I've been thinking that our followers oftentimes think we are somehow “lucky” in business or smarter than they are. So, this week, I asked my awesome friends to share a fail, disaster, or total miss from their businesses. And, to let us know if there was a lesson or some good that came from it.

I'm totally teasing with the title. These aren't “Massive Fails“. My point is to show that at the time they probably felt like it, but you can see that every single one was or is just a step on the path to more awesome things.

I hope you enjoy this post. If so, please comment and share!

Brian T. Edmondson
InternetIncomeCoach.com

When it comes to getting “lucky” in business (or anything else in life) I always think back to one of my favorite quotes from the Roman philosopher Seneca who said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Even those who win the lottery had to actually go out and buy a ticket and realize that they were taking a gamble and ran the risk of (certainly) losing money.

Lucky for those of us in business (no pun intended), the chances of success are much higher than hitting PowerBall, but we should realize that there is no guarantee of success and most likely we'll have to lose a lot before we find a winner. Whether running a new paid advertising campaign, launching a new product, etc. we'll have to test several different headlines, copy, audiences, etc. and fail quite a few times before we find a winner. For most people who fail in business it's not because they aren't lucky enough or smart enough, it's because they just didn't persevere long enough before they could succeed. It's the classic Acres of Diamonds story.

I could give endless examples of where I've failed and continue to fail, but the key is I embrace the concept of failing fast and failing forward. A big example of what many people would consider to be a big failure was when I declared personal bankruptcy at the age of 25 while pursuing my dreams of building an online business. A traumatic experience no doubt, but I came out of that experience a better person in so many ways.

Just recently I sank around $1,000 into a Facebook ad campaign to promote a product and didn't make one single sale. Losing $1,000 and having a big crush to my ego (I'm supposed to be a marketing “guru” right?) wasn't pleasant, but the lessons learned on what worked and didn't work were priceless.

Don't be fooled by anybody that tells you that starting an online business and making money online is easy and doesn't take hard work, dedication, and sometimes, yes… a little bit of luck.

Karon Thackston
MarketingWords.com

I have had numerous fails during my 20 years of owning MarketingWords.com. Every time I’ve made a mess of things, I’ve learned something – even if it was to never, EVER do _____ again.

One of the biggest mistakes I made (and one of the hardest to get over) was not outsourcing. In my mind, outsourcing was an expense that I could not afford early on. I thought I needed to do as much as possible myself to save money. Here’s how that worked for far too many years…

I’d need to set up a new funnel (or do some other techy thing, or install and configure some funky plugin, or whatever). I’d spend hours trying to learn how to do what I needed, digging around the ‘Net for free tips and whatnot. Then, I’d fail at my first 3 or 4 attempts. It finally dawned on me that I was losing money hand over fist by not outsourcing.

When I realized how much I could have been making in the 5-7 hours I struggled and did not even accomplish what I wanted, I was shocked. All the while, I could have paid a pro to setup the {whatever God-awful, techy thing you think of} and it would have taken them only minutes because they do this sort of thing all day, every day. I wasted time (when I could have been making hundreds of dollars) in order to save $50 or $75.

I head slapped myself and began looking for help the same day I had this realization. Not only did it free me up to make more, it also alleviated a LOT of stress.

Lou Bortone
“The Godfather of Video”
LouBortone.com

Share a fail? There are too many to keep track of! As entrepreneur, the only profession with a worse “failure rate” is baseball, where you only have to hit the ball 3 out of 10 times to be a superstar.

In fact, there are definitely times when I’m only batting 3 for 10 when it comes to promotions, selling products or selling coaching. Fortunately, those 3 “hits” are usually enough to run a successful business, and the “public” rarely knows, nor cares, about the 7 ideas that flopped.

I remember one embarrassing “dry spell” when I was participating in a “selling” program with a highly regarded “guru.” Our mission was to make 50 sales calls and close as many as possible, using their “foolproof” sales script. I made dozens of calls and was literally zero for 50. Nada. The big, fat goose egg. Epic failure. Not. One. Sale.

The lesson: Sales “scripts” are not for everyone, and some selling “systems” simply don’t work for introverts or less assertive personalities. I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. But once I dumped their “foolproof” script and put my own personality into client conversations, everything changed for the better. Skip the script. Follow your gut. You do you!

Angela Wills
Digital Business Coach
LaptopLifestyleBusiness.club

A total miss happened very early on for me. I was DESPERATE to leave my afternoon-shift factory job and I wanted to be gone in a flash. The ONLY thing on my mind was getting out of there. There is so much to a business than replacing one income for the next, which I was able to do by taking on Virtual Assistant clients.

I quit my job and moved into my business role but the total miss became evident about four months later when I was basically tied to my desk morning, noon and night. I had quit my job to be home for my son, to create a life I loved and to love what I did and I had none of it. The only thing I'd done was trade one boss for about 15 (or up to 25 at times) and I was so stressed out, overwhelmed, overworked and just could not even see or think straight. It was a serious problem!

I fixed it, of course, and it's now eleven years later and I make it my mission to NOT see others get caught and stuck in the same trap as I did. I now live with the kind of freedom that lets me do what I want, when I want and where I want.

That did not just happen. It had to be designed. It had to be thought about, planned about, worked on and tested until it became a reality. And I love that. I love that we CAN create exactly what we want, if we get really clear on what that is.

Kelly McCausey
LovePeopleMakeMoney.com

I have tried a lot of things in my business that didn't work over the years. I'm willing to fail, even spectacularly, even publicly, if it means I'm stretching and growing and have the chance to love people and make money. That means I could tell you any number of stories

Like the time I decided to tackle the whole launch formula thing.

I was selling an array of products easily and profitably but a lot of smart heads said I should have a ‘signature product' that sells for a higher price. So I retired a lot of individual products, went into my virtual work shed to create a really big product with modules galore. Then I studied the process of having a big launch. I planned out videos and emails and crafted the best sales page I could imagine – which wasn't easy because the product was now sooo big I didn't know what to say about it. I reached out for affiliate support – which did not come in droves.

The launch week arrived, everything was ready. Freebies every day, new videos every day, awesome follow up planned. And pfffffzzzffffzz.

I made sales. About $10,000 in total. Hurray? Not really. For all the time and effort, it didn't increase my overall sales. My expectations were that all this extra hoopla and the big course price, together would create at least $25,000 at launch and keep making me big chunks of cash for a long time to come. That isn't what happened. Turns out, it's not simple to sell expensive products that include everything but the kitchen sink.

I dropped it. I don't sell it anymore. I GIVE it to my coaching clients to support them in whatever area they're needing extra information in.

In some ways I don't regret giving it a try because I had to know. In another, private, deep down in my heart way – I wish I hadn't done any of it. It sucks to fail.

I took my lessons from it though. I rock at creating, marketing and selling smaller products that meet very specific needs. I am in my genius zone with I deliver group coaching programs and challenges. I keep my focus on these things and continue to love people and make money.

Candice L. Davis
Author Coach
CandiceLDavis.com

Every time I'm asked about a business failure, the same story pops into my mind. It was the kind of painful moment that lays a groove in your brain so you never forget it. Four years ago, my business partners and I put weeks into building our first digital product, an online course to help people write, publish, and market their nonfiction books. We were proud of the course, and we invited some of the experts we knew personally to become affiliates for our big launch day.

They had the audience. They had the engagement. They sold nothing. In fact, they did little or nothing to promote the $1500 product.

The problem: We'd reached out to experts who'd never been involved in affiliate marketing, had no idea what it entailed, and didn't really have an interest in promoting affiliate products. They were lovely people who wanted to do us a favor, but a post or two on their Facebook business pages didn't move the needle for us. Our affiliates didn't know what they were doing–and neither did we.

The lesson: It's a lot easier to work with experienced affiliates for a big promotion, but if you're just introducing your affiliates to the concept, it's wiser not to rely heavily on them for your marketing efforts. (It seems like common sense now, but we were caught up in the excitement of building something new!) Make the effort to get the newbie affiliates' buy-in, and make sure they have all the information they need to do a great job as an affiliate. A few months later, we did just that, and we enjoyed our first multi-five-figure day with one webinar for a single affiliate.

Terry Dean
MyMarketingCoach.com

Well, this is a toughie, because I have so many failures and mistakes. Where should I start?

Here's a good one. I had a flash of brilliance. It was an incredible idea that was going to make a fortune.

Create a step-by-step marketing course designed specifically for local business owners. Perfect. They all need this. I disappear into my man cave and work on this for 6 months. It was a masterpiece. Over 300 pages packed with A-B-C instructions, checklists, worksheets, and more. The crowd cheers, “He is finally done and ready to launch this game changer.”

Launch. Silence. A few sales trickle in, but nothing like the stampede that was expected.

Six months down the drain. What was my mistake? No one identifies themselves as a local business owners.

Local business owner is too general. They're dentists, chiropractors, CPAs, physical therapists, gym owners, martial arts dojos, restaurateurs etc.

I was able to make the project profitable by editing the product and sales copy to dentists. Then going after that specific audience.

But this miserable failure has an even better silver lining to it. Around half of my one-on-one coaching clients sell B2B in these exact types of niche markets. A portion of their success has been built upon my failure.

The big takeaways here are to do your research before running with a big product idea. What are people currently buying? What do they want to buy? What solutions are they searching for?

Everyone wants a custom solution just for them…even if the answer is 95% the same as other related markets. Becoming more specialized is a way to set yourself apart.

And even painful failures can be a stepping stone to greater success.

Note from Nik: If you're an intermediate to advanced marketer and you sell your own products – be sure to check out Terry's My Marketing Mentor Program

Nicole Dean
Awesome Human, Author, Business Consultant, etc.
From here!

Well you already know my motto. “You don't have to be perfect to be profitable'. (You can even tell from this image circa 2012.)

God knows that I'm not. I manage to screw things up often enough to prove that.

My biggest failures and what I learned.

I would say my biggest failures over the years always come from (lack of) confidence and (lots of) fear.

I'm scared to do something and I don't take action and I miss my window of opportunity. (You have no idea how often this happens.)

