Tag: Blog

  • What Marketing Strategy Is the Best for You?

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    If you pick the right marketing strategy, you’ll be like that little guy in the middle of my diagram above. Yes! Winning! Fist pumps!

    The problem with marketing today is that there are way too many options and it’s much too confusing. It makes me dizzy just thinking about this stuff and I’ve been immersed in it for 35 years.

    Well, I lay down on my bed last week with a notepad and started to map out my “Unified Theory of Marketing Strategies” with an emphasis on online marketing.

    And I actually came up with something that’s not totally confusing, and might even be helpful to a few people.

    Here goes…

    It’s yet another four-quadrant grid where the vertical axis is a scale from easy to hard and the horizontal axis is a scale from passive to proactive.

    I emerged with these four snappy quadrants:

    Hard and Passive = Multimedia

    Easy and Passive = Publishing

    Hard and Proactive = Presentations

    Easy and Proactive = Email

    Now, all of these strategies can be effective. But, yes some are easier than others. And the passive ones tend to take a lot longer than the proactive ones.

    Hard and Passive = Multimedia (Videos)

    Everyone is crazy about video these days. It’s a challenging, yet passive strategy. You put a lot work into creating a video and then post it on YouTube hoping people see it.

    It’s difficult to do well. It’s time-consuming and it can be expensive. And most videos are pure crap. If you want to do it well, it takes a chunk of change and a lot of time.

    Throwing up a lot of little videos on your website can be a nice touch, but they usually don’t get people to call you in droves.

    So, as you can see, I’m not crazy about a video strategy for self-employed professionals. I’m not saying they can’t work, but it’s a whole lot of work to do right.

    Best example: A non-duality teacher named Rupert Spira (non-duality.rupertspira.com/home). He does live workshops and films everything. Then his staff chops them up into questions and answer segments and posts them on YouTube. They’re five to fifteen minutes long. And what you see is what you get. No pitch, no hype. It’s his teaching unadulterated.

    He has hundreds of videos on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of views. Does it work? Well, his workshops are always full and all he does is a low-key email announcement to his list every month or two.

    I like this approach a lot. Got a lot of good content? Look good on video (unlike yours truly)? Then you may want to emulate Rupert.

    Easy and Passive = Publishing

    I happen to like this strategy a lot as it, ahem, built my “Empire.” It’s relatively easy: Write a how-to article on your subject matter once a week, send it out to those on your e-list and publish on your blog. Fame ensues.

    But online publishing can be a lot more than that. You can take those same articles and publish them on Medium, LinkedIn, and Ezine Articles. And then you can announce them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Sometimes you can get big exposure when writing an article for a major online publication. Web traffic multiplies.

    The cost is zero; an article takes from two to five hours to write (unless it takes you several days). And your ideas are online for eternity to be discovered by those looking for practical ideas. Some will opt-in to your e-list and perpetuate this virtuous marketing circle.

    The downside, of course, is that, according to my extensive research, (a 10 second Google search), there are 2 million articles published online every day. The mind reels. So your stuff will be out there, but somewhat lost in a very big haystack.

    I’m still a big advocate of online publishing, but the mountain is getting steeper and steeper. Just writing an article or two here and there won’t help you much.

    Best Example: Well, other than mine, of course, check out Henneke of Enchanted Marketing. She has a wonderful, readable, fun blog on business writing and blogging. And she walks her talk. It’s all about well-written, relevant content. If you don’t have that as a foundation, it’s a total waste of time.

    Hard and Proactive = Presentations

    I built my business on presentations in front of live audiences at professional associations and chambers of commerce. It got me attention, added people to my mailing list and generated warm leads for marketing coaching.

    And I still do presentations today in the form of webinars. I just filled my recent group program with the help of a couple webinars (also called video conferences). They most certainly do work.

    But I put presentations in the hard category, not because they are all that hard to give, but can take a long time to prepare. The last one I did took me two full days. There were about 200 slides (whew).

    Yes, that’s not the only way to do a webinar. You can just go live on Zoom Video, and that can work as well. You ultimately have to find your style and test what works.

