Relationship Building Archives

Why You Should Invest In Attending Live Events

December 11, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Autumn is always a crazy time of year. When summer ends and kids go back to school, the vast majority of people get back to work with a focus on getting specific things done before the end of the year. Often, those specific things include a brand redesign, a website redesign, or website improvements and feature additions to start the year off strong. Business is always busy and booming in the fall, and this year it was even crazier than normal because of all the live events we attended or spoke at.

I LOVE live events.

International Food Blogger Conference Hits Sacramento, California

October 2, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Earlier this year, I was invited to speak at the ninth International Food Blogger Conference on What Bloggers Need To Know About SEO. Speaking and training is one of my favorite things to do, and the conference was happening at the Sacramento Convention Center near my home, so saying yes was a no brainer.

Plus, in April 2016, I started my own personal blog Inspired Imperfection, where I share recipes, family adventures, and candid commentary on life, so this event was also going to be an awesome opportunity to meet other local bloggers! While I travel to business events and conference after, the International Food Blogger Conference was actually my first blogging-specific conference.

The two-day food blogging conference ran Friday and Saturday with back-to-back sessions and add-on events happening the Thursday before the event and the Sunday after. Sessions were delivered by a mix of individual expert speakers, moderated panel discussions, and sponsored sessions.

I Hated Facebook And It Was All My Fault

November 15, 2015 Jennifer Bourn

I remember sitting in the audience at the very first “big” conference I had ever attended. I was surrounded by people who were taking action, investing in themselves and their business, and talking about things no one at the local networking groups I had been attending for more than a year were talking about.

There were about 500 people crammed in a too-small ballroom in Los Angeles and there was excitement in the air. We were learning about new tools, tactics, and strategies for building our businesses online — email marketing, search engine optimization, blogging for business, WordPress, and this new thing called social media.

We learned about this website that had started just for college kids, but was now a place that entrepreneurs and business owners could connect and be friends and talk business using the internet.

How Freelancers Can Get More Clients Through Referrals

September 19, 2015 Jennifer Bourn

If you’ve ever spent any time with me at a business event, WordCamp, mastermind retreat, or other event, you know I love to talk shop. I’m also pretty much an open book, always down to talk strategy, branding, messaging, design, client attraction, blogging, and more. Most of the time, if we have time, I’ll also get into your messaging too and help you get some clarity — I just can’t help it!

So when iThemes reached out to do a short interview on landing my first client, getting my best clients, and what I know now that I wish I knew when I was first starting out, I was thrilled!

The first, best, wish your knew series has been pretty popular, so iThemes reached out again (I just love them) with questions about about how freelancers can get more client through referrals.

If you’re a freelancer who is interested in getting more referrals, you should check out this article with advice and wisdom on earning more referrals from not only me, but from Carrie Dils, Curtis McHale, Aaron Campbell, Brad Williams, Jared Atchison, and Bill Erickson.

In the article, we answer questions like:

So how can freelancers generate referrals and form solid relationships with clients?
Are there any shortcuts to earning more referrals?
How do you build long-lasting relationships with clients?
What are some of the ways you get referrals?
How do I ask for a referral?

Check It Out

First, Best, Wish You Knew Interview With iThemes

August 29, 2015 Jennifer Bourn

Recently I was interviewed for the first, best, and wish you knew series running on the iThemes blog. Now you may be thinking, “iThemes? Didn’t you do something with them before?”

Yes! Earlier this year iThemes invited me to lead a webinar training for graphic designers, web designers, and developers titled How to Consistently Create Content That Builds Your Business And Attracts Clients. And yes, it’s still available to watch and you don’t even have to opt-in to watch!

But back to today’s business, my first, best, and wish you knew interview. In this interview post, I answer the questions:

How did you find your first client?
How did you find your best client?
What do you know now that you wish you knew before you started

If you’re looking for clients, or wondering how others get their best clients, check out my interview and then click through the rest of the posts in the series.

