Lester Says Keep It Simple

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

The other day I was wandering around at a local parade when I saw a puppy for sale and brought him home, completely on a whim (with my husband's permission of course.) We named him Lester. My heart breaks open whenever I look at him. He reminds me that the simplest things are what makes life magical. Puppies are just pure love. That's a pic of Lester kissing my big Leonberger Starr.

With a puppy around, it's difficult to focus on the future, or to worry about the past. He is in present time only, and that's where he wants me to play. I'm cool with that because I know that's the best way to raise my vibration, to stay present and pay attention to the magic.

I can keep it simple in my marketing too. I think the best marketing is a short share straight from the heart. When our hearts are open and we share what we are present to right now, our perfect peeps are drawn right to us. They notice our true heart shining through.

What can you share about right now in your ezine, or your blog, or just on your Facebook wall? Focus in on the present and look into your own heart. What is waiting to be expressed? Share that and watch what happens.

How to Monetize Your Social Networks

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Most of you know I've been teaching conscious entrepreneurs how to use social media for about 2 years now. During this time I was focused on how to expand your networks online by using sites like Facebook and Twitter, and how to get to page one of Google using sites like Squidoo and Blogger. I inferred that you could expand your business by expanding your customer base, but I realize now I didn't really talk a lot about how to monetize your social networking activity. In this article I will share specific ways you can increase your income through Facebook and Twitter.

Step 1: Create a Great Profile
The first thing anyone must do when they join a social network is to set up a great personal profile and include all their business information. We do this because we understand that our perfect customers will hire us when they know, like and trust us. Having a robust personal profile including pictures, favorites, and links back to our sites and blogs will give people access to learning more about us without having to visit our websites.

Step 2: Expand Your Heart-Centered Network
The next thing you want to do is expand your network of friends. You can locate people through other friends and associations you like, and by searching for certain words or phrases you resonate with. Expanding your online network is a valuable activity and it's key to monitizing your social media activity. When you make a conscious effort to attract the right people to your network, you have created a ripe environment for business transactions to bud, grow and flourish.

Step 3: Host Free Teleclasses
You have an expertise, and area of interest, a gift to share with the world. Create a free teleclass around this passion of yours and promote it to your network of friends on Facebook and Twitter. The larger your network, the more registrations you will get for your free class. Because you are offering the class by phone, people can access it from anywhere in the world. With your free teleclass , you have a captive audience who is ready to receive what you have to offer. Give them real benefit, something they can walk away with that will enhance their lives. Once you have given them value, they will want more from you.

Step 4: Make a Special Offer
Toward the end of your free teleclass, make a special offer that your participants are compelled to act upon, like a discounted consulting package, a teleclass series, or a product with a bonus. Give them a time frame, or limit the offer to the first X number of people so they are inspired to act. You will be amazed at how quickly you can fill your calendar with new clients using this process.

Lather, Rinse Repeat!
I personally repeat this process every month. I continuously improve my online profile, I expand my network and contribute to others, I offer free teleclasses, and then I offer programs and discounts to my participants. It's a magical process.

If you want some hand-holding through this process, I have created a 6-week program called "Teleclass Magic: Essentials for Expanding Your Biz from Home with Teleclasses" where I integrate social media training, law of attraction marketing, and teleclass basics so you can get started monitizing your social media activities right away! Learn more about this class at http://www.graphicgirlz.com/teleclassmagic.html

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, Wildly Attractive WebsitesTM, Branding from the HeartTM, and smart Social Networking strategies. She is the author of the upcoming best-seller "Client Attraction Breakthough: How to Attract Clients Fast in the New Economy." If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com

The Ultimate Marketing Guide for Homebodies

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

There are a lot of reasons to want to stay home. Maybe you have kids, or in my case, dogs, that you want to always be with. Maybe you love where you live and enjoy the comforts of home. Maybe you just hate driving or traveling. Or maybe you're just lazy and prefer to lounge around in PJ's all day.

If you're like this, you're a bit of a homebody. I'm a homebody too.

That's why I love to do business and marketing from home, and I've developed some key ingredients to being a stay-at-home marketer. Below I list these key ingredients and offer links to my services if you need help creating your ultimate marketing plan for homebodies!

The first key ingredient is a website that truly reflects your personality and mission. Of course I think it's important to invest in the right branding vision and message, and to have at least one professionally designed site to promote everything you're up to, and to represent you to the world. However, if budget is a factor, you can create an interim site on a blog like Blogger or Wordpress for free, and you can even customize it for a lot less than a full site. To make your site an authentic reflection of you, include text written from the heart and pictures that resonate with you. See examples of my site designs here.

