Each day, there are dozens of tasks that are calling your name, both at work and in your personal life. With life being so busy it’s easy to lose focus on the big picture.

How many times have you gone to bed wondering what you actually accomplished that day? Or have you ever felt like your day was somehow wasted?

To avoid these feelings, you can try a few different methods to get yourself back on track. Rather than bemoaning your wasted time, resolve to regain your focus and get back on task.

Confucius Says…

There’s a famous quote about focus by the great philosopher Confucius: “If you chase two rabbits, you catch none.” True, there might be people who are able to multitask and do it relatively well; but more often than not, people who split their attention between two different tasks have a more difficult time completing both tasks well.

Here are five ways to regain your focus and get back on task:

1. Eliminate the distractions. Get rid of the barriers that are causing you to avoid getting things done. It’s that simple! Forget about checking email every five minutes; those emails will still be there when you complete your task. Make a list of distractions and eliminate!

• Turn off the phone and let the voice mail take over.

• Close the blinds in your office.

• Turn off the music if you find yourself singing more than working.

• Simply closing the door to your office can give you more privacy and more focus.

2. Prioritize your work. Rather than working on projects simultaneously, take one thing at a time, focus on it, and worry about all the other projects later. Ultimately, you’ll get a lot more done and you’ll finish it more quickly. You’ll also be recognized by the high quality that you deliver when you’re free from distractions.

• Find a way to prioritize that works best for you. Choose either the project that has the earliest deadline or the one with the least components so you can finish it quickly and get it out of the way. There are pros and cons to both systems so tackle it whichever way works for you.

3. Tell everyone to respect your time. There are many nice and respectful ways to tell people to back off. If you’re finding yourself in a time crunch and can’t seem to get away from others, consider letting them know that you need time to finish some important tasks. There are a lot of different ways to do it just make sure you do!

• Set times that you’ll accept phone calls and even visitors. Tell them to contact you by email and then set a regular time to check your email.

• Set business hours during which people can expect you to return their calls or emails.

4. Set some limitations with your internet access. The internet is wonderful but it can be a huge time waster, especially if you work at a computer all day long. Regain your focus with some self-imposed rules.

• First, close all those windows you’re not using. Avoid Twitter or Facebook, quit searching on eBay, and leave messenger alone!

• Establish certain times each day to use these fun things and just focus on what you have to do. You’ll quickly accomplish more!

5. Have confidence in your abilities. This may seem like a really small thing when it comes to focusing and getting back on task, but believing that you can get everything done that you set out to do puts you in a positive frame of mind and you’ll be less distracted with stress and worry.

• Have confidence that you can complete each task with ease and believe in your ability to deliver. If you’ll just have the confidence, you’re sure to have the focus!

Now that you’ve been introduced to five ways to focus and get back on task, it’s up to you to take action and learn how to focus your thoughts. If you’ve got to get stuff done, follow these steps so you can put yourself and your goals first!

]]> http://www.altadmin.ca/5-ways-to-focus-and-get-back-on-task/ /feed 0 http://www.altadmin.ca/fun-with-wordle/ http://www.altadmin.ca/fun-with-wordle/ #comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:01:06 +0000 Jennifer Hazlett http://www.altadmin.ca/?p=920

Wordle is a fun yet useful little tool that can tell you whether you’re using key words appropriately in your content.

It is described as “a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.”

Here’s my Wordle (pictured above) that I created using text from my Strategy Session sales page. Click the image to view full size. I will use this image to represent the consulting service that I offer.

Do you want to create your own Wordle? Visit the Wordle site and click ‘Create Your Own’.

You have the option of either pasting in text or entering a URL to create your word cloud. Click ‘Go’ or ‘Submit’ and your Wordle is generated instantly.

Click ‘Randomize’ to scroll through various word cloud formats. When you find a format you like, you can customize your Wordle even further using the tool bar to change fonts, font styles, colours, number of words, direction and arranging your words alphabetically. You can even right click over words you want to eliminate from your word cloud.

From here you can ‘Print’ or ‘Save to public gallery’ but if you want to keep your Wordle to yourself for your own use, save it as screenshot.

To create a screenshot, click ‘Open in Window’ then follow these steps:

• Press the “Print Screen” button on your keypad.

• Open the “Paint” application (Start>Programs>Accessories>Paint).

• Press “Ctrl” and “V” at the same time or right-click and select “Paste” to insert your copied picture.

• Click “File” and select the “Save as” option.

• Select the “JPEG” format and click on the “Save” button.

