remember, people are coming to you for a solution to a problem! They want some kind of results, and YOU have the answer. But if you don’t talk about and identify the problem, how can they know that you have the answer?

And when you’re talking about the problem, and the answer you have, use the language that your ideal customer would use to talk about it. Talk about it in words that they use and think, and they’ll be able to much more easily and quickly identify with what you’re talking about and recognize that you are talking to them and have a solution for them.

By the way, if you’re not sure what problem your ideal customer has, or what words they might use to talk about it, ASK! Think of someone you know who fits the description of your ideal customer and take them out for coffee, have a phone conversation, send them an email, and ask them if you can get their feedback. Find out what their most pressing problem or frustration is around your topic and listen to how they describe it.

Secret #2: Build Your Email List

Another piece that so many people miss is to use your website to build your email list. In fact, that should be one of the primary goals for your site!

Remember, online people need to come in contact with you at least 7 times before they’ll be ready to buy from you! If they are coming to your website and just clicking away without doing anything, you have no way to follow up with them and give them that chance to get to know you.

Your email list is that follow up tool, and your website should be focused on getting people’s email addresses so you have that opportunity to keep in touch.

Use an Irresistible List Builder and put it in a highly visible place on your website. A list builder is simply a free gift that you give someone in exchange for their email address. You can see mine in the right sidebar here on the blog, and you’ve probably seen others around the interwebs.

The best spot to place your Irresistible List Builder is on the right-hand side of your site, above the fold – meaning, you don’t have to scroll down the page to see it. You want it to be clearly visible as soon as someone lands on your site, and that upper right side of the page is where our eyes typically go first.

Your free gift needs to be something that your ideal customer will find valuable, and ideally it needs to address that specific problem or frustration that brought them to you in the first place. Keep in mind, that problem that brought them to you in forefront on their mind! And if you can offer something to help them move closer to solving it, for free, that they can get immediately, they’ll grab it!

Secret #3: Create a Gorgeous, Professional Brand Design

We humans are very visual creatures! Our eyes play a huge role in how we interact with the world, and that includes the online world. If your website and branding doesn’t look attractive and professional, it will most definitely turn people away from you.

It’s vitally important that you make sure you have a gorgeous, professional website and branding. This piece is well worth investing in and hiring someone to help you get it just right, because this design will be the “face” of your business online. You want to set a good first impression.

It’s also extremely important that you like and feel good about how you look online. If you have a crappy design and feel insecure or shameful about it, that will affect how you show up and people will pick up on it when they visit your website.

On the flip side, when you have a gorgeous, professional design and branding that makes your heart sing, that energy will be reflected through your site as well and your visitors will pick up on it and be attracted to it.

Just taking action on these 3 secrets can dramatically increase the success of your website. You don’t have to have a complex strategy or change everything all at once, just focus on one thing at a time. Pick just one of these secrets to work on for your website, then when you’re finished with that one, pick another one to work on next.

As you focus more and more on your customer and what she is looking for, and how you can provide that through your website, you’ll start to attract more and more of those ideal customers who are the perfect fit for you.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Here’s what to do next:

Pick one of these secrets that you would like to work on and share it in the comments below.

Image Credit: CEBImagery.com

I’ve been absorbing a LOT of the Teachings of Abraham over the past few months, and my favorite piece of advice is something that they reiterate a lot, so I get to hear it over and over. Here it is, paraphrased because I don’t have the exact quote in front of me:

“Everything you want is because you think you will feel better in the having of it. So why not just focus on feeling good in the first place?” – The Teachings of Abraham, paraphrase.

This has struck me so powerfully and completely transformed my life and the way I live. Abraham has so poignantly reminded me that it is good to feel good, and that the way I feel is my indication of where I’m at and what I’m attracting to me. The good feelings mean I’m in alignment with who I really am, the bad feelings mean I’m out of alignment with who I really am.

And I can choose thoughts that make me feel good or thoughts that make me feel bad. In each moment. Now.

Living from this space of looking for ways to feel good is such a new way of living for me. It puts everything in perspective when I realize that I do have control over how I feel, and that everything I want is because of how I think it will make me feel.

This doesn’t mean that I stop wanting things, or stop manifesting and creating things. But it does mean that I don’t have to wait for those things to come into my life in order to feel good!

