Beth Kempton's Blog, page 15

Great Escape: What’s Going On?

2017 is in full swing, and spring is the perfect time to think about what you want from the year ahead. Whether it’s learning a new skill, developing yourself personally or professionally, tapping into your creativity, hiring a coach, or taking a break to rest and recharge, making time to nurture yourself and your dreams every once in a while is vital for your health and wellbeing.

Here’s our pick of the best upcoming festivals, events and talks to help you on the path to doing what you love...

How to make your BIG writing dream a reality

Do you dream of being a writer? Well, now’s the time to turn that dream into reality.

To help get you started, our expert columnist and leading expert in digital distraction and digital detox, Frances Booth shares an extract from her inspirational new book A Writer for All Seasons: Beat Blocks, Face Your Fears and Keep Writing 

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Turn up

The most important rule is to turn up.

Turning up means turning up to write when you’re:

Tired
Really tired
Uninspired
Inspired
Sad
Bored
Anxious
Happy
Scared...

Be your own soul friend today

Last summer I went to Santa Fe to take a workshop with the very magical Gail Larsen. At the end of it, she invited us to write love letters to each of the people we had shared the workshop with, and to prompt us she played a song which captured the essence of that person. It was a beautiful exercise. When it came to my turn, instead of playing a song, she played a spoken word piece by John O’Donohue, reading aloud a passage from his breathtaking book Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom.

The coincidence didn’t escape me. Just a few weeks before I had discovered the same book by chance when researching my own book Freedom Seeker. In Anam Cara I found a paragraph that was almost word-for-word the same as something Mr K had written in an early love letter many years before, although he had never even heard of Anam Cara. It made my spine tingle.

In Celtic wisdom ‘anam cara’ means ‘soul friend’. It reflects the idea that our souls need love like our bodies need air, and this love can awaken new dimensions of ourselves. According to John O’Donohue in his beautiful book of the same name, an anam cara recognizes the real you without any pretence or disguise. Theirs is a deep spiritual friendship unaffected by geographical distance or time. Your anam cara understands you in a way that makes you feel you belong together, with your destinies intertwined. If you have an anam cara, take good care of that person, as they are precious indeed.

And whether or not you have an anam cara right now, I invite you to be your own. You have to practice self-love on an epic scale to feel truly free. You have to counter the negative voices in your head and hold your own hand through it all. In the end your free self is your greatest ally and truest friend, so treat them well.

This week I challenge you to do something kind for yourself, and be your own anam cara.

Much love

Beth

PS Freedom Seeker: Live more. Worry less. Do what you love. (Hay House) is now available for pre-order ahead of publication on April 4! You can find out more and access some lovely bonuses when you pre-order here.

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I wrote a book for you. And it’s about to be published. Can I tell you about it?

I have never been as nervous about writing a post for you as I am today. Why? Because after seven years of helping creative people like you share their souls with the world, it’s now my turn.

I wrote a book, and it’s ready.

It’s called ‘Freedom Seeker: Live more. Worry less. Do what you love.’

And it might just change your life.

How do I know? Because it has completely changed mine.

You see, it’s not just any book. It’s a book about one of the most important quests we can ever undertake – the quest to feel free.

The only way I could write this book was to live it – to recognize that somewhere along the line I had gone wrong, and I had built a life that was actually trapping me.

That’s kind of hard to admit when your company is called ‘Do What You Love’, but like so many of us I got lost in the everyday busy-ness, the overwhelming workload, the many competing demands for my time and attention, and I completely lost any sense of who I really was.

I had to find a way to escape the cage I had built, and learn how to fly again. In doing so I realised that feeling free is the Holy Grail.

Freedom Seeker is an invitation to seek freedom in every corner of your life.

It’s about living more, worrying less and finding a way to do what you love every day.

It sounds simple, and in some ways it is, but when you are trapped in a cage with broken wings, freedom can seem like a far away deeply buried treasure. I know, because I’ve been there.

