This week I asked our panel of experts…

“We all know that Webinars can bring in huge profits.

The big problem is figuring out
the technology behind it.

So What Software or Tool do you Use to Run Your Webinars?”

I think you'll enjoy the responses. I found them fascinating myself. (And the best part is that you can try most of these recommended webinar services totally free to figure out which works best for YOU.) I hope it helps!

Awesome Resource:

If you’d like “Done for You” webinars that include scripts and powerpoint slides – be sure to check out PLR for Teleseminars and Webinars – all you have to do is read the scripts while showing the slides. Webinars couldn’t get any easier.

Here are the responses…

Karon Thackston of Step-by-Step Copywriting Course says:

I use GoToWebinar.

• I've tried WebEx and had multiple horrible experiences.
• I also test drove Adobe Connect and didn't think it had the flexibility of GTW.

While everybody has their own preference, GoToWebinar works best for me. I've used it for years.

Karon Uses –

Click here to try GotoWebinar free

Bob Jenkins of Teleseminar Formula says:

I love teaching virtual workshops and free one-off classes with webinars and teleseminars.

For webinars, where I want to demonstrate a particular software or online tool live, I use GoToWebinar (GTW).

I also prefer using GTW when I want more interaction with the participants. The downsides of GTW are: it's not technically fool proof for my audience, and it doesn't do a great job of recording. So I use Camtasia to record simultaneously to the broadcast.

For teleseminars and webinars where I can use slides and screenshots (as opposed to live demos), I use WelcomeToTheCall (WTTC).

This is much easier tech for both me and the audience, and the recording is not only done by the system, but the replay is available immediately. The downsides of WTTC are: the chatroom is pretty lame, and you don't get to show a spontaneous demo based on a user's question since the viewing screen is determined by pre-loaded slides. However, the instant replay feature and the fact that people can call in to a variety of local numbers in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and on Skype make it a great system for most simple presentations.

Bob Uses –

Click here to try GotoWebinar free

and

Click here to try WelcomeToTheCall free

Lain Ehmann of Crafting Your Business, Step-by-Step says:

I use Webex's Event Center, developed by Cisco.

It is WAY more than what most people need (and what most people will want to pay!) but it is exactly what *I* need for my monthly free “scrapinars” and my multi-day virtual events.

When selecting your webinar platform, I suggest making a list of your criteria, including:

-How many “seats” do you need? (I need room for up to 1000!)

-What are you sharing? Audio and slideshows, live video, pre-recorded video? (I share all of those)

-Do you need the ability to let your audience chat with one another? (My audience considers the chat to be one of the best parts of the event!)

-Will it work on Mac and PC?

-Will it work on iPhone/iPad?

-Can you record?

-Can you have multiple presenters or hosts? (I host other teachers, so I need to be able to share the mike.)

-How much do you want to spend?

-What kind of support do you get? (I have 24/7 support for my attendees, a must-have for paid events)

-How stable is the platform? (Some of the “freebie” solutions are worth what you pay for them! Nothing.)

It may seem insane to some people when I tell them I pay almost $500 a month for my webinar service, but it's worth it. Just as location, location, location is everything in a brick-and-mortar business, my webroom is my storefront and it has to work, be dependable, and allow me to communicate with my audience in the way I want to.

Lain Uses  –

Click here to try WebEx Event Center

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

I know there are so many platforms for webinars and many have tons of bells and whistles, but I'm a simple gal and too much technology scares me (I'll admit it!).

However, in a survey I did in January 2013, I found most people in my market (speakers, authors, experts) prefer by a wide margin to consume content via webinars (even more than blogging, teleseminars, and podcasts, all of which were also high on the list).

So for my time and comfort level, I prefer Instant Teleseminar for my webinars.

It's easy to put together a slide show presentation (I use PowerPoint) and upload it and show the slides during my webinar. It also records the slides and audio simultaneously and I don't have to do any work after it's over to make sure the folks registered can watch the replay any time. Plus, if I want to limit the amount of time any replay is available, all I have to do is click one button and it's gone from public view. Click again, and it's back. Super simple; super easy.

Felicia Uses –

Click here to try Instant Teleseminar for $1

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

I host one or two webinars every week and have been using Citrix (GoTo Webinar) since 2008.

However, the audio is not the quality I need, so I use Instant Teleseminar to record the audio and then ‘marry' it to the video I record during the webinar using Camtasia, It all sounds very technical, but it's very simple to do once you've done it a few times.

Connie Uses –

Click here to try GotoWebinar free

and

Click here to try Instant Teleseminar for $1

Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Webinars Made Simple says:

I use GotoWebinar for webinars.

I've used them since 2006 when I first started doing webinars.

I've used many other webinar services when I've taught online courses as a contractor or guest. And I've tried just about every other webinar service that has come onto the market. But I continue to prefer GotoWebinar.

They are reliable, with good quality audio and video, and provide support that is time-critical when you need it. Since I record all of my webinars and turn them into products, I need to be able to depend on a professional solution.

Jeanette Uses –

Click here to try GotoWebinar free

Lynette Chandler of Tech Based Marketing says:

I was very lucky to be one of the early adopters for Meeting Burner and got in during their Beta testing.

Over the last few weeks I finally switched to using Meeting Burner exclusively.

I really like how quick it is to get going and almost each session, my experience as a presenter has been positive. Recordings have been a snap and customer service is great. After a session one day, I completed their feedback form which is presented to you after every meeting. I never expected any response from that but sure enough got someone really helpful.

At this point, I wish they had 3 things.

1. Ability to schedule recurring meeting (since I hold my sessions every week it's a chore to keep setting it up. Good thing you can duplicate the meetings)

2. Record audio without the conference bridge.

3. An intermediate plan between the Pro and the Premier or a better value (more number of seats) for the Pro plan.

Lynette Uses –

Click here to try Meeting Burner free

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Normally this is where I sum up and anchor the post with my “expert” opinion.

But the truth is that I asked this question because I wanted to know the responses, myself.

I currently use GotoWebinar, but I don't find it very intuitive, so I was thinking of checking out some of the competition.

I DO want to be able so show demonstrations on my screen, so it looks like Welcome to the Call and Instant Teleseminar won't work for my needs.

I'll be checking out Meeting Burner, and will let you know what I think.

For your reference, here is everything mentioned in this post…

Webinar Services that you can try free:

• Meeting Burner – new on the scene and promising.
• GotoWebinar – old reliable. Good for sharing your screen and doing demonstrations.
• WelcomeToTheCall – for teleseminars and/or webinars where you are teaching with PowerPoints
• WebEx Event Center – the big daddy for intense needs.

Webinar Service that you can try for $1:

• Instant Teleseminar – same as Welcome to the Call

People who Contributed in order of last name (go check them out):

• Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Webinars Made Simple
• Lynette Chandler of Tech Based Marketing
• Lain Ehmann of Crafting Your Business, Step-by-Step
• Bob Jenkins of Teleseminar Formula
• Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies
• Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets
• Karon Thackston of Step-by-Step Copywriting Course

This week I asked our panel of experts …

“What do you do to regain your focus when you get sidetracked
and wander off on side projects??”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lain Ehmann of Crafting Your Business, Step-by-Step says:

Sometimes, wandering off on side projects is procrastination. And sometimes it's a good business move! Knowing which is which is a key to business success.

When I look at my list of tasks and objectives and see myself avoiding the one I've listed as Numero Uno, then I give myself a deadline (and a swift kick in the yoga pants!). I have a pretty high self-discipline quotient, so I remind myself why the task is important to my business goals. That's usually enough to get me moving.

If I'm not procrastinating, then I just might be taking advantage of a more important opportunity. Like if I'm invited on the Today Show, I'm not going to be worrying about the fact that my to-do list says I should be prepping next week's blog posts!

The secret here is knowing your long-term and short-term business goals and knowing when to sacrifice the short-term because something more critical has come up. Don't be a slave to your to-do list; make it work FOR you!

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

What? Who me? Wander off on side projects… Oh, look! A squirrel.

It depends. If the side project 1. won't eat up too much time, 2. won't endanger a deadline on a main project, and 3. will add to my business, I will follow through on it. That gets it out of my head and out of my way.

Now, I only do this on rare occasion. An example would be my recent “Maximum E-Mail Marketing Profits In 2013“. The idea arose while I was promoting Tahir Shah's “Total Lead Capture” system. I'd already been mapping out an e-mail strategy for my own upcoming new business venture, and I decided that this would be a great time to create a guide that put all the strategy on paper.

Now, since I will be using my own guide as guidance when creating my e-mail marketing campaign for the new business, and I could turn around and sell this guide to other Internet marketers (plus give it away as a bonus to those who purchased the TLC system via my promotion), it was a win-win decision. And, since my timeline for my new business venture stretches out six months to launch, I had the time to take a short side track.

My advice: Consider the value of your side project and the impact on your main business caused by time spent on the side project. If it's feasible to pursue the side project, without negative impact on your main business plan, go ahead (but only for a short-term side track). If, on the other hand, the side project could put you off track for your main business plan, or would take away precious time from an existing project, I recommend doing what I do in such a case – write it down on paper and pin it to a future projects cork board.

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

Your first goal is to keep these side journeys to a minimum.

I do that in two ways. The first is to become an expert at the word, “No.”

Practice it. Use it. As an entrepreneur you're surrounding by opportunities. Many of them may be home runs, but they're just not right for you. You're likely going to say NO at least 10 times as often as you say YES.

The 2nd method is even more important for me, because it's also how I usually get back on track.

I have hanging a single sheet of paper hanging in my office just to the left of my computers. It's at perfect eye level when I turned that direction. It has my yearly “Internet Lifestyle Plan” on it.

This includes what my mission is, who my target customer is, what I'm passionate about, along with the primary directions and marketing I'm planning for the year. It also lists when I work and when I'm off. I update this sheet around quarterly.

I'm always testing new opportunities, because one of my greatest strengths is curiosity. How does this work and how can we improve on it?

When I get off track on a project I shouldn't be on, that one piece of paper is staring at me. It's almost like a conscience because I can feel its disapproval.

Here's a good example of when this came into play. I was thinking about going into the “life coaching” market. It was new and exciting. I did my research, and even starting writing a course…planned as a Clickbank course for the market.

But my Internet Lifestyle Plan was staring at me. The audience wasn't the same as my core audience. It was a distraction.

Once it bugged me enough, I took what I had written, edited it quickly, and turned it into a Kindle ebook.

I made one mention of the ebook, but haven't really thought much about it since. Except every month I get a nice little check from Amazon for it…and consistent new incoming email leads also.

Plus I have several mastermind partners who I meet with by Skype/phone every month. They'll call me on it if I get off track also.

Really it comes down to those 3 steps for me:

1. Have a short Internet Lifestyle plan that's visible to you all the time.

2. Have a coach or mastermind group you're accountable to.

3. Find a way to “close shop” and profit from being side tracked.

Karon Thackston of Step-by-Step Copywriting Course says:

BIG problem for me I confess to having a major case of shiny object syndrome as well as a mild touch of ADD. I can run down a rabbit trail with world-class precision if I'm not careful.

