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

Alice is a long-time business acquaintance turned friend.

She’s in the PLR business as well, and specializes in -> Step-by-Step PLR Bundles with Photos and Screenshots but she has so much more, too.

Today she's here to answer questions about how to use your PLR Articles to generate traffic.

Here's Alice.

Using PLR Articles to Get Traffic

by Alice Seba

QUESTION 1:  Is rewriting PLR necessary in order to get traffic from it?

No, definitely not.

I actually find it a little bit bizarre that people spend their hard-earned money on some quality PLR content and then either spend a lot of time or even more money to have it completely rewritten.  Not only does rewriting suck up a lot of resources (time or money), it also diminishes the quality of the content you paid for in the first place. A sentence by sentence rewrite (which is what most people do) will rarely come out better than the original content.

And all that aside, it’s just not necessary.

I do agree that in most cases, publishing PLR content “as is” is not your best strategy, but there are still things you can do to customize PLR and make it stand out from everyone else…without rewriting everything.

Here are a few things can do:

• Add your point of view to the content. Your readers are most interested in what you think about a subject, so let them know.
• Insert examples and case studies. Your readers will absorb your content better if it includes examples they can relate to or real-life case studies.
• Add statistics, facts and quotations. All these types of content add credibility to your content and a great quotation gives them something to ponder.
• Add images, video and other visual elements. These type of additions not only capture your visitors eye, they also enrich the experience and make your content more meaningful.
• Put together a worksheet, graph, spreadsheet or anything that helps your reader understand or use the information more effectively.
• Add links to relevant products and resources.  Part of being a great source of information is providing your readers with further help they need…and you can even attach your affiliate link to it.

Now you don’t need to do each one of these things for each piece of content and it’s true that these customizations take time. However, these customizations add tremendous VALUE to your content and make it possible to draw in more traffic through word of mouth, social sharing and more. When you put all your efforts into rewriting, at best you come up with a comparable article to the one you started with and at worst, you end up with an inferior version…so where do you think you should spend your time?

QUESTION 2: Can I buy PLR that is already optimized for search engines?

Now and then you’ll come across a PLR seller that claims their content is optimized for search engines. Unfortunately, SEO-optimized PLR is a fairy tale. Unless the seller is selling to one person only (YOU), you cannot publish that content and expect a flood of search engine traffic.

But please understand, I’m not sure suggesting that if someone says the content is optimized it’s not quality content. It’s possible that a very good writer had the mistaken notion that they could optimize one piece of content and then let a bunch of people publish it as is for search engine rankings. So don’t dismiss “optimized” content out of hand, but do realize that if you want search traffic, you have to do your own optimization.

Think about it. If 30 people publish the exact same article targeting the phrase, “pink poodle bows,” do you think that all 30 people will get to the top of the Google listings? No..it’s pretty much impossible.

What you need to do instead is conduct your own keyword research and optimize for a keyword phrase you choose. You can use tools like wordtracker.com or even Google’s keyword tool at https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool. If you use WordPress, a plugin like WordPress SEO by Yoast can help you more easily optimize your posts.

If you need a little SEO checklist, here’s a short version of things you should be doing:

• Look for a highly targeted keyword phrase that will attract the type of traffic you’re looking for the content piece. Look for a specific phrase that has a decent amount of searches, but isn’t too competitive.

Once you have your phrase, you can include it in the following places:

• Title tag and headline for your article.
• Subheadlines
• Body text of your article
• In ALT tags on your images
• In the description tag

…to mention a few things, but do be natural. Over-optimizing is even worse than not optimizing at all. Be descriptive and present great quality to your readers and you’ll do well. And don’t forget your content has to be out there for search engines think it’s valuable. Links coming to your website and shares on social media sites all go toward improving your search engine rankings.

QUESTION 3:  What’s the most important thing people should focus on when it comes to growing traffic through PLR?

The focus should always be on quality first, but even if you have the best content in the world and do nothing to get it out there, it’s not going to be worth your while.

