Startup Online Entrepreneur

How to turn your idea into a profitable online business

2008-05-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Already have an idea and can't wait to make consistent sales online every month?

Spending so many hours increasing traffic to your blog or website but don't see enough sales?

Want to make enough sales so you can make a living online?

The hardest part is determining who your target market is.

It needs to be as specific as possible. Once you know who you're ideal clients are, you'll know where to find them online.

3 things to set up so your visitors trust you and buy from you

In order to make a living online you need to make sure you can sell your products without you being sitting in front of the computer. It needs to be automated. So, here are 3 things that need to be set up so your visitors trust you and buy from you:

your free report

your weekly ezine

low priced and high priced products your ideal clients WANT

Once that is set up automatically, using an autoresponder, a shopping cart, powerful sales page. You can then move on to advanced strategies so you can earn passive income quicker. Some examples are, developing a squeeze page, a fee for your own monthly membership online club, offline marketing like mailing your own print newsletters and postcards, your own affiliate program, and joint ventures.

Get an expert's help so you don't 'hope' for sales but see consistent sales

If you do it yourself it can work or it can't. No way to know for sure if your idea is reaching the right clients or it's information they want. It can turn into a guessing game, hoping to make consistent sales as opposed to once a week.

To get started on turning your idea into a free report, a weekly ezine and developing products your visitors WANT:

Check out: Info Product Intensive teleseminar

Your online blog- In 1 sentence "what's in it for me?"

2008-05-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

If you didn't have to do every marketing task, can you say in 1 sentence what your blog is about?

It's easy to get caught up in a weekly plan of marketing tasks. Within days you lose sight of what the point of your online blog is about. Remember it's not about you but "what's in it for" your visitor! This needs to be in your blog subheader.

If in 10 seconds your visitor doesn't understand what they can get out of your blog, they'll click away to another blog or site feeling confused. You can say bye bye to them returning soon, much less sales.

To make your message attract your ideal prospects and turn them into customers or subscribers, needs to include at least 2 of these:

- tell them exactly what they're going to find on your blog

- what benefits will they get if they stay on your blog, or buy one of your products

- what problem are your product (s) or blog solving for them

- how you understand their problem

See how these 2 blogs added their message in their subheader:

1) http://italiansoccerseriea.com

with message: A Blog for Italian Soccer Fans Like you to Post Your Opinions on your favorite Italian Soccer teams, players, Latest Serie A Results, Serie A Preview.

2) www.vivavisibility.com/blog

with message: Add Sizzle to Your Visibility- Stand Out, Get Noticed, and Get More Business

Try this for the week:

Have your 1 sentence blog message written next to your computer. Glance at it at least twice a day.

Focus 1st on ways you can help your visitors solve their problem, then including a product you sell that makes it easier for them, saves them time with worksheets, templates, systems...

If you're ready to get experts help you determine what your blog's message is, and how to start making money online, passive income with your own info-products that sell. Check out:

Teleseminar Info Product Intensive

Mastermind Your Way to Success

2008-05-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

By: Lorrie Morgan – Ferrero, Expert Copywriter

What do Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Anthony Robbins, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin have in common?

They all leverage the power of the mastermind team.

The mastermind works on the concept that two (or more) heads are better than one. When you gather a group of like-minded people and focus on one particular problem, a funny thing happens. Not only do you get intelligent feedback on blind spots you may not have noticed. But a truly phenomenal thing also happens with a mastermind group - the psychic aspect.

"The human mind is a form of energy, a part of it being spiritual in nature.
When the minds of two people are coordinated in a SPIRIT OF HARMONY, the spiritual units of energy of each mind form an affinity, which constitutes the 'psychic' phase of the Master Mind." Excerpted from Think and Grow Rich

See, when a group is united in the same purpose, the number of ideas in the room balloon off of other people's ideas. I witnessed this personally last month at a networking meeting lead by Jim Bunch of Six Figure Practice. In groups of 6-8 we brainstormed how to raise $10,000 in three days. The ideas were mind boggling. As we got more and more excited, our ideas became more and more bold. One group said they weren't stopping at $10,000. They wanted to raise $1,000,000!

So how do you harness this kind of power for yourself? Masterminds are rather subjective in that you must do what works for YOU and your lifestyle ultimately. I have been in my mastermind for a year now and I couldn't be happier. My business has hit an all -time high. And I credit the habit of masterminding with the lion's share of my success. Here are some of the qualities that work for us.

Keep the number small. My group is 4 people but we could comfortably increase to as many as 6.

Meet regularly. We meet by phone once a week to go over successes and challenges. Plus we put one person on the hot seat for special focus. Then we also meet in person for an all day retreat a minimum of 3-4 times a year.

Don't make anybody wrong. There is no such thing as a bad idea.

As soon as you begin attacking the creativity of the mastermind, the ideas will shrivel up. Keep the brainstorm going and you'll be astounded at the new levels of insight you reach.

Treat each meeting as if you paid $100,000 a year to be a member. A mastermind meeting isn't a coffee klatch. The only way it can truly be effective is if everyone takes it seriously and shows up ready to focus.

Hold one another accountable. Got a goal? When do you expect to have that done by? Your mastermind team wants to know. There is great power in verbalizing your intention.

Make a wish list of people you would like to be in your mastermind. Write out the qualities you would like to see in the ideal candidates. Be specific.

A word of caution - be very picky about whom you choose to make this commitment with. You will likely be together for a long time. Make it a goal for 2005 to be a part of a mastermind team.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

International copywriting trainer, author and speaker, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been a freelance writer and journalist for over 25 years. Her words have made her clients hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now she focuses her vast experience on teaching others the skill of copywriting. Lorrie is the author of a highly acclaimed copywriting course, creator of the Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp and founder of Copy Campus, a unique membership resource site designed to support copywriters and entrepreneurs on all levels. Visit her site to learn more at ww.red-hot-copy.com.

Add your own audioclips to get visitors to stay on site and subscribe to ezine

2008-05-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wondering about adding audio to your blog or website? There are 2 programs that help you add audio clips to your website or blog: AudioAcrobat and AudioGenerator.Com. I signed up for AudioAcrobat 2 days ago. You can use it to record your audio clips immediately within your 30 day free trial. With AudioGenerator- you need to pay your 1st month to start using your own audio clips.

Helps visitors stay on your website/ blog

Having a short welcome greeting and an invitation to subscribe to your ezine can get visitors to stay on your website a few more seconds. I had read that a few weeks ago but now it was time to take action.

According to female online entrepreneur Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, "Did you know in studies that audio use on websites raised conversion (buying) rates over 250% without changing a single word of copy?! I was stunned, but it's true. Since I've added audio to my site, I get far much more response than before."

I signed up for AudioAcrobat 2 days ago

Two days ago I wanted to surprise my mom on Mother's day by letting her hear one of her favorite songs on a blogpost.

She likes 'Strangers in the Night' so Saturday night, I asked myself, what's one 'handmade' gift I can give her.

I signed up for AudioAcrobat in 15 minutes. At 10pm I got my cell-phone, put it next to my keyboard and played the song. I saved it and then logged on to paste the HTML code on the post. It just took 10 minutes! She was surprised when she heard it the next morning on this post.

For a profitable blog you can record a short 30 second welcome message and say exactly what people will find on your website, invite them to subscribe to your ezine. It's not complicated at all. Get your cell phone. When you log in to your account, you'll see a phone number to call, a pin number to enter to then record your audio clip. Save it, get the html code and put it on your site. I'll do this tomorrow :)

Do you use AudioAcrobat for your audio clips?

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

Wish you a fun, happy Sunday with your mom.

For you mothers, enjoy your gifts, and time with your children :)

To my mom Anna,

'Auguri per la Festa della Mamma'

Enjoy one of your favorite songs

"Strangers In The Night" that
I played on the keyboard:

Review of the Report "7 key marketing strategies to attract More Clients Fast!"

2008-05-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was 'pumped up' by the idea that I can create info-products about a hobby. I remembered I had printed a free 18-page report called "7 key marketing strategies to attract More Clients Fast!" by Adam Urbanski.

Before Sunday I said I'd read and answer the questions. Yesterday I went through it in an hour. I really liked it because there was no fluff. It was full of action steps one needs to take and write before launching a website or blog online.

You already know a lot about one topic right? And you know there are a lot of people who WANT to know more about that topic! Now, there are just a few steps to take to make sure you get your target audience to visit your website/ blog, create info-products they want, and grow your online business.

