In my first article, “How to make a trading card game” I have written about how simple it is to make trading card game without much expenses than just buying a couple of stuff. But I believe that tips are needed to create better looking cards such that your friends can enjoy the games. So here are some tips which I hope that can help you in enhancing your trading card making skills.o Get good quality paper. It adds to the presentation and sturdiness of the cards.o Get your friends to help make the cards. Its not easy to create great cards alone.o Have a background story. That will make the cards more colorful.o You are able to buy 4000 index cards for just under $25. If you cut it into half, it will be 8000 cards. Even if you don’t 4000 is still a lot of cards.o If you cut the cards in half, they will be slightly flimsy; to remedy this you can cover the card with clear packaging tape and then cut off all the excess tape. This way, it reinforce the card and make it shinny.o Do not make 50 cards at once. Start with a few cards and see how it goes. If the initial cards are successful, then you can continue with the rest of the cards.o Don’t use all of your best ideas for cards at once. If you make all of the awesome cards first, you might not have any more good ideas for later cards.o If you really like your card game, try making a game mat where you can put your cards or even make a manual explaining how your game is played. You never know where you might end up.o If your card game is just for friends, don’t add advertisements.Finally, you have it. These are just tips or suggestions to improve your trading card making skills. Be ready to get your hands dirty.

One of the best things that you can ever do for your online business is becoming an email marketing expert. By learning how to master email marketing, you give yourself an advantage that others only wish that they could have. As an email marketing expert, you give yourself the chance to achieve predictable results. You’ll be able to rely on your numbers and estimate how much money you’re going to make each month.Some people tend to believe that email marketing is on the decline but I TOTALLY disagree. I believe this because I practice email marketing everyday, and believe that I am an email marketing expert myself. The first thing on my marketing task list everyday is to implement an email marketing strategy that will boost my conversions, boost my click through rates, and boost my leads to sales ratio. This is how I’m able to scale in my business each month.So what kinds of things should you be doing and know how to do to propel your email marketing results right away? I want to give you a few tips on what you should be doing so that your overall online marketing efforts are balanced by the results that your email strategy is doing. Because once you master the email side of things, everything else in your business becomes a lot easier. Here’s one thing you can start doing to become an email marketing expert in a short period of time:1) Track your link clicksIn most email autoresponder programs (such as Aweber, GetResponse, Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, etc), you will have the opportunity to view how many people on your list clicked on the link(s) in your emails. All you have to do is simply make the decision to turn this option on or off. It’s that simple. And you want to do this because it makes a huge difference in email sequencing.You don’t want to send out emails blindly without knowing what kinds of results you’re getting. Let’s say for instance that you’re getting 100 leads per day onto your mailing list, and it takes you an average of 10 emails to get a sale – when they’re spaced out 3 days apart. Here’s what you want to recognize, because it could alter the amount of profits that you make exponentially.Regardless of how far apart you’re spacing each email out, if in the 5th email you send you realize from the numbers that 4% of your 100 new leads are unsubscribing in that email, but in all of the rest of the emails you’re getting click through rates such as 30% and you’re getting sales… this should be a clear indication that the email needs to be revised – or totally removed altogether.By changing or removing that 1 single email, you could save yourself 4 leads – that could continue to stay on your list and even purchase from you in the future. And depending on your product price, and your cost per lead, this could be the difference between a lot of revenue for you – or mediocre to NO revenue for you at all. So as an email marketing expert, this is one of the things that you need to spot and take notice of so that you can make as much money as possible. Here’s another way to become an email expert in no time at all:2) Only mail to good and qualified leadsSome people believe that all leads are good. You will find that some people generate leads in any way that they can so that they can feel good about themselves, and post pictures of their large lists in forums and Facebook groups. This is not a good idea. Only generate and put people on your email list who are interested in what you have to offer – or who have purchased something that is really close to what you have to offer.I know some people who love the idea of solo ads. Solo ad marketing is when someone has an email list, and they allow people to mail to their list for a fixed price. Then once the mailing is over, they allow somebody else to mail to their deadbeat list in all in attempts to con them on the idea that their list is golden and supreme. This is not at all true. You should never attempt solo ad marketing.As an email marketing expert, the best kinds of leads to mail to are leads that you generate yourself. You typically do this via some form of display or pay per click (PPC) advertising, joint venture, viral marketing, or referral marketing campaign that you implement. But with solo ad marketing, how do you know how the leads where generated? Are you going by what the list owner has told you?You don’t know this person. They could have bought a 100,000 email lead database from some bulk lead company for $10, and are charging you $80 for every 100 leads that they send your message to. Not only do they scam you and you get no results in the form of income, but you could also get your website blacklisted. An email marketing expert would know this and would stay away from this form of marketing – because they know it’s a waste of time and money.To truly succeed online email marketing is essential, so becoming an expert is a necessity. Never rely on list brokers or buy email lists from someone. Generate leads from people who have sought YOU out, and know your conversion rates. When you have leads coming in from paid advertising and free marketing, you’ll lower your cost to get each lead, and you’ll be in control of what happens in your business.Which would you rather have? An unpredictable email campaign or a predictable one? This simple factor alone will save you 5-10 years of heartache and waste of time. This is something that you truly need to consider. If you want the most success in your business as possible, become an email marketing expert starting today.

