The holidays are so busy, and often the first thing to go out the door is any marketing you had planned for your business this month. Newsletters slide by another week. Blogs don’t get updated. Twitter and Facebook stand idle.  I get it. Really!

So, I thought I’d make a list of marketing quickies. Things you can do fast, perhaps with a cup of cocoa in your hand, that will help keep your business moving forward.

1. Claim and verify your listing on Places.Google.com (if that’s already done, check it to make sure it’s still there. Sometimes those place pages go on walk-about.)
2. Schedule a holiday Tweet and Facebook post for Christmas Day, Solstice, Hanukah, and New Years.
3. Don’t know how to schedule your tweets and posts? Sign up for Hootsuite.com
4. Set up your own channel on YouTube and “like” a few videos of your favorite dancers.
5. Subscribe to a few dance channels on YouTube (you might start with BellyDanceTeacherTip or MECDA)
6. Start a twitter list of dancers you admire and retweet something.
7. Find your local arts council and Chamber of Commerce on Facebook. “Like” their page and make a comment on some of their posts.
8. Send your students a holiday card (in the mail!)
9. Write a holiday greeting to send to your email list. Include your favorite cookie recipe.

10. Ask a few students to post reviews of your classes on your Google Place page.

11. Buy a pretty 2012 calendar just for your marketing plans.

12. Write down the start and end dates for your class sessions on your calendar.

13. Write down any workshops you plan to attend next year (like the MECDA Professional Dance Conference & Retreat in October!)

14. Write down an income goal for next year and break it down into monthly goals.

15. Brainstorm some ways to meet those monthly goals–workshops? Costume sales? More students?

16. Brainstorm some blog posts topics for next year.

17. Take a moment to look back at all you’ve accomplished in the past year. And pat yourself on the back. Maybe treat yourself to a year-end massage.

18. Print out some colorful new fliers for your classes and post them around town while you’re doing your holiday shopping.

19. Add a Paypal button to your classes page so people can sign up right on your website.

20. Set up a survey on SurveyGizmo.com or SurveyMonkey.com. Ask your students what they’d like to learn most next year.

21. Brainstorm some non-dance workshops you could teach. Costume DIY? Hairpieces? Makeup? Henna?

22. Brainstorm three groups of people you could market your classes to.  Corporate wellness programs? Women’s groups? Non-denominational churches? Teens?

23. Find the Facebook pages for those three groups in #22 and “like” their pages. Then make a friendly comment or post. Don’t promote, just say “hi” or say something nice.

24. Write an article or review of a recent show/workshop you attended and send it to your local dance association or favorite belly dance magazine.

Okay, so that’s more than 12 days…but I figure you can pick and choose. You’re smart like that.

Happy holidays to all of you – and a very very prosperous 2012!

Did you know you have twin monsters living inside you? And did you know they are responsible for keeping you playing small?

They are the reason your classes don’t fill up every session.

They are why you’ve never felt good enough to offer a workshop.

They are what stands between you and a successful, fulfilling career as a traveling performer.

They whisper to you when you’re most vulnerable. They fill your head with doubts and fears and ridiculous scenarios designed to keep you safe. To keep you playing small. To keep you from making your dreams come true. Because making your dreams come true involves risk. And risk is, well, risky.

These monsters are two of the biggest stumbling blocks any man or woman has standing between them and successfully reaching a goal. Whether that goal is having a successful business, or just getting up on stage for the first time.

You have to learn how to overcome these two because they are going to show up over and over again your whole life. And whether your dream is to become a world-famous dancer, an amazing mom, gardener or astronaut, you’re still going to have to deal with these two.

I’m going to give you power over them right now by telling you their names. They are Who am I? and What if?

Do you recognize them? They may be such old friends you don’t see how much damage they’re doing to your soul.

They whisper things like:

• Who am I to be a belly dance teacher?
• Who am I to star in my own show?
• Who am I to go ask for that restaurant gig?
• Who am I to raise my fees?
• Who am I to friend that famous dancer on Facebook?
• What if no one comes to my workshop?
• What if I forget the choreography?
• What if a student challenges me?
• What if I can’t find a studio?
• What if I can’t make enough money to pay the rent?
• What if this marketing stuff doesn’t work?

YADA YADA YADA…… blah, blah, blah

No one is immune.  But you can learn their voices and their tactics so you recognize them when they show up.

