Category: How-To Guides

In part 1 and part 2 of this series I’ve been outlining alternate ways to build targeted traffic without Google. Too many webmasters are frustrated with the Google Monster’s hijynx. You work your tail off to build steady traffic to your site only to have Google yank it back again through one of their infamous updates. These articles will help you outline a self-contained marketing plan that allows you to rely less on Google.

In part 1 of this series, I showed you a simple way to set up a very effective, automated list-building system using a special report. Part 2 introduced you to the real world of affiliate marketing. And in this installment, we’ll talk about promoting with video.

The Popularity & Reach of Video

There’s no doubt that video is enormously hot right now. People from all walks of life are clamoring around their computer monitors to view all sorts of clips from hilarious to educational.

You’ll even find video on web pages working with (or sometimes replacing) the sales copy. What’s even better… when people spot a video they love, they share it with all their friends/associates. Thanks to the huge reach of social media, it’s oh-so-simple to launch a video and have it go viral within a matter of hours.

Guess what else? People actually visit the websites mentioned in videos. Because the promo struck a chord, your prospects are more likely to click to your site to check out your offer. Just how big of a reach are we talking?

Video is Growing by Leaps and Bounds

According to Website Monitoring:

• YouTube, the biggest video search engine, exceeds 2 billion views every day.
• The average person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube.
• 3 million people are connected to YouTube and auto-share to at least 1 social network.

But that’s just for individuals, right? Wrong! Businesspeople are just as into video as everyone else is.

MagnetVideo.com compiled some stats from various sources that show corporate folks watch their fair share, too.

• Forbes reports that more than 75% of C-Suite Executives surveyed said they watch work-related online video on business-related website at least weekly. 65% of C-suite Executives report visiting a vendor’s website after watching their online video.
• Online video usage by the leading 100 retailers increase by 18%.

Sounds Great, But I Don’t Know How to Make Videos

Yeah, neither did I. That is until I took a few courses and found some awesome resources online to help. I can honestly tell you that it isn’t as hard as you’d think. There are so many shortcuts and programs that do most of the work for you these days. In fact, you can literally be ready to produce and upload your very first video within a few hours.

If I – little miss non-tech – can create and produce videos, you can, too.

This is exactly how I learned. I started with Bob “The Teacher” Jenkins’ SIMPLE Video Course. I was actually making videos after the first 3 modules. There are 10 modules total that walk you through everything you need to know to get started. By the time you’re finished, you’ll be equipped to make:

• List-building videos
• Talking head videos
• Animated videos
• PowerPoint videos (my fav!)
• Product creation videos
• Screencasts (screen captures) (another fav!)
• Training courses
• Webinars
• And more

It also goes into how to upload the videos to a bunch of different places so you get maximum exposure.

Then, I found a whole boatload of cool templates, graphics, music and other stuff for cheap at Screencast Studios.

What, Exactly, Am I Supposed to Do With the Videos?

The options are limitless.

• Give away training videos as a list-building technique.
• Promote your products or online events with talking head videos.
• Start a viral campaign with cute, animated videos.
• Make webinars or products to sell with PowerPoint videos.
• Show people how to use your product or how to solve a problem with screencast videos.
• But videos on your sales page to enhance your copy.
• And way more.

Want to see some of the videos I’ve done? Click over to my YouTube channel for a little inspiration.

Seriously, it didn’t take me but a few minutes each to make the videos you see here. And they’ll live on YouTube, my blog and other video sites forever generating qualified traffic to my site.

Article Contributed by OnlineCollege.org

Truly motivated people don’t need a teacher breathing down their necks or the threat of a poor grade hanging over their heads to get them to learn. Today there is almost no limit to what you can teach yourself with help from open course materials available on the web. If you are a small business owner, or you are thinking of becoming one, forget about going into debt to get an MBA. Instead, prove your business savvy by taking advantage of free courses like these:

Starting My Own Business
Top 10 Things You Must Have to Start a Business
Crafting a Business Plan
Product Design and Development
Finding and Attracting Investors

And many more..

