This week I did something that genuinely lit me up. I sat down and reviewed five of my mentees' opt-in pages for their upcoming live webinar launches, and lovely, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. First-time opt-in pages. Converting at 35 to 60%. Not from seasoned marketers or women who've been doing this for years. From women who built their very first opt-in page inside our webinar sprint, and built it right.

And I had this moment sitting back from my screen where I just thought, we have come so far. Not just them. Me too. The way I teach this now, the way this whole experience is designed, there is something quietly powerful happening here. Because talent alone does not produce a 55 or 60% conversion rate on your first attempt. Structure does that. Environment does that. A learning experience that is designed by someone who actually knows how to teach people to do things, not just know things. That is what does it.

In this episode I'm unpacking what is truly behind a high-converting opt-in page, and I promise you, it is not what most people think. I spent 15 years as a teacher and curriculum designer before I ever entered the online space. And when I look at most coaching programs today, I see brilliant people teaching brilliant things with almost no understanding of how to help someone actually do the thing. If you have a group program, a course, a membership, or a mastermind, this one is for you. It is time to step into your next level as a facilitator, not just a content creator.

What listeners will learn:

• Why your opt-in page should convert at a minimum of 25% with an organic/warm audience before you spend a single dollar on cold audience targeting through ads.
• The real reason most opt-in pages don't convert
• How my 15 years in curriculum design and classroom facilitation completely changed the way I teach online business
• Why outsourcing your thinking to AI without understanding the strategy yourself will always produce low-quality results
• What it actually means to be a next-level facilitator inside your programs and why that is the difference between clients who get results and clients who quietly disappear

This podcast is brought to you by Tracy Harris. Explore our offerings to elevate your business:

1. Freedom Filled® Business
   Freedom Filled® Business is the most transformative and supported way to create, launch, and scale a course or membership that’s aligned with your life and values.
   It turns scattered, stuck entrepreneurs into confident CEOs with sustainable, scalable offers, a crystal-clear business strategy, and the freedom to live and lead with intention. Discover more here.
2. Freedom Filled® Mastermind
   The Freedom Filled® Mastermind is exclusively for a maximum of 20 female entrepreneurs that are committed to intentional leadership and advanced digital business strategy, that transforms teams, fuels revenue, and sets the foundation for lasting freedom. It’s about unlocking the freedom to be uniquely you in how you grow your business and do life. Find out more here.
3. Reels for Business Course
   Master the art of creating engaging reels that convert viewers into customers. This do-in-your-own-time course will equip you with the skills to leverage short-form video for your brand on Instagram. Sign up here.
4. FREE Instagram Bio Checklist
   Want to make a powerful first impression on Instagram? Download our free checklist to optimise your bio for maximum impact. Get your free checklist here.

CONNECT WITH ME

Web: www.tracyharris.co
Facebook: @mumswithhustle
Instagram: @tracyharrisco
Twitter: @MumsWithHustle
Mums With Hustle® Podcast Community By Tracy Harris: @mumswithhustle

LOVE THE MUMS WITH HUSTLE PODCAST?

Okay, mama! I'm going to give it to you straight, 'cause you know that's what I'm about. Podcast reviews are super important to iTunes and the more reviews we receive the more likely iTunes will reward us with better reach.

I want to reach more hustling mamas that can add extreme value to our kick-ass tribe. Help a sister, out? I already love you forever, but I’d be extremely grateful if you would review me on iTunes!

If you've loved this podcast, never miss another one! All you have to do is SUBSCRIBE to the Mums With Hustle Podcast on iTunes.

The post MWH 532 : I Reviewed 5 Webinar Pages This Week. Here’s What I Saw.. appeared first on Tracy Harris.

You are a smart, capable coach or digital educator, so why do your Instagram Stories sometimes feel like random chit chat?

In this episode, I am showing you exactly how to use Instagram Stories to build your email list and make sales, without feeling like you are just showing up for the sake of it.

You will learn the four story types I personally use and teach inside my Social Method Society® membership. These are the story types that build connection, prime your audience to buy, and actually lead people toward your offers.

Plus, I have a free gift for you. My Instagram Stories Strategy Pack includes story prompts and an easy-to-follow flow you can start using right away.

Grab it here → https://tracyharris.co/strategy-pack.

What You’ll Learn:

The four story types that attract subscribers and buyers
How to rotate your stories for more engagement and more sales
Why being chatty is not enough and what to do instead
A framework you can rinse and repeat every week

Resources:

Free Instagram Stories Strategy Pack: https://tracyharris.co/strategy-pack
Connect with me on Instagram: @mumswithhustle

This podcast is brought to you by Tracy Harris. Explore our offerings to elevate your business:

1. Social Method Society
   Join our comprehensive program designed to help you grow your Instagram presence, build a strong brand and turn your followers into customers. Learn more here.
2. Freedom Filled Business
   Freedom Filled Business is the most transformative and supported way to create, launch, and scale a course or membership that’s aligned with your life and values.
   It turns scattered, stuck entrepreneurs into confident CEOs with sustainable, scalable offers, a crystal-clear business strategy, and the freedom to live and lead with intention. Discover more here.
3. Inner Circle Mastermind
   Take your business to the next level and live your life by design with our elite mastermind group. Capped at 30 women, high access to Tracy, in-person retreats and monthly meetings with personalised feedback. The Mastermind is Australia’s top Mastermind for female digital entrepreneurs. Network with like-minded entrepreneurs and gain insights to accelerate your growth and expansion in business and in life. Join the waitlist here.
4. Reels for Business Course
   Master the art of creating engaging reels that convert viewers into customers. This do-in-your-own-time course will equip you with the skills to leverage short-form video for your brand on Instagram. Sign up here.
5. FREE Instagram Bio Checklist
   Want to make a powerful first impression on Instagram? Download our free checklist to optimise your bio for maximum impact. Get your free checklist here.

CONNECT WITH ME

Web: www.tracyharris.co
Facebook: @mumswithhustle
Instagram: @mumswithhustle
Twitter: @MumsWithHustle
Mums With Hustle® Podcast Community By Tracy Harris: @mumswithhustle

LOVE THE MUMS WITH HUSTLE PODCAST?