When I see that happening, the first thing I do is verbally tell myself to focus. (Yes, in addition to all that, I also have a quirky need to talk to myself.) I make a micro to-do list of things that I must get done that day (or even within the next few hours) and I turn off everything else. Email gets closed, Facebook gets shut down and any pressing thoughts or ideas get quickly jotted on a sticky note so I can come back to them later without forgetting what I was so excited about.

Then I remind myself of the benefits of completing whatever it is (client copywriting project, updating my own marketing plan, completing a new webinar, etc.) I was originally working on.

I sit up nice and straight, take a deep breath and off I go!

Kristen Eckstein of Self Publish on Demand says:

Entrepreneurs get sidetracked? Really? Between shiny objects and new ideas flooding my mind at 100 miles-per-hour, it’s a wonder I stay on track with a new project idea long enough to finish it and not jump to something else!

But that’s actually how I regain focus. Sometimes we’re not meant to finish that project. Sometimes the new idea brings a fresh new energy, and to try to ignore it only makes it harder to concentrate on what we “should” be doing. This happened to me with my 21 Ways series. I still have two books in the series each partially written. And that’s when I got really excited about starting a third one. Now, I’d already published two books in the series myself and had over 18 more outlined. This new idea was completely new. And I chose to use that passion, energy and drive to write it.

Less than 30 days later 21 Ways to Be a Kid Again & Get Adult Results was published. And what I learned from that experience I’ve been able to apply toward new project ideas. Instead of fighting that excitement and energy that comes with a new idea, I allow it to fuel me to take action on it. Can you imagine how many more passionate and amazing ideas will be produced if we quit trying to forget about them and drop everything to take action on them instead?

The important thing is to take action quickly before you get frustrated and begin to lose steam. Fuel your focus with your passion, run with it, and go for it!

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I axe those projects. ROFL!!

Ok, my real answer…

When I realize I've gone down a rabbit trail I stop everything and evaluate. My favorite evaluation tool is a good ‘brain dump'. I take stock of everything I have my hands in or my mind on. I list every project, from the biggest to the smallest.

Next, I prioritize. Which projects are most deserving of my time? Where are the great profits? What has to be done before a new project can begin making profit? Based on these judgments I decide which projects get to stay active and which need to be tabled or even axed.

Usually, once I make up my mind, I have total peace about it. I can kill a project faster than anyone I know and never look back. Whenever I do, I feel an immediate sense of relief. My ‘main projects' get more of my time and creativity and that leads to a better business overall.

Bob Jenkins of How to Use Mindmaps to Organize Your Business says:

When I get sidetracked, I don't beat myself up too much at first. Usually, it's simply a sign of mental fatigue, and I simply need to take a break for a few minutes or hours.

But if I truly get sidetracked for DAYS or WEEKS, then I know something's up. So I talk to my girlfriend (who happens to be an amazing life coach) or “Friends in the Business” for some sound-boarding. Am I confused about why the project is important? Have I found something that fulfills my goals in this new project? Am I missing a key piece that's holding me back, or encouraging the procrastination?

Ultimately, the tool I use daily keeps me focused: Freemind mindmapping software.

With my “Monetized Action Plan” in front of me when I start my computer, I have my project mapped out, and my action steps visible. I can see the big picture, and know the little steps along the way are going to help me finish the project faster.

Finally, I remember who I'm doing the project for. Every day of delay is another day that someone, somewhere continues to struggle without my solution to make things easier.

Tiffany Dow of The Guide to Shiny Object Syndrome says:

Getting sidetracked can be a boon or a bust. Sometimes what you get sidetracked with can turn out to be something that you really enjoy, that’s really profitable, and that might even replace a less fulfilling business model or strategy.

But if it’s a bust, then that’s when we start feeling regret, kicking ourselves for getting sidetracked, and vow never to do it again.

Personally, I have learned to go with it. It’s a perk of being an entrepreneur for me. If I get a touch of restlessness and need a change, I can get on a different track. If I realize it’s not going where I want it to go, I simply turn around and head home.

If you allow yourself this freedom, without guilt, it becomes less of a struggle. It’s kind of like dieting. Once you truly get rid of food guilt and allow yourself to eat what you want, when you want, it doesn’t cause you to binge and hide food, etc. You’re able to eat a few bites and walk away because you know that without any anxiety, if you want to come back in 2 hours and nibble again, you can.

It’s not an all or nothing mentality.

But during those times when I do get sidetracked and it turns out to be a bust, what I normally do is sit down with a regular pen and paper and jot down the priority of my projects. I do this based on:

• What’s fulfilling – this is a biggie for me because if I’m not happy, it has to go.
• What’s profitable – I’m no dummy, so if my efforts aren’t bringing the cash in, it has to become a hobby or be gone for good.
• What my audience needs – if they’re not considered, then I lose my edge in the marketplace. I have to make sure everything is serving their needs.

I routinely reevaluate my projects based on these three factors and I cut things out if they don’t meet all three – not two out of three, but all three. That sometimes means cutting out things that are making me money – and that’s okay. I’ve deleted sites making me $300 a month before because my heart wasn’t in it or it wasn’t beneficial for my audience.

Don’t beat yourself up if you’re a flitter – someone who goes from one task to the next. It’s a perk! Just don’t let it be your Achilles Heel – keep a leash on it to some degree and you’ll enjoy those moments of getting off the beaten path.

Susanne Myers of  Daily Affiliate Tasks says:

I’m a big list person. The best thing I can do to make sure I stay on track is to make a list. If I’m working on a big project, I like to break things down into individual steps. That will become my master checklist.

For example, let’s say my project is to come out with a new info product. My list may include things like:

• Outline the product
• Write the ebook, record the lessons etc.
• Set up a website for the new product
• Order graphics
• Write a sales letter
• Create a download page
• Create support pages (like contact, privacy policy etc.)
• Etc.

Once I have that one big long list of everything that needs to happen before I can launch my product, I start incorporating tasks into my regular daily lists.

Those daily to-do lists contain a few things for the project along with ongoing tasks like mailing my lists, blogging, approving comments, staying active on social media etc.

I pay attention to how I structure my to-do lists as well. For example, it takes me a little while to get going in the morning and I don’t do my best writing before my second cup of coffee. Instead the first few items on my daily list are easy things I can do and check off quickly. This may involve approving comments, sending out emails to get in touch with a JV partner, order a new cover etc. Being able to check a few items off quickly creates momentum for me.

I also know that I need to get most of the content creation done before 2pm, or it’s just not going to happen, so working on the content for my new product, sending an email to my lists and writing blog posts is next on my to-do list. I wrap my day up with more little “filler” work that can be done while supervising homework for example.

The key for me is to break everything down into baby-steps and have a list that keeps me on track to make sure everything gets done. Days when I stick to my to-do list have always been my most productive.

The other thing that helps me stay focused is to have a deadline. This may involve promising someone that they can promote a new product, or sending out something to my lists letting them know it will be ready by a certain date. Having that deadline will make me push harder and get things done without getting distracted by side-projects.

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

As many people who know me are aware, I was sidetracked BIG time last year with lung cancer. My business pretty much ground to a halt, aside from some small continuity and affiliate checks I had rolling in, which kept my business rolling while I dealt with serious health issues for most of the year. I am now 100% healed and doing great.

For me, getting back to work could only happen after I was fully healed (as a speaker, if I can't speak, that's a problem!). How I did it was to announce to my community – email and social media- that I was back, explained what happened while I was away, and then did a survey to gauge people's interest in my plans and content.

As a communication specialist, I communicate with people first. That's just my way and it's always been profitable. Once I had that valuable feedback, I could pay attention to trends and give people what they told me they wanted first and make my plans fall in line with that. It was easy and fun getting back into the swing of work. Today, just three months after being back, I've had three of the most profitable and successful months in my business because I listened to what people wanted.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Wow. I guess this is sure a hot topic, based upon the number of responses today.

For me the answer to this question comes down to two things:

1. Knowing where the profit is.
2. Having a daily or weekly plan.

That's really the key.

When I know where I'm making the most money, I can focus my time, energy, and, most importantly my resources into those projects FIRST. What I do with the rest of my day, is really up to me then. That means that everything from my own time, to buying advertising, to focusing on getting affiliates to promote, etc. is all focused where I'll get the highest return on my investments. (I consider time an investment. Don't you?)

If I know my numbers, then I KNOW what to do and I'm not guessing.

For instance, it would be silly of me to wake up and dig into project B when project A is rockin' and rolling. So, I focus on A first, and then only jump into B after I've made progress.

The other area is having a daily and weekly plan. I am 100% more productive and focused when I have my plan in front of me than when I don't.  If I don't have a “Stuff to Do this Week” list – I tend to wander.

Wandering is NOT profitable. Focusing is.

My friends have already shared so much great info this week that I'm going to wrap up with a challenge for you.

Whatever you goals are,  multiply them by 5

Seriously.

• If your goal is to reach $1000 per month in profit, reach for $5000 per month in profit instead.
• If your goal is to write one Kindle book by the end of this year, make it your goal to write five awesome books by the end of the year.
• If your goal is to reach out to 5 new potential affiliates per week, make it 5 per day.

REACH HIGHER.

That in itself will help you to focus.

Post your thoughts below.

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. If you LOVE Expert Briefs, be sure to pick up my new book on Amazon:

Learn How to Start a Profitable Blog

This week I asked our panel of experts …

“Have you Written Kindle books? If so, what was one
mistake that you made from concept, to creation, to formatting, to marketing that you wished you'd known sooner so you could avoid it?”

The question has been obviously on my mind as I've been releasing my books lately, including my freakingly awesome book:

Get it here:
Kindle (only $4.99)
or Paperback

Before you dig in, please grab a copy of the book while it's till so cheap. If you already have a copy, a review would be ever so much appreciated. Thank you so much!

Here's what my friends and I have to say about Kindle Publishing mistakes. Enjoy!

Lain Ehmann of Crafting Your Business, Step-by-Step says:

People DO Judge a Book by the Cover.

I wish I'd paid more attention to the cover graphic. I released my first Kindle books long before there were tons of ebook and programs on “!!BECOMING A KINDLE MILLIONAIRE!!” and so I just slapped a simple graphic on the cover and called it good. Big mistake.

People buy books based on the cover, and having a more attractive, professional cover surely would have made sales better.

See? You can click on the covers if you want to see them up close and personal.

Interview with Derek Halpern on Branding:

Interview with Paul Evans on Branding:

Check out Lain on the Kindle: – Lain on Kindle

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

Professional-Looking Layout Matters.

When I wrote “The Clockwork Manifesto” a few years ago, I wrote it for publication in paperback. I never considered how it would look in Kindle. So, I laid out the text and images to look nice in a physical book – setting my images and text side by side at time. I used a lot of tables in OpenOffice to get a great layout on each page. The book looks fantastic on paper.

However, all that beautiful layout does not translate well to Kindle. I ended up hiring someone to re-format it all (384 pages of book – egads) for display on Kindle. I've been told that it still doesn't look all that great on the Kindle reader (Yes, I've not had the heart to look at the my labour of love since I myself obtained a Kindle).

Check out Kevin on the Kindle: – Kevin on Kindle

Rachel Rofe of Easy Kindle Formatting Software says:

Bad Formatting Caused Negative Reviews.

