Tag: entrepreneur

Discernment/

Protecting Your Vision

Every year I look forward to creating my own vision board and even attending vision board parties if there are any. Those can be so much fun and enlightening to say the least. One year, I attended one of those parties. I was so excited to share with a small group of like-minded women of my short-term/long-term goals and hopes.

When it was my turn to share, you can tell the excitement of how big I smiled. I was so hopeful. You just had to be there.

After sharing with them my vision board, unexpectedly, I got a laugh and a scuff. Two reactions I did not see coming. I was told I was unrealistic, and my focus should be about my husband. Here is my disclaimer before I go any further. I love being married. My goals would include the one I love and those who mean so much to me. My goals also are about how I can obtain the purpose God has given to me. No paper or poster can really say that. Our purpose in life is like an unfolding mystery. God reveals this to us in due time. Relationship with God reveals purpose alone.

Back to my story. Doubt was cast and even the laughter made me feel pretty low. My hopes to become a mom and a social worker, among other aspirations, were somehow unattainable because of their doubt. But here’s what I gained from my experience:

1. Everyone cannot handle the vision God gave you.

2. Everyone is not for you.

3. The vision God gave you is for you, and doesn’t involve the haters, doubters and naysayers.

4. In this situation, it may have been premature to share what I have been praying for in private.

Although I felt the doubt temporarily, I prayed to God and also spoke to my husband about what I saw for my life. I knew my goals were not going to be achieved in a year. I have faith but I am also have wisdom. It came to a point where I had to decide between believing God or believing someone who isn’t omnipotent. To alleviate my fears and worries, I gave it back to Him; the Author and Finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2)

I share my story to say, know the difference between what is true and what is false. What God has showed you is what is true. Protect your vision.

Nehemiah also protected the vision God gave to him as he set off to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He told no one what God placed on his heart to do (Nehemiah 2:12). Sometimes we need to take a page from the prophet’s book and hold on to what God gave us. There is a season for everything and what God has plan to come to pass will happen in due time.

If God has given you a vision for your business, make a plan. Write it out. Pray to God first and then move accordingly.

Rachel

Self-Care/

What Does the Bible Say about Balance? And What Does It Mean for The Virtuous Creative?

Hello Virtuous Creatives! I’m back to share words of wisdom and encouragement as you journey in your business life, home life, and your spiritual life. We often try to compartmentalize them in their place (business, personal and spiritual) and sometimes forget to include God in all those areas. For entrepreneurs, there is often a struggle to maintain a healthy work/life balance. Working all day is somehow rewarded or seen as the goal. But what happens when it affects you physically and even spiritually?

Balance is the recurring theme that we speak on often on social media and in conversation with our girlfriends. Why? Because there is power in having balance. The art of balance ultimately falls on prioritizing and using wisdom. Creating balance in life can be challenging, but it is essential for spiritual growth and our overall well-being. God is concerned with you wholistically, for it says in 3 John 1:2 (ESV), “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. He’s concerned about us. God has already laid out plans for each of us specifically. We must hold fast to that truth.

When I think of the word balance, the pan balance comes to mind. Placing too much on one side can take you off balance, leaving the opposite end depleted. Someone once shared with me that ” Sometimes we think balance is categorizing and breaking things up when sometimes it’s getting rid of things”. There often come moments as an entrepreneur when you need to step back, evaluate the priorities that are pulling you in different directions, and determine if they align with your goals. Balance looks different in every season of our lives. What holds the most weight in terms of our priorities?

One of my favorite scriptures of the bible has to be Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV) I am so encouraged when I remember this scripture in moments of discouragement. It quickens my spirit instantly; As the Word should. It is so easy to apply this particular scripture to our many situations but in context, Paul is not saying that “Rachel can do all the things, she puts her mind to.” 

Empowering but not applicable.

