What is this “tip of the tongue” phenomena that I feel every day?

Joseph Campbell wrote, “We are at this moment participating in one of the very greatest leaps of the human spirit.”

I’ve wanted to leap for so long.

But when I do, it’s not the fall I fear, it’s how hard I land.

Because quite often my leaping has been misguided, misinformed, lacked foresight, and has brought upon unintended consequences.

Never the less, what Campbell asserts IS occurring.

I feel it, and I want to be in flow with it. I want to find pleasure and meaning from it. I want to lead my own creative movement; recreate the familiar old form of my spirit I’m so out of tune with; find a structure; build the design, and produce.

I feel this kind of productivity is both happiness AND enlightenment.

It’s slow to start. So I’m seeking guiding hands that can show me the way through these initial first steps toward this new/old creative process.

My starting questions are:

• How can I listen more eloquently?
• How can I speak my truth in a way that fulfills the predestined work of my voice?
• If the problems of my time are political, ecological, economic, and the solutions cultural, how can I sharpen my communication to truly make a difference?
• How do I make amends within myself; amends with the ones I love, and the work meant for me to do in the world?
• How do I find patience and calm just taking it word by word, one day at a time?

And all the potential I see in the speed of his crawling quickness room to room…

And the depth of his love for his sister, and the way his eyes follow her as she dances and tumbles as if she were a highly regarded ballerina performing pirouettes and leaps at center stage.

“Death?” she said quizzically.

I said, “I mean ‘I’m going to ‘Tickle you breathless.’” And the tickling and giggling (more like squealing) commenced.

The next morning she said, “Dad, tickle my breakfast.”

All relationships go through phases. The first is the pitter-patter romantic part of it, which is wonderful. Soon it moves into struggle, and lasts for a long period of time. Years.

Finally, we reach commitment. This occurs through continually working through struggles – addressing them; sincerely expressing feelings; making agreements that help to resolve conflicts. That’s the equivalence of a commitment.

Right now, this blog is not in alignment with who I am or what I want to offer as my “digital footprint.” I’m working on that. It’s a process I’m not trying to rush or be efficient with.

So in the meantime, this blog has transitioned from being about marketing and home business in favor of my own re-discovery; a place to practice the core of my voice.

My emphasis is to open my mind (and maybe yours too) to the ‘permanent’ things in life such as values, family, relationships, communication and principles based living.

My goal is to make damn certain that whatever I do on any given day does not violate the criteria I have defined as supremely important, and that each day of my life contributes in a meaningful way toward the vision I have for my life as a whole.

If you know me from the Internet marketing space go to EricWalkerMarketing.com.

I have immersed myself in “how to market online” for three years now. I left my position as a public school teacher for a “better way.” I chose marketing on the web. That’s where I saw the trend moving. I haven’t been wrong.

Now, I make my living as a marketer.

I’ve happily helped a lot of people learn marketing, and move forward with their own marketing. I will continue to do this. I will continue to grow as a marketer, and continue to earn my living as a marketer

but…

but… It has recently dawned on me that the “digital footprint” I’m leaving is littered with marketing.

Most of it is marketing that promotes marketing systems and business opportunities. Yuck! That’s not the kind of legacy I want to leave behind. I have former students -some of them are now in college- that find me online. This crap is what they see.

I want this to change. And that change starts HERE on this blog, my namesake.

I want my legacy … I want my “digital footprint” … to open minds to the more ‘permanent’ things in life such as values, family, relationships, communication and character ethics.

My personal marketing (meaning the work I do for myself not for my happy clients), I’m going to slowly be making this shift to something that is far more meaningful to me.

Why “slowly?”

Because this isn’t something you can be efficient with. This isn’t something you can rush. Just like I have learned that I can’t be efficient with my almost 3 year old daughter. Nor can I rush my family out the door and into the car to be on time somewhere.

So I say “slowly.”

Look for me to promote the more ‘permanent’ things in life such as values, family, relationships, communication and character. You still will see marketing-related stuff but my emphasis will be on these permanent things.

“You should quit if you’re on a dead-end path. You should quit if you’re facing a Cliff. You should quit if the project you’re working on has a Dip that isn’t worth the reward at the end.” – Seth Godin

 
I want to play a bigger game, but right now there are a couple obstacles in the way that need sorting and removing. For me to play a bigger game there are some things that need creating.

I want to be clear about a few things. I think this will help you too.

First of all, I’m not quitting anything.

But I do like that quote from Seth. And I can relate.

For me, I’m on a dead-end path with some things. Just recently, I have recognized I am looking out over a Cliff. That’s needs my proper attention.

Tho, I do feel that the reward at the end is worth the effort.

That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Let’s finish by making this about you…

If you can recognize that you’re in a situation where you work and work and work and nothing much changes, then you have to take a step backward and reflect.

