No Time Like the Present
By Jason Holland What's your excuse for not working toward your most cherished dream? It could be to start your own Internet business or learn a new language or travel to Asia. Do you think you're too old? Too inexperienced and unqualified? Too busy with other things? Too broke? Overheard at ETR's Info-Marketing Bootcamp last night: "I spent 20 years in the military. Then 25 years as a long-haul trucker. Now it's time for something new. I want to start a business on the Internet, and I have some ideas. But I have no clue what to do next. That's why I'm here!" Age means nothing, other than time is running out for you to act. And other obstacles can be overcome easily... with the right attitude. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Do You Think a Billionaire Would Read a Trashy Novel on a Business Trip? – Of course not. Business is business. They know, probably better than anybody, that time really is money. It's part of the Billionaire Mindset.
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." C.S. Lewis Someday I'll... By Jason Holland "At this point, we cannot rule out malignancy," he said. It wasn't the typical opening to an Info-Marketing Bootcamp presentation.
But MaryEllen Tribby, Publisher and CEO of Early to Rise, is not your typical presenter. Those words were spoken by her doctor just last June. And, as MaryEllen revealed, the rest of that day passed as a blur, as if she were a spectator. All she could think about was her three kids, and how devastated they would be if something happened to her. MaryEllen is fine. A biopsy confirmed that she did not have cancer.
But the experience changed her. A few weeks later, MaryEllen was in Denver for ETR's Five Days in July conference, teaching budding entrepreneurs how to start their own Internet businesses. She saw the passion of the attendees. Their drive. And that convinced her she had to do something more herself. Yes, she had a great job. She was working with the best in the industry. And she was well compensated. But after years as a leader of other companies and businesses, she wanted to go it alone. For some time, she'd been dreaming of starting a business combining her two biggest passions: Helping the millions of homeless children around the world. And reaching out to working mothers to make sure they led the balanced lifestyle they deserve. In fact, she had purchased a domain name for her dream business in 2007. But, like many aspiring entrepreneurs, she kept saying to herself, "I'll do it someday." As soon as she came back from Denver, she started working on her business in earnest. And what she did can work as a step-by-step guide for you if you're ready to start your own business. I can't provide the specific examples and all the details she provided in her two-hour speech, but these are the core ideas. Spend Most of Your Time on What You Know Best You may be used to working as part of a team. Somebody does the graphics. Somebody writes promotional copy. Somebody else develops the marketing plan. But when you're solo, you're in charge of everything. Some tasks you can just ditch. And some you can delegate. Establish your priorities. Should you spend time on the phone with your website hosting provider? No, you should delegate that. Should you spend time on content and offers geared toward your market, which you know better than anyone else? Yes.) Make Technology Your Friend You may be used to letting others handle the "tech" stuff in your workplace. But when you're running your own business, you're the tech guy. And, as MaryEllen discovered, it turns out much of it is pretty easy. For things you can't figure out, take a class. If it's really complicated, hire a freelancer. You don't have to know everything. But you need to know enough so you're not at the mercy of your outsourced help. You don't want to be overcharged or told something is impossible when they just don't want to do it. Don't Ask for Favors, Ask for Advice At meeting with the mega-successful entrepreneur Richard Branson, MaryEllen was invited to talk about her business. Instead of asking for help, she simply explained what her venture was about and asked for suggestions. Richard offered his support. And, already, his charitable organization, Virgin United, has been in touch with her. You don't have to know Richard Branson to take advantage of this approach. Just think about it. If you're constantly asking people for favors... how long will they feel like granting them? Create a Network You Can Brag About Get the best people in your industry in your network. Not people you've only met once or see once a year. I'm talking about people you can call at any time. People who will do anything for you. (Of course, you have to be willing to do anything for them, too.) When you're starting out, you probably won't be in touch with industry giants. But you can still make great contacts. Start with likeminded people who are as focused as you are on growing their businesses. As your businesses grow, you will be able to help each other. Create Accountability Partners You are 65 percent more likely to accomplish your goals if you have someone watching over your shoulder. As MaryEllen pointed out, it probably has a lot to do with not