I’ve become so much more aware of how I feel in each moment, and what it means. I can no longer blindly go through my day feeling down, wishing something would happen to make me feel better. I am now conscious and aware that I create my own reality, I choose the thoughts that make me feel how I feel in each moment. And I have full control, I can focus and choose thoughts that make me feel better. In any moment.

What an empowering way to live! I love how it puts the responsibility, the control, back in my own hands. I’m not living as a victim of circumstance, I am the creator of my own reality and I get to choose how good I feel.

Is there something you’ve been wanting and waiting for because of how you think it will make you feel? What can you do today to start feeling that feeling now, before it ever actually manifests in your life?

You want an online empire that will serve as a powerful platform to get your big message out there and attract to you the people you are meant to serve.

It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want that?

But are you a match to what you want? By that I mean, are your thoughts, actions and feelings in alignment with what you’re wanting for your website and online presence?

The thing is, your website and online presence are a reflection of you and your business. There’s no way around it. What you put into it is what you get back out of it. If you’re putting in good feelings, excitement, inspiration and a confidence in knowing you already are irresistible, then you’re going to get out an online presence that reflects those qualities and feelings.

On the other hand, if you’re putting in stress, chaos, clutter, confusion, frustration and carelessness… Guess what? You’re going to get an online presence that reflects those. (And no one wants that!)

Most people, when creating a new website and online presence, just look at the nuts and bolts, the physical, tangible pieces that need to be put into place to set it all up and make it work. And most websites don’t work at all, or if they do they get results that aren’t quite what you were looking for – clients that aren’t a good fit, low sales, traffic but no subscribers or inquiries, etc.

But you, my dear Goddess, are most certainly not most people!

You already know how important your thoughts and feelings are, and that it is important to feel good. You know that you attract what you focus on, and that you get out what you put into things. You know that you are an energetic being and that you energetically attract those things that match your vibration or frequency.

You know that you create your own reality and everything in your life comes to you because you attracted it to you.

And because you are one of those rare individuals who know this and live it, you can be confident that you have what it takes to create a website and online presence that is the perfect platform for you to experience, create and live the purpose you are here for.

From that place of knowing and confidence, here are some practical tips you can apply to begin to align yourself with that beautiful vision of what you want for your online presence:

Create Your own Virtual Reality

Bring your imagination and creativity into the project before you ever actually start creating your website. Think about what you want it to be like, to feel like. When you see your website and branding, how do you want to feel? Really sink into that and start to feel it right now.

Picture your website, your Facebook page, your newsletter, the programs or products you would offer, the kind of people you would love working with, and any other aspects that come to mind. Create it all in your imagination first and really feel what it’s like.

Make it as juicy and lovely and good-feeling as possible! The reason you want it in the first place is because of how you think it will make you feel, so why not start feeling that right now before it even physically exists!

Escape to Your Virtual Reality as Often as Needed

Every time you start to feel stressed, frustrated, overwhelmed or any other negative feeling around your website and online presence, simply stop and escape into your Virtual Reality. Do whatever you need to do to get back into that space where you can see and feel what you want.

You may need to literally stop what you’re doing and get up and walk away from it for a while. Go for a walk, relax with a tea or coffee, create a vision board, take a nice hot bath, and just let yourself daydream about that wonderful, juicy vision of the website and online presence that you want.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been taught all your life that it takes hard work and lots of action to make things happen, to achieve the success you want. And it will probably be difficult (at first) to just walk away and do something that seems so very unproductive.

Just remember, that action and working hard, when it’s from a place of stress, frustration and any other negative emotion, isn’t very effective anyway! You know how much more productive and effective you are when you’re feeling good, full of energy and happy and excited about what you’re up to.

So take the time to get into that space, take the time to feel good, and only then take action on whatever you are inspired to do in that moment and from that space of alignment.

Find Your Support System

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to surround yourself with people who see you as who-you-really-are and can reflect that back to you. This might be a coach, a friend, a group of like-minded sisters, a Mastermind group – the format really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have those people in your life who “get it” and who will remind you of who you are.

These are people who you can share your delicious vision with, and they get excited about it, they see it happening for you, and they remind you of it all the time. They even daydream with you and always encourage you to do what feels good and is in alignment for you.

