Resource (p)Review: Ryan Eliason’s free Next Level Rapid Business Growth webinar series

Posted on May 20, 2013 by trobbins

nextlevelrapid_bannerEver found a coach/mentor whose material you’ll get REGARDLESS of what it’s about?

You’ve probably figured out by now that I do a lot of training. I mean a LOT of training.  It just makes sense to me: as a business owner, the most important investment I can make is the time and money I put into training myself.  So I try a lot out, and I tell you about the stuff that’s worked for me here.

I totally get that it can be hard, with so many different training alternatives, to figure out what’s going to have the best payoff for you.  The options can be overwhelming.  In the end, I often just go with my gut.

But there are two coaches/mentors/training providers whose programmes I will ALWAYS sign up for. Always.  One of them is the lovely Leonie Dawson, about whom you’ve heard me speak a lot already.  The other is Ryan Eliason.  And since he has a new free webinar series coming up, I figured I’d explain just why I have so much respect for him.

For me, one of those coaches is Ryan Eliason. Here’s why:

I first came across Ryan in March last year.  I attended his free webinar series on growing my business as a visionary entrepreneur. And if I didn’t think of myself in those terms at the beginning of the webinars, I did by the end.

I was impressed enough with Ryan’s integrity and authenticity that I promptly signed on for his 5-month paid business coaching programme.  At around $700, it was the single biggest business investment I’d ever made at the time.  It also continues to be one of the best.

I repeated his programme again in September, because of what had been happening with Dad’s illness.  And here are just a few of the business results I experienced while I was going through the two programme iterations:

  • I quit my day job, launched my business full-time, attracted paying clients from around the globe, and hired a part-time VA
  • I designed, priced and delivered the first round of my Online Promotion for Introverts signature programme
  • I successfully launched a new website, grew my combined email list to over 500, and grew my social media following to over 2,500
  • I met literally hundreds of other heart-based entrepreneurs and received support, encouragement and cross-promotion offers from them

And now, Ryan’s offering a new complimentary training series for conscious business owners

Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to make it to Ryan’s new Next Level Rapid Business Growth free webinars.  On account of, y’know, heading off halfway around the world next week to watch my awesome little brother get hitched.

But I’ve seen the topics Ryan’s going to be covering. And it’s the kind of stuff that – were I actually around – I’d happily pay to learn.  Things like how to expand my influence, impact, oh – and let’s not forget income.  How to build my business without selling my soul. How to support social change and make a great living doing it.

Want to see what I mean?  Have a look at the webinar topics!

And I already know I’ll be doing the new Visionary Business Mastery programme that he’ll be briefly previewing during the webinars. Despite the fact that registration hasn’t actually opened yet. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve already signed up in spirit – I’m just waiting for reality to catch up.

Interested in finding out more about the free webinars? Here are the Quick-n-Dirty Details:

  • What: Ryan Eliason’s “Next Level Rapid Growth” webinar training series
  • Contains:  4 brand new training webinars that are designed to help conscious business owners explode their business success
  • Cost:  completely free for the webinars (obviously, if you decide to sign up for his coaching programme, there’ll be a charge)
  • Conclusion:  I’ve been hoping that Ryan would release a new programme this year, and I cannot WAIT to get started on it.  It’s just a shame I can’t make it to the webinars :-(   

 

Already signed up for Ryan’s free “Next Level Rapid Growth” training webinars?  What are you hoping to get out of them ?  Which one are you most looking forward to?  Let me know in the comments below!

Never heard of Ryan?   Why not check out the webinars and see if they’re something that appeals to you?

 

* AFFILIATE STATEMENT:   Signing up for Ryan’s webinars is completely free. However, I’m an affiliate for his Visionary Business Mastery programme because everything else I’ve done of his has been so freaking awesome. That means that if you join me on that programme, I’ll get something out of your decision. 

Posted in Business building, Recommended Training, Resource Review | Leave a comment

To Write Well, You Must Learn to Lie Fallow

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Tanja

It always starts with the blank page

LieFallowThe empty canvas.

The blinking cursor.

The unpainted wall.

And then you run away.

You’re afraid of the emptiness, so you fill up on other things

You read more articles, check out more books from the library, and study the masters. You take notes, studiously. You craft sentences, paragraphs, pages.

Your work comes out watered-down, a patchwork quilt of ideas you learned elsewhere and haven’t yet made your own.

Why? Because it’s scary to create sentences that are your own and no one else’s, and to then stand behind what they say. It hurts so much more deeply when people don’t respond, or respond negatively.

It feels much safer, and far less scary, to piece together the theories and sentence constructions of others. To follow a proven formula. To put the ultimate responsibility for your words on someone else, preferably someone with a Ph.D.

To make great things, you need to bravely face the emptiness

Unfortunately, cobbling your writing together based on outside influences does not produce good writing, whether you’re writing web copy, a letter, or a book.

