I’m launching a new blog series called Netiquette: online dos and don’ts for social media. Have a question? Tweet me with any of your social media and online business questions @kerrierycroft and it might be featured on the blog soon!
A hot topic at the moment is whether or not you should be able to add people to your facebook group without their prior permission. This is one question that is guaranteed to encourage a strong answer in either direction, either from those people who regularly add others to their group and see nothing wrong with it to those people who do not like to be added to groups without their permission.
I fall into the second camp. Daily I wake up to find that I have been added to a number of groups overnight and suddenly my timeline can be full of their posts. I find this really disrespectful and also a total waste of time from the group owners point of view.
The very first thing I do is leave the group. Sometimes I may defriend or unfollow the person who has done it. I may even message them and tell them why it was inappropriate. I have never stayed in a group that I did not choose to join.
Consent is huge in this world. The general rule of being brilliant online is do not take anyone’s personal information (email, phone, Facebook profile etc) and add them to any marketing source without their express permission.
Would you take someone’s email address and add them to your newsletter list without asking them? Hopefully not. Most mailing lists require a double optin and the risk of being seen as sending spam means that most business owners are aware that it is not right to just add someone to a list without permission.
Same applies for a Facebook group. If I choose to join a group I am able to control what notifications I receive, I can choose how I want to see the data that is shared and I can decide if I am indeed their target customer and am interested in what they have to say.
If you add me without my permission you take away that choice. Plus you run the risk of pissing me off. In addition if I am not your target customer then you have totally wasted your time as I am not going to be interested in what your group has to offer me.
The last thing any online business wants to do is to annoy potential customers, or other people in the industry. Look at it in the same respect as an offline business, junk mail and cold calling is frowned upon - yes? Adding people to your mailing list or Facebook group is JUST THE SAME. If you wouldn’t do one then don’t do the other.
I spoke to a number of business owners on Facebook about this subject and with one exception everyone agreed that it was bad manners and bad practice. A few people asked what else they could do to promote their groups and I’ve come up with a short list here that explains to you what you can do to encourage people to join your group.
1 - Message them and invite them. Everyone loves the personal touch.
2 - Post in your group and ask people to invite their friends.
3 - Post on your personal profile and link t your group, invite people to join.
4 - Send out a newsletter to your list and invite them to join.
5 - Include a link to your group in a blog post or in your email signature.
There are many good ways that you can grow your business online and find new customers, spamming people without their express permission is not one of them
I am a big fan of using my own artwork for my blog imagery and social media updates. Stock imagery is fine, it does the job, but it doesn’t exactly make you stand out from the crowd, does it?
Every time I create something, I take step-by-step photos for multiple reasons - content for blog posts, behind-the-scenes updates and, the reason we’re all here today, fodder for social media graphics.
I know what you’re going to say…
“It’s easy for you. You’re an artist.”
“I don’t have the time/supplies/skills.”
Well you’re wrong! Today I’m going to show you five SUPER simple techniques that will help you create your own unique backgrounds which can then be edited using apps such as Canva, A Beautiful Mess or Picmonkey:
Using cheap kiddy markers, scribble on a piece of card. Spritz with water. Once the colours have started to merge a little, wiggle the card a little so that the colour runs and creates interesting patterns.
Brush craft paint onto a piece of card. Once this dry, print a design over the top using a foam stamp.
Grab a black biro and scribble over a piece of card. Pull out a couple of colours of felt tip pen, and scribble in layers over the top.
Snip shapes from an old magazine, and glue down to create a patchwork effect.
Drip three paint colours onto your surface, and scrape across with a plastic card.
So there you have it - five backgrounds you can use as a springboard for your graphics!
Here are my top tips for making the most of them:
>> Tailor the colours and shapes you use to match your website’s branding.
>> Crop different sections out, so that you have a series of backgrounds that “go” but aren’t quite identical.
>> Experiment with different filters and overlays.