So, to simplify the answer, I’d say focus on quality first. Then promote the heck out of your quality.

Here are some ideas to help you with those two things…

Quality: Only purchase good PLR. Don’t publish something you wouldn’t be proud of. Add some personality to your content by adding examples, case studies, images and other things that will make your content stand out. Listen to feedback from your readers and pay attention to what they like. And of course, always publish more of what they like.

Promotion: Unless you have a website that has a ton of subscribers and you’re already a Google-darling, you have to bust your butt to get your content seen. The nice thing about using PLR is that it saves you a ton of time on the creation side of things, so you can focus on the promotion. Always publish your content to an RSS feed, share it with your mailing list and social media followers and link to your new content from other relevant content. Those are just a few of the many things you should do on a regular basis. As your following grows, the less active work you have do to promote your content, but when you’re just starting to grow…you have to work it and work it hard.

PLR really does provide website owners with a headstart on growing their audiences. Use that content wisely, enhance it and tell everyone about it.

Learn How to Profit from the PLR Content Sitting on your Hard-Drive:

Alice Seba and Melody Spier offer an incredible education opportunity to help you us PLR to grow your business.

If you want to learn how to publish PLR more quickly, build your list, grow your traffic and even sell more products, definitely check it out:
Click here to Learn How to Profit from your PLR.

These ladies have put together detailed tutorials and they’ll even help you each step of the way. Sign up by March 28 and you’ll be invited to 2 bonus group coaching sessions AND you can even knock $10 of your tuition by using the following coupon code…

Coupon Code: nicolesfriends
Discount: $10 off
Expiry: Thursday, March 28, 2013

Get in soon, so you can get the additional savings and group coaching opportunities. It’s well worth it.

It's Your Turn.

What questions do you have about using PLR to get traffic to your sites?  Suggestions? Frustrations?

Let us have it.

I'll be back with more soon.

Warmly,
Nicole

Recommended High Quality PLR:

• Alice's DIY PLR – Grab it here
• EasyPLR – by Nicole

PS. Here's a video that I recorded awhile back about how to customize your PLR for your blog:

As you can see, Alice and I are pretty much in agreement. I hope you enjoy it.

And, sometimes it takes a few tries (over a few years) to really hit it out of the ballpark. At least it usually does for me.

The tricky part is, if you have two or ten blogs. Unless you learn how to tweak your headers yourself, you have to pay every time you want to change even one word. Then you have to know how to load up the new header to your site. And, if you're smart, you're going to want to update your Facebook and Twitter graphics to match.

That can cost a bundle. UNLESS – you learn how to do it yourself.

The good news is that my friend, Angela Wills, is going to be teaching monthly DIY workshops all about taking control of your WordPress websites.

And she's starting from the top. Headers.

When we brainstormed about it, I also asked her if she could include training about Facebook covers and the new Twitter graphics as well, and she said “Sure!”

Here's a quick Q&A with some common questions you might have about WordPress Headers.

How to Update your Own WordPress Headers
by Angela Wills

1. What's a website header?

You know that graphics across the top of most websites, the first thing you see when you get there? That's the header graphic. The header itself is usually defined as whatever is above the website navigation and main site content. It usually has the name of the site and some other images that visually suggest what you'll find on that website.Headers often have pictures of the website owner in them or business logos and taglines. A good website header connects with your target marketing immediately, draws them in and invites them to learn more. That's a big job for one graphic, but it's totally do-able.

2. What's the difference between a header and a logo?

A logo is more of an ‘official' branding piece for your business. In most cases a logo never changes. You know the golden arches, right? If they suddenly were green wouldn't you freak out and wonder what's happening at McDonald's head office, and if someone had lost their mind? That's because the logo is ingrained in your mind as an identification of the company, just as the company name itself identifies it.