We are not called to do “all the things” my dear sisters. We are called to do the thing He has assigned us to do. We all have a purpose and a calling. The work we do can also divinely intertwine with our calling. I discovered my spiritual gifts often overlap with my work as a social worker and an entrepreneur. There is a necessity to find a balance between the two. I cannot do all the things and expect to be successful. I can feel myself going off balance just thinking about it! We are called to seek His Kingdom first and His righteousness first (Matthew 6:33) . For context, read the prior verse. And it says, “for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things”. Seek God’s wisdom first and ask Him to guide you as you prioritize in the season you are in.

Holding tight to that scripture, also consider these tips to create balance in your current season of life.

  • Prioritize your relationship with God: Spend time in prayer and Bible study to nurture your faith and stay connected to God.
  • Take care of your physical health: Exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, and get enough sleep to ensure your body is healthy and strong.
  • Build your community: Surround yourself with supportive friends and family who share your values and beliefs.
  • Manage your time wisely: Set priorities, create schedules, and learn to say no to activities that don’t align with your values and goals.
  • Find joy in hobbies and interests: Pursue activities that bring you joy and help you relax, such as reading, gardening, or playing music.
  • Set boundaries: Create clear boundaries between work and personal time. Establish specific work hours and avoid checking emails or taking work calls outside of those hours.

Rachel 



Mental Wellness/

You’re Human – Please Don’t Be Hard on Yourself

There are many tasks to manage almost every day. Deadlines. Assignments. Projects. Emergencies. etc….

With time moving so quickly, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done and also take care of ourselves. This can cause us to neglect ourselves and also have our work fall behind. This isn’t something our creative souls should be vulnerable to.

As creatives, we like to grow, thrive, discover, and maintain peace. This is where we flourish and find delight in our successes and impacts. But what happens if we begin to struggle maintaining these elements inside of ourselves? Our creative spark can begin to fade.

With many expectations in society, it seems that our soulful light is always trying to be dimmed. We are given many unrealistic rules and expectations that it can feel like no matter how hard we try; it never seems to be good enough. When our light is diminished, darkness can seep through. This is where pressure comes through in these kinds of situations and depths. Many of us tend to internalize what we are going through as well until the point where we can’t take it anymore. This will lead us to not feel good about ourselves or the work that we create. These negative thoughts then become more and more difficult to control and can cause us to hit rock bottom.

Creative, if this is you, there is hope. There is a way to reach the surface and see the sun again for the only way to go from here is up.

Jesus offers us comfort through God in Matthew 11: 28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find reset for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” These words are comforting as the loyalty from Jesus was pure and true. No matter how disrespected, ridiculed, or tormented Jesus was, he remained loyal and faithful to God, and he is to us as well. Therefore, do not be afraid to seek out comfort from God and lead by the example of Jesus because who we are and what we do are more than enough to them.

So please don’t be hard on yourself, creative. It is essential to remember that what society declares is not what God declares. When we are strong and when we love ourselves, that is when we can create works of art and accomplish our creative goals. When we feel good and encourage ourselves positively then our light will be ignited and will radiate from us.

We will rise above the deep depths of darkness and onto a beautiful surface of opportunity. And in order to do this, all we have to do is try our best. If you are trying your best, then you are already doing enough. We must do what we are able to and accept what we can do so that when we begin our next project, we will continue to rise and not fall.

Personal Growth/

How to Break Through the Creative Wall with Grace

How often do you find yourself questioning the path of your creative journey? Ever wondered how your unique approach to creation aligns with your faith and life as a Christian woman entrepreneur?

As creatives we must learn to trust the process of creating. Whatever form our creativity takes, there is a process. I think that is one of the hardest aspects I have been learning. For me, I have noticed three distinct patterns:

1. At times, the inspiration hits fast and hard. The vision of the project appears along with the specific ideas to complete it – a story, a song, an article, a book, whatever our medium. It unfolds effortlessly and very quickly. While this may sound like what we prefer, it’s not often the most common avenue (at least not in my experience).

2. Other times ideas start to flow like a steady stream – not all at once, but still a nice pace where we can develop our thread of ideas. While not all immediate, the work comes at a pace allowing us to fall into a comfortable rhythm.

