Being online can be pretty overwhelming. Believe me, I know from experience! There is so much to learn and so many different pieces of expert advice on what we SHOULD be doing that oftentimes we end up doing nothing at all!
In order not to be paralysed by inaction and do what many people do online – get excited, fired up and then drop out when they don’t become instant millionaires we need to establish a few things first.
If you do something you love, it’s hard to get scared, bored or overwhelmed. That’s not to say that you might not experience the occasional panic or tantrum but if you first establish exactly who you are, what you love and find the perfect niche for yourself you will be 100% more likely to put the time and effort in and to sail through the rough patches with grace.
If ever you’re feeling overwhelmed or frustrated then do this 5 minute exercise below – it will place you back on the path to your goals with PASSION and PURPOSE!
5 Minute Exercise – Mind Clarity
Get a pen and lots of sheets of paper…
1) Write down everything that means something to you
2) Write about what you love, what inspires you and what you’re good at – just keep writing!
3) Let it flow – get it all down and keep it coming – you should have over 200 words…
4) Now add your personal strengths to that list. Write about what you can do, who you can help and what skills you have
5) Keep going until you have that deep gut feeling
6) Stop writing
7) Go back and cross off the LEAST important of these – cross off the things that don’t give you a deep gut feeling or that you can do but don’t enjoy
Now, write down every job you’ve had, your life experience and what it taught you
9) Write down your best 5 hobbies
10) Check for patterns in what you have written – are there any jobs/experiences that you learned from or learned FOR A REASON
11) Be honest and write about what you feel is restricting you or making you feel enclosed.
12) What do you hate or love the most
13) Now – FOCUS on this list of things. This list is everything that you should be doing, everything that you are and it represents your entire lifes lessons, experience and path that has lead you to this point.
Hopefully by now your thinking is crystallized, you are excited about all the things you can do to help and empower others using the skills that you have had all along. It should help unblock creativity, give you ideas for blog posts and help you to remember you are a person worthy of teaching and helping others!
Good luck and feel free to share this……
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Trying to build your brand is one of the most important steps you will take when you are trying to establish an online business. A brand is a symbol that your customers associate with quality and trust. It involves several elements – a logo, personal slogan or tagline, specific imagery, a trademark symbol or all of these elements combined. Establishing a brand is extremely important because it will help you attract your customers and, if you offer quality, it will also help you retain your customers for the long term earning you lifelong prospects, customers and long-term business success.
When you brand your online business it eliminates any uncertainty people may have about doing business with you. A brand means that people can expect quality from a business that is established. It makes no difference if you are a corporation or you are simply building a small website or blog, branding still makes a difference.
How to Build Your Brand
Business Image: The first step you should take when you build your brand is to come up with a plan for the type of image you want to project for your online business. Work with a graphic designer to come up with a logo and website design that creates a lasting impression on your visitors or just come up with one yourself that you feel encapsulates YOU. People tend to remember visual images so this is a definite plus if you can come up with something unique that sets you apart from other similar online businesses.
Character: Come up with a brand that has character and personality and reflects stability so that your customers know that they can trust you. Make your brand fun to help people feel comfortable when they visit your website. For example, the bluebird logo on Twitter immediately creates an association with a reputable brand. It is fun, it has personality, and it conveys trust.
Consistency: Another factor to consider when you build your brand is consistency. In addition to making your brand memorable, you have to come up with a consistent design that projects a uniform image. For example, if you have created a specific design for your website with your logo and a combination of colors, you should maintain this consistency throughout your website. If you have a blog make sure the design is consistent with your website.
Voice: The tone of voice that you use for all of the content you post online including your website, should reflect the character and personality that you have established for your brand design. If your brand reflects informality then make sure the tone of voice represents this image.
USP: If your business has competition online it is extremely important to determine your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). What is it that makes your business stand out from all of the rest and how will you communicate this with your brand image? A USP is extremely important online since online consumers are bombarded with a sea of retailers and advertisements. Your USP will be the one factor that helps people set you apart from the competition and quickly conclude that you are associated with quality.
