Why is a Brand Moodboard Important?

 What brand moodboards are actually used for and why you should have one for your business!

Creating a moodboard is always the first step in the project. This is becoming a standard design practice, but moodboards aren’t just useful for designers like me – they’re also helpful for:

Business Owners

I’ll explain in a moment how the businesses I work with can use the moodboards we create during our project, but it’s not just for my benefit!

Bloggers

Having a moodboard for your blog can help you get clear about your design and content/photography theming – very useful!

Photographers

Many photographers use moodboards as a guide for their own style and for theming photoshoots.

Artists & Creatives

Again, moodboards can be used as a style guide for a number of projects!

Wedding/Event Planners

For theming events and getting an idea of a style & atmosphere, moodboards are super useful!

WHAT IS A ‘BRAND MOODBOARD’?

A moodboard is a collection of images (photos, graphics, textures) that together display a distinctive, cohesive theme. It is a visual tool for designers & business owners to put across their ideas for a brand’s personality.

And what do I mean by a theme? Here are some elements that might make up the theme of a moodboard by having common threads throughout the images:

  1. Colour palettes
  2. Font choice
  3. Textures & patterns
  4. Photography style
  5. Feeling/emotion

WHAT DO YOU USE IT FOR?

Moodboards in branding projects because it gives me a clear sense of what overall theme their brand’s personality is going for, and I use it as a guide when creating logos and branded collateral such as business cards, to keep me on track and ensure everything is consistent.

This is a key word here – consistency.

A moodboard is essentially a guiding light for all visual elements of your brand.

If what you are creating matches with the style of the moodboard, then you are on-brand. If it doesn’t, then you need to re-evaluate whether it is right for your brand.

This is useful and having a moodboard helps everyone stay consistent in everything they create. 

Business owners/bloggers/creatives/events planners etc. can also use moodboards to show third parties (ie. designers, suppliers) so that everyone is on the right track, working towards the same goal – the same moodboard.

HOW DO YOU CREATE ONE?

Below is how the process works :

Fill in a brand questionnaire

Questionnaire gets the thinking deeply about  brand & business, providing them a focus of the visual side of things. It also helps get a deeper idea of their ‘brand personality’. 

Set up a shared Pinterest board to collect imagery

Pinterest is a great bookmarking tool that can use to ‘pin’ (aka. save) things from around the web and on Pinterest that they feel portrays their brand.

Curate the images into an overarching ‘theme’ (+ add more if needed)

Using Pinterest board and questionnaire,  refine the images into a definite theme and add more of my own selection if it needs elaborating.

Arrange the images in a moodboard collage template

I’ll take these ‘themed’ images and arrange them into a collage that puts across the concept as clearly as possible.

Select a colour palette from the images & add to the moodboard

From the images in the moodboard,  take key colours and create a palette of complimentary colours to use for the rest of the project.

But this isn’t the only way to create a moodboard! In my process, we usually only work digitally, using imagery my clients find around Pinterest and the web and arranging them in a virtual moodboard; this is to keep things simple and quick for the client. 

You could also collect physical things from the world around you and take photos of brands & things that you want to add to your moodboard. Or you could create a tangible moodboard in a large sketchbook or on canvas; this would allow you to add physical textures & materials to the mix. Interior designers & artists often do this!

As for actually creating the moodboard?

While it is relatively easy to create collage templates in Photoshop or InDesign, I’ve found Canva is the the simplest way. Canva is a free online tool that you can use for all kinds of graphics and templates, but it makes moodboards particularl simple!

STEP ONE – CREATE A DESIGN

Go into Canva and select a design shape and size (I usually go for a ‘Pinterest’ template as I want to be able to share my moodboards on Pinterest once they’re created). 

You’ll then be given a blank slate to start your design!

STEP 2 – ADD A COLLAGE ‘GRID’

Use the sidebar on the left-hand side to select ‘Elements’ and then go into the ‘Grids’ section. Then you can choose a collage layout to suit you and just click on it to add it to your design!

STEP 3 – UPLOAD YOUR MOODBOARD IMAGES

In the left sidebar click the ‘uploads’ button and start uploading the images you want to add to your collage. Once they’ve uploaded, can simply click and drag them into the box you want them to appear in (play around with the placement until you’re happy!).

STEP 4 – FINISH AND DOWNLOAD

You can always add other elements like coloured circles or blocks to show the colour palette you’ve chosen, and then once you’re done, simply click the ‘Download’ button in the top bar on the right, and download it as a png!

Does your brand have its own moodboard?

Most Profitable Activities in Your Business

 As a business owner, profitability is your ultimate goal. And identifying the most profitable activities within your business is key to driving growth, maximizing you revenue and ensuring long-term success. 

In this episode, we talk about:

  • Why you need to focus on revenue-generating activities
  • How to identify which tasks you need to let go so that you can focus on the tasks that are actually going to make you money
  • The activities guaranteed to generate income in your business

There is a very practical shift you can make that is guaranteed to make you thousands of dollars. And yes, I can actually say that this is a guaranteed strategy and I can wholeheartedly promise you that if you do actually implement this, and stay consistent with it, then you will 100% increase your revenue and make a lot more sales than you’re currently making.

Are you ready for the strategy?

You need to focus more of your time on revenue-generating activities. I’m going to say it again. You need to focus more of your time on Revenue. Generating. Activities. 

That is how you’re going to increase your sales, increase your profit and grow your business. By focusing on revenue-generating activities. It really is that simple.

But what exactly does that mean? Well, not all tasks within your business are created equal. If you were to look back at all of the tasks you’ve completed for your business over the past week, I’m sure you’ll find that you’ve spent a lot of time on things that don’t actually drive revenue or move the needle forward within your business.

In fact, let’s do an activity right now. 

