5 WAYS TO FIND FB GROUPS WHERE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT HANGS OUT!
June 25th, 2016
🙋🎉👌
Aliya Levinson
When I first moved my coaching practice online I had no clue where to start.
Where was my ideal client hiding?
How could I connect with other like-minded women on FB?
Not having the answers to those questions held me back, but finally figuring out the ropes did everything (and then some!) for my business. Check out my tips below:
5 WAYS TO FIND FB GROUPS WHERE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT HANGS OUT!
1. KNOW YOUR IDEAL CLIENT: What drives her? Makes her tick? What fun activities does she engage in? What books is she reading? What is she in pain over and what does she desire? Is she more quiet and reserved? Or rambunctious and driven? Know your ideal client like you know the color of your own eyes. Don’t assume you know her, KNOW HER. Conduct market research and get clear!
2. USE THE FB SEARCH BAR: Yep, this one’s super obvious! But what’s next ISN’T. Type key words in the search bar that pertain to your Ideal Client Avatar ie: “mothers who run.” Don’t press enter! Scroll down to the bottom of the results and click on the magnifying glass icon that says “see all results for mothers that run.” The page you’re taken to will list results for women who run. Before clicking on one, go to the top of the screen and click on the button “Groups.” Voila! There’s ALL the public groups for mothers who run.
3. CHECK OUT GROUPS OTHERS BELONG TO: Catch a post that targets your ideal client? In a non-stalker-ish way, check out the groups that that person belongs to. Better yet, pm that person: tell them you loved their post but are having difficulty finding groups where your ICA hangs out. Do they have any recommendations for you? Hopefully they’ll share! If they’re uncertain, you just made a new friend online!
4. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: Just because you’re targeting mothers in their 30’s who are trying to lose weight does not mean you have to look for groups specifically for moms. What else would a mother in her 30’s who’s trying to lose weight be struggling with or seeking? How to rejuvenate her love-life (post-baby)? Local running clubs? What else is she interested in? Don’t pigeonhole her, KNOW her.
5. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT’S SUGGESTED: FB will suggest groups to you in the right sidebar based on the groups you’re already apart of. Facebook’s doing half the work for you! Check out the suggested groups and see if they’re your cup of tea!
Want more tips and tricks to booking clients from Facebook? Download my FREE ebook here!
January 18, 2016
Confessions! (from my early, social media content creation days) 🙋🎉👌
Aliya Levinson
Confession: When I first started my online coaching biz, my system for creating content went a little something like this:
1. Daydream until I happened upon an interesting topic.
2. Record a voice note of all my thoughts onto my phone.
3. Upload to Word. Sprinkle with humor. Spellcheck.
Boom!
It’s…BRILLIANTTTTTTT
Q: Then why weren’t people liking/ downloading/ purchasing/ throwing a parade in my honor?
A: What may have been Pulitzer Prize-worthy in my mind may be gobbledegook to people reading it.
Or more likely:
IT WENT UNNOTICED BECAUSE IT DIDN’T SPEAK DIRECTLY TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE.
Their struggles. Their goals. What keeps them up at night.
Is what I wrote something they’d read and say…
“This person GETS me”
?????????????
Moral of the story:
Just because you think something is interesting! valuable! spectacular!...
...does not mean your ideal client will.
Because YOU are not your ideal client.
If you’re looking to create valuable content (via FB post, in your weekly newsletter, in an eBook or elsewhere) that grabs the attention of and speaks directly to your target audience, start with the ‘oh so simple,’ and ‘oh so worthwhile’ basics:
RE: Market Research
For some reason people hear these two teensy words and assume “LOTS OF WORK”
Even more work though?
Not doing your market research and spending your precious time creating content that isn’t attractive or valuable to your ideal client.
If you want to create freebies, programs, and offers that are uber enticing....
DO YOUR MR!
Post a survey in an FB group or request specific people to hop on a 20 minute MR call.
In exchange, offer those who participate a complimentary benefit (free eBook, free coaching call etc)
Ask questions that will elicit their pain points….
Desires….
What makes them tick….
What motivates them….
What keeps them up at night….
Carefully read their responses and/or LISTEN to them.
Make them feel heard, understood, and validated.
Ahem, bonus! This is just another way of building relationships.
Go connect, AND get your Know, Like, and Trust Factor On!
Just a reminder (in case you’ve been playing guessing games or feel like you’re the only one reading your work). =)
Connect > Get Clarity > Create!
Engage in this process, and....
