~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 5, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Television is known as the Electronic Income
Reducer because it’s a resource that provides little
to no VALUE for its consumers. Now, the computer
for many home business owners/entrepreneurs has
evolved in the last 17-years as an Electronic Income
Generator; however, it has also, created problems in
personal relationships. “You spend all your time and
our money on these Get Rich Quick Schemes”. Sound
familiar, opposition from the paramour/spouse about
your attempt to advance financially because your focus
towards business has left a void in feelings of affection
for your partner. So, what to do to gain peace in your
House. Worldprofit CEO Dr. Jeffrey Lant, offers a
SOLUTION.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Computers have become omnipresent and as such have become the means of liberating people from distasteful traditional jobs and offering the prospect of remunerative home-based employment. But working at home can be difficult.
There are numerous distractions at hand.... pets, children, television -- and the always tempting refrigerator.
Yes, it is easy to get distracted, lose focus, and miss opportunities.
However, these problems and challenges are not nearly as difficult and potentially destructive as this one: the disapproving spouse. Instead of loyal, loving, enthusiastic support you begin to hear the nagging refrain of: "You're spending too much time on the computer." The more often you hear it... the greater your problem... and the more urgent this message.
This is a problem you must solve, for failure to do so leads to estrangement, even divorce... with your computer cited as correspondent. What can you do before you become a highly rated episode on "Judge Judy"?
Request spousal support from the get go
No home-based business should ever be started without at least a discussion between the partners about what this is likely to mean for their relationship. New businesses, home-based or otherwise, need your full attention, extra hours and complete concentration. Your partner needs to know this... and prepare accordingly.
Thus, before you begin on this demanding odyssey, go away for a romantic week-end. Be fresh! Be charming! Enjoy! Your energy level for such dissipations may not be quite this high for months to come. Cavort now. Refreshed? Revitalized? Its time to get down to business by, first, making it clear to your partner what you'll need to launch your business and to bring home the bacon.
Item: you will keep regular business hours and during these hours interruptions are not permitted. In other words, unless there is a bona fide crisis, you must focus on the business, the whole business, and nothing but the business.
Spousal agreement to this point is key, for your significant other may well "forget" this clause when there's "just one little errand to run, Pookie." As Nancy Reagan used to say, "Just say no." Once you're weakened on this point, you're nothing more than a marionette on a very short string. Oh, my!
Item: when extra time is required (as it will be when building a business), you will inform your spouse as early in the day as possible. Such courtesies go far towards reconciling a restive, longing-to-be-with-you spouse.
Make it clear what you are doing, why it's important and how much time you're going to need to finish the project at hand. This kind of communication is imperative to keep your spouse empathetic and supportive.
"You're spending way too much time on that blankety blank computer!"
You've worked hard... you begin to see results... you are thrilled... and then the spouse hits you with this! What a revolting development this is! What to do?
You have 2 options: hear but do nothing... or tackle the issue head on right now.
I recommend Option 2, because failure to respond to this problem now only ensures it will grow fast and become A Real Problem very, very soon.
Sit your partner down, explain that you need their support; that you are doing all you're doing for them... for the children... for the family. Make it clear that you will continue to do what you have set out to do but that doing it will be far better with spousal support than without it. Make this an Academy Award performance... replete with eyes locked together, hand holding, bear hugs... perhaps even a tear or two. It will all be worth it if you'll never have to hear again the words "You are spending too much time on the computer."
Hint:
Want to impress your spouse and get the cooperation you require? Bribe them. Take some of the money you're making; put it in envelope. Take spouse to dinner... and have the waiter deliver along with dessert. Make sure the cash is accompanied by the briefest of notes saying, simply, profoundly "I love you." Say nothing when this present arrives. Wait for spousal reaction... which should be as surprised and tender (and accommodating) as you could want.
If the business fails.
With the best will in the world and all the time required... with full and complete spouse support your business may fail. Sadly, a very hefty percentage of home-based businesses do. Knowing you, you'll want to try and try again until you've found the winning formula. You're willing to risk again, but your spouse, in the clearest possible way, says "No way, Jose! Been there, done that, got the t-shirt."
What now?
Hand them this magnificent quote from Teddy Roosevelt's famous speech on "Citizenship in a Republic", delivered at the Sorbonne, Paris in 1910:
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly: who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
Hand this quote, I say, to your spouse and make it plain that you have an obligation, first and foremost, to yourself to carry on, to persevere, and, at last, forge victory from defeat.
This is a crucial moment in your relationship, a moment of epiphany, revelation, resolve.
Now, perhaps for the first time, your spouse truly knows and understands you. Now for the first time they see you as indefatigable, admirable, larger than life, the mate they have always wanted.... and never until this very moment knew they already had.
Sit down now at your computer, for now, at last, your truly beloved is on your side without cavil or complaint. Expect your favorite lunch to be delivered today computer-side... for now you have, well and truly, the helpmate you require for the success you will both enjoy so very much.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Wicked Cool: The hubris and high jinks of Captain Owen Honors, United States Navy, sometime captain of the USS Enterprise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 4, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leadership is an important ability and responsibility when,
leading others so as to accomplish a goal that is collectively
beneficial to all. However, when the leader allows his POWER
to corrupt him then, you have a problem.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Let me introduce you to a cool dude, cute too, who knows how to party and had the perfect place to do it. I'm talking about U.S. Navy Captain Owen Honors, only just relieved as commander of America's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the proud USS Enterprise.
Honors, who never met a camera he didn't like, a man determined to please his crew, liked to spend his week preparing videos -- starring, guess who -- Captain Owen Honors, 49 year old Top Gun pilot and decided off-color video star.
Honors had at his disposal the very best video equipment generous U.S. taxpayers could buy. His effects were right up-to-the-minute, like having three separate screens in which (guess who?) appeared as three different (all cool) characters. Wow!
Honors, each week determined to outdo himself on weekend XO nights (when his latest videos were shown), somehow found time in his very busy days. The USS Enterprise, after all, was deployed supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A man of dedication, energy, imagination he somehow found the time to work on video ideas, plots, film venues, and a dazzling array of really cool outfits perfectly tailored. This caring captain was determined to give his eagerly expectant 6000-person crew the very best. He certainly did, particularly in 2006-2007 when his bold ideas and still bolder presentations took the Enterprise by storm and riveted every eye on the ship. What, they all wondered, would their daring executive officer, then Captain Honors do next?
They never had long to wait.
There was that hot video when their cutting-edge commander simulated masturbation at his desk. As Paris Hilton would say, "That's hot!"
What about the never-to-be-forgotten episode of two naked guys soaping each other off in the shower. Honors was a nut for saving water... and wanted to drive home the point with eye-popping visuals. And, to be completely politically correct, he did the same scene with two of the women of his crew.
There was more, much more since Honors was an indefatigable guy with an unceasing appetite for more and better; ambitious videos of which he soon became the master with the help of designated members of his command.
There was the anal probe episode... and all the "fag" plots, pratfalls and plays. That commander... what a cut-up.
There were the in jokes, like writing "little XO" on his you-know-what. It was hilarious, pure camp, what a guy.
And just think, he did it all while on deployment in not one, but two war zones. How did the guy do it, inquiring minds wanted to know.
Alas, there was irritating criticism from small minds.
It's hard to imagine... but disgracefully true... that there were members of the Enterprise crew who found their commander's hard work and dazzling results offensive. Small minded, picayune, uptight... these folks made a fuss and criticized the coolest guy in the fleet. This rankled with Honors, for he was working so hard. Why his bravura video on the "f-bomb" was pure poetry. Really, who could object?
In a rare outburst, this commander of poise and sensitivity lashed out at his anonymous accusers: "Over the years I've gotten several complaints about inappropriate material during these videos, never to me personally but, gutlessly, through other channels." Gutless, indeed! If there'd been a plank aboard the Enterprise, Honors would have been well within his rights to put the snivelers on it.
Instead, he opened one of his last videos with these mild, entirely justified words: "This evening, all of you bleeding hearts... why don't you just go ahead and hug yourself for the next 20 minutes or so, because there's a really good chance you're gonna be offended."
That's the man in a nutshell, empathetic, soft spoken.
Still one of these snivelers (probably gay), not yet identified by name, took (inexplicable) offense... go figure... sending the (to him) offending tapes to the Navy Inspector General.
Where all hell broke lose.
Despite the fact that Owen Honors was well-known throughout the Navy, despite the fact that he had a high visibility command; despite 3,400 flight hours in 31 types of aircraft... despite a chestful of bona fide awards and medals... the Navy moved expeditiously because it knew it had a real hot potato on its hands.
Navy media releases quickly went from "the videos were intended to be humorous" to "inappropriate"... to the announcement Captain Honors was relieved of his command as the Navy initiated, behind the scenes, the steps required to cashier him from the service he loved and had served throughout his life. My how the mighty had fallen!
Certain Navy personnel and those persons wedded to the good old days of fag baiting and the humiliation and degradation of women, predictably launched a campaign to save the Captain and his wayward views. They tried to convince by asking what was the big deal after all; the views advanced in the Captain's high tech videos were commonplace, nothing to write home about, the way "everyone" thought.
Exactly.
This is why the Navy Department is to be commended on taking (reasonably) prompt action to lance the infection and proclaim zero tolerance for mocking good sailors, their sexuality and gender.
