It’s not a secret that marketers often capitalize on their customers’ frugality, ambitiousness, vanity, and fears, of course. In today’s article, we’re going to take a closer look at one such phobia – the fear of missing out, or simply FOMO – and find out how you can get the most out of FOMO tactics as part of your marketing strategy. Â
What’s in FOMO Marketing?
Experienced marketers and sales professionals know how important it is to elicit emotional response from their prospects. A vast majority of consumers experience a healthy fear that they might miss out on lucrative deals, sales, promotions, etc. Hence, their striving to jump on the bandwagon every time their favorite brands host some cool events or roll out special offers. With the right FOMO marketing strategy in place, you can quickly convince your customers to grasp the opportunity until it’s still there. What you need to do is emphasize the exclusivity, scarcity, and urgency of what’s being offered. Below are some simple tactics that can help you ensure your FOMO strategy is a success. Â
Create a Buzz
You want to encourage as many people as possible to participate in your upcoming event, be it a sale, sweepstake, or a giveaway? So, why not create hype around it? Now that you have a wide range of handy graphic design tools at your fingertips, you can use a banner or billboard maker to put together an effective visual advertising campaign and make sure all eyes are on your undertaking. You can do so either on social media websites and popular ecommerce platforms like eBay.
You can also use other tactics like shoutouts, word of mouth, and more. Be ready to talk about your event in the run-up to the date. Outline the major benefits for the participants, at the same time, refrain from going into detail. This way, you’ll create a sense of suspense and anticipation among your audience and make them look forward to your event.
Encourage your followers to share your posts, Tweet, and comment about the event you’re about to host. Also, don’t forget to use branded hashtags and partner up with influencers in your niche. By doing so, you’ll create more hype and make more potential customers pay attention to your endeavors.   Â
It’s a great idea to set time limits on your special offers. Make it known that the deals and bargains are hard to refuse and your clients won’t forgive themselves if they miss out. Get a celeb or a popular trendsetter to talk about the company you represent and ask them to mention the event you’re holding on behalf of your business. This will create urgency and encourage your prospective customers to take action as soon as possible.Â
Emphasize UrgencyÂ
It’s a great idea to set time limits on your special offers. Make it known that the deals and bargains are hard to refuse and your clients won’t forgive themselves if they miss out. Get a celeb or a popular trendsetter to talk about the company you represent and ask them to mention the event you’re holding on behalf of your business. This will create urgency and encourage your prospective customers to take action as soon as possible.Â
Emphasize Scarcity
To prompt quick sales, you should also make it clear that in view of the high demand for your products, you’re left with no other choice than to put a limit on the quantity you can afford to offer. Once you let your intended audiences know that you’ve put a cap on your offers, you’ll spark their interest and drive more sales.
Make it Exclusive
What better way to show your customers that you value them than to emphasize their exceptionality? So, whenever you plan to introduce a new line of products, throw a new Instagram giveaway, or run a promotion, it’s always a win-win FOMO trick to let only a certain group of people try out or participate in it. Not only is it a good way to show your appreciation to a certain category of customers but also an effective tactic that will put those who once failed to earn access to your exclusive deals into overdrive. The odds are good that by rewarding your other clients and emphasizing their exclusive status, you’ll spur fence-sitters to engage more actively with your brand in fear of missing out on your next lucrative offers.
Final Words
Hopefully, these simple recommendations will help you come up with a workable FOMO strategy and take your sales to the next level. Just keep in mind that this tactic stems from negative psychological triggers and therefore you would be well-advised not to go overboard using it. Strike a healthy balance between boosting your sales and serving your customers interests, and hopefully, your business will start to thrive soon.
More and more of us are now working from home, and that shift was already taking place before Covid-19 forced even more people to vacate the office and start working from home. If you’re new to home working and you want to work out how to do it well and focus on the work at hand, you’re in the right place. Â
No matter what your job may be, whether you are attempting to run your own business, hosting virtual classes or looking to Teach English Online, keeping your focus while working from home is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face. There are so many different ways in which you can improve your approach to home working, but you might not be aware of those things if this is all new to you. Below, we’re going to talk about all the things you can do to allow yourself to focus and be productive when working at home, so read on to find out more.
Create a Truly Dedicated Workspace
First of all, you’re going to need to make sure that you have a truly dedicated workspace. It needs to be a space that’s purely for working and nothing else. Creating that space will help you to detach your work life from your home life, and that separation is really important when you’re getting used to working from home for the first time. Sitting on the sofa with your laptop is rarely the right way to work from home, so try not to fall into that particular trap.
