Spiritual Biz Basics

  • Biz Tips, Blogging, Spiritual Biz Basics

    Content Marketing Ideas For Spiritual Entrepreneurs

    Content marketing, a.k.a. creating content your audience will LOVE, is really important for spiritual entrepreneurs. It will help grow your audience, get new clients, sell more courses, sessions (or books or whatever it is you offer), and also share your unique vision with the world.

    Planning your content marketing strategy doesn’t have to be hard, either! I know that a lot of spiritual entrepreneurs are intimidated or even overwhelmed by the thought of creating content regularly.

    I have a great content marketing brainstorming worksheet FREE for you here:

    FREEE CONTENT PLANNING WORKSHEET

    What is content, anyway?

    Content can include a variety of different things, from blog posts to vlogs, podcasts to worksheets, how-to videos and meditations.

    You might do a live on Instagram or Facebook as your weekly content marketing strategy, or you might decide that recording a podcast is a better way for you to go.

    Use your content to teach and entertain. Don’t be afraid to give too much in your blog posts and videos! And be yourself.

    Sue Ellis-Saller

    If you’d like to get some ideas for topics you can use as content marketing ideas, here are some content ideas I highly recommend for spiritual entrepreneurs.

    1. Every month has moon cycles, zodiac associations and celestial events, holidays, feast days, and seasonal qualities that can feed your ideas for creating spectacular, interesting, and popular content. You can plan a rough foundation of content around those sorts of topics.
    2. Leave some room for commenting about current affairs and topics that come up in the news or are buzzing in the industry, like new decks, books, and people in the scene.
    3. You can also do readings about the energy of different newsworthy topics, like exploring the elections with tarot or walking through an individual candidate’s birth chart or the numerological association of their name.
    4. You can also do readings about the energy of different newsworthy topics, like exploring the elections with tarot or walking through an individual candidate’s birth chart or the numerological association of their name.
    5. People who are reading your blog will likely want to get to know you too, so don’t forget to share your life and world fairly openly. Introduce yourself at least once per month (really) and share bits of your life with your audience. What’s your story? What inspires you? What lessons are you learning (or stuck on) in your journey? Make sure you share from the heart—people can feel the energy.
    6. What are you offering? This is something I feel like spiritual entrepreneurs miss pretty frequently. People need to know about your sessions, how they can work with you, what working with you looks like, any new projects you are working on, and monthly specials. 
    7. Make sure you create a good library of evergreen content and images you can schedule in at regular intervals that lead to your books, signature courses, introduction, top blog posts, etc. 
    8. Video is hot right now–even micro content. According to Social Media Examiner, more people watch video (and longer videos) on YouTube. You can always create videos live on Facebook, download them to your computer, and then upload them to YouTube. You can then embed the video from YouTube onto your website and do a quick write up (or get a full transcription from a site like otto.ai). Don’t forget your keywords for Search Engine Optimization.
    9. Speaking of SEO and keywords… Have a look at what other people in your field are talking about. Do some research on Google Trends, Pinterest, and YouTube. Even Instagram is currently testing a content search that isn’t solely based on images and hashtags. 
    10. What questions do people ask you over and over again? Can you make a FAQ or a fact-filled, interesting write-up that would answer their questions? Are their questions that many different people in your community are asking about repeatedly? You can always ASK your audience what they’d like you to create content about.
    11. New products on the market. If you work with cards, there are likely a dozen new decks in the works you can talk about. Or, if you buy a new deck or divination tool, why not review it in a video or blog post? Don’t forget to tag or link through to the creator of the tool or the author of the book. 
    12. You can also link through to books, apps, and articles that would help someone learn how to use a new divination tool. I’m currently learning about Runes by using my Metaphysician’s Day Planner and Guidebook from Benebell Wen.  
    13. And why not write about or showcase the work of people you admire? There are readers, healers, writers, and business mentors whose work you likely appreciate, and you might be able to spend hours talking about people in the spiritual community who inspire you. You could even reach out and invite your mentors to do an interview or collaborate on a video show or podcast!
    14. What are you reading about and what stands out to you about the book? What do you think about the book? Would you recommend it? Do you agree with the author? Book reviews are golden, timeless content pieces. They never get old or go bad, unless the person totally shifts their beliefs. Still, then, those reviews are likely going to get hits.
    15. Recycle content. You can recirculate, recreate, review, or piece out old content like blog posts, images, videos, and content you’ve created. In a group, you can even reuse ‘placeholder’ content (daily themes, group rules, old posts that were popular).

