5 Quick Tips for Membership Site Success

Building Your Membership Site Success Quickly and Easily!!

Membership sites are a great way to make recurring income online. If you're thinking of starting your own site or you already have one going, here are a few quick tips for success with your membership site. They will help you simplify your content creation process, get affiliates to promote your site and get new members.

Creating your membership site success quickly involves embracing innovative strategies: consider outsourcing content to focus on your strengths, enhance user experience with professional graphics, and diversify offerings with multiple membership levels. Engage your audience through a dedicated blog and make a significant impact with dynamic video content.

1. You can Outsource content creation

Your membership sites success depends on content. You might be delivering new content each month, or perhaps you create the content once and it is evergreen and stands alone. There are several ways to outsource your content creation:

You can hire a ghostwriter to provide your site with articles, reports, workbooks, checklists and blog posts, if you want to cut down on your content creation time. When you use a ghostwriter you'll be able to concentrate on your strengths (like promotion) rather than wrestling with the writing/creation part. When you outsource, you don't have to worry about being a good writer or knowing a lot about your topic. You can have professional content that gives the site value without writing it yourself. BUT, you must review the content to be sure that it fits with your ideas, values, and what you promote.

If it doesn't, it can be a great jumping off spot to revise and improve the content that you paid for. It is critical that you also ensure that you have the rights to publish and sell the content.

Another strategy is to buy licensed content from other experts. This can be a really fast way to build your site and get it off the ground. Again, make sure it is a good fit.

2. Make Sure Your Graphics Sell.

Studies have been shown that outstanding graphics can compensate for average content. Of course, this isn't an excuse to produce lackluster content. But if your site looks good, people will want to be part of it! Your sites graphics don't have to be overly fancy, but they do need to look good. If you're not a pro at graphics, you should find a website designer to give you the professional look that you need to draw in customers. You may be able to barter with a designer for free graphics by offering a free membership to your site. There are also sites such as Fiverr that you can hire someone to do the graphics for you. Tools such as Canva can also help in creating that professional look and feel.

3. I like to have different membership levels or offers

Giving people options that have different price points can make your membership more attractive to different people. Creating two levels of membership or more can help you draw in a wider customer base. You can help people join the site who might not be able to if the price is higher, but you still have the opportunity to get a higher monthly fee from those who want the added benefits of being in the top tier. To encourage more sign ups, you can have a free membership level, a silver level and a gold level.

4. Use a blog to promote your membership site

Create and maintain a blog outside of the gates of your membership site in order to build traffic and increase your presence within the niche. Syndicate your blog posts to your social media sites. I use Blog2Social to do this. My blog is HERE (you are on it right now!!) and it is build on Wordpress. Blog2Social is a plugin for Wordpress.

You can maintain your blog as part of your main website (I prefer this) or create it on a completely different domain. Blog about popular topics inside your membership site and give teasers about the content that members are receiving. When you give quality content and mix in references to your membership site, you'll create credibility and get new members for your sites.

5. Add video to your membership site for major impact

Video is almost a must these days. Including short educational videos as part of your site can be meaningful to your members. You can take your articles and convert them to video, you can do talking head educational videos or more formal training videos. Services such as Zoom or Streamyard allow you to record your video and save the recording for adding to your website!!

To elevate your membership site, consider outsourcing content, investing in professional graphics, offering varied membership levels, promoting through a blog, and incorporating engaging video content. These strategies can streamline operations, enhance appeal, and broaden your audience, setting the foundation for a thriving online community.

https://bit.ly/43fM61R

Science Proves Gratitude Fuels Happiness and Success 🌟

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Table of contents

- Gratitude: The Secret Ingredient to Happiness, Success, and Impact 🌟
- 🌼 Gratitude as a Happiness Booster- The magic of gratitude is twofold:
- 💡 The Science Behind Gratitude
- 🌟 Gratitude in Action: Your Roadmap to Success
- ✨ Start Your Gratitude Journey Today

Gratitude: The Secret Ingredient to Happiness, Success, and Impact 🌟

Gratitude is more than a polite "thank you." It’s a transformative emotion with the power to improve happiness, strengthen relationships, and even boost your health. At Compass Rose Consulting, we believe that gratitude is foundational—not just for personal well-being, but also for building visionary businesses that thrive. Let’s explore how cultivating gratitude can make an impact on you, your business, and the world.

🌼 Gratitude as a Happiness Booster

For many, gratitude is simply a response to kindness. But in psychology, gratitude is a profound recognition of the goodness in our lives, and it affirms the graciousness of those around us. When we focus on the blessings—big or small—we naturally become more content, generous, and cheerful.

The magic of gratitude is twofold:
- The Giver’s Joy: Giving thanks uplifts your spirit and strengthens your connections.
- The Receiver’s Delight: Feeling appreciated fosters deeper bonds and spreads happiness.

💡 The Science Behind Gratitude

In our fast-paced world, we often overlook everyday blessings. But research shows that gratitude changes everything:

✅ Improved Health:
Optimism, fueled by gratitude, has been shown to strengthen immunity. According to a Harvard Medical School study, optimists live longer, healthier lives.

✅ Deeper Relationships:
Gratitude fosters connection. A 2014 study revealed that showing appreciation—even for small acts of kindness—builds trust and opens doors to new friendships.

✅ Less Stress, More Joy:
Feeling grateful helps reduce depression and boost happiness. A simple act of thoughtful appreciation can increase happiness by 10% and reduce depression by 35%.

✅ Thriving Businesses:
At Compass Rose Consulting, we emphasize that gratitude is essential for successful leadership and teamwork. Expressing gratitude to employees, clients, and collaborators creates a positive ripple effect. People who feel valued are more likely to go the extra mile, driving both happiness and business growth.

🌟 Gratitude in Action: Your Roadmap to Success

Incorporating gratitude into your life and business isn’t complicated. Here are a few ways to start:

- Daily Reflection: Begin or end each day by jotting down three things you’re grateful for.
- Authentic Appreciation: Send a heartfelt thank-you email, note, or message to someone who’s made a difference.
- Gratitude in Business: Make appreciation part of your company culture. Acknowledge team contributions and thank clients or partners for their trust.
- Mindful Living: Take time to recognize the little things—kind words, sunny days, or even a good cup of coffee.

At Compass Rose Consulting, gratitude is more than a mindset—it’s part of our framework for creating impactful, world-changing businesses. By cultivating an attitude of gratitude, you not only increase personal happiness but also elevate your team, your clients, and your community.

✨ Start Your Gratitude Journey Today

Gratitude isn’t just good for you; it’s a game-changer for your business and your legacy. As you cultivate this practice, you’ll find that success and happiness go hand in hand.

What are you grateful for today? Share your thoughts below, or connect with us to explore how gratitude can be a cornerstone of your personal and professional growth.

At Compass Rose Consulting, we help womenpreneurs grow visionary businesses that make a difference. Together, let’s create a brighter future—one act of gratitude at a time. 🌿

https://bit.ly/49eZjv0

Assess Your Lead Generation Strategies

Having a Lead Generation Plan that Works, Makes Growing Your Business Exciting (and Predictable)

Generating new leads is a focus of most business owners.  But do you ever stop to evaluate where your leads are coming from and how your lead generation methods are working? It is important to have systems in place to track new leads and evaluate each lead strategy. You have to KNOW your numbers in order to have a system that is really working for you.

Many business owners miss this key metric. Marketing numbers or conversion points can dramatically impact your revenue and even small changes to those conversion metrics can make a BIG difference.

So what numbers do you need to be looking at?? There are a couple of ways that you can do this.

1.  Website –

If you have a website then it should be one of your lead generation strategies.  Your website has to be set up to work for you!!

You want to have your subscription form on your site for your free gift.  If you don’t, you will not be able to keep in touch with folks that visit your site.  Take a look at your website statistics to see what kind of traffic your site receives and where the traffic is coming from. A free gift is a free report or tip sheet or video or.... that provides YOUR prospect with valuable information. You are working to

If your web host does not provide statistics you should set up a Google Analytics account and add the code to your web pages in order to track your traffic.  You want to know who is visiting, how long they are staying on your site, what pages they are visiting and where they came from to get there.  Did they do a search?  If so, what keyword were they searching that landed them with you?  Once they are there are they interacting with you and your site: subscribing to your newsletter, taking surveys, leaving feedback on your guestbook or forums? All of this detail is great information for you.