A header on the other hand can change. You want your header to definitely represent your brand but it can be something that changes are your business focus shifts and you define your target market more clearly. In most cases you don't want your header to be just a logo unless you're trying to look ‘corporate'. These days it's not necessary to try to make your company look like a big operation to get the trust and business you deserve, so get creative with your header and let it shine with personality that gets you more business!

3. How do I get a new header for my website?

You can hire someone, that's definitely an option. You might be surprised to learn that you can also make your own headers with a free program called Gimp and a few simple graphics techniques.

For example:

• grab a beautiful stock photo from DepositPhoto.com (or Nicole's favorite Big Stock Photo),
• open it in Gimp,
• add your website name in a nice-looking font,
• save it and you've got yourself a header.

Sometimes simple really is best.

4. I want to make matching branded cover graphics for my social media sites too, can I do that with Gimp?

Oh for sure! Once you've got a source file for your website header you can then copy parts of that over to new images that you make for your facebook timeline cover and your new twitter cover, too. This will create great consistency in your branding across all of your marketing and allow people to recognize your business a lot faster. That's a very good thing.

5. Really? Me? I can make a website header? Even if I've never done any graphics in my life?

Really you can. If you can move your mouse around you really can learn some simple techniques that include you clicking some buttons and getting some stuff done. Look, I'm not going to try to convince you that you'll be winning awards for your graphical design skills or anything in the first week of opening the program. I can promise you that it is possible to master enough techniques to make simple, clean and professional-looking headers and other designs (those are my favorite kind).

Here's the link again to my new 3 hour workshops PLUS Q&A calls:  Click here to Get Ongoing WordPress Training

Cool Photo Edits For Your Website

Awhile back, Angela did a surprise guest blog post for me where she demonstrated some of the cool things that you can do once you understand how to use Gimp.

Here are those graphics, dug up from my archives. Cute eh?

Blast from the past. Angela surprised me with these in a guest blog post a year ago.

I decided to have a little fun with Nicole’s picture to use as an example of what you can do. Here’s the picture I swiped from the header here:

And let’s jump right to the results, shall we? Have a look at what I made Nicole say. The last photo edit is my favorite! (hehe)…

Here's the scoop with Angela's new program.

If you want to take control of your own WordPress sites or your clients', this may be for you.

Each month, you'll get:

• Pre-Workshop Materials Checklist
• A Monthly Three Hour Workshop Session
• Follow-Up Q&A and Catch-Up Session (One week after Workshop)
• Recordings of all sessions.

If that sounds like something you can use, be sure to check  out Angela's program here:

Click here to Get Ongoing WordPress Training

You can get just the header workshop on that page or sign up for all of the ongoing training.  She's got the introductory price of the ongoing training set really low to build her members' base. The price will increase at the end of the  month.

Got questions? Please ask. I'll have Angela swing by and answer them here.

Thanks for reading!

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. If you don't have a graphics editing program, be sure to download Gimp – a FREE Program to Create and Edit Graphics.

Click here -> To learn How to Download Gimp for free.

I personally believe that our business is only as strong as our weakest link. (Just one more reason to outsource to someone better than us at doing certain tasks.)

So I think this quiz can really help you to find out what your weakest link is so you can tackle it in 2012… and win.

You do not need to enter your name or email address to take this marketing quiz, so be completely honest and you'll get personalized feedback.

You’ll find the marketing quiz here:
Click to Find out your Marketing IQ Level – and How You Can Improve It!

The free quiz is a precursor to show you how joining NAMS can help you, whether you’re a beginner or even a more advanced student like I am. (I learn a bunch EVERY time I go!)

The questions are:

1. What's your online business experience?
2. Do you have a niche?
3. Do you have a website or blog?
4. Do you get traffic to your sites?
5. Are you building segmented lists?
6. Do you sell other people's products online?
7. Do you sell your own products online?
8. Do you have multiple streams of online income on a regular basis?
9. Do you work too hard on each of your sites every day?
10. What's your current income level from your online business?

