Blacksburg Belle

Instagram Hashtag for Artists Cheatsheet + 5 Tips for Using Hashtags Effectively

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There are two major ways to grow your following on Instagram: 1) create content that can’t be ignored because it’s so damn good 2) make sure that content gets in front of new people by utilizing hashtags strategically.

Instagram hashtags are a word or phrase with a hash sign in front of them such as: #art or #iloveart or #maketimeforart or #contemporaryart or #artist

If you post a picture, visual or video on Instagram without hashtags, you’re only getting your content in front of the people already following you.

If you include hashtags in your caption, anyone who searches for that hashtag or follows that hashtag could find your content. All of a sudden, you’ve opened up your content to a lot more people. And, with the semi-new ‘follow hashtags’ feature, it’s never been a better time to try to rank for hashtags!

Now that we all get it’s important to use hashtags, I’m going to give you five tips on making sure you’re using hashtags in the most effective way possible on Instagram:

1. Use relevant hashtags.

This may seem obvious, but there are plenty of people who have tried to game the system and use popular hashtags for content that has nothing to do with those hashtags. The thing about this is Instagram allows users to fight back.

You know those three dots at the top right-hand corner of every post? Well all of you have to do is click on that to report a post that isn’t playing by the rules. You can also unfollow that content (if you’re following a specific hashtag) and if a lot of people unfollow that same content, it tells Instagram that something is up.

This is one of the main reasons you don’t want to use irrelevant hashtags. You don’t want to get banned from showing up for hashtags which happens to people when they try to game the system.

The other reason you don’t want to do this is because it’s really not going to help you. If you have a business around selling jewelry and you’re using hashtags about horror movies and interior decorating, how is that going to attract someone who wants to buy jewelry or follow a jewelry-related account?

You want to attract the RIGHT followers to your account. Numbers don’t mean anything if they’re the wrong numbers.

Also, if you’re posting a photo and use a hashtag that relates to your brand but doesn’t relate to the photo, you’re also making a huge mistake. People who find your photo through that hashtag don’t want to see your photo that has nothing to do with your hashtag even if your brand does! Use relevant hashtags for specific photos.

If you’re an artist, I have amazing news for you. I spent over 15 hours finding more than 500 hashtags directly related to art and put them all together into a hashtag cheatsheet.

The hashtags are categorized and listed in order of popularity. The work has been done for you, so you’ll always have relevant hashtags to use.

2. Vary the number of hashtags you use.

I’m not an Instagram expert but I do know one thing for sure: you can only use 30 hashtags per post.

Instagram does this to avoid spammy accounts–THANK YOU Instagram!

The other thing that’s up for debate is whether or not you should vary how many hashtags you use in your posts. Some experts say that you should use 30 hashtags in every post, but others say that you should use 30 hashtags in about every other post and much less in the other posts. They say this signals to Instagram that you’re not a spammy account.

Before I heard the tip about varying how many hashtags you use, I always used 30 hashtags. Now, I vary how many I use. I use 29-30 in about 40-50% of my posts and anywhere from 5-20 in the others. I’ve actually seen a major difference in the amount of times I end up in the most popular posts for specific hashtags since I’ve been varying the amount I use.

I’m now on team vary it up.

For your best posts, use all 30. For the other posts, hold yourself back and try to use less. I do believe this has an impact in your Instagram algorithm and how Instagram views your account.

3. Don’t use the same hashtags with every photo/video.

For some reason, Instagram doesn’t like it when you use the same hashtag over and over and over. This signals to them that your account might be a spam account.

It doesn’t mean you can’t use the same hashtags regularly, but you can’t use them picture after picture after picture. That’s a good way to get banned from showing up for that hashtag.

You need to curate a long list of hashtags that you can choose from. This can take hours of research. Like I said above, if you’re an artist, I’ve already done the hard work for you. Just download the cheatsheet I’ve created for you and you’ll find hundreds of hashtags to choose from.

4. Put the hashtags in your caption.

In 2017, it was the hip thing to put your hashtags in the first comment after your caption. Instagram does NOT like this anymore. Instagram experts have now said that you should put your hashtags in your caption.

It doesn’t matter if it’s pretty if it doesn’t work, right?

Write your caption, then put a couple dots or dashes, and then add your hashtags.5

5. Use the hashtags you’re most likely to rank for.

When you’re deciding which hashtags to use, you shouldn’t just rely on what’s relevant to your visual/video and brand. You also need to consider how big your Instagram account is and how many likes you get per photo which will tell you how likely you are to rank for a hashtag.

If you get buried in a hashtag immediately, the likelihood of it doing anything for it is zilch. However, if you become one of the top nine most popular photos or videos for that hashtag, you’re much more likely to get new followers and more likes.

The way I figured out I should be focusing on hashtags that have 15-100k uses is through experimentation.

I put up a photo and used 3-5 hashtags in each category: less than 1k, 1-5k, 5-10k, 10k-20k, 20k-50k, 50k-100k, 100k-500k, 500k-1million.

I knew that I wouldn’t rank for anything over 1,000,000 or probably anywhere close. Now when I post and I’m using 30 hashtags, I usually post 10 in the 5k-30k range, 10 in the 30k-75k range and 10 in the 75k to 200k range.

The reason I go past the 100k range is because every once in a while I do end up in the nine most popular for those bigger hashtags…and that’s how you grow!

If you don’t know where you rank yet, that’s the experiment I would try to find out where you can rank. Then, I would do a similar strategy of posting some in the lower range that you know you’ll rank for which will then boost you into that middle range which might then boost you into the top range. You never know.

I would repeat this strategy as you grow.

One of the biggest mistakes I see creative entrepreneurs making is using these huge hashtags like #art and #artist when they have 548 followers and will never get anywhere using those popular hashtags.

Start where you’re at and grow. You’ll see growth and it’ll encourage you to want to keep going!

In the cheatsheet I made for you, I’ve listed how many uses every hashtag had at the time I put it together. Of course, each hashtag is constantly growing, but they’ll probably stay in a similar ranking. This will help you decide which hashtags will work best for where you are on Instagram.

Good luck!  

How to Create a Cohesive Instagram Feed (Free Guide Included)

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The coveted Instagram accounts with thousands of followers–the ones you love. How do they do it?

They stick to visual themes.