2.  Lead Generation

Do you receive leads from referrals, lead boxes, listings in directories, yellow pages?  When a new person contacts you it is a good idea to ask where they got their information from. Recently several business owners have asked whether the Yellow Pages is a good place for them to spend their money. As a business coach I really don’t know the answer to that because it is different for each business.  It depends if YOUR business is receiving calls as a result of the ad.  That is why asking about where the lead came from is so very important. With the Internet, the effectiveness of Yellow Pages is definitely diminished. But if you have a marketing strategy that is working, you need to KNOW which one it is!!

It's essential that you know where your leads are coming in and what isn't working. It's not cost effective or wise to use mediums that aren't working. They should be changed so that there are more leads generated, in the case of a website, or done away with altogether, in the case of a newspaper advertisement.

The medium that you dispose of right now can always be revisited in the future.

A down economy is a great time to evaluate everything that you are doing, but it is not a time to eliminate advertising and marketing.  You have to continue to market or you won’t have new leads and referrals.  Do your marketing wisely, track it all and evaluate relevant pieces each month.

So take the time to do a marketing evaluation and understand your marketing metrics. Need help? Schedule a Business Breakthrough Strategy Session.

Lead generation is a foundation of building your business. Without an effective lead generation system it is hard to predictably build. When you have a lead generation system that is working for you, then your business is growing consistently and that decreases stress, enables better sleep and so much more!!

It can be frustrating to get the system right and understand all of the numbers.

https://bit.ly/3UEwCSG

Top 10 Ways to Promote Any Membership Program

You can build the best membership program in the world but if you don't promote it, you won't make any money from your incredible program and your best laid plans. Use the following tips to keep the traffic flowing to your website and your income growing by leaps and bounds.

No matter what type of membership program you have, you'll be sure to find some inspiration and ideas in these tips.

1. Podcasting

Be a podcast guest with a podcast that is focused on your niche. So, in the B2B space, you need to identify the podcasters that are NOT your direct competitors but rather complimentary businesses. That means they serve your target customer with a different product or service and they will be glad to have your expertise on their podcast.

2. Affiliates

When you're running a membership program, affiliates can be your best allies in getting new members. An affiliate program that pays well and that offers affiliates tools like articles, solo ads and e-mail messages will attract top affiliates and bring you new customers. Register your membership site with Affiliate Sites such as Clickbank to reach a wide pool of affiliates. If you have built your membership on some member platforms, they have built in affiliate pools that you may be able to tap into.

3. JV Partners

Unlike affiliates, JV partners is a more collaborative and intimate relationship. JV Partners work more closely together and they may get a special level of commission by promoting your membership program. They'll run special promotions for your membership program when it launches and get you some of your first members to your program.

4. Pay per click ads

Running a successful pay-per-click campaign can bring you a lot of targeted traffic to your sales page. Choose the right keywords, craft an attractive ad and you'll have lots of leads. But if you are paying for the traffic, send them to an opt-in page with the membership as an upsell and a nurture down the road. Do not pay traffic to go straight to your sales page. It can be too costly. In addition, you must track your numbers and KNOW what numbers you need to make it a worthwhile strategy.

5. Social marketing

Sites like Facebook and Twitter can offer you lots of opportunities to connect with your niche market and get new potential members. Visit and join Facebook groups. Share your expertise into the groups and include your link occasionally. Consider being premium member of viable groups and receive more opportunities to promote your offer.

6. Q & A Forums

It used to Yahoo Answers but there are several sites that you can choose from to showcase your offer. They are a good place to find questions that people are asking related to your niche. Search through the open questions a few times a week and provide helpful answers. Use your membership site link in the resource area to drive targeted traffic back to your site.

7. Communities (Circle.io, Slack, Substack, Reddit....)

If you already participate in a forum related to your niche, this will be an easy way to promote your site. Add a link to your membership program in your forum signature file. (Do this in our email signature as well.) Each time you post, your sales page link will be promoted.

8. Viral reports

Write a short report on a popular topic within your niche. Solve a major problem or provide a plan of action for your niche. Include lots of links back to your site within the report. Allow others to distribute it for free and your membership program link will get in front of thousands of potential subscribers.

9. Summits

Be a speaker at a Summit related to your membership offer. Create a talk that is closely related to the offer. Be sure to have a full funnel strategy built out to go from free gift to offer. Watch the training I just did HERE

10. Blog comments

Search for blogs in your niche and post insightful comments from time to time. Use your membership site link in your blog comment and you'll get some new visitors to your site. Make sure your comments are authentic and relevant. Do NOT go out spamming blogs with comments. You will get banned!!

11. Giveaways and Bundles

Participate in relevant giveaways or bundles. Plan out your strategy. Watch the funnel training mentioned above. What is your end offer? Plan it backwards and have something of value to offer to the bundle or giveaway host!! Create your nurture plan for once the person joins YOUR community!!

- 5 Reasons You Should Start Your Membership Site

- Is Business Blogging Part of YOUR Marketing Plan

- Business Networking for Business Growth

- 7 Ways to make money with list building

- Promoting Your Content https://bit.ly/4co2rpI

Repurposing Formats to Increase Your Audience

Table of contents

- Repurposing Formats can be the answer to: The Top Reason People Ignore Your Content!!
- Repurposing Formats can Accommodate Various Learning Styles
- Analyze Your Content When Considering Repurposing Formats
- Repurpose Your Content!!
- Monitor Results

Repurposing Formats can be the answer to: The Top Reason People Ignore Your Content!!

Do you find yourself spending hours researching and creating content and when it finally goes live nothing?

You have created engaging material about topics your audience cares about, but the likes, shares, or comments are underwhelming.

The problem is not always the quality of the material itself, but it could be the format.

Do you understand WHERE your audience consumes their info?

Repurposing Formats can Accommodate Various Learning Styles

People have different learning styles and preferred ways of consuming content. So, you need to look at how to accommodate that!!

Written: Written content including articles, eBooks, and blog posts appeals to people who prefer reading and have strong comprehension skills. Written content gives people the freedom to take in information at their own pace and easily refer back to sections they want to review.

Visual: Visual content like charts, diagrams, infographics, and videos appeal to learners who process information visually. For them, pictures and graphics make complex information more digestible, accessible, and memorable.

Audio: Audio content includes audiobooks, lectures, and podcasts, and it suits learners who take in information by listening. Its also useful for people who like to multi-task, tuning in while exercising or commuting.

Analyze Your Content When Considering Repurposing Formats

Quickly review the last 10-15 pieces of content you have created. What percentage of your content is written, visual, video, or audio?

Lets say the majority of your marketing content is written, for example, blog posts, social posts, reports, eBooks etc. Various studies have shown that up to 65% of the general population are visual learners. If you do not accommodate this segment of your audience, you could end up losing them.

The solution?

Repurpose Your Content!!

Repurposing allows you to connect with more people, using content they enjoy consuming, across various platforms.

Repurposing is not simply about recycling content. Its about strategically transforming your content to cater to your audience and the different ways they consume content and learn. For example, you could transform a long-form blog post into an infographic, explainer video, or podcast episode, reaching your visual or auditory learners.

You can also repurpose to incorporate all mediums and learning styles, making sure each type is represented: written (a social post), visual (an infographic), and auditory (a podcast episode). Or, when you repurpose, combine 2 or more mediums in one piece, for example, add an infographic and audio snippet to a blog post.

Monitor Results

After you repurpose, monitor your engagement metrics: Which formats are getting more likes, shares, and comments? Are certain types of content driving more traffic to your website? Asking these questions will allow you to know your audience better and adjust your repurposing strategy as needed.

Learn more with my Content Repurposing Guide:

Want to connect with a broader audience through repurposing? Check out my course, Repurposing which teaches you the A to Z.