I have found these people to be absolutely vital in my own life. When I’m feeling a bit down, or am off track and out of alignment, they are great at holding up a “mirror” and reminding me of who I really am and why I’m here. They see my potential, they get my vision, and they are relentless about reflecting that back to me when I lose sight of it myself.

Find your soul’s support system!

Just these three things will help you start to align with what you want so that you are a vibrational match for that website and online presence that will reflect who you really are. As you start to feel really good about what’s coming and what’s possible, you’ll find that the nuts and bolts, the physical pieces, will start to sort themselves out without any effort on your part. The perfect designer will come along, writing copy for your site will just flow, and the whole process will feel so good and fun, instead of being stressful and overwhelming.

And the end result will be far more amazing and irresistible than even you were able to imagine!

By the way, if this resonates with you and you would like to work with someone who “gets it” to build your website and online presence, I would love to talk to you! It would be my honor and joy to be part of your soul’s support system and to help bring your juicy vision into physical reality. If you want to learn more you can click here to read more about what I offer or take action right now and apply for a complimentary Be Irresistible Online Strategy Session with me.

Image credits: “Milk the Good Feeling” by kelly cree

These are my top 4 favorite features for really customizing your Facebook Timeline for Pages, and some tips on how to optimize them for your business.

1. Create a Gorgeous Timeline Cover Graphic

The graphics for the new Timelines give you a great opportunity to really brand your Facebook Page and create a presence that is customized with a look and feel that you love.

The Cover graphic is a large banner that lives at the top of your Page and sets the tone for your whole Page. Just like with your website header, this Facebook Cover should reflect your brand and tell people more about who you are and what you do. This is your chance to set a first impression!

This is a Facebook Cover that I created for my client, Patricia, for her brand new Facebook Page. It matches her website and branding, and clearly tells people who she is and what her business is. Then the About section right underneath expands on that to let people know how she can specifically help them. (More about the About section soon.)

Your Cover graphic cannot include any of the following:

• Contact info including website, email, phone number, etc
• Call to action including “Click”, “Like”, etc
• Offer or sales info including price, “Buy”, etc

Basically, think of your Cover like a header for your Facebook Page and think about what you might put into a website header. It’s primary job is to identify you and your business, and to help brand your Facebook presence so people know they are in the right place (or not) when they find you on Facebook.

By the way, one of the things I do for my clients is to design a gorgeous Facebook Cover graphic that matches your brand and helps your Facebook Page stand out from the crowd. If you’d like to get my help with your new Facebook Timeline Cover, click here to find out how I can help you with that.

2. Your Enhanced About Section

The new Facebook Timeline features your About section more prominently than the old design did. With the old Pages, it would show part of your About blurb down below the old image, but it would cut it off after a few words and people would have to click to read more.

Now, on the new design, your About blurb is featured right underneath the Cover graphic and it shows more text so that you can actually have a nice little About blurb that explains more about what you do and who you help.

This About section will show up to three lines of text, and can contain clickable links. Here’s an example from my Facebook Page, where I’ve included a link to my website, with a tagline that describes in more detail who I help and what I help them with.

This entire About box is clickable and will take fans to your full About section where they’ll see your email address, website, hours, phone number or any other info that you’ve entered into that section under Edit Page.

Use this About section to clearly identify what you do and who you help, so that people will know they are in the right place when they visit your Page. And fill in as much info as you can in the whole About section so when people click through from this blurb they can find out more easily.

3. Create Custom Tabs on your Facebook Page

Tabs are like pages within your Facebook Page Timeline. And with the new Timeline design, tabs are now more like actual web pages than ever before.

You can still use the same Page applications for your tabs, and creating custom tabs is done in the same way (Static HTML: iframe Tabs is still my favorite app for custom tabs). But now you have a lot more space to get creative with!

Here’s an example from my Facebook Timeline. You can see how the tab takes up the full page, so it’s more like a web page within Facebook, rather than a tab on your Facebook Page (with the navigation and image, etc like it was on the old design).

Custom tabs just got a LOT more exciting, in my opinion! I love having more space to really get creative and that it’s really its own page within your Facebook presence now.

