This Will Make Your Life Much Simpler
… at least I hope it will.
I remember when I first started in Network Marketing a few years ago. I was in my late 40’s and had never, I mean NEVER had any exposure to marketing, sales, paid search, Twitter, Facebook or anything of that sort.
I was the consumate NEWBIE.
I was pitiful.
I didn’t know ANYTHING. I really only knew how to search on Google and answer emails, and sometimes even that was a challenge.
There were so many terms thrown at me — keywords, ad groups, YouTube, Word Press, Twitter, list building, outsourcing…. the list went on and on, and I WAS CLUELESS.
So Rosemary and I decided to help others in this same boat.
We put together a series of training articles with the them of “Made Simple” — simple explanations and descriptions of all those new terms you encounter when first starting your home based business.
Articles such as:
- Network Marketing Made Simple
- Keyword Research Made Simple
- Video Marketing Made Simple
- Article Writing Made Simple
- Twitter Made Simple
and many more.
The feedback has been so positive that we’ve decided to expand the list of articles even more, so check back often.
Go Here to See The Entire Free “Made Simple” Article Series
Oh, one more thing — the entire site is 100% FREE.
It’s our way of giving back to a community that has been very good to us.
Enjoy folks!
New FREE Article Marketing Series Now Available
ATTENTION: All Article Marketers or anyone interested in Article Marketing….
Your day just got a whole lot better!
The authors at EzineArticles.com have just made available a set of 12 PDFs to provide training in all areas of article marketing, including:
- Article Marketing 101
- Article Syndication
- Article Keywords and Titles
- Article Summary
- Article Do’s and Don’ts
- Article Resource Box
- Creating Great Content
- What Article Publishers Are Looking For
and much more.
ALL FOR FREE!
This is a MUST pick up for anyone interested in using Article Marketing as a source of branding and/or lead generation for their business.
I have used article marketing very successfuly to brand myself as a leader and to drive traffic to my main business website as well as this blog (perhaps you found me in this way!).
Done effectively, article marketing can mean serious results!
Check out this post in the EzineArticle.com Blog.
Happy Writing.
How To Use Free Keyword Research Tools to Maximize Your Efforts Online
If someone asked me what is THE MOST important thing I’ve learned since I first started network marketing several years ago, I would have no trouble answering….
Welcome to Day 28 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog Special. To see other posts in this series, click on the “Business and Marketing Tips” link in the Category section.
What is the most important skill I’ve learned? No contest.
KEYWORD RESEARCH
Keywords are everything in online marketing. Let me repeat that.
KEYWORDS ARE EVERYTHING.
Why? Because everything you do on the Internet means nothing if nobody sees it.
And how do you get people to see your work? By finding the proper keywords that people use in their searches.
Seems simple, right? Not so fast.
Think about the way you search for something on Google. You type in whatever you’re interested in.
Let’s say by way of example that you are interested in visiting Puerto Rico and you wish to know the best hotels to stay at in San Juan.
If you simply type in Puerto Rico in Google search, it’s not likely that you’ll get exactly what you’re looking for without going through several pages of search results.
But if you type in “Best Hotels in San Juan Puerto Rico”, voila! Right before your eyes will be exactly what you need on page 1 of the search results.
Because most of us want to find things the easy way, and we want it on page 1 of our Google search. Right?
The same holds true with online marketing. Your aim is to get your material on the FIRST PAGE of Google. Otherwise, it’s likely lost in the great Internet abyss.
How do you do this? Keyword Research.
There are various ways to perform keyword research, using both free tools and those that you purchase.
I use only the free tools, and so far they seem to work for me just fine.
Rather than explain how to do keyword research,
let me use this BLOG POST as an example.
STEP ONE: What do you want to blog about? (or talk about on videos, or write articles, or do squidoo lenses, or write a press release, or perform pay-per-click advertising…. see, I told you that keyword research is the one skill that you use for everything in network marketing!).
In my example, I wanted to post a blog about keywords. More specifically, how to do keyword research. The first step in the process is narrowing down exactly what general keywords you have in mind.
STEP TWO: Go to a free tool called Google Suggest. This tool allows you to see search volume as you type a phrase in the Google Search box. You’ve probably used it before without realizing it was Google Suggests.
When I typed in “keyword research”, it gave me a volume of 14, 200,000. That’s ALOT of searches! This means that people are definitely interested in this subject area, which is great.
But it also means that there is likely to be a lot of competition for the keyword phrase, “keyword research.”
So we need to dig deeper.