Get the Word Out
Once you have carefully planned your strategy for setting up your brand image you must maintain consistency when it comes time to spread the word online.
It’s a great idea when building your brand to come up with an ‘Elavator Pitch’. This is a great model taught to me by the amazing Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.com. I go into more detail on this in another blog post but the idea is to create a 2-3 line phrase that sums up your business. This is different to a tagline. Let me sum up the difference. My tagline is “Creating your dream lifestyle with Passion, Power and Purpose” but my elavator pitch that I can reel off to anyone who asks is “I help people to empower themselves to fulfil their online potential, create sustainable and successful businesses and teach them how to market themselves to 7 figures online”. Short, sharp, snappy and it encapsulates in 2 lines exactly who I am and what I do – try out a few!
If you have a particular tagline or elavator pitch you’d like to share – go right ahead and comment here – maybe you’ll get some feedback and I have no problem with your shameless self promotion!
The truth is that blogs are only now getting the attention they deserve – as one of the key ways that your business can flourish online. If you don’t yet have as blog then read this entire post – you will get some great information to get you started. Those of you with a blog, I am going to share with you some tips and strategies that will literally make your blog a prospect magnate overnight.
Firstly, running a blog for your online business is a great way to generate energy and invite interaction from your visitors. If you provide a place for people to communicate and offer quality information that is useful to your target audience, blog marketing can take your business to the next level.
Back to Basics – What is a Blog Anyway?
A blog is basically upscale chatroom for you and your thoughts, comments and advice that provides useful, relevant and valuable content to your target readers along with methods for interaction among the readers. Blogs are incredibly easy and cheap to set up and if you use a free service such as Google Blogger you can be up and running within minutes of establishing an account. I recommend Wordpress.org for all your blogging needs or Bluevoda.com
A blog is YOUR online real estate. This is so POWERFUL because it is your to keep, add to, manage and is the “shop” that you can send all your potential clients, prospects, team members and others in order for them to get to know you and your message. It acts as an ever growing newsletter where you keep adding fresh content that is related to your area of expertise. When you establish a blog you create content and upload it on a regular basis for your readers to devour. Blogging platforms should also contain an area where your readers can leave comments on the posts. This serves two purposes:
1) It encourages your readers to interact
2) It helps you get to know the needs and wants of your potential customers.
Both are very powerful when it comes to developing your products and services online. People like to feel listened to and helped and your blog can help you establish yourself as the answer to your readers prayers.
Promoting Your Online Business with Blog Marketing
There are two schools of thought here. Some people believe it best to not mention your particular deal on your blog and leave it purely as a place of information, interaction and relationship development. There is another train of thought that suggests we shouldn;t be shy in letting people know what sort of company/companies we affiliate ourselves to as it’s good for people to know that upfront.
However you decide to promote yourself you must remember that “selling” people by telling them how great your product/service is is a total no-no!
When some people think of blog marketing they think of hard selling. A blog is not used to hard sell your product or service. Instead it is used to establish a trusting relationship with your potential customer that will last for the long term. Don’t be shy about mentioning your product if you like, but don’t push it as “the next best thing” either as you will damage your credibility.
Blog marketing is all about connecting with potential customers by offering them useful information and solutions to some of their problems. Once you establish a relationship, the customer will be more likely to visit your website and make a purchase.
Key Things to Remember with Blog Marketing
There are a few rules of thumb you must follow to become successful with blog marketing:
Plan the Content: Like everything else with your online business, blog marketing requires a plan and this means planning the content you are going to offer. The content should be sequential to maintain the interest of your readers. If you post content haphazardly that has no relationship you will quickly lose your readers, so plan ahead.
Offer Quality: Offer content that provides REAL value to your readers. The content should be related to your expertise and the topic of your online business. After all, the idea is to interact with potential customers and develop a lasting business relationship.