I WISH I had more failures, but I have the opposite problem. I don't have enough. Because I do the things that I know are safe and easy. Which isn't always a bad thing in my position. But it sometimes is.

I mean, I do preach to my coaching clients and we brainstorm what would be “fun, easy, and profitable”.

And that's true. That's where I like to spend 90% of my time.

But… sometimes a good stretch is needed as well.

Along the same lines, I've oftentimes been scared to let go of something so I hold onto too many things and I dilute my energy.

I've failed to let go of tons of stuff, even though every year, I commit to doing it.

Every year, I make a list of websites that I need to sell or give away.

Every year, I think how much easier my life would be if I would just do it.

But I don't do it. This mistake has literally cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars – simply because I'm not 100% focusing enough on my ‘money' projects.

The funny thing is that, if I looked at my business and my life as if I were my own coaching client, I'd kick my butt!

I would never let one of my coaching clients hang on to this much baggage. It's not practical and it's certainly not the most profitable plan.

It's not even that I really spend TIME on most of the “extra” stuff. It's just a mental drain and sucks my soul. (Not to be toooo dramatic or anything. lol!)

I keep justifying that the extra websites and projects are just “sitting there making money” – which is true for a lot of them. But, how much risk and wasted mental energy do I really need in my life?

If I were to let them go and focus on my Focal Point – the profit that I would get from that would so squash the small amounts that some of those small sites bring in every month.

Over the years I have worked hard at simplifying, but it's still not enough. 

1. No more junk mail. (I've eliminated most of my junk mail.)

2. No more telemarketers (we turned off the ringer on the home phone years ago).

3. I'm dumping all unnecessary things – even if it only involves a few minutes per month.

4. Heck, I even had laser hair removal on my legs so I don't have to waste time shaving anymore. lol. (Too much information? Probably.)

It's time to file this away for good and to put my chronic overwhelm from mental clutter to rest.

Lesson learned. All things come with a price. Even good things. I don't need this much “stuff” in my life or in my head.

My Epic Fail. 

But if I were to say one EPIC fail that I had, it would actually be a co-epic fail with my friend, Kelly McCausey who shared above.

We host Beachpreneurs Conference / Workshop events.

And, because we are smart, we rely on experts. So, for our hotel event, because there's so much risk, we used an Event Coordinator.

That was a smart move.

But we still ended up with miscommunication between us and the hotel, which cost us money – and a LOT of stress.

Kelly read the contract. (And at this point she'd already hosted a few events, so she was pretty knowledgable.)

I read the contract. (I used to write Bank Manuals for a living so I know how to pick apart words!)

The Event Coordinator read the contract. (And this is what she does for a living.)

We all misunderstood one word.

It was a costly word.

The result from this mistake?

Since then, Kelly has become pretty freaking smart in negotiating with hotels for events. Both for us and for her own events. It was also a great test of our partnership AND our friendship (not really) AND we learned some things about communication AND in stress management (really). lol.

Thankfully we have a great hotel now for our Beachpreneurs events. And we love going back every year. (Join us!)

Talk to me.

1. Do you have a failure that you would like to share? And a lesson learned?

2. Did one of my friends' posts resonate with you?

3. Do you suffer from mental chaos? What are you doing about it?

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

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

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

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“Do you survey your customers? If so, do you have any tips for making the surveys work better or examples of what is working right now? Got lessons learned to help my readers avoid mistakes?”

I know that you'll find the responses helpful.

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I LOVE surveys!

You can get your customers to tell you what to create…and they'll even give you the language you use when you sell it.

I've done multiple different kinds of surveys. The easiest is to simply come up with a list of product titles you're considering offering and asking subscribers which one they're most interested in buying. That's an easy way to get started on your first survey.

But the most common survey I've done includes at least 3 questions. I've asked many more questions at times, but you will get a lower response as the questions increase.

1. What is the single most important question you have about ________________?
2. Why do you say the above? Why, specifically, would that be important to you?
3. How difficult has it been for you to find what you've written about above elsewhere?

The first two questions are open ended where they give you the answer. The last question is a multiple choice with 3 possibilities: Very Difficult, Somewhat Difficult, Not at All Difficult.

• The first question finds out what people want (to help you find or create the product)
• The 2nd question finds out WHY they want it (also giving you ad copy for your website)
• The 3rd question lets you know if others are offering something similar (If people say it's not difficult to find it actually lowers the value of their answers in the overall survey).

Now let me give you the biggest mistake I've made with surveys and one I see others make all the time.

You must survey the traffic source you plan on using!

For example, I surveyed my list and created a product. The product sold like crazy to my list, but the moment I went outside my list to other traffic sources it did poorly.

I'm going to chalk it up to my subscribers being much smarter than the average online marketer. Once I went out to other audiences, they weren't ready for that product.

On a recent survey, I surveyed my list. I also got a regular JV partner to send my survey to their list. And I purchased Facebook ads to my survey targeting some of the same interests I plan to go after later.

Each survey was tracked separately giving me information for both developing the product and changes I can make to the promotion as I reach different audiences.

Survey the traffic where you plan on offering the product.

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

I am not much for surveying in the traditional sense of the word. Like many people, I find lackluster results using a traditional poll. That's because you are asking (or begging or bribing) others to do you a favor.

Instead, I poll my community in a different way: by giving something – my smarts. We all know that – like it or not – people really want to pick your brain when you have something to share. I capitalize on this by hosting an open Q & A session every so often. I let them ask me anything, and I answer honestly without selling on the call. And I make sure people don't have to be on the call to ask their question (which I will still answer live on the call).

This not only shows my value in a tangible way to people thinking about working with me, but I also get great fodder on what their pain currently is and where I should focus my efforts in terms of product development and promotion. It's a win-win.

Dr. Mani of How to Set Goals says:

Here are my tips:

a. Keep surveys really short (under 2 min. for user) – and tell them
b. Offer incentives to encourage participation
c. Offer to share results with the group – and follow through

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I have surveyed my community a few times in a traditional way, using a form on my website. If I can get enough people to respond, which takes a lot of effort, I do feel like I get valuable output to use. I'll keep doing this every few years I'm sure, but in the meantime, when I really want to know what my people are thinking about – I have another way.

I've been offering ‘Open Phones‘ for a few years now. In a nutshell, I announce a window of time and invite my community to call me for free advice and answers. Sometimes it's wide open to all questions and a few times I've focused on something specific.

The information I gather on these calls is pure gold. Fears, technical road blocks, specific sticking points, the real felt needs of my target market are spilled out in my lap. Call after call I'm jotting down ideas about blog posts, podcast topics, products ideas – you name it. For me, being able to ask clarifying questions and plainly ask the caller if they'd be interested in _____ product is a gift. Because we're chatting casually, they don't say ‘Yes' or ‘No'. They say ‘Well, if it ____ and ____ for me and ____, yeah – I'd buy that.'

I can't make decisions based on one person's thoughts, but it does inspire me and often leads to great projects.

Learn how to Offer Open Phone Lines. Click here for info.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

I survey my high-level mentoring students regularly to get their feedback and to make sure I am providing them with the tools they need to become
successful.

Many times I am surprised at their responses, and would not have had the opportunity to serve them with what they want and need from me unless
I had asked.

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

I have surveyed my folks from the very beginning and their answers have shaped my entire business.

I have always liked Survey Monkey, but I also actively use and monitor the answers I get on social media. But when you use social media to survey your people, you've got to be careful. For example, if you use Facebook, like many of us solo and home-based folks, you're likely connected with not only customers and potential customers, but also high school friends, college friends, past co-workers, neighbors, family, colleagues, and more.

In case you haven't noticed, EVERYONE on social media has an opinion and when you ask for it, they will give it to you. When asking about things related to your business, however, pay the closest attention to what your customers say – they are the ones who will be buying from you!

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Well everyone gave such great info, I'm off the hook.

So, as I'm about to get ready to have guests of to watch the Packers game, I'll keep it short and sweet.

I love surveying my audience (and also giving feedback) when a few things are taken into consideration.

1. Make it short.
2. Have most (if not all) questions be optional.
3. Give a space for typing in suggestions.

If it's fast and easy to do, many of your people will gladly participate. And, if you make certain questions optional, and don't force them to choose if nothing applies, then they'll answer the ones that they feel strongly about and leave the other alone.

Plus, you want to allow a few open ended questions for those who have ideas for you that you hadn't thought of.  It's a great method of finding out what your market needs from you to serve them better.

And, the final step of course, is to actually USE the info. Don't file it away. Use it to improve your business and give your peeps what they need.

There are lots of different methods of using surveys. If you want to get fancy and provide people with solutions that are customized to their needs, check this one out for ideas. http://nicoledean.com/likes/marketing-quiz/

Talk soon. Big hugs.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“What is your most productive time of day?

How do you optimize and plan for that?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

I'm a night owl and usually get a second or third wind at 11pm. By then the kids and dogs have finally settled in, the house is quiet, and I can hunker down for a couple of hours of productive time. I set aside the late shift for creative work like copywriting or video editing – stuff that requires the focus I don't usually have during the day. (Did I mention that I have the attention span of a gnat?)

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

My most productive time of day is late morning before lunch – usually 9 to 12 AM.

Since I'm an early riser, I will usually handle client emails before this. Then I'll exercise, eat breakfast, and get ready.

Then depending on the day, usually I spend that entire 3 hour period writing on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Tuesday and Wednesdays I do phone clients.

Any ‘routine' activities are usually done in the afternoon.

Everyone always seems to tell you not to do email first in the morning, but that all depends on your energy levels. I find email works well for me first thing and then run my most creative periods a little bit later in the morning.

You need to find a system that works for you personally, and then flow with it instead of forcing yourself into someone else's model.

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

I find myself most productive at either mid-morning or late night. When I want to take advantage of this productive time, I do one of the following:

Walk away from my computers and go somewhere quiet to write. This may be my kitchen floor, on the roof of our building, or on a train to one of my favourite hiking spots.

Hop on the computer at my studio (the only Windows computer I have – exiled from my Mac-only office, but loaded with my old MX Flash software) and draw the character drawings I need for my new videos.

Do whatever is on my ToDo list.

