Elaine Guinn
Forum Replies Created
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Replies
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I’m with Don on this one. Since I depend upon the business I’ve already established for the majority of my income, I have to spend a certain amount of time each week on creating the products my list purchases and maintaining the websites I have now.
I’m trying to learn how to expand what I have now into my BIG DREAM from Sean and this forum. Then I’ll have more time, knowledge and experience to share… which I’m more than willing to do.
I don’t want another Facebook-type site. I need serious training and help. While I do have a business Facebook page, I don’t really participate much in social media. In fact, to be honest, I get very frustrated with it. Too much trivia, too many scammers.
Instead, I’d like to see areas where you can focus on subjects you wish to learn: Membership Sites, Coaching, WordPress Training, Content Creation, Marketing (different types… online & offline), Sales Funnels, Squeeze Pages, etc. These are just some suggestions I’d like to see.
A good search engine would help a lot.
And, in each section, people could sign up as a resource if they wish, listing their particular expertise and whether or not they would have to charge for their assistance. (This suggestion may not be appropriate for this site… I’m not sure. While most of us will gladly help if and where we can… there’s a limit if you have a lot of other obligations.)
Much of this is already available on this site, but since focus is an issue for me, the more organized the subjects and the people who can really be of help would be valuable to me.
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Absolutely! Much easier to read. Thanks for doing that.
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A little bird told me that there will soon be step-by-step training program on how to create a membership posted on this site very soon.
Come to think of it, it was a bigger bird we all know…
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What do I want? Hm-m-m-m…
I want to learn exactly how to expand my current business into a stable, comprehensive membership platform that my list can join to gain valuable information and tools to build THEIR business. So… it’s going to be great to watch this site grow and mature.
I want to meet people who will keep me accountable. I seem to have a lot of distractions and obligations that undermine my focus.
I want to collaborate with people who are familiar with the challenges network marketers (MLMers) face. That’s the niche I’m appealing to.
I want to have access to not only step-by-step training in order to build my membership site, but access to someone who can walk me through the technical stuff. That’s where I usually give up.
I want to make 100K per year so that I can not only become financially secure, but I have the resources to really help others accomplish their goals. If I can do it, I can teach my friends, family and my list how to do it, too.
Thanks everyone!
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Hello Bruce,
Actually, my printed newsletter sales have been dwindling for some time as more and more people are getting all of their info electronically. I am pleased about that as I would like to get rid of printed newsletters entirely. They are, admittedly, a pain. But… at this time, they account for about 35-40% of my income.
I already charge quite a bit for both my printed and electronic newsletters and am getting ready to increase my prices on the printed newsletters the first of next year. There is no way I would go to the trouble without charging for them.
I offer printed newsletters because of customer demand. I have quite a few older customers who are computer challenged. Most of them want only printed newsletters. And… a substantial number of customers who buy my electronic newsletters also purchase a small amount of printed newsletters, at least several times a year if not every month.
I am currently working on a deal with my printing company to print some of my electronic publications (such as personalized Post Cards and Price Sheets) for my customers. I will set up and personalize the files, email them to my customer for approval, then send them on to my printing company. They will print, cut and ship the orders. They are basing their pricing to compete with Vista Print, which some of my customers already use. If our initial venture works out for my customers (and my printer), I’ll see if we can come up with something similar for my newsletters.
My main challenge right now is to get going on a comprehensive membership site for all of the new training modules and materials I want to start offering… and a great marketing strategy to get people to join and stay.
Thanks for all of your advice. I appreciate it.
Elaine
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Suzanne,
I,too, do not like social media. I’d rather pick up the phone… but I’m 72 and sort of old school.
I finally learned how to text because my son in FL is hard of hearing and never answers his cell phone. But… he will answer my text messages.
I like Sean’s idea about re-purposing your answers to questions on this site and posting them to a blog or in an email. Brilliant!
Am going to rethink my morning routine.
Elaine
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In addition to gaining the knowledge I need to further my goals, I hope I can contribute in some small way to someone else’s success.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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While my knowledge, experience and skills are, of course, an important reason I am able to build this business, they would not, for the most part, exist yet if I were a young person, just trying to start one. So… I’d have to rely on the knowledge, experience and skills of others.
So… the most important component of my business is the relationships I’ve built and hopefully, will build here.
They’ve become my mentors, coaches, friends… and many of them comprise my list.
Elaine
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As a writer, I find PLR from reputable sources to be very helpful, especially to spur ideas for content creation for my niche.
I particularly like some of the checklists, mindmaps, videos, slides, and royalty-free images from some PLR vendors. They are handy when I am under a publication deadline.
I also have been experimenting with re-purposing some of the material I’ve created and offering it to my list as PLR. As long as I give them the tools to effectively use it, they seem to love it… and are currently asking for more.