STEP THREE: Go to another free keyword tool, Google Adwords Kayword Tool. This is a fantastic free tool that you can use whether or not you have a Google Adwords account.
It provides the average monthly search volume for your keyword or keyword phrase, and for several related keyword phrases. It also gives you an idea of the competition for that keyword.
The Google Adwords Keyword Tool is very easy to use:
- Indicate you want to search for “Descriptive words or phrases”
- Enter the keyword or keyword phrase
- Click “Get keyword idea”
And you’re off and running.
For my example, I typed in the term “keyword” first. That was way too competitive, so I typed in “keyword research”. Still too competitive, so I looked for longer variations of this search phrase for something less competitive.
You may have seen the term “long-tailed keywords”. This is what they are referring to.
Here are the results for my research
keyword …………………………….. avg. search volume 450,000……… very competitive
keyword research...…………….. avg. search volume 49,500……….. very competitive
keyword research tools .……… avg. search volume 1.900 ………… less competitive
free keyword research tools… avg. search volume 320…………. no competition
By doing appropriate keyword research and using longer keyword phrases that were searched less often but with far less competition, I was able to come up with a long-tailed keyword phrase that will rank well in the Google search engines.
So the next time someone searches on “free keyword research tools”, it’s likely that my blog post will come up on page 1 of the search.
Keyword research is POWERFUL. It’s also an essential tool to learn if you are going to market anything online.
In fact, if I were going to pay for more training in ANY skill, I would pay for additional training in keyword research.
It’s THAT IMPORTANT.
That’s it for today, guys. Coming down the home stretch…. two more days left in this blog special series….
and I have SO much still to teach you.
Til tomorrow,
The Secrets to a Great MySpace Profile
Today let’s talk about MySpace. I will assume that you have all signed up for a MySpace account. If not, go get your Myspace account now!
Welcome to Day 18 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog special, where I am providing a marketing or online business tip for each day in the month of December. If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, simply click on the Business and Marketing Tips Category on the right sidebar.
If you are marketing online and you are not on MySpace, you are making a big mistake.
This is not your teenagers MySpace anymore!
Online business owners are flocking to the social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook like never before. The reason? Because there is money on the table. If there wasn’t, you wouldn’t see them on these sites.
So get with it, get your account, and set up your profile.
In today’s post, I am going to give you some easy TIPS to follow to set up a killer MySpace profile.
But before I do, a word of warning.
Remember the video on social marketing I put on this blog a few days ago (see post “Are you Getting Social Networking All Wrong?) If not, go back and view it again. And again. Because if there is one thing that will kill your results using MySpace, it is blatant PLUGGING of your BUSINESS. In fact, it also may get your account deleted.
MySpace if for building relationships. People to people. Get interested in what makes other people click. What are their interests and goals. Share with them about you and your dreams and aspirations.
In other words, take the time to get to know people, help them with their problems, and MySpace will pay off for your big time!
OK, enough preaching from the pulpit (my wife hates it when I do that)….
Here are 5 Tips to Building a Great MySpace Profile Page:
- Headline: This is a short blurb that means something to you that will show up next to your picture. Have fun with it. It can be a quotation, passage, or anything that means something special to you. A
- Photo: Your MySpace photo is important, because it will be displayed prominantly on your profile page. Make sure it is a good picture of you, smiling, being happy, enjoying life. Nobody wants to know an Eeyore
(for those Winnie the Pooh fans).
- About Me: this sections, as it is named, is YOUR STORY. It is the heart of your profile. And you want to get it right.
Jimmy Davis of MLM Goldmine outlined a great template for creating a great “About Me” section.
He calls it MyStory Marketing, and it is what I used to create my MySpace profile.
Here are the steps:
- State who you are. Sounds obvious, but some people forget. If you have a website, you can claim ownership of it. For example, we wrote on our profile….”Hi, our names are Bob and Rosemary Clarke, and we are the authors and creators of Carbon-Copy-Professional.com. Even if you are just getting started in the industry, you have instant credibility with this statement.
- Give a short summary of WHY you are making this MySpace page. Paint your picture. What got you to this point of your life. Maybe you just got laid off and you are looking to network. Maybe you are so stressed out at your job that you can’t stand it anymore. Or maybe, with the high cost of everything right now, you just need more money! Whatever the reasons, state it clearly. This is the OUTLINE THE PROBLEM phase of your profile.
- Next, give some more personal information about yourself. Where you live, where you were born, what are your hobbies, your likes, your dislikes. In other words, tell your story. This is MyStory Marketing at its best.