If you want to play a bigger game, it’s likely you need a better plan. Change or revise your plan right now, and don’t do a damn thing more.

Eliminate distractions.

Focus on a better way. Take another perspective.

Sort and remove the obstacles. Create you’re own game.

It’s your game. Own it.

To do anything but address these issues head on is a waste of your time.

For now… and this IS temporary, I won’t be blogging. Goodbye social media.

Our success depends on determining what’s busy work and what’s ‘real work.’

I believe that once you realize what your ’real work’ is, you must solely focus on that and that only.

It’s the first step to becoming the best you can be in your world.

So on that note…

Hasta la vista, baby

BTW: this is a bit of a different post that normal. It’s a bit exploratory, and it certainly asks you to comment with your thoughts.

In the last month, I’ve worked or consulted with the following groups of people:

 
They all want to accomplish the same thing…

They want to learn about how to reach more people, and get more customers using the Internet.

I tell them all close to the same thing.

Sure, there are nuances in every discipline, but as it relates to marketing on the Internet, the principles aren’t changing. But the skills are growing to be more in-demand.

I show them the same graphics of how a marketing funnel works. They all require a certain set of in-demand skills for our evolving Internet economy. All of them look at me with an overwhelmed look on their faces, and they usually say the same thing, “That’s going to require a lot of content.”
 

This has led me to one fundamental question,

“What are the in-demand skills for our evolving Internet economy?”

In pondering this, I continually make lists. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a tidy list of 11 “in-demand” skills needed to evolve with the growing Internet economy.

The more I think about THIS blog, and MY purpose — How I can help you and the thousands of others like you?… or … How we can participate together for a common cause or project?

I keep coming back to these in-demand skills.

I believe that the best combination of freedom, money, meaning and value will be given to the teachers of these in-demand skills.

It just feels like me.

My feeling is that teachers can take the complexity of the change we’re all undergoing right now, and communicate that into concrete actions for others to thrive i.e. identifying these in-demand skills, and helping individuals apply it to their particular challenge or goal (or both).

In doing so, our value raises. The value of a teacher in a free market-place raises while the value of everyone we help raises too.

My feeling is that these in-demand skills encompass success in network marketing, or social media marketing, or local business marketing (and many others things too) or any endeavor or cause.
 

Please consider these questions and leave a comment with your thoughts

It’s not social media that’s giving you struggles. It’s content.

Think of social media as an “envelope” (metaphorically speaking). It’s a “container” holding a message inside that gets delivered to a specific destination (your target audience).

Let’s take Facebook for example…

Facebook is FULL of content. There are pictures, text updates, videos and links. That’s all content. And the links lead toward … you guessed it … more content.

Twitter is the same. YouTube is the same. LinkedIn? No different.

Of course your blog is full of content. Your articles drive traffic toward capture pages (content) that offer even better content in exchange for your email address.

Email is content. You receive emails that have links to sales pages. All content. You pay $247 for an information product. It’s still content just a higher level of content.

The best marketers have learned to sequence content so that it stacks in an organized way that leads toward higher levels of content. They have learned how to share their content with the masses of people.

If you’re not a content producer you’re not going to succeed.

This doesn’t have much to do with the social media platforms. Most of you can figure out how to use social media.

What you maybe haven’t figured out is who you’re supposed to be marketing to. And if you don’t know that, it can be difficult to create effective content that reaches your ideal customer.

Just don’t think that it’s a social media issue. It’s not. It’s a content creation issue.

Here are 133 unique ways to differentiate yourself and your products and services on the web.

Now that you know who your target market is for your network marketing business, you’ll want to know that your target market isn’t looking for your network marketing business opportunity.

They probably already have one. There is no need to go around advertising your business up front. Not usually anyway. And certainly not online (offline is often a different situation).

Same goes for your network marketing products. Ads promoting just your product won’t work for the most part. If it was that easy, your network marketing company wouldn’t need you.

People are searching for solutions.

If I was looking to lose weight, I would search for the answer or the solution to my weight problems. I wouldn’t know that I would eventually buy a bottle of pills or something else.

Your goal is to solve other peoples’ problems with your solutions. That’s your target market.

Rather than write an ad or a blog post about specific products or services, write about the experiences that drive your consumers.

Examples:

• If you’re a bakery, write about planning special occasions.
• If you’re an accountant, talk about financial challenges and best practices in business.

If this makes sense to you, and you are consistent with applying it, you WILL sponsor plenty of people and sell more product than what you thought possible.

Once you embrace this you will have people tracking you down in true textbook attraction marketing style true textbook attraction marketing style.

What Are Other Network Marketers Looking For?

What are their problems?

What solutions are they trying to find?

In a broad scope, network marketers are looking for extremely useful information, leaders and/or tools that will teach them and help them apply that information for their network marketing business.