There are 4 options for each from “No” to “Sometimes” to “Occasionally” to “Always”. You'll get a rating back (again, anonymously) – with advice for each of the questions above, based upon your answers. I hope you like it and it helps you to get a clearer picture of where to focus in 2012.

Here's the link again:
Click here -> Find out What your Marketing IQ Is – and How to Improve It!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

I talk a lot about my best bud (and uber smart marketer), Susanne Myers. And, that I trust her with my friendship and my business. My mom works for her. So, I guess you could say that I trust her with my mother, too.

Well, a few months ago, Susanne sent the same promo email (promoting an affiliate offer) to both her leads list and also to her list of customers.

She tracked the sales to see how many purchased the affiliate offer.

The results were just as I suspected.

-> Only 2% of her leads purchased.
-> While *30%* of her customers purchased.

That's a huge difference! And, I agree that it's accurate because I see the exact same thing happening in my business.

My customer list is one of my two most valuable lists. (Want to know my other most valuable list? My affiliates and JV partners!)

While I value my leads very much – a much larger portion of my income comes from my customers. They are proven repeat buyers.

Do you have a customer list? If not, it's about time you get one.

Susanne has put together a system showing how you can, using her method.

I'd recommend you check this out asap and apply the info to your business.

Here's the link.
Get a List of People who BUY!

You'll also get these bonuses:

Bonus #1: Don't Make These 10 Mistakes When Creating Info Products
Bonus #2: The 20 Minute Sales Letter
Bonus #3: Increase Sales Conversion With This Checklist
Bonus #4: Killer Strategy To Get More Traffic From Article Marketing

Check it out if you're interested:

Earn More Affiliate Income.

Have a fantastic day! You deserve it.

And, thank you, again, for sharing my day with me.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. Please share your thoughts on this topic. My coaching clients oftentimes ignore their customers and focus on their leads only. It's a mind-shift that can make the difference between 4 figures per year and 6 figures per year. Seriously. Talk to me…

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

Let me back up a bit to explain.

You may know that I recently retired as an Affiliate Manager. The reason I made that decision was so that I could focus on teaching and coaching marketers to succeed – which is where my greatest “fun” is.

But – I also knew I had to focus. “Niche it down” a bit.

Just like everyone else, there are things that I'm REALLY good at and things that I'm just good at. (And other things that I have NO business coaching.)

So, I decided to focus on infoproduct sellers. That makes sense, right? After four years of experience as an Affiliate Manager and Director of Marketing for infoproduct businesses, I brainstorm ways to make more money for infoproduct sellers in my sleep.

Anyway, I'm headed off on a tangent. Let's reel me back in.

So, the first thing I wanted to do was to put together a course about how to create your first infoproduct (a report, an ebook, an audio interview or even video course).

Well, I decided to team up on this project with my buddy, Ronnie Nijmeh, who you've heard me talk about before, to create this course. I just really enjoy working with him and he's a GREAT guy. Plus, he's in my personal mastermind group of four people. We pick each others brains regularly via Skype and it's really boosting my income.

So, I'd say he's qualified.

We're in launch mode now. And, Ronnie and I brainstormed some super geeky prizes to give away – including the brand spankin' new iPad.

So, can we give you an iPad? Please say “yes”!

Here's the JV page if you'd like to see what we've got:
JV Page for Rapid Product Formula

You'll see that commissions range from $39-$399 per sale.

We'll have plenty of free items to spread the word about, including a call next week. But, you can read all about that at the link above.

We're also giving away gift certificates to Think Geek, where you can get fun items like this t-shirt (it REALLY detects Wi-Fi).

A Wi-Fi Detector Shirt
This will make sure you know when you’re in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot
and can hook into the Internet with your new iPad

Thanks, as always, for your help!  Let me know if you have questions.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Well, after only using it a bit, here's the good, the bad, and the ugly (yes, there's ugly already) so far….

First, of course, if you want to buzz me, here's where you can find me: Nicole Dean on Google Buzz.

