Last week I wrote about the power of newsletters. I’ve received emails from people who wonder how to get people on their mailing lists. Now-a-days, all electronic mailing lists need to be “opt-in”- that is, you can’t put people on your list who don’t want to be on your list. So what do you do? You ask! I know this can feel uncomfortable, because it involves putting yourself out there. We fear being pushy and we dislike selling ourselves too hard. But that is the beauty of a good mailing list. It is made of people who want to be on it! At the end of every talk or class you do, simply say something like this: “If you would like to receive my e-newsletter and stay in touch with my company, please give me your card and I will place you on my mailing list.” Not very pushy! But get in the habit of asking people if they would like to be on your list. A more effective way to go about this is a raffle of some sort. I usually send a basket around at the end of a talk and ask people to put their card in it. I tell them I will pull a card and give away a book (or anything of value) and that by putting their card in the basket, I will also put them on my mailing list. “Please don’t put your card in if you don’t want to be on my mailing list.” This is very effective and increases the number of names you receive dramatically. And remember, it is very easy for people to unsubscribe to most mailing lists! Make yourself ask.

One of the most powerful assets of The Women’s Earning Institute is my database. This is the pool of names that receives my monthly newsletter. I love writing, so for me, writing a newsletter is an enjoyable way to market. I make sure each newsletter is meaty and content heavy. Any “marketing” is generally saved for the end. Now I’m not under the illusion that recipients open up and eagerly read every newsletter they receive. Sometimes a particular topic strikes a cord and sometimes it doesn’t. But given how many times people have to be exposed to you before they consider buying your product or service (6-7 times!), a newsletter is a great way to create exposure. I’m most fascinated by how people use the newsletter. I find that professionals who receive it often forward it to other professionals. It has generated speaking engagements, as well as clients.

If I could do one thing differently, I would have started gathering people’s contact information sooner then I did. When I think of all the talks I did in the early years of my business, talks where I didn’t ask attendees if they wanted to be on my mailing list, I cringe. At the time, I had no newsletter, so I figured I didn’t need a mailing list. I think I was overwhelmed with creating and managing a database as well. But I know there were people in those years who would have liked to hear from me again. So whatever you do, ask people if they want to be on your mailing list. If nothing else, throw their names in a shoebox, in preparation for when you do have a mailing list.

Last week I wrote about declaring your niche. “Better to be known for one thing strongly than many things weakly”. I’ve declared my “niche” of working with self-employed women in various client-based businesses. But this past week has been challenging. It feels like when you declare your niche, the universe steps in and tests you, to see if you are really serious about this. I launched The Women’s Earning Institute in January, to coincide with my niche. But I’ve been in practice for many years, working with many people on money issues. This week it felt like the world was trying to pull me back into being a generalist. One friend told me she wanted to refer in her neighbor- who is not self-employed. Another colleague wanted to refer in a couple for me to work with- neither of whom is self-employed. In each case I decided I might see these people, but I spent serious time explaining my new niche to these wonderful referral sources. I think they really got it. Instead of saying, “oh, think of all the people you won’t be able to help”, they immediately started thinking of self-employed women who need my help! It feels like declaring a niche is like steering a boat. It helps guide you and give your business direction, so you don’t get pulled by the currents. But if you don’t know your direction, and believe strongly in it, your boat will be carried wherever the currents are going.

One of the most common issues I see when working with women is they have too wide a niche. Whether they are coaches, running a therapy business or law practice, they like doing a lot of different things for a lot of different people. Besides enjoying many kinds of people, women are also afraid they will lose clients if they cast too narrow a net. But as paradoxical as it sounds, you will make better money by refining your niche.

I used to work with everyone on their money issues—individuals, couples, salaried people, self-employed, you name it. It has been both exciting and uncomfortable to narrow my focus. Now, I work with women in client-based businesses. Some call me a “private-practice business coach”. Hire me to start/ tune-up your practice and get you more profitable. I have found that it is easier to “sell” myself with this refined niche, and the money is better. It’s better to be known for one thing strongly than many things weakly. Of course in the normal process of working with people, many issues come up. So in reality, I still work with many different people on many issues. But publicly focusing my niche has helped set me apart. Is it scary? Yes. But I’ve made myself do it and I’ve seen wonderful results.

One of the most frustrating things I’ve learned about marketing a service-based business (though this applies to many businesses) is how often people have to be exposed to you before it occurs to them to hire you. I’ve heard the number “seven” many times in connection to this- people have to be exposed to you at least seven times before they hire you. Good grief! This can make it difficult to measure the effectiveness of your marketing.

But remember- marketing is the cumulative effort of putting yourself out there. And there are many ways to put yourself and your business out there in the world.

I think my newsletter works well in this regard. Every month, people are exposed to me yet again. (Though I know many subscribers don’t avidly read my words of wisdom every month!) And at this point in my business, I’ve noticed that people don’t always even remember where they first heard about me. I have many new clients report a series of “synchronicities” that brought them in- in the space of a few months several different friends mention me, they see an article I wrote in a local paper, someone forwards them my newsletter etc. “Ah-ha! This must be a woman I should see!” They say. These synchronicities are actually a result of all my marketing work. If you want your business to grow, you must continue to put yourself out there. And remember, increased visibility helps your referral sources remember you as well!