Here are the 4 points that helped me, to narrow down your message and client base:

There are 4 primary types of niches- Easily understand and pick which one you'll be dealing with. I picked the 4th one.

The niche, also known as your target audience or target market, needs to be as specific as possible so you can know where to find them in BIG numbers. It won't be enough to say 'musicians,' it can be narrowed down to 'musicians who have played a musical instrument over a year, prefer songs written by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter.' See how it would be easier to find this specific group of people?

7 questions to answer so you know the Viability of your niche- This is crucial.

I had maintained a blog for 10 months last year without knowing the viability of my niche. I enjoyed adding new content but because the niche was not very viable, it was not very profitable. I thought, 'well that's easy, there are a lot of people in this niche, I know where to find them.' That is question number 1. I didn't think 'does this group need to solve a specific problem?' That's question number 2. I think it is worth your time, maximum an hour, to answer these 7 questions because then you know how many products you can make, sell, how you can grow your online business, and what type of partnerships you can make.

A 6 step formula to follow, a 'fill in the blanks,' to write your targeted message so your ideal clients understand exactly what you're offering. And why to get it from you and not your competitors :)

Be sure to fill out page 11 and be on your way to get more clients! Feel more confident about your online business knowing that people 'get' what you're selling and offering.

This is important because the people interested in your topic are looking for specific solutions from people who understand them. If you know you're passionate about something, but need help narrowing down your market, and message, I recommend this free tool!

How to get your target audience say "he/ she really know his stuff," "yeah, he/ she gets me.' Gives 8 ideas to get your message out about your website or blog.

Get your copy of the free report

"7 Key Marketing Strategies to Attract More Clients Fast!" by Adam Urbanski, right after you subscribe to the ezine:
Marketing Mentors

Have you got your copy yet?
What pages helped you the most?

Is Your Customer Taking "Too Long" to Buy?

2008-05-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

By Kim Duke

My 2 cutie-pie nieces definitely have some Diva DNA. (They have my IMPATIENCE gene!)

If we're shopping, walking, getting ready to go on an adventure....and if I'm "dawdling", looking around, basically moving at MY speed and NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH FOR THEM...they say:

"Auntie - you're taking too longggggggggggggggggggg!!"

Hmm - I'd bet one of my Chanel lipsticks that you're experiencing this with some of your customers too.

Do You Feel Like Your Customer Is Taking Too Long To Buy?

Hey - I've been there. We all have potential customers or customers who we think are ON THE EDGE of buying from us and yet...

THEY DON'T.

They 've expressed interest, they're excited about your product/service, they've even told you they want to buy.

So Why Is Your Customer Being So Pokey??

Well - here are a few reasons:

There's No Sense of Urgency. They don't NEED to buy you now. They know you're out there and they'll buy from you if they remember. There's nothing that is motivating them to move faster or to choose YOU over someone else.

They're Not Sold. They've thought about it, came close to buying...but something is holding them back. They're not convinced that you're the best choice for their money or time.

They're Not Ready To Buy. Hate to tell you this - but 99% of your target audience doesn't need you or think that they need you TODAY. Yet - you've probably dropped out of sight because you feel rejected that they didn't buy. (did I hit a nerve there???)

They're Annoyed With You. This happens so easily! If you keep calling and leaving messages "You absolutely have to be using this product" or e-mailing and saying "I'm just checking to see..." Boring. You're not bringing any added value to the table and you've ticked them off.

What Should You Be Doing Instead -Oh Impatient One?

Position yourself EARLY ON as someone who is offering them a special rate/offer/opportunity. Show them WHY they should buy now instead of 2 years from now.

Don't Be Desperate. Truly - desperation stinks. Confidence attracts people whereas a pushy salesperson is a turn-off.

Make Sure You're Talking To The Right People. Are you selling something that there isn't a large enough customer base for?

Create A Proper Follow-up Strategy. Let the customer advise you of the contact they want - instead of the other way around.

Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket. Small customer base= Big problems. Make sure you 're growing your customers through a variety of methods and then keeping in touch with them consistently (with value of course!)

Remember - there are MANY different types of buyers out there. AND - we usually have different purchasing behaviour based on HOW BADLY we want something! I've jumped on decisions to make large purchases in 30 seconds and waited forever for others. (I'm sure you've been there too!)

What Have My Nieces Learned?

As for my 2 cutie-pie nieces (who try to boss their Auntie around sometimes??)

You can't make a woman in stilettos move faster than she wants to.

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About The Author:
Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report "The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make" at ww.salesdivas.com

The "Penny Pushover" Startling Sales Warning

2008-05-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

By Kim Duke, The Sales Diva

Have you ever heard the saying..

"Watch your pennies and the dollars will grow by themselves?"

What a load of KAFLOOIE that was!

Last month I met with a potential client who was micro-managing the smallest and insignificant areas of her business. (and completely ignoring all of the major revenue generating activities)

Why?

She thought the pennies would magically turn into dollars. (PLUS- pennies are less scarier than dollars)

Caught ya - I just saw you bite your lip with guilt.

Diva News Flash!

Pennies don't turn into dollars when you're running a business in THE BLACK.

4 Startling Signs You're A "Penny Push-over":

You're Struggling. Yes lady- everything on the outside looks fine - but you feel like you're pushing a rope uphill (try it - it isn't much fun!)
You're "Busy". I bet you're busy all right - but AT WHAT??? You're keeping yourself busy in all the wrong areas so you don't have to ACT on the SALES TOUGH STUFF.
You're Doing Everything Yourself. Yep - along with being an expert at your own service or product, you have also deemed yourself the Queen of accounting, data entry, marketing, web design, business card design, direct mail - plus you're delivering stuff to clients as if you work for Federal Express!!
You're Pretending That You Don't Know What To Do. You know what to do - you're just not doing it. Need more clients? Well - people can't buy from you if they don't know you exist.

Some Sales Diva Words of Advice:

SNAP OUT OF IT!!

Your Sales Diva Dollar - Building Action Plan!

Grab some paper and a pen right now.

I mean it. I'm being your bossy sales manager.

Write down what you sold this year.

No fudging.

Now write that same number down - DOUBLE IT and break it into $10,000 blocks. ie/ $60,000 divided by 10 = 6 project/client categories that can generate $10,000 each.

Why $10,000?

Because I want you to THINK BIGGER than pennies and I want you to stretch yourself.

(P.S.If you're someone selling millions - then you guessed it lady - add a 0 to the formula I gave above)

Pinch Your Pennies But NOT Your Potential

Of course you should be prudent with your money - that's a given.

But you had better not be THINKING in PENNIES or that is exactly what you will get.

If you're flopping around, looking for a lucky gold coins to drop from the sky - get a grip and CREATE A SALES STRATEGY INSTEAD.

(Are you selling the right product/service? Is there a demand/desire for what you have? What is your marketing strategy? Your pricing? and more!)

And there is no better time than NOW to start thinking how you want the rest of your year and NEXT YEAR to turn-out.

So there.

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About The Author:

Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report "The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make" at ww.salesdivas.com

Break Down Their 5 Most Common Objections

2008-05-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

By Fabienne Fredrickson

You'll always get objections. Let's face it. You may have the world's best service, the best product available in your category or industry, but no matter what you do, no matter how good you are, you're always going to have to deal with objections.

What's the nature of objections, anyway? I believe most people simply have limiting beliefs of some sort; old conditioning that often keeps them from succeeding. It may be fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being ripped off, fear of overwhelm, etc. Problem is that these objections keep them from finding the solutions that solve their most pressing problems. Their self-doubt gets in the way of their success.

Objections are actually a good sign that you're close to the sale. I didn't believe this at first, but over the years of talking to prospects and having to answer their questions (i.e., objections), I see how true this is today. Here's why. If someone were completely NOT interested in what you have to offer, they wouldn't even BE on your website, much less talking to you. They wouldn't waste their time.

If they're asking you questions and offering up objections, there's a large part of them that's interested. And that means, all you have to do is answer the questions, reassure them, and you're on your way to a sale. Better yet, by hiring you, the prospect is FINALLY on their way to a solution that's probably been plaguing them for a long time.

Objections are a way for the prospect to acknowledge the self-doubt or limiting beliefs that stop them in their tracks. It's actually YOUR job to help get them out of their own way so they can experience success. You do this by ANTICIPATING and then BREAKING DOWN the objections.

Knowing the 5 most common objections people have allows you to be prepared when they come up. You'll certainly have more (dozens and dozens more, trust me) but it's key to start with at least the ones that come up most often. These are the predictable ones, not in any particular order:

It costs too much.

