10 NON-SLIMY WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

When people use the word slimy I immediately think of some gross, slick, green substances. 

Don’t really know why I think green but everything from my childhood tells me that slim is supposed to be green. Maybe it was the influx of games shows, I digress. 

Either way, I never wanted to be covered in it (I’m referring to the game shows when they drop it on you here people) or associated with it so when someone thinks of promoting themselves as slimy, I get why you don’t want to do. 

In business, promoting is the same as marketing yourself. Everyone HAS to do aaaannnnnnnddddddd (drumroll please) it doesn’t have to be slimy. 

Nope! Not at all! It actually can be pretty cool.

I know, I know you’re probably thinking how can that be cool when all I can think about is what are people thinking about me, am I annoying, doesn’t anyone even care about what I’m selling?

If this sounds like you, I get that and was once in your shoes which is why I wrote an entire post on how to let go of your fear of being judged. Read it and determine why and how to get over it. 

Honestly you have to get over it and move on. It’s just apart of being an entrepreneur. People have opted-in to your courses or giveaways because you have something of value.

Trust that and trudge forward. Okay, now to to the reason you’re reading this. Here’s how you can promote your services or products without feeling slimy: 

1. HOST A GIVEAWAY

This one is straight-forward and to the point. You can host a giveaway on social media and giveaway your service, product, course, or whatever it is you are promoting at the time.

I find that a lot easier than offering something monetary as most people aren’t truly interested in your services as they are that cash! 

You can do this alone or do get a tribe to host it together. Instagram typically have tons of giveaway loops.

Caitlin Bacher has a great article on loop giveaways  but remember tojust try not to have too many people in the loop because that just becomes annoying. 

2. OPT-IN INCENTIVE

I think this is the best thing since slice bread. Sorry my grandmother use to say that all the time and it just fit.

It’s an easy way to get gain contact information for individuals that are interested in your service. It is a simple give and take which is a win-win for both of you. 

Once you receive your potential customer’s information, you can include them to your weekly newsletters to sporadically sell your courses, product, or service. 

3. FREE VIDEO SERIES

As I’m sure you seen that I offer my video series on the top of each of my pages.

Once again it’s just as the opt-in incentive except I get to verbally tell you about the awesomeness of my products or services by sliding it in while I’m adding value to you by giving your information.

4. HOST A WORKSHOP

I think this one is taking the internet by storm because EVERYONE is doing.

People have learned by hosting a workshop (which is just an extended version of the video series) is converting viewers into followers and followers into customers. BINGO! 

There are so many ways to hosting a workshop but I have heard more about Google Hangouts. It’s easy, free, and worth it. 

5. CLAIM YOUR BUSINESS PAGE ON YELP

Yeah I know you’re thinking, this one’s new and you would be right.

Claiming your business page on yelp not only solidify your business as legit but it’s a great opportunity to get feedback and have your customers promote your excellentness for you.

That’s no better marketing tool than to have someone else rave about your services or products. 

6. USE "AS SEEN IN SELECT..." ON YOUR WEBSITE

Another great idea used by sooooo many. It’s a slime-feee way of promoting your business.

When people see that you have been featured by others, you automatically receive a stamp of approval for creditability. 

7. USE YOUR TWITTER OR FB HEADER IMAGE

I currently use this feature myself to promote my book Girl, Get It Together. It’s the first thing people see when they come to your page.

I use the link that is allowed on all platforms to drive traffic to the areas I would like for them to visit. 

8. GUEST POST

I live by this and think it’s a great way to promote your business. When guest posting, of course you know to add value but also add an incentive in the post.

Some things you can think about adding could be a free ebook, worksheet, or checklist. 

9. JOIN FB GROUPS (CLOSED)

I love Facebook groups. Most of the people in them are extremely nice and helpful with the exception of a few.

By joining these groups, it’s a great opportunity for you make connections and set yourself as an expert in the group. Try to make weekly comments or post to keep engagement.

Allyn Lewis wrote a great post the best Facebook groups for business owners. Also use Facebook to get feedback from certain products or images before I release them.