Instagram is a visual platform and the feeds that people love have one thing in common: they take two to three visual themes, put them together and never stray.

That’s how to duplicate the success you see and want.

To begin, you need to decide which themes will work best for your brand.

I’ve created a guide to help you do just that. It walks you through the nine visual themes to choose from, shows you examples of each and then helps you determine which ones you should use for your Instagram account.

It’s free for you to download right here:

How to Make Sure Subscribers Actually Download and Use Your Freebie

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You’ve done it!

Nope, I’m not talking about figuring out how to look like you still have boobs when wearing a decent sports bra without loads of padding or having enormous boobs to begin with.

I mean you’ve created an awesome freebie.

The kind of freebie that will provide your ideal customer with loads of value.

You’ve created or hired someone to create a well-designed opt-in that grabs your ideal customers attention and converts well.

You’re even getting a super awesome open rate of 57% and click rate of those who open of 63%.

Oh yeah! You’ve earned a virtual high-five and a margarita.

But don’t celebrate prematurely.

There’s still work to do.

What about those who didn’t open the email? What about the people who opened the email but didn’t click your freebie?

And, even worse…but happens ALL THE TIME, what about the people who clicked and downloaded your freebie, but didn’t do anything with it?

Your freebie now lives on their computer in their downloads folder, probably never to be thought of again.

UNLESS…you do something about that.

You’ve already done the hardest work. You’ve gotten someone to trust you enough to give you their email address.

In today’s marketing world, that takes work.

Now, it can end here. Or, you can put in a bit more work and convert more of those semi-leads (or more like probably-lost-forever leads) into solid leads.

To make them solid leads, you need them to use your freebie and get value from it. That’s how they build trust with your brand and become more comfortable with opening more emails from you and with the idea of buying from you.

So, here are the extra steps you need to take to get the most out of every freebie you have:

1. Send reminder emails.

You want to send reminder emails to three groups of people based on their behavior.

You’ll send a reminder “open me” email to those who signed up for your freebie but didn’t open the first email.

You’ll send a reminder “download the out-of-this-freaking-world freebie” email to those who opened the email but didn’t click the link for the freebie.

AND…this one you might not think about but will actually make a big difference…you’ll send a reminder to “use the freebie” to those who opened the email and clicked on the freebie. A good portion of these people downloaded your freebie but didn’t do anything with it. They might’ve even started filling out and stopped. This is their push to keep going. This is their reason why.

Writing the copy for these three emails may seem like a lot of work, but once you do it for one freebie, you’ll have templates to work from and it’ll be much easier the next time. Just customize it some for each freebie so that it doesn’t read the exact same.

2. Use testimonials.

If you get any early testimonials from people who love the freebie, ask if you can use them. Ninety-nine percent of the time they say yes. If you create a freebie that actually creates TONS of value for your ideal customers, you’ll get at least one or two reply emails thanking you. Email them back if they didn’t say much and ask them just one question such as, “What was most helpful about xyz?” or “What did you like best about xyz?”

Use these testimonials in the reminder emails as social proof but also use these testimonials when you’re promoting your freebies on social media.

3. Share full examples and/or case studies.

Show your audience exactly how your freebie or content upgrade can be or should be used. This makes both an amazing follow-up/reminder email and a great promotional tool for social media.

You can either use an actual case study from someone who has used the freebie or you can fill out the freebie as yourself or as if your one of your ideal customers.

This will give your subscribers more motivation and inspiration to use the tool you created for them. Some might not have used it because they still have questions and this might push them over the edge.

4. Promote, promote, promote.

Once you hit the publish button on a blog post or podcast that contains a freebie, you want to take a break and watch the latest episode of So You Think You Can Dance. You’ve put in SO MUCH WORK. But, it’s the opposite of what you should do.

You should fire up a Facebook Live and talk about one aspect of your blog post and send people to download your freebie. You should post about it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You should talk about it on Instagram Stories. You should publish a short video about your blog post and freebie on YouTube. You should promote the banana boat out of your freebie.

The reason you created the freebie or content upgrade was to collect new leads. In order to collect new leads, you have to promote it.

Also, people who have already downloaded your freebie and see it promoted on social media will remember to use it when they see you talk about it on your Instagram Stories or run across your Facebook post.

5. Create follow-up emails and/or a sales funnel.

If this freebie is bringing in a lot of new leads, you have to consider whether it’s worth creating two to five more emails to follow up in any others you’ve already created in order to promote one of your products.

If this freebie works perfectly with one of your products, then it makes sense to design a sales funnel.

These are some of the things you might not be doing after you create a freebie that you should at least consider to make sure that your ideal leads actually use it and hopefully buy from you in the future!

These follow-up tasks will absolutely make the time you put into developing freebies more worth it. You can create less while gaining more leads.

Behind-the-Scenes: How I Prep for a Photoshoot

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Wake up.

Get a drink. Take my medications.

Allow myself to wake up slowly–usually through reading or watching a bit of television.

Eat breakfast. Drink more, trying my best to get extra hydrated.

Take a shower, not washing my hair because I washed it the day before. (I like my hair to have some grip the day of a photoshoot).

Slather on a face mask.

While the face mask is hopefully doing something magical to my skin, I talk through my thoughts for the photoshoot with Kris…my husband, my lawyer, my videographer on occasions and my photographer always.

Get my outfits ready, ironing anything that needs it.

Wash off the face mask.

Do my hair and makeup.

Take photos!

This, of course, is the day of the photoshoot. There’s a lot more that goes into my “big” photoshoots, and today I’m going to walk through those details.

Creative Vision and Ideas

I’m a I’ve-got-an-idea-so-let’s-go kinda creative.

I don’t like to sit and stew on something.

If I have an idea for a photoshoot, chances are I’ll make it happen that next weekend.

Last week, I decided that I wanted to do a set of photos with loads of flowers. I had a vision where I’d be holding all of the flowers and then another where we’d hang the flowers from a tree in our yard and I’d be standing among them.

Within a day, my husband had reached out to a local farm to see if they could fulfill the flower order for that upcoming weekend.

Some of my ideas come out halfway formed so I keep them in a list. Some come out at the wrong time. For instance, I currently have some exciting ideas for winter, but I have to wait until…it’s winter.

