Monthly Archives: June 2011

Business, Commentary

This Blog Is Too Good For You

Taking a page from a previous column, this one is started with some controversy and a bit of offense. The milquetoast amongst the readers will be put off, but the more back boned will respond more like, “Oh yeah! I’ll show you and read the %@#* article!”

Getting, or grabbing, a reader’s attention is all about the headline. It is all about emotions and the one you wish to stroke. Make an appeal to their pain, by relieving yet? Push their pleasure buttons and sustaining? Ask a compelling question they will feel lead to answer? All are good and all are effective. Knowing the audience you seek will determine the path you choose.

Yes, again it gets back to the audience and knowing them. Drilling down into a niche will also narrow the focus and give more weight (dare it be gravitas??) to the headline. Spreading a wide net might catch more fish, but there will be far more thrown back than is worth it. Focused marketing will get the most sales and that is the goal. Remember, ROI is about the return in increased sales, not just the traffic uptick.

So, be bold and controversial. Make a pass at your customer’s “I’ll show you!” side and win.

Business, Commentary

Be Outrageous. Perhaps Even Offend.

There is all manner of noise in the world of marketing and advertising. We all see if. Everyday brings junk mail that is never opened. Commercials on television programs, with the exception of the Super Bowl, are a time to get something to eat or take a bio break, not something to watch. Radio ad spots? Time to surf the presents. With all that noise, how to get people’s attention?

Be Outrageous! See what your competition is doing and develop a way to be Outrageous. Watch the likes of Donald Trump or Frank Kern. Outrageous indeed. Make valid, but outlandish claims about your product and how it will help the customer.

But, won’t being so outrageous offend someone? Won’t people complain?

Yes, but who cares? Unless you are being socially disgusting, the person offended would not have been a customer anyway. Otherwise, they might laugh a bit, but they will buy. You got their attention by being Outrageous and they bought because you convinced they needed what you had to sell.

Also add Boldness to being Outrageous. Stand out. Make your message attention grabbing. Highlight the relevance of your product. Push the customer to a call to action.

Business, Commentary

The SEO Trap

You have a business opportunity and a website and you want to make it more search engine optimized. You live in Auckland and want to try to take locals the most. You figure long tail key words like the following are best:

  • home based business in Auckland
  • best home business in Auckland
  • finding your financial freedom Auckland
  • flush your job in Auckland
  • welcome to your home based business in Auckland

Perhaps you hire a company to help you with SEO; perhaps you do it your self. You make many pages, blogs and articles that use the key phrases. You really drive the point home about “best home business in Auckland” and “finding your financial freedom in Auckland”. You pages are beautiful and your articles we research. You tweet your blog postings to get them into the major search engines quickly and for free. You buy products to help you build followers. You know the leads are just going to pour in.

You wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Nothing but crickets. What went wrong.

You use the Google adword tool and discover something. No one is searching on “best home business in Auckland,” but they are searching on “best home business”. The competition for this shorter tail is fierce. You look at the sites that are on the top of the first page. There’s no way you can beat that. Is SEO for real or is it just a way for others to make money from you?

The reality is, many of the best key words are already well in use in many industries. The pain of this discovery is made worse when you have hired a company to do SEO for you. Sure, you are at the top of the first page for “best home business in Auckland,” but no one is searching. Well, except you to see where you rank in Google and Bing. That isn’t going to get the job done. What should you do?

Continue your blog and article marking for your long tail key words. After all, this is the market you want, but don’t bother with expensive SEO services for phrases that no one uses. Instead, visit the sites that come up for the shorter phrases that are in your niche. Do they allow advertising? Make note of those that do and pursue advertising there. Let them spend their money on SEO while you use them to market. Now you can use your phrases such as “best home business in Auckland” and the like as your headlines. Now you will see hits to your site and leads in your inbox. Now you are moving toward results.

