Niche Partners Blog Spot

57,100 contacts in 2 weeks?

June 7th, 2007

Hi

If you’ve been in business for even a little while you will have heard of the benefits of networking. Many people shudder at the thought because it conjures up images of dragging yourself to go to networking events and then force yourself on people so they will take your business card and hopefully sign up as a customer on the spot. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth if you want to effectively network to grow your business.

The networking leper

Do you recognise this person? Maybe it has been you? The one who races around handing out as many business cards as they can, only stopping to give you a monologue about their business. The one with a clear area around them as people try to get as far away as possible from them?

If this sounds like you, don’t worry. That’s how most people new to the idea of networking behave. And they are always disappointed.

The networking magnet

So how do you become as effective networker? I get all of my business and business opportunities from networking and I put this down to to one thing. When I meet people, whether socially or at a networking event, I go there with the thought “How can I help this person I have met?” If I can’t help them,” is there someone I know who can help them?” In fact, I usually carry around a small notebook so I can write down what I can do to help them so I remember to follow them up with the help they need. It’s the philosophy of “The more you give, the more you receive” or “Pay it Forward”.

The same concept applies with on-line networking. I’ll be talking about this a bit over the next few weeks (I have an exciting project coming up - the success of which will depend entirely on my ability to network!) . But first let me tell you about a networking tool that has been around for a while but which I have only explored in the last 2 weeks.

Linked - In

A few weeks ago I was invited to join Linked-In. The idea is based on the 6 degrees of separation idea. You know, that everyone in the world in separated by only 6 degrees. This person knows this person , who knows that person etc. This means that if you want to meet someone (such as I am looking for a really good copywriter who is a woman), in the off-line world I would ask people in my network if they know a good copy writer or if they know someone who knows one. Because they have been referred through a friend, or a friend of a friend, then you are more likely to trust them. That’s just how friendships (also known as networks, work).

Linked -in does this, except on-line. You invite people to join your network, they invite others and then you find yourself with an extended network you doidn’t really realise you had. All connected through friends so you can ask for personal recommendations.

57,100 contacts in 2 weeks

In the last 2 weeks I have invited people who I am in regular contact with to join me in Linked In. Look at the screen grab below. In 2 short weeks, I have 57,100 people I can contact through friends and friends of friends. WOW.

linked in

As with all effective networking I have grown this network by using the philosophy of giving before I receive. When a person is added to my list that I know, I take the time to write a recommendation for them. If I have used their services, dealt with them as a colleague or if they have been a client, I can usually find something to say in their favour. This is really valuable as people searching for their services will be able to read my recommendation and be more likely to contact them about working together. The nice thing, is most people return the favour.

Why not check out my profile below and feel free to ask to join my network.

I’ll be really interested to hear of any experiences you have had with using Linked In or other similar services. As always, please tell me your ideas by leaving a comment below.

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Money and Relationships, Out-Sourcing, Business Networking | Comments Off

The Next Thing In Reality TV is?

May 29th, 2007

HiLast week I received a message from another Aussie Internet Marketer, Frank Bauer. Frank told me that he was auditioning for an Internet Reality TV show and could I vote for him? Immediately I thought of Reality TV like Big Brother and I must admit I was surprised. Frank has never struck me as an exhibitionist. So I messaged back that I would be happy to vote for him – as long as we get to see him naked in the shower!

Hmmmmm. Not that type of Reality TV. More along the lines of The Apprentice meets YouTube.

After I voted for Frank I browsed around the site – what a great concept. Joel Comm, New York Times best seller and Internet Marketing Legend, has created a competition for the “Next Internet Millionaire”. Twelve contestants will receive an all expenses paid trip to learn from the masters of marketing while they compete for cash, prizes, and the ultimate joint venture with Joel Comm.

The thought of reality TV horrifies me (too much invasion of privacy for my liking) but the prize is too tempting for me. I have had as one of my goals to visit The USA this year to meet and learn from the many inspiring Internet marketers there. I just hadn’t worked out how to get there yet.

The chance to spend 2 weeks learning from the best with such a small and intimate group is an amazing opportunity – so yes, I’ve taken the plunge, dived in, and auditioned to be one of the final 12!!

I need your help to win Audition is by video. I didn’t want to create a boring talking head video so I thought “What is happening in my life at the moment that I can relate to becoming the Next Internet Millionaire”?

The result? Check out my 2 minute audition video

“Why Becoming The Next Internet Millionaire Is Like Learning To Ride A Surfboard”

Yes, I do a spectacular wipe out but never give in until I can finally stand on my own (well, sort of).

