Blog Archives - Page 2 of 3

Getting PR Attention is Easier Than You Think

Online marketers tend to ignore traditional press. They'll get exposure on social networking sites, social bookmarking sites and try to get their content written up about by other people's blogs. But by and large, they don't contact the offline world. Yet getting exposure in the offline world isn't any more difficult than the online world. The difference is when you get exposure offline, the traffic is often both higher in volume and higher in quality than the traffic you get from online sources. How do you get PR attention? Here's how. ==> Identify Potential Publications Don't do press releases. Don't fax in press releases and don't do online press releases. While these may be good for backlinks, by and large editors and writers at successful publications find their stories from other sources. Instead, it's much more effective to take a more direct approach. Start by figuring out which publication(s) might be interested in the things you're doing. If they've …

12 Tips for Nurturing Your Personal Freedom

There’s a lot of pressure to conform to society’s definition of success. Right from school, you hear that there is pretty much one path. A good job, a one-way upwards career trajectory, a family, big house, lots of money. But your personal freedom doesn’t get mentioned. Nor does inner peace. But you don’t have to step too far outside your regular life to allow space for greater contentment, and freedom from the anxieties and pressures of modern life. There are some key things you can do right now to nurture your personal freedom and achieve greater contentment with your life. Let go of past hurts and sufferings, acknowledging what you have learned along the way. Believe in your heart that you deserve love and good things in your life and that you wish these for the other people in your life. Act kindly in your interactions with other people, whether it’s friends, family, colleagues or the person you walk past in the street. People will remember how you treated the…

4 Rules For New Entrepreneurs – Practical Tips For Starting Right

It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur—in the last decade, technology has leveled the playing field and propelled an entrepreneurial revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have more access to information that enables you to make more intelligent choices more quickly. You have an advantage over big businesses in that you’re lighter, more flexible, and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more quickly, and you can turn on a dime. But being a successful entrepreneur requires that you look at the big picture and follow a plan through from beginning to end. Rieva Lesonsky, President and Founder of GrowBiz Media gives some practical guidelines that can help you when beginning your own enterprise: 1.Don’t Quit Your Day Job. Consider starting your business part-time, especially if it’s online, while you’re working and have a steady income. It usually takes six months to a year to get a business going and you don’t want your ability to make your house payment to hing…

5 Tips to Help You Market When You Think You’re Too Busy

What if you've taken the time to create a marketing plan but now you're so busy servicing your current clients that you're having a hard time keeping on track with your plan? Is it okay to set the plan aside for awhile? After all you've got enough business to keep you busy. And, you're not sure you could handle additional clients right now anyway. While marketing may not seem like a necessary activity when your business is going gang-busters, it's only a matter of time before your lack of marketing starts to impact your business. Staying on top of your marketing plan, even when you're busy, ensures you always have a pipeline full of prospects and clients into your business. While you may be busy right now, if you stop marketing for the next three months, you may find yourself high and dry when it comes to clients, because you've stopped the flow. As an independent professional myself, I can totally relate to being too busy to market. It seems the days are never l…

How to Keep That Spark Alive in Business

There are some people who can work at any business – whether selling doughnuts or raincoats - and remain passionate. These people are often passionate about business itself so it doesn’t really matter what they’re selling; what matters is the thrill and chase of building a business. However, for many of us, the trick to running a successful business is to be passionate about what we do. Here are a few tips to help you build a business you are passionate about. #1 Know your “why” – Early on in your business, write out a mission statement. While these statements can seem stuffy and old-fashioned, it really does make sense to take the time to write one out. A successful, passionate business owner will be able to state what they do and why they do it in a few short sentences. Take a little time to think about why you want to do what you’re doing. What is your end goal? Is it more money? Is it freedom or a sense of achievement? Is it to help others, or all of the above? …

Communication And Follow Up In The Business World

Out of all the skillsets that are necessary to be a success, communication is perhaps the most important. Think about it. Communication is the only way for us to share concepts, ideas, feelings or plans. It’s the only way we can tell others about ourselves. If you own a business, it’s the only way to attract the attention of new customers and keep the attention of current customers. Since customers mean sales and sales mean profits, communication is actually currency. In other words, the manner in which you communicate is directly related to how much money you make. That is a powerful thought.

If communication is related to financial success, then it stands to reason that only good communication skills have value. Therefore, if one of your goals is financial success, you need to take the time to hone your communication skills and develop the most effective way to talk to your customer base. One of the best places to start this process …

Get Seen, Get Heard, Get Famous

You never know when the opportunity to share your expertise and garner free publicity will show up.