My biggest mistake with Kindle books was not having the formatting done right when I first started publishing my books. I thought they were done right, but bad reviews taught me otherwise.

It ended up being a blessing in disguise though, because it led to the creation of Kinstant Formatter, which has gone on to sell thousands of copies and help many people avoid the mistakes I had to.

Check out Rachel on the Kindle: – Rachel on Kindle

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

Set up Her Own Publishing Company to Be Taken More Seriously.

I have now published eight books on Kindle, and I have to say it has changed my life and my business in a major way. Authors are perceived differently by others, being considered to have more knowledge and expertise on their topics, and this has opened doors and provided opportunities I would not otherwise have experienced. This includes speaking globally, contributing to other people's books, and having corporations contact me for advice.

The only thing I wish I had known from the very beginning is the power of having your own publishing company for your books. Even though I continue to have Create Space print and deliver all of my paperback books and Amazon's Kindle program deliver my digital books, once I began using my own ISBN numbers through my company it took me to an entirely new level as an author. I am contacted regularly by other publishers, the media, libraries, and companies wanting to know more about me and what I do in my online business.

It's simple enough to set this up: purchase a domain, file a Fictitious Name Statement with your city or county, set up a site, and purchase a block of ISBN numbers to get started. You'll absolutely love what happens as a result.

Check out Connie on the Kindle: – Connie on Kindle

Kristen Eckstein of Self Publish on Demand says:

I’ve published nearly a hundred Kindle books for other people and several for myself. Here’s what I would change:

Concept & Creation – Two of my Kindle books are transcribed from webinars I conducted. If I could do things differently, I would have either written them from scratch to begin with or made it clear in the marketing that these books are transcriptions of the webinars. Instead I tried to hybrid the two methods by writing some, editing the transcripts, and leaving the overall “webinar” conversational style and feel intact. This caused my grammar to not be quite as good as it should be, especially given my profession, and it shows up in the Amazon reviews.

Formatting – It’s always good to test your eBook out on a real Kindle since the Kindle Preview Tool tends to miss major issues or worse yet, show them where none exist.. If you don’t have a Kindle, get one. Hey, if you’re an author & you’re using it to test your books, it’s a business expense!

I have always tested eBooks on my Kindle(s) since I first started publishing them several years ago. However, technology changes. With the latest change of new software for the Kindle Fire HDs, many eBooks are encountering new formatting issues that weren’t present before. This can be a two-part problem. 1. It’s an issue with how Kindle HDs are viewing the files, and interpreting the code. With this there’s nothing you can do to fix it. 2. It’s an issue in your eBook itself that can be fixed. In both instances that we’ve encountered an issue like this, it’s been fixable.

Bottom line… Always, always, always check your eBook over on a real Kindle before hitting the “Publish” button. And if your file does have issues, hire a professional eBook programmer to fix them up.

Marketing – I’m continually learning in this arena. Honestly I don’t think any of us are ever done learning new things we can do to market! Recently I started an experiment publishing cookbooks under a pen name. I’m using as little of my own influence as possible to market, and chronicling my experience as a “new” author on my blog. My hope is that not only will I learn some new ways to market my new eBooks, but others will see they need to actually do a little work to market their eBooks, especially when they’re first-time authors. I’m also excited to share with them things that have worked, things that haven’t worked, and help others market their eBooks effectively.

The only real regret I have is not knowing sooner how swiftly Kindle would overtake the market. I’m such a die-hard print gal that I ignored the fact this technology would transform my entire industry. If anything, I’ve learned how important it is that I stay up to date on all publishing industry developments so I can be a better resource to my authors, and I encourage you to treat your industry the same. Never stop learning!

Check out Kristen on the Kindle: – Kristen on Kindle

Bob Jenkins of Power Profits Mentoring says:

Hiring a Book Coaching to Do it For You.

I have one Kindle book so far: Take Action! Revise Later… which is an e-book version of my physical book. The biggest mistake I've made is in not doing more Kindle books sooner. I have a boatload of transcripts and other material that I'm sitting on, and hiring a VA or working with an intern to publish more titles is a languishing opportunity for me.

The best move I made was in hiring a book coach and ghost publisher (Kristen Eckstein of Ultimate Book Coach) to get the book formatted and designed so it looks awesome on Kindle.

Check out Bob on the Kindle: – Bob on Kindle

Susanne Myers of  Daily Affiliate Tasks says:

Don't Rush It.

I’ve been creating and publishing Kindle books regularly since the fall and have made plenty of mistakes (and still do). The one that’s had the most impact on my bottom line is not waiting long enough after I’ve hit publish before I start promoting.

I’ve found that ideally you want to upload your book, wait the 12 to 48 hours for it to publish and then give it at least another 48 hours before starting to promote the Kindle book. It will take that long for Amazon to do whatever it is they do in the backend. Whenever I’ve waited, my books have risen in the rankings much faster once I’ve started promoting.

I do go ahead and buy a copy myself after it goes live and look at it on my phone, kindle and ipad to make sure the formatting looks ok. Then I’ll wait before mailing my lists, posting the link on Facebook etc.

Of course there are also times when I don’t get enough work done ahead of time and need to push the book right away. It still works, but I’ve noticed that it takes a bit longer for my books to show up ranking within their respective categories.

Check out Susanne on the Kindle: – Susanne (as Hillbilly Housewife) on Kindle

Melissa Ingold of Solo Masterminds says:

2 years ago I had 28 Kindle books up for sale and I was making consistent sales with no promotion of any kind – they just got published and that was it.

Once the crack down on using PLR for your Kindle books started happening, I got slapped and had to pull all my books down and basically start over.
After letting my account sit for a year, I finally published a new book in early February of this year based on a webinar I hosted with Carrie Wilkerson about video marketing.

One of the things that I decided to do differently this time was keyword research. I figured I do keyword research for pretty much everything else, like the domain names I buy for squeeze pages, the content I want to produce, and more – so why not Kindle books?

Here’s What I Did:

1. Used Google’s free keyword tool and played around with keywords and key phrases that people might use to find information about video marketing.

2. Used Google’s search trends option to see what topics are trending as related to video marketing.

3. Based on that research, I had a list of some really good keywords that I could use to optimize my book.

4. I made sure that I used one of my best keywords in the title of my book. Then I wrote out a description and bullet points that incorporated my keywords naturally throughout.

5. Then I threw some traffic at the book using Fiverr and OneHourBackLinks.com to build some back links to my book, and then I set up some Facebook ads too.

I think I sent out like one tweet and one Facebook post about the book, and that was the extent of my marketing.

I’m not as serious about Kindle as most people. For me, it’s a fun little side project that brings in some passive income and helps me build my mailing list. My whole strategy is a “set it and forget” approach, that I know I can grow by publishing more books. If every book makes me $50 – $100 a month in passive income (plus builds me a list of buyers) that can add up pretty quick.

Since my first book has already reached this point, I’m going to put a little more effort into my second book, and then it’s onto the third. I plan to publish one new book per month, and since I’m pretty close to having my ‘rinse and repeat’ system into place, it’s going to be super fun from here on out 

Check out Melissa on the Kindle: Melissa on Kindle

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

As I mentioned, I just released my latest book this week. And, boy have I made enough mistakes to give myself a roaring migraine.

But before I talk about all the mistakes that I've made in the launch of this book, here it is again.

If you wanted to grab a copy of it, please do. If you already have a copy, please leave a review.

Get it here:  Kindle (only $4.99)

ok. So… first let's start with what I did right.

1. I wrote a very interesting, fun, informative book.

2. I involved very smart people.

3. I had the book professionally designed by Kristen and her team. (It's BEAUTIFUL inside and out.)

4. I planned to promote the snot out of it.

5. I created unique bonuses to give to the people who bought my book during the launch. It's a series of interviews not available anywhere else at this time. Note: If you buy the book soon, you can still access them. Details are here:  Grab Book Bonuses

 All good stuff, right?

Where did I flub up?

Where to begin?

1. Planning.
My husband's family is in town for Spring Break right now. I had cleared my work schedule so that I could be at the beach with them. BUT, then my book was published and I got excited and decided to release it this week. I underestimated the time and effort involved. This has caused me lots of stress because I'm working more than I would like while they are here. Just a stupid move on my part.

2. Jumping the Gun.
Related to the first mistake, I should have waited, as Susanne mentioned, until Amazon had everything in order, tested a few days, ordered a few books, both print and paperback and cooled my horses a week before starting to promote. That would have allowed me to noticed and play a bit beforehand and not just be rushing around trying to figure things out WHILE the book was live.

3. Linking the Books.
I had no idea how Amazon linked paperback and Kindle versions together. So, my books were not linked together as the same book. This caused two problems.

• First, it's difficult to promote, when you have two completely different links. (One link for paperback and one for the Kindle.) Every time I mailed, I had to include both links, rather than one, and letting people choose which version they wanted on that page.
• Second, the way I understand it, sales weren't counting together. So, if I sold 100 copies on the Kindle and 50 of the paperback, Amazon didn't know that it was really 150 copies of the same book. This affected rankings…. which is not a great thing. So… I found in the DTP dashboard an area, where you can request that the books get linked and I did that. I immediately got a response, which was awesome, but the customer support rep said that it could take 72 hours to fully propagate. Not great, but better than nothing, right? So, I would definitely have done that sooner had I known.

4. Not having a Plan for Reviews.
I think know that this book is awesome.  Therefore, I assumed that it would naturally get reviews, at least even just from my friends and the co-contributors. Not quite so.  So, I would have worked on that a bit better and asked for reviews during that week while I was planning the launch. oops. There's that planning word again.

I'm actually going through Rachel's course: Rolling in Reviews now to see what can be done about that, and I'm giving a copy to my Virtual Assistant so she can help me with that process, as well.

5. Related to #4, Not Asking for Help Enough.
I think people assume that I have it all together. Well, yesterday, after crying in the parking lot of a movie theater because I was frustrated and a friend made the mistake of asking “How are you doing?” I decided to write to some friends and ask for help. I  told them that I was tired and frustrated (especially with the Amazon linking issue) and could they please share the book on Facebook or with their lists? Pretty much all the cool kids did and it cheered my heart greatly.

Plus, I got a video in an email from my friend Tracy Roberts marked “OPEN ME NOW”. It was her and her kids yelling “We love you Miss Nicole! Come back and see us soon.” That was the bomb-diggity.

So guys, in all transparency, yes, I'm selling copies of my book. Yes, people love it. But, no, I did not have things go as planned. It's a good thing there's this thing called TOMORROW, right?

So what about you?

Got questions? Got horror stories? Just want to give me virtual hugs?

I welcome it all.

Resources that I Recommend –

These are my favorite Kindle resources that I've personally bought and enjoyed. All just happen to be by Rachel.