Ideas often spring into my mind while I’m putting away laundry or taking a shower or painting. And then I try to do them as soon as possible, because I lose the sparks for ideas if I don’t implement right away. Plus, I really enjoy taking an idea from thought to action as quickly as possible.

Props

With the flower photos mentioned above, I decided on a budget and then my husband contacted a local farm that grows beautiful flowers. We told them what we needed (peonies, ranunculus, and greenery) and they got back to us with options (that also included bright-colored poppies).

Often, when I have an idea for a photoshoot, I can quickly decide if it’s a reasonable idea or not. Something that’s going to cost thousands of dollars for a couple social media pics…not reasonable. Something that’s $150 for some beautiful photos I can use on my blog and social media…completely reasonable for where I’m at in my business.

I’ve spent money on lots of different props, on outfits for photos, on decor for my house for photos and videos, and more. Every quarter, I tend to get a couple new things for each colorway I post in.

I believe it’s an expense you’re going to incur if you run the type of business that I do and you want to take your own photos and post regularly.

Photo Prep

For my most recent photoshoot, we hung a bunch of flowers from one of the trees in our yard.

This took some prep. I try to do as much prep as possible before the day of the photoshoot.

I knew we had a ladder, had a couple tree options, and had a few options for things to hang the flowers with.

On the day of and before I got ready, my husband and I picked the tree that worked best for the kind of shots I wanted. We decided to use twine, because it looked the nicest and it gripped onto the flowers.

Before we could hang the flowers, I had to get ready and take the other photos. So, after my hair and makeup was done and we took the first round of photos, we hung the flowers from the tree.

We worked together to hang the twine from the trees…my husband on the ladder and me handing him the cut twine. And, we worked together tying the flowers to the twine…my husband tying flowers to the shortest pieces of twine and me tying flowers to the longest pieces of twine (#shortpeopleproblems).

I ran inside and freshened up my hair and makeup and changed into my dress. Then, we took the photos.

My Husband as My Photographer

I’ve used a professional photographer for business photos twice in the past. Both times, I liked the photos, but they didn’t capture exactly what I was looking for.

When I traveled to Panama to work with Mayi Carles for a little under three weeks, we asked Kris to take as many photos as possible. We wanted a lot of behind-the-scenes photos to share.

We realized as we scrolled through the photos Kris took that we preferred his photos over the professional we hired.

Kris somehow understood exactly what we were looking for.

Every since, I’ve asked Kris to be my photographer when I want photos of myself.

It has led to a couple spousal disputes…mainly because I get uptight when my photo is being taken and I’m really critical of myself. When a vision I’ve had isn’t working, I’ve been known to meltdown every once in a while.

In those moments, I can guarantee Kris wishes I preferred a professional photographer. He just shouldn’t be so good at so many things.

The reasons it works: 1) He’s suuuuuuuuper patient. 2) He takes a lot of photos for me to choose from. 3) He has an eye for photography. 4) He’s learned what I like and what I don’t. 5) If he’s unsure about something, he asks…showing me the photos to see if I like them. 6) He’s happy to be my photographer. It’s one of the ways I involve him in my business and we spend time together. 7) He enjoys being creative and pushing his own creative bounds.

Sometimes I will also show him some photos that I’m inspired by beforehand…it might be the light or the body positioning or the angle I’m digging. I’ll ask him to capture that similar style or try a similar technique.

The main drawback to using my husband as my photographer is that he has his own job. He’s a lawyer. That’s not a low-stress, minimal hours type of job.

We have to work around his schedule to take photos during the week and we often have to plan all of the “big” photoshoots for the weekend. That means working on a Saturday or Sunday when I want to do a photoshoot that’s going to last more than 20 or 30 minutes.

That’s how I prep for my photoshoots. It’s not glamorous or even extensive. The point is that anybody can do this.

If you’ve been shy about setting up your own “big” photoshoot day, go for it. Make it fun! Do something out of the box or something that you’ve always wanted to do.

The worst thing that could happen is you end up with photos that you’re not crazy about. This has happened to me. Compared to other crazy things happening in this world, it’s not that big of a deal. You just try again with a new approach or different idea!

GDPR FAQ + Simple Answers

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Since posting my privacy and cookie policies for you to steal and use last week, I’ve received some GDPR-related questions.

You have to be compliant in less than 10 days, so I’ve collected the questions and answered them in this blog post to hopefully clear things up for you.

Before we get started, I’ve got to add my usual disclaimer: This isn’t legal advice considering I’m not a lawyer (thank the stars…no offense husband!). I do have a super talented lawyer advising me, but you should always consult your own lawyer.

Let’s get right into it…

1. Does this apply to me if I’m in the United States or another country that’s not located in Europe?

Yes!

If you’re an online business OR a brick and mortar business that collects personal data and ANY of it comes from people in Europe, this applies to you.

(I’m looking at you lady who emailed me to tell me this doesn’t apply to U.S. businesses and that I’m overreacting. Ummmm…do you see all the U.S. businesses who are sending out emails to say they’ve updated their privacy policies in compliance?)

2. Does this apply to me if I don’t sell anything yet?

Yes!

This doesn’t just apply to businesses that collect credit card information. This applies to websites that collect any personal data. This means blogs that have comments (which collect names and email addresses), websites that use Google Analytics, websites that use cookies, websites that use email marketing, etc.

3. Do I need to add a link to my privacy policies to my email opt-in forms?

Yes!

This is something you need to do to be GDPR compliant.

This shouldn’t be a big deal to people…except that they have to go in and add a link to their privacy policies to their opt-in forms which can be a technical hassle. Otherwise, why do you care that you have to link to your privacy policy? Let’s be transparent people!

4. Do I need everyone on my email list to opt in all over again?

Here’s where things get tricky. If you want to completely cover your bum, have your list opt in all over again when you’ve made everything GDPR compliant.

Obviously most companies don’t want to do this, because they’re going to lose a bunch of people on their lists.

Instead, most companies (and this is what I’m going to do) are emailing their lists once they’ve gotten everything GDPR ready with their new privacy and cookie policies. In this email, there’s a way to unsubscribe (like in every email) if subscribers aren’t okay with your new policies.

This is what I’ve seen pretty much everyone do from big to small companies. If I were you, I would jump on this train.

