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

I just found a new coach that I'm working with and am super happy about that. (You can find out who it is at the end of this post.)

That led to this week's question.

Do you currently have a business coach or mentor?
If so, are you brave enough to share who it is and why you chose that person? 

This week the experts will name names, point fingers, and give shouts of kudos where appropriate.

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

My business coach is Armand Morin. I'm a part of Armand's Platinum group, which meets monthly on the phone, daily via email, and 3 times per year at Armand's home. I've enjoyed Armand's business advice since 2005, so it must be working!

I chose Armand because I liked the way he does business. I always learn something new from him. He truly loves what he does and is always learning and sharing the latest and greatest information. He also has the ability to diagnose problems quickly and offer a solution. Armand attracts people just like him – no pretense, no hype, 100% above-board business owners – many of whom are not “internet marketers.” Armand himself operates several businesses outside the IM space, so he has broad experience that pays off for us.

Most importantly he genuinely cares about my success. He is a patient teacher and even better mentor. I highly recommend him as a business coach!

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

I work with several coaches for various reasons. My business and internet marketing coach is Bob The Teacher who helps keep me focused on my money-making activities while helping me make decisions about my business direction. In my business I interact with A LOT of coaches and I chose Bob because he's everything I'm not in many ways: he “gets” technology like no one I've ever met, he's uber-organized, and is amazing at connecting with people (ok, well I do that, too, but Bob is fabulous at it!). Not a week goes by where I don't learn some new tip or trick that is useful! I met Bob when he was a speaker at an event in 2008 and we've been friends and business associates ever since.

I also have a wealth coach, Kamin Samuel, who has helped me stay focused and grounded in my business. Working with her has helped me open up areas of wealth and income I would never have experienced without her coaching and guidance. We started out in a program together in 2006 and all these years later still work together regularly.

Finally, I have an ADD coach, Tina File, who, having ADD herself is adept at helping me prioritize and gives me useful strategies for getting everything I need to get done without feeling too overwhelmed. Tina was a client who wanted to learn more about speaking for her business and when I heard about how she helps so many entrepreneurs with quieting the noise inside their heads long enough to be productive, I knew she could help me.

The point is, there are different coaches for different skill sets. One of these days I'm going to hire YOU, Nicole, to help me get my passive income and affiliate programs running as they should because YOU are the hands-down clear expert on that. I find the best and work with them. It's always served me well!

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

Why, yes! I do have a business coach, Nicole. And it's YOU!

I have some very specific goals I'm working to accomplish and you have proven systems in place where these goals are concerned. I knew you'd be able to get me through to where I wanted to be and give me the know-how and resources to be able to continue down the path long-term.

Plus, you're just a fun person! I knew I'd enjoy my time with you and have a few laughs along the way. Nothing better than making money and having fun doing it!

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

The idea of coaching has never appealed to me; instead, I have chosen to work with several mentors since coming online in 2006. I think of a coach as someone who cheers you on to do your best and challenges you to do more, while a mentor guides you toward success by sharing what's working for them and then showing you exactly how you can do something very similar for your own business. During my first two years online I worked with two different mentors, and each of them helped me to move forward. One mentor I still work with to this day is Armand Morin, someone who continues to help my business grow by leaps and bounds. I'm in his Platinum program, which is limited to twenty-five entrepreneurs from around the world. I've been with this group since 2008.

Several years ago I was asked to join a Mastermind of my peers and I enthusiastically agreed. We meet in person several times a year and via Skype or webinar at other times. Unlike the mentor relationship, Masterminds are by invitation only and include the opportunity to joint venture and recommend each others best products, programs, and courses. This group has helped me to grow on both a personal and a professional level and to achieve goals I never thought possible.

I would encourage you to seek out like-minded people to put together your own Mastermind, and to choose one person you admire and respect to be your mentor. Having multiple mentors does not seem to work for anyone, and my own mentees experience the best results when they work exclusively with me for one or two years. Knowing that someone cares about your success as much as they do their own can help you to move up by leaps and bounds and will help ensure that you reach and surpass your wildest dreams and goals. Going it alone does not work, so get involved with the right people and be willing to do the work to achieve great results in record time.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I have had some short term coaching in the last year, but I don't have a full time coach right now. I do have smart friends who I welcome input from on a regular basis though.

What I'd really like is to be part of a Mastermind. I want to spend more time with people making more money than me. I want to soak up their attitude and submit my brain for regular stretching sessions. I respond well to firm accountability (I can't bear reporting a missed deadline!) and enjoy the mix of a mastermind environment.

If I can't find a mastermind that fits me soon, I'm going to circle back to the coaching question. I know I can't get from where I am to where I want to go without some steady outside influence.

Tiffany Dow of  Work Life Balance says:

I have an online business coach who started out as just someone who saw potential in me and reached out to help me go from ghostwriter to marketer.

His name is Craig Desorcy . He currently works with both individual entrepreneurs as well as coaches or niche leaders – but the thing I love most about him is how he teaches people to “come to the table, ready to serve.”

As most of us know, greed gets you only so far. You build a solid reputation and a loyal fanbase that converts well through your efforts in helping others, and he excels at helping you tap into that.

