The post How To Use Media Logos The Right Way appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

That there’s nothing more to say.

That you gave so much
through your daily messaging,

that now it’s repetitive,
that people will get bored,

and you even start questioning your own value,

thinking you have nothing to say.

That you’re a messenger without a message.

And it’s so frustrating!

Feeling like everyone else
is doing better than you

they’re more consistent,
they’re ahead of you in the game…

Come play with me for a second –

what would happen

if you ALLOWED YOURSELF
to just keep showing up?

And when you’re starting at a blank page,
just ask yourself

What do people need to hear today?

And simply start typing,

without judgement,
without blocking the flow,
without breaking the speed.

You can always edit it later.

Just get started and you’ll get into it,
and the flow will find you,
I promise you that.

The real trick though is
when you get over your “writer’s block”,
when you finally wrote it up,

YOU MUST SHARE, you must post what your message was that day.

I’ve been a closet writer for some time!

I’d get the inspiration to write
and then after one article was done,

I’d just *feel* like writing another one right away, you know?

(Told you, flow will find you!)

And then –

get this!

I wouldn’t share it with anyone.

It’d just rot away in the digital clutter
somewhere several folders deep on my computer.

I know you can hear me…

I know you have plenty of ideas,

some are even executed,
some of that content has been already created

but then don’t share it with the world –

and not because you’re a perfectionist,

but because God forbid,

they should find out what you *actually* think!

That you have real opinions,
and that you stand for something!

Now I know,
you don’t want to be deliberately controversial,

and you want to be heard
so you don’t want to alienate anyone.

But the thing is,

those who truly resonate with you
WON’T BE ABLE TO SEE YOU

when you’re hiding behind
simple how-to articles
and vanilla flavored niceties.

Showing up doesn’t just mean doing the work.

Showing up means
SHARING YOUR TRUE THOUGHTS,

letting people see you
-even if it means you’re a bit vulnerable
and some won’t like you

– so what?

Commit to
letting your message be heard
as it is meant to be,
as you dream of doing *some day*.

How about starting today?

Just make a decision that you’ll
say at is it really is.

It’s actually EASIER than putting up a facade
and greying out your true colors.

Think how many “smart” articles you skimmed through,
perhaps even implemented some of what you learned –

but now you don’t remember the author’s name!

“Oh I read it somewhere…”

You now why?

They were removed.

When you are removed,
when you’re not bringing it energetically,

people can feel it and your message won’t impact them
the way it could
if you only were just a little bit brave.

So what are you waiting for?

Promise me you’ll take of the mask,
and let us see you.

If you do it, I’ll do it with you.

It can’t be that hard.

Just do it.

PS. If you’re ready to up level your visibility and start sharing your message at scale, message me. I’m taking on a handful of new coaching clients – if you know one of those spots is yours, email me or message me on Facebook.

The post Stop Hiding! appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

Facebook Livestreams are all the rage these days… and for good reason too.

Facebook is really pushing them – your friends and followers will get notified when you’re live, and even after the fact, that you *were* live!

There’s something special about watching something that’s happening *right now* – people feel intrigued to join in and participate in the conversation.

It’s a great way to build trust and engagement with your community –

so I hope you’re taking advantage of this and use livestreams as part of your content marketing strategy!

If you haven’t done a livestream yet –

well, there’s no time like the present! 🙂

And if you’re already using livestreams, here are a couple of tips

to get EVEN MORE EYEBALLS ON YOUR CONTENT, FOR FREE.

Step One:

Do a longer livestream – about 15-20 minutes, maybe even longer if you can. Share it from your business page to your personal profile while you’re live to get as many people on as possible.

Step Two:

Download the replay of your livestream and cut it up into smaller chunks (60 seconds or less).

Ideally, you’d have them edited. For example, add on subtitles (most people watch videos in their newsfeed with the sound off!) and a call to action at the end.

Step Three:

Publish the short snippets on other platforms – IG, Twitter, your personal Fb profile, etc. etc and direct your followers on those platforms to your Fb business page to watch the full video.

