So you want (need) to smash the digital thing? You?re not alone?
Why it?s hard for wellness professionals to smash the digital thing?And what to do about it
I?m taking a wild guess here but I?d say if you?re a wellness professional, chances are you didn?t choose your career path because you wanted to spend 9-5 in front of a laptop screen. Am I right or am I right?
Yep, thought so. And more power to you I say. But it does leave you with a bit of a dilemma. How do you motivate yourself to learn (and then keep up with) all the skills you need to create a thriving digital business, so that ultimately you can fulfil your purpose of helping other humans?
Now I?m not suggesting wellness professionals are digital dunces (perish the thought), and of course you can still care about people?s health and wellbeing and have an interest in all things digital. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive after all; I?m a clear example of that for a start, but more about that in a moment.
But maybe you didn?t fully appreciate that by launching your own HOH (Help Other Humans) business, you were also signing up for the brain draining effort of building and updating your website, becoming a marketing pro overnight and thinking up ever more creative ways of engaging an audience?
I?ve been there too
It?s ok, I get it, that sense of uh-oh, I?m out of my depth here. I have a background in corporate IT, but when 14 years ago I re-trained in NLP and Clinical Hypnotherapy to follow my urge to HOH, I still felt the pressure.
Even once I was armed with the knowledge, the understanding and the skills to help other people through THEIR roadblocks, my own still followed in front of me. The fear of failure was diminished, but other things took their place. ?Overwhelm, analysis paralysis, fear of outright success, fear of judgement, fear of, well, just standing out.
By 2008, I was out on my own as a solo-preneur with no clients, no income and heck of a lot to learn.
Back to school (sort of)
I took to the books, the seminars, the business networking and classroom-based courses to become skilled in the art of selling myself to people who didn?t yet know me, like me or trust me! And I met A LOT of people all trying to do the same.
With all the soft-skills and business strategies consumed, applied, tested, and re-applied, my peers were dropping out of their respective games like flies. Unable to sustain the dream of being a full-time, fully-fledged helper of humans, they sunk back to obscurity in the safety of their previous career; hopes dashed, bank accounts empty, pride dented and self-worth in not-so-great shape.
But there were also those who pushed on through and made a success of it. The difference? The number one thing that set apart the HOH?s from the no-longer-HOH?s is their ability to market themselves in the digital world.
Those who stopped printing 1000 flyers and dropping a dozen of them in local cafes and health-food shops, and instead embraced the brave new world of digital publishing, marketing, socialising and advertising, are the ones still HOH-ing today.
What?s involved in going digital?
Since you?re reading this, you?re clearly of the mindset to go digital too. But that?s not enough on its own to prevent the need to back-peddle all the way to your old office cubicle.
Even if your decision to HOH was partly driven by a desire to get out from behind a computer screen, if you want to thrive you have to accept that you need digital skills. New ones. Quite a few of them. Quickly. Up-skill in this area before anything else.
How? Well you can do what I did and start reading. Watch a tonne of videos, sign up for online courses, network and generally immerse yourself. A quick Google will reveal a huge choice of courses and guidance to choose from. Or you can simply get expert help and pay someone else to take the hassle for you.
Whichever route you take, here?s my essential 5 steps to starting out in the digital world. Use these as your digital mantra for success and you?re on your way.
- Discover how to build a WordPress website that?s designed to engage with prospective clients
- Learn about creating marketing funnels and campaigns with email and social media
- Create a product eco-system that sells while you sleep
- Acknowledge that your shiny new website must be able to sell digital products. Oh and make sure you have some digital products to sell too.
- Understand what makes a great blog and vlog; how to write it, what to write, what to film, why, who for and when.
And of course, if it all feels just way too much, and that feeling of overwhelm has just kicked in, get in touch. I?m here to help. You might say, I?ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt..and I not only survived but thrived. I?d love to help you do the same.