• Kinstant Formatter – the tool that my Intern uses to format most of my Kindle books
• Hands Off Kindle Publishing – How to Write Kindle Books without Writing them Yourself
• Rolling in Reviews – 50 ways to get more reviews on your books

With much appreciations –

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. Here are the contributors on Amazon again for easy reference:

• Lain on Kindle
• Kevin on Kindle
• Rachel on Kindle
• Connie on Kindle
• Kristen on Kindle
• Bob on Kindle
• Susanne (as Hillbilly Housewife) on Kindle

This week I asked our panel of experts a question that I get asked often from Virtual Assistants, Coaches, Authors, and Infoproduct Sellers…

“How do you decide how to price your products and coaching and what
if any struggle did you come through to charge what you're worth?”

I think you will like the responses.

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I have to admit that pricing is one of the toughest issues we face in marketing.

Here's why. Price too low and you devalue what you offer. Some of your potential best clients might not even take a second look at the offer because the low price denotes low quality. In addition, you might not be able to pay for the advertising (both “free” and paid advertising have a cost of either time or money).

You can also price yourself out of the market you're serving. If you're delivering Walmart services, you can't expect to receive Saks or Nordstrom prices.

And the lowest price doesn't even mean you get the maximum sales. For example, I've tested products at $47, $67, and $97 several times. In all 3 tests where I ran these price points, $67 performed best for me…both in quantity of sales and profits from those sales. Yes, more people purchased at $67 than at $47.

Does that mean you should run out and price your product at $67? Of course not. That was for my audience and offer. It simply means you need to keep your eyes open to pricing. Lower is not immediately better for sales, profits, or the results your customers receive.

When I started out, my tendency was to undervalue and underprice what I was offering. It wasn't until I started networking with others who asked a fair price for the value they produced that I realized the mistake I had been making. I consistently undervalued what I offered…and honestly I still make this mistake regularly today with my products.

Here's an exercise everyone reading this should practice today. Buy a Robb Report magazine (or get one at the library).

Read it cover to cover. Look at all the ads. How does someone advertise a cooler for $1,200? What do they say about it? What benefits do they share? How is it unique?

Then look at the ads for the $25,000 watch, the $47,000 German Shepherd, or the $350,000 car.

What words do they use to describe them? What do the company logos look like? What about the other photos they feature?

Program your mind for real value, instead of just cheapest price.

What customers really want is for you to provide them with the benefits they're seeking. Sure, price factors in, but a product that can't fulfill their desires isn't worth it no matter how low the price.

Also think about which customers you most want to attract. For example, I would never do “cheap” coaching. One-on-one coaching with me is a minimum of $500 per month. That's not anywhere near the highest. In fact, it's the lowest I know of for someone with my experience and client base.

It's not cheap though. I know the value of what I offer…and what it can do for someone's business.

I also know the clients I'm trying to attract for direct coaching. They either already own an online business and want to increase their profits from it. It's simply an ROI purchase for them. Or they have previous experience owning or managing a offline business (such as a middle level executive). They know the value of coaches and consultants.

I'm not trying to attract brand new beginners for one-on-one coaching with me. That's not as entertaining and thought provoking for me as working in all these different businesses and maximizing their profits.

Now onto specifics for your product or service. The best way to judge where to start your pricing is looking at competitors who are paying for advertising. Don't base your prices on companies which only use affiliates or social media. They often don't do the numbers like a PPC advertiser on Adwords would do.

What are the competitors on Adwords charging for an equal product to what you offer? What about those in industry magazines?

You can use sites like Alexa.com, Compete.com, and others to judge the demographics of their website and make sure it's the same audience you want to attract.

Their prices give you the starting point to work from.

If you want to learn from Terry, but can't afford his $500/month coaching prices, be sure to check out Terry's Mentoring Club which is pretty awesome.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts says:

The issue of pricing hasn't left my mind once since it was brought up late one recent night at NAMS 9. I was confronted with the truth that I haven't been charging what I should for a long time. It's not even like it was the first time I've heard it, but this time, I was ready for it. Ready to accept it and ready to act.

I worried some clients might panic, or worse yet – think I was getting too big for my britches. This fear turns out to be unfounded.

Since announcing my product and coaching rates are increasing soon, I've only received encouraging responses. A few have gone out of their way to tell me they know they've been getting a bargain.

As one gal put it, “I've been dining on steak but paying for a burger.”

It is great being appreciated and the input has helped get my head straight.

My homework this week has been to develop a repricing plan. I had to choose my new prices and decide which products will go through an increase first. It will be a two month process rather than a one time price jump. This gives my community a chance to act on old prices, gives my affiliates a chance to promote special bundle offers and through it all my business will gain a boost from all of the buzz and activity.

Pricing isn't a science. What we have to sell isn't measurable by hourly rates or physical weight. We can under price ourselves by underestimating the value of our products and we can overprice ourselves my overestimating our market's willingness to spend. Ultimately for me, I'm listening to what my people say and making decisions that take it all into consideration. I won't be the most expensive steak on the block, but I won't be mistaken for a fast food burger either.

That said, now would be a great moment to tell you that my One on One Coaching prices are heading for a significant increase in just a couple of weeks

Learn More from Kelly at Solo Smarts.

Bob Jenkins of Power Profits Mentoring says:

Pricing is the #1 problem barely-making-it coaches have in their business right now. Here's how I've learned to handle it.

First, I hired mentors along the way who have helped me “see straight” in regards to pricing. Specifically, the mentors who helped my mindset over the last few years have been Nancy Marmolejo, Adam Urbanski, Kevin Nations, and Therese Sparby. Today, one of my favorite areas to coach people around is their own sense of value in determining their prices.

Through their help and the feedback I got from my coaching clients I realized a number of ah-has.

Pricing by the hour discounts the amount of experience and expertise I'm bringing to the table. Instead, by focusing on the value of the benefits I provide to my clients, and the results they get through working with me, I can set a fair price that both of us can get excited about. I think of this as basing my prices on output instead of input.

Next, being the “low-cost leader” doesn't help build a reputation for quality. In fact, people's expectations of the work I do is impacted by their first impressions – i.e., how much does it cost.

Another problem with having the lowest (or lower) prices is it typically brings in clients and customers that don't value my experience and expertise, but more importantly, they don't value their own experience or expertise. When I charge higher prices than my competition, I'm typically attracting clients and customers who recognize that THEY are worth the extra investment. They are also more committed to their success and seeing a return on their investment at a quick pace.

The biggest challenge I had to overcome in my mindset was realizing my customers are completely different than me. For the first few years in business I priced my products and programs based on my history as a teacher, and subconsciously believing that all my prospective clients were living on a “teacher's budget.” That shift helped me approach sales conversations with more respect for my client's vision and goals, and less focus on their current circumstances.

Final note – I encourage my clients and anyone who is struggling with pricing to take action and revise later. Whatever your price is now, increase it by 25% immediately. Make a few sales. Then bump it up another 25%. Make a few more sales. Bump it up another 25%, etc. Do this until your conversions drop. This focus on price elasticity (cool economics term) will give you the freedom to raise your prices according to value and market response.

Want to learn more from Bob? Check out: Power Profits Mentoring

Melissa Ingold of Special Reports PLR says:

I think this is one of the biggest struggles that people have in business, and it all goes back to fear. They’re afraid no one will buy, or their existing customers or clients will complain or leave them, they’re afraid of getting too big, and they’re afraid people will find out they really don’t know what they’re doing. So they price their products and services so low they barely make a profit.

But what I’ve seen time and time again, is that if you charge what your products and services are worth, it increases the value of them in the eyes of your market. See, if your prices are too low, people will wonder why, and they’ll think that maybe you’re not very good at what you do, or your products aren’t very good.

I recently opened a 3 month coaching program to just a few people, and originally I was going to price it at $397 because I figured I hadn’t done one-to-one coaching in a while. But then I was like, no way, that’s too low for the value I’m giving. So I charged a $1000 and filled all the openings in just a few days.

The same with my PLR. Some people might think it’s outrageous to charge $47 for a package of PLR when so many people are practically giving it away these days. But what happens is (and I know this because customers have told me), those people go and look for cheaper PLR places, and that’s cool because we all want to save money where we can, but then they come right back to me because they just couldn’t find the same quality elsewhere.

When it comes to products, people are willing to pay more money for quality. Just like the shoes and clothes they buy for their kids, they’ll spend the extra money to buy the brand name quality items they know are going to last the entire school year.

So you have to show your potential customers and clients the quality they’re going to get. And that goes right down to the graphics you use on your sales page – don’t create this awesome ebook and then skimp on the ecover. If the ecover looks like crap, then people automatically think the product will be crap too – it’s just the way it is.

If you want to offer coaching, show them the value they’re going to get for their investment. Take the time to create a package(s) that outline everything they’re going to get, the benefits for them, and what they’re going to walk away with at the end of the program. Then when they see the price tag, they won’t run away, instead they’ll feel like they’re getting an amazing deal. People need to know exactly what they’re going to get for their money, so make it easy for them to say yes.

The same goes for services. You can’t just say, “Oh, I do writing, and transcriptions, and this and that”, you have to create packages that tell them exactly what they’re going to get for their money and how the package will benefit them. Will they get more traffic? Will they be able to release info products faster? Then tell them that! When you can show high value, you’ll be confident in your decision to charge higher prices.

Check out Melissa's Available PLR here: Special Reports PLR

Ronnie Nijmeh of PLR.me (< -click for a special free offer from Ronnie) says:

Instead of asking of “how much can I charge?”… I reframe that question to become: “how much value can I add?” and it changes the whole game.

$1,000 for a hamburger might seem ridiculous, but $1,000 for a new model second hand car might be a steal.

My #1 tip for you:

Don't compete on price. Compete on value.

Don't be the bargain basement seller. It cheapens your products and brand… and causes a flurry of doubts in the mind of your clients.

That's why I find pricing to be as much an art as it is a science. It's about balancing expectations with finances.

Another piece of the pricing puzzle is to have several price points for your funnel. The best way to explain this is to give you my Funnel Mapping Worksheet that's from my Expert Publishing System course. Sample price points are inside, which will be very helpful for those who want to see specific prices.

Long story short… I always have products at the low ticket tier… $4.95, $7, $17. This is to lower the barrier to entry and get clients to say “yes”. Once you get that “yes”, it's a lot easier to get to another “yes,” which is where you get into one-time-offers (OTOs), mid-ticket products, upsells/cross-sells, high-ticket offers, and membership options.

I know that there is always – ALWAYS – a loyal audience who's willing to invest in themselves and their business at the high ticket. For me, that means $500+… It's not unusual for me to offer $2,000 and $3,000 price points for a very select few who are a great fit. They happily invest because the value I offer for the price is so astounding.

But again, the number itself doesn't matter. You always have to angle your pitch on value, not price.

Ask yourself: “Is the value greater than the cost?” Because if so, then you've priced it just right.

If not, then stack more value. Here's my shortcut to add value:

1. Add additional mediums to the offer – audio, video, checklists, worksheets, mindmaps, presentations, etc

2. Add additional access to you – individual coaching, group coaching, live event tickets, etc.

3. Add services – done-for-you, installations, etc.

So those are my pricing tricks. Simple, but very effective.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Wow. Once again, I am amazed by my smart friends.

Pricing can be a huge issue, so I really enjoyed reading their insight. Between self-esteem/confidence issues, not understanding what your market wants, and basically knowing how to write copy that sells – there are definitely a lot of factors at play.