Okay, mama! I'm going to give it to you straight, 'cause you know that's what I'm about. Podcast reviews are super important to iTunes and the more reviews we receive the more likely iTunes will reward us with better reach.

I want to reach more hustling mamas that can add extreme value to our kick-ass tribe. Help a sister, out? I already love you forever, but I’d be extremely grateful if you would review me on iTunes!

If you've loved this podcast, never miss another one! All you have to do is SUBSCRIBE to the Mums With Hustle Podcast on iTunes.

The post MWH 497 : How to Use Instagram Stories to Make Sales appeared first on Tracy Harris.

We’re diving deep again into Instagram’s newest feature – Instagram Reels! And how you can use them to grow your Instagram audience and increase your reach.

As it is with everything Instagram, Reels got an update already! Instagram recently made new changes to Reels which can help make your content creation more creative, fun and easy. Hence, it also helps with increasing your target reach across the board and ultimately, helps increase your Instagram audience quickly.

My love, if you haven’t explored this incredible tool at your fingertips, I encourage you to check this walkthrough post and a previous podcast episode where I delved into 3 Must-Know Instagram Reels Features For Business Owners. If you'd rather check it out in blog form, I've got just the thing for you right here.

And if you prefer listening to an audio, then I also shared these hot Instagram Reels tips in a podcast episode that you can access here.

So without further ado… let’s get into it!

You Can Now Record Up To 30 Seconds Of Instagram Reels Content

A little while ago Instagram gave us the option to create Reels that are 30 seconds long. When it was first released, we could only create Reels for 15 seconds and if you’ve had a bit of a play, my gosh, 15 seconds go by so fast. You can now choose between 15 seconds or 30 seconds to create your Instagram Reels.

Tap on the top icon to change it from 15 seconds to 30 seconds.

Grow Your Audience By Posting Contents That Are In Alignment With Their Interests

Many of my ladies at Social Method Society have embraced Instagram Reels in their businesses! They share all sorts of incredible contents with their audience.

I just want to do a shoutout to Amanda from Sugar Sugar Cake School. She has shared a handful of Reels and over a 2-week period and she managed to grow her audience with 900 new followers by consistently posting amazing contents using. Amanda’s doing a mix of “how-to” and process videos which are right in alignment with her audience’s interests.

Another shoutout to Larni from Sage Birthing, who has seen growth in reach not only with Instagram Reels but it’s helping her to reach a wider audience with her posts too. This is a post that educates. My members inside the Social Method Society know this as a “Teach” style of content creation.

Larni’s also upped her ante using effective hashtags. With both these strategies, she has seen incredible results with her reach across the board, yep, including her static posts. Her website clicks increased as well. She effectively drives traffic to her website using her Instagram posts.

Let’s get tangible with Larni’s before and after reach statistics.

I really want to share these with you because it’s really important to see real-life examples of people that are just like you… Business owners who have a choice between being overwhelm with various marketing options that are available and choosing to stay on top of the trend, to learn and to go through the awkwardness of putting your content out there.

We have many women inside of the Social Method Society who are in those early days of starting to grow their audience presence on Instagram. And those ladies who are embracing Instagram Reels are seeing that even just a single Reels video is having an effect both on their overall reach and the growth of their following.

So, I really want to honour those ladies who are constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zone!

Just like Jennifer Follett who is a member of my Social Method Society. Jennifer has a smaller audience of about 300 people but her most viewed reels has reached over 1500 people and gained her 10 new followers!

I know for some people changes can be exciting. More innovation and features mean more creative content creation. I’m also aware that for others, this can be overwhelming and it can all be too hard.

I’ve experienced being on both sides myself, but that thought is fleeting and I very quickly moved into thinking…

• “How can I use this to have a bigger impact with on audience that I’m trying to serve?”
• “Well, what does this feature make possible for me?”
• “How much more fun am I now able to have?”
• “How much easier does content creation now become?”

My love, when we cast our minds onto positive thinking and reframe the situation, we can overcome the overwhelm. The momentum picks up and before you know it, you’ll learn something new and your business is better for it. I say, let’s embrace the changes as they come along!

I’m also sending these tips to my email subscribers who receive my weekly email every Monday morning. If you haven’t subscribed to my email list yet, girlfriend, go to mumswithhustle.com/stories. Also, grab yourself my FREE Instagram Stories Strategy Pack. This freebie has helped thousands of women in business get started with IG Stories in a way that gives them confidence, sees their audience growing and coming back for more, and ultimately build their business.

So ladies, if you are….

– Wanting to have holistic support as you grow your business and market it on Instagram
– Looking for coaching, support, and accountability
– Serious about increasing traffic to your website
– Looking for ways to increase your email list
– Serious about your social media presence on Instagram and leverage its power for your business

…Then I invite you to get onto the waitlist of my membership, the Social Method Society, and join hundreds of other lady entrepreneurs. We have lots of trainings to help you not only in marketing your offer in an authentic way but also in other facets of your business.

I’ll be having a very sneaky flash opening before the year ends! So make sure to put your name down at socialmethodsociety.com.

We’ll help you do these things with consistency and persistence, cos my love, that’s the secret sauce!

If you have any questions, send me a DM or comment on any of my posts in Instagram @mumswithhustle.

See you in the inside!

The post Instagram – What’s Working Now? How To Grow Your Instagram Audience Quickly appeared first on Tracy Harris.

Are you concerned with your child’s education and learning being suspended due to self-isolation and lockdowns because of the Covid-19 pandemic? Or have you decided to do home-schooling for your children? Maybe you are new to the set-up of educating your child inside the comforts of your own home? Or you’ve been doing home-school for a quite while… we have compiled some useful online resources to help you have a great time teaching (and bonding!) with your child.

Remember, learning does not stop inside the four walls of a classroom!

Purposeful Play

Some children learn the most by collaborating with others, re-enacting their favourite storybook, doing a pretend play or by simply doing any activity themselves. This is what we call ‘purposeful play’ – when children learn when they use their hands or any part of their body to grasp an idea or concept of the lesson.

