The next issue of the Build Your Metaphysical Business email newsletter is going out on TUESDAY, July 22. If you’re on the list, you’ll get it free in your mailbox. If you’re not, you won’t. If haven’t yet signed up for the newsletter, sign up now at http://www.buildyourmetaphysicalbusiness.com.

Here’s what you’ll find in this issue:

• The biggest risk of “money leak” in your practice and how to fix it
• An easy way to add content and high value to your email newsletters (best part: it’s FREE)
• Time management sanity for busy soul-preneurs
• Mindset insights: Are you “grooving on the ‘busy drug’”? Why being busy is a myth!

Not a subscriber yet?  Sign up now and get 90 minutes of FREE marketing tips and strategies from me and Tarot Pro James Wells - just enter your first name and primary email in the boxes in the upper right hand corner of BYMB and click “Submit”.

I know things have been slow around here lately - been running around planning classes and getting ready for a trip to San Diego next week.  More blog posts soon, promise!

I’m so excited about this, I just have to share!

As many of you know, I’m a comics writer as well as a marketing expert, and my first graphic novel (novel in comics form) is coming out in just a few weeks! Earlier in the week, my copies of the book arrived! Behold:

(The pictures are courtesy of Sami Makkonen, who brought my script to life.)

I believe the exact ship date for BLUE is July 30. It’ll be available in comics shops. Please show your local comics shop some love and request it from them (they’ll need the order code, which is MAY083778)! If you don’t have a shop near you, it’s available on Amazon.com as well.

In other cool comics news, I’ll have a short story in a massive comics anthology honoring the songs of Tori Amos, COMIC BOOK TATTOO.  In a couple of weeks, I’m off to the San Diego Comic Con, where I will be sitting on a panel with Tori herself.  (Yes, I’m pinching myself.)  COMIC BOOK TATTOO hits comics shops on July 16, and will be available in bookstores shortly thereafter (or you can check it out on Amazon).

“How To Become A Client Magnet And Attract All The Clients You Want” - A New Teleclass Series With Elizabeth Genco Purvis, The Marketing Goddess

http://www.metaphysicalmarketing.com/become-a-client-magnet.html

July 29: “Become A Client Magnet: How To Stand Out From The Crowd And Be A Beacon To Your Perfect Clients”

“There are so many of us out there! How will I ever get clients?”

With more readers, healers, and metaphysical practitioners entering the marketplace every day, it’s a serious cause for concern. In this class, you’ll learn how to leverage your two most powerful tools for attracting your perfect clients in a crowd: your unique service position and niche. You’ll learn:

• How to find a juicy, abundant niche that you can serve fully and joyfully

• How to find your perfect unique service position (USP)

• “But I’m a psychic reader!” You’re actually at a huge advantage! Metaphysical consultants are in an exceptional position to leverage the power of niche. Here’s why.

• How to find your perfect niche amid multiple modalities or too many options (when you “can’t pick just one”)

• How to test your niche easily and inexpensively, to make sure you’ll get results before you waste a lot of time

• How to transition to your new niche without losing clients

I’ll guide you through the process of finding your USP and niche, step-by-step. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and walk away empowered with everything you need to create strong positioning based on YOUR unique talents, strengths and gifts.

For more info, visit:

http://www.metaphysicalmarketing.com/become-a-client-magnet.html

August 5 & August 12: “Write Your Client Magnets: How To Create Business Cards, Brochures & Websites That Inspire Clients To Call You”

Do you have a “client magnet” brochure, website and business card? If you’re like 95% of the metaphysical and holistic practitioners out there, your marketing materials aren’t attracting even a fraction of the clients they could be. Worse yet, your business card, brochure and website may even be repelling your potential clients instead!

Client magnet marketing materials…

• Pre-qualify potential clients, so you only hear from the people you can help

• Pre-sell your potential clients so that when they call, they’re ready to work with you.

• Show potential clients how great it is to work with you, get them very excited about you, and most important of all… inspire them to pick up the phone and call you!!

