So, if everyone loves a good story, why don’t we use more of it in business?

Copywriters use intriguing story openers to get people to read their copy, people love movies, we love to sit in groups and listen to other people’s stories and yet, in business, we dry up and try to be all clever and give out soundbites.

Don’t get me wrong, soundbites are good, but do you want to capture your audiences attention or, do you want to bore them to death?

Now it’s true, that some personalities (like mine) are more into stories than say someone of left brain who don’t want the detail and a, b, c, lists are good, but I’m going to dare to say that they are a minority.

It doesn’t have to be funny!

Stories fall into many different categories including motivating, inspiring, action packed and even funny but, your aim in storytelling is to produce results … to get people to take action and, if you’re an after dinner speaker, that action could be as simple as to just get people to laugh.

In the future, I do want to focus some more on the importance of storytelling in business but for today, I just want you to watch Jeanne Robertson in action.  I first heard her speak in about 2003 and she makes me laugh every time.

And if you’re not in the mood for laughing, this is exactly why you need to watch her video.  The benefits of laughter outweigh any “pick me up pill” you could purchase from the pharmacist or, those prescribed by your doctor.

My DISCLAIMER: I’m NOT a doctor, know nothing about your condition and, I’m NOT telling you to stop popping your pills!

Gosh, we live in such a “I’ll sue you” society, we now have to have disclaimers next to almost everything we say!

Enjoy Jeanne!

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I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “big fish in a small pond” or “small fish in a big pond.”

Let me ask you, which one would you prefer to be?

I know I’d personally prefer to be a “Big Fish in a Small Pond,” when it comes to marketing within a niche.  You get more notice for a start and the other fish … well, they get to know who you are!

Often when speaking to clients about their niche, there is a fear that if they don’t target a big market, they won’t make any money.  That couldn’t be further from the truth – unless of course, if you decide to target a very narrow niche.  And I know that not all marketers will necessarily agree with me on this one, particularly when starting out, it’s easier to target a smaller niche within say the small business market than it is to try and market to every small business in your country.

If for example you decide to market to chiropractors or dentists, life actually becomes easier for you since you can find out what associations they belong to, find out where they network and participate in these networking events or, contact them through their associations.

The other great plus is that it’s much easier to keep up with trends if you focus on a smaller niche.  Whilst the other marketers in your wider niche are trying to keep up with general small business changes, you’ll be able to focus on what’s going on within the services industry regarding chiropractors or dentists.  When you then approach them or better still, they approach you regarding the possibility of doing business with them, they will soon realize how knowledgeable you are about their market.  It’s true that this won’t bother every prospect but it certainly makes you more of an insider than an outsider trying to get in.

If you’re having difficulty reaching your niche, maybe it’s time to consider whether you need to downsize and target a small niche.

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A few months ago, I was adamant that social media was hyped up and in fact, I even wrote in a blog post where I said that it seemed to me that the only people making money from social media were those selling the programs about social media.

That was until I was privileged enough to become a member of The Video Boss and Main Street Marketing Machines, where I was influenced by Mike Koenigs and Don Crowther.

What these two guys made me realize is that most people don’t have a social media strategy at all.  Well they do, but it’s more down to sign up to every social media site going and then talk to people.

This isn’t an effective Social Media Strategy and, if this is what you’re doing, I highly suggest you save your energy and focus it elsewhere.

Last week, Don Crowther launched his social profit formula and honestly, I wish the video were still available online for you to see a social media strategy in action.  Don taught how to use 4 social marketing mediums to dominate your niche namely, YouTube, Facebook, your blog and Twitter.  I’ve no doubt that as a student on his course, he is teaching them other strategies but the important thing was what he gave away for free was ONE strategy that could be used in social marketing … with results.

So as not to tease, I’m going to outline the steps, as best as I can, so you can see how this strategy would work:

1. create between 50 to 100 videos (you can use less if you want)
2. upload 40% of the videos to YouTube and 20% to Facebook which you’ll use to encourage them to join your fan page
3. the remainder, you add to a FREE members area on your site and, you add a 5-8 second spiel at the end of your videos on YouTube and Facebook, inviting them to sign up for more
4. you then create a 20 day autorespondeer series gives them a teaser to the vidoes in the members area and on around the 15th message you invite them to check out your paid membership site with more videos which could be a related topic or a more advance course on the free information you’ve given them
5. on your blog, you announce the fact that you’ve uploaded the videos, even if they are going into the free members area and invite them to join
6. you link your blog to Twitter and Twitter get’s updated with your new video information

In addition to this, you need a video squeeze as an introduction to the free and paid membership site.

I know this is rough, but you get the picture I hope.  What you have here is a clearly defined process and strategy, one that I believe is missing from most of the social marketing programs I’ve been introduced to.