In order to do your very best creative work (which, of course, includes your very best writing), you need to see yourself without any distractions. You need to be very brave, and be willing to face the emptiness within and around you.

How?

There are many different ways to meet and explore your own emptiness. As you might guess, the vast majority do not include social media. Here are a few very do-able ways to empty yourself out and make way for creation.

1. Go on an information fast, Twyla Tharp style

Twyla Tharp is, possibly, the most well-known modern dance choreographer of our time. If you’ve read her book The Creative Habit, you know that she’s intimidatingly zealous about the way she works.

Though she researches and learns tons each time she begins a new project, she always empties out before beginning to create. She stops reading, watching movies, and consuming any other media. She tries to limit outside influences as much as possible, and this helps her to draw out her very most creative ideas.

My guess is that not many of us are as obsessive about our work as Ms. Tharp. But we can certainly learn from her example, and allow ourselves to empty of information, before we get down to the business of creation.

 

2. Make time for non-doing

We all need time for non-doing, even if our modern world would like us to forget that. We do better work, and are far more ingenious, when we have time to putter, sleep, nap, and sit aimlessly. While it might seem counterintuitive to you, non-doing is one of the very most creativity-sparking things you can do.

The possibilities for embracing non-doing are endless. You can explore it through Days of Nothing (my favorite method), taking a restorative yoga class, napping at will, scheduling time in your calendar to putter, or practicing meditation. Doing nothing, with absolute gusto, leads, almost magically, to the production of our very most unique, creative masterpieces.

 

3. Be with the fear and discomfort of it

I don’t believe you need to be a tortured artist to write well. I do believe you need to be willing to sit with the possibility that you might write something utterly terrible, in order to produce something that you’ll value.

Experience the fear of emptiness, the loneliness, the not-quite-comfortable feeling. Stay there longer than feels comfortable. Repeat.

 

4. To create great things, you must learn to lie fallow

A lot of us (me included) would like to think that the perfect bit of copy lies in us doing more research, taking in the opinions of more experts.

What I’ve found is that the very most essential part of creating something new, unique, and true is to step back from doing and consuming, then lie fallow for a bit. It will most likely mean you’ll encounter some discomfort and doubt. It will also, however, allow your unique genius to blossom, seemingly out of nowhere.

When you don’t feed the urge to fill up your emptiness, you’ll astound yourself with what you create in all that space.

 

Kylie200pxKylie Bellard is an uber-compassionate empowerment coach and photographer who teaches people to like themselves and care for themselves.

Each month, she leads A Day of Nothing, where participants get to experience the delicious restoration of a real, true day off. You can read her weekly musings on self-esteem, compassion, and doing nothing at www.effervescence.me.

Posted in Creativity, Guest posts | 3 Comments

CAS #5: Get the right people to answer your survey

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Tanja

6912268959_8e82ac2e94_nThis is the fourth installment in the Creating Awesome Surveys series – all about how to design and deliver surveys that help you understand what your clients want.  You can find previous posts here.

To make sure you get each of the posts in the series as soon as it goes live, why not subscribe to the blog?

Who do you really need to hear from in your survey?

Here’s the thing with surveys: they only provide useful information if the right people fill them out.  It doesn’t matter how well designed your questions are.  If no-one answers them, they’re ultimately useless.  And if the wrong folks answer them instead, the results you get won’t be much better.

Yes, hearing from as many people as possible might make sense on the surface.  After all, the more answers you get, the more accurate the results right?  Actually, not so much. The reality is that hearing from the wrong people can cause more problems than solutions.  In the rest of this post, I’ll explain why – and how to get more of your right people to respond.

Why you don’t want answers from “anyone on the internet”

Imagine for a moment that you’re an expat Australian coach living in London who specialises in helping other Aussies make the transition to living in the UK.  That’s a nice, specific client description, right?  It’s clearly defined.  People are going to immediately know if they fit into it – or if someone they know does.  A++ for niche definition!

Now imagine you create an awesome programme to help your clients acclimate to life on the other side of the world.  And you want to find out how much they’d be willing to pay for such a programme.

  • In scenario A, you ask 10 people who fit your perfect client profile what they think it would be worth. And you’re over the moon to discover the content is so relevant to them that they’d be happy to pay you $200 a pop.
  • In Scenario B you ask everyone you can think of how much THEY think the programme should cost.  You get 100 responses, but 95 of them are from folks who haven’t travelled. These people have no idea how different the British and Aussie cultures are (even *with* a common language). So they can’t really see the value in what you’re offering.  They tell you they’d probably pay $20 at most.

Now, the reality is that people who need what you’re selling are happy to pay you a rate that would make delivering the programme sustainable.  But if you went with the second scenario, you could end up seriously undercharging, or just not offering the programme.

So how do you avoid something like Scenario B?

Start by making sure you’re clear on exactly who your right people are

The first step towards getting your ideal people to respond us understanding exactly who they are.