Here are some sites from Mums to fellow Mums, where you can check educational toys, games and activities you can try with your children:

Celebrate Play

Erin is a mum and an Early Childhood and Primary School teacher who shares her own ideas not only for intentional play opportunities but also for being organised while doing it. From various winter play ideas, different ways you can play with home furniture such as bean bags, to different methods of tidying up your child's play space, you can pick one concept or more to do at your own home.

Playdreamers

Offering a wide-array of selections of toys such as building and stacking blocks, educational toys, pretend play, puzzles, sensory play, travel and dine, dolls and accessories, and wooden toys, you will find several items that will cater to your children’s needs whatever stage of development they are in.

Beadie Bug Play, Read Play Learn, Play Kids and Growing Kind

If you are looking for a more eco-friendly, organic, vegan-friendly and long-lasting toys, these four sites offer educational wooden toys from blocks, animals, baby dolls, small-world play and even playdough tools. They also have beautifully-illustrated storybooks you can read to your children. Their toys are masterfully handcrafted that they can be used as decorations to your child's room or even in your own living room. Moreover, Beadie Bug Play adheres to using only sustainably sourced materials such as Forestry Standard Certified milled timber, reclaimed hardwoods and local gums from naturally fallen trees.

Stories of Play

Exploring the advantages of home-school learning as her family plans to travel in a camper van, Jules provides a different perspective on how mums can integrate the wonders of education while staying at home. Sharing her own experiences in teaching her children, this pre-school teacher offers fresh ideas on why play matters. What’s more? Her site is offering a discount on bundled e-books that deals with raising creative children.

Erika’s Learning Resources and Inspire.Learn.Teach

If your go-to social media platform is Instagram, be sure to check these two out. They both offer different creative ways to play with your children whether they are still in their infancy stage or are now toddlers, using materials you can easily find inside your own homes.

 

Learning and Crafts

If your approach is more on the traditional in-their-seat instructions and through arts and crafts, these sites may prove useful as you help unlock your child's imagination and creativity:

Hand in Hand Activity Kits

Looking for inspirations to spice up your creative time with your youngsters? Lauren, through her site, offers different themed activity kits your children can complete at their own pace. They have Australian Animals, Dinosaurs, Under the Sea, Easter, Once Upon a Time, Outer Space, Rainbow, Ladybug and Celebrations. She even has Surprise Kit to add to your child's delight.

Get Ready for School Australia

Approved by Occupational Therapists, the site offers personalised, teacher-created learning tools that are aligned to school curriculum. Intended to be used by 3 to 5-year olds, the materials help parents give their children a head start and build strong learning foundation from home.

EllieFun Box

These Montessori-approved boxes are equipped with full instructions and ready-to-use materials for busy parents. If you are raising your child to be bilingual, their materials might be for you as they also have also offer Mandarin teaching tools among the 6 to 8 different activities included in each box. Other subjects include Arts and Craft, Phonics, Math and. Science.

Creative Mum Life

By simply signing up to their email listing, you can gain free access to their creative learning resource library which includes different printable exciting activities such as Alphabet Learning Workbook, Alphabet Bingo and Easter Egg Alphabet Matching.

My Creative Child

As what the website name suggests, it caters to every creative child’s imagination as they offer art packs that are constantly being updated based on current holiday. You can even buy some packs as gifts. They create each gift with age-appropriate materials. You may even include the packs as a fun activity for your child’s birthday. The site offers art party solution based on your party theme. You can choose from Party Fun Pack, Happy as Party Pack or Part Central Super Art Park.

The Music Suite

Providing music lesson in your own home, the site gives free online tutorial lessons for musically-inclined children who cannot practice in studios due to the coronavirus. The music teachers adapt their approached based on the learning curve of every student. They have different programs to offer such as private lessons, group classes, kinder classes and even masterclasses.

As the coronavirus hits different parts of the world, make use of the lockdown and self-isolation as an opportunity for you and your children to invest more in their education. As proven by these mums with hustle, you do not have to be confined to one teaching method. There are different ways for your youngster to discover, learn and grow. Most of the time, they are not only fun for your children, you get to enjoy too!

Are you a small business owner or digital entrepreneur? Are you wanting to get more traffic, more leads and more sales with a proven Instagram marketing method? Want to join one of the most supportive online learning hubs for Mums in business?

Click here to request an invitation to join the Social Method Society when we open our doors next.

Talk soon my loves.

Xx

Tracy

CONNECT WITH ME:

Web: www.mumswithhustle.com
Facebook: @Mumswithhustle
Instagram: @mumswithhustle
Twitter: @MumsWithHustle
Biz Club: MWH Biz Club

The post Mums Help Fellow Mums : On How to Keep Your Child Learning in Times of Coronavirus appeared first on Tracy Harris.

Tell me, do you want to skyrocket your sales growth online?

Every single business owner I talk to – clients, students and others alike – wants to grow their sales in 2016. (Actually scratch that – I do have one client who told me I’ve made her so busy she can’t focus on growth right now, she’s too busy ramping up her production to keep up with orders! But I digress…)

The power of online customer loyalty

Back in the early days of of eCommerce, it was believed that customers were not loyal to any particular online retailer.

The World Wide Web seemed to make customer loyalty irrelevant; at the click of a mouse, shoppers could effortlessly cover the globe in search of the lowest price, with little to hold them at one site.

(I would argue that many business owners who sell online today still work off this assumption, with the result that the one and only tactic they use to convert new sales is a discount or low-price strategy!)

Yet, while it’s true that online shoppers can skip easily from one site to the next, what’s actually happened is that many online shoppers are actually highly loyal to their favourite online store.

Tools such as Internet bookmarks and highly engaging content (including email and social media) have led to online shopping patterns that are loyal, almost addictive.

Today, loyal shoppers visit their favourite sites far more frequently than they would any bricks-and-mortar store. And as a Productpreneur – you want to be that website, right?

And it gets even better: high levels of customer loyalty can have an enormous impact on the profitability of your website sales.

A study by Bain & Company, Inc, demonstrated that online customer loyalty is a crucial factor in profitability, even more so than for offline companies. It also showed that small changes in loyalty alone, especially among the most profitable customers, can account for much higher profits in the longer term.

And by small changes – even a 5% increase in customer loyalty (repeat purchases from existing customers) can result in up to 95% growth in profits!