I’d appreciate your help because to win – I need people to vote for me.

Simply click here to cast your vote for me now and vote 10 for Janet Beckers “The Surfin’ Mama From Down Under”.

but meanwhile - here is a sneak peak at my video.

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments. Let me know what you think by leaving your comments below my clicking on the comments link.

Posted in Money and Relationships, Selling Online, Next Internet Millionaire | 2 Comments »

Janet’s Out-Of-The-Box Productivity Tips

May 29th, 2007

There are some definite advantages to working with a client who is Australia’s No 1 Productivity Coach. Lorraine Pirihi certainly keeps me on my toes! As you can imagine, she is a very productive person so I am inspired tobe just as productive, and try and “beat her to the punch” as much as possible. So when Lorraine invited me to take part in Ben Yoskovitz’ group writing project on productivity, how could I resist? I wrote about this innovativeproject earlier in the post “unusual ways to get traffic to your blog”. You can check out Ben’s blog article on this project here.

The challenge is to share your best productivity tips - so here goes. Some of these may be a bit “out of the box” but they definitely work for me.

Janet’s Out-Of-The-Box Productivity Tips

1. Use a timer to create false deadlines

I don’t know if you are like me, but I work really well under pressure. If I know I have a while to get something done I can really stuff around and get distracted by things that are interesting but totally unimportant in the big scheme of things. So I trick myself and create artificial deadlines. For example, I have given myself 20 minutes to write this blog post. I have a timer with an alarm that I have beside the computer counting down. I’ve just glanced over. OH NO! I’ve only got 13 minutes left. I better speed it up.

2. Write a weekly plan - and stick to it

I guess this is another way of creating deadlines. At the beginning of each week I work out my priorities for the week and then decide on milestones and action points. Sometimes it can take me an hour but I find that if I skip this process because I think I am too busy - I end up busier at the end of the week and I get heaps less done. I use a template that I have created for my business so that I don’t just concentrate on what seems urgent but also remember to plan for lead generation, admin and follow up. I have columns for the days of the week and I just tick the days I will work on that milestone. It also means I have to think less during the week as I just look at the column for the day and see what is important to get done.

3. Use recurring reminders in ACT or Outlook

There are things I must remembers to do every week, month etc. Like write my weekly newsletter, prepare for mastermind calls, make sure I have cash to pay my cleaner once a fortnight etc. I’m sure you get the picture. I set up recurring reminders and set the alarm to go off at a suitable warning time. So if I have something due on Wednesday that I know may take more than an hour, I set the alarm to go off the day before so I can get started early if I need to. I very rarely miss deadlines because of this.

Oh dear. Just looked at my timer. Only 5 minutes left to write. Better make it short and sweet…..

4. Health before 10. Wealth after 10.

I don’t usually start work until 9.30am, sometimes 10am. If I do this, I get more done than if I start as soon as the kids head off to school. How is this possible? I spend that hour swimming laps at the pool, walking through the National Park to my favourite beach, doing yoga or meditating. Spending that time on my health keeps me focused and much calmer. So I look after my health until 10 and then I look after my wealth after 10. Of course, some days commitments get in the way and I know for certain my productivity is less that day.

5. Use Basecamp on-line project management to coordinate staff and client communication

Have you heard of Basecamp? I love it. This on-line software allows me to set up a project for each client. We can set milestones, to dos, write messages and upload files. This is how I set tasks for staff and contractors and keep milestones transparent for clients. It also allows me to set milestones and reminders for clients, such as “rememberto send us this month’s specials to put on your website”. I don’t just use it for client projects. We also have one set up for our admin so I can add jobs for “Jan the Wonderful Admin Assistant” as I think of them, so she just has to check on-line to know what extra jobs she has to tackle. You can get a free account at http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/BaseCamp

Remember tip no. 1? Use a timer to create false deadlines? I blew it. The alarm went off part way through tip no 5. Oh well. I’m sure if I hadn’t used it I would have used up 20 minutes just getting to tip no. 2.

As part of this group writing project, I need to pass the baton to another blog owner. Seeing how writing blog posts takes so long I thought I would pass the baton to Yaro Starok from http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com

Yaro is a fantastically productive blogger. I met Yaro at World Internet Summit in Melbourne and he seems to be such a calm man that he must have some great productivity tips to share. So, over to you Yaro.

Cheers

Janet

P.S. Why not share your best productivity tip by leaving a comment here? Just click on the comments link below. You could also take part in this group writing project.