Case in point, not long ago, I had the privilege of being on Bolder Business Woman with the amazing Aprille Jaynes. She found me on LinkedIn and asked if I would like to share a few marketing tips with her listeners. She was one of the most organized and delightful hosts with whom I have had the honor to share my story. Since that time, show has been shared, tweeted, retweeted and listened to thousands of times.

I also recently connected with Tonya Scholz of SocialChats.net and had the same opportunity. Social Chats is a really laid back, conversational style of programming that leaves guests feeling good about themselves. Tonya and I have been connected on social media for years and just recently were introduced via a mutual friend. We hit it off right away and now…

Negotiation Is A Part Of Life

The majority of people tend to relate negotiations to business meetings and their appropriate wheeling's and dealings. This is actually only one type of negotiation that occurs regularly. Every person tends to do more negotiating in real life than you may think.

Let's look at some real life negotiation examples in more detail.

You may want to rent an apartment or a mobile home over the winter. Are you going to settle for the first price you are given? Probably not. You want to get a good deal so you are going to talk with the owner several times in the hopes of getting a better deal.

Some of the things you might discuss in person or via email include:

1. Your length of stay - you can offer to stay longer if the price is right. Benefit to the owner - knowing they have regular income for a certain number of months. 2. You offer to clean your rental or take care of the y…

5 Tips To Boost Your Willpower

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little extra boost of willpower when you need it most? It would make it so much easier to stick to our plans and reach our goals instead of giving in to temptation. Well, you’re in luck. I’m about to share five different tips and strategies with you that help you get that extra boost of willpower whenever you need it. Let’s dive in and explore these willpower “power-ups. Take It One Task At A Time The best way to strengthen willpower is to focus it on one task at a time. It’s tempting to get motivated and start to change everything all at once. I get it. It’s just not the most successful strategy. Instead, focus on one change at a time and use all your willpower to take it from new behavior to well-established habit before moving on to the next change. Your willpower efforts will strengthen many times over when you focus them on one thing at a time. Find An Accountability Partner It’s much easier to do what you set out to do w…

A Quick Guide to Outsourcing

Many extremely successful internet marketers say they would do one thing differently if they could. They say they’d outsource earlier in their business. In fact, many experts advise outsourcing almost from the very beginning. If you’ve come to a point where you’re ready to seek outsourcing help, congratulations! This is an important step. Where you go from here will help determine your success. Your First Step Your first step may be surprising. It’s not to start asking for referrals or to do a Google search for freelance help. Your first step is to sit down at your desk and plan. You want to begin with a definition or a list of the tasks you need help with. These tasks will also likely include systems or a step by step of how you want the task to be accomplished. For example, if you’re outsourcing your customer service, you want to outline your customer service system so whoever you hire can step right in and do the job correctly. You also want to plan how you’r…

How to Optimize Your Networking Skills

How do you improve your networking skills? This is a very important skill to have for business and life in general. Networking is basically having a conversation with others. This is very important, whether your objective is getting a job, a JV partner, or customers. The best example of this is the network marketing industry. If you get on the phone and reel off your sales pitch, you likely won’t do very well. People want to buy from someone who cares about them. They won’t buy from someone whose main objective is to make money for themselves. The same goes for networking. The more you show you care about the other person, the more likely you are to get a satisfactory result yourself. “It’s not what you know, it’s who.” For instance, if you want to be an author, getting to know other top authors will be very beneficial. This is because they will help promote your book for you. So whether you are looking for a job, JV partner or more customers, being able t…

In Business It’s Just as Important to Sell YOU!

When many business owners start out, they tend to emulate those they respect in their industry. This is not a mistake but rather a first step on the path to real business success. You will know that you’re on the road to long-standing success, however, when you’re able to sell YOU rather than to stand in the shadows of your mentor, coach, or business idol. Here’s how to let your personality shine through for better business today and tomorrow. * Be yourself - One of the easiest ways to be yourself and share your true personality is through your communications. This can be through your email messages, your blog posts, your social networking interactions and through your content efforts. When you write or speak with anyone in your industry - client, prospects or business associates, let your personality and communication style shine through. For example, if you have a knack for colorful metaphors, use them. If you have a very animated face when you speak, don…

What Successful Mompreneurs Have in Common

If you’ve ever wondered how some women seem to be able to do it all and have it all, you’ve come to the right place. The first thing to know is that that there’s no such thing as a Super Mom, and that women who appear to have it all, don’t. What they do have is a life that works well for them. And you can too. Successful mom entrepreneurs all have a few key characteristics: * Confidence, or at least a willingness to take a risk. Everyone, even the most seemingly perfect person has insecurities. The difference between successful mom entrepreneurs and others is they have the ability to take a risk. This takes both a high level of confidence and the ability to push past any insecurities and surge forward to achieve what they want. * Resilience, which means a positive attitude and the ability to adapt (because what are you going to do when your youngest gets sick on the day of a big teleconference?). Successful mom entrepreneurs are great at bouncing back from mistakes a…

Have You Ever Thought About Starting a Business of Your Own?