Because we're selling digital products and the info in our heads, I feel that setting your pricing is something to me that can feel so arbitrary. It's not like selling a house where you can clearly see the area comps and add up things like 4 bedrooms, granite countertops, cul de sac, good schools, and a pool. Digital stuff is harder. At least it is to me.

For instance, should I charge 99 cents or $9.99 for my Kindle book?

Well that depends on a few factors.

• What are my goals with this book?
• Am I using that Kindle book to generate leads for my business and get exposure? Or is its primary purpose income generation?
• Is it information that naturally leads people to transition into a program of mine?
• What's that market look like as far as what is selling and what's not?
• Does pricing cheaply reflect poorly in this instance or make me seem more accessible?

These are definitely things to know and understand.

My friends pointed out a lot of issues that I had planned to talk about, so I'll summarize a few of their points.

Product A & Product B – Same Product, Different Price

We see this all the time in the PLR products that we sell.

We can have two customers buy the exact same PLR product.

The two customers have the same content. Yet one sells it for $15 and struggles to make sales while the other sells it for $500 over and over again.

Why?  The only difference is in how it is being presented on the sales page.

The hook, the value, the results, your credibility, the proof.

If you have all of those things in place, your product's perceived value starts to increase to potential clients.

Heck, even the title of your product or the cover can make the difference between whether you can charge $5 and get nobody to buy verses charging $47 while making sales hand over fist.

I have one more thought that I'll share before I turn this over to you.

Membership sites.

One area where I've had success is in scaling up my membership site prices slowly. For instance, when Melissa and I launched PLR Toolkits, we offered it as a low price for 24 hours to fill in spaces quickly. This works well for me, for a few reasons.

1. We can get members quickly – so all expenses are paid and were immediately in the black. We see a profit from day one.

2. Member retention increases. Because those first members got in at a low price, they know if they quit, they have to rejoin at a higher price. So by scaling, it makes people think twice before letting their spot go.

3. We normally raise prices several times. This gives us the opportunity to mail several times to let people who missed out know that they can still get in before the NEXT price increase. So, there is a built-in reason to promote regularly as the membership numbers are building.

That's something that I've done on a few membership sites and it works really well for me and for my clients that have used this method, too.

Share your Thoughts, Please.

As a person who sells products online – and buys them, too – I'd like to know your experiences.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Warmly,
Nicole

If you've missed past Expert Briefs, you can click on the undies to see them all –>

So, on that note, this week I asked our panel of experts …

It's nearly the end of the year, so I'm personally looking
back over the last year. My question this week is

“Where does your money come from?” 

Here are their responses they so graciously shared.

Tiffany Dow of The Guide to Shiny Object Syndrome says:

I get my Internet income from a variety of sources. I’ve always loved having many different sources because of the panic I would feel (and uncertainty) if I relied on just one stream. So my income is divided up into 5 parts:

1. My own eCourses
2. My PLR store
3. Digital affiliate income
4. Affiliate marketing on Amazon
5. Ghostwriting

When it comes to the lion’s share, it would have to be my own ecourses – because not only do I make money directly, but I worked to recruit an army of affiliates to promote for me. This provides approximately 40% of my online income. The best tip I can give you on this is to forget who else has already done what. Do it your way and you will have fans!

Next on the list is my PLR store. I’ve been building this for years and now have almost 500 products in my marketplace. It runs on autopilot and I have affiliates promoting it, earning 50% of the cart sales. Most PLR sellers create about 5-10 packs and quit, but volume is key to waking up and seeing $200 cart sales. PLR accounts for about 30% of my sales.

Digital affiliate income is what I consider my reviews to be. Here’s a tip on earning from digital reviews: whenever I buy any product, I implement and review it right away. It pays off because people trust me when they see my results unfold. The profits are twofold: once from the sales you make reviewing it as an affiliate, and again because you’re taking action and implementing! I make approximately 25% of my income from reviews.

The last two items on my list – affiliate income on Amazon and ghostwriting are very small players in my income, but not because I’ve failed at them. Combined, they only add up to about 5% of my income. I rarely ever ghostwrite anymore (just primarily to keep my skills sharp) and I’ve sold off (flipped) most of my Amazon sites and Squidoo lenses, so I’m just now building them back up. Best advice? KEEP the money makers. Build a portfolio, instead of flipping for fast cash.

-> Want more from Tiffany? Check out her The Guide to Shiny Object Syndrome

Bob Jenkins of How to Use Mindmaps to Organize Your Business says:

Hey Nicole – I love having a diversified set of revenue sources to balance out the ebbs and flows of having a business.

Here's my breakdown from October 2011 – October 2012:

• 40% – Personal Coaching Clients
• 16% – Mindmap My Business 3-Day Virtual Training
• 15% – Affiliate Income (Affiliate Marketing)
• 13% – Information Products
• 12% – Hotseat Holiday Workshops/Retreats
• 1.4% – Domain Sales
• 1.4% – Welcome To The Call
• 1.2% – Beef Jerky

A few things are interesting from this list for me (and from reviewing these kinds of numbers).

First, if I was like most coaches, I would be missing out on a ton of revenue without the additional revenue sources like information products and information products.

The 3 private label sources (Domains – GoDadady, WelcomeToTheCall – Instant Teleseminar, and Beef Jerky – Jerky Direct) that make up a combined 4% are both neglected and rarely advertised. I consider spending more energy on them, but then I remember how much more fun I have coaching and teaching virtual workshops.

Some of these sources are also inter-related, in that they provide the same customers multiple levels of access and intensity. If I sold in a bunch of different niches, it would be harder for me to improve my revenue/customer numbers.

For example, the Hotseat Holidays both lead to and stem from personal coaching clients.

As for affiliate income, my top generating recommendations over the past year have been for Lon Naylor (Learn Camtasia), Clay Collins (TheMarketingProgram), Digital Access Pass membership software, and Aweber autoresponders.

-> Want to learn more from Bob (and get uber-organized)? Check out How to Use Mindmaps to Organize Your Business

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

The end of the year always means that I will be reviewing and thinking about my online business to see what worked, what I loved doing, and what I need to completely revamp and update in my business.

2012 has been a year of great growth for me. I am now speaking internationally, which was a goal I set for myself at this time last year. This is my sixth full year online, so I am now more comfortable in every area of my business. You may have heard about the ‘10,000 Hours Rule', a concept based on a study by Anders Ericsson and discussed throughout the book ‘Outliers: The Story of Success‘ by Malcolm Gladwell. The premise is that one needs to accrue ten thousand hours of experience in an area before being able to move to the next level of competence and understanding. I am now at the point in my business where major changes are more likely to occur.

• 50% – Affiliate marketing continues to account for about fifty percent of my income. I enjoy the responsibility that comes along with only recommending the people and products I love, in the exact areas that are relevant to building a successful online business.
• 25% – My own products and courses account for another twenty-five percent of my income, and I now stay tightly focused on what I create and sell under my brand.
• 25% – The rest of my income is derived from my high level Mentor programs, my Weekend Retreats, and from speaking at live events around the world.

My recommendation is to write down everything you are doing to generate income in your business to see which things are working best for you. The ultimate goal is to have a profitable business that allows you to engage in activities that you enjoy while serving the needs of your target audience.

-> Want to learn how Connie wins so many Affiliate Contests? Check out her Affiliate Success Case Studies.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

Where does my money come from? Had an interesting situation come up this week on Facebook. Lynn Terry and I have a big 1200+ member group working through a 90 Day Low Carb Challenge and someone got it in their head that we are some sort of Ninja Marketing Geniuses who make money every time someone clicks a link or likes anything. Lynn said ‘If only that were so!' LOL!

Affiliate marketing does represent a nice chunk of my income and it is one of my favorite sources since it tends to be the income that keeps on coming long after I did whatever I did to initiate it. It comes naturally as I recommend the tools, people and resources I have found most useful in my own online business.

Information product sales is another valued source of income for me. I have six different courses/workshops for sale right now plus a membership program. Sales come through my own list and via my amazing affiliates.

As we discussed not long ago, a surprising source of income for me is the check I get from an advertising network for displaying their ads on my small mom and family focused blog network. Sponsored posts, paid promotions and the like are all nice extras for my budget from month to month.

Occasionally I go back to my roots and generate cash with my graphic and web design skills. In fact, I put the word out last night that I'm accepting a couple of new clients. (I'm raising cash for something important!) I don't want to service clients on a regular basis, having a skill others are willing to pay to tap is a powerful thing.

I've dabbled with a few other things this year but unfortunately most of that didn't turn out to be the turn on I'd expected and I've let those projects go dormant. I think it's important for everything to know that every project and idea is not going to be profitable. I learn from these disappointments and use those lessons to be smarter about everything else I do.

Finally, I earn money by coaching clients one on one. What might interest everyone is the fact that this is not my primary income. Several people have told me that that is what they assume – that I'm getting RICH by coaching others. I'm not THAT coach who only makes money from coaching. I actually make money from real life projects that have nothing to do with telling someone else what to do as you can see here.

Flexibility, variety, having these choices is a dream come true for this solopreneur. I wish you all the same!

-> Want to learn more from Kel? One of the ways she earns money is through Podcasting. Check out her Smart Podcasting Course.

Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Plan Your Online Business says:

What a great question! I generally know my numbers, but I was curious about how they have changed over the years. In fact, I pulled a spreadsheet for 2000 – 2012 and here's what I found:

• In 2000, my revenue was half consulting and half products (which includes teaching classes). That was fairly early in my Internet Marketing career, so that makes sense.
• By 2005, revenue was 25% affiliate programs, 15% adsense (the heyday!), 20% consulting, and the rest in product sales.
• By 2010,revenue was at 20% affiliate programs, only 8% consulting (who had time?), 20% member sites (the hot thing that year!), and the rest in product sales, including partner products.
• This year, it's steady at 30% affiliate sales, 22% consulting, 22% member sites, and the rest in product sales.

It's so important to have a mix of revenue sources. As some things come and go, other items remain steady. You may have years when you create a bunch of products and others when you want to work more closely with your clients in smaller sites and consulting. Remember – it's YOUR business and you get to choose how you make your living!

-> Want to peek inside Jeanette's head and get ready for next year? Check out Plan Your Online Business

Dr. Mani of How to Set Goals says:

Interesting question, Nicole.

Here are my answers, as they apply to online infopreneur income alone:

• Affiliate marketing – 25%
• Freelance writing – 20%
• Adsense – 5%
• Infoproduct Sales – 30%
• Books on Amazon – 5%
• Membership sites – 10%
• Other – 5%

It helps that I periodically review this set of numbers, and see how well they match my overall goals for the year. That way, I'm able to tweak and focus on what matters for the month or quarter.

-> Want to learn more from Dr. Mani? Check out his report about How to Set Goals

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Well this has been interesting to me to read the responses. 

My income is similar to my friends above.

1. My Own Product Sales
2. My PLR Sites
3. Affiliate Marketing
4. Personal Coaching
5. Google Adsense (Niche Sites)
6. Web Hosting
7. Amazon Kindle
8. Consulting

I'll get into a bit more detail on each.

1. My Own Product Sales.

I have several training products that I sell to intermediate and advanced level online business owners.