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

I am definitely best in the mornings. I love working from 7am to 12pm.

Some of the ways I optimize are:

– I aim to go to bed before 10pm so when I wake up, I feel rested and ready to go.

– I have my to-do list written out the night before so that I can hit the ground running when I get to my computer.

– I aim to have healthy and nourishing breakfast foods on hand so there's no wasted time thinking about what to eat.

– I don't schedule any phone calls or interviews during that time.

– I do my best not to check email in that period.

– I schedule all of my hardest tasks from 7-12, and do the hardest one first, while I have the most juice.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

My productive times are split. I'm highly functional between ten in the morning and two or three in the afternoon, then I'm back in action after eight at night. In between I may nap or run errands, read and poke around websites ‘for fun'.

I've found it important to embrace the flow of my focus. If I try to push through and work in the afternoon, the work product is not going to be great.

There are exceptions. Sometimes a project is so exciting I can't turn away from it no matter what the clock says. Follow your bliss I say!

Tiffany Lambert of Work Life Balance says:

For me, I have a split level of productivity.

I am most productive on menial tasks in the morning, having coffee, checking email, checking sales stats, etc.

I am more creative and productive with products in the evening.

So I go with the flow on that. I work early and then break for lunch and sanity and then get back to work in the evenings for fun stuff I enjoy doing, like working on my Kindle fiction.

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

I'm a morning person… I always have been. So I work on my most creative tasks in the morning (the ones that need a lot of thought). I plan my week very carefully to optimize my time. Things like social media posting are automated so I only pop on while waiting for the school bus or another time when I am doing something else.

People ask me all the time how I get so much done in my business working only 15 hours a week. It all comes down to this: I choose to make the hours I work as productive as possible. I've created a video with some tips on how to be more productive:

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I am so NOT a morning person that it's not even funny. But, I've always been that way and love being a night owl.

That said, my optimal working time is between 10am-6pm. Of course, I don't work that straight through though. I come and go from my computer depending on other obligations: kids, puppies, husband, appointments, eating, and overall energy level.

This means that I schedule all interviews between 10 am-3 pm. That works best for me hitting my peak brain time, without conflicting with family time. I've made the mistake of recording interviews in the morning and WOWZA. I had major word soup. Just not a great idea.

I also know that I work really well in bursts so I'm ok with that. However, the bursts are usually determined by me, and not the people around me. If I have interruptions while I'm actively trying to focus, I am not as productive.

What do I mean exactly?

Well, I got on the computer this morning around 10 am, and worked a bit on CoachGlue.com stuff. Now it's noonish and I just took at shower and came to sit down and finish this post. When it's done, I'll reward myself by getting out of my office and checking in on the kids or seeing if some laundry needs to be moved, or checking the mail. Then I'll head back to write my email and get it scheduled, too. I may take a few minutes to check in with Facebook or catch up with texts/calls on my phone, take a bathroom break, get a big glass of water, and  head back to my desk for my next big task – or I may call it a day and work on stuff around the house that's more important.

That works really well for me – and my family can usually handle not interrupting me during those spurts.

What does NOT work, as I mentioned, is constant interruptions.

Thankfully my kiddos are old enough to know that I'll pop out of my office in a bit, after my interview, or my writing spurt is done and they'll leave me to work.  Whatever they need, they can usually get on their own, and things like their friends asking to come over can wait 20 minutes. But, that also means that I choose to ignore my phone while in a work burst unless it's a “911” text from a family member or close friend. They know I'll ignore phone calls while I'm working, but if there's an emergency, to text me “911” and I”ll call them back immediately. That's for instances where it's time sensitive and they feel I need to know right away. Everything else can usually wait and can't come ahead of me making a living.

I used to try to sit here in front of the computer and work all day, but I found that I wasn't nearly as productive as when I work in those focused bursts. I've given myself permission to come and go from my office, as needed, rather than forcing myself to sit here so I felt “busy”. Busy and productive are not the same things – especially when running a business.

So, I sprint, recover, sprint, recover, and sprint again. It's what works best for me.

What if I'm working on a BIG project?

Well, when I wrote my book, or when I created larger courses, I break them down into “single sitting' pieces. If I know all I need to do is knock out one chapter or one module or one webinar and then I can go to lunch with my hubby, I can do that. To sit and say “finish this book” – yeah, that's not going to happen.

I hope this has been helpful. Now comment, share, and then do a money task so you can do something fun to reward yourself.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

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Here’s How This Software Can Help You:

• Plan Your Day In Less Than 30 Seconds – Unstoppable Productivity comes pre-loaded with dozens of common tasks, and you can add as many of your own as you want. With all your tasks readily available, you’ll have your day planned in no time!

• Discover Where Your Time Is Going – At the click of a button, Unstoppable Productivity will go to work generating a report about all the actions you’ve completed, helping you quickly see how and where you’re time is really being spent

• See Your Day With More Clarity Than Ever Before – Instead of your day being some blurry, abstract ‘thing’ of stuff you need to do, Unstoppable Productivity uses various graphical elements to help you actually visualize it, making it more real and more achievable to you

• Feel A Stronger Sense Of Accomplishment – As you finish tasks using Unstoppable Productivity, the interface will provide you with visual feedback of their completion, giving you even more momentum to continue moving forward

• It’s Your Full-Time Coach – Unstoppable Productivity is a very lightweight application, meaning it takes up very little of your computers’ resources so you can use it all day every day knowing it’s not standing in the way of getting other things done on your computer

• Plenty Of Room, Even For Your Busiest Days – With the ability to display up to 12 timers at once, from 5 minutes to 3 hours each, you’ll always have plenty of flexibility to manage and plan even your busiest days

• Spend More Time Using It, And Less Time Learning How To Use It – With an intuitive, simple interface, mastering its use usually takes less than 3 minutes!

Click here to
Get More Productive!

PS. Remember, if you want me to keep getting awesome smart peeps to answer questions here, go check out their stuff.

• Lou Bortone – Video in a Day
• Terry Dean – My Marketing Coach
• Kevin Riley –  Blogpreneur Training
• Rachel Rofe – How To Get Never Have a Bad Day Again
• Kelly McCausey – Solo Smarts Podcast
• Tiffany Dow – Work Life Balance
• Shannon Cherry – Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“We all at some point have to deal with a time sucker in our industry. It may be someone who we started a friendship with who wants more time or information than we can realistically give, a family member, or it may just be a friend who you've outgrown.

How do you value your time, set boundaries, and still be the best YOU possible?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

This was always a really tough one for me, because – like most of us – I love helping people and I hate saying “no”.

However, I've learned that “access” to me is my most valuable asset – and now when someone asks “Can I pick your brain?” I say, “Sure, I charge $300 per hour, how much time do you need?” I can also refer them to my online scheduler, where they can purchase a quick consult.

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I honestly don't have to deal with this problem much anymore. But I had it BAD years ago. I wasted hours every day in unpaid conversations by email and phone with people who never even became customers.

The disease I had was “Nice Guy Syndrome.”

One of the subtle symptoms is a feeling of responsibility to answer every email and every phone call that comes in personally. It meant I invested myself in thousands of people…many of which had never even purchased anything from me.

I thought all this free advice would really help people, but the reality was I simply didn't understand human nature.

Rarely do we value what's given for free. For example, have you ever tried to give business advice to a friend of family member?

Sure, you may have that rare gem who takes what you share with them and runs with it, but much more common is the nodding head where they then walk away and do what they wanted to anyway.

I had it so bad back then that's one of the reasons I had to take a break from the Internet completely for 18 months.

But I haven't had to deal with this issue much in years.

And it's because that experience was so miserable for me that I figured out what I had to do to escape the possibility of this ever happening again.

The first thing you have to do is value your own time. Just by setting up an hourly consulting rate or an organized coaching program, you've solved half the battle. Because now you can point to your consulting or coaching whenever anything veers into that territory. Once you value your own time, others will start valuing it as well.

On the rare occasion a business friend or client goes a little too far… you can and should set clear boundaries. This is important! Make sure to set the boundaries BEFORE you're aggravated by it. Don't respond in anger and frustration. Once that's likely to occur, you've waited too long.

Instead, it's good to remind people of how you operate. For example, with new clients I always tell them how and when I will respond. If I'm on vacation or something changes, I let them all know in advance how my schedule is changing.

I do the same with joint venture partners and business friends. They know when they can expect a response from me and when they can't.

A lot of this comes back to knowing what you want your Lifestyle to look like. If you're not clear on this yourself, how can you explain it to anyone else?

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

Fortunately, I don't have any offline friends who are time suckers. My best friend, outside my wife Rieko, is my old buddy from my house-building days, Toriu. We get together about 3-4 times a year. The rest of the time, we are rarely in contact. That's normal here.

However, online, I could easily be time sucked by a few things: The rare customer who fires off question after question, Facebook, and YouTube.

By setting aside a short (10-15 minute) window of time in my mornings to answer e-mails, I don't allow any customer to suck my time, yet they receive an answer to their query (making for happy customers).

As for Facebook and YouTube, I don't always win the battle – allowing myself to lose time to fun. But then, that's why I do what I do – so I can have fun.

Rachel Rofe of How To Get Never Have a Bad Day Again says:

As a recovering people pleaser, I can see why this is such a great question to ask.

And that being said, I think a lot of people in the personal development world can be quick to say they've “outgrown” someone, or that they're “further ahead” than people they once loved.

I don't know if that's always the truth.

With that said, I'm going to answer this question from the perspective of someone who's considering leaving a friendship that was once fulfilling.

So… my answer:

From experience, I've found that unless someone is mentally unstable, having an honest conversation (coupled with diplomacy, grace, and humility) is the best policy.

I like to think that people are smarter/more emotionally available/willing to grow WAY more than most of us give them credit for – especially when we're in a space of being annoyed with them.

So I'd look at having a conversation with my friend. It starts with however I'm feeling, and might sound something like:

“There's been something I've been wanting to share with you. I've been holding it back out of fear that I'll upset you, when really, I just want us to be able to understand each other better. Would you be OK with you if I share some messy thoughts?”

