Sometimes the most obvious things are just not so obvious to me. I know I’m not alone in this. Looking back, it seems that my brain was on hold for the last several years while this obvious thing was escaping me. Now that I’m clear on my direction, the lack of clarity I had decided was OK for me and my business feels unbearable and unfathomable.

What happened was simply that all the while I have been talking about authentic marketing, I had resisted standing fully behind what I REALLY loved about my business and instead responded to what I speculated would be more successful. I prioritized my activities and my passion often came second. You could catch me talking about it now and again, what my true love is, what my real forte is, what my favorite conversation in the world is. To hear me talk about it you’d wonder at my willingness to do anything else, anything that was not centered solely on the passion of my life.

Can you guess what I’m talking about? Those of you who have taken my classes before can likely guess. I’m talking about Branding from the Heart ™ : How to share yourself authentically in a way that promotes everything that you’re up to. I have created a process around the funny little question from the BEE-ing Attraction Plan ™, “What makes me and my perfect customers tick?” and combined it with what I call Magical Keywords to help anyone brand anything completely authentically. My not-so-secret desire is to discover the beauty and magic in women entrepreneurs and progressive thought leaders and help them get the message out in a way that uplifts inspires millions of people to transform the world. On a practical level, I help people promote themselves consistently by sharing what’s most important to them in a way that attracts their perfect customers.

And though I call myself an “intutive branding artist,” and I have talked about Branding from the Heart ™ and held classes on it and offered small consulting packages, I have emphasized teaching social networking because people knew they needed that, and they didn’t understand branding (or so I thought). I have taught Social Networking classes for 4 years now, and though I have focused several classes on Branding from the Heart ™ , I have never gotten around to creating a well-documented system, a home study course or a signature program for my this unique process.

 

And the reason it took me so long to
figure out that this that I was using my mind, and sometimes (especially in my case) the mind is a scary place to be.

 

You see, my poor brain is full of so many ideas of how to market, what to market, social networking, websites, blogs, and webinars, and on and on, I got confused about what I need to teach, and so I switched it up quite frequently and offered a huge array of services. I did well and increased my income in a down economy, but I was afraid that the thing I love the most, the thing I am a natural at and which I truly feel can transform the world, would not sell. I was listening to inner gremlins telling me, ‘not now’ ‘people won’t get it’ and ‘you’re not ready.’ This left me constantly responding to the needs of others without really working out what I wanted to focus on, my unique gift for the world.

 

So now that I’ve seen the light (and listened to my own inner guidance) I am creating a new signature Branding from the Heart ™System this year, and kicking it off with an Authentic Branding Summit starting in a few months. I feel as if all my energy jets are on full tilt and I’m blasting forward in the way I’m meant to be. And I’d like to invite you to help me get started with this.

 

I need your input to make
this system really great.

 

On Thursday, March 31st at 11 am PT I am sponsoring a no-cost webinar called, “Julia Answers All Your Branding Questions” where I’ll be doing just that.  I want to hear from you the biggest questions you have about branding, about getting the message out, about your visual and verbal identity, about how to share what you do with incredibly clarity of purpose. I want to know where you struggle the most, what keeps eluding you, and what would make the biggest difference in helping you share your message with the world.

 

So here’s the deal: I’ll answer all your branding questions in exchange for some information from you. The registration form for the webinar includes several required question fields that I need you to answer to the best of your ability. I know it will take a bit of extra time on your part, and to express my appreciation for your heart-felt answers, I’m offering you free all-access pass to my Branding from the Heart Tele-Summit this summer including unlimited download of all 13 session recordings that I will be charging $197 for during the promotional launch in May.

 

I’ll also be compiling answers to your questions for my presentation on the March 31st, and I’ll be selecting a couple of folks from our audience to coach live during the webinar. So let me know what you’re struggling with and I’ll do what I can to help you move through that into the kind of clarity I am experiencing now.