- Now, provide the solution to your problem that you outlined above. It can start with a phrase like, “All of these frustrations ended when we finally….”
- Call To Action. What do you want your readers to do? Ask them to visit your website, or if you want them to contact you, provide the information. Make it clear, but don’t be pushy.
- More Photos: Now add some more photos. NOT business photos, but some of you having fun with friends or family. I used a site called Slide.com to post my pictures. You can see them on my MySpace page.
- Other sections: Here you can put in more personal information about you. Your interests, you favorite television shows, favorite movies and books, etc. Let people get to know the REAL YOU. This is all about getting real. If you are not authentic, people will spot it a mile away.
Again, this is supposed to be about the personal side of you, not the business side. Make it fun and personal!
OK, a couple more tips before we wrap up this post.
- When you are typing your About Me section, type it in the blog section of your page. This section allows you to add alot of HTML, and works just as if you were creating a document in Microsoft Word. You can add bold, italics, colors, etc. that you would not be able to add by simply typing in the About Me template. After you are finished, you can cut and paste to the appropriate section of your profile.
- If you can make YouTube videos, as I know you all can after the last few posts, try making a video about yourself (not focused on your business). Tell your story, and post it in your About Me section. Very powerful!
- Add a Twitter box to your MySpace page (more on Twitter later). This will allow people to see what you are up to on an ongoing basis.
So go out and create your own personal MySpace page. It’s fun to do, and will help you create relationships that may or may not pan out for your business. If so, great, you have a new customer. But if not, no worries. At least you have added a whole bunch of new friends! Not bad!
Tomorrow we will discuss how to add friends to your MySpace page.
Til next time, folks.
Bob
Visit MY MySpace page!
30 Tips in 30 Days: Day 3 — When It Comes To Your Marketing Dollars, Spend Wisely
This is Day 3 of our 30 Tips in 30 Days Free Marketing Tips Series. Yesterday we talked about identifying your prospects. Today, we switch gears and talk about MONEY.
How you spend your marketing budget each month will go a long way in determining your success in the MLM/direct sales industry. And how you allocate your dollars when you are just starting out will be vastly different from how you spend your marketing dollars as become more experienced.
One of the most common and, I believe, most costly mistakes that newbies make in this industry is in how they spend their early marketing dollars.
After all, we want to make money, right? :-)
Most new network marketers get flack from their friends and family members about starting a home business, and the natural tendency is to want to prove them WRONG — as soon as possible!
So, the majority of people just starting out in network marketing make a BIG MISTAKE when it comes to allocating their marketing budget. What mistake am I talking about?
They BUY LEADS.
Now I am not totally against buying leads in the right circumstances. But now when starting out. Here’s the problem.
When they are new to the industry, most people have NO IDEA how to actually talk to a prospect. They don’t know what to say, how to say it, and how to avoid sounding like they are begging for a sale.
The result: People RUN from you.
They RUN and they HIDE. You start calling and leaving messages, people don’t show up for followup appointments. You call some more, and then frustration and doubt sets in. You seriously begin doubting your decision to join in the first place.
It is the first step in the cascading process that ends in network marketing failure.
But you need to have leads, right? You need to talk to people if you are going to make money. In the long run, absolutely. In the short term — NO!
It sounds paradoxical, but I believe the worst thing that can happen to a network marketing newbie is to have leads before they are ready.
So how do you get ready?
EDUCATION, my friends… and TRAINING.
Rosemary and I are both huge believers in EDUCATION.
It is the key to being successful in anything.
Just think about it. You wouldn’t try to be a doctor without going to medical school.
You wouldn’t try to fix cars without some kind of training first (well, some would, but that’s another story).
So what makes people think that sales and marketing is any different. If you have never had any training in these areas, you need to get some.
BEFORE you open your mouth to your prospects.
I know some people will disagree with this, but I truly believe that this is one of the major contributing factors to the very large drop off rate in this industry.
It’s fairly easy to start a home-based business. It’s not so easy to be successful.
The BOTTOM LINE!
How would I spend my initial marketing budget if I was just getting started in Network Marketing (and had no previous training)?
Lets say I had $1000 as an initial budget. Here is how I would spend it:
- $800 Marketing Education and Training
- $200 Start up Costs for Home Office, Supplies, and miscellaneous expenses
Notice I did not say ANYTHING about leads or prospects.
That’s because, if you have no prior sales or marketing experience, you’re not ready for them.
What kind of education would I suggest?