After you get their buy-in, share that you know where they're coming from. I might say something like: “I know that you're in a place with your business where you're really wanting to grow. I admire your focus and excitement for getting things done, and you're making real strides forward. It's awesome to see.”

Then where I'm coming from: “And from my perspective, while I love your business enthusiasm, I'm feeling like you want more information than I feel good about giving. I find that we talk about business more than I desire and I leave feeling drained.”

Then ask to come to a solution together: “I would love to find a way where we can both feel really good about this friendship. Can we talk about what that might look like?”

In most cases, if you are completely honest, share both perspectives, and look to find a solution TOGETHER — you'd be absolutely amazed at what can happen. You may end up deciding that the friendship has worn its course, or you may find that you have a newfound container for a more fulfilling friendship where you both feel even closer.

The main thing is to give BOTH people the opportunity to have a voice instead of just writing them off.

Of course, if this is with someone you were never really that close with in the first place, a simple “I've scheduled time to work on some things that are really important to me and unfortunately don't have free time to chat” also works.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I've a friend I've seen potential in for ages. Over the years I've invested a lot of energy into encouraging, equipping and pushing her into action. When I'm not actively motivating her, she drifts off into the demands of every day life.

Last year I finally admitted that I wanted it far more than she did. I had to let go.

I love her so much, I didn't want to lose our friendship. I went to her and apologized for pushing. I promised to leave it alone and just enjoy our personal friendship from now on. It was important to me that she know I don't need her to be entrepreneurial to be my friend.

This is an area of issue for me in a lot of relationships. I often want someone else's success more than they do. I'm working on it!

Tiffany Dow of Work Life Balance says:

I've had to do this a lot lately. This is the first time I've put strict boundaries on my time and space. I've gotten to where I'm just blunt or more apologetic about doing what's in my best interest.

I grew up a people pleaser. Never wanted to come across as “rude.” But it's not rude to get your work done before chit chatting with a friend. That was all in my head.

I have found it very freeing to tell people honestly, “I have to focus on work, so I won't be able to visit much until (whatever time).” Nothing at all rude about that.

And truth be told, if someone didn't respect my boundaries, I wouldn't feel very valued by them.

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

Of course, this happens to everyone. ​ And sometimes the lines blur so much that you have difficulties seeing the issue until you realize how bad it really is.

That recently happened to me and it got to the boiling point. A friend, was consistently asking business questions, which at first I didn't mind answering. But soon, I was realizing that any advice I gave her was disregarded. (She was a ‘bright-shiny-object' type who jumped from idea to idea.) I was getting annoyed to say the least. It was time for ‘the talk'. Essentially, I shared my concerns and more importantly how I felt. It cleared the air and we have remained friends who only focus our chat about your lived, not business.

Although that one has a happy ending, not all do. I find this especially true when it comes to social media ‘friends' (those who only know you online). Of course, it starts innocently – a quick question about something, but soon you might find yourself coaching or consulting (something you get paid for). Here's what I've done to help stop this:

1. I make rules for myself and keep them. For me, it's answering one question and that's it.

2. I've created canned responses so I don't have to fumble for words when feeling awkward. For example, on reply is this: “I appreciate your trust in my advice, and I value our relationship. I want you to know that what you are asking is something I get paid to do. It's how I make my living. And because you know how limited availability is, I need to focus on paying clients with my time. However, here are a couple of blog posts that may help…”

3. If all else fails, ‘Bless and Release', meaning wish them the best and ignore them, block them or whatever you have to do so they don't suck your time.”

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I'm so glad my smart friends sent in so much great insight for this post.  I know that I, along with my coaching clients, have struggled at times with this issue over the years.

Like most, I'm much better at telling others how to regain control over their time than I am sometimes in owning my own.

But truly the thing that I end up saying oftentimes when I'm talking with them is “YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM HERE! So QUIT IT!!!”

Don't pull the “Nobody respects my time” line, if you haven't set the rules first. Otherwise, it's not their fault. It's yours.

Draw the line in the sand and have options for people who want more of you. Options that you are comfortable with.

Granted, I failed majorly at this initially. I'd be resentful of people who were “using me” until I realize that it was my fault!

1. They didn't know any better because I hadn't told them, and

2. they didn't have a legitimate option for paying me for my time. DUH.

Once I realized that I was putting THEM into a pickle, I kicked my “woe is me” mentality to the curb and I took control of my time.

What did I do to fix it?

1. I created a coaching page.

2. I wrote and published my book.

Now, people who ask about making money online are referred to my book. And, people who want ME are referred to my coaching page. Easy peasy.

Granted, I still do find myself slipping at times, and I have to put up barriers in those instances.

I think the thing that I finally figured out is that EVERY moment of EVERY day that I give to someone else is a moment that I'm taking from taking care of me, spending time with my kids and my Joe, or being with my family and friends.

Your time (as with your energy) is like a bank. And, the minutes go where they are allocated. Make sure you're INVESTING them wisely.

My favorite quote for over a decade has been “The days are long, but the years are short.”

I encourage you to think of that when you're giving your time to others. Because we blink and a year passes.

It's a lesson that's been one that's taken me a while to learn, so I hope this perspective helps.

Warmly,

Nicole Dean

Recommended Resource:

If you need an energy boost – check out Energy Jet Pack by my friend, Lain Ehmann.

PS. Remember, if you want me to keep getting awesome smart peeps to answer questions here, go check out their stuff.

• Lou Bortone – Video in a Day
• Terry Dean – My Marketing Coach
• Kevin Riley –  Blogpreneur Training
• Rachel Rofe – How To Get Never Have a Bad Day Again
• Kelly McCausey – Solo Smarts Podcast
• Tiffany Dow – Work Life Balance
• Shannon Cherry – Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“How do you get your mojo back when it's flown the coop?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I’ve lost my mojo multiple times over the years.

Here are 3 ways I’ve attacked it head on… and got my mojo back when it all feels lost.

#1 – Take a Break

Often it’s the day-to-day activities and the overwhelm that sucks the life out of you.

You’re so dug into the projects you’re working on that you don’t feel you can come up for air.

The best thing to do when you’re in that situation is to take a break. Stop staring at the problem. Get out and do something fun.

It could be as short as a few hours out of the office to watch a movie or go to lunch. Or it could be a weekend trip… or even an entire month break from your business.

Step out of the stress and the day-to-day activities. Look at the problem from a different situation and remind yourself what it is you love about what you do.

That leads us to the second part…

#2 – Focus on your Vision

During your break, take time out to look at your plan. What is your long-term vision?

Too many internet marketers are running their business by the seat of their pants. You’re overwhelmed because you’re taking on a whole bunch of activities that aren’t essential to your vision.

Eliminate all the unnecessary activities you added simply because they sounded like good ideas at the time.

Automate as many day-to-day activities as possible.

Delegate everything that’s outside your expertise or below your ‘pay grade.’

Where do you want to be in your business 12 months from today? Once you’ve written that down in detail, work backwards from there to what you want to accomplish in the next 90 days.

Then create a weekly and daily growth plan to take another baby step toward your vision every day.

#3 – Join a Passionate Mastermind Group or Find a Mentor

Enthusiasm is contagious.

And online marketing can be a lonely business if you allow yourself to be isolated.

Find others who are passionate about what they do. Share ideas. Grow together.

Hold each other accountable.

Avoid the complainers! Don’t keep participating in any forum, group, or club where it quickly becomes a pity party of how hard it is out there.

Some people have a ‘recession mindset’ while business is booming all around them.

Either find a mastermind group or connect with a mentor proven to help others move forward.

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

How do you get your mojo back when it's flown the coop?

I ‘recharge my batteries' by attending (or speaking at) industry events and conferences. Despite being an introvert, I love the camaraderie that comes from events like NAMS, where we get to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Of course, the shenanigans that often happen after the sessions are the most fun and really help to restore my mojo when I've been running on empty!

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

For some reason, people think they have to “feel it” to be productive. I think the difference between a professional and a hobbyist is that the professional shows up whether their mojo is in the house or not. Just think of Celine Dion – do you think she tells her sold-out crowds in Vegas, “Nope, sorry. Just not feeling it tonight.” Emotions are a transitory thing. Some days I feel like sitting down to work, and some days I feel like curling up under my covers and reading junky novels. If I give in to the latter too often, I'll be in big trouble!

That being said, I can get burnt out at times. After a big event, I need to give myself time to physically recover and to reconnect with my family, who have been surviving on mac ‘n' cheese for the past week. A day or two of down time can re-charge my batteries and get me ready for the next big project.

I also can get zapped if I'm spending too much time doing the tasks and projects best left to someone else (like customer service). If I'm feeling blah day after day for an extended period of time, usually this is the reason; I've been doing soul-sucking work, rather than soul-fulfilling work. Then I have to realign my task list to better reflect the projects I'm excited about.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

Sometimes I lose my mojo and sometimes I lose my vision… both have a similar effect on me. I grind to a halt and feel stuck.

When I lose my mojo for business, when it all feels like it's been said or done before, I seek to spend time with newcomers. They see everything with fresh eyes and ask great questions. This lights a fire under me and before I know it, my mojo is burning brightly again.

Ideas for getting in touch with Newcomers:

1. Volunteer to be interviewed by a new blogger or podcaster.
2. Spend time answering questions on Forums and Facebook Groups.
3. Take on a Mentee or Intern
4. Offer an Open Phones Day. Here's How: Open Phone Lines Training

When I have mojo but lack vision on where to go next, I seek to spend time with successful contemporaries. They shine a light on my potential and make me realize I'm bonkers to not live up to it. With a little brainstorming and planning, my forward vision gets a jumpstart and I'm off and running again.

Ways to connect with Contemporaries:

1. Go to Live Events like Exposure and Profit or NAMS
2. Join a Mastermind Group. Example.
3. Start a Podcast, maybe even try the Round Table Format. Example. List Building Roundtable
4. Attend a Business Retreat like Beachpreneurs.com

We call get stuck now and then, but we don't have to stay there!

Kristen Eckstein of Free Book Promo says:

It happens to all of us. I lost my mojo. Writer’s block was in full force. And my deadline was less than 24 hours.