The Navy is moving fast now to get just-suspended Captain Honors out of public view, to bury this still young officer with talent and skills to burn and ensure that he becomes the complete non-person, He is, after all, a total embarrassment... the story breaking at the worst possible time, as the Navy shows that it can, with good humor and in good order, nimbly move into the post "don't ask, don't tell" era.
There is, the Navy signals, no place in this new order for Captain Honors, once absolute lord of all he surveyed. Such a man so powerful and so lacking in judgment is now an inconvenient artifact of an age and state of mind the Navy wants firmly, irrevocably behind it.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 4, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leadership is an important ability and responsibility when,
leading others so as to accomplish a goal that is collectively
beneficial to all. However, when the leader allows his POWER
to corrupt him then, you have a problem.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Let me introduce you to a cool dude, cute too, who knows how to party and had the perfect place to do it. I'm talking about U.S. Navy Captain Owen Honors, only just relieved as commander of America's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the proud USS Enterprise.
Honors, who never met a camera he didn't like, a man determined to please his crew, liked to spend his week preparing videos -- starring, guess who -- Captain Owen Honors, 49 year old Top Gun pilot and decided off-color video star.
Honors had at his disposal the very best video equipment generous U.S. taxpayers could buy. His effects were right up-to-the-minute, like having three separate screens in which (guess who?) appeared as three different (all cool) characters. Wow!
Honors, each week determined to outdo himself on weekend XO nights (when his latest videos were shown), somehow found time in his very busy days. The USS Enterprise, after all, was deployed supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A man of dedication, energy, imagination he somehow found the time to work on video ideas, plots, film venues, and a dazzling array of really cool outfits perfectly tailored. This caring captain was determined to give his eagerly expectant 6000-person crew the very best. He certainly did, particularly in 2006-2007 when his bold ideas and still bolder presentations took the Enterprise by storm and riveted every eye on the ship. What, they all wondered, would their daring executive officer, then Captain Honors do next?
They never had long to wait.
There was that hot video when their cutting-edge commander simulated masturbation at his desk. As Paris Hilton would say, "That's hot!"
What about the never-to-be-forgotten episode of two naked guys soaping each other off in the shower. Honors was a nut for saving water... and wanted to drive home the point with eye-popping visuals. And, to be completely politically correct, he did the same scene with two of the women of his crew.
There was more, much more since Honors was an indefatigable guy with an unceasing appetite for more and better; ambitious videos of which he soon became the master with the help of designated members of his command.
There was the anal probe episode... and all the "fag" plots, pratfalls and plays. That commander... what a cut-up.
There were the in jokes, like writing "little XO" on his you-know-what. It was hilarious, pure camp, what a guy.
And just think, he did it all while on deployment in not one, but two war zones. How did the guy do it, inquiring minds wanted to know.
Alas, there was irritating criticism from small minds.
It's hard to imagine... but disgracefully true... that there were members of the Enterprise crew who found their commander's hard work and dazzling results offensive. Small minded, picayune, uptight... these folks made a fuss and criticized the coolest guy in the fleet. This rankled with Honors, for he was working so hard. Why his bravura video on the "f-bomb" was pure poetry. Really, who could object?
In a rare outburst, this commander of poise and sensitivity lashed out at his anonymous accusers: "Over the years I've gotten several complaints about inappropriate material during these videos, never to me personally but, gutlessly, through other channels." Gutless, indeed! If there'd been a plank aboard the Enterprise, Honors would have been well within his rights to put the snivelers on it.
Instead, he opened one of his last videos with these mild, entirely justified words: "This evening, all of you bleeding hearts... why don't you just go ahead and hug yourself for the next 20 minutes or so, because there's a really good chance you're gonna be offended."
That's the man in a nutshell, empathetic, soft spoken.
Still one of these snivelers (probably gay), not yet identified by name, took (inexplicable) offense... go figure... sending the (to him) offending tapes to the Navy Inspector General.
Where all hell broke lose.
Despite the fact that Owen Honors was well-known throughout the Navy, despite the fact that he had a high visibility command; despite 3,400 flight hours in 31 types of aircraft... despite a chestful of bona fide awards and medals... the Navy moved expeditiously because it knew it had a real hot potato on its hands.
Navy media releases quickly went from "the videos were intended to be humorous" to "inappropriate"... to the announcement Captain Honors was relieved of his command as the Navy initiated, behind the scenes, the steps required to cashier him from the service he loved and had served throughout his life. My how the mighty had fallen!
Certain Navy personnel and those persons wedded to the good old days of fag baiting and the humiliation and degradation of women, predictably launched a campaign to save the Captain and his wayward views. They tried to convince by asking what was the big deal after all; the views advanced in the Captain's high tech videos were commonplace, nothing to write home about, the way "everyone" thought.
Exactly.
This is why the Navy Department is to be commended on taking (reasonably) prompt action to lance the infection and proclaim zero tolerance for mocking good sailors, their sexuality and gender.
The Navy is moving fast now to get just-suspended Captain Honors out of public view, to bury this still young officer with talent and skills to burn and ensure that he becomes the complete non-person, He is, after all, a total embarrassment... the story breaking at the worst possible time, as the Navy shows that it can, with good humor and in good order, nimbly move into the post "don't ask, don't tell" era.
There is, the Navy signals, no place in this new order for Captain Honors, once absolute lord of all he surveyed. Such a man so powerful and so lacking in judgment is now an inconvenient artifact of an age and state of mind the Navy wants firmly, irrevocably behind it.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The # 1 Marketing Mistake that 90% of marketers are making. Are you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 3, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leads and traffic are the lifeblood of your online home
business opportunity and without them you’re operating
a Non-Profit Agency from the discomfort of your home.
Yes, 90% of marketers have become Dead-Dealers due to
poor marketing skills, strategies, lack of knowledge and
ignorance about the concept of marketing. Access critical
information to accelerate your learning curve and more
importantly, generates LEADS and saves you money.
By Sandi Hunter
I've been an online marketer for nearly 18 years, my business partner has been marketing on and offline for over 30 years.
I'm going to tell you what we've learned and know for a fact so you get better results from your advertising NOW.
If you are like most marketers you have a snazzy website that you either spent good money on or you have laboured to build yourself. Now all you have to do is promote it. Right? WRONG! Before you spend one dime to promote your website, read this article. Don't make the same mistake made by 90% of marketers that costs them thousands and thousand of dollars, lost leads and lost sales.
You do NOT want to promote your website as your primary method of generating leads. Here's why.
If your website is like 99% of those I have reviewed, it's copy dense. You've got links, video, flash, offers, affiliates, graphics, pages, charts, forms, RSS Feeds, blogs, Twitter feeds, the Daily Weather, and a little or a lot of other organized chaos. The viewer (your potential buyer) doesn't know here to look, what to click on, it's information OVERLOAD. (This is all great for key word content for Search Engine Optimization or general promotion but NOT the best way for generating leads). The result is immediate. If they don't instantly see what they want they click OFF. Say Goodbye to your lead! You might as well add, "Sorry I wasn't a little more clever about helping you get what you want so I could get what I need." The SMART marketer understands this and says, I want to meet the needs of my viewers. I want to convert my viewers into leads. That means giving your visitors a positive FAST loading experience with an immediate offer and a call to action. This is a very precise experience with a very specific message and directive. How do you this? By creating what is called a Landing Page strictly for promotional purposes.
What is a Landing page? It's also known as a Squeeze page because you are squeeeeezing information from the viewer, converting the looker into an actual lead. The concept is simple, pitch an offer, the looker completes a form. They are enticed by the offer, you get a lead. You've converted a looker into a LEAD!
Why is the promotion of Landing Page(s) INSTEAD of your website critical? It's simple. Keep your potential buyers happy and YOU will get better advertising results. Specifically, a fast-loading landing page that includes a headline with an immediate benefit and a call to action. Example: HERE's what you GET! Followed by punchy benefits of what else they get, concluding with an offer and a lead form.
Now, here is a critical point for all you advertisers who think graphics are the king, that more is better. Take a quick lesson from an experienced marketer (who is also a designer). If you do nothing else to improve your ad copy - get rid of the fancy and weighty images. Often an overabundance of graphics detracts from your marketing message. We have tested boring simple text ads against the exact same ad copy on a rich graphic landing page. Guess what? The simple ugly plain text ads consistently got higher click rates than the graphical ones. We eliminated instant play video, got rid of flash, and used just really good ad copy. Landing pages with no video perform better than those with video. Why is this? Videos can take a while to load and may not add immediate value to what you offer. You often have less than 30 seconds to get your message into the brain of the viewer. Well-chosen key words get in the brain of your potential buyers IMMEDIATELY when time and limited attention is critical. We humans are greedy. This is a fact. We have short attention spans. We want something and we want it now. Smart marketers recognize this and tell people what they can get and how to get it if they act now!
One of the powers of a Landing Page comes from the fact that you can create a specific Landing Page for EVERY product you offer. You can create them quickly and test them. If you create a dud that gets no result, replace it by creating another. Many advertising sources offer an option to pause a campaign which means you can cancel one ad and replace it with another more effective one before your ad dollars are depleted. Compare this to making edits to a web site that can take considerable time for major marketing changes, while a Landing page can be put up and taken down in minutes.