My most recent one that I'm super proud of is ContentDrafts.com – how to keep your blog fresh.

I also have some courses at the beginner level, including the ones at MomsTalkBiz.com

2. My PLR Sites

I have three PLR sites.  Each is slightly different in focus.

EasyPLR.com
I opened EasyPLR in 2006. At that site, I mainly sell packs of articles, reports, and ecourses. There is no membership component involved. The goal with the site is to get people to make an impulse buy as it's a low priced item and then find out they love me and my stuff and trust me. Then they become repeat customers.

YummyPLR.com
Yummy PLR was opened after EasyPLR (I believe in 2007). We sell food PLR there, including PLR recipes. This site is a membership model and many of our members stay for years.

CoachingPLRContent.com
I opened Coaching PLR content with Melissa Ingold in 2010. At that site, we want to arm our customers with resources, tools and presentations they can use to expand their expert status even further. We have worksheets and PowerPoints slides and scripts and all kinds of stuff with PLR rights. A lot of our customers use our presentations to create video training and to do live webinars, as well.

3. Affiliate Marketing

I don't have exact numbers in front of me, but I would say that I earn approximately 50% of my income through affiliate marketing.

This varies from promoting things like Hillbilly Housewife ebooks on a niche site – to promoting exercise videos from Amazon on another niche site, to promoting services like Aweber here, on my blog and to my lists.

4. Personal Coaching

I take on a handful of personal coaching clients at a time. I spend a lot of time one-on-one with them which is why I only work with a few. I find it extremely rewarding and I love it.

I focus on Infoproduct marketers who have at least one product, who already know who their customers are, and they have their product up for sale (or nearly there). Once they get to that point, I have a blast helping them to multiply their income.

5. Google Adsense on Niche Sites

I still have some niche sites with Adsense on them. For four years, Google paid my mortgage. But, now? Not as much. It's just a nice little deposit every month. The good thing is that I don't have to do anything to earn it.

6. Web Hosting.

I am a partner in a web hosting company – MomWebs.com (with Kelly McCausey).

We focus on helping newbies who are skeeeered of technology to get their WordPress sites up and running. (Many of them switch from Blogger to WordPress with our help.) So that project brings in some monthly cashola, as well.

7. Amazon Kindle

My Kindle earnings are small, but they will be growing next year.

You can see a few of my Kindle books here:

8. Consulting

On occasion, I will do hourly consulting for online or offline businesses. I don't do this too often, simply because I don't like to have a schedule where I have to be somewhere (even on the phone) at a certain time – yeah I'm weird like that. But am always open to having someone buy an hour of access to my brain.

Well that's an overview. I hope it was interesting to you.

Talk to me.

Is this what you expected to hear?

Is it similar to your income streams? Or different?

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. If you like this post – share it and check out my friends’ sites. That’ll make me happy! Appreciate you!

Here are the folks who contributed today…

• Tiffany: The Guide to Shiny Object Syndrome
• Bob: How to Use Mindmaps to Organize Your Business
• Connie: Affiliate Success Case Studies.
• Kelly:  Smart Podcasting Course.
• Jeanette: Plan Your Online Business
• Dr. Mani: How to Set Goals

If you've missed past Expert Briefs, you can click on the undies to see them all –>

This week we asked our panel of experts something a little different to get ideas for thinking creatively in your business.

“What's a unique way you make money – something that most people might not think of or think that you would do?”

Here are their responses.

Rachel Rofe of How To Get Every Book You Write Onto The First Page Of Kindle says:

Well, I recently outed myself to my list, but I created a site back in 2006 or 2007 that shows people how they can marry Russian women. I learned a whole lot about Russian culture while making that site!

Another unique way to make money has been with my blog. Sometimes I make blog posts that are informational but also include some of my products, like this one which is a detailed explanation about how to publish a book.

I then add an affiliate link to the post into my affiliate center. That makes it so that affiliates can get an affiliate link to send traffic to that individual blog post.

Basically, affiliates get paid to share great content. A lot of times, leads come to my site and end up staying for a while. They often buy my other products.

And since my affiliate program pays out lifetime commissions, affiliates can send people to a FREE blog post, but get paid for years to come on anything their leads buy.

It's a great win-win-win. Affiliates can share great content AND get paid for it, customers GET great content, and I get more exposure to my blog.

Note from Nik. I do love having the ability to share Rachel's blog posts like the one above with an affiliate link. It's great content and it has profit potential. Two things I love.

Terry Dean of Internet Lifestyle Cheat Sheets says:

Good question. I make money all the normal ways: product sales, coaching, services, Kindle, and many affiliate programs. But here's a method a lot of people might not have thought about. I have business partners in a couple of other countries that translate and sell my products to their audiences.

For example, I have a business partner in Russia who translates my products into Russian including even republishing my physical book into Russian. It's their business. They do the work and pay me a royalty fee on everything they sell that's mine.

I also do a webinar for them around quarterly. They supply a translator and we do a content rich webinar that sells one of the partner products at the end.

This is a fun way to expand your publishing business into other markets and languages while adding almost no additional work for your business (the webinars are usually ones I've done for my own audience and the partner handles the translation of them).

How do you get deals like this? Once you build a name in your market, you may get approached by them. Or it can also be as simple as sending an email to your own list letting them know you're interested in this kind of arrangement. Most of the people who would want to do this with you would already be on your list as one of your current fans.

If you're fluent in another language, this also becomes a potential business idea for you – republishing someone else's work into another language. You'll find most markets are less competitive than the English version.

Note from Nik. Terry's so smart. I've thought about paying to have some of my books translated, but never considered the model he has where he just sits back and collects royalties. It's totally hands-off. And, pretty brilliant.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Secrets Explained says:

I had to think about this question, because my business tends to overlap with my personal life these days. One unique way that I've made money several times now is by helping my friends to ‘market' their high school age kids so that they are more attractive to the colleges.

This started a couple of years ago when my friend's daughter was told by a school guidance counselor that she would most likely not be accepted by the colleges of her choice because the only thing in her favor was her grades. She was a shy, introverted girl who had never joined clubs or become involved with other activities at school. She was an accomplished pianist, loved soccer, and excelled in mathematics.

We set up a blog for her so that she could share her thoughts and ideas with the world. Being able to communicate from behind a computer made it much easier for her. We also set up a YouTube channel where she could post videos of herself playing the piano. She began to blog about the school's soccer team, analyzing each game and giving tips for what they could do to improve. She also blogged about math, sharing tips and strategies for some difficult concepts. Finally, I had her connect with three ‘influencers' at her school, asking them to tell others about what she was doing online.

The results were fast, fun, and fantastic! She was asked by the music department to join them for specific performances; the math department asked her to help with some after school tutoring, and the soccer coach asked her to come in as a strategist for the season. Her gifts and talents were being noticed and acknowledged.

And, yes, she was accepted by all five colleges she applied to, and she is now a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin.

Note from Nik. Great idea from Connie. And I'm betting whatever she charged, the parents thought it was a steal considering the results they got.

Shannon Cherry of Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events says:

I have several ‘sneaky' ways to add more money to my bottom line. But the most profitable to date has been getting sponsors to pay me to do my marketing.

I've been using sponsors to underwrite everything lately.

• Sponsors pay for me to attend events. I have sponsors pay for travel, lodging, meals, outfits and even gifts to give out whether I am speaking or not.
• Sponsors have paid for me to blog on my own blog, Mommy-Inc.com.
• Sponsors are paying for some of my renovations in my house because I am blogging about it.

(Yes, that means you do NOT have to have your own live event to get sponsored!)

In the past few years, I've earned more than $170,000 just in sponsorships alone.

How does it work?

If I am reaching a particular target market, I find a company who wants a connection to that target market. Then I make that connection for them, by simply using the marketing I am already doing, and they pay me.

Sponsorship marketing is still in its infancy, so now is the time to add this to your revenue mix. If you have a direct connection to a particular market, take the extra step now and get companies to pay you to market to them. If done right, you can be paid for years to come.

You can learn Shannon's system here: Learn How I Get Paid to Attend Events

Note from Nik. Shannon has been talking about these sponsorships that she gets for a few years now, and every time she does, my jaw drops. It's like magic to me. Seriously, amazing stuff. I need new flooring in my house. Hmmm… maybe I should think about this.

Mark Mason from the Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast says:

Well, here is something really different — a non-traditional answer for you. One of the best “unique” ways to make money that I have found is to help people without asking for anything. In other words, helping people absolutely for free and often without being asked.

For example, I just noticed that a guy was having trouble on facebook installing a plug-in in wordpress. I made him a quick YouTube video and sent it to him. Probably saved him hours (maybe more). He was stunned and amazed that I took the time to help. And that is important — I did it to help him. But there are a three good things that might happen.

One — he will almost certainly say thanks. That might seem like a small thing, but I have found selfishly that gratitude and praise from others adds fuel to my fire. I love that feeling of knowing I helped someone and hearing them gushing about what a big deal it was to them. Just makes me happy — selfish, but true.

Two — He will tell people about it. Brand and reputation is everything online. ‘Nuff said.

Three — And he and his friends (and his friends friends) might buy stuff from me someday. Maybe. All just because I helped without being asked. Notice that the money is the last thing. That's important. You need to be satisfied that helping people is enough. Then the money will come.

“You can get everything you want in life by helping enough other people get what they want.” — Zig Ziglar

Note from Nik. True. I find that the saying “the more you do, the luckier you get” holds true.  However, and I'm sure Mark would agree, doing nice things repeatedly without selling won't cut it either. I give all the time, and I have learned over the years that not everyone is wired to reciprocate. If you're hoping that they'll figure it out, it can eat away at the relationship. So, you do also have to be asking for things in return.

But, giving from a place of goodness and not needing or asking for anything in return is sure a great feeling, too. Hmmm… I'm thinking this needs to be a separate blog post. Watch for that.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

My surprising income stream probably comes from my little blog network. I run ten blogs on a variety of home and family topics and I earn income in quite a few ways there.

First, it's part of an ‘ad network' that pays a tiny amount per ad impression. Two ad impressions are served for every page view so that tiny amount adds up pretty well over a month.

Second, the network earns a nice amount of ‘pay for placement' advertising income as well. This income fluctuates quite a bit, some months I may see only a couple hundred and others months I'll see close to a grand. If I would intentionally promote sponsorship, I'm sure I'd have more steady income from that – I just can't make myself do that. I'd love to work with a partner on that, it has so much potential!

There are some non-financial benefits too. Naturally we get a lot of product reviews offers as well and I'm very choosy about what we accept. I'm not in the habit of doing free PR for anyone but if it's a great product that I'd want anyways or can use as a gift for one of my nieces or nephews – I'll go for it.

Everything else I do online has to be so targeted, so specific! The blog network is all about sheer magnitude of all kinds of content and traffic so it's very different animal for me to manage. I have created it to run as independently as possible. All of the new content is created by my blogging interns and I have a VA who manages email inquiries.

Note from Nik. I love Kelly's blog networks. And the fact that they've evolved and changed over time has been cool to watch.

Jason Fladlien of WP Secure Pro says:

Nobody really sees this, but we license whole or parts of the code for our software… sometimes directly to others marketers in our niche, but also to marketers outside of our niche.