Begin feedback….

Interruption Based Chatting – And, How to Fix It.

I use my gmail account — a lot. So, I was not thrilled to discover that every time I received a comment on a buzz, that it would burst into my face – or at least into my inbox. I'm not a big fan of allowing anyone– even those I love — to interrupt my focus.

So, I set out to figure out how to “filter” the Buzz to a place where I was in charge instead of Google.

Problem #1. Filters in Google are normally quite good, but there's no “from” person for Buzz and no common filter info.

So, here's how I solved it.

1. Go to “Settings” in your Gmail. (Upper right hand corner of screen.)

2. Click on “Filters”  (Fourth tab). If you aren't using them – USE them. Click “New Filter”.

3. Enter info as shown. Click “Next Step”.

4. Enter info as shown. The important thing is to mark “SKIP INBOX”.

5. CHECK where it says “Apply filter to # conversations below” and make sure you're not moving a bunch of conversations. Click “Update Filter” if you're happy with the filtering.

Now wasn't that easy?

To Pull Your Feeds or Not to Pull your feeds into Google Buzz?

So, my first impression was bad. Then, I looked into my “Buzz line” or whatever it's called where I can see what people are talking about and all I saw were Tweets being pulled in from Twitter. STRIKE two.

My gut didn't like the idea of pulling in all my feeds. I didn't see the benefit for my followers. So, I asked for feedback.

Here's my Buzz Stream from today. Tell me what you think:

I posted this…

|8:26 amNicole Dean – Buzz

Debating whether or not to link my Tweets in here.

Leaning towards “no” as I'm not caring to see others tweets clouding up my buzz and distracting me from real conversation.

BUT it would be nice to have some pulled in just to share.

Thoughts? This sounds like a problem that can be solved in the shower. I'm off to enjoy one.

The feedback was a resounding “NO thank you” from Warren Whitlock, Kelly McCausey, and Odinn Sorensen! I agree.

My Verdict after Using Google Buzz Today?

So, I'm hooked after a few things happened.

I had the opportunity to turn Buzz into something that I can manage.

I had the JOY of having longer conversations than I could on Twitter.

And, I had the pleasure of interacting quicker with my friends than I normally can on Facebook.

WILL I let Google Buzz cost me money by killing my productivity? Nah. I'm too determined and stubborn for that. And, now that it's skipping my inbox, I have another way to reward myself for getting things done. I suggest you do the same.

Will Google Buzz replace Twitter? I doubt it. BUT it's another opportunity to connect with people, so it really doesn't matter either way. If you feel you can benefit, try it out. If not, then skip it for now and focus on what is currently working for you.

If, you try it and then you decide that Google Buzz is not for you…

Here's how to cancel.  Log into Gmail. Scroll down. Keep scrolling until you reach the bottom. You'll see in teeny, tiny letters “Turn off Buzz”. That's it.

Hope this helps! Again, please follow me on Buzz. Here's where I am: Nicole Dean on Google Buzz.

Nicole

This week, I have Ross Goldberg with me. I met Ross and his beautiful wife at Stomper Live in Atlanta this past August. He is a Stomper faculty member for them and he's a hard-working,  driven, and very smart marketer.

Ross Goldberg's bio is fascinating. It's filled with stuff like this:

I’ve actually had 2 brushes with death. I nearly died in 2003, as well as my coma in 2005…

The hit from the pistol missed my temple by an inch. $30,000 worth of neurosurgery later, I was as good as new!

Seriously. Like I can make this stuff up?!

The interview rocked, of course, as always. And, be sure to look below for free gifts from Ross and the latest prize you can win simply by listening and commenting about the interview.

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!

Check out this fantastic free content from Ross after you listen to the show, of course. Free Gifts from Ross.

“Must Have” Tools Recommended by Ross:

• Ross's Semi-Automatic Submitter – It submits articles, press releases and more.
• Market Samari.
• Article Marketing Automation.
• Easy Note.
• Google Calendar.
• Mini Task.
• Gimp.
• Camtasia.
• Tweet Deck.
• and more.