• Use the “Select” tool to select your Word cloud only, then “Crop” to eliminate the unwanted areas, then “Save” to save your changes.

The words you use most display more prominently. It’s interesting to see what those words are.

How can you use your Wordle word cloud?

If you have a book, ebook or ecourse that needs a cover, create a Wordle to create an interesting image reflective of the content. Use it for your marketing to print T-Shirts, business cards, brochures or posters. Use your imagination and have fun generating images with Wordle and using them in various creative ways.

]]> http://www.altadmin.ca/fun-with-wordle/ /feed 0 http://www.altadmin.ca/networking-follow-up-techniques-to-turn-prospects-into-customers/ http://www.altadmin.ca/networking-follow-up-techniques-to-turn-prospects-into-customers/ #comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:01:04 +0000 Jennifer Hazlett http://www.altadmin.ca/?p=912

How good are you at following up after a networking event? Do you have a follow-up system in place? I hope you’re not someone who says, “I’ll call you and we’ll meet for coffee” and then you never do.

A lot of people complain that networking doesn’t work for them and it could be that they just aren’t following up. They have to do the work in order to get results. The action of attending a networking event will not produce new clients. They have to take the next step which is to follow up.

After all, if you’re not going to follow-up, what’s the point in networking anyway?

If you’ve met someone at a networking function who you feel is a good prospect for your business, there are a number of ways to connect so that you can keep in touch, build a relationship and potentially turn your prospect into a customer. Whether you touch base by phone, snail mail, email or social media, follow-up is key. It’s best to follow-up within 24 hours of the initial meeting while the connection is still top of mind.

Here are a few follow-up strategies:

1. Send your prospect a Facebook friend request or invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn for example. If you are an established business and have been networking for awhile, chances are that you and your prospect have a number of mutual social media connections already. This is a great conversation starter. Posting valuable information regularly demonstrates your expertise and helps develop trust to build the relationship.

2. Send your prospect an email inviting them to sign up for your ezine. Inform them of the type of content they can expect to receive from you and when. Let them add themselves to your mailing list via your sign up page and if done correctly, the system you are using to distribute your ezine should give them the option to unsubscribe if they find your information is not for them.

3. Send your prospect a written note. To make the connection personal, mention something specific you discussed when you met. You can also include an article or other piece of information that you feel will be of interest to them.

4. Contact your prospect by phone. Summarize what you talked about at the event or something you have in common. Invite them to coffee or tea. Suggest a couple of dates and times to meet at a mutually convenient location. This is a great way to continue the interaction in order to build the relationship.

Use one or a combination of a couple of the above strategies to initiate contact after a networking event. Get to know the person and educate them. Keep in mind that the person doesn’t care about what you do, they care about what you can do for them!

Remember this networking follow-up etiquette:

• Do make contact. If you promise to stay in touch, follow through on that promise. It builds trust.

• Don’t leave it open-ended with “we should get together sometime”. With this approach it will likely never happen.

• Don’t immediately sell to the person. I don’t think anyone enjoys being pressured to buy.

• Don’t add the person to your mailing list without their permission to do so.

Networking is one piece of the marketing puzzle. Make it an effective use of your time so that prospects develop into something more.

]]> http://www.altadmin.ca/networking-follow-up-techniques-to-turn-prospects-into-customers/ /feed 2 http://www.altadmin.ca/repackage-repurpose-and-reinvent-to-get-the-most-mileage-from-your-content/ http://www.altadmin.ca/repackage-repurpose-and-reinvent-to-get-the-most-mileage-from-your-content/ #comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:01:25 +0000 Jennifer Hazlett http://www.altadmin.ca/?p=898

It took some time but you managed to put together the feature article for your upcoming newsletter and you’re pleased with the results. It’s a shame this great information will just be filed away on your computer or left to collect dust on your bookshelf with the rest of your valuable content.

Does this sound like you? Did you know that most business owners just write for their blog or newsletter and never do anything further with it?

Let’s look at some ways you can repackage, repurpose and reinvent your articles, blog posts, videos and more to get the most mileage from your content producing efforts.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Post your newsletter article to your blog.

2. Add a link to your newest blog post from your Facebook account.

3. Submit your newsletter article to the article directories.

4. Combine several similar themed articles to build an information product or e-course.

5. Compile articles with related topics to create an e-book.

6. Compile articles with related topics to create a book.

7. Record an audio or video of your article.

8. Transcribe an audio or video into a special report.

9. Restructure an informative or instructional email reply to a client into an article, blog post or training teleclass.

10. Rework chapters of a book or e-book you have written into several shorter articles.

11. Transform your e-course into a live in-person workshop.

12. Record a live workshop or online training to deliver as a self-study course.

To be most effective you will have to do some editing to restructure to the new format. Otherwise, you are only limited by your imagination and creativity.