A lot of software developers don't understand that their code has a lot of value – and when faced with the option of developing parts of all of software from scratch or paying someone a few grand to hand over it already done – well obviously a lot of people would happily pay you $2,000.

That's why it baffles me that people on the Warrior Forum sell software for like $10 or $20 a pop. The bigger picture is that it behooves us all to think in terms of ASSETS, not products or services. A product IS an asset, but an asset doesn't JUST have to be a product.

What are ways you can take your current ASSETS and leverage them outside of their normal function? That's a profitable thought exercise to have

-> Check out Jason's course to make sure your WordPress blogs are safe and secure here:  WP Secure Pro

Note from Nik. As I've said in the past, Jason is freaky smart. The way I understand this is – he is saying that he sells rights to his software (or pieces and parts of it) – similar to Resale or PLR rights, but with software instead of content. Not only is he selling to his direct competition, but he's also finding other markets of people who may be interested, as well. Smart. Smart. Smart.

One of the products that I bought from Jason and have listened to many times is this one: Six Figure Baby. Check that out. I love it.

Susanne Myers of  Daily Affiliate Tasks says:

I’m an affiliate marketer and make money in a variety of niches. Some are larger than others. Today I want to share one of my smallest niches with you – a tomato cookbook. Toward the end of the summer I noticed that there were tomatoes everywhere. The store, the farmers market and of course my own kitchen counter. Neighbors would drop off buckets full of these delicious red fruits (yes, they are fruits) and I had to get creative in what to make with them and how to preserve them.

One weekend, I sat down and wrote a kindle cookbook all about cooking tomatoes. It includes salads, soups and the like but also more exotic dishes like tomato jam and tomato pie. I formatted it for Amazon Kindle and uploaded it to the Amazon Kindle Store. It’s been selling like hotcakes. The past few weeks sales started to slow down as tomatoes are no longer in season, but I’m sure I’ll continue to sell a few copies each week over the winter, and really see sales pick back up early next summer.

The Tomato Cookbook

The beauty of this money making method is that it’s completely passive. I wrote and uploaded the book and I’m done. Amazon takes care of orders, fulfillment, customer service emails and even some of the marketing. I can just jump in and do a little extra promoting as time allows. Other than that I’m just cashing the checks Amazon sends my way.

Note from Nik. I love this example, because this is a highly highly targeted niche Kindle book on a topic that most would  never think of. So, rather than writing a big long Kindle book, you might want to grab each chapter of it and put it up on Kindle separately.

Bob Jenkins of How to Use Mindmaps to Organize Your Business says:

As a business coach and marketing teacher, the bulk of my income comes from private and group coaching programs and teaching online courses and virtual workshops.

But what most people don’t know is my long history making a healthy chunk of change from selling a weird product online: beef jerky.

It’s kind of a funny, random story.

Back when I was still a full time history teacher with dreams of making money online, I tried a little bit of everything in the network marketing world. Dental plans, diet cleansing products, video email, even a premium social network.

At the time (this is back at the end of 2005), the Million Dollar Homepage was successfully launched by Alex Tew in England. He sold 10×10 pixel blocks for $100 each – and he sold out for the full $1 million dollars!

Seeing an opportunity (i.e., a squirrel), I bought the pixel ad script from the German company that designed his and launched PixYourBiz.com to give network marketers a unique advertising opportunity. That site generated a couple thousand dollars, but the fad ran its course and I let the site die and its registration expire.

However, I had placed Google Adsense on the site for additional monetization which would prove fortunate. Not because I made much from Google Adsense – hardly! But because one day (this is January, 2006), while I was tweaking the back end settings for PixYourBiz, I noticed an ad that read: “Beef Jerky Goes MLM”. Even though I wasn’t an experienced jerky connoisseur, I was intrigued.

After clicking the ad (you’re really not supposed to do that on your own sites, by the way!), I was introduced to an online direct sales company, Jerky Direct. After a quick review, I jumped on the easy $12/month online store and waited for my 2 bags of jerky to arrive.

I loved every bite of that first bag, and have enjoyed a pair of bags of beef, buffalo, or turkey jerky every month for the last 6 years. The best part has been that I haven’t had to pay for my online store or the bags of jerky since it’s generated a lot more revenue for me.

Here’s how that happened…

I created a page on a brand new (at the time) social content site (Squidoo) to advertise the product and business opportunity – “Where Can I Find The Best Beef Jerky Without Putting 10-Syllable Chemicals Direct Into My Body?” I also bought a good domain name (Jerky.ws). My “lens” quickly hit the top 100 on Squidoo, and I saw sales of jerky coming in. On Google, it didn’t take long for my lens to appear on the first page of the search results for “best beef jerky” and similar keywords.

The real boost came when the New York Times printed its first article on Squidoo in April, 2006: A Home Where Bloggers Can Plumb Those Obscure Passions. The author, Bob Tedeschi, used my lens as the initial angle in the story. Within a day, my lens was #1 on Squidoo.com and remained there for over a week. With an active link from the NYTimes.com, Google rewarded me with the #1 result on its search engine. The lens stayed in the top 3 for well over 3 years. Today, the lens is on page 2, still sending me traffic.

With my passion for coaching business owners, I’ve never actively promoted my online jerky store other than the Squidoo lens and a casual mention, since it makes for a fun story. And now you know another weird, unique way to make money online.

Note from Nik. I'm glad you shared a physical product, Bob. That's a cool twist compared to the other answers.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Well, goodness. I've had several odd businesses in the past, but this is a hard question – simply because I'm pretty transparent about my businesses to begin with.

I'm going to share two methods, today.

Niche Sites.

You may not know this but I have several niche sites still that bring in passive income month after month after month. A few of them, I haven't touched in years – which is a mistake on my part. But they still bring in money. So, that goes to show that quality over quantity worked in 2006 and it still works now.

Is that an unusual way to make money? Not really. But it may be unusual when you think about me.

The niches? Well, I'm glad you asked.

Four of my favorite niche sites are about:

• Romance in a Marriage
• Fun Exercise DVDs
• Kids Crafts
• Cooking

How to I Make Money with those Sites?

Through a few ways.

• Affiliate Marketing. I get checks from Fredricks of Hollywood for the romance one – and all kinds of other places.
• Google Adsense. Yes, still. My deposits aren't nearly as big as they were a few years ago, but I'm also not really doing anything to earn it, so I'm happy with the amount that I am getting.
• Selling my own niche products. I don't do this nearly as much as I used to, but I'm about to get back into more niche product creation again. This time, on the Kindle rather than selling the products as an ebook.

And, because I've successfully created my niche sites, I then spun off a series of Kindle books about a few of them.

So that's one odd revenue stream that you may not have known about.

What else?

Monetizing Affiliate Communications.

Another revenue stream that I have in place that may be considered “unusual” is in monetizing my affiliate program.

I don't “sell” to my affiliates. However, I will include a PS. when mailing them about a new affiliate tool or new product or promo of mine.

The PS might say something like this:

Want to make more money with my Affiliate Program?

I recommend that you check out these two courses to boost your profits:

• Daily Affiliate Tasks is really good, especially if you're struggling with overwhelm.

• If you're just getting started, then this is the training that I would suggest: Affiliate Sales Domination as it starts from the absolute beginning.

I have lists of affiliates. Those affiliates need training to be successful. Therefore, I see a win-win scenario.

How about you?

What are some unusual ways that you make money?

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. Be sure to click on the links of my friends to learn more about them. That’s how I get them to come back.) 

Plus, I got to meet several of my customers. (Waving to you!)

I even hung out at the hotel gym with a customer who had
my undivided attention for the entire hour we exercised.
There will be NO sweaty-looking pictures of that, though! eek!
How'd that happen? Simple. She came up to me, told me that
she was a customer, and asked if I would have any time to chat
during the weekend. I said “Well, I've already got lunch plans,
but I'm going to the hotel gym after lunch. Want to meet me there?”
And, she said “Sure.” (Wow. Networking is so hard, right?)

If you're not attending live events yet – you are sooooo
missing out on money (and fun!). I get to meet customers,
find new affiliates, make deals, and build lasting relationships
at every event I've been to — even the bad ones. (Don't ask. lol!)

I know that it can be scary. I know it can be an expense.

But it is CRITICAL to growing your business quickly.

Each event I've gone to has directly increased my income
in some way. Either through the presentations, being able to
ask questions about things I was struggling with, or in meeting
people who ended up being friends (and promoting me).

My absolute favorite event to go to is the NAMS conference in Atlanta.

I've been to three of them and it's something I look forward to every six months.

Yes, even if you're a TOTAL beginner – you need to be there.

The next NAMS is coming up soon in Atlanta – and yes, I'll be there.
How to join me: Click here for Details

If you're a beginner, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions
and connect with others who you'll stay in contact with for years.

If you're at the intermediate level or feeling like you've
reached a plateau, you'll learn how to move past it.

And, if you're at an advanced level, you'll have the opportunity
to connect with all 25 instructors – who are all potential
JV partners for you.

It's a win, no matter where you are in your business.

Please come and meet me, Willie Crawford, Connie Green,
Susanne Myers, Paul Evans, Bob Jenkins,
Lynn Terry, and a slew of my other amazing friends.

• Bring your spouse.
• Bring your parents.
• Bring your favorite sibling.
• Bring your kids.

It's fun and learning for the whole family! (And, unlike some
events – it's clean so you don't have to worry about young
ears hearing things they shouldn't.)

Many people bring the people they love to NAMS. Not just once,
but every single time they go. I've brought my mom and my son. Bob Jenkins
brought his brother. Lynn Terry brought her daughter.

No excuses. Go to this page now – and make plans to attend. It can be a total game-changer for you.

Here's where you can learn more: Click here for Details

If you're coming to the NAMS conference, please let me know by commenting below so I can watch for you.

Have a fantastic day! You deserve it.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

“What's your #1 tip for using Twitter effectively in your online business?”

Like I said in my post “Problems of Social Media for Small Business“, social media is a great tool, but it must be handled carefully.

If you're not careful, Twitter can easily become a time drain. Despite the fact that you're  BUSY all day, you may not be productive as you think when it comes to increasing profits for your business. So, if you're marketing with Twitter, I want you to do it without getting caught up in the Time Vortex that surrounds the Twitterverse.

I asked several of my friends to share their best tips for using Twitter Effectively in their online businesses. I hope it gives you some ideas.

Bob Jenkins of BobtheTeacher.com says:

The #1 challenge in using Twitter is not getting sucked into the time-warp of social media. You login just to check for replies and direct messages, and 3 hours later you haven't accomplished anything else that day!

So my top tip for Twittering effectively for business is to use TweetDeck – the free software that helps you manage tweets and followers very efficiently.

After installing the software from TweetDeck.com, you'll want to set up “columns” that are most appropriate for you. Personally, my first column is Mentions, then Direct Messages. Next I have my mastermind team in a special list, another column for my top customers in a list. I have a search for the keywords that I'm focused on at that moment. In the next column is the list for people I just met or will meet soon at a live event.