I did get it done (about 10,000 words), and Author’s Quick Guide to Having a Successful Book Signing was released on time. WOO-HOO! So how did I do it? How did I get my writing mojo back?

• Accountability—My coach issued this challenge to me, and she checked in to see how my progress was going. That lit a little fire under my behind…
• Mastermind—I’m part of a small mastermind group and we had our bi-weekly check-in meeting Wednesday morning. Telling them what I was up to helped renew the spark of excitement I had when the project was brand new two weeks before.
• Left-Brained Activities—Some might call it procrastination, but during my “off kilter” time I played in the kitchen with raw food recipes (and ate a LOT of chocolate), put together office furniture, ran errands, worked out and pretty much did everythingexcept write.
• Right-Brained Activities—When I felt my mojo start to return, I fostered it by playing with LEGOs, playing with my cat and playing with food (a left- and right-brained activity).
• Chocolate—I ate a LOT of chocolate! Raw cacao has energy and creativity-boosting properties, so I ate a ton of it. 

The fact is, all writers, entrepreneurs, artists—well, pretty much everyone who’s ever embarked on a large project like writing a book—loses their mojo once in a while. No one can say when your mojo leaves, how or when it will return. Mine hit suddenly around 9pm on Wednesday night, after a full day of the above activities. Having a coach hold me accountable was huge. She’s pushing me to go further than I think I can, and celebrating when I surprise myself. My mastermind group does a similar thing and offers support with like-minded people. And combining left- and right-brained activities opens the neurological pathways between the two hemispheres. Of course, my personal opinion is chocolate is what really did it. 

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

When my mojo flies the coop, I chase it down and tackle it in a few different ways and drag it back, even if it's kicking and screaming.

Yes, it happens to ALL of us. Like my friends above, I've been in this business a long time for TEN years (since 2004) and I've definitely had my on and off periods of time.

My friends touched on many of the things that I was going to mention, so I'll come at it from another angle.

1. Avoid loss of mojo in the first place. Have a vision and understand that what you do impacts other people. If your #1 goal in business is to profile AND make the web and the world a better place, then by not running your business, you aren't making the web and the world better. Right?

2. Take your vitamins. Seriously – good vitamins can really affect your entire mood, energy levels, and overall outlook on life, the universe and everything.  I keep mine sitting on my desk, so that I remember to take them every day. I notice that when I forget, I fade.

3.  Have people dependent on you. I have my team (assistants, customer support, writers, designers, etc), business partners, my family, my coaching clients, and even my dogs dependent upon my success. I don't have the luxury of crawling into bed too long before I have to get my butt up and get busy getting things done.

4. Allow for the down times and don't beat yourself up when they happen. Forgive yourself as you would forgive others. Don't get into a spiral of “I suck… ” because it doesn't help you to get back on your feet.

5. Keep track of your progress. With my coaching clients, I always recommend they create a spreadsheet or notebook of “Where I am Now” so they can track their progress. Otherwise, if growth is slow and steady, you may not realize that you're moving forward unless you have a way to look back. It's kind of like with weight loss. If you haven't seen someone in a year, and they've been losing 1-2 lbs per month, they may not realize how different they look, but you sure will.

6. Have some happy reminders near your desk. I have cards and printouts by my desk from people who have taken the time to send me words of love. These are from past coaching clients, friends whose lives I've touched through my work, and colleagues. I pick those up and reread them from time to time when I need a boost.

7. Most importantly – have some recurring income streams in place. When my mojo runs off – I have enough passive income streams and recurring revenue streams in place that I don't have to panic. I can take a break and not freak out about it. It's ok and that's a great feeling for me. I hope you have some in place as well. If not – please listen to the free audio on the top of this page to learn why it's so important to me that you start adding income streams today. Passive Income & Recurring Income Training

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. If all of the above fails, write a blog post about getting your mojo back and then you'll talk yourself into getting your stuff done. Busted.

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

This week I asked our panel of experts about a topic we hear discussed in the internet marketing world a lot…

One of the most difficult decisions in running an online business is choosing a shopping cart / payment processing system.

So, which one do you use to power your business?

Do you like it? Why or why not?

The funny thing is that I just returned from a weekend event hosted by JVZoo and no one mentioned them. I'll see if I can track down a few more responses to see if we get some feedback on their system, to be fair, as well.

Note:  There are no right or wrong answers here. Just perception and personal experience.

I hope that this week’s expert responses will be helpful in making this decision for your own business.

Dennis Becker of Earn1KaDay says:

I've used lots of shopping carts over the years, from a plain old PayPal button to Clickbank, PayDotCom, RAP (Rapid Action Profits), WSO Pro, a dime sale script that I installed on my own server, and Amember, and I wasn't totally happy with any of them.

I was always looking for a cart that would make affiliates love me, and one time when I promoted for Jason Fladlien, who used Infusionsoft, I did OK for the promotion but what intrigued me was a few weeks later I got paid for something I never heard of.

Holy moley! What's that all about? So I investigated and found out about cross platform tracking and “lifetime cookies” and said to myself “I got to have me some of that for my affiliates”.

In looking at it closer though, I noticed the price (ouch) and noticed that Jason didn't accept PayPal for some technical reason, so I looked further for something similar but better, and found Nanacast.

NanaCast

I use Nanacast now for virtually everything, and though it was not quite so intuitive to set up my first product there in the beginning, now I've got it down to a matter of a few minutes to add a new product, link in the upsells, attach the proper email list, link to the downloadable files (which are automatically secured), and create the buy button to put on my sales page.

I can and also do CPA type offers where I pay affiliates for sending people to download a free report or opt in to a list. I've used the split testing feature (not so great, but it's there) as well.

My affiliates seem to be very happy, especially when they get paid for products they've chosen for some reason not to promote.

I do also use DAP (Digital Access Pass) for a membership site because of the way it allows me to drip feed content, but I don't use the shopping cart or affiliate tracking features of it.

Learn and Earn from Dennis at 

Earn1KaDay 

Alice Seba of The 30 Day List Challenge says:

Over the years, I have tried a lot of different systems. Many people take so much time to decide on a shopping cart, but hold themselves back from getting started. The only way I was able to find out what I liked best was by trying a variety of options, so for anyone looking, I recommend just digging in and figuring it out as you go.

After all this time, I have settled in with Amember as my absolute favorite.

Amember

I like Amember for a few reasons:

* No monthly payment:

While I see the attraction in a 3rd party system that automatically does the software upgrades for you, I don't think the price of many of monthly payment shopping carts is really justified. Sure, profits can pay for this monthly fee, but if I can keep more of that profit back in my pocket, that's good for me.

* All-inclusive:

Amember includes my shopping cart, membership system, affiliate program and mailing lists…all in one place. I have always preferred all-inclusive systems because it allows me to segment lists and ensure better targeting with my market. It also avoids a lot of duplication if you happen to have your bits in pieces all over the place.

* Customization and control:

I love that I can control how Amember looks and functions. I've had a number of customizations developed that have allowed me to improve my email marketing, product delivery and more.

I know Amember isn't for everybody though. It is a little more complex than other systems and some people complain about the “extra steps” they have to do to set up a product. I have no problem with the extra steps because, ultimately, they are the things that allow me to have control over the way Amember functions.

Check out Alice's The 30 Day List Challenge 

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I've tested and/or have direct experience with a lot of shopping cart systems including 1SC, Clickbank, Paypal, Amember, RAP, Infusionsoft, and others.

1ShoppingCart.

1ShoppingCart

The one I personally use is Netofficetoolbox.com which is a private label of 1shoppingcart. The reason I like it best is it integrates everything into one system including processing both credit cards and Paypal, your affiliate program, upsells, and more.

Since they've been around for years, they have had ups and downs. There were periods where their autoresponders couldn't get delivered and other points where they didn't integrate well with recurring billing on membership software like Amember. For me at least these problems have been solved and have been running well for the past 12 months+.

I use both my own merchant account and Paypal for processing orders through them.

So, that's what I use to run my primary business.

Clickbank.

Clickbank

I also use Clickbank for digital products I release in other markets other than my main one. I've found if you're in niches you can often recruit additional affiliates just by getting into their system and getting a few affiliates selling for you.

This also means I have a secondary system in place in my business in case there were ever problems with one of my accounts. I have money coming in 3 different ways (merchant account, Paypal, and Clickbank) in addition to the affiliate programs I promote.

Be sure to learn more from Terry here:

My Marketing Coach

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

I have a love/hate relationship with my shopping cart. I love that it's so powerful, but I hate that it's so complicated. Because with great power, sometimes comes great complexity. Can you guess which service I use?

Infusionsoft

 It's Infusionsoft, and I realize it's much more than just a shopping cart. I only wish that I was able to use it to it's fullest potential, but that's my own dang fault! Kidding aside, Infusionsoft does what I need it to do, and more. The best part is that the Infusionsoft folks have a great conference every year!

Lou is the man when it comes to video. 

Learn more at: Video in a Day 

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

Like many people, I've looked for the perfect shopping cart for me. It had to be both easy for the customer, easy for me, and have an affiliate program built in. Oh, and when I say easy for me, I meant it means to be intuitive to set up and run. If I have to think about it too much, it probably isn't worth my time.

Lately, I am in love – and I mean serious love, with a new membership/shopping cart solution which I have been beta testing for some time and has now been released to the public. It's a premium wordpress plugin called InstaMember and its creator has thought of just about everything. You can use it for single (one-off ) purchases, fixed term memberships, or traditional memberships. It has it's own email software and helpdesk built in, but you can also easily connect it with your own if you already have. (For me, I use Aweber and it works seamlessly.)

I also like that there is no recurring fee with this affordable plug-in. So far, this has been the best solution to date for me.

Note from Nik: InstaMember doesn't appear to currently be for sale to the masses yet. I'll update this when it is.

Shannon gets paid to attend Conferences and Fun Events Learn How She does it Here 

Just added:

Debbie Drum of Turn ONE PIECE OF CONTENT into 21 Sources of Income says:

We’ve been using JVZOO for processing our payments for a while now. The founders / developers are internet marketers themselves so they understand the needs and wants of people who sell products online.