It won't work.

I'm different; it won't work for me.

I can wait; my situation's not that bad.

It's going to be hard.

Chances are, you've thought about these too when someone tried to sell you a service or a product before. But think about it. Each time you HAVE purchased the service or product and gotten great results, you kick yourself for not doing it sooner!

Since you're not in the business of selling, but rather, problem solving, it's your DUTY to break down these objections so a prospect doesn't wait a minute longer to work with you, so not too much time passes that they'll regret being without your solution to their problem. As a problem solver, it's your most important task. Makes sense?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Go back through your notes and list the objections people have given you in the past. Note the ones that come up most often.

Create a short rationale paragraph for why each objection is not valid or any other ways to overcome these objections.

Practice saying these out loud so you come off confident next time you talk to a prospect with objections.

Sprinkle your marketing materials with these rationales.

Do this and I guarantee you will attract more clients and make more money.

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About The Author:

Using the very principles she teaches, Fabienne Fredrickson went from a mediocre private practice to a practice that was bursting at the seams, in less than 8 months! She then did it again with a second practice a year later, again filling it to capacity in less than 8 months.

Fabienne Fredrickson is the founder of ClientAttraction.com and creator of The Client Attraction System™, the most complete one-on-one Client Attraction training program for private practices and small businesses in North America.

Fabienne is also the celebrated author of the Client Attraction Home Study System™ entitled “How to attract ALL the clients you need” and “The Secrets of Networkers™”, both available on the ClientAttraction.com Online Store.

Fabienne is known for combining a unique blend of innovative, straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work, with an endless compassion for small businesses owners that are rarely seen together.

Fabienne's motto about filling one's practice quickly is, "If I can do it twice, you can do it too!" and her unique ability is getting people who've never had real success to take immediate action on a systematic basis to produce a full practice with more clients, in record time, every time.

She is a well known and respected expert on marketing for small businesses and coaches clients internationally to attract more clients, in record time, every time.

Aim To OVER-FILL Your Client Pipeline

2008-05-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

By Fabienne Fredrickson

Too many people ride the 'feast or famine' rollercoaster of clients, especially SUCCESSFUL entrepreneurs. Some months they have almost too many clients and are WAY too busy, and other months, they're feeling the pinch. The well is dry and they're digging their well when they're thirsty. I've been there in the past, and there's nothing worse than experiencing those two extremes on a regular basis. It'll make you want to go back to Corporate for good! (NOT ME!)

You've heard me talk about my NO EXCUSES approach to getting clients. That means that the number one rule I have is that I do SOMETHING to bring clients or client referrals towards me every single day. Otherwise, you'll find that no matter how good you are, your pipeline will eventually dry up.

The key is to shoot for OVERFILLING your prospect pipeline. Most people just shoot for having SOME people in it. That's not enough. If you aim for something WAY bigger than what you've already gotten so far, you're more likely to reach even a medium level, than if you were to aim low.

When I talk to my clients about this, the number one answer that comes back is, "But what if I get TOO many prospects? What do I do then?" I've even heard, "What if I get TOO big? Then what?" That's when I usually laugh out loud and say, "GOOD! That's a good problem to have!"

There are at least 2 solutions for having too many people wanting to work with you at the same time:

Put them on a waiting list. It's OK to do this. What you'll actually notice is the opposite of what you might think would happen. Instead of leaving and saying, "I don't want to wait," most prospects will chomp at the bit to find out how high up on the waiting list they are and will want to see if they can do anything to start earlier. It's actually VERY Client Attractive.
Leverage your time and efforts by creating group programs and charging less than your regular one-on-one fee. You'll end up being able to work with MORE people at once AND make more money per hour or project than you would with a single person. Leverage is one of the best things ever "invented" and having too many prospects is one way to set yourself up for this.

So, how do you get to this point? Discipline. I've often said that I wasn't born a very disciplined person (or organized for that matter) but as a result of having a full practice and wanting to keep it that way, I've taken the NO EXCUSES approach to marketing. So, I've worked on setting up systems, being organized (or getting help with it) and learning to master the discipline thing.

That means doing some marketing every single day, no matter how bogged down you are with work and existing clients. Get that newsletter out the door, rip out the newspaper article and send it to an existing client or prospect, send that quick email to the association asking if they accept outside speakers or write a thank you note. Whatever! Just make the time for it and do it.

The key is to do SOMETHING that stimulates future business and referrals because the reason that most entrepreneurs have financial problems is THAT, nothing else, especially the seemingly successful ones. They go to work and only do the work, while everything else gets backed up, especially the marketing.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Make a list of the little things you can start doing DAILY for OVERFILLING your pipeline. Then, make the time for it. Yeah, yeah, I know you're busy, but maybe it's first thing in the morning, before you even open up Outlook to check your emails. Maybe it's right before you turn off the office light and close down your computer. Again, it doesn't matter, as long as you make a commitment to doing this for the rest of your career. Catch my drift?

It's actually easy once you get going. You'll find that you'll never experience that feast and famine again. Guaranteed.

Now, if you need ideas for what to do DAILY to overfill that pipeline, get a copy of the Client Attraction Home Study System™. It's everything you need to know to create a marketing message that will appeal to the best clients for you. You'll learn how to decipher what makes your business remarkable, how to create Raving Fans so you get clients to call YOU, and lots of other crucial techniques to help you fill your practice quickly, including how to put together a simple marketing plan that gets you clients and then putting it on autopilot so you can have fun again. You can read more about it and get a copy at TheClientAttractionSystem.com. (Why struggle when you can just attract clients easily?)

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About The Author :

Using the very principles she teaches, Fabienne Fredrickson went from a mediocre private practice to a practice that was bursting at the seams, in less than 8 months! She then did it again with a second practice a year later, again filling it to capacity in less than 8 months.

Fabienne Fredrickson is the founder of ClientAttraction.com and creator of The Client Attraction System™, the most complete one-on-one Client Attraction training program for private practices and small businesses in North America.

Fabienne is also the celebrated author of the Client Attraction Home Study System™ entitled "How to attract ALL the clients you need" and "The Secrets of Networkers™", both available on the ClientAttraction.com Online Store.

Fabienne is known for combining a unique blend of innovative, straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work, with an endless compassion for small businesses owners that are rarely seen together.

Fabienne's motto about filling one's practice quickly is, "If I can do it twice, you can do it too!" and her unique ability is getting people who've never had real success to take immediate action on a systematic basis to produce a full practice with more clients, in record time, every time.

She is a well known and respected expert on marketing for small businesses and coaches clients internationally to attract more clients, in record time, every time.

The 7 Surefire Signs of Clients to Avoid

2008-05-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

By Fabienne Fredrickson

You've heard me get on my soapbox several times about needing to really hone in on your target audience BEFORE you go out there and market yourself extensively. One of the major reasons is that most people try to market to EVERYBODY, fearing that if they niche themselves too much, they'll narrow down their prospective client pool too much.

We now know that this is actually not true, quite the contrary, because experts make more per hour than generalists, the media is ONLY looking for experts and not jacks-of-all-trades, experts stand out in the marketplace and it's much easier to market to a specific group than it is to a whole mess of people. Otherwise, our message isn't compelling enough and we don't catch anyone's attention.

Today, I want to take you on a different spin of your "ideal client." I want to talk to you about the surefire signs of clients to AVOID; at least in my point of view. Some of you may have read on my website ClientAttraction.com that I am very selective about whom I work with privately. I cherry-pick my clients and go so far as to state exactly who I work with (personality-wise) and whom I don't on my website.

I talk about working best with "high achieving go-getters who are super-ready to get going and just want to know exactly what steps to take to get clients" and that "I don't enjoy working with whiners or skeptics or people who make excuses because the results aren't the same."

I know it's a little bold, and I'm certain it ticks off some people (usually though, it's the people who recognize themselves as bad cases of whiners, skeptics, and people with a general bad or negative attitude about everything). The funny thing is; my ideal clients say they LOVE that part of my website and it strengthens their conviction that they want to work with me. Many say they have a "Go girl!" feeling when they read what I wrote. :)

So, if it's a little bit controversial to some, why do I have this on my site? Because, probably like you, in the beginning, I took on ANY client that was breathing, had some cash, and was remotely interested in working with me, despite sometimes having a strong feeling in my gut that I was doing the wrong thing and might regret it. I was that desperate for clients. (Ever been there? It's not a good feeling.)

