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Where Do I Start?

Where Do I Start? Tools To Help Launch Your Business Online

In this guest post, Kate Schell, aka Digital Marketing Momma shares an exhaustive list of resources to help you launch your online business. Dig in!

Are you ready to earn 6 Figures This Year In Your Business?

Learn The Techniques to Earn 6 Figures!

Join My Program And I’ll Show You How To Make Millions!

How many of these headlines do you see every day?  I know my inbox is flooded with emails and offers with experts trying to give me their secret to 6-figure success.

Truth be told… I fell for a lot of these marketing pitches.  I bought programs and listened to endless webinars about how to make the big bucks in my business.  I spent a lot of money trying to learn how to be rich.  Funny concept huh?  Spend a ton to learn how to make a ton.

Here’s what I found out.  Most of these high-level courses and programs are mostly strategy.  A system that was “created” by the expert that made THEM a lot of money.

Strategy is great, but what about the how-to piece of it all?

That’s where most of these programs were sorely lacking.  I love strategies like everyone else but if you’re not showing me how to do something, then I’m no better off and now I’m probably even more overwhelmed.

Here’s an example.  I studied an amazing program on Launches.  It’s a massive program that many many many people have studied and followed and succeeded using.

The content of the program is awesome, but here’s the thing.  At the end, I still wasn’t clear of where I should start.  Like, what’s Step 1?

Think about it this way – houses need a foundation.  A concrete, solid footing to hold it up.  It doesn’t matter the size of the house, it will still need a foundation.

Think about your business in the same way.  Whether you are just starting out or have built a successful business – you still need the foundation to support it.

What makes up the foundation:

  • branding and logo
  • website
  • sales and landing pages
  • email marketing program
  • a way to receive payments
  • social media profiles
  • a way to call/video chat with prospects and clients

These are the basics.

Then we get into the more specific needs of a business like:

  • a webinar program
  • facebook advertising
  • email automation
  • blogging
  • content creation
  • offers and packages
  • online trainings and courses
  • tracking online analytics

and so on…

Keep in mind, these are just some of the starting points for an online business.  It all depends on what type of business you have and what you are offering.

It also depends on your audience.  Maybe they aren’t very tech savvy so social media for them isn’t that important. Who knows? Your business set-up is just as unique as you are.

That’s why getting started can feel super complicated.  You are probably looking for someone to tell you how to set up YOUR business and that manual doesn’t exist.  You’ve probably been trying to piece together the advice of many and it’s confusing.

A very good friend who runs her own business said to me “I have this amazing network of entrepreneurial people and they all have amazing advice and feedback for me. However, I’m taking the advice of many and some of it conflicts and I’m getting confused.”

As solopreneurs we are in charge of it all and when it’s time to figure out how to do something for our business we go to Google and try and figure it out.  Do you remember the scene in Alice in Wonderland when Alice falls down the rabbit hole….  That’s what Google is.  The endless rabbit hole of information and it’s very hard to know what’s right and what’s garbage.

So What Do We Do?

The first thing to do is set aside so time (I know, time, haha, who has extra time?) and figure out what it is you NEED to run your business.

What systems do you need to move things along smoothly?

Let’s use a Business Coach as an example:

A business coach may need:

  • A Website/Blog
  • Email Accounts/Email Marketing
  • Payment Gateway/Online Banking
  • Intake Forms (preferably ones that can be e-signed)
  • Social Media Profiles
  • Dedicated phone line/Cell
  • Skype or a similar video conference program
  • Appointment Scheduler that links to a gmail calendar

What systems could this coach use?

  • Website/Blog – WordPress
  • Email Account – Gmail For Business
  • Email Marketing – AWeber or MailChimp
  • Payment Gateway – PayPal
  • Intake Forms – Google Docs
  • E-Sign Forms – DocuSign
  • Facebook Business Page (if applicable)
  • Twitter Profile (if applicable)
  • LinkedIn Profile (if applicable)
  • Instagram (if applicable)
  • Pinterest (if applicable)
    (why did you write “if applicable”?  Well, you should focus your social media efforts on the platform your audience hangs out in.  No need for social media overwhelm when you are getting started)
  • Dedicated Phone Line:  Very few of us have landlines these days BUT keep in mind if you are going to be interviewed for podcasts or radio shows a landline is more reliable than a cell.
  • Video Calls: Skype
  • Appointment Scheduler:  TimeTrade or ScheduleOnce

There are many “shiny objects” out there that will promise you “great results”.  Try not to sign up for all of the latest and greatest programs and platforms.  Figure out what you need as you get started and then when those systems are working well, consider adding more advanced systems.

I’m sure you are now really curious about these “advanced systems” – here are a few that you may roll up into:

Opt-Ins and Lead Magnets:

If you are at the point where you may be considering doing webinars, or would like to create easy to use sales pages with opt-ins, or want to test a few different lead magnets (or freebie downloads), you may consider using LeadPages. The pro plan is $49/mo and is an investment, however, if you are ready to create some really cool and user friendly sales pages and opt-ins, this is a really great program to try.