Finally, remember where you are marketing - online. Full page colour graphic ads do well in a full page print ad. My guess is that you don't have the 10 K + for a fully page glossy ad. You are most likely relying on the tried true tested forms of free an low cost advertising like Traffic Exchanges and Safelists. These are powerful ways to promote your product or service and are ideal for simple Landing Pages. In fact you WANT a fast loading simply ad for Safelists and Traffic Exchanges because you have a very limited (20 sec or less) to get these people attention. Keeping it simple is just as effective now as it always has been. Graphics used effectively can bring your ad alive, but very few other than professionals can master this combination of copy and graphics to solicit response.
Ok, I want to make sure I have made this point clear as it is so very important. Use LANDING PAGES to generate leads for specific products or services. Use your website to promote your company in general. Landing Pages are ALL about the reader and turning them into a lead. If you want to stock your website with page after page about product development, research, your years in business, how wonderful you are and your customers think you are, put all of that on your website. Content about your company, products and services is of course valuable for many reasons, post it to your site but don't rely on this as you one and only lead generator.
Now, let's dig a little deeper into your advertising strategy. Look at your ad or your landing page. I mean really look at it.
Do you have a clear benefit headline to get attention. Do you follow this headline up with benefit-laden offers, reason after reason why people have to act now! Do you include an invitation to DO IT NOW offer that will motivate your reader to become a buyer! Or if not a buyer at least to take some action - to respond to your offer, join your newsletter, try a free sample, participate in a free trial. Whatever get them to DO something! You accomplish this with well-written offers not with blinking links, and boring videos that take forever to load. Have you included an OPTIN to your company mailing, newsletter, product updates etc? This is a CRITICAL inclusion. A Landing page doubles as a List Building Tool. Do not underestimate this. Landing pages and list building work hand in hand as required marketing tools.
Review your advertising material. Is it about YOU or is it about your potential buyer? If the ad is more about how wonderful you are then about how beneficial your product or service is to the user, you have what is called an EGO ad. Your ad should NOT be about you, or your company, or that you are family owned business, or that you support charities. Your ad has one purpose: to tell people all the benefits of what your product/services offers and why they need to act now to get it! Want a quick lesson in this strategy? Watch late night infomercials. See how these infomercials verbally hit you over the head INSTANTLY with all the BENEFIT OF X product. You are drawn in more and more because they offer you X, then add Y to it. But wait if you buy now you get X, Y and Z too! Watch how they give you the pitch, make the offer, then make a better offer, and than a limited time offer to motivate you into action NOW!! Great marketing offers value and a sense of urgency to get an immediate action.
Ok here is your homework. If you don't have an ad strategy that accomplishes this you have failed your first lesson in online marketing. Go back write it again, take away distraction of video and flash. Whittle your ad down to ONLY what matters to the buyer. Get back to basics. Your goal is always to compel action. Don't risk making anyone wait to see what you offer. Get to the point instantly. Web surfers are easily bored. Get their attention INSTANTLY or they are gone! You may get a hit on your ad, but you can quickly send people away with a poorly thought out advertising strategy. Advertising that does not generate leads and sales will eat up your hard-earned dollars faster than my dog woofs down his doggie chow.
Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James:
successroute.biz
=========================================================
(C) SuccessRoute.biz 2011 All Rights Reserved.
=========================================================
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 3, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leads and traffic are the lifeblood of your online home
business opportunity and without them you’re operating
a Non-Profit Agency from the discomfort of your home.
Yes, 90% of marketers have become Dead-Dealers due to
poor marketing skills, strategies, lack of knowledge and
ignorance about the concept of marketing. Access critical
information to accelerate your learning curve and more
importantly, generates LEADS and saves you money.
By Sandi Hunter
I've been an online marketer for nearly 18 years, my business partner has been marketing on and offline for over 30 years.
I'm going to tell you what we've learned and know for a fact so you get better results from your advertising NOW.
If you are like most marketers you have a snazzy website that you either spent good money on or you have laboured to build yourself. Now all you have to do is promote it. Right? WRONG! Before you spend one dime to promote your website, read this article. Don't make the same mistake made by 90% of marketers that costs them thousands and thousand of dollars, lost leads and lost sales.
You do NOT want to promote your website as your primary method of generating leads. Here's why.
If your website is like 99% of those I have reviewed, it's copy dense. You've got links, video, flash, offers, affiliates, graphics, pages, charts, forms, RSS Feeds, blogs, Twitter feeds, the Daily Weather, and a little or a lot of other organized chaos. The viewer (your potential buyer) doesn't know here to look, what to click on, it's information OVERLOAD. (This is all great for key word content for Search Engine Optimization or general promotion but NOT the best way for generating leads). The result is immediate. If they don't instantly see what they want they click OFF. Say Goodbye to your lead! You might as well add, "Sorry I wasn't a little more clever about helping you get what you want so I could get what I need." The SMART marketer understands this and says, I want to meet the needs of my viewers. I want to convert my viewers into leads. That means giving your visitors a positive FAST loading experience with an immediate offer and a call to action. This is a very precise experience with a very specific message and directive. How do you this? By creating what is called a Landing Page strictly for promotional purposes.
What is a Landing page? It's also known as a Squeeze page because you are squeeeeezing information from the viewer, converting the looker into an actual lead. The concept is simple, pitch an offer, the looker completes a form. They are enticed by the offer, you get a lead. You've converted a looker into a LEAD!
Why is the promotion of Landing Page(s) INSTEAD of your website critical? It's simple. Keep your potential buyers happy and YOU will get better advertising results. Specifically, a fast-loading landing page that includes a headline with an immediate benefit and a call to action. Example: HERE's what you GET! Followed by punchy benefits of what else they get, concluding with an offer and a lead form.
Now, here is a critical point for all you advertisers who think graphics are the king, that more is better. Take a quick lesson from an experienced marketer (who is also a designer). If you do nothing else to improve your ad copy - get rid of the fancy and weighty images. Often an overabundance of graphics detracts from your marketing message. We have tested boring simple text ads against the exact same ad copy on a rich graphic landing page. Guess what? The simple ugly plain text ads consistently got higher click rates than the graphical ones. We eliminated instant play video, got rid of flash, and used just really good ad copy. Landing pages with no video perform better than those with video. Why is this? Videos can take a while to load and may not add immediate value to what you offer. You often have less than 30 seconds to get your message into the brain of the viewer. Well-chosen key words get in the brain of your potential buyers IMMEDIATELY when time and limited attention is critical. We humans are greedy. This is a fact. We have short attention spans. We want something and we want it now. Smart marketers recognize this and tell people what they can get and how to get it if they act now!
One of the powers of a Landing Page comes from the fact that you can create a specific Landing Page for EVERY product you offer. You can create them quickly and test them. If you create a dud that gets no result, replace it by creating another. Many advertising sources offer an option to pause a campaign which means you can cancel one ad and replace it with another more effective one before your ad dollars are depleted. Compare this to making edits to a web site that can take considerable time for major marketing changes, while a Landing page can be put up and taken down in minutes.
Finally, remember where you are marketing - online. Full page colour graphic ads do well in a full page print ad. My guess is that you don't have the 10 K + for a fully page glossy ad. You are most likely relying on the tried true tested forms of free an low cost advertising like Traffic Exchanges and Safelists. These are powerful ways to promote your product or service and are ideal for simple Landing Pages. In fact you WANT a fast loading simply ad for Safelists and Traffic Exchanges because you have a very limited (20 sec or less) to get these people attention. Keeping it simple is just as effective now as it always has been. Graphics used effectively can bring your ad alive, but very few other than professionals can master this combination of copy and graphics to solicit response.
Ok, I want to make sure I have made this point clear as it is so very important. Use LANDING PAGES to generate leads for specific products or services. Use your website to promote your company in general. Landing Pages are ALL about the reader and turning them into a lead. If you want to stock your website with page after page about product development, research, your years in business, how wonderful you are and your customers think you are, put all of that on your website. Content about your company, products and services is of course valuable for many reasons, post it to your site but don't rely on this as you one and only lead generator.
Now, let's dig a little deeper into your advertising strategy. Look at your ad or your landing page. I mean really look at it.
Do you have a clear benefit headline to get attention. Do you follow this headline up with benefit-laden offers, reason after reason why people have to act now! Do you include an invitation to DO IT NOW offer that will motivate your reader to become a buyer! Or if not a buyer at least to take some action - to respond to your offer, join your newsletter, try a free sample, participate in a free trial. Whatever get them to DO something! You accomplish this with well-written offers not with blinking links, and boring videos that take forever to load. Have you included an OPTIN to your company mailing, newsletter, product updates etc? This is a CRITICAL inclusion. A Landing page doubles as a List Building Tool. Do not underestimate this. Landing pages and list building work hand in hand as required marketing tools.
Review your advertising material. Is it about YOU or is it about your potential buyer? If the ad is more about how wonderful you are then about how beneficial your product or service is to the user, you have what is called an EGO ad. Your ad should NOT be about you, or your company, or that you are family owned business, or that you support charities. Your ad has one purpose: to tell people all the benefits of what your product/services offers and why they need to act now to get it! Want a quick lesson in this strategy? Watch late night infomercials. See how these infomercials verbally hit you over the head INSTANTLY with all the BENEFIT OF X product. You are drawn in more and more because they offer you X, then add Y to it. But wait if you buy now you get X, Y and Z too! Watch how they give you the pitch, make the offer, then make a better offer, and than a limited time offer to motivate you into action NOW!! Great marketing offers value and a sense of urgency to get an immediate action.