3. The third pattern I have noticed with myself is probably my least favorite. This involves getting the big idea and nothing else. We may even visualize the completed project but have no idea how to maneuver from point A to the end. While we may have a clear idea of what it’s supposed to look like, we struggle to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

When we feel we’re not moving, we’re growing. Let’s trust in His plan, His process, and our God-given talents.

I think the third pattern I mentioned can be the most difficult to endure, but it often brings the most personal growth. Doubts about the vision and calling speak louder than the inspiration of ideas. Often in this valley, the project dies because we succumb to the temptation to give up. This is when we dig our heels in and persevere. We must learn the discipline of consistency and be steadfast in our determination to see the work through to completion.

Remember as creatives, we actually serve the work – as collaborators, trusting the Master Creator and using our God-given gifts as He designed us to use them. So, whether the ideas hit like lightening, or we find ourselves plodding along, it all comes from God. When we seek Him in all that we do, the work will be done in His time and serve the purposes He ordained. Both the process and the completed work often look vastly different from what we originally conceived.

One of the verses I always think about when I am not sure how to move forward with the work comes from Phil 1:5-6 ESV:

“…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Through every business challenge, every creative block, He is with us.

Not every piece we write, or every song we compose, or video we produce, will be our best masterpiece. But we must be disciplined enough to show up consistently for the work. The alternative is not something we want. Once we are an artist of any kind, we are always an artist. And if we are a creative who ceases to create, we lose a crucial part of who God created us to be.

We are left with a void because we stop acknowledging a vital part of who we are along with that aspect of our connection with the God. So, even amid the difficulties, find a way to stay open to that part of who you are. Stay faithful to the work of collaborating with God – in whatever form that takes for you. Trust Him to lead you through the process.

Branding/

How to Create Content with Confidence

You’ve probably heard the marketing gurus talk on social media about the power of content creation – which is the behind the scenes work every entrepreneur or blogger does to help define who they are to what they do.

It’s all the rage these days, and for a good reason! But let’s be real, it can also feel super overwhelming with all the information out there.

I’m sure you even took a deep breath before clicking on this article. For one, deep down inside you know that you want to muster up the confidence to create compelling content for potential clients or customers.

Afterall, it’s part of the foundation that gives your brand a unique identity and voice. For instance, think about your favorite Instagram pages. What’s your immediate thought? How do the color schemes speak to you? Carousels? Reels? All of these were produced with intention though the creative process of content creation.

Now, although the process of creating is different for all of us, the methods are quite similar. I often think about ways to engage a potential customer/client, but I know that’s not all it is to it when creating content. Creating content with confidence goes beyond the end goal. There are the in between processes you have to take into consideration. I love being intentional about what I produce. Staying true to my faith is important so I’m mindful of trends as well.

And personally, I’m most authentic when I share details in content that’s encouraging or inspiring, entertaining and informational that will benefit one of my customers or followers. As for confidence? Well, my confidence to create content grew over time. Initially, I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. I know in my heart that I wanted to make sure whatever I shared on a social media platform wasn’t stuffy but relatable.

So, as a Virtuous Creative in business, how do you come to the place of creating content with confidence? Well for one, you should always be lead with prayer before action. And by the way, you don’t have to wait as long as I did to create content in your business.

Confidence comes from within. Know that God has equipped you with everything you need to succeed. So, trust in His plan, believe in yourself, and let that your confidence shine through in every piece of content you create.

Start with prayer. Once you take that first step, the Lord will guide you. In addition to prayer, consider the following tips that I’ve learn overtime from my own personal journey:

Know your brand identity – Your brand identity is the visible element of your business. This includes name, logo, colors and design. When you know your identity, the vision for your brand will come quite easy.

Make a plan – Schedule time to brainstorm and jot down ideas. Sometimes we find inspiration from other platforms like Pinterest and Tumblr. Make a plan to create content that will help convey your brand’s voice and vision.