    Presentations are proactive in that at the end you can ask for the business. And, of course, you can turn the recording of the webinar into a video in a snap and send it out to those on your list. Watch it here.

    So presentations will always play a big part in my marketing toolkit.

    One other thing though – If you don’t have a LOT of people on your email list, good luck in getting much of an attendance. Yes, you can do guest presentations hosted by others, but you don’t have the same control and ability to pitch your professional services.

    Best example: John Nemo of LinkedIn Riches (linkedinriches.com). His webinar is a blast. There are a lot of them out there in the online marketing world. And many, Like John, have set them up as evergreen webinars that are scheduled to play automatically several times a day. These are kind of a hybrid between publishing and presentations.

    Easy and Proactive = Email

    In my opinion, email is the most powerful overall marketing tool. And it gets the least respect. But I can’t imagine even being in business without email marketing.

    Social media gets all the PR and all the attention, but email gets the business. A recent study showed that email generated 40 times the business results of Facebook and Twitter combined.

    Email is the online tool that’s been around the longest, and I think it’s taken for granted. Promotional emails have expanded exponentially over the years, but most of it isn’t very good.

    We wade through our email boxes like we sort our mail over the trashcan. Delete, delete, delete. Why? Because it’s either not relevant or it’s boring. Usually both.

    I feel that email has the greatest potential of all the online marketing strategies because it’s both relatively easy and the most proactive marketing medium of all. Your message goes right into the mailbox of your potential client. Nothing else can do that.

    Marketing email holds great opportunities for improvement in several areas:

    1. How to incorporate humor as the most powerful attention-getting device in existence (that almost nobody is using).

    2. How to telegraph your value proposition straight to the minds and hearts of your prospect.

    3. How to make your emails clear, focused, and easy-to-read.

    4. How to craft a compelling call-to-action that is hard to resist.

    5. How to get emails to thousands of your prospects without looking like spam.

    If you’re not working on ALL of these, your emails will not get the attention and response you want.

    Best Example: Therapy Practice Accelerator. Visit this site and get on the list just to see the brilliance of the email marketing. It’s all about demonstrating results.

    What marketing strategies will you choose?

    Take the four marketing quadrants into consideration. The easier a marketing activity, the more likely you’ll actually do it. And the more proactive a marketing activity, the faster the response you’ll get.

    Cheers, Robert

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    Source by Robert Middleton

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  • How Do You Get Approved As An Affiliate Marketer?

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    Affiliate marketing is an online business model where you promote and sell products and services that have been created by another business. Sometimes, before you can start to promote a high quality product or service you may need to get your website approved by the affiliate company.

    In some instances a company will not expect its affiliates to have a blog or website. This is generally the case with smaller companies.

    Having said that, you will have to show an affiliate network where you are going to be promoting their products and services. This means it’s a good idea to prepare your website accordingly before you submit an affiliate marketing agreement.

    What Are The Terms Of Service?

    The first thing you need to understand are the terms of service the affiliate company wants you to follow.

    In some cases, especially with large companies, the Terms of Service (TOS) are extensive and detailed and can take days to read. They are often changing frequently, and it’s your job to stay up-to-date on any new changes that are made.

    You’re Not The Only Affiliate

    There are hundreds if not thousands of people just like you applying as an affiliate every week and every month. When an affiliate manager from a company takes time to send you a response to your application, read that information carefully and respond as quickly as possible.

    This shows the company you are serious about representing their products. Also, look at the name of the affiliate manager who contacted you. When you respond, address communications to that person, by name. This adds a personal touch that a lot of affiliate marketing applicants won’t take the time to perform.

    Have A Marketing Plan

    Approval also comes quicker when you have a solid marketing plan. If you can show an affiliate company that you have a plan of action for promoting their products for now and in into the future, they will be impressed.

    You should also be prepared to invest your time and money for the promotion of an affiliate company’s products. Be honest, and tell your affiliate manager or company contact exactly how much time and money you are willing to spend to promote their products.

