Build Your Brand

Guest Post by Jeff Korhan

It's a pleasure to introduce Jeff Korhan to you.  I've been a fan for only a short time and Jeff always amazes me with the depth of material he offers on what's up and coming with social media.  Not an easy task.   In his latest series of posts, he explains what's behind the new Google + software that is (I suspect) going to be the new darling of the online marketing community. 

 

What if You Could Start Fresh With Social Media?

For most of us, our social networking communities were randomly created – they developed organically as we learned new media.

Now you have thousands of followers on Twitter and hundreds of “friends” on Facebook that you have never met.  It’s a fact we all know.

What if you could apply the learning you have acquired over the last several years and start fresh?

Read the rest of this post and to find out how you can check out Google +

 

 

"How To Make Money with Social Media," Book Review

The Shape of Things to Come.

At first glance, this is a book for rank beginners to the internet - if such a thing is still possible.  It's also a visual nod to the intergration of savyy writing practices on the internet with traditional publishing.  What do I mean by that?

It's visually appealing as if the pages themselves were up on a computer screen as opposed to bound in a book.  Wide margins top-to-bottom and side-to-side.  Double spacing between paragraphs.  Bold text to highlight main ideas.  Lists.  Content broken up with graphics.  Some main points are boxed off.  And, I suspect, it's written so that any fifth grader could read and understand it. 

If you're about to write an e-book or put a book together that you want to self-publish,  you might want to pick up this book as an illustration of how to lay out the content. 

   Key Word Search.  Notice how the main title:  "How to Make Money with Social Media,"  clearly illustrates effective use of "key word search."  Want to check this out? Do a key word search over on Google or on SEOTools using "make money with Social Media" and see what pops up.   Interesting, right?

Now, notice how the secondary title:  "An Insider's Guide On Using New And Emerging Media to Grow Your Business,"  says exactly what this book is about.

Wait.  There's more.  Check out how color gets used to reinforce the very clear theme of the title - make money.  Dollar bills are what color?  Green.  What color is the book jacket?  Green.

And, finally:  what's inside this book? 

If you are a total novice when it comes to Social Media, you'll appreciate the easy-to-understand writing and the approach the authors (Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D) use.  They do start with a brief historical overview of advertsing before the internet which is always a good way to measure how far along, technically, things have come. 

And, they talk about Return on Investment (ROI) and they describe "systems."  If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you already know that I'm big on "systems."   As an example,  check out page 47 of this book for a very clear-cut visual chart of the five steps you want a new customer to go through if you're using a social media model to capture their interest.

Turner and Shah are "chatty" authors and periodically, they step away from their excellent "how to" writing style.   For example,  after applauding Starbucks for creating brand awareness using its web site to "...leverage people's passion about coffee ... turning it into brand loyalty."  (page 65),  and how this has made Starbucks "golden" for creating a brand that has "social media magnetism," (page 65), they step outside of there objective writing style and add these lines:

"The problem is, you're not Starbucks (unless of course, you actually are Starbucks, in which case, we'd like to say, "Hello, Starbucks!")   page 65.

I think this is  too "cutsey" and a bit distracting.  However, this is not enough of a criticism for you to avoid this book.   And, for that matter, you might like this slight of hand technique. 

All of that said,  this is a book you should put on your "to do" list regardless of your own social media background.  There are enough nuggets of information  contained in it that you'll take away one, if not more than one, action steps to intergrate into your internet branding strategy.  And, if you are Jamie Turner or Reshma Shah, "Hello authors!)

 

 

Denise Wakeman Interviews David Perdew

Set aside an hour of uninterrupted time to watch this interview.   Watch it if you are in the very early stages of "thinking about your big idea."  You know.  That big idea that you'd like to turn into a profitable business. 

Watch it if you're not sure how to hatch that Big Idea into it's next stage of development.  Which is taking it from the idea in your brain to the first step of making it real. 

Watch it regardless of where you are on the spectrum of starting a business (either off or on line). 

As an introduction to an up-coming, live event for internet marketers (which you will hear about towards the end of this webinar),  one of the presenters interviews the guy who created this event, David Perdew.

The webinar by itself offers great "take-away" material and, if you're ready for some hands-on training, at the end of the webinar, Perdew talks about the 6th "Niche Affiliate Marketing System" event taking place this August.   And,  he tells you how you can register for that. 

When you're done with that,  take some time to explore Denise Wakeman's site.  She's been blogging since 2004 and is a great resource for newbie and experienced bloggers.

 

How is starting a business like buying a used car?

