Yesterday I wrote about specific goal setting strategies you can use to meet those New Year’s resolutions.  Today, I want to talk about using accountability to achieve your goals.

What exactly is Accountability?

Accountability is defined as the willingness to take responsibility for one’s actions or results.

The key here is YOU. You take responsibility for meeting your goals or not.  You take responsibility for taking the steps necessary to achieve your goals.

But sometimes we all need help.

That’s where an Accountability Partner comes in.

The concept of Accountability Partners was first introduced to me by Dennis Karganilla during the first 90 Day Challenge Social Media training course offered by MLM Goldmine.  DK called it a Running Buddy, but the name doesn’t matter.  The concept is the same.

Basically, an Accountability Partner is someone who keeps you on track towards achieving your goals. He or she is the person who applauds your successes, commiserates with your failures, and kicks you in the butt when you aren’t doing anything.

My personal running buddy is Curt Frieden, AKA The Mac Marketer.  I met Curt during the 90 Day Challenge, and my wife Rosemary and I have teamed with Curt as Accountability Partners for over a year.

How do we act as each others Accountability Partners? We tried several ways, including phone calls and daily emails, but it became to labor intensive and was destined to fail.

So we turned to Google Documents. We each opened up a Google Doc and began posting daily entries documenting what we did that day that moved us closer to our goals.  We then allowed each other access (called “sharing”) to our respective Google Documents and, in doing so, we were able to comment on the progress being made.

It is a great motivational tool.  Rosemary and I know that if we don’t keep working our business and moving towards our ultimate goals, we will be getting emails and phone calls from Curt wanting to know what the hell is going on.  And vice versa, of course.

Accountability partners or running buddies are not new concepts. People use them in all walks of life, sometimes unknowingly.  Think of long distance runners.  Many of them routinely run with a partner to push them to new heights.  Or the person trying to lose weight, doing a diet program with someone else to keep them accountable.

Another example, perhaps more extreme, is the concept of a diving buddy — two people who dive together to ensure each other’s safety.  Here, not having a buddy can mean life or death.

One thing is a virtual certainty.  If you lack  accountability in your life, you will almost certainly fail to achieve your goals, whatever they may be.

Some people think they can be accountable to themselves.  In my experience, I can count on one hand the number of people who can actually achieve their goals without support or accountability to others.

Why risk it?

Get an Accountability Partner, work out a system of accountability that works best for both of you, and then stick to it.

It’s the very best strategy I know to achieve both short-term and long-term goals.

To your success!

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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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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….”
5. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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!
3. 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!

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You know how to make a video. And you know how to edit it and get it ready for people to see. Now what?

Welcome to Day 17 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog Special, where I will provide one solid business or marketing tip each day in the month of December. If you missed any of the previous tips, simply click on the Business and Marketing Tips Category on the right sidebar.

Let’s get to it.

So you’ve started making videos. Now where do you send them?

Once you get good at videos, you want to get maximum exposure.

Remember, GOOGLE LOVES VIDEOS. Videos, along with other types of social marketing get ranked very highly on Google.

In the 90 Day Challenge of MLM Goldmine, Howie Schwartz has taught their members (of which I am a proud graduate) how to DOMINATE Google for a specific search term using videos, articles, and other social networking tools.

By the way, I totally recommend the MLM Goldmine material. Dennis Karganilla, Jimmy Davis, and Howie Schwartz are AMAZING at what they do, which is to show you how to use social marketing to dominate your niche. And if you don’t know what your niche is, they help with that, too.

Okay, sorry I got sidetracked.

Here is what I did to explode my business using video marketing:

1. Starter: When I first started making videos, I was TERRIBLE. My first videos were not for public consumption, if you know what I mean. So I simply uploaded them to YouTube, just to understand how the process works.

2. Novice: As I started to get better at shooting videos, I started using Tube Mogul to expand the places to which my videos were distributed. This is a FREE service (although I think there may be a paid option, although I haven’t personally used it) where your video is automatically uploaded to 15 different sites.

