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A Podcasting Primer to Help You Start, Grow and Increase Your Influence

Earning trust on the internet has never been more important than it is today. Without trust, you cannot get followers, subscribers and customers. And yet pervasive skepticism coupled with short attention spans rule the online world. Where you once could write a 3000 word article and win people’s attention, these days it can take a more personal touch to connect with strangers and turn them into fans. And podcasting allows you to do exactly that. With podcasting, you speak directly to your prospect. Your personality can shine through in your voice in a way that is impossible with the written word. You don’t need to be some fancy speaker, either. You just need to be yourself, to relax, to have a good time and to give plenty of value to your listeners. Podcasting is easier than creating great looking videos. And your listeners can consume your podcasts while they are doing other things like driving, walking or doing chores. But Do I Really Need a Podcast? You alrea…

Do “Tell a Friend” Campaigns Still Work?

When internet marketing was still in its infancy, "tell a friend" campaigns were incredibly effective. All you had to do was put up an email box, ask people to send your stuff to their friends and they would. Today it's completely different. People are much more conservative with their time and their friends' time. In other words, they won't send something to their friends unless they really thought their friends would appreciate it. So do "tell a friend" campaigns still work? Absolutely. But the approach has to be completely different. Here are a few ways to make a "tell a friend" campaign work. Use Facebook In a way, Facebook is possibly the most effective "tell a friend" platform in history. Instead of asking people to email a friend for you, which takes a very high level of emotional commitment, try asking them to just repost whatever it is that you're promoting to their Facebook walls. Instead of just getting one person to check out your content, you can get …

Are You Setting the Right Goals for Yourself?

There is a lot more to goal setting than just picking a goal and moving forward. While that is important, it’s also important to ensure that you are setting the right goals at the right time so that you can truly be successful. In order to ensure that you are setting the right goals for yourself, answer the following questions: Are You Setting Specific and Realistic Goals? It takes a little research to ensure that a goal is realistic. If you’re not sure if something is actually achievable then you’ve not done enough research. Once you’ve set a goal that is indeed realistic, then you need to be specific enough in your description of it so that it’s also easy to take the goal, and work backwards to create a schedule of actions needed to succeed. Are Your Goals Multifaceted? Focusing on only one part of your life is a bad idea. People live multifaceted lives and need to make goals for all areas of their lives in order to feel successful. If you have a wonderful busines…

Who Are You When You’re Confident?

Does this question leave you a little flustered? To some, the idea might seem difficult. They’ll answer immediately, “I’m not confident” and may have trouble even remembering a time they were confident. You might be bothered by the question, especially if you’re not sure why confidence should matter at all. If that’s the case for you, perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at confidence itself. You might not have a clear understanding of just what it is or why it’s important. What is Confidence? When you think of someone confident, what do you see? You probably see someone with a certain set of traits including several, if not all the items from this list: They have an absolute, set belief in themselves They consider themselves capable of handling the situation they’re in They expect success when they begin a new task When they speak, they mean what they say They hold themselves in a way that looks natural but full of strength They seem comfo…

Top Ten Home Business Ideas for Parents

Parents have to make special considerations when it comes to starting a home business. They need to be able to work without punching a clock or having to available at particular hours, otherwise they’ll have to get a babysitter. Parents who want to start a business from home may have special challenges if they don’t want to hire help. But, it’s not impossible. In fact here are the top ten home business ideas for parents that don’t require clock punching, or answering to anyone but yourself. 1. Stock Photographer – Stock photography is used in numerous applications, from websites and blogs to print ads. The demand is quite high for good and unique photographs to use for these reasons. Therefore, most stock photography companies allow independent contractors to upload pictures for sale on their websites. You can also start your own website offering the images for use. 2. Graphic Designer – Designers are needed everywhere; the demand is high. If you’re good with using creati…

Using Creativity To Problem Solve At Work

We all encounter problems at work and in life. It can be stressful to find yourself in the middle of a problem without a solution. There are ways to solve most problems though if you know when, where, how, and what to look for in creating a solution. Creative problem solving is the process of solving problems with a view of the issue in more than one way. It’s a necessary skill in the workplace but many people don’t naturally have the instinct for it. That’s why using the tools and techniques outlined in this article will help you. Begin by identifying and defining the problem, wish or goal. What is the real problem? What’s wrong or lacking? What do you want to achieve or have happen? Look at the underlying reason for the problem. Is it a simple thing or is there something going on causing the problem? Remember, the solution is not to treat the symptom. Address the problem and fix it instead of putting a bandage on the problem. Gather Data - Gather the information you …