Lo and behold, every single time I took on one of these non-ideal clients, I regretted it. I ignored all the signs, shunned my intuition, and later wished I hadn't taken on that client. It was always a disaster. Either their attitude made me think "why is this person SO negative!?" or their credit cards declined, or perhaps they stopped working with me after just one month, blaming me for the fact they weren't getting their work done.

These were the same people who became what I now call "heart-sink" appointments. You know the ones. They're the people you see on your client appointment schedule for that day and your heart sinks. Instead of being psyched for your call, you dread it, drag your feet on preparing for their stuff and generally get in a bad mood knowing you'll have to talk to them.

With an average of 10 clients a day, back-to-back, I can't afford to have my energy brought down by ONE client who's a chronic crankypants. It's just not fair to the other clients whom I'm psyched to speak to and work with, those I get off the phone with saying "YESSS! She is doing sooooo well." (By the way, my practice is full of these people now.)

If you're not having that "YESSS!!!" feeling with every client, you may need to listen to your intuition more and better yet, make a list of your own surefire signs NOT to pursue a working relationship with someone, no matter how much you want the money.

Here's what I noticed as surefire signs, in my own experience, of non-ideal clients:

People who don't show up for the call and make up not-so-believable excuses for why they didn't show up. (I take a no-excuses approach to getting clients and to life in general. I expect the same from my clients.)

People who don't fill out the paperwork or follow instructions sent to them prior to our first call. (I give a lot of useful paperwork during my coaching and if someone's not going to do it in the beginning, they'll probably not do it later either.)

People who aren't nice to my client relationship manager, Naomi. (That is a HUGE no-no for me. If someone treats my business partner like less than equal from the get-go, they'll have ZERO chance of working with me.)

People who are rude to me too. ('nuf said?)

People who whine, complain, or resist everything, make excuses, or sometimes even lie. (I prefer to hang out with really fun, upbeat people, and people who are "up" to good things.)

People who ask me if I offer a money-back guarantee. (If they're already thinking it won't work for them, they're right; it probably won't work for them.)

People who try to negotiate my fees, despite the fact that I offer different programs at different affordable price points, one for every budget level. (I don't believe in de-valuing my services. It's been my experience that people who take an inch will always try to take a mile down the road.)

Have you ever experienced people doing one or more of these things? Perhaps not yet. But it may happen over the years, and after a while, you'll start recognizing the signs and their consequences.

How go I deal with these situations? If they're a prospective client, I just don't go further in the relationship, or explain to them that I'm probably not the right coach for them. If they're a new client and I didn't spot this behavior at the beginning, then I find a graceful way to end the relationship. It happens only rarely, but when it needs to happen, I do what it takes.

Let's face it. Non-ideal clients will never give you referrals (and if they do, those referrals will also be non-ideal), will never write you glowing testimonials, and might even start spreading the word in the marketplace that you're not that good at what you do. Stay away from them!

At this point in my practice, being that it's virtually always full and that I have standards for how I want to work, I have no room for people to run their stuff on me anymore. It may sound a little harsh, but whenever I talk about this in seminars, I see a lot of people nodding their heads, who know EXACTLY what I mean, and who wish they didn't have heart-sink clients either. So, that being said, I'm probably not too far off base talking about this.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

-- Make a list of common denominators among your non-ideal clients (not every client has all of these, sometimes just one or two).

-- Set standards in your practice about whom you'll work with and whom you'll turn away.

--Then, follow those standards like your practice depends on it (it does).

--Even consider putting it down on your website, for all to see, as I do on mine.

You deserve a practice FULL of "A" clients, not "D" clients. The only one that can let them into your practice is you. You're the gatekeeper. Besides, when your practice is filled with "D" clients, you become so cranky that you're not going to BE client attractive. That's not good for business. So take action on this and don't break your own standards. You have the ultimate choice, so use it. :)

To find out more about ways to attract only "A" clients in your practice using proven, tried-and-true marketing techniques, get yourself a copy of the proven TheClientAttractionSystem.com Client Attraction self-success manual.

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About The Author:

Using the very principles she teaches, Fabienne Fredrickson went from a mediocre private practice to a practice that was bursting at the seams, in less than 8 months! She then did it again with a second practice a year later, again filling it to capacity in less than 8 months.

Fabienne Fredrickson is the founder of ClientAttraction.com and creator of The Client Attraction System™, the most complete one-on-one Client Attraction training program for private practices and small businesses in North America.

Fabienne is also the celebrated author of the Client Attraction Home Study System™ entitled "How to attract ALL the clients you need" and "The Secrets of Networkers™", both available on the ClientAttraction.com Online Store.

Fabienne is known for combining a unique blend of innovative, straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work, with an endless compassion for small businesses owners that are rarely seen together.

Fabienne's motto about filling one's practice quickly is, "If I can do it twice, you can do it too!" and her unique ability is getting people who've never had real success to take immediate action on a systematic basis to produce a full practice with more clients, in record time, every time.

She is a well known and respected expert on marketing for small businesses and coaches clients internationally to attract more clients, in record time, every time.

Determine the Viability of Your Target Audience BEFORE You Begin Marketing

2008-05-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

By Fabienne Fredrickson

You've heard a hundred times before how important it is to have a plan for who to market to, an ideal client profile or target audience. In my book, it's one of the most crucial things to put in place for attracting clients like crazy, because if you don't know who you're talking to, you won't know what to say.

The question you now have to ask yourself is, "Have I chosen a viable target audience?" meaning, is it actually worthwhile to market to these people?

You can have all the focus, drive, good intentions to market to a group of people, but if they're not easily reached in large numbers and inexpensively, if they don't congregate often or they're too difficult to locate, it's going to make your Client Attraction attempts much more difficult.

Here are some questions to ask yourself (be a hard grader):

* Can you find them easily?

* Is there a "list" of these people somewhere—an association of them, support groups, alliances, for example?

* Are there enough of them? Even if your target audience is small in the grand scheme of the population, there still needs to be a massive number of these people for you to stay in business.

* Do they have a problem worth solving?

*Does this problem hurt enough?

* Do they have the ability to pay for your services?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Once you've gotten clear on a target audience or a niche, it's important to ask yourself the hard questions listed above. Take out a sheet of paper and really answer these. If the answers are repeatedly "no," then consider looking for another niche. It'll make the whole Client Attraction process much easier in the long run.

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About The Author:

Using the very principles she teaches, Fabienne Fredrickson went from a mediocre private practice to a practice that was bursting at the seams, in less than 8 months! She then did it again with a second practice a year later, again filling it to capacity in less than 8 months.

Fabienne Fredrickson is the founder of ClientAttraction.com and creator of The Client Attraction System™, the most complete one-on-one Client Attraction training program for private practices and small businesses in North America.

Fabienne is also the celebrated author of the Client Attraction Home Study System™ entitled "How to attract ALL the clients you need" and "The Secrets of Networkers™", both available on the ClientAttraction.com Online Store.

Fabienne is known for combining a unique blend of innovative, straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work, with an endless compassion for small businesses owners that are rarely seen together.

Fabienne's motto about filling one's practice quickly is, "If I can do it twice, you can do it too!" and her unique ability is getting people who've never had real success to take immediate action on a systematic basis to produce a full practice with more clients, in record time, every time.

How You FEEL Dictates How Many Clients You'll Attract

2008-05-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

By Fabienne Fredrickson

As entrepreneurs looking to grow our businesses, we mostly tend to focus on the marketing of our businesses (and I applaud this, of course). I'm known to get on my soap box and say, "If you don't market today, you won't have clients in 6 months. And if you don't market consistently, you won't have clients consistently." Obviously, marketing is crucial to staying in business.

One thing that's become clearer and clearer to me over the years is that there's also an INNER game to Client Attraction. Our mindset, our thoughts, our beliefs and how we FEEL, have a lot to do with what shows up in our lives and our business. What we think about, and how good or bad we feel, literally dictates the number of clients and the level of revenues we pull in.

Client Attraction is just that, PULLING in what we want.

I've been studying the Law of Attraction for many years and have been working on my own limiting beliefs for just as long. We all have these limiting beliefs. Stuff we heard when we were young, experiences that have shaped us and events we witnessed that created a deep impression on us.

It's hard to escape, it's even rampant in one's family. Here's what I heard (and still hear) in mine:

----- If you eavesdropped on my family's conversations when I was young, you would commonly hear the phrase "La vie est difficile" (Life is Difficult). This was just an accepted fact. And for a large part of my early life, it seemed like that was indeed true. I experienced many hardships and emotional setbacks. It seems indeed that life wasn't easy, until I started working on my mindset and realized that it didn't have to be that way.