What started out as a simple friendship discussing Internet Marketing has evolved into official coaching calls with my mentor. During these sessions, it almost always turns out to be something personal holding me back from professional success, and he takes me to that place that reveals what it is and shows me a simple way to address it.

One thing I find myself doing during times of extreme stress is becoming paralyzed or scrambling to get things done. Craig is the voice of calm and reasoning that shows me that if I breathe through it and think things through with a calm, clear mind, it all works out effortlessly.

I also love that he doesn’t have a cookie cutter approach to his coaching. He might ask some of the same questions to get insight, but he recognizes each individual as a separate entity and doesn’t try shoving his personal ideal business strategy on anyone – he tailors what you need to you because we’re all unique in our set of skills and talents, available time, and obstacles that we’re overcoming. 

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

Currently I don't have a business coach, but want one. It's difficult for me to find the right person, as I am an out of the box, fast thinker which can annoy some, and can challenge someone who is coaching me. (Rebellious anyone?) So finding a person who gets my values and can go with me toe-to-toe has been a very long, very hard process.

That said, I am quite lucky as I have several very smart friends who help me on occasion, whether I need help or just an ear to listen to me whine.

And if anyone is up for the job, here's my help wanted ad.

Help Wanted: Smart Coach or Mentor to Help Successful Marketer to Expand Her Reach and Increase Her Profits

Established entrepreneur with a rapidly growing client base is currently seeking a dynamic, driven, and experienced individual to be their coach or mentor. This position will have the primary responsibility for providing ongoing support and ideas to the entrepreneur to grow the business.

Specific responsibilities for this position will include: help with the development of new business opportunities through analysis and interaction with the entrepreneur, coordinate and conduct regular mentoring activities which may include live meetings, phone calls and email support. The position will also assist with providing guidance to promote revenue growth. This position is highly visible and requires working in an effective and professional manner.

The ideal candidate will have a combination of real world and coaching/mentoring experience. In addition, he or she needs to:

• Provide a reasonable contract with an ‘out’ clause for both parties. (I refuse to be sucked into a contract for a ‘lifetime’ or even a year, unless specific guarantees are in place.)
• Listen to entrepreneur when the advice given isn’t working, without blame.
• Be unique and not use a cookie-cutter approach when it comes to coaching/mentoring. (I see through that quickly.)
• Understand how to work with a strong personality who sees through BS pretty quickly.
• Uses and comprehends fundamental marketing principles… not too much of the Law of Attraction and woo-woo techniques unless you like my eyes to roll.
• Recommend only additional products/program that you see as a benefit to the entrepreneur (as opposed to something you get a kick-back on or have a back-end agreement to do.)

Divas, kings, queens, gods, goddesses, emperors, mavens, and other self-important titles that have nothing to do with your abilities need NOT apply, unless you have been officially coronated or ordained in some way. (Please provide appropriate documentation, if needed.)

Compensation is commensurate with experience and proven TYPICAL results. (Not your best results… results, on average, for all your clients.)

Melissa Ingold of Time Freedom Business says:

My personal and business coach for this year is Jennifer Longmore, and I’ll share more about why I chose her in a moment, but first…

I say “this year” because as I grow both personally and professionally, my needs change.

Choosing the right coach shouldn’t be taken lightly. I don’t go out looking for a coach to be my personal cheerleader, I have friends like Nicole for that and mastermind groups. I choose a coach who is going to help me get to where I want to be next.

And I think that’s where a lot of people go wrong with coaching. They hire a coach who isn’t in a place to get them to the next level, or they think a coach is going to be all “rah, rah” and so they don’t hire one.

If you’re not hiring a coach for the right reasons, you’ll end up disappointed.

If you’re not hiring a coach because you don’t think it’s for you, you’re missing out.

The right coach brings more to the table than just helping you one-to-one in your business, they can bring:

• Connections – They can personally connect you with the movers and shakers in your industry, and get you in front of people you’d never get in front of on your own. Whether it’s to get you an interview, some kind of promo, a speaking engagement, or for a JV.
• Resources – They’ll share their personal recommendations for people and tools that they wouldn’t share with their list or blog readers publicly. You know, the kind of stuff they normally hold close to their chest, but as their high-level coaching client, they’re more than willing to share them with you.
• Money – They’ll become invested in your business, and they’ll really get to see what you’re doing and the value you’re bringing to the market. And so, more often than not, they’ll promote your products and programs to their huge lists, exposing you to a whole new group of people that can result in a lot of money for you.
• Smarts – They’ll, more often than not, have their own business coach, and so there’s a trickledown effect that happens because of that. They learn from their super-duper successful coach, they try and test new things, and then that knowledge ends up trickling back down to you. They’ll tell you about all the things they’re doing in their business, what’s getting results, what’s going on behind the scenes, and more. You’ll get an inside look at how they’re running their own business, and why they’re doing what they do. Plus, they always have so many crazy good ideas for you, so you’re going to make a lot of money.

You see, you don’t get all those things in a mastermind group. When people are in a group setting, they’re not as open and trusting as they would be with a private coach. And the mentor running the group, isn’t likely going to lay all their cards down on the table because some stuff will only be shared with their private high-level coaching clients.

