Greetings from the “Big Bend” area of Texas. The RV is parked in Lajitas, a small town that is a stone’s throw from the Mexican border and where we will be enjoying good internet and warm temps for the first half of winter. Open and honest, I love this life!

I hope you found our last conversation about the power of belonging to a group to be useful and inspires you to start/join a group if you are not already in one. Sure, you can go it alone. But why would you want to? Aren’t there more important/fun things you want to do?

On to this week. The most persistent hurdle (excuse) to practice development success that I hear is, “I don’t know how to do that.” You learn about a great idea from a colleague, you sit down to do it, and you realize you don’t know where to start. Well, this is how you do it.

And if you’re new to the blog, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

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Just a reminder that all of my past newsletters are available on my blog. And if you are looking for something that I previously wrote or recorded in the past, you can type some keywords into the blog’s search box and find the relevant post.

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So let’s set the stage.

Someone advises you to take a specific practice development action.
Say they have the idea for you to create an industry newsletter.
No one else in your niche is doing it.
You enjoy writing and are good at it.
The newsletter will make you stand out to your audience of leads, prospects, clients, and referral sources.
You are excited.

But first, you need a way to distribute the newsletter.
To do that, you need names and email addresses of people to send it to.
To do that, you need a place where people can sign up to receive it.
To do that, you’re told you need a lead magnet to induce people to give you their name and email address.

And then it hits you.
You want to write the newsletter.
The source for the newsletter idea made it sound easy.
But you’ve not done it before, and now you’re mired in the steps to get there.
And you aren’t even sure where to start.
But you want to do it because you know it would propel your practice forward.

Here are five options I suggest to my coaching clients for getting their practice development projects completed. They are ordered from least time/effort to most.

#1 – Hire someone.

That’s right … my first idea is that YOU don’t do it.
And here is why.

Strategic Coach teaches a concept called Unique Ability. Imagine a shooting target with concentric rings. The outermost ring is filled with stuff you are INCOMPETENT at. Things that, when you do them, lead to stress, frustration, conflict, and failure.

The next ring in is filled with stuff you are COMPETENT at. Things that are mostly repetitive and cause you anxiety because you have to do them frequently and, when you do, you still only meet minimum quality standards.

The next ring in is filled with stuff you are EXCELLENT at. Things that require your superior skills and that you have a great reputation for doing. But you have no passion for doing them.

The target bullseye is your UNIQUE ABILITY. Things you do that demonstrate your superior ability and, when you do them, other people take notice. Things that energize you and you keep getting better when you do them.

Now let’s assume that writing the newsletter is your Unique Ability. All of the other stuff – the lead magnet, the capturing of the names and email addresses, and the actual distribution – fall into those various outer target rings.

Want to get that email list started? A search I did on Fiverr produced a MailChimp expert who will create your email sign-up form, autoresponder, and newsletter template for $50.

Want to offer your subscribers a lead magnet in return for their email address? On Upwork, I found someone who will format your content into a 20-page ebook for just $100.

And oh yeah, the Fiverr and Upwork people are top-rated by those who have hired them in the past.

#2 – Watch a YouTube video.

YouTube literally has millions of instructional videos that you can easily search. And not only will you hear someone tell you how to do it via their audio narrative, they will demonstrate how to do it via their video recording. And the videos are free.

#3 – Crowdsource answers to your questions.

Whatever you need to do by way of practice development, some colleague of yours has likely already done it. So hit up someone you already know.

If you can’t think of anyone in your circle, post your questions on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Ask: “What’s a good platform for creating and managing my email list?” or “What kind of lead magnet have you had success with?” Within a day or two, you’ll get practical advice (and related links) from others who’ve been down the road you’re on.

#4 – Take an online course.

From MIT and Harvard to Thinkific and Udemy, online course options and subjects abound and can be found with a simple Google search. Want to write a white paper to educate your prospects on the advantages of working with a professional like you? Udemy currently has two classes on how to write a white paper that cost $10.99 each and take two hours or less.

#5 – Read a book on the subject.

The upside of books is that they are easy to find and inexpensive to purchase. The downside is that reading a book can take hours and, unlike video, likely only offer text-based learning.

So what

Information and implementation are two different things. Even if you take copious notes in options 2, 3, 4, and 5, nothing is going to change until you implement. And I can almost guarantee that’s where you’ll get stuck … and that’s why I recommend option 1!

