Notes from Minnesota

Hey Freelancer!

I can't believe it's September! We're soon entering one of my favorite times of the year: the Holiday Season.

Yippee!

Starting with Halloween, and ending on January 1, I just LOVE the upcoming train of holidays. (Did you know that candy has NO calories on October 31?)

So, as I gear up for the wonderful upcoming holidays, I'm also enjoying the cool fall as I continue to write outside, scoot to new locations (you can see some of 'em on my blog), and simply enjoy this wonderful, beautiful planet. We are surely blessed.

Beth

P.S. Be sure to check out our best sellers. Here's the link.

Mindset Moment

Hey Freelancer,

I've heard that “thoughts become things.” How's that, you ask?

Simple.

Your thoughts are reflected in your words. Your words eventually become your actions. Actions are merely the manifestation of your thoughts.

Actions, of course, build your reality.

That's why it's so important to monitor your thoughts, be impeccable in your words, and create actions you can be infinitely proud of.

But I'm sure you already knew this...

(Mindset Moment)

Beth's Hot Pick of the Week

The Creative Mindset Community is open for membership... for now. If you want a monthly newsletter, exclusive community, regular Round Table calls, and much more, click here.

On the other hand, if you'd like a shot-in-the-arm, a bit of inspiration, a second set of eyes, a marketing expert peruse your site... check out my new Drive Thru Coaching service. Nothing long term, you just select how much time you'd like to be coached, click a button, and you're good to go. Here's the link for more information.

August Events for the Creative Mindset Community 

This month is all about marketing your writing services and finding joy in everything you do. The CD features a fascinating case study of a upstart business and how to properly market it while the newsletter's marketing minute details the results of a recent Drive Thru Coaching session.

Every single member receives my regular audio CDs, books, Yahoo group, Round Table discussions and much more.

So, if you're looking for a small, tight knit writing community... a place where you'll receive free resources, a private chat area, a monthly subscription to the Creative Mindset Newsletter, and a monthly Round Table discussion where you can hang out with other freelancers, ask questions, and simply be yourself... you need to check out the Creative Mindset Community.

Beth Ann Erickson

Ever since I began my “Drive Thru Coaching Program,” I've received a steady flow of freelancers who need just a little nudge in the right direction concerning their career. As I've spoken with these incredible folks, I've noticed a bit of a trend and thought I'd address the most pressing issues here.

For starters, most questions revolve around websites. To give you a leg up on the competition, here are the answers to the top five questions I've received so far:

1. Keep your website “clean.” Eliminate clutter. Create a logical flow to your information. Ditch silly graphics/animations that don't propel your message forward. Choose readable, dark, fonts on a white or cream background. No red print/black background color scheme. Keep it simple... and profitable.

2. The number one rule in selling is to focus on your customer, not your product. Don’t talk about yourself either. Count the number of time you use the word “we/I” versus the word “you.” If “we/I” outnumbers “you” you’re talking about yourself too much. So, what do you write about? Talk about what you can do for your customer.

3. Next rule: people purchase products for emotional reasons, not logical. This means your writing needs to strike an emotion chord in your reader. Help them imagine a better life because of their affiliation with you. Show them how your product will improve their day. Logic is only used to justify that emotional decision, and your web pages needs to reflect this.

4. Features versus benefits. Here's an example from a candle-maker site: “Our candles are highly scented and guaranteed to stink up your home in minutes.” This is a feature. It tells me what the candles do. But what’s in it for me, the potential purchaser? Why do I want my house “stunk” up? The candle maker knows the reason for that answer, but I (as a reader) may not know this. Turn this feature into a benefit. Try this: Our candles are highly scented and guaranteed to stink up your home in minutes. This means that… (fill in blank)… so that… (end sentence).

5. Finally, make sure your website is online. This means you're using a reliable hosting company. If someone, a prospective customer, heads to your site only to receive an error message, you've lost a customer despite your hard work of constructing your site.

Final word: If your site can be interchanged with any other freelancer, then your site will never rise above the teeming crowd. Make it a reflection of you. Go completely overboard doing this and you’ll probably be close to the mark. Remember that the very fact that you are in charge of your business makes it unique. You need to pinpoint that uniqueness and capitalize on it every chance you get.

Oh and most of these tips apply to every piece of sales materials you distribute, including labels, brochures, etc.

More next time. :)

~~~

Beth Ann Erickson is the “Queen Bee” of Filbert Publishing. She’s also the author of numerous titles including “101 No Cost and Low Cost Secrets To Turbo Charge Your Freelance Income.” Pick up your copy today at http://filbertpublishing.com/101.html   She’s also a busy copywriter, speaker, and publisher of Writing Etc., the free e-mag for writers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I Recommend:

Writing For Dollars! The FREE ezine for writers featuring tips, tricks and ideas for selling what you write. Receive the FREE ebook, 83 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING when you subscribe. Email to subscribe@writingfordollars.com -*-

http://www.WritingForDollars.com

WRITERS FIND MARKETS EASILY - Worldwide Freelance has a NEW fully-searchable Markets Database. Discover writing markets from North America, Europe, Australia and other places. It's free, so come and try it out

here: http://www.worldwidefreelance.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~