Any time I had a new business idea during class, I’d write it down in a special notebook so I could spend my nights outlining my thoughts after speeding through my homework.

I may not have realized it then, but there was always one thing my mind envisioned before anything else: the new brand’s website.

I never went on to start any of those businesses (which is a relief after looking back at some of those early ideas!), but I channeled that initial entrepreneurial passion into a website copywriting business I still run today.

In the last four years, I’ve worked with nearly 150 website copywriting clients. As such, I can confidently say there are a few website copywriting tips that are true for most Home, About, and Services pages.

As I open a new round of my website copywriting program for entrepreneurs—taking my former custom copywriting process and turning it into a guided program—I wanted to share some of my favorite recommendations that you can quickly implement into your own website. 

My primary aim is to make website conversion and SEO strategies more user-friendly (and a lot more fun!), so let’s dig into the basics of why each page is important and the simple updates you can make that will make a world of a difference for your lead generation.

Improving your Home page 

I like to think of Home pages as the “central hub” of a business since it’s typically the most viewed page on a website. When someone types in your domain name in their search bar, they’ll be greeted by your Home page. 

Making a positive first (and lasting) impression on this page is your top priority.

Here’s how to make sure you properly welcome new visitors into your brand’s website.

Start with a clear headline

Wow, a website copywriter telling you to write a great headline. Shocker! (I’m not usually great at sarcasm since it goes over my head, but I think I nailed it this time. Right?) But seriously, your headline is really important. It’s one of the first elements of your Home page that a new visitor will notice and (hopefully) read.

There’s a science to creating a great headline, and it goes a little something like this:

• Do introduce what you offer (specialization) and who you offer it to (ideal audience).
• Don’t forget to include your differentiators (what makes you unique).
• Do include a targeted SEO keyword (but not if it makes your headline hard to read).
• Don’t make it overly wordy because it needs to be concise and clear.

You will most likely need to write multiple headlines before you write one that feels like a great fit for your Home page. I usually write 10 on the lower end and 20-30 on the higher end when I suggest headlines to my clients. That may seem like a lot, but your first headlines aren’t always the best options (trust me!).

I also like to keep a list of headline options on my phone’s notepad app so I’m able to write them down whenever I have inspiration. When you’re ready to determine which headline you want to use, ask a few trusted friends for their favorites and, if needed, test a couple of variations on your website with tools like Hotjar and Unbounce.

Give a direct call-to-action

It always surprises me when I go to someone’s Home page and I don’t see ANY information about what action I should take next. I see this most often with massively talented photographers and designers who feature beautiful slideshows of their work BUT they don’t include information on how to contact them or what to do if you’re interested in booking them.

Your Home page NEEDS a direct call-to-action. This isn’t a nice-to-have element; it’s an absolute must-have. An example of a call-to-action would be to visit another page on your website, fill out your contact form, sign up for your email list, or anything else that fits your strategy. You get the idea!

Your Home page is one of the only pages where having multiple calls-to-action makes sense. However, you’ll want to include them in a strategic order. We talk all about this inside my website copywriting group program, which you can sign up for and learn more about here.

Include visual interest

Now that you have a headline and a call-to-action that fits, you’ll most likely want to pair them with a stand-out image, graphic, or illustration that draws your audience’s eye and gives it that extra oomph.

I’ve recently been a HUGE fan of custom illustrations on client websites like NY Book Editors and JETLAUNCH. It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that I hired my brother Zach Hollatz to create icons and illustrations for my own website redesign in late 2018.

You can also create your own graphics inside free tools like Canva or use free stock photos from sites like Unsplash. If you’re looking specifically for diverse stock photos, I have to plug my friend LaShonda who does amazing work with Eye for Ebony.

When possible, I recommend budgeting for brand photography and lifestyle sessions. They’ve increased my professionalism and complement my copywriting oh so well. I’ve worked with Carly Lavigne Photography, Kristen Dyer Photography, and Meghan Swanson Photography—all of whom I adore!

Add pathways for each offer

Each person who comes to your website will have a different set of goals, priorities, and problems they’re looking to solve. With this in mind, you’ll want to use your Home page as the main place where people can easily find where they need to go next.

Most of us offer more than one service or product (which I highly recommend so you can diversify your business model), so linking to targeted landing pages will help you better connect with each ideal segment of your audience. Then people can self-identify what they need help with as you direct them to the website page that best fits their needs.

When you create this pathway strategy, think about what services you want to offer and who is the ideal client for each one. What do they need assistance with? What pain points are involved? What kind of solutions are they interested in? What does solving this problem ultimately do for them? All of these answers can help you create better pathways on your Home page.

Offer a lead magnet (or freebie)

Many people like to use their Home page as a way to build their email list. Once someone becomes an email subscriber, you can directly communicate with them and provide educational content that helps you build brand trust. While your website captures your audience’s attention for a few seconds or minutes, your email marketing will keep it for the lifetime of their subscription.

It may seem like every brand is trying to grow their email list, but that’s because this strategy works! In order to stand out, you must give your subscribers something of immense value before signing up. You can do this by including an email sign-up form on your Home page that connects to a lead magnet. These freebies can include worksheets, ebooks, quizzes, email courses, video trainings, and more.

If you are looking to offer lead magnets and start your email list, I recommend Flodesk for beginners who want to design beautiful emails and increase their open rates, and ConvertKit for experienced content creators who want access to advanced features. I have used both products and LOVE them!

All of these tips will give you a great start on your Home page, but let’s talk about your About page next. 

Refining your About page 

Most people will say About pages are the hardest to write. 

This is usually because they hate talking about themselves, but in a minute, I’ll tell you why this no longer needs to be a fear.

About pages give us difficulty because it needs to somehow tell your entire brand story in a memorable way while staying incredibly concise and clear. Oh, and it has to grab your audience’s attention and get them excited enough to explore the rest of your website. That’s no easy feat!

If you have been struggling with your About page, here are a few website copywriting tips you’ll want to follow.

Don’t make your About page all about you

This same website copywriting tip is true when you write content for the rest of your website pages, but it’s especially true for your About page.

Let’s visualize this for a second. Imagine that someone just heard about your brand through a conversation with a friend. They don’t know much about what you offer, so they visit your About page to learn more about your brand. If all they see is a close-up headshot of you with a long bio that only includes personal facts about you, your audience won’t know how that information relates to them. 

It’s better to begin your copy by addressing your ideal audience member directly. Then, you can focus on sharing the bigger “why” and mission behind your business in a way that deeply connects with their values. At this point, they’ll resonate enough with your messaging to be interested in learning more about you through a personal bio.

