When I began my online entrepreneurial business I was not as sensitive as I am now to the HUGE  importance of growing your list (or in language I prefer to use – growing your community).

The fact is without a pipeline of new people learning about who you are and what you do, and how it can benefit them, your business will dry up. Your community are those that follow you, observe what you’re doing, share it with their friends (if they like you) and will ultimately be those that purchase from you.

I have 2 business girlfriends who I want to introduce you to who offer resources to support you to expand your list…

• First is Gina Bell. As the founder of the International Association of Women in Business Online, Gina is hosting a F*R*E*E event called List Attraction Week (starting March 8th) that is devoted to list attraction with a team of expert mentors who will walk you through this essential piece of creating success online. You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again… The money is in your list! But what does that REALLY mean?

During List Attraction Week you will discover how to increase your list of relevant and responsive subscribers quickly and constantly so you can save time, get clients and make money! (And… how to do it with authenticity and ethics too!). And the promise of “The Money is in Your List” will finally make sense!

Gina has put together a panel of 12 experts (myself included) that includes Alexis Neely, Leesa Barnes, Wendy Y Bailey and MaryKay Morgan. Together you’ll learn information about…

…auto responders, double opt-ins, squeeze pages, ethical bribes/freebies/pink spoons, ezines, newsletters, virtual events, joint ventures, speaking, article marketing, blogging, social media, follow up strategies and much, much more.

Just one golden nugget of learning (if implemented) can make a huge difference in your list building efforts.

You can get all the details of List Attraction week and register here: http://budurl.com/LAW10

• My second business girlfriend (and mentor) is Carrie Wilkerson. I first learned of Carrie’s skills around list building over a year ago. She grew her list by 24,000 people in one year with no paid traffic resources, and I wanted to see what she was doing.

I immediately purchased her 12-week Magnetic List Building course, which has suggestions (and valuable exercises) to grow your list.  Carrie has a gift of taking what can feel complicated to making it very manageable and easy to execute. I highly recommend checking her product. It’s very reasonably priced at just 3 payments of $27 and I promise that by executing some of her ideas, the investment will be worth it.

You can get all the details of Carrie’s Magnetic List Building course, visit my affiliate link: http://budurl.com/maglist

Community/list building in an ongoing process, and it requires commitment to develop essential skills in this area. There are so many list-building tools that I believe it’s important to just focus on 1-3 at a time so you can do it effectively and not be spread so thin.  Just one strategy that you can confidently implement with consistency can completely transform your results. With both Carrie’s Magnetic List Building course and Gina’s List Attraction Week event, you’ll get dozen of ideas that you can quickly put into work.

I’d love hear what’s working (or not) as you build your community.

I love hearing stories of other people’s successes… partly because it’s always inspiring to see people doing well, but mostly because there’s ALWAYS something that I can learn from them.

A few months ago I had the good fortune of participating in Sandy Grason’s Fabulous Formula. I learned about her concept of the Empire Chart which really shifted how I look at my business, and gave me one of my biggest inspirations for all my Get it Done programs.

She’s releasing a series of Case Studies  which are detailed, in-depth video reports on people (myself included) who have done very well for themselves using her Fabulous Formula — including exactly what they did that made their business breakthroughs so successful.

I highly recommend taking a look at her free videos.

Also, please join us for our Virtual Cocktail Party where Sandy will be sharing all about her Empire Chart model.

Many entrepreneurs struggle with how to find the right prospects for the great products and services they have to offer. During the Metromom Online Success Telesummit, I spoke about this with Alicia Forest, founder of ClientAbundance.com.

With only one sign-up page Alicia has very effectively grown her business to six figures! She shared with me how she did it and some great tips that you can use to grow your list in a way that people will ultimately want to do business with you.

There are two foundational pieces that have to be in place to start building your list:

1. Develop a “free taste” to offer to anyone signing up. Alicia recommended a five-part written e-course (a series of emails sent over a short amount of time) on a topic that will benefit and interest the people in your particular target market.

2. Have an “invite site” they have to sign-up on in order to receive the information. This is a single, one-page website where they will put their name and email address. There are ways to approach this invite site:

· A squeeze page will require them to enter their information before they can see the rest of your website.

· A slide page gives them the option to click on a button to enter the site first (so they can check out if this is truly where they want to be) and when they do sign-up it will be because they really like what you have to say.

Here are 5  effective (and free) strategies Alicia Forest shared for inviting new subscribers:

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Most of us know that social networking is the place to be for online marketing. As entrepreneurial moms, we have to balance how much time we spend on this with our family obligations. So, the question becomes, “Are you using it effectively as a lead generation tool?”

At my recent Metromom Online Success Telesummit, I spoke with Nancy Marmolejo, a mom entrepreneur and a Social Networking Strategist. She has some magic secrets for turning social networking followers into fans and those fans into leads and I want to share them with you.

Nancy calls it the social media impact cycle. Here’s how it works for your target audience:

First, she starts off as an observer. She sees all kinds of people online. Maybe she belongs to a group, or is just looking randomly at Twitter or Facebook and seeing the whole stream. Nothing in particular is popping out at her – she’s just an observer.

Then, something happens that piques her interest and she goes from an observer to a follower. Something makes her say, “That person is a really interesting individual. I’m always getting these incredibly helpful hints from her. I think I’ll get a little bit closer and become a friend or follower.”

Next, a follower becomes a fan because she loves the way your personality shines as you communicate with people in an authentic way. She begins to tell other people about you. She retweets your stuff, shares your posts on Facebook, and makes a recommendation for you on LinkedIn. You’ve earned her trust by showing yourself to be credible.

Finally, that fan can easily transition to becoming a lead. She might sign-up for a call that you’re doing or for your free ezine or subscribe to your blog.

