Here’s the lowdown: George Bailey, played by Stewart, is on the verge of collapse. His small building and load company is on the verge of bankruptcy, the mean rich man in town is poised to swoop in, and though he has a house full of adorable kids and a gorgeous wife (Reed), there’s never enough money to go around. George decides his family and business would be better off without him. On the brink of suicide, he’s saved by a fledgling angel, Clarence.

Clarence goes on to show George what his life would be like if he’d never existed, and the sight ain’t pretty. By seeing all the people he’s touched, George realizes that he has created a strong network of love and support – he’s created a tribe. And it’s this tribe that pulls together at the end of the movie to give back to George, helping him out of his current difficulties.

The lesson to you should be obvious: Your tribe can, quite literally, save your life. You should be building not only a viable business, but a community – one that supports and cares for each other. If you’re just out to make a buck, don’t be surprised if no one leaps to defend you or lend you a helping hand when things go bad. And they will go bad.

You can get “slapped” by Google. You can get your PayPal account frozen. You can get brought up on charges by the FTC. You can get hacked, robbed, or plagiarized. It happens.

But if you have friends like George’s, you’ll have a whole team of folks on your side. But one thing to remember: George had friends he’d created just by being a good guy, doing the right thing at the right time, not worrying about what was in it for him. He stood up for what was right and shook hand after hand, even when it cost him personally.

He didn’t build this community by selling junk or automating his Twitter feed or spamming everyone. He did it the old fashioned way: By caring.

Some business techniques never go out of style.

Ah, but this is Christmas, so not only does Buddy convince his new family that syrup tastes good on everything; he also wins the heart of his stepmother, half-brother, and the cynical Jovie, his new love. And yes, Walter eventually sees the light.

So business owners, here’s your business lesson from Buddy the Elf: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing lout for all to hear.”

So… what if you’re not Santa? Buddy would tell you it doesn’t matter. Enthusiasm is catching. No one is going to be more excited about your business, your product, your podcast, your class, your blog than you are.

Sometimes we feel a little hesitant to show our enthusiasm. It can be risky to show how much we care about something. But if we don’t show our passion, we’re not going to convince anyone else to follow or act on our recommendations.

Think about the last time you went out to eat. If the waiter or waitress gave a lackluster endorsement to the daily special, you likely took a pass. But if she or he said, “I just tried it before my shift and it was delicious!” you’d be a little more likely to partake. Enthusiasm sells. Period.

Here are a few tips to make like Buddy the Elf without sounding like a used car salesman (or an escapee from the North Pole):

• Be honest. Don’t sell or promote something you don’t believe in. It never works – people can tell, and you’ll damage your reputation.
• Be yourself. You may be the understated type who isn’t going to jump out of a helicopter a la Richard Branson to promote your latest business venture. You don’t have to be! (One Richard Branson is enough for this world.) But do show your energy in a way that is natural for you.
• Be realistic. If you promote every new thing that comes down the block, or have a new solution du jour, pretty soon no one is going to listen to you.

You don’t have to dress up in pointy shoes to get people to buy your new e-course. But hey… if the shoe fits… why not?

Finally, he learns that his only skill – playing his drum – is enough.

Maybe you’ve felt this way: You take a skills assessment or strengths finder, or ask your friends and family what they turn to you for. The answers are less than stellar. Instead of being a powerhouse leader, or an inspiration, you come up as a great administrator, or… the Drummer Boy equivalent of today, a good listener. What are you supposed to do if you’ve got mad skillz as, say, a babysitter or folding paper airplanes? Can you possibly make a business out of that?