 If you don’t have room in your house, it can be a good idea to look into self storage units to make space. You can move items that you don’t want to chuck but also don’t have space for here, then can access them easily when you need to.
Stay Off Social Media During Work Hours
You should put in place a social media amnesty before you start properly working from home. If you’re going to be sitting on your phone browsing Facebook and swiping your way down the Twitter timeless endlessly, you’re never going to be productive. And when you’re working at home, you don’t have anyone to tell you to put the phone down and don’t have any office social media bans. That’s why you should put your own in place, and make sure you stick to it closely.
Invest in the Right Furniture
Investing in the right furniture will make your experience of working from home a whole lot more comfortable and that’s a big deal. If you don’t feel comfortable as you sit and work, you’re going to get more easily distracted and be more likely to want to get up and do other things, and that’s the last thing you want. You need to have a spacious desk and a comfortable chair that offers good back support, at the very least. They’ll serve you well for a long time to come.
Make Sure You’re Prepared for a Day of Screen Time
If you’re going to be working from home alone, you’re probably going to be looking at a screen a lot of the time, and that’s something that’s worth preparing for. Getting your eyes tested and seeking out the right pair of glasses from www.eyeglasses.com will put you in a good position to ensure you don’t start to experience eye strain and other problems associated with working in front of a screen all day. Those problems can really distract you and stop you from being productive each day.
Dress for Work
Although it’s always very tempting to wear your pyjamas as you work from home, especially if you don’t need to be on a webcam call at any point during the day, it’s a temptation best avoided. Try to make it a habit to get up and dress yourself for work in a professional way, the same way you would if you were heading out to the office in the morning. It can put you in a more professional mindset and that can only be a good thing for you going forward.
Create a Schedule
Creating a schedule for your work can make your task a whole lot easier than it otherwise might be. Having a strong schedule will give you structure and that’s something that can sometimes be lacking when you’re working from home. Set yourself deadlines because no one else is going to be there to do that for you. It’s up to you to manage and structure your time as well as you possibly can. Taking the time to create a structured schedule will enable you to save time later on.
Automate Admin Tasks
There are certain tasks that you need to complete as part of your work that you might not need to spend as much time on as you think. Certain basic tasks can be automated with the right software. There’s a software solution out there for most basic tasks these days, so explore the options out there. You might find something that’s relevant to you that enables you to free up some time and automate admin. You’ll then be able to focus on other aspects of your work.
If Working with a Team, Interact with Them Carefully
If you are working as part of a wider team while working alone at home, getting your approach to teamwork and communication right will be essential. It’s something that you should think about very carefully and try to stay in close contact with your team even if you’re in completely different locations. There’s no excuse for getting this wrong these days. There are so many communication tools and software out there for you to make use of.
End the Working Day at a Sensible Time
Finally, you should make sure that your day ends at the right time. You can’t work from the moment you wake up until it’s time to go back to sleep because that provides a horrible work-life balance. Set a sensible end time for your working day and try to stick to it.
Working from home can be a real blessing, but it’s not as easy as a lot of people imagine it to be. There are lots of challenges and distractions to overcome, and establishing the positive home working routines and setup above will help you to get it right. So put these things in place, and reap the rewards.
If Running your Own Business, use the right tools
If you run your own remote business, the right tools will improve your focus and productivity. There are plenty of tech tools which can help you to remain productive. Try project management tools, and time tracking software. To optimize your marketing, you might use content creation or social media management software. You’ll also need a business account that offers plenty of useful features. If you’re not satisfied with the benefits of your account you might want to switch business bank account.
Those of you who have followed me for a while will know that I am a goals person. I like to plan ahead, set objectivesfor the start of each year and targets that I want to try and meet. I like to see positive growth and see my business heading in the right direction. I find tracking my progress throughout the year incredibly motivating, spurring me on to work harder and focus my attention in the areas where it matters most.
Fast forward to 2020 and suddenly my goals for the blog have gone out the window. Just missing out on the government grant (less than 50% of my overall earrings come from self employment due to having a PAYE part time job in addition), I’ve seen paid work decline, my time stretched to its limits with home schooling and childcare and seen my views plateau rather than grow, as many people, parents in particular come offline and limit social media usage in attempt to save their sanity (I can sympathise!)
Like many self employed people across the UK at the moment I am wondering how I can best keep my business afloat during lockdown. Having worked for over 6 years to build up my blog and following, I refuse to let a global pandemic force me to wipe the slate clean. Whilst I have to be realistic about what and how much I can achieve during lockdown; there are at least some basic steps that can help keep your blog or business ticking over during lockdown.