Here are two ways to deal with the monsters

1) Notice when they show up (usually the same time every day or every month), thank them for their concern for your safety, then tell them you’re choosing to take the risk anyway. They won’t go away completely, and you don’t want them to.  But you do want to be able to have the quiet confidence to move past them.

For me, my monsters show up after a long day’s work, usually after 6pm at night. They love to tell me I’ve wasted my time. That no one wants to hear what I’ve been working on. That no one will read my blog post. That teaching marketing to belly dancers is crazy.

Sometimes they quiet down before bed, sometimes not. But I know that’s when they’re loudest. And I know I’ll feel differently in the morning. So, I simply made a deal with myself not to listen to anything going on in my head after suppertime. It’s interesting, the bigger the risk I’m about to take, the louder the voices get. Sometimes they don’t show up for weeks, and that’s a signal, too. A signal that I’m playing it safe.

Maybe you already know when your monsters show up. But if you don’t, try keeping a list. Notice every time you start down that “who am I” track or the “what if” road. Write down the fear that’s coming up, and write down the day and time. After a while you’ll notice a pattern. When you know the pattern, you can control how you react.

2) Turn it around on them. Reverse the sentence. Reverse the thinking. When you hear “who am I” — turn it into “I am who”.   And when you hear “what if (something negative)” — turn it into “what if (something positive).”  It’s really fun once you get the hang of it.

So, when you hear this:

Who am I to have full classes every session? Suzie Shimmy doesn’t, and she’s been around for ages. There must not be enough demand in this area. I should just quit.

Turn it into this:

I am the woman who reaches out to everyone I can find and shares my joy of dance with those who need and want it. I am the woman who has full classes because I have so much to share and people are drawn to me. I should improve my marketing and reach out even more because I might be missing some people who really need this.

When you hear this:

What if no one comes to my workshop? That would be so embarrassing. People only go to workshops taught by celebrities. I can’t do this.

Turn it into this:

What if I reach so many people I have to start a waiting list? What if this workshop saves someone from injuring herself doing a movement wrong. What if someone finds so much joy in this workshop that she goes home and hugs her children with more love than they’ve ever known.  I have to do this! (You can go crazy with this. Make up wonderful, rich scenarios. The bigger you go, the quieter your What If monster will get.)

These two monsters will run your entire life if you let them.

It’s so important that you learn to recognize and deal with these two. No matter what you want to do in life, if you don’t quiet the fears and doubts, you’ll never get started. Or you’ll get most of the way there and then quit.

They are a survival mechanism meant to keep you safe in the status quo. But humans naturally desire to grow and evolve and become better than we are. So, appreciate them for what they’re trying to do. But then gently hush them like a persistent child and move forward. Even if it’s a little scary.

Especially if it’s a little scary.

What do your monsters whisper to you that keeps you stuck? And how can you turn it around into a glorious uplifting statement? Leave a comment.

If you’ve been in one of my group programs, you may have heard me talk about this very important formula before:

Traffic + Conversion = Profits

The good news is there are only two things you need to focus on when building your business, whether it’s online or offline. Traffic and conversion, that’s it. The bad news is getting lots of traffic and high conversions is challenging for most people. They’ll put up a website or blog and then sit back waiting for the money to roll in. Does that sound familiar?

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to get traffic and increase your conversions. For today, let’s focus on getting you lots of traffic to your website. Now, there are lots of traffic generation models out there, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, local search and more. But for right now, let’s focus on social media. It’s free and it’s easy once you get the hang of it.

1) Make sure you know who you’re talking to. You don’t want just any old traffic, you want targeted traffic that’s likely to be interested in buying what you’re selling. So, if you’re a local teacher–your audience is the general public in your local area. If you’re a workshop teacher–your audience is other belly dancers. If you’re a performer looking for wedding gigs–your audience is brides-to-be. Make sure your content speaks directly to your audience.

2) Write blog posts at least once a week. These don’t have to be long. And they don’t even have to be your content. If you find a great video on YouTube, post a paragraph description and embed the video. If you find a great post written by someone else, write a teaser and post a link. It’s nice to mix it up with your own writing and links to other people’s stuff. Remember, you don’t have to write if you don’t want to. Video or audio blog posts are fun too.