Business, Commentary

Jabez and Talents – Grow Your Territory

In his book “The Prayer of Jabez,” Bruce Wilkinson explores the short prayer of Jabez and how it was answered. Bruce uses it as a guide for leading people to pray to have their spiritual territory expanded. Jabez’ prayer was short and comes during a line of kings given in 1 Chronicles 4.

Given that the author of 1 Chronicles breaks from the line of kings to mention Jabez shows that he was held in high regard. He cried out to God for his territory to be expanded and God granted his request. No details are given as to how much the territory was expanded nor what the original limits were, so there is no way to measure God’s providence. But were there any conditions?

Flip over to Matthew 25 to the Parable of the talents. Seems like a break in flow from Jabez, but it isn’t. In the parable, a master gives three of his servants portions of his property measured in talents. To one he gave 5, another 2 and the last 1. The first two immediately put the talents to work and both doubled what they were given. The last however, buried the talent given him.

Upon returning, the master rewarded the first two servants and punished the third. But why? The third servant was not a good steward of what he had been given, so it was taken from him. The other two, just like Jabez, were good stewards and their territory was expanded. And there is a key to expanding your territory.

If you are not responsible with what little you have already been given, you will not be given any more. If fact, what you have may be taken from you. It doesn’t matter if what you were given is a job making $10,000 a year or a business returning over a million, not taking care of what you have will lead to you loosing it.

Are you placing all manner of ads and getting nothing? Getting leads, but none are converting? Take stock with what you have. Are you using it properly? Getting the most of it? Be honest and thorough. If not, start there. Unless you are not using what you have effectively, why would you want more? Burning through money and credit now? Getting more sales will only lead you to dig a deeper hole.

Most people want more, but few take stock of what they have now. Use your current resources to their highest potential before trying to reach for more. Are you taking stock of your activities? Are they leading you to make more money or costing? Why would you want more activities that cost?

Don’t get ahead of blessings to come. Use what you have from the start and then look to expand your territory. Remember Jabez and user your talents effectively. Your territory will expand and lead you to success only when you expand from full use, not from full waste.

 

Business

Get to Know Your What

Do a Google search for help in business and you are likely to come across Simon Sinek. His message to everyone is to find your Why. This is Why you are in business and it is Why you are compelled to do what you do. It is very important and is the heart and soul of any business. Without a Why, you will be without Spirit and Direction.

When you are a part of system, the How of business is quite often answered for you. Plug in and learn. McDonald’s has their Hamburger U. Others have tapes and seminars. It is about more than conformity, it is about their brands. It is also about changing your Mindset for business and learning which paths lead to dead ends. It saves the Entrepreneur much time and energy. Being a part of a system is very important and can mean the success or failure of your venture. The system provides a How.

With the Why and How complete, the When known (usually, right now), the What is remaining. The What? Exactly.

What is the What? It is nearly everything else. It builds your vision and your mission. After all, others will ask “What is your vision?” not “How or Why is your vision?” You will also ask “What is next?” or “Now what?” Learning your what defines the skeleton created by your Why and How. Your what determines your direction and your target market. Your What answers the following:

  • What is your market?
  • What is your message?
  • What are you wanting to say to your customer?
  • What do you want to accomplish?
  • What service are you offering?
  • What action do you want your customers to take?
  • What is the measure of your success?
  • What is the next level?
  • What is your plan?

Many of the answers to these questions lead to more questions on Where and How. The system will take care of the How and the Where is answerable by several Whats that precede it. Knowing your What puts action to ideas. It drives you forward. Your What is the muscles and nerves. Your How is the Brain and your Why is the Heart. Allow your What to wrap all the parts together to work as a whole.

Learn to know your What by answering the questions it raises and the last barrier to progress will be removed. Let it determine your message. Let it move you toward your customers. Get to Know your What.

Business, Commentary

Talent Or Ambition?

You get to choose the next candidate with whom to build a business. There are two left. One is very talented and has the skills to do well. Their lack is in caring if they succeed. If they are successful, good, if not, that’s ok. The second has ok to mediocre talent, but they are ambitious to succeed. They want it. They can taste it. They are driven.