5. What are the rules around this whole “cookies pop-up form” thingy?

If you use Google Analytics, comments (that collect personal data such as names and email addresses), plug-ins that collect personal data, Facebook Pixels for Facebook ads, or anything else that uses cookies you need this on your website.

The rules: it needs to be a soft pop-up form (meaning that it doesn’t need to take up the whole screen or impede the readers view) like the one at the top of my website, it needs to stay up unless the viewer clicks out of it, it needs to link to your cookie policy, it needs to say that your website uses cookies.

If you’re worried about this affecting your website, don’t…people will get used to seeing this really quickly. It will become invisible to people within days. We adapt to things like this.

(I would walk you through how to do this, but I didn’t do it. My awesome web designer, Amanda Creek did. She offers consulting, so hit her up if you’re struggling with this whole GDPR thing and she if she has any openings.)

6. How long do I need to keep the cookies pop up form on my blog or website?

For now, indefinitely.

7. Are “they” really going to come after a small business like mine if I don’t comply?

Do I look like a fortune-teller? I don’t know…but I wouldn’t get caught in Europe breaking the law if you haven’t complied.

Also, do you want to be the type of business that doesn’t comply with the law? A business that isn’t transparent and looks like it has something to hide? Really?

Still behind on getting GDPR compliant? You can download my privacy and cookie policies to use as a basis for your own right here!

I hope this helps to answer any lingering questions you might have.

We can do this ladies! We’re smart, capable women. And, we want to treat the people who come to our websites like actual people…not numbers. That’s partly what this is about. Let’s make these last changes and feel good about the business we’re doing.

Your GDPR Privacy Policy + Cookie Policy Swipe Copy

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GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation.

That’s what everyone is freaking out about right now because the enforcement date is May 25th.

If you run a business, you’ve got 16 days to make sure you’re following all the rules or risk being fined.

I run a Facebook group filled with badass girl bosses and there have been numerous reactions: overwhelm, research, panic, mayhem, frustration, denial, and calm.

I would’ve joined the panicked group, but I’m married to a super smart lawyer. (He’s won multiple awards including being in the top ten lawyers of Virginia and the top 100 lawyers of the United States. Hell yes, I’m proud.)

I did what I always do when something legal pops up in my business. I asked my husband to take care of it.

Before we get into this, I have to make something very clear. This is NOT legal advice. Nothing in this blog post is legal advice. You should always check things with your own lawyer. Okay…now we can move on…

My lawyer husband rewrote my privacy policy so that it ticked all the GDPR boxes. We added it to my Terms and Conditions (you can find it near the bottom if you’re curious).

He also wrote a separate cookie policy, because it’s required by the GDPR to have a very clear cookie policy. We’re going to be adding this to a separate page on my website. And, you’ll soon see a pop up at the top of my site that says, “We use cookies on this site. Please read our cookie policy here.” You’ll have to “X” out of it.

It’s clear that you need something like this on your site by May 25th that states that you use cookies and links to your cookie policy. It also needs to be a soft opt-in that readers have to close if they no longer want to see it.

I feel blessed that I’m married to a lawyer that takes care of all my legal needs. I know that some of you are super stressed about getting your privacy and cookie policies just right.

That’s why I’m providing you with my swipe copy for you to steal.

All you need to do is read through it VERY CAREFULLY so that you change anything (like the business name) that doesn’t apply to your business.

In the cookie policy, you’ll need to rewrite the Third Party Cookies section based on what you use. Change it to match the plug-ins and things that you use that collect data or information about your users. Use the same format…just change the information so that it fits your third parties.

This swipe copy will at the very least give you a great place to start.

I hope this helps get rid of some of your stress!

My Favorite Post of 2017

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My sweet Kaya Lucy (doggie) had multiple surgeries this week.

Don’t worry animal lovers…she’s okay!

When we took her in for her annual checkup, we asked the vet about a small lump that had just sprung up on her elbow. The vet recommended that we have it removed, because it was hard.

Kaya’s liver blood panels also came back high, so the vet recommended we get a liver biopsy done at the same time. (She’s now on a medication that should normalize her liver issues.)

Between the time of the annual checkup and the scheduled surgeries, Kaya grew a skin tag on her eyelid that we decided to get removed at the same time, because the vet was worried it could burst in the future.

The day of the surgeries the vet found another tiny lump and called us to ask if she could also remove it.

They also recommended a teeth cleaning since she’s an older dog (about 11 years old…not positive since we adopted her) and said it would make her gums a bit sore but would help in the future to avoid her teeth needing to be pulled.

Poor girl.

It was a big day for her, but we didn’t want her to have to go through another round of anesthesia and recovery so we decided to get it all done at the same time. That was the recommendation, so we went with the professionals and our guts.

She came through with no problems.

But, the vet did say that the lump on her elbow did look like cancer. They’ve sent it to the lab to be tested. (We’ll know the results next week.)

The good news is that they got clear margins and as long as it’s not an aggressive cancer, that’ll be the end of it. If it is an aggressive cancer, we’ll have to take her back in to see if it has spread anywhere else.

Our vet said to remain positive until we know anything, because she feels like they got everything.

The reason I’m sharing the anxiety-filled start to my week with you is because I deliberately took off most of this week when we scheduled her surgeries, because all our sweet girl wants to do when she doesn’t feel well is lay on my chest and snuggle in bed with me.

So, I decided to re-post my favorite post of last year instead of write a new blog post for this week.

I hope you enjoy the read or re-read while I’m cuddling my doggie and helping her recover!

Here is my favorite post of 2017…15 Books that Changed My Life…

If someone told me that I could only have one hobby for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t take one moment to think about it.

I’d pick reading.

There have been periods in my life where I’ve read very little (a.k.a., high school when I could only think about friends and boys) and others where I’ve practically lived in books.

When I talk about reading here at Blacksburg Belle, I usually refer to non-fiction books like the latest business book I’ve fallen for, but today’s post is a bit different.

It’s not your typical blog post on how to improve your business like this one and this one and this one.

So many of you loved the blog post I published on my list of non-fiction must reads for creative entrepreneurs that I decided to write a post on fiction.

This list is about the stories that have impacted me the most–the ones that have crawled inside of me and stayed for years, having such influence that I don’t think I would be the same person without them.

