Hello Again.  The topic today may be my favorite New Year’s goal.  It’s all about OFFERING VALUE to the world. Caution: I may get a little sentimental here because this is the kind of “warm and fuzzy” stuff I like.

Visiter her shop!

© caitlihne on Etsy

{The talent here is spectacular. Click on any image for a link to purchase that print}

So what does it mean to offer value? I’m not just talking about bang for your buck. It’s not all about the money, and in fact, you probably don’t want to be the least expenssive service or offer the least expensive goods (we’ll go into that in a bit). I’m talking about offering valuable and informative content, a high-quality product, valuable tools, and even a little inspirational and motivational mojo.

This year, I am going to focus more on the quality of my blog posts than I am the quantity.  I am going to work hard to give you highly valuable and unique information that is going to help you improve your business.  I’m going to build my content and knowledge database to better serve you.

I challenge you to do the same for your customers.  Here are a few suggestions on how to do that.

Pricing

First of all, price your work in a way that reflects the value you are offering to your client or customer. Interestingly, pricing does affect perception and there are many studies out there to prove this. It can be quite difficult to know how to price your work or services when you are just starting out. It’s often something you have to flush out along the way, and you may have to offer a discount or trades in order to build your portfolio. But a word to the wise, price your work too low for too long and you may become known for being a bottom-of-the-barrel designer or for having a cheap product.  I don’t think any of us want that.

By pricing your work to reflect a quality product or service, you are subconsciously telling yourself and your customers that your work is valuable and exceptional. And guess what?  You are more likely to produce a high-quality and exceptional product when are you are getting paid as such.

I like what Tara Gentile says about pricing (btw, she’s one of my gurus when it comes to offering value):

“it didn’t cheapen my art if I earned good money from it. It also didn’t make me a greedy person to price my work in relation to the value it provided others. And, finally, that just because I raised my prices didn’t mean others couldn’t afford it – it meant they had to prioritize it.”

I like what she says here too.

“Who needs the old system of business, commerce, and consumption when we can strip that all away and create more meaningful transactions (connections) between each other as human beings?”

Intrigued? Find out more about what she has to say on pricing, a you-centered economy and OFFERING VALUE in a couple of her articles: In Search of Transcendent Commerce and Immanent Value and Can Greed Be Good? .  I promise it won’t disappoint. Oh and while you are at it, you may want to sign up for one of her awesome classes or buy her guide The Art of Earning.

Freebies

good morning illustration

Good Morning by 31experiment© on flickr

I’m a firm believer in the parable, “Give and You Shall Receive.” Once in a while, it’s nice to offer something to others at no charge. I’m not suggesting working for free, but more like providing information or goodies to others that is going to help them take a first step or even guide them toward your business.  For example, you can offer highly valuable information on your blog, but not give away all your secrets. This will position you as an expert and possibly produce some leads.

Even better?  Offer a newsletter sign-up and provide highly valuable information to potential clients while at the same time building a list of leads, complete with e-mails, names, and demographic info.  I think MailChimp is an exceptional e-mail marketing platform and they have one level that is free!

I’m actually in the process of getting my newsletter, or e-mail community, started right now. It’s still in the beginning stages, but I’m building up my e-mail community. Care to join?

 


 

You can also offer free items that showcase your work. For me, that may be things like business card templates on my blog or other graphic design related freebies.

With any of these freebies, it’s important to ask for a call to action so that the conversation can continue.  For instance, ask the person to “like” your Facebook page or share the post via Twitter when they download.  There’s nothing wrong with allowing your generosity to be a winning situation for everyone.

Here’s something I’d like to offer you today, to remind you that each and every day you have an opportunity to bring value into this world. You can use this graphic as wallpaper for your computer background as a little reminder.  Please spread the love and Share on Facebook or Tweet it!

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Buzz Piece

That brings me to my next topic. I’m also currently working on developing a buzz piece that is going to be great and very valuable to business owners. I’m going to connect that with my newsletter so that when you sign up for my newsletter you get the buzz piece for free.

What’s a buzz piece? Ideally, it is a well-written and very informative document that will provide great value to your potential clients.  Make sure it’s a topic that your potential clients want to know more about. Some examples might be:

  • 10 ways to earn money while you sleep
  • How to determine if your online campaign is effective
  • Seven things to avoid when meeting with new clients
  • How to build a robot out of soda cans

Not hard.  You just have to get creative and know your stuff.

Pattern Conflicts

Give Some More

I like this one. If you’ve read the articles by Tara Gentile that I  mentioned earlier, you will see that she was the catalyst for this paragraph. Making more money is nice in more ways that one. When you start earning enough to support yourself and produce a profit, it gives you the tools to help others. It may be via volunteer work or charity, like offering to help the local school acquire and plants trees. (Have you ever noticed how desolate school grounds tend to be?) But, you are also adding value to the world when you hire other small business to help you in your business. Maybe you’ll have enough money to pay for a great accountant this year, or maybe you start taking your clients out to that fabulous local diner you love.  You might even be so busy that you decide to hire an assistant which is certainly going to help that person and their family!

When your business is strong and supportive of you, it allows you to be strong and supportive of others.

Tweet these words!

 

Interested taking a first and important step to developing your business so that it is strong and supportive?

Contact me for more information or to speak with me about a custom identity package that suits your needs.