Which will you choose? Why?

The talented candidate will move forward quickly. They will take quickly to training and your time will be well spent. As they apply, they will turn results. Why not pick this one? What drives them? When the going starts to get a little tough, will they continue or stop? They have no ambition so they have no drive. You will have to keep poking them off the couch to do what needs to be done. The talent is great, but without focus it will accomplish very little.

The ambitious candidate is going to take great amounts of energy. They will require repeated training to get the skills required. They will have to try everything more than once to make what is required second nature. They will have to spend long hours and late nights. They will drive you crazy with questions, many times the same ones. They have drive though. They know what they want and believe you know how to teach them to get it. They will never stop, never quit and if they are on the couch, they are dead, not resting. They are teachable and they have a goal. They will succeed.

The Entrepreneur will choose ambition over talent.

Business

Stay focused. The elephant is large.

Ever wonder what the secret to time management is? Ever wonder how it is time seems to always run out? Is time management running you? What is the secret?

The secret is quite simple. So simple, in fact, that many will dismiss it as too simple. No need for getting lots of books and expensive calendar systems. The secret will set you free. Are you ready? Do you really want to know the secret to time management? Tired of all the insane questions?

The secret to time management is that it is a myth. You cannot manage time. Time moves no matter what you do. Time marches at a constant pace, relative to the observer. The seconds you have are the same length as everyone else. Oh wait? That’s the secret? That sucks.

Ok, now that you know the secret, what do you think should be done about it? Well, that’s the first half of the secret. The second half is that you must manage yourself in time. All the those time management books you see in the bookstore boil down to just that: you. It is not time, it is you. You manage you and that’s all. And???

Use a diary to track your activities and the time you spend on them. Want to know where your time goes in a day? Write down everything you do and the time you start and stopped. Working on a project and then get bugged by someone? Write down the distraction and the time. Do this every day and you will see where you are spending your time and how efficient you are.

Plan your day the night before. Write down what you need to get done, sorted by most important. Work that first activity until it is finished, then move to the next. At the end of the day, review your list and reorder. Stick to the plan.

Managing yourself in time is the best way to stay focused on your tasks and goals. Don’t get lost in all the details and take it one step at a time. Know the end-game, but don’t sweat all the steps. Chew that elephant one bite at a time, measure your steps, review your progress and stay to your plan.

Business, Commentary

Leadership Starts With You

Having problems in your business? Cannot seem to get the time of your sponsor? Wondering about too much? Stop complaining and start leading.

Ok, but why? What? How? Take a moment and write the problems you see down. Think about each. Which one seems to be the biggest issue? Second? Third? Now place the rest aside. Time to concentrate on these three.

Research each in turn. What is the root of the problem? What resources do you have to solve each? Where is the gap? Need training? Need knowledge? Need guidance? Time to plan. Time to build a map. Start with what you know.

Now that you’ve taken stock of where you are and what you have discovered, develop a plan to put that knowledge into action. This is the beginning of the solution and starts to create leadership via example.

Have people in turn you need to mentor? Show them how to get to their goals by example. Find other sources of ideas and guidance. Do your homework and get working to put that information to the problems. Pushing yourself will allow answers and solutions to be found.

Take the responsibility for yourself and your business. Don’t let anyone else dictate your success. Be the leader. Show by example. Show by doing.

Or you can just sit down and complain you don’t have a leader who will listen. You can wallow in your own sorrow and blame everyone else for your issues. The problems will then become larger and harder to overcome. And you will have nothing.

Business

It Is Still A People Business

You got involved in an on-line business. You bought several domain names and have the hooked into your back office. You have placed ads, you are on Twitter daily and even created a Facebook space. You wonder about SEO and whether it will actually work on Google without getting into trouble. You are everywhere you need to be. You are growing.