ACTION STEP: Uncovering your most (& least) profitable business activities

Over the next week, I want you to…

1. Write a list of every business related activity you do throughout the week

Include absolutely everything! Even down to the 5 minutes you spend checking and responding to emails each morning.

2. At the side of each task, ask yourself how that specific task is contributing to your business growth. 

Is that task making you money? If that task is directly making you money then that should be a number one priority.

For example, a task that directly makes me money is creating valuable content that educates my audience on what they need to know, understand and believe about my offers before they purchase. This is a number one priority within my business because I know that it’s going to convert to sales. 

As the business owner, founder, CEO… whatever you call yourself… the majority of your time should be spent on activities that are going to make you money. Any task that doesn’t directly make you money should be lower on the priority list.

An example of the activities that are going to bring you revenue are things like…

  • Creating high-value content that’s going to serve your audience
  • Building your email list
  • Collaborating with other business owners to reach a wider audience
  • Creating an affiliate or referral program 
  • Nurturing and connecting with your current audience
  • Optimizing your offer suite
  • Creating an order bump or tripwire product
  • Sharing behind-the-scenes content about your offers and processes
  • And, of course, actually SELLING

There are sooo many things that are going to generate revenue for your business. 

Now that you’re aware of what a needle moving activity is and what’s going to generate profit for your business, make sure to go back and do the earlier activity.

Remember, you will never get the results you want without taking action. Without completing tasks like this. Without actively committing to working on your business growth.

And this isn’t about adding more to your plate. This is about identifying where you’re wasting time with activities that aren’t moving the needle forward and aren’t generating profit, and replacing them with actual revenue-generating activities.

As entrepreneurs, we get so caught up in the busy work. We want to feel productive and so we find more and more things to add to our to-do lists. But a lot of the time, the activities we fill our to-do list with are just busy work. They’re things that distract us from focusing on the revenue-generating activities and actually moving the needle forward.

If you can commit to focusing more of your time on revenue-generating activities over the next quarter, I guarantee that you are going to increase your profit. You are going to make more sales. You are going to sign more clients.

ACTION STEP: Carve out time each morning for your business boosting activity

If you’re a regular listener of the podcast, you might have heard of something I do in my own business called a Business Boosting Activity. If you’ve never heard me talk about this before, this is basically a section of my day where I commit to doing at least one activity that’s going to move my business forward. 

I carve out at least 60 minutes every single morning, before I do any client work, before I start working on my to-do list for the day. And during this time, my sole focus is on revenue-generating activities. 

This is a daily non-negotiable within my business and it has helped me grow my business so much over the past few years because I am prioritizing my business growth every day. I’m not getting distracted by other tasks or running out of time for the most important tasks because I haven’t prioritized them. I am committed to getting 1% closer to my goals each and every day because it’s the first thing I do when I get up in the morning.

This is something I encourage all of my clients to do – it’s also something I want to highly encourage you to do! I promise, when you commit to this, you will see so much growth.

Consistency : Needle Forward

 Consistency is a word that’s thrown around a lot these days, and it seems to be getting a bad rep. We’re constantly told that we need to show up consistently, create content consistently, sell consistently… But does it really mean what you think?

In this episode, we’re uncovering the truth about consistency and what it truly means to be consistent.

The biggest misconception about what it means to be consistent.

Consistency is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the online space and it seems to be getting a bit of a bad reputation. We hear people say that you need to show up consistently, post consistently, sell consistently, BE consistent… and I think that all of these things are true. You DO need to be consistent if you want to see progress and get great results.

However, there are a few common misconceptions that come up when we hear these things. A lot of people associate consistency with showing up and giving it 100% every single day, and that’s not what consistency is AT ALL.

Being consistent does NOT mean, that you have to do the same thing every day, that you have to hold yourself to some rigid system or structure for the sake of “consistency”, that you have to do things perfectly, or that you have to do something you don’t enjoy for the sake of your business’ growth.

None of these things is what it means to be consistent, yet this is what so many people think when they hear that word. I want to rewrite that belief.

What it really means to be consistent.

A lot of people interpret consistency as having to show up and go full force every day, but that is not the true meaning of consistency. That is what leads to burnout.

When I say that you need to be consistent, what I really mean is that you need to figure out what you need to do each day to move the needle forward. Even if it’s just something that will get you 1% closer to your goal. That’s consistency.

Some days you might have the energy to do more, and so you can make that choice if it feels good to you! Some days, you might not have the energy to do anything at all, and missing a day here and there is absolutely okay. Nothing catastrophic is going to happen. But the point is, the consistency you’ve built over the days, weeks, months before is going to carry that through and make it okay for you to miss a day or two!

And like I said, consistency isn’t about perfection. Showing up in the first place is so much more important than showing up perfectly. So have a think about the goals you have for your business and ask, “what can I do to move myself 1% closer to that goal?”

For example, if your goal for this month is to sign a new client, maybe the one thing you do today is write an email to your list, or maybe you craft a valuable Instagram caption, or show up on your Stories to talk about your offer. These are all small things that you can do that add up over the long run. It’s all part of a bigger strategy and what it means to be consistent.

And it’s okay if on the days where you’re just not feeling high-energy and you don’t feel like doing anything, it’s okay for you to just do one small thing. Because there will also be days where you feel unstoppable and you do 10 things that will move you closer to that goal. At the end of the day, consistency is all about balance.

How I’m able to stay consistent in my business

In my own business, I pride myself in being very consistent with my content. But that doesn’t mean that I’m creating and publishing content every single day. That would be far too much for me to handle, and far too much for my audience to consume as well! We often talk about the importance of being consistent with our content, but you can be consistent in a way that works for you.

For me, I consistently…

Release a podcast episode every single week

Write a blog post every week

Create 2-3 Instagram posts each week

Write 2 emails each week

Post to my Instagram Stories every day

Publish a Pinterest pin every day

And I do all of these things because I know that it’s going to move the needle forward. I know that it’s going to help me connect with my audience and that it’s going to help me sell my offers. That’s why I do these things consistently.