Think about relationships – now more than ever, the relationships and connections you have made matter more than ever. When this is all over, your contacts will remember the ones that reached out and made conversation, that told them to take care, that checked in when others may have sent a short and to the point email. Don’t forget that people invest in people, not just products and services. Stay true to yourself and protect the credibility you worked hard to build up.
Make the best use of your time – with lots of plate to juggle including childcare and my part time employment, I am having to blog at somewhat anti social hours. Using a social media content calendar is a great way to ensure your content goes out at the optimum time, creating your content as and when suits you, and scheduling it to go out automatically across your channels at a date and time that works best to engage your target market.
Quality not Quantity – You may be used to releasing a new blog post every Tuesday and Saturday without fail, and sharing a new grid pic every single evening on Instagram, but lets be realistic here, you’re unlikely to be able to keep up the same pace with two children at home. Focus on quality not quantity. Work on creating content that will resonate best with your audience and use keyword searches to make sure your content is SEO friendly.
Don’t be afraid to re-share evergreen content – As tempting as it can be to write about coronavirus, most people have coronavirus overload, and actually evergreen content can be more engaging and light relief from the day to day bombardment of bad news. Don’t be afraid to share old posts that you are proud of or that work around the season or key events during the year. You wrote the post for a reason, and if its not time bound, there’s no harm in sharing it again. Reap the benefits of work already completed!
Embrace the Quiet – If the work coming in is quiet, make the most of the time you do have by completing some of those less inspiring ‘blogmin’ tasks that you have repeatedly put off. Focus on getting your content seen by more people – check your SEO, update your Pinterest pins and step into the rabbit hole that is google analytics – a little effort now could soon reap rewards later.
What the future holds for Real Mum Reviews is yet to be determined, as let’s face it, none of us know what the future holds for online influencers going forwards. One thing is for sure, I won’t let it go without a fight!
Are you a blogger or self employed? How are you keeping your business alive during lockdown?Â
Across the world, millions of people run blogs. In just a decade, it has gone from something very few people did, to being one of the first ways individuals try to make money from home. How successful each blogger is, varies greatly.
According to a survey carried out by ProBlogger, around 48% make more than $500 a month from their blog. With 4% earning more than $10,000. So, a blog is a good way to earn some extra income. But, as with all things, the more professional you are the more you make. Equipping yourself with the right tools is essential if you want to be successful.
Here are a few of my favorites.
Plagiarism checker
Every blogger should check for copied text. Google and most of the other search engines hate plagiarism. They favor websites that produce unique copy. Readers like them too. There is nothing more annoying than reading a
second article to try to find out something more only to realize it is exactly the same as the one you have just read.
Copying other people’s work, either deliberately or inadvertently, can really damage your reputation and turn your potential audience off. So, it is good to get into the habit of putting what you write through a plagiarism checker.
Tools that help you to find inspiration
At some stage, most bloggers have found themselves sitting there looking at a blinking cursor searching for inspiration. It is frustrating, to say the least.
We all know that without fresh content, our blogs will slide down the rankings and our audience will shrink. So, simply waiting for inspiration to strike is not a viable option.
Fortunately, there are plenty of fantastic tools out there that can help you to come up with ideas, as well as find out what your target audience is interested in right now.
BuzzSumo is still the best way to do this. Key in a topic, hit enter and see which type of content is trending for that particular subject. Then you just sit down and write something that expands on that topic and provides deeper insight or more resources than what is currently out there. If you do it well and are lucky when you share it via social media and other sources it will “go viral” and you will get a wave of new visitors to your site. You can find out about a few BuzzSumo alternatives, here.
Title suggestion tools
Without a doubt, if you want to get more readers, you need to produce eye-catching titles. The Portent Title Maker is great for this.
Staying organised
As you can see from this article, producing fresh content can make the difference between your blog ranking well and falling off of page one. But, it is all too easy to let life get in the way. Before you know it a month has gone by without your writing anything. Using an organizational tool like Trello is a great way to set up a content schedule. Once you have done that you just need to stick to it.
If you ask me, as both a HR professional and a parent, the media are to blame for the lack of flexible working in the UK. As a working Mum with two young children, this is something that has been bugging me for a while.
