I am so stealing this idea from Lynn Terry’s post… I loved the question and thought it would be great discussion for those of us in the healing arts world.

If you could rub a lamp and ask for 3 wishes from the business building genie - what would your wishes be?

I know - shocking isn’t it?!? LOL!! But yes, it’s true - I’ve made mistakes during my journey through business-ownership. Since I’ve been talking quite a bit about newsletters for the last few weeks, I’d like to share some mistakes I’ve made with mine, what I learned, and how they impacted my practice.

1. Tried to manage my subscriber list in my e-mail program. This one was frustrating. When I first started my newsletter in 1999, I figured I would just manage it through Outlook.  I highly recommend NOT doing this. After you reach about 20 subscribers (which takes about no time to do…), it gets really cumbersome.

In your e-mail program you have to create a “group” to manage all of the addresses. Then you have to manually add people to the group. Then, if you’re sending a bonus to people for signing up, you have to manually send that. Now, on the surface, all of that doesn’t look that hard. But if you have several people sign up in a day, plus you’re trying to do everything else in your business - this can add a lot to your plate. And what if you forget to add someone, or add someone accidentally… don’t ask me how many times my e-zine went to my entire address book… boy were some people confused!

Use an e-mail list management service… so much easier!

2. Have an irregular schedule. Not a good idea. Consistency is your friend when it comes to producing a newsletter. People come to rely on you - they want to hear from you and they want to hear what you have to say… after all - they know you can help them!

If you go too long between issues, people will forget who you are and why they subscribed and they will quickly unsub. I learned that the hard way - after someone accused  me of spamming her because she forgot she actually did subscribe.

3. Not offering your products and services. People want to know how you are in service. Yes - providing value is a BIG key to having an effective newsletter. But - people can’t guess what you’re offering. Tell them.

For a long time, I went the route of not offering my products and services in my newsletter. People loved getting it, and they liked what I was saying - but they wanted to know more about how we could work together - they needed help in the form of products and services. Once I started offering my products and services, people began to take me up on those offers.

4. Copying someone else. Oy. I hate to even write that - I’m not proud of the fact that I put myself aside for a bit and tried on someone else. But I did. I went on this odd journey of comparing myself to another successful aromatherapist (back when I had the healing business…), and I copied her style in my newsletter. I figured she must know what to do to be really successful - so I would follow suit.

First off, I felt empty writing it. I started not enjoying it. Secondly - people noticed. It may have been subtle, but they definitely felt the “emptiness” and started unsubbing.

5. Only offering sales announcements. Now I’m not saying I NEVER send a message that isn’t strictly promotional. I do that very occasionally.  However, there was a time in my healing business when I was only offering specials, promotions, and sales. Not only were people unsubscribing - they stopped even opening my newsletter. YIKES.

Through my newsletter, I’ve learned the exact right things to do to get my message of service out in the world, and I’ve learned what absolutely NOT to do! I’ve been producing a newsletter since 1999 - and not only has it helped me grow my businesses - but it’s been a fabulous way to help me get to know my subscribers, and build a community.

During the July Teleclinic, I’ll be teaching participants step-by-step how to create an effective newsletter. It’s happening July 8 at 1:00 EST. Check out all the details here.

My friend Gina just gave the best explanation I have ever read about why we need a niche. I absolutely love what she says in her recent personal blog post.

Gina starts out by talking about this idea that we, as healers, all relate to. Can’t we help absolutely anyone with our service? And isn’t the point of our existence to be limitless and to “flow organically and cyclically like nature?” Aren’t we all one?

Well yeah. But we’re also physical. And I love what Gina says about this aspect of our lives. Especially “Only through being very clear about what one says yes to can any momentum and power be generated toward moving us along our individual paths. Without the focus, the boundaries, the limitations, the energy is just dispersed and rendered ineffectual.”

Yes yes yes!!! Exactly! And this is why choosing a niche and focusing your business - or any of your efforts - is so important.

In this vast Universe that we live in - and for all the One-ness that we all are… we’re still human. We all have human, physical limits.

So if you want to be heard, you must focus your efforts - as much as that may feel wrong or uncomfortable. It is exactly right.

Gina, thank you for offering this very powerful post!