What you Create > will motivate others to > Connect with you, which will lead you to > Get Clarity on the next thing you > Create...
Circle of life =)
How do you get inspired to create kickass content?
January 12, 2016
UPGRADE YOUR CLIENT ENROLLMENT PROCESS BY WORKING BACKWARDS 🙋🎉👌
Aliya Levinson
When I first hit the ground running in my online biz, it took me a while to realize I was running in the wrong direction. smile emoticon
I was doing everything I thought I was “supposed to do” to ensure I’d have a steady stream of AMAZING clients coming into my biz.
Turns out, I needed to reverse engineer my client-enrollment process.
Say whaaa?! 🙆
Yup!
Let me explain how THINKING BACKWARD IS THE FIRST STEP TO MOVING FORWARD in your online bizzzzzz!:
~~Set an OUTCOME Goal (then WORK BACKWARDS and apply ACTIONABLE steps to achieve it)~~
Let’s say your outcome goal is to book 1 client in 30 days.
How do you book 1:1 clients? Discovery Calls.
How many discovery calls do you need in a month’s time in order to book 1 client?
(STAT time! Generally speaking 3-5 percent of your email subscribers and/or people you interact with (on or offline) will potentially purchase your offers, programs, and services).
So! The question is no longer “How do I book 1 client in 30 days?” but instead becomes....
“How many people do I need to interact with daily in order to book x amount of discovery calls?”
You gotta flip it and reverse itttttttt ⭐
For more on the way this works, check out the oh so fun webinar that I hosted below!
It addresses the in’s and out’s of this process PLUS includes my updated 5 step client-enrollment system.
Sharing it again here- YAY! Click on the pink below =)
Check it outttt (no-opt in!) =)
XOXO- Aliya
January 11, 2016
Huffington Post Blogger!!!
by Aliya
Woohoo!! My first article for Huff Post blog is FINALLY published!
I’m SO excited.
I never envisioned myself contributing to the Huffington Post, but the process for submitting your work is SO simple, and you don’t have to be a novelist to do it =)
Here’s why submitting is SO worth it!
Not only is “Huffington Post Blog Contributor” a spiffy title to add to your byline, but it….
1. BUILDS INSTANT CREDIBILITY: It truly legitimizes you and your brand--helping you be sen as an expert; in turn enhancing your “trust” factor.
2. GROWS YOUR LIST: You can include an opt-in with every article you submit (creating another opportunity to grow your list and get your message out there)!
3. STIRS INTEREST IN YOU AND YOUR BRAND: who wouldn’t mind some more biz buzz?!
PLUS: if your post gets featured it could drive TONS of traffic to your site.
The downside?
Oh wait….THERE’S NONE.
That said-I’ve spoken with so many women who are nervous to write and submit an article to Huffington Post.
Let me quell your concerns by sharing a basic outline of the process:
Write an email > Attach your article > Hit send.
That’s it.
LadyBOSS!
You send goads of emails EVERY DAY!
Don’t hype this into something so big that the name “Arianna Huffington” sends shivers down your spine.
You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
There’s no reason you can’t do this, AND accomplish this whole task QUICKLY…
Which is why I created a super-simple, step-by-step cheat sheet including need-to-know tips and tricks to applying, PLUS how to accomplish the whole process in under 15 minutes!
I also included a done-for-you template for emailing your submission. WOOT!
Want this? Shoot me an email at aliya@aliyalevinson.com and I'll provide! =)
XO-Aliya
(PS- I cannot emphasize how simple and worth it submitting is for you and your business. It’s pretty much an instant brand uplevel (who doesn’t want that?!)
Honestly- I’m so passionate about helping you with this, that if you’d like to hop on the phone and walk through the entire process: including conceptualizing your article, or working through any fears you might have, I’d be more than happy to do that too...(PITCH FREE!)
Interested? Send me an email lady love! Aliya@aliyalevinson.com
Read the article in it's entirety here!
xoxo
January 6, 2016
Facebook (get on and get out!) strategy -for business owners posting in GROUPS!
by Aliya
If you are about to read a Facebook post, ask yourself why.
Entertainment?
To feel a connection with a fellow entrepreneur?
Great. Go on witcha bad self.
But! If you don’t plan to:
1. Gain AND IMPLEMENT the value you received OR
2. Answer a question that’s posed/ provide a virtual hug to someone in need…
Then...STOP!
5 minutes reading a post, then another, then another adds up to HOURS of not making progress in your own business.
Point being: it’s too easy to overconsume on Facebook.
You know it. Zuckerberg knows it.