My personal story isn’t a dramatic one of hitting rock bottom. That’s not how it happened. Mine is one of a slow ebbing of joy from my days, of stemming that flow and finding myself again, the present-day version of me, in love with the life I’ve got.

In Freedom Seeker I also share the stories of people whose cage doors have been slammed in their faces, the darkness pushing them right to the edge, before they had no choice but escape. Theirs are high- velocity, adrenalin-pumping truths about how freedom seeking saved their lives.

Deep down we all know that freedom is a choice and a human right. Yet millions of us don’t feel that truth. We feel trapped by our circumstances, relationships, social pressures, financial status and education. Caged by our expectations of ourselves, and others’ expectations of us, and by our beliefs, doubts and fears.

We allow ourselves to be held back from living our fullest lives. Individually it is heartbreaking. Collectively it is a colossal waste of potential. Together we are going to change this. In finding the courage and confidence to escape our cages and shine, we will help others do the same.

It is with equal measures of trepidation and pleasure that I can say those words you never really think you’ll hear yourself say:

“My book, Freedom Seeker, is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and from all good bookstores!”

I have lived every page of this book. In the writing of it I have danced and tumbled, laughed and crumbled, cried, shrunk, grown, travelled thousands of miles, talked to strangers, looked deep inside myself and rediscovered my own stories. I have centred myself and fallen apart, many times over.

I have screamed at the noise and revelled in the silence. I have followed the sun, howled at the moon, and sent thanks to the stars. I have talked to hundreds of women and a good number of men who have shared stories I will never forget.

I hope I have gathered the best of it all, the most powerful lessons and inspiring tales to show that if I can do it, and they can do it, then you too can do it.

The writing of this book has made me feel more deeply connected, vital and alive than I have in years.

I hope in reading it, and in the living of it, you too find a way to inhale the magic and mystery and beauty of your own life, and finally feel truly free.

Please, buy Freedom Seeker and read it, because if it does for you what it has done for me, it will be the one of the best investments you ever make.

And if you have a friend who is feeling trapped, stuck, lost in the greyness, get a copy for them. It would be a precious gift indeed.

Let’s set out on this journey together…

With gratitude and much love

Beth

PS You can get some lovely bonuses if you pre-order Freedom Seeker before February 23. You can find out more here and claim yours right away. (And if you have already pre-ordered your copy, thank you! You can claim your bonuses by filling in the quick form here)

PPS Over the coming months I will be creating a host of opportunities for us to talk about freedom seeking, and share the journey – with Facebook Lives, events, features, podcasts and all sorts. But the first step is to read the book, then to apply the tools in your own life, and see how much more free you feel right away.

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Dream board your way to a life you love

This post is written by Louise Gale, a member of the Do What You Love Team and British mixed media artist who spends her days creating, running creative workshops and assisting other creative souls with their businesses. 

You have probably heard the term dream board (or vision board or vision map) many times before as it’s a wonderful tool for manifesting your desires.

A dream board is basically a board — of any size — onto which you collage pictures, words and other items that inspire you. The idea is to help you clarify and maintain focus on a specific life goal by creating a picture — a vision — of what you want to attract into your life. It could be a place you’d like to visit or live, changes you’d like to make to your relationship, work environment, home life or career, or on a mental, physical or emotional level, how you’d like to think, act and feel.

Why are dream boards important?

A dream board serves as your image of the future — a tangible example, idea or representation of where you are going, your dreams, goals, and vision for your ideal life. In today’s modern world we spend so much time rushing around, being distracted by technology and generally looking to the outside world rather than into ourselves, that it’s easy to forget who we are and where we are going. Creating a dream board is a great way to reconnect with your true, authentic self and get clear on what you really want from life.

This was the dream board I created for 2016. Images have a greater impact on the subconscious mind than words but  words trigger a more emotional response so I use a combination of both.

Do dream boards really work?