----I was reflecting on how lucky and grateful I felt the other day as I was showing someone around my new house at the beach (and the boat and everything). This person looked at me quizzically and said, "Don't forget, Fabienne, you have what you have not just because you're lucky, but because you worked really hard for it. That's the ONLY way to get what you want in life." Well, I was startled, because I now know that that's only partly true.

I see both of these comments and thought patterns as being limiting. The truth is, I've asked for these things, believed I could have them, and invited them into my life, while taking action to get them. I essentially changed my inner game of attraction by changing my thoughts.

Want to know what I did to switch my INNER game of attraction, including Client Attraction? I've done much personal growth and development work, read a ton of books, but these are some things I've done recently that really stand out:

I stopped thinking and saying that ‘life is difficult.' Instead, I started saying ‘Life is Good' over and over again to myself. I even went as far as getting ‘Life is Good' hats, t-shirts and bumper stickers for our cars and our boat at www.lifeisgood.com. Not only do I want people around me to recognize that life CAN be good, but I want to remind myself of this every time I look around.

I started building a book library that would help me change my mindset about what it takes to attract more money, clients, love, or anything into my life. And it's all worked. My favorites are "Ask and It Is Given" by Esther Hicks, "Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting" by Lynn Grabhorn and "The Attractor Factor" by Joe Vitale.

I've watched the movie The Secret ($4.95 at thesecret.tv) about 5 times in the last few weeks and will continue to watch it, over and over again, as I pick up something new each time.

What's the common element to all of these books, movies, and sayings? That FEELING GOOD is the key to getting what you want, including clients. Here's my formula for attracting clients.

First, you have to get clear how many clients you need, and what type you want (only the good ones).

Get in a good-feeling place and ask for the number and types of clients you want.

Release your intention, feeling good about it, knowing that you deserve it, and that it's on its way to you.

Notice the happy coincidences that start to pop up around you.

Take immediate action on these happy coincidences.

Be grateful and continue to feel good.

Notice how FEELING GOOD comes up throughout? In my opinion, it's the key to attracting all the clients and all the money you want (or anything, for that matter).

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Start changing what you say and think about your life or your Client Attraction situation. You can even say to yourself, "I attract clients easily and in large numbers."

Read the books outlined above, and put them into practice. These are the Crème de la Crème.

Watch the movie thesecret.tv as many times as you can.

Get yourself in a good-feeling place and follow my INNER GAME of Client Attraction formula above.

Never stop marketing and do what it takes to succeed (hey, you still gotta take action, but it doesn't have to be a struggle).

Stick with this program, don't give up. Sometimes it happens right away, sometimes in a few weeks. The key is persistence. Once you do this, notice how many more clients come into your life. Notice your bank account. Then, write me an email at info@clientattraction.com to tell me about your success stories, OK?

By the way, if action marketing is the missing piece for you, there are dozens of worksheets in the Client Attraction Home Study System™ that will help you create a marketing message that will appeal to the right types of clients for you. You'll also learn how to decipher what makes your business remarkable enough for others to talk about, how to create Raving Fans so you get clients to call YOU, and lots of other crucial stuff to help you fill your practice really quickly. You can read more about it and get a copy at TheClientAttractionSystem.com. (Why struggle when you can just attract clients easily?)

----------------------
About the Author:

Using the very principles she teaches, Fabienne Fredrickson went from a mediocre private practice to a practice that was bursting at the seams, in less than 8 months! She then did it again with a second practice a year later, again filling it to capacity in less than 8 months.

Fabienne Fredrickson is the founder of ClientAttraction.com and creator of The Client Attraction System™, the most complete one-on-one Client Attraction training program for private practices and small businesses in North America.

Fabienne is also the celebrated author of the Client Attraction Home Study System™ entitled "How to attract ALL the clients you need" and "The Secrets of Networkers™", both available on the ClientAttraction.com Online Store.

Fabienne is known for combining a unique blend of innovative, straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work, with an endless compassion for small businesses owners that are rarely seen together.

Fabienne's motto about filling one's practice quickly is, "If I can do it twice, you can do it too!" and her unique ability is getting people who've never had real success to take immediate action on a systematic basis to produce a full practice with more clients, in record time, every time.

She is a well known and respected expert on marketing for small businesses and coaches clients internationally to attract more clients, in record time, every time.

Your Fortune is in the Follow Up!

2008-05-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

by Alexandria K. Brown

Would you blow your entire annual marketing budget on just one ad to run once during the Superbowl?

Of course you wouldn't. You know that people seeing your message just once wouldn't be enough.

Then why do we tend to spend our time and dollars on single-shot marketing, rather than repeated messages?

The answer is... most folks just don't know any better. Or, perhaps it seems boring to repeat your message over and over and over and over.

But the truth is, your fortune is in the follow up!

This past weekend I went to hear direct marketing master Bill Glazer (my marketing mentor who runs Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle (along with Dan Kennedy) speak at a conference here in Los Angeles. During his talk, he shared with the audience how he spent the last few decades of his life running Baltimore's #1 retail men's clothing store, Gage Menswear, along with his late father.

Bill talked about one of his first direct mail campaigns, and how during the planning stages he announced to his dad that they were going to mail a special promotional offer to the same list not once, not twice, but three times. His father was appalled and yelled at Bill that he was crazy and was wasting their money!

Bill persisted and mailed all three pieces of the campaign. Well, their results revealed that mailing the exact same offer three times not only increased their response, it DOUBLED their response! Pop was floored, and he sure was delighted with the flurry of sales that came in. From that point on he also trusted Bill with their marketing dollars.

Why does repeating your message work? starting an ezine

It's simple... people are inundated with messages every day. Last statistic I heard was each of us sees over 3,700 distinct messages a day! That means you need to repeat yourself over and over if you're going to break through the clutter, actually get their attention, get them to read or listen AND get them to respond.

Your assignment is to now look at all areas of your marketing and advertising in your business, and see where you need to add some follow up.

Some quick places to look at:

Your Ezines - Are you publishing your ezine enough? Once a month just doesn't cut it anymore. You should be reaching out and "touching" your prospects and customers at least once a week, if not more. (If you're running out of ideas or you're not sure how to do this without bugging folks, my ezine system takes care of that for you!)

Teleseminars and Live Events - When promoting events, you're going to need many more than one or two announcements or mailings. As a general rule, when I'm really trying to fill up a teleseminar (phone seminar) I sent out at least three emails dedicated to the promotion. For live events, you need dozens of messages, and well ahead of time. Most of the trainers I know start marketing no less than six months ahead of any live event they're hosting!

One-on-One Marketing - If you cold call or mail out letters to prospects, how many times are you following up? Don't be afraid to call or mail again. I myself have finally responded to an offer after I've been contacted several times, and was glad the vendor took the initiative to follow up.

Advertising - Instead of blowing your budget on a few large ads per year, try running a smaller ad much more often! Also most publications, both online and offline, will usually give you big discounts for purchasing more than one ad at a time. (I do this with ads in my own ezine, Straight Shooter Marketing.)

Remember, many marketing experts who test all these strategies say that repetition is the key. So don't even feel you have to be creative with your marketing - just saying or mailing the same thing over and over is better than not saying it or mailing it again.

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About The Author

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 20,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at EzineQueen.com

15 Easy Ways to Grow Your Subscriber List

2008-05-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

by Alexandria K. Brown

While there are seemingly endless ways to promote your e-zine and attract new subscribers, here's a list of my favorite 15. Which ones are YOU using?

Print this out and check those you already do, and note those you should "get a move on."

___ 1. Tell your clients, associates, and friends. Send out one of your best issues (or your first issue) as a sample issue, inviting them to sign up if they like it. (Never sign anyone up without his/her permission.)

___ 2. Put a signup form on your home page and every page of your Web site. No matter what page people may land on, this way they'll know about your amazing e-zine. Don't let them click away and lose them forever!

___ 3. Use a pop-up or pop-under box on your site. Yes, they're irritating if abused, but I can tell you they work. Studies show pop-ups/unders can increase your e-zine signups by up to 10 times! Give it a try and test it. (You can see my pop-under here.)

___ 4. Offer a free goodie for new subscribers. We all get so much e-mail these days, that you have to work hard to get anyone's e-mail address. Offer new subscribers a valuable free article, report, resource list, e-book, etc.

___ 5. Offer a free sample issue on your Web site or have one available by e-mail autoresponder. Some people won't sign up for anything until they can see it first.