You may already be crystal clear on who your perfect clients for a prospective offering are.  They may be your perfect clients for your entire business – or a small subset of them.  Not every product or service you create is going to be right for every one of your clients, after all.

If you’re a little fuzzy on the matter, take some time now to figure out who your right people are. Ask yourself what characterises them.  What do they most want? What are their biggest problems?  What would change in their lives if those problems went away?  And – also important – where do they hang out online?

When you know all of that, you’re in a much better position to invite them to answer your survey.  And you’re less likely to end up “catching” responses from the wrong people too.

After that… four tips for getting those right people to answer your survey

Once you know exactly who you want to hear from, it’s time to send out the invites.  And because you’ve taken the time to get clear, you can invite the right people in a way that makes them likely to respond.  Here are four tips to make that happen:

  1. Cast a wide net across all the areas your ideal clients hang out: send a survey invitation through to your email list, social media tribe, and any communities where you know your “right people” hang out.  Write about it in your blog. You could even ask people you know to pass the word on to *their* tribes and promote the survey that way.
  2. BUT – be clear about who you want to fill out the survey:  state who you’d like to hear from both in the invitation, and at the start of survey itself.  In our expat Aussie example above, you might write something like “Please only answer this survey if you’ve actually lived in the UK and understand the whole expat culture shock experience.”
  3. Include at least one relevant question that naturally selects out non-ideal respondents: so, in our example above, you might ask “What did you find hardest about adjusting to life in the UK?”  Not only does that select out the folks who actually shouldn’t respond, it also gives you great ideas for your marketing and sales messages!
  4. Think about offering a “thank you” incentive: I often run survey “competitions”, where I offer the chance to win an Amazon voucher to everyone who completes the survey.  You might also think about offering a free 15-minute laser coaching session or something similar.

Over to you – any questions?

OK, that brings us to the end of this series.  Over the past 5 weeks, we’ve looked at:

So. If anything isn’t clear, or you have any thoughts, questions, or things you do differently, I’d love to hear from you.  Let’s get a conversation started: just hit me up in the comments section below.

Photo courtesy NomadicLass
Posted in Creating Awesome Surveys Series, Surveys | Comments Off

Resource (p)Review: List-a-Palooza is BACK!

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Tanja

List-a-Palooza

Last year, I signed up for PJ van Hulle’s List-a-Palooza 90-day challenge

Just so you know, this will probably be a quick resource preview post.  In part, that’s because I’ve already written much of what I want to tell you – here (why I signed up for List-a-Palooza last year) and here (the results I got by the end of it).

The TLDR version: 565% list growth in 90 days

If reading back through the previous posts doesn’t appeal, I’ll sum it up quickly.

Despite the challenge happening over an incredibly difficult time for me (Dad passed away a couple of weeks into it), I was impressed with my results.  While I might not have got anywhere near the 10,000 subscribers PJ talked about, my Crystal Writing Tips list grew by 565%.

And OMG, the stuff I learned – not just about list-building, but about being a business owner, serving my clients better, and getting comfortable with sales.  I *still* go back and listen to some of the interviews from that series now!

That’s why I signed up for it again this year, and highly recommending it

The results I go last year mean I squeed loudly when I heard that PJ’s bringing back List-a-Palooza this year.  There’s an all-new speaker lineup, but it has exactly the same structure as last year (i.e. free to attend all the calls, or $27 for the Success Kit with all the downloadable MP3s + bonuses)

Not surprisingly, I went straight ahead and upgraded to the Success Kit.  Even if you just want the free version and can make even some of the calls, though, I’d still highly recommend it.

Interested in finding out more? Here are the Quick-n-Dirty Details:

  • What: PJ Van Hulle’s List-a-Palooza 2013 challenge
  • Contains: 90 days worth of interviews and information about how – and why – to build your list
  • Cost:  free if you want to actually attend the calls, or just $27 to upgrade to the Success Kit
  • Conclusion:  Even though I’ll be away for the first couple of weeks, I have no doubts that List-a-Palooza 2013 will do some awesome things for my business. It’s one of my three top “Must-Do!” training series for this year. 

 

Already signed up for List-a-Palooza?  What are you hoping to get out of it?  Who are you most looking forward to hearing from?  Let me know in the comments below!

Never heard of the series?   Why not sign up free to check it out and see if it’s something that appeals you to?

 

* AFFILIATE STATEMENT:   Signing up for List-a-Palooza is completely free. However, I’m an affiliate for the programme because it’s so freaking awesome. That means that if you join me in upgrading, I’ll get something out of your decision.  If you don’t like affiliate links, you’re welcome to use this non-affiliate one to check it out instead. I promise I won’t hold it against you :-) !