You can use tabs for displaying things like your blog, Twitter profile, YouTube videos and other social media connections or functions through applications that are designed specifically for each of those features. You can also create your own custom tabs that include anything you can create with HTML and other accepted coding.

Custom tabs are great for things like a signup form for your email list, selling products on Facebook, displaying a list of your services, featuring testimonials or case studies, and pretty much anything else you can think of that would be nice to have on your Facebook Page.

This is also something I love to help my clients with. If you’d like to have some custom tabs on your Facebook Page and aren’t sure how to go about designing and setting them up, I’m your girl! I’d love to help you out with that and you can click here to find out more about how I can do that.

4. Design Custom Images for Tab Thumbnails

Applications or Tabs for your Facebook Timeline show up as little thumbnails right below your Cover graphic. These thumbnails can be changed to your own image, which is a great way to feature a call to action, or an attractive, branded thumbnail for the Pages or Tabs within your Facebook Page.

These thumbnails can be re-ordered (with the exception of the Photos tab, which stays in the first position and cannot be moved) so that you can put the most important ones in the three visible spots. The rest of your tabs are available from a drop-down menu right next to those thumbnails.

Here’s an example from my Facebook Timeline. You can see I have two custom thumbnails for two tabs on my Facebook Page. The thumbnails have been branded and include info about what’s on those tabs to attract people to click on them.

Use custom thumbnail images to make your tabs really stand out and to let people know what the tabs are all about, so they know they want to click them. Your thumbnails can include a call to action, like “Click here to…” or “Get your … here” to entice your fans and make it super clear what you want them to do.

Yep, you guessed it, this is also something I help my clients with! If you’d love to have your tab thumbnails customized, but aren’t sure how to create the graphics for it, I’d love to help! Contact me to find out how I can help you with this.

So now you’ve seen a few of the things that are possible on the new Facebook Timeline for Pages. You don’t have to tackle all of these at once – just pick ONE thing that you want to work on this week or this month, then start it. Once you’ve completed that one thing, you can always pick another.

What are you going to do to customize and brand your Facebook presence?

Facebook is my favorite social media site. It’s the one I focus on primarily for my own business, and it’s the one that I help my clients with the most. I love it and am totally geeking out on playing with the new features!

Your Facebook Timeline Guide

And of course, YOU get to benefit from my experience. I’ve been playing and experimenting with the new features and will be sharing tidbits from what I’m learning over the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’ve put together a Guide to some of the major changes to help you start learning about them so you can transition your Page over to the new format. You can download the Be Irresistible on Facebook Transition Guide here.

And if you’re not yet receiving my ezine, be sure to sign up in the sidebar (where it says Free Gift) to get on the list so you receive all the updates I’ll be sharing over the month. I’m going to be showing you how to really optimize and customize your Page in the new format, so you won’t want to miss any of it!

Deadline for Transitioning to the new Timeline

Right now you’ll be seeing a message at the top of any Pages you administer that invites you to preview your page in the new format. You can also take a tour of the changes from this same notice, and I highly recommend doing that. For the month of March, you’ll have a chance to preview your Page and work on getting all your graphics, branding and tabs switched over to the new format.

At the end of March, Facebook will automatically switch ALL Facebook Pages over the new format. So don’t wait, because you only have a few short weeks before your Page(s) will be switched for you. I highly recommend diving in and learning about it NOW so that you’re ready to transition by the end of the month.

Done-for-You Facebook Timeline Transitions

And of course, I’ve put together a special package for those of you who just want someone to do this for you. If you feel like you just don’t have the time to dive in and learn it, or don’t have the energy to try and figure it out yourself, then this package is for you.

I’ll do the transition FOR you and even create brand new custom graphics for your new Page. The package also includes some very juicy bonuses to help you build your email list through Facebook and really customize your Page to feature the things YOU want front and center.

Click here to learn more about the Be Irresistible on Facebook Done-for-You package.

And by the way, even if you’re NOT interested in getting help on this for yourself, at least pop over to that link to see what is possible with the new Facebook layout…

What Are Your Facebook Timeline Questions?

Do you have any questions about the new Timeline for Pages? Is there anything you can’t find or aren’t sure how to do with the new layout? Leave me a comment below with your question and I’ll be sure to get it answered in the upcoming tidbits I’ll be sharing!