Step Four:

Re-broadcast one of your snippets on a loop using Fb LIVE. Make it so it plays your snippet back to back 3-5 times before stopping the livestream.

You’ll need an extra piece of software for this. I use OBS (Open Broadcaster Project) – it’s a great tool and it’s free.

You can do all kinds of fancy stuff to brand it – add a custom background, your logo, breaking news style news ticker running across the screen, and more.

Step Five:

Share the livestream playing your looped snippets from your business page onto your personal profile.

VOILA – you just got multiple times the audience on your content!

PS. If you’d like to get more visibility and more media, I am taking on a few select coaching clients. If this speaks to you and you’re ready to gear up your visibility, email me or message me on Facebook.

The post How To Maximize The Reach Of Your Facebook Livestreams And Get More Eyeballs On Your Content For FREE appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

I introduce the idea of sending guest recommendations (or, when the pitch is for me, topic recommendations for an interview) through a casual by the way type conversation.

It might be a phone call or a Facebook chat or something in person –

I ask Qs about THEM,

what they’re looking to do,

what their goals are,

what they’re missing and

what they could use help with –

and THEN I ask a bit about their show.

I find out about ideally what types of guests and topics they’d like to include and then I casually mention that I may have a couple of great recommendations for them and happy to send it their way if they’d like.

They ALWAYS SAY YES.

Now.

I send them an email – and now this email is considered a FOLLOW UP on our conversation.

So I say something like this:

It was so nice to chat with you earlier! 🙂 [Be specific and reference something here about what you talked about and how it impacted you.]

And here’s the MAGIC PHRASE:

*As promised*, here are a couple of great guest recommendations for your show: name, name, name.

Boom.

See what I did there?

I set it up so it’s something they already subconsciously said yes to, and now we’re just following through and getting the topics and the logistics sorted.

If you’re pitching yourself, you can do the exact same thing.

The only difference is, instead of guest recommendations, you’ll say TOPIC IDEAS and give them a couple of bullet points (well written headlines that their audience would resonate with),

instead of names of guests you’re recommending for their show.

PS. If you’d like to learn more about this process and get your own pitches dialed in, I am taking on a couple of coaching clients to do just that. If this feels like it’s you, email me or message me on Facebook.

The post How To Get Psychological Buy-In BEFORE You Pitch Yourself To The Media appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

At least, that’s how I felt for the longest time and so I AVOIDED being seen as much as possible.

I’d tell myself, I like my privacy.

And the truth is, I really do.

I’m an introvert to the max.

A hermit.

I literally live in the desert and I only see people in person when I decide I want to.

But then three years ago, I made a decision to do *some* publicity, mostly with the idea of getting new coaching clients.

Well, I managed to get myself on one of the top podcasts in the world right away and the outcome wasn’t at all what I expected…

I found it was the catalyst for developing a new FRIENDSHIP with one of the top influencers in the space – someone I collaborated with on many different things since then.

But back to being uncomfortable about being public, and avoiding being seen –

it’s kind of crazy, especially in my line of work.

Former actor, now building a personal brand…

And yet, trying to hide.

I know you can hear me…

I know you might be in the same boat too.

You’re an entrepreneur with a meaningful message and you need to get it out there.

But if you are ambivalent about actually sharing your message at scale –

how on Earth is it ever going to happen?

You’ll be self sabotaging yourself at every turn.

(Ask me how I know..)

Here’s the thing.

You just have to GET OVER YOURSELF, Babes.

You have to MAKE A DECISION that you’re no longer hiding,

that what you have to say is important,

that people need to hear it –

otherwise, how are things going to change?

You were born to make a difference,

to build a business that has an IMPACT,

to become INFLUENTIAL –

and you can’t do it half assed.

*Kind of trying* is not good enough.

Think about it – if you don’t do it, who will?