With the gender pay gap in the UK still being far bigger than it should be, and a huge cultural shift required by towards working parents, it appears that many women in particular, are struggling to find flexible, well paid, family friendly opportunities after they finish their maternity leave, instead returning to a lower salaried position in administration, retail or catering. They take a pay cut, accept a role that is less mentally stimulating or doesn’t make full use of their qualifications or experience, because these are the roles that work around their family and childcare needs. It shouldn’t be this way, but there still appears to be a general view that if you work around your family, you can’t do so at a senior level; and this is absurd.
Despite it being 2020, and technology advancements making remote and agile working easier by the day, there seems to be a distinct lack of uptake for companies introducing fully flexible working practices in the UK and in my opinion, the media are very much to blame.
Why?
Pop the term “working mum” into google and look at the images… what do you see?
I refuse to even use these images because, quite frankly, they give me the red mist.
A quick glance through google will show you that when the media think of working Mums they think of the following:
A woman sat at her desk, baby on lap, mouse in one hand, rattle in the other
A woman sat on her bed on her laptop, whilst her two children play in the background
A women at her desk, writing on her laptop whilst her baby naps contently on her chest
A tired looking woman sat at her desk, laptop surrounded by baby toys and bottles
A woman on the phone trying to have a conversation whilst comforting a crying baby in her arms.
I mean seriously. These images are used everywhere. They are damaging to women and their career prospects, and it has to stop.
Newsflash! Just because you are a Mum, doesn’t mean you’re surgically attached to your child.
When I am at work, I am at work, and whilst some of these images may be the reality for self employed who work from their own home, for most women working under a PAYE contract at least, being a working mum means that whilst you’re in employment, your child is elsewhere, whether that be school, a nursery, with grandparents or a childminder setting. These images and suggestions that all working Mums sit entertaining their child during their working hours are hugely damaging, and I am amazed that even big companies – those who claim to be ambassadors for working women and flexible working, still continue to use them!
If you have EVER tried to work with a child (particularly a baby or toddler) sitting in the same room, you will know that the result would not be the smiling, calm reality that these pictures portray.
Why would employers willingly sign up to working from home initiatives if thats what they think they are going to get from their employees? They wouldn’t expect to get a happy more content woman with a better work life balance, working productively and with increased loyalty to her employer. Instead they assume they’d get a woman who’s mind is elsewhere, half concentrating, her mind always on her child. Cleaning up mess, tidying up nappies, and watching the Teletubbies whilst they should be finishing off their weekly budget report.
These images actually reinforce stereotypes that you cant be a Mum and a good employee at the same time – and its bullshit!
The Forgotten Talent Pool
If anything, multi tasking skills actually improve after having children, and as someone who works from home regularly, trust me when I say that the time in the house to crack on with my job in an empty home is absolute bliss and one of the highlights of my working week. My most productive day, my most efficient, and the day with the least distractions, not the most.
What many employers are struggling to realise is that these pictures, these false and misleading images that are regularly portrayed by the media, don’t represent the reality, at least for the majority. Mums (and parents in general for that matter!) are often the forgotten talent pool. An unwillingness by some employers to consider part time, compressed hours, flexible start and end times or even consider agile working, are actually narrowing their pool of potentially suitable candidates – people who have the qualifications, the experience, the ideal skillset, but whom for personal reasons, want a better work life balance and to work around their family needs.
This, combined with the fact that men still feel judged for working flexibly, with the societal norms implying they should aways be the breadwinner and the higher earner, means that the gender pay gap is unlikely to go away any time soon. I am incredibly lucky that my employer has embraced flexible working, but wish that more organisations would open their eyes to the fact that the traditional 37 hour, Monday to Friday, 9-5 working week doesn’t have to be their only option. With a bit of flexibility your perfect candidate could be just around the corner.
Rant over. 🙂 What are your thoughts? Are you a working Mum? Do you get frustrated by how we are portrayed in the media? Have you struggled to find flexible work after maternity leave? Or, are you a Dad who wants to work flexibly but can’t, or who works flexibly and would be willing to share your story? Please get in touch – I’d love to hear about others’ experiences!!