50 Fantastic Open Courses for Small Business Owners [OnlineCollege.org]

If you have decided to hire an interim manager to help you deliver a major project, manage organisational change or plug a gap while you recruit to a senior role, then what steps should you take to get the most out of them?

Firstly you should be very clear about what you expect them to deliver. By clearly setting out your expectations you can ensure that you recruit the right person for the job. Think about how long do you expect to hire the interim for and is that realistic to deliver the task? Ask your global interim management services  agency for reliable advice, after all it’s what you pay them for, or the candidates themselves. Remember if someone promises you a lot of work in a short period of time, and it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Be clear about the budget you have for the assignment. You should expect to pay more per day for an interim manager than you would a permanent employee but you will benefit from not having to pay the long-term costs of recruiting a full-time member of staff. Make sure you have some form of contingency plan should the assignment over run.

When choosing an interim manager look for someone who has a proven track record in your industry and can supply references. Always make sure you take these up personally. Check that the candidate has the qualifications and any industry accreditation that you specified in your original brief. Review the work they have done for other organisations and ask around to find out more about them. They may have a profile on LinkedIn which will give you an insight into their personality and experience.

Ensure the person you choose will fit in well with your company and knows what is expected of them. Ask yourself do you want someone to take command and lead a team? Or someone to shake things up a bit and introduce a new point of view? Or would you prefer a hands-on team player who will slip into the company culture seamlessly?

Once you have hired your interim manager, keep in constant communication with them. This doesn’t mean micro-managing but make sure the manager is given the support they need and the resources to do the job properly. Ensure they know who they can come to for advice or decision making and what is expected of them in terms of reporting their progress. Sometimes introducing an interim manager can be difficult for existing team members so take time to introduce them personally to their new colleagues to help them fit in.

Set clear milestones to help you monitor the interim’s progress. Accept that problems may occur so encourage your interim to discuss any areas of concern at the earliest opportunity. Be clear about how often they should report to you.

In interim management, track record and performance really count. Interim managers know they will be judged by their results of their last assignment so they will be very focussed on meeting your expectations.

Once the interim has completed their contract, review the results. Ask the interim manager for objective feedback on the assignment. One of the advantages of interim managers is that they are not constrained by office politics or climbing the ladder so they are more likely to give you an honest opinion and helpful advice about the direction of the company. Value their experience. If you are pleased with their work, make sure you give them a reference and keep in touch. You never know when you might need them again.

Article Contributed by Lisa Cherney

Given the impact that your clients have on your business, it’s crucial that you have the right clients on your success train.  If the distance between your ideal clients is widening, you need to close the gap!  Consistency in attracting those “10’s” in your client base is key to obtaining that peace and prosperity that will allow you to make more money and work less hours than you ever have in the past.  Here is a strategy that you can use, right now, to get the most mileage out of your programs and services so that you can use your part-time hours effectively.

Start by asking yourself this question: Where can I add group delivery and by what date?

I transformed my business when I changed what I was selling, my “off-the-shelf” type programs, into a high ticket, high value program.  I was able to impart so much more value, more tools, more marketing how-to’s, audios, and small group experiences when I didn’t spread such a wide net and limited the participation to a select group of entrepreneurs who could benefit the most from what I had to offer.  And here’s the process in a nutshell.

First, I set a date for when this new program was going to start.  Then I created the program.  Third, everyone I talked to that was a fit for  my “ideal” client was offered that specific program and no other.  Right now you may be treating every client as an inidividual, having conversations, holding a teleclass for one… that’s not the way to get a 6-figure income.  You have to stop the one-on-one.  If they’re not a match for your program as it functions, then they are non-ideal clients.  Do them, and yourself, a favor and just say no.  Keep it simple and only offer a couple of very specialized programs.  I have two really quality programs that I offer, and it works great for me.  I’m clear on my clients and offerings, and I get the most out of the people that I work with.