So… this has been a crazy week - you may have noticed I’m JUST getting around to blogging… and this won’t even be a long one.

To start things off - this week is our recital for dance (I teach advanced jazz and lyrical, Madd takes ballet and tap). We’ve got tons of extra running around to do… started out not being a big deal - I’m a planner and pretty well organized, so the extra stuff was well planned for.

Yeah, it wasn’t a big deal until - major storms hit Tuesday and we lost power for 24 hours! Definitely threw a kink into my Wednesday. Instead of having a few hours in the office, I had… oh… about 45 minutes of “actual” work time. You know how that goes - it backs everything else up.

Wednesday was a very stressful, frustrating day. On top of my workday being uprooted, Maddie had her class picnic, which I had already planned to attend. Beyond that, I spent most of Wednesday looking for somewhere to camp out - somewhere with power, internet, phone, and entertainment for a  6 year old. I thought I had found solace with my in-laws but for some reason, I couldn’t log on to their wireless connection… *sigh*

A few times during the day I found myself just taking a deep breath and saying “Just go with the flow, Jenn - it’s all good…” but that sentiment lost its luster after a while, and I just wanted some normalcy. I did my best to hold it together - but I kept coming back to thinking that there was just some things I absolutely wanted to get done, and darn it - it was maddening! I did hit the wall by the end of the day… I just couldn’t take any more unexpected stress. I admit - I freaked out.  My husband received an exasperated phone call from me… “exasperated” probably doesn’t describe it well… crazy, lunatic, mad-woman probably gives you a better visual of how I was reacting at that time!

Despite the snafu - it’s actually turning out to be a good week. We had great rehearsals, I’m expecting fantastic shows, and we had a fabulous June Teleclinic yesterday all about what might be missing in your marketing path.

This is a shot of Miss Madd in her Wish Upon A Star Costume:

We all encounter unexpected snafus and changed plans - are you ready for sudden course corrections in your business? Are you ready to just “flow” if things get crazy for a day or two?

This experience definitely reminded me that sometimes, you just need to let go of control, trust that everything is ok, and roll with it. After my big freak out, I felt better… and I had a more calm view of the day. Next time, I’ll just resign myself to the fact that the day will be quite different than I planned, and I’ll be much more sane… I hope anyway

Does marketing feel like you’re pushing yourself out there hoping for a response?

Marketing can be pushy, and it can feel… yucky. But it can also be nurturing, and authentic. And actually – that’s whatyour marketing efforts are supposed to do. They are meant to help you build relationships and create a community through your business.

How the heck does marketing create community?

Marketing can be abused. And you see examples of that with the people who use marketing to manipulate, or play on the fears of your ego. 

But, at it’s core, marketing is meant to help your business build and nurture relationships. Marketing is the tool that helps people connect with you, identify with what your offering, and know that they belong in your business. Marketing is meant to help you create a community within the walls of your business.

Marketing is not selling.

Selling is the act of trying to convince someone to purchase something from you. And trying to convince someone to do something is never comfortable. 

Marketing on the other hand, if done from a nurturing place, is meant to help you and your business build and strengthen relationships with the people that need you. 

So what is needed to create a community through your marketing efforts?
 

1. You need a way to stay in touch and build relationships with people after they meet you. 

People may not be ready to purchase from you, or they may not fully understand how you can help them the first time they meet you. By having a way to stay in touch with them, you ensure that they will get to know you and fully understand what you do. 

When the time comes for them to need your service, they have no issue scheduling a session or purchasing from you. 

2. A good combination of active and passive marketing activities. Passive activities include things like advertising, and putting fliers up. If you don’t have active activities to balance these out, your efforts won’t be effective. 

Active activities include networking, and speaking – anything that gets you face-to-face with the community of people you’re trying to reach. 

3. Niche. I can’t say enough how important it is to be really, ultra clear about who it is you want to serve. The truth is, you really can’t serve everyone – even though I know you may want to try  

First, you don’t have the physical capacity to serve all 6 billion people on the planet. 

Second, not everyone is exactly right for your business. And if you try to serve those people – it expends a ton of energy trying to fit them into your business. 

Think about who you absolutely love serving, and focus on them. 