 

HERE’S WHERE TO REGISTER FOR THE NO-COST WEBINAR ‘JULIA ANSWERS ALL YOUR BRANDING QUESTIONS’ ON THURS. MARCH 31ST 2011 AT 11 AM

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/680729106

 

Let me help you skip the years of avoiding the obvious that I have suffered, and let’s together create your authentic heart-felt brand.

 

Go forth and attract!

 

Are you ready for a brand that is a true reflection of your vision, your purpose, your personality and your attraction plan? Shining your light to the world is your destiny. Let me help your light be a beautiful, authentic and wildly attractive one.

A welcoming website is key to successful online marketing, yet sometimes what makes a site welcoming seems elusive. We know when a site isn’t working, it’s boring, or too busy, or you cannot find what you’re looking for, or it’s just plain confusing. But how do you make a site wildly attractive to your visitors and inspire them to take the right actions?
There are a lot of elements to a successful website, and different considerations depending on your business, but I have narrowed it down to four steps that are vital to any kind of business.
1) Clarify Your Message and Address Your Visitors’ Needs: The first step to creating a welcoming website is to clarify your unique attributes, what’s most important to you (ie your soul purpose) and how you help your clientele, and share this in your site copy. Start with your Welcome Message for your Home Page and make sure that it:

1. Addresses Your Visitors Problems and Needs
2. Illuminates Your Purpose and How You Can Help Them
3. Outlines What’s on the Site and How to Find It
4. Directs Visitors to Take a Specific Action (sign up for free download, call you for a complimentary consultation, invite them to a free class.

Now take the same approach to each of your following pages, making sure to speak from the heart about your history, your offerings, your resources and how to contact you. You don’t need to write a lot, just be clear in your message, how you can help them, and what you want them to do.
2) Make Your Site an Online Oasis: One of the most overlooked aspect to a welcoming website is the look and feel. Many marketing gurus tell you not to worry about pretty graphics, just use red headlines, arrows and opt in boxes to drive action. However, these techniques are over used and do not take in to consideration how the page makes your visitors feel. Another tendency these days is to use a pre-designed theme that many other businesses have used as well. Though the site may be beautiful, it is not unique. To ensure that your site is visually appealing, unique, and reflective of your purpose, make sure to:

a. Consider your message and purpose and what symbols represent you. Take a look around your office and living areas to see if there are common images that you tend to collect. Take note of what imagery makes your heart sing, what colors light you up, what fonts feel like you.

b. Go online and find images, or go through a stack of magazines while considering your purpose and personality and download or tear out images that appeal to you. You can use a paint program to arrange images on a vision board, of if you have magazines, a scissors and glue will do. Make your own special visual arrangement that can either be scanned and used on your site, or given to a designer as inspiration for an original design.

c. Incorporate your symbology, color scheme, and font choices in your website graphics. If you are using a pre-designed theme, select unique photos or if you are feeling creative, create montages with several images you love to create a unique site banner. Otherwise hire a designer to create custom site graphics for you, and make sure she sees your chosen pics.

d. When you love the look and feel of your site, it will look and feel great to your perfect customers, and they will get you on a more visceral level.
3) Integrate a Blog Into Your Site: Maintaining a welcoming site means keeping the content fresh and pertinent to your customers. When you have an integrated blog on your site, it boosts the value of your site to visitors, and Google loves fresh content. Your site will come up better on searches when you blog frequently. Many of my clients opt for a custom designed Wordpress site with integrated blog for consistency of look and ease of use. Once programmed, these Blog Sites are easy to maintain yourself.

4) Promote Your Site to the World: Once your site is a true reflection of your purpose, you will want to direct people to your site from various popular sites online, such as

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Wordpress
• LinkedIn
• Squidoo
• HubPages

When you network online authentically and share your purpose, people become interested in you. When you link back to your site from your social networks and blogs, it helps to boost visitorship, interest, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
I look forward to seeing your welcoming sites. Feel free to post your sites below and let us know if you are having any challenges in creating an online oasis for your business.

Are you ready for a website that is a true reflection of your vision, your purpose, your personality and your attraction plan? Shining your light to the world is your destiny. Let me help your light be a beautiful, authentic and wildly attractive one.


