Becky Robinson's Blog, page 52

Featured On Friday: #YouMatter Marathon

Words matter. We all know that. And hopefully, we’re all striving to make a positive impact with our own words — whether through writing books or articles, speaking and coaching, and even posting on social media. What we say to others can have a huge impact: words can stay with a person for the rest of their life.

We could probably talk for days about specific ways to use our words for good and how to overcome the bad messages we hear. But what if we shifted focus for a month and aimed to share words in a much, much simpler way?

What if sharing just two little words could completely change someone’s life? tweet this

That’s what Cheryl Rice — speaker, coach, and author of the inspiring memoir Where Have I Been All My Life? — wondered after a colleague handed her a simple card last year with just two words on it:

You Matter.

It impressed her so profoundly that she immediately ordered her own set of cards, and started handing them out to friends, coworkers, neighbors, even total strangers. The result? In her own words: “The impact has been magical.”

Now she wants to spread the magic even further, by sparking a “You Matter Marathon” during the month of November.

So what is the #YouMatter Marathon?

The goal of the You Matter Marathon is to create and enrich positive connections between people and within communities by sharing 10,000 You Matter cards during November.

What better time to tell people how important they are, then during the season of gratitude? And better yet, this is something anyone can participate in, no matter what their role or job title!

For instance:

Parents wanting to add a meaningful gratitude ritual to their holiday gatherings.
Teachers eager to provide a unique and thoughtful Thanksgiving activity.
Community and religious groups interested in building connection among members.
Businesses looking to recognize and appreciate their employees and customers.
Anyone interested in lifting their own spirit!

“We’re living in a world where people crave connection, yet feel more isolated than ever. Every one of us is here for a reason. We are all essential. We need, and are needed by, each other. ”  – Cheryl Rice

Join the #YouMatter Marathon – No Running Required.

Weaving Influence is excited to be participating in the You Matter Marathon, and we would love to see you join us. It’s such a simple way to make a difference, and yet it can have such a profound impact!

How can you be a part of this exciting movement? 

Learn more  about the idea and how it first took root.
Watch the You Matter Marathon in action.
Order your own cards to hand out in November (the first 500 people get 30 cards free!).
Click here  to share a tweet about the You Matter Marathon.
Read Cheryl’s blog to discover her passion for sharing this message.

And remember, dear readers: You Matter.

 

Images used by permission from YouMatterMarathon.com.

#ReadLocal: An Author’s Perspective on Hometown Reads

My team and I are proud of the work we’re doing at Hometown Reads. Read about our growth in this recent press release.

In order to share a deeper update with our Weaving Influence audience, we thought we’d interview Heather Manning, a Hometown Reads author who is also an important member of the Hometown Reads team.

Heather, tell us about yourself and your books.

I am currently attending Stephens College to study theatre and performing arts, but in my free time, I am an author of inspirational historical romance with a twist of adventure. My first book in the Ladies of the Caribbean trilogy, Swept to Sea, was published with Clean Reads Publishing when I was 16 years old. A couple of years later, its sequel, Carried Home, was released. This year, I am finishing up work on my third novel, Tossed Together.

How did you find out about Hometown Reads?

I first heard about Hometown Reads through an article in my local newspaper, The Kansas City Star. I was very excited about the opportunity to put my book on Hometown Reads, so I immediately found the Hometown Reads website and joined.

What has worked well for you in marketing your books?

I have learned that marketing is a trial-and-error process that is different for every author. I have found much success with marketing my books through Facebook parties and a video blog that I keep on Youtube. I feel that it’s very important for the reader to feel like they personally know an author.

What challenges have you faced in marketing your books?

Most recently, I have faced the challenge of not having enough time to market my books. Life gets very busy, and unfortunately, a simple thing like marketing your books will sometimes get pushed aside. I am working to correct this by scheduling my time more efficiently to balance work, school, and writing/marketing.