Try it out – Use wisdom when trying out different methods. Every trend is not meant for you. If there is something that you have researched that sparks your interest and aligns with your vision, try it out. We sometimes receive good feedback but do not feel discouraged if you do not receive the outcome you hoped for. Do it scared and do it brave. Don’t be afraid to create your own trend.

Be consistent – Consistency goes hand and hand with making a plan. Scheduling time helps with being consistent also. The goal of consistency will show your community that you are trustworthy and you that you are serious about your brand and business.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Take risks, try new things, and push those boundaries. Remember, growth happens when you dare to be bold. You never know what incredible opportunities might come your way!

Content creation is your labor, your work of heart that should not be in vain. Yes, it can feel overwhelming at times, but remember, each step you take is a seed planted in the fertile soil of your brand’s growth. Every piece of content you create is a testament to your journey, your faith, and your brand.

Look, the journey of content creation is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a process of discovery, of finding your voice in this noisy digital world and staying true to your faith. Like the Apostle Paul wrote in Corinthians, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

So, start now. Don’t wait another day to let your voice be heard. Your audience is waiting to connect with your brand’s amazing products or services. And guess what? The world needs the unique light that only you can shine.

Entrepreneurship/

Grace Over Guilt: 12 Questions to Help You Keep Boundaries in Business

When I started my copywriting and brand storytelling business, I wasn’t great at setting or maintaining boundaries. I’d let people book meetings with me at any time during the week and I’d find myself working on tasks that weren’t initially part of our agreement. But over time, I learned the importance of guarding my calendar, making sure that everyone stuck to the outlined scope of work – and that my communication methods were clearly understood.

These days, any meetings on my calendar can only be on Tuesday-Thursday between the hours of 11-5. Why? Because I need my mornings to focus on my best writing and strategy work. And let’s be real, who likes Monday meetings anyway? As for Fridays, I like to reserve those for working on my marketing content and admin tasks for my business, online magazine, and personal brand.

Entrepreneurship can be challenging, but it’s even more difficult without healthy boundaries. Trust in God’s plan for your business and prioritize your well-being along the way.

Now, setting boundaries isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to guilt. And if you’re a people-pleaser, it’s natural to feel guilty when saying no or setting boundaries. However, it’s important to let go of those feelings and remember that you’re not being selfish, you’re prioritizing your own needs. This is exactly why I want to help you get through this with these questions. I’d highly recommend grabbing a notebook to journal out the answers.

Inviting the Holy Spirit your boundary-setting process

  • What does it mean for you to invite the Holy Spirit into your work as an entrepreneur?
  • How do you currently incorporate prayer and discernment into your business decisions?
  • In what ways do you feel the Holy Spirit has already guided you in your business, and how can you lean on that guidance in your boundary-setting process?
  • What specific boundaries do you need to set right now, and how can you ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern what those boundaries should be?

Letting go of guilt 

  • Have you ever received pushback from clients or team members when setting boundaries in your business?
  • What specific boundaries did you set that made you feel guilty, and why?
  • How did those guilty feelings impact your sense of self-worth, and what truths from the Bible can you draw on to counteract those feelings?
  • What steps can you take to let go of guilt when setting boundaries in the future?

Prioritizing rest in your business 

  • What does rest look like for you, and how can you include more rest into your daily and weekly routines?
  • What specific boundaries do you need to set to prioritize rest, such as scheduling regular days off or setting boundaries around work hours?
  • What tasks or responsibilities can you delegate or outsource to make more time for rest?
  • How can you communicate your boundaries around rest to your clients or team members, and how can you reinforce those boundaries when they’re challenged?

Don’t let the fear of disappointing others keep you from setting boundaries in your business. Your time and energy are precious, and you deserve to use them in ways that bring you joy and fulfillment!

Hopefully, these questions are helpful for you to reflect on. And listen, please note that you’re having boundaries isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength and self-care. Also, remember that it’s not a one-time event.

Setting and maintaining boundaries takes practice, patience, and self-awareness to establish and maintain healthy boundaries in your business. And get this? When you prioritize your own well-being, you’ll be better equipped to serve others and make an impact with the gifts God has given you.