Add at least one headshot of you

People want to work with other people, not faceless logos. Don’t be afraid to show your face (and smile!) on your About page. I recommend selecting a personal headshot where you are looking directly at the camera. This instills a feeling of trust, authority, and confidence.

If you want to add other lifestyle or branded photos to your About page, you have complete freedom to do so. Lead with a close-up headshot and then sprinkle the other images throughout your page. It’s a great way to infuse your personality.

For professional brand photography, I recommend looking at Laylee Emadi Photography and Julia Mary Photography (who is local to Minneapolis) for inspiration. They do a fantastic job of capturing the person behind the brand while visually communicating their brand story. For another example, my About page features a personal headshot with a few Polaroid-style photos toward the middle that’s a perfect fit with my style. 

Make sure your mission statement is clear

Much like your Home page, your About page will need to address the mission of your business. A mission statement is one of the most important pieces of copy you will ever write because it acts as a short brand summary.

You can use your mission statement on your website, digital and print marketing materials, or even edit it for your social media channels. It can also be used as your elevator pitch at networking events.

Here are a few things you’ll want to include in your mission statement: 

• Who you are (brand development)
• Who you serve (audience)
• How you help them (positioning)
• What you offer (specialization) 
• Why they should care (differentiator) 

If you want to learn more about creating a mission statement, I’ll teach you exactly how to write one inside my free CopyCPR email course, which you can sign up for by clicking here. I even give subscribers the opportunity to send their mission statements to me for personal feedback. It’s so much fun!

Internally link to your core Services pages

This is a BIG opportunity that many creative entrepreneurs are missing. It’s usually because they don’t know how beneficial it is to use this easy yet effective SEO strategy.  

Internal linking simply means that you are strategically adding links to key pages throughout your website. It tells search engines like Google that this page is important and relevant to your audience. (You can see how I did this by looking at my About page which links to my Website Copywriting and Content Creation services. Just promise me you won’t go crazy and link to every page on your website after reading this. Only choose one to three max links for your About page.)

I’ll save you from confusing SEO jargon (you’re welcome!) and briefly end this section by mentioning that internal linking will ultimately help you strengthen each page and your overall website’s performance in search. If you want more SEO tips, you can read this beginner’s guide to SEO.

Include some personal fun facts

Your About page is the perfect place to infuse more of your personality into your copy. What you decide to share as a “fun fact” totally depends on your brand. Some fun facts may be more of a fit than others, so I recommend coming up with a master list of commonly known (and little-known) facts about you that will dazzle your website visitors. Then you can narrow down your favorites to feature on your About page.

Are you obsessed with binging crime documentaries on Netflix? Do you volunteer at an animal shelter in your local community? Do you always have a stash of candy by your desk? Do you know how to clap with one hand and want to tell people about it? (Just me? Okay…)

The best part about sharing these fun facts is that it will personally connect you with your audience. I’ve received emails from people in my community who really liked learning about my self-published poetry collection and the bible verse that guides my business among other things on my About page. Start collecting those facts and enlist your friends’ help if needed.

Strengthening your Services page

When written in a strategic way, your Services page will become one of your best money makers as a service-based entrepreneur. Inside your Services page, you’ll need to outline the packages you offer and who they are the best fit for.

There are also a few more things you’ll want to include, which we’ll talk about now with these easy-to-implement website copywriting tips.

Mention the benefits before the features

It’s cool if you talk about how each client will get three 1:1 coaching calls with you and access to a private Facebook group, but no one cares if you haven’t talked about what they’ll actually get from working with you. This is the difference between leading with a feature and a benefit. 

What is it that your audience wants? Is it more clarity, confidence, rest, peace, or something else entirely? Once you understand the benefits that you can offer new clients, make sure you create specific messaging around what results you can help your audience get through your services.

For example, if you help people gain more clarity, is it the kind of clarity that will revolutionize the way they set health goals or will it help them clarify their roadblocks to creating a healthy routine? The more specific you can be, the better.

Re-introduce yourself

There might be people who come to your Services page who haven’t seen your Home or About page. You can’t assume that people know all about who you are and what you offer. 

Here comes the tricky part. You need to give a brief summary of this information on your Services page in a way that adds something new for the people who have already visited those pages BUT doesn’t alienate the people who have only seen your Services page.

As a website strategist, I help my clients understand where they should introduce themselves and how to do it in a meaningful way that doesn’t distract from their message. When you get it just right, everything flows so smoothly.

I handle this inside the group program for my clients, but for now, I’ll say that it’s usually best to re-introduce yourself between the intro copy and your service package breakdown. (To see an example, you can look at my Services page.) This is an especially good idea for people who are writing longer Services pages. 

List every deliverable inside your service package

This list should include all of the tangible features and intangible benefits as we talked about in a previous section. You want to make sure that every visitor understands exactly what’s included inside each package. 

When listing these deliverables, it’s usually best to put them in a bulleted-list format so it’s easy to scan. You might want to emphasize the important details by bolding or italicizing them in the list. You can play with how this looks on your own website. Make sure you adjust your deliverables list if you make changes to your package later on.

You can also assign a monetary value to each deliverable that adds up to an amount that’s higher than the total package investment. This makes your audience feel like they are saving money while getting access to really valuable add-ons. This is by no means required, and sometimes people take this way too far (like saying something is worth $4000+ but they’re selling it for $97…), but it can be a good tactic for some entrepreneurs.

Make it easy to contact you

This might feel like a simple recommendation, but you’d be surprised how many people launch a Services page with no mention of how to contact them. We can’t let that happen to you.

There are a few different strategies you can take, depending on the call-to-action you choose:

• Fill out a contact form and receive a personalized email reply (what I personally use)
• Schedule a free discovery call through a calendar scheduling tool 
• Sign up for an email list and receive an investment or pricing guide

If you choose the first option, you can include buttons to your Contact page, but you may also want to embed a contact form at the bottom of your Services page. This is so people don’t have to click another button in order to give you their information. It takes one more step out of the process which is optimal when we talk about website conversions!

Make sure you’ve completely outlined your sales and onboarding process so you can thoughtfully choose the best call-to-action for this page. 

Highlight your most important FAQs

Even the most well-written Services page won’t answer every single question your audience member has. When this happens, it’s best to include a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section. You can include questions about your process, timeline, project calendar, work philosophy, and so much more.

If your Services page is already pretty long, I typically recommend putting a FAQs section on your Contact page or a separate page you can link to. This is where it helps to have a website strategist on your side to help you make these kinds of decisions, hence my group program! (You knew that was coming, huh?)

