Category: Business

There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel {My Eye-Opening Journey to Marketing Excellence}

November 29, 2020 / Diana Keeler / 2 Comments

A Rough Start on My Road to Marketing Excellence

I began my journey as a marketing professional in early 2020 (I am using the term “professional marketer” loosely at the point.) Until now, learning marketing principles has been challenging; a real uphill battle. So many empty promises… But now there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

I thought I had done everything right. I did extensive research on the niche I wanted (health and wellness). I studied hard and obtained certifications as a Holistic Nutritionist and Vegan Nutritionist. I built my blog site, and all of the other social media accounts to go with it. The problem was, few people were subscribing to my blog. I seemed to have decent traffic (not great), but no genuine interest. I was beginning to get extremely frustrated and was on the verge of giving up. I was bleeding money and I not seeing any results for all of my hard work.

I Tried Everything Under the Sun

I kept chasing programs and people who promised results because nothing seemed to work. I bounced from one product and program to another and I paid for more products and services than I can even count. It didn’t matter what I did, or how I did it, nothing was working. Although these programs and services looked great, they didn’t offer any personalized coaching (real one-on-one assistance), and the training modules left much to be desired.

Something to note: I have an MA in Management and Leadership and I am working on a Doctorate in Management and Organizational Leadership. While I realize that I don’t know everything about everything, I am certain that I am smart enough to read and understand instructions, particularly since I am a Chief Editor in my full-time job. The instructions (written and video) in these programs were poorly written and the speakers were difficult to understand.

A Beacon of Light Appeared Before Me

A beacon of light, in the form of Steven Alvey and John Thornhill, appeared before me. Steven, who is an Air Force Veteran just like me (that let me know that he had integrity and we a common bond), spoke to me about how he transitioned from the Air Force into a successful marketing career. He didn’t try to do any type of hard sale of anything (that, by the way, is a complete turn off for me when people do that!); instead, he just gave me information and advice. One thing he shared with me was that John Thornhill was his coach, his mentor. John played a major part in developing him into the top marketing professional that he is today.

Through our numerous interactions, he introduced me to a webinar that outlined the coaching and training program. The call was very informative and revealed to me some of the ways I was going wrong. I found out before I even enrolled in the program and before I took any any of the training or coaching sessions, that I had NO idea how to build lists, get traffic, and make the most of my blog. I also discovered through the webinar, that I was FINALLY in the right place and that I could get what I was missing….I found someone to mentor me.

The Program

The program, Partnership to Success, is a one-stop-shop, with coaching, training, and support from the entire team of Ambassadors and members. I was welcomed into the program and made to feel at home right away. Every marketing and online business setup question I had (and there was a bunch of them) was quickly and succinctly answered. The videos were easy to understand and had great visual aids to show me exactly what I needed to do to get set up.

Although I am only in the beginning stage of the program, I have already learned so much! I have begun to understand the fundamentals of traffic and which programs to use to help me build my marketing business. I have found some great tools to help develop and manage my business. There is only up from here! I will go through this program, taking in all of the tips, techniques, and training it offers and will apply it to my new marketing career. I am SO excited!

I hope you follow me as I go on my journey. If you are interested in learning how to start your business or give life to a dead business, join me by enrolling in this awesome webinar. There are no strings attached and you are not required to purchase a thing. They will offer the opportunity to you if you are interested, but they will not pressure you. You can also join me as an Affiliate if you want to learn more about the program before jumping all the way in. The Affiliate program is also a great way to earn the money to pay for your membership. 🙂

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Please leave a comment and subscribe to my blog if this article helped you and you enjoyed it. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, FaceBook, and Twitter. Finally, check out my new books store, Buzz Town Books, where you will find e-books and printables to help you manage your business and family.

Motivation: 3 Elements Behind the Science {Best way to get things done now}

November 13, 2020 / Diana Keeler / 0 Comments

Motivation

When it comes to success, there is one key component that may be more important than even such factors as talent, intelligence, money or connections. That elusive piece of the puzzle is motivation. After all, without this, nothing can be accomplished. You won’t reach your goals or meet your self-imposed deadlines without the motivation to take action toward them. Unfortunately, that motivation is often what is lacking in the fulfillment of desires.

We all have lists of things we hope to accomplish. These lists contain big goals, daily tasks and everything in between. Learning how to increase your motivation will boost the likelihood of checking more items off your list. Let’s take a look at the science of motivation and the ways to harness it to your advantage.