Posted in Blogging, Time Savers | No Comments »

Is the Internet Lifestyle a Dream or Nightmare?

May 24th, 2007

Imagine this for a moment. You spend your days at the beach, playing with your kids, drinking coffee in cafes - insert your own ideal lifestyle here. Sometime during the day you sit down at your laptop for half an hour to check your emails and see how much money has been deposited in your account today. Life is easy and money flows into your accout every day with virtually no input from you.

You are living the Internet Lifestyle dream. You have probably heard of the Internet Lifestyle. How could you escape it? You will see the promise of it in every sales letter you see on the internet and read stories of every-day people living this lifestyle within just a few months of buying their first marketing course. And of course - it all happens with very little effort.

You may not want to hear this, but here’s the truth. The Internet Lifestyle Dream is just that - a dream. You have been sold a myth. In short, it is bullshit!

quality bullshit

You see, the Internet Lifestyle is possible but it does require work and time. Importantly you need a sound plan based on logical steps that have been proven to work. But how do you know what those steps are?

Analysis Paralysis

If you have spent time on the internet exploring ways to make money on-line, or if you have been to any Internet Marketing conferences you are probably overwhelmed with the amount of information and choice available. Most people end up with “analysis paralysis”. There are so many ways to make money online that you just can’t decide. So rather than make the wrong choice - you make no choice at all. Sound familiar?

The big question everyone asks

Without fail, the most common question I am asked by people new to Internet Marketing is “How do you know which method to use?” This is the first question you need to answer. I have found through experience that there are really only 2 ways to make money on-line.Each way has many paths you can take, but eventually it boils down to 2 ways. Either you sell your own products or you sell someone else’s products. Simple.

But how do you know which method is best for you?
how do you know which products will sell?
how do you automate everything so you can end up living the Internet Lifestyle Dream - and not The Internet Lifestyle Nightmare?

The answer is focus

Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are proven systems to follow to answer each of these questions. If you don’t take the time to understand the different models you can use to make money on the Internet then you will end up using the scattergun approach. Every time you hear of a new method, the latest opportunity, you will be tempted to take it hoping it will be the answer for you. I know because every one does it - including me. When you know which path you are going to choose - then it is easy to decide if an opportunity is right for you or not. But you can’t do that until you decide. Then you can invest your time and money in a focused way.

The first step

It’s important to sort through the hype and get a real understanding of the basic principles of making money on the Internet. So I’ve done something about it. I’ve taken the time to create a Home Study Course that covers the basics of what you need to know to be able to make an informed choice. You’re not going to be up-sold into a high priced coaching program, in fact there is no up-sell at all. The idea is to sort through the hype and get you started making money in a focused way.

Here’s what’s Included

4 presentation videos take you step by step through:

1. How to tell if your idea will make money

2. Internet Business models that work

3. The marketing funnel - what it is and how to use it to make money on the internet

4. Tying the funnel together - how to automate your business so you don’t create a nightmare

Short cut your understanding of how to create an internet business that makes money.

Includes 3 learning formats:

4 video (Camtasia format) presentations
PDF of all the slides used in the presentation
MP3 audios of the presentation, in 4 chapters for easy listening

I could easily charge $197 for this course, if not more. But I’m not going to. It’s in my interest that the people I coach and create marketing websites for are focused. It saves us both time. So I have dropped the price to US$67 - and that’s for a physical product shipped to your door.

All Niche Partners products come with a 12 month money-back guarantee. I wouldn’t take the time to create something unless I knew for sure it was excellent value - so we take all the risk.

If you’d like to know more, just leave a comment or contact me. I’d love to hear your opinion on the Internet Lifestyle Dream. Have you bought the myth and been burnt, or maybe you are already living the dream?

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Uncategorized, Selling Online, On-line Business Management | No Comments »

Podcast & Blog Hopping VA Traverses Detour to Arrive at Niche Partners Stop

May 13th, 2007

Hi Janet, Sorry I’m a little late, but cyber traffic was hectic and I had to take a detour before arriving. I notice your business is creating passive income for clients, which is a business growth process I am very interested in. After we conclude today’s chat about the virtual assistant industry, let’s set aside time to discuss this interesting method of developing continuous streams of income. In the meantime, I’m ready for your questions – so, let’s begin.