Apply for your complimentary Magical Strategy Session at http://www.magicalstrategysession.com/ or call Julia at (707) 823-3316 to schedule your appointment.

A welcoming website is key to successful online marketing, yet sometimes what makes a site welcoming seems elusive. We know when a site isn’t working, it’s boring, or too busy, or you cannot find what you’re looking for, or it’s just plain confusing. But how do you make a site wildly attractive to your visitors and inspire them  to take the right actions?

There are a lot of elements to a successful website, and different considerations depending on your business, but I have narrowed it down to four steps that are vital to any kind of business.

1) Clarify Your Message and Address Your Visitors’ Needs: The first step to creating a welcoming website is to clarify your unique attributes, what’s most important to you (ie your soul purpose) and how you help your clientele, and share this in your site copy. Start with your Welcome Message for your Home Page and make sure that it:

1. Addresses Your Visitors Problems and Needs
2. Illuminates Your Purpose and How You Can Help Them
3. Outlines What’s on the Site and How to Find It
4. Directs Visitors to Take a Specific Action (sign up for free download, call you for a complimentary consultation, invite them to a free class.

Now take the same approach to each of your following pages, making sure to speak from the heart about your history, your offerings, your resources and how to contact you. You don’t need to write a lot, just be clear in your message, how you can help them, and what you want them to do.

2) Make Your Site an Online Oasis: One of the most overlooked aspect to a welcoming website is the look and feel. Many marketing gurus tell you not to worry about pretty graphics, just use red headlines, arrows and opt in boxes to drive action. However, these techniques are over used and do not take in to consideration how the page makes your visitors feel. Another tendency these days is to use a pre-designed theme that many other businesses have used as well. Though the site may be beautiful, it is not unique. To ensure that your site is visually appealing, unique, and reflective of your purpose, make sure to:

1. Consider your message and purpose and what symbols represent you. Take a look around your office and living areas to see if there are common images that you tend to collect. Take note of what imagery makes your heart sing, what colors light you up, what fonts feel like you.
2. Go online and find images, or go through a stack of magazines while considering your purpose and personality and download or tear out images that appeal to you. You can use a paint program to arrange images on a vision board, of if you have magazines, a scissors and glue will do. Make your own special visual arrangement that can either be scanned and used on your site, or given to a designer as inspiration for an original design.
3. Incorporate your symbology, color scheme, and font choices in your website graphics. If you are using a pre-designed theme, select unique photos or if you are feeling creative, create montages with several images you love to create a unique site banner. Otherwise hire a designer to create custom site graphics for you, and make sure she sees your chosen pics.
4. When you love the look and feel of your site, it will look and feel great to your perfect customers, and they will get you on a more visceral level.

3) Integrate a Blog Into Your Site: Maintaining a welcoming site means keeping the content fresh and pertinent to your customers. When you have an integrated blog on your site, it boosts the value of your site to visitors, and Google loves fresh content. Your site will come up better on searches when you blog frequently.
Many of my clients opt for a custom designed WordPress site with integrated blog for consistency of look and ease of use. Once programmed, these Blog Sites are easy to maintain yourself.

4) Promote Your Site to the World: Once your site is a true reflection of
your purpose, you will want to direct people to your site from various popular sites
online, such as

• Facebook
• Twitter
• WordPress
• LinkedIn
• Squidoo
• HubPages

When you network online authentically and share your purpose, people become interested in you. When you link back to your site from your social networks and blogs, it helps to boost visitorship, interest, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

I look forward to seeing your welcoming sites. Feel free to post your sites below and let us know if you are having any challenges in creating an online oasis for your business.

Are you ready for a website that is a true reflection of your vision, your purpose, your personality and your attraction plan? Shining your light to the world is your destiny.
Let me help your light be a beautiful, authentic and wildly attractive one.

Apply for your complimentary Magical Strategy Session at http://www.magicalstrategysession.com/ or call Julia at (707) 823-3316 to schedule your appointment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you’re ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia’s free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com