I don’t know about you, but the GREAT stories I’ve consumed over the years have stuck to me, have transported me to new places, and allowed me to meet all kinds of people of all ages and ethnicities. Every time I read a book like that, I can’t help but change just a bit. It adds to who I am, what I enjoy or things I want to try or see.

A few of these books aren’t the most well written novels of all time, but I read them at the exact right time in my life. I’m thankful for those books and the authors who entertained me and helped me through tough milestones or celebrations (yep…I’m a nerd who rewards myself with a good book).

I hope you find a few you’d like to read and more than anything, I hope you’re inspired, entertained and positively changed through at least one book on this list.

The way I’ve listed the books are within categories and then in the order I read them (so they aren’t listed from most impactful to least impactful or anything like that). Also, I read a lot of the young adult books after many of the adult books.

Children’s Books

1. Matilda by Roald Dahl

I remember reading and re-reading this book many times. It made me fall head over heels in love with fiction. I loved reading before Matilda. I would force my parents to read four to five books to me every night starting at the age of two, but Matilda was that first book I remember reading by myself and getting that magical feeling of being engrossed in a story so much that I forgot where I was and what was going on around me.

2. Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene

One of my favorite memories of my childhood was ‘yard saling’ with my parents. I would lie down in the back of my parents’ station wagon and read while they drove from yard sale to yard sale.

I would stay in the car but my mom would come and get me if they had any children’s books, play teacher supplies (like a kid-sized chalkboard) or real teacher supplies (like workbooks, textbooks or planners). During these Saturday mornings, I’d read for hours as well as find new books and I was always on the lookout for Nancy Drew books. I knew which ones I had and which ones I didn’t and if I came across a new one, it was mine.

3. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Like many pre-teens, I read this book because I was curious. I remember being fascinated by sex ed in fifth grade and I hadn’t gotten my period yet. I wanted to know what to expect and this seemed like a good source to get some details. It was. I completely missed the point the author was making about Margaret’s relationship with God, but it definitely makes it to the list of novels that most impacted my life.

4. Watership Down by Richard Adams

I’m including this novel in children’s books because I read it in the sixth grade. At that point in time, I had stopped reading on a daily basis. For some reason, I didn’t procrastinate with reading this novel (like I was starting to do with all the assigned reading)–maybe because it looked huge to me. I read at the recommended rate which had us start and finish within a couple months. It made me laugh and cry and want to read every day again. Thank you Richard Adams for writing a book that made me see the value in reading again.

5. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

This series helped me bond with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. With one of the releases, we all went to buy the book at midnight when it was being released. As we stood in line, anticipating the magical story, we became closer and we’ve bonded over books ever since. I don’t think we’ve had one Christmas where we haven’t given each other a stack of books for presents.

Not only did it help me bond with my husband’s family, but it opened my eyes to fantasy and magical stories. That was one of the first fantasy series or books I’d ever read and it showed me how someone (a.k.a., J.K. Rowling) thinking outside of the box can create something that transforms peoples’ lives.

Young Adult Books

6. Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

I’ve written an entire blog post about my love for this series, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but the main reason these books impacted my life was because I was struggling with the choices I had made for my education and career.

I was depressed and Twilight kinda fell into my lap. Besides my then fiancé (now husband), it was one of the only things making me completely happy.

Reading these books compelled me to start writing fiction on a regular basis which turned the miserable hours in the morning before work into something I looked forward to every day. For that, I will always be thankful.

7. Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

This is another series of books that inspired me to write fiction. When I put down Divergent, I ordered a bunch of used books off of Amazon about writing fiction. That’s also when I started waking up around 5am to get in a couple hours of writing before I had to leave for work.

When I read Divergent, I loved reading about dystopian worlds because they transported me to a world where everything was “different” without being fantastical. They were a lot of fun.

8. Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi

Warner. Enough said.

Okay, maybe you want a bit more…but seriously, Warner. If you’ve read this series, you know what I mean. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

I find Tahereh’s writing addictive and beautiful. The first book in this series is not written like your average book, but if you can get past it and you enjoy young adult series with love triangles, pick it up. (You can buy me a green tea frappuccino with coconut milk later to thank me.)

I loved the books, but more than that, I was inspired by this author. She’s hilarious, smart, unapologetically weird and married to another best-selling author. I want to be her when I grow up. (How about a combination of Mayi Carles and Tahereh Mafi…God…are you listening? It’s me, April and I want to be Mayi and Tahereh when I grow up.)

9. The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

This series gets a lot of criticism like the Twilight series from those who only like literary fiction. It’s kinda like The Bachelor combined with The Hunger Games, and it’s hella entertaining. I read each of the books in the series in one or two days. As someone who enjoys writing fiction if I had to pick between beautiful writing or creating something this entertaining, I’d pick entertaining. I would want to write books that people stayed up all night to finish.

Also, this series has a special place in my heart because the writer lives where I live in Blacksburg, Virginia. I’ve seen her speak in person at our local Barnes and Noble and she connects so well to the pre-teens and teenage girls who obsess over her books. It was a wonderful thing to watch. An author who makes teens thrilled to read is a gift to this world.

10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Before I became chronically ill, I had no trouble sleeping. I could fall asleep anywhere, in any position within a couple minutes. I could sleep: on the subway, in class with my head on my desk, within one-minute of a car ride, standing up against a wall, in the movie theater while bombs are exploding on screen. Then I got sick and started struggling with insomnia.

This is the first book I can remember keeping me company as I lay in bed next to my husband unable to sleep one wink. I read it from start to finish.

It’s a really cute young adult contemporary novel about a girl who gets sent to a school in Paris against her will for her senior year of high school. Girl meets boy in the lovely backdrop of Paris. I’m in.

I’m not sure if I LOVED this book or if I love it because it got me through that tough night of pain and anxiety. Either way, I appreciate it.

New Adult Books

11. On Dublin Street Series by Samantha Young

This series is just straight up romance—and steamy romance at that. But, one of the reasons it made this list is because it follows a family and their friends and you get so invested in seeing them all happy. It’s the best new adult romance series I’ve ever read.

I’m not the type of reader who likes to read a series of books back to back to back. I like to split it up, read a little romance and then a little dystopian and then a thriller and then back to the series for book two. Not with this series. I read this series back to back, not wanting to read anything else.