Posted in Business building, Recommended Training, Resource Review | Comments Off

Successful client interview: Gina George of Graphics by Gina

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Tanja

gina_yogini

Let me take a moment to tell you about my lovely client, Gina George

She’s yet another of the beautiful souls I met through the Goddess Circle (I know, I know, Amazing Biz & Life Academy, I’ll get there!)  She’s also a special lady who both teaches yoga AND designs awesome graphics. The two of us have built up a hell of a history together. And we’ve both been each other’s clients. Repeatedly.

See… first she asked me for some suggestions around rewriting one of her yoga flyers. Then we talked marketing strategy.  Next, I helped her rewrite her entire yoga website.

Then she told me she was starting up an affordable, heartfelt graphic design studio. So I asked her to create me a cover for my Make Your Web Page Crystal Clear guide. Then she asked me to write the homepage for her Graphic Design website. And THEN I got her to create six more covers for me.

Like I said – we have a history.  So I was totally stoked when she agreed to let me interview her for my “Successful Client” series.  Here’s what she said about our most recent work together…

 

Hi Gina – tell me a bit about what you do at Graphics by Gina

I’m a designer with over 25 years of experience across a broad range of graphics projects. I’ve pretty much done everything, from business card logos through 20-storey building signage.

But what I love is working with other holistic healing professionals: yoga teachers like me, massage therapists, energy workers, holistic practitioners, etc.  People who live to make a positive difference in the world – but often feel like they’re trying to do it all on their own.  And because they’re often new to business, they just can’t afford the crazy prices some designers out there charge.

I create authentic designs that connect those professionals with the people they most want to serve.  I totally understand that the design process can be daunting, so I do everything I can to take the stress out of it for them.  As a yoga teacher myself, I know how it feels to be in their shoes – which is why I make sure they feel heard and respected.  No pretentious designer jargon or over-the-top designs at any point, I promise!

What writing challenge initially prompted you to contact me?

I had an existing website, but it really wasn’t attracting much traffic or business.  I’d done a little training around online marketing… but to be honest, I felt completely overwhelmed with everything I had to do and learn.

Then the hammer fell.  I was retrenched from my full-time job, and I knew I needed to start earning an income from my business.  The problem was that I had very little spare cash, so I needed to be extremely selective about what I invested it in.

What were you skeptical/worried about before you used my services?

The main thing that initially freaked me out was the cost of hiring a professional.  I figured I’d always been an avid reader and I was good at writing. So surely I should be able to write decent copy myself, right?

Plus, I’d spent a fair amount of money on various coaches and training programmes to get my business off the ground, but nothing was working.  I was actually starting to get a bit depressed as I watched my business going backwards financially. And I was really sick of wasting my time, money and energy on things that just didn’t pan out.

So yes, I’ll admit I was worried at first that investing in copywriting would turn out to be more of the same.

What did I actually do to help you?

OK, you helped me with the copywriting, but it was so much more than that. You also helped me establish a marketing plan; and figure out how, where and when to market with both my web copy and printed flyers.

You helped me create copy that truly reflected my values and aims, which increased my confidence… I’m proud of my flyers and website now, instead of being a little embarrassed by them. My new-found confidence keeps me inspired and keen to move forward (rather than wishing I could put it all into the too-hard basket!)

Plus, working with you really freed up my time and energy. That meant I could concentrate on the other things that only I could do… without feeling so overwhelmed by it all.  Finally, you taught me some great pointers about copy layout for websites… stuff I thought I should probably already know (being a designer and all!)  So working with you has actually improved my design skills too.

What specific results have you had from my services?

It was invaluable to get an objective opinion about my copy from someone not directly involved in my business (and also not a family member!)

Working with you really helped me to see how the general public interpreted my copy when I wasn’t there to explain what I meant.

And I absolutely LOVE the brevity of your wordsmithery!  You managed to consistently condense my words into clear, succinct sentences without losing a drop of the meaning! How do you even do that?

What have been the business benefits of those results?

Funnily enough, although I’d planned to formally launch the website when it was done, I haven’t needed to!   By some quirk of fate (and your copy probably helped!), I’ve managed to attract a steady stream of clients since starting Graphics by Gina – I haven’t even had time to organise an email newsletter yet.

However, what I do have is a website I’m very pleased with – and no hesitation whatsoever about inviting new clients to it.  I’ve also had several clients comment about just how much they love the new website copy.

On top of that, I feel so much more confident about taking my next steps into marketing now :-) .

Would you recommend me and my services? If so, why?

Yes definitely – without hesitation!  You have a unique skill of knowing exactly what I am trying to say, and being able to communicate that whilst still keeping it brief and clear!

Mainly though, I’d recommend you because you always over-deliver! You give me so much more than great copy: business advice/objective opinion/ & never-ending encouragement!

Now that your website’s complete, what’s next for Graphics by Gina?

I still feel as though I have a lot more to learn about online marketing – especially Facebook and email newsletters.  Maybe even blogging, although I’m not quite convinced that it’s right for me!