I would also encourage you to check out Traffic Geyser’s 10 x 10 x 4 Market Domination Formula.

Related posts:

1. Is Social Media All Hype?
2. How To Make Viral Videos
3. Grab Your Free Facebook URL

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In minutes, I went from paying £5 to £12 to the canvassing window cleaner.

So how did the slick marketing window cleaner get my business without me even sniffing at the 60% increase in the cost!?

We’ve been in our current house for 15 years now and since that time, we’ve had the same window cleaners … until this week.

Our previous window cleaners did nothing wrong but on Saturday, there was a knock at the door and a smartly dressed man explained that he owned a window cleaning company and started cleaning windows in our area if we were interested.  I said “no thanks, we already have a window cleaner” and started shutting the front door.

As the canvasser walked up the path he explained how they use a purified water cleaning system to clean the windows which meant:

a) little or no use of ladders because they used a waterfed pole system

b) the windows were cleaner, brighter and stayed clean for longer

c) they would clean the window ledges and PVC doors as well

Well, at this point, my front door swung open again and I was all ears!

Within minutes, I’d hired the window cleaner to do one clean so we could decide if we wanted to continue.

That was Saturday … Come Tuesday …

First off, when the window cleaner left, both my husband and I queried whether he himself would clean our windows.  Why?

Because he was clean and tidy and, he smelled good!

We thought that he managed the company and someone else cleaned.  So come Tuesday, we were a little surprised when he turned up with his wife to clean our windows.

My point is, our first impression of him wasn’t a window cleaner, but a business man who made himself presentable to his prospective clients.

The evening before he was due, we even received a text message to say they’d be coming so we could unlock the side gate.

And as for the clean … outstanding!

But why was I so quick to pay up £12 when we’d been paying £5

First of all, I don’t want to clean the outside of my house period!  I watch my house-proud “aged” neighbours doing it and I take the view, “not me … I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

I was also impressed with the system they used to give a brighter shine since in the summer, the smears from a traditional clean can show up, making me feel as though I need to go clean the windows again – never happens though … I’m just a good thinker!

Finally, and I’m sure this one will resonate with some of you, because they use a brush on the end of a long pole …

I got no one looky looking through my bedroom window!

I’m telling you … the amount of times I’ve asked my window cleaner to knock the door before he cleans the windows and I don’t recall him doing it once.  Fortunately, I’ve never been caught in an embarrassing situation but, I’ve often walked into my office which is in one of the bedrooms of our home, to be met with a face at the window.  Not nice!

So, when the canvassing window cleaner told me it was £12 a clean, trust me, I didn’t even bulk at the price.  In fact, he suggested once every two months was adequate for a clean and yet, I was willing to give him £12 every 4 weeks.

My point here is that I was sold on the benefits even though he could have bombarded me with features of his purified water window cleaning system.

So, my open ended question to you is … are you selling on features or letting the benefits do the selling for you?

Until next time,

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This is a question I’m putting to you my readers really since as someone who consults with people to build and grow their business online, I personally have to dispel the myth that anyone can market online.

It could be that anyone can do it, but most people won’t.

And of course, this could also be true of offline marketing too.

The biggest issue I’ve come across over the years is that many people have read the sales pages and the great stories about how the broke man or woman living on the park bench made thousands of dollars in just weeks.  And, call me naive, but I BELIVE some of these stories.  But, not everyone has the same mindset and can accomplish these kinds of results.

One thing these people who have turned their lives around in a very short space of time have in common is that they have a mind to win.  They DECIDE that nothing and no one will get in their way of success and they will do whatever it takes to make it online.

So what about the rest of them …

Well, many have good intentions but they either lack the technical skill to carry out even the basics online functions online and, they lack the knowledge to be able to implement or even manage the implementation.

Now, I suppose I’m trying to evoke some feedback here from people who have zero technical skills and or, little knowledge of how a business is run online since as yet, I have failed to come across a client who lacks both who has been successful online.

Some want it all done for them, which is fine, but if you want to outsource your business to a competent marketer, it’s like hiring a full-time marketing manager for your business and, how many people can afford to do that?

You see, it’s fine outsourcing to places like the Philippeans, but my experience is that they still need managing and most of them do great at tasks that involves the day-to-day stuff but most have very little idea about how to market.

So, shout it out to me peoples.  I particularly want to hear from those who run a “hands off” Internet Business – who have little or no knowledge of online marketing and zero technical skills.

I appreciate your participation.

Until next time,

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Whose voice does your website or blog really have?

I’ve visited some sites of people I know and have been bored out of my skull when reading them.  Sorry to be so blunt, but, I call a spade a spade!  The embarrassing thing is though, I felt the same way about my own blog some years ago.

