Archive for June, 2010
Attend An Internet Marketing Seminar like NAMS
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Internet marketing seminars are created to benefit business owners, both virtual and brick and mortar. Making the choice to attend an internet marketing seminar stands to benefit both the owner and the business. Seminars are created to help direct business owners in the right direction and teach business owners how to effectively market their company and themselves.
My personal favorite internet marketing seminar by far is NAMS (Niche Affiliate Marketing System) which will be held in August this year. I would love to meet you at NAMS so register now and enter the coupon code, NAMS4FF, for $300 off your registration. You need to act quickly. As of this writing there are only 27 seats left.
When attending a seminar, the best piece of advice is to be prepared. In order to take away the most information out of a seminar, it is important to actively participate as well as contribute.
Here are some tips designed to help you succeed at your first internet marketing seminar:
Take notes! Unless you have a photographic memory, chances are you will not remember a lot of the information that was discussed during the seminar. The solution to this is to take notes, and lots of them. What may not seem important during the seminar may turn out to be a vital piece of information or advice that will lead your marketing in the right direction.
If you decide to go to NAMS be sure to take your laptop and cord to plug in. The note taking from this conference is endless…in a very good way!
Ask questions. Many seminars reserve a slot of time for questions and answers. Make the most of this time by asking questions about either information you did not understand or even broaching a new subject that was not discussed during the seminar. Do not worry about appearing unintelligent – after all, the only stupid question is the one not asked.
Discuss the information with your peers at the seminar. Most internet seminars have a chat room where users can talk with each other. By chatting with your peers, you may come upon even more information or advice. Different people also have different insights into marketing; some of your peers may share their insights which may benefit you as well. Most of your peers may also be willing to spread the word about your business on your behalf, especially if they like the person they are talking to!
Befriend the host of the seminar. Internet seminars are hosted by a plethora of different people, each with their own take on business and marketing. By forming an acquaintanceship with the host, they may allow you to contact them in the future with any questions you may have. Most hosts will also do consulting outside of the seminar, this may be useful to you as well.
There are several ways to take away a world of knowledge when attending an internet marketing seminar. By being prepared, taking notes and discussing the information with your peers, you are opening the doors to forming a successful marketing bid. Because most businesses do not survive without an effective marketing plan, be sure to make the most of your internet marketing seminar.
Taking a Risk in Your Business
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Taking risks is part of life, and it’s hard to succeed without ever taking any form of risk. It’s been said that “many a false step was made by standing still.” The biggest risk of all may be not doing anything and settling for a comfortable and boring existence.
You grow when you take risks. Think of the last time you felt the most alive. What were you doing? It was most likely when you were learning a new skill or doing something that challenged your limits.
Most people are willing to accept their lot in life. Even though there is a very small upside to doing the same things, they are too afraid to try something new. However, if you want to achieve extraordinary results, you need to take risks.
That doesn’t mean you should jump out of an airplane without a parachute. Your goal in business and life is to minimize risk while maximizing the upside.
Let’s use a scale of 1-10, with one being the worst possible scenario and ten being the best. If a certain marketing endeavour has an upside of 10 but a downside of 0, it might not be worth taking. For instance, what if you have $1000 marketing budget for the quarter and you decided to invest 100% of that into a new advertising campaign?
The upside is easily 10 if it works. However, the downside is a big fat 0 because economic hardship is a real possibility. This may be a risk you shouldn’t take.
However, if there is an upside of 4 but a downside of 4 with something you are considering, that doesn’t mean it’s worth it either. There just may not be enough potential in this endeavor. The goal is finding the solution with the highest potential while minimizing the risk (although it can never be eliminated entirely).
Remember that there is a 100% chance of failure for not trying. Getting rid of risk is impossible. In any decision you make there is an inherent danger. When you drive, you risk a life-threatening crash, so getting rid of risks shouldn’t be the goal. Your goal should be managing the risk. Everything you do needs to have a high upside and a relatively low downside.
The key to success in business is to manage both the risk as well as the reward. There is a point where the risk outweighs the reward, so you need to carefully evaluate it and then make the best decision possible.
However, don’t get the old “paralysis by analysis.” It’s impossible to have all the information before acting. The key is to plan out to the best of your ability the risks and rewards of possible action and then make the best decision possible. Chances are that when you really think about the worst-case scenario for most things you fear, it’s probably not as bad as you think. Get going and take those rational risks!
Solopreneur.biz Quick Overiew of Google Buzz
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What is Buzz? It’s essentially Google’s answer to Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites. It just started in February, and it’s quickly becoming a thriving social platform.