1. What exactly is a VA?

As defined by the Alliance for Virtual Businesses, the online information portal to the Virtual Assistant industry, Virtual Assistants (VAs) are independent entrepreneurs providing long-term, collaborative, professional administrative, creative, managerial, technical, business office and/or personal support services for clients. From their home offices, VAs use the most advanced means of communication, and the newest and most efficient and time saving office products and work delivery, regardless of geographic boundaries.

2. Many of my customers either are setting up an Internet marketing business or are using Internet marketing in their existing small business. How can a VA help them to grow their business?

By forming long-term, collaborative relationships with Virtual Assistants, the VA will become familiar with the client’s business operations and provide a variety of support services. VAs can assume nonbillable yet time consuming responsibilities such as calendar management and scheduling trips, planning meetings, researching the Internet for information, tracking expenses, paying bills and taxes, balancing the books, maintaining files, screening calls, and answering e-mails. In relationship to internet marketing, VAs may assume administrative and internet-based services such as: Internet research of online article submission sites Media release distribution Compilation of resource information Transcribing and editing of recorded teleseminars Autoresponders management Drafting and distribution of ezine Product fulfillment services Design and layout of ebooks Editing and posting of podcasts and submission to RSS feeds, etc. Blog updates and maintenanceAs described above, a VA can support clients by assuming tasks that consume many potentially profit-generating hours. In addition, VAs also often introduce best office practices that improve office operations efficiency. By delegating these tasks to a VA, the client gains additional time to concentrate on income-generating responsibilities such as networking, soliciting and servicing clients, developing new products and services, etc., all of which may result in positive financial outcomes and business growth.

Why would I use a VA instead of employing someone in my office?

There are many tangible and nontangible reasons to develop a contractual relationship with a VA instead of employing full or part-time staff, including:· Reduction or elimination of personnel-related expenses. Virtual Assistants are independent contractors, entrepreneurs responsible for paying their own benefits, insurance, taxes, etc.· Elimination of equipment and furniture-related expenses. A VA’s works from a fully-functional, furnished office, and provides her own equipment, technologies, software, etc. (Note: If a client requests that the VA purchase and learn a specific software that is not in her current arsenal, the client may be responsible for costs associated with its purchase and training). · Only pay for time on task. VAs are paid only for time on task and utilize a time tracking software that records duration and billing information associated with the assignment. As a result, the client is not charged for downtime, breaks, lunch, leaving the office when emergencies occur, etc. · Work with Internet-savvy professionals. Virtual Assistants are technology experts and proficient in performing Internet and Web-associated duties. In-house staff may be inadequately trained, as well as lack the knowledge and experience to perform internet-based assignments in a timely and cost-savings manner.· Clients gain extra hours. By retaining the services of a VA, clients obtain more hours to concentrate on perform income-generating responsibilities that fuel their passion.A Virtual Solution for Business Growth, Stability and Profitability is a white paper outlining how business owners increase profitability and save time and money by outsourcing work to a Virtual Assistant. The report is especially beneficial for entrepreneurs seeking relief from overwhelmed, and can use fresh insight into projects, an extra pair of administrative hands or an expert in Internet-based technologies. It is a blueprint to help business owners get back on track, achieve goals and rejuvenate their passion. Feel free to download this white paper for a comprehensive description of how to develop a successful and profitable relationship with Virtual Assistant.

How do I communicate with a VA? Isn’t it difficult to get things done if we don’t meet face-to-face?

Oh, it was difficult many, many years ago, but with today’s easily adaptable and affordable technologies it is almost effortless to communicate with a Virtual Assistant. Below is a short list, inclusive of simple and more advanced ways to communicate with a VA.

Email
Instant messaging
Telephone
VoIP (Vonage, Skype, etc.)
White boarding
Utilizing shared space applications
Accessing online meeting rooms, forums, list servs
File transfer protocol (ftp)

How do I find a good VA?

To assist individuals in their efforts to locate and develop partnering relationships with virtual assistants, the Alliance for Virtual Businesses, the industry’s information portal has compiled a thorough list of VA organizations that represent thousands of Virtual Assistants, worldwide. In addition, it also showcases individual VAs in its Meet VAs Directory. Feel free to use these resources to locate exceptional virtual assistants for developing partnering relationships.

I want a VA that keeps up to date with the latest technology and trends so my business can always be in the lead. Is there a community of VAs and a way for Vas to keep up-to-date and educated?

Absolutely! Virtual Assistants are known to be “life learners”. Since industry members utilize internet-based technologies as a part of our daily operations, we must stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies. In addition, to life learning, there are several VA training and certification programs offering a wide range of education and service enhancing options to choose from.