Takeaway Points

• Know Who to Listen To.
• Ask yourself “Now What?” all the time.
• Be careful who you partner with.
• You've got to be hungry to get what you want.

Don't forget! One lucky listener will win a Prize.
This Week you can Win Ross's Traffic Manifesto! (APPLAUSE, please)

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.

You can win Ross's Traffic Manifesto. Here's a short description:

Never before has a product revealed 79 completely different methods of generating traffic to your website. All of the others focus on one single method. The problem with that is that your benefits will be limited to the tactic you use. Using numerous tactics will grab your customers from all corners of the internet and improve your sales, results, and of course your traffic.

One lucky listener will win all 137 pages of traffic instruction. But, you've got to comment about one thing you took from this interview in order to win!

PS. If you can make a phone call, you can have a podcast like mine: Click to learn  How to Record a Podcast like I do.

Scott shared an insight that he recently had about how he's increasing his focus. I've found the same results. When I limit my work hours, I get more done.

Here's the email that Scott sent me:

Bob had me on a call the other day and asked me about any challenges that I had set that didn't directly relate to business

Here was my answer…

Angie said, you know what, we would just love for you when the kids get home from school to just turn off the computer and just completely focus on us as a family. So, that was a challenge from her to just, hey, can you do it? Can you get all your work done during the day while the kids are in school and then the rest of the time spend with us?

Mind you, if I did have a coaching call once a week or there was someone going to interview me at night, that was OK. It was an hour and it wasn't every day. So, that's allowed.

So yes, that was a big challenge just to shut the computer down once the kids are home at 3:00 from school. Once that happened I realized that when I set that time for myself, I know after 3:00 I can't turn on the computer again unless I want to…

For example; if the kids are playing with their friends and Angie is doing something else, I can get on it and tweet someone or whatever.

But, once I realized that when I do shut it off at 3:00, I end up become even more focused during the day knowing that OK, I've got a deadline. Once 3:00 comes, I'm done.

I got to make sure I get all this work done during the day and I realized after doing it for a little bit that wow, I can get a lot of things done when I'm focused through the day. I can a lot done before 3:00 and I just started thinking about how much time I was wasting throughout the day, just unfocused time.

So, that challenge really, really helped me to get even more balance in my life than I had previously. And it has me more even more focused and just enjoying life to the fullest, because now I'm really balanced.

I feel like I'm enjoying the most of life and reaping the benefits and rewards of what the online Internet kind of lifestyle allows us to have.

Scott Tousignant

So, what is there to learn from that?

1. Taking time for your 10 minute quickies will not hurt your overall productivity.

2. Taking time for your family will not hurt your overall productivity.

3. Limiting your work hours will not hurt your overall productivity as there is much wasted time spent in front of the computer — if you're like most entrepreneurs.

It's about making sure that you are healthy, happy and whole — and that your time spent in front of the computer is dedicated to things that give you direct results in your income.

In fact, I have 2 reports that I'll be posting soon that will give you a more focused and productive way to work, but I have to get them edited first. So, keep an eye on my blog (or sign up for email updates) so you'll know when those are ready for you.

Ready to Get In Better Shape, and Get More Done During the Day so you Can Make More Money?

When you're ready to join the Fat Loss Quickie program, click on the graphic below.

It’s only $20 for all of your quickie workout videos, a personal trainer who you can ask questions here, plus my awesome community of kick-butt marketers sweating with you and cheering you on.

Please post your updates or I'll track you down on Twitter!

Let’s find 10 minutes every day to get healthier so we can enjoy the LIFESTYLE that we’re working towards.

((hugs)) to all.
Nicole

PS. If you haven’t listened to my interview with Scott yet, here it is: Interview with Scott Tousignant, The Fat Loss Quickie Guy

Note: You can follow all posts by keeping an eye on the Computer Butt category to the right.