And yeah, there might be the odd day where I miss an Instagram Story, or a week where only one email goes out, and that’s okay. It’s okay to miss a day, you have to recognize when to give yourself some grace!

And I do just want to address the fact that I do create a lot of content. I haven’t always created this much content, but my business is almost 10 years old now and so over time, I’ve created a lot of systems and processes and hired team members to help me do this.

If you’re not at that stage right now, consistency might look like 2 Instagram posts and an email each week. The point is, you are being consistent in a way that works for you.

Steal this trick to be more consistent in your own business & commit to moving the needle forward each day

My favorite way to make sure that I am consistently showing up and moving the needle forward for my business is that each morning before I start on any client work or do any admin-related tasks, I always spend the first hour of my day working ON, not IN it.

I don’t do any client work for that first hour. It’s solely dedicated to doing something that is going to move the needle forward. That might be working on a sales page or recording a podcast episode, or creating social media content. Whatever it is, it’s 100% going to move me closer to my goal.

And then I also like to dedicate at least one complete day of the week to this as well. This is a day where I won’t take any calls, I won’t do any client work , and the entire day is just dedicated to moving my business forward.

If you aren’t already crafting out dedicated time to work ON your business and move the needle forward, I really recommend that you try this out. You don’t have to dedicate a full day to it, but if you can spend the first hour of each day just doing something that’s going to move you forward then you are going to see BIG results.

If there’s one thing that you take away from todays episode, let it be that you commit to taking messy, imperfect action and start showing up in a way that feels good to you.

Being consistent does NOT mean that you have to be perfect. In fact, it has less to do with the specific action we take and much more to do with the attitude we have towards doing the things that are necessary to our growth and how we act when things get tough.

How to Get Better at Yoga: 6 Simple Tips

 When I first started yoga (and I’m still learning), I wanted to get better at it as fast as possible. I think that’s especially the case for someone who joins a yoga class and sees everyone doing great.

Yoga is about the process, the flow, feeling in harmony with your own body and mind. Never forget that! Thus, you should enjoy every bit of it. But, if you want to learn how to get better at yoga, that’s perfectly fine.

How to Get Better at Yoga?

Here are some tips that will help you to get better at yoga. These are just suggestions that I have personally found to be very useful.

1. Decide What You Want to Accomplish

It’s important to ask yourself why you’re doing yoga in the first place. Or why do you even want to get better at it? Do you have a painful back? Perhaps you just want to be more flexible? Your goals should be reasonable and yet motivate you.

My main goal in yoga has always been to spend more time with myself. To feel my body and get more control over it. Yoga has helped me with my mental health in that sense.

But, I’m still not there but surely I’ll get there. Thus, just ask yourself why you’re doing yoga in the first place.

2. Stretch and Exercise

While stretching will help you with most yoga poses, doing exercises to strengthen muscles is very useful too. I’ve actually written a whole post on yoga poses for flexibility. Here are some of the poses you might want to consider trying to gain more flexibility:

Back

Poses that are especially useful if you suffer from back pain – Cobra, Upward-Facing Dog, Bow Pose.

Start with Cobra, Upward-Facing Dog poses and progressing to Bow Pose.

Hamstring

Some of the poses for your hamstrings – forward fold, half split, head-to-knee forward bend.

Forward folds are also very good for your back. If you generally like to do some exercises for abs, always begin with forwarding folds to stretch the back and avoid injuries. Your hamstrings will be happy too!

Here are some of the most common questions when it comes to stretching that you might have too.

How Often Should You Stretch?

If yoga is truly something you want to get better at fast – stretch every day. Otherwise, 3-4 times a week works.

If you’re exercising on the side, stretch after each workout to avoid muscle pain caused by lactic acid build-up. Stretching simply helps to release it 

How Long Should You Hold a Stretch?

That’s a very common question that I ever had in the beginning. I don’t think it’s very easy to answer either. 

However, when it comes to stretching, make sure you’re actually holding it for at least 25-30 seconds. Bouncing while stretching isn’t useful.

The key is to really hold that stretch. Increase the time as you progress. It might be a good idea to note these numbers down to see how much you’ve improved.

How Far Should You Stretch?

Stretching should feel fairly comfortable. If you’re in a lot of pain, you’re probably going too far.

Don’t get me wrong, you should feel some tension but it should never get to the level where it’s very uncomfortable.

3. Track Progress

Next time you’re doing a yoga pose, ask someone to take a picture. Repeat that after a month. If you want to stay motivated and feel proud of yourself, you need to see where you have come.

I think sometimes we get lost in the progress, and can no longer see the improvements. It’s important to look back. At the end of the day, seeing how you have got better even at an easy pose is rewarding.

4. Do It While Watching TV

While yoga is all about being present and feeling the control over your body, doing a few stretches here and there can get boring. Sometimes I like to turn my favorite series on and do a few stretches.

That somehow helps to hold a stretch for longer too. It most definitely has something to do with the fact that my mind is somewhere else.

I think that helps with overall physical improvement. However, it doesn’t mean that yoga is just about that.

5. Be Present

At the end of the day, yoga is not only for your body but for your soul too. It has a spiritual quality to it.

Yoga is not only about getting the pose right, but it’s also about the harmony that you can achieve with it. It’s about focusing on your breath, clearing your mind and flowing with your body.

While it’s certainly good to be motivated and to want to improve, the very reason why we do yoga is not only for getting advanced at it.

We do it to clear our minds and stay present for a moment. Don’t forget that! Next time you’re doing your 20-minute morning yoga workout, focus on your breathing and balance.

6. Don’t Overdo It

If your goal is to do a one-handed tree pose or handstand scorpion or any other crazy yoga pose, you have to be extra careful.

The practice of yoga causes injuries, especially for the elderly. While we might get lost in our goals and needs, it’s important to not push yourself too hard.

