Client Lessons: Rochelle Melander, Writing Coach
Channel: George Kao
Date: 2018-05-05

In this video I interview my client Rochelle Melander, a writing coach. She shares some tips from her business journey thus far, as well as some writing tips!

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"When you think about your business journey thus far, what 2-3 lessons or tips have been either the most valuable, or the most surprising?"

I think the lesson that has been most freeing for me is the idea that we treat our offerings like we would a paper airplane launch. When they don’t work, we can learn from the process, tweak the offering, and try again. 

This idea has helped me make offers more lightly, without worrying about the outcome. I’ve also learned to evaluate the process—so I interview potential clients and colleagues and get some clear information on what worked and what didn’t work. That helps me make a better offer next time.

I’ve learned that consistently sharing content will benefit my business. I’ve always been a generous content creator and sharer. I’ve had an email newsletter since 2001 and have blogged for 12 years. I’ve given free online workshops and interviewed industry leaders for 11 years. But in the last few years, I’ve worried that giving so much away for free would impact my ability to sell my content as a book or a workshop. But George teaches
that content is a relationship-building tool. So content that works does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to connecting with prospective clients and helping them feel comfortable with me. 

Also, I’ve learned that people will still be willing to buy content that is previously published and then repurposed as a book or class because combining it in a unique way as well as deepening the information adds value for the client.

"How has your work with George benefitted your business?"

George has encouraged me and the group members to connect, connect, connect! So, since being a part of Masterheart (George's group coaching program), I have become much more disciplined about following up with leads and former clients. I used to think, “Oh, I don’t want to bug them!” But, thanks to George, I now see sending emails to clients about new offerings as a service.

Consistently connecting with these former and potential clients has definitely resulted in more sales.

The second way George’s encouragement to connect has helped me has been connecting with other Masterheart members. It’s tough to find the time to connect with other business owners, but this is a great group of people who are very motivated to learn from and help each other. I’m delighted to refer people to them.

And the third connecting advice was a very surprising one for me—connect with people in your niche. Yikes! Aren’t we competitors? How will that work? But connecting with competitors has always helped me to learn more about the field and often discover ways we can help each other out.

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Rochelle Melander is a certified professional coach, speaker, and the bestselling author of ten traditionally published books, including Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It). 

She’s worked in publishing for more than 20 years as an author, book editor, magazine editor, and writing coach. 

An early adapter of social media, Rochelle has published an ezine since 2001 and has blogged since 2007. 

As a writing coach, she teaches professionals how to turn their ideas into books, navigate the publishing world, and connect with readers through social media.

Rochelle has a workshop coming up on May 23 called Leverage Your
Content: How to Create a Book from Articles, Blog Posts, and Speeches.
https://writenowcoach.com/workshops/ ‎

She also has a few openings right now for one-on-one coaching sessions with people who need support creating a blog or writing a book. She helps people overcome writer’s block, create content that resonates with their audience, structure their content into books, and connect with readers through social media.

Website: www.writenowcoach.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriteNowCoach

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/WriteNowCoach

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writenowcoach/