Encourage Interaction: Encourage interaction among your readers by providing a place for them to leave comments. Also include widgets that allow your readers to quickly share your information with their friends to encourage referrals.
Link to Your Website: If you have a website or social media sites make sure your they relate to your site and encourages readers to click through to your blog. When you run both a blog and a website, the blog should serve as the lead generator to your website.
Monetize: Create a strategy for monetizing your blog to provide an extra stream of income for your online business. There are many ways to monetize your blog, some of which include affiliate product recommendations, Google Adsense ads and other similar strategies. It is important to note that if you recommend affiliate products make sure you do so in a subtle and ethical manner so you do not jeopardize the reputation you are working so hard to build. I myself do this on my ‘Recommended Resources’ page and am quick to point out that I use/like all of the products I recommend and I may also make an affiliate commission if they are purchased through my links – it’s important to be clear…(N.B. I think it is really important to support my mentors in their endeavours so if I like someone I always make sure I purchase through their affiliate links – it keeps our business growing and developing!)
Benefits of Blog Marketing
Blog marketing can help you to find your target audience for your online business. By using keywords that they use in their organic searches you can attract the right audience who will eventually be interested in your product or service. What’s more is blogs are search engine magnets and search engines like Google and Yahoo favour blog content.
A blog can also provide your online business with an instant identity and help you begin to establish your brand. It makes your online business real in the eyes of your readers.
Blogging is all about striking up conversations and consumers like a place where they can interact. If they feel like they are part of a community they will return time and again and eventually do business with you.
These are just a few of the ways you can use blog marketing to promote your online business. Once you get started you will find a host of advanced techniques you can use to attract a target audience to your blog. If you would like some detailed step by step instructions go to the Recommended Resources page and scroll down to MLM Blog Secrets. This course was put together by the legendary Ann Sieg and Ty Tribble – he is viewed as the NUMBER 1 BLOGGER online today with 10’s of 1000’s of visitors and tons of experience, Ty built his massive 7 figure business by blogging. It’s a great course, inexpensive and has a ton of truely eye opening information.
In this course you will find out:
How to boost your niche visibility by providing over-the-top content
The right way to start a blog from scratch (or how to suddenly transform your existing one into a prospect-producing powerhouse)
Exact steps to propel your blog from zero to hundreds of daily visitors
Blogging etiquette that encourages multiple and repeat purchases
How to convert as many visitors into opt-ins as possible with a compelling call-to-action and an irresistible “freebie”
If you have not yet gotten involved with social media it is time that you start taking advantage of this updated form of communication. Social media has taken the communication and online business industry by storm and it is showing no signs of slowing down, especially with the inception of mobile devices.
When you look everywhere around you, people are communicating on high end mobile devices and tiny laptop computers equipped with web cams and they are using social media as the preferred form of communication.
Social media is the use of social networking sites, microblogging sites, video sites, chat, social bookmarking, and other online community applications to network with people worldwide. It is a means of interacting and communicating with people over the Internet.
How Social Media Works
There are different forms of social media applications that people use to communicate online. Here is an overview of what some of the applications are and how they work:
Social Networking Sites: Social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace allow you to set up a profile and find groups to network with that have similar interests.It is easy to find people that share the same interests as you do when you use social media for communication.
Microblogging Sites: Microblogging has really exploded during the past few years. Sites like Twitter allow you to communicate through 140-character messages. Like social networking sites you can also set up a profile that reflects your interests and area of expertise.
Video Sites: Video sites such as YouTube allow you to upload videos and network with others that have similar interests. With new technology it is easy to create an educational video or similar content and upload it to a video site. All you need is a PC equipped with a web cam or a handheld camcorder.
Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking is a new way to share bookmarks of sites that you feel contain high quality content. Instead of simply saving the bookmark in your browser you can share your bookmarks with the online community. Social bookmarking sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon also offer an opportunity for you to set up a profile and connect with other members on the site.