Think about it. If you were running a group of 25 people, would you send an email to your list promoting every single one of them? Would you send them all to your best writer or VA? Would you connect them all to the go-to people you worked really, really hard to build a relationship with? Would you really share all of your hard-earned top secret tricks and strategies?

Maybe with one or two of them, but I guarantee you won’t open yourself up to all of them. It’s just human nature.

Now I’m not saying there isn’t value in mastermind groups, there totally is. But a group like that by itself, won’t get you to the next level as quickly as a well-chosen coach can.

At the end of 2010, I hired Carrie Wilkerson as my coach for 2011. She was more successful than me, she had a ton of connections, and I really wanted to see what she was doing and why.

I invested $20,000 in her yearlong program, and what do you know, I added another $100k to my income that year. It ended up being my best year up to that point, for all the reasons I mentioned above.

I don’t pick coaches to cheer me on. I pick coaches who have what it takes to make me money and grow my business.

In 2012 I didn’t work with a coach, because I took almost the whole year off.

Then in April of last year, I purchased some info products from Jennifer Longmore, which then led to private one-to-one sessions with her for the remainder of the year. At the end of 2013, I made the leap into her yearlong coaching program, so I’ll be working with her all of this year.

I chose to work with Jennifer this year because I’ve been working on a lot of inner personal / business stuff that was stalling me out. I say “was”, because since working with her, my business has taken a quantum leap in growth and income. But I still have a lot more internal work to do.

But what I’ve found, is that as you get ready to up-level your business, fear and other niggly’s will come up, and if you don’t work through those and clear them, you’ll stay stuck below the glass ceiling instead of busting through.

I really can’t explain how Jennifer does what she does. I just know that she’s freaking brilliant, and she’s changed my life in so many incredible ways.

I don’t know what the next year will bring. Maybe I’ll want to keep working with her, or I may be on the lookout for someone else. Again, I choose a coach based on what my goals are and where I want to be in the next year.

So my last piece of advice? Figure out what your needs are, and where you want to be personally and professionally, and then find someone who can bring a crap load of benefits to the table for you.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

As I mentioned, I just started with a new coach and I'm happy! happy! happy!

Note that I said “new coach” as I feel that the coaching/client relationship is a fluid and evolving thing. In my opinion, to stick with the same business coach or mentor forever will limit you.

The problem that I'd been having was finding a coach for ME.  Once you get to a certain level of income/success in your business, it can be very difficult to find a coach who you trust and who is someone that you can be honest and direct with – as well as who has knowledge in areas where you want to get stronger.

Could I have found a coach to help me become a better speaker? In a heartbeat. I've definitely got room for improvement at that.

Could I have found a coach to help me write and publish my book? Absolutely. In fact I have one.

But, someone to teach me to be a better marketer? Well, I'm kinda awesome at that – so it's a little more difficult.

One normal alternative, and what I'd been doing was to create private masterminds with peers which worked well.

But, I really wanted something different. And, I've tried to coach friends and be coached by friends — it just doesn't work as well as I'd like. I wanted to work with someone who I admired – but who wasn't a girlfriend (and someone who I was paying so they had to be honest instead of just being nice).

So, I'd been on the hunt for a coach for me. And, I knew several other friends who were looking as well.

My criteria at this point in time for a coach included:

1. My coach must have built at least two successful profitable businesses, and also have a great relationship with his/her list.

2. My coach could not be working 80 hours a week. I've built my business so that I can work when I want to but I have plenty of recurring income streams and systems in place so I make money ongoing. Having a coach who was flying all over the country and working 8-18 hours a day wasn't going to be a good fit.

3. Similarly, I wanted someone who doesn't work off a jam packed calendar. I like to have my schedule mostly free except for a few coaching calls and any interviews that I'm doing. Otherwise, I feel trapped by my business.

4. Someone uber-productive.

5. A businessperson with low overhead. I didn't want someone who had a staff of 15 employees and an office building. I wanted someone running a tight, lean, profitable business.

6. A person who rocks at positioning. I felt stuck in a decision about rebranding and how to move forward with it.  So, I wanted someone who was very clear in his/her positioning and in putting themselves out clearly in the marketplace.

7. A great public speaker/presenter. I am getting more and more speaking opportunities and I know that I can improve in this area.

8. A person who I trusted to not blab to others and who I felt comfortable being honest and open with. (Someone safe and kind.)

9. Someone who was familiar with and who would understand my business model, with EasyPLR.com, CoachGlue.com, Beachpreneurs.com as well as my other areas of business.

10. He or she must offer email coaching. Again, I'm not a fan of scheduling calls and I prefer flexibility. Plus, I wanted private coaching, not group. Sometimes more opinions are not necessarily better.

11. Funny helps. I wouldn't mind having some laughs, too.

12. My coach must also have MASSIVE amounts of integrity in business and in personal life. This is not optional.

13. He or she must also be making the world a better place with the platform that they have built. (Using the opportunity of having an audience to get the word out about ways to impact the world.)

Not too hard, right? Well, when I was stuck in Icelanta during the storm, Kelly and I brainstormed and one person JUMPED out at me as the right person. And, I was so sure that I was making the right decision that I jumped on the lifetime coaching option. It was the best and easiest money that I've spent in a long time. (Watch for new greatness to happen soon.)