Entrepreneurship/

5 Ways to Overcome Challenges in Your Entrepreneurial Journey

As women of faith, we know the power of relying on our Lord and Savior to guide us in our journey. But even with the support of our faith, it’s easy to feel discouraged and overwhelmed when faced with challenges and setbacks in our entrepreneurial journey. That’s why it’s important to build resilience – the ability to recover quickly from difficulties and bounce back stronger.

Here are some practical tips to help you build resilience and overcome challenges in your entrepreneurial journey:

Lean on your faith. The foundation of resilience is having a strong faith and trust in God. Make time every day to connect with your faith through reading scripture, prayer, and surround yourself with supportive people who will lift you up and encourage you.

Celebrate your wins. No matter how small, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments. This will help boost your confidence and motivation and give you the strength to keep pushing forward.

Focus on gratitude. When we focus on the blessings in our lives, it helps us shift our perspective away from negative thoughts and situations. Take time each day to reflect on the things you’re thankful for and express gratitude.

Seek support. Building resilience is easier when you have a supportive community. Consider seeking out a mentor or accountability partner who can offer guidance, support, and encouragement. Surround yourself with people who will lift you up and cheer you on.

Take care of yourself. Resilience requires a strong mind and body, so it’s important to prioritize self-care. Make sure you’re taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health by eating well, exercising, taking breaks, and getting enough sleep.

By incorporating these tips into your entrepreneurial journey, you’ll be building resilience and bouncing back from challenges with grace and determination. Remember, with faith, self-care, and a growth mindset, you can overcome anything that comes your way.

Now, keep shining and never give up on your dreams.

Entrepreneurship/

Use These Tips to Create Popping Social Media Captions for Your Brand

As a copywriter and story strategist for my clients – and for my own business, digital magazine, and personal brand, I know one thing to be true. And that’s the fact that compelling captions are a crucial part of your brand’s social media content. The caption is the most important part of the post, because it can make or break what you’re trying to say. Here are some guidelines:

A good idea…

A good idea is one that stands out. As the saying goes, this phrase is more than just a cliché: it’s a rule of thumb. If your caption is a great idea that can’t be found anywhere else online, you’re on track to building trust with your audience and establishing yourself as an authority on whatever topic you’re discussing.

A good idea should also be relevant to the post. If your caption doesn’t fit what’s going on in the picture or video, people may think that it doesn’t fit at all—and they’ll wonder why you’re wasting their time by posting it anyway!

It’s also important to keep captions short but sweet—especially if they include hashtags. You don’t want someone scrolling through their feed only to have their eyes glaze over when they see your caption!

…and a relevant piece of content.

A good caption should be relevant to the image or video you’re posting. Your caption should also help the reader understand what is happening in the image or video.

…written in one of your brand’s voice.

One of the best ways to get your ideal client or customer to engage with your content is by using captions that are written in one of your brand’s voices. Your brand’s voice is a collection of words and phrases that convey the tone, style, and attitude you’d like to portray on social media. It can be as simple as changing up some words here and there, or it could be more strategic by focusing on a specific type of language (e.g., conversational) or even tone (e.g., funny vs serious).

…that’s complete and concise.

A good caption should be complete and concise. If you’re sharing a photo of your family, then just share the photo! Don’t try to force in information about how much you love them or how cute they are. It’s fine to mention that they’re your family, but adding more information is unnecessary and will detract from the message you’re trying to convey.

Also, avoid over-explaining or rambling on with an explanation of what’s happening in the photo—you can say it once back at home base and let people click through if they want more details. Similarly, don’t use too many hashtags or emojis. Their purpose is not so much for conveying meaning as for categorizing content for search engines (and other users)

…that’s consistent with your other posts.

Consistency is key. If your social media posts are all over the place, you’ll confuse your audience and look unprofessional. When writing a caption, it’s important to think about how this particular post fits in with your other posts as well as what kind of tone and style they have.