Next, double your fees.

Think of one thing that you charge for and double it.  If that’s really easy for you, then you should have already been doing it.  Double it again.  Do it until it feels uncomfortable.  You have to believe in yourself and the value that you provide.  Don’t listen to the excuses of why you can’t, just know your value and do it.  You can start this today!  Put a date on the rate increase, even if it’s a year out.  Be confident and “get full of yourself” (in the good way) in order to create the value of your programs in the mind of your potential client.

One of the most impactful steps in our Stand Out & Be Juicy process is creating a set of irresistable Juicy Benefits for every product and service you offer because this is where you learn to articlulate the value you offer in a unique way.  And people tell me over and over that they see a directly relationship between what they are willing to charge and their ability to articulate the value someone will get.

I have to warn you not to pre-judge someone because you think they don’t have the money for your new full-service program.  I once gave $2000 back to a client when I couldn’t give her the value that I knew she needed from the service option she had chosen.  She didn’t think she could afford the full program, and I knew that she really needed more.  She needed the full-blown group program to take her business where she wanted to go.  So when I told her I couldn’t in good conscience take her money for the small program, she knew where I was coming from and told me to keep the money, and she would pay for the full program in 2 weeks.  That’s how you know your ideal client gets not only your value, but their own.

About the Author:

Lisa Cherney, a.k.a. the Juicy Marketing Expert, founded Conscious Marketing 12 years ago to help small business owners find their authentic marketing voice, attract their ideal clients and increase their sales. Following her own Stand Out & Be Juicy program, which centers on owning your unique self and laser-focus marketing, Lisa has tripled her income while working
part-time.

Prior to Conscious Marketing, Lisa worked with many Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, Lipton, Nissan, Blue Cross and Equal. She is a highly sought after speaker and often shares the stage with experts such as Jack Assaraf (The Secret), Jack Canfield and Jill Lublin. Learn more about Lisa at www.consciousmarketing.com or call 887-771-0156.

Article Contributed by Lynda-Ross Vega

Your Spotlight Style describes the way in which you draw attention to the gifts and talents you have, the services and products you offer, and your unique flair.  Embracing your Spotlight Style is the key to applying your authentic voice in all of your marketing activities.  But does that mean you will only attract people who have the same Spotlight Style that you do?  Absolutely not!  The big question is do you want to?

You attract each of the three Spotlight Styles differently.  People who share the same Spotlight Style you do (they probably are unaware of it) will be attracted to you because they feel an almost instant rapport with your marketing voice and because they know intuitively that they will be able to apply/emulate what you offer them.  People who do not share your Spotlight Style will be drawn to you because they sense that your product or service “fills the gap” for them and because your marketing style appeals to them intuitively – addressing what they feel may be missing in themselves.

So, if your answer is that you want to attract people who represent all three Spotlight Styles (or perhaps just your style and one other) you need to:

1.    Make sure that all the materials you present to the public authentically reflect your Spotlight Style. Do not try to emulate another style to appeal to that style. It will come across false even if they don’t know why.

2.    Learn as much as you can about each of the other two Spotlight Styles:

a.    What kind of language do they use?

b.    What things do they overlook because of their Spotlight Style?

3.    Create copy that incorporates language that appeals to each of the Spotlight Styles and addresses frequently “overlooked” aspects for each style. Say what you mean in your style, then rephrase in the language of another.

4.    Spotlight yourself in places where people from all three Spotlight Styles will see you.

Making your products, services, and your unique gifts and talents available to people with different Spotlight Styles takes awareness of the key differences between styles, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

About the Author:

Lynda-Ross Vega: A partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., Lynda-Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and coaches build dynamite teams and systems that WORK. She is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.ACIforCoaches.com and www.ACIforEntrepreneurs.com.