Tell me about the virtual conference (makes sense that Virtual assistants should have a virtual conference doesn’t it?). Who should take part and what are the benefits of joining in?

The 2^nd annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC) will be held Thursday, May 17-Saturday, May 19, 2007 (New York). At this convention, virtual assistants and other business owners from around the world attend seminars, workshops, network, and visit exhibit halls, all from the comfort of home via their desktop or laptop computer. Even though the convention is a virtual assistant event, it presents an excellent training and networking opportunity for business owners across all industries. Imagine attending an international convention without the added overhead of travel, food, lodging, being away from business and family, etc. In addition, participants, using VoIP or text chat technology, interact with speakers; ask questions and network with other attendees. The keynote presenter is Fran Capo, a world record holder, comedienne, keynote speaker and writer specializing in humor, publicity and motivation. In addition, over the 3 days, 27 presenters, including world-renowned experts will conduct seminars, including:

Paul and Sarah Edwards - Working from Home, What You Can Do to Avoid Getting Squeezed out of the Middle Class
Robyn Henderson - Network or Perish: How to Double Your Customer Base Through Effective Networking
Robert Middleton - Marketing Your VA Services on the Web
Michael Russer - How to Explode the Size of Your Business Without Breaking a Sweat!
Donna Messer - The Power of Positive Linking
Beverly Mahone - Who are You and Why Should the Media Care?

Registration closes May 15^th (New York), so join us for business growth training, workshops, networking and exhibits. Visit the OIVAC for more details. Well Janet, I’m sorry to say I have to leave and hop back to the US. In the meantime, I invite readers to journey over to OIVAC and join us at the convention. For those of you who enjoy solving puzzles, we’re conducting a scrambled phrase puzzle game in conjunction with this podcast and blog hopping tour. It’s not too late to join the fun. Each day, I leave a new clue for travelers. Yesterday’s clue was dropped at Karen McGreevey’s Konceptuality site and tomorrow I’m visiting Patty Dost of Time Is Of The Es~Cents.com. Your clue (#41) is: eromopt.

Alliance for Virtual Businesses and OIVAC, and president of The 24 Hour Secretary an administrative, secretarial and internet-based marketing support services company. She is the 2006 recipient of the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award and co-founder of Virtual Business University an e-learning environment for entrepreneurs ready to step towards their greatness.

Posted in On-line Business Management, Blogging, Out-Sourcing | No Comments »

Unusual ways to get traffic to your blog

May 4th, 2007

Today I want to share with you some unusual ways to get people to visit your web site through your blog.

The nice part about blogs is that they regularly have fresh content. Even though you could add fresh content to your static site just as often, blogs make it so much easier to do for 2 reasons:

1. they have a built in content management system which means you don’t need to know how to use software like Dreamweaver and Frontpage, and

2. Everyone expects that a blog will be updated all the time - so this mind-set means that we “just do it”. We add fresh content all the time without worrying about making everything perfect, like we tend to do with our main web sites

Because blogs are updated constantly - you can respond to opportunities on the internet quickly. This means you can take new opportunities to attract people to your website. I’ve only been blogging for a short time - about a month but already I have been invited to take part in 2 unusual campaigns which are designed to attract new visitors to my website. And they couldn’t work without a blog.

The Blog Hopping VA

This is such a great idea. If you have never heard of a VA, it stands for Virtual Assistant. This is an industry that has developed because of the internet and it is now HUGE. Virtual Assistants do everything from typing, book keeping, web maintenance to organising events. Just like a normal Personal Assistant except they work from their office instead of yours.

Anyway, in a few weeks there will be an International Conference for VA’s and so naturally it will be a Virtual Conference. They are using an unusual way to let people know about the conference - a blog hopping tour. Every day Sharon Williams, an award winning VA, will visit a different blog, answering questions about VAs and leaving a clue to a puzzle. If you visit every blog and collect the clues - you win some fantastic prizes - many of them donated by the owners of the blogs. Sharon will be visiting here next week. I’ll let you know if this idea has any impact on the traffic I receive here or to the number of people who sign up for our free on-line course “How to find a niche market that makes money”.