3) Post links to your blog post on your Facebook page. This give you fresh content on Facebook and moves people from there to your website (where the sales happen.) You can even schedule it to appear whenever you like with HootSuite or SocialOomph.

4) Post links to your blog post on your Twitter account. Again, fresh content and moves people to your website. People get into a routine with Twitter. If you’re posting at 9 am every day, you’re missing all the people who log in at noon or in the evening. So be sure you’re posting that link at different times during the day.

5) Start a YouTube channel and invite people to be friends there. Did you know you can use YouTube just like Facebook? When someone subscribes to your channel, or becomes your friend, they’ll be notified when you post a new video. That brings people back and helps them remember you. Be sure to have a link to your website prominently placed on your channel.

5.5) Here’s a bonus step: hang out where your target audience hangs out. If you’re a local teacher and want to attract traffic from the general public in your town, find other local business pages on Facebook and “Like” them. Then make it a habit to comment on their posts. People visiting the page will see you and check out your page.

Focus on building traffic to your page first, and then shift over to improving your conversion rate. And don’t get discouraged. It takes time to prime the pump before you get steady streams of traffic coming in.

Are things slow for you right about now? You’re not alone. I’ve been talking to CEOs of million dollar companies all week about how slow things are right now. Not because of the economy, but because it’s summer. June, July and August are typically the slowest months for dancers and CEOs alike.

The reason I’ve been talking to these people, though, is because they’re calling me about writing projects (I’m a professional marketing copywriter). They are creating new marketing now because they know that once September hits, the business will return. And if they’re not ready for it, they lose out to competitors.

The same thing goes for you, oh dancer-CEO. What are you doing right now to prepare for the coming busy season?  Here are a few ways you can get ready. If you wait until September, you’re WAY behind.

Plan your packages

Classes sell better if they’re sold as a package, especially to beginners. You can keep your usual sessions, but bundle up a session or two of classes and add in some special stuff to create a package. Typical beginner packages might include lessons plus a hip scarf and a CD or iTunes card.  A more advanced package might include a veil or zills, plus a DVD of drills in addition to the classes. Packages are great for gift-giving, not just around the holidays, but also for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, etc.

Schedule your weekly marketing tasks

90% of dance businesses work on marketing now and then. Classes getting slow? Better put out some fliers. But the most successful businesses are always marketing, at least on a weekly basis. By having a calendar set up with what needs to be done and when, you eliminate the stress of figuring it out on the fly or missing important deadlines.

Get help

If you’ve tried everything you can think of and still aren’t getting the results you want. If you know deep down you want a fulfilling dance business that’s also financially rewarding, you don’t have to do it alone.  I’d love to show you step-by-step the same systems those million-dollar CEOs use to build their businesses fast.

To celebrate the summer planning season, I’ve got a special invitation for you. A few dancers will have the chance to work with me one-on-one in a special Business Breakthrough Strategy Session. If you meet the criteria (and it’s easy to do), all you have to do is ask.

Click here to get all the details on how to book your Strategy Session right now.

By the way, just because your planning your classes and marketing doesn’t mean you can’t do it on the beach! That’s part of the beauty of being an independent business owner. Work when you want, where you want.

There are lots of reasons to keep a blog as a marketing tool. Not the least of which is helping you rank higher in the search engines (that’s a whole ‘nother article.) But I often hear dancers complaining that they just don’t have time to add blogging to their marketing mix. Well, what if your blog could do more than just sit there? What if it actively brought new prospects to your website and got them interested in possibly taking a class or hiring you for a party?

Would that get you to write?

Here’s how to take a short, humble blog post and turn it into a marketing superhero in no time flat.

1) Post a link on Facebook:

Businesses should post content on their Facebook pages about three times a week. When you blog once a week, you’ve got 1/3 of your content done. All you have to do is write a quick description of the article in your status bar and then copy/paste the link to the post. Your Facebook fans will see the link in their feed, and if they’re interested enough, they’ll click through and read the whole thing.

You’ll get more click-throughs if you include a photo of some kind in your post. And you’ll also improve interaction if you ask people to comment. (There’s even a comment plugin for WordPress that combines your blog comments and Facebook comments into one stream.)

2) Post a link on Twitter:

Experts recommend you post new content on Twitter about once a day. The same idea applies here. Post a short description and link to your blog post so your Twitter followers will see it, too.  Make sure you keep your description under 120 characters so your followers can retweet the link easily.