In real life

When I needed to convert my videos from raw iPhone footage to finished YouTube productions, I thought about doing it myself. Then I came to my senses.

So I found someone on Upwork who does this for me. I’ve done 30 videos to date … he charges me $15 per video (he originally wanted $10 but I insisted on $15) … that’s a total of $450 I’ve spent so far.

The end result:

• I did not have to figure it out and learn how to get better at it. All of my videos have been professionally done from day 1.
• My opportunity cost is my hourly billing rate. If I had chosen to do this myself, it likely would have taken me hours and thousands of dollars in otherwise billable time to figure it out.
• It’s done. Meaning, once I figured out how many moving parts there were in my vidoe project, I might have given up before I had one video to show for it.

Because “I don’t know how to do that.”
Now, you know.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you like my blog, please recommend it to a colleague.

– If you want to get a sense of how well your practice is working for you, get a Practice Self Assessment.

Greetings from Brentwood, TN. I am in the middle of a whirlwind speaking tour … yesterday was North Haven, CT and tomorrow will be Baton Rouge, LA. Meanwhile, Amy is holding down the RV in Albuquerque, NM, our last stop before wrapping up this year’s travel season.

Last week, I wrote about promoting your speaking events on social media. It’s a professional way for your leads, prospects, clients, and referrals sources to see what you’re up to, and by extension, that you have authority in the subject matter or else you wouldn’t be speaking.

On to this week. In my last post, I shared the after-the-fact speaking promotions I posted to LinkedIn. People emailed me to ask if I always get those numbers of Likes, Comments, and Views on my posts … and, more to the point, how much engagement do you need to make LinkedIn worth the effort.

And if you’re new to the blog, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

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Just a reminder that all of my past newsletters are available on my blog. And if you are looking for something that I previously wrote or filmed in the past, you can type some keywords into the search box and find the relevant post.

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LinkedIn, you either love it or hate it (or don’t understand it). There is not enough space in this post to talk about everything LinkedIn. So, today, I am concentrating only on improving your LinkedIn engagement.

And no, not all my posts get the kind of engagement you saw on last week’s speaking promotions. Some of my posts bomb … I’d say it’s crickets out there, but crickets make noise!

But many of my posts are home runs … grand slams even.

Three rules for creating engagement

Here’s what I do to improve the odds of hitting it out of the park. I would call it the secret sauce except that it’s no secret; it’s common sense. I follow three rules.

#1 – I always try to share content that will be useful to my audience of leads, prospects, clients, and referral sources. And I always quote a key point or offer my take to let my audience know what the content is about and how it might affect/ influence their practices.

#2 – None of the content I share is salesy of/for my services, or overtly so. I am on LinkedIn to help and connect others, an altruistic endeavor. I give without the expectation of getting anything in return, though it often happens – Karma.

#3 – I remember that LinkedIn is a conversation, albeit a digital one. When someone comments on one of my articles… I COMMENT BACK … gasp! I acknowledge them for noticing the article and ask them a question to further the conversation – either as a reply to my reply or an email or a message.

One of my recent posts that did well

Here is an example of what I am talking about.

I found an article on Entrepreneur.com about how to bring in higher-end clients – either in terms of project complexity/challenge or better fees (though the former will likely lead to the latter). That kind of information is certainly going to be useful to my coaching connections.

(If you’re interested, you can read the original article here: 5 Simple Adjustments That Bring In High-End Clients Consistently.)

I shared the article, along with a catchy introduction for it: When you started your practice, the goal was to build consistent revenue. In the beginning, you weren’t choosy about your clients. But as your practice grows, you learn an important lesson: NOT ALL CLIENTS ARE WORTH THE REVENUE.

My post initially garnered about 1,500 views (the count is now over 1,600) along with 11 likes and a handful of comments. I “Liked” each person’s comment, and I “Replied” to each comment. You know, just like if you were having a real conversation with someone who was talking to you about your article.

As your post gains more Likes, Comments, and Views, the LinkedIn algorithm senses the activity and inserts your post in even more of the feeds of your connections AND your connections’ connections. And your message spreads.

In real life

If you are sharing content that is not generating Likes, Comments, and Views, answer these three questions:

(i) Is the content valuable to your connections, or did you just post something to post something?

(ii) Did you tell your audience what about the article made it important enough for you to share with them?