Ok here is your homework. If you don't have an ad strategy that accomplishes this you have failed your first lesson in online marketing. Go back write it again, take away distraction of video and flash. Whittle your ad down to ONLY what matters to the buyer. Get back to basics. Your goal is always to compel action. Don't risk making anyone wait to see what you offer. Get to the point instantly. Web surfers are easily bored. Get their attention INSTANTLY or they are gone! You may get a hit on your ad, but you can quickly send people away with a poorly thought out advertising strategy. Advertising that does not generate leads and sales will eat up your hard-earned dollars faster than my dog woofs down his doggie chow.
Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James:
successroute.biz
=========================================================
(C) SuccessRoute.biz 2011 All Rights Reserved.
=========================================================
Sunday, January 2, 2011
How to stay focused and make money on days you DON'T feel like it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 2, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vulcan Mind Control techniques are a hot commodity for
Online Marketers, Entrepreneurs and others who want an
unfair advantage in achieving a goal during challenging
times. The New Year 2011 is already here and the resolution
of losing weight is popular, but what about exercising
YOUR Mind? The benefits of a physically fit body are
well-known, but what about a healthy and strong MIND.
Super successful people frequently talk about exercising
their Mind along with their body because they function
as ONE. Ready to increase your cognitive stamina?
If yes, then, review 7 Techniques of Mental Motivation.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Did you lay in bed this morning unwilling, unable to get up? Did every fibre of your body demand more time in the sack? Was it a struggle to open an eye... and get up?
Sure enough, if today wasn't like this, some of your many tomorrows will be. You need to be prepared for such inevitabilities... because they can and will occur and can and will sabotage your ability to make money. Here are some suggestions that'll help you rise and shine... suggestions I use myself when getting up and getting going are most decidedly NOT my first priority!
1) Create a "to do" list before you go to bed.
The key to making tomorrow organized, efficient, and profitable is what you do today. Make it a rule before you retire for the night to draw up a clear, clean, specific "to do" list. Write it, read it over, put it next to the bed... then turn off the lights.
While you're sleeping your subconscious mind will be busily at work helping you organize and implement the items on your list. Even when your body is screaming for more sleep and all the creature comforts it can get, the brain -- and your crucial "to do" list -- will be helping you get up and at 'em.
2) Take a cold shower.
The British empire, the largest the world has ever known, was practically built on a cascade of frigid water. Its young men, pillars of the imperium, were shipped off to prep schools and immediately subjected to the jarring temperatures, which will work for you as well as it worked for them. Don't stand there and debate.... turn up the cold tap and plunge! You're about to be invigorated, rejuvenated, primed to run your empire.
3) Do some exercise.
Are you huddling in a corner of your kitchen, hands gripping a cup of Joe, comfy in your bunny slippers? Whoa! This isn't helping getting your act together. You need some brisk, bracing exercise... the kind guaranteed to send vital oxygen to that all- important brain.
Put the steaming liquid down and kick up your heels... or quick-step around your back yard or up and down your street. With every step your brain will exult. The key isn't coffee... it's oxygen. Move bristly and infuse it where it must go for maximum good.
4) Give yourself an easy, immediate success.
Don't feel like doing anything? Then give yourself an easy, immediate success. This should, of course, have been indicated on your "to do" list. Before you go to bed be sure to post on your list an easy thing, a thing that will start today's sequence of successes. Once begun, as we say in New England, is half done.
What could this "easy" thing be?
It could be calling a long-time customer to get a nice re-order or following up with a new customer to whom you've already sent a proposal and quote.
One success engenders another. Even a small success is sufficient. Start successful, remain successful. It all begins when you least feel like it.
5) Put on your head phones and engage with some stirring music.
Still need help getting into gear? Go to the play list on your computer and choose something rousing. What? You don't have such a play list? Start it today. I can assure you, you are going to need it. Here are some of my sure-fire upbeat selections, guaranteed to get you going:
Wake up Little Suzie by the Everly Brothers (most appropriate, don't you think?)
Think by Aretha Franklin.
Natalie Cole's version of Pink Cadillac, and
J.P. Rameau's always motivating Tambourins I-II from Dardanus.
Your list may well be different from mine; the important thing is to have a list you can access at once. Turn up the sound... and move your body. Your uplifting selections are moving you towards another successful day.
6) Visualize what you'll get when you turn this day into a success.
All too often we work without conceptualizing why. We work today because we worked yesterday. This is not nearly good enough.
Remind yourself just why you're working and what special thing today's successes will help create.
In my case, for instance, I have a pile of auction catalogs stacked high next to my computer. I motivate myself on days when such motivation is needed by looking at the things I want from auctions coming up quickly. Getting myself focused and together is a precondition for maximum acquisition. Visualize success; then do what's necessary to achieve it.
7) Still not alert and moving? Then take the day off formally and properly.
Like most people these days, you are working more and longer than either your parents or grand parents. We are the most leisure-challenged generation ever.
The plain fact is, you may be unable to get up and resolutely face the day because you're just worn out. If so, take the day off... sleep in, sleep properly, sleep, relax and goof off without guilt. You'll be the better tomorrow if you take what is necessary and do not regard it as an indulgence but physical need. Enjoy!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
=========================================================
(C) SuccessRoute.biz 2010 All Rights Reserved.
=========================================================
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 2, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vulcan Mind Control techniques are a hot commodity for
Online Marketers, Entrepreneurs and others who want an
unfair advantage in achieving a goal during challenging
times. The New Year 2011 is already here and the resolution
of losing weight is popular, but what about exercising
YOUR Mind? The benefits of a physically fit body are
well-known, but what about a healthy and strong MIND.
Super successful people frequently talk about exercising
their Mind along with their body because they function
as ONE. Ready to increase your cognitive stamina?
If yes, then, review 7 Techniques of Mental Motivation.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Did you lay in bed this morning unwilling, unable to get up? Did every fibre of your body demand more time in the sack? Was it a struggle to open an eye... and get up?
Sure enough, if today wasn't like this, some of your many tomorrows will be. You need to be prepared for such inevitabilities... because they can and will occur and can and will sabotage your ability to make money. Here are some suggestions that'll help you rise and shine... suggestions I use myself when getting up and getting going are most decidedly NOT my first priority!
1) Create a "to do" list before you go to bed.
The key to making tomorrow organized, efficient, and profitable is what you do today. Make it a rule before you retire for the night to draw up a clear, clean, specific "to do" list. Write it, read it over, put it next to the bed... then turn off the lights.
While you're sleeping your subconscious mind will be busily at work helping you organize and implement the items on your list. Even when your body is screaming for more sleep and all the creature comforts it can get, the brain -- and your crucial "to do" list -- will be helping you get up and at 'em.
2) Take a cold shower.
The British empire, the largest the world has ever known, was practically built on a cascade of frigid water. Its young men, pillars of the imperium, were shipped off to prep schools and immediately subjected to the jarring temperatures, which will work for you as well as it worked for them. Don't stand there and debate.... turn up the cold tap and plunge! You're about to be invigorated, rejuvenated, primed to run your empire.
3) Do some exercise.
Are you huddling in a corner of your kitchen, hands gripping a cup of Joe, comfy in your bunny slippers? Whoa! This isn't helping getting your act together. You need some brisk, bracing exercise... the kind guaranteed to send vital oxygen to that all- important brain.
Put the steaming liquid down and kick up your heels... or quick-step around your back yard or up and down your street. With every step your brain will exult. The key isn't coffee... it's oxygen. Move bristly and infuse it where it must go for maximum good.
4) Give yourself an easy, immediate success.
Don't feel like doing anything? Then give yourself an easy, immediate success. This should, of course, have been indicated on your "to do" list. Before you go to bed be sure to post on your list an easy thing, a thing that will start today's sequence of successes. Once begun, as we say in New England, is half done.
What could this "easy" thing be?
It could be calling a long-time customer to get a nice re-order or following up with a new customer to whom you've already sent a proposal and quote.
One success engenders another. Even a small success is sufficient. Start successful, remain successful. It all begins when you least feel like it.
5) Put on your head phones and engage with some stirring music.
Still need help getting into gear? Go to the play list on your computer and choose something rousing. What? You don't have such a play list? Start it today. I can assure you, you are going to need it. Here are some of my sure-fire upbeat selections, guaranteed to get you going:
Wake up Little Suzie by the Everly Brothers (most appropriate, don't you think?)
Think by Aretha Franklin.
Natalie Cole's version of Pink Cadillac, and
J.P. Rameau's always motivating Tambourins I-II from Dardanus.
Your list may well be different from mine; the important thing is to have a list you can access at once. Turn up the sound... and move your body. Your uplifting selections are moving you towards another successful day.
6) Visualize what you'll get when you turn this day into a success.
All too often we work without conceptualizing why. We work today because we worked yesterday. This is not nearly good enough.
Remind yourself just why you're working and what special thing today's successes will help create.