Glad you asked.

If you've been following the back-and-forth conversation between my son and me on Facebook, you know we've been on the hunt for a new car.  The '96 Buick Century wagon that belonged to my mother-in-law, that came to us when she died,  is, at long last, ready to be donated to the Kidney Car Foundation. 

As a matter of fact,  we took it off the road almost two weeks ago.  And, we started talking about what we'd do next. 

1.  Have a game plan. 

      Our initial plan was to look into leasing a new car.   We hadn't a clue as to how much this would cost, but we started with the kind of car we wanted:  a wagon, and, then narrowed down the make of the car to Subaru and, from there, came up with Outback.

Kind of like SEO.  Find your niche topic, and then drill down to some very specific key words.

     Last Saturday, we headed out to Kitty Van Bortel's Subaru dealership out in Victor and spent the entire afternoon test-drivng brand new Outbacks,  a Tribeka, and one or two Forresters.  The weather was perfect for driving.  Not a cloud in the sky and 78 degrees.  Endless summer reveries.  Open the sunroof,  ease out onto the highway and let the car show you what it can do. 

2.   Be flexible.  You might have to change your game plan.

      We narrowed our selection down to an Outback and sat down with the salesman to determine what we'd be looking at in dollars and cents if we leased a 2011 (loaded) Outback.   At slightly over $500.00 a month,  we let the sticker shock settle in and then re-grouped.  What were we planning on as a monthly payment and how could be bridge the gap? 

What about looking at used Outbacks? 

Back out onto the lot we went and down the row of cars we traipsed.  This time, we narrowed the selection down to year preference  ( nothing under 2001), mileage and perhaps "loaded."  Could we still get a sun roof? heated seats?   The salesman kept track of what we were looking at, writing down the vital statistics on a sheet of paper.  We trekked back into the showroom and he ran the numbers for one of the cars we'd looked at. 

We still weren't coming in at a figure we were comfortable with.  Time to go back home and re-group. 

3.  Learn the language.

      Everything,  from politics to sports,  marketing to small business to buying a car has its own language.  You need to learn it or, when you jump into whatever "world"  you're about to visit, take someone with you who speaks that language.   What you risk if you ignore this this step, is the ability to make decisions that are in your best interest. 

In my case,  A's professional experience with everything car-related (nothing like being married to someone well versed in "car speak")  was my short-cut to learning the language of how to buy a car.   Shortly after deciding to search for a used car, we added the words "one car owner" to our key word search.

4. Stories are powerful. 

     As potential buyers,  we had a story to tell.  The salesperson at Kitty Van Bortel's had a story to tell.  The two used car dealerships that we visited after spending that Saturday on the Van Bortel car lot had stories to tell. 

Interestingly enough,  both of those dealerships were "family owned."  Each had been started by the father well over 20 years ago and the dads - on the lot, but staying in the background -  had turned the day-to-day business of selling cars over to their kids. 

5.  Customer Service.

Attentive.  Focused on providing thoughtful customer service from the moment we stepped on their lots.   No pressure tactics.  A desire to serve.  Did we luck out in an industry that has a reputation for more underhanded practises? 

We might have.  It's also quite possible that the car industry has changed for the better over the years.  

How does all of this translate into your fledgling business?  If you've been following my series,  you'll recognize that

a flexible game plan,  taking the time to wrap your brain around the language of the field that you are about to enter,  understanding the psychological power of story-telling, and putting a premium on customer service

are critical foundation blocks to build upon.

 

 

 

 

 

Start A Business - Build Your List

We all know that key saying, "The money is in the list."   Without it,  it's pretty much impossible to build a community of fans who will invest in your programs and services.   Your business, regardless of whether it's on or off line,  never gets off the ground.  

You may be exactly where I am, early in the process of "building your list."  Or. You may be farther along:  you send out an email newsletter or offer free e-courses. 

But.  Are you using your blog to build a list as well?

I promised myself that if I found what I considered to be a great product or training that I bought because it would be invaluable to me, in the early stages of my business,  that I would pass that information on.

So.  If you're looking for an in-depth source of information that explains how you can build a profitable list from your blog,  you may want to consider buying an ebook called  List Building For Bloggers.

It's written by Phil Hollows, the CEO of Feedblitz,  so you know you're getting great "stuff!"

The  principles of 1) build your audience  2) increase engagement and 3) grow your income are the core tenants of this ebook. 

