BRANDING

1 simple idea that will blow your client’s mind

hot-tip

Think of the last person who emailed you asking for your prices or information.

This person was an interested potential customer, a hot lead, someone worth impressing.

How did that first interaction with them go?

The only question that matters is: DID YOU BLOW THEIR MINDS?

Did they walk away from their first encounter with your business bursting with excitement to work with you?

Or … was the interaction lackluster, and you never heard from them again?

Today I want to give you one idea that you can use to blow your clients’ minds:

branded-pdf

In other words, instead of sending out a boring, old email (as all of your competitors are doing) – why not create a gorgeous, branded PDF for interested potential clients?

It could include pictures of you, product descriptions, testimonials, and a clear description of what they can expect by choosing to move forward and work with you.

You want it to be something that’s going to show them, in a fun and creative way, that you are the right fit for each other!

Because a beautiful PDF is way more exciting than a boring, old email. And your clients deserve to get excited about their new purchase.

 

how-to

If you’re unsure of how to create a PDF, it’s simple!

This is how I do it using a designed jpg, my Mac, and the application, “Preview”:

  1. Create the pages of your PDF using your favorite photo editor (like Photoshop, PicMonkey or Canva)
  2. Save them as JPGs
  3. Turn the JPGs into a PDF using Preview

If you’re unsure of how to do that last step, you’ll be happy to hear that I just made a short tutorial showing exactly how to do it in The Spark Lounge! Woop woop!

Awesome right? So if you’re already an official Sparkler – click here to learn how to do create a PDF in preview using jpg files:

pdf-preview


And if you haven’t joined the new Spark Lounge yet, now’s the time! I’m hosting a LIVE Spark Lounge party in the Facebook Group on the 25th and you don’t want to miss out! So click here to join today:

not-a-member-yet

See? Blowing your client’s mind can be as simple as a branded PDF.

And the best part is that once you create your PDF, you can send it to clients over and over and over again! So once the initial work is done, you’ll be good to go!

I hope this helps 🙂

With love,
xoxo
Alex

IT’S HERE: My new website!

I am SO EXCITED to share this with you today! Welcome to my brand new website! If you’ve been wondering where I’ve disappeared to over the last 2 weeks, you now know!

Here’s the before:

before

 and after: 

after

Before I dive in and explain the “behind-the-scenes” goodness of this post, I want to give you a chance to sift through it and explore it for yourself!

So for now, go explore! And if you have any questions, just leave it in a comment! I’d love to hear from you 😀

Big hugs
xoxo

 

 

3 top tips for email organization

blog-productivity-email-inbox-zero

 

Hey friend,

How’s business going for you this week? I hope you are thriving beyond what you ever imagined possible. And if you’re not quite there yet, I hope you’re hanging onto the hope that you will be soon – and I hope you’re hustling to make it happen for yourself!

The 3 things I’m celebrating this week within my business?
1) I’ve started writing my new book!! EEEK!
2) I’ve started creating “Extra Credit” and “Bonus” content for all of The School of Killer Impressions students!
3) I’ve been taking EXTRA steps to organize my inbox – YES for organization!

Here’s the thing – staying on top of your inbox can be TOUGH. Even though I’m definitely far from perfect, I have adopted a few techniques over my years of being in business that do me a world of good!

Today I’m sharing my top 3 tips for email organization – you are going to LOVE THEM!

Even if you can’t quite manage tip 1 or 2, DEFINITELY make sure you take advantage of tip number 3 – this tip has saved me countless hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours, and it’s seriously a life-saver.

Check out these time-saving email tips for yourself here:

I hope you LOVE this week’s Chatty Tuesday, I can’t wait to hear from you in the comment section – I want to know : do you already use any of these tips? if so, how do they work for you? and if not, which of these tips will you be adopting?

Big hugs
xoxo
Alex

 

Behind the scenes: How I built my brand.

Hey you,

Here’s your mission for the week: examine your brand.

Virgin. Oprah. Apple. Beyonce.

These four brands should spark something inside of you, because their brands are strong and alive.

Now think of the brand that you have created for your small business.

What feelings does it evoke? Does your business have a strong brand? Does it have a brand at all?

Today we are going to dive into the topic of branding. I’m going to give you the largely misunderstood definition of branding, followed by the steps I took to build such a strong brand for my own business and how you can do the same.

Get ready for a heavy dose of bad-ass branding advice to take your brand to the next level:


Don’t forget to leave a comment below! Our community is an inspiring one, a positive one, and a passionate one – and I can’t do it alone, so get involved!

If you’re smart enough to be on my VIP list, you have full access to my exclusive Bonus Material waiting in your inbox. Enjoy!

And if you’re not on the list – hurry to sign up today so you never miss out again!

I hope you have a beautiful Tuesday. One quick note: the five limited edition actions will be expiring on the 1st of March. I know many of you are saving up to make Dress to Impress yours, and if you want the limited edition actions to be yours: it’s now or neverCheck it out here.

Thanks for being awesome, and keep me updated on your quest to a better brand. I want to know what worries or questions you have concerning your brand! Take it to the comment section, baby.

Talk soon!
Big hugs
xoxo
Alex

Is your brand all over the place? Fix it here.