If you want an experienced website copywriter and strategist to guide you through a proven process to write website copy with better results, apply to be a part of the next round of my group program!

The post 15 Expert Website Copywriting Tips for Every Page appeared first on Sindie.

Maybe keyword research feels daunting and overwhelming, or maybe it makes you feel like you need to get an MBA before you dig in. None of this needs to be true.

SEO is known for being a mysterious industry. This is mostly because it has to do with competition, and the easiest way to reduce your competition is to stay quiet about the optimization tips and tricks you know. But that’s not how I roll.

Today I’m showing you a behind-the-scenes look at how to do basic SEO keyword research for your website.

Everything learned I was from DIY efforts so I’m confident that you can learn in a similar way if you don’t mind a little experimenting. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know it’s my method of choice. *wink*

I’ve also found success through my own DIY efforts. In a relatively short time (about a year or so), I ranked #1 for four of my desired keywords. While this result may not be plausible in all industries (like for attornies and insurance agencies – uffda, sorry!), it’s still incredible to see how a few minor tweaks can help you grow your online presence long term.

I want to help you become best friends with Google because of your SEO.

So let’s dig into a fairly simple four-step approach to keyword research that will help you discover what keywords are worth focusing your attention on.

(Have you read my post on the basics of SEO? If you haven’t, definitely read that first and then come back to this one to put what you’ve learned into action!) 

Step One: Brainstorming relevant words and phrases

Let’s use the example of a wedding photographer that is based in Minneapolis. Since I’m from Minnesota, you’ll see a lot of examples based on my location because, well, it just makes sense. You can still use the same advice no matter where you are located or even if you have a primarily online business as I do.

Anyway, back to our wedding photographer. Let’s call her Becky. If Becky is looking to improve her website’s SEO, her energy is best spent trying to figure out what her ideal brides are already searching for.

The first thing she needs to have nailed down is who her ideal client is. This is a good first step for any small business owner. Becky has found that she really loves capturing Millennial couples who are interested in a rustic or farmhouse wedding theme. Traditional chapel weddings aren’t really her thing, so she wants to focus on clients who want outdoor weddings.

We’ll come back to these specific details in a bit but all of this information will be really helpful. For now, we know who her target audience is. From there, she can move on to creating a list of words that are associated with her industry. “Wedding photographer” naturally comes to mind first, but she can keep going with her list.

Becky will probably come up with a list that looks something like this:

• minneapolis wedding photographer
• wedding photographer st paul
• wedding photos mn
• wedding photographers mn

This is a great place to start! As you create your own list, we can move on to the next step.

Step Two: Preliminary SEO keyword research on Google

Now that you have a list of words and phrases that are specific to your industry, location, and audience, we can start doing some preliminary research. Let’s start with Google’s built-in search function since it is a user-friendly place to start.

If Becky is looking to do some basic research on what brides are searching for in her area, she can go to Google and start typing in key phrases to see what auto populates. It will show her some pretty fascinating results.

She first starts with “wedding photographer” and here is what comes up:

After taking a look at this, she can see that “wedding photographers mn” is a strong keyword since it is near the top. She also has it on her original list of ideas so it’s a match.

Now she tries another key phrase from her list. This time, she finds even more interesting results:

Wow! It looks like when people are about to search for “mn wedding photographer”, they are looking for photographers who are affordable and have services under $1000. Becky didn’t have these on her initial list so she’s glad she checked.

If Becky’s pricing is around $1000 or less, she would want to include more of these popular keywords because it’s a great and relevant fit.

However, like many of my own wedding photographer copywriting clients, Becky’s pricing is higher than $1000 because of the value she provides her clients well beyond their wedding day. She won’t want to use these popular keywords with the words “affordable” and “under $1000” because she would attract the wrong brides.

(Side note: Are you starting to see how this all comes together? We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet and we already know a lot. Okay, let’s keep going.)

Step Three: Getting more specific with your SEO keywords

Look back at Becky’s initial list of key phrases in Step One. You may be thinking “Wow, they all seem pretty basic.” You’d be right. While these popular phrases are searched for frequently, we’ll want to focus more attention on how to make Becky’s website stand out to her ideal brides.

We can do this by taking her original list of keywords and getting even more specific. This is where the fun part comes in!

Remember how Becky liked shooting weddings that have a rustic or farmhouse look? Many of those types of weddings take place in barn wedding venues. Keeping this in mind, she starts searching for a few different combinations of keywords.

She types in “mn barn wedding photo” but only one option comes up: “barn wedding photography mn”. This tells Becky that she should choose “barn wedding photography mn” over “mn barn wedding photography”.

Even though both options have the same combination of words, the placement of the words is SUPER important. It’s smart to choose the auto-completion keyword because that is what brides are already searching for.

(Pro tip: It would also be smart for Becky to create relationships with barn wedding venues and other wedding vendors who help brides create a shabby chic look. This will help Becky stay in front of brides who already match her style as wedding vendors refer her work and vice versa. You can borrow the same approach for your website.)

Take a moment to create your own list of specific keywords. You can start with the key phrases you wrote originally and break them down into words that describe your process, experience, style, or any other factor that helps you sell what you do.

If you are a designer, you can start playing with keywords that describe your unique style (minimal vs. romantic), a color palette of your choice (neutral vs. neon), or client type (startup vs. agency).

If you are an online course creator in marketing, you can experiment with keywords that describe your teaching style (video course vs. email course) or topic of choice (Instagram photo styling vs. Instagram caption writing).

Spend some time in this phase! You may just stumble upon a list of keywords that connect you with your ideal client sooner than you think.

Step Four: More advanced SEO keyword research

We can learn a lot by looking at Google, but our work isn’t done yet. Let’s get back to Becky. Since she wants to start implementing keywords like “mn wedding photographer” and “barn wedding photography mn” into her website as soon as possible, she decides to look into a more robust keyword research tool.

You can do your own keyword research through the Google Keyword Planner (which is only available for people who run Google ads), Moz Keyword Explorer (10 keywords available each month with a free account – highly recommend!) or even Answer The Public.

There are so many options to choose from so let’s just look at one. I really love the Moz Keyword Explorer so we’ll use that for our example.

As Becky types in “mn wedding photographer” and hits search, she is greeted by numbers and graphs she doesn’t quite understand. If you feel the same way looking at these results, don’t worry! You’re not alone.

Let’s talk about what each piece of jargon actually means in a language we can all understand.

