The Get It Done Blog

When an entrepreneur first starts out building an online presence, perhaps list building isn’t a big priority. Maybe you think you need to be big before you can even start growing your very own online community.

Truth is instead of list building being the last thing you do, it should really should be one of top priorities of your online marketing strategies. You want to capture visitors that check you out and then keep supplying them with information that’s of value to them. This allows you to build solid (and profitable) relationships.

If the idea of list building seems stressful to you, remember that it doesn’t need to be an elaborate, complex strategy. Some of the most effective list building ideas are easy to use.

Whether you’re new to online marketing or are someone who’s interested in ways to make it more effective, here are a few strategies for building your list that every entrepreneur can use to make online marketing more profitable:

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As you’ve been growing your business, have you been continually laying a foundation for continued growth or is it a more hit and miss approach you’re using?

Does it feel like you’re barely keeping ahead? Or maybe you even feel like you’re always trying to catch up?

If that’s the case, are you really ready for that growth as it comes? If a big opportunity dropped in your lap, would you be able to handle it or would you have to watch it slip away? The truth is that opportunity usually comes when you least expect it.

So what do you need to be ready?

You need systems – they aren’t glamorous and they can be some work to set up initially but they’re necessary if you want to grow.

A while ago, I made a connection with a woman who was potentially going to be able to connect me to almost 250,000 women. That is no small number… in fact I felt a bit intimidated and overwhelmed in the beginning.

But then I realized it was going to work, because I had systems in place to enable me to jump on this opportunity. I had already set up my website from the backend to support a large community. I also realized that if I needed to bring on additional assistants I could. And all I would have to do is take all the systems I had documented and hand the information over to whoever would need it.

The things that any entrepreneur needs to run a company are the same whether it's a few people or many people. And it’s a pretty incredible feeling knowing that you’re ready to handle the business growth as you receive the wonderful people who show up. That’s what being set up in that bigger way does for you.

The key to being able to step up to any opportunity is documenting all your systems in an operations manual.

It was having the systems in place that gave me confidence to meet that new opportunity. I realized that the systems equaled the website equaled my vision. All of that was in alignment. It would have been so frustrating if I hadn’t had those systems in place and missed out on that opportunity.

Are you thinking: “I’m not big enough. I’m too new to start creating systems in my business. I don’t need that yet. I don’t have the time to document everything.”

Yes, you do. It doesn’t matter if you’re just one person.

Even if you’re just starting a company and don’t feel that you need to outsource or don’t have the disposal income to spend on it, you still need to document your systems for your own benefit. That’s how you’ll avoid procrastination, overwhelm, and getting stuck.

It doesn’t take as much time as you think. And once it’s done you’ll save tons of time and energy in the future not having to go back to reinvent the wheel. Make it part of your schedule to document one system per week. Take one thing you do and write each step down.

For example, when you answer the phone, what information do you want to capture, what questions do you need to ask, where do you file it, how do you follow it up. Document each step and then create a form that captures all that information in one place.

If you’d like to learn more about the amazing benefits of systems click here to watch a short video (the 4th in a series where I highlight each of my 5 steps to get ANY project done) and I’ll explain why having systems allows you to focus your energy on the things that fuel your business and your soul.

As an entrepreneur, the only way to be successful is to maintain your joy in what you’re doing. That comes from deep inside of you, believing that you have something of value to share with your community.

So, let me ask you a question. Are you in business for the one time sales or the ongoing relationship?

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As an online entrepreneur, you probably have quite a few projects (or balls) in the air. It’s really important to get your ideas out of your head and organized into doable projects. However, once you’ve organized them and they’re ready to implement, does that mean you have to do all of it yourself?

Because entrepreneurs have such a do-it-yourself spirit, you might be trying to do just that. And in the process, are you finding that the “overwhelm” of tracking everything is raining down on your head?

To help you keep all of your projects in the air, I want to share with you some tools that will help you stay on track and moving forward. The first tool is…

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As an entrepreneurs, don't you feel the pressure of doing it all? Throughout the day you’re called upon to assess, prioritize, track and direct multiple activities, make plans and decisions, and so much more. You’re putting a lot of time and energy into growing your business. Deadlines loom and your stress level rises.

At times like these the temptation is to multitask…

In theory it sounds great to multitask, but our brains are designed to deal with one thing at a time. Multi-tasking only slows the brain down, so all you end up with is stress and accomplishing much less than you potentially could. That’s not serving you as a busy entrepreneur.

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Being disorganized manifests itself in many different ways. Maybe you’ve seen offices where every surface is covered with teetering stacks of papers and books. A few entrepreneurs seem to be able to function in that kind of chaos. However, most of us would just be wasting precious hours trying to find lost items and information.

The Business Section of the ‘Wall Street Journal’ (December 8, 2002) reported: “The average U.S. executive wastes SIX WEEKS PER YEAR searching for missing information on messy desks and in files. Every lost piece of paper costs a business $120. In fact, fifteen percent of all paper handled in businesses is lost and thirty percent of all employees’ time is spent trying to find lost documents.”

Being disorganized can also be going on inside of your head. Entrepreneurs may have tons of ideas and projects that you’d like to pursue. But if you don’t have a plan on how to accomplish them, you’re going to end up with little accomplished and a great deal of frustration and cost from redoing mistakes.

Building your business is like building a house. You can’t build the roof first. There’s a prescribed order of what needs to be done first so that it’s ready and stable for the next step. If entrepreneurs aren’t following the proper steps for building your business, you may suffer a terrible collapse because you don’t have the systems you need in place.

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Because the experiences of everyday living continually reshape each one of us, who you are today is not who you were five years ago or even last year!

It’s the same thing with your business. The ideas and vision you started out with have evolved – they’ve been changed by the people you've met and the experiences you’ve had over time. Add to that the technological advances and you have a recipe for rapid change with which entrepreneurs must learn to cope.

That can be a good thing or that can be a terribly destructive and overwhelming thing for entrepreneurs. It’s good from time to time to consider if the changes have really been in the direction you want to go or whether you’ve been pushed into doing something or being someone you’re not comfortable with.

So how do you define yourself today? I’d like to suggest a simple exercise that can help you to focus on being your authentic self as you move your business forward.

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When entrepreneurs develop their websites, a lot of thought goes into making it an effective marketing tool. Not only will you want to clearly introduce yourself and what you have to offer, you’ll also want to make sure that you’ve included a key component – a well-crafted squeeze page.

If you haven’t heard that term, a squeeze page is a very effective marketing tool for capturing your audience right away. A squeeze page is a page with a very clear call to action. It includes an opt-in form that encourages the person to sign-up for the offer.

To see an example of a squeeze page that’s worked very effectively for me, click here.

So, how can YOU create a squeeze page that works?

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One of the special challenges that entrepreneurs face is balancing what you need to do with what you want to do. Of course, everybody has that same challenge, but when you work in the corporate world you clock in and clock out of work at a specific time. The company sets those boundaries for you. As an entrepreneur, especially if you work from home, you have to get tough with yourself and set your own boundaries.

For many of us what drew us to the entrepreneurial lifestyle is the desire to be in charge of our own life. We wanted the freedom to spend more time in pursuits that we love, whether that’s spending more time with our family, traveling, or contributing to the charities in our community.

Sadly, I see many entrepreneurs, so busy with other things that they don’t take care of themselves. And the truth is a person can only neglect their health, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, for so long before there’s a breakdown. 

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