This guide will give you Quick Tips for creating a content marketing strategy.

Using your content only once is cumbersome. It means that you are constantly creating new content. But when you repurpose your content, then you are able to maximize its reach and its power.

Check it Out

Content Repurposing is central to an effective Content Marketing Strategy.

Can content be a marketing strategy? YES!! Definitely! Content educates your prospect, your leads about YOU, your organization and what you have to offer. It is a pre-seller to your services.

Content Repurposing Workshop

https://bit.ly/4di0B9e

Top 5 Tips to Add Value to Your Repurposed Content

Repurposing Saves You Time and Money.

Don't let it be overwhelming!!

You’ve heard it said numerous times: repurposing content isn’t simply a matter of recycling – you’re not just taking the original content and pasting it into new formats, in different mediums, on different platforms. For example, if you’re repurposing a blog post into a social media post, it’s not enough to cut and paste a paragraph from the blog and call it a day.

You must tailor and tweak the content to suit different media and audience preferences. You are transforming content, not duplicating it. You need to add value.

But how can you make the repurposed content distinctive, unique, and valuable without spending hours recreating it? After all, isn’t repurposing supposed to save you time and resources?

You don’t need to do a complete redesign or rewrite. Here’s how to add value to your repurposed content without reinventing the wheel.

 1. Tailor to the Medium and Audience

Every medium, whether it’s audio, video, visual, or interactive has its own distinct characteristics. Tailor your repurposed content to that medium and its audience. For a video, incorporate a live demonstration to simplify complex ideas or processes. When developing an infographic, break down the essence of the core content into five key visual points. If you’re creating a podcast episode out of existing content, focus on the key points and deliver it in a conversational manner, or, think of questions you can ask your guest that will naturally expand upon the topic.

 2.  Add Fresh Insights

Your original content may have been published a while ago: incorporating a fresh perspective or new insight is an effective way to rejuvenate old material. Add information about the latest industry trends, the launch of a relevant product, or the results of a recent study. By doing this, you’ll add value to the original material, keeping your content current and useful.

 3. Integrate Examples and Case Studies

Examples and case studies enrich your repurposed content, supporting your claims and explaining your concepts. For example, if your original content offers productivity tips, in your repurposed material, add a case study illustrating how the techniques made a difference in a client’s work life. It backs up your material and provides your audience with a tangible, real-world application.

 4. Incorporate Data

When repurposing your content, insert relevant data that supports your content. For example, if your original piece is about social media trends, add the latest statistics or a chart that shows growth over time. Visual representations of data are easier to digest and understand. Adding data is especially powerful when transforming written content into a visual piece, like an infographic or video.

 5. Edit and Improve

The final way you can add value to your repurposed content is simply improving it. When we complete content, there’s always something we wish we had tweaked or refined the minute we click publish. When you repurpose into different formats, this is your opportunity to make those changes. An explanation that wasn’t quite right, examples that could illustrate your point more clearly, or even the style or tone. Take the time to fix the things you weren’t 100% pleased with in the original content.

Want to learn more about how you can improve YOUR content? Head over here:

https://bit.ly/3X2SOHG

Fear Gets in the Way of Repurposing?

The Secret Reason Most People Don’t Repurpose Content: Fear! Embracing Audio, Video, and Interactive Media

Content repurposing is a crucial strategy for amplifying your message across various platforms. However, there’s one hurdle that prevents many small business owners from fully leveraging their content’s full potential: fear. Whether it's anxiety about being on camera, speaking on a podcast, or tackling the tech required to create an interactive element, many people avoid mediums outside their comfort zone. Don’t let fear win. If you do, you’ll miss opportunities to connect with your audience and grow your business.

Luckily, with patience, practice, and straightforward techniques and tips, you can overcome your fear and expand to mediums that you’ve avoided up until now.

Audio: Find Your Voice

For many people, speaking publicly – even if it’s prerecorded on a podcast or audio story – is daunting. What if you forget your key points? Stumble over words or mispronounce them? What if you say something you’ll regret later?

The key to removing this fear is preparation and practice.

Start by repurposing existing content into an audio format. Choose a topic you’re comfortable with and confident speaking about. The content will be familiar, providing you with security and a safety net as you find your way.

Practice by recording yourself and playing it back so you can get used to the sound of your voice, noting things you might want to do differently but not judging yourself.

Start with something that doesn’t require a lot of production, like audio instructions or a story. Then, as audio becomes easier for you, move on to larger projects like a podcast or audiobook.

Remember: if you’re the one producing the audio segment, you can edit it – so don’t worry about getting it ‘perfect’.

Video: Embrace the Spotlight

Being on camera can be intimidating. To ease into video, start with something you know. Take written content that has performed well and transform it into a video script. Start with slides or an animated explainer video if you’re not ready to be the star of the video. If you decide to appear in the video, practice in front of a mirror and then record yourself and play it back, reviewing your performance and noting anything that you’d like to tweak in your delivery.

Once you’re ready, record multiple takes, and remember: nobody gets it right the first time or all in one take – that’s why you have editing tools!

Production and editing can also be intimidating, but there are numerous video editing tools available like Adobe Premiere or Canva’s free online video editor to make it easier. You can even use internal software on smartphones to make basic tweaks or make minor changes directly on platforms like TikTok or Instagram.

Interactive Media: Tech Doesn’t Have to Be Terrifying

Interactive media, like quizzes or games, are a great way to engage your audience. People mistakenly assume that they’re difficult to create, but if you use tools for beginners, interactive media can be a breeze. Use Typeform or Quiz Maker to create online quizzes and other interactive content quickly.

You can also develop polls and slider questions directly on social media platforms. Again, start with something simple: take content from a popular blog post and add an engaging multimedia element to your Instagram story using an interactive quiz sticker.

Transform Content in New and Exciting Ways

Remember: your audience isn’t looking for a slick Hollywood production or a high-tech video game. They want authenticity and valuable content. Take that next step to expand your reach and connect with your audience in new and exciting ways!

Want to learn more about how you can _? Head over here:

You might also be interested in these articles....

- Content Repurposing

- The Guidebook

- Content Repurposing FREE

- Content Marketing

- How to Organize Your Social Media Marketing for Success https://bit.ly/3X3Qwb7

Two Transformative Tips to Change Your Mindset to Help You Accomplish Your Dreams and Goals

People have a range of different dreams and goals. This is one of the best things about people in fact. We’re all different and we all have different aspirations – different goals to share with one another and different things to talk about. (I talk about realizing your dreams in my book, Launching Your Dreams: Making WILD Ideas Happen!!)

The unhappiest people? They’re the ones with no goals. No direction. No motivation. A goal gives you a vision, it gives you drive and it makes every day seem like a positive step to an end destination that is truly important to you.

But while goals are intrinsically rewarding, problems do arise when we don’t know how to pursue them. Having a goal that seems completely out of grasp and making no progress whatsoever is disheartening.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the things you can do to help yourself reach your goals faster.

Whether you want to write an amazing book, set up a business or do anything else; these are two tips that will apply in every situation and that you might not have heard before.

Tip 1: Have a clear and compelling Vision!

I know I harp on this, but it is critical. Having Vision for what it is you are building, or you want is key. That vision should be clear, compelling and inspiring. And focused. It is NOT a vision board with all the THINGS you want, those are outcomes of your business vision. Your business vision is focused on what you are building. What does that BIG BUSINESS VISION look like? Are you building shops all over the east coast? Is your vision to provide a bike to every child in your area? When you are clear on vision, then you are inspired!

Tip 2: You Have to Believe (This can be HARD!!)

This might sound like cheesy bumper-plate-sticker-advice, but it is very true. At the end of the day, you need to have absolute faith that the plan you have to get your book published or to become famous is actually going to work. Why? Because otherwise you risk putting in all the time and effort for nothing!

Think about it: when you are motivated, when you believe in something, when you have passion for it, your motivation is easier to stay focused.

But you may have struggled to stick to a training program and part of the reason for that is that you know it might not yield results. So whatever plan you come up with, make sure you believe it!