Well, the short answer is, yes, you can.  Whatever your skill, there is a market for it. Follow these tips to make sure you find your business home:

1. Don’t underestimate yourself. So you can imitate cartoon voices. Big deal. No one will pay for that…. Or will they? Sure they will! For presentation narration, video games, films… you name it. If you have an above-average skill, someone out there will pay for it. If you doubt this, go to Fiverr.com and take a look at the kind of things people are shelling out money for.
2. Get yourself out there. Standing in the back of the crowd, quietly tapping on your drum, is not going to do anything for your popularity. You need to put yourself in front of people who can help (if you get nervous, just think back to the Little Drummer Boy. If he could approach Mary, the mother of Jesus, you can probably get up the courage to launch a podcast or website).
3. Hone your craft. If your skill really is folding paper airplanes, then make yourself the very best paper airplane folder out there. If you are skilled at cleaning toilets, then keep your finger on the pulse of the toilet-cleaning industry and be a leader in that space. Just because you’re naturally gifted doesn’t mean you can coast; you must keep making yourself better and better.

When you have a gift, it is truly that – a present bestowed upon you. It is your responsibility to make the most of it and share it with others.

The twist: Aided by pure-of-heart and diminutive  Cindy Lou Who, the Whos celebrate the Christmas spirit, even without the wrappings, and the Grinch’s frozen heart melts. And in the Carrey version, he also finds true love with the sexiest Who of all, played by Christine Baranski.

It’s the updated version that brings us our lesson for today, and the lesson is this: There’s really someone for everyone. If a grumpy, stinky, pants-less Grinch can capture the heart of the nubile Martha May Whovier, then out there, somewhere, there’s a customer base for you.

Go online and you can find plenty of proof of this belief. There are people selling gun-shaped soap, frozen yogurt for dogs, and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Beans. If they can make it, you can, too. Take these tips from the Grinch:

-Be absolutely clear on who you are. Don’t waffle. If you’re strange, revel in your strangeness. The more clearly you reveal yourself, the more easily you’ll appeal to your “tribe,” as Seth Godin calls it.

-Don’t apologize for who you are. If you’re a gun-toting survivalist, so be it. If you are a tattooed, be-ringed 60-something, go with it. Your customers don’t want someone who is embarrassed; they want to be led by someone who’s confident and embraces their different-ness.

-Come down from the mountain. It’s not until the Grinch leaves his hermit-like cave at the top of Mt. Crumpet and emerges into the “real world” that he finds acceptance and love. You need to be where the people are.

–File down your rough edges. “Authenticity” can be an excuse for bad behavior. There’s a difference between being transparent and honest, and being downright unpleasant and rude. Even at the end of the movie, the Grinch softens a bit – without losing his Grinch-ness.

If the Grinch can find love, you can, too. And if you want to see some more weirn niches, make sure to check out Weird Niche Wednesday on Nicole Dean’s site at www.nicoleonthenet.com.

In his quest to find the perfect toy, Howard fends off advances from a psycho mailman, a vengeful cop, and his lugubrious neighbor who’s bent on moving in on Howard’s wife, usurping his role as husband and father.

After hours of careening from store to store, Howard finds himself in the town’s annual holiday parade, dressed up as – you guessed it! – Turbo Man. All ends well when his wife and son realize his heart is in the right place. Don’t you just love happy endings?

You may think there’s no lesson here for a business owner, but there are plenty. We could talk about work-life balance, or the importance of keeping your commitments, but the main one to highlight is the role that serendipity plays in business.

Many successful business owners will tell you that the second they became crystal clear on their objectives, things just seemed to fall into place for them. Sure, they faced some obstacles along the way, but somehow the person they needed to meet or the book they needed to read or the lesson they needed to learn fell into their path.

Preparation is a great thing, and it’s necessary for day-to-day success. It’s what gets us through the tough, repetitive and sometimes boring stuff. But often the big leaps forward in our business occur because of some force stronger than us that’s at work in the universe.

Consider this quote from renowned poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Even if you aren’t the “woo-woo” type, it can pay to be open to seemingly miraculous coincidences and occurrences.

Some people consider these types of coincidences to be signs that you’re moving on the right path. But whether you believe in the “great divine” or not, smart business owners will take advantage of any opportunities, regardless of source. And the more clear you are on your end goal, the more you’ll be able to recognize these opportunities.

Their friends and neighbors object to their lack of Christmas spirit and heckle and bully them, attempting to force them to get back in line and get their jolly on. They successfully resist… until they learn that their daughter is unexpectedly returning home for Christmas.