    See? There are so many different topics you can incorporate into your content marketing strategy. You don’t have to overthink the topics you will be talking about. Just pull influences from your mystical practice, your tarot journey, your favorite tools, books, art, and interests.

    Do you need help planning your content marketing strategy or learning how to use the tools you have at your fingertips to create interesting content that attracts new followers and clients to you? Schedule a Discovery Call to see I can help you with your content marketing and social media strategies!

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  • Money Mindset, Spiritual Biz Basics, Uncategorized

    Exploitation Dynamics In Spiritual Business

    One of the things I think we need to talk about is exploitation in business. Part of the social and civil unrest we face in life is directly related to the exploitation of people and resources.

    People who are desperate will work in poor conditions for very little money. They will feel like they have to compete for the scraps they are being offered. This fuels Us Versus Them dynamics and civil unrest.

    Countries that are desperate for money will allow their resources—people included—to be exploited. They won’t protect the environment, either, because their focus is on money, not conservation.

    And, generally speaking, the people who are doing the exploiting are sitting like little dictators over their repressive regimes.

    Take Amazon, for example. They pay meager wages, have questionable work practices, like tracking their employees when they are at work to ensure that no time is wasted—even frowning on bathroom breaks, causing employees to wear adult diapers on the job. As we know, Jeff Bezos is one of the wealthiest men on the planet.

    I’m not pointing Jeff Bezos out for his wealth. I say BRAVO to people who earn tons of money doing what they love. What I am pointing out is the fact that he exploits his workers and oftentimes the communities they work in (little tax liabilities, low wages, etc.). He has the ability to pay his workers more, give them better benefits, maintain a healthy work environment, and even contribute more to society, but he doesn’t. Instead, it seems like his business is set up to funnel money to the top and increase inequality, fueling even more exploitation of the people who work for him and creating a negative impact on the communities where he builds his warehouses.

    Don’t get me started about Walmart. OMG.

    On the other hand, you have companies like Costco who are offering a livable wage and more benefits to their employees. Trader Joe’s is also considered to be a good employer, including perks like affordable medical benefits and a retirement plan, along with their ethically sourced products and attention to the social and environmental impact their company has.

    You can check out sites like Business Insider and Glassdoor.com for more information about different companies and how they rank as employers.

    Exploitation in the Spiritual Community

    We face exploitation in the spiritual business community as well. People would like us to charge little to nothing for our time and energy, saying things like, “It’s a gift! You shouldn’t charge for your gifts!” or “This other reader charges less. I can get a reading from her.” OK, bye! Seriously. If you want me to work for you or do a reading for you, then pay my rate. Period.

    Exploitation is happening within the spiritual community as well. There are far too many people who don’t want to pay a graphic artist the going rate for a well-designed logo or images to use within their business. There are people who don’t want to pay for background music for their meditations. There are people who want to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA), but who aren’t willing to pay even minimum wage for their services or account for the actual time it takes to do a specific project. There are people who are pirating tarot decks and/or buying decks from sites like Wish for a fraction of the cost, knowing (or not knowing) that they are purchasing a pirated deck that the artist isn’t getting paid for.

    One of the things that fueled this blog post was a conversation I just had with another spiritual entrepreneur. She wanted to refer people to work with me, but she also wanted me to reduce my rates AND give her a 40% referral fee for client work she sent me. She wasn’t willing to budge off the 40% and I wasn’t willing to work for a discounted rate MINUS 40%. Thanks, but no thanks.

    Even some of the psychic hotlines work in a predatory manner. I’ve seen companies pay out as little as 10-20% to readers. I understand that the companies do have to run the tech side of things, pay their internal employees, and also deal with refund requests (from people who are exploiting the psychic readers and the companies themselves), but still! 10-20% payouts are kind of ridiculous, IMHO. But if they can find people who are willing to work for that, then…

    What can you do to ease or heal this trend of economic exploitation?