In my case, for instance, I have a pile of auction catalogs stacked high next to my computer. I motivate myself on days when such motivation is needed by looking at the things I want from auctions coming up quickly. Getting myself focused and together is a precondition for maximum acquisition. Visualize success; then do what's necessary to achieve it.
7) Still not alert and moving? Then take the day off formally and properly.
Like most people these days, you are working more and longer than either your parents or grand parents. We are the most leisure-challenged generation ever.
The plain fact is, you may be unable to get up and resolutely face the day because you're just worn out. If so, take the day off... sleep in, sleep properly, sleep, relax and goof off without guilt. You'll be the better tomorrow if you take what is necessary and do not regard it as an indulgence but physical need. Enjoy!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
=========================================================
(C) SuccessRoute.biz 2010 All Rights Reserved.
=========================================================
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Top 5 Mistakes Made by Marketers….Don't Make these Mistakes & Sabotage your Promotional efforts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 1, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mistakes are an essential and sometimes necessary part of
YOUR growth and development; however, the COST should
be minimized as much as possible. Worldprofit President,
Ms. Sandi Hunter, has identified the Top 5 Mistakes made
by Marketers, so as to reduce Frustration, Expense and
Skepticism about generating money online.
Today I am tackling one of the BIGGEST problems faced by new online marketers. The problem is this, the inability to market effectively. This causes so many marketers incredible frustration! The result, they throw up their hands in despair and quit long before they see any results.
This is what I hear from people day after day in my role as an online Home Business Consultant. "I am posting, and promoting but not getting any leads or sales! Help me!" If this is you, keep reading, I am going to tell you what you need to know about marketing.
It is true that you can be promoting every day but if you are making one or all of the 5 common mistakes I've outlined here, you won't get the results you want. Take note, this is important stuff if you are really serious about making money online.
1. The first mistake made by new online marketers is this:
Not knowing WHAT to market.
I talk to people daily, nice people who want to sell something online and earn some extra money. They sign up or this and for that, they get Affiliate Memberships all over the web hoping to get better results by being involved in everything they can get their hands on. There intentions are good, they are motivated but they stumble right off the bat by not knowing what to market.
Here's a quick guide for you on WHAT to Market: -Pick products to market that are DIGITAL. Digital products are those that can be bought and sold instantly online. You get your commission sooner, the buyer gets their product instantly! It's no-fuss no-muss and the best way to start your web marketing experience and see some results. -In most cases there is no cost to be a product Reseller or Affiliate - hurray! -Pick Reseller products from a reputable long-standing company that specializes in helping vendors connect with affiliates to sell products online -Pick products or affiliate programs that provide advertising copy, banners, and sales aids along with referral links so you can easily promote the products -Pick products that catch YOUR EYE! Newest releases, products with catchy names, trendy topics, those with positive buyer feedback, and return guarantees are best! -Look for Joint Venture releases so you can be one of the first to promote the products when first released for sale Finally, FOCUS! Keep your eye on the prize - profits - don't spread yourself too thin. Narrow your efforts to a few products and put 100% effort into your campaign.
2. The second most common mistake made by new online marketers is this:
Not knowing HOW to market.
I am always surprised at the answer people give me when I ask how they are marketing online. They look at me perhaps thinking what a ridiculous question that is! They tell me they are sending out their website address. When I look at their website I see a site that is oh so boring! It reads like a brochure with company history, and a few pages of fluffy copy. Yes, of course it is important to promote your website address BUT if you wish to capture leads you must do this - get the prospects contact information!
Getting the contact information from a prospect is often very difficult to do with a standard corporate site. The answer to this problem is to create what are called LANDING pages, or Squeeze pages. These are single page sites that have one purpose and one purpose only - get you a LEAD - and better yet lead to a sale! Some companies provide Landing Pages for you when you become a Reseller for their products. Landing pages help you build your marketing list. Every person may not be a buyer today, but on your mailing list they may enjoy future products you offer. Offering an option to join your mailing directly on your Landing Page gives people 100% control over opting in to your mailing list or not. You build your list while ensuring that people have voluntarily joined your mailing list.
Here's a quick guide to creating responsive landing pages:
-They should be FAST Loading! Skip any animation, video or annoying distraction that just makes people click OFF! -Use images that are colorful, directive, and related to the theme of your product -Your copy MUST be short, punchy, laden with benefits - speak directly to the reader -Your copy should tell readers what they get if they ACT now! Limit the offer, even better! -Capture the contact information of the reader so you can deliver what they asked for -The more goodies, freebies, offers, and cool stuff you can give people the BETTER the response! -Always include an option for people to join your mailing list and give them GREAT reasons to want to do so!
Unlike a website, a landing page should be EXCITING, BENEFIT-LADEN and accomplish this:
Look reader! You get this! Do this to get it! Do it NOW and also get this BONUS!
3. Here is the third most common mistake I see new marketers making:
Not KNOWING WHERE to Market
Marketing is NOT simple but if you know what you are doing it can be. The key is to find the sites, the niches where you can target your market. Market to the right people instead of the masses with solid products and you will get instantly better results.
Here's a quick guide to knowing WHERE to market:
-Do a Google search to find sites related to what you are promoting, then target those sites for your marketing campaigns -Use every available niche market you can find and post there, this includes Forums, Classified Ad Sites, Banner Exchanges, Twitter and Social Networking and Bookmarking sites. -Do not discount FREE and low cost advertising options like Safelists, and Traffic Exchanges. These are excellent ways to target a specific market -You do NOT have to spend ridiculous amounts of money on advertising. Find the sites where your target market exists, then place low cost ads including safelist posts, banners, and classified ads. Don't even think about buying pay-per-click ads at sites like Google unless you have deep pockets and know what you are doing. -Learn what backlinks are and why they are SO VERY important to generating traffic and achieving better search engine indexing for your site, products or business. -If any of the terms above are foreign to you, you have some homework to do, I have included some resources below.
4. Are you ready for the fourth and perhaps most fatal mistake made by new online marketers?
Not knowing how to TRACK your promotional campaigns
If you are going to spend time and money to promote a product or service you MUST, you absolutely MUST know where you are getting your results. Ad Tracking is a 100% requirement! If you are not tracking your ads, and the clicks you get and from where, you are promoting blindly. What happens when you don't watch what you are doing? You can fall in a hole! Online this can be a hole where you fall in and throw your money into wasted ad campaigns. I've seen more people allow paid advertising to eat up their entire budget than I want to think about. Smart marketers that get results know exactly the ad campaigns that get results, and the sources they came from.
Get an Ad Tracker Tool. Some advertising sites provide you with data on number of clicks to your ads, or impressions. This is important, just be sure you understand what those terms mean. A click is usually far more powerful for you then a "view". You want ACTIVE respondents, real people actually clicking on your ad to see it. This is much different than an "exposure" or a "view" with the latter being considered passive and very weak marketing, often provided free. For best results you will ALWAYS get better results from paid advertising than from free advertising but don't discount free promotion, it is a good way to earn advertising credits if you have a small advertising budget. If you buy advertising be SURE you get some kind of way to validate the promotion, the click rate, and actual IP addresses of unique respondents to ensure the hits are legitimate and not computer generated. Make sure your respondents will be geographically specific too, from countries that you wish to target. For example, Canada or the USA. If you have your own domain you are fortunate, as you can benefit from an Ad Tracking tool that tracks all your promotional activities and traced to your website domain address.
5. The fifth common mistake I see online marketers making is very straight-forward.
Not being realistic or giving it enough consistent time and effort to see results.
I know we live in an instant gratification world but if you are new to online marketing you will need to be more realistic. Promotion takes a lot of CONSISTENT effort using a number of strategies at a number or web sites. By tracking your ads you can see instantly where your efforts are being productive. Be prepared to try various copy, be cognizant that some products will sell better than others, some advertising resources will deliver better than others. Vary your offers, change up your products as needed, update landing pages, post to a number of sites and track the results. Take some time to learn about some of the terms used in this article. Be honest with yourself about what you are doing. Are you serious about earning money online or are you doing this as a hobby? Your level of hunger and ambition to succeed will be your motivator. The good news is that once you have built your mailing list, and found niche sites and advertising resources that work, your job to promote gets easier but NEVER goes away.
Sandi Hunter is the Director of Website Development at Worldprofit Inc., a company specializing in hosting, online tools, training, ad tracking, and marketing resources for small and home business. Established modestly in 1994 off a kitchen table, today Worldprofit is known as the Home Business Experts and the number one resource for all things related to home business. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
January 1, 2011
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mistakes are an essential and sometimes necessary part of
YOUR growth and development; however, the COST should
be minimized as much as possible. Worldprofit President,
Ms. Sandi Hunter, has identified the Top 5 Mistakes made
by Marketers, so as to reduce Frustration, Expense and
Skepticism about generating money online.
Today I am tackling one of the BIGGEST problems faced by new online marketers. The problem is this, the inability to market effectively. This causes so many marketers incredible frustration! The result, they throw up their hands in despair and quit long before they see any results.
This is what I hear from people day after day in my role as an online Home Business Consultant. "I am posting, and promoting but not getting any leads or sales! Help me!" If this is you, keep reading, I am going to tell you what you need to know about marketing.