___ 6. List your e-zine in free e-zine directories. There are hundreds of these on the Web where people visit to search for e-zines on particular topics. Make sure you're here so you can be found! (One of the best is Charlie Page's Directory of E-zines.)

___ 7. Swap ads with other e-zines. Search online e-zine directories for other e-zines whose target readership matches yours, and contact their publishers. Swap at least three ads in a row for best results.

___ 8. Buy ads in other e-zines. Again, search those directories for other e-zines whose target readership matches yours, and see their ad specifications and rates. Purchase at least three ads in a row for best results.

___ 9. Plug your e-zine in your e-mail signature. After your usual contact information at the bottom of all your e-mails, be sure to include a two- or three-line plug for your e-zine.

___ 10. Get published in OTHER e-zines. There are dozens of Web sites where other publishers visit to pick up free content for their e-zines. Why not post YOUR articles there for them to use? You get free exposure and plenty of traffic back to your site.

___ 11. Do a co-op with other e-zine subscribers. You can cross-promote with other e-zine publishers on your own, or use an automated service such as Subscription Rocket.

___ 12. Try a pay-for-subscriber service. These services advertise your e-zine for you and bring you subscribers automatically for as little as 10 to 30 cents apiece. One with a good reputation is Lead Factory.

___ 13. Announce your e-zine to all of the professional organizations and associations you're a member of. They usually allow you to make announcements in their newsletters or on their online bulletin boards.

___ 14. Advertise your e-zine on the back of your business cards. In the text, be sure to tell people how they can sign up for your e-zine.

___ 15. Become active in a few online forums where your ideal readers hang out. In your posts, position yourself as a resource in your area of expertise, and include a signature file that promotes your e-zine!

© 2003-2005 Alexandria K. Brown

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About The Author

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is creator of the award-winning 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine' system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit ww.EzineQueen.com

Recycle Your Articles to Gain Tons of Traffic and New Subscribers

2008-05-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

By Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen,"

While there are many effective ways to get more traffic and build your ezine list, the one I've had the MOST success with is to submit articles for use on other people's websites and in their ezines.

"But wait a minute," you say. "Aren't I supposed to be creating great articles for MY OWN e-zine?"

Yes, you are! And after your article appears in your OWN e-zine, you should then submit it to others. Over the past few years, I've found this to be the best way to get traffic, build my list, and increase my sales, for five reasons:

You can quickly gain FREE exposure to TENS OF THOUSANDS (or even HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS) of untapped prospects at a time. There are many high-traffic sites and ezines with high readerships that are looking for content from people like YOU.

Articles let you educate and share good information with your prospects. They also position you as an expert in their eyes, so they'll think of YOU as the most respected resource in your field. (Traditional ads don't do that for you.)

You have the right to promote yourself, your business, and whatever else you want at the end of every article. And anyone using your article must keep this information intact. (More on that in a minute.)

This is a tried-and-true method that will NEVER stop working, unlike the latest and greatest gimmicks to spoof the search engines. (Try one of those and see how quickly your traffic halts once the bottom drops out.) Search engines love real content and will always love real content.

It's EASY, and anyone can do it!

HERE'S HOW TO GET STARTED...

PICK A WINNER Browse through your archives and pick an insightful article that really showcases your expertise. Or, if this is new to you, write a basic article on your subject of expertise. (Not a good writer, or need help? Hire a writer from Elance.com.)

POLISH IT 'TIL IT SHINES Publishers will not be interested in your article if it contains typos, misspelled words, grammatical errors, or inactive Web links -- these goofs would compromise the integrity of their publications. So make sure it's Kosher!

ADD A COPYRIGHT NOTICE At the end of the article, insert a copyright notice, dated when you first published the article. Example: © 2005 Alexandria K. Brown

WRITE A JAZZY "RESOURCE BOX" In exchange for your letting other publishers reprint your article, it's customary to require they include the contact information you provide. This is usually called the "resource box" and it should come RIGHT after your copyright notice. Here's where you can ham it up.

Don't waste time promoting your actual business in the resource box. Why? Remember your #1 goal is always to get prospects on your LIST. You'll gain MORE clients and customers by FIRST getting them to subscribe to your FREE ezine or special report. THEN you've got them! You'll be in front of them regularly, and that's when they'll understand why they should hire you or buy your products.

SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE TO ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTORIES There are hundreds of 'free content' Web sites and announcement lists where you can submit your articles for other publishers to use. Some even let you include a picture and other information about your website. One of my favorites is EzineArticles.com.

SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE DIRECTLY TO APPROPRIATE PUBLISHERS For best results, take the bull by the horns and contact publishers directly. But not just any publishers -- ones with e-zines that accept articles AND whose readers are your ideal clients and customers. A great place to start your search and build your own list is Charlie Page's Directory of E-zines.

AUTOMATE THE ENTIRE PROCESS

I know you're probably thinking right now, "OK Ali, this sounds great, but isn't this going to be time consuming?"

The answer is most definitely YES. In the past, you'd have to spend several hours a week just to get one article out there. It's a lot of administrative work, requiring time that you probably don't have.

But my friend Jason Potash has just released his brand new "ARTICLE ANNOUNCER" software that does all this work FOR you. It blasts out your articles to hundreds of directories, publishers, and other sources to help generate a slew of web visitors to your site, month after month.

My staff and I have tested Jason's "Article Announcer" product and wholeheartedly recommend it. I urge you to see Jason's information page NOW, and grab your own copy before the price goes UP in just a few days.

Remember also that if you don't want to do any of your own article marketing yourself, it's a perfect task to pass on to an assistant, intern, or freelancer. The key is getting it down to a SYSTEM, which is what this software helps you do.

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About The Author

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is creator of the award-winning 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine' system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to ezine marketing articles and FREE audio class, visit ww.EzineQueen.com

Add new content to your blog using a weekly Ta-Da! list?

2008-05-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, Ta-da list not "To Do" list. I found out the difference in Shawn Driscoll's article: "Your 5 step plan to Turn Your To Do List Into a Ta-Da! List." Basically, it's a results focused list as opposed to a task-focused list. When you write out the result you expect from that task, you can see if it's worth your time and if it's part of your vision. If it's not worth your time and has very little to do with your vision, you simply delagate or use technology to do it for you.

How can I use a Ta-Da list when I manage a blog? Will it save me time? Worry?

You bet! You already know how to write a to-do list. Probably 10, and have the nagging feeling it won't all get done today. Then start wishing a day had more than 24 hours a day :)

I used to write a list of to do things for my day. Only 3 would get done. A few items would take days to complete. I didn't even mind regrettingly say 'well, next month I'll get around to it." That's not a very successful entrepreneur mindset, right? After reading that article I realized that I didn't even know why I had "to do" some of these things. I focused on the small picture with the to do list and no longer knew clearly what the big picture was. Now it's: Is it a high payoff activity for me? No. Can I get someone else to do it for me? Yes I'll see what it takes.

Problem:
-- Need to write new, interesting content 3 to 5 times a week

Let's say you have a blog and run across a problem: need to write new, interesting content 3 to 5 times a week. Don't know when and if it will get done the end of the week. By thinking "I have to write a new post today," you can quickly lose track of the big picture and long-term goals of your blog.

Solution:
-- How a ta-da! list can help you see the big picture, save time and automate this task.

My Ta-Da! list of updating the blog:
By the end of the week, Friday or Sunday,

1) Helpful content for readers: 3 posts about solutions to a reader's problem
2) Build a relationship of trust and likability with visitors: 2 short fun posts and pictures about something in your weekend or daily routine you'd like to share, e.g. events, celebrations, books reading, music listening to. Martha Stewart posts pictures of some of her staff in their daily routine, and events she goes to.

See how it's the results first? Not a general "write a post on this specific topic."

Save time
-- Automate it using an Excel spreadsheet

Now, see the big picture by putting these 2 tasks in your excel spreadsheet, 7 columns for each day, add a number in the day to tell you the number of posts you'll write. Choose which days you'd like to write and publish your posts. You don't need to do it by yourself. Get an accountability partner or share this weekly ta-da list with the group in your coaching program.

It can look like this:

days ........Mon................. Tue ...........Wed.................. Th....... Fri.................. Sat.... Sun
posts .....1 weekend....... 1 fun.......... 1 useful info.................. 2 useful info.....
time ..... 15 min .............15 min .......40 min.......................... 50 minutes .....