After a few days, leads start to come in. Some are hot. Some are tire kickers. Some might have been drunk when the found your website late at night. Your sponsor claimed it was all automatic and others could call for you. So, you just need to sit back and watch the money grow in your account. Awesome! Where is the remote?

Oh wait. The leads come and go, but no funds get generated. No one buys. What the $*#@ is going on!?!?!?! This has to be a scam! I have to get on-line and tell EVERYONE!!!

Wait just a moment there. Did you really think you could sell products to people to whom you have not made any real effort to establish a relationship? Are these people just supposed to get excited because you created a website? Really? Honestly?

By picking up the phone and calling these prospects, you can greatly increase your closing rate. Why? People are far more likely to get involved with someone with whom that have a relationship. If you were walking down the street and some well dressed person spoke to you about a business, would you hand over money to start? No? Point made.

The Internet may make finding and generating quality leads easier, but at the end of the line must be a quality conversation with them. Not calling will cause your leads to move on. Some will not remember signing up. Some will not like what you have to offer. Some will think they signed up for a work at home job. And some will eagerly buy. Without having made the effort to touch their lives, they will not have a reason to finish the connection.

Reaching out to someone shows you care. It shows you are service minded. It shows you are a leader. People tend to gravitate toward leaders. Remember, you are looking to change their lives, not sell to them. If you are trying to sell to your leads, they will flee. Closing is not selling. You want to close the deal to change THEIR life, not yours. Keep the life of your leads the more important component. Keep the focus on them. Some will not see it, but those who do will be excited. They will commit. They will learn. They will grown.

Remember, despite the growth and availability of the Internet, underneath it is still a people business. Keep the people the focus.

Business, Marketing

Searching For A Home Business Opportunity

In my more personal blog, I present this exercise as a searcher looking for a home based business opportunity. Now to do this from the marketer perspective. After all, if you do not choose your keywords properly, either your site will get no traffic or it will get the wrong type of traffic. Having 5,000 hits a day from visitors who leave as soon as the page loads is not going to get it done.

Looking for key words starts with the Google Adword tool. Entering the term “Home Business” seems promising with 1,000,000 global monthly searches! Awesome! Let’s see how many results that returns. Click the link and look. Oh, 1,290,000,000 results. That’s one freakingly long list. A long keyword is going to be needed.

The offering is for an opportunity, so what about adding that to the term and search for “Home Business Opportunity”? Global searches amounts to 60,500. That ain’t bad, but what about the search results? 170 million. Ok, better than over a billion, but still one huge crowd to try to be heard. More terms will be needed.

What about a review site? Surely that will help. What about a way to talk about the top opportunities? How many of these are out there? The term “Top Home Business” brings back 1,310,000,000 results and “Home Business Reviews” 627,000,000 results. Wow! That’s huge and huge. Way too much noise there. Gonna have to think better.

Legal? Legitimate? That’s it! After all, no one wants to join a fly-by-night opportunity. Being legitimate is very important. Searcher are bound to want to find that. Search volume for “Legitimate Home Based Business”? Turns out, that is a bit low at 4,400 globally. Hmm…might work. Search results? 15,8000,000. Yelp! That is a really bad ratio. So much for legitimate.

Google Adwords does have a suggestion: Legitimate Home Based Businesses and it has a thousand more searches a month. Clicking the link brings bad, but less bad, news: 5,320,000 results. The ratio is better, but that is still some serious competition. Might be on the right track though.

Do you believe in your business opportunity? Do you believe it is the best? Does it have duplication? Does it allow owners to carbon copy the masters of your opportunity? Does it have residual income? Will adding all that help? What are the results for something like “Best Legitimate Home Based Business Carbon Copy Residual”? Well, no searches and no competition, but 33,600 results. Hmmm…that really will not help much.

So goes the art of finding proper keywords. Here a blog site can help as different posts can contain different key words, all focused on a single overall topic. This is also a technique used by Google sniping sites. Start with promising key words, build content around each, then use the less expensive adwords to pay-per-click.