It is true that you can be promoting every day but if you are making one or all of the 5 common mistakes I've outlined here, you won't get the results you want. Take note, this is important stuff if you are really serious about making money online.
1. The first mistake made by new online marketers is this:
Not knowing WHAT to market.
I talk to people daily, nice people who want to sell something online and earn some extra money. They sign up or this and for that, they get Affiliate Memberships all over the web hoping to get better results by being involved in everything they can get their hands on. There intentions are good, they are motivated but they stumble right off the bat by not knowing what to market.
Here's a quick guide for you on WHAT to Market: -Pick products to market that are DIGITAL. Digital products are those that can be bought and sold instantly online. You get your commission sooner, the buyer gets their product instantly! It's no-fuss no-muss and the best way to start your web marketing experience and see some results. -In most cases there is no cost to be a product Reseller or Affiliate - hurray! -Pick Reseller products from a reputable long-standing company that specializes in helping vendors connect with affiliates to sell products online -Pick products or affiliate programs that provide advertising copy, banners, and sales aids along with referral links so you can easily promote the products -Pick products that catch YOUR EYE! Newest releases, products with catchy names, trendy topics, those with positive buyer feedback, and return guarantees are best! -Look for Joint Venture releases so you can be one of the first to promote the products when first released for sale Finally, FOCUS! Keep your eye on the prize - profits - don't spread yourself too thin. Narrow your efforts to a few products and put 100% effort into your campaign.
2. The second most common mistake made by new online marketers is this:
Not knowing HOW to market.
I am always surprised at the answer people give me when I ask how they are marketing online. They look at me perhaps thinking what a ridiculous question that is! They tell me they are sending out their website address. When I look at their website I see a site that is oh so boring! It reads like a brochure with company history, and a few pages of fluffy copy. Yes, of course it is important to promote your website address BUT if you wish to capture leads you must do this - get the prospects contact information!
Getting the contact information from a prospect is often very difficult to do with a standard corporate site. The answer to this problem is to create what are called LANDING pages, or Squeeze pages. These are single page sites that have one purpose and one purpose only - get you a LEAD - and better yet lead to a sale! Some companies provide Landing Pages for you when you become a Reseller for their products. Landing pages help you build your marketing list. Every person may not be a buyer today, but on your mailing list they may enjoy future products you offer. Offering an option to join your mailing directly on your Landing Page gives people 100% control over opting in to your mailing list or not. You build your list while ensuring that people have voluntarily joined your mailing list.
Here's a quick guide to creating responsive landing pages:
-They should be FAST Loading! Skip any animation, video or annoying distraction that just makes people click OFF! -Use images that are colorful, directive, and related to the theme of your product -Your copy MUST be short, punchy, laden with benefits - speak directly to the reader -Your copy should tell readers what they get if they ACT now! Limit the offer, even better! -Capture the contact information of the reader so you can deliver what they asked for -The more goodies, freebies, offers, and cool stuff you can give people the BETTER the response! -Always include an option for people to join your mailing list and give them GREAT reasons to want to do so!
Unlike a website, a landing page should be EXCITING, BENEFIT-LADEN and accomplish this:
Look reader! You get this! Do this to get it! Do it NOW and also get this BONUS!
3. Here is the third most common mistake I see new marketers making:
Not KNOWING WHERE to Market
Marketing is NOT simple but if you know what you are doing it can be. The key is to find the sites, the niches where you can target your market. Market to the right people instead of the masses with solid products and you will get instantly better results.
Here's a quick guide to knowing WHERE to market:
-Do a Google search to find sites related to what you are promoting, then target those sites for your marketing campaigns -Use every available niche market you can find and post there, this includes Forums, Classified Ad Sites, Banner Exchanges, Twitter and Social Networking and Bookmarking sites. -Do not discount FREE and low cost advertising options like Safelists, and Traffic Exchanges. These are excellent ways to target a specific market -You do NOT have to spend ridiculous amounts of money on advertising. Find the sites where your target market exists, then place low cost ads including safelist posts, banners, and classified ads. Don't even think about buying pay-per-click ads at sites like Google unless you have deep pockets and know what you are doing. -Learn what backlinks are and why they are SO VERY important to generating traffic and achieving better search engine indexing for your site, products or business. -If any of the terms above are foreign to you, you have some homework to do, I have included some resources below.
4. Are you ready for the fourth and perhaps most fatal mistake made by new online marketers?
Not knowing how to TRACK your promotional campaigns
If you are going to spend time and money to promote a product or service you MUST, you absolutely MUST know where you are getting your results. Ad Tracking is a 100% requirement! If you are not tracking your ads, and the clicks you get and from where, you are promoting blindly. What happens when you don't watch what you are doing? You can fall in a hole! Online this can be a hole where you fall in and throw your money into wasted ad campaigns. I've seen more people allow paid advertising to eat up their entire budget than I want to think about. Smart marketers that get results know exactly the ad campaigns that get results, and the sources they came from.
Get an Ad Tracker Tool. Some advertising sites provide you with data on number of clicks to your ads, or impressions. This is important, just be sure you understand what those terms mean. A click is usually far more powerful for you then a "view". You want ACTIVE respondents, real people actually clicking on your ad to see it. This is much different than an "exposure" or a "view" with the latter being considered passive and very weak marketing, often provided free. For best results you will ALWAYS get better results from paid advertising than from free advertising but don't discount free promotion, it is a good way to earn advertising credits if you have a small advertising budget. If you buy advertising be SURE you get some kind of way to validate the promotion, the click rate, and actual IP addresses of unique respondents to ensure the hits are legitimate and not computer generated. Make sure your respondents will be geographically specific too, from countries that you wish to target. For example, Canada or the USA. If you have your own domain you are fortunate, as you can benefit from an Ad Tracking tool that tracks all your promotional activities and traced to your website domain address.
5. The fifth common mistake I see online marketers making is very straight-forward.
Not being realistic or giving it enough consistent time and effort to see results.
I know we live in an instant gratification world but if you are new to online marketing you will need to be more realistic. Promotion takes a lot of CONSISTENT effort using a number of strategies at a number or web sites. By tracking your ads you can see instantly where your efforts are being productive. Be prepared to try various copy, be cognizant that some products will sell better than others, some advertising resources will deliver better than others. Vary your offers, change up your products as needed, update landing pages, post to a number of sites and track the results. Take some time to learn about some of the terms used in this article. Be honest with yourself about what you are doing. Are you serious about earning money online or are you doing this as a hobby? Your level of hunger and ambition to succeed will be your motivator. The good news is that once you have built your mailing list, and found niche sites and advertising resources that work, your job to promote gets easier but NEVER goes away.
Sandi Hunter is the Director of Website Development at Worldprofit Inc., a company specializing in hosting, online tools, training, ad tracking, and marketing resources for small and home business. Established modestly in 1994 off a kitchen table, today Worldprofit is known as the Home Business Experts and the number one resource for all things related to home business. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
Friday, December 31, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
December 31, 2010
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Money isn’t everything, but it ranks up there with OXYGEN”.
Achieve success during inevitable down turns in the economy
by following 8 RULES of financial growth.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
This title is sure to startle people who follow the ups and downs of the economy with care and perception. "Economic disruption," they might say. "Whaaat? It is my distinct impression that things economic are improving, slowly but surely. Am I wrong?"
No, you're right. Things ARE improving, the signs are unmistakable:
Item: Online 2010 Christmas sales rose 15% this holiday season from October 31 to December 23. Online retailers took in $36.5 billion during this period, compared to $31.5 billion the same period a year ago. (Note: apparel sales lead the way with $7.3 billion in sales, up 25.7 percent from a year ago.)
Item: Weekly unemployment applications of around 425,00 signal modest job growth. Such applications peaked at 651,000 in March, 2009.
Item: Companies increased their orders for long- lasting manufactured products by the sharpest increase in eight months, the Department of Commerce reported before Christmas, 2010. Demand rose for computers, appliances, and heavy machinery... with overall expected 2011 growth at 3.5 percent to 4 percent, up from 2.8 percent in 2010. Andante ma non troppo.
The rich are out and about buying things meretricious de rigueur for the country club set.
As retailers to the rich can unhappily confirm, wealthy shoppers, with their penchant for acquiring gaudy and overpriced items the rest of the world gets by quite happily without, were in short supply during the recession. This Christmas season of 2010 was very different. Mere bagatelles such as luxury automobiles and eye-popping ice were snapped up with alacrity -- and no buyer's remorse.
Said Michael J. Silverstein, a senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago. "Many households with incomes above $100,000 don't believe the sky is falling anymore. And when they don't believe the sky is falling anymore, they want things." Amen.
For instance, some national chains and independent merchants expect double-digit increases in jewelry sales for 2010, a dramatic turn-around from the painful 40 percent drops the hardest hit jewelers experienced since 2008.
So, if things are getting better bit-by-bit, why is this article about the next great economic disruption?
Because, quite frankly, the ease and abundance of good times are like a drug obliterating the painful lessons and memories of bad times... which all contributes to creating the next, inevitable bad times. Instead of losing the lessons of the still clear and painful past, we need to make every effort to remember them.... while preparing for the next great economic disruption for which we must be better prepared than the one from which we're emerging from now.