You can find out about the tour and how you can win here:

http://www.oivac.com/hoppingtour.htm
The Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project

Now here’s an interesting idea that you may be able to instigate in your own niche. Ben Yoskovitz from The Instigator Blog has “instigated” a unique project. You can get more details here:
http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-productivity-group-writing-project/2007/04/24/

He is challenging people to contribute their best “productivity tip”. But instead of visiting his blog and leaving your tip, you are invited to write your tip on your own blog and link to another person’s blog who you invite to take part. A bit like a chain letter really, only more sophisticated. I will leave my tip here in a few days and also monitor how many people link back to me from other blogs taking part. I’ll keep you up to date with any improvement this makes to the number of visitors to this new blog.

I hope these 2 projects give you some ideas that you can use on your own web sites. Maybe you could start your own blog hopping tour to promote an event or the launch of a new product. You could also get people to write your next product for you by inviting them to take part in a group writing project. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Cheers

Janet

P.S. Go on, leave a comment and tell me what you think. Have you any ideas of how to build on these 2 unusual methods?

Posted in Getting traffic to your site, Blogging | 2 Comments »

My special weapon against copy writer’s block

April 25th, 2007

Hi

Are you like me? When it comes to writing the copy for your website or emails do you find yourself staring at your blank computer screen for what seems hours. You type in a few lines, read back over it, and then hit the delete button. AHHHH!!!!!

You know that the headline is the most important part of your sales letter on your website and you’ve seen heaps of really good headlines that caught your attention when you were surfing the net – but what were they again?

And then there is also the layout of the page, deciding what graphics to use, what colours to use - the list goes on. What you really need is a swipe file. If you haven’t heard of this term before, a swipe file is a folder (either in your filing cabinet or on your computer) where you keep copies of sales letters, ads etc that you really like or that you know have been effective. That way, you don’t have to start from scratch. When you need ideas for headings, you simply look over all the ones you have collected and adapt one to suit your needs.

Here’s the problem though. When you have been collecting copies of your favourite websites, emails, etc for a while, it can be really hard to find what you have been looking for. You may have them bookmarked in your browser or organized neatly under folder headings. But what you really need is some kind of easy to use search facility to find them, and a really simple way to save and catalogue them.

Here’s the solution and even better, it’s free and dead easy to use. Go here to download the program called Evernote.http://www.evernote.comThey have an upgraded paid version but I’ve never had a need for it. The free version is excellent.

When you are browsing around the internet and see a sales letter with a heading you think is very powerful, all you have to do is click the Evernote icon that will be at the top of your browser. You can add a snap shot of the webpage to Evernote and categorise it under as many listings as you like (for eg headings, sales pages, great graphics – all for the one page). And not only does it save a copy for you, it also automatically includes a link to the website so you can go back and check it out even years later.

I use this tool every single day. Because it’s so quick to add new pages and categorise them I now have a huge swipe file that I can refer to when I get that inevitable mental blank.

A word on copyright (and netiquette). Although searching through your swipe file is R&D (Research & Development), don’t be tempted to do the Internet version of R&D (Rip off & Duplicate)! Use your swipe file for ideas and build on them from there. Add your own twist – who knows it may be so good someone adds your copy to their swipe file.

CheersJanetP.S. I’d love to hear if you have any ideas on swipe files or any handy tools of your own to share. Just leave your comments here on the blog so others can learn as well. I take the time to read and reply to every post.

Posted in Copywriting, On-line Business Management | No Comments »

You can kiss YouTube goodbye

April 18th, 2007

Hi

Kiss YouTube goodbye? I’m joking right? Well this week a new web site has been launched that will allow online marketers, consultants and affiliates to do just that.

To find out all about it, take a quick tour and see how it is going to change the way you do business online. The best way to do this is to take a few minutes to view the video I have made below. This video is one I have actually loaded to this new site and then added to this blog. It is definately worth taking the time to do and then get over there and open a free account before everyone else does.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

If you sell information products on-line, or even your consulting services through your website, you may have already added video to your website to give people a free sample of the quality of your work. One of the easiest ways to do this is to load your video onto YouTube and then insert the video onto your website or blog. This is an excellent idea but there is a problem. Your professional video is simply swamped by thousands of other videos of people doing the chicken dance in their basements. Quality content simply gets lost amongst all that silliness!

YouTube is perfect for spreading the word, having fun and sharing with friends. Until now there hasn’t been a place where you can get good quality videos, audios and ebooks on any topic for free without distraction. There also hasn’t been a place where you can view samples of products before you buy them - all is easily in one place.

