by Karen Lindwall-Bourg | Nov 6, 2020 | Entrepreneur Endeavors, Marketing & Monetization
Your Online Presence
Your website is a storefront, a first impression and a doorway for your customers.
It doesn’t matter if you are a brick and mortar business or you are an entirely virtual and online business, your online presence matters. That’s where people are! According to the World Internet Usage and Population Statistics, there were 320,068,243 internet users in North America in March 2017. Multiply that number by 6 for Asia. YEP! That’s where people are – ONLINE! That’s where we need to be as Christian Entrepreneurs.
These are some basics of your online existence.
“You can never go wrong by investing in communities and the human beings within them.” – Pam Moore CEO & Founder, Marketing Nutz
The internet is an extension of the community in which you live. If you have a brick and mortar business, it is essential to extend your presence in the community through engaging with your community online. If you have an online business, you also need to have a clearly defined and active presence online. Start with a website.
Your Online Presence Basics – You need a great website.
In our digital and smartphone times, we are always on the go. We have information at our fingertips. We have a tendency to research more. We make more price comparisons, and we read reviews more than ever. You need a website because no one uses the yellow pages anymore to find goods or services and because that’s where people are!
Word of mouth is still one of the most effective ways to advertise and acquire customers. These days, word of mouth is happening online. When you have a website, you can help direct that conversation. Your site provides a landing place for any social media links and any blog posts or articles you post about your business. Your website is a capsule of all you offer, how you offer it and where to get it. Your online storefront is a first impression and a doorway for your customers.
Your Online Presence Basics – Social media networking is imperative.
One of the most overlooked aspects of social media is the fact that it is an active and engaged community. Finding your niche or tribe and creating a following is an excellent way to grow your business and get people talking about you and your business. It is a way for you to show up, interact, and make yourself real to potential customers. It helps create brand loyalty when people know who is behind what they are buying. You have the ability to control and highly influence the social media community you are a part of and that you create. It is an excellent way to make yourself known, and it allows you to go deeper. Social media gives you an outlet to express and apply your vision and mission. It also gives you the opportunity to show followers how Christian Entrepreneurs do business.
Your Online Presence Basics – Blogs are an extension of your voice.
It doesn’t matter what you are selling or how you are selling it; blogs are a sales platform. They are an extension of your voice, your mission, your vision, and the voice of Christ in you. Blogs are a space you control. You can talk about your product and how it fits into your life and your potential customer’s life. Blogs can be used to give detailed testimonials or case studies. Blogs can also be used to inform and encourage. You started your business because you wanted something more. You felt a pull to something bigger. A blog on your website is a place to grow into that something bigger. Blogs can be personalized and managed by you. You chose how often you write about your products and services. You chose how much you talk about God. You chose how people interact with you on your blog. You get to direct the conversation. It is a controlled environment. With the right strategy, blogs are great sales tools and community builders.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 ESV
Your Online Presence Basics – Community is the foundation.
The point of having an online presence is to build a community around your business and your brand. Keeping a balanced perspective of it being about you and being about your customer is important. We are not meant to maneuver through this life alone. Anytime you can encourage another by identifying with them or helping them solve a problem; you are building community. You are doing it the way Jesus wants you to. Everything you do online is about building community. There are real people behind the pictures, comments, and questions. Treating them as if you were face to face with them builds trust. It also lets people know who you are because ultimately the first thing you sell is yourself.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV
My Prayer for your Online Presence
Lord Jesus,
Please give us wisdom to accurately represent You and our businesses online. Help us to maintain integrity and excellence in the online community as we do in our real life community. Point us in the direction which is best for our businesses, best for our communities, and best for our lives to glorify You in all we do.
In Jesus name – Amen
Blessings,
Karen Lindwall-Bourg
by Karen Lindwall-Bourg | Nov 6, 2020 | Entrepreneur Endeavors
ELEMENTS OF AN ATTRACTIVE WEBSITE
Your website is your digital image and the front door of your business. It presents your “curb appeal.” It is the first the impression of you and your business. Understanding what you need to make a good impression is imperative when putting together your website.