What do you see as the benefits of authors participating in Hometown Reads?

Hometown Reads is such an amazing opportunity for authors! My publisher always tells us to NEVER pass up an opportunity for free promotion, because every bit of publicity helps. Hometown Reads helps authors get traction in their own town, where readers are more likely to pick up their book if they know the author is from their town. I think it is such a cool concept.

What do you do as a team member at Hometown Reads? What part of your work do you love most?

I do a lot of things at Hometown Reads, from outreach and customer support, to editing and publishing pending books, or writing promotion tweets about authors’ books. My favorite part of work, though, is definitely the outreach aspect of it. I love finding new authors and helping them join Hometown Reads.

It’s been great to have an author adding her thoughts to our brainstorming process. I’m thrilled that Heather joined our team, and excited to see continued momentum for Hometown Reads!

If you’re an author who would like to see your Hometown featured, add your book by signing up at hometownreads.com/join.

 

Featured On Friday: #CompassionateAccountability With @NextNate

Drama. It’s not just for opening nights, matinees, and red carpets. If you have ever worked as part of a group, you have undoubtedly encountered drama at one point or another. Nate Regier is an expert at using conflict to create growth and harness potential, rather than allowing conflict to manifest itself into destructive drama.

Having experienced my fair share of drama over the course of my career, I was intrigued to learn about Nate’s concept of Compassionate Accountability. Believing that the key to constructive conflict is compassion, Nate helps people seek out and address drama not only in those around us, but also in ourselves (gulp ….).

In his book, Conflict Without Casualties, Nate brings us the collective intelligence of Next Element, the firm he co-founded that serves as international advisor to high-value change agents. This book embodies the lessons of Leading out of Drama,® Next Element’s suite of training and certification tools.

“Everyone likes to talk about accountability; few people know how to execute it compassionately.” – Nate Regier, Ph.D.
MEET NATE REGIER

Nate grew up the son of missionary parents in Botswana and Zaire, where he developed his passion for service, love of people, and fascination with the common needs that tie all people together. Having grown up amidst political unrest, poverty, and apartheid has helped form his global perspective. While in Botswana during high school Nate competed on the Botswana Jr. Davis Cup tennis team and achieved a world ranking in doubles.

A native Kansan, Nate completed his undergraduate work at Bethel College in Newton, KS and his PhD in clinical psychology from University of Kansas. He practiced clinical psychology for 11 years where he developed his skills in social-emotional intelligence, group dynamics, mind-body-spirit health, and neuropsychology. In 2008 he joined three other colleagues to form Next Element, where they leveraged their expertise in the social sciences to help leaders in the corporate arena. He specializes in interpersonal and leadership communication, executive assessment and coaching, organizational development, team building and change management.

An international advisor, he is a certified LOD® master trainer, PCM® certifying master trainer and co-developer of Next Element’s Leading Out of Drama® training and coaching system. He was the principal driving force behind the design and validation of NEOS,® Next Element’s flagship outcomes measurement tool. He co-authored Next Element’s first book, Beyond Drama: Transcending Energy Vampires. He publishes a semi-weekly blog, writes for a variety of local and national publications, and is a sought-after keynote speaker.

Read more at Next Element and connect with him on Twitter.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CONFLICT WITHOUT CASUALTIES

Life and work are a constant tug of war when people struggle against each other or with themselves to get what they want, causing relationships and entire systems to unravel. It doesn’t have to be that way. The concepts and tools the book shares can turn conflict into a partner for positive change.

In true field guide fashion, it becomes the central reference point for Next Element’s work across the world.

If you’re considering purchasing Conflict without Casualties to change the dynamic at work, plan to get double your money’s worth. Your personal relationships will never look the same. In the book, Nate invites readers to replace the unrealistic, sometimes punishing, even crushing demands they exact on both colleagues and loved ones with openness, resourcefulness and persistence.