What if you could provide valuable information that builds build trust…

then sell the product as a recommendation… rather than to go around telling everybody, “My Product Will Help You Lose 129 lbs In 94 Days.”

People don’t care about that stuff. They want solutions – plain and simple. Provide them with information that has the solution, and you’ll have a customer for life.
 
Here’s What To DO Next …
Click to receive 133 unique ways to differentiate yourself and your products and services on the web.

Is it everyone?

I argue “No, it’s NOT everyone.”

Like any industry or niche, if you target the wrong group of people your business will quickly fail. It’s no different with network marketing.

• Target the wrong group of people with paid advertising, you lose your money.
• Target the wrong group of people with your blog and capture pages, you won’t be seen as a credible resource or authority.

You’ll miss the mark.

This post is for network marketers, and will analyze WHO you should be marketing to when you’re looking for business builders and customers.

Two Things You Must Know When It Comes to Your Target Market 

It doesn’t matter what you sell or market, you should be looking for people who have already put out money to buy something similar to what you’re offering.

When I look at the top producers in this industry, one of the factors that has skyrocketed their business success is that they all have targeted people who have already purchased something similar to what they were offering.

Target Market For Product Customers

Remember that it doesn’t matter what you sell or market.

You should be looking for people who have already forked over money to buy something similar to what you’re offering.

If you’re selling a nutritional product, who are the people already buying supplements looking for something new?Where are they searching, and why?

If you’re selling a weight loss product one group of people you might consider targeting is people who purchase Slim-Fast, or Medifast. They’ve already proven their need/desire to attempt weight loss. Spending money is the proof.

Target Market For Business Opportunities

I don’t cold call generic opportunity seeker leads. I never have. Here’s why:

A “generic opportunity seeker lead” -simply put- means that lead might not even know what network marketing is. Mainly they have filled out a form saying they want more information about generating income from home.

Don’t do this either…

You have affiliate links that you blindly blast all over the place online – thinking/hoping someone will step forth with interest. No one ever does. It’s because blindly blasting your links online will not bring people into your business.

Conjure This Image Of Your Target Market… What’s More Effective?

You intend to feed a city of hungry children, how would you choose to feed them if you had these two options?

OPTION A.

Pack food into large wooden crates and jump into a helicopter. Fly over the zip code of the area of hungry children you intend to feed and drop the crates down the city.

OPTION B.

Build a small, medium or large group of like-minded people that work together to divide and conquer by going door to door delivering food in grocery store paper sacks.

Which one is more targeted?

Question for you…

How are you going to call opportunity leads or blindly pitch people on Facebook when they either don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about or have absolutely no interest?

Right about now, I bet you’re asking, “Then who should I be targeting?”

Your real target market is other network marketers.

The reason being is that you’re looking for people who have already made an investment similar to yours.

You should focus on these people for a few reasons:

• They will take action, and they will make the decisions that need to be made. The people are saying, “I’m ready…” instead of “What if…”
• They are already sold on the idea and the business model of network marketing.
• They have shown their commitment to success by buying courses to get educated.

You’re looking for network marketers/direct sellers that are searching for ways to improve their businesses.

And when marketing to these network marketers/direct sellers, I lead with a generic marketing system that serves them with weekly and ongoing education. Yet the marketing system that I use has an affiliate program where reps can earn commissions by referring other people. Although it’s not an income opportunity (see my first P.S. below to learn more about this).

If you learn to do this, you can’t help but get results.

Continue Reading Here >>

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Here are 133 unique ways to differentiate yourself and your products and services on the web.

First thing is to never tell yourself you’re overwhelmed with information. It’s weak. What’s really happening is that you haven’t put a filter on your focus. I’m going to tell you how to do that right now.

First step to overcome information overwhelm

Totally reset who you subscribe to. 
Unsubscribe from EVERYONE. Everyone.

Second step to overcome information overwhelm

Then choose one or two (not more than two) leaders that resonate with you.

Do your homework on this one. Find out what they’re doing to be successful. Make sure that what they’re doing to be successful is something that you can see yourself doing to be successful too.

It’d make no sense to choose a leader who is spending $1500 a day on paid advertising to generate 200 leads a day if you don’t have a single penny allocated toward paid advertising.

Third step to overcome information overwhelm

Once you choose the leader or two that you are going to follow and learn from, identify your number one hurdle. Write it down.

Last step to overcome information overwhelm

If you have not started to blog, or you have a blog but have abandoned it because you didn’t have a focus, now you do. Go ahead and create content that charts your progress. Talk about how you’re doing it, the problems you have, and how you’ve overcome them. Details the process. Review the tools, etc, etc.

If you do this, you can’t help but get results.

Here are 133 unique ways to differentiate yourself and your products and services on the web.