If you’re posting on a regular basis and want to be consistent with your content, I recommend using a social media calendar or planner so that you don’t accidentally forget an important post or event!

…that is designed to engage your audience.

While it’s important to use your best judgment, there are a few general tips and tricks that will help you write social media captions that are designed to engage your audience:

  • Use a question.
  • Give them something to look forward to.
  • Make them feel something.

…with a hook that provides an incentive or some kind of reward for the reader.

A good social media caption can be the difference between a post that connects with your audience and one that languishes in obscurity. And what makes it so effective? A hook, of course! The right kind of hook—one that grabs your audience’s attention and holds it long enough to read the whole thing—can turn an otherwise unremarkable post into something worth sharing.

What exactly is a hook? It’s basically any reason or incentive for someone to read your blog post: a question, statement, promise or other element of surprise. They don’t have to be complicated; they just need to make you stand out from the crowd by providing something unique about your content.

Good social media captions are original, complete, concise, consistent, engaging, and rewarding.

To be considered a good social media caption, the following must be true:

  • Originality. There are no generic quotes to be found here! Make sure you come up with something original for your caption.

  • Completeness. You want your caption to convey everything necessary in order for it to make sense and be understood by your followers. It should have a beginning, middle and end that flow together seamlessly. If you’re having trouble finding the right words for your post, try writing down what you think would make this particular post perfect before coming up with some captions—this can help guide your thoughts in the right direction!

  • Conciseness and consistency across all platforms (if applicable). The more concise titles/captions are often more engaging because they don’t require scrolling down past several paragraphs before getting back into reading mode again; this means people will spend less time on each individual page but still feel rewarded by what they read there because there was enough detail provided without being overwhelming or boring at all!

There you have it! A few tips for creating captions that will give your content the boost it needs to stand out in social media. Hopefully, this post has given you some ideas and inspiration for your next post or project.

Curious about what I’m learning every week on my creative journey as it relates to faith, self-care, and entrepreneurship?

Click here subscribe to my weekly newsletter, “Letters for the Virtuous Creative.”

Entrepreneurship/

How to Create a Solid Social Media Strategy

I started marketing using social media back in 2014 for my digital magazine, Virtue & Memoirs. These days, in addition to the magazine, I market my copywriting and brand storytelling business Chayil Media Publishing using social media – and I also create social media strategies for clients that I write social media content for. And lastly, I market my personal brand using social media as well.

So where do you start? Well, let’s dig into everything in this blog post.

Pick your platform.

You need to pick your platform, and this step is pretty simple.

Is this a place that aligns with your brand? You want to be where your followers are—and not somewhere else that may or may not be useful for the same purpose.

Follow people and brands that align with your mission

This is a fairly obvious one, but still worth mentioning: follow people who are relevant to your brand. If you have a service-based business, connect with people who are your ideal clients and people who compliment your brand.

For instance, if you’re a website designer, connect with graphic designers. Since, I’m a copywriter and story strategist, I love connecting with website designers who I can possibly collaborate with or refer people to in the future. Additionally, I love connecting to people who are ideal clients.

Understand your audience.

You should know who you are talking to and understand the needs of your audience. Simply put, the content you produce on social media should speak directly to your ideal client or customer. Now, you’re probably wondering, “Danielle, how do I figure this out?”

Well, you simply need to ask questions. A great way to do this is by jumping into Facebook groups to ask questions about what your ideal client or customer is struggling with – or even finding out what they like best when it comes to a problem you solve.

You can also jump into these groups and use the search bar to find out everything you need to know. Type in a keyword associated with what you do and another word like frustrated or struggle. You’ll see quite a few conversations pulled up from your search.

Conduct surveys with customers or prospects. Ask them for feedback about why they follow or engage with certain accounts on social media, what types of posts inspire them to interact with your brand online, etc.

These surveys can be done on sites like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms.

Create an editorial calendar.

The next step is to create an editorial calendar that includes the days and times you will post, as well as the topics you will cover, and images you will use.