    1. Be honest with yourself. Really get connected with your values and your value. Try to make your purchasing and pricing decisions from a place of conscious consumption and price setting.
    2. Research the companies and people you work with. Make sure that the companies you spend your money with have values that you support. Look at their social, environmental, civil, and economic values and make sure they align with your own.
    3. Quit asking for deep discounts and freebies. If you don’t want people to ask you to reduce your rates, don’t ask others to do it. This goes for trades as well. You can find out more about what I have to say about this here: I don’t have any more energy for you…
    4. Quit GIVING freebies and deep discounts. Or at least save freebies and discounts for your best clients; use them as gifts and thank yous! When you are giving your services away for free, you make that a standard. Giving deep discounts and freebies also hurts you and your business, because you are pandering to a crowd that doesn’t want to pay for your time, energy, and skillset.
    5. Learn to say no with tact and stick to your no. I have a great list of canned email responses you can use here: Swipe Text for Tarot Readers

    When you are setting up your spiritually based business, I know that you will have to learn to stand up for your value, along with your beliefs. Standing strong against being exploited can be difficult—especially when you truly want to help society change and heal the planet and people are always pestering you to back down—but standing firmly against exploitation can be one of the ways you help change your own life and society as well. Don’t let others take advantage of you and don’t take advantage of others.

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  • Spiritual Biz Basics

    How To Develop A Spiritual Based Business – Guest Post from Lisa Boswell

    How do you grow and develop your spiritual based business? What are some tips for making more money as a professional intuitive, psychic, astrologer, tarot reader, crystal healer or medium? Here are ideas for what you can do to flourish in the spiritual industry both locally and online!

    If you have hit the professional level (or are considering it) then I believe that you’re probably gifted at what you are doing. Spirit is calling you to dream big and fulfill your destiny! 

    Not only do you hear the inner calling, but you have the testimonials to prove you were born to be a psychic, intuitive, or spiritual professional. You’re not delusional or big-headed in any way, but you know that you rock at giving readings. 

    It is possible that you have even already seen some success in your spiritual based business. Even so, you want more; you’re at the point that you’re ready to ramp it up a notch, grow, and develop. 

    Below I have compiled a list of 12 ways you can grow and develop your spiritual based business. Give them a read—then give them a try!

    TIP ONE: INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS 

    As a general rule, the more money you invest in your spiritual based business, the quicker it will grow. Unfortunately, however, it is very common for spiritual professionals to do everything they can in their power not to invest. 

    Withholding money from your business is a sabotaging act which deserves to be dealt with first. Not investing in your business will not only harm your growth but it also sends out the wrong message. 

    Firstly, you need to make investments for things such as newsletters and websites. I believe these two things are essential for running a successful business in 2019. If you do not have these things, you’ll end up being one of those readers who takes 30 years to build their company while you secretly survive off of income from your husband/partner/parents. If you want to rip right down the time it’ll take you to make a living giving readings then put your hand in your pocket. 

    Secondly, not investing in your business sends the wrong message not just to clients and yourself, but also the Universe. What you’re basically saying is, “I don’t want this enough to pay the monthly newsletter fee,” or “I don’t believe my business is like other businesses,” or “I don’t think my business is going to make it.” The energy that your unwillingness to invest gives off is very powerful and can set the tone for the rest of your business. If you feel like your dreams are worth it, then do what it takes to make them a reality.

    Investments in your business need not take the moon and the earth. You can sign up for a ‘drag and drop’ website host company such as SquareSpace and create your own site in minutes. Mail Chimp is free for the first two thousand subscribers. There are tonnes of free tutorials online for how to create using these tools yourself for the fraction of the cost of a developer. There are no excuses! 

    TIP TWO: ADVERTISE IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE 

    When I meet readers and spiritual professionals who have trouble selling their services, they are usually stuck in the trap of only advertising their services in one place, i.e. Instagram. 

    While there is nothing wrong with Instagram or any of the other places you advertise your services, using only one marketing medium will impact your efforts. Statistically, most people have to be exposed to your business seven times before they will consider buying. You want to make sure your business is all up in the faces of everyone you are targeting. 