Tip 3: You Have to Take it Slowly

The other problem is wanting results right now and ending up burning yourself out too quickly. Want to write the next best-selling novel? The way to do that is not in one or two sittings! You need to take your time, to work steadily and to be considered in the way you approach this goal. The best option is to plan to write one or two chapters every day.

When I biked across the country we crossed the Rocky Mountains in the Big Horns. The climb was 30 miles long. It took one pedal stroke over and over, essentially, one step at a time to get to the top. And I was moving about 3 or 4 miles per hour. So, it was slow. The motivation was the vision! (A billboard that said there was a cafe at the top of the climb).

Take action and realize your dreams and goals!!

Check out these other articles....

- Business Networking for Business Growth

- Do You Have Clear Business Goals

- Business Goals First, Marketing Plan After

- 3 Tips for Finding Your Purpose Later in Life

- Self Care Tips https://bit.ly/480L8aG

Strategic Plan - The Map to Results

Strategic Planning Improves Results with Consistent Implementation

Strategic planning only helps organizations when they are kept active and implemented.  The strategic plan defines the business direction.  That direction is based on the future, the vision of the company.  Before an effective strategic plan can be developed a clear and compelling vision is needed.

Visions are optimistic, the ideal picture of the future. 

The strategic plan that results from the leadership team’s strategic planning, is the map to that vision and then it is only effective if it is implemented.

Strategic plan can sound intimidating and overwhelming to many small business owners.  The most effective strategic plans are those that are simple, completed with the leadership team and key people in the company.  Complex documents that consume excessive amounts of time to create don’t guarantee success.

In fact, the large and cumbersome strategic plan can be so overwhelming that it just doesn’t work.  Strategic planning sessions that go on and on for months also fail because so much time is consumed in the planning and the implementation, which is the key, is pushed aside.  The goal to have the perfect strategic plan doesn’t produce results.  Instead, the team that engages in strategic planning and produces a good working document is more likely to succeed.

Mapping Your Vision:

Start with vision.  Write down what you envision for the future.  What does the future of your business look like?  What do you want for the future? Vision stories are inspiring, it’s your dream.  Once you have created your vision you can begin building strategies.

The vision is the destination, where you are going.  The strategies are the map that gets you to the vision.  Company values are the guide or the “compass” in our map metaphor for making decisions along the way.  Values keep you oriented and in alignment.  When values are out of alignment the company is off track; not moving in the direction of the vision.

Strategic goals can be limited to the top 6-10.  By having fewer goals the plan is able to stay alive and in front of you and the team.  By alive, it means that the plan is always where you can see it, use it and keep working on it.  It means that the team is focused on the strategic goals at all times, talking about them, brainstorming on them and reporting to each other their successes and challenges.

To set strategies for your business first look at the vision, the different aspects of the vision.

Brainstorm all of the goals, all of the strategies for each aspect of the vision.  With brainstorming it is important to get all of the ideas out and write them down without judging them or editing them.  Often the best idea comes from an idea that at first look seemed too wild or crazy.  Ideas jump off of other ideas.

Once you have brainstormed all of the possible goals, prioritize them. Often strategic goals can be grouped with similar strategies.  This can help in the prioritization process.  The goal is to narrow the list down to the top 6-10 strategies.  What are the goals or strategies that will give your business the future you envision, that will create a breakthrough that will produce the results that you want?  Those are the goals that you should be selecting as top priorities.

Creating a powerful strategic plan is just one of the first steps.  Many organizations have strategic plans that are well thought out and crafted.  Where they fall short is in the implementation of that plan.

Strategic Plans Only Work When Implemented

Implementation is the key.  If you fail to implement, the results will not be what you set out to achieve.

Implementation is the result of focused and continuous action.  Strategic plans don’t just happen on their own: they require your attention.  By keeping the plan in front of you and the team responsible for the plan, focus is maintained.  Regular meetings about the plan also keep the plan moving in the right direction.  Check-in meetings hold people accountable.  When teams don’t meet and don’t keep their eye on the plan, the day to day interferes and the status quo remains.

Strategic plans don’t just happen on their own: they require your attention

Donna Lynn Price

In order to make changes in the results that you achieve there has to be intention and commitment on the part of the team. The check-in meeting gives the team the opportunity to review what is happening, what is interfering with the results they want and need and make the changes necessary to change the outcomes.  Through the intention of the leadership, the plan and the team, the culture of the workplace can shift from one of non-performance to one of performance focused.

Performance focused companies are companies that are thriving. The energy of high performing teams shifts the energy of the whole organization.  It becomes more positive and contagious.  People become excited about the vision, the plan and their implementation of the plan.  Results create energy and excitement that keeps the plan moving, it propels the plan and the ultimate results of the company.

Organizations that produce results have a clear vision of the future; have a plan that is simple and strategic; and they work on the plan all the time.  Their actions are designed to move that plan forward.  They don’t let themselves or others get in the way. Through effective strategic planning and by implementing the strategic plan organizations achieve results.

Creating a strategic plan can be the first action towards growing your company with focus and intention. But as you can see, it takes some thought and then it takes consistent and persistent action. It does not work if it sits on the shelf. Your company does not grow when you are not focused on that growth.

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Building Your Marketing System

Why do you want and need a marketing system?

When you build a marketing system that is YOURS, you KNOW that you have a way to increase your revenue easily and predictably.

A marketing system consistently:

- Brings new and qualified leads (future buyers) into your business

- Has a system for follow up and nurturing that helps YOU connect with your new leads and build the "know, like, trust" relationship

- Uses calls to action wisely to bring people into your customer base.

- Provides customer service that builds loyalty and repeat business.

- Works easily and reliably so that you know what to expect for your growth each week or month.

- Is trackable so that you can improve it when it is not working as well as you want or need it to.

So what does this really mean? Isn't all marketing the same?

There are definitely marketing concepts that work across businesses and industries that you should be implementing in your business. But they can look different for different companies.

For instance, if you are a local boutique you need local traffic into your store. Can the Internet or social media help with that? Definitely. But you also need signage on your storefront, local ads with calls to action.

The biggest mistake I see is that people focus on getting buyers and that doesn't work in a lot of industries. And the mistake is that they don't get the person's information or capture the lead! They have no way to follow up or continuing to build the relationship. The interaction is over.

This happens over and over. A business owner runs an ad -- sending the lead to their BUY NOW button and they don't buy, they bounce! But what if was a different call to action -- an optin where the first step was a really valuable item at a low cost or no cost. Then you have the opportunity to continue marketing and building the "know, like, trust."

So, whether you are a local shop or an online business -- lead capture is key. It has to be a part of your marketing system!!

Lead capture or optins are different from followers or connections. When you build your email list -- it is YOURS. When you have followers or connections or friends on a social media platform, they can definitely become buyers but they can also be taken away by the platform without your control. Moving people over to your email list is key.

What are the pieces of the marketing system?

- Being clear on your target market -- who are you marketing to?

- Lead capture -- having a way of capturing the information when someone connects with you.

- Follow-up - they say the money is in the follow-up and so many miss this opportunity to continue connecting.

- Presenting valuable offers -- when you have done a good job of connecting with your target market, your service should be valuable to them. Building good offers that provide a ton of value are the offers that people will be interested in.

- Loyalty -- everything you are doing up to this step is geared to help you in building loyalty. If you don't have a good follow up system, you will lose customers and they won't come back, because you are not telling them what you have to offer to them.

When you build YOUR system, you have the ability to predict your results. You can turn it on and off. Or up and down based on what you can handle.

When you have a working sales and marketing system -- you can look at HOW to scale your business!! That's exciting! Not everyone is doing that, because not everyone is building a system for their sales and marketing. If there is only one system that you are going to build in your business -- this is the one!!

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How To Stay Committed To Reaching Your Goals

Make the Commitment to your goals!!

Let's admit it, we all have that one goal we've been trying to set yet failed to achieve. Think about countless New Years resolution attempts, broken piggy banks, a planned vacation that remains a plan.

So how exactly do we go about having a goal and then actually achieve it?