For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. 2 Corinthians 8:21
Even if you aren’t into having a website and your cousin’s daughter offered to build your site for free, it is still important. You want to practice excellence in every part of your business because, ultimately, you are working for the Lord!
Elements of an attractive website include –
One of the first things to consider about your website is appearance. Have you ever walked into a Wal-Mart and the aisles are strewn with pallets and pallets of stock? Have you been in your favorite store after a major holiday sale and it just looks messy? First impressions work the same with websites. How things seem to influence the potential for bringing a person deeper into your website. Let’s consider the following aspects of appearance when you (or someone else) is building your website.
- Color – There is much to be said about color and the mood it evokes. You can discover what color means and how it makes you feel with a simple color search on Google. Consider the mood you want your visitors to have when they come to your website. Choose colors that blend – they can be contrasting or complimentary colors. (Think of the colors of the NACWE logo. The red and yellow are complimentary. The turquoise is contrasting.) Stick to two of three colors. Be sure your bolder colors don’t distract from the written content – make sure the colors are dark enough to read.
- Font – There seem to be as many font choices as there are color choices. When choosing your font consider what you would be willing to stare at for an hour. It needs to be readable. Also, consider font size and the age and demographics of your audience. Font size suggestions range from 12pt to 14pt type size for paragraphs, larger for headings.
- Photography – We are visual. Therefore quality photography is a must. Dimly lit photos are distracting and less professional. There are many completely free website resources for quality photographs like
- morguefile.com – there is an array of photos here. You will have to do some sorting and editing to choose the best ones.
- unsplash.com – This website is updated every ten days with new pics. The photos are beautiful. The search feature is decent. You will also have to choose the most appropriate of the best photos.
- gratisography.com – This site offers more quirky choices. It comes across as a one-person operation. However, that doesn’t compromise the quality of the pictures.
- Let us know where you go for free photos!
- Graphics & Video – Video is very popular right now. It doesn’t take the place of written content on a website. However, it is an attractive added value to blog posts, front pages and about pages. People want to know who they are dealing with, especially if your business is online only. However, make watching a video an optional once in a while. Don’t force your visitors to sit through something. Graphics, like infographics, are also popular. However, don’t overuse them and keep them simple. Flashing and moving graphics are old fashion and distracting. Too many pictures, graphics or videos can distract the reader from their purpose.
- Simplicity – Keep is simple. Don’t overcrowd your pages. Leave white space. Busy and overcrowded pages distract visitors from the content you want them to see. Every single page of your website needs to have a sole purpose, keeping things streamlined in your design and flow of the website. It will also keep your readers focused on what you want them to know.
These few points are the beginning of what you need to know to maintain a professional and appealing website. You want your visitors to come. You want them to stay. You want them to come back again – just like you would a guest in your storefront. Visitors who come and stay invest! Visitors who come back usually bring a friend!
Don’t overlook or neglect your online presence which makes you available, ultimately, to a worldwide market. Keep that website up and running and looking great.
What is one thing you found that works best regarding the appearance of your website?
Lord, help us to focus clearly on the purpose of our businesses and communicate this goal clearly online. May all we do please You! Amen!
Blessings,
Karen
by Karen Lindwall-Bourg | Nov 6, 2020 | Entrepreneur Endeavors
Be Strong and Courageous So You Will Have Success
Be Strong and Courageous “…SO that you will have success wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7
Do you feel strong and courageous?
As a wife, mother, Nana, Christian Woman Entrepreneur wearing many hats – counselor, coach, author, publisher – sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t.
How about you?
I’m reading through Joshua in the Bible. In the very first chapter we understand that Moses has died, and Joshua will take his place as the leader of Israel. Two things happen in this first chapter:
-God commissions and encourages Joshua
-Joshua assumes command and prepares the people to enter the promised land.
Yikes! Those are tremendously tall orders for someone who just took over!