When I read this series, my husband and I had been together for 11 years and without going R-rated, we’re still hot for each other (have you seen my husband lately…hubba hubba). With that being said (and keeping things G-rated), these books amped things up in the bedroom and whatever adds a bit of spice after 10 years is a good thing in my opinion.

Adult Books

12. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I’m not a huge re-reader. There are so many books in this world that I want to read that I feel a bit guilty spending time rereading books. This novel is an exception. I first read it in college and I stayed up all night to finish it. I sobbed from 4am to 6am which made my eyes so puffy that I could barely see the next day.

This book transported me out of my 12×15 foot room that I lived in my senior year of college and into a relationship and places I couldn’t get enough of. My copy is stained, torn and water-damaged but I love it. Those stains and tears remind me of all the times I read it.

13. Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

This isn’t Jodi’s most popular book, but it’s the one that made me adore her novels. One of the things that Jodi does so well with her writing is that you really feel like you understand her characters, including people you never thought you could relate to. It’s an amazing thing to be able to read a novel and feel like you completely understand someone who is very different from you.

Since reading Handle with Care, I always get that itch of excitement when I start a new book by Jodi. I know that I’m going to learn about other people and issues that I want to be aware of and understand.

14. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

When I read this book, I was dealing with some mild depression due to my health issues and the limitations I dealt with because of it. While I see the issues of placing value on able-bodied people and saying that someone’s life isn’t as valuable if they aren’t able-bodied, this is a novel, just one story of how one person might deal with becoming paralyzed from the neck down.

And, this book literally changed my life. It made me much more grateful for the everyday. It helped me make more of an effort with things like exercise, eating healthy and doing everything I could to make my life more enjoyable by decreasing my pain and suffering. It made me realize that I should try to make every day count and stop waiting for “someday” to do the things I want to do.

I’m not sure if any other novel has done as much for me (in changing my mindset) as this one did.

15. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

This book did not make this list because the story itself changed my life or made me a better, happier person. Although, if you like thrillers with amazing plot twists, you’ve got to read this book. It’s enthralling in a heart pounding kind of way.

This psychological thriller made my list because my husband and I listened to it together over the course of six months on our road trips, mainly from Blacksburg to Richmond (where my parents live—hi mom, love you!).

We connected over this book, talking about it, guessing what was going to happen and downright enjoying it. One of the trips we listened to this book on was a two and a half hour trip to UVA to meet with a specialist who ended up changing my life by caring about my health and coming up with a treatment plan. My husband and I were both anxious on this trip, having seen multiple world-class specialists at the best hospitals in the United States. We both lost ourselves in this story to make the ride easier. This book and that trip will always be tied together in my mind.

That’s it…my list of books that have impacted my life more than any others and I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands.

Well, that’s sort of it. I tried my best to think of all the stories that should be on this list but I’m sure I’ve left off a couple by accident.

This is NOT my list of my favorite novels of all time. That list would include many of these books but it would look very different with additions like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. (If you’d like to see what else would be on this list, let me know and I’ll plan another blog post all about my favorite novels.)

I would love to know what novel or two or seventeen that have changed your life in some way. Share them in the comments, please!

3 Daily Habits that Have Made Me More Creative and Productive

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A few months ago, my creativity was waning.

Anytime I sat down to write or paint it felt like I had a first class seat on the struggle bus. I’d rather have been back in middle school trying (and completely failing) to do a pull-up in front of my entire class for our annual physical fitness test.

I wondered if I should flip over the couch cushions and look underneath the beds to see if my creativity had hidden somewhere.

So…I did what I always do when I have a problem. I researched.

And, I found a class on CreativeLive that looked like a great fit: Get Into Your Creative Flow taught by Steven Kotler.

I wish I could tell you I did something really cool like went on a three-month sabbatical to India, Indonesia and Italy, Eat, Pray, Love-style. But I’m more of a research girl.

This course was just what the doctor ordered. I absolutely recommend it, but for today, I want to share the three things I learned from this course that I’ve turned into daily habits.

If you’re anything like me and need a boost in creativity (and productivity), you should adopt these daily habits, too.

Thanks to Steven, I’m feeling much more creative…and productive…and happy.

Here are the three daily habits:      

1. Using my trigger list.

One of the strategies from this course I found the most helpful was creating a trigger list and using it daily.

A trigger list is a list of release activities that you use when you’re in the struggle phase of the creative process in order to reach flow.

Release activities are also something you use between 90-120 minutes of focused creativity in order to prep for the next one. When you do a release activity between blocks of work, you’re less likely to burn out and much more likely to reach flow throughout the day.

Steven describes triggers as low-grade physical activities–something where your body is moving (not at an extreme level) and your mind can wander.

My release activities range from walking my dogs to pilates to embroidery sewing to knitting to repetitive cleaning.

Takeaway: Build your own trigger list and do release activities for 25-45 minutes in between 90-120 minutes of focused work throughout the day.

It might seem like this would make you less productive, but it does the complete opposite. If you can reach flow when you’re working, you’ll get a lot more done in the 90-120 minute blocks of time. Steven says it can increase your productivity by 500 percent.

Tip: Television and movies do not work for release activities. They drain you of the neurochemicals needed to reach flow.

2. Ending focused work with a question.

At the end of one of the 90-120 minutes of focused work, I now think of a question and write it down.

This question relates to something I was struggling with during that block of time or what I know I’m going to be working on when I come back to work after my break and doing a release activity.

Steven teaches that ending with a question will give your subconscious time to ponder the answer while you’re doing your release activity. When you come back to work, you often know the answer or can come up with the answer pretty quickly.

When I sit back down to work, I spend five minutes journaling the answer to the question that I wrote at the end of the last block of work.

It works pretty darn well!

I don’t always have an answer, but I’ve done a lot of creative problem solving with this technique.

Takeaway: End every block of focused work by writing down a question at the top of a piece of paper. When you come back to work after your break, spend five minutes journaling the answer.

3. Reading nonfiction outside of my niche.

If you’re new around these parts, you might not know that I adore reading. That includes nonfiction, but when I read nonfiction, it’s mostly business and productivity type books. Those definitely fall into my niche.

During Steven’s course, he talked about the importance of reading nonfiction outside of your niche in order to spark creativity more often.

He explained that creativity comes from pattern recognition and to have this happen more often, you should read books outside of your area of expertise. He recommended 25 to 50 pages per day.