The second key ingredient is a large Social Media network. I have consistently built my Social Media network for about 2 years and have over 10,000 connections online. Considering I was only able to grow my list by about 800 over the first 10 years I was online, exploding my connection base by thousands and thousands of peeps felt like a win-fall. And these results are available to anyone who spends about an hour a day connecting with people on Facebook and Twitter. Other Social Networks to consider are YouTube and LinkedIn. See a list of my Social Media Services.

The third key ingredient is group coaching or teleclasses. I have been offering teleclasses for four years now and they have helped me increase my income by almost 50% in the last 2 years alone. I use free teleclasses to promote both my group courses as well as my one-0n-one services. They have really helped me build strong positive buzz about me and my offerings. And the teleclass intensives I've offered have not only brought income, they have also provided me a platform to share my true purpose and develop my gifts. I feel strongly that anyone in business for themselves can and should use teleclasses to attract a wider potential client base and build additional streams of income while fulfilling on their life mission. Learn about my upcoming training "Teleclass Magic: Essentials for Expanding Your Biz from Home with Teleclasses"

The fourth key ingredient is a positive mental outlook. Without a positive metal outlook, attracting perfect customers and living the perfect homebody life is not possible. Not only is confidence our greatest business asset (it's what our customers need from us first and foremost) but maintaining a positive vibration is key to attracting all that we desire. Every day I make sure to spend at least 1/2 hour raising my vibration and balancing my energy. First I use the Attraction Plan to determine what I want and focus my attention there. Second, I am blessed to have learned the "Daily Clean Your House Flow" self-applied energy balancing by Deb Myers. You can learn these key accupressure positions at her website.

The fifth key ingredient is receiving support. I never could have even started a business without a lot of help, and I require help ongoingly. I have several coaches and virtual assistants to help me stay true to my mission and forward my goals. I in turn offer support to conscious entrepreneurs who want to attract their perfect peeps and to be empowered to express their purpose to the world. I'm happy to extend to you a complimentary 20 minute strategy session to clarify your most pressing marketing needs and offer some tips. Just call me at (707) 823-3316 during west-coast business hours.

I hope you find these resources helpful in empowering you to craft your ultimate homebody marketing plan. Go forth and attract!

Will They Care About Your Passion?

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Only when we fully realize our perfect peeps are completely aligned with us on a sole-purpose level will we finally understand the utmost importance of authentic marketing.

There is a growing population of business owners, especially those who are spiritually oriented, who are attracted to an authentic approach to marketing. They understand that hype-y sales strategies are not becoming to them nor attractive to their perfect customers.

But when it comes to sharing their true life passion, their purpose, what really makes them tick, they get shy. They ask themselves, "Will people really care about my passion?"

This shyness comes from a fear of rejection, pure and simple. Most of us have been taught that business is no place for your passion. And it feels vulnerable to expose ourselves. On an unconscious level, we think even fake marketing is safer. The self dialog may sound like this, "even though this marketing doesn't really represent me, I heard this tactic sells, and I'd rather be rejected for this than my true life's passion."

The problem is that our perfect business partners and customers, those who are aligned with our purpose, will not recognize us unless we are transparently authentic in our marketing. And that means sharing what you are passionate about.

The first step is to determine what you are passionate about. Start with what you love most about your business and share that, in person and online. Share the client story that touched you so deeply, tears came to your eyes. Or if you need to start lighter, simply share a quote from your favorite thought leader that reveals where you are coming from. Notice how sharing your passion attracts people to you who would never have found you otherwise, ones who are truly your perfect match.

Why I'm Getting Retweeted Daily

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

@MagicalMarketer

On Twitter getting "Retweeted" (having your post re-posted by one of your followers) is the highest form of praise. When you want to uplift someone or support what they're doing, you Retweet (#RT) them.

Retweeting has become such a central activity on Twitter that it is now a special link available from your Twitter Home Page. When you click on the "Retweets" Link and then on the "Your Tweets, Retweeted" tab, you can see all your Retweeted posts.

A little while ago I was experiencing very low Retweet rates.
Now I'm getting Retweeted almost daily. What caused the change?
I have a simple answer for you: quotes.

I recently selected over 100 quotes from online resources specifically designed to uplift and empower people, and inspire them to think differently. I started Tweeting these out several times a day and ... Voila! I get Retweeted as a result.