Cool, right?

But I soon found that the TOP EARNERS in this industry were shooting WAY HIGHER.

3. Welcome to the world of TRAFFIC GEYSER. This is “Tube Mogul on steroids”, if you will. For $47 per month, your video is distributed to 46 sites and includes blogs, podcasts,  and other sites in addition to video sites. It’s a little more complicated to set up your account, but there are easy step-by-step videos to get you through it painlessly. And the support is amazing.

At the time of this writing, Traffic Geyser is offering a promotion whereby you can get 1 month of Traffic Geyser for $1. And if you decide you don’t like it for whatever reason, you can cancel your membership at any time without penalty.

If it sounds like I like Traffic Geyser, it’s because I do.

But then again, I love anything that will help me take MASSIVE ACTION in my business.

There you go — 3 steps to take, depending on your experience and budget, to become a video marketing ninja.

Don’t just sit there reading this…. GO MAKE A VIDEO!

Until next time,

Bob
Check out my new blog

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Welcome to Day 12 of the ‘30 TIps in 30 Days’ Blog special — one Business or Marketing Tip for each day of the month of December.  Today we turn our focus squarely on Marketing.

Sidenote:  I am spending the day at a special workshop with Jay Kubassek, Aaron Parkinson, Dennis Karganilla, Jimmy Davis, and Howie Schwartz who will be doing one-on-one coaching with Rosemary and I.  Yes, it WAS expensive, but we know that any money we spend taking advantage of this offer will be DWARFED by the financial returns we will see because of what we learn.

It’s all about INVESTING IN YOUR BUSINESS, guys.

Because we will be at this event all day (and then to the Carbon Copy Pro Holiday Party later tonight), I am going to make this short and sweet….

Are you getting Social Networking all WRONG?

Why do I ask this?  Because I am amazed when I go to social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter how many people I see blasting broadcasts about their business. Just amazing.

You see, these people don’t get the point of Social Networking.

It’s NOT about selling your business products or opportunity.

It’s about BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS and developing TRUST.

So here is my Marketing Tip for the Day:

When using Social Networking sites, NEVER lead with your business.  In fact, don’t even mention it.  Start getting to know people on a personal basis.  Develop a relationship OVER TIME, and the rest will follow.  Don’t force things.

Everyone on these sites who are interested in “networking” have their own agenda with their own opportunity.  Trying to force your opportunity down their throats will strictly result in regurgitation.

And you’ll generally have nothing to show for your efforts.

Here is the BEST VIDEO I have ever seen that explains how to market on Social Networking sites.

Check it out:

Until tomorrow, be healthy and happy… the weekend is almost here!

Bob

Take a look at my newest blog!

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If you may remember, back on Day 3 of our 30 Tips on 30 Days Series, I talked about the importance of training and allocating a significant part of your initial marketing budget to laying your marketing foundation with education.

You see, you can buy leads, but once they’re gone, they’re gone.  But once you learn HOW TO MARKET, you can easily generate an unlimited number of leads…. sometimes free or at very low cost.

But today, I want you to consider something that you may not have thought important:

ATTENDING YOUR COMPANY’S LIVE EVENT

Statistics have shown that people who attend their company’s live events, especially within the first 6 months of joining the opportunity, almost triple their chance at being successful.

Bob and Rosemary Clarke with our friend Jay Kubassek, CEO of Carbon Copy PRO

It may seem weird that the simple act of attending a conference or live event will have such an effect.  It was not until we attended our first live event with our current company that we discovered why it’s so important.

Let’s take a closer look….