In these 2 sessions, I’ll give you a no-brainer, plug-and-play formula to create a business card, brochure and website that communicate your authentic message in a way that resonates, attracts, and inspires them to contact you. We’ll do the work together in class so you can tap into the brilliance of the group mind and receive valuable feedback from me. Best of all, you’ll have your new client magnets 70-80% of the way done by the end of class 2!

For more info, visit:

http://www.metaphysicalmarketing.com/become-a-client-magnet.html

The next issue of the Build Your Metaphysical Business email newsletter is going out on TUESDAY, July 8. If you’re on the list, you’ll get it free in your mailbox. If you’re not, you won’t! Here’s what you’ll find in this issue:

• Did you know that your clients are NOT buying a Tarot reading, a healing session, or consultation time? Here’s what you’re REALLY offering (when you truly understand this, you’ll start booking sessions left and right)

• How to answer the question “So what do you do?” in a way that stops eye-rolling in its tracks and leaves them hanging on your every word

• The Marketing Goddess Recommends: one of the best books on wealth and manifestation mindset that I’ve ever read, and my current favorite Tarot doohicky (it has officially become a MUST - I use it every day)

• TONS of announcements! New classes, and juicy hints about all the cool stuff I’ve got for you in the pipeline

You know what they say - you snooze, you lose! :)  Sign up now if you’re not already on the list (sign-up boxes are in the upper right hand corner).

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, everyone!!

For all the Tarot fans out there, just a quick reminder to keep your peepers peeped to this fabulous resource by Amy Lamash, the Tarot Calendar.  Tarot events around the world, all in one place!

The calendar is always pretty full, but we know that it’s still a fraction of what’s going on out there. So if you know of any events, or are hosting your own, make sure to pass them along to Amy!

In my last post, I talked about why I’ve begun to trade goal-setting for visioning, and how to create compelling 3-year visions that propel you into action.

I find visions to be so much more exciting than goals. But I haven’t given up on goals entirely! Income goals remind me that ultimately, I’m in charge of my income. And you know what they say - what you focus on expands.

Here’s how to set income goals that get results:

1. Be realistic. I will be completely straight up here and admit that when I first quit my job, I “intentioned” a lot of ridiculous numbers within even more ridiculous time frames. Not only was I completely frustrated by not meeting them, I was also confused (”wait, why isn’t it happening?” *wail*).

Don’t get me wrong - it’s important to pick a number number outside of your comfort zone (see next point). And my numbers weren’t entirely unrealistic, just unrealistic for right then. But the result was a lot of emotional energy down the drain. Very counter-productive, needless to say.

Here’s what I completely failed to take into account: the growth-value-income equation. Your fees and income are all about what VALUE you provide to your clients. Want bigger fees and more money? Add more value. And sometimes that means you have to grow, both as a practitioner and a person.

2. At the same time, pick something that will be a bit of a stretch. You don’t grow when you’re in your comfort zone. What number would make you a little bit uncomfortable… make you wonder, “Hrm, could I?”… inspire you to push yourself… and most importantly of all, invite you to grow?

If you pick a number that’s a little higher than you’re used to, you’ll s-t-r-r-r-etch a little to get there. Ask yourself, “What kind of person do I need to be in order to (charge X / serve Y clients / offer Z)?”

3. Pick an emotional number. I learned this one from SEO expert Colin McDougall, who spoke at The System earlier this year. When Colin quit his job as a systems administrator (ie, computer geek) to pursue Internet Marketing full-time, he set a goal of earning $5,000 per month. Why? That was the monthly income at the “day job from hell.” A goal of replacing the day job income kept him focused on never going back, and kept him motivated.

4. Work backward. Once you have a ballpark number, now it’s time for brass tacks: how many clients/sessions/classes will you need in order to meet that goal? Is it realistic, but a bit of a stretch? If yes, hooray! If not, go back and adjust.

5. Think averages. Income goals are kind of like losing weight - it takes time to see results. Just as you wouldn’t hop on the scale every day when you’re on a diet, thinking in averages is more realistic and will help keep you from getting discouraged. You may not make your target number for a given month, but if you divide up your entire income for 3 months and divide by 3… you get the picture.