So, why does customer loyalty have such a large impact on a website’s profitability?

1. You won’t break even on one-time shoppers.

Because customer acquisition costs in e-commerce are high (that is the cost of converting a website visitor into a paying customer, such as the cost of advertising), to recoup your investment you need to convince customers to return to your site time and again.

For example, the average online apparel shopper in this example wasn't profitable for the retailer until he or she had shopped at the site four times. This implies that the retailer had to retain the customer for 12 months just to break even!

2. Repeat purchasers spend more and generate larger transactions.

The longer their relationship with an online retailer, the more customers spent in a given period of time. In the example shown above, the average repeat customer spent 67% more in months 31-36 of his or her shopping relationship than in months zero-to-six.

3. Repeat customers refer more people and bring in more business.

Word of mouth is the single most effective and economical way online retailers grow their business. Word of mouth referrals have the highest trust rating and new customers are likely to place their first order within 2 weeks of receiving that referral!

And loyalty, it turns out, can be a key driver for referrals. On average, a customer will refer three people after their first purchase, and after 10 purchases that same shopper had referred seven people to the site!

4. Referrals are powerful selling tools

It’s not surprising that 71% of online shoppers read reviews before they buy (Forrester Research).

Here’s a couple more impressive stats to wrap your brain around: according to Nielsen, 92% of people trust referrals from people they know, AND people are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend.

If ever there was a reason to make sure your customers are happy, this would be it!

How to make sure your customers are happy and coming back for more??

(Other than making sure the product or service you sell them is absolutely sensational of course!)

There’s an important thing you should do with all new customers after their first purchase and, in digital marketing speak, it’s called “on-boarding”.

So what the heck is on-boarding and, more importantly, HOW do you do it?

Essentially it’s welcoming new customers to your business and brand and ensuring their experience using or consuming your products is as enjoyable and successful as possible.

And the reason I want to introduce you to the term ‘on-boarding’ is because this is actually something you can automate in your marketing automation email application.

The on-boarding process in action

So, once a new customer places their first order with you, that purchase transaction should automatically trigger an email campaign as follows:

Example of a New Customer Email Campaign:

1. Welcome to “Brand Name” family (send immediately)
2. Share a ‘before and after’ transformation or case study, to reinforce decision to buy (send 3 days later)
3. Did your product arrive and is everything OK? (Send 2 days after your product should have arrived)
4. Share ‘how to use’ tips and tricks to ensure your customer can successfully use your product (send 3 days later)
5. Invitation to social media (for example, ‘show us what adventures your (insert product) has been up to! Tag us on Instagram)
6. Request a product review (send 3 days later)
7. Time-sensitive promotion – should be a cross sell or up-sell, related to the product they purchased (send 3 days later)
8. Follow-up reminder #1 about time sensitive promotion (send 2 days later)
9. Follow-up reminder #2 about time sensitive promotion (send 1 day later)

Now, in order to run automated campaigns triggered by a purchase, you will need to be using a marketing automation application – something like ActiveCampaign, or my preferred tool of choice Infusionsoft.

That way, it’s all hands-off for you, yet your customers are receiving relevant, personalised emails that are targeted towards their specific interests and the stage they’re at in their customer journey.

Download my Customer Onboarding campaign guide

Download my free guide for more help on how to create your own new customer onboarding email campaign. It includes a system for follow-ups that you can plug-and-play into your own business.

Meet Catherine 

Catherine Langman is the Founder and CEO of Productpreneur Marketing. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs with innovative, niche products to plan for growth, to get their products in the hands of more people, and to become a household brand (whilst stressing less, working smarter and enjoying yourself as much as possible!) An award-winning business owner herself, Catherine has extensive professional experience in product development, brand communications, digital design and online marketing for eCommerce businesses and direct-to-consumer brands.

Web: www.catherinelangman.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cathlangman 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cathlangman

The post How To Build a Loyal Audience of Repeat Customers appeared first on Tracy Harris.

“When you are accountable, you are incredible.” said Jeffrey Benjamin and who doesn’t want to be incredible, right?

Having personal accountability gives you power over your success and the outcomes of your goals. It makes you responsible, in every sense of the word, and forces you to have that super-valuable ‘the buck stops with me’ attitude.

Nothing worth having, comes easily to anyone and the key thing to remember here, is that no-one can make you accountable. Yes, it helps if people know your goals, encourage your progress and support your dreams, but without your own personal sense of accountability, the outcomes will never be exactly what you want (or what you deserve).

When you’re personally accountable, you:

• Stop any form of blame;
• Stop the ‘they should have’ response about others;
• Stop making excuses (yes, all of them! eeek!);
• Become the chief problem solver to overcome any obstacles that get in the way (which are inevitable, by the way!)

As Biz Mum’s we know how incredibly valuable being truly accountable is but do you know how to create it? Here are 8 super-effective ways to create personal accountability in your life… and take over the world!

1. Get clear… no, clearer!


You need to be really clear about what you want, so get as specific as possible. Don’t just say ‘I want to sell more of my products’ – you need to be much more specific than that. Selling 1 is more but I’m pretty sure that’s not what you mean. Get down to the nitty-gritty of why you want this particular goal, and clarify it from the start. Being really, really clear on the goal creates accountability to a specific number or timeline. Try something like ‘I will sell 100 products, at full price by Xmas.’ Now that is something to work towards!

2. Put pen to paper
.

While it’s still a thought, it doesn’t actually live in anyone’s reality (no, not even yours). Once you put pen to paper though, your goal starts to take shape – it has form and becomes tangible. Use your best pens and paper, write it out in nice, big letters and stick that sucker up anywhere that you know you’ll be faced with it multiple times a day. Visual works!

3. Now LOOK at it everyday!


Pin your goal up at work, on the fridge, beside your bed, in the car or on the back of the toilet door! Make sure it’s in your face constantly and use it to keep you focused and on track. Seeing the goal you have chosen to commit to, in many different settings and contexts, will only help to embed it in your mind even more.

4. Keep track.

Making your progress measurable and visual is a great way to create accountability. Use a chart, a graph or a diary to keep a record of how you’re tracking and remember, there will be little losses and failures along the way, but they are all part of the process, so just keep moving forward.