I want to keep growing my graphics business. There are so many people I want to be able to support with my unique brand of authentic, affordable, professional design services.  I especially want to connect with and support business owners who are in the same place I was.

And beyond that, I want to spend a little more time doing the things I love (yoga and art). You know, instead of forcing myself to do the things I think I should be doing.

 

Yep, Gina, I totally know what you mean there.  Trust me, that’s one of my goals for 2013 as well!

Well, there you have it folks – I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Gina’s journey as she and I have worked together.  If you’d like to connect with Gina and avail yourself of her seriously affordable design skills, you can find her by:

Posted in Successful client profiles | 2 Comments

CAS #4: Tools that make it easier to create awesome surveys

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Tanja

3269784239_4254e1cc22This is the fourth installment in the Creating Awesome Surveys series – all about how to design and deliver surveys that help you understand what your clients want.  You can find previous posts here.

To make sure you get each of the posts in the series as soon as it goes live, why not subscribe to the blog?

I’m a big believer in making things as easy as possible

OK, yes, I meant what I said earlier in the series about there being “no one right way” to do anything.  But if there’s a way to do something that you find easy, and another way that you find hard, and they both get the same results?  I’m going to recommend the easy one. Every single time.

That’s even truer if the results that the hard way generates aren’t generally as good as the ones from the easy way.  Which is pretty much the situation with using survey tools.

Here’s the deal: you absolutely can create surveys by writing out your questions and manually emailing them to everyone. But… why would you?

Not only does it create a metric frak-tonne of extra work, for you, it also makes you more likely to miss things. Unless you’ve got a particular talent for noticing them, trends and patterns can be harder to spot manually. And even if you ARE a Statistics major, why manually calculate the quantitative stuff when a survey tool can do it for you automatically?

Survey tool options

There are a plethora of free – or very low-cost – survey tools out there.  My personal favourite is SurveyMonkey (for reasons I sum in this review post).  But it’s far from the only option.

You can find a pretty in-depth roundup of affordable survey tools in this article.  Or, if you’d prefer to keep it as simple as possible, you could try:

  • Creating a Facebook poll (great for quick, one-off, single-question surveys)
  • Using the forms function in Google Drive
  • Checking out one of the forms plug-ins for your website

What to look for in a survey tool

Different folks look for different features in their survey tools (say it with me, people… “No one right way!”)  So you might well look for different features than I do in a tool that’s right for you.  If so, I’d love to hear what they are in the comments.

In the meantime, here are the three key questions I’ve identified as being important for me:

  • How easy and intuitive does the tool make it for me to set surveys up?
  • What are the restrictions around the number of questions I can ask, and number of responses you I can accept?
  • How easy will it be to access and analyse people’s responses afterwards?

The reason I stay with the free version of SurveyMonkey is because – for me – it scores pretty highly on all of these questions.   I find it incredibly easy to use to set up surveys.  The number of questions and responses I can ask/accept is restricted… but since I aim to keep my surveys short, that’s generally not a problem for me.  And accessing/analysing answers after the survey finishes is crazy-easy.

Of course, what’s easy and intuitive for me might be far less so for you.  If that’s the case, try a couple of different options from the list above and see which works best for you.

Over to you – any questions?

So far in this series, we’ve looked at why to use surveys, and introduced the four key elements of designing and administering effective surveys.  Then, we looked at getting clear on exactly what you want your survey to tell you, and how to word your questions effectively. And in this installment, we’ve covered some of the various survey tool options.

So. If anything’s not clear, or you have any thoughts, questions, or things you do differently, I’d love to hear from you.  Let’s get a conversation started: just hit me up in the comments section below.

 

Photo courtesy zzpza

Posted in Creating Awesome Surveys Series, Surveys | 1 Comment

CAS #3: how to create clear, effective survey questions

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Tanja

3006348550_3bb10dda55_nThis is the third installment in the Creating Awesome Surveys series – all about how to design and deliver surveys that help you understand what your clients want.  You can find previous posts here. 

To make sure you get each of the posts in the series as soon as it goes live, why not subscribe to the blog?

Let’s start with the basic premise that your clients aren’t mind readers

Getting clear on what you want to know from your clients is the first step to creating a successful survey. That said, it’s only the first step.  Once you figure out for yourself the information you most need to get, you need to translate it into a set of specific questions that:

  1. Clearly relate to the survey topic
  2. Are worded as simply and clearly as possible
  3. Contain only one question per question
  4. Are 100% clear and unambiguous

What it comes down to is that you might know exactly what a given question means and why you’re asking it.  Your reader, however, does not have a direct line of contact to your brain.  They only have the way you’ve worded your questions as their basis for interpreting what you want to know.  And if they misunderstand what you’re asking? Their answers may end up being unintentionally misleading.

So how do you go about incorporating these principles into your survey questions? 

