The Silent Avatar Speaks

Do you use the holiday time to give yourself an excuse to slacken off a little in your internet network marketing business? That’s a fair question and the reason you should think about is, when the holidays are over, will you be basically starting from scratch again picking up your promotions where you left off.

What we’re getting at here is instead of easing off in the period leading up to a major holiday this should be the time to step it up a notch. It’s like a racing car driver driving a bend, they do it aggressively. This is no different. And this is why you should be doing it.

What you sow now will pay you big time when things return to normal. When everybody else is recommencing promotions and then spending the “lag time waiting for it to bear fruit, you’ve already done the hard work and will hit the resumption period running. Can you see how powerful this can be? You haven’t missed a beat and it’s usually a time when people start looking for opportunities.

Internet Network Marketing System

A little effort now will usually pay off big time in a month or two and all it requires is some application from you. Here’s an example…a month before any major break I make sure I have articles written for directory submission. Article marketing is a big part of my promotional efforts. In many instances, you can use a submission service and drip the release of the articles over time.

Where the benefit for yours truly is these articles will have already been published by the time we enter the new year and gaining search engine traction. The key here is with that little extra effort I am still able to enjoy a few days break with my family over the festive period but content in the knowledge I have promotions out there working for me while I’m off.

The advantage I have over someone who uses it as an excuse to take an extended break just because everyone else does is I will hit 2009 running in fact, I have gained a significant edge over my competitors. Can you see how powerful this can be?

It’s one of the major reasons why some people succeed in internet network marketing while the majority struggle and once again, use cause and effect to your advantage and your ultimate success really does start and end with you. Sit down and write a list of the major times during the year where people are likely to have a break and then make plans to do that little bit extra and reap the rewards.

I’m the silent avatar and I have spoken

Tags: Business and Management, Business Tips, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Online Business, Promotion and Marketing by the silent avatar
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If you have been following along in my previous post “How To Get Motivated and Stay Motivated”, you will find this is a continuation where I discuss how to keep your momentum when you are the sole person responsible for your success.

If you haven’t read it already, go now and read up because you will find this post a better “fit” after you have read it.

Now having said that, lets push on…

So here we are… just starting out in a our ”work from home” business where it usually starts in some dingy den, or cramped study where the relationship is just between you and your PC or laptop.

Now if there is one thing I have found about working from home, it is that you have to be disciplined.  Even more so if you are “it” (that is, no one else to delegate tasks to).When you work from home distractions come thick and fast, and before long you can find that your day is whittled down to a couple of productive hours interspersed with paying your bills, sending emails to friends, eating, making coffee, shopping, general surfing the Net, and oftentimes playing Solitaire or Spider!  Does this sound familiar to you?

Even if you are working a full time or part time job to supplement your income, the time you DO have generally reads like the above paragraph (you just don’t waste quite as many hours doing it).

So what’s the answer?

Well, having been there and done that I could seriously see where my days efforts were all but naught when I kept giving priority to “other things”.If you are like me and are easily distracted, then consider this one of those things that makes you FAIL. In essence, you are not moving forward (well not at any speed anyway), and some days (as far as progressing your business), you are merely standing still.

Remember  what I said in the previous post?  “If you are not moving forward, you are either going backward or standing still”.

So let’s get to a technique which is sure to keep you on track.

1. Decide how much time you CAN devote to your business EACH day. Be practical. If you have to pick up kids, maker dinner, shop, pay bills, do laundry, watch your favourite show on TV, and the million and one other things that our daily life requires, factor these in when you decide how much time you can afford to spend on your business. If you don’t, these tasks will encroach upon your “business times’ and you will be less effective in growing your business.

Now that you have decided how much time each day you can spend on building your business,  it’s time to create a timetable. What?!

2. Create a timetable.If you think about it our bodies are on a timetable. We eat at certain times, get up and go to bed atr certain times, we might even have certain times of the week we do specific things (like catch up with family). All of these things happen because we are in the habit of doing them at certain times.


If you want to eliminate the time wasters that stop you from getting to where you need to go you need to become an efficient time manager.  If you are someone that is already baulking at doing this exercise, then it is definitely for you.

When creating your timetable, brainstorm what time you are going to work on your business.Look.. I know this may be anal to some people, but there is a very good reason you are deciding what time you allocate to your business. It’s all very well saying you can devote a couple of hours a day to growing your business, but if you don’t commit yourself to a time to grow your business by setting aside specific time periods you will have difficulty keeping your commitment, and fail (or at the least take a lot longer to grow your business). 

 

Think about when the best time is to knuckle down and get focused on your business – for YOU.

3. Set your tasks (aka priorties). That is, do what your business MUST have done first.  So now write down on your whiteboard ALL the tasks your business requires to GROW. You don’t need to get into specifics at this stage.

Now look at the tasks and put next to each task a Priority Rating.  Use whatever you like. High, Medium, Low,  I-10. Whatever you feel is appropriate which when you look at it quickly you can see where your focus needs to be.