• Volume: Volume refers to how many approximate users on a monthly basis are searching for your desired keyword. Because there is no data here, it means that it is too low for their tool to measure. We can infer that it’s because of the specific location (Minnesota in this case) in the keyword. If we used a more general keyword like “wedding photographer”, we would see the monthly volume dramatically increase. Keep in mind that the higher the volume, the more competition you’ll usually find.
• Difficulty: The keyword difficulty score ranges from one to 100. The higher the number, the more difficult it will be to compete with other service providers who are already ranked for the keyword. Moz recommends that new businesses start with keywords that are at a maximum of 20-30 range for difficulty. As you grow, you can continue to optimize your website for stronger keywords where there is more competition.
• Organic CTR: Click-through-rate (or CTR) shows how likely a keyword is to convert into organic web traffic to your site. The higher the organic CTR, the better chance you have to have someone click on your website if it’s on the first page of Google. It’s 100% here so score! (By the way, organic web traffic is any traffic you don’t have to pay for, which is my favorite kind. *wink*)

After looking at the results from the Moz Keyword Explorer, Becky feels confident in using “mn wedding photographer”. Although the monthly volume numbers didn’t show up because of her location, the difficulty score is around the range she is shooting for and she loves the 100% organic CTR likelihood.

Now it is your turn to try a few of your SEO keywords!

The post Step-by-Step SEO Keyword Research: Tips from a Website Content Writer appeared first on Sindie.

Okay, maybe these topics themselves aren’t brilliant (even though I stand behind my Disney Princess result of Ariel) but using quizzes to drive leads definitely is.

Don’t believe me? Don’t worry, I get it. It takes time to create a new email opt-in, and you don’t want to spend it creating something that won’t perform.

But I mean it when I say quizzes are magical. Why?

Well, my own quiz drove over 2,500 email subscribers in just 9 months.

That’s what we like to call a *crazy* number.

But generating more subscribers isn’t the only benefit.

Just think about it. Not only are you collecting data from your ideal audience members, but you’re making it more interactive and enjoyable than a typical survey.

You’re also adding the extra benefit of giving the quiz taker a specific “personality”, which is determined by a set of characteristics.

Quiz personality is decided based on the specific answers the quiz taker chooses, making them feel understood and known.

Once you’ve assigned your subscriber a unique personality, that’s when the real magic begins: converting them into a client or customer.

But I’m getting ahead of myself (which I do, a lot). Let’s take a step back and go step-by-step into all that is needed to build a successful, lead generating quiz.

01 //  Niche specific topic and title

If I put a quiz on my website on “What Hipster Style Fits You?”, people would be very confused. Why? Because I’m a copywriter for small businesses in the visual industries, not a well-known stylist with crop top swag. My glasses may look hipster (at least that’s what my brother says…), but it doesn’t give me the authority or desire to talk about this subject.

Instead, I want to choose a quiz topic that is more aligned with my copywriting niche. Your own topic will depend on what industry you’re in and who you serve.

Not sure what your quiz topic should be? Here are a few prompts to help you out:

• What are the most common questions you’re asked from people outside your industry? From people inside your industry? From the clients you serve?
• What are the key elements of your process? How do you educate your clients about the importance of each of these steps?
• How would you describe your ideal clients? What traits and quirks make them a great fit for your business? What do they want to learn about?

When you have a list of potential topics, ask a few of your business friends and people who match your ideal client description which topics they’d be most likely to take a quiz for. This is the best way to test out which topic is most relevant before putting in the real work.

Once you’ve chosen your quiz subject, it’s time to craft an attention-grabbing title. The most important rule here (and this one is not meant to be broken) is for it to be clear over clever.

This is one of the biggest hurdles I hear about from clients. They spend hours trying to come up with a clever name when clarity is more important. Clarity = action, which is all we care about in lead generation.

The name of my quiz is “What is Your Brand Voice Style?” I know, super clever, but it works. People who are interested in taking the quiz know exactly what they’ll learn about, especially since it’s consistent with my website copywriting and ghostwriting niche.

02 //  Connection to your email list

What’s the point in creating an awesome quiz if it doesn’t lead to anything? Without connecting your quiz to your email list, it won’t have the power to turn visitors into leads. Since that’s the whole draw of using a quiz to build your email list, you’ll want to do this from day one.

I personally use (and highly recommend!) ConvertKit for my email marketing, but there are other email service providers that quiz building tools like Interact connect with for easy automation. I only had to hook up ConvertKit and Interact once, meaning for the last 6 months it’s been running on its own without any extra work from me.

03 //  Unique quiz personality results

While your quiz answer options need to engaging enough to entice audience members to keep going through your quiz, your big goal is for them to make it to the end. That’s where the lead capture happens.

It takes more than an interesting quiz title and relevant topic to keep people engaged throughout the quiz. Enter in unique quiz personality results. When you start to brainstorm quiz personalities, think about what labels may make sense with your niche.

If you want the quiz to introduce your graphic design services, your personalities may be focused on different kinds of visual aesthetics like “Minimalistic Maven” or “Sophisticated Solopreneur”. With each quiz question, your audience member will get closer to understand what their branding style is like.

I recommend creating 3-5 personality results with 4 being my personal sweet spot. If you create too many potential personalities, you’re creating a lot of extra work for yourself. It could also get confusing for your audience because there are too many options, which deters them from continuing to take the quiz.

04 //  Personalized email sequence for each quiz

The highest performing quizzes are actually a lot less about the quiz and a lot more about the email sequence that follows after. After you create the quiz, your work is only partly done. Now it’s time to focus your attention on crafting an email sequence that introduces who you are, what you offer, and how you can help.

First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page (copywriting pun!) when we talk about email sequences. An email sequence is a fancy term for an automated series of emails that are delivered directly to your email subscriber.

Email sequences usually include a combination of educational emails with soft and hard pitches. Soft pitches introduce your product or service in a relevant way in between educational information while hard pitches feature sales copy that’s solely dedicated to making the sale. ConvertKit has an amazing formula for email sequences that you customize to your own business.

Now you’re starting to see how beneficial an email sequence can be to your quiz. You might be thinking, I should just use the same email sequence for every quiz result because I’m selling the same product or service, right? Nope. Granted, it’s better to have one email sequence than no email sequence at all, but the real power lies within personalized marketing.

Many people who create quizzes skip this part because they assume it takes too much work to personalize each email sequence. They think personalization means writing every email from scratch, but I’ve discovered a trick that helps me cut down on my writing time while still personalizing my email marketing.

It’s all about creating a theme for each email and then using a fill-in-the-blank template for each personality. Here’s an example I used from a section of my own quiz:

“Thanks so much for taking my brand voice style quiz!

Isn’t it nice to know what your superpower is so you can weave more of your [personality type here] personality into your content?

To review, this is what your quiz results said about you:

[personality quiz result here]

Does it fit you to a T? I thought so!