Easy-peasy shortcut:

If you want to make your Facebook and Twitter posting faster and easier, check out HootSuite. It’s a social media dashboard that lets you schedule your posts out in advance. You can also organize your feeds, mentions and run special keyword searches.

If you use lots of smaller social media platforms like Tumblr, Google Buzz and others, you may want to set up a Ping.FM account so you can post links back to your blog on all your platforms with one click.

3) Post it in your email newsletter

Okay, so you know you need to send an email newsletter to your mailing list. But how often do you actually get around to doing it? Most dancers only send email when they’re promoting something–a new class, a workshop, etc. But that means your open rates decline quickly because your list expects only sales messages from you.

When you post a link to your blog in a super-short email, you’re showing your list that you have more to talk to them about than just selling them something. They’ll be much more likely to open all your messages if you give them interesting blog posts on a regular basis.

Don’t overdo this. Once a week is plenty. If you get a lot of unsubscribes, perhaps once or twice a month is a better rate for you. It all depends on your audience and what you’re talking about.

Easy-peasy shortcut:

Yes, there’s an automated tool for sending your blog to your email list. Sweet! It’s called RSS to email and most email providers have this service. Once you set it up, the service will automatically send any new blog posts to your email list. You can also set it up to get your permission first (just in case your whole list doesn’t need to see every single post.)

MailChimp is one of the most popular email newsletter services because it’s free and reliable. Here’s a tutorial on how to set up RSS to email on MailChimp.

http://blog.mailchimp.com/rss-to-email-tutorial/

Hardcore marketing ideas:

So, you want to really squeeeezze every last drop of marketing power from your blog posts? Well, depending on what your post is about, you can try one of these techniques:

• Make a powerpoint video and put on YouTube and SlideShare.
• Change the wording a bit, add a news angle and post a free press release for backlink credit.
• Rewrite it a tad and send it to your local media as a press release.
• Send it as a submission to a local arts blog.

There you have it. One blog post, lots of marketing channels covered. What are you waiting for? Go write something.

What’s your favorite/most effective blog post on your site? We’d love to see it. Post a link to it in the comments.

Are you spending too much time writing your web pages, newsletters, press releases and other marketing materials? Or are you not doing them at all because you hate writing? Often writing is one of the biggest challenges business owners face. (Which is why copywriters like me have jobs   )

Bam!-a two-hour chore done in 10 minutes. Gotta love it!

Belly dance makes people happy, and that’s no small thing these days when it seems we’re bombarded with bad news every hour of the day.

We need more happy in the world!

In 1998, my husband and I moved to Maine to start a small farm and raise our children. I stopped dancing for the first time in over a decade. In 1999, my son was born. I won’t say I went into depression, as is so common with new mothers. But I was definitely “not right.” I was caring for a 4 year old, a 3 year old and an infant. Little did I know how much I needed to dance.  Fortunately, my husband knew. He saw a flyer for a class in a town near us and said “you’re going!”

I put up a little resistance, but did eventually go. And it restored my sanity. I was a better mother, a better wife and a happier person because of that class. What would have happened if that teacher hadn’t bothered to do her marketing? I never would have found her. And I *needed* to find her. I hate to think about it.

And that’s why your work is so incredibly important. Your classes are lifelines to your students who need a break from their day-to-day lives. Your performances allow people to share beauty as a “real” experience, not pixels on a screen.

That’s why you absolutely *must* get the word out into the world about your classes and workshops and performances.

Because people out there need you.

People out there need your dance.

Next week, I’m launching a brand new community for dancers like you who are serious about making a living (or even just a little extra money) with their dance. The money is important, but the impact you will have in the lives of others is even more important. People need to dance more than ever.

To celebrate this new venture, I’ve created a new video training course for you entitled “The Only 5 Things You Need to Do to Market Your Belly Dance Business.”  These are shorter videos that break all the complicated stuff down into just five things.

If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up for the video course on the sidebar here or on the home page. Just enter your name and email address, and you’ll get the first episode right away. I hope you’ll take action on the information you learn, even if it’s just one small step. Remember, you can’t fail at marketing. You can only fail to *do* your marketing.

And somewhere out there is a person who desperately needs to find you. Please don’t let her down.