Marketing is actually not only fun, but if done right, in a nurturing, balanced way, your efforts can flow more easily allowing you to enjoy your business more, and allowing you to better serve in your business.

If you’re feeling frustrated with the way your marketing is going, check out my June 10 Teleclinic - Discover what’s missing from your marketing. See the details here.

Lots going on in the blogsphere about authenticity these days. For example, I just read this great post at the Passion Project Blog. And, Adam Kayce has a very awesome viewpoint here.

So, in the interest of being authentic, let’s share. First, I want to talk about my biggest fear. Rejection and Abandonment. I’m afraid that if I step into who I truly am at my core, my whole life will turn upside down. I’m afraid that if I shine my light bright enough, the people close to me will bail on me.

There. I said it.

Now, let’s talk about how I’ve managed this fear. I’ve actually had to learn to work with this fear - to function and build what I want to build even though this fear is very real and very alive within me.

I’ve learned to be an extrovert. It wasn’t easy, and people who meet me today cannot believe that I’m naturally introverted. These days, I think nothing of getting up in front of a group of people and giving a talk, or teaching. These days, I don’t bat an eye about going to a networking event by myself where chances are good I won’t know anyone. Today, I don’t hesitate to jump in the car and drive 4 hours to a speaking engagement in the middle of an unfamiliar state.

But - if you had met me 10 years ago - the thought of doing any of that would have terrified me.

Little by little, I’ve been shining my light… testing the waters if you will. And when I put myself out there, guess what happens? I end up meeting even more fabulous people, and the relationships I already have are strengthened and deepened.

Because when you bring your full self to the table, people are drawn to that. And it’s not in some egotistical sort of way. It’s in a deep, everlasting resonance between your Beings (yeah, that’s super woo woo - but you know it’s true ).

When you express your true self, you find all of the amazing, fabulous, wonderful things that resonate with your true self and life gets even better - and bigge, and deeper, and more meaningful…
I’ve spent time pretending - yeah, I’ve been down that road. What ends up happening is, I attract a bunch of stuff that really doesn’t resonate, and I end up moving away from it anyway.

You’re meant to be YOU. And it’s going to happen… you can’t deny your true self… your soul won’t let you - eventually, it’s going to happen… whether you go kicking and screaming, or willingly.

One of the things I love to do is build communities - unite like-minded people, connect and share. I love being involved in community because of the people it puts me in touch with, and the projects I’m able to get involved with.

There are lots of different types of communities you can get involved with - online and offline. Online, you can check out groups like Thriving Healing Business.

Offline, there is a lot you can get involved in. You can get involved in common interest groups like drum circles, or yoga classes. You can also look for networking communities in your area. In Southeastern PA, there are several Holistic networking organizations. For updates on their events, check out this page.

So what does community have to do with business? First and foremost - it eradicates that feeling of isolation in your business.

Running a practice can get lonely - even if your practice is in an office with other practitioners. Everyone is busy, and there isn’t a whole lot of time for connecting and relating.

Sometimes, you feel like an island in your business - particularly if you’re facing a challenge. Having a community gives you a rich support system to draw on when you need to bounce ideas off of someone, or you need to get through a challenging time.

Getting involved with a community also opens you and your practice up to new people. It gives you exposure to larger groups of people - particularly if you become an active participant in a community.

Being an active member means not just attending events, but seeing how you can assist, or what projects you can become involved in.

If you’re feeling isolated in your business, take a look at what communities you might get involved in. I invite you to share your favorite communities here - let’s expand our circle!

Alright - I know this is going to be shocking to some people… especially if you’ve heard me talk about how Twitter just isn’t right for me… If you’ve heard my thoughts on this, you know - I go into this whole schpeel about how we don’t have to be part of every single social network out there, we can do what’s right for our business - we don’t have to give into the peer pressure… I think I even throw in something about too much of this stuff can be distracting - and how it can be like chasing bright shiny new objects all over the internet - yadda yadda yadda.

Well, this week, I finally decided that it was time to try Twitter. I’ve heard enough about it, I’ve seen enough reviews, articles, and  information on it that I finally decided to join the club.