Principle 1: Only ask questions that clearly relate to the survey topic

I mentioned this principle back in Post #2, where I said that asking irrelevant questions will at best confuse your reader.  At worst, those unrelated questions can feel intrusive and create suspicion around your motives.

As a non-survey example, think back to the last time you had to fill out a form to request a free download of something.  You didn’t mind supplying your name and email address, because you knew the supplier needed to send the product somewhere, right?

But what if that form had included questions about your physical address, date of birth, or credit card details?  At that point, you probably clicked away unless you REALLY wanted the free whatever-it-is, right?

In a similar vein, for each question you include in your survey, ask yourself “Does this obviously relate to my survey topic?  If so, how?”  If a question doesn’t relate, take it out – regardless of how interesting the information would be to know.   If it’s relevant, but the link isn’t obvious, consider briefly explaining WHY you’re asking within the question text.

Principle 2: Word every question as simply and clearly as possible

There’s a famous quote that’s commonly misattributed to Einstein: “Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler”.  This is pretty much the foundation beneath the Plain English movement.  It’s also the way I try to write everything – not just survey questions.

Here’s why: the longer and more complicated a question grows, the more open it becomes to misinterpretation.  The more unnecessary words you include, the more chance someone has to misunderstand you.

If you’re looking for specific techniques to help make your writing simpler and clearer, check out Section 3 of my “Make Your Web Page Crystal Clear” guide.  While the first two parts relate to structuring and formatting web pages, the third section is all about language use.  That means it’s just as relevant for survey questions as it is for websites.

Principle 3: Only ask one question per question

It may sound like the height of efficiency to smoosh (yes, that is TOO a word!) multiple questions together.  That’s especially true if you want to obtain a lot of different information from your clients in a single survey.  In those cases, question-smooshing can seem like a smart way to get around the “as few questions as possible” guideline.

The reality, however, is that trying to cram multiple lines of enquiry into a single question will almost always violate the “clear and simple” guideline.  Not only can it muddy up your meaning, it can also leave your reader confused as to which question they’re supposed to be answering.  That can result in them ignoring entire parts of your question.

If you find yourself tempted to merge multiple questions together, ask yourself how much you really need to know the answer to each question. Then either:

  • Delete the parts that aren’t as important as you first thought, or
  • Accept that you’re going to need an extra question, even though it makes the survey longer

Principle 4: Make sure every question is 100% clear and unambiguous

Murphy’s law (of surveys) states that if there’s any possible way to interpret a question other than the one you intended, someone will read it that way.  And if they’re answering a question you didn’t actually mean to ask, chances are that their response isn’t going be wildly helpful.  At best, it will be meaningless. At worst?  Completely misleading.

The tough bit about putting this principle into practice is that it’s often hard to see how other people could possibly misinterpret something we’ve written.  After all, we know what we meant to say.  So, when we read back over the question, not only does the “right meaning” seem obvious, it’s often the only meaning we can see.

This is where getting someone else to read your survey questions before they goes live can be invaluable.  Two sets of eyes are always better than one, and you’ll probably be amazed at what that second set picks up.

Over to you – any questions?

So far in this series, we’ve looked at why to use surveys, and introduced the four key elements of designing and administering effective surveys.  Then, we looked at getting clear on exactly what you want your survey to tell you. And in this installment, we’ve talked about how to word your questions effectively.

So. If anything’s not clear, or you have any thoughts, questions, or things you do differently, I’d love to hear from you.  Let’s get a conversation started: just hit me up in the comments section below.

 

Photo courtesy Valerie Everett

Posted in Creating Awesome Surveys Series, Surveys | Comments Off

Resource (p)Review: getting raw and naked with Anastasia Netri + 20 other experts

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Tanja

Experts in the Raw
It’s been a while since I’ve recommended a teleseminar series

I think the last one was Jenn August’s Wealthy Mind Warrior telesummit – and that was all the way back in October last year.  There’s a reason I don’t recommend these series often: while there are a LOT of them around, they’re often more hype than content.  And even the good ones can get a little “same, old same old” after you’ve been through a few of them.

Last week, though, I discovered one that really grabbed my attention: Anastasia Netri’s free Experts in the Raw series. It drew me enough that I pretty much signed up for it on the spot. So I figured I’d tell you about it this week, in case it grabs you too.

Here’s the basis of the series: we’re ALL getting sick of the hype

To hear half the experts out there talk, they never made a mistake in the history of their business.  Everything they achieved happened magically – drawn to them by the Law of Attraction and the sheer, undefeatable strength of their will.

And we newbie entrepreneurs soak in these stories, come up short when we compare ourselves, and wonder what the frak we’re doing wrong!  If you know what I’m talking about here, trust me, you’re not alone.  I totally get the frustration you’re feeling.  And so does Anastasia Netri – and the lineup of 20 speakers she’s pulled together.

Ever wished the experts out there would get REAL about what it’s taken them to succeed?