This post is causing quite a lot of interesting conversation at the moment. People are starting to think more and more about the “why”s and “how”s and “shoulds” of doing what we love to do for an income–whether it’s dancing, painting, singing, writing or whatever. Erica wrote me a long email exploring these ideas, and I asked her if I could post it here as a guest post. She agreed, so here it is.

Thoughts on the S.A. (Starving Artist) and What We Do For a Living  

Guest post by Kisaya Rayne

I’d been thinking a lot on this whole starving artist thing thanks to having read so much information on Van Gogh as of late.  There’s some really interesting information out there about him, how he was a schizophrenic, and as is typical for people with that disorder, they have a hard time keeping a sense of normal in their lives.  He was always having money troubles and quite often suffered problems with not having access to things he needed.  He’s the perfect portrait of a starving artist.  In his life he had a wealthy benefactor who apparently was also an artist of great fame in his day, but has long since forgotten.  The lesson of Van Gogh teaches us that if we want to be remembered as artists, starving artist is the way to go.

Of course, no one stops to think that Van Gogh was, well, crazy.  Schizophrenics will never lead a perfectly normal life.  Most of them have problems with poverty and homelessness.  Many of them also have problems getting access to the basic goods and services they need, like food and clothes.  Often times their great visions aren’t understood by those around them, though in a few cases, years later someone who is less jaded by the person in life sees something that evokes emotion, and so the visionary lives on long after their death.

Many of the artists that are so well known today went through a good deal of suffering in their life time.  Picasso had problems finding a sense of lasting love.  Shakespeare was known to have trouble with the women in his life, trouble that was reflected in the role of women in his plays and sonnets.  Poe has his own tragic story.  If I remember correctly (which I may not) it was Henry David Thoreau that went off to live in solitude in the woods around Walden Pond in Concord, Mass.  While most of the well known “starving artists” are male, it doesn’t hurt to recognize people like Luisa May Alcott who, according to historians, was a fairly bitter and lonely old maid at the time of her death.

These artists, however, all have something in common.  Their media is enduring.  They left us with physical, tangible products that can be bought and owned.  Years after their death, centuries after their death, a piece of them still remains.  They may have had lives that could be considered quite miserable, but their contribution lives on long after they’re gone.

Dance, as with many other forms of art, can only truly be experienced in the moment.  You have to experience it in the moment.  This form of art doesn’t have the same kind of enduring contribution.  You can’t pay to see a performer once they’re no longer performing.  They make contributions, sure, but it’s very different.  My personal point of reference on this is the great Loie Fuller.  I would love to see one of her performances in some other form than old time video.  They say she did incredible things with light, music, and fabric to create the first sense of special effects in her dancing.  Of course, the vintage footage we do have doesn’t capture much of that.  We can see the movements, but can’t hear the sounds, see the colors, truly indulge ourselves in the experience.  Yes, that’s largely changed today.  Anyone with a video camera can put together a video of a performance and post it on YouTube.  I’m sure many of those will endure as long as YouTube exists, or the videos are preserved.  However, it’s very different than seeing the real thing, being there for the physical experience of the show, all the other sights, sounds, and smells.

Sure, there’s going to be artists that no one in our time seems to understand their unique vision, much like Van Gogh.  Perhaps they will endure in the lives that they did touch, they will inspire others to continue on with their work.  It’s not easy to be the vanguard.  It’s not easy to pave the way for others to follow, but with much of the arts community, that isn’t the case.

Our society has built so much on the portraits of the “starving artists” who inspire us today, product based artists, that suffered for their work in our lifetime, but we often forget that not all art has to be that way.  Dancers and musicians may have to struggle to get known, but their product is an experience, something in the moment.  They aren’t trying to get people to read a book or poem, watch a play, or purchase a piece of art.  All of those items are harder to sell because they speak to a very specific audience.  Performance arts are different.  Entertainment has a very different value than reading or an object for your wall ever could, especially live entertainment.

As for teaching, I’ve heard on more than one occasion that knowledge should be available to everyone for free.  The biggest example of this is seen in the Pagan community, where people feel that teaching should not come at a fair exchange.  You shouldn’t put a price on spirituality.  However, what isn’t understood is you’re not putting a price on spirituality, you’re putting a price on the teacher’s time and energy spent on the lesson.  After all, they could be spending time doing something else, perhaps even working for a fair wage doing something else.  I’ve heard from way too many movies with corporate executives that “time is money.”  Shouldn’t our teachers have the same value?