>> Add text with your favourite image editing app.
I’d love to see any of your creations, tag me @dairecharlotte so I can have a nosey!
Daire (pronounced Dara) is a mixed-media artist, writer and art journaler with a penchant for TV binges and talking to the cat. You can find more of her ramblings (and a fun FREE creative ebook) on her website, openwaydesigns.com
The difficulty many part-time business-owners face is that they love what they do but there comes a point where the day job really starts to GET IN THE WAY of giving their business the full attention and dedication it deserves. Running a business on the side and trying to manage a “day job” cannot be sustained for a long period of time. Something will eventually give.
So with the exciting prospect of freedom, flexibility and a lifestyle they can control, why do so many people find it so difficult to take the leap?
Well, exactly that, they view it as a leap which means both feet off the ground and no safety net with a massive chasm to clear! So what if we called it a transition instead? Already this sounds smoother, more controlled, more manageable and far more appealing!
In fact without even realising it, all business owners are already well into this transition. They’ve already done the difficult work of getting the business off the ground, getting visible and giving themselves permission to explore their passion. They’ve already started to turn their idea, vision and dream into concrete reality. They’ve already expanded their comfort zone, dealt with new challenges and adopted new ways of thinking so now it’s simply a question of keeping the momentum going.
But then there’s money.
There’s no denying that this is a big block! Often people’s biggest question is “How will I maintain my current lifestyle?” to which I would politely reply “Honestly how much does your current lifestyle fulfill you? The fact that you have your own business on the side suggests that you’re not completely satisfied with your things as they are right now.”
We often assume that finance and income dictate lifestyle. However, how much do we actually value the money we earn and how much do we spend out of habit because of what we’ve become accustomed to it? How much of our lifestyle has been developed out of routine or keeping up with the Jones?
The point that most people fail to see is that, in reality, the things you spend your money on are not actually what’s important; it’s the feelings these things create that we need to understand. Once we’re clear on what these feelings are and how we want to feel, then I’m guessing we could easily find alternative ways to generate these feelings and thereby maintain this “ lifestyle” for much less dollar.
Then comes the uncertainty – how will I know if it will work?
Well the truth is, you won’t until you try. It’s that simple. But trying won’t be enough. As dear Yoda said, “there is no try, only do or do not”! This means it requires your full commitment and belief, or don’t bother!
When we really want something then we find ways to make it happen. We may need to get flexible in our approach and there’ll be lots of learning along the way. That’s why you need to be really clear on your motivation and really understand the “WHY” behind your business. What is the impact that you are trying to make? What problem are you trying to solve or what do you want to bring to the world? What’s your real purpose behind your service or your product? Not just the money, freedom or lifestyle it may create.
As Simon Sinek pointed out, it’s not the what or the how that people connect with, but why you’re doing it and when the tough times come, because they will, having a clear understanding of your deep-routed driver will give you the motivation and the courage to make it work.
So what if it fails or it’s not for me?
Well if it fails, it fails. Of course, that’s all dependent on your definition of failure. Without failure the very notion of success can’t exist, so if you want success then you have to be prepared to face some failures. However, experiencing failure or things not working out as you planned, does not make you a failure.
Plus owning a business is one of the biggest learning curves possible, so should you decide later down the line to stop your business, just think of all experience, knowledge and skills you’ve learnt that you will have to offer future organisations. It’s not negative if you decide that you want to work for an organisation again. It’s not a backwards step. You’re not wasting what you’ve learnt. It’s all development and growth. Plus making the move means you’ll have already escaped from a job you hated and so been given the chance to discover more about where your passion and strengths truly lie.
But what if it works?
A question that’s rarely said out loud but, paradoxically, many people are held back from making the transition for fear of success. What if it works, what will people think of me? Do I even deserve it? Sometimes I wonder if owning your success and the living up to the responsibility of what success brings is more courageous than dealing with failure.