The Kranks have to scurry around in order to create Christmas at the last minute, borrowing Christmas trees, pulling together an eleventh-hour party and trying to woo back the neighbors the community they’ve alienated. Of course, all ends well once the Kranks respond to the external pressures and get back in line.

So, what do the Kranks teach business owners? The main lesson is that you can make all the plans in the world, but sometimes you just need to respond to what your market wants.

Poor Luther and Nora don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. So they want to head in a different direction this year. What’s the big deal?

Well, the big deal is that the Kranks’ audience (neighbors and friends) like things just the way they are. They don’t want the Kranks to change. They want things to stay the way they always have been – even if the Kranks have different ideas.

Think about trying to change something in your business – your website, your pricing structure, your offerings. Even if you’re positive the changes are for the better, you can hit serious backlash because your customers like things a certain way. They like knowing that the “buy” button is in red at the bottom of the page, or that your podcast comes out every Wednesday – not Tuesday, and certainly not Thursday. If you mess with their routines, you may have to pay the price – just like the Kranks.

Now, this isn’t to say that you can’t ever make changes to your business. It’s just a warning that you’d better make sure the risk is worth the reward, and that you’re not changing just for change’s sake.

Don’t mess with your customers’ Christmas.

 You can’t Monetize Your Blog!

You may think that there’s no way you could sell technology because you’re not technologically minded yourself. Not true! Not even Bill Gates does his own coding. Here’s how to identify and create technology tools your market will flip for:

• Make a list of problems you have. When his wife Jess needed a better way to keep track of her knitting patterns and yarn stash, Casey Forbes started what would soon become a knitting world phenomenon, Ravelry.com. They didn’t intend to create a social site for over a million users; it happened as a byproduct of a problem. You can do the same thing in your own market. What tools do people need to help them accomplish their goals more easily? Write them down.
• Seek out competition. A little competition is good – it lets you know that there is indeed a market need.
• Improve on what is. If there’s already a WordPress plug-in for pulling Flickr images into your blog, but it’s not working well for you, figure out what you’d do to make it better.
• Find a tech hack. Sites like Odesk.com, rentacoder.com, and even Craigslist are great places to find people with the skills you need to make your dream a reality. Read the requirements carefully, and get several bids – and several recommendations!
• Test, test, test. After you’ve got a solution, try it out on your own site, and ask anyone you can to test it for you as well. Maybe that new plug-in works great on IE but makes Firefox crash; you won’t know unless you test!

Once you have a workable “widget” in-hand, take it to the masses. Go to forums, write about it on your own blog, and strut your stuff. The best advertisement is your own blog! You might also give away a copy of your app or plug-in to some other bloggers, asking them to provide you with a testimonial or review on their site.

You don’t have to be a tech whiz to sell your own great device. Instead, you can be the brains behind the operation and pay someone else to do the pixel-pushing and byte-budging.

Conclusion

The number of ways to make money through your blog is limited only by your imagination. This short list is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope by reading through these descriptions, the floodgates have been opened and you have a better idea of how you can begin to monetize your own blog.

If  you’ve got an idea that isn’t listed here, all the better! The online world is changing and morphing all the time. Put yourself at the front of the next wave, and you can reap the monetary benefits!

Technorati Tags: expertise, invention, sell

What can you ask people to pay for?

• Videos
• Deeper, more sophisticated content
• Replays of interviews or Q&A calls
• Step-by-step tutorials
• Access to training materials such as worksheets, planning guides, spreadsheets, etc.
• Audios

Here are some hints for offering premium content on your blog:

• Give a taste. If you’re offering recipes, show an image of the completed dish to encourage people to pay to access the full recipe. If you are selling audios, list a few bullet pointed “takeaways,” or provide a sample of the audio, like iTunes does. Give people an idea of what to expect and they’ll be more likely to want to “pay to play.”
• Keep it simple. Too many options confuses people, and a confused mind does nothing. Don’t offer too many bells and whistles or packages; just keep it basic, especially at first.
• Educate people. Particularly if you are in a non-technical field, people may be hesitant to purchase something they think they can get for free. Emphasize the benefits of your material – convenience, quality, exclusivity, etc. Point out how your product is superior to others, or how it will save them time or money.
• Include testimonials. Give people a reason to trust you, and to say “Yes.”  By including testimonials of satisfied customers on your blog, you can help potential purchasers over the hurdle of making the decision to purchase. Video testimonials are especially effective.