Be Strong and Courageous So You Will Have Success – God provides so we can be strong and courageous:
I love the fact, and must be reminded quite often, that God has provided everything I need to do all He has called me to do!
I often feel overwhelmed or tired or distressed and immediately assume that I don’t have everything I need to do what God has called me to do. I assume there just aren’t enough hours in the day or that I am not skilled enough or some other such lie!
In the 1st chapter of Joshua God states,
-“I have given you every place where the soul of your foot treads…” Verse 3
-“I promised…” V3
-“I will be with you…” V5
-“I will not leave you or abandon you.” V5
-“I swore to your fathers to give them an inheritance.” V6
-“…the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” V9
-“Certainly, the Lord your God will be with you…” V17
Lots of promises here! The Lord encourages us and reminds us that He is with us.
Be Strong and Courageous So you Will Have Success – I have a responsibility to be strong and courageous:I didn’t grow up in churches that, as far as I can recall from my youth, taught that God was sovereign. The first explanations of His sovereignty opened my eyes, filled my heart, and solidified my faith like no other lessons before or since!
In this 1st chapter of Joshua, God explains that because of who HE is, I am encouraged and can be strong and courageous. I will “have success where ever I go,” not because of my own might or my own skill, but because of God’s promises. It is my responsibility to be obedient to the whole instruction of God and to “meditate on it day and night” and “carefully observe everything written in it.” V8 If I am obedient, only then will I prosper and succeed in whatever I do. Only then will I be strong and courageous.
Step 1: Observe and meditate on God’s word day and night!
Step 2: Carefully record and stand firmly on His promises.
Step 3: Be strong and courageous!
Step 4: Boldly take the next right step. You DO know what that is!
Let’s Be Strong and Courageous together!
Blessings,
by Karen Lindwall-Bourg | Nov 6, 2020 | Entrepreneur Endeavors, Marketing & Monetization
Let’s Create GREAT Hook Lines!
Let’s Create a GREAT Hook Line! What’s another name for hook line?I really want to know another name for hook line!
My sister said it’s the “carrot” dangling in front of the horse! Love that!
What do you say?
I really, really want to know!
Let me start with “yesterday, today, & tomorrow”!
Yesterday, we (NACWE Members) dived into creating GREAT content, specifically hook lines, to promote your business/ministry! If you are a Member, the replay link is right at your fingertips (along with over 500 courses – pardon the “shameless plug)!
Today, I want to tell you about two things we experienced and three things we learned right away while we were playing with a couple of online hook line tools yesterday! And…
Tomorrow, we will PRAY together as Christian Entrepreneurs at 9am CST (actually, every Thursday, we pray together)! Who doesn’t need prayer!? You can join us by calling in – the number is in our NACWE Fan Page pinned post!
What’s your great hook line?
Your “hook line” is the very first title or subject line or headline that people see when they visit you online or receive your email.
You either grab their attention and they stick with you for a while or you lose them right away. It happens in a matter of seconds.
One of the great hook line tools: Michelle Schaeffer’s http://hooklinedynamic.com/# is a great tool to get those titles, subject lines and headlines noticed and to engage a potential client beyond your subject line!
We played with it yesterday in our NACWE member educational webinar and what we discovered was quite revealing!
You should try it out!
We all need help choosing the right words to create better and more magnetic titles and subject lines and headlines to encourage instant connections.
Again, while we were playing (yes, it was actually fun!) with this great tool, we experienced two things right away and we learned three things right away.
I love the “right away” part, don’t you?!
Our 2 extraordinary hook line experiences:
-We plugged in a tagline and in a matter of seconds were able to tweak it just a little bit – the difference was immediate, noticeable and very encouraging!
-We plugged in another tagline that I thought wasn’t very appealing at all and found that indeed it did appear to be exciting, emotional, and empowering!
Our 3 practical and applicable hook-line takeaways:
-Your hook line needs to add excitement for your reader.
-Your hook line needs to invoke a positive emotion in your potential client.
-Your hook line needs to empower her!