Click here to find out who I picked!

I do hope you found this post to be interesting and informative.  

Please share your tips for finding an working with a coach below. Also, feel free to give a shout out if you have a coach that you are working with that you love.

Big hugs to you!
Nicole Dean

My business partner, Melissa Ingold, and I have been using a new tool called LeadPages for a few months. We've been playing with it to see if it's something we want to recommend.

We do!

What does it do?

LeadPages allows you to quickly and easily create beautiful:

• Squeeze Pages (Optin pages)
• Webinar signup pages
• Sales Pages
• Facebook Optin Pages
• and bunches more.

Melissa shares why she likes it in this video:

-> Click here to try LeadPages.

How Does LeadPages Work?

Here is her demo:

 Click here to learn more about LeadPages.

Want to See an Example of an Optin Page?

Click on the image above or this link to see it in action.

How About an Example of a Lead Page Posted on Facebook?

You can see a sample of one that I've done and posted on Facebook (which was SUPER easy):

Click here to see this page live.

LeadPages Tutorial: How to Create Facebook Optin Forms like the one above

Here's how easy it is to do what I did:

-> You can find more info about LeadPages here.

How about a Sales Page? Yep. It does that, too.

Example of a Sales Page Created with LeadPages:

You can view this page live here.

Interested in learning more and maybe trying it out?

You'll find more demos and you can try LeadPages here.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

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

That would include you if you have created your own ebook, telecourse, membership site, software, plugin, checklist package, calendar or video series that you sell.

Well, one of my friends is someone who I brainstorm with regularly and who I feel is doing a LOT of things right, as evidenced by her multiple six figure income.

Melissa Ingold.

Well, Melissa is teaching a new course for infoproduct sellers that is being covered in five parts:

1. Simple Planning that Helps You Get the Right Things Done, Faster
2. How to Work Less and Less, While You Make More and More Money Consistently
3. How to Easily Use Email to Market and Sell to Hundreds or Even Thousands of People at a Time
4. How To Get Others to Sell For You with Affiliate Marketing
5. How to Create Easy Information Products in as Little as 3 Hours & Launch Them for the Greatest Impact and Maximum Profit

I thought it would be fun to ask Melissa a tough question about each of those areas. And, despite a nasty stomach bug, she got it done for us. She's cool like that.

Before we dig in, though, be sure to click here
-> Melissa's Info Publishing Success System

Melissa has a cool video on the page.

Here is our interview. I hope you find it helpful.

Simple Planning.

Nicole: Melissa, we both know the many quotes that essentially say “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” (Alan Lakein) However, I also believe that over-planning can be detrimental, too, because it limits you in your flexibility.

What is your view on planning, specifically for an infoproduct seller, and what mistakes do you see them making that cost them money in this area?

Melissa: I agree that there is such a thing as over-planning, because what happens is that you get so caught up in creating this wonderful plan for your business that you’re not actually doing anything. So over-planning by itself will cost you money.

On the flip side, you do have to plan to some extent because if you don’t, you’ll get sucked into the cycle of looking busy without actually working – if you know what I mean. I personally hate to-do lists because they’re so overwhelming, and looking at one gives me an icky feeling so I don’t use them. Instead, I use Basecamp to manage all my projects which has a built in calendar. And then for my actual planning, I use pen and paper and a blank monthly calendar.

As an infoproduct seller, it’s especially important that you plan your month out, because if you don’t, you’ll find that the month will come and go and you still won’t have your product ready. There are a lot of little pieces that go into creating and launching an information product.

For instance, will you need to record audio? And if so, who is going to transcribe that? What about writing your promotional blog content and emails? You can’t expect to have those things done overnight. So planning out what needs to be done and will help you move your project along quickly.

Nicole: I agree. I work with a loose plan. It allows me to make sure things are moving on schedule, while still having the flexibility to pop in a quick blog post like this to help my readers, too.

Working Less while Earning More.

Nicole: We both outsource in our businesses and have for years. In this area, what would you say is the myth that people buy into that holds them back?

Melissa: I’ve found the number one thing that holds people back from outsourcing is money. They believe that it’s expensive and that they shouldn’t be hiring help when they’re not making any or enough money.

And it makes sense, right? I mean why pay for someone to do something that you can do yourself for free? But what they don’t realize; is that it’s costing them money whether they do it themselves or outsource.

Scheduling content to a blog isn’t free just because you do it yourself. In fact, it will cost you more money to do it yourself than it would to outsource it, but most business owners don’t see it that way. They don’t understand that their time is money.

Knowing what an hour of your time is worth is so important, because when you see the numbers, it all makes sense.

Let’s say you want to make $50,000 per year. Here’s how we would figure out what your hourly rate is worth:

Income Goal: $50,000
Divide by 50 weeks: $1000 (2 weeks off for vacation)
Divide by 5 Day Week: $200
Divide by 5 Hours: $40/hr. (based on 5 hours of focused work time per day)

So your time is worth $40 an hour. If you spend 3 hours scheduling blog content, it costs you $120. Does it not make sense to hire a VA to do it for you for $15/hr. (a skilled VA can probably do the same amount of work in half the time, which will cost you even less money)? Then you can spend those 3 hours on money making tasks like product creation and marketing your business.

