IttyBiz

This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

Wow.

I really want to give a super cool, ultra-strategic answer to this question. I want to make it sound like I’ve thought long and hard, and that I have an amazing, counterintuitive but revolutionary content strategy that’s rolling in the Benjamins.

The truth is, I don’t.

I don’t blog very often because I don’t have to blog very often. Yes, I’m I the middle of Kris’ 100 Blog Post challenge, but that’s because of an interoffice bet, not because of some valid business reason.

For a long time, blogging was my primary marketing strategy. Even that is poorly said, because blogging was my only marketing strategy. It worked, and I was good at it, so I kept doing it. Most of my clients came from my blog, so I blogged a lot.

At this point, though, I don’t need to do it anymore. Most of my clients come from referral – either from existing clients, or from books we’ve been featured in – so I prioritize strengthening existing client relationships over getting new leads.

Now, how does all of this help you? What should your blogging frequency be?

If I could communicate anything to Jane Q. IttyBiz, it would be this:

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This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

Most coaches and consultants offer specific packages and/or services to their clients, and I think that’s a great idea. Being known for doing a particular thing, or set of things, can make it easy for a prospective client to decide to do business with you.

I, however, have never done that. Which I find kind of funny sometimes, since so many of my clients are coaches. I’m sure more than a few of them have wondered how I get clients without fitting the mold expected of most coaches.

(Answer: Referrals, mostly.)

But I can tell you why I don’t offer packages. For me, and the way I run my business, they’ve never been a comfortable fit, for 4 reasons. Here they are, conveniently categorized in a numbered list.

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This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

In my industry, it’s not uncommon – and sometimes even expected – that training products like online courses and downloadable programs should run in the $1,500 – $2,000 range.

Take one look at my store, and you’ll see that the vast majority of the products I offer cost less than 100 bucks. Even after being in the business for more than 10 years.

Throughout the history of IttyBiz there have been a few higher-priced offerings, but most of the time my products and classes have been fairly inexpensive in comparison to the industry norms.

Sometimes I’ll get asked why I chose this particular business model for IttyBiz. There are a few reasons for this, and I’ll answer them by comparing my particular model to other ones.

As I compare them, though, I’m not remotely implying that my model is better than the ones that other people choose. It’s just the right fit for me.

Here’s why.

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This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

When it comes to the idea of publicly posting rates, the service provider industry is split into two firm camps.

Camp A says that any opportunity to communicate with a prospect should be seized. Therefore, not listing prices encourages a prospect to get in touch. (There’s also a fear that listing prices will scare off prospects, but that’s another issue for another day.)

Camp B says that prices should be transparent because, um, the stuff you buy is supposed to have a price tag. They tend to think that not listing your prices is disrespectful and opaque.

While I don’t agree with the moral component of Camp B, I do share their sentiments as it relates to the prospect’s experience. While you can go either way – there are a lot of people in both camps – here are my reasons for pricing transparency.

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This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

Testimonials are usually approached from the perspective of hard results. Conventional wisdom dictates that if people can see exactly how well a product or service performs, they’ll be more likely to buy it.

I lost X pounds!
I got Y dates!
I scored Z followers!

Conventional wisdom also says that bigger is better. The bigger the results, the bigger the selling power.

Therefore,

• “I lost 120 pounds” is bigger, and therefore better, than “I lost 12.”
• “I got 50 dates” is bigger, and therefore better, than “I got 5.”
• “I scored 100,000 followers” is is bigger, and therefore better, than “I got 192.”

I’ve always taken a different approach in the testimonials I publish, both on the products in my store, and with the coaching that I offer. (There’s one exception, and I’ll tell you about that in a moment.).

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