Here are some of the advantages of attending a LIVE EVENT:

• You get to meet the leaders of your company, the people who started the company and run it on a day-to-day basis.  You get an idea of their vision.
• You come to really understand the value of the products you are marketing, by seeing how they have positively affected the lives of others.  Most people who market products use them routinely and can have some terrific testimonials.
• You get to see people who are making REAL money in your business.  This no longer is a hypothetical possibility of making money… now you see it first hand.  You can talk to these people and find out what THEY did to get to where they are today.
• You can meet people who work in the offices of your company, like customer service reps.  These are the people in the trenches every day, and it is strategically very advantageous to befriend one or more of these key people.  When you have an issue with your back office, need a product returned, have problems with a customer’s order, now you have someone REAL to turn to.
• You can network with others who are just starting out, get their contact information, and provide support for each other as you struggle to make a name for yourself.  Some of my best marketing ideas were borne out of conversations I had in just such circumstances.
• You can LEARN new marketing strategies.  I am lucky enough to have joined a company that holds an actual Live Marketing Event twice a year where they teach the latest and hottest marketing techniques.  If your company provides such training at their live events, take advantage of it.

So lets get in to the nitty gritty….

6 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Live Event:

1. Dress professionally. Business casual is the norm, so there’s no need to dress in suits, but don’t look sloppy!  You are beginning to project your image, so look the part!
2. Be a sponge! Listen to everything and take a lot of notes.
3. Don’t be a wallflower! Even if you are an introvert like me, FORCE YOURSELF to be bold.  Introduce yourself as a new member of the company, and more than likely you will get a very warm reception.  If you find yourself at a lunch or dinner table knowing nobody, take advantage of it and meet EVERYONE at your table.
4. Get business cards prior to the event so you can give them out to people you meet at the Conference.  The purpose?  People will now have your contact information, and you can ask for theirs in return.  Ask them if it’s okay if you call them with questions.  Most will readily agree.
5. Watch for special discounts. Many companies offer special deals or discounts on such things as trainings, stepping up to the next compensation level, and products.  Be willing to consider any that interest you.  Rosemary and I have used several of these discount deals at our Live Events to get specialized training that would otherwise be cost prohibitive.
6. Bring your camera!

Why bring your camera?

Us with our mentor Dennis Karganilla, co-creator of MLM Goldmine and Web 2.0 guru

Well, you need to start building your credibility with your prospects, right?  When you are first getting started or don’t yet have a lot of success, you might feel like you don’t have any credibility.

So you have to BORROW some!

When my wife Rosemary and I were just starting out, we went to our company’s live event and took pictures with every leader we could find.  These were people who were making REAL MONEY.  These were people who had made a name for themselves.

Why would we do this?

First take a look at the pictures throughout this blog post.  What do you see?

You see Rosemary and I with some very influential and successful people in our primary business and throughout the Network Marketing industry.

You get the picture.  IT IS CREDIBILITY THROUGH ASSOCIATION.

People look at these pictures, and say….

“Hey, look who Bob and Rosemary know!  They must be in the “inner circle” to have such friends.”

Whether you are just starting out or have been in the industry for years, pictures at live events give you INSTANT CREDIBILITY in the eyes of your prospects.

Bob and Rosemary with Mr. Andrew Cass, top earner and Exec VP of Wealth Masters International

Put them on your blog, your web page, or anywhere else to build your credibility over night.

Take home lesson for today?

GET TO A LIVE EVENT! Do whatever it takes, but if you’re serious at making it in network marketing, get there.  I’ve never talked with anyone who later regretted it.

To your happiness,

Bob

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Wow!  I just got back from a live training event and here are the details….

That’s all I can say.  I have been in the Network Marketing industry for quite a few years now, and I have never been to company live events that actually TEACH people HOW TO MARKET. Until now.

Carbon Copy PRO’s Second Live Marketing Event in Dallas was held on Saturday and it was an amazing mix of new strategies, tips, and great discounts on coaching from experts in the world of marketing.

And they even gave away a new Porsche!