Make sure your editorial calendar is in sync with your marketing goals. This will help ensure that your social media strategy aligns with the rest of your brand’s mission.

Now, while it’s important to need to post regularly and consistently, you also need to make sure that what you’re posting is worth sharing. The key is finding the right balance between quantity and quality.

It’s important to have a good mix of different types of content: video, images, carousel posts, etc. This will help you reach an audience across all platforms while remaining relevant at all times.

Track and analyze your results.

Once you’ve put your social media strategy into action, it’s time to evaluate the results. You’ll need to know if your plans are working.

There are several ways to track and analyze performance:

Use analytics tools such as Facebook Insights, Google Analytics, and Twitter Analytics. These tools help you understand how many people are seeing posts on each platform as well as what content is reaching them (and what isn’t).

I personally, use a scheduling tool called Loomly to track and analyze my results.

When you have a solid social media strategy in place, you’ll be able to build authentic relationships with potential clients or customers – and generate sales.

Curious about what I’m learning every week on my creative journey as it relates to faith, self-care, and entrepreneurship?

Click here subscribe to my weekly newsletter, “Letters for the Virtuous Creative.”

Entrepreneurship/

6 Marketing Tips for New Entrepreneurs

Understanding marketing is essential to your success as a new entrepreneur. Marketing is how your target audience finds you. The first thing I ever marketed was my self-published poetry book in 2011. I learned a lot about marketing on social media and through the book’s website – and Amazon. I used that experience – along with my journalism skills to also market my Christian women’s digital magazine “Virtue and Memoirs.”

And these days, I’m still a content creator at heart – marketing Chayil Media Publishing – my copywriting and brand storytelling business, my digital magazine, and my personal brand. Why? Well simply put, without marketing, you won’t gain the exposure to grow a sustainable brand or business.

Marketing is how you gain the trust of your target audience by showing, telling, and proving that your products, services, or business are there to support them.

Danielle Delaney

The following are six marketing tips every new entrepreneur needs to get started right.

Focus On Building Relationships with Your Target Audience First

Before you sell to your audience right away, learn to build a strong relationship first. In other words, the freer value you provide in the long run, the stronger the relationship becomes — making it easier to market your products at a later time. By the way, if you want to learn more about what your audience needs from you, don’t be afraid to survey them on social media by asking questions or doing polls.

Share Engaging and Valuable Content

No business today, online or off, can survive without content marketing. Without content, your audience will not understand the type of value you provide. This can be done through blog posts, videos, photos or even sharing user-generated content. And if you’re not familiar with user-generated content – It’s content that’s shared on social media by one of your customers or clients promoting your brand. You can easily reshare this content with your followers.

Don’t Skip Email Marketing

Emails offer the highest return on investment compared to all other online marketing strategies. There is a myth that email marketing is dead, but this is far from the truth, with nearly three hundred billion emails being sent around the world today. Email marketing is powerful because you don’t have to battle with the algorithms of the world.

Set Up a Business Blog

A blog on your website is a great way to have sole ownership of what you share and sell to your community. If a specific social media platform disappears, you won’t reach them. However, you know this won’t happen since you control your blog. Making it easy to share information with your customers or target audience whenever you can.

Use Social Media

You can’t avoid social media. Even just one social media account can skyrocket your reach and exposure as a brand. Did you know that nearly four billion people worldwide use some form of social media? This means your potential to reach your target audience is almost limitless. Find out which platforms your audience hangs out on and jump in with a strategy. However, be careful not to overwhelm yourself. I recommend sticking to 2-3 platforms.

Get Help

Marketing helps you reach certain revenue goals and reach your target audience effectively. Without marketing, it is unlikely your customers will find you very easily. If you need help, try to hire someone who can help you. A few roles that come to mind are social media managers, copywriters, website designers, and brand photographers

Marketing doesn’t need to be complicated. As long as you create content that your target audience needs or wants, you will likely be successful. And of course, don’t forget nailing down a strategy first.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs make mistakes that can hinder their success by ignoring customers’ needs or not taking the time to share your value.

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