So now that we know you’re a [personality type here], let’s take it a few steps further.

Throughout the next week, I’m going to pop into your inbox with some action-packed lessons to help you make more of an impact with your [personality type here] superpower through your copywriting and content creation.

[personality type specific prompts here]”

In my quiz, there are 4 different personality results with the most popular being the Educator and Connector. Naturally, the way I address an Educator personality is different than a Connector.

They have different desires, values, and levels of interest in what I offer so offering personalized emails to each type helps them feel known and understood.

From the example above, you also see these personalized email sequences are totally doable. Not only that, but it doesn’t take much time to create for as big of an impact as it makes.

The more personalized you get, the more powerful the email sequence becomes.

Then your quiz can go from an interactive exercise with a fun result to your best lead driver. Who wouldn’t love the sound of that?

The post 4 Key Elements of a Lead-Generating Quiz for Better Email Marketing appeared first on Sindie.

As a refresher, here’s a quick recap of what we covered in the last

• What is a lead magnet? A lead magnet is just fancy digital marketing jargon that can be defined as the offer you’re giving an email subscriber for signing up for your mailing list.
• 5  starting lead magnets and content upgrades for business owners
  • 01 // Email course
  • 02 // Video training
  • 03 // Interactive quiz
  • 04 // Ebook
  • 05 // Email challenge

Let’s continue the list of lead magnets below…

06 // Audio series

Okay, so maybe being video makes you shift in your seat and writing isn’t really your thing. If this sounds like you, creating an audio series could be a great fit. Think of it as a mini podcast you’re creating around a specific theme or subject.

Your audio clips can be as short or long as you’d like. They can be interviews with other business owners or people in your target audience, or solo episodes with you and the microphone. Get creative!

Examples: Before I created the #createlounge podcast (which is currently on a break), I created The Power of We Audio Series which featured 10 interviews on different community building platforms with entrepreneurs I adored like Mariah Coz, Melyssa Griffin, Sarah Morgan, Maya Elious… so many! Of course, the queen of audio series will always be Danielle LaPorte – I really loved Fight for Your Joy.

07 // Printable checklist

If you’re short on time or resources, creating a checklist can be one of the easiest lead magnets to make. This does, however, mean that a lot of content creators have created pretty low-quality checklists.

Because most subscribers have likely traded their email address for a checklist that was less than helpful in the past, add a preview of what’s covered in the checklist so subscribers know what they’re signing up for. This goes for any of the other lead magnets too.

Examples: I love how Caitlin Bacher’s Facebook group checklist is ultra-helpful and unique, as well as Emily Bank’s checklist on how to DIY your brand.

08 // Worksheets or Workbooks

How have we gone this long without talking about worksheets or workbooks? This is another great lead magnet, especially for subscribers who love a good pencil and paper brainstorming session. It’s the best kind of adult homework.

You can also create digital worksheets and workbooks with fillable forms in PDF form! I’m lucky to have a few designer friends in Minneapolis who are going to be showing me exactly how to do this at our next mastermind meeting so I can’t wait to use this feature more. Woo!

Examples: I have a few collections of worksheets from Finding Your Ideal Client to Becoming a Social Media Hero, but I need to give a big shout out to my branding designer, Allison Hall, for creating the most comprehensive Branding Workbook I’ve seen yet.

09 // Community

Of course, this is one of my favorite lead magnets of all! For my entire first year of business, I helped creative bloggers and entrepreneurs build dedicated tribes around their brand.

That combined with my third year of hosting the #createlounge community means I can confidently say that communities are a proven and purposeful way to build your email list.

Examples: Rather than take up more space gushing about how much I love communities (seriously, I could do this all day), you can see this post from the archive which highlights 7 of my favorite Facebook groups.

10 // Printable or digital art

Who does love a good wallpaper or cute print? These are often highly successful lead magnets because subscribers feel like they’re getting something they can hold for free.

Are you a designer? Create a monthly themed phone or desktop background. Are you a calligrapher? Create a hand-lettered print subscribers can download, print, and hang in their home office. Have fun with it!

Example: I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated solely to phone and desktop wallpapers. Yes, I know I’m a writer by trade, but I love all of the pretty designed things. Plenty of these wallpaper creators use their digital art as a lead magnet for their email list.

11 // Calendars and spreadsheets

If you think in a more logical and strategic way, outlining calendars and creating spreadsheets could be a great way to help your audience make sense of their goals, finances, and beyond.

I got over my spreadsheet-phobia when I found I liked compiling social media analytics (who knew?) at my previous PR agency job, and ever since then I haven’t been able to get enough of them. It’s likely that your audience feels the same way.

Are you a coach? Create a strategic calendar that can help subscribers plan their week or month ahead. Are you a financial planner? Create a budgeting spreadsheet that helps subscribers track their expenses. Again, have fun with it!

Examples: My most popular post to this day includes a Social Media Calendar Template which is a simple spreadsheet to help others create a plan for their social media marketing. Another spreadsheet I love is from Iyanna who helps you price out your offerings – so useful!

12 // Resource library

Do you find yourself having a hard time choosing a lead magnet? Well, I’m happy to say you don’t have to! If you want to create multiple resources that I’ve listed here, think about creating a private library for subscribers. It’s best to keep your library password-protected so it feels exclusive. #VIPstatus

Another great thing about creating a resource library is that all of your content can be accessed in one place, meaning your subscribers don’t have to opt-in in different areas of your website to download, watch, or listen to what they want.

The best libraries are those that are frequently updated and well-stocked so while this may take some time to build up, it’s a great opt-in for your general email form.

Examples: I’ve always admired how well-stocked Melyssa Griffin’s resource library is with all kinds of resources on different subjects throughout her years of transition. My friend Melanie of My Billie Designs also has a resource library full of out-of-this-world branding and graphic design resources.

I hope these lead magnet ideas help you build your email list as a creative entrepreneur!

The post 12 Types of Lead Magnets to Attract (and Keep) Email Subscribers: Part Two appeared first on Sindie.

First, what’s a lead magnet?

I’ll tell you!

A lead magnet is just a fancy marketing term that is defined as the offer you’re giving a subscriber for signing up for your email list.

Lead magnets can be placed anywhere on your website. I’ve seen lead magnets in header banners, blog posts (commonly called “content upgrades”), About pages, pop-ups (which aren’t my favorite but I digress)… the list goes on.

Why are so many business owners using lead magnets? Isn’t it a lot of extra work?

Well, yes and no.