Absolutely! I have harnessed the power of these beauties many times over. In fact, they have helped me:

– to leave my job and reconnect with a creative life I desperately craved (201o)

– to manifest a move to a home with studio space (2011)

– to start living a simpler life (2012)

– to overhaul my life completely and move to Spain (2013)

– to focus more on how I want to feel in my life, to slow the pace and to find the money to make a trip to Morocco (2014)

– to reconnect with nature, spend more time creating and enjoy my life by the sea (2015)

– to nurture my mind, body and soul (2016)

Now my boards are all about how I want to feel and the life I want to lead rather than specific goals I want to achieve.

The great thing about dream boards is that each one is unique and special to you. Our lives are constantly evolving, and so are our goals and dreams so creating new boards on a regular basis is a fantastic way to keep focused on what you really want. I keep all my boards close by as there are still things manifesting on some of them.

A Full Moon dream board to help you harness the power of NOW!

Many people create a dream board at the start of a new year, or when they are focusing on a specific event or life goal (such as getting married, moving home, or changing careers) and this is a great way to plant seeds of intention for what you wish to manifest. In addition to a yearly board, I also like to create ‘Full Moon Mandala Dream boards’, which are circular collages that draw on the power of the Full Moon each month to help me dream bigger, be more creative, and attract new people, experiences and opportunities into my life. They are a lot of fun to make too!

Every phase of the Moon creates a certain energy which affects us, and everything on Earth. Like the Moon, we too move through phases and by creating a Full Moon Mandala between the New and Full Moon, we are using its power to gather, grow, learn and get focussed for the weeks ahead.

The New Moon (28 January ’17) is a time to begin new things and be spontaneous, optimistic, and hopeful. It’s the perfect time to start gathering inspirational images and words to create your board.

Waxing Moon – (right now!) is the time during which the moon goes from new to full and it’s about building, accomplishments, creativity, strength, growth and learning, and positive transformation. It’s the ideal time to create your own Full Moon dream board.

The Full Moon (10 February ’17) is a time for fruition and fulfilment so it’s a great time to unveil your board and put it up where you can see it often.

Here’s how to do it…

My full moon mandala dream board

Materials you will need…

Thick card or a poster board of any size
A variety of magazines (you never know where inspiration will strike!)
A photograph of yourself (smiling/looking happy)
Glue – I use acrylic medium or modge podge (I use these in my mixed media creations and I find they don’t ripple the pages like elmers does and it lasts longer than a regular glue stick)
Scissors (optional)
Music – something restful to help your mind be quiet and open. I like soft classical or spa music without singing so I don’t get distracted by the words
White sage, candle or incense (optional)

Before you begin, follow a simple ritual to centre yourself:

Find a space where you won’t be interrupted. Or plan an dream board event with family and friends and be creative together!


Burn some white sage to purify the air and cleanse the environment around you. If you don’t have sage, burn a white candle or incense instead.


Put on some uplifting or relaxing music and breathe deeply. Centre yourself.


Set your intentions by asking, ‘what do I want from this?’


Close your eyes, focus on what you would like to invite into your life and ask the universe to support you for your highest good.

Collecting for my dream board

Create your dream board in 5 easy steps…

Sift through your magazines and start collecting images and words that resonate with you (don’t glue anything yet!). Don’t rush, this is a powerful exercise to attract your visions. Then grab the images and words you have collected.
Start laying your images out on your board. This is highly intuitive part of the exercise so feel free to move them about, and take out ones that no longer feel right. You may see a theme starting to emerge.
Next position the photo of yourself right in the centre showing how happy you’ll be when all these things you’re dreaming about start happening.
When you are ready, glue your images and words onto the board and draw pictures/write additional words on too.
When you feel you have completed your board, hang it somewhere where you can see it every day, like the bedroom so you see it as soon as you wake up.

Other types of dream board

I have created many different types of dream boards over the years. The three I use most often are:

1. The inviting, allowing and opening up to the Universe board

Create this dream board if…

You are not sure what you want
You need to lift your spirits after feeling lost, down or uncertain about life
You want to make a change but you’re just not sure what, or how to go about it

How to create your board:

Start to go through your magazines and simply tear out images that speak to you, don’t ask why, just enjoy collecting images and words that you’re drawn to. Once you’ve finished, look through and ask yourself what this image or word might mean for you. If you are not 10o per cent sure, but really like the image or word that’s okay, put it onto your board. Look at your board and ask yourself what messages it’s giving you. The answers to your questions will present themselves soon enough if you let your heart and intuition guide you.