Once you write it down, you can free your mind about the issue: "write new content on blog" You know which days you need to write and publish it. On other days you can focus on other blog issues like cross-posting, keywords, traffic analytics...

Save even more time
-- Set the "publish" date to the following week

Let's say you're "in the zone" and have 2 or 3 great articles or tips to share. Why not write it in your blog and set it to be published within 3 days or 7 days. When you're working on a project or will be away, you know you already have a post ready to be published.

I started writing this ta-da! list for my blog and it really clears up my mind from clutter.

Have you tried a ta-da! list to manage your blog?

To implement more time-saving marketing tips like this visit the Ultimate Wealth and Success Circle

Read 2 blogs to get inspired

2008-05-07T13:17:00.001-07:00

Here are 2 blogs I like to read to get inspired and chase away the negative thoughts.

1) The Big Idea

Love the show on CNBC. Can't always record it so I catch up on the guests by reading the blog. My favorite segment is the "One minute to millions." The "After the show" posts that guests write are inspirational.

2) Fear Less Live More

It's Sara Reinertsen's blog. When I saw her interview on the 'Big Idea with Donny Deutsch' I was so surprised how she spoke so enthusiastically about her running career. Talk about running into obstacles, when I saw how she motivates you to keep going by using her life as an example... Simply powerful.

After reading the blog, I write down a sentence that I think is inspiring and who said it. When I feel I'm procrastinating, or in an environment where people are negative, I remember these examples to stay motivated.

Which 2 blogs do you read to get motivated and inspired?

My 3 favorite blogs about online entrepreneurs

2008-05-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

In the afternoon, I like to read some of my favorite blogs, to laugh, smile, and get inspired. There are lots of great blogs about online entrepreneurs. I'll share 3 of my favorite blogs here.

I used to open the blogs with the Mozilla Firefox tabs. When there wasn't a new post I had to move on to the next blog. Now I read only the latest posts using Google Reader. I created 8 folders and add feeds to each one. Then, 'mark as read' after reading the posts. Now when I log on I just click on the ones that have new posts. By the way, my folders are: italian news, soccer, futebol, cooking, entrepreneurs, classic movies, broadway, and standards. What feedreader do you use?

On to the 3 favorite blogs about online entrepreneurs that I read at least 3 times a week:

1) Derek Gehl's Marketing Tips

Tips to make your online site, blog and emails profitable. Articles with marketing tips and examples of proof they get results.

Favorite Post: Llama wrangling, pirate blogs, and fish bonkers Creative ways to write creative blog posts.

2) Startup Spark

About the marketing, and mindset of startup online businesses.
Conversation with readers: I like how a handful of readers leave their opinions on the post. It's like walking into a room and joining the conversation.

Short 1 paragraph topics: I know the posts will be at the most- 10 lines long. It makes me read it often and not put it off.

Favorite post: OK I Must be getting old It's funny.

3) WSJ.com: Independent Street

About issues that small businesses face, not all online.

Conversation with readers: At least 20 readers per post leave their opinions on the topic with their great stories.

Short 1 paragraph topics highlighting a small business: Always inspiring to read about other small business using various marketing strategies and seeing proof of the results.

Favorite Post: How to Get Killer PR Sometimes the quickest way to visibility is your product's picture with a celebrity.

Here's how I automate this: At the end of the day, I'll block 20 minutes to read these 3 blogs. I'll write down 3 new tips, or interesting topics. Then, 5 minutes later I see how can I add these tips to my weekly marketing plan.

What are your 3 favorite blogs about online entrepreneurs/tips you like to read weekly?

4 Questions To Answer Before Turning a Hobby Into a Profitable Blog

2008-05-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Think back when you're on your own, doing your favorite hobby. It can be knitting, watching sports on TV, playing the piano... Does it make you feel like "hum, I wish I could get paid for this, I'd be here for hours..."

Just how do you go about turning your hobby into a profitable blog? How do you know if it will be profitable? Can it grow over next 6 months?

At the same time you think, a hobby, you know so much about it, there's bound to be a way to make it profitable. In the back of your mind you know that to earn a living online, it's better if you think of a unique product about your hobby. How? What can be a 'unique selling proposition'?

See if you can answer these 4 questions as specifically as possible in 15 minutes :)

Who are you going to sell to?

Is there a demand for your product?

What do the sites related to your hobby already sell?

What can you offer, or do better than those sites related to your hobby?

If you feel 'stuck', can't answer these questions quickly. Don't worry.

You don't have to do everything on your own. Sure, you can get the "do it yourself" attitude and spend money on any website design, hosting, or set up a free blog. What type of layout are you going to choose?

Content, sounds easy. What keywords are most searched? What do your readers want to know more about? What how-to reports would you need to write?

Products to sell, hum, planning to sell products already out there? No unique products or creative products your visitors would WANT?

Now, promotion. Where do you put your website so your potential clients can see you? Not necessary to go to click for traffic sites. You need real people who want to buy from you, reading your ezine, visiting your blog, becoming YOUR affiliates.

How overwhelming can that feel?
--- In how many months will you see sales? Will you get loyal customers within the first 6 months? Not to mention negative thoughts can start getting in your way.

Why spend your precious time 'guessing' if something will work? Why not use the quickest route to a profitable blog?

You already have knowledge and experience about your hobby. Now you just need someone with experience in online business, creating info-products, automating marketing tasks, and that has been making a living online for years.

Let's see, you want to save time. That means you don't want to do all the online research on your own without any guidance. Without accountability from someone who's been there it can get discouraging, right? It might start to feel like work and not like your hobby. You just want to spend most of your time on your hobby not in the business of your hobby. Oh-oh.

By reaching out for help, getting advice and support you can be less stressed, you'll know IF you can turn your hobby into a profitable website or blog.

Once you researched online the sites about your hobby, who do you turn to? Who can help you decide if it's a profitable market, and if there are potential customers over months? What products do you sell? How do you build a list of potential clients? How do you get support and feedback from other online entrepreneurs during the month? How to determine your short-term and long-term business goals?

Ready to get started?

Step 1:

profitable niche markets

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Step 2: Decide if it's a profitable market. Get your $2.95 Trial access to the Derek Gehl's private Internet Marketing community, where you'll receive unlimited feedback and advice from Derek's own team of Internet wealth experts. Visit: Internet Entrepreneur's Club

Step 3: Get support, feedback, and inspiration from other online entrepreneurs during the month. Visit: Secrets To their Success and Ultimate Wealth and Success Circle

Step 4: Act like a CEO by spending more time ON your online business and less time IN your business. Learn how to delegate. Visit: Virtual Team Building Secrets

Have you saved hours of online research by joining an online community of entrepreneurs?

Share your interesting story about turning your hobby into profit with help from online entrepreneurs.

Billionaire Leverage Techniques: 5 Tips to Accomplish Your Big Dream

2008-05-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

by Melanie Benson Strick

Have you ever had a dream so big that you had no idea how to accomplish it? The dream is there, in the background of your mind, gnawing at you and clamoring for your attention.

For many busy entrepreneurs, you might start to feel like the dream is slowly dieing. With everything you have to do to generate financial results, you never have time to focus on the dream. You are always busy running your business, making money, taking care of your clients, etc. Who has time to chase their dreams?

When you let your dream die, it affects your passion. Without passion, running your business can start to feel like work (who wants that?). Passion is the fuel that gets you going every day, provides the stamina to overcome the challenges and obstacles, and inspires you to think bigger.

Recently I saw an Oprah special called “Building a Dream” about the launch of her Leadership Academy for young girls in South Africa. As I watched the show, I realized that Oprah has been visioning this school for a long time. She had clarity about so many details — from the uniforms to even the brick color of the building. It has been the fuel that keeps her going ever day, overcoming the big obstacles that have risen in running a billion dollar empire.

We all know that Oprah is very busy with her show and her magazine. How she brought her dream to life and fulfilled her passion was by surrounding herself with a team of people who could bring her vision to life.

If you study billionaires (which I do) you will learn a special leverage technique they all use to manifest their dreams into reality. I’ve seen this technique used by Oprah, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson. The technique: build a team to bring the vision to life.

Here are five tips to help you get started:

1. Stay focused on the vision. Michael Gerber’s In the Dreaming Room covers the power of what your REAL job is (and by the way, it’s not getting lost in the day-to-day management.) It’s all about creating a vision so big that it pulls you forward.

2. Do YOUR job. Your job is to stay focused on high payoff activities. Let others do what they do best. Bookkeeping, housecleaning, graphic design, website updates, filtering emails and phone calls are all low payoff activities for the average business owner yet you many spend thousands of billable hours a month on these tasks.