I’m going to end this question with a quote from Loral Langemeier about outsourcing, “Time can be bought through team.”

Email Marketing.

Nicole: You and I both earn a sizable income from our relationship with our lists. (Love you all!) The biggest struggle that I see that people need to overcome before anything is getting people to sign up in the first place. As an infoproduct seller, what has really worked well for you to grow your list overnight?

Melissa: Squeeze pages have and continue to work really well for me. I have a whole process that I use to set up a winning squeeze page, but I won’t go into that here. I almost wonder if people think squeeze pages are too ‘old school’, so they’re not using them anymore.

Anyway, if you’re not setting up squeeze pages to funnel traffic to your list on autopilot, you need start doing that right away. This is where PLR content comes in really handy because you can get packages that come with a squeeze page already written and a freebie report that you can use to entice people to sign up. And some even come with emails already written for you. So make use of that type of PLR to make fast work of setting up your squeeze pages. Set them up and then forget them…they’ll work for you while you’re off living your life.

Nicole: Hey guys. Melissa has some PLR sets that include squeeze pages on her site.  PLR for Internet Marketers

Having a Rocking Affiliate Program.

Nicole: Considering that I have been pretty much your top affiliate for years, I know you know how to run an affiliate program that is enticing to promote.

To that person who is totally overwhelmed by having their own affiliate program (or whose affiliate program is pretty stagnant), can you tell me what benefits you've gotten from investing time and energy into yours?

Melissa: Growth. My business continues to grow and grow because my affiliates are out there spreading the word and promoting my products for me. I have this great sales force that I only have to pay when they make sales. So it’s not like it’s going to cost you money on an ongoing basis to run an affiliate program, no, it’s going to make you more money than you can make on your own.

It’s impossible for you to market your business all on your own. You just can’t reach everyone, everywhere, which is why having an affiliate program is so beneficial to your business – it allows you to expand your reach beyond your existing market, which means you can help more people.

Expanding your Product Line.

Nicole: I always ask my Coaching Clients “What's next?” One infoproduct does not make a solid business. Having a line of products does.

That said, adding a second and third product typically confuses people as to what to create next – and then how to promote it. So, in a nutshell, how do you decide what product to create next in your line?

Melissa: I think it makes sense to build on what you’re already doing. For instance, let’s say you have an ebook that is an overview of marketing on facebook and you’re trying to figure out what product to create next. Why not do a quick survey asking your people what they struggle with most when it comes to marketing on facebook. Then based on their answers, you can create multiple products that solve their problems. It could be a webinar where you walk them through setting up their facebook timeline, or a series of videos about building their list with facebook, or whatever it is that your market wants to learn.

Your one product doesn’t have to be it…you can expand on it and create a whole bunch of different products around that one topic. So you lead from a $17 ebook, to a $27 webinar, to a $47 video series, etc. And then expand on that again with a membership site, coaching program, live workshop, etc. You can do the same with all the topics you decide to create products on. Don’t just plan for that one product. Look at the bigger picture and then break it down into multiple products.

What's Next?

Be sure to check out Melissa's program here
-> Info Publishing Success System <-
to see if it's right for you.

Talk to Me.

What are your biggest struggles as an infoproduct seller?
or
Got tips? Share your answers to any of the questions above.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

It's time for the wrap-up of our Expert Pets.

If you missed any of this series, be sure to check out these posts:

• Terry Dean
• Connie Green
• Susanne Myers
• David Perdew
• Alice Seba
• Kristen Eckstein
• Nancy Marmolejo

Show Me Your Pets!

Today, we've got the last two of my series. Me and my friend, Melissa Ingold.

Melissa Ingold of Internet Marketing PLR Reports:

Melissa shares her dog, Bowser, with us in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC4Qv8tXbfE

If you need Internet Marketing & Business PLR – check out what Melissa has here: Internet Marketing PLR

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. :

I have my two boys, Einie (ie Einstein) and Luke.

• Einie (4 years old) is a Golden Retriever / Yellow Lab mix.
• Lukey (2 years old)  is a Mastiff / Cocker Spaniel mix. (No idea how that happened. Love is a strange thing. lol!)

Here’s my Einstein trying to learn chess when he was a puppy:

And, learning to sit. (Photoshop courtesy of Kelly McCausey. lol.)

My Einstein over the years. I have used him as a model for my blog posts.

For instance – Halloween Costumes for Dogs.

And, Dog Tag Silencers.

Here’s Einie in his dog tag silencer.

Einie is nuts. He only has three thoughts in his pea brain.

• Breakfast. (The boys figured out that breakfast means eat, so they get “Breakfast” twice a day. lol)
• Ball.
• Swim (in the pool).

In fact, if I am slow in throwing the ball into the pool, he'll knock it in with his front paw and then jump in after it. Crazy boy!

Things Einstein hates:

• Thunderstorms
• Being outside without a person
• Car rides
• Shiny floors
• Cats

So, that's Einie.

Now Luke.

Here's Luke when he was a puppy. Well, we got him from the rescue when he was at least 6 months old, so this is as “puppy” as I saw him.