If you have ever thought about starting your own business, its important to know who you are and if you have the "qualities" it takes to have an Entrepreneurial Mindset? There are several ways to tell if you have this entrepreneurial mindset. Moreover, there are just as many ways to clear the road to becoming an entrepreneur. To Have the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Consider these Personality Traits: ___ Leadership qualities ___ Creative thinking ___ A feeling that there is something more than what you are doing in your current job ___ Innovative ideas If you show any or all of these qualities, you could very well be on your way to owning your own business because you do have that entrepreneurial spirit. How to Clear the Road toward Entrepreneurial Success (photo courtesy of Freepik) Going from the 9:00 to 5:00 grind to the entrepreneurial spirit may not be the easiest path, but it is something you can achieve. However, there are several steps you need to t…

Five Ideas to Get Your Freelancing Noticed

You started from scratch. You built your freelance business up from nothing. You’re doing well and you're proud of your accomplishments. However, you want more. You want to build a bigger business - one that supports all of your personal and financial goals. Here are five top tips to take your freelancing business further. #1 Publish - Publishing e-books, books and reports on pertinent and relevant topics in your industry will make you a household name. When you meet prospects you can say, “Here, let me give you a copy of my book.” Perhaps more importantly, people will start coming to you for your services because they’ve heard of you through your book. Publishing enhances your authority and credibility. It also makes it possible to justify higher rates. You are, after all, a published author and expert. #2 Blog - Okay, so you’re probably blogging already. But are you blogging on other industry blogs? Are you guest blogging for those movers and shakers in your industr…

5 Tips For Crafting Compelling Subject Lines

When it comes to email marketing, the first thing you need to get right is the subject line. If you can’t get your subscribers to open your emails, it really doesn’t matter how good the actual email content is. It’s easy to spend a lot of time crafting a great message and then just slap a subject line on it at the end. Spend some time writing them and see what type of headline gets you good open rates. Here are five tips to get you started. Keep It Short You want your readers to see the entire subject line before they click it. You also want to make it easy for people to scan through their emails. Try to get your point across in 50 characters or less. Pay attention to how your subject lines look on your own devices. Another great idea is to keep a swipe file of subject lines that grabbed your attention. Even if the emails are on a very different topic, you can adapt them for your own needs. Avoid “Spammy” Words Stay away from using any words we all associate w…

Are You a ‘Mompreneur’? Then you Need a Good Support System

One of the most challenging aspects of being a 'mompreneur' (mom entrepreneur) is learning how to ask for help. Of course, before you’re ready to turn to your support system, you have to recognize or build one. Here’s how to build a good support system. * Family. If you have family nearby, they’re often the easiest to turn to. After all, that’s what family is for, right? You help each other when you need it. If you’re new to asking for help (and many mompreneur suffer under the delusion that they can and have to do it all), then family is usually a great place to begin asking for help. Ask them to watch your children during crunch times in your business, or to help you take care of errands and chores and remember to return the favor. Once you get accustomed to asking for help from family, taking the next step and turning to friends, neighbors and associates won’t be so difficult. * Friends. Friends are the next easiest group of people to add to your suppo…

Top 7 Analytics/Statistics to Track in Your Business

Small business owners are great at creating products and services. This is because entrepreneurs are "idea people" at their core. Some are even great at developing an initial customer base. Unfortunately, many business owners don't know the crucial ins and outs of business management. Track the following 7 metrics and you will have a much better understanding of how to make your business successful. 1. Customer acquisition cost How much does it cost for you to acquire a new customer? This important business metric can include a lot of factors. Your personal time, marketing efforts, business insurance, utilities, payroll, and several other expenses come into play here. Your customer acquisition cost should be expressed as how much money you spend to bring in new business divided by the number of customers you acquire over a certain period of time. 2. Lifetime customer value How much revenue does every new customer generate for you over their lifetime? Business ow…