The only thing I remember how I came across David Wood.

I was cruising around the net looking for some sort of marketing system because I knew that’s a key element that I was missing. Don’t get me wrong; I had my opt in box up and running with all the follow up messages being pumped out from Aweber. ( I could have put my affiliate link in there ) BUT deep down I knew I needed either a miracle or a very serious marketing system in place in order to have the level of success that I really wanted.

The Not So New Kid On The Block | MLSP

So I came across with this very cool system called MLSP which stands for My Lead System Pro. I really liked what I’ve seen in the introduction video and in my mind there was no way I’m gonna miss that boat, right? I had to sign up taking the 2-week test drive.

As I looked around in the back office it became clear to me that the founders actually know their stuff. Ton of high quality training videos (to tell the truth it was pretty overwhelming at first) but the guys put everything in order so it is very step by step to avoid confusion and brain freeze .

Curly Haired Dude Crushin’ IT

As it turned out David Wood was in the MLSP system and the dude was actually crushing it within the system and outside of it.

Honestly, I didn’t like David when I first check out his blog. He’s got this crazy ass curly hair and I just didn’t know what to make of him.  Well….. can you say don’t judge a book from its cover?

I gave David another shot by watching one of his movies on YouTube. I was in for a surprise. This guy was hella captivating. If someone can sell snow to an Eskimo that would be him. I mean holly crap the guy is like a “copy writing (or should I say talking) machine. A mile a minute and as he was giving this presentation he didn’t take a breath for like 4 minutes .

He even points it out in one of his video that he has Tony Robbins thing going on (You all know how Tony is all over the place, very over the top and he’s just a really really passionate guy).

So that’s how I got to know who he was and what he’s been doing. He’s got the great homeless story with a very strong personality that maybe annoying for some but I’m really cool with it.

Anyways, shortly I bumped into him I also discovered his latest brainchild called Empower Network. I’m completely new to the system so I’m not even sure what it is so I’m not gonna dive into its details right now.

Google David Wood, go to his blog, leave a comment and say hello.

He’s got a lot to share. Great ideas, concepts and not all network marketing related.

Anyways that’s my take on the subject.

Please share it with others and let me know what you think!

You Are The Main Player

That means all the promotional pieces that you put online have to be “you” the REAL you.

You see many “self branders” that are making the mistake of outsourcing things like blog commenting; thinking the more comments that are scattered around the World Wide Web the better. That’s true only to a certain degree. (Actually, celebrities are outsourcing the task of writing tweets just to sound cool and knowledgeable at the same time. Can you believe that?)

When you leave a comment on a blog you’re leaving a “footprint” of yours behind.  Nobody, I mean nobody can leave a comment like YOU. If you hire someone to do this task for you: A: They won’t care what’s left behind B: It won’t sound like you or feel like you, and whoever follows the link back to your website soon will discover that something doesn’t add up. And that’s my friends, is how you lose credibility!

So, my suggestion would be : Do the darn commenting yourself! – I know it takes a “hella” long time, but you want to do it right… right?? Well, that’s the way to do it right. Period.

Nothing Beats Honesty

I strongly advise against agreeing with “all” the posts that you read. And that’s all I see wherever I go. That’s just BS!  Do NOT get me wrong here. I’m not saying by any means for you to go out there and rip everybody a new ….you know what.. but be real. If you read something you don’t agree with… I say challenge it!  Ask questions because that’s what strikes up real conversations. Allow yourself to be controversial and thought provoking when blog commenting.

I never learned from a man who agreed with me.

 Robert A. Heinlein

Imagine a party where everybody agrees with everything that’s being said. It would not only be FAKE but also BORING, right?

On the other hand we don’t want to be “the bad guy” but rather be loved and accepted. You’ve gotta find a fine line between being appropriate and mean.

Don’t search for a chance to object; the opportunity to do so will represent itself sooner or later.

Get real, be honest, and know what you stand by!

Let me know what you think and please share it with others!

One more thing:

90-95% of your prospects will say no to your primary opportunity.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

Here is why:

The top earners inside MLSP make a FORTUNE from people who say “no” to their primary company, by giving their prospect what they want. Providing free tools, resources, courses, content, and VALUE can put some extra money in your pocket, even if you’re a beginner.

Built inside of MLSP, these affiliate programs not only help your prospects build a stable and solid business, but they also make you extra bucks with what’s called “affiliate commissions,” which can add up quickly.

I constantly look for ways to improve my marketing.  When I see something that I believe will help my business, I don’t hesitate dropping a couple of hundred dollars on software, a course, or whatever.

The best part about MLSP is that the affiliate programs are built into the system. Meaning:  If you bring in a new member who’s looking to upgrade, that person will do it through your affiliate link, thus making you a commission; without you lifting a finger.