It can be challenging to constantly create brand new information but you can break down the bigger pieces or combine the smaller pieces of content you already have to develop new and valuable information. When you’re coming up with ideas for articles, blog posts, videos and other content think about how you can repurpose the information from one format or method of delivery to another later.

Not only are you preventing your content from going to waste, there are other reasons why you should repackage and repurpose your content:

1. To build a source of passive income by selling the e-products that you create.

2. To grow your list of prospects by offering a free giveaway to visitors to your website in exchange for them giving you their name and email address.

3. To create visibility and catch the attention of your market.

4. To establish your credibility and expert status.

5. To reach a larger audience by providing various ways for someone to work with you, if not one-on-one. For example one client may prefer to learn independently through your self-study course while another would rather absorb the information by attending a live in-person workshop.

Choose your packaging based on your strengths and how your market likes to receive their information to create multiple products from one set of content. If you’re trying to grow your business and you’re at full capacity with clients, repurposing content is a great way to increase your income stream.

Please welcome my guest author, Nicholas Boothman, an expert in communication and author of 4 best-selling books, How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less, How to Make Someone Fall in Love with You in 90 Minutes or Less and Convince Them in 90 Seconds.

Communication is a double-edged sword. It works best when you say what you want, not what you don’t want.

I live on a farm in a very picturesque part of the countryside. One of my neighbors raises horses. At weekends people come out from the city to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Sometimes, they stop and feed my neighbor’s horses.

“They’re driving me nuts,” he told me one Saturday morning. “Horses don’t eat left over hamburgers and pizza: they’re vegetarians, for heavens sake! They just sniff it and drop it right there. Before long it attracts flies and rats and dogs. So, I put up a sign ‘Do Not Feed The Horses,’ but the problem got worse.”

“I’m not surprised,” I said. “Now people who’d never even thought about feeding the horses until they saw your sign thought ‘oh let’s feed the horses.”

“I thought it was because the sign was too pushy. So I changed it to read ‘Please Do Not Feed The Horses,’ but it got even worse.”

“No kidding? Now people drive by and think, ‘Oh what a great idea, let’s stop and let granny and the kids feed the horses. This guy’s polite, he says ‘please,’ he won’t mind.”

“Nick, you’ve got to help me I’m at my wit’s end.”

I scribbled a few words on a scrap of paper. “Try putting this on your sign.”

I didn’t see him again until the end of summer. One evening his truck pulled up in my driveway and he got out smiling.

“Nick, it worked like magic.”

That was three years ago. If you drive by today you can see the sign for yourself. It simply reads, “We only eat apples and carrots.”

Moral of the story: Communication is a double-edged sword. It works best when you say what you want, not what you don’t want.

—————————————-

About the Author:

A former fashion and advertising photographer who dealt with hundreds of new faces a week for clients like AT&T, Revlon and Coca-Cola Nicholas Boothman now shows businesses around the world how to naturally connect and build trust, from first impressions to profitable relationships, and all the communicating in-between. Get a free boost to your people skills at www.nicholasboothman.com/blog

Are you struggling to come up with content for your newsletter every issue? It may seem difficult to write original material when so much has already been written in your niche. Don’t worry, when you write from your own experiences and in your own voice your articles will be unique.

If you’re still not feeling inspired or you have too many other commitments to invest the time needed to put together your newsletter articles, there is another option.

Private Label Rights (PLR) Content is a great resource when you lack the motivation or the time or would rather invest your energy in other business activities. How does it work? Simply visit one of the PLR sites I have recommended below or do your own online research ensuring the content is professionally written and edited. Articles and article packages are grouped into a seemingly unlimited number of available topics. There are a set amount of sales allowed per product (called licenses). When you have found what you’re looking for, click to purchase and download immediately. Once you purchase these articles you have the right to use the material in any way you want. You can use them as is or alter them in any way you need to. One exception, you cannot submit these articles to the article marketing directories as your own work.

Here are a few PLR sites that I have used for clients for you to have a look at for your own potential use:

• EasyPLR

• DIYplr

• All Private Label Content

When sourcing out PLR content keep in mind other ways that you can put this content to use, including sales.