5. Make sure you let people know
.

This is a highly effective technique that I use all… the… time! I always make sure to tell people what I am up to. Studies have shown that people who are trying to make changes to their life are much more likely to succeed if they tell their family and friends. Again, it becomes real once those words come out of your mouth and there’s always more motivation if you know you can be called on it at any time.

6. Join a group or get a coach
.

Having accountability to others is extraordinarily effective. It’s one of the key reasons why women I coach achieve their goals so successfully. I hold them accountable to do what they said they would do to achieve it! Most of us know what we need to do, right? It’s the procrastination and mindset challenges that tends to get in the way.

You could also join a group that is specific to your goal (like a running group, a business network, etc) or you could join (or create) a group of like-minded people who hold each other accountable. There is always strength in numbers. I talked a bit about creating a Mastermind Group in my podcast with Tracy which will help you get started.

7. Put your money where your mouth is.

Money makes people do incredible things and often pushes them to extraordinary heights. If I told you that you would get 1 million dollars if you ran the marathon you’ve always wanted to run, I bet you’d get serious (fast) about achieving that goal. Think about something that you could create for yourself as a reward or a gift for a job well done. A good (expensive) carrot being dangled out in front of you is always a great incentive to keep you moving forward and keep your eye on the prize.

8. And most importantly, ALWAYS be honest with yourself
.

If you don’t want to take off your sparkly crown and retire from your role as the Queen of Victims just yet, then accept that role, own it.. and move on! It’s ok, really. And it’s entirely your choice BUT don’t continue wishing that your life will change, because it won’t! It’s up to you…you are full accountable for the way your life is turning out…always has been…always will be…so get serious and create a structure for your personal accountability.

Meet Jodie

Jodie Bruce-Clarke is an author, speaker and coach specialising in helping women increase their confidence. She is the co-owner of Rise Women and her book ‘Pumped: Confidence Techniques that will have you Standing Taller in the World’ is a ‘must-read’.

Website: www.risewomen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/risewomen1/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/risewomen

The post How to Create Powerful Personal Accountability appeared first on Tracy Harris.

Procrastination. Time wasting. Busy work. Rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic. Whatever you wanna call it, procrastination can be a major drag for your business.

I always thought of procrastination as totally NOT me. Cause I'm always busy. Ahem. I thought that it was about doing useless unimportant things like rearranging your collection of rare ear wax or reorganising your sock drawer based on percentage of cotton content, instead of cooking dinner. Or something like that.

You see, I felt like everything I was doing was super important and needed doing RIGHT THEN.

Busy or purposeful?

What I had to realise is I was sometimes a little too busy. So busy doing all the things that I was neglecting things that were crucial for my business success.

I was stunned to realise that I was actually sabotaging my business.

I knew I was avoiding jobs I didn't like. Erm, like writing down all my expenses for the month and then actually, oh I dunno, adding them up to see what my business was costing me. Just piddling little tasks like that. Ha.

But seriously, I had to face up to the fact that I am a master procrastinator, and every time I procrastinated I jeopardised the success of what I'd built.

Procrastination = Self Sabotage

The penny dropped in a Skype call with Anna Jonak from The Business School For Mums. I confessed that I hate doing the numbers and avoid them like the plague. Anna simply asked me, ‘What do you think will happen to your business in the future, if you keep avoiding those numbers? How will you measure your success? Will you know how your business is performing?’

We had an amazing discussion about many other things, but this one pulled me up short – how many times do I delay or put off essential business tasks and how is it affecting my business?

Procrastination is basically putting things off that need doing. Important things. Not always urgent, but certainly crucial. It's when you keep putting them off, until they get to a point of crisis or mismanagement.

As I mentioned, for months I put off actually adding up all the numbers for my business, Why? Not JUST because I was busy. Because of course I was. What Mum of three running a business from home isn't busy? Duh.

Procrastinating = Avoiding the truth

It was because I was avoiding the truth. I really didn't want to know what my results were, because I might have to face an uncomfortable truth. Like, maybe some things needed to change. Or I wasn't finding my target market as well as I thought. Or my biz might not be sustainable in this competitive market.

As long as the numbers were hazy and unclear, I didn't have to face these uncomfortable truths. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Right?

Wrong! I love my biz. I love what I do, and every product I handmake feels special. Every order makes me so excited and I dance around like a crazy person. And yet, with all this excitement, I was basically tearing my business down with my own hands.

By refusing to do difficult tasks until they became urgent and unavoidable, I was pulling the bricks from my business wall one at a time and throwing them away.

Move from Avoidance to Clarity

Crazy right? Even more so because when I faced uncomfortable facts and started to do the jobs I avoided, I was able to create a clear path of action through those hazy, grey mists of uncertainty.

I knew that by getting to know my numbers back to front (or at least be able to recognise them in the street) I could see how my business was performing financially.

I could analyse my past performance, and see what needed to change. Even more, I could use that to project where I wanted to be this time next year. I could plan effectively!

I went from feeling vague, confused and powerless, to feeling purposeful, clear and focussed.

It's Still Uncomfortable!

But guess what? I still feel uncomfortable. I still at times have to push myself to sit down with the week's numbers and update them. Sometimes I still run late and have to catch up. But I know – I'm equipped with knowledge now – that stops me going too far down that path again.

Now I know I can push past discomfort and do the work. Gain clarity. Make a plan. Do focussed work towards that plan. And get results.

So stop spinning your wheels. Enter those invoices. Write that about me page. Start up a mailing list. Allocate 20 minutes and just DO IT! Or – outsource it. Sometimes being purposeful is realising that we don't have the skills to complete a task and we need help to make progress.

Your future self will thank you. Not in a cool coming back from the future with weird glasses and a hover board way. But they totally will.

4 Steps to Smash Procrastination!

So here's a recap of what I have learnt (and am learning):

1. Recognise the things that you fear and avoid. Acknowledge them. Don't be an ostrich.
2. Articulate it! Write it down, tell someone, talk it through. Words have power.
3. Work through these questions – What will happen if I don't do it? What will happen if I do do it?
4. Write down a plan to do the thing. Upskill, outsource, or just plain knuckle down and work. Break it down into manageable chunks.