    If you find you’re marketing too much online, then approach some local shops or services places where you can hang your fliers. If you’re only doing face to face events, take up blogging. Never restrict your marketing to only one place if you dream of growing and developing your spiritual based company.

    TIP THREE: UTILISE YOUR REVIEWS 

    You will get potential clients who are blindly interested in your work but who need some social proof thrown their way. Your reviews are your evidence that your products and services are the bomb, so it makes sense that you should be using them. 

    Plaster your reviews everywhere. Stick them on your site, on your social media, and all over the place. Screenshot them and display them. Your reviews will help your potential customers go from sitting on the fence to filling out your intake form. 

    TIP FOUR: UTILISE THOSE FREEBIES

    How many times have you performed free readings for reviews but the review or feedback is now long gone into cyberspace? Don’t let that happen. If you have done a reading in exchange for a review, make sure that review is being shared on your website. 

     

    TIP FIVE: DON’T START FROM SCRATCH EVERYDAY

    Again, this point comes back to the whole newsletter thing. I know I keep banging on about newsletters but hear me out. 

    Imagine your clients are apples. You’re in a nice open field, plodding along, picking them up (giving them readings). Once you have finished looking at them, you put them back down and walk away. 

    Now, imagine that someone comes along and gives you a basket. The person says, “Hey, instead of just looking at these apples, you can collect them! You can have never-ending access to these apples, and the more you collect, the more you have! Statistically, too, every one of these apples is worth $1! And these apples will know who you are so will always want to be picked up by you not another apple picker”! Are you going to say no to the basket? 

    A newsletter is just like a basket. Essentially, you can collect the email addresses of your clients/potential customers and have access to them forever. No matter what social media does with its algorithm, not matter which blogging platforms fold, no matter if your entire business gets eaten by a t-rex, you can be back up and profitable in minutes because you have access to your customer database (their email addresses).

    Being in your seeker’s mailboxes every week has advantages. If they are in crisis and need a quick reading, they’re going to think of you first because you’re always showing up. Staying in contact is how you get repeat clients instead of trying to build your business every day from the ground up.

    TIP SIX: SPRUCE UP YOUR SALES PAGE

    Usually, if you have regular contact with previous clients but you still don’t understand why your business isn’t growing the answer may be in your sales page. 

    Your sales page should be about the client, not about you. It should talk to your ideal client like they are someone you know personally. You should highlight the problems they are having and then explain how your services fix those issues otherwise there is no urgency or sensitivity connected to your offer. No feelings mean they’re not going to click ‘buy.’

    Getting some type of professional help with your sales page is a worthy investment. If you have the money, hire a copywriter. If not, you can always post into business development Facebook groups and ask for opinions on your sales page. 

    TIP SEVEN: PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH WHAT THEY WANT

    This sounds extreme, but the number one reason why your spiritual based business might not be growing is because you are not providing your potential clients with something which they would actually like to buy. 

    I see it all of the time. Spiritual based professionals think they know what their clients want, but they have no idea. They race out and spend tonnes of money, time, and energy developing e-books on subjects which interest them not their actual clients. 

    You have to be realistic with yourself and ask yourself if there is there a market for what you are trying to sell? Do people even want to buy what you have? Is it even a term which is highly searched for on Google, Facebook, or other platforms? If it is, congratulations it will grow your business! If not, then get back to the drawing board. 

    TIP EIGHT: DO NOT SUBCONSCIOUSLY REPEL BUSINESS

    You have to be very, very honest with yourself here. Is there a part of you which feels like hiding? Do you feel weird about making sales? Do you not like the attention you get when you promote your business? Are you used to playing small? 

    If these above things apply to you, then you have to fix them. There is an energy you are putting out there by feeling this way which basically says, “Go away!” to any potential client. You are putting up a cosmic block if deep down you’re telling the world you don’t want this. 

    You need to get used to putting yourself out there and being seen. Also, start to look at your relationship with money and your work and assess where those beliefs stem from. Do you believe that money is hard to come by? Do you think you’re taking advantage of your clients? Are you scared that your readings aren’t good enough? It is important you get real and get to the root of your problems.

    TIP NINE: AVOID GIVING TOO MUCH CHOICE 

    UGH, this is a common mistake I see tarot readers make. It’s one thing to give potential clients different choice of medium (face-to-face or email for example), but it is another thing to give them too much choice in general. 