Hey you,

Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying every second of your holiday and that you are spending time with those who you love the most. Christmas is AMAZING so I hope you take a second to appreciate every single person by your side, and I hope you let them know just how much they mean to you. Time is fleeting, and nothing will stay the same forever, so enjoy the moment as it is today, enjoy your family and friends, and soak it up. Oh – and take lots of pictures 😉 haha.

But let’s get to business, shall we? I’ve heard from so many of you who suffer from what I like to call “target market overload”. It basically means that you are trying so hard to attract a variety of different target markets – each of which have different needs, wants and desires. This video will tell you exactly how to overcome “target market overload”. Not only is it going to cover how to overcome “target market overload” but it’s going to drive home a lot of key points that I think so many creative business owners miss. Your brand is your baby. It’s your job to take care of it, and target market overload is like shooting yourself in the foot. Literally.

So grab some hot chocolate, and listen up for your solution to spreading yourself too thin when it comes to picking the right clients:

BAM! And there you have your weekly dose of business goodness. PLUS it’s all wrapped up in a special Christmas special 🙂

“Your brand is the number one most important thing you have when it comes to your business” @alexbeadon

Big hugs
xoxo
Alex

P.S. Big changes are coming to my business, and I’m not sure how much longer these Photoshop Actions are going to be available for you. So if you want them, now’s the time!

Eight exclusive tips on creating an incredibly effective “About Me” page for your blog or website

Hey you,

Ever struggle with your “about me” page? It’s one of the most important parts of your site, and also one of the most difficult. Why? Because there are very few of us who feel 100% comfortable and confident when talking about ourselves. You don’t want to seem as though you are bragging, but simultaneously you want to get across the point that you are awesomely talented and totally worth hiring!

This week’s Chatty Tuesday video is going to give you eight tips to creating an incredible and effective about me page!

If you want to make the most out of this video, join in on the conversation by leaving a comment below.

Do you have any tips for Abby on writing your “about me” page? What struggles, successes or lessons have you learned when it comes to “about me” pages? And if you’re feeling brave – leave a link so that we can check yours out!

I can’t wait to hear from you!
Big hugs
xoxo

The Body Shop VS. Lush >> Let’s Talk Business

Remember the other day when I said my sister and I went for lunch? Well, after we finished up our lovely meals we still had 20 minutes to kill so we decided to walk around Covent Garden. We soon found ourselves in The Body Shop. There were so many products I didn’t even know where to look. I tried on some of the body butter. It was nice. We walked out, not a purchase in hand.

And then my sister suggested we go to Lush – which I said I had never been to before. She was in. shock. that I had never been, so off we went.

As soon as we could see the store – we could smell it. The gorgeous smell carried throughout the surrounding outside areas of the store. Yum.
Pleased Senses? A+.

As soon as we walked in, the staff joined in on the conversation my sister and I were having. We were talking about our pizzas at Pizza Express and how delicious they were, and the woman and man at the front desk joined straight in on our conversation. And not in a creepy way, either. In a cool way. In a “we have known each other for years” way. At first, it shocked me – but they were lovely.
Friendliness? A+

We walked into the shop, down the stairs, and my sister started pointing out all of these products that look NOTHING like what you would expect. Seriously – half of their products look more like desserts than actual shampoos or body butters. I mean, who says shampoo has to come in a bottle? I was hypnotised and I felt like a little girl exploring DisneyLand for the first time.
Product originality? A+

My sister was midway through pointing out a shampoo, Big Liquid Shampoo to be exact, when our friend from the entrance came up to us and said that he was going to let us sample it. “Cool!” I thought to msyelf. Although I didn’t quite know what he meant because we couldn’t exactly wash our hair in the shop, right? That’s when he came up to us with this tub. As in – he gave us a free sample to take home and try out. Me and my sister? Well, we were shocked.
“For free?” I asked. “For free.” he assured me. I couldn’t wait to get home to try out this new shampoo haha!
Going ABOVE and BEYOND for their customers and potential customers? A+

At this point I just want to buy something. No joke. We walked in there just to look around, as we did in The Body Shop, and I had no intention to purchase anything that day. But at this point I’m so in love I simply have to leave with more. I needed to buy my friend a gift, and asked him for his recommendation. He said he had just the thing. He brought me to these gorgeously wrapped boxes and pointed at the one he recommended to me, but also went through the others to help me make sure I was making the right decision.
Customer Service? A+

It’s funny. We went to The Body Shop and spent nothing even though there were loads of products on sale. And ten minutes later found ourselves purchasing from Lush. Similar stores, two very different approaches, and Lush ends up on top because of their originality.

Unsurprisingly I left Lush feeling ten times happier and better than I had when I walked in. Oh, how in love I am with my Lush experience so far. And you know me. I have an obsession with taking my FAVOURITE aspects of other businesses and trying to infuse similar concepts into my own business.

And so, I sit here, pen and paper in hand as I ask myself the following FIVE questions. I dare you to do the same:

1) How can you please the senses of your customers?

2) How can you be extra friendly?

3) How can you package your products in an original, totally unexpected “purple cow“-kinda way?

4)  How can you go above and beyond for both your potential and existing customers?

5) How can you make your customer service something that lifts people’s spirits whenever they are in contact with you and your business?