Hi friends,
This feels weird.
For 20 weeks, I had at least one new piece of content to share when I got to writing my newsletter.
But not today.
My next blog post is still a meager outline. A collection of thoughts on how to best build an audience in preparation for an online course launch.
So, what’s my excuse? I’m caught up in supporting 2 online courses and working on a website and email sequence for my clients. And I love this work.
But, I want this week to be the exception and not become the rule.
Creating content for my business is absolutely crucial for it to grow. It’s crucial for your business and career, too.
The takeaway: You’ve got to consciously schedule time for working on your business and career every week. If you don’t, other people’s priorities will always take over your time.
Now, to what I want to share with you this week:
đź“ť It’s this time of the year again:Â The Ultimate Annual Review
I do this mental exercise every year on New Year’s Eve: One year ago, could I have imagined being in the spot I’m in right now?
In the last few years, the answer was always “No way!” That was an indication of how much I had grown and how much my life had often surprised me….in a positive way.
This year, I want to go a step further, sit down, and do a proper annual review.
I came across the Ultimate Annual Review by the founder of High Output, Steve Schlafman:
“The Ultimate Annual Review is an actionable blueprint to conduct your own self-paced annual life review. You’ll explore the challenges you faced, what you learned, and what you desire in the new year.”
That’s what I’ll be following, and I’m planning to publish at least some of it.
Have you ever done an annual review? What format are you following?
đź’ˇ Your homepage has a clear job to do. Get out of the way.
This week, one of my clients finally launched the new website I had worked on a few months ago. To my distress, they had changed the structure and content of the homepage quite a bit from what I had recommended.
Most notably, they had placed a video right below the main headline and subheadline that spanned the full width of the page. The video was a 6-minute case study of one of their clients. That’s my guess because no text whatsoever introduced what I was about to see and why it would be worth watching.
Now you might say: But a case study is social proof, and that’s what we want on a homepage, right? Generally, yes! But in the right place.
Think about it…will a new visitor invest 6 minutes into watching a video? After they’ve just landed on the website and only read a headline and subhead?
6 minutes is a loooong time. A lot of people don’t even watch YouTube videos of that length without itching to jump to the next one.
My projection: most visitors will scroll right past this video to find the information they’re really looking for at this point.
Instead of them hunting for information, your homepage needs to lead your visitors down a clear path. Right towards what you want them to do.
And every element that doesn’t serve a purpose, that doesn’t help your visitor take the next micro-step, has to go.
đź› New tool I’m using:Â Hypefury
I’ve never felt drawn to social media. There are millions of people who can spend hours on various networks and share whatever they have to say. Not me! But, I know I need to be visible online to grow my business.
Twitter is the best platform for me. I haven’t been that consistent with tweeting, though. Hypefury is changing that. It’s a simple tool for scheduling tweets and automating retweets.
And since I’ve paid for it, I’m more inclined to use it. I’m basically tricking myself into doing the right thing.
*The above is an affiliate link. First one ever I’m distributing.
đź’¬ Quote of the Week
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”
Soren Kierkegaard
Thanks for reading! Thoughts or feedback? I’d love to hear from you!
Virtual hugs,
Julia
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