That was pretty much Anastasia’s reason for bringing her above mentioned speakers together for Experts in the Raw.  She’s interviewing 20 of the big names in conscious, heart-driven small business building together to ask them about how they…

  • …  got clients before they had a clue what they were doing (or any confidence!)
  • … built those first few hundred names on their email lists
  • …  dealt with launches that bombed, and what they learned from their experiences about running successful ones
  • … felt small, doubted themselves, played the comparison game… and managed to make it anyway

Her stellar lineup includes several folks I’ve heard from before – and in some cases, actively worked with. Folks whose stuff I have a LOT of respect for.  Folks like:

  • Tad Hargrave
  • PJ Van Hulle
  • Linda Claire Puig
  • Sage Levine

Plus fifteen others!  They’re all getting (as they describe it) “Raw and N*ked”.  Complete with shiny red satin robes.  Which… y’know is cute and all, but it’s the content that’s grabbing me!

And the best thing about the series?  It really is FREE!

And I mean “totally free” there.  Not “free if you turn up to the call, but we’ll charge for the recordings”.  Not “free replay for 48 hours, and then you’ve gotta pay for it”.  Nope, they’re free. Including the downloadable recordings. Zero-cost. Zip.  Nada. *

So yes.  I TOTALLY signed myself up for it last Sunday.  And if it sounds like something that might be useful for you too? Why not check out the series for yourself?

Interested in finding out more? Here are the Quick-n-Dirty Details:

  • What: Anastasia Netri’s Experts in the Raw teleseminar series
  • Contains: 20 interviews with heart-centered business-building experts
  • Cost:  absolutely free for all 20 interviews
  • Conclusion:  I’ve been wanting to learn more about Anastasia ever since I heard her interviews in Jenn’s and PJ’s telesummits.  And hey – given that she’s giving all of this away for free, it seemed like a no-brainer to get in on it while I could!

 

Already signed up for Experts in the Raw?  What are you hoping to get out of it?  Who are you most looking forward to hearing from?  Let me know in the comments below!

Never heard of the series?   Why not check it out and see if it’s something that appeals you to?

 

* AFFILIATE STATEMENT:   OK, yes, there’s an upgrade offer.  It involves around $3,000 of training programmes and packages from the various presenters for just $125. I grabbed it myself because it included Anastasia’s Love Letter copywriting course, and I’ve been wanting to do that FOREVER.

Now – full disclosure – I’m an affiliate for the package because it’s so freaking awesome. That means that if you decide to upgrade too, I’ll get something from your decision.  But the interviews with the 20 experts I mentioned above?  They’re still 100% free.  So don’t let the upgrade option put you off!

Oh, and if you really don’t like affiliate links, you’re totally welcome to use this non-affiliate one to check it out instead. I promise I won’t hold it against you :-) !

Posted in Recommended Training, Resource Review, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Guest post: To be vulnerable, or NOT to be vulnerable? THAT is the question…

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Tanja

135259364_c29aa1c2a1< fangirl gushing> OMG, I can’t believe I have the opportunity to have the fabulously talented Anastasia Netri guest posting on my little blog!

I first came across Anastasia in an interview she did with PJ Van Hulle in last year’s List-a-Palooza about building your ideal client list. Then she did an equally awesometastic one in Jenn August’s Wealthy Mind Warrior series about Inspired Selling.

I’ve just signed up for her Experts in the Raw telesummit (and with it, her Love Letters copywriting programme).  And now here she is! On my blog!  Be still, my heart!

Thanks so much for offering to write for my tribe, Anastasia < /fangirl gushing>

 

Many entrepreneurs wonder how much to share with their clients, and for good reason.  If you’ve ever wondered how much of yourself to share, and how it affects your credibility, then this article will surely shed some light on this topic for you.

When it comes to being authentic in your marketing and communication with your clients, you don’t have to share everything.  Sometimes, it’s not in service of them to do so. It doesn’t mean you’re holding back if you don’t want to be public with everything.  Private lives are okay!

However, being a little edgy with your sharing can really help your clients to relate to you, to know that you understand them, and to feel even more connected with your message.

Here are a couple of tips that will help you decide what to share:

Tip #1: Share things your clients can learn from

It is of great service of your clients to share mistakes you made, what you learned from it, and what you can teach them as a result of it.

For instance, let’s say you teach about how to maintain balance, and last week you worked 90 hours, never left your house, and didn’t shower for 4 days.  (It happens.)

A great article or talk could tell your clients something like:

“Look, balance is not always on an everyday basis.  Last week I was in the middle of a huge project and worked super hard, but I realized that one week of “full steam ahead” would provide me with 2 weeks of lightening up my schedule.

So I finished my project, scheduled an entire day unplugged, got a massage, and curled up with ‘50 Shades of Gray’ for a few hours.  It was awesome, and I had accomplished a lot.  I celebrated myself.