    Ask Questions

    Last but not least, ask a lot of questions. If possible, make a telephone contact. Ask your affiliate manager exactly what you need to do to show them that you are serious about a long-term relationship that is profitable for both parties. Use this and the rest of the tips just mentioned, and your approval to an affiliate company is virtually guaranteed.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • 4 Tips For Creating The Perfect LinkedIn Profile for Your Business

    4 Tips For Creating The Perfect LinkedIn Profile for Your Business

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    When you run a business, or even if you're just starting a new business, one of the things that you should be thinking about now in the age of technology is social media. Every business should have its own pages on social media, whereby you can interact with customers, try and engage new leads and clients, and publish new information or products and services.

    Creating the perfect LinkedIn profile for your business can take a while to get right at the beginning, but it can have a huge effect on generating traffic to your website and customers to your business.

    1. Make Sure Your Logo Can Be Clearly Seen

    Don't use a profile picture which is one of your products or a picture of your staff members. You can post images like this later on, but for now you should concentrate on your logo and making sure that the main images associated with your business become well-known. Once you have decided on a logo, you should stick with it rather than try to change it depending on the comments you receive online.

    2. Stay Professional

    Your LinkedIn profile should look professional in every single way. You wouldn't create a personal LinkedIn profile for employers to find which didn't look highly professional, so don't be tempted to do so from behind the curtain of your business. Respond to enquiries in a timely and polite manner, and build professional relationships with other users and businesses.

    3. Include Some Information About Your Business

    It's tempting to leave the 'About You' section until later, but when it comes to your business, you don't want to miss any opportunities. Waiting just a few days to update this section could mean that you miss out on several potential leads for the business. Before creating any social media profiles, you should have a website and mission statement set out, which you can use to provide LinkedIn users with more information about your business.

    4. Appear Approachable

    Some people are interested in contacting a business through LinkedIn, but just don't feel like the business is approachable. This is often a combination of many things, such as announcements that you are very busy lately, unfriendly-sounding updates or blog posts, and pictures which lack color and personality. It's almost like creating a personality for your business. You should try to achieve a personable, friendly, professional and credible appearance for your business.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • Proven And Profitable Money Making Ideas

    Proven And Profitable Money Making Ideas

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    With an entrepreneurial spirit, perhaps you might be thinking about money making ideas that have been proven and are profitable on the internet that you can use to make a living with. Online business is still an evolving tool to earn money. Everyone has predicted a major tech crash as a matter of fact it’s already happening.

    According to Hostingfacts.com in 2017, “there will be more internet traffic than all prior internet years combined. Wi-Fi and mobile-connected devices will generate 68% of all internet traffic in 2017.”

    More statistics show that “worldwide retail e-commerce sales will reach $1.915 Trillion in this alone according to Emarketer.com. There are a number of ways by which people can make money online.

    Internet businesses provides relaxation and comfortability to people who run their own business while sitting in their homes or traveling the world. E- Commerce refers to the online functioning of businesses in which all of the transactions are accepted by means of the World Wide Web.

    Online sales in the United States are anticipated to reach $523 billion in the next five years. This is up 56% from $335 billion in 2015, and mobile devices are expected to be a key leader in that growth, Forrester Research Inc. says.

    The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced “that the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the third quarter of 2016, was $101.3 billion, an increase of 4.0 percent from the second quarter of 2016. Total retail sales globally for the third quarter, was estimated at $1,212.5 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent from the second quarter of 2016.”

    With the collapse of the tech bust in full swing, should you even attempt entrepreneurship online, let alone a new business launch in 2017? My answer? Absolutely yes.

    On the internet, there are unlimited things that can be done to earn money. It is all up to the individual how much they can profit from these online opportunities. The trend is constantly evolving with innovative business ideas.

    The start of a new year means great interest in new and exciting things, as we look forward to the year in the making. The year 2017 is also likely to see some changes with a few money making ideas not being in demand and new ones harvesting up.

    Learning how to make money on the internet with an e-business is one of the most proven and profitable money making ideas dominating the economy. Facebook now has 1.55 billion active users and 2.9 billion Google searches are made every day. With this data, there is endless opportunity for the ordinary person looking to create money online.

    In this article, I’ve researched a few of the businesses that are going to be profitable for the next 5 years. While tech may be on the decline, the world continually has room for proven, profitable and innovative products as well as services.