The Benefits of Using Social Media
There are an endless number of benefits to using social media both for personal use and for business use. With the increased use of social media businesses are now using it as a way to better serve their clients and individuals are using social media to open up opportunities they would otherwise not have without the Internet.
One of the main benefits of using social media is you can share information a lot faster where it may take days to reach the recipients through traditional channels. When you use social media you can share your information with many people with one click of your mouse. If you offer quality information that is useful to others this can open up a broad spectrum of opportunities. By sharing information on a subject you are knowledgeable about this can help you find employment, attract clients to your online business, find others that share the same interest, and network with professionals in your field.
Online businesses use social media to get their brand established and associated with quality. Social media can work like word of mouth advertising only it is accomplished online. It can also help businesses improve their search engine rankings and get their social media posts found by their target audience.
Online businesses also utilize social media for improving customer service and feedback and lead generation. Social media allows for an instantaneous response to customer inquiries and allows businesses to find leads that are interested in their product or service.
Social media also allows for rapid distribution of news, images, and multimedia content and provides more widespread coverage allowing dissemination to a much broader reader base than the offline environment.
So as you can see, social media does a lot and can benefit you and your online business in countless ways. Start getting involved and try it. You have nothing to lose because all of the sites provide free registration. All you have to do is invest the time to find out how powerful it really is.
If you have been surfing the Internet lately you may have noticed the influx of videos that have become available online. This is because one of the new methods for Web 2.0 online marketing is using videos to spread the word about your online business. Although the concept of online video marketing may seem a bit complicated it is incredibly easy to do thanks to new and emerging technologies.
What are Online Videos?
Online videos are the videos that you see on websites that often contain an arrow on them that invites you to click so you can view the video. Online videos are also the videos you see on sites like YouTube,Viddler, or Vimeo. People post videos related to every topic you can imagine including business and online marketing.
How Do You Create an Online Video?
Thanks to new technology creating an online video is easier than you think. All you need is a computer that is equipped with a web cam or (recommended) invest in a Flip HD small handheld camera. This is a tiny camera is capable of recording voice and images to be uploaded to the online environment, it even has the c apability to make your video size compatible with social media sites so it’s accessible, small and uploads quickly – a must!
Check out this video I made explaining exactly how to make a video!
You can create a free account on sites like YouTube which will help you establish your own personal YouTube ‘channel’ that communicates to others what you are about as well as your area of expertise. When you are ready, there are simple instructions in your account on how to upload your video for others to view and share. You can also upload your videos to your own website.
Okay…How is Online Video Marketing Going to Help My Business?
When people hear the term “Online Video Marketing” they automatically think of selling however, this is not the case. You will not be creating videos to hard sell your product or service. This is a turn off to your target audience. Instead you create videos that are relevant to your area of expertise and help your viewers learn about something constructive. For example, you may create a series of “how to” videos that teach your target audience how to do something. You might also create a video that shows your target audience how to solve a problem. There is no selling involved in your video content.
You are probably thinking, “Okay….so if there is no selling involved, how do I make money with online videos?” The secret lies in the type of content you offer. If you have an online business or product that will help someone else, share this helpful information. The trick is to be viewed as the ‘Expert’. If you offer information that your target audience finds useful, they will share the video with others and follow you to your website. There is a way for viewers to share your video by clicking on a widget that allows them to easily forward the video to their friends. So when you create a video, it essentially works like word of mouth advertising except that the word spreads online.
When you create an online video there are features that allow you to place a watermark of the URL address to your website so when your video is shared on the Internet people know where to find you. So you are not doing any direct selling with the video. Instead you are attracting your target audience by helping them with a solution to a problem.
Also, search engines are beginning to recognize videos as relevant content and they are indexing the videos in the search results. If you use keywords that your target audience uses in their organic searches, they will find your video when they type the words into their search. You can place the keywords in the title, description, and tags for your video.
When you participate on social networking sites you can mention your video in your conversations on Facebook and tweets on Twitter. If people respect what you say on social networking sites, they will click on the link you provide to your video which will eventually lead them to your website.