When First Starting Out – Nine Ways to Show Your Expertise

When you first start out wanting to work from home and start your own business, it can be frightening and even seem impossible. It’s the old conundrum about how you can get experience without having experience. But, when you start an online business, you can make your own experience and prove your expertise with just a little work, and this is how. 1. Blog Regularly Toward Your Audience - Start a blog on your website and blog directly to your audience with many forms of content, discussing many issues that the audience has. It’s a great way to get traffic, but it’s also a great way to demonstrate expertise. 2. Write a White Paper about a Problem – A white paper is a long report that addresses a problem and then offers solutions to the problem. If you write a paper or two about individual problems your audience has, you’ll be able to show your expertise even though you’re just starting out. 3. Publish a Book about Your Expertise – Writing a book and authorship is always…

Catch the Spirit of the Entrepreneur

Grabbing opportunities with open arms is often easier to talk about than to actually do. Most people find themselves dreaming about being rich but never actually doing anything about it. A combination of procrastination and 'what if' syndrome can cripple your creative spirit and might mean your idea will never become a reality. Socrates said "Action equals knowledge'. He was one of the greatest philosophers of our time. What he meant was that it is through action that we achieve results. For example, you could think about learning Spanish for months, imagining the holidays you will take and the people you will communicate with. You can dream forever but accomplish nothing unless you actually make the effort to start taking lessons. Much like the martial arts approach - the idea is to take action immediately and avoid over analyzing the situation. Do you want to start your own business but are afraid of what kinds of things can go wrong? What if your initial investment…

How to Enhance Your Brand Personality

A strong personal brand can really boost business. However, strong personal brands generally don’t just happen. It takes a plan and a commitment to follow through. This New Year, consider making a resolution to build a stronger personal brand. Here’s how. Step One: Identify your brand personality For most small business owners their brand personality is their own personality. If you’re a goofy or silly person then your brand may be goofy and silly. If you’re a hard hitting and serious person then that’s your brand personality. This is because it’s much easier and more effective to be yourself than to try to be a character. Martha Stewart is a great example. While she’s certainly not a small business owner, her brand is her personality. You know what to expect from Martha Stewart and people love that. It’s also important when identifying your brand personality to make sure it fits with your niche and target audience. Some personalities and niches may not blend well. …

How to Build a Sales Pitch into Your Presentation

Are you presenting a product or service to a potential client or an audience of potential clients? The main point of the presentation is to make the sale, but the focus of the presentation is the audience. How can you accomplish both in one shot? We are going to give you a few hints in that area. Sell, Sell, Sell! When salesmen have quotas, the customer can become lost in the sauce. Remember door-to-door salesmen? They didn’t have PowerPoint presentations or big event halls with a stage to speak to their prospective clients. They honed a few basic skills that made the sale for them. As a business owner or a manager for a company, knowing the importance of new business as well as the importance of client needs can translate into sales with the right formula. Being prepared for anything (even big fat Nos) actually makes your job a lot smoother and simpler. Sometimes it isn’t what you know but how you convey what you know to your target audience. Building Your Presenta…

When a handshake is not enough: why you need a Partnership Agreement

If you set up in business with one or more other people but do not wish to set up a limited company, a partnership arrangement will be deemed to exist at law without the need for a formal contract. However, whilst a written partnership agreement is not required to form a partnership, if you wish to avoid uncertainty and the automatic application of potentially unsuitable statutory law, a formal agreement is a wise investment. What happens if we don’t sign a Partnership Agreement? In the absence of a written agreement, the provisions of the 1890 Partnership Act will apply. In essence, these state that all the partners are equal and share profits, losses, start-up and running costs as well as the workload equally. Whilst the provisions are intended to provide an equitable framework for running your business, in reality, there are significant implications. For example; - all partners will be entitled to share the profits equally regardless of how much capital, effort or s…

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…