Check out the early praise for Conflict Without Casualties…

“Conflict Without Casualties fills a gap by showing leaders at any level how to leverage positive conflict. Practical, insightful, challening, relevant.” – Dan Pink
“A must read, this book offers a simple, powerful model for transforming conflict, drama and negative energy into compassionate accountability and a stronger, more united team. Conflict can help a team grow when utilized propertly. This book shows you how.” – Jon Gordon

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Nate will be joining Becky Robinson for an interactive discussion entitled Conflict Isn’t the Problem on October 18. To learn how cultures of compassionate accountability can leverage the energy of conflict to create rather than destroy, and realize tremendous new potential, you’ll want to participate.

Register here.

SUPPORT THE LAUNCH

Buy the book if you haven’t already!
Write about it on your blog and send us the link so we can share it.

 

Changing the World Takes Time

At the start of every client engagement, even before we sign a contract, we work with clients to identify their big picture goals and priorities. What does success look like? What can we accomplish together that will make our engagement a worthwhile investment?  One of the things I say, probably more than anything else, is that growing online influence is a result of focused, consistent effort. To make a difference, you have to bring value, consistently over time. For a long time.

I felt encouraged recently while listening to Brené Brown’s latest book, Rising Strong. In talking about her vision for her career, she mentions in a side note that “the experience has been more than I imagined sixteen years ago when my husband, Steve asked me. ‘What’s the vision for your career?’ and I answered ‘I want to start a global conversation about vulnerability and shame.'” (italics, mine)

Did you get that? Sixteen years.

Brené is widely admired and read. She’s a best-selling author. She’s a sought-after speaker and world-changing difference-maker. But she’s no overnight sensation. In the years before she became well known, she built the foundation needed to create and sustain a global conversation through consistent work in creating and sharing her valuable content in the world.

There aren’t any short-cuts to influence, resonance, and reach. To truly make a difference, you have to be willing to do the work, over time, for a long time.

It’s possible that when Brené shared her career vision with her husband that she realized how audacious it sounded. When I ask clients about their goals, I often hear a similar refrain: I want to start a movement. I want to reach the world with this message. I want to change the way people think about x,y,z. I want to change the world.

I’ve had the privilege to watch several clients/friends grow their influence over time, going from mostly-unknown to hugely influential. David Burkus, a friend I met back in 2009 when I talked with him as one of the early guests on his podcast, recently showed up on the homepage of TED, amassing over 500,000 views of his talk about salary transparency. Do the quick math on that; David’s been at this for 7 or more years. He’s sold tens of thousands of copies of his first two books and is under contract, writing his third. He’s been blogging, tweeting, and podcasting about messages that matter to him for nearly a decade. His success at age 30 is impressive, but he’s not finished. I can only imagine the continued influence he’ll have at the sixteen-year mark and beyond.

Another influential client is Bob Tiede, a career staff member at Cru. We’ve been partnering with him to grow his influence through his work at leadingwithquestions.com. Through the release of a free ebook in English and Spanish, he’s seen his email list grow by 400% or more. His following on Twitter and Facebook continues to grow incrementally, month over month. The people in Bob’s network are consistently finding value in the content he creates. As they share his work with their networks, Bob’s influence swells.

If your vision for your future involves starting a global movement or igniting a world-wide conversation, my best advice is to take a long-term view. Show up today, with the influence you have already, and share content of value while connecting with others. Do it again tomorrow, the day after that, and every day into the foreseeable future. This is the only path I know to creating the influence you most long for.

Tell me something! What value are you sharing today that will move you toward your desired future?

Featured on Friday: #ServingwithSignificance with @rebeccainjc

Every once in a while, we like to highlight what some of the amazing people in our Team Buzz Builder community are accomplishing. This week, we turn the spotlight on member Rebecca Henderson and her recently published book, Serving with Significance: A Guide for Leadership Level Community Influencers. Published in June of this year, this five-star book is already making headlines. In fact, it was just added to the required reading list for a public policy class at UNC-Chapel Hill!