(iii) If a few people did Like/Comment on your post, did you try to further the conversation?

So what

I am always looking for content to share with my LinkedIn connections. Chances are I am reading the content for my own knowledge anyway, so it’s just a quick step to share it.

And because LinkedIn accounts for a huge portion of leads for my valuation and coaching practices, I track the engagement of my posts so I can see which content resonates (so I can find/share more of that stuff) and which content doesn’t (so I don’t share any of that stuff).

If this doesn’t sound like too much work to you – remember, the alternative is lunches and networking and nonprofit boards, which can and do take hours of your time – then LinkedIn can turn into a lead generating tool for you. And then you can just smile and nod when you hear someone say: Yeah, I tried LinkedIn and it didn’t work.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you like my blog, please recommend it to a colleague.

– If you want to get a sense of how well your practice is working for you, get a Practice Self Assessment.

Greetings from La Veta, CO. We are at 7,000 feet of elevation, and it snowed on Sunday … definitely not our kind of weather. One more stop after this (Albuquerque, NM) before we make like geese and head south for the winter.

Last week I wrote about the differences between email newsletters and blogs. Both allow you to communicate with your audience of leads, prospects, clients, and referral sources – but in different ways and with different results. I hope what I pointed out helps you make the best choice for your writing endeavors.

On to this week. Before I head out to any speaking event, I promote it on social media. You should, too, so that your leads, prospects, clients, and referrals sources (not all of whom will be at your event) can see what you’re up to, and by extension, that you have Authority in the subject matter or else you wouldn’t be speaking.

And if you’re new to the blog, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

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Hey, as long as I am talking about promoting it let’s acknowledge that public speaking is a learned behavior as much as an art form. In this Solopreneur Hour podcast, you’ll hear some of the tips and tricks for building a great performance and engaging your audience. It’s worth the listen if you’re planning a presentation, a webinar, or even a Facebook or LinkedIn Live.

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Authority

First, let’s talk about authority. It’s what you’re known for. It’s your competitive advantage. It stems from:

#1 – Having specialized knowledge AND advancing your unique perspective of it. Corollary … you can’t have Authority if you are a generalist.

#2 – Being known for that expertise AND getting publicly recognized for it. Corollary … you can’t have Authority if no one knows you exist.

Your speaking events let you advance your perspective of your knowledge.

Promoting your speaking events help you to get recognized for your efforts.

How and where to promote

When I say I “promote” my speaking events on “social media,” what exactly do I mean?

Well, I tell people where I’m going, when I’m going/speaking, what I’m speaking about, and whom I’m speaking for and to. You’ll see the exact messages I send in the images below.

Next, I send out those messages on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. And so I must point out that in order for your promotions to get the most traction, the lion’s share of people who follow you on a social media platform like LinkedIn should be people who care about what you do, the Authority you have, and be able to send work your way.

My typical promotion and recent results

So I just came back from speaking at the ASA Advanced Business Valuation Conference in Anaheim. For every speaking event, I send out three messages: one to let people know I am en route … one as I am taking the stage … and one when I am returning home. And they carry the event’s specific social media hashtag.

Here are the messages I sent on LinkedIn … check out the engagement statistics of Likes, Comments, and Views. By way of reference, I have 1,632 connections.

Going to the event …

Getting ready to speak …

Returning home …

And while the Likes, Comments, and Views are great (they are just vanity metrics, after all), I get messages and emails from people who have been reminded about the coaching I do, that it has been on their minds, and now it is time to meet up or schedule a call. So more importantly, this kind of messaging leads to real work.

In real life

Three simple messages … this is easy stuff. Actually, the hardest part may be remembering to do it! To help with that, I add the promotion step to my speaking checklist (yes, I have a speaking checklist).

But to make it foolproof, I automate the messages. I know when I am leaving for the event … I know when I am speaking … and I know when I am returning home. So about a week before the event, I schedule the messages. I use Buffer to do this, but other social media apps have similar scheduling tools.

So what

Somewhere along my career, I picked up this tidbit: If you don’t blow your own horn, no one else will. Self-promotion is not a bad thing if the message and the frequency hit the mark.

And while what I wrote here related to speaking events, the process can work for your just-published articles as well.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you like my blog, please recommend it to a colleague.

– If you want to get a sense of how well your practice is working for you, get a Practice Self Assessment.