If you’re thinking of starting your very own freelance business but you’re unsure where to begin then don’t worry, you have definitely come to the right place. Whether you’ve been planning it for years or you’ve recently come up with an incredible idea, you need to ensure you’re doing everything you can to make your business a success from the start. Luckily, there are lots of ways in which you can do exactly that. From putting together a business plan to hiring your first team members, the more you’re doing to succeed the better. With that in mind, here are 12 tips for first-time freelance business owners:Â
– Work Out What Your Business Is Going To Be Doing
One of the first things you need to do when it comes to starting your freelance business is to work out what you want your business to do. Although you may have a good idea of what this is, taking the time to write things out in great detail is vital when it comes to your success. Whilst writing everything out will take time, you’ll feel much better once you have a clear idea of how your business is going to make money. From pricing strategy to product development over the years, the more you’re writing down the easier your launch will be.Â
– Put Together A Business Plan
Once you know what you want your business to do and how you’re going to make a profit, you need to think about creating a detailed business plan. Although it will take some time to create a fully-functioning business plan, this will be something you can refer to whenever you’re feeling a little unmotivated with carrying on or when you’re looking for the next steps to take. Your business plan should include:Â
An executive summary designed to sum up your plan in a few short sentences
An overview of your business
An analysis of the market you’re in (including your competitors)
An operations plan that details how your business will run
Details of the products and services you’re going to offer
Depending on the type of business you’re running, you’re going to need a certain amount of start-up costs. Whether you need to set up your website or you need to start production on the first batch of your products, you’re going to need to have a certain amount of money in place to allow you to get started. If you think you’re going to struggle to come up with the start-up budget, you may want to consider seeking out a start-up loan.Â
– Do Your Research When It Comes To Being A Freelancer
Another great way to prepare for being a freelancer is to do as much research as you possibly can. Whether that means researching how to do your own taxes, finding out how to create the perfect office space or looking into the essentials you may need to purchase before you get started, the more you’re researching the better. If you’re unsure and you’re looking for some tips, here is a guide to running a freelance business.Â
– Invest In Freelancer Insurance
When you first start your business you’re going to need to ensure you’re investing in freelancer insurance. Although you may never need to use it, freelancer insurance will cover things like your laptop and cybersecurity. Whilst you don’t have to sign up if you don’t want to, it is highly recommended by those that run their own business as you never know what could happen.Â
– Consider Setting Up A Website For Your Business
Depending on the type of business you’re going to be running, you may want to consider setting up your own website. Whether you’re going to be selling your products or advertising your services on your site, you need to ensure you’re building a site that is fit for perfect. This means thinking about a number of key areas.Â
Who will be building your website?
What does the page structure need to be?
Do you need to write content and take photos?
Where will you host your website?
Does it need to be managed by an external team?
How often will you be updating it?
If you’re looking for somewhere to host and manage your website, you may want to check out this site about managed WordPress hosting here.Â
– Think About How You’re Going To Direct Traffic To That Site
Once you have started to build your freelance website, you need to think about how you’re going to direct traffic to it. With so many different options when it comes to directing traffic to your website, you need to ensure you’re finding out which ones are the most beneficial to you. Whether that means focussing on Pay Per Click advertising or thinking about your SEO strategy, the more you’re doing to increase your views the better.Â
– Focus On Gaining ‘Fans’ On Social Media
Speaking of social media, you need to spend some time coming up with a strong social media strategy. Although there are lots of ways to gain followers, you need to think about how you’re going to turn them into fans. This basically means turning your followers into people that will talk about your business, support everything you do and recommend you to people that they know. They’re always engaged when it comes to your content. For a guide to turning your followers into fans on social media, you can visit this site here.Â
– Consider Outsourcing Tasks To Professionals
If you don’t think you’re going to have the time or the skills to complete certain tasks, you may want to consider outsourcing them to a professional. Whether this means outsourcing your social media or hiring someone to build your website for you, it’s important you don’t spend unnecessary time on tasks that other people can complete for you. Whilst it can be hard to let go of certain aspects of your business, often it’s better to hand things over to the professionals.Â
– Limit Product Development In Your First Year
During your first year, it may be tempting to bring out as many new products and services as you can but as you’re finding your feet, you need to ensure you’re limiting this as much as you possibly can. Take some time to get used to running your own business and only when you’re comfortable with how things are going should you consider expanding your range.Â
– Consider Using Video To Improve Your Reach
Video is a great way to improve your reach on social media and if you’re looking for a way to reach new people fast, this could be the best option. Take the time to introduce you and your business, giving a behind the scenes look at what you do.Â
– Attend As Many Networking Events As You Can
Finally, you need to ensure you’re attending as many networking events as you can. Whether you’re going to meet new people or you want to attend the seminars, events can be a great way to grow your business.Â
Are you starting your own freelance business? What do you need to do to ensure you’re as focused as you can be? What can you do to ensure your success? Did we miss anything off the list? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.  Â
Hi, I’m Lucy, a thirty something mum of two from Birmingham. A memory maker, tradition keeper, stationery addict and Mr Men fanatic. HR Advisor by day and sleep deprived Mama by night!
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