When you’re looking at teaching, you’re not paying the teacher for the skill you learn or the knowledge they impart.  Whatever you get or don’t get out of the class is your responsiblity.  That’s the same no matter what kind of class you’re taking, be it spirituality, dance, yoga, history, or physics.  You’re paying your instructor for the time they take to help you learn the knowledge.  Realistically, you can learn just about everything for free, if you really want to and have the dedication.  I’ve known a lot of dancers who have learned from YouTube because they couldn’t afford formal training.  However, it takes a critical eye and lots of research to develop things like good technique, proper posture, and other things that refine the art of dance.  You’re not just paying the instructor for sharing that series of skills they know, but to speed up the process through advising on technique, form, and posture.  This is valued much more in traditional education fields.

All of this is, of course, compounded by the reality that everyone wants something for nothing, if possible.  Many people in this hard economy are looking for ways to cut their costs.  They’ll go to a cheaper instructor if it means that their money stretches further (though those who are truly dedicated will follow the talent).  This also means that people will try and negotiate and haggle for a better deal.  This often means people will devalue your product in an attempt to get a rate they find more favorable.  This is common practice in other cultures, particularly the Middle East.  Our society is programmed with the knowledge that certain values are set and non-negotiable.  You wouldn’t haggle with the cashier at the grocery store because you feel the produce isn’t up to par.  You either buy it at the set price, or you don’t.  I haven’t heard anyone calling up their college to argue the price of their elective because their electives have nothing to do with their degree program, and therefore should cost less.  Set price tags are common in our society, unless there is some kind of exception.

What is the exception for dance?  The dancer loves doing it, so they should do it out of the goodness of their heart.  This is especially true when we’re talking about dance classes.  This under-value of the instruction isn’t helped by free classes at the local gym (though they seem to forget that they have actually paid for the class with their gym membership).  Our society has come to feel that “work” shouldn’t be something you love.  Most people hate their jobs, yet they do what they have to in order to get by.  They don’t get to do something they love as a job, so why should you get paid to do what you love?  It’s a twisted way to look at it.  It’s pretty sad that we can’t accept that everyone has a fair chance to do something they love.  Having a career you love takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication.  Those who live their lives by their art, whether it’s teaching or performing, have done just that, or are in the process of doing just that.  If only everyone had that sense of dedication and that hard working ethic!

So, yeah, I guess this kind of got long winded, but it’s something I’ve been considering quite a bit myself with people I love complaining that they hate their work and they hate the things they have to do in order to get by.  However, I do have one friend whose hard work has paid off big!  He may not be a wealthy man, actually, he can barely afford to get by, but he’s doing a job he loves and is living by his art, painting cars.  Of course, no one tells him he should work without pay!

Erica/Kisaya Rayne
Tribal Bellydancer
www.kisayarayne.com

If you’ve been around since the beginning, you know BDBA started out as just a little experiment. A blog. A home for the articles rattling around in my brain. But here’s the thing–the need for information has outgrown a mere blog. The more I work in the marketing world, the more strategies and techniques I find for ways belly dancers can make more money doing what they love. And I want to make sure you get the whole story, not just bits and pieces from a blog post here and there.

In the past two months, things here have really been cookin’. We’ve completed a series of free training videos, a live marketing makeover and a month long marketing intensive. And the results I’ve been hearing about have been pretty dramatic. We’re off to a great start, and it’s clear that there are belly dancers out there truly interested in learning how to build a successful business.

From the responses I’ve been getting, it’s time we had a real home where professionals at any level can learn, teach, network and support each other.

The Circle at the Belly Dance Business Academy is a new membership-based website I’m building just for you. Members will have access to monthly in-depth marketing training in all five critical areas of belly dance marketing. As well as personal access to me and other savvy successful dancers through a forum and live sessions.

If you’ve joined me on a teleseminar or been through a coaching or training session, you know that I’m passionate about dancers making what they’re worth. Not just charging what they’re worth, but truly bringing in enough business to earn a realistic living with the dance.

If you’re sick and tired of the old “starving artist” paradigm and know in your heart that there’s GOT to be a better way, then I invite you to join the BDBA movement! There are an infinite number of students and performance opportunities out there in the world. And technology has made it easy and (mostly) free to reach them. You just have to know how to do it. And that’s what The Circle all about–teaching you the skills to gather the people you’re meant to serve.