Resources I've found amazeballs:

• being a Member of Business School For Mums (you can find out more here www.businessschoolformums.com )
• ‘Plan It Out’ by Tracy Harris (www.mumswithhustle.com)
• Eisenhowers Urgent Important Matrix for prioritising work ( – introduced to me by Cassie Nguyen of www.eighteenfiftyone.com) – you can read more about it at www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/

Meet Keneena 

Lover of colour, words, puns, pattern clash and donuts. Definitely not a perfectionist. Keneena Fanning is the sole creator, maker and doer at Kablooie Store, her micro fashion label full of big bold happy pieces. Kablooie Store’s vision? To create fun fashion pieces for you and your child that look fabulous, and make you feel deep-down happy!

A wife and mum of three, Keneena has worked previously in economics, strategic financing, and project management, and holds a business degree in economics and resources management. True story.

Now, in between dreaming up new colour clashes, sewing and packing orders, and snapping flatlays, Keneena finds joy in the happy chaos of family and church life, loves to exercise and dreams of one day doing one handed pushups. Followed by a pepperoni pizza.

Web: www.kablooiestore.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/Kablooiestore
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kablooiestore

The post Procrastination – How to EMBRACE Discomfort And Make Real Progress In Your Biz Journey appeared first on Tracy Harris.

If you’re looking to increase your mailing list signups, having an interactive PDF download as an incentive is a great way to encourage more people to sign up. A printable PDF is fine, but often people will download it, forget to print it out and never look at it again. The most valuable resources you can provide your customers are ones they can USE, so let’s go through how you can easily make your PDF interactive using InDesign, right now.

Making your PDF interactive is surprisingly easy in InDesign. The difficult part is getting the design right. If you have no prior knowledge of graphic design and are keen to give it a go yourself (high fives!), I recommend you do a little light reading on the fundamentals of design first – I’ve got a short eBook that can help you with that.

If you already have some knowledge of the principles of design and are confident to give it a go, the main things that you need to keep in mind for this type of document design are:

Space

Your design needs space to breathe, and your audience needs space to think. If you’re pages are crammed full of text and lines and boxes and graphics, the reader will become overwhelmed or worse, bored, and won’t be able to digest the information sufficiently in order to get the most value out of the freebie. If you’re designing a workbook, give lots of room for text answers, or drawings, or doodling.

Typeface choice

The fonts you use are important, they set the tone of the freebie, convey emotions, and are really representing how you are speaking to your audience through the page. Make sure all text is legible (VERY legible!), and also fits with your overall branding strategy. Stick to 2 typefaces throughout the workbook (in a variety of weights if need be, to differentiate sub-headings and descriptions etc), and keep it consistent across everything else your brand puts out.

Colour choices

Firstly, keep your colours on-brand, but also, don’t be afraid of colour! A black and white text-based document is pretty boring for someone to consume, so (as long as it fits with your messaging) feel free to go for it with adding colour to your freebie. Always keep in mind legibility –  don’t put text over a colour background or pattern, but a colourful or patterned border around the content for example, can add visual interest and make your design pop.

Once you have the content of your free download and you have laid it out in the document, making sure your typeface choices are legible and consistent with your branding, you’ve given enough space to allow the design to breathe and your colour choices represent your messaging correctly, you’re ready to do the techy bit – adding the interactive elements. And we can do it in just two easy steps!

Step 1:

For a text area, first select the element you want your readers to be able to type into. Then go up to Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms, and select “Text Field” from the drop-down menu. You can adjust the other settings if you like, but really that’s all you need to do!

To create a checklist, create a small box, and in the “Buttons and Forms” dialogue box, select “check box”.

For checklists I like to create the first checkbox and then copy and paste that item down the list, to save a bit of time.

Now, the important part of an interactive PDF is being sure to save it properly. If you accidentally save for print, it won’t be interactive at all!

Step 2:

Go to File > Export, and choose “Adobe PDF (Interactive)”

On the following dialogue box you can choose your settings on how the PDF will be viewed by default when people open it (full page, full width etc), but the main thing is if you want the viewer to be able to print the PDF (a good idea since they may want to fill it in by hand, or fill it in digitally and then print), you need to ensure the Resolution (ppi) is set to 300, and JPEG Quality is set to High so your design prints well without being pixelated or blurry.

Once you’ve exported the file, it should open up a preview (if you had that option selected) and you can check everything works ok. If not go back and change whatever settings you need to, and re-export to PDF (don’t worry if this happens, I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and I still mess up my exporting like every other time haha).

And that’s it! Pretty do-able, right?

But what do you create?

Not sure what you could possibly create as an interactive download? Here’s a short list of examples to get you started, just find the type that would benefit your audience the most, swap in your industry and start creating!

• A checklist for a living room makeover (perhaps you sell art prints)
• A checklist for getting your garden ready for veggies (perhaps you teach home produce courses)
• A checklist of rainy day activities for kids (perhaps you sell kids craft kits)
• A checklist for detoxing your home (perhaps you sell eco friendly candles)
• A checklist for a maternity hospital bag (perhaps you’re a doula)
• A workbook for planning your engagement party (perhaps you sell wedding rings)
• A workbook for planning the perfect kids party (perhaps you sell party favours)
• A workbook for creating a content schedule (perhaps you’re a social media manager)
• A workbook for getting your kids to eat more healthily (perhaps you’re a nutritionist)
• A workbook for getting your art space set up perfectly (perhaps you’re an art teacher)

Hopefully these ideas give you a jumping off point to get started!

You can download a free trial of Adobe InDesign from the Adobe website, or you can subscribe for continued access starting at $23 per month for the single app (it gets cheaper per app if you get the full bundle). This can get a little exxy if you’re not designing stuff all the time, but if you know you only need to use the program occasionally, I would plan out your year to include months where you do all your PDF designs in that month, and then cancel your monthly subscription when you’re done. Alternatively you can always hire a professional designer, who will have access to the Adobe suite of programs all the time =)

Growing your email list really should be one of your main priorities if you run an online business, but asking people to give you their email address is a tall order – it’s like inviting yourself into their house without really knowing them. But if you bring a gift (like an apple pie or a free PDF download) that adds value to their lives, they will be much more willing to give you their information in return.