While I rewrite all of the PLR I buy to inject my own voice, add research and references and combine with other information of interest to my niche, I have no patience with PLR merchants who offer poorly written or out-of-date material. If the PLR is not high-quality, I’ll never use their products again. I stick to just a few PLR vendors that produce superior products.
Hope that helps.
Elaine -
In September 2002, my daughter and I started the business I run now… selling online and offline publications to a niche market of small business owners in network marketing. (She’s since gone on to become a paralegal and works in law enforcement now. I’m the writer, graphic artist and entrepreneur in the family.)
While all of our competitors in the field were selling printed materials, we decided to offer only electronic publications.
Even though, at that time, we paid someone to build our website, and we weren’t exactly sure what we were doing, we had a beginning list because of our years working in the niche.
So we marketed our “Grand Opening” and actually sold over $500 in electronic newsletter subscriptions the very first day.
Several years later, because of customer demand, we added printed newsletters to our product list.
Over time, my business has become stale. I am trying to update my websites, marketing and expand my list… inject new life into my business.
I am just grateful that I still am able to run the business, and… that it was successful from the beginning. Some things just work out…
Blessings…
Elaine -
Hi Sean!
Yes, that’s basically what I need.
I want a general area where people can access some free stuff available to everyone.
Maybe some blog posts? I do already have a separate blog site. Should everything be on one site? (Except for my main shopping site… http://www.shaidsshop.com)
Then I need their private membership area where they can download the products they purchase.
Is that doable?
I’m still fleshing it out. At this point, I don’t know if I need just one site or several.
And… how do you handle different membership levels or subscriptions?
In my confusion, I’ve started to build several websites in WP, but not really completed any (except my outdated download and main sites).
Thanks for your help on this.
I appreciate it.
Elaine -
I create a new newsletter for my niche to use each month. It is an actual newsletter that they purchase (printed and/or electronic) about Shaklee and Shaklee products.
I market this newsletter… and my other products… by email through Constant Contact. I also send them more personal emails (also through Constant Contact) with little tips, techniques, stories, free reports, etc. I just don’t do it often enough.
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My current membership site is basically a download site where I post newsletters for my niche to use to market their business. This is my current process:
1) Each month, I write and create a newsletter for my niche (small business owners who sell Shaklee nutrition, cleaning and skin card products) in CorelDraw.
2) I still have a lot of people who want a printed newsletter (although, that’s been dwindling for years), so I convert it to a PDF and send it to my local printer who delivers them to me about a week later. I then ship the printed version.
3) I then turn the printed newsletter into 2 different PDF formats, as well a web-based format using MS Expressions (which I’ve learned how to use, but wish there was something simpler.) NOTE: I personalize each newsletter with the customer’s company name, name, phone number(s), email address, website address, etc… whatever they want. My customers like the personalization and… since the Shaklee community is close-knit, personalizing everything curtails the impulse some people have to start distributing our newsletter without paying for it.
4) Once it’s finished, I upload both the PDFs and the web newsletters to this membership site which still has a few of our original membe3rs (from years ago) who want more than one newsletter format. Someone else created this site and while it functions, it’s really not ideal in any way. And… since I took over maintaining it, I just barely know what I am doing. It is not a WP site and I don’t think it’s a membership platform. I really don’t know what it is exactly. I just know it’s outdated and cumbersome. I’m a writer, not a technical website operator, although I’m learning.
5) I also have a lot of subscribers who just want one electronic newsletter format each month. I personalize those PDFs and web newsletters and email the PDFs and links to these subscribers. I don’t post them on the website, although the web newsletters are hosted there.
It’s complicated and time-consuming, but it’s what I’m stuck with until I can create something better, make more money and outsource the tedious work involved.
I have a greater vision for my business. I can do so much more with a comprehensive membership site offering training on how to most effectively use the products on my main website, http://www.shaidsshop.com, but also on various concerns my niche struggles with… leadership, organization, prospecting, online and offline marketing, training, as well as some of the basic technical aspects of online marketing, etc. They have a lot of needs I can help fill if I just have a good platform from which to operate.
I also need to establish a more stable income from my business and I believe this will take me to a level where I need to be financially.
If you have any suggestions or ideas, please let me know. Thanks.
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I send most of my email newsletters through Constant Contact using one of their templates that I customized to coordinate with my main website. While not the best autoresponder (they just recently added a campaign function), I find their templates easier to use. And… you can send just a text version if you wish. I also use AWeber occasionally, but I find their templates more difficult to work with.
To answer your question, I don’t really think it matters a whole lot if your content is good. However, I think breaking up a newsletter with graphics and white space creates more interest. It certainly does with printed newsletters. (I create and sell both printed and electronic newsletters in my niche.) Hope that helps.
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You might try searching for other products in the same genre and see how they’re priced. Look for experts in the field because they’ve most likely split-tested their product pricing already. Gives you a place to start.