6. Review your goal regularly. Post it where you can see it, put it in your day planner, or work it into your scheduling and/or time management system. Whatever you do, make sure you review your goal regularly. In this case, “out of sight, out of mind” might as well also mean “out of bank account.”

And remember: your goal is not set in stone. If later you find that you need to tweak it down, that doesn’t mean you failed! Success never comes in a straight line. It’s those little adjustments that count. The more you focus on what you want and implement the marketing to get there, the sooner you’ll find yourself “tweaking” your income goals in the “right” direction: up, up, up!

This time of year always gets me thinking about vision and planning. It’s a good time for taking stock. July marks the end of the first half and the start of the second half of the year - plenty of feedback (from the first 6 months) and time to make adjustments (6 more months to go). The energy of this time of year is perfect, too - the fiery energy of Midsummer!

I’ve always been a big goal-setter (it’s a habit I picked up from my dad). Indeed, I can’t really imagine life without goals of some kind. But I have to be honest. Lately I’ve been questioning the whole goal-setting thing.Why? Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned from working for myself, it’s that nothing stays the same except change. I don’t know about you, but here’s an experience I’ve had more times than I’d like to count: I make a long list of goals - beautiful goals! - and I’m movtivated and pumped up and excited to meet them - I’ve even started working on ‘em! - and then… something gets in the way. A prject spiraled out of control, a better idea, or just… life.And all momentum comes to a screeching halt. (Sound familiar?)

I don’t know about you, but it’s enough to make me feel like making goals are a big waste of time. (quite literally - I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent HOURS on a list of goals only for them to become irrelevant a month later). So, more and more, I’ve traded goal-setting for visioning.

What is visioning? Quite simply, visioning is painting a picture of what you’d like your entire life to look like - work, money, relationships, family, spirituality, everything - within a given time frame.

Visioning allows you to drop the inhibitions and “shoulds” of goal-setting and think BIG: what would you like your life to look like in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years? (I suggest a 3-year vision because it’s plenty of time to make the vision come true, but not TOO much time that it seems unreal.)

What would stretch you, push you, challenge you? Better yet, what motivates you, gets you really excited? A good 3-year vision should scare you a little.

Be sure to write down your vision in the present tense. Pretend it’s three years from now. “It’s July 1, 2011. So many things have happened since July 1, 2008. I left my day job in January, 2009 to become a full-time Reiki practitioner and I now have a six-figure income…”

But don’t stop with just your calling and your income. What does your home look like? Who is with you? What trips have you taken?

Don’t hold back! If your vision doesn’t get your heart racing, you’re not stretching far enough. Your vision should make you want to jump out of your chair. Make sure, though, to add plenty of specifics; i.e., tangible results that you can measure. If it helps, get a goals book or a vision book, where you can place pictures and talismans that remind you of your vision.

Once you have your vision, it’s time to work backward. What do you need to do to make it happen?

Don’t worry if you can’t figure it all out right now. But it is important to get into ACTION as soon as possible. Avenues you haven’t dreamed of to make your vision come true will open up to you… but only once you are in motion.

Lastly, print out your vision and keep it close at hand. Read it often, and allow yourself to really feel it happening now.

For fun, I thought I’d share a little more about how I came to be such a big fan of the just-one-thing strategy.

First, I can’t help but post this quote from mega-entrepreneur Dan Kennedy, mentioned in the BYMB newsletter this week (are you signed up?). It comes from his book, No B.S. Wealth Attraction:

