Use Forums and Facebook Groups To Boost Your Home Business

You are likely starting out with your home business amongst way too many people doing the same thing. You need to make a name for yourself or “brand” yourself. Your goal is to have your name and website associated with a certain niche. So how do you do it?

Post on business forums related to the niche and do it now. This is one of the best ways to get people to see that you are knowledgeable and excited about your business. Post often and intelligently. Look for interesting threads where you can ask a good question or answer with a thoughtful response.

Use your full name as your username. Always be honest, helpful and possibly useful to someone who is reading the thread.

Keep in mind that people who are researching a home business will do many searches to seek legitimate businesses and will end up on a forum. They may not post at all but will read about things they are interested in and flock towards someone who seems the most trustworthy.

They are often seeking a mentor (whether they realize it at the time or not) and someone who will lead them in the right direction. I know this for a fact and have received many emails, calls and private messages from people who have read my posts in forums.

These people who are searching can be your best “targeted traffic” because they truly want to have a home business. You just have to show them the way.

You can also use the strategy in the same or similar ways by getting involved in facebook groups. Share your knowledge there, become well-known by asking and answering questions, and sharing useful information. Even if you don’t know the answer to a question, you can search to find outside blog posts or videos that answer it, and post them. Also share interesting and/or useful tips for the group.

Just make sure you aren’t spamming them with your opportunity or website all the time. If it makes sense to post your own link to something then go ahead and do it, but only after you’ve already made a name for yourself in the online community, and even then only do it sparingly. Otherwise, just give away your help and knowledge freely, and eventually it will pay you back in dividends.

The Danger of Inactivity – Don’t Get Too “Comfortable” Working from Home!

There are plenty of internet Marketers, home business owners, and work at home professionals out there who fall under the spell of procrastination from time to time – me included.

But that’s not really what I’m talking about in this post. I’m talking about the physical dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the body of every writer, programmer, web developer, internet Marketer, SEO, and anyone else who sits in front of a computer for too many hours every day.

Of course we all know the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, but that phrase conjures up the image of a lazy overweight slob lying on a dirty sofa stuffing pizza into his (or her – let’s not be sexist here!) mouth whilst watching TV for sixteen hours a day.

After all, that’s not us – we’re working!

Unfortunately the sedentary lifestyle also depicts those like us who work long hours at a desk in front of a computer but don’t balance those hours of physical inactivity with regular bouts of exercise. The impact to health reads like a very long menu to disaster from head to toe!

Some of us have already had nasty warnings, but in a way they are the lucky ones. Worse is not to have any warning at all, just to be typing away one minute and the next… it doesn’t bear thinking about.

So although this post doesn’t have anything whatsoever to do with procrastination or slacking off the workload and sneakily playing a few rounds of computer golf while no one is looking. It has a very poignant message for all of us to set aside some time each day to get outside in the fresh air and get some light exercise, or go to the gym. For me, walking the dog twice a day up and down the steep hills around where I live is pretty good exercise.

Doing even light exercise like that each day could mean the difference between seeing my ongoing projects bear fruit – or seeing the inside of the ER.

I know what I’d rather be seeing!

Do You Need A Business Mentor?

If this sounds like a strange question, it’s not. Some people need a mentor and don’t even know it. And actually, the people who need mentoring most are the ones who don’t realize that they do as they are that clueless.

Let me just give it to you straight, and if this comes off as harsh, please forgive me but I’ve always been a straight shooter and never sugarcoat my words. This way, at least people know exactly where I am coming from.

Some people just don’t have the smarts to make it on their own. All you have to do is look at some of the emails that you get from prospective customers. They can’t even put a coherent sentence together… so how can they run a business.

Look, I’m no Einstein, but I do have some smarts and I have developed some skills over the years. I can write and I can learn. I can come up with ideas and I can be creative. And guess what? There were still times in my life when I needed some mentoring. Why? Because I was stuck in a rut and needed somebody to give me a kickstart that I wasn’t going to get from reading a book.

For example, if I want to learn Adwords, I personally don’t need a mentor. I just need to read a good book on the subject. Perry Marshall’s is the best one I’ve found. I’m actually studying it now because my Adwords skills aren’t the best. By the time I am done reading the book, I’ll be fine. I don’t need the man himself to mentor me.