    Proven & Profitable Money Making Ideas

    Blogging

    If you have a particular subject that interests you and you are passionate about it, then you can start a blog around such topic. Blogging is one of the fastest growing business trends on the web and the sweetest thing is that it is an information based business.

    Many people in the current world are getting money by having their own blogs and websites. Generally, on these blogs and websites, they are putting thought-provoking and valuable information that interests other people. The science is simple; the additional number of visitors the more money you can make via advertisement and other revenues.

    This works much like television where the more viewership means more advertisements and at a higher rate. This is one of the most well-known and informal techniques of producing income online and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Don’t worry about technicalities, programming, etc. You also won’t need to invest a dime to get started as there are free platforms you can utilize like Blogger and WordPress being the most trusted blogging platform since 2004.

    E-commerce Store

    Another proven and profitable idea to start an internet business is to maintain an online store. You can provide products to your customers online. Yes, you can set up an e-commerce or retail store online and you can start this online business from home without even owning a single product. You can sell virtually anything ranging from books, clothes and electronics to household item through wholesale drop shipping or by setting up an affiliate store with Amazon or eBay.

    You may even sell anything from customized cakes to used items to even new products you created on your own. With this kind of business idea, people primarily receive payment via credit card or PayPal accounts. It totally depends upon you as some people prefer to collect payment at the time of delivery of the products.

    In the online store, you can provide a wide range of products in one place and keep the customers engaged with new products or services. On the other hand if you are creating products from scratch, you have to keep up good relationships with your suppliers so your business can be successful.

    Affiliate Marketing

    To become an affiliate marketer means that you will be promoting other people’s products and services through a blog or store online. How it works is whenever there is a sale, you will get a commission. The most stimulating fact here is that you don’t even need a dime of your own money to start it and you get to partner with some of the biggest enterprises in the world. The first venture I would recommend you to start online is your own affiliate marketing business.

    Internet Marketing Services

    Servicing people to help drive visitors to their websites can be an outstanding online business with a strong profit potential. Examples of services you can provide include pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising services, blog marketing services, article marketing services, guest blogging, link building service, etc.

    Doing business on the web can be challenging because things often change quickly online. This idea allows you to help other online entrepreneurs such as yourself, keep up with the latest trends in internet marketing.

    VLogging

    This is comparable to a blog, but in video form. Basically turn your video camera on, feel free to use your tablet, and just talk! The best vloggers talk about a specific focus or niche. Vlogging about a topic that interest tweens or teens is most likely to get a big following fast.

    Some popular topics include makeup, fashion, music, gaming and how to videos. The strategy to making money with these vlogs is gaining a large following and then receiving sponsorship on the platform that you publish the videos on, such as YouTube or Vimeo. You can also make money via advertisement.

    E-Book Publishing

    The information business allows you to identify people’s problems and provide a solution in the form of an e-book. Any style writing on any topic can be used with this method. If you love writing and you possess some marketing skills, then you can venture into writing self-published eBooks.

    Educational Products

    People will always be willing to pay for education. A good example is university education. A public four-year college costs around $20,000, and a private college can make an income of $50,000 per year. In spite of the outrageously high prices, people are eager to give out the money. Why? Because a college education is worth it. Right? Well, most of the time it is.

    However, some disagree, and with recent improvements in the education platform, the traditional college model is being dismantled or unequivocally disrupted. The cause of these interruptions are startups like Udemy and Teachable, these platforms allow people to share their knowledge and profit from it.

    You don’t need a platform to sell your knowledge. You can self-publish a book, create a video coaching session, or teach others how to make money. People will gladly pay to learn a new skill, shape their lifestyle, make new money, impress friends with their knowledge, and change their life in significant ways. If you have something to offer to others, then start teaching.

    Graphic Design

    There are lots of graphic designers on the web offer free and paid services. However, if you plan to thrive in this capacity online, aiding a specific niche target audience will be the most profitable for you. Suppose you’re focused niche is in music and you have a good graphic design skill, you can launch an online graphic design business that focuses on graphic design for musicians or singing artist. You can also choose to focus on infographic designing, e-book cover design, album cover designs, etc.