It’s also about giving you the support you need to get things done. Sometimes it’s tough to believe in yourself when other people around you are complaining about the economy or Zumba or whatever. The Circle is a supportive environment where you’ll find people who never stop believing you can and will reach your goals, whatever they may be. You’ll have a safe place to ask questions and get answers and even be challenged to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone.

There are going to be changes to the main website, too. We’re going to shift into high gear and really show you all you can achieve in your business. The Circle isn’t quite ready yet. I’m busy putting the finishing touches on the site, checking the links, and all that fun stuff. But be on the lookout in the next couple of weeks for some special training and charter membership discounts to celebrate the grand opening.

We’re going to have so much fun!

Until soon,

Julie

New Facebook layout helps your business page stand out from the crowd

A few days ago, Facebook announced some major changes in the layout and performance of all business pages on the platform. I’ve had a chance to look over the changes and start using them, and I’m thrilled. Promoting your belly dance business is about to get a whole lot easier. If you already have a business page (or “fan page”), you have the option of switching to this new format now or waiting until March 10 when Facebook will do it for you. (You will get a tour of all the new features and the new layout, so you know where everything is when you switch.) But since you’re going to have to change to the new layout sooner or later, I suggest you take advantage of all the great things this can do for your business and start using the new format now.

If you don’t have a business page on Facebook, now is the time to get it done. For a long time now, it’s been easy to dismiss social media as a waste of time for businesses. But the larger platforms like Facebook and Twitter are working hard to make it a no-brainer to use their sites for marketing. It’s easy; it’s free; and these latest changes mean if you’re not on Facebook, you’re missing out on a ton of great marketing opportunities.

The biggest change, which is a great one in my opinion, is that businesses can now use Facebook more like a person can. Your business page can “like” other pages and join groups and more. Which means you’re no longer forced to mix your business and personal profiles. And if you have multiple business pages, they don’t have to mix either. Here’s how to use these changes to improve your business, get more students and fill your performance schedule.

1) Load a great photo of you or your logo onto your business page

People want to see people, but you also want to make it clear what you do. It’s difficult to communicate that with a postage stamp sized avatar. Most people don’t realize you can load a large banner-size profile image on business pages. You have up to 600×200 pixels to play with, so make use of all that space. Put a photo of you as well as your logo, website or a bulleted list of what you offer in that banner space. So visitors will know in a glance exactly who you are and what you do.

2) Strategically join groups and “like” other pages — As Your Page.

This is the best part about all the recent changes. Before now, you could only join groups and like pages as “yourself”. Which meant you had to have a personal account and a business page, and it was difficult to get people to realize that “you” and “your business” were linked. That’s all changed now. By simply going to your accounts page, you can click “use Facebook as page” and you can join groups, like other pages AS your business. Which is awesome because now when you join your local arts council group, visitors will see “XYZ belly dance studio” for all your comments and interactions.

Don’t just join belly dance groups and pages. Be strategic. Where are your customers hanging out? Where are your potential new students? Keep it local. Keep it relevant.

• College pages
• Arts organizations
• Local news media (papers, radio and TV stations, indie websites)
• Musicians and venues
• Restaurants and clubs
• Tattoo shop pages
• Wedding planners
• Women’s groups
• Festival pages
• Divorce groups (I know this sounds weird, but divorced women are great prospects because they are eager to try new things and make new friends.)

3) Don’t just “like”–interact.

The more you add value to groups and other business pages, the more likely people will click on your profile to see who you are and what you do. Post on their wall. Comment on their status updates. Just don’t do any blatant selling or call attention to your services. You’re providing useful information here, not selling. What kind of useful information? How about a great recipe, favorite music, review of a recent performance or DVD? It all depends on the group of people you’re talking to. Be extremely relevant to the topic of the page you’re posting on. The owner of the page will welcome your input, and who knows? You might even end up with a cross-promotion partner or a new performance gig.

Do you love or hate the new format?  Do you have any additional ideas for how to interact with prospects on Facebook? Please post a comment below and let us know what you think.

PS–For you advanced Facebook users…you have until March 11th to use FBML for your tabs. After that, they’re changing to iFrames. (If you have no idea what that means, stay tuned…)