7 Steps to Building the Framework For You, Inc.

One of the most frequently asked questions I have gotten is, how in the world do I start building You, Inc. if I’m a beginner.  Do I start with a blog, a website, Facebook, Twitter?

 Before I dive into that, I wanted to share something that Mike Klingler said at the Marketing Funnel Mastery event last month that was such a simple concept, but was extremely helpful.

He said basically that no one (yes, even the Gurus) has all of the answers.  You just try stuff and see what happens, then make adjustments as necessary.  The example he gave was pricing a product.  No one knows what the perfect price point is- they just pick a number, then test it.  Everyone is in a constant state of testing and tweaking. 

The point is that no one has all of the answers.  What worked for Mike Dillard, might not work for you exactly.  What worked for Jonathan Budd, might not work perfectly for you.  You have to just take a concept/strategy that suits YOU and implement it.  Then learn another strategy/concept that suits YOU, and implement it.  Rinse, lather and repeat!

With that being said, there isn’t just one way to build You, Inc.  This is just how I did it, but you need to pick what suits you then TEST and TWEAK!  As you learn new concepts, incorporate them into your branding.  It’s what all of the top leaders are doing, so you’ll be in very good company! J

Without further ado, these are the initial steps I would suggest for laying the framework for “You, Inc..”

1.  Select a domain name.  I highly recommend you use your name as your domain name because barring some major life change, that’s going to remain pretty constant. ; ) 

You may change companies, your niche, or just the information that you offer on your blog.  But by having your name as your domain name, you have a ton of flexibility as your business grows and changes.  Everyone knows that no matter where I am or what I’m doing- they can always see what I’m up to at NatashaNassar.com.  It’s a safe bet. 

You can and should build other sites later, but if you’re going to start from square one- I recommend purchasing your own name as your domain name.

2.  Get a WordPress Blog.  There are a ton of blogging platforms out there.  But since this is my article, I’m sharing my favorite :) With a WordPress.Org blog, you’ll host your own blog. This is absolutely essential!  Why?

Well, you don’t have control of your own content with the free platforms.  So, if Blogger decides that they don’t like your content- they can just shut down your blog. That would really suck!  You don’t want to work hard only to have someone else decide to shut down your site!

Plus there are a ton of cool “Themes” for WordPress blogs.  A “Theme” is like a template or layout of the blog with different features.  You can always hire someone to set up your theme (that’s what we did) on your hosting account. 

Another nifty feature is that Wordpress has things called “Plug-Ins” or “Widgets” that allow you to put all sorts of cool features on your blog with the click of a button like sign up forms, banner advertisements, links to social media sites, etc.   . 

3.  Purchase an Autoresponder.  An “Autoresponder” lets you to send out a series of messages to your list via email over a pre-determined length of time.  We use Aweber (www.Aweber.com) but there are several other platforms out there. 

By the way, sorry if I just burst your bubble, but Mike Dillard and Ann Seig aren’t sending you personal emails every day….(I was actually pretty sad when I discovered this, so no worries!) ; )

4.  Put a Sign Up Form on Your Blog.  You can create a sign up form in Aweber to put it on your blog.  In my opinion, it’s absolutely essential that you get your sign up form in place before you start promoting your blog.   Otherwise, you’re missing out on leads and generating leads is the point of the exercise, right?

5.  Figure out what to offer as an “Ethical Bribe”.  You’ll need to offer something valuable and free to encourage people to give you their email address.  There are plenty of free Ebooks or video courses that you can offer- just make sure that you have permission to do so first! 

But having a book/video to offer is really a secondary priority.  I don’t want you to get hung up on finding the “perfect" offer or creating your own a free report as a offer at the expense of getting content rolling. So, it’s better to just put a sign up form up quickly.  You can just say something like: “Sign up to get tips and tools on how to XYZ” at first. 

Just know that you’ll get a better response if you have an enticing free product/video to offer.  Not to sound like a broken record, but I can’t stress enough the importance of just getting this stuff implemented.  It doesn’t have to be perfect. J Just take it one step at a time!

6.  Start Generating Content.   The first content piece you create should be an article or video all about you.  Share your story with the world!  Let people know your experiences and what you have to offer.  Make sure to have your picture on your blog- people want to put a face with a name! J 

Then write posts or make videos and put them on your blog.  Ideally, if you’ve figured out your niche or your particular skill set, gear your content towards that.  If you haven’t quite figured that out, just share your experiences and any interesting tools/strategies that you’ve used or learned about.  Remember, it’s all about Providing Value and Letting Your Readers Get to Know The “Real” You

  7.  Get Social!  The five main places I’m using right now are. 

Forums. Connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. Share with others what you’ve learned so far.  Ask questions.  Exchange ideas! Just make sure you put your blog address in your “signature file” so that you’re constantly leaving little “footprints” all over the web directing people back to your blog! 

Facebook.  I know plenty of people encourage Facebook Fan Pages first.  I personally prefer the regular profile page first.  If you’ve got limited time, pick one and go with it.  There are benefits to both.  I’ve just chosen to use the regular page while working on my fan page.   

Twitter.  To be honest, I’m not 100% sold on Twitter, probably because I talk too much and the 140 character limit is tough for  me ; )  BUT I do have a profile. Doesn’t take long to set one up- so just do it!

Tribes.  A tribe is a group of people who syndicate each other’s content.  I’m pretty new to the Tribe concept, but Rich has really enjoyed being a part of the Unified Tribe since Katie Freiling first launched it this spring, and we’re getting great traffic from it.

Add your Social Profiles to Your Blog.  There are tons of free WordPress Plug-Ins that allow you to add your profiles to your blog.  This is important because you need to create a social web where friends from Facebook/Twitter can find your blog and your readers can get to know you better on the other social sites. 

So there you have it!  The bare bones framework for building You, Inc!  This is just the beginning of course.  I’m planning to make this a multi-part series. But to learn more about building You, Inc right now, you’ve got to go HERE.

To Your Success,