Meet the Author

Rebecca Henderson has a B.S. in business administration and an M.S. in community leadership. The academic experience, combined with more than three decades of volunteer leadership experience on more than two dozen boards of directors, ranging in scope from local to international, gives her significant expertise in nonprofit leadership. She holds the Thanks Badge, Girl Scouting’s highest honor, served a two-year term on the board of directors of the Association of Junior Leagues International, and was named one of Milligan College’s Leaders in Christian Service in 2015. She currently serves as a consultant at Strategic Priorities Consulting, and loves strategic planning, organizational development, and geeky things like bylaws and parliamentary procedure.

Discover ‘Serving with Significance’

“Anyone can become a positive and effective leader; the only requirement is the desire to serve others.”

“Many books on volunteerism and leadership are more theory than practice. Serving with Significance is full of easy-to-follow tips that can be implemented immediately by its readers. Although some people are lucky enough to be born leaders, leadership is a skill that can be learned. Like most skills, the more it is practiced, the better one gets.

The concept of volunteerism at its very roots is changing the community and the world in which we live. Serving with Significance is designed for every type of group, from formal to informal, local to international, prayer group to professional group, social to humanitarian, and especially membership-based organizations. While the primary audience is that of the nonprofit sector, nearly all of the tips that follow are equally applicable in a corporate setting of any size.

Leading the charge toward making a positive difference in the world is one of the few opportunities that every person can take advantage of at any point in his or her life. Serving with Significance is the inspirational and motivational guide that will show you how to achieve this life-changing goal in very relevant and measurable ways.”

Read what others have said about the book

“This is one of those books that you can open randomly on any page and find a pearl of wisdom.” – Shar McBee
“Serving With Significance is a gem. The size and format makes it incredibly easy for busy leaders to read … I was impressed with how the insights seemed to layer themselves one top of each other. I felt like I was growing as a leader.” – Marc
“A golden nugget full of great insight for anyone at any level of community involvement.” – Carter Manning Wade
“Each page is a statement. Each statement is significant.” – Amazon Customer

Support Our Featured Member

Connect with Rebecca on Twitter or Facebook.
Buy the book on Amazon.
Add it to your list on Goodreads.

Want to be a part of our amazing Team Buzz Builder community? Join here.

Making the Grade on HAROs—6 Tips for HARO Success

In almost every group project I was ever involved with in school, from elementary through graduate level, there was always someone who took on the lion’s share of the work and someone who didn’t pull their weight.

When it comes to putting together a news story these days, it seems like the roles of the ever-familiar school group project are emerging again. This time, it often appears that the public relations person or interview subject is doing all the work while the reporter or writer sits back and takes the Pgrade—and byline.

But it’s important to note that, in an age of around-the-clock news and slim newsroom staffs, journalists’ jobs are more challenging than ever before. So they aren’t really slacking. They just need your help.

As Peter Shankman reportedly put it:

“In the past ten years, journalists have been tasked with doing ten times more with five times less. Truly want to get your story placed? Do as much of the journalist’s work as you can. Give smart background. When you offer a source, make sure they can talk and know what they’re saying. Beat the herd by being just a little bit better.”

Shankman is the founder of Help A Reporter Out, or HARO, a source for news people to find sources for their stories quickly.

If you are a Weaving Influence public relations client, chances are you are familiar with HARO and ProfNet, another media query service. You know that these services provide a real opportunity for you to tap into the news coming out of your industry. By landing in a story, you earn often high-profile publicity, relationships with key media contacts, and backlinks to your website, to name a few benefits.

But there are right ways and wrong ways to respond to a HARO. The Weaving Influence PR team is skilled at making sure we respond in a way that gets media personnel’s’ attention (like writing catchy headlines), showcases your expertise (credentials in the first paragraph, bio at the very end), builds relationships (personalized greetings), boosts SEOs (backlink requests), and doesn’t annoy contacts (no follow-ups unless the journalist contacts you), for example.