Exciting – Emotional – Empowering!
If you know me, I am an expert at getting overwhelmed – so the first thing I thought was, “I don’t have time to do this for every title, subject-line, headline, etc. I can’t do this!” I started shutting down!
But thanks to great coaches in my life over the last 5+ years, I’m also an expert at talking myself down from the ledge, too!
So…
I’m convinced with a little practice and using this tool for a while, I will quickly be better and better at creating lifetime connections with more powerfully exciting, emotional, and empowering titles, subject-lines, headlines, and more!
My vote!Any tool that makes my life as an entrepreneur in business and ministry more exciting, emotional, and empowering gets my vote!
How about you? Try it out!
You want to know what else gets my vote?
Community and education!
The National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs (NACWE https://nacwe.org and FB http://facebook.com/NACWE ) and the International Association of Christian Entrepreneurs (for you guys iACE https://www.facebook.com/groupIACE/ ) provide just that
-a like-minded community providing connections and collaboration and
-educational opportunities as we learn more about being the entrepreneur God wants us to be!
Here’s to becoming the entrepreneur God has called us to be!
Blessings,
Karen
by Karen Lindwall-Bourg | Nov 6, 2020 | Entrepreneur Endeavors
Alex’s Tips for Organizing Your Week; Let’s Organize!
Hey,
Christian Women Entrepreneurs! Let’s organize!
Our word of the year in 2018 is implement!
Our word of the month for January 2018 is organized! Let’s organize!
How are you doing so far?
This is how my coach, Alex, gets organized! I hope some of these tips will help you as they have helped me!
He uses a program called Workflowy. Of course, it doesn’t matter what you use as long as it works for you!
The critical point is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!” (Benjamin Franklin)
- Alex believes that under each of your most important work categories you should have no more than 3 to 5 important tasks. Let’s organize!
- Like so many others, he recommends attending to the MIT’s first = that’s the “most important things!”
- Unlike so many others, Alex recommends planning tomorrow today. We are reading through the book, The 12 Week Year, this quarter as a group in the National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs (NACWE). I hope you’re joining us! The authors of this book recommend starting your week with about 30 minutes to look at the overview of your week and your day and then starting each day with about 15 minutes to gain an overview of and prioritize your day. This has been working well for me! Instead, Alex recommends that you spend the last working 15 minutes of your day planning and prioritizing tomorrow so that when you wake you will be refreshed and the plan will be on your mind. You will be more likely to implement (there’s our word of the year again) your plan! Let’s organize!
- He also ends the day journaling in a manner that he calls “reflect and Project.” He reflects on his day and how he felt about his day and projects to tomorrow his visions and dreams and plans. He also sends an “end of the day report” to his team so they know what he’s done and what needs to be done next!
I’m going to try it!
How about you?
- Alex says, “You should never be reactive, you should always be proactive!” When an unplanned call or request comes in, he doesn’t answer it unless it’s critical. He puts it into a category he calls “inbound” and attends to it later. He only looks through his emails on Mondays and Thursdays! His coaching clients know that that’s when he’s going to look through his email and they’ve gotten used to it! He is available to them daily in the Facebook Group! Let’s organize!
- He plans his year. He then reverse engineers that year to plan his first 90 days. He looks at that 90 day plan, then plans his first month. He then plans week number one of that month and makes lists for that week categorized by the day of the week. Once that’s done, he doesn’t spend much time looking at the plan for the year or the plan for the quarter. He focuses mostly on the plan for that month, that particular week, and then buckles down to the tasks for the day at hand. In this way Alex feels he doesn’t waste as much time as he used to “replanning.” This one really hit home for me! I can spend so much time reviewing my plans and tasks on my to do list, that I have a hard time buckling down to the “most important things!”
How about you? What works for you? What new ideas will you implement from Alex’s way! Let’s organize!
If you ARE a NACWE Fan, I hope you’re following along with our free training
Members-You are what makes our world go ’round!
I can’t imagine a day without you!
Many Blessings,
Karen
