Are you a business owner looking to streamline your work, get more efficient, reach more people and potentially earn more income by reaching a broader audience?

 This is possible whenever you go digital in your business! “Going digital” doesn't necessarily mean moving your business 100% online. It can also mean finding ways to use technology so that you can work more efficiently and free up time so that you can focus on things that are more important to you.

 How, exactly, can you do this? Here are ten ways that you can use various online tools and strategies to be more productive and enhance your business.

1. Online Payment System: Make registration and payments quick and easy for your clients by having an online payment system. You want to make it super easy for them to say “yes” and to sign up. Offering a payment plan for your clients? Make everything automated so that you don’t have to chase them down for a payment. If you’re not making your payment process super easy, I promise you, there are people slipping through the cracks, and you’re losing money! Some of the online programs I use to collect payments are PayPal, Stripe and Square.
2. Lead Magnets: Use technology in your business in the form of a lead magnet to attract new clients. Using a lead magnet is where you offer something enticing (like a free eBook, article or video tutorial) to attract your ideal client and collect their contact information. You want to bring them to you instead of you having to do all the work to chase them down. Use programs like LeadPages to attract people to you, share your lead magnet and connect with potential clients.
3. Automated Emails & Tasks: Create automated emails for tasks that can free up your time. Tired of texting and sending personalized emails to remind people about scheduled appointments? Always writing up the same types of emails again and again to welcome new clients, share your rules and procedures or send out reminders? Simplify your day and free up time by sending out automated email “funnels.” Use the same emails again and again with new clients without having to lift a finger! You can even link programs like LeadPages to CRM (customer relationship management) email programs like MailChimp that automatically send out your lead magnets via email.
4. Live Video: Engage your audience with live video. Live video is great for communicating with your audience, reaching out to current clients and attracting new clients. It’s an excellent way to build trust, build your online visibility and make powerful personal connections with others. Scared of losing clients because an extended period of time goes by where you can’t see them face-to-face? Integrating live video into your business strategy can keep your clients (and potential clients) in the loop and connected. One of the easiest ways to do this is through Facebook live shows, and I love using a program called BeLive that can integrate right into your Facebook groups and pages.
5. Digital Materials: Take advantage of free programs like Canva to create beautiful and professional looking brochures, handouts, flyers, worksheets, marketing materials and more without having to hire a professional. Use online graphic design programs to enhance your branding and set a great first impression for those who don’t already know you. Create beautiful ads that can be shared across multiple platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
6. Online Sharing: Quickly and easily share your online documents and resources through a weblink. You can do this by first uploading them to programs like Google Docs and DropBox and then sharing the link. Better yet, create a short, customized URL that’s easy to remember by using programs like Bitly.com.
7. Video Voiceovers & Tutorials: One of the quickest and easiest ways to create video tutorials and video courses is by adding a voiceover to raw video footage or adding a voiceover to your presentation slideshow. Do this to create training videos and easy “how to” directions for staff or clients to follow. Take content that you are always repeating over and over to your students and turn it into a valuable video library of training videos. Using programs like QuickTime and Screencast-O-Matic make it super easy to create online tutorials and add a voiceover to any video, lecture or PowerPoint presentation that you want to share.
8. Online Course Platform: Trying to decide how to share digital content, documents, videos and more with your clients? You don’t need to have an online course to take advantage of course platforms like Teachable, Thinkific or Kajabi! This is an easy way to share your content in a very professional looking, password protected environment. From creating a video or resource library to offering online courses, both face-to-face and online clients can benefit.
9. Customer Relationship Software (CRM): Use a CRM like MailChimp, Keap or Constant Contact to gather, collect and organize client data and send out automated email messages to a target audience. Feel confident that you are getting your messaging out to the right audience by sending out targeted emails and collecting much needed data on things like email open rates and “bounced” messages.
10. External Storage and Backups: If you are going digital, don’t be surprised if your computer memory and storage space quickly disappears! Digital documents and videos can take up a lot of storage space. To ensure your computer runs properly and you don’t lose important documents, use online programs like Carbonite and/or LaCie’s various external drive options to store and backup all that data.

Want to learn more? Starting this month, I’ll be offering free technology tips and trainings through my Friday Facebook live shows! Once a month I’ll be doing a free, online workshop to teach you some of my favorite technology strategies, tips and tools that have allowed me to grow my business and better support my clients while also freeing up more of my time!

CLICK HERE to receive notifications about our upcoming trainings and receive access to the video replays. Our first free online workshop will occur this Friday. You don’t want to miss it!