Are you gonna let someone else share the essence of YOUR MESSAGE

and do a crappy job,

while you’re watching them,

secretly criticizing them and maybe even feel jealous at time?

Are you going to let YOUR TRIBE be guided by someone else,

who –

let’s just be honest,

can’t do it half as good as you?

Are you a leader of a follower?

That’s what I thought… 🙂

It’s time to get over yourself babes.

It’s time to step up and, as Jay Abraham called me out on it a couple of years ago –

GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE.

Deal?

Deal. 🙂

PS. If you know this is you, if you know you need more publicity and better, higher level connections, message me. I am taking on a couple of new clients -if you know it’s your time to shine, email me or message me on Facebook.

The post Get over yourself, Babes… It’s your time to shine appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

But what if you had a resource that let you basically create endless story ideas and pitch angles by simply linking it to something that’s happening soon?

The key thing to understand that it’s not about you.

Not even when you’re building a personal brand.

It’s about what that audience would find interesting, valuable or fascinating.

And that’s where linking comes in.

You can link to so many things…

Upcoming holidays.

Local events.

Celebrity stories.

Stuff that’s happening in the news.

And sure, lots of media savvy entrepreneurs know and use this stuff – but there’s always room for more, and there’s room for you, IF you do it in a way that’ll make YOUR MESSAGE STAND OUT.

For example, one of the most powerful strategies for pitching yourself to the media is being current when linking to an upcoming holiday.

And I’m not just talking about Christmas, and Valentine’s Day, and the like.

I’m talking about LESSER KNOWN HOLIDAYS.

Yes, it’s counterintuitive but just trust me on this.

Look at the “weird” official holidays and see how you can loosely relate it to your expertise or an aspect of your brand and what you stand for.

For example, today is Positive Thinking Day.

(Seriously, I’m not making this up.)

What angles and pitches and helpful tips could you craft that relate to positive thinking or motivation and that also allows you / your product to be featured?

Use this as a brainstorming exercise b/c I’m sure you can come up with at least five ideas…

And then, as a next step, look ahead in your weird holidays calendar and prepare pitches AHEAD OF TIME so that you target the appropriate media outlets at least 2-4 weeks before the actual holiday.

Then, start pitching yourself accordingly.

That way, you’ll always have new stories and media opportunities lined up.

PS. If you’d like help with this, I’m taking on a handful of new clients for coaching and done for you publicity services. If you’d like to learn more, email me at esther@borntoinfluence.com.

The post How To Create Endless Story Ideas And Pitch Angles For The Media appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

 To listen to Gail’s interview on the Born To Influence PODCAST, click HERE.

 To watch a little bit of Gail’s interview on VIDEO, click HERE. (coming soon)

In this interview, we talk with Gail about:

• What writing a book can do for you and your business
• How to market your book
• Common mistakes when self-publishing a book
• The truth about ISBN numbers and why it matters
• When to line up the editing and marketing for your book
• How to map out your marketing plan for your book that works for your personality
• Creative marketing strategies for generating buzz for your book
• How to create a reader group for feedback during the writing process
• How to use your book to your advantage when negotiating your speaking fees
• How to use your book for prospecting and customer retention

Gail Recommends (*affiliate):

• CreateSpace

Tweetable:

• You have to wear two hats…author and marketer ~ Gail Woodard  Click To Tweet

Gail’s Bio:

“Born in Boston, I graduated from Albertus Magnus College and earned an MBA from Yale University. After fifteen years in the corporate world focused on strategic planning and marketing, I closed my consulting practice to begin a new adventure – home-schooling my three sons, then ages 8, 6 and 3. For the next decade, we learned and grew together, exploring all our Santa Barbara, CA neighborhood had to offer, traveling around the U.S. and living in both Mexico and France.

Later I lived in southern Arizona where I taught finance & management at the University of Arizona South and yoga in my home studio. Most recently I’ve become ‘happily homeless,’ exploring parts of the U.S. and Latin America as I continue to grow my publishing services business, www.DudleyCourtPress.com. Thanks to technology, I’m always in touch with my clients and team, as well as with family and friends, around the globe.