How a Personal Brand Plan Benefits Your Business Brand
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Truer words were never spoken, and they apply to both you and your business.If you’re a store owner, for example, you know that if someone has a negative interaction the first time they visit, they’re going to walk right out, and likely never come back. They might even tell a few friends.But if they have the time of their life on their first visit to your store, you’ve got a loyal customer for life. And again, they might even tell a few friends.But what about if you’re someone who works with clients? Someone who hopes to be a leader, a speaker, an author, an entertainer, a consultant?Perhaps you’ve done the hard work of building your business brand, with a logo and professional website to match.But your business brand is only half the battle. Because if you want to stand out and reach your ideal clients, then you need to spend just as much effort on understanding, developing and maintaining your personal brand.While personal branding is critical for all business people of all genders, the reality is that women are so often conditioned to be meek and mild. So while anyone can benefit from the tips I’m about to share, I highly recommend that women, in particular, listen up (so they can get the confidence to speak up and stand out!).Why You Need a Personal Branding Strategy
Women often ask me, ‘how does a personal brand contribute to my business?’Branding takes work and effort, and business leaders are tuned in to ROI. So they often want to know how a personal brand can benefit their business, before putting in all the effort.In short, your personal brand is a representation of your business, and people will judge you accordingly. The reality is that people do judge a book by its cover.So creating a brand is like the cover for your business. You want that cover to not only stand out, but also to be a true reflection of who you are, and what your business is all about.And whether intuitively or directly, most people believe that how you do one thing is how you do everything. If your personal brand is haphazard, lazy or nonexistent, that will reflect on your business whether you want it to or not.On the other hand, when you align your personal brand with your business brand, you’re much more likely to not only connect with the right people but also turn them into raving fans. So that’s the ‘why’ of developing a personal branding strategy. To learn more about how personal branding dovetails with professional branding on our website.Now let’s get into the ‘how.’Creating A Personal Brand
If every journey begins with a single step, then the first step on this journey is to embrance your personal brand.That means being confident in who you are. This calls for authenticity. Honesty is important over all else in branding – being genuine builds trust, and trust builds customers.
This can be difficult for women who are often raised to be people-pleasers and all-things-to-all-people.That’s why you need to keep your target audience in mind.When building up your brand you need to define yoour ideal client.And then realize that only your ideal client matters. Not everyone has to like you, and that’s OK. Remember that the people who don’t embrace your brand were never likely to be customers, anyway.So be confident in who you are. Own it! Own your personality and don’t be afraid to share it with the world. Embrace what makes you unique, and share it with the world. READ:8 Personal Branding Mistakes that are Hurting Your Business
Personal branding blunders can repel customers. But how do you avoid them so you don’t actually harm your business?Here are the biggest personal branding mistakes to avoid.Read more online.Examples of Building Your Brand and Building Your Business
In my role, I wear lots of hats. Our Canadian-based agency provides just about every service you could require for digital marketing: logo and graphic design, custom website design and development, SEO and SEM marketing, social media marketing, content writing, copywriting, newsletters, and strategy consulting.And while I love all my hats, I think what I love most is working one-on-one with small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them define both their personal and professional brands and use them both effectively.It’s so powerful to help women have their ‘aha’ moment of getting crystal clear on who they are and what they have to offer. For example, our good friend and (now retired) client Dana Smithers is a woman who lives, eats and breathes her personal brand. Always the ‘lady in red,’ Dana is a shining example of integrating her personal brand with her business brand and her whole life.Our client Katherine Hartvickson of Quantum Ascendance is another shining example of creating solid and consistent personal and professional brands.Katherine is a high performance leadership and HR Consultant, as well as speaker and best-selling author.She is also a powerhouse personal brander, infusing professionalism and grace into everything she does. This includes regular insightful blog posts and a longstanding social media presence that establishes her as a go-to expert.And like we’ve covered, it’s important to fully embrace who you are.For example, our client Yvonne Douma isn’t afraid to show her playful side! While her company Douma Leadership offers serious services to entrepreneurs looking to improve their communication skills, Yvonne brings an infectious lightheartedness to her work that her clients love.So instead of forcing herself into the ‘somber businesswomen’ role, Yvonne embraces who she is, with a social media presence that reflects the fun, family-oriented person she is.Don’t get us wrong: Yvonne is a super serious entrepreneur and consummate professional who also shares incredibly insightful tips and strategies to establish herself as an expert in her field (for example, see our talk on communication skills on our website).But that doesn’t mean she needs to shoehorn her personal brand into something that just isn’t her.Branding Tips for Women In Business
So once you’ve got a little clarity on your personal brand, what comes next?Here’s are some tried-and-tested ways to build your personal brand:Optimize Social Media
The best way to effectively use social media in your marketing is to be consistent and create authentic engagement.Social media is not a tool to sell your business. Instead, it offers a wonderful opportunity to share your personal brand. Keep your social media presence consistent in order to build and enhance your personal brand awareness and develop a “know, like and trust” factor with your followers.Learn some more tips on how to create an effective social media strategy with us online.Develop An Appropriate Content Strategy
A good content strategy is important for so many reasons, one of which is establishing your personal and professional brands. We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘content is king,’ so it should be no surprise that well-written content is one of the most important elements of your website and marketing materials.Now, the right content strategy will look different for different companies. It can include:
Website content