Yet responding to a HARO is often a team effort. And with that, there are some things experts should know when responding to queries sent from the PR team.

Here are 6 key tips for a successful HARO response:

Be really fast. Journalists get upwards of a hundred responses to a single query. And with a deadline looming, they often use the first responses they get for their stories. So time is of the essence when responding to a query.

Stick to the script. Answer exactly what they asked for. Don’t respond with something that is tangentially related or suggest another angle. If there are numerous questions, it is best to list the questions with your response below. The easier to read, the better.

Be short and sweet. Make your point quickly. Often, reporters even include a word limit to encourage this. The shorter, the better.

Be reachable. Journalists want to be able to get to you directly, so be open to including your email and phone number so that they can contact you for follow-up questions.

Be specific. Give specific points and ditch the generalities. If you’re including tips, aim for 3 to 5. But remember to follow the instructions of what the reporter asked for.

Give them what they need. Remember, your job is to make it easy on the reporter. So don’t ever tell them to go elsewhere for the information, like your website or another article.

There is never a guarantee that a HARO or ProfNet response will make it into a story, but by following these tips when you send your insights to your PR team member, your chances of making the grade will be much greater.

 

Image Credit: tashatuvango / 123RF Stock Photo

Featured on Friday – #Indivisible with @Xtinem

The anniversary of September 11th this past weekend was a huge reminder to me of the brokenness in the world. As I look back at the past several months, the violence seems to be increasing. I talk to people every day who feel alone, disconnected, and depressed.

That’s why I was so excited to learn I’d be working with Christine Mason on the launch of her book, Indivisible: Coming Home to Our Deep Connection. Christine digs deep into these issues and more as she explores the power of connection.

“We are never separate or alone. Let us be brave together, reconnect, & reweave a culture and a world that works for everyone.” – Christine Mason
MEET CHRISTINE MASON

Christine’s life is inspirational. She has been a leader in the tech sector for 20 years, as the venture backed founder and CEO of several companies. She has always been a convener, bringing people together to have conversations around growth and change, and to spark action around new possibilities. She is the curator of 9 TEDxs, the convener of Naked Conversations and founder of LoveSpring.

Her own deep journey exploring anger, violence and disconnection in the aftermath of her mother’s murder, early abandonment and general chaos have propelled her explorations into the interior life and capacity of the individual to heal and connect; her work as a victims’ right advocate for restorative justice and prison reform; and as an investigator into the neuroscience of human evolution and behavioral change.

She has lived and traveled all over the world, and speaks French and German. She is a yoga teacher and musician. She’s mother to 4 of her own children, and co-parent to 2 girls. Read more at xtinem.com and connect with her on Twitter.

LEARN MORE ABOUT INDIVISIBLE

There are more people living alone than at any time in history, and more depression than ever recorded. Violence to each other and ourselves continues to cast long shadows across generations. We are fragmented individually and collectively to the point of vile speech and hate crimes based on false divisions. How do we heal? How do we become more connected?

Indivisible is a transformational story of a deep human journey to the heart of connection.

Christine asks questions such as: Why are people lonely and alienated from one another? Why are people angry? Or mean? Or violent to each other? Is that reversible? Why do we lie and hide our true selves? How do we make more love and less conflict happen? Can we make a world that works better for all of us? How might we shift our internal state and the design of our communities and institutions to be happier, more connected?

Check out what some of our Buzz Builders have to say about Indivisible…

“This book was absolutely awesome. In fact, I tweeted that the book ‘rocked my world.’ There were so many things that resonated with me as an educator and leader… You will find the learning facilitated by this book to be useful in your professional life as well as your personal life.” {Read the rest of Dr. Byron L. Ernest’s review on Amazon.}
“Very few books stay with me the way Indivisible has. It is well worth reading and re-reading.” {Read the rest of Dawn-Marie Cornett’s review on Amazon.}

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Christine will be joining Becky Robinson for an interactive discussion on The Art and Practice of Putting Connection 1st on September 21. If you are interested in learning more about a better way to live, join us for this live online conversation.