Here’s a glimpse at the schedule of events (non-inclusive):

• M.J. Durkin of Sales Judo Academy started things off with terrific tips on how to prospect, build your list, and secrets of leaving great voice mails.  Many nuggets here, folks.
• Jimmy Davis and Dennis Karganilla of MLM Goldmine, the masters of Web 2.0 provided their own gold nuggets for the audience with their tips on making MySpace and YouTube work.
• Howie Schwartz of Conversation Domination continued the Web 2.0 theme and showed everyone how he routinely ranks on the first page of Google using Web 2.0 methodologies.
• Cherie Yvette, the Urban Cowgirl, unveiled for the first time her new Pay Per Click software that will revolutionize the way everyone optimizes their PPC campaigns.  Amazing stuff at an amazing price.
• Natalie Stahl of Platinum 7 Consulting presented her Weekly Action Plan, providing consultants with a formal plan that will turbo charge their online businesses.  Natalie also outlined the outsourcing services available exclusively for Carbon Copy PRO members.
• Kep Herriage and Karl Bessey, co-founders of Wealth Masters International, provided an overview of WMI’s unbelievable financial education and wealth creation products available to Carbon Copy PRO members.  Given the current financial climate, these products and strategies couldn’t be more important.

My point is two fold, here:

1. If you are a member of Carbon Copy PRO or Wealth Masters International, you missed something HUGE here.  You missed a chance to pick the brains of some of the absolute experts in online marketing, providing THE MOST CUTTING EDGE STRATEGIES.
2. If you are a member of other network marketing opportunities, think very strongly about attending a live event.  Statistics show that new members of an opportunity that attend a live event within the first few months of joining have a much higher chance of success than those that do not attend a live event.

Oh yea, I almost forgot.  The leaders at Carbon Copy gave away a prize for the person who sold the most Business in  a Box product since it’s introduction a few months ago.  The winner got…. well, you can see it.  Again, WOW.  Lucky guy!

Glad to be back, guys.  And ready to roll.

To your success!

Bob Clarke

October 19, 2008, Cresskill, NJ

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My parents always told me that nothing is for free.  Nothing comes without a price.

How right they were, especially when talking about MLM home business opportunties.

This blog is about TRUTHS, so here’s one for you:

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH!

How does this relate to Network Marketing and MLM?  Plenty.

I hear from those “interested” in starting a home business all the time….

When will I start making money.  I need to make XX dollars in a month right away.  Oh, and by the way, I have no money to start and advertise.

Well, here’s what I have to say to that — PLAY THE LOTTERY OR SELL A KIDNEY.

Nothing is for free in Network Marketing.

What people don’t understand is that in just about every opportunity I have ever researched, there is a baseline entry price, the lowest price you can pay to get into the business, but to make the REAL money, you need to “buy up”.

In other words, you need to put down more money to get to a higher compensation level so that you can get the higher payouts when you make a sale.

This is how the BIG MONEY is made in MLM and direct sales.

So, sure you can start your business with as little as $100 in some companies, but you won’t make much money at that level.  What they don’t tell you is that you need to shell out another $1000-2000 to get to the next compensation level.

And that’s fair — but people act surprised.

It takes money to make money.  Or something as valuable as money.

Take the case of free leads in advertising.  Is there such a thing?

Well, it’s true you can get free leads by putting up videos on YouTube, writing Squidoo lenses or HubPages, or authoring articles.  But unless you know what you’re doing, you won’t get many leads.

Why?  Because you need to have the training to do these things well. How do you get the proper training?

Not the training you get on YouTube.  I’m talking about learning from people who have had real success using these Web 2.0 marketing methods.

You get that kind of training with money.  Nothing free about that.

Rosemary and I learned how to generate our own FREE LEADS by training with the brilliant Dennis Karganilla and Jimmy Davis of MLM Goldmine.  I mean, these guys could make your head spin with their knowledge of Web 2.0.

We payed out money gladly, because we knew that it would pay for itself several times over.  And it will.

But the point I’m making is that it costs money to get the training we wanted to become really proficient at generating our own free leads.

Nothing is for free.

Don’t expect it, and you won’t be disappointed.

This is the truth.

Until next time,

Dr. Bob Clarke

September 25, 2008; Cresskill, NJ

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