Other payment processors have so much red tape and long approval times and with JVZoo, it’s so easy. You could sell a product on jvzoo the same day you put it up!

JVZoo 

My top 3 favorite things about JVZoo are:

1) Integrates Directly with Go To Webinar:  When people buy a product i can automatically register them into a webinar if that’s part of the product they buy. One less step for buyers!

2) Funnel Setup: If your product has multiple levels, then JVZoo makes it really easy for you to set that up.  if you are selling a product, you should always have the future in mind so take advantage of the funnels inside of JVZoo – have an upsell and even a downsell for your customers to purchase on the backend.  It’s so easy to setup!

3) The people: E. Brian Rose – one of the founders is a cool guy and a great internet marketer!  Chad Casselman, the programmer was my very first IM friend! Woot!  Bryan Zimmerman is always so helpful on the Facebook page! And Rich Wilens is my buddy and sugardaddy (inside joke – lol)!

I highly recommend using JVZoo to process payments for your next product!

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Well, I asked the question, so you know that I have opinions, too.

Having been an Affiliate Manager for several years, I’ve worked behind the scenes with most of the carts mentioned above and even a few that weren’t mentioned, too.

Plus, with my own infoproducts, I’ve used … eek! SEVEN different carts.

Which seven? Well, one of them is out of business and two others I do NOT like so they shall remain nameless. But, I will share the ones that pass muster.

There’s a lot to take into consideration when choosing a cart, but it really comes down to just three main factors –

1. Your Needs – Now and in the future as you grow
2. Your Customers’ Experience – Will the ordering process be positive for them?
3. Your Affiliates – Will They Be Treated as you Wish?

Whew, right?

Let’s start at the bottom, since that’s the easiest, in my opinion.

1. What’s best for your affiliates?

I will tell you this. I earn the MOST money (as an affiliate) when I promote people who are using either Amember, Infusionsoft, or Nanacast. Hands down. Just from a tracking standpoint.

Amember

NanaCast

Infusionsoft

Disclaimer #1: That is making one big assumption and that’s that the person that I’m promoting has multiple products for sale – and they are actually telling their customers about them so that you can get repeat sales. But, I know that the sales track and I get repeat sales – both of which are hugely important in getting and retaining loyal affiliates.

Disclaimer #2: I do not choose what to promote based upon the cart, but if two products are equal in all ways, I will at that point, recommend the one that’s running on either Amember or Nanacast first.

Most of the other carts do not track referrals as well.

What about Clickbank? Is that attractive to affiliates?

Clickbank

Clickbank can either be really good in this area or really bad. Depending on the niche you’re in, it may be more difficult to get loyal affiliates, since affiliate theft is so easy. What this means is that I can, as an affiliate, promote a product on Clickbank. Some people who go to purchase (upon my recommendation) will replace my affiliate ID with theirs to get a discount. While this is frowned upon in most circles, Clickbank does nothing to monitor this. This can make it more difficult to get good affiliates to promote you – if you’re on Clickbank, simply because marketers who know what they're doing will avoid Clickbank for that reason.

On the other hand, Clickbank has one very distinct advantage. They DO pay on time, every time. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more common for people to just think they can NOT pay their affiliates (which is theft) – and get away with it. It’s very frustrating as an affiliate when you have to ask where your commissions are – and it just should not have to happen. Plus, affiliates talk with each other. I’ve been in a number of conversations in the past few years about who not to promote – because they don’t pay their affiliates. However, when you promote someone on Clickbank – you know you’ll get paid – because Clickbank is in control.

2. Customer Experience.

This is another tricky one. If you sell multiple products (and you darned well should) – it’s very helpful to have a “members area” where the customer’s purchases can be accessed for years to come.  It’s also handy if your customers don’t have to enter ALL of their information every time they order and can just log in to quickly order from you. Again, Amember wins here, in my opinion.

If you’ve only got one product at this point, then Clickbank has a nice smooth and easy ordering process. Plus, they automatically process credit cards, which frees you up to not have to have a separate merchant account, which is nice, too.

In fact, most of the carts have a nice ordering process. The only thing that stands out is if you’ll have repeat customers – in which case, having a members area is very nice for them to continually order and access their purchases at any time.

3. Your Needs as a Merchant.

Finally, the third big consideration is what you need as the product seller. Here’s where it is SO important to know yourself, your resources, and your business.

If you’re just getting started, are completely non-techie and/or you are unsure about your niche – then I’d recommend Clickbank or JVZoo. You can always leave that product there as you grow and also set up a separate cart down the road once you get rockin’. From a merchant perspective, there are a few weaknesses with Clickbank that are easily overcome with Easy Click Mate – a program that I use on three of my sites. It enables you to run several products from one Clickbank account.

If you’ve got a solid business (and are totally non-techie) and want something a bit meatier that you have more control on, 1ShoppingCart is solid. It’s super easy and can be set up and running very quickly. Plus, as Terry mentioned – the upsell capability is huge. The downside is price, of course, paying monthly for your cart as opposed to paying once. And, affiliate tracking is less than desirably, in my humble opinion.

Of course, there are as many options and scenarios as there are people, but that’s just a quick suggestion for you.

There are a few carts that have not been mentioned that are also viable options. E-Junkies is fine for beginners, but is not the best for attracting affiliates. It’s a very cumbersome process for affiliates to get links, and you can’t get them for the affiliates as there’s no clear pattern to how they are created.

If you're a more advanced marketer and are reaching the limits of one of the “beginner” carts, then take a look at the others recommended here or just ask me for a recommendation for what exactly you need.

So what do I use?

Enough chatter, right? What do I actually use in my business – RIGHT NOW?

On EasyPLR.com, I use 1ShoppingCart. It’s fine, and I like the upsell feature.

Powered by 1ShoppingCart

On  YummyPLR.com, I use Clickbank along with Easy Click Mate.

Powered by Clickbank & Easy Click Mate

For the rest of my projects I use Amember.

Powered by Amember

Time for Feedback!

So, what about you? Are you stuck on this decision? Or do you have a cart you recommend? Please join in the discussion!

If you’re at the point right now where you need to change carts for some reason – let me know. I’ll recommend a cart for you based upon your needs.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Resources RECOMMENDED in this Article:

• Amember – All in One Membership Site Software
• Clickbank – Hands off. For non-techies. Includes a marketplace to recruit affiliates for you. (Use Easy Click Mate to make it more powerful.)
• 1ShoppingCart – Powerful cart.
• NanaCast – Another powerful options with a lot of features.
• JVZoo – Fast and easy. Great integration.

This week I asked our panel of experts…

Do you partner in your business – like long-term JVs?

If so, any horror stories or tips for success?

Let me have it.

I think you'll enjoy the responses.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

I had partners during the years I worked in real estate, but now I prefer to only get involved in joint ventures. I define a JV as a business relationship based on a specific project, with a definite start and end date.

These have worked out extremely well for me and I continue to look for new joint venture partners as my business grows.

Want to see One of Connie's Recent JVs?

click here to check it out

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

Christine Cobb and I have a site we co-own. We started it back in 2010 and have really enjoyed working with one another. It's great to have someone to brainstorm with (not just about our joint site) and to do the things I don't like/want to do.

One of the things that plays a big role in Christine and I getting along so well is that we bring different strengths to the business relationship. What she's good at, I stink at and vice versa We each have something valuable to contribute. We also both have thick skin.

If she doesn't care for something I've written or doesn't think it will work, she tells me. (Politely.) If I'm not big on the way she has something set up to operate, I let her know. (Gently.) There's a great deal of mutual respect involved.

I have been involved in other short-term JV relationships where the other party didn't do hardly anything she was supposed to. It's no fun to be stuck holding the bag and having to do everything yourself. Later, that person expected to be paid for doing nothing.

I think the moral of the story is to know (or get to know) the person you're about to partner with. Make sure you are compatible with your personalities, talents, skills and work ethics or it could turn out to be a situation you wish you would have avoided.

Want to see Karon's JV with Christine Cobb?

 Just Click here

Barb Ling of Social Curation Ignition says:

Nope!

Barb is brilliant in so many ways.

You can peek inside her brain in her Social Curation Ignition course (click for details).

Lynette Chandler of Tech Based Marketing says:

Absolutely, without my partners I have no idea where I'd be.

I've been enormously blessed with great partners. There are many aspects to a partnership dynamic but for me, the biggest thing is honesty. Not just being truthful, but being forthright – even when it is painful.

Years ago, while we were all together in a project, Kelly McCausey and Alice Seba sat me down to discuss my performance on a presentation I'd just given. It was awful. Both the presentation and the meeting after.

In the end, it only made me respect and value them so much more; Knowing they'd give me the truth whether it is what I want to hear or not. In return, I'm prepared to give the partnership 100% when working on my portion of things.

Want to See One of Lynette's Partnerships?

Check out WordPress Plugins you Can Sell

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I don't do very many long-term partnerships, because I was burned early on in a few.

One of my ongoing ones has been with Glenn Livingston. It has been awesome. There are two big tips I could give here.

1. Only partner with someone you'd trust with the keys to your house.

The best quality of a good partner is someone you can trust. I'll often do short-term partnerships first and those eventually morph into longer run deals as the trust is built up over time. Even the best contracts won't make a dishonest person someone you want to deal with.

2. Partner with someone who adds value to your life.

One of the projects Glenn Livingston and I did came together because I mentioned that if someone combined Glenn's research skills with my copywriting skills, they'd be downright dangerous. We created the Total Conversion Code together.

It was very profitable for both of us, but what was even more valuable was the skills we both picked up in the process. Both of us have become conversion experts from filling in our weak links.

Click here to Check out Terry’s Mentoring Club

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I've no horror stories and after all these years and the different projects I've partnered on, that's a blessing. I've never been horribly let down, stiffed financially or left holding the bag. I have good relationships with every person I've ever partnered with… in fact, I'd partner with any one of them again if the right project presented itself.

I like that my main business is just me. I'm independent and enjoy working on my own most of the time, but, I love to have side-gig partnerships going on around me too.

