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.).

Earlier this year I hit some pretty low points after my husband had lost his job. Not only was I anxious about our situation, I was watching many other mom entrepreneurs come onto the scene with their own websites and communities. My first reaction was to go to a place of scarcity. I had this awful limiting belief that if they existed, and were doing business, that there wouldn’t be enough left over for me.

It sounds crazy when I write it, but it felt incredibly real and scary in that moment. I did know two things at that time. First, I knew I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Second, I knew that to do business in a way that was fun for me, and to stick around, I would have to just focus on doing business in a “Kim” way, and show up as authentically as possible. Some would be attracted to me and follow me, and others wouldn’t. I trusted it would all be fine.

Around the same time, I felt drawn to connect with a particular mom entrepreneur with her own community, Carla Young of MOMeo. On the surface, one would think “competitor” in the yucky sense of the word. But what I sensed from observing her on Twitter was a kind, funny, open woman. I was blessed to discover that she’s even more wonderful.

We joked back in March that it’d be great to get some amazing mom entrepreneurs together in Las Vegas in June. Sounded fun I thought, but we didn’t pursue it. Fast forward to April, and Carla was scheduling me to speak with her MOMeo community about how I get things done so quickly. She asked, “When are you free in June?” I told her the only days I wasn’t when I’d be in Las Vegas attending Baeth’s Life Purpose Spiritual Summit. Carla laughed and said she’d be in Las Vegas that very same weekend!

We decided to make that gathering of great entrepreneurial women come together. As a connector, I immediately got to work inviting some women I wanted to meet and who I believed would be interested in creating something bigger as a group than any of us could on our own.  Much to my surprise, nine of us ended up coming together – Alexis Martin Neely, Carla Young, Sarah Robinson, Jennifer Haubein, Sandy Grason, Kim Castle, MaryPat Kavanagh, Dorcy Russell and me!

Each of us shared what we could offer (our true creative brilliance and what’s fun for us to do) as well as the support we’d love from the rest of the group. Getting behind each of these women to support their product and service launches feels great. I’m not sure where it will all go but I have lots of faith. I’m so blessed that I could connect with them and them together and bring them into my life.

Please share your comments on how you’ve benefited by turning your “competitors” into “collaborators”. This is an area were women entrepreneurs really shine!

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.

Email remains one of the most powerful (and inexpensive) marketing tools at your disposal. It’s a critical  component in building relationships with your target audience. The problem is that email can be a HUGE drain on your time, and busy mom entrepreneurs don’t have a lot of time to spare.

That’s why understanding and utilizing autoresponders is really important if you want to maximize the time and energy you spend on email. An autoresponder is basically a computer program that automatically answers e-mail sent to it. This process saves you countless hours because the email autoresponder message is always working for you.

I decided to invest my time and energy into understanding the ins-and-outs of autoresponders. I also interviewed Jennifer Haubein of Best Biz Website Solutions at the Metromom Online Success Telesummit to get even more ideas since she’s an expert at automation.

I want to share with you the three main benefits we have personally discovered when it comes to using autoresponders….

1. Help you utilize pull (instead of push) marketing – When you give your website visitors something of value such as a free irresistible offer, like a report or e-course, you’re using pull marketing. Once they sign-up for your offer and provide you with their email address, your goal is to not just give them your report but to use autoresponders to provide ongoing value.

2. Enhance your customer service – It’s hard to respond to each and every customer in a timely way. This is especially true on the internet because your website is working 24/7 when you can’t or don’t want to. Utilizing autoresponders allows you to communicate with your customers effortlessly, and on their schedule.

3. Allow for effortless and consistent follow-up – Studies repeatedly show that it takes 7-9 contacts on average before a person is willing to buy your product or service. That’s a considerable amount of follow-up and an autoresponder can do all of this for you.

Autoresponders can help you build relationships through targeted marketing and first-class customer service. Once you set it up, it runs on autopilot so you can focus on other aspects of growing your business (or spend more time on yourself and your family).

If you want more information on the best software options or how to set-up email campaigns, you can listen to my interview with Jennifer Haubein from the Telesummit – How to Build Relationships and Save Time Through Automated Email Campaigns (you’ll also get the transcript and my personal notes).

I just finished recording my Wrap-Up call for the Metromom Online Success Telesummit where I shared my highlights. It’s been a fascinating two weeks as I interviewed 18 different internet marketing experts who shared tips on how to maximize your online presence.

I think what I found the most interesting was how the expertise of the different speakers weaved together. In the end I discovered consistent references to what it takes to be successful in today’s economy.

Let me share some of my highlights of the four online success principle I discovered:

1. You Need to be Authentic

One theme that kept coming up from was the importance of being authentic in your marketing. I heard it from Nancy Marmolejo as she talked about social networking, Michele PW as she shared copywriting tips, and Wendy Maynard as she discussed blogging. They all said basically the same thing – the key to being successful online is to be authentic and create relationships that are mutually beneficial. Laura West then really pulled this authenticity theme together when she spoke about “Attraction Marketing.”

2. Make Sure You Use Every Avenue to Connect

Jennifer Odear and Caleb Scoville really helped clarify how you can maximize your expertise by using all the different ways of communicating. Jennifer spoke about recycling your content and using it in your blog, articles, press releases, newsletters and more. Then Caleb shared how to take that very same content and use it in podcasts and YouTube videos.

What’s great is that once you have some content there are so many ways to get it out there. Alicia Forest gave great tips on using content to build your list. Amy Miyamoto showed how to tie your content into your social networking, Shannon Cherry shared publicity tips and Ty Downing shared easy-to-implement SEO ideas.

3. Women Need Foolproof Systems

Busy women juggling a business and a family need more then great ideas. They need help implementing proven systems that will get the money pouring in. Beth Schneider and Erin Blaskie gave fantastic tips on how to build a solid team and then create systems to keep things running smoothly. Jennifer Haubein shared how technology can help you set-up a website that helps you build relationships effortlessly. Debbye Cannon shared tips specific to moms on how to keep their family thriving as they build their business.

4. Get Your Mindset Prepared for Success

No amount of internet marketing strategies will help you achieve your goals if you’re stuck with a negative attitude or mindset. Victoria Colligan and Traci Long , from Ladies Who Launch, were truly inspirational as they shared how to take the next step in your business. Gina Bell shared how to identify and eliminate resistance to self-promotion and success.

The Metromom Online Success Telesummit (now called The Online Success Toolkit) is available for you to listen to. Click here to learn more! Once you listen I’d love to hear your feedback so come back and post your comments. What were some of the highlights for you?