It does take extra time and effort to put together lead magnets but it’s for good reason. Here’s a few of them:

• Lead magnets entice subscribers to sign up more than age-old sayings like “sign up for updates”. #yawn
• Lead magnets show that you’re willing to go above and beyond to freely give your subscribers the best, most relevant information you can offer.
• High-quality lead magnets often lead to high-quality experiences, which subscribers love.

Pro tip: You can decrease the amount of time you put into creating lead magnets by going through your blog post archive or old notes and piece together content you’ve already written. When you approach the subject(s) from a fresh perspective, the content is just like new!

When I speak at networking events and conferences about email marketing, I often hear business owners say they don’t offer lead magnets because they’re worried subscribers are only after one thing.

I get it. I started out in that same camp, worried that by giving my audience a freebie, subscribers would take the content and run. And I was right.

Some subscribers were only interested in the one-time download, but most were looking for a way to connect. By not offering lead magnets like my Copy CPR email course or my brand voice style quiz, I could be losing out on a chance to make not only a lasting impression on new visitors but a lasting connection, too.

Let’s talk about the types of lead magnets that can attract AND keep your subscribers engaged. I have a dozen of them below to help you get started as soon as today.

01 // Email course

Email courses are all the rage, especially for business owners who are trying to build a passive income stream for their business. Email courses may sound fancy, but really it’s a simple collection of automated emails that are meant to educate and activate your audience. Think of it like mini blog posts you’re uploading into an email series (called a “sequence” on ConvertKit).

Within all the great educational content, you can also add in soft and hard pitches for your main call-to-action, whether that’s to purchase your paid course, workshop, ebook, or even give a nod to your services.

I love using ConvertKit, my email service provider, to automate these email courses so after I write and upload all of the content, I’m done. It’s as simple as pressing the “publish” button!

Examples: Last month, I launched my Copy CPR email course to help entrepreneurs write the copy on their websites, but here are two others I love: Claire Dobson’s Instagram Secrets course and Anung Vilay’s Getting to Your No course (okay, I’m a little biased since I was the ghostwriter behind both of these courses, but it still counts! *wink*)

02 // Video training

Take your educational content one step further by creating an incredibly helpful video training. Through video, you can share step-by-step tutorials, give a backstage look into your creative process, and allow your audience to connect with the face behind your brand.

If you’re a designer, you could teach lessons on how to pick your color palette, choose the right fonts for your brand, or build an inspiration board using Pinterest. If you’re a photographer, you could teach viewers to find their perfect Instagram filter, take photos with the rule-of-thirds, or choose a flattering outfit for their session. The sky’s the limit so get creative!

If you’re wondering what you should create a video training on, think about what questions you’re commonly asked by subscribers and your social media or blog audience. The best video trainings are those that answer questions people are already asking about!

Examples: Regina of byRegina is constantly creating some of the best video trainings I’ve seen in the blogging industry, but this free 2-hour presentation called Serious Social is seriously awesome.

03 // Interactive quiz

This lead magnet has been my most successful lead magnet EVER, and I’ve tried quite a few lead magnet types. Why? I think it’s partly because everyone loves a good Buzzfeed-style quiz and because it helps visitors feel like you truly understand them.

I use Interact Quizzes for my lead magnet and cannot recommend their platform enough, especially since it automatically adds all subscribers into segmentations in ConvertKit. #swoon

I was able to get my quiz, along with all of the personalized email series for each quiz personality, up and running in about 6 hours. It was the biggest hit of my relaunch last month!

Example: You know what’s coming next. *wink* Feel free to test out the Interact platform and start brainstorming with what you can do with interactive quizzes by taking my own on Finding Your Brand Voice Style. Fun, right?

04 // Ebook

When most business owners think about creating a lead magnet, the first form to come to mind is usually an ebook. While it may seem like ebooks have been around forever, I’ve seen a few entrepreneurs use them in really genius ways.

The freedom of an ebook is what makes it special. You could create an ebook on lessons you’ve learned in your industry, how-to’s, personal storytelling on your experiences, roundup advice from other entrepreneurs, or tips on just about any subject.

If you naturally feel confident with writing or feel like you have a bigger story to tell, an ebook may be a great lead magnet for you. Start with writing the content and then bring the same amount of intention into your ebook design.

Example: I wrote an ebook lead magnet for my previous homepage called Blog to Biz on 20 lessons I learned from, you guessed it, using my blog to create a full-time business. Another example I love is from A Branch of Holly who took this a step further and created a digital magazine, Blogging Breakthrough, for her subscribers.

05 // Email challenge

An email challenge is the sister of an email course, meaning it has a similar format but the action is a bit different. Instead of solely educating your subscriber as you would in an email course, you’re also inspiring them to take action with a challenge.

“Challenge” is an action word, meaning the word alone inspires subscribers to sign up and opt-in before you even explain what it is. Can you tell I love me some copywriting magic?

What about the length of an email challenge, you ask? I usually recommend no more than 7-8 prompts because when challenges are too long, participation drops significantly, which then leads to more unsubscribes. #TheMoreYouKnow

Example: There are many email challenges out there but here are a few from people I love: Allyssa Barnes’ 7 Day Blog Boost challenge, Jess Creative’s 5 Day Amp Up Your WordPress challenge, and Erika Madden’s 21 Day Brand Impressions Detox challenge. That’ll keep you busy!

The post 12 Types of Lead Magnets to Attract (and Keep) Email Subscribers: Part One appeared first on Sindie.

*cue the confetti*

I’ve been dreaming about taking a solid week off from work to do nothing but create away from technology. Let’s face it, creating for the sake of creating can be hard to fit into your everyday life, especially as a full-time business owner. I have a few exciting business projects coming up and just wrapped up some freelance projects so it’s the perfect time to fit in a retreat.

Here are a few signs that you may need a creative retreat too:

You are feeling drained from being on technology 24/7

This was a BIG indicator for me. Even before I was working on my business full-time, I found myself glued to my phone and laptop at all times whether it was to tweet for an agency client or on behalf of my personal brand. Having a job in social media can be so rewarding, don’t get me wrong, but it can also be very draining. Every once in a while, we need some time away from our devices.

Your self-care has been put to the back burner

We’re all busy but we should never be too busy to refuel ourselves. The kicker is I used to be awesome at self-care back in college. I knew my love languages, I knew what passion projects I wanted to devote my extra free time to, and I rewarded myself with something I loved every day (which was usually hot chocolate). It wasn’t until I did a recent podcast interview on the subject that I realized just how bad I was at prioritizing self-care now that I run a full-time business. I’m hoping this retreat will help me get back on track.