I’d read the posts on my site and think how different they were from my Christian Women’s website and then one day, it dawned on me what the issue was … I was being “me” on Women of Influence but, on my own blog, I was trying to be all business like … acting like a pro!   I mean please!

I come from the corporate world of management and I couldn’t care less if you were one of the clerical staff or the chief exec … Trish was Trish!  So where I was going putting on the boring business undertones on my blog, I really don’t know.

If you’re now thinking what I think you’re thinking though, stop!

You can speak your readers language which, should be the language of your target market and readers ( as in terminology etc), but in my personal view, you should never try immitate anybody’s voice.  And I’m sorry, if you do this,it makes you a fake.

You might feel that doing this will get you more readers but even if you change your voice, you’re going to turn off someone … someone out there is still going to dislike you.

So, in my humble opinion, just be you.

Take the view that you weren’t meant to serve everyone and therefore, put your energy into helping those will like you for who you are (the real you) and build that relationship.

Take a look at your last five articles or blog posts and ask if they really reflect you.

Until next time,

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Statement of Fact …

I make more money selling my services online to entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to create an online business.

But, if you think that eliminates me from being a REAL Internet Marketer, think again!

I get most of my clients via my online marketing efforts and NEVER leave my home.  Not to market anyway.  Frankly, I hate networking meetings, I’ve tried the “go by foot” method of visting local shops and, right now, I don’t even have any relevant business cards, flyers or promotional material.

I’m about to fixt that though so don’t copy me!  It’s not something I’m proud of … just telling you, I still make money without doing all of this.

If you want to see something that’s similar to my online model, check this out …  http://www.mainstreetmarketingmachines.com/cmd.php?af=615360

But in the meatime, let me tell you my story …

It was 2006 and I was sat with hundreds of others Internet Marketers in London at the 2006 World Internet Summit when Brett McFall, Co-Founder, made this statement … he said …

“There’s more money in offering services than products.”

Now, I’m not sure whether his message had such a huge impact because only hours earlier, Brett had dislocated his shoulder and was now standing on stage probably very much in paid, arm in sling and putting on a very brave face or, whether it was because I was already working with a few people but hadn’t seen the real value in what I was doing.

Anyway, whatever the reason, I heard that statement loud and clear and started thinking about how to package what I knew about marketing online and selling my services to others.  By this time, I’d spent the best part of £20,000 (UK pounds) learning this stuff and that conference made me realize just how much I knew about marketing online and therefore, how much knowledge I had to share.

About two years ago, John Reese created a video and said that whilst he had advocated that people shy away from the Internet Marketing niche that in fact, there was a way to benefit in that niche … sell your services to local businesses.

I was encouraged that I hadn’t been put off by the nay sayers, but had carved my own niche within the Internet Marketing niche.

Soon after that, it seemed that everyone had some product teaching you how to make money online by selling to offline businesses and, I won’t mention the name of one of the products I purchased, but the sales copy went something like this … go sit with your local restaurant owner, tell him what you do and he or she will pay you thousands of dollars to up their business online.

Now in theory, this was okay, but the traffic method was to “go by foot!”

And yep … I did it!

I Spent days driving to some of the local high streets in Bristol, trying to sell my services to restaurant owners and local retailers but, thank God for my husband who said to me after a few days …

“Trish, you’ve been doing well getting clients online, just do more of what you’ve doing rather than getting despondent walking the high streets.”

Oh I love my husband’s common sense!

So now, I have my model, thought I was doing okay until Mike Koenigs comes along and tells me a) you could be charging more for what you do (I like you Mike!!) and b) you can sell your products to local businesses without having to “go by foot” (I REALLY like you Mike!) and c) you know Trish, I have an entire blueprint that will help you help more businesses without being overwhelmed and, without having to do it all yourself. (Now I’m loving you Mike!!).

If you’ve spent money “inteligencing” yourself in Internet Marketing but as yet, you’ve not seen a return on your investment because you’re having difficult making online as a “traditional” Internet Marketer, what Mike has here is your lifeline.

I’ll say no more, I just highly recommend you go check it out.

http://www.mainstreetmarketingmachines.com/bizbox/cmd.php?af=615360 *

* This blog post includes my affiliate link. If you click on the link and purchase it, I will get paid a commission.

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Blogging is such a powerful marketing tool, yet the sad truth is, it’s such an underutilized tool in the online world, often being reduced to as a tool just for affiliate marketers or, get rich quick AdSense schemes.

Whilst it’s true that there are thousands of blogs created daily, the majority of those blogs never see the light of day … in other words, they remain in the development stage or, “under construction.”

I’m sure most people ask the same question I did when my first blog was built … “I have my blog … now what?”