It’s a win-win for you and your prospect. He gets what he wants and you get paid, because you were the one who showed him “the magic” (on autopilot.)

My Lead System Pro is running 13 affiliate programs as of now, including  some of the best tools on the internet.

MLMLeadSystemPRO

Aweber

GetResponse

Mike Dillard Magnetic Sponsoring

Article Marketing Robot

Market Samurai

Unique Article Wizard

GoDaddy

Host Gator

If you’re not getting enough leads, I urge you take a 2 week test drive of this sweet lead generation system!

Show me you’re alive!

Why do you think that is?

Is it because they are not clear on what to do, they can’t grasp the technical side of it, or they don’t have enough time and are short on commitment… and so on?

In my opinion, one of the main factors is not having a crystal clear picture of what they are after. They are asking themselves: Am I an online marketer who’s an affiliate selling other people’s products by spamming them, or am I building SEO-d blogs relying on free traffic from Google? You may also ask yourself if you are a social media guru, a list building architect, an MLM guy, network marketer, or all of the above?

I know being in a state of confusion can get messy.

How do I know?

I was one of those guys who was struggling, trying to picture myself as an online marketer and what that should look like.

I started out as a spammer; trying to push affiliate products on people who really weren’t looking to buy any  If you’re one of those guys, please stop it! – you’re wasting your time and bugging people.  I didn’t know them, they didn’t know me, so basically my efforts were pointless and just plain stupid.

That’s exactly what I see on Twitter. If you’re on Twitter you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The type of people who DM (direct message) you and constantly push  the” acai berry” products in your face. Isn’t it annoying?!  Oh hell, as I said, I was one of those guys!…

There is a lot to becoming successful online and here is my take on it:

- You have to know where you’re headed, otherwise, you will be like a ship at sea; without the sail up. Get clear and make a plan of how things are going to go down. If you don’t have your own plans you will be following the plans of others. That’s something you don’t want.

- You gotta know how to hustle.  Tell yourself that there is nothing you can NOT do and promise that you’ll never, ever, give up on your dreams.  I know it sounds cheesy, but believe me when I say: If you tell yourself that you’re unstoppable (which is the truth), you will eventually believe it. (This is called an affirmation – convincing the subconscious mind.) Adopt a sickening work ethic.

- Develop a marketing system or borrow one that’s currently working. I found one that is the cream of the crop. Trust me I did my homework and you will not find anything like it. You may bump into something similar, but there is nothing like this out there right now!  It’s called MLSP. (My Lead System Pro)

- Constantly grow. Read and  talk to people constantly about your topic. Watch videos, attend webinars, go to seminars. Surround yourself with people who share similar interests. Communicate, ask questions, give answers.

- Put your face out there. You can’t hide anymore. If you want to make it online you better think of yourself as a “brand” that has a face. I suggest hiring a professional photographer, say cheese, and post your picture everywhere you can.  Tell us what you have to say and share your message with everyone out there! How are you going to help people who have challenges?

What else would you add to the list?

Create images and videos of what you see on your screen and share it with others instantly.

You can take a snapshot with one click of your mouse (and video up to 4 minutes in length) of your screen.

It comes in handy when you write a blog post that also involves some instructions. I mainly use it when I want to get some changes done on my blog. After I hire somebody on Odesk I just send them the snapshot with my custom messages written in it, and loaded full of arrows. It is a lot easier than trying to explain something visual (like a type of graphic)  in an email.  I don’t even write an email,  all my written text is in the screen shot.  What I do is send an email with nothing but an attached picture file. It saves time, avoids confusion, and my messages are heard loud and clear.  When you outsource something e-commerce related, communication is everything.

Snag-it is another screen capture software which is very similar to Jing, but this one has all the bells and whistles.  Snag-It costs about $50 and Jing is free for the taking, but also has an advanced version ( for $14.95/year) which I haven’t tried.

The Free version delivers:

• SWF video
• 5-minutes of screen recording
• Mark-up tools for images
• Screencast.com Free Account

The paid version brings:

Includes Jing Free features PLUS…

• Webcam recording
• Instant sharing to YouTube
• MPEG-4 Videos

If you’re into screenshot tutorials the pro version might be a good choice.  Having said that, I truly recommend the free version; if you’re happy with that (which I almost guarantee) you may go ahead and upgrade.  This is where you can get it:  (http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html ) (just copy and past into your browser)

That’s my take on Jing.

Let me know how you like this baby!

Here are the next 6 steps that you will be doing ( supposing you’re serious about “making a name” for yourself) until your brand exists.

8. Pump the Content!

Entertain and educate your audience and make sure you talk about what they want to hear;  not what you want to say.   You will go about doing this in your own unique way. Use personal stories and let your personality shine through your message.