    Having too much variety can freeze people into inaction. Have you ever walked to the candy aisle in Asda/Walmart and just stopped? You spend ages in that aisle because you don’t know which sweeties you want for movie night? There’s just too much to choose from! Well, that’s what you’re doing to your clients when you list 400 types of tarot spreads.

    Given the choice of a Mars Bar or Milky Way, you can quickly make a decision; it’s either one or the other. That’s what your readings and magic work should be like; your clients should be able to see what is right for them instead of having to weigh up the pros and cons of too many options.

    If you want to grow and develop your spiritual based business, you have to niche down your choices and services. Your offerings should all make sense together, and not include so much variety that your potential client struggles to pick one type of reading or one of the other 20. 

    The same rules actually apply to things like e-books and courses. If you have too many e-books to select from, your potential readers will not know which ones to choose. 

    TIP TEN: DIVERSIFY YOUR INCOME

    Having lots of things in the same format is not the same as having things in different formats. For example, having hundreds of types of astrology readings on your site is not a good idea. Supplying an astrology phone reading, email reading, face-to-face intensive, e-books, and courses is a good idea. 

    True business development comes when you diversify your income. The only way to make any real, proper money as a spiritual based professional is to sell multiple things. The average millionaire has seven sources of income, which is probably why they are making so much money! If you want to get serious about making moolah, you must diversify.

    I didn’t begin to see any proper income in my business until I sold more than one thing. Back when I was only advertising face-to-face readings, I was super poor. Then, I started selling email readings, then I became not so poor. Now, I perform face-to-face readings, sell courses, e-books, etc. and I am much better off than I was back when I was only selling readings. 

    So, that’s my top tips for ways you can grow and develop your spiritual business. And remember its a race, not a sprint! Your business will grow each and every day if you’re committed to achieving results. 

    AUTHOR BIO 

    Lisa Boswell is an award-winning divination teacher who currently resides in Scotland. Through her websites http://www.divinationandfortunetelling.com and http://www.readlenormand.com she teaches both experienced and would-be readers how they can predict the future of their lives and relationships using tarot and Lenormand cards. Born into a Romany Gypsy family of fortune tellers, Lisa has had an active interest in the occult from a young age. She specialises in teaching predictive divination and fortune-telling.

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  • Energy Work, Life Advising, Spiritual Biz Basics

    I don’t have any more energy for you…

    Sorry, but I’m not sorry. I simply don’t have the energy for lopsided relationships and full on requests to “take this burden for me so I don’t have to carry it.” I don’t have time for “just this little thing for free”; or give an inch, take a mile semi-expectations. I don’t want to reschedule sessions that you missed and didn’t even bother to call and cancel. If I was there and you weren’t, I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain.

    It sounds harsh, but seriously… If you want my energy, there has to be some sort of exchange and the exchange should be fair.|

    I’m done with taking pennies on the dollar for the work I do. I’m not going to discount my prices so low that I can’t actually pay for my phone, computer, space rental (if you’re meeting me in Vienna), gas, parking, and childcare. I don’t want to stretch myself to the limits so you can remain comfy. Sorry. No can do.

    I have a family and a business. I have limited time and energy, and I’m not at all interested in endlessly giving my resources to people who don’t really seem to appreciate them. I need that energy for my children, my home, my hubby, my projects and passions. It may seem like my energy is boundless and infinite, but it has a definite end line which I am not interested in hitting. I’ve been dangerously close to that in the past.

    If I have to get a job outside of my home to support the work I’m doing for you, then I’m going to have to say no to you and get that job.

    It feels so hard to say no, though. Our society has pushed this idea of self-sacrifice and give til it hurts until we are… giving til it hurts. Some of my *ahem* business relationships (read volunteering my time and energy to fill someone else’s void without being paid very much, if at all) are having a negative impact not only on my own time and energy but also on my marriage and my children.

    My husband is not so understanding about why I might donate working hours to a virtual stranger and then not have time to do my mom or wife stuff—let alone to develop my OWN business or write my own book. My kids have sat, iPads in hand, while I’ve taken care of somebody else’s work for them. My hubby scrolled while I fretted over someone else’s work. Was I getting paid for my time, I’d have the money to hire a house cleaner or get a massage from time to time, or even pay a VA so that I could offload some of my own tasks. I’d have enough money to take some time off to spend with my kids and my man.