As publisher and author coach at Dudley Court Press, I help authors clarify and achieve their publishing goals. My way of living a joyful life today is to assist business and wellness professionals get their books done, and done right. Using technology and taking advantage of all the offerings within the publishing industry today, my team helps authors make the right strategic choices for writing, designing, publishing and marketing meaningful books. If you’ve got a book project in mind, or if you’ve got questions about living your live more joyfully, please visit www.DudleyCourtPress.com and drop me a note.

Life on this Earth is short – why not make it sweet? Here’s to your joy! -Gail Woodard”

To learn more about Gail Woodard, go to: dudleycourtpress.com.

The post Gail Woodard on Publishing Your Book to Grow Your Business appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

 To listen to Ian’s interview on the Born To Influence PODCAST, click HERE.

 To watch a little bit of Ian’s interview on VIDEO, click HERE. (coming soon)

In this interview, we talk with Ian about:

• The practical differences between marketing and advertising for small businesses vs large companies
• How to get your value across even if you’re introverted or shy
• How to differentiate between strategies that don’t suit you vs being lazy
• The differences between selling and marketing the intangible vs the tangible
• How to offer a “test drive” to demonstrate your skills when selling a service without doing free coaching sessions
• The intangible elements of the sales conversation and how to go beyond talking about the deliverables
• Follow up marketing and how to build confidence in your prospects
• The best media you can use to offer your prospects to experience working with you
• How to know when drilling down to find the niche is enough and you need to start marketing
• The formula of figuring out how to be distinguished
• How to create a good value proposition for coaches and consultants
• What kind of content to put in your email marketing campaigns
• How to nurture the relationship with your prospects so that they want to work with you how to conduct strategy sessions that convert
• The future of webinars
• How to build a connection with your audience
• How to close the sale without being pushy

Ian Recommends (*affiliate):

• Good To Great (Jim Collins)
• Email Persuasion (Ian Brodie)
• Email Persuasion Bonuses (Ian Brodie)

Tweetable:

• It’s the ultimate form of credibility to have done it yourself ~ Ian Brodie  Click To Tweet

Ian’s Bio:

“Ian Brodie works with consultants, coaches and other professionals to help them attract and win more clients. He teaches them how to market effectively, how to become seen as leaders in their field, and how to nurture relationships and win business through email marketing.

He was recently named as one of the “Top 50 Global Thought Leaders in Marketing and Sales” by Top Sales World magazine, and one of the “Top 25 Global Influencers in Sales and Sales and Sales Management” by OpenView Labs. Salesforce.com picked him as one of their “Social Business Dream Team” and Raintoday.com named his website as one of the “Resources of the Decade” for Professional Services Marketing.

He lives in Cheshire in the UK with his wonderful and understanding wife Kathy who put up with him agonising over this book, and their two fantastic kids Chris and Robs. He’s a long-suffering Newcastle United supporter and in his spare time he likes to practice and perform close-up magic (though not very well).

After working his socks off building a consulting business that depended on his personal involvement and effort to win new clients, he discovered that through online and email marketing he could reach and help more people, have more impact, and win a lot more business. He’s personally used the strategies he outlines in this book to grow his own and his clients’ businesses. And if you follow the strategies outlined in his books, you can do the same.”

To learn more about Ian Brodie, go to: ianbrodie.com.

The post Ian Brodie on Persuasion via Email and the Psychology of Conversion appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

 To listen to Nick’s interview on the Born To Influence PODCAST, click HERE.