But, some people could read that same book from now until the end of time and it won’t matter. They need somebody to explain things to them and walk them through the process.

Those are the people who need a mentor.

How do you know if you’re one of those people are not? Simple. If you read a book and don’t understand it, or can’t put the principles to use, then you need a mentor. It’s not rocket science.

Personally, I believe…

There’s Nothing Like A Good Mentor To Ensure Your Business Success

Let me elaborate a bit on this…

Anyone searching for a way to earn a living from home has come across a countless number of opportunities to search through. Even if they do make the right decision it is not at all guaranteed they will find success. Not at all!

There are so many reasons why people fail when they start a home business and I don’t have the time (or the space) to name them all right now.

One significant reason is the absence of a good mentor(s). I can’t emphasize enough how important this is to get anyone going on the right track in the beginning (and throughout).

Starting a home business can be daunting for anyone but especially so when a newbie invests there money and has dreams and a plan to make this all happen. Unfortunately, the plan probably has nothing to do with the real way to find success with your business.

Here comes the mentor to save the day. A good mentor which could mean a sponsor in a program, another affiliate in the same program, or a group of people in a forum can point the newbie with the dream in the right direction. They will teach the newbie about some of the truly important aspects of marketing such as creating ads, building backlinks, blogging, writing articles, optimizing your website and all those other things that the newbie did not imagine. Remember the newbie had a dream and it probably looked more like someone on a beach with a laptop and an exotic drink somewhere nearby.

Seriously though, it is truly important to find a good mentor and one can do that pretty easily if you know a program you would like to more about. Check out most business forums or facebook groups and they will have threads on that program where you can read who posts, what they say and the general attitude of the individuals. Read everything you can and start to ask questions. Look at the kind of responses you get and who gives a thoughtful response and who does not respond at all.

If you do see one or two individuals who seem to be the type of person you would like to be your mentor, you can send them a private message and ask them a few questions. See how responsive they are and if they are willing to help. Technically, you are really interviewing them and you can choose the kind of person you want for the job. Hey, the shoe is on the other foot now!

Make sure when dropping that money down and prepping for your dream, you take all this into account. Your success might not be guaranteed, but your chances of success will be much, much greater.

I do offer my own business mentoring services but my classes are booked until May. If you want to be considered for a May class, contact me.

Put “Mentoring Info” in the subject.

I will send you the info about what you’ll get and what it will cost you. No, I am NOT cheap.

No good mentor is ever cheap.

But first, know whether or not mentoring is something you need.

Six Secrets for Writing Killer Sales Copy

If you’ve been an internet marketer for any amount of time at all you will know that your site’s sales copy is very important to your success.  The sales copy can literally make or break your online business.  Sales copy acts as your 24-hour-a-day salesman.  Obviously, you want to have the best salesman possible.  This post is going to reveal six of the best ways to make your sales copy as strong and alluring as possible to help you make money. 

1. Testimonials
 
Sales copy that fails to include testimonials will be lacking a vital part even if it’s well written.  Testimonials have an almost magical power to inspire confidence in people.  They give a third party, objective view of your products or services.  Most people do not fully trust what the person who sells the product has to say about it.  They know that it’s in that person’s best interest to make his/her product appear as alluring as possible.  Most people put much more trust in what the testimonials have to say, as opposed to what your sales copy claims. 

Usually only after someone has read two or three testimonials, will they begin to trust you enough to make the purchase.  This is because outside sources have confirmed that your products are great.  People feel that if others have had good luck with what you offer, they will too.  This makes testimonials essential to include in your sales copy.  Without them customers must rely solely on your promises with nothing to back it up.  And everyone knows that on the internet, scams are everywhere.

2. Massively Over-Deliver

Once you have touted your product’s benefits and shown how worthwhile they are, you should add extra value to your offer.  You need to make your offer extremely lopsided in the customers favor.  It should appear so good that no one in their right mind would pass it up.  If you fail to do this, you will lose numerous sales.

