In This Issue...

- FEATURE ARTICLE: What You Know Can Sell You

- COACHING
- TELECLASSES
- RESOURCE LOUNGE
- VIRTUAL CONNECTIONS

There's a lot going on at The Solopreneur Zone these days. Here are a few highlights:

1) The Solopreneur Zone partnered up with Dress for Success www.dressforsuccess.com in January to provide computers, books and supplies to their Career Corners program which supports women in creating resumes, preparing for job interviews and even learning about self-employment! Five percent of our Coaching Membership fees and 50 cents for every new Solo Flyer subscriber goes directly to Dress for Success. We're thrilled to announce that we've contributed enough to buy a computer this quarter!

Want to help? Tell other Solopreneurs you know about the Solo Flyer and membership programs. If you'd like to contribute directly, please email me for their contact information. Together, we can help women find and keep great jobs or build a business of their own...

2) Are you a PDA user, or have you been thinking of getting one? We have a wonderful complimentary teleclass on Wednesday, May 26 from 2-3pm ET offered by Gail Kolanowski of www.sterling-dimensions.com. Gail is a PDA power user and virtual assistant who is creating several programs to help you better take advantage of all those features on your PDA. If you've just been using the basic features or have left yours on a shelf somewhere, this class is for you. Sign up here www.solopreneurzone.com/Teleclasses_Free.htm

3) I am creating a new section for my website which will feature articles and tools developed by those in The Solopreneur Zone community. By contributing an article, you'll help educate your peers on your area of expertise and have the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field (see today's article below for inspiration).

If you'd like to submit an article that you feel Solopreneurs would love to read, please send it to me for consideration at dawn@solopreneurzone.com. I'll reply to your email within two weeks. If your article is selected, we'll include a brief description of your business and a link to your website so that visitors can contact you. Questions? Simply email me!

Don't Bother Selling Yourself

Selling yourself and your services is too hard. Plus, you probably don't enjoy it. Most of us love the work we do, but dislike having to "find" clients so we can do the work. Since you would probably love clients to come to you ready and excited to get to work, you may want to turn to marketing strategies that share what you know so clients can decide for themselves that they need your service.

Show, Don't Tell

Most marketing strategies revolve around telling potential clients how great your services are and trying to convince them of the benefits of working with you. While there's a place for traditional marketing, clients like to feel they are making an educated decision when they choose to work with you.

Rather than telling how good you are at what you do, you can show potential clients by sharing your knowledge, and even giving it away for free (gasp...!) If I'm comparing two providers of a service and one has written several articles about their area of expertise, I'm much more inclined to assume the person who has written several articles is more knowledgeable. Plus, I'm more able to envision what it would be like to work with them because I've gotten a chance to "try on" their ideas and style.

Become an Info-preneur

This concept of sharing what you know to build your brand and market yourself is often called "info-preneuring". You are sharing information as a marketing strategy. Instead of simply telling prospects what you know, you are showing them. There is nothing more powerful than being viewed as an expert in your market.

You become an info-preneur by writing articles, being a guest speaker, serving as a resource for your market, etc. Look for opportunities to contribute your knowledge wherever you go and in whatever you do.

Yes, You Do Have Something Unique to Offer

Some Solopreneurs have a hard time envisioning themselves as an info-preneur. They feel that they are one of hundreds or thousands who are providing the same product or service, so there is nothing unique about what they offer. Besides, there are already several well-known experts in their field.

Regardless of how full your market may be, there will never be someone who has your unique take or theories. If there was only room enough for one expert per market, book stores would be a whole lot smaller!

Take some time to think about what you see your clients struggle with regularly or the steps they all seem to go through as they work with you. Begin to notice the patterns and processes of your work with clients. From these observations, you can begin to flesh out a personal theory you have, or a process you know is best for clients. Use these as the basis for your unique approach with your target market. You now have a "come from" place to make your articles and speaking stand out.

Select the Delivery Methods that Make You Shine

Once you've identified your unique message, theory or process, you'll want to pick methods of sharing your knowledge that help you shine. Many Solopreneurs get to this point and then stop because they aren't sure how to share their knowledge in a way that's easy for them. Rather than look to what others are doing, do what comes naturally for you. If you love writing, focus on articles, booklets and ebooks. If you love talking, focus on teleclasses, guest appearances and public speaking. If you prefer partnering with others, find websites and communities and become a contributor or a guest expert.