3. Surround yourself with powerful implementers. When you leverage your time and build a team of good people, then your dreams become real 100 times faster. Most entrepreneurs are really great with ideas but lose traction when it comes to details and managing projects.

4. Start sooner. In completing the Virtual Team Building Secrets interviews, one thing I found in common with all five experts is they waited too long to build their team. It cost them time, money and sanity. The billionaires I studied all took the risk to build a team immediately.

5. Let go. Once you create your power team, be sure to learn to delegate well. It doesn’t do anyone any good if you hold the reigns too tight. A golden rule of delegation is, “Commit to the outcome, let go of the path to get there.”

It’s time to start building YOUR team. It’s the fastest way to create more time, free up energy and make progress in bringing your vision to life. If you aren’t sure how to get started or need new ideas on how to really create your own team effectively, check out our new resource at virtualteambuildingsecrets.com.

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About The Author

Most entrepreneurs are continually battling overwhelm with too many things to do, opportunities to capture and money to make! Melanie Benson Strick, Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach & Virtual Team Building Expert, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.

Get the Entrepreneur’s Secret Weapon to revolutionize your results and get on the fast-track to a freedom based business. Take this free chapter from my book, The Power of The Virtual Team, as a gift from me at thepowerofthevirtualteam.com

Copyright 2007 Melanie Benson Strick and Success Connections Inc

A Simple Formula for Consistent, Predictable Results

2008-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

By Melanie Benson Strick

How would you like to be able to predict your future outcomes? How about achieve any kind of goal? You may not realize this but you have already perfected a simple formula for consistent, predictable results.

So why, you might ask, are you not achieving all of your goals in record time?

That’s because we have perfected how to use this formula on all the things we don’t want! That’s right. Most of us have a very well refined mental focusing strategy – called worry.

With the Law of Attraction, we know that what we focus on expands. According to Jerry and Esther Hicks, authors of Ask and It Is Given, our creative energy is activated with 68 seconds of focused attention. The more energy, passion and focus we give it, the faster the desired results are returned to us.

The problem is that most of us use this formula in reverse. We worry about what we DON’T WANT TO HAPPEN and get more of it.

For instance, let’s say you are worried about how you will cover all your growing expenses this month. You think all day about how bad it could get. Your body starts to become exhausted. You don’t have the energy to make all those phone calls because you are so stressed out about what MIGHT happen. So you don’t make them. By not making the phone calls you didn’t sign up the new clients. Your income takes a dip. What happened? You used a proven formula to guarantee a predictable result. The formula is:

Your thoughts create a belief which manifested emotions which determine your actions which create the outcome you worried about.

No one wants to create undesirable results but we all do it, all day, every day. So what if you could flip the process around and guarantee yourself positive, desirable results?

Let’s give it a try. Here are a few pointers straight out of the ULTIMATE Success Generator:

Focus on what you want more of. Focusing on what you don’t want just gets you more…of what you don’t want! Write it down as if it already exists. Writing it down like that activates the creative forces.

Give it intensity of feeling. Imagine what it would be like to have the outcome be real. See yourself already there.

Flip worry into the positive. If you catch yourself focusing on what you don’t want, just shift your thinking to what you do want, quickly!

Evaluate your limiting beliefs and get support to eliminate them.

With a little bit of practice you can become an expert at creating predictable powerful positive results!

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About the Author:

Most entrepreneurs are continually battling overwhelm with too many things to do, opportunities to capture and money to make! Melanie Benson Strick, Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach & Virtual Team Building Expert, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.

Get the Entrepreneur’s Secret Weapon to revolutionize your results and get on the fast-track to a freedom based business. Take this free chapter from my book, The Power of The Virtual Team, as a gift from me at thepowerofthevirtualteam.com

Your 5 Step Plan to Turn Your To Do List into a Ta-Da! List

2008-05-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

By Shawn Driscoll

You’ve got big dreams and you know you’ve got what it takes to achieve them. You’re eager to roll up your sleeves and start producing massive results. The problem is, no matter how hard you work, not much seems to get accomplished.In fact, your To-Do list is a mile long and growing. You’re constantly busy yet you get to the end of the week before you get to the end of your list. Important things fall through the cracks. And you’re starting to feel frustrated, drained and overwhelmed.You wonder how you’ll ever achieve your big goals when you can’t seem to dig yourself out from under this avalanche of tasks and ‘have to do’s’.

It’s time for a To Do list Makeover. Let’s turn that time and energy sucking list of “To Do’s” into “Ta Da’s!” you can smile about.

So what’s a Ta Da! List?

A Ta-Da! list is results focused. It’s a list of high payoff tasks, that when completed have massive impact on your level of energy, results and success. Completing items on your Ta-Da! List produces results that energizes and focuses you.

By contrast, a To Do List is a never ending list of everything you think you should be doing. Not all items are created equal—some are simple items to get done, others take major effort. A To Do list is full of busy work that feels heavy and draining.

Here is a 5 step plan to tame that To Do list:

Step #1: Focus on Your Top 3 Priorities.

Every Ta-Da! List requires a clear focus. At the top of every list you make, start with your 3 most important projects or priorities. Don’t let your high payoff tasks get buried within a mile long list of ‘this and that’. Clearly focus on the 3 priorities that must get done, no matter what else happens. Let this focus your actions.

Step #2: Start Dumping.

Filter your To Do List for things you can DUMP. Your first reaction is going to be “There’s nothing I can dump!” But take an honest look. If everything is equally important then nothing really is. What items on your list fall in the ‘great idea’ category but have very little payoff if you do them? What items have absolutely no consequence if you DON’T do them? (I ask myself: Is NOT doing this of Cosmic Significance?) What items are “shoulds” that you keep procrastinating on because they aren’t aligned with your top priorities? Cross them off and be done with it.

Step #3: Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.

Identify anything and everything that you can DELEGATE to someone else (involve a family member, hire it done, give it to a team member, ask a friend or barter with someone to get it done). Retire the superhero cape and be honest: Does this task need ME AND ONLY ME to get it done? Is this something that someone else could help me accomplish? Once you’re clear on who else can do the task, hand it off. If you’re concerned it won’t get done to your standards, set a ‘check in’ date to review progress and provide input. But commit to letting someone else handle it to completion.

Step #4: Defer anything that can wait.

Take another spin through your list. If there’s anything on your list that doesn’t have to be completed within the next 7 days, defer it. Put these tasks in your calendar for a future time. Just knowing you’ve created a time and space for them will free you up to focus on other, more important, priorities.

Step #5: Time Block the rest.

All that should be left on your list are those items that (a) must be done by you and only you, (b) are linked to a top priority item and (c) must be done within 1 to 7 days. Now block time in your calendar to complete them so that you know they will get done.

One of the biggest mistakes we make with our To Do lists is keeping them separate from our calendar. You end up with a ‘to do’ list the length of your forearm and a calendar filled up with commitments that aren’t even on the list. That leaves you with no time to complete the items, skyrocketing your level of overwhelm and stress.

That’s it. 5 simple steps to create your Ta-Da! List. I challenge you to test this process for the next 30 days. See how much more focused and productive you are. Oh, and get ready to take your bow!

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About the Author:

Shawn Driscoll is a coach on the Success Connections team who brings great strengths from her Corporate background. Shawn is one of the resources for the ULTIMATE Wealth and Success Circle and one of the trainers for the Virtual Team Building Secrets.

Shawn is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Landing Your Ideal Job: Essential Strategies for Finding and Getting Work You Love and contributing author to 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, volume 2 as well as the “Ultimate Guide to Success! 80 Coaches Share their Biggest Secrets”.

BeBiz- a system for beginners to start an automated website

2008-05-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

Want to start an automated online business?
Don't have lots of money to spend on different courses?

Here's a system specifically for beginners who want to be guided through the steps needed to achieve a fully automated website that generates prospects and cash.

Visit Be Biz

Imagine yourself in June with peace of mind knowing your website is generating sales.

Take care,

Unwinding playing Dean Martin songs on the piano

2008-05-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after spending 2 hours writing in the 1shoppingcart account I walked away from the computer to unwind.

I feel so relaxed when I'm in front of a piano playing my favorite songs for an hour or two. I played a few Dean Martin songs. 'Ain't that a Kick in the Head' and 'Just in Time.' I got the piano book at the library.

His voice is amazing. There's even a Dean Martin fan club. I'll be joining it in June! Yey!

Do you enjoy listening to Dean Martin songs?