Check out http://freeiq.com/nichepartnersajoin. Here is why it is important to you if you have expertise in a niche and have information products and services to sell:

1. You can showcase your videos, mp3s and ebooks that you give away as lead generators - on a site that will have huge traffic
2. You can host your videos on FreeIQ (and use their bandwidth) and stream them on your own site
3. Affiliates can put your videos on their site and generate more traffic for you
4. You can put other people’s videos on your site and get paid if people purchase any of their products
5. You can list your products for sale (even physical ones you need to ship) for free
6. When you sell a product (or someone elses) you get paid directly into your PayPal account every 2 weeks, instead of cashing cheques from another country which can take up to 6 weeks to end up in your account (this happens with clickbank)
7. Free and paid videos are ranked by visitors, just like with YouTube, so if your products are good (which of course they are!) you will rank well.
8. You don’t need a merchant accont, website or affiliate program to start selling online!

I’ll keep you up to date as I learn how to use this site better and start getting results from the products I have listed for myself and our clients. In the meantime, get over there and sign up now. Remember, with the “information highway” if you’re not on the steam roller, you’re part of the road.
Cheers
Janet
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this new development. Let me know if you have joined and added any products for free or sale. Post your links here in the comments section so others can view your videos, audios and free books.

Posted in Selling Online, Getting traffic to your site | No Comments »

The 6 Laws of Money Part 2

April 11th, 2007

Hi

Last week I introduced you to Jim Chambers from The Institute for Organizational Leadership at www.iolglobal.com. Jim teaches that there are 6 Laws to Money which every business must obey in order to succeed. Last week we covered the first 3. If you need a refresher, you can read that article here http://nichepartners.biz/blog/2007/04/03/the-6-laws-of-money/.

Today we are going to look at the final 3 Laws of Money and see how important they are to the success of your Internet business.

Law 4: The only way to get to know someone, is to spend time and attention on them.

Sounds like the first law of marriage doesn’t it? In last week’s article we covered that all money comes from people (law 1), people will only give their money to people they trust (law 2), and people will only trust people they know (law 3). We talked about the different ways that you can help people get to know you on-line and to learn how to trust you.

There is a mistake that many people make when they start an on-line business and they fail because they are breaking the Fourth Law of Money. They are not spending time and devoting attention to their customers and potential customers.

Have you bought the Internet Lifestyle Myth? Did you start your on-line business believing that you can lay on the beach and just check your bank account each afternoon? It’s a lie. You can do this, but you aren’t going to make a lot of money. At some stage you need to spend some time and attention on your customers and potential customers. You need to invest time developing a relationship and trust. Sure you can automate a lot of your communication (and you really do need to or you’ll go mad) but you need to make a commitment (by the way, this is who we use to automate our emails http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/aweber).

Lets refer back to marriage. If you spend a lot of time and attention to your new love to start with, you can be pretty confident that you will be rewarded with their trust, a relationship and hopefully their commitment. But what if after a little while, you stopped putting in the time? It’s pretty likely they’ll stop trusting you, commitment will waiver and hey, they might even forget who you are! The same with your online business. Don’t start a relationship if you don’t intend to maintain it! For example, I have numerous websites of my own or with joint venture partners. Some of these, I haven’t put the effort into creating an ongoing relationship with potential clients. I don’t have a newsletter or blog attached to those sites. I don’t expect to make as much money through those sites but that is a conscious decision. I run 2 newsletters and 2 blogs (and will start a third in a few months). I have committed myself to writing weekly to each of these lists and providing real value. I want to develop a relationship with you and others as these 2 (soon to be 3) areas are my real passion. I will only commit to what I know I can deliver. Look at your own business. Are you spread too thin? Are you delivering value routinely to the people you want to create a relationship with? Are you obeying the Fourth Law of Money?

Law 5: If you spend time getting to know people they will open new business opportunities.

Did you know that most people you get to know will know at least 20 people who are in very similar circumstances to themselves and who could also use your service or product? Think about that. You do not have a relationship with those 20 people but that one person you do know does. If you have committed the time and attention to earn the trust of that one person, they will refer those other 20 people to you. And because they have been referred by someone they trust, you automatically benefit.

If you have spent the time developing a relationship with a person on your mailing list, how often do you ask them to refer new business your way? You can do this simply by using a tell-a-friend script on your web site (this is the one we use http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/viralfriendgenerator) , or simply asking people to forward on your newsletter. Here’s a more powerful way. Email each customer (you can set this up to run automatically) and ask them explicitly to refer a new customer to you. Tell them upfront that you intend to offer them such great service that you expect them to refer people to you. Make it a separate part of your communication with them, not buried in your newsletter. If people trust you, they just need to be asked. You can also reward them for their referrals. There are many ways to do this but a simple way is built into the tell a friend software I recommend at http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/viralfriendgenerator.