If this has been your experience or, you’ve taken off but you’re about to crash land, I want to offer you 3 things you can do to start building credibility through your blog, starting today.

1. Write your first 5 blog posts.

In fact, do this even if you’ve already started adding posts to your site.

Why five?

It will help build your confidence and begin the all important process of populating your blog.  And whether you’ve already starting populating your blog or not, I want you to write these next five articles with these 3 key elements about your prospect in mind:

• What are my prospects goals?
• What are my prospects fears?
• What are the problems that my prospect is facing and, how can you solve their problem

Another alternative is to consider the theme of your site, say weight loss and then pick 5 sub themes that you could speak about on the topic of weight loss.  Once you have your 5 themes, get 5 sheets of paper and write 1 sub theme on each sheet of paper.

Under each sub theme write 3 questions that you know people who are struggling with weight loss will want to know or have asked you in the past and then, answer the questions. Write a sentence or two, add a beginning and the end (just like at School) and there, you have your first 5 blog posts.

2. Optimize your blog.

Now you’ve written your first 5 blog posts, you want to ensure that they are found by your potential prospects and, picked up by the search engine spiders.  So, before you post them you’ll need to optimize both your blog and your  blog posts.

The first thing to do, is change the default permalink to either a custom one if you know what you’re doing but if not, change it to the name and date based setting.

Next, ensure your blog title includes your sites keyword.  If your site is about weight loss, ensure the keyword weight loss is included in your blog’s title.  I also suggest you include the keyword in the tagline but, it’s not essential.

If your theme doesn’t have it’s own SEO settings, I highly recommend that you use the All-In-One SEO WordPress plugin.

Now Optimize Your Posts.

Whilst you’ve probably heard a lot about SEO and how important it is to use keywords all over the place on your post, I should warn you that keyword stuffing will get you into more trouble than it’s worth and you will build far more credibilty if you write for your human readers and not the search engine spiders.  Do put the keyword in your title and, in the body of your post if possible and, if it flows well, since people will find you using search terms (keywords) in the search engines.

It’s now time to post your articles but, rather than post all five articles at once, either manually post them say every two days or, use the auto post facility found in the WordPress dashboard.  Apologies for those using any other platform, but I’m definately an evangelist for WordPress.

3.  Promote your blog

I’ve been asked to do indepth SEO and analysis for people’s static websites and I’m still amazed that although I tell them to save their money and start a blog or use other methods of traffic generation, that they still insist on “needing” SEO services.

It seems their determination comes from a fear of losing out if SEO isn’t a part of their marketing strategy.  Well my theory of SEO is very simple …

“Get Found Online!”

And, you can do this via a multitude of ways including web 2.0 promotion strategies such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, My Space, Squidoo and Digg.  You should also add your blog to technorati – the biggest blog directory online – submit articles to article directories, create 3 minute video clips with nuggets of information, podcasting, forums and, the list goes on.

If you focus on just doing these three steps, keep adding posts to your blog and, distributing good quality content to the various online services, I guarantee you’ll start building momentum, your confidence will soar and pretty soon people will start referring to you as someone with authority in your market.

Until next time,

Related posts:

1. Getting Indexed By Google
2. Keeping Your WordPress Blog Current

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I’ve just done watching a video of Will Smith on Success and had to share it with you.

I wonder:

• how many talented people fail because they’re not disciplined enough to learn the skill?
• how many of us parents really teach our children to dream big
• how many of us dream big but do little to reach our dreams

I wonder …

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Back in December 2008, YouTube decided to implement what they called their “Improved Thumbnails” feature. See YouTube Secret Weapon’s post on this for more detail.

Basically though, YouTube wanted to eliminate people manipulating their video views by adding images of scantily cladded women – gosh, this tactic has lasted an age hasn’t it? I mean … chocolate and women, cars and women, holidays and women … anyway, I digress.

Maybe I’ve been asleep and didn’t know about the change of heart, but I uploaded a video today and not only did I get a choice of three thumbnails, I received a congratulations email for uploading my first video … it’s a new channel.  (See Julie Perry’s comment below - seems I misunderstood the part about the thumbnails control - I definately must have been asleep when uploading my past videos!)

Maybe I just didn’t take notice on the other occasions, but I thought this was cool, especially for those not sure where to start with using YouTube.

In one of my future posts, I’ll highlight some of the tips I’ve learnt for getting noticed on YouTube and, how I knocked Alex Mandossian off his #8 spot on YouTube for his Teleseminar Secrets course.  It was the very first video I had ever created and even now, two years later, (at the time of writing this post), I’m still featured on the second page.  In fact, for that one promotion, I did just that one video and made myself $900 affiliate commission.

Not bad is it for one video.

Go check me out … Go to YouTube and type in “teleseminar secrets.”

Until next time,

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