So what was it that finally pushed me over the edge? Well, someone in The Business Oasis said something about it being fun. What?!? Fun?!? I’m missing FUN?!? That was it - that was the last straw. I immediately went over, set up my account and started following people. God forbid I’m missing a party!!

So anyway - I’m still finding my way around Twitter - but if you’re so inclined, I’d love to follow you and have you follow me… even though as of right now I haven’t posted any updates… I know - I’m a little slow on the uptake with this thing!

I’ll share my experience with it, and let ya know how it’s going… heck, I may even share it on Twitter LOL!! If you want to follow me - @jenngivler

I was having dinner with a few colleagues last night and we got to talking about different ideas on getting the word out about our businesses. We started talking about all the great events that are taking place here locally - like the Grower’s Market, Swinging Summer Thursdays, the Turk’s Head Music Festival and the Restaurant Festival.

We were getting excited because these are going to be such good opportunities for us to get out in the community and meet new people. As you can see, these events aren’t typical networking events. These are community events and they will put us right in front of our potential clients. And the best part is, we can enjoy the events and have a great time, while energizing our business!

Here are three things to help you leverage the event.

1. Don’t make it about getting clients, make it about meeting new people. If you go to events with the expectation that you want to walk away with clients, that can put a lot of undue pressure on you. That pressure can make you pushy and edgy. The chances that you’ll sign a new client the first time they meet you are slim. Make it about having fun and just meeting new people.

Once you’ve met some new people, chances are good some of them will be potential clients and they’ll be interested in joining your newsletter list. Once they’re on your list, they can get to know you and may become clients down the road.

2.  Have an escape plan. My friend Lisa told me this tip. Think about how you might end a conversation with someone. There are always so many people to meet and there’s always so much to do at these events, it can be hard to break away from some conversations. Here are a couple of conversation breakers: “It’s been great talking to you, I see someone that has a question.” Or “I’m so glad we met, feel free to stop back and tell me how you’re enjoying the event!” Of course, remember to be sincere. Having a few phrases like this can help you easily end a conversation without feeling awkward or rude.

3.  Don’t wait too long to follow-up. When you make a great connection at an event, make sure you follow-up within a couple of days. If you let it go too long, you may just forget all together. I always have a small notepad with me and I make a to-do list during the event. I jot down who I want to touch base with and what I want to chat about. That way, I can focus on the event, and not worry about forgetting any details.

Community events are great opportunities to get your business in front of new people. Check your local area and see what you can get involved in!

**There are still spots available for my Thriving Business 1 on 1 Intensive Coaching Program. If it’s taking you longer than you thought it would to build a steady client flow in your business, this program may be just what you need. Check it out here.

I was reading Adam Kayce’s blog this week, and something he said inspired me to think about my own authenticity. He said: “…when you don’t open up to others because you’re afraid of not being loved, you end up not being loved nearly as much as you could, because you’re practically invisible.”

WHOA.

That stopped me in my tracks. As someone who has had huge issues with fear of rejection and the like, I am acutely aware of how to make myself invisible in certain situations… and no, I don’t have an invisibility cloak

But, how many times have you not said what you wanted to say, or not done something that you really wanted to do, because you were worried about what people would think?

How many times while building your practice have you let other’s opinions and judgments sway you? How many times have you made excuses due to fear?

I always say, nothing brings out all of your self-esteem demons like building a healing practice!

I think the worst way this manifests is, as Adam writes about in his post, when we need help. We can be so fearful of showing our vulnerability that we don’t even ask for help - when it’s sitting right in front of us.

I’ve had people want so badly to talk to me about coaching, but they’re afraid to approach me because they don’t want anyone to know that they need help. Yikes. The reason I know that, is because more than one client has confessed that to me.

Hey - I’m a coach - and even I need help! Yes - I too, work with a coach.

We can’t do it alone. If we could, this human experience would be pretty boring.

I can look back over my recent past and see times when I was extremely successful… and times when I was pushing and pulling so hard - taking every action I knew how to take and STILL nothing was working.

And, every single time, the successes came when I was standing powerfully inside myself. When I wasn’t afraid to listen to my heart, and just really be me.

I loved Adam’s quote because it really resonated for me. I’ve been going through some healing these last couple of weeks - healing some stuff from my past. And that quote was just such a great reminder to be fearlessly me