Social Media Scheduling:

If posting to social media is becoming a pain, you may want to try these options for an all-in-one system for scheduling and managing all of your social media profiles in one place.

  • Hootsuite:  Easy to use.  You can manage all of your social profiles in one place.
  • Edgar:  Manage profiles and Edgar will recycle the content for you.
  • Beatrix:  Manage your profiles and Beatrix will recommend content for your to share.

Webinar Platforms:

If you are ready to start adding webinars into your marketing toolkit, here are some suggestions:

  • Zoom: Easy to use. Capable of screensharing or just showcasing your smiling face
  • GoToWebinar:  Expensive, but very user friendly
  • WebinarJam:  Has a ton of added features
  • StealthSeminar: If you’d like to run pre-recorded webinars

Advanced Analytics Tracking:

If you are a numbers lover and like to see the analytics on your website and social media posts you may consider some of these.

QuillEngage: An easy to understand report for your Google Analytics.  Report emailed weekly

Need Content to Share for Social Media?

  • YouTube:  Find a video that’s relevant to your business, share the video and comment.
  • Quora:  Want to know what your ideal customer is asking?  Go to Quora and find out.
  • Alltop:  Great source of content to share.  Search by topic.
  • Google Trends:  Why not go straight to the search Giant for top content?
  • Buzzsumo: With a free account you can search the top content shared.

Stock Photos:

Need some awesome photos for social media, blog posts or your website?

These are just a few of the amazing programs that are available out there. Trust me – new ones are popping up everyday!

Try some of these out. Jump over to Facebook and share any that I may have left out!

Good luck my busy entrepreneurs!!

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Kate Schell, aka Digital Marketing Momma is an entrepreneur and crazy busy mom to four. Digital marketing, online business models, funnels and sales strategies are her drive and passion in business! She gobbles up anything and everything that has to do with online business and backend technology systems. But her true passion lies in supporting women entrepreneurs in building their businesses and CRUSHING their fears around technology and digital marketing!

SocialMonday Podcast – Social Media Tips for Authors and Writers

Last week I was honored to be a guest on the SocialMonday Podcast! I was sharing social media tips and online marketing strategies for authors, journalists and writers.  Hosts Bob Turner and Jason Goff were really fun and engaging.  They were kind enough to hear the story about how I got started in this business – and I divulge where my handle @sheesalt came from.  Any guesses?
Listen in and if you like what you hear, you can subscribe to the SocialMonday podcast on iTunes for weekly social media tips, news and advice.

Where Do I Find Content for Social Media Posts?

Congratulations.  You’ve got your blog posts up and running and your promotional posts all set, but then you realize it’s all about you – and you haven’t begun to share anything else on your social media platforms.  Hold on a minute . . . to state the obvious, social media is about being social and engaging with others while sharing valuable information that is relevant, timely, informative and ideally even entertaining.

Balancing your social media posts with a healthy dose of third party (other people’s) content is a terrific strategy to keep your social media consistent and robust as well as establishing you as a reliable source for interesting and engaging content that resonates with your ideal audience.Instead of spending hours scouring the Internet, here are five easy (and FREE!) go-to sources for finding great content:

 

Your Facebook News Feed – Ideally, you have “liked” other Facebook pages that are relevant to your business or industry.  They could be news sources, associations, blogs, partners or other like-minded parties in your space.  Regardless, a regular run-through your Facebook Page’s News Feed, where you find the top or most recent posts from these sources is sure to garner many ideas, articles and posts for you to share (using Facebook as your business page, you can find the business page News Feed when you click on “Home” in the upper right hand corner of the Facebook page).

 

Twitter Lists – Using Twitter lists is an easy way to filter Twitter feeds into manageable streams of related content from a select group of Twitter accounts.  For example, I have a created a “SMPeeps” list of people who post regularly and often about social media.  Going directly to that list enables me to dive right into a treasure trove of current, trending and popular posts that I can easily retweet and share (you can also simply search on keywords (ex. #socialmedia) for a quick filter on a particular subject but the caveat is that you may not have as reliable sources as you would if you had selected them for a Twitter list).

 

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Feedly – Whether you are sharing other people’s content or you simply want to get caught up on all of your favorite blogs and websites, Feedly is awesome at bringing it all together in one place for your easy review.  You can set up Feedly by logging in with one of your social media accounts, then start adding your favorite blogs and article sources to your Feedly account.  You can also slice and dice the feeds by subject matter, if you find that you have added varied and unrelated sources.

StumbleUpon – Though it’s been around for a while, I’m relatively new to StumbleUpon. I find it helps to discover recent and relevant content that others have already established as popular or engaging, so you already know that this will probably be popular with your audience.  Like the others, StumbleUpon relies on you to select interests to help you find content on a particular subject.