The great English romantic poet Lord Byron can assist us. One day his lordship received a message from his demanding inamorata Lady Caroline Lamb to "remember" her. Tired to death of her incessant impositions, he sent her this message of unmistakable clarity:
"Remember thee! remember thee! Till Lethe quench life's burning stream. Remorse and shame shall cling to thee, and haunt thee like a feverish dream!
Lord Byron indeed would remember and rearrange matters accordingly ... and so must we all. After all, we all know that such disruptions occur at predictable intervals for which we must be ready.
Here are the preparatory steps to follow starting TODAY!
1) Start a "rainy day" fund. Build this fund by regular monthly additions until it represents at least 6 months of total home expenses and not a cent less. Building this fund in good times takes exceptional determination, not least because in such times you want to "make up" for the things you went without during the recession. At all times, therefore, you must remind yourself that the next bad times are on the way... and that you are determined to be ready for them. Save then as if your life depends upon it... for it does.
2) Survey all expenses. If you think you did so during the bad times, think again. Now you know how many of these things you can comfortably do without. Root them out now... and put the savings in the "rainy day" account. Turning current expenses into income-producing capital is a crucial part of how you'll get comfortably through the next bad times.
3) Review the damage the bad times made. Did you, for instance, borrow against an IRA account or life insurance policy? If so, you must replace these funds by regular monthly payments, not least because such borrowings are likely to have tax and high interest payment implications. These need to be taken care of ASAP.
4) Start your trek ahead with a clear understanding, with a precise, realistic appraisal of where you are today. Many people at this point in the economic cycle are deeply depressed by what they have lost. This is a mistake. Instead of fretting over what is gone from your asset balance, instead review what you have and consider just how you will improve your net worth.
Still more recommendations
5) If you are self-employed, as many people reading this article are, always make the maximum allowable contributions into your retirement account. Treat these as payments, as you would any invoice. And always pay these retirement payments first, before other bills.
6) Make the maximum charitable donations that you can. Your charitable contributions should begin in January of the New Year... and not in December. You should set a dollar donation objective for the year (in conjunction, of course, with your accountant.) Start working towards it as the New Year dawns and not as it exits.
7) Remove yourself from what I call the "squandering classes." Review each and every expenditure... not just for yourself but for any children still at home and old enough to have jobs. All have a responsibility to think first, determine whether this expense is in fact warranted, and reduce or go without whenever possible.
8) "Batten down the hatches" for 1 month. As a test of your system and habits, live one month in the good times as if it were one month in the bad. Cut expenses accordingly and see how easy (or difficult) your life would be in recessionary times. Such a drill should yield many good ideas as well as clarity on your spending habits.
Death, taxes, bad economic times
When I was growing up people said there were 2 great inevitabilities of life: death and taxes. However, there is in fact at least 1 more: bad economic times. Count on it. They will recur in your life over and over again.
Will you be ready for them?
You certainly will be if you treat them as the certainties they are and prepare accordingly, along the lines of this article. Doing so, when they arrive you will have nothing to fear, and that places you amongst the very smartest and best prepared, the ones destined to ride out the next great economic storm in comfort and with quiet satisfaction.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
December 31, 2010
Access 250,000 Advertising Credits for FREE
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Money isn’t everything, but it ranks up there with OXYGEN”.
Achieve success during inevitable down turns in the economy
by following 8 RULES of financial growth.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
This title is sure to startle people who follow the ups and downs of the economy with care and perception. "Economic disruption," they might say. "Whaaat? It is my distinct impression that things economic are improving, slowly but surely. Am I wrong?"
No, you're right. Things ARE improving, the signs are unmistakable:
Item: Online 2010 Christmas sales rose 15% this holiday season from October 31 to December 23. Online retailers took in $36.5 billion during this period, compared to $31.5 billion the same period a year ago. (Note: apparel sales lead the way with $7.3 billion in sales, up 25.7 percent from a year ago.)
Item: Weekly unemployment applications of around 425,00 signal modest job growth. Such applications peaked at 651,000 in March, 2009.
Item: Companies increased their orders for long- lasting manufactured products by the sharpest increase in eight months, the Department of Commerce reported before Christmas, 2010. Demand rose for computers, appliances, and heavy machinery... with overall expected 2011 growth at 3.5 percent to 4 percent, up from 2.8 percent in 2010. Andante ma non troppo.
The rich are out and about buying things meretricious de rigueur for the country club set.
As retailers to the rich can unhappily confirm, wealthy shoppers, with their penchant for acquiring gaudy and overpriced items the rest of the world gets by quite happily without, were in short supply during the recession. This Christmas season of 2010 was very different. Mere bagatelles such as luxury automobiles and eye-popping ice were snapped up with alacrity -- and no buyer's remorse.
Said Michael J. Silverstein, a senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago. "Many households with incomes above $100,000 don't believe the sky is falling anymore. And when they don't believe the sky is falling anymore, they want things." Amen.
For instance, some national chains and independent merchants expect double-digit increases in jewelry sales for 2010, a dramatic turn-around from the painful 40 percent drops the hardest hit jewelers experienced since 2008.
So, if things are getting better bit-by-bit, why is this article about the next great economic disruption?
Because, quite frankly, the ease and abundance of good times are like a drug obliterating the painful lessons and memories of bad times... which all contributes to creating the next, inevitable bad times. Instead of losing the lessons of the still clear and painful past, we need to make every effort to remember them.... while preparing for the next great economic disruption for which we must be better prepared than the one from which we're emerging from now.
The great English romantic poet Lord Byron can assist us. One day his lordship received a message from his demanding inamorata Lady Caroline Lamb to "remember" her. Tired to death of her incessant impositions, he sent her this message of unmistakable clarity:
"Remember thee! remember thee! Till Lethe quench life's burning stream. Remorse and shame shall cling to thee, and haunt thee like a feverish dream!
Lord Byron indeed would remember and rearrange matters accordingly ... and so must we all. After all, we all know that such disruptions occur at predictable intervals for which we must be ready.
Here are the preparatory steps to follow starting TODAY!
1) Start a "rainy day" fund. Build this fund by regular monthly additions until it represents at least 6 months of total home expenses and not a cent less. Building this fund in good times takes exceptional determination, not least because in such times you want to "make up" for the things you went without during the recession. At all times, therefore, you must remind yourself that the next bad times are on the way... and that you are determined to be ready for them. Save then as if your life depends upon it... for it does.
2) Survey all expenses. If you think you did so during the bad times, think again. Now you know how many of these things you can comfortably do without. Root them out now... and put the savings in the "rainy day" account. Turning current expenses into income-producing capital is a crucial part of how you'll get comfortably through the next bad times.
3) Review the damage the bad times made. Did you, for instance, borrow against an IRA account or life insurance policy? If so, you must replace these funds by regular monthly payments, not least because such borrowings are likely to have tax and high interest payment implications. These need to be taken care of ASAP.
4) Start your trek ahead with a clear understanding, with a precise, realistic appraisal of where you are today. Many people at this point in the economic cycle are deeply depressed by what they have lost. This is a mistake. Instead of fretting over what is gone from your asset balance, instead review what you have and consider just how you will improve your net worth.
Still more recommendations
5) If you are self-employed, as many people reading this article are, always make the maximum allowable contributions into your retirement account. Treat these as payments, as you would any invoice. And always pay these retirement payments first, before other bills.
6) Make the maximum charitable donations that you can. Your charitable contributions should begin in January of the New Year... and not in December. You should set a dollar donation objective for the year (in conjunction, of course, with your accountant.) Start working towards it as the New Year dawns and not as it exits.
7) Remove yourself from what I call the "squandering classes." Review each and every expenditure... not just for yourself but for any children still at home and old enough to have jobs. All have a responsibility to think first, determine whether this expense is in fact warranted, and reduce or go without whenever possible.
8) "Batten down the hatches" for 1 month. As a test of your system and habits, live one month in the good times as if it were one month in the bad. Cut expenses accordingly and see how easy (or difficult) your life would be in recessionary times. Such a drill should yield many good ideas as well as clarity on your spending habits.
Death, taxes, bad economic times
When I was growing up people said there were 2 great inevitabilities of life: death and taxes. However, there is in fact at least 1 more: bad economic times. Count on it. They will recur in your life over and over again.
Will you be ready for them?
You certainly will be if you treat them as the certainties they are and prepare accordingly, along the lines of this article. Doing so, when they arrive you will have nothing to fear, and that places you amongst the very smartest and best prepared, the ones destined to ride out the next great economic storm in comfort and with quiet satisfaction.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Your lousy communication skills are hurting yourself and others. Here's what you need to do at once.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
December 8, 2010
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate” — spoken by The Captain (Cool Hand Luke). Success of any kind requires effective communication between the parties who are trying to exchange ideas, knowledge or accomplish a goal. Want success in business then, effective communication is critical to your success; otherwise, you’re operating a Non-Profit Agency destined for the MLM Cemetery. Learn how start communicating effectively.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It's time to call a spade a spade. We are members of the most communications savvy and personally wired generation ever. Even the tiniest mite has her cell phone with camera. Yet the truth is, the explosion of communications tools has produced less real communication than ever; you and your poor communications skills are one of the culprits. Listen up! After all, it's time your communication skills improved to the level of your communications tools.
The quality of communications is not strained...