Your creativity is feeling stifled in your day-to-day routine

This is arguably the worst feeling of all. When you’re building a brand online, you can’t afford to lose sight of your creativity. It starts to affect every part of your creative process and not in a good way. I’ve always been passionate about pursuing passion projects unrelated to my brand and business so I need to reprioritize this now that I’m about 3 months into self-employment.

Maybe you’re like me and are ready to block off some time to take a creative retreat. The great thing is you get to set all of the variables like its length. I thought a 5-day week would be the perfect start for me with the flexibility to extend it 2 days into the weekend if I so choose. For you, it may be a whole month or maybe a long weekend. Whatever it is, choose what’s right for you, your creative process, and your schedule.

Let’s talk about how to actually plan your at-home creative retreat.

Because you’re not going on a vacation somewhere, it can be easy to “cheat” and return back to your everyday routine because you’re not drastically changing your creative environment but we’re not going to let that happen.

Here’s how to plan for a successful at-home creative retreat:

Set boundaries for yourself during your week off

Much of the success of your retreat will be determined on how closely you follow your boundaries. That’s why it is helpful to write them down. Of course, there will exceptions to some boundaries so they must be well-thought out and intentional. Otherwise, you’ll see your boundaries start to crumble and you won’t get as much out of your creative retreat.

My boundaries: 

• I cannot log into any social media for any reason.
• I must create an auto-responder for my email inbox so I won’t convince myself I need to check it (which I would totally convince myself I need to do…)
• I can’t access any app on my phone except my Messages, Alarm, Weather, Maps, Podcast, and Phone apps.
• Ebooks from the library are cool but I can only read the physical books I already own.
• No streaming TV shows which means no binge-watching episodes of HIMYM, The Office, or Parks and Rec which you’ve seen 4-5 times, Kayla. (note to self)
• I must cancel the #createlounge chat as my form of self-care for the week.

My exceptions:

• I can stream music through Spotify because I don’t want to live without listening to music for a week!
• I can watch any of my 3 favorite movies (500 Days of Summer, Little Miss Sunshine, and Clueless) but ONLY while I create something with my hands.
• I can use the camera on my phone to take photos but may not upload them anywhere for any reason until after the retreat.
• I can briefly log onto the internet to upload my #createlounge podcast interview and publish the already formatted blog post.

Make a list of all the things you’ve been meaning to do

Now, this is the fun part! Before starting your creative retreat, it’s good to have an idea of some of the things you’d like to do during it. While you may not have time to get to all of them, you’ll never have the “I’m bored” excuse.

• Go read at a local coffeeshop
• Paint on canvas
• DIY projects I have been pinning for years
• Visit the library and check out some new books
• Create a mini succulent garden
• Write poetry by the lake or the pool
• Go to Minnehaha Falls alone and write in my journal
• Revisit The Desire Map
• Learn how to use my typewriter
• Shopping trip for home decor and client gifts at Mall of America

Decide on things you want to do every day of the retreat

Most of these things are what I want to fit into my daily routine so this retreat is almost a trial-run.

• Read scripture right away in the morning over breakfast.
• Write and reflect in my prayer journal every morning.
• Spend lunch away from any texts, books, journals, anything.
• Hand-cook at least one meal a day (and I’m loose with the term hand-cook!)
• Listen to a sermon podcast in the evening or while I make and eat dinner.
• Write in my vision journal every night before bed.
• Read at least 50 pages before bed.

Block off days to blend your creative projects

Now it’s time to start planning a loose schedule of what you want to do when. I knew that some days I wanted to be totally chill and around my apartment and others I wanted to be out and about whether that’s to explore, shop, or gather inspiration.

I also decided to block off days and times to meet up with friends. If you decide you want your creative retreat to be totally solo, that’s fine too. While I decided to make some plans with friends, I wanted to make sure it didn’t take away from the time I wanted to spend creating on my own too.

Monday: Shopping day at Mall of America and around Minneapolis, end the day by going to my bible study

Tuesday: Go to a nearby library to check out some books, shop mid-morning for art supplies, paint and try some DIY projects, go to Minnehaha Falls, end the day with going for a motorcycle ride (bucket list item #1!)

Wednesday: Spend the whole morning and afternoon on creating anything and everything with my hands, end the day with a local #createlounge meetup

Thursday: Go to the lake in the morning with some local business owner friends, write by the pool at my apartment and take a nice nap, end the day with paddle boarding with Jenna (bucket list item #2!)

Friday: Minimize some of my apartment belongings and start organizing (with many solo dance parties in between), go to a coffeeshop to read in the afternoon, spend the night relaxing (candles, painting nails, facial, all the pampering stuff)

Weekend: Travel home to spend time with my family, help with landscaping and planting, do any extra DIY projects that make sense

The post Crafting an At-Home Creative Retreat appeared first on Sindie.

I’ve tried many forms of journaling including bullet journaling, dream journaling, travel journaling, daily logging, and dozens more but nothing has helped me as much as my vision journaling practice.

What is a vision journal?

Essentially, it’s a journal you create in order to clarify your vision for your brand, business, passion projects, and life. It helps you set intentions and keep track of your goals so you can break them down into daily action steps.

I’ve been vision journaling consistently for almost 3 years and throughout all of my transitions, it’s been the one thing I’ve kept as a part of my creative process. It mixes some of my favorite journaling techniques with unique prompts I create to fit each area of my life I want to gain clarity in.

I first created these prompts to help myself get closer to my dreamy vision but after sharing some of my progress on Instagram, people were so interested that I’ve decided to talk about it in more depth here.

How can a vision journal help you?

Hold you accountable to your bigger vision

Part of the magic of vision journaling is that once you’ve written something down, it stays on the page as well as on your mind. It keeps you accountable for completing each action step, much like a to-do list. It can almost act as an accountability buddy (but get a human one too because they’re wonderful!)

Assess your strengths and weaknesses

You may have been taught otherwise but your weaknesses aren’t a bad thing.  They actually help you better discover your strengths and cultivate your natural gifts. Why spend mental energy on the things that don’t light you up or make you feel creative and brilliant? Vision journaling will help you focus on what you’re truly great at so you can harness your full potential.

Remember your wins, no matter how small

When is the last time you sat down and thought about all of the things you’ve accomplished this month or maybe even this year? When you’re constantly striving to hit your next goal, it can be easy to lose sight of all the progress you’ve made. Having the progress documented in a vision journal can help you remember how far you’ve come.

How can you use a vision journal?

Set your intentions

At the start of every new month, I sit down with my vision journal and set my overarching goals for the next few weeks. Some prefer to do this on a weekly or even daily basis, but monthly works best for me.