2. The “I know what I want from my life” board

Create this vision board if….

You know what you want to invite into your life
You are ready and willing to change your current situation, environment or circumstances

How to create your board:

Go through your magazines and look specifically for images and words you know you want to manifest or bring into your life. For example, if you long to live in the country, own a dog and grow your own vegetables look for images of your dream country house, a dog you’d love, and fresh vegetables, etc.

3. The themed vision

Create this vision board if:

There is a particular area of your life that you are looking to work on – like your career, health, relationship, etc.
You are starting a new creative project, redecorating your home, or buying new clothes and want inspiration, clarity and focus
You are planning a big event like a wedding, party or holiday

How to create your board:

Go through your magazines and choose images and words that align with the vision you are trying to create. For example, let’s say, I want to makeover my balcony so it looks beautiful all year round, creating a themed board – also called a mood board – is a great way to gather inspiration and spark ideas. Pinterest is great for this.  You can also inject an extra tactile element by adding physical objects (like photos, objects from the garden, textured materials, and colour swatches) to your physical board so it becomes a piece of mixed media art, and starts to tell a richer more detailed story.

It’s important to remember that there’s no right or wrong way to create a dream board. Just go with your instincts and be open. You may be surprised by what comes as a result! I hope you enjoy creating your boards as much as I do and that you begin to see the power of them as your dreams start coming to life.

You can find more information on full moon phases, mandalas and dream boards here.

***

Louise Gale is a British mixed media artist, with a passion for colour, nature and mandala making.  She spends her days creating, running creative workshops and assisting other creative souls with their businesses. Louise is also a member of the Do What You Love Team.

Louise spent 8 years living the USA, just outside of New York City where she found the courage to leave her windowless office corporate job and pursue a life filled with more creativity and freedom.

Her artwork has been featured in The New York Times, Amulet Magazine, and Inc. Magazine amongst many other books and publications. Louise is also one of the co-authors of “Mandala for the Inspired Artist: Working with paint, paper, and texture to create expressive mandala art” (Walter Foster) published in 2016.

Connect with Louise via her website, Instagram or Facebook.

 

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An out of office experience

 

This a guest post by adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair Humphreys. Find out more about Alastair here. 

 

“This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV.” – Holstee

Rain rattled the windows. An elderly man on a mobility scooter urged his machine a little faster across the wet grey car park. I sighed.

I had driven all the way to west Wales for a microadventure with some of the guys from howies. They had never slept a night in a bivvy bag and looked a little reluctant to start now. I had slept many nights in a bivvy bag and was very reluctant to add to my tally in this weather.

But we persisted. And that is the key to doing almost anything interesting in life. You’ve just got to do it. Team howies turned off their computers and shut down the office. We began.

Leaving the office for an overnight adventure

Ade, Alex, Ruben and I pedalled through the damp, grey town, through a heavy rain shower or two. And then we were out into the fresh air and brighter skies of the countryside. Wet hedgerows sparkled in the sunshine as we stretched our legs and cheered at the feeling of racing down a quiet road towards the coast.

Taking a break to watch the sun set

The roads became smaller and narrower and quieter. We turned up a bridleway laden with blackberries. Up and over a hill then racing like mad little things through exciting singletrack and down to the coast. We were just in time. The sky was heavy grey. The sea had a strange deep purple sheen. But between the sea and the sky blazed a brilliant golden sunset. We were so happy to be out here.

Seals bobbed quietly below us. Alex observed that we had been riding for only as long as his normal car-bound boring drive home. He had swapped his daily commute for a bike ride, a fabulous sunset and the open sea. And -for one night only- this was home. We unrolled bivvy bags in a grassy clifftop hollow. Hidden from the wind, open to the sea and the stars. We ate and drank and chatted and then we lay down to sleep.