Register here.

SUPPORT THE LAUNCH

Buy the book if you haven’t already!
Leave a review — we love reviews, and can never see enough of them on Amazon!
Write about it on your blog and send us the link so we can share it.
Add it to your Goodreads shelf for others to find.

Great Things Happen When We Let Go of Knowing How to Do It

This post is part of our 2016 Team Buzz Builder Guest Blogger series. Today we are pleased to introduce you to Juan Arroyo.

This one is a lesson in story form.

In February 2015, I was getting certified as a John Maxwell Team coach, speaker and trainer. Everything was going well until Paul took the stage and said: “Suspend the requirement of knowing how.”

As soon as I heard it, my brain gave me the blue screen of death: “DOES NOT COMPUTE!”

I was born and raised to have a plan and be prepared for everything, because there’s always a formula or process to follow in order to get it right.

I have to admit, I was somewhat angry at Paul, because he was challenging my deeply held beliefs.

Notwithstanding, time passed and I forgot about Paul’s words.

Fast forward to one year later, February 2016.

I’m in Paraguay with 260 other coaches looking to make a difference under one simple motto: “We are going to some place, at some time, to meet someone, and do something.”

So, I’m there excited and afraid. We are all in a room getting to know each other when Paul takes the stage to give an impromptu announcement: “We need 13 Spanish speaking coaches to travel overnight to unscheduled destinations, please come forward for a debrief!”

Without thinking about it, I stood up and walked to the front with determination. Yet, I couldn’t ignore the voice in the back of my head saying, “What in the world are you thinking, Juan!”

At any rate, I did it. I traveled 4 hours by car to work with a cooperative formed by families of German descent. Go figure, my very first time training and I end up delivering it to people that have Spanish as their second language!

With that adventure finished, I got back the Asunción to continue with the “scheduled programming.”

The way it worked was this: you ate breakfast, you got in line, and someone came to pick you up and take you some place, at some time, to meet someone, and do something.

This time around, I got to visit the Paraguayan consulate.

As you may expect, things didn’t go as planned. We took materials for a half-day session and we quickly found out we were going to be there all day. In the middle of the confusion, I somehow ended up leading the group and organizing the entire engagement.

In fact, I connected so well with the organizer, Diego, that I ended up telling him, “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Not only did I go back, but thanks to my connection with Diego and his staff, they gave me the opportunity to train their executive team, including a congresswoman.

What a great experience and story to tell. I was part of the start of a movement that trained close to 19,000 people in 4 days.

But you want to know what’s the most amazing about it?

It wasn’t until I was flying back to the US that I realized the only thing that made it possible was my willingness to suspend the requirement of knowing how.

What’s the lesson? Don’t let the need to know how to do something stop you from living a life of significance.

 

Juan Arroyo wakes up every day looking for the questions that allow an individual to break through a self-limiting belief and become the best version of oneself. He’d love to connect with you and help you reach a higher level of awareness through his blog, or via twitter.

 

Image credit: geralt

The Lowdown on Lead Magnets

When we discuss new website projects with clients, we like to be straightforward about one thing: just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come. There are millions (if not billions) of websites on the web, so you better have a solid plan for attracting interest and engagement.

Building and maintaining a relationship with readers on your site is a process that can involve a number of different strategies. In this post, I am going to discuss one such strategy: the lead magnet.

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a resource offered in exchange for contact information, which is used to convert visitors to your website into leads (most likely through email marketing). A good lead magnet should offer something of real value while establishing credibility.

The ultimate goal of a lead magnet is to build your email list which, in turn, can increase your conversion rate (the percentage of users who take a desired action). You may want your lead magnet to help you gain more business or to build community around a thought or idea. Whatever your goal is, having a strong lead magnet will help your website work with you to accomplish that goal!

