2009 September | shesgotclients.com

Tech Tip How-To: Convert Audio Files to MP3s Using iTunes

September 26, 2009 By Christine Leave a Comment

I have had a few people ask me how to do this recently and thought it might be helpful to post the directions here.

If you don’t have iTunes on your computer yet, it’s free and easy to download from Apple’s website.

The newest release is iTunes 9, but this method works with iTunes 8 as well:

Launch iTunes.
To open iTunes Preferences.
- Windows: On the Edit menu, click Preferences.
- Mac: From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences.
On the General Tab click Import Settings.
In the drop down list next to Import Using, select MP3 Encoder.
Select one of the three preferences from the drop down list next to Setting, to specify a quality preference.
Click OK to close the Preferences window.
Select one or more .wav files from your library.
From the Advanced menu, choose Create MP3 version.
You will hear a beep sound when iTunes completes converting your files. The new MP3 music file will be automatically generated and will be placed right under the original file in the music library.

Voila! Hope that helps someone out there.

Photo credit: Roberto Garcia

Filed Under: Tech How-To's Tagged With: How-To

The 3 C's of Building an Audience With Social Media

September 20, 2009 By Christine 6 Comments

What’s the biggest difference between people who are successful in social media and those who are not? Simple – the successful people have built themselves an audience.

An audience doesn’t necessarily mean having 10,000 followers here or 5,000 friends there. At its most basic level it might be that. But what’s a bunch of friends and followers if they aren’t helping you to grow your business?

Consider this: what if your “audience” isn’t anyone who would be interested in what it is you offer? What if they were people just looking to boost their numbers without any interest in engaging with you in any sort of dialogue? What if they were primarily focused on promoting their own stuff the majority of the time? These types of scenarios are clearly not ideal.

So what should you really be looking to achieve? Building the right kind of audience with social media means your participation there is leading you to be seen as a credible, trust-worthy source who may be able to help others solve whatever problem they may be having. It means you are reaching a market of people you have deliberately sought out through search strategies who might need what you have.

When you’ve grabbed the attention of your followers and friends and built interest and credibility, you now have a way to gain traffic to your website, capture more leads and continue building and strengthening the relationship.

It’s all in the three C’s:

Content

Content is the lifeblood of successful social media marketers. What reasons are you giving people to listen to you? This goes two ways: sharing your own helpful posts, links, tips and resources-and promoting and sharing the content of others. This does three main things: establishes your expertise, drives traffic to your site, and provides your audience with helpful information. Remember, the content you are sharing should not always be your own.

Conversation

Simply by being seen as someone who provides great content in the social media space you will naturally find yourself engaged in conversation. Having these one on one conversations is what is going to make you stand out among the noise and deepen the relationship. In addition, when you make it a habit to promote others, this brings more “social appreciation” your way. These interactions cause others to seek out more information about you beyond where you’ve made the initial connection.

Conversion

Once you have converted someone to a newsletter subscriber, blog subscriber or paying client or customer, you’ve taken the steps toward acquiring another raving fan. These loyal folks will not only bring you more sales, but will be much more likely to sing your praises to others out in the social media universe. This is how you grow your “tribe.”

Do you see how simple and effective it is to build an audience of captivated friends and followers? Do you see the difference this could make in your bottom line?

Let me know your thoughts on this. Anything else you would like to add? Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for my free social media simplified e-course.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Social Media

How Can I Best Help YOU? Talk to Me…

September 13, 2009 By Christine 12 Comments

I’ve been busy writing the content for the course I am putting out in a few weeks which will give coaches, consultants, authors, speakers, and other solopreneurs the exact steps to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing.

I am really excited to share this system with you—mostly because I’ve been listening very carefully over the past year….

A great majority of you have expressed your frustration at understanding how to market yourself and your business online. Many of you have been saying things like…

“I know I need to figure out all of this social media stuff, but I just don’t know where to start!”

“I just wish there was a SYSTEM I could follow that I know will produce the results I need!”

“I am tired of leaving money on the table because I don’t have a real, cohesive online presence!”

“I am so overwhelmed because I don’t know how to use these tools—I just need somebody to walk me through step by step…”

Sound familiar?

I totally get it because when I need to learn something in my own business I feel the exact same way—it’s the whole “if someone would just hold my hand and tell me what I need to do (a, b, c, d…) I wouldn’t feel so lost and stuck…”

My best mentors and coaches have provided me with those steps and that support and it’s truly been priceless in my own journey. As some of you know, I’ve built my business from scratch over the past year and a half using only social media and online marketing tools. I’ve also been learning from one of the best—the fabulous Alicia Forest—as one of her only two private coaching clients this year.

(I call her “wonder woman” because this gal has managed to build her own 6 figure-plus, thriving business while raising two small children, taking every summer off and a 4 month maternity leave, and working an average of 15 hours a week! No joke. As my husband and I look toward starting our own family, I told myself I wanted to learn from someone who has really done what I want to do—why reinvent the wheel?)

But I digress.

So, why am I devoting a whole blog post to this?

Because as I am diligently working on finishing up writing my own step-by-step online marketing and social media system, I need your help. I want to make sure I’m covering exactly what you need around this topic…and I want your input. Some of you have already shared with me what your biggest challenges are—thanks! But I’d love to hear from more of you.

Here’s my question: What TWO things must I cover in this course for it to be of value to you?

Please do let me know in the comments, your opinions and thoughts are very important to me!

Oh, and if you are interested in being put on the priority list to be the first to find out all about the upcoming release of my course, be sure to go here. I’m offering a special bonus for those who sign up.

Merci!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Online Business

Your Free Offering – The First Step in Building the Know, Like and Trust Factor

September 6, 2009 By Christine 3 Comments

You have heard it before, no doubt: people buy from those they know, like and trust—often referred to as the “KLT factor” for short. This is something that needs to be established over time, and the way to begin the process is to capture website visitors’ contact information so you can begin building a relationship with them.

With so many people requesting your email address on the internet, it’s not enough anymore to simply offer a newsletter in exchange for the information—and it’s certainly not enough to ask for the information without providing anything in return.

Give them an incentive

Enter the “free taste.” It’s not likely a person new to your website is going to buy on the first visit, especially a product or service with a higher price point. (In fact, it is often said that a person needs to see your message 7 to 12 times before they decide to buy from you.) What they are really looking for is a risk-free introduction to what your business is all about, and whether it can help solve their most pressing problems. This free offering can take on many forms, but here are some of the most common:

An eCourse: This works best when you use an autoresponder service such as Constant Contact or AWeber. You can write up 5 to 10 lessons and have them go out over a period of a week or two. The lessons do not have to be long, they just need to convey your expertise on a topic your target market is eager to learn about.

A free report: Again, no need to go super in-depth with this—one idea is to write up a list of recommended resources in your niche. You could also compile a list of “top ten tips” or create a checklist for how to do something. Simply turn it into a PDF download when you’re done.

An audio file: If you’d rather speak than write, you can record an audio for others to download. Many people would rather listen than read, so this can be an enticing option for your website visitors.

Continue the relationship

Along with this complimentary offering, people will still receive your newsletter or e-zine. You simply tell them that for signing up they will get a subscription to it along with their free gift. A newsletter is what will continue to build and strengthen your relationship with your subscribers over time. If you write a blog, it can work the same way-provide consistent, good content for the people who subscribe to your RSS feed. This way, when you make those paid offers down the road, they will be much more likely to take you up on it.

The bottom line? Valuable content + familiarity breeds more sales!

Do you incorporate a free offering into your marketing? What questions do you have about this technique?

Photo credit: jking89

Filed Under: Traffic and List-building Tagged With: List Building