And now you know how to make it interactive, to add even more value =)

If you give this a try, please let us know in the comments below!

Meet Mikaela

Mikaela is a fun and friendly but sometimes-ranty (aka passionate) creative entrepreneur. Her sister died in 2005, and she now lives life to the fullest in her honour. She has run multiple businesses in various industries, and is a qualified graphic designer and teacher. Mikaela wants to empower women to pursue creativity in business and in life, through her online community for makers and creatives The Makers’ Collective (with a strict no BS policy), and online school The Makers’ Academy.

Web: http://themakerscollective.com.au/start-here/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themakersco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themakers.collective/

The post How to Create Interactive Workbooks Using InDesign appeared first on Tracy Harris.

Tell me, do you want to skyrocket your sales growth online?

Every single business owner I talk to – clients, students and others alike – wants to grow their sales in 2016. (Actually scratch that – I do have one client who told me I’ve made her so busy she can’t focus on growth right now, she’s too busy ramping up her production to keep up with orders! But I digress…)

The power of online customer loyalty

Back in the early days of of eCommerce, it was believed that customers were not loyal to any particular online retailer.  

The World Wide Web seemed to make customer loyalty irrelevant; at the click of a mouse, shoppers could effortlessly cover the globe in search of the lowest price, with little to hold them at one site.

(I would argue that many business owners who sell online today still work off this assumption, with the result that the one and only tactic they use to convert new sales is a discount or low-price strategy!)

Yet, while it’s true that online shoppers can skip easily from one site to the next, what’s actually happened is that many online shoppers are actually highly loyal to their favourite online store.

Tools such as Internet bookmarks and highly engaging content (including email and social media) have led to online shopping patterns that are loyal, almost addictive.

Today, loyal shoppers visit their favourite sites far more frequently than they would any bricks-and-mortar store. And as a Productpreneur – you want to be that website, right?

And it gets even better: high levels of customer loyalty can have an enormous impact on the profitability of your website sales.

A study by Bain & Company, Inc, demonstrated that online customer loyalty is a crucial factor in profitability, even more so than for offline companies. It also showed that small changes in loyalty alone, especially among the most profitable customers, can account for much higher profits in the longer term.

And by small changes – even a 5% increase in customer loyalty (repeat purchases from existing customers) can result in up to 95% growth in profits!

So, why does customer loyalty have such a large impact on a website’s profitability?

1. You won’t break even on one-time shoppers.

Because customer acquisition costs in e-commerce are high (that is the cost of converting a website visitor into a paying customer, such as the cost of advertising), to recoup your investment you need to convince customers to return to your site time and again.

For example, the average online apparel shopper in this example wasn't profitable for the retailer until he or she had shopped at the site four times. This implies that the retailer had to retain the customer for 12 months just to break even!

2. Repeat purchasers spend more and generate larger transactions.

The longer their relationship with an online retailer, the more customers spent in a given period of time. In the example shown above, the average repeat customer spent 67% more in months 31-36 of his or her shopping relationship than in months zero-to-six.

3. Repeat customers refer more people and bring in more business.

Word of mouth is the single most effective and economical way online retailers grow their business. Word of mouth referrals have the highest trust rating and new customers are likely to place their first order within 2 weeks of receiving that referral!

And loyalty, it turns out, can be a key driver for referrals. On average, a customer will refer three people after their first purchase, and after 10 purchases that same shopper had referred seven people to the site!

4. Referrals are powerful selling tools

It’s not surprising that 71% of online shoppers read reviews before they buy (Forrester Research).

Here’s a couple more impressive stats to wrap your brain around: according to Nielsen, 92% of people trust referrals from people they know, AND people are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend.

If ever there was a reason to make sure your customers are happy, this would be it!

How to make sure your customers are happy and coming back for more??

(Other than making sure the product or service you sell them is absolutely sensational of course!)

There’s an important thing you should do with all new customers after their first purchase and, in digital marketing speak, it’s called “on-boarding”.

So what the heck is on-boarding and, more importantly, HOW do you do it?

Essentially it’s welcoming new customers to your business and brand and ensuring their experience using or consuming your products is as enjoyable and successful as possible.

And the reason I want to introduce you to the term ‘on-boarding’ is because this is actually something you can automate in your marketing automation email application.

The on-boarding process in action

So, once a new customer places their first order with you, that purchase transaction should automatically trigger an email campaign as follows:

Example of a New Customer Email Campaign:

1. Welcome to “Brand Name” family (send immediately)
2. Share a ‘before and after’ transformation or case study, to reinforce decision to buy (send 3 days later)
3. Did your product arrive and is everything OK? (Send 2 days after your product should have arrived)
4. Share ‘how to use’ tips and tricks to ensure your customer can successfully use your product (send 3 days later)
5. Invitation to social media (for example, ‘show us what adventures your (insert product) has been up to! Tag us on Instagram)
6. Request a product review (send 3 days later)
7. Time-sensitive promotion – should be a cross sell or up-sell, related to the product they purchased (send 3 days later)
8. Follow-up reminder #1 about time sensitive promotion (send 2 days later)
9. Follow-up reminder #2 about time sensitive promotion (send 1 day later)

Now, in order to run automated campaigns triggered by a purchase, you will need to be using a marketing automation application – something like ActiveCampaign, or my preferred tool of choice Infusionsoft.

That way, it’s all hands-off for you, yet your customers are receiving relevant, personalised emails that are targeted towards their specific interests and the stage they’re at in their customer journey.

Download my Customer Onboarding campaign guide

Download my free guide for more help on how to create your own new customer onboarding email campaign. It includes a system for follow-ups that you can plug-and-play into your own business.

Meet Catherine 

Catherine Langman is the Founder and CEO of Productpreneur Marketing. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs with innovative, niche products to plan for growth, to get their products in the hands of more people, and to become a household brand (whilst stressing less, working smarter and enjoying yourself as much as possible!) An award-winning business owner herself, Catherine has extensive professional experience in product development, brand communications, digital design and online marketing for eCommerce businesses and direct-to-consumer brands.