Luke is slow and easy. He's SOFT and snuggly. He loves breakfast, too.

You may notice that Lukey has a LOT of extra skin. It's so cute.

Luke would rather watch Einstein fetch the ball while Luke instead gets his tummy rubbed.

He also likes to watch Einstein swim – until Einie tries to get out. Then Luke starts biting and licking him. Like “I'll save you!”

Luke is not a swimmer, though. He has fallen into the pool a few times, and doesn't seem to swim very well (we had to jump in and help him to the stairs). So I have to give him swimming lessons as soon as the pool warms up enough that I can get in without freezing my booty off.

And, here are the boys now. Einie is wet because he was just swimming in the pool. Luke doesn't look happy. lol.

Well that's the end of this “Expert Pets” series — unless you'd like to share pictures in your comments, which I would, of course, LOVE.

Big hugs and thank you, as always for reading.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

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

This week I asked the experts to name names, point fingers, and give shouts of kudos where appropriate.

The question for this week is:

Do you currently have a business coach or mentor?
If so, are you brave enough to share who it is?

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

My coach is Steve Sipress, who is the leader of one of the top 3 largest and most successful Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle groups in the country. As you know, being a Mom with little kids at home makes traveling to coach or mastermind groups tricky, so when I met Steve, who is right here in the Chicago area, I jumped at the chance to work with a coach like him who knows his stuff and can quickly and easily guide me to the complete marketing and sales success with each project I am working on.

Plus, as a coach and consultant myself, I'd never ask my clients to hire me as their mentor if I wasn't willing to be working with (and paying) someone else as the same. Over the years I've worked with greats like Jeff Herring, Kevin Nations, Bob Jenkins, Ken McArthur, Denise Michaels, and I get to speak weekly as accountability partners with Shannon Cherry, all who brought me to a higher level in various aspects of my business. I'm so grateful I made the investment in myself and continue to see the benefits of doing so!

Susanne Myers of Daily Affiliate Tasks says:

I did some group/forum coaching early on (which is actually where I became friends with Nicole) and it helped me grow my online business to first a part-time, then a full-time income. In other words, I was familiar with the concept, but in recent years, I have not had any type of formal coaching or mentor program with one-on-one interaction. I relied on a wonderful network of successful peers. It definitely helped me grow my business, but about 6 months ago, I realized I was at a point where the right mentor could make a difference and help me grow even more.

The only problem was that I had a very hard time finding the right person. I wasn't at a point yet, where I was comfortable spending a couple of grand on a coach, plus many of the coaches I came across just didn't seem the right fit for me and my business.

I think it's important to realize when you need a coach, but also to not force it and either spend way more than you can realistically afford or work with someone that isn't on the same wavelength as you.

I did find a coach (thanks to Nicole) a little over a week ago. I started working with Tony Shepherd from Hippy Marketing (click for a sneak peek into his business) and so far it's looking great.

We haven't had a whole lot of time yet and I'm only in the first stages of implementing his advice. But I can tell you this… I already have more focus and better clarity of what I need to work on to take this to the next level.

Nicole – I hope you'll revisit this Expert Brief in a few months and have us report on our progress. I have a feeling I'll have some great news to share by then

Note from Nicole:

I really recommend this free report. You can look inside Tony Shepherd’s business and he holds nothing back: CLICK HERE FOR FREE BEHIND THE SCENES ACCESS   (Note: It's not for the easily offended. And, it's funny as heck!)

Mark Mason of MasonWorld Internet Marketing Blog says:

Jimmy D. Brown is my coach for my membership site about Late Night Affiliate Marketing. (Watch for that project to launch soon!)

Cliff Ravenscraft is my coach for podcasting.

Melissa Ingold of Internet Marketing PLR Reports says:

Tony Shepherd is not only an old client of mine, but I also hired him to be my business coach this year. I’m a big believer in working with a coach if it feels right to you.

Last year, I worked with a different coach, and as much I wanted to work with her again, I decided to go with Tony because he’s a better fit for me this year based on my goals.

Anyway, after just 7 days of working with Tony and following his guidance, his coaching was paying for itself. And, it continues to over and over again – seriously!

That's me, in the picture, reading his Tony's private “insider” newsletter where he shares what he's doing in his business every month. Yes, I print them each month and keep them in a binder for easy access.

ShannonCherry of Business Charm School says:

Who's my mentor? No one and everyone.

I have no formal mentor. I have wanted one for a while. I even created a blog post about my search for one more than a year ago. It included a pretty detailed job description. And still, no luck.

But I am not mentor-less. Far from it.

You see, even though I cannot find ‘The One' yet (Yes, I believe that person IS out there!), I have plenty of super smart online business friends who I know I can pick up the phone and call on a moment's notice when I am stuck. And I'm lucky, because unlike many people, I look beyond a specific niche. So my pals run the gamut from great speakers and authors to savvy coaches and internet marketers. By allowing me hear different takes on the same problem/solutions, I can formulate a plan that works for me.

So who are my peeps? People like Nicole Dean, Tracy Roberts, Shawn Driscoll, Sandy Martini, Felicia Slattery, Lou Bortone, and Nancy Marmolejo are all people I rely on. They are honest, helpful and more importantly, fun to be with!