Once again, an excellent slime-free way to promote. Join my tribe to get the free resources and latest content. 

10. EMAIL SIGNATURE

This is one that I don’t see often but more people should take advantage of this. Underneath your signature in your email, when you finish your blog post, or social media post, you should link to your newest sell. 

For example on Instagram, after I have written the post I created a black line and put my current promotion as a CTA.

This way it doesn't interfere with my message but is also being seen by those that are interested in my product or services. 

So those are my ten slime-free ways to promote you product, business, or service.

---

ARE YOU ALREADY USING SOME OF THESE METHODS OR DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD TO THE LIST? LET ME KNOW BELOW YO! 

IS THE AMAZING VIRTUAL ASSISTANT RIGHT FOR YOU

If you’re just starting out or even have been an entrepreneur for some time, I’m sure you have seen the saying “hire before you’re ready”. It’s on social media and blogs that that talk about the steps to entrepreneurship but how do you know if it’s really for you?

I mean, let’s be honest, if you’re starting out as an entrepreneur, your funds may not be as lucrative as you would like and you might be thinking “I’m not able to afford” that expense right. Though some of the things we say can limit our growth in business (and I wrote about it here), the truth is it really just depends on you. 

After starting my business, I read tons of articles, books, blog posts, and ebooks about what I needed to successfully get started.

When reading the information, it appeared to me that I would be extremely busy but if it was easy, everyone would do it right? So I took that motto and rolled with it. 

I tried juggling my full-time, my side gig, my home, my health, my daily activities, and still stay update on comments, posts, and knowledge. 

What I found that the theory of superwoman is just that….a theory. I found that it was no way that I could effectively juggle all these things without dropping the ball at least twice a day. 

That wasn’t effective for me or my business and was actually counterproductive to the goals I had in mind for my business growth.

I wanted to growth, make a difference, and be able to enjoy life on my terms but by thinking I could do everything alone, I was spinning wheels and getting no where. 

I had to ask myself these questions before I decided if hiring a virtual assistant was right for me. 

How much of my day is focused on unprofitable activities?

Unprofitable activities are those that are typical administrative task such as responding to comments, managing emails, providing immediate responses to question, etc. 

Though these are EXTREMELY important to any business, it’s good to know how much time throughout the day you are spending on these activities. 

For me, 90% of my day was used on administrative tasks. Ouch! 

Do I know what I would delegate to an assistant?

Here’s something everyone should think about before shoving out money to an assistant. Know you’re goals and how you want you virtual assistant to assist with getting you there. 

I totally jumped the gun on this one and was a bit confused about what my first assistant should do. I was actually looking for the assistant to tell me what to do as if they owned the business.

Duh! Lady, you’re suppose to tell me what to do.

Don’t be me and avoid egg on your face. Think about what can you delegate first. 

Do you have a system in place?

This was another “duh” moment. Not only did I not know what I wanted them to do exactly but I also didnot know how to teach them to do it. 

Like, what were you thinking Amber?

I had nothing. I guess I could email them the steps on how to do the thing that I needed them to do though I didn’t know exactly what that was yet. Here was yet another task I was putting on my plate that already runneth over. 

Again, learn from my mistakes and determine if you have a system in place for the virtual assistant to follow.

Not only will it be great from the current assistant but if you needed to train someone else, they could know exactly how to execute your task without you having to explain it all over again. 

Remember this is a business and you have to treat it as such. When you get hired for a job, you go through some type of training and your business is no different. 

How much are you willing to invest?

Contrarily to many beliefs, you don’t need lots of cash to hire an assistant and just like purchasing new software or having an office, your assistant is an investment. Probably the BEST investment into your business. 

Determine what you would like to invest in an assistant weekly or month and from there determine your what days and how long you would need assistance.

Maybe you hire someone only one day a week for 3 hours or maybe you have someone work 1 hour a day focusing only on returning emails and responding to comments. 

This is truly up to you.