Establishing Yourself as an Expert in Your Market is a Long-Term Strategy

In the last issue, we talked about passive vs. active marketing strategies. Establishing yourself as an expert in your market is more of a passive marketing strategy and will take longer to directly result in clients. However, like the tortoise, it is a strategy that slowly builds on itself and will get you farther and sustain you longer than most active marketing strategies and you are less likely to burn out (like the hare) and stop doing them.

Soon I'll be Taking a Break, but My Coaching Membership Won't…

I will be taking a sabbatical from July 1 through the end of the year to finally write my book. While I'm gone, you will still be able to take advantage of all the incredible Teleclasses that are available for members only.

I'm still solidifying the program and will launch it later next month, but I have set the price: you'll have access to *20* one-hour recorded classes, plus over 30 business-building worksheets for only $79. That works out to only $3.95 per class! Imagine having 20 hours of coaching for only $3.95 per hour...

If you want to register today and save your place in the self-paced version of the membership, you'll get a free copy of the classes on CD and a notebook with all worksheets (normally $20 extra). To check out the classes in the program and to pre-register, visit www.solopreneurzone.com/Membership_Package.htm. This special offer will only be available through June 4 and only for readers of the Solo Flyer.

Teleclasses

One-Hour Teleclasses: the best way to spend an hour...

MAY

Establishing Yourself as an Expert in Your Niche/Specialty Wednesday, May 19, 2-3pm ET

JUNE

Marketing Your Business Virtually Wednesday, June 9, 2-3pm ET
Taking Vacations & Sabbaticals as a One-Person Business Wednesday, June 16, 2-3pm ET

Each 1 hour teleclass includes worksheets and access to the teleclass recording via Real Audio.

Cost: $25, Members: Fr^ee

Your PDA is Pretty Darn Adaptable Wednesday, May 26, 2-3pm ET: featuring guest expert Gail Kolanowski of www.sterling-dimensions.com

To register visit, http://www.solopreneurzone.com/Teleclasses_Free.htm.

Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort Steven Van Yoder. Buy the book...

This book is the info-preneurs' guidebook. If you are now convinced how valuable it is to establish yourself as an expert in your market, you are ready to read Steven's practical guide to becoming slightly famous. He'll share why you need to get clear on what you offer then show you all the ways to go about it. A must-read!

The InfoGuru Marketing Manual Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing www.actionplan.com
This manual will convince you of the value of becoming an InfoGuru (info-preneur) and then show you the steps to get there. Robert, like me, believes that you can't share too much information -- instead, it helps clients in making an educated decision to work with you. He also discusses how to show rather than tell how valuable your services are. You can purchase the manual as an ebook or in hard-copy. I recommend hard copy so you can put lots of sticky notes and underline important passages in the manual.

For a complete list of books we love (growing weekly), visit the Resource Lounge at http://solopreneurzone.com/Resource_Books.htm

DISCUSSION GROUP: Have you signed up for The Solopreneur Zone's Yahoo Discussion Group?

This discussion group was created to support you in trading questions, ideas and tips with other Solopreneurs. Why go it alone, when you can build your business more easily with the support of others? Questions, thoughts and ideas should be directed to the entire membership. I will read the messages regularly and contribute my thoughts to the discussion when appropriate.

The group will be moderated by Angee Robertson, Administrative Consultant for The Solopreneur Zone, to make sure you only receive messages from members who want to be an active part of this community.

Join Today, by visiting our home page at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solozone

* Check out The Virtual Water Cooler...It's a free monthly community teleconference call where you can share ideas and questions with peers from around the globe. Have a quick business question? -- you can also pop onto the call to ask Dawn a quick question -- and begin making progress on growing your business again.

Join our next call on Thursday, May 27 from 3-4pm ET (the call is always the last Thursday of each month at 3pm ET). For details, visit http://www.solopreneurzone.com/WaterCooler.htm

DID YOU LIKE THIS PUBLICATION? Please forward it to your friends and associates and anyone else who you think might appreciate it. Thanks for your feedback and encouragement.
PRIVACY POLICY: The Solopreneur Zone never sells or gives out subscriber names or email addresses.

SUGGESTIONS? Want to CONTRIBUTE to future issues? Send an email to info@solopreneurzone.com

Copyright 2004 Dawn Nichol, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Solo Flyer publication as long as you keep the entire publication intact.