An Improved Approach to Motivation

Author Dan Pink writes in his best-selling book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, that the there are three components of motivation that compel individuals to get things done. His premise is that the traditional method of motivating ourselves and others using a carrots and sticks type of reward system is ineffective. Instead, he argues that the scientific approach to understanding the makeup of motivation provides a far better lens from which to view the subject. By understanding the factors that tangibly affect motivation, we can then develop strategies to increase it.

Three Elements of Motivation

The three elements of motivation Pink discusses in his book are autonomy, value and competence. It is these components, according to researchers, that drive people to become motivated.

Autonomy refers to the amount of control or independence one feels over a task or action. It has been shown that when you feel that you have a significant amount of input regarding that task, you are more likely to follow through to completion.
The second component of motivation, value, is the amount of personal significance or importance you place on a matter. In essence, if something matters to you on a personal level, you will feel more motivation to take it on than if you are simply given an assignment to which you feel no connection.
Competence has been found to come from an individual’s feeling of mastery as it relates to practice and hard work, not necessarily to one’s natural abilities. If you spend time developing competence toward a particular goal, it is predicted that you will be more motivated to complete said goal.

Strategies to Increase Motivation

Now that you have an understanding of what matters most with regard to what motivates us, it’s time to consider some strategies to increase motivation. Using the concept of autonomy as a guide, let’s consider ways to add a sense of control or involvement into activities that need to be completed.

One way to do this is to take ownership of a chore or add some aspect of self-direction to it. If you are having difficulty starting a project such as submitting a paper for review, it may help to think of all the ways doing so will set you apart as an expert in your field. In doing so, you’ll see that turning in the paper is a necessary component to sharing your unique views with your colleagues.

To add value to your task, you want to make it meaningful or personal. Find a way to add purpose to that item on your to-do list. This involves changing your perspective or the way you look at that item. Completing your taxes is a dreaded chore for most of us, but you can add purpose to it by focusing on the work you’ve done that comprises the numbers on the page or the contribution you’ve made to your job and community through your efforts. Paying taxes is a symbol of good citizenry.

Finally, there’s competence. Feeling mastery over an act requires practice. Try to look at the job at hand as one in which you are working toward an end goal of skillfulness. For instance, you’ll soon see the treadmill as less of an adversary the more workout sessions you endure. So, along with the ultimate goal of getting fit, you’ll soon see each session become easier, leading to a feeling of accomplishment.

Motivation is not always easy to come by. However, with this knowledge of the science behind it, you can now pursue the steps required to achieve your dreams more effectively. Soon you’ll be mastering your goals, which will fuel your motivation toward future endeavors.

Be motivated but still maintain a work/life balance.

A daily planner can change your life.

Tired, Stressed, Overwhelmed, and Not Moving Forward? – 5 Easy Ways to Regain Your Life

October 25, 2020 / Diana Keeler / 3 Comments

You Aren’t Alone – Regain Your Life

Do you constantly find yourself feeling tired, stressed, and overwhelmed? Are you stuck in a rut? Well, don’t feel bad because you aren’t alone. People throughout the world are finding themselves in a very strange and uncomfortable place. They are physically and mentally exhausted because of the stress caused by what seems to be our new normal way of life. Nothing seems to be easy anymore and we are having to find ways to redesign every aspect of our life to accommodate all the changes. It is time to regain your life!

Unless you have been living on a deserted island with no access to the news and your electronic devices, you know that COVID-19 has spread throughout the world. It has been affecting all aspects of our lives, from our health (physical and mental), to our business and career. Things that had been moving so quickly and easily in the past seem to be standing still or even moving backwards. We run into roadblocks everywhere we turn.

What is utterly amazing how so much of what we do (or don’t do) and the choices we make are interconnected. One decision or life choice can affect many areas of our life (physical and mental health, business and career, and self-esteem). This applies to positive and negative choices. Once we understand this and pay attention to what we are doing, we can make subtle changes in various areas of our life and these changes combine with one another to improve our holistic health and wellness. Here are five things we can do to regain your life.