And finally, the other issue is always a lack of plan. How can you expect to take action without knowing what you need to do?!
So to get you started, follow this:
Get your financials in place. Look at your income, savings, projected outgoings .Where are you spending your money? Work out your freedom figure – what’s the lowest figure you need for 3-6 months to live off?
Get your network in place. Connect with people who understand what you’re doing and can support you.
Get yourself set up. Declutter, emotionally, physically and mentally. The less baggage you’ve got, the more space you have to focus on your business.
Look at the bigger picture. Think about who else will be impacted by this move. Get them on board. Put everything else on the back burner for a while and have the honest conversations that need to be had.
Get visible. Share your products, do some free work in exchange for testimonials. Use the transition as an opportunity to test out new ideas, practice and grow your confidence as well as your understanding of your clients. Tell everyone you know what you’re doing.
Set your date andstick to it. For some of you 3 months might feel comfortable. For other 6 months or even 2 years. Whatever it is, it needs to be realistic and achievable, taking into account everything else you’ve got going on and who else might be impacted.
Don’t have a Plan B. You’ll rely on it and not give Plan A 100%.
There are so many stories we tell ourselves as to why we can’t make this work. Listening to these, failing to plan and take focused action is the best way to ensure your business will always remain a dream. So decide to either commit fully to making this happen, or otherwise let it go.
Hayley Wintermantle is a coach, facilitator and career catalyst helping individuals unsatisfied in their career, launch their business or transition into work truly aligned with their strengths and passions in order to make their impact in the world. Ready to take action? Then for more guidance connect with Hayley at hayleywintermantle.com
Blogging is great for your online presence, if you want to position yourself as an expert in your field you need to blog regularly. The idea of creating tonnes of content can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.
What kinds of content can you create to share in your blog posts? The whole purpose of creating amazing content is to encourage people to come back to your website and for them to get to know you and to see you as an expert. You need to be creating content that your customers will love, and see real value from.
Think about your ideal customer and what would interest them in terms of:
Blog posts
Guest posts (where you post on someone elses blog)
Images
Infographics
Videos
Podcasts
Audio files
Webinars
Newsletters
Downloadable pdfs
These are all sources of content that YOU should be creating and sharing with you audience in order to add value to their business and build their trust in you.
Blog posts should be no less than 500 words and preferably no more than 2000 words. There is a lot of benefit to writing longer blog posts, around 1200 - 2000 words is considered to be the sweet spot when it comes to the most widely read blog posts. However you need to consider your topic, your audience and how often you are going to blog.
Consistency is key here. Don’t decide to blog daily unless you are 100% confident you can keep that up. Weekly is a great place to start as this gives you the time to prepare the content and to publish it. If you can keep to the same time of day and week (ie Fridays at 10am) then that is even better for your audience in terms of them knowing when to come to your site to see the latest blog post.
You must include an image with your blog post. Preferably one that is branded with your website but definitely one that is relevant to the topic of your blog, and that you have the right to share. (we talk about this more when it comes to images in a few pages time)
Consider the type of blog post you are going to write. Lists do very well (such as the top 13 reasons to do blah blah blah) but you can try any one of these blog post formats :
Lists
Interviews
Best of
Reviews
Opinion pieces
Educational
Informative
One of the best way to find blog topics that will interest your readers and help them find you is to use google. Type in a few words such as life coaching and google will suggest additions to make this short search string into a longer one.
For instance
If you type in life coaching google suggests
If you add to your search string you get even more interesting results
All of these are suggesting great blog topics for you and if you write a blog post called “how will life coaching benefit me” then your blog post will be ranked in google for anyone searching for that exact search string.
Make google work for you!
Action: Use this technique to think of 4 blog post titles now that you could use in your blog. That way you are done for the next month.
Blog Post Summary:
Blog weekly
500 - 2000 words
Include a branded image
Alternate between styles of blog post
Think carefully about your blog title
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