The key to success is an overly used word, yet only followed by a few commitment. Yes, the word does not only apply to relationships. It also applies to everything else in life that one wishes to achieve. It could be with regard to your first million dollars, your weight-loss program, your love life, or simply beating your early-morning alarm.

Commitment is the key.

The only problem is that not everyone stays committed. The word itself is associated with fear, distraction, procrastination, and whatnots. You are in luck though, because below are a set of tricks you can carry up your sleeve should you plan to tackle your goals head-on.

Set a Clear and Definite Goal

Another clich, but this actually is a herculean task for most of us. You must set a realistic goal first, one that you think is worth your efforts if you intend to achieve a result.

Its not enough that you know what you want to achieve. You also should have a detailed plan before you make that first step. As soon as the path has been carved, it will only be a matter of time (and willpower) before you reach the destination.

Focus

We all fall victim to pitfalls and unexpected turns. In fact, a lot of people would stop after the first fall or wrong turn. When challenges come up and emotions cloud your judgment, you need to focus on what your real purpose is and go on with your journey.

Keep Moving

This is the reason why goals are planned ahead in detail, so you will not have to analyze (or overanalyze) when you are already midway through your journey. Sacrifices are expected and you will fall a few times. Just get up and keep moving until you reach your destination. Stopping in your tracks, giving up, and turning back are no longer options at this point.

Enjoy

Take it from Mary Poppins (she is one of my absolute favorites!!), Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. Don't think of your goal as a task, but a game.

After all, its in the journey that we learn the most lessons - not the destination.

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YouTube SEO Blueprint

SEO for Visibility and Engagement

Welcome to YouTube SEO Blueprint!!

I am thrilled that you are here!!

YouTube is a great platform for connecting with potential customers and clients.

But if you fail to take the time to do the SEO piece of each video you could miss the mark. I know I did!!

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8 Ways for Building Customer Relationships That Last

One of the ways a business builds its brand is to tug at the emotions of their audience. The way a customer and client work together and communicate can build long-lasting, meaningful relationships that turn clients into fans, and fans into clients. You can actually set out to build these relationships by using emotional marketing techniques.

1. Show Them That You Know Them

Building customer relationships can benefit from your market research.

The more research you do into the needs and desires of your target audience, the more your audience will be able to tell that you’re interested in them. When you show interest in them, it will make them interested in your business and you. When you discover something about your audience, let them know through your content and your actions.

2. Treat Them Right

This is basic for building your customer relationships. When you don't do it right..... it is not good!!

So many times business owners have sales and special events to get new clients. What about the clients you already have? Keeping them is far more important than getting a new client, and less costly too. Do something special for your existing client base or fan base that shows them that you care about them. Give them a discount, or a special freebie, or something else that attaches them to you in a special way.

3. Be Transparent and Honest

Authenticity -- you being you is a key to building customer relationships effectively.

One way to endear yourself to your audience is to always be transparent and honest. If you make a mistake, own up to it. If you change your views on something, it’s okay to admit it. Doing so will endear you to your audience and make you appear so much more trustworthy to them.

4. Put People before Numbers

Knowing your numbers is important to your business growth and knowing whether what you are doing is effective or not. BUT, it is critical to building customer relationships that customers feel they are not a number. No one likes that feeling.

While you do things to help promote your business, it’s important to keep your morals and remember that people are more important than numbers. If you put people first in your business, including yourself, you’ll find that you naturally improve your bottom line. The more people trust you, the more they’ll buy from you.

5. Be Fun When Appropriate

No one wants to feel as if they’re communicating with a robot or someone who is not real. Be funny when it’s appropriate so that you can show your humanity. Your humanness will shine through when you add some humor and fun to posts, emails, and even sales pages. This is true in videos too. Making mistakes, not being perfect makes you real, human, someone your customer can relate to.

6. Be Responsive

Your customers expect to get an answer when they have a problem, and they expect it to be quickly. Provide many different ways for your audience to contact you. Explain to your audience at each method how long they can expect to wait for a response. Then follow up and do what you said you’d do. Relationships do not thrive when people feel ignored.

7. Engage with Your Audience

Find ways to engage with your audience. Ask for their advice or ideas when it comes to a new product or service you’re going to launch. They can help name it, help define what should be in it, and even how much you should charge for it. Your audience can also be your best source of word-of-mouth marketing.

8. Consider the Communication Format

Also, it’s important to try to get an understanding of how people communicate within their environment. Communication online in chat, instant message, Twitter, or a blog, is far different from communicating on the telephone or in person. Even email is different from other methods of communication. It’s imperative that you determine what is different and then make up for that with the type of communication they’re using.

Building customer relationships that last is part of the goal of effective marketing. When you’ve formed an attachment with the consumer, they will stick with you for years - through price increases, trials and tribulations, and more. You can’t go wrong with building good customer relationships.

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5 Ways to Create Backend Income From Your Membership Site

Strategies for Increasing Income with a Membership Program

Many people mistakenly believe that their membership site income only comes from the monthly subscriptions that they receive. This is far from the truth. There are several different ways that you can make backend income from your membership site. Here are some ideas to help you turn your site into a profit-pulling machine:

1. Promote affiliate offers

Affiliate marketing works really well within the membership site model because you've built up trust with your audience. They've seen your monthly content and know that you offer quality. They will trust your recommendations because you've offered good content in the past. Choose affiliate offers that tie directly into popular topics within your membership site. E-books, video courses and short reports will add value for your members and boost your backend sales. Send an e-mail article to your membership site members with good content and a link to the recommended product.

2. Sell advertising

You can charge a small fee per month to existing members or outside advertisers to display their text ads or display ads on your site or in your newsletter or solo emails. You can display advertising in the sidebars and just under the header of your membership site. Search for advertising directories to list the advertising space and add the offer to your signature file in forums that you visit. You'll start to see advertising dollars start to roll in the more you publicize the offer.

3. Offer personalized coaching

No matter how much instruction you provide inside of the membership forum, there will always be people who will want something a bit more hands on. You can offer exclusive one-on-one coaching for members who want that extra help. You can charge this as a one-time fee or as a additional monthly subscription (sort of like a membership site within a membership site). Alternatively, you can offer video calls or tele-conference calls for membership site members for a small additional fee.

4. Sell your own advanced products

There are bound to be topics within your membership site that deserve special attention. You can make backend sales by creating products around these topics and offering them to your members. For example, if you're running a membership site on weight loss you can create a special report on the best exercises to do to blast through a weight loss plateau. Offer this at a special price to your members. You can also sell the same report at a higher price to non-members to drive traffic back to your website to grow your membership.

5. Turn membership site content into individual products

Once you've built a good amount of content within your site, you can start using the content for other purposes. Package up your articles on a specific topic and sell them as a special report. You can do this with several different sections of your website to make some backend income and get new members for your website.

With one or several of these techniques you can create several streams of income from your membership site and attract new members. https://bit.ly/3wZa323

The Essence Of Adopting a Morning Ritual Habit

Creating a Morning Ritual Can Change Your Life!!

If you hate waking up early, then you need to read this article (I can definitely fall into this category at times). According to research, creating good habits and sticking to a morning routine plays a huge role in your success. If you're a night owl, unfortunately, this means you will have to find ways to adapt and change your lifestyle.

Creating a morning routine and turning it into a habit may sound difficult at first. But if you keep at it every day for at least a month, you will start seeing noticeable differences in how you approach your entire day. A morning routine will help you feel more stable and you'll be so much more in control of your day.

Its peaceful in the morning

Early mornings don't have as much distraction as other times of the day. Your family and your neighbors will still be in bed (unless they've also adopted this habit), there'll be less noise on the streets, and your personal space will seem so much bigger.

With less distraction, you'll be able to think clearly and you'll have time to exercise, meditate, pray, update your journal, and plan your entire day.

A morning routine will help you feel more in control of your life and you wont feel as disorganized as before simply because you will have time to think your day through and organize your activities.

Simply put, your morning routine will set the tone for your day.

Get work done early

Mornings are best for getting your most difficult tasks done. Getting these tasks out of the way lets you enjoy relatively stress-free afternoons and you'll be much happier because you can get more things done in the day.