You get:

1. 163 pages,  24 chapters (45,000 words), 3 case studies and 1 bonus chapter.  
2. 24 chapters (45,000 words)
3. 3 case studies
4. 1 bonus chapter

The final chapter:  "The Top Ten Email Power Tips:  Two Weeks to Email Heaven  is priceless!

The best part?  Buy the ebook before May 23rd, and pay only $9.95.  After May 23rd, the price goes up to $24.95. 

Can't beat $9.95. 

I am an affiliate.  But.  You need to know that I would buy this ebook regardless of that.  I'm really excited about using this ebook myself and would love to hear how it works for you!

 

 

Start a Business - "Don't Get Offtrack"

Whew! Lots of stuff going on, most of it still laying a foundation.  Trying not to go on "information overload" and trying to keep a balance on work time, meals, exercise and "chill time."  Which I completely blew yesterday. 

Yesterday was all about work with 3-4 interruptions, mostly to grab food and to get the dogs out into the yard.  Not pretty, but it was productive.  Here's what's keeping me sane.

1)  I use "Composition notebooks," - the ones you can grab at an office supply store or the drugstore for just one dollar (and change).  They used to have black and white speckled covers, but now come in a rainbow of colors.   My study is littered with green, organge, blue, and blue/magenta, and red notebooks - each one for a different aspect of my business.

2)  I've got a couple of "day timers" - one for recording what I do each day, which includes what training program and/or files I've downloaded.

3)  I've got a "to do" list that breaks down into weekly and daily tasks....and, there are days when any hint of a schedule is thrown out the window.

4)  I've got a marketing budget to guide any purchases I make.  And, I've gotten really good at keeping inside this budget. 

5) My most important asset are my "running buddies."   One of my "Texan buds" is  pacing herself alongside me.  We intend to collaborate on one or two projects in the near future.  In the meantime, she's doing what I'm doing:  learning the "how tos" of laying the foundation for her core online business. 

I've got a few close friends here that serve as my "board."  They are the women I can talk with about what my long range plans are.  We keep ourselves psyched about our respective entrepenurial projects and support each other on the days when we wonder just exactly what it is that we are trying to do.

I've found new friends and mentors online that are such fun to work with.  You've already met Connie Ragen Green  in this post .

She and two of her friends and mentors put together a wonderful two-day webinar training that anyone wanting to make money online needs to consider as a part of their overall strategy for building an online business. 

And, from that training,  I met two very savvy online marketers,  Jason C Maxwell and Geoff Hoff.  You can check out Jason's web site here and, you can find out more about what Geoff does here. 

Whenever these three team up to offer training for "newbies," you can be sure I'll let you know.  They are a dyanmic three-some and they truly understand what it's like to be just starting out. 

At the same time, don't hesitate to check them out individually as their areas of expertise address different elements of key pieces to building any marketing strategy to get started online. 

Life's sweet.  I'm really enjoying the energy surges that come from within as I work each day.  That energy tells me  I'm on track and exactly where I'm meant to be.

Starting A Business - Resources

This is the fifth and final post in a 5-part series that examines how I (finally) decide to start a business that I will be marketing online.   If you want to start at the beginning, click on this line of text.  The second post and the third post and the fourth post should bring you up-to-date. 

 

Resources that I'm using to lay the foundation for my online business:

1)  Huge Profits with a Tiny List - 50 ways to use relationship marketing to increase your bottom line,  by Connie Ragen Green.  Copyright: 2010.  ISBN 9781453697566

Everyone knows that the money is in the list.  Regardless of your profession, you're dead in the water without one.  What's a list?  In a word: customers.  If you're a real estate or other professional sales person,   your customers  (your list) are all of the people you have sold a house or other product to.   If you're a magazine publisher, all of your subscribers plus the people who buy your magazine right off the rack,  make up your customer list.

Which list is better for that magazine publisher,  the subscribers or the people who buy that magazine off of a rack in a store or at a newstand?  If you answered, "the subscribers,"  you're correct!  Why are subscribers a better list?  Because they opted in to have that magazine mailed directly to them.  

Opted in.  Two words that will keep you up at night if you decide to pursue an online business.  This is where it all starts:  getting people to opt in to your message because they like what you have to say, and, they want to hear more.  And, maybe, if they really like what you have to say,  they'll even want to buy from you. 

How and where do you start this process of getting people to opt in to you online?

Never fear.  Connie Green is here!  She has written a practical,  "how-to" book outlining 50 strategies that will help you to build your list.   Most importantly,  her strategies are designed so that you are nurturing relationships while you build that list. 