Five Ways to Regain Your Life

Reduce your stress, take back your health, and regain your life. Stress is a wicked beast! It affects not only our mind but also many areas in our body. It can cause us to be chronically fatigued, gain weight, raise our blood pressure, and make us lose focus. All that creeps into other aspects of our life because it causes us to stop moving forward.
1. Meditate, practice Yoga, exercise, and focus on the positive things in your life.
Improve your diet. A healthy diet not only helps us lose weight; it also improves the way our body functions. Surprisingly, it also helps reduce our stress. An often-overlooked benefit is that once we begin feeling and looking better, our self-confidence gets a boost, and that helps us to focus and get things done.
1. Start by cutting out the junk foods and sugary drinks then introduce more natural foods like fruits and vegetables. Whole foods (not processed) and organics are the best things to eat and they provide the biggest benefits to our health.
Get organized. Nothing can kill our momentum and make us feel overwhelmed more than being disorganized. Scattered thoughts and processes often cause us to become overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin. This in turn gets us stuck and unable to move forward. The next effect is increased stress and then its byproduct, becoming ill. Time to regain your life!
1. Use a planner and digital calendar. Documenting your schedule and tasks is a quick and easy way to get and stay organized. It allows you to remember what you have on your plate for the day, deconflict events, and gain efficiencies because you are able to prioritize and group tasks, which makes them easier to accomplish.
Work smarter, not harder. No, I am not advocating being lazy. What I am talking about is becoming methodic in the way that you do things. We have access to so much technology these days and we must leverage it so we can work smarter instead of harder. Planning out what you need and want to do and then taking advantage of awesome tools people have developed can take a huge burden off of you because you have a way ahead and do not need to constantly reinvent the wheel. Leverage someone else’s knowledge and expertise so you can work smarter instead of harder.
1. Use templates and printables. There are templates and printable checklists for just about everything you can imagine. You can use templates and checklists for setting up and running a business, keeping your home and family organized, and even planning your day. I have even seen many printables for keeping kids happy and learning. Now THAT is a great stress reliever!
Join a group with like-minded people. They say strength is in numbers, and I believe it is true! Having people who understand what you are going through and who have the experiences gained from being there makes all the difference in the world. Simply having someone to talk to can make a world of difference in how you feel. Sharing your knowledge and experience is a great stress reliever and it also helps one another cope with life’s challenges.
1. I have an awesome Facebook group, called Self Development Insights, where you can become a charter member! In this group, you will find awesome information related to family, business, career, and more. We will be adding some incredible courses and freebies as we grow, so you MUST join us today!!

To Sum it Up

I just listed what I think are the top five ways to stop being chronically tired, reduce your stress, stop feeling overwhelmed, and regain your life but there are certainly ways out there. Follow my two blogs for other helpful tips and tricks for improving your holistic wellness (body, mind, and spirit), helping you get your business going and growing, and navigating through life’s challenges. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, come visit these awesome blogs, and sign up to follow us so you never miss a thing.

BeOrganicallYou focuses on the holistic health and wellness side of things. We believe in living a clean and natural life—plant-based diet, exercise, and mental health and wellbeing.

Self Development Insights provides tips for improving your life: holistic wellness, career, education, and more. We provide awesome content intended to make your life (and business) easier and more enjoyable.

Learn how a seasonal life reset can help you regain your life.

Kickstart your wellness by healing your gut with a detox.

Find motivation and stop being complacent.

Relax and have a little fun with our Buzz Press page.

Work/Life Balance: The 20-Minute Program

Outstanding Self Development Insights: 4 Key areas–family, business, career, and education

October 24, 2020 / Diana Keeler / 0 Comments

Self Development Insights focuses on self-development–family, business, career, and education

–Are you experiencing setbacks in your life?

–Do you need to know the best way to start a new career?

–Does your business need a boost?

–Are you struggling with your course work?

We can help you! We write about topics related to family, business, career, and education. We provide training (formal and informal) and tools to help you navigate through life’s challenges so you can live your best life. Learn about blogging, social media marketing and management (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, and LinkedIn), and more.

Let me introduce myself. I am Diana Keeler. I am an Air Force Veteran and I hold an MA in Management and Leadership. I have decades of experience as a professional editor, management analyst, and public affairs specialist. I enjoy working with people and helping them achieve their goals in life. I would be honored to work with you!

Self Development Insights FaceBook Group is Live!

Come join Self Development Insights in our new FaceBook group. You can be a charter member!

Make friends with like-minded folks who want to learn about and share great information related to family, business, career, and education.

We share tips and techniques, stories, lessons, and motivational pieces so we can all continue to how in all aspects of our life, from family, business, career, and education. Self Development Insights has it all!

As we grow, we will be adding many free business tools and courses so make sure you visit often. You can even request content by commenting on the page. Self Development Insights is here for you. We want to help you in all aspects of your life. Let us help you. 🙂

Join Self Development Insights‘ new FaceBook group a charter member today!

Tell your friends so we can grow and learn from one another.

Read more from Self Development Insights:

Self Development Insights on StreamCloud

Our Buzz Press

Learn about Holistic Health and Wellness at BeOrganicallYou

Learn Why You Should Be Using a Planner

#1 Way to Master Instagram

October 17, 2020 / Diana Keeler / 2 Comments

Master Instagram

Using Instagram (IG) can be beneficial for all types of businesses. Whether you own a small hardware store or a high-end luxury boutique, this platform is the perfect platform to help you market your products. This is because it provides your company with significant online exposure and appeals to your more visual audience, which leads to more sale conversions and profits.