There are a number of WordPress plug-ins to allow you to restrict access to certain areas of your WordPress blog – or you can keep things very simple and just password-protect specific posts or areas. In any case, just as a velvet rope at the entrance to the hottest nightclub in town indicates that something good is going on inside, barring entrance to certain areas of your blog will make visitors very curious – maybe curious enough to pay!

What was your experience when beginning a paid subscriber content area?
What was the difference between your free and premium content?
When will you start your premium content service?

Technorati Tags: membership, paid subscribers

Do I have to have any specific certification or education? If you’re an accountant, lawyer, doctor, or even personal trainer, you need to be certified in your particular field. But to hang out your shingle as a coach, no certification is necessary.

Who would come to me? If people are reading your blog, people would pay you to coach them. Not every blog reader will become a coaching client, of course, but a percentage will. That’s why it’s important to build up your readership before you launch your coaching program; the larger your list, the larger your potential coaching client base.

How much should I charge? It really depends on your field, what your competitors are charging, and the format of your coaching program. Typically, the more value you bring to a client and the more pressing their pain points, the higher rates you can charge. If you can help someone lose 20 lbs. in 30 days or make $5000 in a week, you’re going to be able to command more than you could for helping someone plan a beautiful garden.

What format should I use? Coaches have been early adopters of online technologies such as webcasting, teleseminars, and more. With services like UStream, Freeconferencecall.com, and Skype, you can transport yourself virtually to anywhere in the world. Some coaches work strictly via email; it’s going to depend on your market.

For beginner coaches, one of the most effective first steps is to offer a low-price, fixed-term (4-6 week), group coaching environment for 6-10 people. You could offer one structured call followed by a Q&A session each week, covering a certain segment of your topic, such as, “Planning your organic garden,” or “Financial planning for retirement.” Use the experience to test your materials and gauge interest and response.

At the end of the time period, evaluate your process and either change things up or offer the same coaching program again. Over time, you’ll be able to better target your offerings and raise your rates as you know – and deliver – exactly what your audience wants.

What is your area of expertise? Post a link to your webpage below.
How did you first get started coaching?
What is your next area of growth in your coaching?

Technorati Tags: coaching, consulting, teleconference, webinar

Sounds good, eh? Well, there are some guidelines to follow:

1. Disclose everything. If you’ve been paid to review a product, mention a site, or otherwise plug or promote a company, tell your readers! The trust you create with them is hard to replace and easy to damage. Many bloggers place disclosures in each sponsored post; others create a site-wide disclaimer. In either case, be transparent. (For more information on disclosure statements, go to http://disclosurepolicy.org/)
2. Have standards. Bloggers of integrity will not promote or give a good review to sub-standard products. If you cannot be honest in your assessment or review, it is not worth the money. Many sponsors will have guidelines regarding how you must talk about their product, site, or service. Pick sponsors who are a good match with your standards.
3. Don’t overdo it. If every post you put up is a paid sponsorship, your readers may be wondering, “Where’s the beef?” Balance paid content with unpaid content. Also, make sure the sponsorship opportunities you accept are in line with your market. You might get approached by a dating site or – the latest for me – an anti-meat movie. The money may be good, but will your audience resonate with the message?
4. Be of service. Even in a paid post, you can provide value to your readers. Honest reviews, additional information, hints and tips, and case studies are all great ways to put your own spin and unique value on paid posts.

Treat paid opportunities as you would your unpaid content. Make sure it’s valuable to your audience and adds something to their experience. Then you’ll be creating great content AND getting paid for it.

What forms of paid sponsorships have you tried?
Is paid sponsorships a regular part of your strategy?
What questions do you have to get started with your own paid sponsorship strategy?

[please comment below]

Technorati Tags: ads, advertising, sponsorships