    Implementing your ideas as an online business is a great way to start your business if you are low of capital. It is necessary that you have a proven and profitable online business idea to start your business. Starting and operating an online business is the new normal these days and continues to rise in popularity.

    If you have any ideas that can be transformed to fit the online business model then by all means do your research and get started the opportunities are endless!

    If I’ve failed to mention any other profitable ideas be sure to leave them in the comments below.

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    Source by Jamie Clay

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  • 12 Unique Ways To Ask Your Partner to Marry You Using the Internet

    12 Unique Ways To Ask Your Partner to Marry You Using the Internet

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    Asking your partner to marry them should be a memorable experience, but what if you don’t have enough cash to hire a plane and pop the question in the clouds? If you’re feeling the pinch, but still looking for something a pretty special, then turning to the internet and social media may just be the solution. The internet provides a vast scope of opportunity when it comes to asking someone to stay with you forever, but by far the most difficult challenge when using the internet is to make the experience feel romantic. Face to face is by far the most romantic way to propose but with some extra effort and thought it can still be achieved. A romantic experience by definition can mean different things to different people, so weather you’re a pizza fanatic, love New York, brilliant at building WordPress sites, or have great persuasion skills, the internet may just be your key to rocking your partners world.

    Create A Website

    Build a website that holds all of the pictures and videos of your relationship together. Use it as a record of all your time together and as a special touch, make a video asking for their hand in marriage.

    Get A Video To Go Viral

    This could be a tricky one and you will need to be very inventive. You could specifically say in the video that if it finds it’s way back to your partner through social media, then you will ask for their hand in marriage. This might give other people more incentive to share it.

    Use Fiverr.com

    There are some really good gigs on Fiverr that you can use to ask for someones hand in marriage. Billboards are pretty popular. You could use someone with a billboard in New York or next to a famous landmark.

    Status Update

    If you’re in ownership of some epic persuasion skills then you could ask your partners favorite celebrity to pose the question via a status update on Facebook or Twitter.

    Create an Game

    Create an online game or android app that ends with you asking for their hand in marriage. You’re going to need some great programming skills for this, or you can use an app that incorporates a treasure hunt theme that they use it to track down the ring offline.

    Create a Picture

    Pictures are by far the most shared thing on the internet. You could create one seriously funny marriage proposal picture and get it to go viral.

    QR Code

    Create a really cool QR code that they can scan. You could set one up in your local pub so they had no idea that it was related to marriage.

    Use a Band

    Pay a band to record a video and get them to devote a song to your loved one. Right at the end you could get them to tell your partner that you have a question to ask you.

    Video Star

    More persuasion skills needed here. Get your partners favorite celebrity to upload a video message asking them to marry you.

    Surprise Delivery

    If your partner orders products online regularly, ask the company to create a special package to send next time as a surprise. If you’re looking for really cheap idea, then why not ask you’re local pizza delivery service. Whilst not the most romantic experience ever, no one is ever about to forget the time the pizza delivery boy delivered a love pizza with a ring in whilst singing your favorite love song.

    Facebook Ads

    Set up a Facebook page asking your partner to marry u with a unique cover and logo. Then create an advert to be displayed to her/him. You will need to advertise using only friends of friends and then narrow the advert down to your partners age group and sex so that they have every chance of seeing it.

    Start Blogging

    Create a blog style story and get it published in an online magazine or newspaper. The story will need to be interesting enough to read as an article though. Maybe if you met in interesting circumstances or your partner has done something amazing with their life then you can tell their story over the media waves, popping the question right at the end.

    There are many ways that you can ask someone to marry them over the internet. The best part is that the cost can be kept to a minimum; however to make something truly amazing and memorable, you’re going to need a mixture of average tech skills, a bit of cash, and one seriously inventive personality. If you do happen to be a fledging in all these departments, then fear not, put a list together of your most useful friends and revert back to this list. We’re sure that one of you’re friends at the very least will have a skill that matches one of the above ideas: failing that, who doesn’t love pizza?

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    Source by Lydia J T

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