And ultimately, once a fan becomes a lead, she easily turns into a client. She has developed a trust in you. She already feels as if she knows you because you have been putting yourself out there in such an authentic way. She knows she wants to work with you.

How does the whole process really work? It’s based on value, credibility and trust. These are the three primary triggers that will move somebody to become a lead and ultimately your client. Just remember that it will take time because it takes a lot for people to develop trust – this is not an overnight strategy.

There are so many more tips on what to do and what not to do. If you would like to listen to my entire interview with Nancy Marmolejo, “How to Turn Followers Into Fans (and Fans into Leads!) With Social Networking”, click here. It will help you to avoid some of the common mistakes that could cost you fans, followers, and ultimately sales.

The kids are back to school, summer vacations are over and everyone seems to have renewed focus. This is the perfect time to start prioritizing your business. Get practical, “real-life” tips that will keep you on track so you use your limited time wisely and build some momentum in your business.

 

 Work at Home Moms – Fall is the Perfect Time to Refocus and Prioritize [Metromom Podcast] [5:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last month Jennifer Haubein and I joined together  to give away a free website to a lucky Metromom. We received numerous submissions from women who want a site but are overwhelmed with the process.

On Tuesday July 21st, 2009 at 8 PM EST, we’ll be hosting a live webinar where Jennifer will actually build our winner (Teresa Sheppe’s) site LIVE.  Using the latest webinar technology, Jennifer and I will show you  the formula for creating an effective website.

I’ll ask Jennifer to reveal how to easily create a website that brings in new customers and let’s your website do the work!  Not only will you be able to HEAR us, but you’ll also SEE  and WATCH it happening in real time on your computer screen, complete with a LIVE demonstration! (And it doesn’t matter what connection speed you have or even if you have a PC or  Mac.)

The tips revealed during this event will  allow you to easily take your business online. Or if you already have a website, they’ll help you create a website that actually works for you.

We only have 200 spots for this event. So there’s a very good  chance this will FILL completely.  Claim your spot here: http://budurl.com/25h9

Congratulations to Teresa Shepp for winning the Metromom Website Contest! Teresa is the mom of three boys under the age of six starting a business on a shoestring budget. But she has a vision! She wants a web site that will give her the ability to sell information products, training courses, and consulting/coaching services.

Jennifer Haubein and I had a hard time deciding on a winner because we had so many great candidates. We were presented with some really amazing ideas – from baby products, to party planners, to coaches… It was truly inspirational!

Then, the frustration hit me. Too many mom entrepreneurs are stuck because they have great ideas and no budget. I couldn’t award them all with a free website but I do have some advice…

First, if you need a new or upgraded website make sure to sign-up and reserve your spot for our live webinar! Jennifer Haubein and I will be hosting a live webinar on Tuesday July 21st at 8PM EST where Jennifer will build Teresa Shepp’s site in just one hour!

At this webinar, Jennifer promises to reveal to you her secrets…

- How you can get out of overwhelm and quickly take your business online
- Show you how to easily create your f*r*ee offer and why this is so important for attracting customers.
- The one thing you can easily add to your website to double your sales and conversions!
- How to let your website do the work so you can stop working so hard

My second piece of advice is to do something. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity. Take some action and keep moving forward. If you can’t afford a graphic designer, how about a free template? If you can’t afford a website, how about a blog?

Finally, reach out to other Metromom’s in our Connection Café and get advice on steps you can take to get your business off the ground, despite your shoestring budget. You might be surprised at the problem-solving that goes on when you reach out to other mom entrepreneurs.

(The Connection Café is available to members of the Metromom Community. If you’re not a member of Metromom’s community – please click here to join.).

My friend, and fellow Metromom, Alexis Neely is is hosting a free call with Dave Dee on Friday July 3rd, in honor of Independence Day. It’s called “5 Step Formula to Add 6 Figures & Re-Ignite Your Passion”

It’s particularly important that they  chose July 3rd to host this teleclass because it’s independence weekend in the United States and it could be the start of REAL independence in your life.

Here’s some of what they’ll be teaching on this 75 minute call: :

- How to uncover the 6-figure product that lies hidden in your business. We each have untapped assets that we aren’t even aware of.

- The exact 5-part blueprint you can use immediately to generate a huge cash flow surge into your new side profit center.

- How your side profit center will re-ignite the passion you once had for your business.

- How to finally escape exhausting one to one selling and move to the exhilarating experience of selling one to many and making a major impact on thousands (or even millions) of people’s lives.

- How this side profit business will not only give you the freedom to work less -a LOT less – but also to work from home or from anywhere in the world- and even retire faster than you ever dreamed possible (if you want to).

If you’re intrigued and want to discover their “5 Step Formula to Add 6 Figures to Your Business THIS YEAR & Re-Ignite Your Passion While You Do It”, please visit this link.

I’m so excited to announce the Metromom Website Contest!

In celebrating the launch of my new updated website, Jennifer Haubein of Websites 2 Grow and I are partnering to bring one lucky mom business owner the opportunity to win a fr*ee website.

And not only will she win a fr*ee website, but she’ll gain some amazing publicity because Jennifer will be building the winner’s website on a special live webinar. Talk about some great fr*ee publicity for the winner!

So if you want to take your business online this is your chance. To see all the contest details and how to enter please click this link .

The contest ends Friday June 19th so don’t miss your chance to  win a website.

One of my tasks in preparing the Telesummit was getting my various email campaigns ready. With the increased focus on social networking some wonder if email is really that important anymore. I believe it’s a very important part of marketing your business but the real key is in the automation process. Find out how autoresponders can help you build relationships AND ultimately save valuable time.

 

 Use Automated Email to Build Relationships and Save Time [Metromom Podcast] [5:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download