I lay awake for a good while, enchanted by the clouds rolling above us. A lighthouse beat its regular rhythm through the night. Each time I woke in the night I noticed the stars moving above us. The Big Dipper was so bright and distinct it looked as though it had been painted bright onto the sky above.

The Big Dipper

To my relief it did not rain and we woke refreshed and happy. Espresso, a clifftop view, and a stonking singletrack downhill makes for a happy start to a day.

Waking up in the fresh air

Follow that with a swim in the sea and a bacon sandwich and you really do have all the necessary ingredients for a short, sharp microadventure.

All this, all this in just those hours we waste so often, the hours between finishing a hard day’s work at the office and beginning the next one.

Try it.

Try it.

Try it.

You won’t regret it. (Unless it rains!)

***

Perfect time for a revolution!

Are you ready for a new challenge or adventure? Have you been doing the same thing for so long that you’ve forgotten who you are? Are you questioning what you really want from life? Then now’s the perfect time for a change.

Whatever your year was like in 2016, this is a chance to start again, right where you are, and choose how you want your year to feel in 2017.

‘New Year’s Revolution‘ is a free tool for meaningful planning to help you make this coming year amazing. Our  FREE 24-page e-book will help you extract the good from 2016, look ahead and shape your 2017 into the year you want it to be. It includes a powerful technique to help you make dreams into reality, and make your ideas happen.

Print it out, grab a pen, make a cuppa, go somewhere you won’t be disturbed, and get ready to embark on a fantastic voyage of self-discovery.

 

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Strollers, strangers and serendipity (+ meet me in London!)

Last March I got on a train to London, to get myself some inspiration at Hay House’s flagship event ‘Ignite’. It was a fairly straightforward journey – one train ride to Waterloo Station, then a quick hop on the Northern line of the Underground to Euston.

I took along my then eight month old baby in her pushchair, which suddenly seemed like a really bad idea when I realised London Waterloo has a very steep escalator down to the Underground, and no working lift. As I approached the top of the moving stairway wondering how on earth I was going to get us down safely, at the exact same moment three friendly-looking women approached. You know the kind – a small group of friends happily chattering away, all clutching takeaway coffees, with glossy hair and lovely bright clothes, the kind you see and want to be friends with. Yes, three women like that. All three of them turned to me at the same time and said, “You want a hand?” Ahh bless, they were nice as well! “We’re all mums. We know what it’s like.”

And so with a series of swift moves, one was holding all the coffees, one all the handbags and the other two of us holding onto my precious cargo as the steps carried us down into the belly of the Tube.

“You look like you’re having a day out,” I guessed. “Where are you off to?”

“We’re going to an event,” the one with the shiny brown bob said. “Near Euston station.”

“Not ‘Ignite’ by any chance?”

“Yes!” “No way, me too!”

Over 250,000 people pass through Waterloo every day. I met the three who were going to the same place as me, on the other side of the city.

And so we travelled across London together, nattering fast, learning about what each of us did, and why we had all been drawn to ‘Ignite’.

Those lovely ladies were Sam Reynolds, former PA to Daniel Craig, and three-time cancer survivor who runs SamSpaces, a network for people finding their way after cancer, Caroline Udall (founder of The Company of Mums – check out her fab vlog), Jo Ferrone, founder of Wrapped Up Admin (a team of working mums who provide admin, sales & marketing support to small businesses.)

We had much in common and have stayed in touch. In fact, I was so blown away by Sam’s story that I ended up interviewing Sam for my book, Freedom Seeker, and was wholly moved by her strength and light.

And then there was the event itself. I was so inspired by the speakers – all Hay House authors – not just by what they were saying, but the way that they spoke. They told their stories with such power, and touched everyone in the room.

And so it is with so much gratitude and excitement that I can say I’m going to be on that very stage in just a few weeks’ time! Ignite is back and I’m going to be joining six other speakers, many of whom have been a huge inspiration in my personal journey. They are leading lights in the fields of spirituality and personal development – Sonia Choquette, Rebecca Campbell, Carrie Green, Charlie Morley, Sandy Newbigging and Mel Wells. What a day it’s going to be!