I also like to choose a word for the month to guide all of my actions, almost like how others choose a word for the year. This allows me to have periods of rest, hustle, and anything in between. It helps remind you of your commitments and the boundaries you’ve set for yourself.

When I go deeper as to why I’m choosing each goal, it helps me set an intention. What do I hope to accomplish? What does this look like in regards to my creative process? How do I want to feel? Digging deep will help you discover the ‘why’ behind every ‘what’.

Create a yes/no list

Once you’ve set your intentions, you can move onto creating a yes/no list for the timeline you’ve chosen. This is by no means a new concept, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful.

Start by creating a simple two-column chart on a piece of paper in your vision journal. Label one side as ‘Yes’ and the other as ‘No’. Gradually fill in each column using bullet points. Then when a new opportunity comes along, you’ll be able to filter it through your yes/no list.

For example, if a business owner reached out to you about collaborating on a joint venture webinar but on your yes/no list you wrote that you wanted to focus your energy on creating your upcoming ebook, it may not be a good fit with your intentions. Instead, ask the potential collaborator if there’s an opportunity in the next few months to team up. The hardest part isn’t making the yes/no list, but sticking to it.

Work through something you’re struggling with

As creatives, we all battle an array of fears: doubt, failure, comparison, competition, shame, the list goes on. Rather than hiding from them, face it head on and work through it to get at its core. Once you get at the heart of the issue, you can overcome the fear.

Start by listing all of the questions that little voice in your head keeps asking you. Work through each question and decide whether it’s worth considering or if it’s irrelevant. Some questions may lead you to bigger “ah-ha” moments.

Determine your next steps

When growing your brand, have you ever felt overwhelmed with options? It can feel like there are so many paths to take but how do you know which one to take? Map them out in your vision journal!

When faced with a game-changing decision, I often make a new column for each path and write all of the elements. This means what taking that path could look like, what I like about it, what I dislike about it, and where it could potentially lead to. Seeing it all laid out can help you make a better decision that’s more aligned with your intentions and thus your vision.

The post A Complete Guide to Vision Journaling appeared first on Sindie.

The start of the new year often signals the chance to revisit your content strategy. In doing so, you’ll naturally want to know what’s been working and what hasn’t.

We may think we know what our audience wants, but without asking first, it’s possible to miss the mark completely. I have gained SO much humility from my audience’s feedback.

Story-time!

Not quite a year ago, I was contemplating taking my first step into monetization with an ebook. Writing is my first love so it just made sense, right?

As I was planning on topics for the ebook, I was dead-set on writing about the step-by-step process of a personal rebrand. I had done three rebrands in my first year of blogging (that’s a whole other story for another day) so I figured that’s what everyone knew me for.

Just to make sure, I asked my audience on Twitter with an open-ended tweet to vote for the topic of my first ebook by replying to my tweet. I gave them the option of (a) a Step-by-Step Rebranding Guide or (b) a Content Strategy Outline.

The results were laughable. I had a total of 75 people answer my question. Out of those 75, only three (I repeat, ONLY THREE) said they’d rather have the rebranding guide. Gulp. I didn’t know my audience’s needs as much as I thought I did. I took this as a huge learning experience.

Even when we are highly connected to our audience, it’s still important to regularly ASK what they need. Otherwise, you’ll end up making assumptions like I almost did which could have cost time and energy in products and services your audience doesn’t really need.

Regularly asking your audience what they like (and aren’t such a fan of) can help you create better content with their needs in mind. It’s as simple as knowing how and where to ask.

Ask a question in your blog post

This may be one of the most simple ways to survey your audience. Your reader is already on your website reading through your blog post. It makes sense then to introduce a CTA (aka “call to action”) to invite your readers to give their opinions in the comment section. You’ll be able to get real, transparent answers from people who actually read and adore your content. Neato.

Ask a question in your newsletter

If you asked a question on your blog post, kick it up a notch by asking your subscribers too. People who are on your mailing list are even more invested in you because they’ve given you permission to show up regularly in their inbox. They also will most likely fit your target audience so you’ll receive more relevant feedback.

You don’t need to have a certain number of subscribers to send a survey. I remember sending a short survey on my newsletter structure back when I had around 200 subscribers and still got a few dozen replies. Send it out and see what happens!

Reader survey

Chances are most of us have answered a few blog reader surveys from other bloggers. It’s fairly common to give a reader survey to your audience on your blog anniversary or at the start of a new year (hello, 2016!), but that’s not the only time you can utilize them.

You can quickly whip up a survey and send it out to your subscribers or post it on your blog. I highly recommend Typeform for creating clean and streamlined surveys, but SurveyMonkey and Gravity Forms do the trick too.

Try to keep your survey questions brief and to-the-point. I’ve found the ideal length of a survey is around 4-6 questions, some open-ended and others with multiple-choice options. Test different formats and find your sweet spot.

Create a Twitter poll

Twitter polls are great if you want to anonymously poll your audience on one question. You can give your Twitter followers anywhere between two to four options to choose from. They simply click their answer and they’re done! It also shows you instant results and how many people have voted so far. Caution: they are highly addictive!

Ask a question on Instagram

Are you a highly visual brand with a large portion of your audience on Instagram? Meet them where they are and ask your question on the platform. Pair it with a striking photo and be sure to reply back to everyone who answers. You can even take a step further and host an Instagram Q+A.

Ask a question in Facebook group

Facebook groups are arguably one of the best places to ask a question if you want a general consensus from like-minded people. If you’re looking for some creativepreneur Facebook groups to join, here are some of my favorites.

Your question can either be open-ended, which you see most often, or you can create your own poll if it’s more of a quick multiple-choice question. To do so, you can locate the Facebook group and click the ‘Create Poll’ tab. Then write your question, input your options, and post it. Easy!

Before posting your question, do read the group’s rules to be sure it fits within the community guidelines. Also, don’t ask your question in *every* Facebook group in your industry. Pick one or two for intentionality.

Ask a question on Periscope

With the recent rise of Periscope, it has become the perfect place to survey your audience for real-time answers. While on a live broadcast, you’re able to not only read but also respond to your audience’s comments. Viewers come into live broadcasts ready to participate so it’s a great place for interaction. If you’re interested in building your Periscope audience, an informal survey may be the trick.

Don’t forget the follow-up!

When your audience members take the time to answer your survey question(s), say thank you with a personalized message. It could be as short as a quick tweet or if it’s a longer survey, an email or even a handwritten note goes a long way. If the survey is anonymous, a simple, blanket “thank you to those who contributed” post on whatever platform you asked your question(s) on will do the trick.

The post 7 Ways to Survey Your Audience appeared first on Sindie.