Your productivity levels will increase and you can even start working in advance on tasks that don't need to be done until later.

When you get things done earlier and faster in the day, you can reward yourself for a job well done. Just be careful when rewarding yourself though as some rewards may actually be detrimental to your goals.

For instance, if someone asks you to go partying on a weekday, you may want to tell them no. You may be tempted but think first if its going to somehow cause you to sleep in late and thus wake up late the following day. If this is the case, then simply decline.

No amount of partying can replace what you can accomplish by sticking to, and religiously following, your morning routine habit!

- 3 Simple Morning Routines

- 10 Self Worth Affirmations that Work

- 5 Habits that Stop You From Finishing What You Start

- Do YOU Know the Marketing Keys?

- 3 Ways to Get Corporate Sponsors

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6 Key Benefits to Having a Membership Site

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

- 1 Market What You Offer Once and Continuously Profit

- 2 Repeat Income

- 3 Builds Loyalty

- 4 Reward Loyalty

- 5 Build and Maintain Long Term Relationships

- 6 Provide Value to Your Members

- Access Everything with the Ultimate Membership!!- Including Micro Memberships and Club Building!!

When you set up a membership site properly, it offers tons of benefits but we are going look at the key benefits to having your own membership site.

1 Market What You Offer Once and Continuously Profit

When you convince a person to become a member of your site, each month you will charge their credit card, and that turns into years, and that turns into ongoing profits forever without having to resign up each month, as long as you continue to offer them value every month so that they don't give up their membership. However, the only time you ever have to market to them is during that initial campaign to get them to become a member. After that it is all about the value that you provide. Membership is not guaranteed. If you are not giving to your members every single month, you will find they are dropping your membership.

2 Repeat Income

When you charge a monthly fee for your membership site (or it could be an annual fee) one of the biggest benefits that you get to enjoy is repeat income, and that makes it one of the easiest ways to generate a steady stream of income. This can have a stabilizing effect on your business. Consistent monthly income is wonderful. Knowing that you have that income each month reduces your stress but also makes your business more valuable.

3 Builds Loyalty

Your membership website should be created so that it builds loyalty because these members remain your loyal customers. The only time (possibly) you have to have direct contact with your customers is when you send out their monthly invoice, otherwise it runs on autopilot, which means there is little labor costs. Certainly in some memberships there is more contact and it is the income that is automated. It depends on the design of your membership program.

4 Reward Loyalty

Your membership website rewards membership loyalty by having access to things that those who are not members don't get access to, and that's exciting for your members and of course it build membership loyalty. It is important to highlight what these benefits are, so that your members recognize their special status. It can be in the name of the program and then through your communications on delivery.

5 Build and Maintain Long Term Relationships

Your membership site will allow you to build and maintain long term relationships. These are your VIPs. Treat them well!! They are special to you and your company. You encourage the maintaining of relationships by offering your top clients perks that you don't offer your other members.

6 Provide Value to Your Members

If you have the expertise in your membership sites area then you will be able to find new material to share with your members. This can come in the form of newsletters, blogs, articles, videos, audios, etc. When you offer value to your members they stay members and that means you continue to enjoy the revenue.

Now that you know some of the key benefits to having a membership site, you are ready to begin to generate an ongoing revenue that can continue for years to come providing you give your members value.

Access Everything with the Ultimate Membership!!

Including Micro Memberships and Club Building!!

Members of the Womenpreneur's Resource Center gain access to almost every course developed here at CRC and one-on-one coaching. It is the ultimate membership for learning strategies for growth AND getting and staying on track with a coach that keeps you in momentum!!

Check out the Resource Center

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Social Media Management Project

🚀 Level up your social media marketing game with "The Social Media Management Project" course! 🚀

🗓️ Organize your social media marketing with a proven social media marketing calendar
📈 Stay consistent, productive, and efficient in your marketing efforts
🧩 Eliminate randomness with a strategic approach to your social media posts
🎯 Learn from a long-time social media marketer and business coach
🔑 Discover the power of focus and how it leads to marketing success
📅 Plan your 30-day social media calendar cycle for maximum impact
✔️ Be educational, funny, and network effectively on social media
🔗 Enroll now to take the first step towards social media marketing success!

Don't miss out on this opportunity to level up your marketing skills and achieve real results. Enroll in "The Social Media Management Project" today! 🌟

#SocialMediaMarketingCalendar #ConsistentMarketing #EfficientMarketing #OrganizedMarketing #FocusedMarketing #MarketingSuccess #LevelUpYourMarketing

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Values Alignment

LEADING TO YOUR VALUES

As a leader, the values of the organization need to be a focus.  When you lead to your values, then you are walking your talk, practicing what you preach, and living those values.

Values Alignment Check

Doing a periodic values check is important. Are we in alignment with the values of the organization?  Do the values we have outlined still fit the organization? And, what do we need to do to be in alignment with the values of the organization?

Here at Compass Rose Consulting, we just recently been looking at our own values. But values alignment is something that has been important to me for a long time. It was included in my first business development program: Business Builders Intensive and is still a part of Business Growth CORE in the Womenpreneur's Resource Center.  It is important to look at.

When you are out of alignment with your values -- your staff notice and your customers notice.   Something doesn't feel right. They know it and it impacts them.

Our values alignment evaluation looks at:

What is the value? Name it:

How is it practiced across the organization?
Operations?
Products?
Marketing?
Leadership?
Staffing?
HR?
etc.

For instance, I worked with an organization that worked with youth and taught that you needed to get a college education so that you would be fairly paid. And we hired people with college degrees to work with the youth. BUT, we did not pay a fair wage for the work done.  The values were out of alignment with the practice. I successfully changed that practice or at least improved it.

When you do the values alignment, you are going through each value and making sure that you are walking your talk and practicing the value in all that you do.

Take a look at your values and how they are working in your business. Is there something that you need to shift or change?  Is there a way to practice them better?

Leave me your thoughts below and let me know how your business is doing on it's values alignment.

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Discover the Key Steps to Effective Leadership

Embracing Leadership: 12 Steps to Being the Leader of Your Life and Business

Effective Leadership is a crucial aspect of both personal and professional growth. In the journey of entrepreneurship, we are not just business owners but also leaders of our own lives. Donna Price, an expert in personal and business development, shares essential insights from her book, "Launching Your Dreams: Making Wild Ideas Happen," outlining 12 steps to be the leader of your life and business.

1. Start with Vision

Creating a clear and compelling vision of the future is the cornerstone of effective leadership. It's about knowing where you're going and what the big picture looks like. The vision serves as the guiding star, inspiring and steering efforts, be it in personal aspirations or business objectives.

2. Be the Leader

Acknowledging oneself as the captain and driver of your life and vision is pivotal. Taking ownership of your dreams and goals empowers you to lead the way and stay committed to the journey, despite the challenges that may arise.

3. Chart Your Vision

Developing a strategic plan, akin to creating a map, is crucial for achieving your vision. Whether in business or personal life, strategizing acts as a roadmap to your envisioned destination. It outlines the actions and steps required to reach your goals, providing a sense of direction and purpose.

4. Stay Focused on the Horizon

Amidst the daily grind, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Staying focused on the horizon means consistently aligning your efforts with your vision. This ensures that short-term distractions or obstacles do not veer you off course from your long-term aspirations.

5. Use Your Compass

Just as a compass guides a ship, values serve as the compass for our lives. Identifying and aligning with your core values ensures that every decision and action you take is in harmony with what truly matters to you. It's about living and leading authentically, anchored in your own values.

6. Keep a Ship's Log

Accountability is vital in leadership. By maintaining a log of your accomplishments and actions, you create a record of progress. This not only keeps you motivated and inspired but also serves as a testament to your growth and dedication over time.

7. Share Your Vision

Sharing your vision with others not only strengthens your commitment but also opens doors to collaboration and support. By articulating your dreams, you invite others to contribute, offer resources, and provide valuable insights, enriching the journey with shared experiences and knowledge.

8. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Effective communication lies at the heart of successful leadership. Regularly sharing your vision, listening to feedback, and maintaining transparent communication with your team, clients, and stakeholders is essential for fostering understanding, alignment, and synergy.

9. Mastermind

Creating an advisory council or board can provide valuable external perspectives and guidance. Whether in the form of a business advisory board or personal mentors, seeking insights from trusted individuals can offer fresh perspectives, challenge assumptions, and catalyze growth in your leadership journey.

10. Hold the Vision

Integrity in leadership means staying true to your vision, despite the obstacles. This involves not succumbing to negative voices, be it internal self-doubt or external naysayers. Believing in your vision and persevering through challenges is integral to successful leadership.

11. Celebrating Your Leadership

Recognizing and celebrating your achievements is crucial. As a leader, acknowledging the efforts and contributions of your team is equally important. Sharing credit and expressing gratitude for the collective journey reinforces a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and appreciation.

The 12 steps to being the leader of your life or business offer a comprehensive roadmap for nurturing effective leadership.

Embracing these principles can empower individuals and entrepreneurs to not only envision their dreams but also lead others in achieving collective success. By staying true to the vision, fostering strong communication, and embracing accountability, one can pave the way for personal and professional growth, embarking on a fulfilling journey guided by purpose and aspiration.

https://youtube.com/live/N1VKBg2qIw0 https://bit.ly/4aGtVVh

Innovation, Persistence, and Consistency: Key Ingredients for Business Development

In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business landscape, staying relevant requires more than just showing up every day. It requires a commitment to continuous improvement, fresh ideas, and the willingness to think outside the box for business development. If you're a business owner, you know how important it is to consistently innovate, persist through challenges, and maintain consistency to create lasting success and foster business development.

Let’s dive into why these three elements—innovation, persistence, and consistency—are vital to growing your business and making a meaningful impact. Business development relies heavily on these factors.

1. Innovation: The Fuel for Growth

Innovation is more than a buzzword; it’s a way of life for successful businesses. By constantly seeking new ways to improve your products or services, you show customers that you are committed to providing value and staying ahead of the curve. Innovation isn’t always about creating something entirely new; sometimes, it’s about reimagining what you already offer. This approach can significantly contribute to business development.

Ask yourself:  
- What small changes can I make to improve my product or service?
- How can I add value in a way that’s more appealing to my target audience?
- Are there creative solutions to existing challenges that could benefit my customers?

Keep in mind that innovation should serve your vision, mission, and values. Every new idea or improvement should align with your core purpose and contribute to profitability. When innovation supports both your business and your goals, it has the potential to be a game-changer for business development.

2. Persistence: The Power of Not Giving Up

Success rarely comes without setbacks. Behind every thriving business is an owner who persevered through challenges, learned from mistakes, and kept pushing forward. Persistence is crucial to navigating through tough times and emerging stronger, ultimately contributing to business development.

While innovation might spark growth, persistence keeps you on track. When challenges arise, remember:
- Setbacks are often opportunities for learning and growth.
- Revisit your “why” to keep yourself motivated during challenging times.
- Celebrate small wins to maintain momentum and stay focused on your long-term vision.

3. Consistency: Building Trust and Credibility

Customers crave reliability, and consistency is the key to building a trustworthy brand. When you show up consistently, you build credibility with your audience, making them more likely to choose your business over others. Whether it's delivering exceptional service, maintaining quality standards, or sticking to your values, consistency establishes a foundation of trust crucial for business development.

Consistency doesn’t mean you can’t experiment; rather, it means that your core values, mission, and dedication to quality remain steadfast, even as you explore new ideas and methods.

Your Next Big Idea Could Be the Game-Changer

Take a moment today to reflect on your business. What’s one area where you could innovate, change, or improve that might increase your impact? Remember, it doesn’t have to be a massive overhaul. Sometimes, the smallest adjustments can make the biggest difference in business development and growth. 

Incorporate innovation, persistence, and consistency into your business practices, and you’ll set yourself up not only for growth but also for making a meaningful impact in the world.

https://bit.ly/3CxmDrp

Do YOU Have a Marketing Plan OR Are You JUST Winging It?

Are You Winging it? OR Do you have a solid marketing plan?

Do you have a solid business plan? Marketing plan? Strategic plan? Or are you winging it and hoping?

Creating a plan and sticking to it can improve your results. A plan becomes your blueprint for success. We most often see small businesses winging it, because business development is not their knowledge base. They are wonderful at their craft, but creating a plan and living that plan is not in their 'wheel-house'.

Developing solid strategies and tracking those strategies gives you the real world information that you need to move your business forward in a predictable and reliable way.

This is especially true for your marketing. You need to have a Marketing Plan....

Marketing isn't simple. To do it right, it requires a great deal of planning. Small businesses without massive marketing budgets have to handle this aspect of their business themselves or outsource in an affordable way. To do this effectively, either way it should be part of YOUR plan and not just a hope.

This is why businesses create a marketing plan. A marketing plan is a detailed document that includes the data you need to make marketing decisions and set a course of action that you can implement immediately. Drafting a marketing plan takes a great deal of time and work, but in the end, the benefits to having a plan are worth the effort that you have put into it.

Here are a few questions to get you started.

Who Is Your Target Market?

If you're already selling, take a look at your existing customers. Who are they? What do they like about your company's products? Try to recall any positive feedback you've gotten from them. Naturally, if your brand resonates with these individuals, it will resonate with others like them.

It sounds simple but so many business owners tell us that EVERYONE is their ideal customer or ANYONE is their ideal. Defining your true customers is an exercise that is worth your time. It directly IMPACTS your marketing strategies and tactics.

If you don't already have customers, defining your target market may take a bit more work. Look at companies that offer similar products to yours. Who is buying from them? Who could benefit from your products? Try doing some market research to glean some idea of who your target market is.d

What Makes Your Products or Services Unique? Why You? How Do You Stand Out?

There are bound to be other companies out there selling goods or services similar to yours. So, what makes yours different? Why would someone buy from you and not another company? Think about it for yourself, why do you buy from one company instead of another? Is it the product or the customer service, the location? There is always something that causes the person to hit that BUY button.

If the unique qualities of your products don't come to mind immediately, some work needs to be done. Do some soul searching and look for the strengths of your products. Write down everything that you love about your product/service. Include what you have heard from your customers.

If, in the end, you find that your product unfortunately resembles basically everything else on the market, how can you differentiate it to make it unique?

What Do You Want Your Marketing to Achieve?

Every business takes for granted that it needs to market, but why? The 'why' is critical. You need to identify exactly what you hope to achieve through your marketing because this will guide all of your efforts and help you choose which tactics are most appropriate.

Are you trying to build your email list?
Do you want buyers directly on your website?
Is your marketing for new leads?
WHAT is a critical question.

Once you know who your target market is, what's unique about your product or service, and what you want to get out of your marketing efforts, you're ready to get started with your marketing plan.

Winging it in business is most often not a good strategy. Spending money on marketing with HOPE that it will work is a waste of money. If you are like most small businesses you do not have money to waste.

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Womenpreneur's Field Guide

🚀 Elevate Your Business with the Womenpreneur’s Field Guide!

🌟 Are you a woman entrepreneur seeking to unlock the full potential of your business? Look no further than the Womenpreneur’s Field Guide! This comprehensive guide, expertly crafted by Donna Lynn Price, CEO of Compass Rose Consulting, offers a wealth of strategies and frameworks designed to boost your business growth.

🔑 Discover the EIGHT Business Growth Keys, vital for transforming your business. These keys, along with the four pillars of success — leadership, marketing, operations, and your products and services — are the cornerstone of building a thriving business.

💡 Dive into insightful categories like Business Growth and Marketing Strategy, tailored to empower women entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge to excel in their venture.

📚 What’s more? The guide is completely FREE! Gain immediate access to invaluable resources such as the full guide, learning the 8 Business Growth Keys, and tips on increasing profits.

🌐 Being a part of the Womenpreneur’s Resource Center grants you full access to this report along with many other courses and resources, offering an integrated approach to business.