Yoga is not a sport. But, just like sports, it can cause injuries. My personal suggestion – if you want to become advanced, get some professional help.

Having someone by your side can protect you from injuring yourself.

Conclusion

I hope these tips will help you with getting better at yoga. At the end of the day, you need to remember that it takes time.

Practicing probably helps the most. It might also help to join a class to meet other yoga lovers and boost your motivation. It’s much easier to achieve your goals if you have friends who have similar ones.

10 Yoga Poses for Flexibility Your Body Needs

 For so many of us who start yoga, gaining flexibility is the main goal. Am I right? While there is far more to yoga, a more supple and bendy body is indeed one of the many benefits of regular asana practice.

While we might want some flexibility to boost our ego, it’s important for our body to stay healthy, pain-free, and to be able to sit comfortably and for a long time in meditation. Which is the actual goal of the asana practice?

10 Yoga Poses for Flexibility

Here are 10 yoga poses for flexibility that will also make you feel calm and in control. At the end of the day, that’s all we want, isn’t it?

1. Half Monkey Pose

The main muscles that get stretched in a yoga practice are the hamstrings, running along the back of our legs.

As opposed to full-on splits, in half splits you can easily control how deep you want your stretch to be, as you’re supporting your main weight with your bent leg and your hands. Slowly over time, you can extend your back leg into the full expression of the pose.

2. Seated Forward Fold

There are many variations of a Seated Forward Fold. Keeping the knees bent, relaxing your muscles for a more restorative version, or holding on to your flexed feet, bringing the head closer to the knees by gently pulling your torso forward and down.

If you have a dodgy lumbar spine, keep the bend in your knee and fold forward with a straight back, as slipped discs happen easily in this pose. Don’t compromise the safety to get lower by a few more inches.

3. Head to Big Toe Pose

Popular in Ashtanga Yoga, Head to Big Toe Pose is for the balanced yogi. If you can’t reach the toes with your fingers, keep your knee bent.

A little top for balance: Keep the knee of your standing leg soft. It truly works wonders.

4. Lizard

Lizard pose stretches your inner thighs, groin and hip flexors quite nicely. You can sway forwards and backward on your back foot for a more dynamic and playful expression of the pose, or come down low on your forearms.

5. Butterfly

Dynamic Butterfly is a nice warm up. It opens up the inner thighs and stretches the groin (besides keeping the reproductive organs in check). Go for some strong flaps with your knees, then hold the knees down for a few breaths.

It’s important to breathe deeply into your groin here and – you’ve guessed it – to keep a straight spine.

6. Low Lunge

Low Lunge is oh so good after walking, running, but also sitting much. Basically after most activities that aren’t yoga.

Sit your hips really deep here and you will get a nice strong stretch of your hip flexors and especially of the Psoas muscle, the main hip flexor. The Psoas is much talked about, and all yogis agree that it plays a major role in keeping the lower back happy.

7. Pigeon Pose

Pigeon Pose is one of my favorite poses. You don’t have to do anything and can just enjoy the feeling of how your hip opens up a little bit more with every exhale.

You can also let go of all the effort in your muscles and take this pose in a restorative way.

8. Cobra

Cobra is a great way of making your spine more supple and flexible. Back pain and also injuries are often based on missing flexibility in the spine. So let’s twist, extend and flex the spine in our beautiful yoga practice. Gently though.

Want to hear about more benefits? Cobra Pose creates space in the chest for your breath to flow and strengthens your arms, shoulders and lower back.

9. Wheel

The wheel is an advanced yoga pose, demanding not only a flexible spine but also a good amount of arm strength. If you don’t feel ready for Wheel, keep practicing Bridge Pose.

Wheel and also Bridge Pose open up your chest and shoulders nicely and are targeting the heart chakra. Breathe deeply into your chest – I know, it’s difficult in this position, as the throat is overextended – but it trains all muscles involved in your breathing.

10. Wide-Legged Forward Fold

Folding forward from a standing position stretches the inner legs and the backs of the legs, plus it extends our spine. I personally prefer it to its seated counterpart, as gravity does most of the work here. Thank you, gravity!

5 Ways to Ensure You Consistently Have Clients

 There’s plenty of positive aspects to entrepreneurship… getting to do work you love, setting a schedule that works for you and your ideal schedule, the possibility of making a tangible impact on the people and society around you… but unfortunately, thrills don’t pay the bills.

There’s also a feast or famine cycle that’s inherent to the small business owner lifestyle. One month you’ll have so much work you’re struggling to keep up, and the next you’ll be digging for pennies under the couch cushions.

But just because this happens to “everyone” doesn’t mean that you have to play along with the game. With a little bit of thought and sustained effort, you can keep your client stream consistent.

How to get a consistent stream of clients:

1. Promote yourself regularly.

It’s challenging to think about the “next” thing while you’re engrossed in current client projects, but it’s important to look ahead in your calendar. Don’t wait until you’ve wrapped up that big project or ended a contract before you start looking around for the next one.

You’ll be more confident about promoting yourself and taking on projects suited to you if you start looking before you hit that couch-scavenging stage.

  • Try plugging your e-newsletter on a weekly basis through your social media feeds.
  • Share testimonials from happy clients on social feeds and in your newsletters.
  • Share snippets of your working life… nothing confidential, obviously, but enough to let people know you’re actively engaged with projects.
  • Heck, you can even announce that you’ve got client openings for the summer/two months out/etc, and invite people to book a chat with you.

Remember, people need to be reminded that you exist. It may feel icky to promote yourself so bluntly, but people only see about 1/18th of your posts (and take action on even fewer of them).

2. Maintain good relationships with past clients.

It’s always good to check in with your past clients — especially the ones you really loved working with. This doesn’t have to be a “Hey, I’m looking for work,” sort of email, but simply a friendly, “I was thinking about you and was wondering how things are going!”