This is a tactic most TV infomercials use.  They tell you all about how great their product is, and then they add on a bunch of “extras” that you get for free with the purchase.  They tell you the value of everything you will get is something like $250.00, but if you order now you get it all for just $17.95.  This approach may seem ridiculous, but it works wonders in internet marketing.

3. Limited Time Offer
 
Adding limited time to your offer makes many people buy on the spot as opposed to waiting for another day to make the purchase.  Usually if people decide to wait before buying, you will never see them again.  This is especially true on the internet because there are virtually an infinite number of sites out there. When someone leaves without purchasing, they will most likely never come back.  To avoid this, all you need to do is tell people that the great offer displayed is only valid for today.  While this may not necessarily be the case, it will work wonders to encourage people to take action.

4. Offer a Rock Solid Guarantee

A solid 100% money back guarantee is essential on the internet.  Most people are weary of buying off a website that is unknown to them.  They don’t know what sort of person you are or what to expect.  To ease their concerns always include a legitimate money back guarantee on your products.  I like to go a step further and explain that if for any reason they are unhappy with the product, they can get a no questions asked refund and keep all the extra bonuses as a gift.  This doesn’t cost me a thing because the extras I offer are in the form of digital information.  The important thing is for your customers to feel like they can’t go wrong ordering from you.

5. Tell Them What a Mistake They Are Making If They Don’t Order

Near the end of your sales copy you should explain why it would not be in the person’s best interest to decide against ordering your product.  Do this by stating what they will miss out on should they choose not to order.  Almost everyone is motivated by fear of losing out on something great.  You need to make it sound like if they don’t order now they will regret it.

6. Let Them Know Exactly What to Do Next

When you are nearing the end of your sales copy you need to give visitors exact instructions on what to do next.  This is where sales copy is often the weakest.  You cannot allow yourself to do a great job on your sales copy, only to lose orders because you didn’t include proper ordering instructions.  You need to clearly tell the prospect what to do next.  Don’t leave them wondering what decision they should make.  Any message that prompts immediate action will work nicely.  This kind of statement stops doubt from arising in your prospect’s mind.  Tell them to order now to gain access to all of the wonderful benefits your product will give them. Make sure it’s easy to order and be sure to tell them how.

Follow these six tactics for writing killer sales copy and I guarantee you that you will sell more products and make more money.  Go right now and add these vital aspects to your website’s sales copy.

7 Ideas for Newsletter Content

You have a very nice growing list of subscribers to your newsletter. Sometimes it’s hard to find new ideas to add or if you’re new at this, what type of content you want. If you display your newsletter for visitors to read, then your goal is keep them interested and eventually become subscribers and of course, you want to keep your subscribers subscribed.

Here are seven ideas for newsletter content:

1. Newsletters are great for informing and keeping your subscribers/readers up-to-date on current happenings or upcoming events. Make announcements about online workshops, web conferencing or new project ideas. For something extra, you may want to publish special holiday editions during the holiday season.

2. Ask the expert or have a Q&A/poll section. This is a great way to generate feedback, encourage participation and readers’ interest.

3. Product or ebook reviews. This is a benefit for you. By doing product or ebook reviews, it’s a great way to increase sales. You know the saying; people will buy from people they know and trust. Of course, you will be offering something of value and you both win.

4. Offer a freebie. Who doesn’t like freebies? It could be anything really. If they subscribe to your newsletter, you can give them a sneak preview by allowing them to download a chapter or two of your ebook. If they are interested, they can purchase the ebook at a discounted price. Or give them a free report on something relevant in the industry. The sky’s the limit when it comes to freebies.

5. Profile subscribers. This is a nice way of getting to know your subscribers and to show them your appreciation. Don’t you think they may have something to offer and share with the group that would be beneficial?

6. Helpful tips. You don’t need to have a full-fledged article to be considered informative and resourceful. Simple, easy to remember tips can go a long way.

7. Mix it up and offer a joke of the day, smile of the week, inspirational quotes or even a brain teaser. All work and no fun can become a stressful day. A quick pick-me-up can do the trick for early starters and late workers who need just a bit more energy before they call it a day.

Your newsletter doesn’t have to be long, but it needs to have useful content so you will get more subscribers and keep your current ones excited for your next update.