A few reasons why:

* I feel more driven to meet deadlines when a partner is waiting on me.
* I'm always learning something new from one of my partners.
* My partners introduce me to cool new people I might not have met on my own.
* Partners can cover for each other when life gets crazy.

And hey, sometimes it's just plain more fun to work with other people.

My partnering success tip would be to be open to your partners' ideas.

If you take on a partner, but then want to keep doing everything the way you've always done it – you're missing out and probably will end up frustrating the other person. Partnerships are amazing opportunities to try new things so shake off the same old attitudes and go for it.

Want to See One of Kelly's Partnerships?

Check out SoloMasterminds

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I have had a lot of partnerships over the years. Just counting quickly I can think of 10 different people who I’ve partnered with over the years.

• Some of my partnerships have been AWESOME.
• Most have been positive.
• A few have not. (I have several grey hairs from one partnership that went south.)

A few years ago, I was much more open to partnerships.

While I am still open to a win-win (or I’d be silly not to be), I’m definitely more hesitant to get into a partnership now than I have been in the past. If I have an idea for a project, I’d usually just create it myself, use my own team, and/or get an intern to help. That way it’s part of my core business.

The number one thing I look for in the people who I want to work closely with?

Well, there are several, but the one thing that is absolutely a must-have is someone who has proven to show respect. (Sing it Aretha! R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to ME!)

I always tell my kids that the one thing in life you have to learn is respect.

• Respect for yourself, including your health and wellbeing and your future.
• Respect for others, including their feelings.
• Respect for property, both our own and others.
• Respect for the environment.

Just respect.

Anyone I’d partner with would have to show respect for themselves, respect in their business, respect to customers by providing quality (no shortcuts), respect to others in their field, and respect to me. It’s kind of a broad answer, but it’s just an overall feeling you get when you meet someone. If they are backstabbing people or putting out shoddy products, I don’t really want to be associated with them. If they aren’t showing me respect, before we even partner, then I just can’t partner with them.

A business partnership (or even hiring someone) is very much like a marriage in many ways. If the trust gets lost… it’s very very hard to ever get it back. If there’s an uneven feeling in the relationship or one person feels the other isn’t treating her or their business with respect, then it’s never going to feel “right”.

Examples?

As for right now, I'm only in a few long-term partnerships.

My most active JV's at the moment are –

• CoachGlue.com – a project that I created with my good friend, Melissa Ingold, and I'm really excited about it.
• MomWebs.com – a web hosting company that I co-CEO with Kelly McCausey that specializes in helping moms get their blogs online to share their message with the masses.

What about You?

Talk to me. Any tips for my readers? I would love to hear what you think about partnering.

Warmly and with big hugs.
Nicole Dean

PS. Remember, the best way to ensure I get awesome peeps to contribute to Expert Briefs is if you go check out their stuff.

Here's a recap of the JV Examples in this post.

What a wide variety of ways we are all partnering. From software to web hosting to templates. Cool stuff.

• Connie's JV
• Karon's JV
• Lynette's JV
• Kelly's JV
• Nicole's JV #1
• Nicole's JV #2

You may have seen Terry's amazingly thorough responses in my Expert Briefs posts including the following:

• How to Only Work One Hour Per Day
• How to Regain Focus

If you're newer to the scene, Terry is an established marketer who I respect and enjoy very much.

Here's his official bio so you can be suitably impressed.

Terry Dean started his online business from scratch in 1996. He went from delivering pizzas for a living to building a million dollar Internet business promoted primarily through the Internet. Within a few years he was also consulting with home based businesses, local companies, and million dollar corporations. His original company and websites were sold in 2004, and he founded MyMarketingCoach, LLC. which is dedicated to coaching entrepreneurs in the 10 key principles of success in business and life.

I am a paying member of his Mentoring Club – and I love the content.

Click here to Check out Terry's Mentoring Club

Be sure to check out the bonuses on that page. They. Are. RIDICULOUS!

Now that you know that we have a rock star in the house, read on for an awesome article.

The Problem We Are Discussing Today.

Terry's going to talk today about the new Gmail tabs. If you're not aware of this new feature this is what it looks like inside my own Gmail account. Gmail is automatically filtering emails for me that I may or may not want filtered.

As an email marketer – the concern is that less people on your list will be seeing your emails and that your open rate will decline.

Here's how you can still get your emails read.

5 Ways to Profit from Gmail Tabs

by Terry Dean

You've probably heard the news if you do any type of email marketing.

Google has been rolling out primary, social, and promotional tabs inside of Gmail since May 29th.

This was greeted by a chorus of marketers screaming, “The sky is falling again!”

Sometimes I wonder if people are hoping for a disaster just so they can finally be right to be so upset.

Of course smart marketers have been testing to see if there is a way to land in the primary tab instead of the promotional tab.  And so far, there is no consistent way to do so.  Google is smart.  I wouldn't be surprised if they're tracking the unsubscribe link we legally need attached to email newsletters.

You have a choice.  You can use this as an opportunity to give up.

Or you can take advantage of this change while competitors hide their heads in the sand.

Here are 5 quick ways to take advantage of the new email tabs.

1. Tell subscribers to look in promotions box.

A lot of people don't even realize all their newsletters are landing in “promotions.”

Let them know to look for your email there on your thank you page.

You can even tell your subscribers how to move your emails from the promotional tab into their primary tab.  Wouldn't that be a masterpiece of marketing…if you're the ONLY newsletter in the primary tab?

Simply grab an email with your left mouse button and slide it over to the primary tab.  You can also right click it and choose “move to tab” to move it to the primary tab.

A little note will pop-up to ask you if you want to make this change permanent.

Say, “Yes.”

You won't have to worry about missing your favorite emails again.

2. Get subscribers excited about what you'll be sharing.

Tease your subscribers with the information you have coming up.  End your story on a cliffhanger.

They will be LOOKING for your email when it comes.  If they miss it, they'll contact you.  It's the perfect opportunity to have your support suggest they move you to the primary box so it doesn't happen again.

3. Write series (part 1, 2, 3)

Create emails in a series with part 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.  If you got message #2 and #4…you'd want to know where in the world #3 went!

This is all about making your emails useful to your audience.  Make them something they look forward to receiving…not like all those sales emails being sent by everyone else.

4. Scarcity in Offers

The one negative is that subscribers may put off opening emails in their promotional tab until later.  And we all know what happens when it gets put off.  It likely gets forgotten or deleted in mass.

Consider adding more offers that are scarce in time frame.  If they don't open the email in time, they miss out on the offer.  Your best sales days will almost always be the last day before a deadline.  Use deadlines more often.

5. More Frequent Emails

Mailchimp recently reported they reviewed the open rates of emails on their system.  The average open rate before the change for Gmail users was just above 13% for weekdays.  After the change, there was a noticeable drop in open rates to just about 12%.

That's a pretty small drop, and some of it could easily be attributed to the system being new and subscribers not being able to find their emails.

The easiest fix is to simply add one more email a month.  That will make up for the drop.  And you'll see an increase in your open rates with more frequent emails…as subscribers start expecting them more often from you.

Even if Google does relegate you to the “promotional” category, you can brand your emails as something they look forward to receiving instead of just another promotion.

Find out how here in my new course Autoresponder Alchemy

Your Marketing Coach,
Terry Dean
“The Internet Lifestyle Mentor”
Earn More. Work Less. Enjoy Life!

Can you see why I love this guy?

Let me remind you about Terry's Marketing Mentor Program, so you can see if it's right for you.

In my opinion, this is for people who have already gotten past the initial hurdles and are ready for some serious butt-kicking.

Should you buy it?

NO. I would not recommend it for you if you're brand new and don't even have a blog or list yet.

YES! – If you're already building a list and you have a product under your belt and want to learn more about running a profitable business – then this can DEFINITELY help you to grow your income.

Here's the link to check it out again, if you think this is something that can help you.

Click here to Check out Terry's Mentoring Club

I love how Terry doesn't just call this article “How to survive in the day of Gmail tabs” but instead “How to Profit with Gmail tabs”. Clever.

One of the things I'm going to experiment with is an idea that I learned from my friend, Deb Drum, which I'll have her share over here in the next week or so – or possibly make this topic another Expert Briefs discussion – if you're interested.

Let's talk.

• What do you think about the new gmail tabs?
• Got any questions for me or Terry?
• Want more on this topic?

Let me know in the comments below.

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. If you are not ready for the Mentoring Program, check out Terry's free reports here -> Terry Dean's Internet Lifestyle Manifesto

PS again. Terry and I are not related nor married, by the way, in case you were wondering. (People ask all the time.)

As you may know, I just returned from my annual off-the-grid time this summer.

So, I'll ask all of the Experts this question.

“If you could only work an hour every day and needed to continue to make the most money possible, what would your schedule look like?”

I think you will like their answers.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

If I only had an hour available to work each day, it would be spent on writing a blog post and an email message to my list. I actually do this for several weeks each summer while I am visiting family in Finland. They want me to spend every minute with them, so I get up an hour early and work on a new blog post and send out an email.

This strategy works extremely well for me, at least for three or four weeks at a time. It motivates me to be as productive as possible during my hour each day, and it also forces me to step away from my business to rethink everything I am doing. When I return to a full time schedule, which is three to four hours each day, I am refreshed and have more ideas than ever.

Connie knows Affiliate Marketing!

click here to learn her secrets
(use coupon SECRET) for 100% discount on this product that normally sells for $27

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

With only one hour per day to make money, I would rotate between consulting clients and hosting webinars for two reasons.

First, it makes me a lot of money fast.

Second, I *really* love doing both!

I get a big kick out of consulting with companies and watching the results after they've implemented a plan of action we've created together. Whether it's working out the details of landing page campaigns, strategizing copywriting for a website or email blast, or coming up with new online marketing ideas that can help companies get the word out… it's all a blast!

Teaching is a big passion so, naturally, webinars fall right in line with that. I love making complicated things simple and showing people how to breakthrough on processes. And, when working with the right JV partner, webinars can produce a bunch ‘o bucks fast with great residual income, too.

When you think Copywriting, you think of Karon.
Check out her Step-by-Step Copywriting Course if you want to ramp up your skills.