You never know when they might have a new project to work on, and keeping in touch keeps you top-of-mind when their colleagues are looking for someone to hire.

Pro tip: If you collect their contract information (email, phone number, address) in your contract, it makes it super simple to follow up later with a card or a note.

3. Make it easy-peasy to contact you.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… make it easy to get in touch with you! Don’t bury your booking link or contact info three pages deep on your website. (And definitely stop doing these other things that are driving your potential clients away.)

Busy entrepreneurs can’t waste 30 minutes looking for your email address. Make it super simple for them to send you a message, tell you what their project is, and get information about how you work.

4. Shoot for quality, not quantity.

The worth of your work is not in how much you churn out, but in the results you get for your clients. This applies no matter what you’re doing… whether it’s a gorgeously handcrafted wedding dress that makes the bride feel amazing, a gallery of family photos where Mom feels good about how she and her kids look, or webcopy that turns readers into customers and gets all the likes and shares.

Do your best work, and the results will do the talking for you. Follow through on the expectations you and your client talked about in your discovery call and outlined in your contract. People who do good work are hard to find, and your reputation will spread.

5. Generosity is not a short sighted act.

There’s a fine line between giving away all your hard work, and giving enough away so that a potential client has a good idea of your knowledge and professionalism. Some entrepreneurs, especially newbies, can struggle with undercharging and giving away too much of their time, and that’s not what I’m talking about here.

Being generous with your knowledge through blog posts, free webinars, and answering questions in public forums can reinforce your position as an expert in your field. Once people realize they can trust your expertise, they’ll start hiring you to meet their needs.

Amazon Product Videos

 As crucial as your listing copy, images, and A+ content are, adding product videos to your Amazon listings can vastly improve the customer experience. 

Since a customer cannot physically interact with your product before deciding to purchase, the way you present your product on your Amazon listing is the customer’s only experience with it. 

While there’s nothing better than a customer experiencing your product in person, watching a video comes closest to that moment of product discovery and connection. 

If you want to make an exceptional listing experience and increase conversions, you should consider creating a product video. 

Why use Amazon product videos for your product listing?

The short answer: they’ll help you sell more products. 

Amazon’s goal is to create a seamless shopping experience, and they provide third-party sellers with a variety of tools to help them make that experience better for their customers. Through video, customers can truly see how the product works beyond scrolling through a few static images. 

An Amazon product video brings many benefits to your listing:

  • A video brings your product to life, and the customer can better imagine themselves using it
  • It provides better angles and perspectives of your product
  • You get to show off  your product’s uses, features, and benefits instantly
  • It gives you a leg up on your competitors that don’t have product videos
  • It can keep a customer engaged while on your listing, create a connection to your product, and help increase your conversion rate 
  • Because videos can give your customer clear product expectations, you can avoid negative reviews

96% of consumers stated they find product videos helpful when making purchases online. Product videos give the customer additional insight and visualization of your product that text and static images can’t achieve on their own. 

Where does an Amazon product video appear on your listing?

When you upload a video to your product listing, it will appear under the main product images section. Customers can easily find and view the video without having to scroll through your listing. 

When you click on the video thumbnail, it will open a bigger window through which customers can watch the video. 

Can any seller add an Amazon product video to their listing?

Yes. Amazon once only allowed brands enrolled in Brand Registry to upload a video to a listing but now, anyone can upload a video to a product listing.

This is excellent news for sellers with brands not yet enrolled in Brand Registry but who want to upload a product video. 

How to upload a product video in Seller Central

In Seller Central, go to the Catalog tab and click on ‘Upload and Manage Videos.’ 

On the next screen, you’ll see a button that says ‘Upload Video.’

Here, you will see an option under ASINs to choose Brand or Non-brand. If you have a brand enrolled in Brand Registry, choose brand and you can enter up to 300 ASINs related to the product video. If you do not have a brand enrolled in Brand Registry, choose non-brand and you add one ASIN related to the product video. 

Common Amazon product video types 

There are a few different video types you can create for your product. The kind of video you produce depends on the kind of product that you are selling. For instance, if you sell a clothing or jewelry product, a product highlight or lifestyle video would showcase your product the best. 

Product highlights video

This video type calls out your product’s essential features, uses, and benefits. Use a product highlights video to point out to potential customers exactly what your product has to offer. When making this video, focus on your product’s key attributes, and keep it short, simple, and to the point. 

Lifestyle video

A lifestyle video showcases the product in use by your target audience. This gives your potential customers an idea of how they can enjoy the product and a chance to picture themselves using it. When making this type of video, knowing your target audience and what they’re looking for is essential. Aim to connect them with your product and help them envision how it can improve their lives. 

Unboxing/explainer video

You’ve seen this type of video on YouTube before: someone unboxes a product from start to finish, and you get to see and learn about everything that comes in the package. This kind of video can give customers the satisfaction of knowing what their order will look like when it arrives and allows them to unbox the product vicariously. If done well, an unboxing/explainer video can help tip customers over to making a purchase. 

Comparison video

This video type shows your product in comparison to a competing item. It’s a bold but effective move, especially if there are good reasons your product fares better than the competition. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to mention your competitors by name. Instead, you can use discreet language such as “ours vs. theirs.” This kind of video works best if your product can solve a particular problem that your competitors’ product cannot. 

Best practices for creating product videos

When it comes to producing videos for your Amazon products, you have two options: you can make the video yourself or hire a professional videographer. If you are uncomfortable recording a video on your own, we suggest working with a freelancer or video production company with experience producing Amazon product videos. 

But with every new smartphone equipped with HD or 4K cameras, you can create high-quality videos that are suitable for your Amazon listing. If you want to produce your video, take a look at your competitors’  to understand what they’re doing.

How can you make your video better? Make a note of what they’re missing, and make sure to add it to your video. 