Here’s the first special offer I put together from this blog

(Note: if the link no longer works, or redirects, then the special offer is no longer available)

It’s a fact. If you want to get more sales, and more people joining you in business, you have to create offers. Simple as that.

But should you create offers from your blog? Especially if you’re newer to blogging on a consistent basis and don’t yet have a lot of regular readers. Will it turn readers away?

This blog is going to address this topic, provide suggestions on how to make an offer from your blog without it being an over-the-top hard sell.

Know This First

It’s wise to have a good balance between “sales messages” and “useful good content.” And if you’re getting started, keep it heavily weighted on the side of useful content.

The idea, no matter how long you’ve been blogging, is to get them coming back. For your audience to make you a “happy habit.” This will not happen if all you’ve provide is shallow content that lacks substance. When you keep delivering useful content, you’re “preparing the soil” for a sales message.

An Attitude About Selling

Here’s another realization I’ve had lately, the more offers you make, the more sales you make. Seems obvious, right?

Sticking with the “preparing the soil” analogy, it stands to reason that the more you plant, the more you’ll harvest.

An “Offer” Is An Act Of Generosity

If you’re doing it right, your offer is an act of generosity in so much that it’s a remedy to a particular problem others are having.

For those of you who have “issues” with selling, keep this in mind. You don’t have to think in predatory terms. Instead, consider it a means of nurturing and growing a relationship with your “perfect customer.”

In this sense, there is no need to feel desperate or pushy because you’re not acting that way. You’re not an obnoxious sales person.

What’s In A Great Offer

It’s a good idea to make offers on a regular basis. Weekly might be a little much, unless it isn’t. Certainly creating monthly offers is good. Whatever feels right to you.

Here are some things to keep in mind when creating an offer:

• Make it unique. This keeps things fresh for your perfect customer. Ask yourself what element is new and interesting.

• An offer can be a discount, a free gift with purchase, a special package of products. Your special offer can tie into holidays, current events, a big announcement or a funny story you have to tell. Don’t be afraid to be outrageous.

How To Make An Offer From Your Blog

From my experience in marketing, it’s easier to make an offer to your email list than it is from your blog. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make an offer, or that you shouldn’t make an offer from your blog.

Here’s my advice about creating an offer from your blog:

Put it in context. Then link to a landing page that offers the actual thing that you’re offering. The actual blog post should paint a picture, or take an angle on why what you’re offering is valuable.

It’s perfectly normal to sell on a landing page. That’s what landing pages are for.

Why It’s Important To Have A Deadline

Every offer needs a limited time and/or a specified number. Why? Because people are procrastinators. They won’t do anything if you let them. Create a sense of urgency to prompt action.

I urge you to not make an exception to this rule. When you waffle, and make exceptions, you train your perfect customer to take advantage of you. Don’t do that.

It’s a fact that when you set clear, respectful boundaries with your perfect customers, you will be more respected. Respect creates authority. Authority creates trust, and trust creates sales.

Here’s My Special Offer To You

Here Are Details About How To Get A Free Six Week Coaching Package With Me

Eric Walker
skype: riverteeeth
email: Eric@EricLWalker.com

But first, let me pose a question,

How many of you think you could lose weight and/or tone up WITHOUT buying “THE” book, investing into “THE” diet program or joining “THE” weight loss challenge or anything at all except what you know to be true about your body?

You can lose weight and be in the best shape of your life with no outside influence.

All you need is you. Nothing else.

In fact, all you really have to do is write down the FIVE things that you know will cause a drop in weight. Do those things for 30 days. You’ll lose weight 100% of the time.

Let me tell you about Dave. He’s a friend that decided to lose weight on his own.

This is what his list looked like,

• Stop eating large meals at night.
• Drink more water.
• Cut out sodas
• Cut down on carbs
• Start walking every day.

 
That was Dave’s list. He didn’t consult with any third party references. Didn’t make any purchases. He just took what he already knew.

You can do this with anything.

Dave actually DID those things for 30 days.

Guess what? He noticed a significant drop in weight.

Here’s my point…

I think anyone who wants to lose weight (or get any kind of results with anything) could – starting RIGHT now armed with nothing more than what they already know and a little bit (or a lot) of self-discipline.

No need to buy the latest and greatest book (unless there is).

No need to purchase the special food that comes with the special diet (unless there is).

No need to join an MLM (unless there is).

No need to get on “autoship” to buy yummy weight loss shakes (unless there is).

No need to even go work out at the gym (unless any one or more of those things are on your list of 5 things to do).

Unless it’s on your list, you don’t need it.

Here’s what you need to do…

Turn off the noise, make your list, and get busy! Stay disciplined for 30 days at a time. Then reflect, adjust and make it happen (again).

For a mass majority of you, all you need is what you already know, and what you’ve written on your list.

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Here are 133 unique ways to differentiate yourself and your products and services on the web.