 To watch a little bit of Nick’s interview on VIDEO, click HERE. (coming soon)

In this interview, we talk with Nick about:

• What you need to have in place to build a true personal brand
• The three things you must have in your business to grow your revenue
• What is the role of media and PR in your business vs marketing
• How and when to use press releases
• What is the real benefit of appearing on network television
• The difference between mass media and direct media
• The formula for succeeding with using media in your marketing
• How to get your first media appearances booked
• Offline direct marketing vs online marketing
• How to do list selection for direct mail
• Why he sent iPads to his prospects
• The key elements your business must have in order to succeed with your marketing process
• How an undertaker managed to get continuity income
• The only three ways to grow your business
• The mindset that creates a roadblock to your growth
• How to eliminate price objections
• How to run a business with 60 seminars a week
• How to create a fusion between branding and direct response marketing

Nick recommends (*affiliate):

• PRlog.org

Tweetable:

• Price is only an issue when value is a mystery ~ Nick Nanton Click To Tweet

Nick’s Bio:

“An Emmy-winning director and producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the top agent to celebrity experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company magazine’s expert blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at major universities around the world. His book Celebrity Branding You® has also been used as the textbook on personal branding for university students.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 1000 clients in 26 countries, Nick is an award-winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large-scale events to television shows with Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael GerberNick is recognized as one of the top thought leaders in the business world and has co-authored 16 bestelling books alongside Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield (creator of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series), Dan Kennedy, Robert Allen, Dr. Ivan Misner (founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (author of the “Guerilla Marketing” series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®

Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 600 authors to best-seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Inc., The New York Times, Entrepreneur and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country, as well as on FOX News, CNN, CNBC and MSNBC, speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law to “American Idol.”

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar and holds a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a B.S./B.A. in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, home to the Grammys), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (home to the Emmy Awards), co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors®, and an 11-time Telly Award winner. He spends his spare time working with Young Life and Downtown Credo Orlando and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, go to: celebritybrandingagency.com or connect with him on Twitter: @nicknanton.

The post Nick Nanton on Branding Yourself Like a True Celebrity Expert appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.

 To listen to Aaron’s interview on the Born To Influence PODCAST, click HERE.

 To watch a little bit of Aaron’s interview on VIDEO, click HERE. (coming soon)

In this interview, we talked with Aaron about:

• The one thing you must avoid doing if you want a successful business
• How law firms can stand out in the market
• Commodity branding
• What you must do before building a web site
• How small businesses can create an effective marketing and sales funnel
• How to engineer referrals and reviews
• How to create a content roadmap for your content marketing strategy
• Content marketing for law firms and other small businesses
• Where you’re missing out on 80%of your potential business and how to avoid that
• How to get referrals from your best clients
• How to get reviews on Yelp and other review sites
• How to release and repurpose your content in your marketing
• What elements your web site must have
• Mistakes business owners make when getting started with content marketing
• How to maximize the traffic to your site
• How to curate content for your social media pages the right way
• The questions you should be asking about content marketing
• How to find your why

Aaron Recommends (*affiliate):

• Family Law Group
• SpeechPad
• Stand Out! (Aaron Fletcher)

Tweetable:

• It’s more about the funnel… then it is about just blind content ~Aaron Fletcher Click To Tweet

Aaron’s Bio:

“Founder of Geek-Free Marketing and Best Legal Practices, Aaron N. Fletcher is an online marketing, consultant, educator, speaker and nationally published author of the new book Stand Out: A Simple and Effective Online Marketing Plan For Your Small Business.

Over the last 18 years, Aaron has become the “go-to” sales and marketing expert to small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs including Nolo.com, Caring.com, and Jay Abraham.

Aaron’s mission is to help small business owners understand and implement simple yet extremely powerful marketing systems so they can achieve rapid business growth and financial freedom without spending a lot of time, money or technical overwhelm. Aaron’s unique and holistic approach combines traditional direct response marketing strategies with cutting-edge digital systems and tools. And a healthy dose of dry humor to boot.

When not coaching clients or noodling around the interwebs, Aaron enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 kids, reading, travel and jiujitsu (not always in that order).”

To learn more about Aaron Fletcher, go to: geekfree.net or bestlegalpractices.com

The post Aaron Fletcher Shares His Geek-Free Content Marketing Strategies appeared first on Born To Influence - Thought Leadership For Founders.