Now that you know the different types of videos you can create for your products, let’s go over some Dos and Don’ts for video production.

Do:

Try to hook your viewer within the first couple of seconds of the video. The customer will lose interest and click out if you have a long introduction.

Keep the video short and to the point. Cut out any fluff or unnecessary information. We recommend keeping the video to under one minute. Note: if you want to use your video for Sponsored Brands video ads, it must be under 45 seconds.

Ask yourself this question: What problem does my product solve? Show off your product as the solution to your customer’s problem. A product highlight or comparison video is a great way to address this.

Make sure you have excellent audio quality. If the audio is difficult to hear or muffled in any way, no one will want to watch it. Invest in a decent microphone that you can simply plug into your camera or phone. 

Ensure your shots are smooth, stable, and professional-looking. If you are using your phone to record your video, purchase an affordable phone stand.

Use free video editing software such as iMovie or CapCut to combine your clips. You don’t need any fancy equipment or software to produce a quality video.

Focus on your main features and benefits, so the customer gets the most out of your video. Customers prefer to view product videos to see the product in action and learn more about the product without reading a bunch of copy.

Use good lighting throughout the video. Make sure your product is well-lit, without dark corners or glare. If you don’t have professional lighting, natural light works just as well.

Use on-screen text to point out important features or benefits of the product. This is especially helpful if someone is watching your video with the sound off.

Use royalty-free music in the background of your video to create a mood and give it a professional finish.

Don’t:

Don’t include any promotional information (such as “special sale” or “limited time”), discount codes, or time-sensitive language within your video. Amazon prohibits the use of promotional information and will not approve your video if you include this content in your listing.

Don’t include any defamatory statements about your competitors. As mentioned above, you cannot talk about other brands in your videos. Limit such references to “our competitors.”

Don’t make any health claims that violate Amazon’s Terms of Service. Anything that you cannot include within your listing copy, you cannot have in your video.

Don’t try to direct viewers away from Amazon, such as adding a URL to your own website. Amazon will not approve your video if you do so. 

Start creating your very own product video!

Adding a product video to your Amazon listing not only makes for a better customer experience but is sure to help increase your overall conversion rates. We hope this guide enables you to create an excellent video for your Amazon product! Which video type interests you the most? 

6 Types of Self-Care & Ideas for Each One

 Self-care is a hot topic.

When we say the words “self-care”, our mind often shifts to face masks and bubble baths.

While that is one example of self-care, the true meaning goes much deeper than that.

There are actually 6 main types of self-care.

Much like the 7 areas of life, the 6 types of self-care are helpful to understand when prioritizing caring for yourself.

When you understand each different type of self-care, you can start to balance your self-care routine to make sure you’re hitting each area.

The different areas of self-care are all of immense importance, yet our common face-mask-and-bubble-bath idea of self-care neglects most of these areas.

Self-care is deep and complex.

Gaining an understanding of the 6 different types of self-care and activities within each self-care category is an important first step.

Let’s jump into understanding the different areas of self-care and how you can start practicing each one.

6 Different Types of Self-Care

1. Emotional Self-Care

Emotional self-care is just as it sounds… it can be achieved through activities that actively engage and connect with our emotions. Anything that requires you to recognize, feel, reflect on, or express an internal emotion is most likely a form of emotional self-care.

2. Physical Self-Care

Physical self-care is what we often think of when we hear the term “self-care”.

This is the bubble bath and face mask we talked about earlier.

But, simple everyday things also tend to your physical well-being. As a whole, your physical self-care is all about taking care of your physical health and well-being.

3. Mental Self-Care

Mental self-care is often confused with emotional self-care.

They do seem to overlap a little bit – but they are different.

Mental self-care refers to anything that actively engages your mind and stretches your brain. One great example of this is reading. We will dive into more examples later.

4. Social Self-Care

Social self-care is achieved by tending to your relationships.

Familial, romantic, platonic, etc. – all of our relationships affect our overall health and well-being.

Taking time to consciously and actively care for our relationships in any way is a form of social self-care.

5. Practical Self-Care

Practical self-care, which I often call productive self-care, is doing the mundane everyday tasks that your life requires.

By doing these tasks, you are helping free yourself from stress, overwhelm, or a stagnant life. I bet you never thought paying bills was self-care, but it is! That is an example of practical self-care.

6. Spiritual Self-Care

Spiritual self-care is another area of self-care that often gets mixed in with others.

Even though mental and emotional self-care seem similar, spiritual self-care is its very own type of self-care.

Spiritual self-care includes activities that encourage or require you to think bigger than yourself as you connect to the universe or, for some, a religious figure.

6 Ideas for Each Type of Self-Care

To give you a better understanding of how you can incorporate all areas of self-care into your life, here are 6 examples for each of the 6 types of self-care.

Emotional Self-Care Ideas

A form of self-care that requires feeling, addressing, expressing, or responding to your emotions.

  • Journaling about your emotions
  • Talking to a loved one about your emotions
  • Listening to emotional music
  • Going to therapy (online therapy is a great, less intimidating option!)
  • Creating art to express yourself
  • Crying, yelling, laughing, or otherwise externally expressing emotion

Physical Self-Care Ideas

A form of self-care that expresses care and attention for your physical well-being.

  • Joyful movement (walks, stretching, dancing, etc.)
  • Taking a bubble bath or a self-care shower
  • Getting enough rest each night
  • Drinking enough water throughout the day
  • Nourishing your body with nutritious foods (and enough food)
  • Skin care, face masks, hair care, self-tan, etc.

Mental Self-Care Ideas

A form of self-care that engages your mind and stretches your brain.

  • Doing a jigsaw puzzle
  • Reading a book
  • Writing a story
  • Playing a game
  • Watching a documentary
  • Playing brain games/puzzles

Social Self-Care Ideas

A form of self-care that nurtures the relationships in your life.