It is also important to note that a lot of people in online marketing are using videos as a business card on the home page of their website. When visitors arrive at the site they get an immediate face-to-face introduction to the website owner. This is much more powerful then handing someone your business card or simply describing on your home page what you are all about.
So as you can see, online video marketing is a powerful tool for your online business and it is not very difficult to get started with making your own online videos. If you are starting an online business, the time is now to get involved with online video marketing as the online consumer becomes more mobile with how they seek information online.
You have heard about the people who are desperately trying to win the lottery or some other type of contest that will make them an instant millionaire so they can live the lifestyle they want. Well most people with a sound mind know what the chances are of this happening and instead they take control and put their effort into actively creating the lifestyle they want.
One of the ways to take control of your future is to generate passive income with an online business.
In the offline world, passive income is created from investments such as stocks or real estate. However, online passive income takes on an entirely different meaning and will run on auto pilot after you invest time and perhaps some money into the venture.
Check out this 8 minute video from heavyweights Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump about passive income and the ‘rich mindset’….Watch this all the way to the end…The Forbes definition of what makes someone rich is a real eye-opener!
Advantages of Passive Income
The people that invest offline generate ongoing residual income from stocks or real estate properties. This is income that keeps coming in regardless of whether they work or not.
The same concept rings true when you generate passive income online, only you are creating residual income 24 hours 7 days a week without having to limit yourself to a regular 9 to 5 job routine. Instead, you can choose when you want to work and you can increase your income at any time by creating an additional stream of passive income.
Creating multiple streams of income online provides you with more time to spend as you wish, build up residual income for your retirement, and allows you time to help others instead of grinding away at a dead end job.
How to Build Passive Income Online
Thanks to the Internet and online marketing there are endless ways to create passive income streams online. The good news is that most of the methods are quite cost effective to set up and market, and only require an investment of your time upfront.
Ebooks: When people search the Internet they are generally looking for information on how to do something or to solve a problem. This has led to the explosion of the information product industry online. Ebooks are easy to create and are low cost plus all of the work is upfront in the beginning and then it creates a passive income stream for a long time after.
Affiliate Marketing: The affiliate marketing industry is huge on the Internet and allows you to promote a product in exchange for a commission. You simply market a product from the parent company which tracks your sales and then you receive income for each sale that you make. If you find a high quality product that offers good commissions this can produce a nice passive stream of income with very little effort put forth on your part.
You can also generate passive income by offering your own product for sale and then building an affiliate network to promote your product online. You simply track your affiliates so you can pay them their commissions and then you sit back and collect the rest of the money.
Website Advertising: There are a number of programs online such as Google Adsense that offer commissions for ads that you display on your website. If you have a lot of visitors coming to your website, you can earn fees on every ad click that you receive with virtually no time invested on your part.
Pay Per Click Advertising: There are a number of search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN, which offer pay per click advertising programs for generating immediate traffic to your website. When you set up a pay per click advertising campaign you pay for each click you receive on the ad which leads the visitor to your website.
The ads are displayed in the search results and if you set it up with a product that is in high demand with low competition, you can literally have people visiting your website within an hour of creating the campaign. Once you set up the campaign it is simply a matter of putting a little time into monitoring and testing the campaign to produce the best return on your investment.
Network Marketing: Although network marketing has gotten a bad rap in the past, this form of generating passive income has recently taken a front row seat. There are a number of reputable network marketing programs out there that generate income on a matrix system as opposed to the old fashioned pyramid scam. If you know a few rules and you do your research, you can find some profitable programs to get involved with that will provide a nice stream of passive income.
Create Your Own Product: You can also choose to create your own product to offer as a passive income stream. Depending upon the type of product you create, all of the work will be up front and then you simply implement some marketing techniques to create passive income.
These are only a few of the great ways that you can earn passive income online. If you Google the subject you will find endless ways of generating residual income to create the lifestyle you want. If you wish to truely create a risidual income that is generating 6-7 figure incomes for many people online, come and visit my coaching blog HERE. Click here for more information
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts and concerns on passive income online so don’t forget to comment….