Here is my personal take on it. Set up a schedule that you can follow. Many of you may get excited by doing the previous steps and now you are all pumped up and determined to “crush it” out there!   You decide to write 2 posts a day, and within 2 weeks you realize you set the bar way too high, and you just can’t seem to follow through.  Remember this:  Self branding is not a sprint but a marathon.  Ask yourself: One year from now am I gonna be able to keep the pace?

In general it is advised to post every day, but I recommend for you to start out by putting out 3 posts a week.  Do what feels  comfortable and it will not overwhelm you. Stick to this schedule for 3 months and see if you can increase the amount of posts that you create and distribute.

9. Ping that Baby!

Ping your post to all the social network sites you are signed up to. (see step 7. in part 1.)

If you’re video blogging share via TubeMogul or TrafficGyser ( the latter works for written content distribution and podcast as well.)

10. Track ‘em Down

Track down like minded “Tweeps”.

Go to the Twitter search bar (very top of your Twitter page) and find and follow people mentioning the keywords related to your niche. ( If you’re into online marketing you need to go after keywords like MLM, lead generation, list building ..etc.)

You may DM (direct message) them but I simply reply them (@theirusername) in public.

11. Blog Hunt

Go to Google and enter the same keywords (one by one) into the search bar.  Hit search and then click “Blogs” on the tab to the left.

Leave a comment on every single blog you come across. Yes, you heard me right every single one of them.

Leave not only your name, but your email, (won’t be published) and the URL of your blog.

12. Facebook Pages and Groups

Go to Facebook and “like” as many related pages and groups as you can possibly find.

13. Repeat

You’re gonna repeat steps 8 through 12 over, and over, and over, again until your brand exists. Period.

Be ready to bleed from your eyeballs!  Having said that, if you really choose your niche around your passion it is going to be joyful.

Have fun with it!  That’s the reason you’re doing it, right???

Share your thoughts and please share them with other shiny, loving, people!

The book “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk is an excellent read for you if you’re serious about building an online presence around “your brand”.

He shows you a step by step process of what you should be doing (even if you’re a complete newbie) to build “your fortress” on the world wide web:

Here they are:

1. Buying Your Domain.

There are several resources where you can buy a domain but he recommends GoDaddy; and that’s what I have been using. Buy your firstnamelastname.com or .tv (.coms are becoming scarce, so if you have a popular name like Robert Smith, chances are you’re screwed; sorry Robert!)  It’s time to be creative and find an available domain name that has to do with your niche like: OnlineCoachRobert.com, or something like that.

Let me add one little twist to it.  I’d buy a couple of domains with my name just in case. (PS: a .com cost about $10/year, but if you want to save $3 on it feel free to search google for a GoDaddy Cupon Code; there are tons of sites giving away codes that you may use to enter the Godaddy site.)

Every time you hear about a new platform ( Orkut is huge in Brasil) you may want to go and register yourself as a user ASAP.

2. Start Your Own Blog.

Yep, it is WordPress or Thumblr . Now I’m not familiar with Thumblr but I know for a fact that WordPress is going to blow your socks off. If you’re new you can (however I strongly urge you to do everything yourself at first, so you know what you’re doing and what exactly needs to be done)  outsource the whole thing. ( I rarely outsource something that I can do myself; and when you come from that place you will be able to give very clear instructions on tasks you want to hire out for. )

Setting up your blog on your domain is easy; you will need to find a tutorial video on how to do that.

3. Hiring a Designer.

Customizing your website is a different challenge. This is something that I recommend you spend some money on.  For this project do NOT hire from Odesk.  Instead, choose the Google “custom wordrpess theme” and find a company that floats your boat.

If you are very serious about your site, I advise you to check out 99designs. These guys are no joke! (Which by the way you can tell by looking at the price tag on their cheapest logo design ($295).

If you’re on a budget don’t sweat the custom design for now.  Pick a neat, free, theme from your backoffice of your WordPress blog.

4. Video Blog – If You’re That Good!

If you pick a video blog platform go out and by a cheap $150 Flip HD camera.  I use my phone for now .

 5. Creating a Facebook Fan Page.

There are services out there who will design a page for you and generate up to 300 “likes” for $100. Google it! You may find better deals.

6. Opening a Twitter Account

Do that using your own domain name, or your name.

7. TubeMogul & Ping.fm

Gary stands by TubeMogul, I don’t. I used this free video distribution service 2 years ago and it was just a pain in the…..I ended up distributing videos a lot faster manually than with TubeMogul. I don’t know if they evolved since then, but years back it did not work for me. There is another great service called Traffic Geyser that cost $100/month with a free 21 day trial. With this baby you can distribute videos, blogs, and podcasts all over the net on autopilot (after filling out the forms).