Choosing a Topic

“What does my target audience want to know more about?”—this should be the first question you ask yourself when selecting a topic for your lead magnet. Not sure? Check out what your competition is offering. Of course, your lead magnet should be uniquely focused on what you have to offer. It should give visitors to your site a taste of what you can do, leaving them interested in learning more.

Your lead magnet can be in a variety of forms, depending on what would be most valuable to your target audience.

Here are some examples:
Sample chapter or e-book

Many Weaving Influence clients will offer a free sample chapter or e-book, since they are trying to establish themselves as authors and thought leaders in their fields. Keep in mind, though, that most people visiting a website do not have a lot of incentive to spend time reading a long e-book or sample chapter. If you do go this route, try to keep the lead magnet as brief as possible, and include in the lead magnet description a solid reason as to why this information is worth reading. For example: “Sign up to receive a free sample chapter from my book that will teach you 5 easy ways to quadruple your income in a week.” Cheryl Bachelder does a great job using an e-book to encourage sign-ups on her site.

Resources

If you don’t have a lot of time to invest in your lead magnet but still want to offer some real value, consider composing a simple list of highly valuable resources that your target audience will find helpful (online tools, articles, podcasts, etc.). For example: “Sign up to receive the freelance writer’s online toolbox for free, a select list of recommended resources for getting your freelance writing business up and running this quarter.”

Drip email course or video course

If you choose to create some kind of course or series of videos for your lead magnet (you can use a variety of emailing services to do this—we recommend Mailchimp or Infusionsoft), be sure to focus on helping solve one or more of your customers’ most urgent problems.

Quiz

A quiz can be a fun and engaging way to help your audience understand something fundamental about themselves and the way they conduct business. Everyone loves learning about themselves—use this to draw them into your ideas and services.

Article/whitepaper/case study, etc.

Any document that would prove valuable to your audience can be used as a lead magnet. Like with the sample chapter or e-book, be careful that the information is relevant and concise. Giant Leap Consulting does a great job of encouraging sign-ups by offering a free strategic planning workbook as their lead magnet.

Newsletter

Though most online brands offer some kind of regular updates or newsletter via email (and most people’s inboxes could stand a round of unsubscribes), a newsletter can still be an excellent lead magnet. Clearly state the value of your newsletter and consider adding in text about the frequency of delivery. For example, someone is much more likely to sign up for “A 150 word weekly marketing tip” than “A weekly post from my blog.” Author John Perkins has an engaging newsletter sign-up on his website.

A few words on positioning

Your lead magnet should be visible on highly-trafficked areas of your site, most likely the home page and the blog (if you have one). It should serve as a way for visitors to your site to get more acquainted with you and your work. You can see a great example of lead magnet positioning on consultant Ken Rutsky’s homepage.

Measuring Success

How do you know if your lead magnet is doing the job you intended it to do? Ask the following questions:

Do visitors to your site opt into your list?
Do they stay subscribed once they are on the list?
Are you getting an increase in interest and ultimately business (this may take several months to measure)?

Interested in developing an online strategy, including a lead magnet for your website, but not sure where to start? Learn more about Weaving Influence’s services and contact our team—we’d be happy to help!

 

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Featured on Friday: Reflecting on September 11

“What did we do when September 11 happened?”

It was so ironic that my daughter, Tenley, now 20 years old, asked me that recently. Only a few weeks prior, I had spoken about Sepember 11, 2001, to a local reporter who had asked parents to discuss how to share difficult information with their children in the aftermath of the Orlando Pulse shooting.

Having been a five-year-old kindergartner on September 11, 2001, Tenley’s specific memories of that day are vague.

However, she loves New York City; we have gone roughly every two years starting when she was 18 months old. We visited the site of the World Trade Center in 2002 when she was six. We visited the 9/11 Memorial after her high school graduation.