wanting to admit to not doing what you said you would do. That fear keeps you motivated. So set up a time to speak with a colleague or business partner once a week. Talk to each other about what you've been doing with your businesses. Call them out if they've been slacking. Ask them to do the same for you. Understand Your Market Intimately One of the first things MaryEllen did was research her market and her competitors. Using keyword research tools from Google, she found that 43 million people a month search terms related to "working moms." She visited every site in the organic results and pay-per-click ads. She looked in depth at their site layouts, sales letters, offers, products, and marketing strategies. She figured out what other companies were doing right. And what they were doing wrong. (For example, many didn't have sign-up boxes on their home pages to build their e-mail lists.) Work on Your Business Every Day You can't just work on the weekends. You have to do something every single day to advance your business. If it's important to you, you'll do it. Get up extra early if you have to. If you want to sell supplements online, for example, you could start researching which products are hot right now. You could contact some suppliers. Buy a domain name. Build your website. Learn, Understand, and Strive to Master Direct-Response Marketing Direct marketing is the key to online success. An e-commerce site like Amazon may work. But you're not Amazon. You can't wait for customers to find your site. You must reach out to them, get their contact information, and start building relationships that lead to sales. Don't Fall Victim to the Biggest Entrepreneurial Curse Four projects halfway done yields ZERO revenue. One project 100 percent finished brings cash in the door. Focus on one thing at a time -- the one most important thing -- and complete it before you start another project. Ready, Fire, Aim You have an idea for a business -- and six to nine months later, you're still working on getting your site together. And you're still working on your marketing copy. Know this: Everything doesn't have to be perfect before you launch. As MaryEllen pointed out, most of what you learn about business comes from doing it. You'll find out what people will buy and for how much. You'll discover the best way to reach your customers and build your list. Turning Someday Into Payday These days, MaryEllen is working toward her dream: to start her own online business aimed at working mothers. And she'll help kids in need at the same time. Her venture will allow her to work from home, spend time with her family, and make enough money to live the lifestyle she wants to live. After years of putting off her dream until "someday"... it's finally happening. What are you doing to make your "dream" business a reality? Maybe you're waiting 'til after the holidays... or for the kids to get a little older... or for that big project at work to be finished... or for the economy to pick up again. If that's the case, now's the time for a little MaryEllen-style tough love: Those are just excuses. Sure, they are real obstacles -- but they're still excuses. And you can always find more of them if you want to. Stop trying to come up with rationalizations for not taking action. The truth is, now is always the best time to start a business. [Ed. Note: Want to start your own Internet business... but have no idea how? MaryEllen Tribby is just one of the featured speakers at this year's Info-Marketing Bootcamp. She is being joined by a dozen of the top experts in Internet marketing, entrepreneurship, business building, search engine optimization, and much more. And every single minute of every single presentation, including MaryEllen's two-hour talk yesterday, will be on video. You can find out more about how to get those videos here.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- How pinpointing the "Missing Link" can kick your online business into overdrive Every inefficient system... whether it's an overweight body, a sputtering old car, or a losing football team... has a "missing link" that prevents it from operating at full capacity. It's the same thing with a floundering online business. There's a "missing link" that keeps it from bringing in big-time revenues. The good news is, once you pinpoint this "missing link" and get it handled, you can make more money online than you ever dreamed possible. And the best part is, this is so simple to do, you'll kick yourself for not thinking of it first. Let me show you how...
Why You Should Focus on Building Your List of E-Mail Subscribers
By Jason Holland
So you're starting your Internet business. The first step is to make your website shiny and pretty (by spending a lot of time and/or money on it). And then build product pages and a shopping cart. And then drive visitors to your site with search engine optimization and pay-per-click ads. And then sit back and watch the orders roll in. Right? Wrong, says Brian Edmondson, Director of the Internet Money Club and featured speaker yesterday morning at ETR's Info-Marketing Bootcamp. Yes, bringing traffic to your website is key. But if this "pull" type of marketing is all you do, here's the problem: - Most people will never find your site.