I would LOVE to see you there! I’ll be talking all about Freedom Seeking: How to live more, worry less and do what you love. You can register for Ignite 2017 here.

It is in flying free that we fulfil our true potential, and in this talk I’ll reveal how to escape the pressures of modern life, and find the keys to living the life you want. I will share highly relatable and moving personal stories to illustrate the gifts of freedom seeking, and a number of simple but powerful techniques to help you unlock a deep sense of personal freedom. As you begin to use these in your daily life, you will immediately feel more uplifted, happy and free.

The event is on March 18th, and although it’s a couple of weeks before my book is officially published, rumour has it that there will be early copies for my first ever book signing! Which means, I get to meet YOU and hear about your own journey of freedom seeking too. So if you can be in London on March 18th, please come, and gift yourself a thought-provoking, perspective-shifting, inspiring day of talks. (PS May I politely suggest you take the Tube to get there, you never know who you might meet…)

You see, it’s all about people. Love and people. Real love and the right kind of people.

Much love,

Beth

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How to make it in the world of… online marketing

Drive traffic with these five killer social media hacks

As entrepreneurs we can often feel like the deck is stacked against us when it comes to the digital world. We don’t have the same budgets as our massive competitors, nor do we have the army of marketers that they can employ. So how can a small, or medium-sized business, drive traffic to its website or blog and carve out its piece of the market?

According to Payman Taei, an avid technologist and the founder of Visme and HindSite, the answer lies with social media. Here he shares a whole host of straight-to-the-point, actionable social media tips for marketers and business owners. While some of these strategies won’t be a quick fix, you may be surprised how quickly many of them start to generate results…

Image credit: Wilfred Iven | StockSnap.io

We use social media all the time; on our way to work, in our downtime, even early mornings. Naturally, businesses can take advantage of this; having your own Facebook page or Twitter feed can increase interest in your company and boost user interaction but as with all things, it’s not that simple. With all the different pages out there, it can be quite difficult to make yours stand out. These easy-to-follow social media hacks can help you gain — and keep — new followers, as well as spreading word about your product around the web.

 

Consistent Updates

Having high-quality updates is obviously a priority for any business. However, if those updates are few and far between, people will likely lose interest in the product.

Updating often is obviously a great way to generate interest and make sure your name and product is remembered, but you can easily go further than that.

Having specific days or times that you post content can help drive traffic, as well as giving potential customers something to look forward to. If posts are always made on a certain day or at a certain time, then followers will get into the habit of checking your social media to see if anything new has appeared, creating a more dedicated base.

What days and times you chose depends on your audience. If your audience is mostly made of standard shift workers, then try updating in the afternoon on weekdays, when they’ll just be getting home and wanting to spend more time on social media. Want to appeal to teenagers and young adults?  Try mornings on the weekends, where they won’t have classes and will have more time to look at their feed upon waking up.

Scheduling when to post doesn’t have to be particularly rigid, either, as you can post a few random updates between the normal to surprise and delight your watchers.

Take it one step further: Using missinglettr

Ian Anderson Gray — as shared by Lisa D. Jenkins — provides a helpful tip for those who have trouble finding the time to schedule posts.  “I used to create a series of tweets for each of my articles and schedule them in a scheduling tool,” he states. “This took a huge amount of time and to be honest, I rarely managed to get around to it.”

With the help of missingletr, Gray’s work is significantly decreased, while he still gets the benefits of consistent Twitter posts. Missinglettr creates several posts based on the content in an article connected to it. You can use the application to your advantage by allowing it to make several posts for you while you focus on other aspects of your work.

2. Maximize Your Use of Visual Content

It’s no secret that visual content attracts a potential follower’s attention quicker than text.  While scrolling on Facebook, which are you more likely to scroll back to: a block of words, or a vibrant image?

Mastering visual content on social media can greatly increase traffic to your page, especially since users are significantly more likely to share pictures or videos.