  • Calling a family member
  • Meeting a friend for lunch
  • Setting boundaries in your relationships
  • Cleaning out your social media (follow only positive accounts)
  • Go on a date
  • Understand your personal balance of social and alone time

Practical Self-Care Ideas

A form of self-care that involves maintaining a productive, successful, and well-managed life.

  • Changing your sheets
  • Taking an online course
  • Budget planning
  • Tidying your workspace/living environment
  • Planning your days/weeks
  • Staying on top of house chores

Spiritual Self-Care

A form of self-care that encourages you to think larger than yourself – your environment, the universe, higher powers, etc.

  • Practicing yoga
  • Meditation
  • Reading your tarot cards (or having them read)
  • Prayer
  • Going to a place of worship
  • Spending time outside to connect to your environment

Customize Your Types of Self-Care

Self-care is not a one-size-fits-all type of thing. In fact, it’s meant to be unique to each individual. That’s what makes it effective.

Customize your areas of self-care for your own life.

Know that you have complete and total freedom to shift your self-care practice to whatever fits your needs at any given moment.

Want to separate the practical self-care area into two categories – work and home?

Do it!

Don’t feel like spiritual self-care applies to you?

Replace it!

These 6 types of self-care and ideas for each area of self-care are intended to give you a baseline for building a self-care practice that works for you.

Ultimately, this will look a bit different for each individual.

Build your own balanced self-care routine to appeal to your wants, needs, and desires. That is the key to achieving true, effective self-care.

How to launch (or relaunch!) your business in 30 days

 This post should really be called “How to find your first paying client within 30 days”, because honestly? It’s not just about launching a business, it’s about finding paying clients … otherwise you don’t even have a business! 

For someone who’s been in the industry for 10 years, and who launched her business before social media was so integrated into our daily lives (I know, I can’t remember what that was like, either 😂), this question really made me think long and hard about how I would do this myself if I had to.

Day 1:

Who Do You Want To Help?

Figure out who you want to help in your business in DETAIL. I mean right down to what time does she get up in the morning to what secret snack does she eat before bed.

What does she / he do? Where did she go to school? Is she married or not? Kids or fur babies? Her hobbies? Her interests? What are her pain points?

You need to know how your client thinks and how she acts so you can predict what she’ll want that’s worth paying you for.

95% of the time, the person you want to help is who YOU were 1, 2, or even 5 years ago. If your business is based off of turning your mess into your message, think about what you were struggling with and how you felt when you had that particular problem that you want to help others with now.

Days 2-5:

Ideal Client Detective Work

Now that you know who you want to help, ASK THAT PERSON DIRECTLY what they want! Don’t sit there guessing!!! Find people who fit the description of your ideal client, and ask them what they want help with, what they struggle with, and what they’ve paid for in the past.

2 great ways to do this are:

Put up a post on social media asking for input; and

Stalking specific Facebook groups that are full of your ideal client (look at what questions have been posted, what answers have been given, and also how they react to those answers).

When you put up a post asking for input, be specific. Make a nice (free!) graphic in Canva that’ll grab their attention, and in the caption say:

Here’s an example post:

“Are you a busy, high-powered professional Mom aged 25-35 with young children who struggles with crappy sleep, low energy, and sugar cravings? Then I want to hear from you!

I’m doing some research for my new business that’ll help me figure out to help YOU in the best way possible.

Click the link below to answer 10 short questions about your work/life balance (what balance, am I right?!) and how you get through the day as the superwoman you are:

[Insert link]

I know your time is SUPER valuable, so I’m doing a draw for a Lululemon gift card. If you complete the 10 questions by Friday, you’ll be entered to win this $100 prize!

While you’re waiting for your ideal clients to answer the questionnaire, do lots of stalking and creeping online!

It can feel tempting to skip this step and go directly to social media, but the more you put into this business foundation, the more time, effort, and heartache you’ll save over the next year.

Days 5-10:

Get on Social Media

Start a Facebook page and Instagram account, and start adding valuable content that speaks directly to that person. It doesn’t ALL have to be around just their health issue, some of it can be fun, too!

I’d post once, or even twice daily if you want to REALLY jumpstart your business, and you can pick a different content focus for each day.

For example, Tuesday can be Q+A Tuesday. Write a post sharing that you’re doing live Q+A’s in your InstaStories. Just before your regular post is published, put up an InstaStory with the Q+A function that they now have, and just answer questions for free throughout the next 24 hours to show them that you know what you’re talking about!

When I say valuable content, I mean tips, tricks, and strategies that are so good, you’d include them in a paid program.

Those recipes you’re hoarding? Share them. Those things you recommend to people, and they tell you that they’re life changing? SHARE THEM. You’re not going to grow your business by keeping all your best knowledge to yourself.

You have to show people that you’re an expert by sharing your expertise.

So give freely of yourself, and watch people give freely from their wallet right back at you in the next few weeks.

By the way, being an expert doesn’t mean you talk in fancy, long, smarty pants words that no one understands. Expertise means that you’re not only smart (because I already know you are), but also that you are capable of leading people to create meaningful change that they can actually DO. Be relatable, share real life examples, and show them that you’re walking the walk right along with them.

Days 10-20:

Start an Email List

After you’ve spent some time getting to know your ideal client in theory, through questionnaires, and in real life on social media, start putting together some sort of challenge (it doesn’t have to be long at all) or high value opt-in for them. You want their email addresses so that you own their info and are not totally dependent on social media algorithms to reach your potential clients.

A high value opt-in could be a 7, 21, or 30 day challenge, or it could be a mini-cleanse, meal plan, or even an entire cookbook. It could even be a series of 7 days of live videos on social media! The point is:

Don’t be stingy with your freebies!

People don’t give out their emails as easily as they did a few years ago, and you have to provide them with something truly spectacular for them to be willing to part with their privacy and their time (because reading emails takes time, and most people are SO overwhelmed by their inboxes).