Ping.fm as you may have guessed pings social network ( i.e.,Twitter, Facebook.) Provide some sort of description and the link to your site; then just hit “Go”!  People will know what your up to right away.  It takes some time to sign up to all the sites but you only have to do it once.  So DO IT!

Part II is here with 6 more crucial steps!

Share with others and make your voice heard below!

             Standing Out Without Being Special!

It is sooooooooooo easy to stand out in a crowd.  Imagine if you  just pay attention to all the people around you and avoid the things they do.  I’m talking about typical party behaviors like :  Spilling drinks on each other; trying to top each others stories with a better one, seeking attention even if it’s  from a dried out house plant, ya know…the basics!  ”Please tell me I’m important” is the name of the game, wanna play?

Twitter works the same way. ( more Twitter Influence here )

-Watch what everybody else is doing and do NOT do that.

-In your bio there should be something that people can relate to, but remember to stay true to yourself. (Don’t make stuff up – “Tweeple” can smell a poser from a mile away.)

- Upload a  picture with a friendly smile.  Unfortunately, I currently have a profile picture  that looks like it was taken in the “stone ages”.  Gonna have to take my own advice

- Mention people by hitting “reply”. Coming on strong with something like “Hey YOU!” may be a rude way to start a conversation – but it works for me.

- Share good content ( I use Pourls, a source of the best stories on the net) I also have a list of the most RTd “Tweeples” and I regularly RT and engage them.

- Use Twitpic to upload some of your pictures. Once you engage people it is almost guaranteed they will want to see what you look like, and what kind of toothpaste you use

- I’m against automated tweets but if you want to auto DM your followers you may consider SocialOomp. (I believe now they charge about $4 bi-weekly, it used to be free )

- Ray Higdon (cream of the crop Network Marketing community as of now) advises to use auto DM your followers suggesting them to check out your FaceBook profile or page. ( Right now every other marketer uses it and I’m not getting in line; Use your judgement!)

These are some of the tips I wanted to share!

I hope it helps and if so, please hit me with a comment!

John Reese famed marketing guru came out with an outsourcing course a couple of years ago; which I didn’t bother to buy, and oh boy,  did I make a mistake.

I have been hiring from Odesk a little over a year now and have about 80 contracts under my belt. So I got into the routine of working with people overseas and quickly gained experience about what NOT to do.

My main problem with Odesk that there are LOT and I mean a ton of who are not qualified for the task you’re hiring for.

This is How It Works!

Quick example (and I have plenty of these ):

I posted a job about a very simple task: Content writing for article. Now, 30 contractors show up, I run over the list and I pick the top 5 guys who I think the best fit. ( Of course each contractor has their own profile that shows their work history, feedback from their past employers, skills they possess, resume, portfolio, list of test they have taken at Odesk’s back office and so on. )

So my picks met all the criteria I was concerned about but regardless of all that, I picked 5 lemons. I really don’t care where you’re from if you can deliver (or at least you say you can deliver and your background checks out fine I will hire you).

So I ended up with 5 articles that I could not read or understand even though one of writers was American (which of course wasn’t the case; You gotta know that some of the contractors put up fake pictures and fake location ie: Sunny California, USA) to look more inviting for employers). One of the article was generated from an already written content using a software called Best Spinner which used without the knowledge of HTML will give you very embarrassing results.

There are a ton of nightmare stories that I could share about (webdesign, Opt-in from creation, Bloggin, Link Wheel, Seo… you  name it!) but I won’t bore you to death this time.

Conclusion:

Hire fast, fire faster.

This what you want to do:

1. When you list a job be absolutely clear about what exactly want. Mention that you’re looking for ONLY serious team players. How much you pay, time schedule….everything. The better and more detailed you’re the easier your life gonna be. Once you post the job all bets are off and you will get exactly what you’re asking for.

2. Check applicant’s work history, feedback, tests, portfolio.. etc. If the person seem like a good candidate move onto step 3.

3. Invite the for a quick chat on skype or whatever you use but this platform is the most popular on Odesk. Remember you already gave a very clear, outlined instructions about what exactly you want, so that chat is not going to be about that. You ask them if they  have any questions regarding the task, if they ever done task like this before if so for how long. Now, you do this for two reasons: A: you will get the feel for their level of communication, B: you will also see if they can back up the story they on their profile.

Listen to your got! If you feel it’s a match than HIRE and get the ball rolling!

Don’t try to be cute!

If you’re cute they think you’re not serious. This is business. It ‘s time and money; your money, so you gotta know what you’re doing.

I hope it helps! Please let me know what you think!

Share your thought below! Cheers