“Finally, let me reveal one of my own, personal ’secrets of success.’ It is a daily discipline I have adhered to for more than 30 years. I’d wager I’ve neglected it less than 30 days out of the 30 years. I’ve adhered to it 10,920 out of 10,950 days. Every day, no matter what else I am doing or must do that day, even if in a full day of consulting, traveling across country, or on vacation, I still do one thing, if only one thing, one thing intended to ‘prime my pump’ to create future business for myself or my companies. It may be a small thing: tearing a magazine article that should interest one of my clients, scrawling a note on it and mailing it. It may be answering one item of correspondence, getting one fax sent, identifying a new, potentially useful contact, jotting a note, or sending a book. But no day passes without me doing at least one such thing. Although it is no longer required, it has been especially important to me over the years because a lot of my income is derived from delivery of services, such as speaking, consulting, coaching and advertising copywriting; so, in a way, I must sell ‘it’ and make ‘it.’ Most professionals stop selling while they’re delivering, so they have dry spells, roller coaster ups and downs. I have had more demand than supply of me and waiting lists of clients for many years because of my daily discipline of doing at least one proactive thing to attract business every single day.”

I did not learn this strategy from Dan Kennedy. I discovered “just one thing” back in 1994.

It was my last semester at Trinity College. Like many college seniors, my swan song came in the form of the dreaded senior thesis.

I can’t remember now how I hit on the strategy of doing just one thing, no matter how small, each and every day to get the thesis done. I’d like to think it was my own idea. Maybe I’d thought of it myself, but it was definitely floating around out there in the ether. I do know that I have never been an all-nighter kind of person, especially when it comes to writing. If the paper is not done the night before it’s due, it’s going to be late. Period. The thought horrified me.

I will never forget the day when, while sitting around in the cafeteria listening to everyone else bellyache and moan about their last-minute mad dashes toward the thesis finish line, I realized that mine was already done. 2 weeks early.

“And this comes as a surprise?” said a kid sitting across from me. He was staring into the abyss of being awake 24 hours a day for his last 2 weeks.

“I hadn’t even noticed,” I said, truthfully.

Silence.

“Um, I guess I’d better take it to Kinko’s and get it printed.”

The kid just shook his head.

The next issue of the Build Your Metaphysical Business email newsletter is going out on TUESDAY, June 24. If you’re on the list, you’ll get it free in your mailbox. If you’re not, you won’t. If haven’t yet signed up for the newsletter, sign up now at http://www.buildyourmetaphysicalbusiness.com.

Here’s what you’ll find in this issue:

• The one question you should be asking yourself ALL THE TIME as you work to attract clients and increase your income.

• A powerful marketing lesson we can all learn from the Tarot artists extraordinaire at Baba Studio

• Want to practically guarantee your success?  Buddy up!  One of the best ways I know to get your marketing done (which of course leads to more clients, more income, more success) is to get an accountability partner.  Here’s how to find one and how to work with one.

• The Marketing Goddess Recommends: the only book on time management you’ll ever need, why being a “lovecat” will help you grow your business in ways you’ve never dreamed

Sign up now if you’re not already on the list (sign-up boxes are in the upper right hand corner).

You may have stumbled upon a blog post that made the rounds a few months ago: 1000 True Fans. For those who missed it, here’s the gist:

“A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.”

So is it possible to make a living with 1000 true fans? One reader asked me to comment.

I can’t help but think of marketing genius Jay Abraham, and a marketing truth. (I don’t know if he said it first or just said it best, but it’s commonly attributed to him.)

There are 3 - and only 3 - ways to grow a business. That’s any business, be it creative or not. Here they are:

1. Increase your number of clients.
2. Increase the average size of the sale per client.
3. Increase the number of times clients return and buy again.

Some of you have heard me say that marketing is a numbers game. Well, there are your numbers. (Note that these 3 are a variation of the two numbers I often talk about: how many people see your message and how many take you up on it.)

Is it possible to make a living with 1000 true fans? Absolutely! It’s possible to become rich with 1000 true fans. It’s also just as likely to just scrape by. It’s all in the numbers.

Whether 1000 true fans is your goal or just a starting point, here’s the real question. Ask yourself, “How can I offer more value to my clients and customers?”

Note I did not say “sell more stuff.” By all means, increase your offers! But if you’re thinking in terms of “selling stuff,” you’re grossly shortchanging both your clients AND yourself. Making more offers, and increasing your prices, are both about value - and value is all about your client, not you.

Find ways to add value, and you will have no problem not just making a living, but living the life of your dreams.