A great way to use visuals in social media is to take a picture. Jay Baer points out that the use of photographs as visuals has greatly increased, and it provides a wonderful opportunity to show your product in action. Images of people using your product in real-life can increase viewers’ interest in the item. You can also create your own graphic for social media using an online visual tool such as Visme.

Take it Further: Link to Your Site

Since one of the purposes of adding images is to generate traffic, it’d be remiss not to leave a link with the image—or, if possible, make the image itself into a link.

Donna Moritz, in an article by Cindy King, points out how useful visual content can be as a “gateway” to the rest of your business world.  Let the visual content catch interest, and leave longer posts to the site they lead to.

3. Master Hashtags

Hashtags first started with Twitter, and have quickly become one of the best ways to locate a specific sort of information. Businesses can benefit from this across social media by using them to their fullest extent.

Jumping on popular subjects to tag is a great way to attract outside attention. All the same, Peg Fitzpatrick warns that having a variety of random hashtags isn’t advisable, even if those tags are trending. “Use a good hashtag to tie all of the pieces of your campaign together,” she informs readers.

Using hashtags strategically — by tagging relevant popular items without random extraneous bits — can not only attract attention, but keep it.

Take it Further: Make Your Own

Having a unique hashtag can distinguish you from others who might have a similar product. Your audience will quickly be able to identify your brand from your tag, and will be able to tag experiences related to your company in turn.

One of the best ways to go about this is to create a short, easy-to-remember tag that sticks in people’s minds long after they log off. Clever use of alliteration or wordplay are great ways to go about this.

5. Engage Your Followers

Actively encouraging your audience to participate can not only help generate traffic, but can also be a way to endear you audience to you.

Showcasing the work of fans or followers automatically makes them more invested in talking about your product.  For example, you might want to share posts you see when someone talks positively about your product.

Promoting contests is a great way to go about this. Offering a reward means that more individuals will be talking about your product and generally vying to get the prize. At visme we created a socially engaging contest called “Visualize Me” which was a perfect example of social engagement driven by an incentive.

Of course, taking the time to personally respond to those subscribed to your page can increase engagement, as well.

Take it one step further: Offer Private Streams

Many individuals would like to have personal relationships with the companies that provide for them. Having private boards or groups where you can converse with your customers is one way to provide that relationship.

Many Patreon users have taken this into account. The site has different reward tiers based on how much a patron pledges users each month. In turn, the owner of the individual campaign can offer specific incentives, one of which can be private streams where patrons can watch them work, or Q&As only available for pledges.

Of course, you don’t have to use Patreon to provide the same feature. Martin Shervington talks about having private hangouts on Google+, where you can talk individually to those invited to join.  If you’re a Pinterest user, you can also use group boards to your advantage.

You can even combine private conversations with contests. Whoever wins for the company will get a private audience with different members.

5. Make a Safe Space

If followers appreciate having their work and words shown off, then they’ll be equally appreciative of having a space where they don’t have to worry about being looked down on for their opinions. Keeping watch over your social media to make sure everyone’s getting along can not only foster trust and appreciation for your company, but also make others more likely to visit your page and be honest with you. With how aggressive parts of the internet can be, it can be an immense relief to find anywhere that’s decidedly not.

Speaking to individual on a personal basis — as mentioned above — and answering them politely and with general concern is one way to help users feel more welcome.

Another great way — for Facebook, at least — is to ban inflammatory words. Holly Homer describes how to do this: simply go to Page Settings, Page Moderation, and type in any words that could be used to insult or attack another user.  Any comments with those words will be hidden, preventing arguments before they happen.

This can also work for provocative comments towards your product or service, as well, if you’re worried about the words blowing up into a full-blown fight.

Take it one step further: Hide the Trolls

Guy Kawasaki explains his trouble with trolls on his Facebook feed — deleting the comment simply resulted in the trolls commenting again to complain about it, while banning the user resulted in angry emails about being banned.

The solution to the problem was actually relatively simple: hide the comment.