Here are just a few ideas:

• add new content to your blog

• put together an ebook to sell from your website

• create an ecourse to give away or sell delivered by autoresponder through your shopping cart

• give away as a free report when someone signs up for your mailing list (also known as a ‘pink spoon’)

Do you still prefer to create your own original work for your newsletter? Just remember to publish consistently. It helps to have a publishing schedule to keep you on track by planning your publishing dates and content.

Here is a list of content ideas for those times when you are stuck about what to write about:

* A list of products you use regularly

* Checklists

* Do a reader survey and write about the results

* Event recommendations (i.e. trade shows, workshops)

* How-to’s

* Interviews

* Lists (i.e. “Top 5 ways to…,” “Ten tips for…,” “Seven steps to…,” “Top 10 ____ challenges,” “Top five reasons to …”)

* New service announcement

* Problem / solution

* Relevant industry news

* Review a book or product

* Seasonality

* The story behind your business

* Trends

* Useful resources

* Your creative process

And remember there is always Private Label Rights content that can be purchased at a reasonable price when needed. You can alter those articles in any way you wish to make them your own, saving hours of time and providing your readers with the information they’re looking for.

I participated in a teleclass not long ago about newsletters and the most common mistakes being made. I’d like to share an important tip with you.

Did you know that it is unnecessary to use punctuation (for example inserting * or ^) in words such as ‘free’ ?

We think we are avoiding our emails landing in someone’s junk folder, but reworking words like ‘free’ and ‘money’ could actually trigger spam filters rather than prevent them.

I was also surprised to learn that when these punctuated words appear in the subject line of your email your readers could perceive this as trickery and not open your email. It can also make your messages look unprofessional.

Be straightforward with your readers, avoid manipulating words in your emails and get better results from your newsletter and marketing messages!

Image courtesy of Michal Zacharzewski, SXC

Here’s a checklist that will help you put the pieces together that will become your unique newsletter.

On the technical side of things you’ll need to:

[ ] Decide what email delivery system you will use to send your newsletter and set up an account. The two I use most and recommend are either Constant Contact or a shopping cart such as Practice Pay Solutions. Do your research to determine what best suits your needs. ConstantContact is a good place to start if you prefer working with templates. If you know that you will be selling products from your website and creating e-products such as e-courses in the near future, then go with a shopping cart that has ecommerce capabilities you can activate when needed.

[ ] Get the electronic files of the headshot you would like to use and your company logo. You may have to ask your photographer and graphic designer to send these images to you.

[ ] Compile your lists. Start working on getting your lists of contacts organized (or send them to your assistant to do so). For importing purposes simply set up a spreadsheet in excel with 3 headings; First Name, Last Name and Email and sort your contacts accordingly ready to be uploaded into the email delivery system you have chosen.

Practical considerations:

[ ] The type of content to include. For example, Welcome Message, Article, Tip etc.

[ ] The name of your newsletter. An important consideration when choosing a name is to imply what benefits your readers will get from your newsletter. Google “newsletter titles” for ideas and inspiration.

[ ] Develop a publishing schedule. Decide on frequency (monthly is good to start), day of week and time of day.

The creative process is the fun part. First start by gathering samples of online newsletters that you like various aspects of. Here are some things to consider:

[ ] The overall look and feel.

[ ] Colour theme. Remember to carry your branding through to your newsletter design.

[ ] Layout.

Remember:

*Permission based marketing is essential. Whenever possible invite contacts to sign up to your newsletter. Within the welcome note advise your readers what they can expect from you each month, what’s in it for them as a subscriber and clearly indicate how they can easily unsubscribe from your mailing list. That option must always be available.

*Be consistent. Once you have your publishing schedule in place you must be committed to sending out your newsletter as planned. People will come to expect to hear from you on a regular basis and if there is a lapse in your mailings it may reflect poorly on your reliability in all aspects of your business.

Your website alone cannot help you develop the type of ongoing relationship with your contacts that your newsletter will. Newsletters have a personal feel to them because they arrive in your prospects’ inbox. This type of communication is one of the best ways to position yourself as an expert and sell your services and products. Over time, newsletter publishing can change the way you do business for the better!

******************************

“Peace On Earth”

Peace on Earth, can it be

Years from now, perhaps we’ll see

See the day of glory

See the day, when men of good will

Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be

Every child must be made aware

Every child must be made to care

Care enough for his fellow man

To give all the love that he can

I pray my wish will come true

For my child and your child too

He’ll see the day of glory

See the day when men of good will

Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be

Can it be

******************************

]]> http://www.altadmin.ca/peace-on-earth-little-drummer-boy/ /feed 0