She quickly points out that you don't have to have a list of "at least ten thousand names on your list before you can make any real money...Instead, as soon as you have ten names on your list begin marketing to them as though they were part of a much larger list."  (pg 37) 

Green is practical too.  Her suggestion is that you read her entire book and then choose "three (ideas) that resonate with your marketing style and put them on your schedule..." (pg 43.)

What will you learn?  The importance of having a newsletter and which format will get you the best results.  How to use video marketing, tele-seminars, how to create info products,  article marketing, and much more. 

Her writing style is conversational, decisive and heartfelt. 

Connie's personal story is compelling and she starts with that, so you have something to look forward to. 

For myself,  I don't feel like I'm floundering anymore.  I've got a concrete strategy that will allow me to combine my personal flair with Connie Green's practical suggestions.  It's great to have a road map!

You can click onto Connie's web site here. 

Be sure and let her know that Mrs BizWhiz sent you!

 

 

 

 

Start A Business - Foundation Second

This is the fourth in a five part series that examines how I (finally) decide to start a business that I will be marketing online.  You can start with the first post to catch up if need be.  The second post and the third post will bring you up to date.

 

You might think it's a bit late in this series to raise this question, but here goes.  Why even think about starting a business?  Most of my network marketing friends will cross their eyes, make a face and say, "What? Are you kidding?  Why NOT start a business?"   My traditional, "store-front" small business owner friends will cross their eyes, make a face and say, "What? Are you kidding?  Why NOT start a business?" 

And, my solo-preneur, "think-outside-the-box" friends will cross their eyes, make a face and say, "What?  Are you kidding?  Why NOT start a business?"

I'm thinking you get the point.  In the circles I travel,  almost everybody has that "What? Are you kidding? Why NOT..."  mindset.  Some of us have just taken a little longer to arrive at the "what" of this. 

What kind of a business do I want?  

I knew I could be in a bit of trouble  (last week) when  one of my friends asked me what I'd been up to lately.  The more I talked about  creating products, building lists, branding myself online, selling information products, the more her eyes glazed over.  Finally, she leaned forward and said, "This seems a bit nebulous to me.  What exactly are you talking about?"

Kind of brought me to a mental halt.  And, as I drove home, replaying our conversation in my head,  I came up with a pretty simple explanation of what I'm going to be doing. 

Writing about things I know and getting paid for that.

I'll be honest.  This was the plan when I started this blog just over  a year ago.  I got a little sidetracked.  It happens to the best of us.   Finding out I was starting to lose vision in my left eye was a huge wake up call.  If I didn't get started  (NOW) on "this thing" that I'd been wanting to do for a long time,  I was really going to regret it.

Macular Degeneration - as far as I can figure out - can be a slow-to-advance "thing."  I still see.  It's just that there are (for now) some minor inconveniences that could become not so minor over time.   Getting over the "OMG-this-is-so-not-happening-to-me-" stage honestly took about a month from when I went to the neuro-opthamologist.  Deciding to be pro-active and take preventative steps now to either s-l-o-w the degeneration process down even further took another 3-4 weeks. 

And, once I got through that,  I became pretty fierce about wanting to go forward with my own business plan: writing about one of the things that I am passionate about.

Writing about  my passion  =  creating information products. 

The outline of steps that will lay the foundation looks like this:

Name of business
- Vision for the business
- Who is the target market?
- What will I  sell? (be specific)
- What makes me different from the competition?
- Marketing strategies
- Goals for building and growing the business
- Plan of action to achieve goals

Last, but not least,  how do I put all of this together?  Where's the road map?  Where are the mentors and teachers to support my dream?  Stick around for the next post and find out.

 

 

 

Start A Business - Foundation First

This is the third in a 4-5 part series that examines how I (finally) decide to start a business that I will be marketing online.   You can read the second post here and the first post here.   Make sure to leave your comments at the end of this post.  I'm looking forward to hearing what you think.

 

Systems.   Personal web pages.  Squeeze pages. Autoresponders.  Opt-in boxes.  Blogs.  Online shopping carts.  Create  something tangible that has value;  that serves a purpose and speaks to a large audience that is delivered through these software systems.  That ultimately results in a sustainable income.   An income that depends solely on your efforts. 

Create something tangible that has value;  that serves a purpose and speaks to a large audience.  Looked at another way,  find a product to sell and people to sell it to. 

Drilled down even further:  find something to say.  Something that you know so intimately that you never tire of the topic.  Something that you have a boundless passion for and that you are knowledgeable about.  And, given these two factors,  make sure that "something" is what other people will want. 