Have you noticed that people are always skeptical about something that seems too easy? They are always wondering what the catch is or if it is a scam. I’l admit to having hefty doses of skepticism myself on occasion!
It’s because the majority of people associate making money with working long hours and assume that if something is going to benefit us financially then we must somehow ‘earn it’.
Codswallop! This line of thinking is a hangover from our grandparents. Making money doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to be stressful and it can be FUN! (without even setting foot in an office!)
The Internet has changed the way we think about making money and the fact is that there are many programs represent viable and legitimate ways to generate income online. One of these methods is known as Google Adsense.
What is Google Adsense?
Google Adsense is a program that was developed by the Google search engine for the purpose of bringing advertisers and website publishers together. The program also helps people involved with online marketing to make money with Adsense without a lot of work.
Yes, I know this sounds like a scam but the good news is that it’s true, and millions of website owners and advertisers are making money with Google Adsense.
How Does It Work?
To get involved with Google Adsense it is necessary to build a website (blogging is extremely popular these days – for great reasons!).
Your website could be anything from offering an affiliate product, membership site, a blog, an SBI! site or one that offers your own product. Whatever type of website you choose, make sure it is focused, well designed, and offers high quality content. This is important since a lot of people in online marketing try to set up junk sites for the purpose of trying to make money with Google Adsense. This of course does not work since Google reviews your site before accepting you into the Adsense program and if they think it’s rubbish you’ll get slapped.
Once you build your website, you can sign up for a free account with Google Adsense. You will be asked to submit the URL address of your website so Google can review it. Once you are accepted into the Adsense program, Google will provide you with ads to display on your website that are relevant to the content of your site. When your visitors click on the ad you get paid a commission from Google for each click you receive. That’s it.
Okay that sounds easy…..What is the Catch?
I know you are probably thinking, “Yes…this is too easy so it must have strings attached.” Well, it may help you to know that getting Google Adsense to work for you is very unlike trying to build your own home based business opportunity, team or downline. It is simply a way to monetise your current online real estate (your website for example) and this helps to keep you in business by creating an upfront profit.
To make money with Adsense, the key to generating a nice stream of passive income is to attract large amounts of traffic to your site through online marketing. Your online marketing efforts can include creating a great search engine optimization (SEO) strategy for your website to increase your rankings with the search engines, building quality incoming links to your site, participating in social media marketing, and posting high quality content on the Internet that is relevant to the topic of your site.
By now you are probably thinking, “I knew there was a catch! This is a lot of time and money invested!” Well, the truth is that all of these techniques are free to implement and all you need is an investment of your time. If you are not knowledgeable in some of these areas there are many quality freelancers online that can help you for a reasonable amount of money – try www.elance.com.
If you also want to supplement these techniques with paid traffic to your website, you can participate in pay per click advertising and list your site with online paid directories which will help you generate quality traffic to your site. I’ll go into a bit more detail on PPC in another blog post.
Which leads into the next question…..
Can I Really Make Money with Adsense?
Yes. You will make money with Adsense if you generate high quality targeted traffic to your website. Targeted traffic is different than just getting traffic to your website. Targeted traffic is pre-qualified traffic that is already interested in your topic before they arrive at your site. You can generate targeted traffic by using the online marketing techniques discussed earlier and by choosing the keywords that your prospects are using in organic searches to find your product or service.
The reason targeted traffic is necessary to make money with Adsense is that the ads that Google provides you with are associated with topic on your website. If you have untargeted traffic it is highly likely they will not click on your ads let alone remain on your site for any extended period of time. Like anything else, if you put forth the effort in the beginning and set it up correctly, it is easy to make money with Adsense as a result of your online marketing efforts.
We would like to know what you think as well as your questions and concerns about using Adsense so please feel free to leave a comment below!.
Now, write down every job you’ve had, your life experience and what it taught you