- If they do, they'll leave within seconds.
- If they don't leave within seconds, they won't buy.
- Once they leave, they'll never come back.
- That traffic costs you time, money, energy, and effort.
- You'll be lucky if 1 to 2 percent convert to sales.
If you want a truly successful online business, generating traffic is key. But what you do with that traffic is just as important. You must take advantage of your website traffic. And that means building your list of e-mail subscribers. How does it work? You bring visitors to your site and sign them up, says Brian, capturing their names and e-mail addresses. Then you use direct marketing to follow up with them. Eventually, you build a relationship with these potential customers. And that relationship leads to sales, sometimes multiple sales. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- This Miracle Substance Protects against Diabetes... Stops Heart Disease Before it Starts... And Kills Cancer Cells on Contact So, Why Haven't You Heard About It? Scientists have discovered a remarkable substance that has the power to prevent diabetes, stop heart disease before it starts and kill cancer cells on contact. In fact, this substance has been shown to prevent and treat more than 20 major diseases, in all!
However, more than 85% of the population is deficient at least part of the year. And believe it or not, but the medical profession and health authorities actually advise people to avoid the single greatest source for this vital substance.
Click here to learn why you probably haven't heard about this revolutionary discovery.
What's Old Is New Again By Jason Holland You have a hit info product. But what do you do now? How do you capitalize on the interest you've generated? You know the product works -- so sell it to the same customers again says Scott Martineau, founder of ConsciousOne.com and a featured speaker at ETR's Info-Marketing Bootcamp yesterday afternoon. It's a strategy that brought ConsciousOne 52,000 customers, 300,000 e-mail subscribers, a line of 50 products, and $10 million in revenue. The idea is to repurpose the content. In other words, you take material that was created in one format and convert it to a new format. You could, for example, take a book and turn into an audio course. Transcribe a teleconference and turn it into a special report. Record a live event and sell the DVDs as a home study course. It works because some customers prefer to hear material, or watch it, instead of read it. Or they might prefer to access it online. Repurposing is good for your customers -- and it's good for you, too. You don't have to go to the trouble and expense to create new content. And your audience/market is already there. It's a quick way to build on the success of a bestseller product and expand your product line.
Latest News -
Interested in inviting Michael Masterson, MaryEllen Tribby, Brian Edmondson, Scott Martineau, Joe Polish, and Rich Schefren into your home? The DVD recordings from our Info-Marketing Bootcamp are the next best thing to being there. Check out this home study program, a complete guide to starting your own Internet business, here.
"Tell it like it is." "I just wanted to comment on Michael Masterson's assessment of unemployment. While I agree with him -- if a person really wanted a job, they could find one, even in today's economy -- there is one thing that I wish to add. If a person believes that he is 'unworthy' or 'incapable' for some reason, he will never find a job. Once you lose hope, it won't matter how stunning your resume is or how many you send out. "That is why I love ETR. It is always filled with positive thinking and great advice that I can put into action right now. It is a resource full of hope and insight that helps keep me from falling into the same pit of despair that my community and family have embraced. "Thank you ETR for not being afraid to 'tell it like it is.'" Kathy Sullivan -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- The Relaxation Technique that Eases Stress in Seconds You're stuck in a boring meeting... a long line at the bank... or bumper-to-bumper traffic... Your blood pressure is rising. Your stress is through the roof... But with one unconventional (and often misunderstood) technique, your frustration, anxiety, and stress simply slip away. You'll feel peaceful, in control, and happy within seconds. Any time. Anywhere.
Today's Words That Work: Rationalize To rationalize (RASH-uh-nuh-lize) is to invent plausible and self-satisfying, but incorrect, justifications for one's behavior. Example (as used by Jason Holland today): "Stop trying to come up with rationalizations for not taking action. The truth is, now is always the best time to start a business."
We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com | 
No comments:
Post a Comment