It’s only for Gmail users, so you need a Google email account if you want to use it. You can access it right from your account page.
What does Buzz do?
It’s designed to allow you to write new posts, follow other people, comment on other posts and check updates on other social networking sites – all in the same platform. For instance, if you are following someone on Buzz, and they have a Twitter account, you can be alerted every time they tweet without having to visit Twitter.
This way, you can also let your Buzz followers view your tweets without even having to visit your Twitter account. However, you might want to think twice about enabling this option. Why? Because if you are writing new Buzz posts and tweeting a lot, the followers might become aggravated with all the updates and opt out.
One of the best features of Buzz is that it helps you establish yourself as an expert. As other people post about things related to the topic of your business, you can provide meaningful comments for them.
How do you find the best posts to comment on? This platform highlights the most popular posts for a particular category, which are the ones you want to focus on. With other social sites you have look through every post to find the most popular ones, because they only highlight the new ones. This is a huge advantage Buzz has over the rest.
Assuming you are making interesting comments, others will become interested in what you have to say, and will likely start following you. This is a great way for you to build your followers.
Another great feature is that you can use YouTube videos in your posts. Every great marketer knows the importance of video and audio.
You don’t necessarily need to create new content all of the time, because if you have a regular blog you can repurpose your content for the Buzz platform. You can’t do this with Twitter and their 140 character limit. So essentially you can create many awesome posts without much extra effort.
And it could become viral. Assuming you have an interesting post, you can get a lot of conversation going. This could help your Buzz post rise to the top of the list in their category, where it can be viewed by all the users of the network. This is a very distinct advantage over Twitter, because the old conversations get pushed to the background whenever someone posts a new tweet.
You can also segment your postings and make them only visible to certain people. For instance, if you have certain followers who’ve already bought products from you, you can design a post that only they can see.
This is similar to segmenting your email list and it’s just as effective. The bottom line is, Buzz offers a lot of opportunity for businesses, and you would be smart to make it part of your marketing efforts.
Check out Google Buzz today and I’d be honored if you’d follow me so we can get to know each other.
Social Media Doesn’t Help Your Business
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That’s right! Social Media DOESN’T help your business - if you don’t know what you are doing!
Is it time for you to leverage your Facebook use to grow your business?
Do you have a profile on LinkedIn that is just gathering dust?
Are you wasting time on Twitter or building business?
What about Digg? Google Buzz? Yahoo Pulse?
The next session of Social Media Made Easy is just days away. The 4 week webinar class will teach you to be effective and efficient with your use of social media. You’ll have both strategies and tactics for success and will know how to do it right. Recent graduates have raved about the class and would tell you to get in and get going. Join us now – there won’t be another class on the schedule until at least August….. Get the details and register today!
9 Pointers for LinkedIn Profiles
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LinkedIn doesn’t get the attention and press that other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook do, but it is one of the most powerful despite the “lack of love”. There are more than 65 million members of LinkedIn and it is growing at over 2 million members every month. One of the most vital uses of the site is as a resource for learning about other people. Not long ago, people started to Google someone when they wanted to know more about that person. Now they Google them and then look them up on LinkedIn. Regardless of your field, it is now imperative to have a very strong LinkedIn profile.
Here are the important elements to a strong profile. Please refer to my profile as an example – http://linkedin.com/in/janetslack.
1. Professional headline – This is the second line of the profile and is displayed with all your LinkedIn activity. Make sure to use keywords that build your credibility and describe how you solve your target market’s problems.
2. Photo – Use a professional style headshot. No logos, casual pictures or photos with your spouse, pet or children.
3. Website – Customize the link for your website to a short phrase that is appealing and will get people to click through to your site. Do not leave this as “My website” or “My Blog”.
4. Public profile – This is the URL address of your LinkedIn profile. Customize this by editing to your name or your business name.
5. Summary – Tell your story and be interesting here. Do not worry about length, this can be as long as needed. Be sure to use keywords that describe your business and your target market.
6. Specialties – You must include this section for your profile to be considered “complete” by LinkedIn. Again, include those key words.
7. Experience – This is what you have done in your career and your accomplishments, not just a listing of jobs like you might include on a resume. Include special trainings, licenses, seminars you have conducted, awards, companies you have helped, whatever shows your experience. The first item I have listed on mine is my Facebook page!
8. Recommendations – These are important on LinkedIn, especially if you don’t have any. Get at least 3 other LinkedIn members to write about you and your work. The best recommendations come from someone related to your most recent position.
9. Email address – include your email address somewhere in your profile as you want to encourage people to contact you if they are interested in your business. LinkedIn does not give you a standard place for an email address.