To collect their emails, you need to set up a landing page, which is offered with most email marketing programs for free. No need for a fancy website, you don’t have time for that yet! But you can still collect email addresses before you get around to that.

During these 10 days while you’re creating your freebie and building your landing page, share sneak peeks on social media to get your audience excited about it! Yes, that means that while you’re working your little butt off behind the scenes, you still have to be present on social media. Welcome to the world of owning a business in 2018.

You could even build the landing page FIRST, and share on social media that you have something exciting coming that they can sign up to right now and get it when you’re done in the next few days. On Facebook, you can link up the landing page right in the post. On Instagram, change the link in your profile to this landing page.

Post about this upcoming freebie at least 3 times a week, which might feel like a lot, but remember that only a small percentage of the people who are following you actually see your posts (thanks, social media algorithms!).

It’s estimated that only 3% of your audience sees your content at any given time, so chances are that when you post multiple times in one week about your freebie (or even every day), you’re not repeating the same thing to the same people, but hopefully it’s reaching new followers of yours who raised their hand to your awesomeness in the first place.

Days 20-25:

Design Your Paid Program

One of the fastest ways to create a real income is through a paid 1-1 program. Yes, you could do a digital, online product (like a meal plan or cookbook), but you can really only sell those for $25-$50, maybe $100 if you’re pushing it.

Yes, you could design an online program, but that’s going to take you months of preparing for, and this post is about getting your first paying client in 30 days. Plus, if you’ve never actually worked with clients, you don’t yet know what works and what doesn’t, so I would hate for you to invest months in building an online program that might not sell or even work because you haven’t tested it out with actual people.

So, a paid 1-1 program it is … but first you’ve got to design it! You already had your ideal client tell you exactly what she/he wants, now create it.

P.S. you can use the same steps to create a group program, it would just be priced a little lower, since the participants aren’t getting as much 1-1 time from you.

Here’s another little secret: you don’t have to have everything created for your signature program before you start taking clients and accepting payment! When you offer a 3 or 6 month program, you only need to have the first month’s content done before you start … and if you’re really brave (and don’t have kids that will get sick and inevitably throw your schedule into chaos), you don’t have to have ANYTHING but your program outline done before you sell it.

That’s actually the best way of testing a program or product without investing dozens or hundreds of hours into it: Create an outline, market it for a few weeks at a discount for the first few who trust you enough to jump on board when you’re just starting, and THEN create the program once people buy it.

Be upfront, share that it’s a new program and you want to co-create it with their input, and offer them a 50% discount. You’ll have some really good guinea pigs, they’ll give you great feedback AND (hopefully) testimonials that you can share to sell more of your program, and you’ll create some quick income on something that you’re now sure will sell … because it has.

It doesn’t matter how amazing you think your program is, if your customers and clients don’t see the value in it, it’s not worth much, if anything.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent dozens of hours creating something that never sold, and it’s a double waste because I can never get that time back AND I could have been creating something else that could have been successful, had I sat back and listened to my customers.

You’ll never regret this testing period, because it’ll either mean the end of something that was going to waste your time anyways OR the beginning of the most epic, life saving program for your future customers. Either way, it’s a win-win!

Days 25-30:

Get Your First Paying Clients

For most of us entrepreneurs, creating programs is the fun part. Breaking apart a problem and outlining the solution feels like you’re truly helping someone …. but not if no one knows how awesome your program is!

You know what I was missing the first 5 years of my business, the thing that YOU should be spending 80% of your time on?

MARKETING

Sounds like kind of a sleazy word, right? Or something that you just don’t need to do? When I first set up my nutrition practice, my marketing could be summed up in this one sentence:

If you build it, they will come.

If I just opened up my office, the right people who needed my help would magically find it, right? I would get referrals from all the other health practitioners in the area, since I was one of the first nutritionists in my city, right? Wrong. Ugh, so wrong!

What I didn’t know is that all those other health practitioners? 95% of them are struggling to pay their own bills, so why would they send a potential client or customer to me when they could try and help them themselves?

And marketing according to the tactics in the movie “The Secret” really don’t work (i.e. just imagine yourself driving a Ferrari, and it’ll happen someday!). Turns out, you have to actually DO something to grow your business. I don’t know how I didn’t know this in the beginning (🤦🏻‍♀️), but it’s because I was taught to be a nutritionist, NOT a business owner … and that’s OK! But now I know better.

If the word “marketing” is scary to you, let’s not call it that. Let’s call it “telling other people about your business”. There, that’s not so scary, right? But how do you actually do this?

That email list that you’re working so hard to grow? Let’s use it for the first time by telling them about your new program!

I don’t have any sort of script for this, you simply write from the heart, share who your program is for, why you made it, what the outline is, and then tell them that you’re opening up X number of spots (3, 5, or whatever you want) for a discount (your choice, 50% off, 30% off, whatever feels good to you) in exchange for them being the first to try it. Put a deadline on the discount, trust me, people need a little bit of pressure to make a decision.

Oh, and share the details on social media, too. It’s usually harder to sell directly from social media (in my experience), especially if your program is higher priced, but what it IS good for is reminding your email list – who didn’t necessarily read your email – of the details and that your special discounted price is ending on a certain date.

This is what I did the first time I launched my Brand, Build, Blog course, and it went over SO well. I let the first students know that I was still creating the course when they bought it, so it wasn’t 100% done, but it would be by a certain date (spoiler alert: I had yet to create ANY of the online lessons! I had an outline, but that was it 😬).

So yes, it IS possible to create hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of income by the end of 30 days when you’re launching your business! This 30 day plan is not for the faint of heart, but it will create true momentum in your business, plus some much needed income, in the fastest way possible.

Now I know that this is only a plan for 30 days, and you want your business to be around for much longer than that, so I made a plan for your entire first YEAR of your business to get you off the ground in the shortest time possible.