Although my age-appropriate explanation to my five-year-old was basic and brief, as she grows into adulthood, I will encourage her to do what the 9/11 Memorial encourages: remember, reflect, and serve as we look back fifteen years later on what transpired in New York City; Washington, DC; Shanksville, PA; the entire nation; and the world that day.

I have chosen quotes and examples from among current and former members of our Weaving Influence family to reinforce each one.

Remember

It is imperative to remember the events of that day, and the unique features of each victim that made them valued friends, coworkers, family members, and citizens. For those who are too young to remember, we can teach them.

In his post Leaders: What is Your Expression?, Paul Larsen reminds us:

Your leadership footprint isn’t made of sand.

Although thousands lost their lives that day, each one leaves behind a permanent legacy. It will not shift or blow away as sand does. These legacies are cemented into our national consciousness; their names are engraved on the solid marble of the memorial.

No day shall erase you from the memory of time. – Virgil

Reflect

An event of such enormity challenges us to focus our reflections. The passage of time prismatically modifies the rawest of our emotions; it equips us with enough perspective (hopefully) to move back into our routine days while continuing to grieve and remember; but our reflections on 9/11 should always redirect us back unity rather than division.

Although Karin Hurt was referring to the types of surprises that bring unexpected joy rather than an abrupt descent into sorrow, in Why to be Surprised: The Power of Not Knowing, she touches on a truth of September 11:

The biggest life and leadership lessons come when you’re surprised.

Would we all prefer to have avoided the difficult life lessons we learned as individuals and a nation that day and in its aftermath? Absolutely. Can our reflections on how we came together spur us on to be better people? They can and they should.

Serve

The last of the three recommendations from the 9/11 Memorial is to serve. Through serving on September 11 (and year-round), the tragedy of the day can be channeled in a positive way. Service is a way we can collectively honor September 11 and put hands and feet to our remembrances and reflections.

Perhaps you have been thinking of an ambitious service project and can’t quite get your head around how to begin. In Launching Your Big Idea, Linda Freeman reminds us that big ideas are not unattainable. She encourages three steps:

Start alone. Don’t wait for others to completely understand or agree before you take the first action. Get started.
Fight fear. You might not have everything you need when you start working on your Big Idea. You might feel fear and/or anxiety about moving forward. Remember that fear is just a feeling and feelings aren’t reality.
Push through. Your Big Idea can never come to life by simply thinking about it or talking about it. You have to work at it. Push yourself to keep going.

You may prefer to take smaller steps of service. That’s fine! Cheryl Bachelder, in Imagine the Impact of Your Work, elegantly explains how even the smallest of actions can have ripple effects (and bring joy to the volunteer), depending on how the volunteer perceives their own work.

Honor by Serving

The events of September 11, 2001, had the potential to destroy us as a country. But resilience and love prevailed. As Beau Sides writes in The Gingko Tree, “to say the ginkgo is a hearty tree would be an understatement.  Extreme examples of the ginkgo’s tenacity may be seen in Hiroshima, Japan, where six trees growing between 1–2 km from the 1945 atom bomb explosion were among the few living things in the area to survive the blast. “

The ginkgos, though charred, survived and were soon healthy again. The trees are alive to this day.

Through our continued service on September 11, 2016, and for all the September 11’s to come, we can keep the legacy of the victims of September 11 alive.

My friend Gabrielle lost her uncle and godfather on September 11, 2001. She writes: “I belong to a club that nobody wanted to join — a group of 9/11 family members and survivors who cope with grief in our own ways. For me, the experience was motivation to give more of my time to causes important to me including working with veterans, animals and people with disabilities. My therapy dog and I spend a few days every week visiting hospital patients and our Alzheimer’s group.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service provides volunteer ideas here.

This September 11, how will you remember, reflect, honor, and serve?

 

Image credit: MonicaVolpin