Since taking the course, I’ve been reading about 25 pages in a nonfiction book outside of my niche most days and I agree with him. It has amped up my creativity.

It makes you think about things in different ways, come up with ideas you never would’ve thought of and more.

I’m currently reading Lagom: Not Too Little, Not Too Much: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life and then I’m going to read Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory. I have a couple options after that.

Takeaway: Make a reading list of three to five nonfiction books that are completely outside of your niche. Pick books you’re interested in–topics that you enjoy! Buy those books or check them out of your local library and read 25-50 pages each day. Once you’re done with those books, repeat the process.

See if it doesn’t help you to think more creatively!

Those are the three big takeaways from Get Into Your Creative Flow that I turned into daily habits.

I learned so much more from the course, but these three habits have made me a happier and more creative person.

Giveaway: Video Eye Makeup Essentials (CLOSED)

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Remember last month’s blog post on my video makeup essentials?

I get that some of those items don’t fall into the inexpensive category–like the eyeshadow palette that costs $80.

Yep, that sucker is an investment, but it’s a justified expense when I use it every time I do my makeup, no matter whether I’m doing a natural look or a smokey eye for a date night, unlike other palettes that just sit in my drawer week after week.

But, I’ve played the ‘should I get it–should I I not’ game with expensive makeup. You don’t know if it’ll work for your skin type and tone. You don’t know if it’s really worth the money and hype. And, so on.

I want one of you to see how blendable and lovely these eyeshadows are…as well as get your hands on a couple other products I mentioned in that blog post. (Plus, I think random giveaways are fun!)

That’s why I’m hosting a giveaway for one of you to win the three products I think are essential for video eye makeup looks: NARS eyeshadow primer ($26 value), VISEART eyeshadow palette ($80 value) and Tarte Lights, Cameras, Splashes Waterproof Mascara ($23 value).

THE WINNER IS KIM JOY! CONGRATS!

Thank you sooooooooo very much to everyone who entered. I’ve enjoyed reading through all of your comments and am planning blog posts around a lot of these topics.

Kim, we’ll be contacting you within 24 hours to get your mailing address. Look out for that email.

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is:

1. Be an email subscriber (on any one of my lists). If you got the email announcing this giveaway, you’re good! If you didn’t, you need to subscribe…anywhere…at the top of my homepage right here…on the sidebar of my blog…as you scroll through my blog and see an opt-in in between blog posts. Any opt-in box on my website will do.

2. Comment on this blog post letting me know something you’re struggling with in your business right now. It could be something as little as not knowing what webcam to buy or something as big as not knowing how to get your husband to support you spending time and money on building your business.

This helps me know what I should spend more time creating content (like blog posts) about.

That’s it…you don’t have to share this giveaway on social media. You don’t have to create a video of yourself hula hooping and hopping on one foot while explaining why you want to win or show me you really want it by plucking all your eyebrows.

Just make sure you’re on my email list and that you comment on this post with your current business struggle by Monday (April 23rd) at 5pm EST.

I’ll announce the winner RIGHT HERE on this blog post on Tuesday, April 24th at 3pm EST.

When leaving your comment below, make sure you use a valid email address. If you’re the winner, that’s how we’ll contact you to get your mailing address to send you the prize.

This contest is open worldwide. The decision is final. The winner has 5 business days after the announcement and email is sent to claim his/her prize.

10 Psychological Techniques You’re Not Using but Should

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The first time I was riveted in my seat in college was during my abnormal psychology class.

I never missed class, no matter how hungover I was (sorry mom!) or how little sleep I’d gotten even though it was an early morning class.

I filled an entire notebook from that class. Besides my introduction to psychology course, it was basically my introduction to psychology.

I mean, we all know, intro to psych is a gimme class where you don’t learn much.

During abnormal psych, I realized there was a subject I couldn’t get enough of. I’m kinda embarrassed to admit that I went to the campus bookstore and bought an advanced psych textbook that wasn’t for any classes I was taking, because I wanted more and didn’t know how else to get it. (There was no Amazon back then…)

Nowadays, I still love psychology, but I love learning about it in context to business–not psychopaths.

For this blog post, I’ve compiled 10 psychology techniques that you’re probably not using but should.

Since you’re an entrepreneur who enjoys growing and wants to stay on top of the best tools, I knew you’d like this one! (P.S. Once you read the first technique, come back to the previous sentence to see what I’ve done. P.P.S. I still mean it! You da best!)

1. Flattery

How did you feel the last time someone told you they loved your tomato red flats or new haircut or DIY manicure? Pleased? Giddy? Happy? Angry? Frustrated?

Most people feel the first three when they receive a compliment.

When you flatter your readers in a sincere way (which means not exaggerating), they tend to like you more and keep reading or paying attention to your video.

You might be wondering how you can compliment your followers in a genuine way.

First, it’s all about really knowing them.

If you know that your followers care about their style, you could say something like, “As someone who puts time into looking her best each day, I know you’ll appreciate…”

If you know that your readers are dog lovers, you could say something like, “You go above and beyond for your four-legged friends.”

If you know that your YouTube subscribers all love knitting, you could say something like, “As someone who gets the importance of picking the exact right yarn for a project, you’ll understand…”

When using flattery, remember that it shouldn’t be over the top. It should make sense for your audience. And, the best place to use it is at the beginning of your blog post, email or video. It’s more likely that your reader or watcher will start to feel those “liking” feelings and keep reading or watching.

2. Why

Always give a reason why.

In an experiment conducted by Harvard psychologist, Ellen Langer, it was shown that people like to be given a reason why.

In the experiment, people were waiting in line at a copy machine. In the first round, an experimenter asked if she could go ahead of them saying, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?”

Ninety-four percent said yes.

The experiment was repeated but the experimenter said, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” Only sixty percent agreed.

They repeated it one more time with the experimenter saying, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make some copies?”

Ninety-three percent said yes!

Even though there was no significant reason, they still said yes.

What does this mean for you? It means that whenever you ask your readers, followers or subscribers to do something, you need to give them a reason to do it now.

For instance, you might say, “You need to watch this video detailing how to refresh your morning routine now because it’ll increase your daily happiness immediately.” Or, you might say, “Check out my new line of prints now because they are limited edition and are already running low.”