Just like any other job, you will have to comb through the good and the bad assistants but know your virtual assistant is the most important job you will offer. 

This person will lead to learn things you like and do like. They should want to see you and the business grow so you want to be sure to select someone that seems knowledgable and genuinely interested in your growth.

---

HAVE YOU ALREADY HIRED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT? IF SO, HOW'S IT GOING? DID YOU CREATE A SYSTEM OR JUST WINGED IT? LET ME KNOW BELOW. 

---

3 OF THE WORST REASONS YOU ARE FEARFUL IN BUSINESS

We tell ourselves a lot of things whether they are true or not. Tell me does this sound familiar:

“I want to start my own business but I would be soooo embarrassed if it wasn’t successful” 

“People would totally see me as a failure and laugh at me”

“I don’t have what it takes to run a business”

“Who do I think I am? I’m no expert. I would totally fail”

If you can relate to any of these statements or anything closely related to what it is saying, then this post is for you.

I can totally relate to you if you’re feeling a bit apprehensive about starting your business Those feelings of self-doubt can really be a fun-snatcher. When you look at it, it’s actually pretty funny what we allow to hold us back.

WHAT IS SELF-DOUBT?

Self-doubt has been quite easily defined as the lack of confidence in oneself and one’s ability. I’m sure you’re familiar with it as we have all experienced a time in in our life when we didn’t tell we were able to do something.

Maybe you thought you couldn’t live without someone after a break-up, you couldn’t live alone when renting your first apartment by yourself, or maybe you’ve felt that pit in your stomach when taking a test that you knew you wouldn’t pass.

Yeppers!

We’ve all been there and that’s what self-doubt is for each of us. That’s the same thing that we allow to happen to us in business.

We know that we if we have a passion, a purpose and a plan, we can do anything we want but we still somehow talk ourselves out of a lot of great things but in this case we are going to discuss the worst reasons we talk ourselves out or procrastinate in starting a business. 

1. WE CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK

First off, let me take the liberty to say, who cares what they think? Seriously!

So what if they think your idea sucks or you won’t make it. Think about the actual person that will probably think that way about you. Now think, what are they doing with their life?

I recently posted a quote on my Instagram saying “no matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying”.

I’m sure that quote will relate to the person or people you think will judge you or think negatively about you.

Also, you should think about how valid your thoughts are to the person or people you are placing the negative reactions.

Could you be just thinking they will respond in a certain manner when in actuality they support you and it’s all in your head?

Either way, this is one of the worst fears that we allow to hold us back from doing what we love and starting or growing our business. 

2. WE ARE AFRAID OF NOT BEING AN EXPERT

I’m not sure of your definition of an expert but I do know that even an expert doesn’t know everything. Now granted they may know a lot about a particular subject but they don’t know everything.

I have heard a couple of Bachelor’s degrees and even a Master’s degree but there are still things that I learn all the time.

I pride myself on my ability to be flexible and always looking for ways to increase my knowledge.

All good leaders (as the owner of your business, you are a leader) know that they won’t know everything, that’s why they hire a strong team to collective add value to the business.

I say all that for you to understand that it’s okay not to know everything and you shouldn’t. Know what you know and go from there.

Whether it’s diy projects, coaching, or graphic designs, take pride in knowing that because you are the expert in that area and continue to learn. 

The road to success won’t be a smooth path. The bumps along the way will help increase your knowledge and aid in growing your business.

Don’t allow what you think you don’t know hold you back from getting started. Which transition into the last fear that is the worst.

3. WE ARE AFRAID OF NOT BEING SUCCESSFUL

This is one we put on ourselves. We determine our own success, not anyone else. If success to you is a mansion with 4 luxury cars, and acres of land, then yes that might not happen overnight but who’s to say you won’t get there.  

Success is determined by you and no one else. You starting a business and gaining a business license can be success but that’s one goal you completed.

Boomshakalaka!

Success is what you make it!

---

DO YOU HAVE BATTLE WITH THESE FEARS? DO YOU BATTLE WITH FEARS THAT AREN'T LISTED HERE? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?