That "something" that other people want could be information. " How to"  information.  How to:  plant a vegetable garden.  Build a log cabin for fun and profit.  Start a pet sitting business.  How to home school your child.  How to write an e-book.   How to teach your dog circus tricks in 10 easy lessons.  How to write an article;  make pasta from scratch ... the list is endless.  And the online market for information like this is huge. 

Think digital products. 

Figuring out  your area of excellence lays the foundation for you.  It  may be one of the most elusive  exercises you undertake until you realize that you truly do have everything inside you to be successful.    Start with where your own passions began.   

It's worth it to do this exercise as many times as it takes to help you drill down to your own emotional triggers.   Every time I get stuck,  I come back to it.  Think of it as peeling an onion and you're that onion.  Each thin piece peeled back reveals one more facet of who you are.  

One of the most important elements of this exercise is to really focus on what you want.  Be careful.  It's so easy to be pulled into someone else's  "Plan B."   These days, there are a lot of options and you need to be fierce about protecting your idea. 

The neat thing about doing this exercise is that it's enormously helpful no matter what you decide to pursue.  Digital products  may not be your thing.  That's okay.   Give yourself the time to patiently  dig into what you feel strongly, passionately about first  and then come back to read my next post.   We're just getting started!

 

 

 

 

Starting A Business

This is the second  in a 4-5 part series that examines how I (finally) decide to start a business that I will be marketing online.  You can read the first post here.   And,  please leave your comments at the end of this post if anything I write resonates with you. 

 

If I look back on my career path, I see a definite pattern.  Every 8-10 years,  I switched jobs.  For many reasons, all perfectly valid at the time I made them.   Suffice it to say that I've never been afraid of sticking my neck out and trying something else.  

What might be fair to say is that one of my deliberate career choices was the one that took me back into the classroom as a high school English teacher.   And from there,  off to graduate school to earn my Master's degree.   

The wall that I kept smacking into during those years was the wall of "there are no permanent fulltime teaching positions available unless one of our staff drops dead or gets pregnant and takes a six month maternity leave."   Fortunately,  there were a few of those six month leaves of absence so that I got a taste of having my own classroom.  My own students.  And I loved every minute of it.

I would have taught for free. 

That's passion.

Remember that because "passion" - passion for something - is going to be one of the emotional drivers that I keep coming back to.

Fastforward to 1997 and I had come to the realization that I was not going to be hired fulltime.  Seems that there was another hiring freeze on in the one district that I had racked up a 16 year track record with as a per diem sub.  It would take me another three years to sever my ties with this school district, but that year marked a critical turning point for me. 

That year, I made the second deliberate career choice in my life.   I signed up as a distributor with a company in the direct sale/network marketing field.   During the seven years I was with that first company,  I built a consumer network of 200-plus individuals  that would generate over $10,000.00 in monthly sales volume  at its most productive period.  I attended eight company conventions and  embarked on a program of self-development that is largely responsible for who I am today.  For that,  I will be eternally grateful. 

The company was Arbonne International.   Back in 1997, there were approximately 30,000 distributors.  And, the internet was in its infancy. 

While some people were trying to figure out how to harness the vague perameters of the online world to develop what would ultimately be "internet marketing business models,"   I was wrapping my brain around how to develop  residual income using a network marketing business model.

For several reasons (none of which are important here),  I resigned as a distributor with Arbonne in 2004-05  and went on to explore a few other network marketing companies.   I also began to reach out to small business owners and solo practioners in my community.  This is when I began to build my professional brand as a "consummate networker."  

All this time,  I'd been poking around the internet,  trying to figure out the business models that would let someone make a sustainable income online.   Nobody was stepping up and volunteering that kind of information.   But they were out there and some of them were becoming very successful. 

I kept poking around and over time,  found myself following a couple of people whose online messages resonated with me.   This was long before Twitter, so "following" someone online had a slightly different meaning back then.  

I continued my online research.   And, as luck would have it,  signed up with another network marketing company.   This company was a bit different than the companies  I'd worked with in the past.  Most of the experienced field leaders were building their organizations using systems that internet marketers have been using for years.  Systems? 

Systems.  How about:  autoresponders.  Squeeze pages.  Opt in boxes.   Personal web pages.  I learned about pay-per-click ad campaigns,  got my first peek at the behind-the-scenes preparations for Webinar broadcasts and was a regular participant on  some of them.

It was fascinating to understand how these systems knit together to create an automated process with a series of predicatable actions that would lead to a series of predictable results. 

Systems.   Imagine what I could do on my own with these systems working for me.