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

My mentor has been Armand Morin for the past five years. Prior to that I worked with Jim Edwards and Alex Mandossian. Needless to say, I've learned from the best!

One of the things I look for in a mentor is someone who cares about my success. Frankly, I don't care how successful they are, because there are a lot of people who can create success themselves but have no clue how to help someone else. And that caring and ability to inspire me to action and guide my actions are exactly what I have found with Jim, Alex, and Armand.

I've stuck with Armand the longest because every time I take a class from him, I make money. Every time I attend an event with him, I learn something new – and make money. His excitement and enthusiasm for Internet marketing comes through in everything he does – he's like a kid with a new toy. And his level of caring for my success is obvious, whether he's teasing me from the stage or raking me over the coals in the Platinum group.

I believe that everyone, regardless of your level of success, needs a mentor. We need someone to watch us from the outside, from a detached perspective. Your spouse can't do it. Your best friend can't do it. You need a professional.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Well, Susanne let it spill who my current coach is. Note that I said “current” as I feel that the coaching/client relationship is a fluid and evolving thing. In my opinion, to stick with the same business coach or mentor forever will limit you.

For instance, I  graduate my coaching clients at a certain point, too, once they don't need me anymore as they on on a roll. I'm not going to continue to work with someone for years, because they should no longer need me – if I'm doing my job right.

Or…

I have to eventually let them go, if I feel that they meet any of these criteria…

1. They are moving in a direction where I'm no longer the best person to help them. In which case, I'll give them suggestions and refer them to someone else who is better suited to helping them.

2. They are stuck and are not listening to me, choosing to give me excuses instead. (In which case, they need to have a “come to Jesus” talk with themselves about whether they're willing to do what they must to reach the levels of success that they're telling me that they want.)

3. I'm repeating myself week after week and they're letting fear keep them from progressing. (In which case, they need someone who can deliver a butt-kicking better than I.)

Either way, I see it as a temporary role and eventually they leave the nest and head off on their own.

The problem that I'd been having on the other side of things was finding a coach for ME.  Once you get to a certain level of income/success in your business, it's very difficult to find a coach who you trust and who is someone that you can be honest and direct with – as well as who has knowledge in areas where you want to get stronger.

Could I have found a coach to help me become a better speaker? In a heartbeat. I'm definitely a beginner at that.

Could I have found a coach to help me write and publish my book? Absolutely. In fact I have one.

But, someone to teach me to be a better marketer? Well, I'm kinda awesome at that – so it's a little more difficult.

One normal alternative, and what I'd been doing was to create private masterminds with peers which worked well. I'm also accountability buddies with Susanne and Melissa and a few other friends. And, that's been hugely beneficial.

But, I really wanted something different. And, I've tried to coach friends and be coached by friends — it just doesn't work as well as I'd like. I wanted to work with someone who I admired – but who wasn't a girlfriend (and someone who I was paying so they had to be honest instead of just being nice).

So, I'd been on the hunt for a coach for me. And, I knew several other friends who were looking as well.

When suddenly a few months ago, I opened my email and saw that Tony Shepherd had opened up a few coaching spots. I quickly clicked on the links and saw a big “SOLD OUT” button. DANGIT!  I IM'd Melissa to complain about it and she said ‘Oh, I got in.”

I was like “DOH!”

So, then for the next month, I had to listen to her tell me how wonderful Tony is… as if I didn't already know.

Finally, I got a notice that he'd opened 10 more spots, so I hit that paypal button so fast that I hurt my finger. (Not really, but you get the visual.)

So, I've been working with Tony for the last month or so and am really enjoying it. I love the way the man's mind works. Plus, he makes me laugh.

If you want to peek inside Tony's head without the coaching pricetag – check out his private newsletter here:

Anyway, I do hope you found this post to be interesting and informative.  And, yes, if you'd like to do private coaching, there are a few resources below.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Recommended! If you need someone to tell you “THIS project” is the one to focus on or “THIS traffic technique is what you need to be doing” – I recommend my friend (and mastermind partner who I brainstorm with on a daily basis), Susanne Myers, who offers private coaching for much cheaper than I do.

You can check it out here: Private Confidential Business Coaching with Susanne Myers.

Or you’ll find mine here: Nicole Dean Private Confidential Coaching. (Yes, I have clients whose names you’d recognize. But I can’t tell you who they are. I promised them confidentiality.)

Have you ever considered the potential of WordPress plugins as a business model?

There are some people doing quite well selling them.

There's a really great course on how to actually make money creating, then flipping plugins.

I bought it and my husband has been studying the course the last few weeks, and it's quite good.

You can see that here:
Plugin Business for Profit

However…

If the idea of *selling* plugins is appealing to you, but the thought of actually having to *create* them makes you run for the hills – here's a cool option.

My friend, Melissa Ingold, just announced that she is now selling plugins with PLR rights.

So, if you wanted to get into the WordPress Plugin business but don't want to have to create them yourself – be sure to check this out.

WordPress Plugins with PLR Rights

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Friday is the day where I give you free content that you can use on your blog. Hurray!

Today, I have a new rebrandable report ready. It's the transcript of my interview with Melissa Ingold.