Web: www.catherinelangman.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cathlangman 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cathlangman

The post How To Build A Loyal Audience Of Repeat Customers appeared first on Tracy Harris.

with Debbie Whincop of Spreading Roomers

C’mon ladies! Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about. Those stellar businesses in ‘our’ industries who seemingly hop out of bed every morning, looking like the ‘perfect fairy’ helped them get ready (cough – TRACY HARRIS!!). Eating a big fat bowl of ambition for breakfast, followed by a side of motivation; they spend the rest of the day ripping a new one into all they do but in the most amazingly, fabulously, on-point way that you were just about to….wait….damn it! She beat me to it!!!!!!!!

Hi hustlers! I’m Deb from Spreading Roomers. I’m the authenticity lover who creatively coaches businesses in the interiors and lifestyle sectors on how best to market their unique brand. I’m outside of the box and I like to talk about ‘core values’ a lot. Today however; I want to talk to you about competition and why I believe it’s a good thing.

WHAT IS COMPETTYTIVENESS?

…and why do you need to cut that sucker loose?
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve watched someone in my field kick goals like its grand final day, and I’ll be the first to admit, in my very early days I likely invested way too much time and energy concerning myself with what they might do next (inner psychic abilities – check! Stalking abilities – check! slightly unhinged – check!).
What’s insane about this pathway is that it’s not a positive one. It creates doubt, insecurity, comparisonitis (that’s for another blog post), fear, but most of all – total dilution of your own brand story, and that equals – really bad for your business!!

BUT I WAS JUST ABOUT TO DO THAT – I MUST DISLIKE THIS PERSON FOREVER!!

Right? Absolutely not!!
So they beat you to it; good for them. If you had the ‘idea’ but did nothing about it, it makes total sense to blame someone that did? [side note : this blog is called ‘compettytiveness’ not ‘copycats’ – that’s another blog post].

Or perhaps it’s a conspiracy. Yeah, that sounds about right, it’s the universe's way of telling you you’re not cut out for this. Where were you? What if it’s the universe's way of providing you with an industry GPS? Like a navigation system that equips you with learning, invaluable observation, market research and friendship.

DID SHE JUST SAY FRIENDSHIP?

I know on paper it seems unlikely, and if I were to be brutally honest, it still requires a solid inner radar on approach and perhaps a little skipping around the periphery before you start exchanging apple pie recipes and 4 ingredient cocktails (but that’s another blog post!). But; once you are satisfied that this individual is on the level, then proceed with arms open ladies!!
Firstly; you have absolutely nothing to lose. They are already your competitor. You are already loosely on opposing sides, but here’s the thing so many (in particular) women in business totally glean over and that is you have NO idea how amazing THEY think YOU are!

LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE

It’s the energetic law of the universe. ENERGY aligns where it feels most strong. You will be compelled toward certain individuals and those toward you so follow your instincts on this. Once you have cut through the small talk of babies, setting up business, or the overuse of the snapchat flower crown, you will quickly move onto the really chewy stuff – what you do well. This is GROWTH conversation ladies!

It's’ a very simple but clever way for you to quickly audit and assess your own business model – remembering you are unique to you, you believe in authenticity and you applaud those who do it well. This is not an exercise in stealing ideas, products or service. It’s a gentlewoman's agreement to respect and use each other’s knowledge, experience, failures, successes and growth as additional structure and steering.

BENEFITS OF A COMPADRE-ISM

Forgetting for a second that you get save precious ‘air time’ having to constantly explain your day, situation or issue (as they just get it – sorry husbands or wives – but FINALLY!!!) I’ve highlighted 13 ways that befriending your competition can be of benefit to business owners :

1. MINDSET PART 1

This is the school yard dilemma all over again but the bigger person actually does rise above petty to and fro and quickly realises it’s in THEIR best interest to run a less mentality exhausting journey. It’s a cleansing!

2. BRAND STORY

How do you propose to author your own authentic voice, content and brand without having any understanding of your competitor’s. This is also why SWOT can be so invaluable.

3. COLLABORATION

The best way to compete is alongside someone who makes you ‘lift’ (not talking kg’s here!)

4. CRITIQUE

You get unrivalled feedback where you best require it – gold!

5. SUPPORT

Being an entrepreneur can be lonely with few you can trust; now you can.

6. ACCOUNTABILITY

It’s like an unspoken spell but suddenly you’d rather cut your own ear off then drop the ball. Motivational lapses and self-doubt self-sabotages become less frequent.

7. GROWTH

The sooner you can face your fears and understand your competition, the better equipped you will be to identifying your own strengths and gaps in the current market.

8. OPPORTUNITY

This stems directly from 7. New doors will open as soon as your mindset does.

9. MINDSET PART 2

You no longer assume that everyone does it better than you and you begin to realise you have something fabulous to offer.

10. REPUTATION

Word of mouth IS actually the Holy Grail of marketing. People talk. Make it worth their while. A recommend from a fellow industry player is premium in the rep stakes.

11. OUTSOURCING

If you were swamped and unable to accommodate all the ins and outs of small business, who would you ask for recommends that you felt you could really rely on?

12. LEARNING

Skills learnt direct from your industry are typically cream!

13. GIVING BACK

Being able to guide others who look up to you is how this revolving door of give and take works. It will build your self-esteem and fine tune your own processes.
The key to being great at what you do not only comes from putting in the hard yards but also by accepting how great other people can be too. If nailing stellar and sincere word of mouth is the Holy Grail of marketing, this is one of the major hotspots on the map to achieving it and enjoying the journey. Think smarter not harder.

MEET DEBBIE 

Spreading Roomers is a little different to most creative businesses. Having dedicated my services to the niche platform of interiors, lifestyle and design I have the ability to provide a unique but personal style of business coaching. Think engaged fearless creative with a rare fusion of business sense and a true passion for your core values and brand personality. Why? Because I’m completely in love with the industry (and I’m a firm believer that boundaries were created to provoke a little push and shove)!

CONNECT WITH DEBBIE

Web: https://www.spreadingroomers.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.whincop 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/spreading_roomers

The post How To Turn Your Compettytiveness Into Compardreism appeared first on Tracy Harris.