Building solid IG strategies helps to attract your targeted audience
segments and increase your customer base. Small and medium sized businesses
sometimes shy away from using Instagram; however, trends have shown that
Instagram works. With more traditional marketing mediums becoming less
compelling to younger audiences, it’s important to maintain a steady stream of new and/or young people to grow your business.

Some businesses believe that if you don’t have a visually appealing product to
showcase Instagram is probably not worth the hassle but that is the farthest thing
from the truth. Businesses that sell services and products can all benefit from Instagram. The key is to push your brand more often than your products to gain
greater brand recognition and influence on IG.

To remain relevant in today’s ultra-competitive consumer world, successful
businesses should find a way to attract the attention of audiences who are now
looking to social media entertainment and content networks by creating traction
through both proprietary media channels and earned media worth of mouth
recommendations.

Compelling content that drives audience engagement is key. Posting with Purpose
and having high quality content can spark conversations and optimize engagement. Whether it’s an expertly photographed image or a series of videos, content creation is the backbone of successful IG Business accounts.

However, engaging content is not enough to keep up with the business trends on
Instagram. To properly leverage your account, you will want to engage with your
customers and audience often. This can be through giveaways, contests, targeted
campaigns and other ideas.

Many businesses use IG instead of traditional advertisement space to make their followers aware of deals and sales they are hosting. It is also a powerful
platform to capture leads and generate new revenue.

Learn how to leverage IG’s awesome platform to grow your business and capitalize on all of the incredible benefits that Instagram offers. To do this, I recommend that you check out Mastering Instagram. This guide goes over all of the best practices of establishing your small business on IG. You will learn about the following:

Generating Ideas for Posts
Snapping Photos and Creating Videos
Optimizing Your Hashtags
The Instagram Algorithm
Instagram Insights
Building Trust with Your Instagram Community
Address Negative Feedback Sooner than later
Brands that Have Successfully Used Instagram

Here are some other ways to help you manage and grow your business:

Reasons Everyone Should Use a Planner

Learn How to Overcome Life’s Challenges

Keep up with all of our awesome tips and techniques for improving your life.

Self Development Insights focuses on all aspects of your life, from personal development and self-help, business development and growth, career, and more.

BeOrganicallYou (our sister site) provides incredible content for enhancing your holistic health and wellness. They focus on the body, mind, and spirit, with incredible health and wellness, fitness, and nutrition programs.

#1 Best Reason Why Everyone Should Use a Planner

October 15, 2020 / Diana Keeler / 0 Comments

Why Everyone Should Use a Planner

You might be aware of the basics about using a daily planner, but have still not
discovered the many benefits. Take a look at the reasons why everyone – including you – should start using a life planner.

It Helps with Time Management

Do you find that there is never enough time for everything? If so, it is probably because you are not scheduling your time effectively. This happens when you just run constantly, going from one thing to the next, without really thinking about everything as a whole.

Using a planner allows you to schedule each event, appointment, errand, and task so that you know what to expect and don’t run out of time. Set specific due dates and deadlines for everything to help you stay on track, and have extra time left for yourself and your family.

You Can Improve Your Productivity

This is important for your personal and professional life. While many people think of productivity as it relates to their job, you also want to be productive at home. This might include getting your cleaning and home organization finished or working on projects you keep putting it off. Regardless of what it is, planners help you to stay on track with each individual task you need to complete and encourages you to move on to the next one effectively and efficiently.

They Provide Excellent Stress Relief

Stress has many forms, but one thing they all have in common is that it comes from
being overwhelmed. You are often stressed due to a hectic schedule, having too many demands, or just putting too much on your plate. Outside influences do also affect your stress level but think of how different it could be when you actually have time for everything and are able to seamlessly go from one responsibility to the next without having to worry about missing something, being late, or having to back out at the last minute.

There are a Multitude of Health Benefits

As you might imagine, planners help you stay healthy in a wide range of ways. It helps your physical health by helping you track things like diet and exercise, you can schedule regular doctor and dentist appointments, and make sure you are getting enough fresh air and vitamin D by scheduling days spent outdoors. You get mental health benefits by reducing stress and anxiety, and even having journaling pages for when you just need a good brain dump.

More Time for Creative Activities

Another benefit of using a planner is that because you are sticking to a schedule for all the mandatory responsibilities, it leaves a little free time for your artistic endeavors, whether that means working on a hobby or trying something new.

The Ultimate Health and Wellness Program

5 Motivation Mistakes You May be Making Right Now