    This is something that, as spiritual and sensitive entrepreneurs, we have to learn to avoid and overcome. People like us LOVE to give—we love to make people happy and teach them to do things for themselves. We have to learn the difference between being generous and being enablers. We have to learn the difference between being honored and being taken advantage of.

    And as entrepreneurs, businesspeople, we have to understand that we just can’t give all of our time to others without being compensated for it. By “compensated for it,” I mean getting paid cash money. Money might not make the world go round, but it does help me honor my time and energy and the time and energy of others I interact with. It helps me put food on my table and gas in my car.

    My kids go to tennis two times a week. Their tennis trainer is a nice guy, but I’d never think to ask him to give my kids their lessons for free. Or just free until they got good enough to, you know, win some money in tournaments so that we could pay him to continue working for us!

    And I also go to healers and massage therapists from time to time. I’ve recently started seeing a woman who does pulsing in Vienna. When I go to her, I pay her for her time, her knowledge, and the resources (both internal and external) she’s using to work with me.

    The best lesson I can give a budding spiritual entrepreneur is to give the expectation of actually being paid for the time, wisdom, skill, effort, and the resources that person uses to serve me. I can lead by example. I give the people who work for me a baseline standard: their time is valuable and worthy of being paid a fair price. I expect the same in return.

    And note I said PRICE—not exchange, not trade. Far too often, budding entrepreneurs, as I mentioned above, are sucked into lopsided trades that don’t fully value their time, energy, efforts, resources, or even financial expenditures. I refuse to do that any more.

    The value placed on my time and energy is set by me. It’s my job to honor myself and say no to any business or charity relationship that doesn’t value what I put into the relationship. It might be hard, but being stretched to the point of breaking or actually getting another job to support myself so that I can work for other people is just not something that I am willing to do anymore. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Thanks but no thanks.

    *Please note that this doesn’t apply to my dearest friends and family. 

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  • Spiritual Biz Basics, Two Minute Biz Tips, Uncategorized

    A Word About Authenticity For Spiritual Business Peeps

    Are you a spiritual entrepreneur who longs to serve more people? Try making more authentic connections.

    Let me start out by saying I know the word “authentic” can be a bit overused, but it refers to such an important concept: the true desire to get to know, like, and serve your audience. It’s about coming to them from a space of “this is who I am” and meeting them on a personal level. It’s about paying attention to others and establishing relationships that are more than just financial interactions and opportunities. It’s about honest interest in the overall well-being and personality of your potential client.

    I can’t emphasize the importance of having real, interested and friendly interactions with the people you connect with on the internet and in real life. Sure, you have a business and you want people to work with you, but there is a difference in interacting with a person just to sell to them and being genuinely interested in a person and growing a relationship and allowing the business relationship to evolve from there.

    I make a point to keep tabs on my people because I love seeing what they are doing and how their lives are. It gives us a place to connect – our lives and the things going on in them.

    And those people usually know what I do for work or how I can serve them because I talk about it all. the. time. Or they ask me about it.

    Just make sure that you keep up good boundaries – and practice good boundary keeping yourself. Personally, I have to watch how much I interact with people through messenger because people who should be clients might message me, asking for advice and guidance without paying for it. I have to make sure that the work I do is kept within my working hours and that my time is honored and valued as well.

    And good boundaries can go both ways, you know? We all have cringed when someone we vaguely remember from high school or just met in a business networking group on Facebook sends a private message with the intention of selling us on a product or service. From the get-go, the energy of the interaction feels off and we are almost waiting for the pitch.

    I know that some marketing gurus teach people to do this – the more people you pitch, the more you sell, right? But really, we’re sensitive and spiritual entrepreneurs who are working from an attraction perspective, not a push perspective, right? We want a more positive energy behind our service offers. We are looking to attract the right clients to our practices.

    What do you think? Is it important to you to get to know the people you want to serve? How do you feel about connecting with your ideal clients and actually getting to know them before, during, and after you work with them? Please feel free to comment below.

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