Consider a reason why people shouldn’t wait and share it with them.

3. Cliffhangers

Does anyone else have a love-hate relationship with cliffhangers?

They grab my attention, but I kinda wanna strangle some people when they use them. When I read an entire book and get to the end and it’s a big cliffhanger, I’m like, “Man…why?!?!?”

Here’s the deal: cliffhangers work. They get you to watch the news to see if B12 actually drops prevent cancer. They get you to read the next book in the series. They get you to click to the next article.

And, if you use them well, you can get away with it without driving your followers crazy.

For instance, if you upload a YouTube video with your seven favorite essential oils and how you use each of them, you could send an email describing one of the oils and how you use it and then use a cliffhanger to get your subscribers to click the link to watch your video to find out about the other six.

You might write something like, “The six other essential oils that make me happy and healthier and how I use them are detailed in my new YouTube video. Watch it here.”

You can also use cliffhangers by breaking up a big topic into multiple blog posts or videos and teasing them at the end of each. Once they’re all posted, go back and link to them.

4. Surprise

Research studies have proven that people who’ve recently been surprised with little things such as a free food sample at a grocery store or finding some spare change rate their happiness higher than others.

This means that if you can associate your brand with small surprises, then you can associate your brand with spikes of happiness for your customers.

You can get really creative with this, but here are some ideas: 1) Include a free gift in your packages. 2) Hand out free samples at your next craft show. 3) Give your customers free two-day or overnight shipping upgrades but don’t tell them until after they’ve paid! 4) Surprise your email subscribers with free, valuable content you know they’ll love. 5) Do something extra surprising in the middle of your next Facebook Live such as taking off your pants and doing a shot of Vodka…or maybe something less illegal than getting naked on FB like running a quick contest for those watching or smashing a whipped cream pie in your face if viewers can answer five questions correctly.

Surprised I recommended getting pantless? I’ve gotta a little winky face emoji in me!

5. Secrets

When you use the word “secret” in a headline or title (for a blog post, email newsletter, FB Live, YouTube video, etc) or imply you’re going to reveal secrets, people can’t help but click.

It implies scarcity and we want to be in on the secret. We also want to be a part of the in-crowd that knows the information.

“We all love being entrusted with a secret (some of us even keep them). And having been entrusted with it we feel more powerful than we did before. Power is one of those things most people crave, even if they don’t, won’t or can’t admit it. Which makes it a very useful tool for influencing their behaviour.” -Persuasive Copywriting, Andy Maslen

Here’s the caveat: you can’t do this with every headline and title. Use it sparingly–for when it really makes sense–and it’ll pay off big!

6. The Zeigarnik Effect

“The Zeigarnik effect refers to the state of mental tension and unbalance caused by uncompleted tasks.” -Web Copy that Sells, Maria Veloso

For instance, when someone clicks on your website and she sees multiple things that interest her and she wants to click on multiple buttons/pages, she won’t be able to concentrate on anything until she’s clicked on everything. That means she probably won’t concentrate on anything on your website.

The point is you need to declutter your website. All those cute buttons and extras NEED. TO. GO. They only help you to lose out on customers.

Links to other websites…ads…unrelated pages? NEED. TO. GO. You want people to stay on your site.

And, you need to use the linear path method on every sales page. That means there is nowhere else to go on your sales page. The only option is to stay and read and keep reading and click the buy buttons.

7. Small Favors First

According to Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J Goldstein, Steve J. Martin and Robert B. Cialdini, Benjamin Franklin wanted to win over someone who bothered him and opposed his politics. Franklin wrote this person a note asking him to borrow a book that he knew the person had in his library and the person sent him the book.

Franklin kept the book for a week and sent it back. The next time Franklin saw this person, he spoke to him in a friendly manner which he’d never done before. This person served Franklin on multiple occasions, they worked together and became friends.

The takeaway that has been repeated through research studies is that if you want to make nice with someone or get someone to do you a large favor, you should ask for a small favor first.

Once someone has done a small favor for you, they tend to like you a lot more just because they did you a favor.

Isn’t that interesting?

How can you take this brilliant tactic from Benjamin Franklin and apply it to your business?

8. Lies

Have you ever revealed a lie in your industry? Have you ever used the word “lie” in one of your headlines?

If not, you’re missing out on a huge psychological technique.

We hate being lied to. It links to one of our six primary emotions–anger.

If you want to get more eyes on your content, think about a topic that fits into this category.

For instance, let’s say (just for the sake of an example) that you’re a business consultant and you disagree with the advice that creative entrepreneurs should use live video to promote their businesses. In fact, you think it could hurt their businesses if they’re not careful. You could write a blog post titled, “The Lie All the Businesses Gurus Are Telling That Could Tank Your Creative Business.” That blog post would get a bunch of clicks.

Here’s the caveat: You have to be able to back it up! You need to believe whatever you’re writing or talking about or else the extra eyeballs won’t do anything for you.

9. Reframing

Reframing is a technique where you take something that your prospect might see as a disadvantage and make it desirable. Look for the hidden elements that make it a plus.

For example, let’s say that you’re not including any live calls in your next course and you know that potential customers are going to ask you about it because they love having live calls in your courses.

In your copy and when answering questions about live calls, you can reframe it as a good thing by saying, “I’ve decided not to include any live calls for this course. That means you won’t have to make yourself available according to my schedule or miss part of the course because you’re not available or in a different part of the world. Instead, I’ll be answering questions in the Facebook group as they come in. You’ll still get your questions answered and you’ll get them answered on your time!”

Almost anything has some pluses and reframing is about focusing on the positive which is important in sales.

10. Emotion over Logic

The best psychological tool that you should always use is digging deep into your potential customers’ emotions.

If nothing else from this blog post sticks, you want to make their hearts beat faster.

Three ways you can do this immediately: talk about their problems and pain points, talk about what it will feel like when their pain point is eliminated, have them imagine using your product or service.

Emotion wins the sale every time.

Which one of these ten psychological techniques can you use right away?

Can you add the word “secret” or “lies” to your next headline? Can you put more emotion into your sales page that isn’t currently converting very well? Can you use flattery in the beginning of your next email to your list? Can you add an element of surprise to your brand?

Decide which one you’re going to use and let us know in the comments! You’ll be more likely to REMEMBER and to do it if you make a decision and share it with others.