Check back tomorrow for Day 4 of the 30 Tips in 30 Days Holiday Special.
To your happiness! (because it’s the only thing that matters!),
Bob
See what business Dr. Clarke has chosen as his primary income stream!
If you have missed any of the previous posts in this series, simply go to the Business and Marketing Tips category in the right sidebar.
Add a comment!
30 Tips in 30 Days: Day 1 — Setting up your New Business
This is Day 1 of the 30 Marketing and Business Tips Holiday Series…
First, some general housekeeping:
- You can receive each tip directed daily to your inbox by Subscribing to this blog.
- If you miss a post, don’t worry. All tips will be archived in the Category “Business and Marketing Tips.”
- Feel free to comment and add to each blog post.
So, let’s get started….
Day 1: Setting Up Your New Business
You’ve decided to start a network marketing home business. You’ve chosen your company, paid your money and opened the doors of your new, sparkling, home business.
What now?
Well, in terms of setting up your home office for maximum efficiency, there are a few things you’ll want to do:
- Set up your home office. You will need an area of your home or apartment that is dedicated to your business. Ideally, it will be a physically separate area so as to minimize distractions around the house. Even if you have a one room studio apartment, try to figure out a way, using book shelves or whatever, that you can physically distinguish your home office from the rest of the house.
- I recommend to my team members that they should invest in a good, unlimited long distance phone plan. You will be calling prospects, discussing your opportunity. You’ll also most likely be attending training calls weekly. You’ll save money in the long run if you shop around now and find an inexpensive long distance carrier.
- While we’re talking about phones, let’s discuss voice mail messages. Ideally, you want to have a dedicated phone line just for your business. But if this is not possible (and for many new home based business owners it is not a practical expense), then be sure that you’ve recorded a professional sounding voice mail message that will handle calls when you are not available. The last thing you want is to have a prospect call you and hear your kids and 2 dogs singing their favorite song as your voice message. Again, professionalism is what you are trying to project in every aspect of your business. After all, this is your business and NOT your hobby.
- If you will be doing a lot of online marketing, or if your company provides most of their training information on it’s website (which I hope they do), then you’ll want to upgrade to a high speed Internet Service Provider. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to follow a webinar or watch an online video using a dial up internet connection.
- You may or may not want to invest in business cards at this time. It will depend on how you will be marketing your products. If you will be doing a lot of face-to-face marketing, than you’ll definitely want to invest in your company’s business cards with your name and contact information. If your company doesn’t offer business cards as a service, there are a multitude of businesses that advertise their services fairly cheaply on the Internet.
- Establish a separate bank checking account and credit card for your business. Do yourself a favor. As much as is humanly possible, separate your business from your personal finances. Do not use your personal credit card to purchase items for your business. And whatever you do, never purchase personal items using funds in a business checking account or using a business credit card. It will come back to haunt you come tax time.
- Keep meticulous records, again for tax time. You can purchase software such as Quick Books to organize your business records, but when you are first starting it is really just as easy to open up an Excel spreadsheet and carefully record your business income and expenditures. You’ll be really glad you did when you visit your accountant.
- Do yourself a favor. If you have a funky email address like hotlady7000@hotmail.com or something equally as unprofessional, get yourself a gmail account with a professionally sounding prefix. Nothing says “amateur” like an unprofessional email address.
- If you have some extra cash, you many want to invest in a Blackberry or a similar phone that can receive email. I purchased one recently and have the phone set up so that, when I get a business lead online, the phone will chime and I will be able to contact that prospect almost immediately. It’s a great resource and your prospects will be impressed, as well.
What other business start up tips can YOU think of? Help me add to this list!
Day 1 is a wrap. Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 2…
To your massive success in business and life,
Bob
December 1, 2008; Cresskill, NJDon’t forget to subscribe to the blog!
An Early Christmas Gift For My Loyal Readers
It’s Thanksgiving already, and before we know it Christmas will be upon us.
I’ve decided that in the spirit of the season, I would provide all my loyal readers a plethora of my best business and marketing tips I’ve accumulated over the years.
I am calling it my “30 Tips in 30 Days.”
It’s my version of the 12 days of Christmas, marketing style.
Starting Monday, and every day thereafter until the end of the year, I will be posting one of my top business or marketing tips. I will be holding nothing back. You will know what I know.
And it won’t cost you a cent.
Be sure you don’t miss a single day. Subscribe now, send it to your email, and enjoy.
To your massive success,
Bob
November 29, 2008; Cresskill, NJLIVE COMMENTS
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