Here's an excerpt:

Nicole Dean: The next question is, what advice would you give to your own mother, sister, or best friend to help them succeed in their online business?

Melissa Ingold: My sister is getting into building a business and one of the first things I said to her is that she really, really has to want it. It’s the only way that she’ll stick it out and get to a point where she’s actually a success. You have to really, really want to make it happen.

I see and hear so many people they come online, but they expect it to just be so easy…

To Rebrand the report, see instructions below.

There are SEVERAL opportunities to profit with this report. However, only ONE link is required to brand this report.

Before you Begin, Make Sure You’re an Affiliate of CoachingPLRContent.com:

If not, sign up here: CoachingPLRContent Affiliate Program Signup

You can find your affiliate ID in your account by looking for the number that appears after the “r=” as shown below:

Once you’ve got that number handy, you’re set. Just follow these instructions .

1. Open this .exe Rebrander File. Your security settings may ask you to confirm that you DO want to run this.exe before you can open it. It’s an “all in one” rebrander, so it’s much easier than the old style ones.

You’ll see this screen –

2. Click on each program that you’d like and enter your affiliate link.

Required Field:

• CoachingPLRAffiliateIDHere (Here’s where you enter your ID from Coaching PLR Content)

Optional Affiliate Programs: Enter the ones you want and leave the rest blank.

For each of the programs below, you’ll enter your URL for that site – leaving off the “http://” portion. You may enter redirects if you like, but you MUST leave off the “http://” portion of all of the links that you enter.

Links will open in a new window so you won’t lose your place.

• HostGatorlink (For HostGator.com hosting.) – Click here for details.
• Amemberlink (note this is for Amember, the membership site software) – Click here for details.
• QuickSaleslink – Click here for details.
• AweberARlink (this is for Aweber – the autoresponder) – Click here for details.

Optional field:

• ClickbankID (this is your username for Clickbank)

3. Next, click the “Rebrand” button.

4. A pop-up will ask where you want to save the new file. Save it somewhere you can find it.

5. Please open and check the rebranded pdf to make sure everything branded correctly. Just open the rebranded pdf and mouse-over the links inside. Also, click on one or two of the links inside to ensure everything is working as it should be.

6. Now the fun starts! Spread that report all over the internet for maximum exposure and profits!

If you've never done this before, here's a video that I recorded for another rebrandable report that demonstrates how the software works:
Example How the Branding Software Works

Of course, if you have any questions, contact my help desk and we'll help you out. (Please include your Clickbank ID and any other links if you need help with branding.)

That's it for today. Have a great weekend!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

This week, I have Melissa Ingold with me. We recently co-created www.CoachingPLRContent.com which has been rockin'. So, we've been working together more lately. Although I've known her for years, I've gotten to know her even more through our interactions on this new project.

The audio recording of our interview is below. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

Also, be sure to check out all of the resources listed below.

If you're not familiar with Melissa yet, here's more about her and why I wanted her on the show.

About Melissa Ingold

Melissa Ingold is the Internet Marketing Sweetie.

She’s a savvy marketer who believes in designing a business around who you are as a person, and making a connection with your target market for long-term, repeat buyers.

Melissa has built a successful and profitable business through affiliate marketing, membership sites, and information products simply by being ethical, kind, and treating her prospects and customers like real people.

She believes that there’s no reason to lose your soul in the process of trying to earn a really good living online, and by tuning in to your market, you can create a powerful, long-lasting connection, and sell more products in the process.

Step 1: Check out these Essential Tools for Online Business Success that Melissa Recommends:

All links will open in a new window and not interfere while you're listening to the audio.

This Article Directory – For “first level of awareness”.

This Shopping Cart – You need a way to sell your products, with a built-in affiliate tracking system – also known as a shopping cart or an ecommerce solution. Melissa and I both use branded versions of the same cart.

This Software Program – for creating membership sites.

Hosting – Melissa recommends this web host.

Twitter – Follow us: Nicole Dean on Twitter | Melissa Ingold on Twitter

Step 2: Listen to or Read the Interview.

Be sure to listen to the entire interview.

Transcript is available here: Melissa Ingold Interview.

Step 3: Get a free link on my blog.

Please post your comments below after you listen to the interview. Show Melissa the love so I can continue to get great guests like her.

Plus, of course, you can include your URL and your Twitter ID in the appropriate fields when you comment, as always.

Step 4: Share the Love.

If you liked this interview, don't keep it to yourself. Share the link with some friends. (Pretty please.)

Step 5: Make Sure you Don't Miss a Thing.

Either sign up for my blog updates over there –>

Or grab my feed on iTunes so you can get lots more free interviews just like this one. (Please leave a glowing review while you're at it.)

Step 6: Grab Free PLR from Melissa.

Head over here to learn more from her:

• Free PLR Report: Profit from Facebook Advertising
• Free PLR: Facebook Fan Page Workbook
• Free PLR: Why You Need to Offer a Coaching Program

Thanks again for being part of my business and my day. I'm looking forward to hearing what you learned and will apply from this interview.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. Would you Like to Start a Podcast like Mine and Have Cool People Like Melissa Ingold on your Show? If you can make a telephone call, you can have a podcast, too:

Click here -> How to Record a Telephone Interview.