Kevin Riley of Maximize Your E-Mail Marketing Profits In 2013  says:

I like to go for long holidays – often in Europe. This autumn, Rieko and I will be spending 3 weeks in a chalet in my hometown in Switzerland, 2 nights in Geneva, and 4 nights in Helsinki.

Now, when at the chalet (or even in a hotel) I'll often work for an hour. What I do is, I get up early in the morning, make myself a good cup of coffee, and then sit at the table in the chalet (which has a wonderful view up the valley and you can see the sun hitting the peaks and then slowly coming down the mountain to the valley – priceless beauty that I enjoy while working). For about an hour (I never set a rigid schedule on holidays) I have a quiet time to do some work – usually writing content for a new product or website.

How would I roll this over into everyday life, if I could only work 1 hour all the time? I'd make sure that the 1 hour was 100% uninterrupted – no Facebook, etc. I'd spend the first 10 minutes taking care of any customer service needs (I get only a few e-mails requiring an answer or a solution, as I sell info products and they need minimal tech support). Then, I'd do only productive, move-my-business-forward work (see next paragraph).

To ensure my remaining 50 minutes are pure productivity, I'd sit down for a few minutes the night before (I do this anyways) and make a ToDo list of 5 important tasks to do the next day. Having a ToDo list that you created the night before makes sure you don't waste a minute of time thinking “Now, what is it I need to get done?” or wasting your time on non-essential work. Every task on this list must be something that moves your business forward – product creation, marketing, etc.

You can learn about email marketing from
Kevin here ->  Maximum E-Mail Marketing Profits In 2013

Terry Dean of Monthly Mentor Club says:

While I normally take off several days a week right now, I’m going to assume I’m allowed 7 one hour days for the challenge.

First of all, I get to cheat a little.

The absolute essential for bringing in the most money possible is email. It has the highest return-on-investment.

Since I’ve written emails for over a decade, I’d spend the first 7 hours going through all my old emails and collecting them together in a long set-and-forget autoresponder sequence.

That’s priority #1. If you have a list and you’ve been sending any type of regular emails, you can also take advantage of this. Have you been going back through your mailings and reloading your successful emails as autoresponders?

Once the autoresponder sequence is together, I can invest the rest of my time in driving traffic to my list. With limited time, I’d stick to paid advertising.

This would vary by the market you’re in, but for me right now this likely means Facebook ads and Pay-Per-View ads. Six hours a week would go to setting up, optimizing, and tracking the ads.

Here’s the most basic formula for Internet Lifestyle Freedom:

Step 1: Target buying traffic.
Step 2: Get them on a list.
Step 3: Send offers.

The autoresponder takes care of the offers. Step 1 and 2 would be tapping into paid advertising and getting them on a list. The ads would be going directly to my squeeze page where visitors enter their email address to join the list.

Everything else such as customer support and anything technical would be outsourced. Even new products would have to be 100% outsourced. The final hour would be on checking on all the outsourced tasks.

Very simple system for a limited time frame.

You may not have the advantage of all those emails to load on autoresponder.

In that situation, I’d invest almost half my time or 3 hours a week in creating emails.

The next 3 hours would be spent optimizing and tracking just ONE paid traffic source. No way there’s enough time to work with more than one on that limited schedule.

The final hour still goes to checking on the outsourced activities.

This question forces you to focus on the 80/20 of your business. What’s absolutely essential? And where is your greatest return on investment?

Click here to Check out Terry’s Mentoring Club

Barb Ling of Social Curation Ignition says:

Grow my email marketing for both my affiliates and my own products as well. Plan out a month-long membership/continuity product and work my earlobes off getting that off the ground; recurring payments are key.

So…I'd give myself 10 minutes to socially network, 20 minutes to schedule email marketing and 30 for new product every day.

Barb thinks differently than anyone I've ever met.

You can peek inside her brain in her Social Curation Ignition course (click for details).

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Well, you know that I have an answer here, since this is what I have been up to lately. 

Like my friends, I focused on money-making activities – and I outsourced anything humanly possible to hire out.

That left me to do just a few things.

1. Check in with my Project Manager regularly.

2. Write my mailings.

3. Release some offers that I had ready.

4. Announce a few blog posts that were scheduled after they posted.

BUT — The important thing to note is that every day, in every way possible, I focus on building my recurring and passive income streams. So, my funnels are all built around long-term growth, not just spikes. That means that my income does not dip very much at all if I choose not to work for a few weeks. The base income stays pretty steady – so I don't have to sweat it as much as some might.

So what about you?

If you only had an  hour a day to work, what would you focus your time on?

Talk so me.

Best of luck.
Nicole

PS. Be sure to check out my friends so I can keep them contributing.

• Connie Green
• Karon Thackston
• Kevin Riley
• Terry Dean
• Barb Ling

I copied them over here as they are pretty kick butt and I'm friend with both of these guys, so I know they wouldn't mind me giving them a little promo.

If you want to be more productive, I highly suggest you read the tips from these two very very smart marketers.

Terry Dean is first, followed by Tony Shepherd.

Sbj: Start your Day with Operation Moneysuck

What is the FIRST thing you do online each day?

Is it checking your email?

Or reading a popular forum?

Or perhaps it's even logging into Facebook?

If you're doing any of the above, STOP it!

Your first action sets the tone for the rest of your day.

You have to focus on bringing in the cash.

That's priority #1.

If your business doesn't bring in money, you soon won't be in business anymore.

There are a LOT of so-called internet businesses that aren't businesses at all.

They're just little hobbies.

If you want to just have another hobby, that's fine…as long as you understand that's what you're doing.

What is it that brings in the cash in your business?

What is the highest and best use of your time?

Here's how my day begins.

Get out of bed. Take a shower. Grab a water bottle on the way through the kitchen.

Turn on my computer. Take a glance to the left where I have notes about the day ahead.

Yes, I'm old fashioned. There is a physical desk calendar on the left side of my desk that lists all clients I'm going to speak to, any interviews I'm doing, and my product creation schedule for the day.

It also lists what I'm going to write about this morning.

Then I pop open Word and get down to business.

Writing brings in my cash.

It may be an email. It could be sales copy for a new website. It could be a new ebook.

Or it could be my next hot off the presses Monthly Mentor Club issue.

Invest one measly hour in bringing in the cash first.

Then respond to emails, check your stats, or look at today's news.

Sometimes the writing keeps right on going. And throughout the day I may have several more writing sessions. But that first hour starts the day.

I deal with distractions. And yes, I'm guilty of checking my email first at times. But it costs me money just like it does you.

Our incomes are determined by how much time we invest in bringing in the cash.

I remember Gary Halbert and John Carlton always used to call this “Operation MoneySuck.”

John was hired by Gary to help him write ads for his clients. They'd have a scheduled day to knock out the copy. But as soon as the day started, Gary's two secretaries and his girlfriend would each bust in with all kinds of bad news and emergencies.

Gary's response was to get everyone out of the room…and lock the door.

He'd then say it was time to get busy, “Screw all that irrelevant stuff. We're gonna bring in the bucks.”

What brings in your bucks?

Are you putting it first in your priorities or is it getting pushed to the side as you ‘react' to daily emergencies?

If you're not sure what brings in the bucks, you're in desperate need of membership in the Monthly Mentor Club.

This month's issue will be put in the mail tomorrow on May 1st.

It's all about how one of my friends did over $40,000 in business through Linkedin in just 2 months without spending a penny on advertising.

He shares his complete system including how he finds bullseye prospects, contacts them, what to say, and how to follow-up.

Click to check out My Mentor Club

Your Marketing Coach,

Terry Dean

“The Internet Lifestyle Mentor”

Earn More. Work Less. Enjoy Life!

Sbj: The One Success Rule I've Used for YEARS

I was chatting to a marketing mate on Skype last night and I mentioned one of my ‘rules' to him.

Now this bloke isn't a newbie by ANY stretch of the imagination but he thought what I'd shared was quite interesting and said I should email you lot about it.

Two things I should mention:

1. I'm not sure if I've shared this before so apologies if I HAVE…

2. You might think it's a really obvious thing (I'll be honest – I do) so if it bores the crap out of you, I apologise.

So here we go…

This is something – a ‘rule' of mine that I've applied to my IM business (all my businesses actually) pretty much since day one

And it's this…

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Before you do ANYTHING else in your day – do at least ONE thing that brings money into your business.
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For example it's my unshakeable habit to write a promo email and cue it up before I check my email or do anything else each day (if I'm sending a promo that day of course)……because that's where the money comes from.

Another example would be buying 500 clicks from a solo ad seller in the morning BEFORE I continue writing a salespage or working on my latest newsletter…

…because sending traffic to my funnel is where the money comes from.

And another example would be getting in touch with a JV partner and getting him to agree a date to promote my product…

…because that's where the money comes from

When I sit down at my desk in the morning I ALWAYS attend to the money FIRST. I always do the thing that brings it in.

My ‘to do' lists have ONE thing written at the very top, then a line, then rest of it underneath.

Guess what the one thing at the top is?

Yep – the thing that will bring the money in.

I've been doing this for so long it's second nature to me, but my mate was intrigued when I explained it to him yesterday.

(The bugger will probably launch a WSO based around it – he's a clever sod

But that's it:

Attend to the money FIRST by doing at least ONE thing that brings it in every single day.

It won't arrive my osmosis y'know.

Hope you got something out of this.

Have a wonderful Tuesday

Tony Shepherd

You checked out my ‘How To Legally Make Money Out Of Thin Air' WSO yet?

Get more details at the link below:

Make Money out of Thin Air

If you want a proven point-by-point system for taking your business from where it is RIGHT NOW up to $100k a year or more…

…and you've realised that the only difference between you and most successful marketers out there is having a PLAN to follow…

Then get full details by clicking the link below:

Make Money out of Thin Air

Find out how successful marketers do things differently…

Well, there you have it.

Talk to me.

What's the first thing you do every morning to get your day off to an awesome start?

I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. Be sure to check out how you can learn more from both Terry and Tony.

• Click to learn from Terry
• Click to learn from Tony