Here's how to GET ON, GIVE VALUE, THEN GET OFF of Facebook like a BOSS.
1. HAVE A PURPOSE WHEN YOU SIGN ONTO FB.
Are you posting valuable content in a group? Brainstorming content for future FB posts by identifying shared frustrations regularly surfacing in groups? What is your “get in, do the damn thing, and get off" strategy when it comes to going on Facebook? Set an intention and DON'T stray.
2. SET A TIME LIMIT.
Are you giving yourself 30 minutes after work to provide support: helping people who post questions in regard to a,b, and c? Or 2 minutes to post in a specific group? Don’t get stuck watching 7 YouTubes of toddlers playing with puppies (unless that’s what you went on for)! Set a timer on your phone, or use an app like Toggle, or Rescue Time (which actually tracks minutes you spend in an application).
3. GET INSPIRED, NOT DISCOURAGED.
Do you spend time reading someone’s post for valuable/actionable biz tips…then realize halfway through your inner monologue is something like...“This post is amazing: I should’ve come up with it!” Or “I wish my posts were as vulnerable/personal/funny/(insert choice word here) as hers.” Yep-a-do! We’ve all barked up that tree. But stop yourself asap. Allow someone else’s gem of a post to inspire you to do better, be better, embrace your 2.0 version of yourself. Get inspired, and use your inspiration to help yourself and others!
How do you sign in and out of Facebook without getting sidetracked?
January 5, 2016
How to Be Motivated
by Aliya
Less than gung-ho about actually starting your list of New Year’s Resolutions (particularly for your business?)
Ooh I hear ya!!!
We have all these grand ideas come January 1st… have maybe even broken them down into small, achievable goals…
But getting started can sometimes feel like a gosh-darn drag.
Especially post the holidays.
Psstttt…secret! Here’s how to do it.
Start with an action step BEFORE waiting for the feeling of motivation to come.
More often than not we wait to FEEL something before we take an action:
Motivated.
Driven.
Excited.
Inspired.
And if we don’t have that feeling, we won’t start the project we know we need to.
But here’s the trick…
BEGIN WITH THE ACTION STEP AND THE FEELING WILL COME.
Put your pencil to paper.
Turn on your computer and start typing.
Open that book you’ve been meaning to read.
…whatever the task at hand.
Begin with a simple action step, and 9 times out of 10, the motivation will follow.
(The More You Know) 🌈
How do you motivate yourself when you’d rather lay in bed and watch 4 seasons of Homeland (or whatever your go-to guilty pleasure might be)
January 4, 2016
Dear Silent Sallysssss
by Aliya
This one’s for all the people who are in entrepreneurial Facebook groups but haven't introduced themselves...
(PSSSTTT: If you're not involved in Facebook groups for Entrepreneurs, check them out! So many good tips for starting your business, plus AMAZING people to connect with and learn from. Ok, now read on...)
I know you're there. I know because I was one of you about 6 months ago.
But then I remembered I have a voice.
And I'm pretty sure I have some powerful and occasionally even humorous things to say.
AND I KNOW YOU DO TOO.
I used to be all “what will everyone think of what I write?!”
But here’s what I’ve learned.
If people don't enjoy what I post, they wont comment or like it.
And that's PERFECTLY OK.
What the F does a "like" even mean?
It's a little blue thumb that pops up below a photo on a screen.
I repeat: IT IS A GRAPHIC DESIGN OF A THUMBBBBB.
Does it define my worth as a human being?
Hell to the NO!
If it did, I'd have had some posts that would've caused me meltdowns.
If no one likes or comments, I’m no different than I was before I posted.
I still have friends.
I still have family.
I'm still a living, breathing, walking, talking human being on this planet.
And most important of all…
I STILL BELIEVE IN WHAT I'M SHARING.
And THAT’S what’s key.
Do you believe in your message?
Because if you do it’s SO important you take a stand for it, as opposed to cowering in fear of what people will think of it.
Reminder- you're building a fricking business.
Want clients? People to trust you? Trust your message?
They need to HEAR it first.
You're not the little mermaid. You HAVE a voice.
And your voice is your gift.
And when you let people hear it… you’re giving them a gift too.
Posting in a Facebook group?
Girl pls. You can do that in your sleep.
Hope to hear from you.
So do your future friends, allies, and even potential clients smile emoticon
YOU GOT THIS.
XO- Aliya
December 29th, 2015
A New Year's Eve Confession...
by Aliya
New Years Eve Confession: LATELY I’VE BEEN SO ABSORBED WITH BUILDING MY BUSINESS THAT I’VE NEGLECTED THE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST TO ME.