 

Industry Newsletters – Let others do the work for you.  If you subscribe to any sort of industry or insider email newsletter, chances are that they are also sharing “other people’s content” with the focus on keeping you up-to-date with what’s new and hot.  One of my favorites is Mari Smith’s “Social Scoop.”  Every Friday she shares what she considers the best of the best in the social media space.  What email do you most value and what can you share from it?

Also, if you are using a third party social media applications like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Rallyverse (sadly, Buffer shut down their “Suggestions” tool this month), most of them use algorithms that review your accounts, posts, keywords, trending news (among other things) to find and recommend content customized for you. It’s not necessarily 100% accurate, but it’s a good place to start to sometimes discover something you might otherwise have missed

With the exception of newsletters, each of these options requires a small amount of time to set up with the right sources or searches, but once you do, you’ll see how they can become your one stop resource for staying up to date and finding the right content to share.

Lastly, a few ninja notes about sharing others’ content: 

  • Share your perspective or point of view about why you are sharing the content – don’t just throw something up for the sake of posting.  It’s a missed opportunity to use your voice and differentiate yourself or your business.
  • Don’t share an article or post unless you have read it – many times you may find great sounding titles of posts or articles that have nothing to do with the actual content of the piece.
  • Always give credit and/or tag the source of the content you are sharing.  It often can become a great way to get know peers and influencers in your industry.
  • Thank others when they share your content – what comes around goes around!

Do you have a favorite source for finding content? Please share in the comments below.  Interested in learning more about online marketing? Sign up for my newsletter, or connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.   Thanks!

Ready for a kickstart?

Are you tired of being overwhelmed and feeling like you don’t understand how to effectively get your social media, email newsletter and website to work together?  Then how about a little summer school?  No books, no desks, it’s just you and me and six online classes in July where you’ll “Kickstart Your Online Marketing” in less than three weeks!

With this summer school model, you’ll get tips, tools and insights how to best approach, plan and execute your online marketing to better reach your ideal audience and grow your presence online.

Click here to learn more and sign up now – early bird discounts available until July 3rd!  (Yes, I went out of my comfort zone again and made another video!)

I’m also offering online marketing makeovers if you SIGN UP WITH A FRIEND – so please share this with anyone you think might be interested.   I so look forward to helping you with your ONLINE MARKETING KICKSTART!

An Inside Look At A Social Media Marketing Firm

Over the past month, I had the good fortune to have Kate Halabi, a high school senior intern, work alongside me during a very, very busy few weeks. While it was incredibly valuable (and fun!) to have such a bright, talented, and eager person working with me every day, it was also energizing to share the what, why and how of this constantly shifting industry.   As I think Kate learned, there’s a lot more that goes into successful online marketing campaigns than sitting around posting cute puppy pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Here’s what Kate had to say about her internship:

“I’ve been working at as an intern at Sheed Communications for nearly a month now, and the time has flown by. I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to work with Nancy, who is dynamic, skilled, personable, and kind. Nancy introduced me to Google Analytics, Canva, Animoto, Hootsuite, MailChimp, TweetDeck, and several other useful social media management tools that she uses to run her business and support her clients.  

MailChimp has been especially interesting to look into, as it provides a platform for the marketing emails that I’ve so often received, but never really understood. The site allows you to design a sequence of professional-looking emails for those who subscribe to your email list. It provides a whole different perspective of social media and marketing than what I’m accustomed to as a consumer. 

I also analyzed the success of various social media posts in relation to others by digging into the mechanics of Facebook, and measured the reach of our clients’ newsletters by looking at open and click rates, URL clicks, and more. I’ve researched live streaming apps like Meerkat and Periscope, and created a promotional video using Animoto. I helped to coordinate a tweet chat and associated raffle, and set up filters in Google Analytics to ensure that the data we report to clients isn’t artificially inflated. Each of these projects gave me a better understanding of how the social media marketing world functions and how it helps entrepreneurs and small business grow their online platforms. 

I saw how Nancy stays current with the social media and marketing world when we attended a seminar at the Stamford Innovation Center. The event introduced best practices in the field, and discussed the ways in which the online world is shifting. It taught me the value of keeping abreast of developments in such a rapidly changing field. 

Nancy has taught me what a true entrepreneur is. She balances her time between work and family, transitioning from one to the other with ease. Nancy has designed her work to fit into other aspects of her life. Most of all, she does something she loves, and is very good at. Working for her has been a pleasure. Nancy sets an upbeat and relaxed, yet productive tone for her business. I have witnessed this firsthand, and she conveys the same energy to her colleagues, who work from all different locations. It takes someone excellent at communications to run a business with so many disparate parts so smoothly.”

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I am humbled.  Big thanks to Kate! I will miss having her smile, can-do-spirit and, not to mention, all of her help.  But lest you think I am a merry band of one, I must also give shout-outs of huge thanks and gratitude to the rest of the crew that that continues to support Sheed Communications (in order of length of time working together):

All of these women (yes, note all women!) are pros in their field and passionate about what they do.  I’m so lucky.

And what about you?  Who helps you and is critical to your support team?  Please share in the comments below.  Thanks!