So.. here is what you might end up with on your whiteboard…

Time spent each day = 2 hours. When = Monday/Wed/Friday 8-10pm

Tasks:
Create Unique Selling Proposition (USP) = 1
Create Website = 2
Monetise site = 3
Drive traffic to site = 5
Create auto responder = 4
Search out JV’s = 6
Advertise (PPC, Print Media, CPA) = 7

Now you could look at the task list and say “but they are ALL priorities!” and that would be true. Without all of the tasks completed you will have more difficulty growing your business, however you have to start somewhere, and if you have the resources to hire a freelancer, you can move your business along quicker and delegate some of the tasks.

For instance, if you have the money to advertise on Adwords or similar, you can potentially drive traffic to your site without having to tweak your website using Search Engine Optimisation tactics, or having a really top notch website. However…. if you don’t give serious thought to how your website retainsthe site visitor that you have PAID for to get there, and they simply leave the site without doing what you want them to do (ie, buy, sign up, give details, etc), then you have wasted your money.

4. Commit to working on your highest priority task, at the time you have set, on the day/s you have set and do it religiously. No excuses. Only do this task. Stay focused. Don’t wander, sidestep, or get drawn into doing other things if it is not related to your task at hand.

Doing this will keep you on track, utilise your time better, and move you towards completing your task quicker.

So there you have it. 4 Steps to growing your business and keeping yourself motivated.

To summarise…

1. Determine how much time you can realistically devote to growing your business
2. Create a timetable of when you will work on your business.
3. Set your tasks and prioritise
4. Stay focused until completed on each task

When you have finished your task,move onto your next priority. If you find you need to do other things add them to your list and re-prioritise.

TIP: Re-focus on your priorities. If you have to write yourself a sticky note with the words “Re-Focus” and stick it in front of you then do it!

If you have any of your own tips or questions about this post, please leave your comments.

I’m the silent avatar… and I have spoken

Tags: Business and Management, Business Tips, General, Tools For Your Business by the silent avatar
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Having a get rich quick mentality is a short cut to failure in network marketing. Unless you have an army of hungry prospects under your mind control who will sign up underneath you at your command then forget it. This is a long term growth business and that’s the way it should be.

But that’s not to say you cannot still build a business quickly. There was a time when 2-5 years was the suggested length it usually would take the average distributor to go from start up to reaching their first major level but the truth is, with the internet in play today, this time has been cut dramatically.

The reason internet network marketing is so powerful is because of it’s ability to target prospects from all over the world and at all hours of the day. The internet is a 24/7 365 day a year broadcast channel and never stops and neither will your marketing efforts.

Network Marketing Failure Rate

In this article, we want to highlight the attrition rate within the industry but also a way to help you avoid being one of the statistics. First thing you need to do is develop the right mindset.

Long term mindset + consistent effort = success…

What the majority do when they join a network marketing business is become blinded by the enormous income potential and yes, it’s definitely available to them. In fact, network marketing is still way and above the best way there is for the average person to create wealth from a standing start.

If you’ve been to an opportunity meeting then it’s only when the presenters start to spin the circles that the interest is really tweaked. That’s fine and will get a prospect interested but reality dictates that there must also be a balance.

In other words, the prospect needs to understand that sort of income level won’t happen overnight but it will happen if you use the equation we highlighted above…

Long term mindset + consistent effort = success…

So the first thing you must do is make a commitment to do more and pay more now. Do more being making that long term commitment and spending time in your business and pay more being investing not only in yourself but more importantly, your prospects.

When things appear like they are not happening early in proceedings don’t react by getting discouraged and doing less. Maintain your effort and even increase it because what you sow now will come back to pay you big time later down the track.

Trust me… Long term mindset + consistent effort = success… is so simple in it’s application that many lose sight of it. But when attacked with ferocity and commitment it’s one of the most powerful ways of creating long lasting wealth with your at home based business.

Sphinn

Tags: Business and Management, Business Tips, Internet Marketing, Traffic Generation by the silent avatar
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Getting high rankings in most important search engines is essential for maximising your visibility online and improving traffic to your small business website. More and more small businesses are realizing that the best way to reach prospective customers is through search engines like Google. Hiring a good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialist is important, but what do you do if you don’t have the budget?

Here are a few SEO tips small businesses can use:

Tip 1: Use a keyword research tool to research the most popular keywords that pertain to the subject matter.

Tip 2: Add your site to website directories on the Internet.  I previously posted a blog titled “There Is a Significant Benefit to Directory Submissions“  which delves more fully into this area.  Search engines like links to your site and there are a lot of directories that will allow you to add your site for free.

Tip 3: Provide unique content on your site that people will find valuable (advice, tips related to your business, products or services).

Tip 4: Do not use “tricks” you don’t understand. Lots of links from highly regarded sites (avoid shady sites) and great content will usually be enough.

Tip 5: Give it time. After you added great content and lots of links it may take a few months for you to see results.

Bonus: SEO is a field which is always evloving as the rules change and different strategies emerge. If you tried your best but still do not understand SEO and are not getting results you want, it may be time to hire a professional.

I’m the Silent Avatar.. and I have spoken

Tags: Business and Management, SEO by the silent avatar
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