(For starters my sanity).
Exhibit A: On my recent vacation to Mexico, I walked straight into the ocean with nothing but my bathing suit and my iPhone in hand and just in the nick of time realized….
That I was walking into the ocean with my iPhone in hand.
Wake up call!!!
It was time to put the phone down and step away. Slowly.
To turn my biz brain off and my “let’s frolic I’m on vacation!” brain on.
But as much as I tried to enjoy all the tropical goodness around me, certain subconscious thoughts prevented me from frolicking.
Like… “you think you get a break because you’re in Mexico?! Nice try!”
I even went down the slippery slope of comparison:
“Everyone else and their mother has sent out a Merry X-MAS ‘thank you for your loyalty’ email” to their subscribers, but you’re not going to muster up the energy cause you’re “ON VACAY?" Wow…”
Ok. So for some reason I was guilting myself for wanting to enjoy all things sand and palm tree.
But on a deeper level?
I was buying into several unfounded beliefs about myself, my work ethic, my ambition.
“If I was 1000% invested in my business I’d keep working, even on vacation.” And…
“It would be lazy of me to sprawl out on a beach chair and read magazines when I could be using this time to work.”
Not only did I realize I equated achievement with working tirelessly and non-stop, but there was an underlying theme of:
“I didn’t deserve time off because I’m not exactly where I want to be in my business."
Boom. There it was. Even writing that made me cringe.
It’s funny how as a coach we can morph into an everyday Oprah, being effortlessly compassionate towards our clients.
Holding space for them and a mirror up to their misguided self-beliefs.
Redirecting them to achieve more empowering self-perceptions and the actual truth about themselves.
But for ourselves, that compassion is often tougher to come by.
The most difficult part though?
Recognizing that. Owning that. Deciding whether or not you want to keep that compassion from yourself.
I decided I didn’t.
So I played ping-pong by the pool.
I sipped a pina colada under an umbrella.
I ran onto the beach, took a breathe, and dove in.
Phone-free.
Did I immediately shake off all my concerns about not working?
Hec to the NO!
But what I reminded myself was this:
My enjoyment isn’t confined to the 10-minute coffee breaks I give myself between working on my newsletters/website/products/programs.
Nor is it reserved exclusively for when I’m lucky enough to vacation in Mexico.
Getting to unwind, experience, and be grateful is ours to tap into ANY time of day.
And the more we can learn to access it, relish in it, know we deserve it?
The more powerful both we and our businesses will become.
So appreciate the desk that you sit in while you're working on building your biz.
The coffee that you’re able to grab down the street and sip at your leisure.
The covers that you sleep under.
Take five extra minutes to take advantage of those things even if you’re planner is telling you “you’re not supposed to.”
Because having those "this is for me" experiences?
It’s integral to your health, wellness, and ultimately the success of your business AND the happiness of your clients.
So if you're sick of badgering yourself for not getting that email finished, that content created, that photo edited, that person called…
Check yo-self.
I had to. I still have to.
It’s a practice.
All you can do is be kind, rewind and give yourself a minute to put down your iPhone and breathe.
Learning to incorporate that into your daily practice?
It’ll turn both you and your biz into the ULTIMATE force to reckon with.
Happy New Years Eve, ladies.
Relax, make it your priority to enjoy and have fun, and be good to YOU.
xo- Aliya
December 29th, 2015
HOW NOT TO CREATE RELATIONSHIPS (in FB groups)
by Aliya
1. Don’t respond to a personal message within 24-48 hours.
2. Don’t treat fellow group members like friends that you genuinely want to help.
3. Refrain from posting anything vulnerable.
4. If you post something that gets no likes or comments, leave the group immediately.
5. Prioritize posting offers over succinct, value-packed posts.
6. After you’ve helped someone solve a specific problem, don’t continue to regularly check in on them.
7. Leave a critical, non-constructive comment if you disagree with what someone has posted.
8. If someone doesn’t respond to you right away, or in the way you’d hoped, write them off.
9. Don’t offer to hop on the phone with someone who’s struggling with a specific process or technology issue you know how to solve.
10. Don’t consistently offer encouraging and valuable comments on other women’s FB posts.
11. Let “grow my business” not “connect and help others" drive all of your engagement on FB.
Plus tons more! I’ve either experienced or witnessed ALL OF THE ABOVE. But HELLOOOOO!! We KNOW the key is to connect and relationship-build.