Check It Out

The Secret to Building More Inbound Links

November 27, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

So you want to build more inbound links to your website. But how do you do that? Yes, you can publish articles, distribute press releases, post to social media sites, bookmark your content on social bookmarking sites, guest blog, and more. But how do you get other website owners to mention you, write about you, and link to your in their content … without you asking them to?

The secret is to give first and always support others. Before you can even begin to expect others to link to you and write about or mention you, YOU need to give mentions, links, and shout outs to others. If you’re reading this post, you’re probably a little more savvy than most (kudos to you!), and think this isn’t a big secret, but unfortunately, the web seems to be getting crowded with people who expect promotion just because they exist.

But it doesn’t work like that.

7 Ways To Alienate Your Designer & Go From Client to Contract

May 15, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

In a perfect world, working with your designer would be a perfect partnership of creativity, communication, and collaboration — at least that is what designers strive for. But that’s not always the case…

A designer begins every project excited about what they will create and about bringing the client’s vision to life — they wouldn’t have accepted the project is they weren’t. They are excited about solving problems, helping their clients succeed, and building a new relationship or strengthening an existing one. They value their client and look forward to becoming their long term creative partner.

Designers have so much pride in their work and so much invested in their clients’ success, that they will often bend over backward, throw in extra work, and go above and beyond your contract just to make sure the final result is as good as it can possibly be. Mainly because the success of your project puts their reputation on the line.

But occasionally, a switch gets flipped, and the dynamics of the relationship change. Something happens, or several things happen, that cause a designer to shift the way they view a client and a project.

It’s the critical point where a client stops being a client and starts being a contract that needs to be fulfilled — where a designer throws their hands in the air and gives up trying to make it totally awesome, and instead just wants it to be good and done.

4 More Marketing Tips to Build a Referral Based Business

January 17, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Recently I wrote the post 5 Marketing Tips to Build a Referral Based Business, covering some of the lessons I have learned by building a successful referral based business.

And as I was formatting the post, I came up with even more marketing tips to help you build a referral based business too — Four more tips to be exact. These tips focus more on communicating with your referral partners and/or affiliates, rewarding people who refer new business to you, and even some things to watch out for when working with referral clients. Hope you enjoy!

Here are 4 more marketing tips to build a referral based business:

5 Marketing Tips to Build a Referral Based Business

January 15, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Almost all of our new client projects come in through referrals. That means most of our new clients and leads come from others telling their friends, family and colleagues about us and suggesting they hire us.

Our most lucrative clients — and frankly our favorite clients — have been the results of someone else’s referral.

Imagine how different your life and your business would be if your phone rang every day, and your inbox had messages in it everyday from people who want to work with you because their friend recommended you? Imagine how much less stress there would be over marketing? What a relief!

Here are 5 marketing tips to help you build a successful referral based business:

5 Marketing Tips for Successful Follow Up

January 11, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Studies show that about 40-50% of all inbound sales leads are never followed up on. That equals A LOT of conversations, potential business deals, opportunities to help left hanging, and too many lost possibilities, all due to follow up failure.

Yes you’re busy, but you should never be too busy to follow up with those you have connected with and met. You should never be too busy to keep a sales conversation going. And you should never be too busy to make good on a promise you made.

Follow up is important — it’s your opportunity to build on your first impression and create a lasting impression, to show the other person you do care and you can be counted on, and to add value to your growing relationship.

Here are 5 marketing tips to help you fix your follow up:

If Your Website Had to go to a Job Interview…

February 26, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

If your website had to go to a job interview, what sort of first impression would it make? Just as first impressions matter when searching for a job, they arguably matter even more when it’s your website. If you don’t hook your audience in the first few seconds, you could lose an opportunity that may not reappear.

While you may be sitting at home in your pajamas where no one can see you, your website is visible to everyone with internet access, anywhere in the world. There is no question that the first impression it makes has to be instantaneous and excellent at the same time.

There are 5 ways to ensure that your website gets the kind of attention you want it to get as soon as a prospect lands on your home page.