Law 6: Shortage of money is directly proportional to a shortage of relationships.

This is the law that really ties the Laws of Money to the bottom line. If your business is not making money, or has started to slow down the first thing you need to do is look at your relationships. When talking from an on-line perspective you need to look at 2 things first: The size of your mailing list (how many people have signed up for your newsletters) and how responsive that list is. If people reply to your emails and purchase the products you recommend in your emails, then that list is responsive. Well done, you’ve done a great job at developing trust. If your list is not responsive, you better have a good look at how you are communicating with your list.

The other relationship you need to look at, is the relationships you have with other people in your field. These are people who can help you grow your on-line business and refer new customers to you. These relationships are essential for you to spend the time developing (applying the Fourth Law of Money).

I hope Jim’s 6 Laws of Money have given you food for thought. The underlying theme of all of the 6 Laws of Money is relationships. Taking the time to develop and nuture relationships is what will make the difference between an on-line business that struggles and one that really thrives.

Here’s to your success. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Why not leave a comment to share with others.? Simply click on the comment link and type away. I will read and respond to all your comments.

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Money and Relationships | 2 Comments »

The 6 Laws of Money

April 3rd, 2007

Hi

Last week I was on a mastermind call with 6 other successful entrepreneurs. I’m very lucky to be part of this group as the breadth of knowledge of the members has really helped me to grow my business. In another post I’ll talk about the importance of a mastermind group and how to set one up, but for today I want to share with you what I learnt from one of our members, Jim Chambers. You can check out Jim’s Institute for Organizational Leadership at www.iolglobal.com.

Jim teaches that there are 6 Laws of Money which every business must obey in order to succeed. I’ll discuss 3 of these today and talk about the next 3 next week. It is interesting to see how you can relate these to your on-line business.

Law 1. All money comes from people.

Sounds silly doesn’t it? Too often when we deal with companies we forget that there is a person at some level in the organisation who has made the decision to spend money with you. With our on-line businesses, it is so easy to think of people who spend money with us as a faceless customer as we never get to meet them. Never forget that every transaction you make, there is a person’s name attached.

Law 2. People only give their money to people they trust.

People do not usually trust others instantly. Think about purchases you have made recently. If it was an on-line purchase what was it that made you feel comfortable enough that you were happy to hand over your credit card details? What made you trust them? Had you known of them for a while or did you purchase from them the first time you visited their site? If you did purchase from them when you had no previous relationship I want you to really think about what is was about their business that made you feel you could trust them. Trust them to actually deliver the goods and services they promised.

It is very likely that you were referred to their web site by someone else - someone you trusted. Maybe you checked them out as to what other web sites said about them - this is social proof. Very possibly, the web site owner provided that social proof for you, by providing lots of testimonials on their site by a wide cross section of people, so you could find someone there who you could relate to and trust their opinion. You may also have been impressed by their long list of credentials. These are all things you can use on your own web sites to help potential customers to know they can trust you.

Law 3. The only way to get someone to trust you is if you get to know them. You need to have a relationship

When people think about Internet Marketing, relationships is not usually the first thing they think of. In fact, the Internet can often seem like a place that does not allow a relationship to develop. I disagree with this very strongly. Every successful On-line entrepreneur I know points to relationships as the key to their success.

We’ve already talked about using other people’s relationships with your potential customer to help create trust (by referring you and through testimonials). You also need to develop that trust further by entering into a dialogue with your web site visitors. Take the time to reply to emails from clients (or get your assistant to) and start talking to your visitors through an email newsletter. Every contact you have with people who visit your web site or who have joined your mailing list should provide great value. If you help them by giving helpful information and great tips, they will learn that you can be trusted. Then they will feel comfortable to buy from you often.

The important thing with developing these relationships is to be yourself. People need to trust the real you, not someone who you think you should be. It doesn’t take much to sense that you are not comfortable with yourself. So if you usually call a spade a bloody spade, then do the same when you communicate with your email list (within reason). Remember in each email you are really only talking to one person, the person who has opened that email and is learning to trust you. That person who Jim mentioned in The First Law of Money.

I hope this has given you some food for thought. Next week I’ll share the last 3 Laws of Money with you - the last one is very likely to surprise you. I’m sure you have some thoughts of your own on this topic. Why not leave your comments here to share with others? I will reply to every comment you leave here for me so it will be nice to hear from you.

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Money and Relationships | 1 Comment »

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