And ‘scuse me: for service-based entrepreneurs that’s easy as pie.
Can anyone add to the list? How else can you jeopardize building relationships?
December 28th, 2015
Monday's KEEP TRACK OF YOUR FB POSTS Tip!
by Aliya
If you’re not interested in paying for/using Hootsuite or Buffer (programs that manage your social media like FB posts etc.), but are having difficulty keeping track of what/when/where you post on FB or elsewhere, try OneNote or Evernote.
Both OneNote and Evernote have free versions and are more than user-friendly.
With OneNote, you can create different pages for each Facebook group you post in. Right after you post in your choice group on FB you can copy and paste your entire post--photo, date, time--directly into OneNote (see photo below)! Magic =)
Create different pages for different groups, and you’ll easily be able to scroll through all your posts in a specific group.
Also, you can use the search button to quickly find your post if you want to repurpose the material into a newsletter to your listserve or on your website's blog.
If you're not yet doing so, after posting in a FB group it’s a good idea to immediately tweak the content slightly and post it on your own Facebook business page. That’s one less FB biz page post for you to create, and more eyes on your content. Wee!
You can also use it on other social media (Twitter, Instagram), just be sure to edit your content/photo so that it’s customized to the platform where it’s posted.
Organization is truly the key to success (particularly when it comes to online branding)!
How do you track your FB posts and social media engagement?
November 16th, 2015
To Paris...
by Aliya
I’m going to be totally honest about something.
When I thought about writing a post about Paris, I considered about how I could relate it to us entrepreneurial women.
I could write about how sometimes a tragedy makes us realize how precious and fleeting life is- that we can’t afford to spend it settling for our 9-5 or not chasing our dreams.
But I realized something. I would’ve felt totally out of alignment with my values if I wrote something along those lines
It has only been 4 days.
And halfway across the world people’s lives have been shattered.
Today, right this minute, we don’t have to relate the events in Paris to our own lives and our own journeys…much less make sense of it.
Let’s simply give ourselves permission to feel. To sit in our sadness. Horror. Anger.
In my mind, this soon after this tragedy, choosing to feel an emotion (of any kind) for the people who lost lives, their families, and their friends is a good way to honor them.
Our profession is about giving to others. So let’s let others have our tears and prayers, instead of voicing the solutions we now have for our own lives: how we want to spend our time, how we’ve decided to follow our dreams now that we remember our life is fleeing.
Let’s challenge ourselves to take ourselves out of the picture. For even the smallest amount of time.
J’adore Paris <3
November 12th, 2015
SUCCESS REDEFINED...
by Aliya
Recently I've been thinking about all the things we strive to create in our businesses: the perfect signature offer, the perfect website photos, the perfect ad the to attract the perfect client.
Whether or not we are consciously aware of it, who we follow and what we read plays a huge part in reinforcing what we believe we should strive for. "100,000 in 3 months!” “ 5 clients in 2 days!" Often times the goals other entrepreneurs have have a way of becoming our own. And it's easy to believe success will only happen once we achieve those things.
But let's take a second to check in with ourselves. What does success mean…TO YOU?
Let's say success to you means making more money. And you want to make more money so you can drop your day job. And you want to drop your day job so you can travel and work from anywhere. And you want to travel and work from anywhere so you can....?
Feel happy? Feel excitement? Feel freedom? Take your pick..... because guess what. Success to you may mean more money, but money is just a means to attain a feeling. Like Joy. Or Excitement. THE FEELING IS THE THING YOU’RE REALLY AFTER.
No matter what our perceived goal is: getting that first client, getting $10,000 by the end of the month, the thing we REALLY WANT is to FEEL something. Successful. Happy. Excited. Free.
But guess what. Happiness? Excitement? Freedom? That is already ours. RIGHT NOW.
We can choose to feel it AT ANY TIME. In fact, we can choose the reason we want to feel it: whether it's creating the perfect sales page to land the perfect client......or creating the perfect playlist on our iTunes to make us smile every time we listen to it.
Generally speaking, we have a tendency to forget that it's up to us to choose to feel happy: simply because we want to feel it. And the funny thing is, the more consistently we choose to feel whatever that thing is (joy, happiness, relief) the more likely it is that those exterior things (a client, an income boost) will come our way.
Because....
Energy attracts like energy. Studies even show that the more we exude those internal positive feelings, the more likely it is that the external things we desire will show up for us.
Crazy, right?! =)
Today I'm choosing happiness (and listening to the perfect playlist couldn't hurt either smile emoticon
What are you choosing today?