You, being an educated soul, are no doubt familiar with Portia's famous speech:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
(The Merchant of Venice. Act 4, scene 1.)
Bold and even impious, I now advise you (while great Shakespeare rolls in his grave) to change the word "mercy" to "communications," thus:
The quality of communications is not strain'd... it is twice blessed..."
And so it is. Good communications are good for the recipient and for the sender too.
You know this... but you do not act accordingly. Which is why this (shall we say) motivating article is so necessary and why you should take every single word to heart and make radical adjustments in your lamentable behavior.
Poor communicators (with the probability strong that you are one of them) exhibit these traits:
Arrogance. The human animal is a selfish animal, conceived in selfishness and nurtured in the belief that the Great Me, the universe-centered I Am is the most important animal anywhere at any time. As a result, this animal well and truly believes that she is so important that others must feel grateful, even when the communication is not returned. Oh, my!
People (like you?) who do not communicate effectively are people who are telling others, clear as crystal, that they are superior to you; that their time is more valuable than yours... and that these lesser folk need wait (and happily so) and wait and wait some more until you condescend to respond.
Such people by their behavior and non responsiveness clearly indicate that you and your concerns are, by definition, of infinitely less consideration than theirs. And that you'd best be glad for the little you get, for it is infinitely more than you deserve.
Poor communicators are slothful.
Good communicators, effective communicators realize that the business of communicating is like a tennis match. The ball must always be in motion between the communicator and those he wishes to communicate with. When the ball stops moving, the communication stops with it. The person who has stopped the communicating process is , by definition, the lazy, inhibiting one.
All too often the communication stops and is not extended because of unadulterated sloth. It takes work to communicate... it takes work to conceive a message and deliver that message. It takes work to be prepared and move matters to their next stage. However the slothful communicator can and does think of a myriad of "reasons" why he can obliterate the communications process without remorse. Thus he goes blithely on with his affairs while others, fuming, apply language which is ever more blue as time passes and their legitimate reasons for communicating go without any response whatsoever. Oh, my!
A special cycle of hell
For the intractable, for the miscreants arrogant and slothful who will not change, an idea: for them: a special cycle of hell wherein they are asked such questions as "are you hungry?" or "are you feeling hot and uncomfortable?" These hungry and uncomfortable miscreants answer and answer and answer. But response comes there none, ever. Delicious.
Help for the socially challenged and shy johns and janes everywhere.
Yet is the world of the non communicators made up solely and exclusively of the arrogant and slothful? Certainly not. It is also, and in significant numbers, the preserve of the shy, the timid, the socially malaprop, and untutored.
For them a single word: study.
There is one thing and only one thing which sets us apart and elevated from animals of every kind and place... and that one thing is communicating. So, if you truly wish to learn, improve and foster rather than retard communications, here is what you must learn and do.
1) Learn empathy, that crucial ability to enter into the minds and hearts of the people you are to communicate with. What is it they are expecting from you? Deliver that, to the furthest extent possible, and you have the essential element of success.
2) Be prompt about responding. In an age of instant communications, there can be absolutely no reason for delayed or no response at all except your own failure to provide it. The means are at hand; use them "as quick as boiled asparagus." And that's very fast!
3) Be clear on where you can be reached. Assume the person you are communicating with does not have this vital intelligence. State it clearly, thoroughly... and reiterate to avoid any confusion whatsoever.
4) Be willing to try again if the person you are trying to reach (even if that person initiated the communication) fails to respond. Remember, empathy is the basis for successful communications.
5) Above all else, never stop improving your knowledge of communication and its techniques. In this golden age of communications, the overwhelming majority of loaves and fishes will go to the communicating elite... those who make it a point to master communications and steadily enhance their knowledge and expertise. Make that person you!
Give this article to the communicating challenged. They need it so.
Your last task for today is to give a copy of this article to every substandard and inadequate communicator you can. The task at hand, training communicators and enhancing their skills, is a lifetime affair. Start it now. There is so very much to do and so many who need the help.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books, as well as being an internationally recognized marketer. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James
successroute.biz
Vaurn James - President SuccessRoute.biz & Worldprofit Dealer
Email: vaurnjames@hushmail.com
URL: successroute.biz
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
=========================================================
(C) SuccessRoute.biz 2010 All Rights Reserved.
=========================================================
Vaurn James’s Newsletter
December 8, 2010
successroute.biz
successroute.biz/newsletter
Publisher: Vaurn James
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate” — spoken by The Captain (Cool Hand Luke). Success of any kind requires effective communication between the parties who are trying to exchange ideas, knowledge or accomplish a goal. Want success in business then, effective communication is critical to your success; otherwise, you’re operating a Non-Profit Agency destined for the MLM Cemetery. Learn how start communicating effectively.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It's time to call a spade a spade. We are members of the most communications savvy and personally wired generation ever. Even the tiniest mite has her cell phone with camera. Yet the truth is, the explosion of communications tools has produced less real communication than ever; you and your poor communications skills are one of the culprits. Listen up! After all, it's time your communication skills improved to the level of your communications tools.
The quality of communications is not strained...
You, being an educated soul, are no doubt familiar with Portia's famous speech:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
(The Merchant of Venice. Act 4, scene 1.)
Bold and even impious, I now advise you (while great Shakespeare rolls in his grave) to change the word "mercy" to "communications," thus:
The quality of communications is not strain'd... it is twice blessed..."
And so it is. Good communications are good for the recipient and for the sender too.
You know this... but you do not act accordingly. Which is why this (shall we say) motivating article is so necessary and why you should take every single word to heart and make radical adjustments in your lamentable behavior.
Poor communicators (with the probability strong that you are one of them) exhibit these traits:
Arrogance. The human animal is a selfish animal, conceived in selfishness and nurtured in the belief that the Great Me, the universe-centered I Am is the most important animal anywhere at any time. As a result, this animal well and truly believes that she is so important that others must feel grateful, even when the communication is not returned. Oh, my!
People (like you?) who do not communicate effectively are people who are telling others, clear as crystal, that they are superior to you; that their time is more valuable than yours... and that these lesser folk need wait (and happily so) and wait and wait some more until you condescend to respond.
Such people by their behavior and non responsiveness clearly indicate that you and your concerns are, by definition, of infinitely less consideration than theirs. And that you'd best be glad for the little you get, for it is infinitely more than you deserve.
Poor communicators are slothful.
Good communicators, effective communicators realize that the business of communicating is like a tennis match. The ball must always be in motion between the communicator and those he wishes to communicate with. When the ball stops moving, the communication stops with it. The person who has stopped the communicating process is , by definition, the lazy, inhibiting one.
All too often the communication stops and is not extended because of unadulterated sloth. It takes work to communicate... it takes work to conceive a message and deliver that message. It takes work to be prepared and move matters to their next stage. However the slothful communicator can and does think of a myriad of "reasons" why he can obliterate the communications process without remorse. Thus he goes blithely on with his affairs while others, fuming, apply language which is ever more blue as time passes and their legitimate reasons for communicating go without any response whatsoever. Oh, my!
A special cycle of hell
For the intractable, for the miscreants arrogant and slothful who will not change, an idea: for them: a special cycle of hell wherein they are asked such questions as "are you hungry?" or "are you feeling hot and uncomfortable?" These hungry and uncomfortable miscreants answer and answer and answer. But response comes there none, ever. Delicious.
Help for the socially challenged and shy johns and janes everywhere.
Yet is the world of the non communicators made up solely and exclusively of the arrogant and slothful? Certainly not. It is also, and in significant numbers, the preserve of the shy, the timid, the socially malaprop, and untutored.
For them a single word: study.
There is one thing and only one thing which sets us apart and elevated from animals of every kind and place... and that one thing is communicating. So, if you truly wish to learn, improve and foster rather than retard communications, here is what you must learn and do.
1) Learn empathy, that crucial ability to enter into the minds and hearts of the people you are to communicate with. What is it they are expecting from you? Deliver that, to the furthest extent possible, and you have the essential element of success.
2) Be prompt about responding. In an age of instant communications, there can be absolutely no reason for delayed or no response at all except your own failure to provide it. The means are at hand; use them "as quick as boiled asparagus." And that's very fast!
3) Be clear on where you can be reached. Assume the person you are communicating with does not have this vital intelligence. State it clearly, thoroughly... and reiterate to avoid any confusion whatsoever.
4) Be willing to try again if the person you are trying to reach (even if that person initiated the communication) fails to respond. Remember, empathy is the basis for successful communications.
5) Above all else, never stop improving your knowledge of communication and its techniques. In this golden age of communications, the overwhelming majority of loaves and fishes will go to the communicating elite... those who make it a point to master communications and steadily enhance their knowledge and expertise. Make that person you!
Give this article to the communicating challenged. They need it so.
Your last task for today is to give a copy of this article to every substandard and inadequate communicator you can. The task at hand, training communicators and enhancing their skills, is a lifetime affair. Start it now. There is so very much to do and so many who need the help.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books, as well as being an internationally recognized marketer. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James
successroute.biz
Vaurn James - President SuccessRoute.biz & Worldprofit Dealer
Email: vaurnjames@hushmail.com
URL: successroute.biz
215-728-4905 or 1-800-417-0196
=========================================================
(C) SuccessRoute.biz 2010 All Rights Reserved.
=========================================================
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