It’s important to remember the first and most important quality of balance is to not beat up on yourself, know that at times you’ll get busy, and make sure to plan some down time.  Then, return to your balanced life the following week.”

You’re sharing with them that they don’t have to be perfect and give them permission to fall off the horse from time to time. You can then, lovingly encourage them to keep getting back on track.

Tip #2: Share things your clients can relate to

Let’s take the same scenario.  You teach about balance.  In your “story” you may not want to share about the crack problem you had in 1983.  This has nothing to do with them, and what their issues are.

But you CAN share about how you worked 90 hours a week for a year, burned yourself out, had to learn the skills you now teach, and how it helped you.

Remember to keep your shares relevant, turn your “mistakes” into teaching moments, and be open to showing them that if you don’t do things perfectly all the time, they can still have an amazing life!

 

ana-bannerAnastasia Netri is the creator of Experts in the Raw – the Naked Truth About Success global online event.   She has brought 20 speakers together to share a behind-the-scenes look into the real life of an entrepreneur, (and lots of teaching moments for you!) so that you feel empowered to keep going and create the life you dream about.

Check it out at: Experts in the Raw

 

 

Photo courtesy Jhayne

Posted in Connecting with Clients, Guest posts, Recommended Training | Comments Off

CAS #2: Get crystal clear on what you actually want to know from your clients

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Tanja

7071545621_1c0e40613d_nThis is the second installment in the Creating Awesome Surveys series – all about how to design and deliver surveys that help you understand what your clients want.  You can find previous posts here. 

To make sure you get each of the posts in the series as soon as it goes live, why not subscribe to the blog?

Never underestimate the power of getting clear

Raise your hand if you’ve ever started to fill out an online survey, but then closed down the window before you completed it.  Most of us have at one point or another (if you haven’t, try to imagine a situation in which you would). Our reasons vary, but they often come down to one or more of the following:

  • Not enough time complete it
  • The questions are confusing or ambiguous
  • We’re not sure why a question is relevant
  • We’re not sure why the entire survey is relevant

Getting crystal clear about what you want to know and why before you start even thinking about the questions can help with all of these. Well, nearly all of them anyway – it won’t help you to word your questions clearly.

But knowing exactly what information you want to learn will help you to make your survey as short as possible.  Plus if you’re clear on what you need to find out, you can make 100% sure that every question contributes directly towards that knowledge.  And if you know why you want to know it, you can communicate that to the folks you’re hoping will answer it.

You might think that “what you want to know” is obvious… but sometimes it’s actually not

Getting clear on what you actually want to know doesn’t just help to improve your response rate.  It also helps you to make sure you’re asking the right questions in the first place, rather than just assuming and getting it wrong.

For example: let’s say you create a new class and publicise it on social media, but no-one signs up for it.  You assume the lack of signups is about the class itself, and create a survey to explore how you could make the class more relevant. What you DON’T realise is that the class is perfect the way it is. It’s just that – for whatever reason – most  of the people it would be perfect for didn’t see your social media posts.

In cases like this, it can help to take a step back and see if any hidden assumptions might be lurking in your logic.  Talk it through with a business friend and ask whether they can see anything you might be missing.

Getting clear helps you to focus your questions

Something I’ve noticed in some of the surveys I’ve given up on are the “While I’ve got you here…” questions.  You know the ones right?  The survey may be about your feedback on my class, but while I’ve got you here, let me ask you about another unrelated product I’m thinking of launching.

It might feel like you’re being efficient by killing two birds with one stone, but every extra question you add lowers your response rate.  Plus, questions that don’t obviously relate to the survey topic can feel confusing to your reader at best. At worst, they can feel downright intrusive.

Getting clear on exactly what you want to know in advance helps you to create a focused, streamlined survey.  And streamlined surveys are the ones that make best sense to your readers.

So how long should a good survey be?

You know how I kind of live by the mantra that there’s no one right way for anything?  Well, survey design is no different – the best length for yours will depend on:

  • What exactly you need to know
  • How complex and far-reaching that information is
  • Who your readers are, and what they’re used to when it comes to forms and surveys

That said, I’d recommend always making your survey as short as possible, while still actually eliciting the information you want.  I try to keep my own surveys to less than 10 questions, and ideally less than 6.  My aim is that it shouldn’t take anyone longer than 5 minutes to complete.

Over to you – any questions?

So far in this series, we’ve looked at why to use surveys, and introduced the four key elements of designing and administering effective surveys.  Then, in this installment, we’ve talked about why it’s so important to get clear on exactly what you want the survey to tell you.

So. If anything’s not clear, or you have any thoughts, questions, or things you do differently, I’d love to hear from you.  Let’s get a conversation started: just hit me up in the comments section below.

Photo courtesy of Kate Ter Haar
Posted in Creating Awesome Surveys Series, Surveys | Comments Off