list-building Tag

How to Make Easy Passive Income Online With a Free Challenge or Mini-Course (The Ick-Free Upgrade Technique)

  |   Blog Income Report, Business Tips, Classy Marketing   |   65 Comments

Want a simple, no-hassle way to make passive income for your blog or business AND grow your email list? It's not as hard as you think, and you can do it without a scary launch or crazy webinars. (Perfect for introverts + beginners!) Click to read the full tutorial on Olyvia.co

Let's say you've never released a product online and you're terrified. You're terrified because not only are you scared to pull off a "big launch," the truth is -- #letsbehonest -- you don't even know HOW.

Webinars? Sales emails? Instagram parties? Excuse me, but oh. my. gosh. and WTH.

Or, maybe you have launched big before. (In which case I say, you are amazing!) But your hands are full and you're looking for a different, simple way to monetize your blog -- something that's low key, straightforward, and that will continue to bring in consistent passive income without any uncomfortable promotion OR continual sales-y fanfare on your part.

Whichever camp you fall into, this blog post is for you.

Today I'm teaching you all about The Ick-Free Upgrade technique, a monetization strategy for your blog or business that:

1. Does not require a big email list. (In fact, you don't need an email list at all to start doing this and be successful, AND it's going to help you build one at the same time -- #winning.)

2. Is extremely affordable to set up. (All that's required financially is a mass email marketing provider [I use Mailchimp - #afflink] that allows you to set up a simple automated email sequence. To do this in Mailchimp you need to use their upgraded version, which costs as little as $10/mo depending on how many subscribers you have. With ~ 1-3 sales of your product you'll recoup the cost.)

3. Demands exactly 0 promo efforts by you other than the normal promotion you would do for a blog post or email opt-in gift. (In other words, you decide how much and in what way you make people aware of it -- there's no pressure to be a pushy saleswoman or bubbly ball...

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How To Create Your Own Worksheets In Adobe InDesign (And Make Pro Freebies + Digital Products)

  |   Blogging Tips, Branding, Business Tips   |   38 Comments

Tutorial: how to create your own worksheets in Adobe InDesign. (Also great for making your own blog printables, planners, digital products, etc.) Includes a free InDesign worksheet file download.

Today I'm shaking in my cowgirl boots because I get to introduce you to one of my best biz pals. (Okay, just kidding, this Montana girl doesn't wear cowgirl boots -- but I am legit excited.)

Say hello to Adobe InDesign.



You can do a lot with the app -- like make e-books, pamphlets, mini-mags, brochures, posters, planners, and other printables -- but today I want to show you how you can use it to easily make your own pro, custom worksheets.

(That you then might want to give away as your email opt-in gift, include within blog posts, or sell for [real!] money.)

To go with this tutorial I've also included a free InDesign file download at the end of this post so that you can play around with a pre-made worksheet; be sure to pick that up before you go.

Oh, and if you don't have InDesign yet? Check it out here (btw, not an affiliate link) -- it's $19.99/mo on its own or $49.99/mo if you want Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, and all the other Adobe apps included.

You can also get a 30-day free trial if you want to play around with it first. Plus: it works on PC and Mac -- which always makes me happy.

Let's get started, shall we? We shall, my friends, we shall!

Here's how to create your own worksheets in Adobe InDesign:
...

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10 Ways to (Not) Suck at Email Marketing

  |   Business Tips, Classy Marketing, Email Marketing   |   26 Comments

how_to_suck_at_email_marketing

A guest post by Kirsten Thompson, blogger & e-newsletter extraordinaire

Hey fellow creatives! I'm honored to be here with you today, and so grateful to Erika for allowing me to share my love of all things "newsletter" with you!

First, let's be honest with one another.

If you're like a lot of bloggers and online business people, you fall into one of these two categories regarding newsletters:

1. You know you need a newsletter, you just don't know where to start.

2. You have a newsletter, but you know you need to kick it up a notch.

Today, I want to share with you 10 ways to absolutely suck at email marketing, and how to make sure you don't.
...

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7 Minutes To An Irresistible Opt-In Box

  |   Business Tips, Email Marketing, Olyvia TV, Website Design   |   41 Comments

How to get more email subscribers in 7 minutes or less (a smart video tutorial for bloggers + entrepreneurs)

Today I have one simple question for you.

Do you have an email opt-in box in your sidebar that nobody seems to notice?

Trying to encourage people to subscribe to your newsletter can feel a lot like trying to herd cats, even if you have an excellent free opt-in gift (aka: "lead magnet") that you've spent weeks carefully crafting and designing.

(You hear me, right? I mean, let's be really, completely, 100% honest here. At times growing our email lists can be excrrrrruciating.)

But WHY? What's going on that makes sidebar opt-in forms so notorious for blah performance?

1. First of all, everybody has those little boxes in the sidebar of their website. They’re easy to ignore because they're nearly all the same. Common layout elements condition people to be "opt-in blind."



2. In an effort to be pretty, too many people try to blend the opt-in box into the rest of their theme by choosing neutral colors and making it diminutive. As a result, the opt-in area doesn't compete for anybody's attention. Rather than saying, "Look over here!" it says, "Oh, don't mind me...

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7 Pro Web Design Tips That Will Make You More Money

  |   Business Tips, Website Design   |   21 Comments

Want to make money with your blog or small business website? Your first step is to make sure your design is marketing friendly, not just pretty to view. These 7 tips will help.

You're frustrated. You have a beautiful website that you've spent long hours designing yourself -- or a lot of cash acquiring via the skills of a professional web designer -- but it's not helping you make money like you had hoped.

In fact, you're getting only a few meager website visitors to sign up for your email list, hire your services, buy your products, or even fill out a contact form inquiry!

What gives?

Having designed websites for over a decade, I'll tell you:

A pretty website does not mean a profitable website. (Tweet it.)

And even the most visually elegant design can stink when it comes to conversion rates.

That's because effective website design is only partially about aesthetics like crisp, eye-catching graphics and a clean color scheme.

In order to be successful from a business perspective, a website also has to be designed with savvy marketing, psychology, and user-experience principles in mind.

Below are 7 pro design tips you need to know if you want your website to make you more money. Print them out and give them to your web designer, or use them yourself for your next redesign!
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Do Obnoxious Pop-Ups Really Work?

  |   Classy Marketing, Reputation, Website Design   |   28 Comments

Do website pop-ups work and should you use them on your website? No, and here's why.

You've heard the sermon on website pop-ups, right?

It's the one that says you simply MUST use pop-up email subscription boxes if you want to build an email list that rivals the population of a mid-size American city.

In six days.

(Okay. I may be exaggerating. Slightly.)

If this sounds new to you, here's a quick recap!

"Pop-ups will increase your subscribers by 20000% percent overnight!"
"Pop-ups will make you filthy rich!"
"You're a nincompoop if you don't use pop-ups!"
"Amen."

(Such a great word. Nincompoop. It reminds me of my childhood Smurf-watching days. :) )

Obviously these pop-up evangelizers are pretty hardcore -- but do jolting, intrusive, unwanted solicitations actually work?

And should you use them to grow your brand?

Let's take a look. ...

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