Truth be told, I’m in mourning over the Seahawks loss yesterday in the Super bowl to the Steelers. But you are probably reading this to get some insights into running a more profitable business, so I will try to not digress into my opinions on how the refs called the game…. So the question has come up: How did I get lucky enough to get the feature article in Seattle Woman Magazine, which led to being on the cover? The answer: networking! For years (yes, that’s right- years!) I’ve networked with Women Business Owners (WBO) here in Seattle. I’ve spent the last two years serving on the Board. Through my relationships with other board members, many of whom have followed my work over the years, I was asked to give the keynote talk at one of our luncheons several months back. (Let’s clarify this- when the topic of speakers came up, I verbally threw my name into the hat- don’t just wait to be asked!) I diligently prepared for this opportunity and gave a wonderful talk. (It was on the psychology and how-to of rate-setting.) The publisher of Seattle Woman was in the audience and heard me, and after the talk came up to me and asked if I was interested in writing the feature article. I gave her an enthusiastic yes!

Remember what Seneca, the 1st century Roman philosopher said: Luck is what
happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Now here is what is interesting. I had been submitting article ideas to this magazine for six months, and had received no response! (I didn’t mention this to her when she offered me the feature article. I just graciously accepted.) This is the power of networking. I think some people believe networking is just about trying to get clients. This is very short sided. To me, the real power of networking is all the marketing opportunities that come out of it. Yes, I have clients that I’ve met through networking. But far more powerful are all the opportunities that have come to me by diligently creating relationships overtime with a group I like.
Mikelann

As many of you know, this month I was on the cover of Seattle Woman Magazine in January. (If you want to see the cover and the related article, it is under the PR link on my website.) It was quite an honor, and I was very excited! I wrote a feature article entitled Make More Money! Why women undersell themselves and what to do about it. Since then, many business owners have asked me, “Did you get a lot of clients from that?” Yes and no. I certainly have had some phone calls (and many congratulatory emails from my colleagues and clients!) but the real value lies in how I leverage it in the future. Nancy Juetten, a fabulous PR women and “corporate story teller” tries to teach this to all her clients. She says that the true value lies in what you do with an article after it is published. How can you re-use it? For example, this magazine will be the corner-stone of my PR packets for this year. I’ve already sent some out to various schools where I would like to be invited to speak. (I guess you could say that I am inviting them to invite me to speak!) And I have already booked other speaking gigs as a result of being on the cover. That is the real power. Once people hear me present in person, they are far more likely to book me as their business coach or trainer, then merely reading an article I wrote. Everything works together. I’ll keep you posted as things pan out!
Mikelann

January 23, 2006
Well, I cleaned the house, hid the toys and make a huge pork-roast for the informal networking dinner I hosted on Thursday- the Seven Fabulous Women. I was deeply struck by how honest we all were. I belong to formal networking groups as well (the monthly luncheon and keynote speaker type of event) but having an informal group is different. In formal networking, it feels like I have to wear a certain “face”- I project confidence and success, even if I don’t feel it. But in an informal group we can all let our hair down. One of our group shared how much more money she made this year than last. Yeah! And then someone shared how frustrated she was with not making enough money. In the course of the evening there were genuine tears of joy and tears of sadness and frustration. Women feel deeply, and being in business for yourself doesn’t change that. It is important to have a place where you can share what is really happening in your business and get honest support and feedback. Business has ups and downs, and to pretend otherwise is a set-up. We all supported what was going on for each other (which is not all business-related!) and swapped ideas and resources. By the end of the evening I felt full and was excited to move forward.
Mikelann Valterra
http://www.womenearning.com

January 16, 2006
Am I worth charging more money?
In the course of coaching, I teach women how to set and raise their rates. I know the theories, the exercises, the philosophy etc behind how to raise your fees, and have done a lot of speaking on this very topic. So it was time to put it to the test. It was time again to raise my own rates! I did the research on what other coaches charged and thought deeply about what I would need to charge to continue enjoying my work and living my life. I went through all the exercises. It was difficult. There was fear. What if I raised my rates and some of my clients left? What if the new fee kept new clients from hiring me? Was I WORTH charging that much money? These questions kept me up a few nights, and I went back and forth. I talked to my husband and close friends about it. (Of course they think I am priceless, which is nice to hear, but not necessarily helpful.) The research I had done helped me considerably, since I knew logically that the fees I charged where not out-of-line, and could even be considered a good deal. It also helped that I was willing to lose some clients in the rate adjustment. (You need to create room for higher-paying clients on top.) But it still came down to worth. Luckily, I’ve sent a lot of time this past year collecting testimonials, and re-reading these helped me tremendously. Hearing the wonderful things that happened in my clients lives helped me believe I was worth the money. And so in January, I raised my rates. I’ll keep you posted on what happens. In the mean time, I have to cook a huge pork roast for my “seven fabulous women” dinner that I am hosting this Thursday! It will help to talk about this with other business women who go through this as well.

The Seven Fabulous Women
If you want to build a successful business, it’s imperative to surround yourself with great role models. While I belong to some great networking organizations filled with powerful women, one of my favorite groups is completely informal. We call ourselves “The Seven Fabulous Women”. The only thing we have in common is that we are all self-employed, enjoy what we do, and are successful. Once a quarter, we get together for a big potluck dinner at one of our houses. We share what’s going on in our business, laugh a lot, drink a little, and enjoy the company of women who really “get it”. One of us is a successful psychotherapist with a thriving practice One is an interior designer who utilizes “feng shui”. The variety is great. We share marketing ideas, successes, frustrations, and our lives. We end each dinner by picking the next date and location. Would having a group like that help you? Think about it. Women thrive in community, and business is no different. Start your own dinner group!