When comments are hidden, the posting individual can still see their comment, but no other fans can. Kawasaki explains how this works to his favor; not only has he not received any more angry emails, but the comments, even though they’re hidden, actually help to boost his post, meaning the trolls actually end up helping.

While using the word ban hack (mentioned above) can help for specific words, it also helps to search through comments and check for any other sort of inflammatory remark.

You can take this ‘safe space’ even further by talking to the individual’s specifically and trying to allay any complaints or concerns, but simply moving the conversation to a more private medium. Of course, with spam comments, you’re probably better off just hiding the comment and leaving the conversation.

To Recap

There are many, many different tips and tricks you can use to help boost your social media success.  Some of the best include:

Consistent Updates
Mastering Visual Content
Mastering Hashtags
Engaging Users
Making a Safe Space

Here’s a challenge: take these hacks (or others) and try and twist them into something unique. Then, post the results in our comments section, to let us (and others!) know how you’ve put these tricks into action.

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About Payman Taei 

Payman is an avid technologist and the Founder of Visme, a Do It Yourself platform allowing everyone to easily create, manage professional presentations & infographics right in their browser. He’s also the Founder of HindSite Interactive an award winning web design and web development company.

 

The post How to make it in the world of… online marketing appeared first on Do What You Love.

Hear Beth Kempton reading the Prologue from her book Freedom Seeker

Today we want to share something very special with you – the Prologue to Do What You Love founder Beth Kempton’s book ‘Freedom Seeker: Live more. Worry less. Do what you love.’ And don’t miss the very special offer available when you buy a set of books for you and your friends (available until Friday Feb 3 HERE)

You can pre-order Freedom Seeker here, to be sure you don’t miss it when it’s published by Hay House on April 4.

Fly free my friend, fly free.

Save

The post Hear Beth Kempton reading the Prologue from her book Freedom Seeker appeared first on Do What You Love.

What would you do if you were losing your sight? This woman’s response blew me away…

Something extraordinary happened last week. One of the graduates of our Do What You Love e-course shared her story on our blog, revealing publicly for the first time the impact Usher Syndrome has had on her life. Essentially it means Kate Morell is losing her sight.

“As I lose my sight, travelling from light to dark, I am still finding this journey is harder than I ever thought it would be. U sing a cane feels like I am wearing an invisibility mask. My self, my identity, my story, completely erased, replaced with the mask of that of a blind girl and nothing more. Is it just me who wonders about people and their stories, especially those with visible differences? I often wonder if anyone else ever wonders about their story beyond their differences.”

Kate took the course in October and saw a dramatic change in herself:

“I began the course feeling a little bit depressed, but as I worked through it my mood lifted. I got a little carried away listening to many of the suggested books while tidying and de-cluttering my house, making time to be offline, and spend more time doing things that light me up. By the end I was a changed person, so much so that I went back to the beginning to start all over again.”

But that’s not the extraordinary thing. During the course Kate had an a-ha moment – an idea for a new passion project called ‘Sunsets for Kate’. Sunsets are what she’ll miss most when she loses her sight completely. Kate realised that if she goes blind by the time she’s 50, and is fortunate enough to live until I’m 90, she’ll miss out on over 16,275 sunsets. So she started thinking about how cool it would be to experience a lifetime of sunsets in the lifetime of her sight by asking people to post sunsets for me on social media.

And guess what happened? When Kate shared her story on the Do What You Love blog, it was noticed by photographer Matt Lawson, who corralled his community to submit sunsets. Within 48 hours they had gathered over 2000 comments and sunsets! You can add yours here.

Amazing what can happen when the inspired becomes the inspirer!

After six years of running the Do What You Love e-course it never ceases to deliver transformational experiences for participants, who really do find ways to love their life in the present, whilst setting themselves up to do more of what they love in the future. The January class starts TODAY, so if you want to be part of it, REGISTER HERE and dive in with us. (PS did I mention I might be doing a few Facebook Live chats in class this time round? Exciting!)

Have a great week

Beth

The post What would you do if you were losing your sight? This woman’s response blew me away… appeared first on Do What You Love.