And let me tell you, taking that time over the weekend to focus on the big picture for my business really helped me to get focused for the week ahead. I started off Monday morning with a clear, focused list of what I want to work on this week so I was able to dive right in without wasting time figuring out where I was at.

I think this is going to become a new weekend ritual for me…

I learned a LOT from these women and their trainings, but I specifically want to share one thing that really hit home for me from each of them. All three of these things I have heard before in some form or another, and have even taught to my clients or on my blog, but it was from a new perspective this time and I learned it a bit deeper for myself…

1. Writing for my Clients is Like Learning a Foreign Language

Stella Orange taught a class called, “Clear as a Bell: 3 Simple Steps to Writing a Homepage that Makes Your Cash Register Sing!” (you can download the recording and bonuses at that link). This one really rocked my world and I came away with a fresh perspective on writing for my business.

(By the way, Stella is teaching a Production Lab in March that’s all about how to Write Your Website. It looks sweet, you might want to check it out. This is not an affiliate link – I just fell in love with her and think you might too… )

Stella talked about how we need to translate our ideas and thoughts into the thoughts and ideas that our clients are thinking and care about. Or as she put it, “You need to stop writing in proper English and learn a foreign language.” (- Stella Orange)

My takeaway from this is to learn to run everything I write through the filter of the question my client is asking, What’s in it for me? And anything that doesn’t answer that question can be scratched.

This really shifted my mindset about writing, everything from emails to blog posts to social media updates to copy on my website. Everything I write should be speaking directly to my ideal client, in her language and addressing her concerns, feelings, problem, pain, cares, etc.

Which obviously means I need to get clear on who she is so I can know how to talk to her, how to translate into her language…

I realized I can take this sooo much deeper in my own business and get a lot more clear on who I am talking to in everything I’m doing. So I’ll be diving into that more over the coming days and weeks.

2. Irresistible Offers Focus on the Transformation not the Delivery

Lisa Sasevich taught a class called, “How to Boost Your Sales using Irresistible Offers“ (you can download the recording at that link). After this one, I got a major “download” of ideas for my business and specifically how I can put what she taught into action with my own offers.

The golden nugget for me in Lisa’s talk was when she was talking about what an offer is, and what makes an irresistible offer (as opposed to just an average joe offer). And the difference is that irresistible offers focus 90% on the outcome or transformation and only 10% on the actual service delivery.

So when making any kind of offer, I should be talking mostly about the transformation, the outcome, the results that someone will get from working with me, then spend just a bit of time covering the logistics of how it works.

I tend to be like most entrepreneurs who focus 90% of the time on the service delivery and only 10% on the results. So I might focus on what’s included in the package, how much it costs, how long it will take to deliver, etc. Then only quickly mention about how a new website will boost your confidence, and bring you new clients, and help you grow your business.

I need to turn this around and focus so much more on the results, the benefits, the transformation that my clients experience from working with me.

This word transformation really shifted my mindset around this, and I started to really see how what I do for my clients really is a transformation! I had lost site of the real benefits and results I give my clients, I was looking at more of the surface stuff and wasn’t digging deep enough. (And as a result, making offers was feeling awkward, icky and so not fun.)

So I’m going to dig into this in more depth over the coming days and weeks to start getting more clear on what transformation I help my clients to experience. (There may be another blog post coming on this, if you’d like to hear more about what I find out as I dig into this…)

3. Everything I’ve Done up to this Point in my Life is Part of My Purpose

Christina Morassi taught a class called, “5 Secrets to Explode Your Business with an Ecstatic Brand“ (again, you can get the recording at that link). The thing I really loved about Christina is how she brings the spiritual and sacred into what she does, and it made me realize that’s what I want for my business, too.

Christina talked about how everything we’ve ever done in our lives is part of who we are now, and part of our purpose for being here… And all of those gifts, talents, skills and experiences need to be integrated to create our personal brand.

This really spoke to me and I realized I have so often discounted what I’ve been through, the experiences I’ve had, the jobs I’ve had. I’ve brushed it off as “the past” and had the attitude that it doesn’t matter, that stuff isn’t important to who I am now and where I’m going…

But at the same time, I’ve always felt that I wanted every part of me to be present in my business, and to be able to offer my gifts and talents in a way that it all works together. Christina talks about this as creating careers and businesses that don’t even exist yet, because you can bring together so many diverse and unique gifts to create a whole that is as unique and awesome as you are.