Webinar/Teleseminar registration pages

Product and service sales pages

Blogs and newsletter articles

eMail Marketing / Newsletters

Social media posts

Press Releases

Print marketing materials

Ultimately, the goal of all content should be to showcase your brand, appeal to more clients, gain conversions and, ultimately, increase business.If you’re new to content marketing, we have some great resources to help you get started:
How To Create Blog Content to Attract Your Target Audience

How To Convert Newsletter Signups Into Customers Without Feeling Sleezy

How To Engage And Inspire With Interactive Content Marketing

Accept Praise With Grace
This is a personal fault of my own, and I suspect it’s something many women struggle with. It’s sometimes tough to respond to a compliment, but I highly recommend you take a moment and accept it. Part of owning who you are is being grateful when people recognize it.So instead of shrinking back and deflecting compliments, accept praise with graceAnd don’t shy away from your accomplishments, either! It’s not bragging if you simply list your accomplishments and let them stand for themselves.Find your Community
Surround yourself with your target market. That way, you’re more likely to be spending time with people who are more likely to respond to your personal brand.Not everyone appeals to everyone, so put yourself in places where your ideal clients will be present. Mixing water with oil will just cause you unnecessary problems.By placing yourself in the right setting and letting yourself shine with a strong personal brand, you will lead yourself to your ideal clients. The opposite – trying to be all things to all people – just leads to hurdles that are best avoided.You can connect with your community at networking and community events, and never underestimate the importance of a great Facebook group!Work With A Branding Expert
If you’re an entrepreneur, then I have no doubt you are good at what you do. But what you do may not be branding and marketing.Remember, personal and professional branding takes a lot of time and effort. It can also be a little intimidating.You’d outsource your accounting if numbers make you cross-eyed, and you’d outsource your building management if you were swamped for time. Similarly, it’s often a great idea to outsource your branding and marketing if you feel like you’re in over your head, or if you just don’t have the time to dedicate to this important work. That’s where our team can help, with consulting and branding strategies to help you get to the next level. I can’t wait to learn more about your business goals!To your business success,Susan