I usually don't even have an All Friends tab anymore. I may miss some random genius, but using Tweet Deck this way really gives me the ability to stay focused on just the people and topics that are at the top of my radar each week.

Follow Bob @BobtheTeacher

Tawnya Sutherland of VAnetworking.com says:

I (@VAnetworking) can't always be on Twitter 24/7 even though my followers would like me to be so they'd get more Virtual Assistant tips and outsourcing resources around the clock. To compensate for my absence, I use Hootsuite to automate 2-4 tweets per day to my followers sporadically spaced throughout 24 hours at times I know I won't be online.

Typically these tweets will include an outsourcing or VA tip, 1-2 tweets sharing a relevant free resource for my peeps and then 2 tweets about products I sell or I am promoting. I also automate all RSS feeds on my blog posts to tweet out too.

That leaves me with the rest of the day to enjoy Twitter for what it is, a social network for me to tweet about whatever I'm doing at the moment. I've found automating the business side leaves me only left with the fun part to do…networking and getting to know my peeps! I don't have to worry about business and can get more personal on Twitter which lets my followers get to know ME better so they can form a trusting connection with me.

And, here's my 2 cents.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

It's hard to pick just ONE tip. I have so many ideas. In fact, I have an entire lesson at OutsourceWeekly.com about this very topic.

ok. Best tip. I would have to agree with Tawnya and say to automate as many parts of Twitter that you can – without, of course, losing the personal touch of Twitter.

1. Automate Followers/Friends.

For instance, I've been using a tool that automatically follows the people who follow me, as long as they meet certain criteria. It also helps me to find people to follow who are my target customer. I don't spend any time approving new friends, nor have I in months. This allows me to manage my followers/friends without having to do any work beyond entering the original settings in the program. But, more importantly, before I got this tool, when I was manually approving friends – I'd get distracted. Now, it's handled behind the scenes and I'm oblivious to the work being done.

2. Auto-Tweet your Blog Posts.

To take the automation a step further, I also automatically send my blog posts to my Twitter stream, which pulls them into my Facebook stream through Twitter. This allows me to update my Twitter feed with my blog updates without having to remember to do it myself. Sure it would only take a few seconds to do it manually, but why do something a computer can do just as well?

Example of an Auto-Tweet from my Blog:

New : Expert Briefs: How to Make Working from Home More Fun http://www.nicoleonthenet.com/5164/how-to-make-working-from-home-more-fun/

3. Auto-Tweet through Aweber.

I do the same with a few of my mailing lists, too. I publish my Aweber broadcasts to Twitter the same time it goes to the members of my list.

Example of an Auto-Tweet through Aweber:

EasyPLR: New PLR Articles and Reports. http://aweber.com/b/mHZC

4. Spend time wisely when you are on Twitter.

I don't use any fancy tools for managing the “noise” of Twitter or for communicating effectively with my friends. I spend my time mostly on my “Replies” page, and reply to those who're talking about me. They, obviously, are my #1 priority. If those people care enough about me that they're talking TO me and ABOUT me – that's my best time investment. Second to that, I pop around a bit to see what some of my favorite people are doing.

I normally don't spend more than about 1-5 minutes at a time on Twitter. I drop by several times during the day, see what's new, and hop back out. But, I don't allow Twitter to interrupt my Action List for the day, nor to distract me from the things that directly make me money. The only exception is if I'm sitting somewhere waiting for a doc appt or waiting for the kids while they're in guitar lessons and I have my cell phone (and no good book to read or audio to listen to). In that case, I might poke around a bit more.

Throw your “How to Use Twitter More Effectively” ideas at me. I want them!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean – (@NicoleDean)

Here's her story… Enjoy!

Greetings, my name is D’vorah Lansky. I’m commonly referred to as “the Relationship Marketing Wizard”. I love people, I love learning and I love to have fun. I’ve come to discover over my 15 years in Network Marketing and Internet Marketing that the best way to enjoy life and experience more success is to love what you do and surround yourself with positive minded people. This will energize you, you will have more to give and people will want to be around you. Have you ever known someone who was selling a service, product or program and truth be told, it wouldn’t matter what they were selling, you wanted to get to know them? Well that is what Relationship Marketing is all about; building relationships and selling people on you, not on your products or services.

I’d like to thank Nicole for inviting me to be a Guest Blogger on her site. Nicole and I met at an event this past Spring which was hosted by Bob “the teacher” Jenkins. I was immediately drawn to Nicole because of her positive attitude, joyful spirit and zest for life. Nicole is clearly someone who is having fun and enjoying her journey. Nicole lives the principles of Relationship Marketing. We see that in her kindness and generosity, in her high level of integrity and in how she treats her family and community.

Over the course of the event weekend and then during the past few months, Nicole and I have kept in touch. I was privileged to have Nicole as a Guest Speaker on my Internet radio show at RelationshipMarketingCafe.com.  During Nicole’s interview she shared with us a unique program that she developed called The Blog World Tour.  This immediately caught my attention as the world of WordPress Blogs is a big part of my life.

The Blog World Tour program was developed as a result of Nicole’s recent Rock Star Blog Tour. Over the course of the summer, she visited 15 blogs as a Guest Blogger.  This concept captured my attention and I decided to explore further. I’ll share in a moment what I discovered but let me share first that this post is my first post in my first Blog World Tour! Over the course of the summer, I will be visiting 9 blogs and writing articles on the topic of Relationship Marketing.

You may be asking yourself, what does Relationship Marketing have to do with a Blog Tour. I propose that developing and participating in a blog tour has everything to do with Relationship Marketing! As you begin to plan out and schedule your blog tour, you will be growing and strengthening relationships with the bloggers who will be welcoming you to their site as part of the tour. While you are a guest blogger on their site, you will have opportunities for building relationships with their readers and members and as your tour progresses through the season, you will be able to make additional connections with people who discover you via the social networks.

You may be asking, “how will people discover me via the social networks”? Well, as part of Nicole’s Blog Tour Guide, she shares unique ways for encouraging viewers to comment on and share links on the social networks to your blog posts. Many new people will discover you this way and begin to follow your progress and your blog tour.

As my blog tour developed I realized that this is program is one that I can participate in not only during the summer, but all year long! In Nicole’s “How to Blog Tour” Guide, I learned about the importance of developing a product that has an affiliate program attached to it.

I’m really excited about the product that will be born as a result of my participation in the Blog World Tour. It is called, Blog Tour Extravaganza (coming soon) and will include the complete collection of all my posts from this season’s blog tour along with lots of exciting bonuses. One of the bonuses is a collection of Audio Interviews and Transcripts from people who speak on a topic related to the focus of this season’s tour.

Many of these speakers happen to also be participating in my current blog tour; Nicole Dean, Bob “the teacher” Jenkins, Connie Ragen Green and Jessica Swanson. Additionally, I’ll be sharing an audio and the transcripts from a recent interview I did with David Frey, on the topic of generating referrals through relationship marketing!

You may have noticed that I made reference to “this season’s blog tour”. What I realized in preparing for my first blog tour, which begins with this very post, is that this would be a wonderful way to focus on specific niche topics and visit related blogs and get to know thought leaders and experts on these topics, throughout the year. It was like a light bulb moment for me when I had this realization. This is how The Blog Tour Extravaganza – Season One; Relationship Marketing was born!

Nicole lays out the blog tour system so clearly in her guide that I was able to personalize it and create a template that I can easily replicate throughout the year on a wide variety of topics. Because this will be an ongoing project, I’ve also set up a membership site as a way for participants to interact and learn from one another.

Have I got your ideas flowing yet? Additionally, in honor of Nicole, as the founder of this program, I have the privilege of being a guest blogger right here on her site, three times during the course of the tour. I’ll be back again towards the middle of the tour, and then again at the end of the tour.

Give thought to what message, thoughts and ideas you’d like to share with the world. What audience, leaders, educators or marketers would you like to get to know personally or get to know better? What do you want to become known as an expert on? Decide on your niche focus, schedule several times a week to write and take your blog tour on the road!

Until next time!
D’vorah Lansky

M.Ed and Relationship Marketing Wizard

The audio recording of our interview is at the end of this blog post. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

I met Bob at a Live Event earlier this year (Willie Crawford's 50th Birthday Celebration) and then we got the chance to hang out again at Ken McArthur's IMPACT event in Orlando a month or two later.

See? Here we are!

Elizabeth Ashe, me, Bob, Lynn Terry

I knew that I liked Bob immediately, even before we were introduced. I noticed his warm smile and I wanted to meet him, even before I realized how flippin' smart he was, too. He just stands out in a room full of people as someone who is really special.

Also, every time I walked by him, at the event, I noticed that he was typing notes in a weird program. It turns out that he's a Free Mind addict and he's helped me to learn about the program and use it, too. It's great for brainstorming ebooks before you start writing them, and for thinking through projects that involve a lot of steps.

Learn more about Free Mind and Bob's tutorials on the program here
-> Free Mind Training (You'll get rid of post-it notes forever.)

So, anyway, I finally got an introduction and I knew my life would be better off for knowing this new friend.

Here's more about Bob so you can see why I think he's cool:

Bob Jenkins is an internet business marketing teacher, with ten years experience teaching teenagers and teachers. He is the creator of several online training courses that teach you how to get better customers and increase your profits. Specializing in social networking strategies for business and creating information products from teleseminars, Bob can help you use internet marketing tools and strategies to promote your business online.

Paid “Must Have” Tools Recommended by Bob:

• Blogi360 – Blogging Platform that makes it very easy to use WordPress.
• Aweber – Autoresponder & List-Manager. I use this, too.
• Instant Teleseminar – Makes hosting teleseminars easy.
• Camtasia – Recording & editing videos of your screen.
• Butterfly Marketing – the Shopping Cart & Affiliate Management system that Bob prefers.

Free “Must Have” Tools Recommended by Bob :

• Tweet Deck – For organizing and managing Twitter.
• Mind Maps: Free Mind – Organizing everything in Bob's head!
• Roboform: Saves Bob at least 2 hours/week. I use it, too! (Free trial, but you'll want to upgrade.)

Bob's Mentors

• Mike Filsaime
• Paulie Sabol
• Donna Fox
• Adam Urbanski
• Melanie Benson Strick

Takeaway Points

• Having an accountability partner is huge.
• Make a difference in what you do and you'll love your business!
• You'll need different mentors over time, depending on what you're focusing on at the time.

One lucky listener will win…
One Month of FREE Access to Bob's IM Success Library!

As always, one lucky listener will be chosen to win a prize. All you have to do is listen to the show and leave a comment about what you learned from the show — and you'll be entered to win one month of Bob's IM Success Library.

What is it? Well, let me just tell you!

At the IM Success Library, you'll have access to step-by-step video and audio courses that cover EVERYTHING you need to know about things like:

– list building
– information product creation
– affiliate marketing
– technical know-how
– website management
– traffic
– autoresponders
– Twitter and Facebook
– and a lot more.

The fact is, it's impossible for me to tell you in this blog post just how much of an impact this will be for your business. So, check it out by clicking on the graphic below. (Site will open in a new window.)

After listening to the show, comment below about something you learned from the show — and you'll be entered to win. If you're already a member at IM Success Library, then we'll work out an alternate prize.