I fell in love with this and it resonated sooo deeply with my desire to be all that I am in everything I do, and to create a business that is truly a reflection of me and everything I have to offer. When I really integrate all of my gifts, experiences, talents, skills, passions – what will emerge is an offer so unlike anything else out there and so perfect for those people I am meant to serve.

And I loved how Christina kept bringing it back to that spiritual perspective: I am here for a purpose and there are people that I am meant to serve. It’s what I’m here for. And every step along my journey has been preparing me for that and giving me the tools I need to live out my purpose.

Image credit: jakeliefer

My re-branding is pretty much complete, and I am sooo excited to be launching it all today and sharing it with you. I’ve been working on this behind the scenes for several months now, and it has been a great learning experience as I’ve really practiced what I preach and done my work on myself.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned throughout this process:

1. It’s Okay to get Help (and can save you a LOT of time, energy and frustration)

I actually hired another designer to help me with my re-brand. Actually, I had TWO people helping me with it. Because I’m too close to my own business to be able to clearly see the big picture and what it all needs to look like.

I tried to do it myself and wasted a fair bit of time and energy, and still didn’t get anywhere!

So I got some help, and the end result, the branding and visuals you see here on the site today, are the result of that collaboration. Maybe I could have done it myself eventually, but it would have taken a lot longer. I was able to save myself a lot of time, energy and frustration by bringing in some help.

And I learned that just because I can do it myself doesn’t mean that that is the best way! I’m far more likely to get the results I want, and a lot FASTER, if I get some help.

2. It’s SUPER Important to have a Design that Makes Your Heart Sing!

I already knew this, but it’s one thing to know it and another thing to experience it first hand for myself again.

My old brand was tired, it was a reflection of who I was – not who I am now and who I am becoming – and it didn’t make my heart sing anymore. It felt drab and boring, and I felt a bit like a fraud because my brand and online presence wasn’t as great as I knew it could be!

Now, I feel EXCITED to get myself and my business out there in a much bigger way and I feel so good about how I look online. I feel so irresistible and ready to step out and take on the world.

And you can bet that FEELING so good about it will boost my confidence, energy and will definitely make a difference in how people respond to me and my marketing.

3. Your Brand should Reflect Who You are Becoming

I learned this one from my mentor, Stephanie McWilliams. She reminded me a lot to look at my brand from the perspective of who I want to be 2-5 years from now, and to design something that reflects that, instead of who I am now or who I was in the past.

When you design your brand and online presence from that perspective, then your brand will actually help to PULL you into that awesome future version of you.

So as I was designing my new brand and setting everything up, I was designing it all for the future me, to reflect that big, beautiful, brilliant woman that I am becoming more and more each day. I thought about what kinds of things I want to be doing in 2 years; things like be a published author, a sought-after speaker, the type of clients I want to work with, and overall how I want to show up in the world.

The thing with this piece is that you might not really like the vision for future you, at first. When I first saw the proof for what ended up being my new brand, I felt a bit of fear, a bit of insecurity. I thought things like, Oh my, that’s way too bright and bold for me. That’s not who I am. Or If I look like that I won’t be able to hide anymore, I’ll have to really step up and go big or go home.

The key is to be able to recognize those thoughts and to know that they aren’t serving me and I don’t really want to listen to them and stay small. I WANT to live boldly and shine brightly. I WANT to play a big game and truly step into all that I am meant to be. I WANT to be someone who makes a big difference.

So I moved past the discomfort and limiting beliefs and embraced a new bright and bold brand that will continue to inspire me to play a bigger game.

Now What?

I will be taking what I’ve learned from my own re-branding experience and using it in my work with my clients. This means I’m able to offer an even better service, to really help you create an online presence that makes your heart sing and helps you get the results you want from your online marketing.

So you can expect to see weekly articles and tips to help you Be Irresistible Online, and even better packages and services to bring you the help you need to really make that happen for you and your business.

I invite you to dive in, become a part of the Be Irresistible Online Facebook community and grab your FREE e-course to get started learning how you can Be Irresistible Online.