🎁 Bonus materials include 5 Traffic Strategies, a Communications Plan, Generating New Business Leads, 50 Ways to Develop Content, and strategies for Fulfilling Your Purpose. These bonuses are designed to enhance your business acumen and strategic plan.

📈 Additionally, the Womenpreneur’s Success Path includes weekly training sessions covering a range of essential topics such as list building, solving sales and marketing problems, network building, leveraging AI, and much more. These sessions are structured to guide you on a path of continuous learning.

🔗 Unlock Your Business Potential Today

Join now and embark on a journey to transform your business and elevate your entrepreneurial success!

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Debunking Myths: Unlock the Potential of Membership Sites

Membership Sites and the Myths Behind Them

Right now, the buzz is all about membership sites and programs, shining as a beacon for entrepreneurs seeking lucrative revenue streams. Yet, amidst this excitement, persistent myths cloud the true potential of this strategy, potentially holding you back from unlocking a significant income source.

Membership Site Myth #1:

Let's bust a common myth: the notion that you must be a seasoned expert in your membership site's focus area. This couldn't be further from the truth. Imagine leveraging expertly crafted books, workbooks, checklists, videos and webinars created by others to enrich your site, without the pressure of being the expert yourself. (Of course, you often need to have permission or license to use many materials. So be sure that you check on that first!!)

Membership Site Myth # 2:

Another myth that needs dispelling is the idea of endless content creation. The reality is, membership sites often thrive on a fixed-term model, offering a structured course with a clear start and end. This approach means your content, once created, serves many cycles of members with minimal updates needed, making it an efficient and popular choice.

Membership Site Myth # 3:

And then there's the fear of "too much content" causing paralysis. The truth is, a successful membership site balances quality and quantity perfectly, catering to your audience's needs without the pressure of perfectionism or the myth of endless content creation.

Membership Site Reality:

Membership sites do require effort, like any venture, but the beauty lies in their potential to generate a steady income stream with minimal ongoing work. It's time to cast aside these myths and embrace the opportunity.

Embark on your journey with our Club Building course, designed to guide you through the process of creating, launching, and growing a successful membership site. Say goodbye to myths and hello to a rewarding membership model that works for you.

Join us and unlock the door to recurring revenue and the freedom it brings. Let's get started!

More Ideas for Your Membership Site:

- Your Weekly To Do List For Your Membership Program

- 5 Reasons You Should Start Your Membership Site

- 4 Passive Income Strategies That Work

- Top 10 Ways to Promote Any Membership Program

- List Building is a Top Business Growth Strategy!

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The Hidden Dangers of Sales and Discounts in Business

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Are You Helping or Hurting Your Business?

Everyone loves a good sale. As consumers, we’re drawn to discounts that feel like we’re getting the most bang for our buck. But as a business owner, is offering discounts or running frequent sales really a smart strategy for growing your brand?

The answer isn’t as straightforward as it seems. While discounts can provide benefits, they also come with potential downsides that can impact your bottom line and your brand's long-term success.

Let’s look at both sides of the discount debate, exploring when it makes sense to offer sales, when it doesn’t, and the strategies to use so that your discounts support your business instead of hurting it.

 The Upsides of Offering Discounts

1. Attracting New Customers and Creating Momentum

Offering a discount or a promotional sale can be a powerful tool for bringing new customers to your business. A limited-time offer can create a sense of urgency, motivating people who might otherwise delay their purchase. Discounts can also help overcome the initial hesitation that people often feel when trying a new product or service.

A well-timed sale can energize your brand, generating excitement among current customers and creating buzz that can lead to word-of-mouth referrals. For a small business, this visibility can be invaluable, helping you reach new audiences who may later become loyal, full-price customers.

2. Encouraging Additional Purchases

In many cases, discounts don’t just bring people in—they also prompt additional spending. Customers who see that they’re “saving” may feel inclined to buy more than they would otherwise, especially if the discount requires a minimum purchase threshold. This can be a great way to increase the overall cart value, especially during holiday seasons or other high-shopping periods.

3. Clearing Out Inventory

Discounts can be especially useful when you have excess inventory or seasonal products that need to move. Offering a sale on older or soon-to-be-discontinued items helps free up storage space, and it can give your new products the attention they deserve. For businesses that rely on inventory turnover, discounts can be a strategic way to keep things fresh without having to deal with costly storage fees or unsold products.

 The Downsides of Frequent Discounts

1. Eroding Profit Margins

The most obvious downside of discounts is that they cut into your profit margins. Unlike consumers, who enjoy the thrill of saving money, business owners still have to account for their expenses. The discount you offer on a product is directly taken out of your profit. For every dollar discounted, you’re losing a portion of your profit, which can add up quickly, especially if you offer frequent or deep discounts.

It’s essential to remember that your fixed costs—materials, rent, employee salaries—don’t change just because you’re offering a sale. Each time you offer a discount, it impacts your bottom line, potentially making it harder to sustain your business in the long run if your profit margins are already slim.

2. Conditioning Customers to Wait for Sales

One of the most dangerous long-term effects of offering frequent discounts is that it can “train” your customers to wait for the next sale. When discounts become predictable, your customers start to expect them, holding off on making purchases at full price. Bed, Bath & Beyond is a classic example. Over time, customers came to rely on their ever-present coupons, and it became almost unthinkable to shop there without one. The brand became known more for its discounts than for its value or product selection.

If customers associate your brand with regular sales, they may only buy from you when there’s a discount. This habit undermines your pricing structure and can make it difficult to sell products or services at their intended price point.

3. Devaluing Your Brand’s Perceived Quality

Frequent discounting can inadvertently lower the perceived value of your products or services. If your items are always on sale, customers may start to wonder if the full price was ever a fair value. When people see frequent discounts, they may begin to associate your brand with cheapness rather than quality. In industries where trust and brand reputation matter, this can be a slippery slope. Your products or services may appear less credible or reliable if people believe that the quality matches the discounted price, not the full price.

Finding the Right Balance: Tips for a Smart Discounting Strategy

Since there are both positives and negatives, a thoughtful approach to discounts and sales is essential. Here’s how to make sure your discount strategy works for you, not against you:

1. Make Discounts Purposeful and Timely

Rather than running frequent or arbitrary sales, tie discounts to special occasions, like holidays, product launches, or customer loyalty programs. If you offer discounts sparingly, they’ll feel more valuable when they do happen, and customers are less likely to rely on them as the norm.

2. Consider Alternatives to Price Discounts

Instead of directly lowering prices, think about adding value in other ways. You might bundle products together, offer a free gift with a purchase, or provide access to an exclusive resource. These alternatives can attract attention without eroding the perceived value of your products.

3. Use Discounts to Reward Loyalty, Not Entice Bargain Hunters

To avoid conditioning all customers to wait for discounts, use sales and special offers to reward your most loyal customers. Offer discounts to your email subscribers, social media followers, or previous customers as a thank you. This approach makes them feel valued while reducing the risk that new customers will expect discounts every time they shop with you.

4. Track the Impact on Your Profits

Before implementing any discount, run the numbers. Determine the break-even point, calculate your profit margins, and track sales outcomes to see if your strategy is working. A sale that generates a lot of purchases but doesn’t increase your overall profit isn’t a successful discount.

5. Communicate the Value of Your Product or Service

In all of your marketing efforts, focus on communicating the value of your products and services. Emphasize their benefits, quality, and the unique aspects of what you offer, so your customers know they’re buying something worthwhile. When customers see the full value, they’re more likely to pay full price and see discounts as a rare bonus rather than an expectation.

Final Thoughts: Use Discounts Wisely to Benefit Your Business Long-Term

Discounts can be an effective tool in your marketing strategy, but they should be used strategically and sparingly. By offering purposeful sales and avoiding constant discounts, you can attract new customers without devaluing your brand or training customers to only shop with a coupon. A strong brand that people trust and value will have far more long-term success than one that’s known primarily for its sales.

Remember, building a successful business isn’t just about making sales in the short term—it’s about creating lasting customer relationships and establishing a brand that people want to invest in at full price.

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