I had heard that quotes are really popular on Twitter, but this proves it. If you want to engage with your peeps and contribute to them on Twitter, I suggest you go on Google and search for people you admire and put the word "Quotes" in your query. There are a lot of great quotes out there. Select those which are a match for your message and your purpose. Use quotes to help people get to know you, like you and trust you. And watch your Retweet numbers rise!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR BLOG? You may if you include this entire blurb with it: Julia D. Stege, MFA, founder of GraphicGirlz.com, is known as The Magical Marketer because of her unique approach to client attraction. Combining beautiful designs with law of attraction principles and smart internet marketing tips, Julia helps her Conscious Entrepreneur clientele to attract perfect customers authentically. Julia is the author of The Magical Marketing Blog and the upcoming book "Client Attraction Breakthrough: How to Attract Clients Fast in the New Economy." Start your client attraction breakthrough at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com

Expressing the Depth of Your Beauty

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

"Beauty represents the supremest living quality of thought. It is the glorious overflowing of fullness of love which indicates the presence of infinite reserves of power behind it... Beauty is the externalization of harmony." Thomas Troward*

I am a lover of beauty. Perhaps you could tell this by looking at my portfolio of designs . I have always wanted to fill the world with beautiful expressions of unique and uplifting ideas, and my clients appreciate this quality in the logos and websites I create for them.

But recently I have heard several different and unrelated internet marketing advisors declare that you don't need a beautiful website or brand to market your business. In fact, they recommend following basic template guidelines including garish bold red headlines on white pages with blinking arrows and opt-in boxes. They criticize "pretty websites that don't sell," as if it's the prettiness of the website that causes it to not sell.

I really feel that these Internet marketing advisors are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Yes, of course we all know we want to build our lists and communicate clearly with our potential customers. But when we copy these basic site templates and follow standard sales copy scripts, the beauty that lies inside of us remains unexpressed in favor of mere utilitarianism.

I believe that this approach to marketing is so unappealing to Conscious Entrepreneurs because it ignores the infinite store of power that we represent, and that is only revealed through the beautiful expression of love.

As Thomas Troward wrote, "What is the most beautiful form in which I can express the good that I intend? That is the ultimate question for the true beauty which our work expresses is the measure of the power, the intelligence, the love, in a word, of the quality and quantity of our own life which we have put into it." The offerings you have for the world are an expression of your beauty, that's for sure. The question is does your marketing, your website, your blog reflect the depth of your beauty?

To start an inquiry, as Trower suggests, into the most beautiful forms in which to express your mission, your message and your gifts, start seeking out words and imagery that resonate with you. Collect cards, clippings, artwork, and objects that feel good to you and are a match for your vision, message and offering. Use these to communicate with a designer you have selected to help you visually express your mission in the world.

*Thomas Troward was introduced to me in a Recession Rescue with Rapid Results teleclass by David Neagle

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR BLOG? You may if you include this entire blurb with it: Julia D. Stege, MFA, founder of GraphicGirlz.com, is known as The Magical Marketer because of her unique approach to client attraction. Combining beautiful designs with law of attraction principles and smart internet marketing tips, Julia helps her Conscious Entrepreneur clientele to attract perfect customers authentically. Julia is the author of The Magical Marketing Blog and the upcoming book "Client Attraction Breakthrough: How to Attract Clients Fast in the New Economy." Start your client attraction breakthrough at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com

Celebrating You

by Julia D. Stege

I'm in the mood to celebrate myself because I'm turning 50 this Saturday and I deserve a little celebrating. I'm planning to celebrate all year and then be in such a habit of celebrating that I continue for the next 50 years. I think I have a good start because I've been sharing my passion in my marketing more and more.

Passion and marketing you say? Thought n'er the twain shall meet? How did our marketing get so far from our passion? Sometimes I wonder who invented the approach to marketing that feels so alienating that most people do whatever they can to avoid it. If you're like me, I bet you really love what you do.

So what can you do to love your marketing as much as you love serving your people with your heart-felt gifts?

Make your marketing a celebration of you and what you're passionate about. I know you were probably told somewhere along the line that marketing is all about your niche market and targeting them. And I'm not saying you shouldn't consider your perfect customers and what they need. What I am saying is that sharing your passion in your marketing will make the activity more appealing to you AND to your potential clients.

Take some time in quiet contemplation to discover what part of you longs to be expressed and blog about it, or send a note to your e-list, or post something about it on Facebook. It will feel really good to you, you'll be raising your vibration and attracting more of what you want, and your followers will appreciate your authenticity. Watch as they celebrate with you!