The Silent Avatar Speaks

I’ve been a bit neglectful of my readers of late… and I really do apologise.  You see I’ve been busy moving and planning a trip to South East Asia (for 6 months) in between finalising a website I have just done and mentoring a friend who has dived head first in a MLM company (but more of than in another post). So this has left me with scant time to blog. (“Yes… I know what you mean I can hear you say”)

Now before you all start groaning and mumbling  ”lucky bugger” under your breath let me say this…

There is no such thing as luck.  Just desire, a clear goal, and then doing what needs to be done until you get your goal, mixed in with a big dollop of self motivation.

Of course we all have tasks we dislike, and this brings me to an revelation which prohibits us from getting where we want to go – self motivation. Some revelation eh? Doh.

Sure.. we have all had grand ideas, and quite frankly most times we even know how to execute them. The problem is we loose self motivation, and this ingredient has a habit of completely ruining our recipe for success.

I’ve come to know this about self motivation (usually through having experienced a lack of it), and it has been the reason why so many times I have had great ideas which have never seen the light of day, and the reason I have tried a gazillion diets and never loose the weight I want to.

If you’re like me and there is any element of the goal which involves either a task you dislike, a struggle with “how”, or if physical pain is caused along the way (and let me include hip pocket pain as well), then we are very likely NOT to be self motivated. Right?

What you started out being really excited about soon becomes something you would rather not even think about because:

1. You have spent a truck load of money you really didn’t have in the first place to spend on our idea (usually at the detriment of others around us like the wife, the husband or the kids)
2. In the beginning you have told so many friends and family how fabulous your idea is and how you are going to set the world on fire, you don’t want to remind them what you said so you keep it all “hush hush” and don’t mention it, in the hope it will go away, or 
3. You create another “focus”, another idea which inspires you again.

And so goes the pattern for a lot of us.
Great Ideas. Full of inspiration. Task becomes “painful”. Lack of motivation. Failure.

It’s a bloody merry-go-round which keeps us failing.

However… when there is what I call “feel goods” along the way, self motivation comes naturally.

In the context of an online business “feel goods” are things like increased purchases, new blog readers, better rankings, more subscribers, etc, a new lead…

When you are starting out “feel goods” are few and far between, and very quickly (unless you can bring out your own self motivation) you will become despondent, and then it’s only a matter of time before your goals are just a distant memory which you would rather forget because to remember them evokes your own sense of being a failure.

Failure. I’ve failed.

Nothing evokes dread more than these words (well maybe “Do you feel lucky punk” is in there too .

We all like to win.. be The Best, Number One, Top of the Class. Numero Uno.

In essence SUCCESSFUL.

Keep reading because I’m going to give you some ideas on how to keep yourself self motivated and keep you on track and moving forward.

1. First get this… if you ain’t moving forward you are either going backwards, or standing still.


Read it again. And again. If necessary write it down and put it where you do your most work.

But whatever you do get it!  If you aren’t moving forward you are either moving backwards or standing still.

2. Affirm this “I choose to move forward and be a successfull”

3. Get a white board and use it! If you don’t have one get one.

Have your white board in a place where you can always refer to it (this really is your “silent motivator”).

4. Brainstorm with yourself ideas about how to move forward and write them up. Then prioritise the action steps to get to where you need to go.

5. When you have brainstormed, write down (again on your whiteboard) one thing which will stop you if you were to actually do what you brainstormed about.


(Lets just stop here for a second so I can give you the picture).

Ok.. Let’s use this as an example…

List building (everyone wants more TARGETED people on their list).

So there you are in front of your whiteboard and you are brainstorming how to build your list of TARGETED prospects.  You write up on the board start a blog, post in forums, write articles with linkbacks to your site, advertise in print media, find a JV, plan a product launch…

Then you look over your list and find the one that appeals to you most (the one you are MOST LIKELY to do).

Next, think about what thing would stop you continuing to do it? Money? Time? Pain?

Whetever it is identify the one thing that will bring you undone if you were to go ahead and do what you plan.


So you got it? Identify your weakness before you start and plan to NOT fail.

6. Now you have identified what will bring you unstuck, plan to overcome it. Hate writing? Find a freelancer. No time to blog? Find a freelancer. Don’t know how to do something? Decide if you really NEED to know and learn it or, find a freelancer who can do it for you.

“But..” I hear you say!  “It takes money to hire a freelancer!”

Yes.. and I’ll say this.. If you already know that there is a task that you hate to do, (or can’t do, wont do, no time to do) and this task is integral to getting to where you need to go, then you absolutely WILL FAIL if you do not address this BEFORE you start.

So now that you know what will bring you unstuck you need to be prepared to open the wallet, barter your services with someone else who CAN do what you can’t (aka freelancer), or forget your idea because you will fail. No question. 

What motivates me to be up at 6.30am and write this blog?

Because I want to and I can, and it is a step in getting to where I need to go, and doing it teaches me so much about my own shortcomings.

Why didn’t I just get a freelancer to write my blog posts while I was busy? Next time I will.

Why? Because during the time I was busy doing other things I neglected my readers and I lost half of my readers. HALF!

IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESS and address it before it wins and stamps you a failure.

Time was my weakness. And time CAN be brought.

I’m going to continue this post in the next post because I have a few more ideas up my sleeve to help which will keep you on track.

Not the least is posting a comment and including a question in a blog post.

So .. got a question? Just post it here and I can motivate you with a dialogue between us.

I’m the silent avatar… and I have spoken.

Tags: Business Tips, General, Traffic Generation by the silent avatar
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Evening all,

This post I want to bring you up to speed on what you should be doing when your website is finished,

I’ve always said that a website is nothing more than html code stuck in cyberspace unless you dive traffic to your site.

Given that there are over five and a half billion websites on the Internet and growing at an exponential rate, this figure is enough to scare the pants off any would be Internet merchant, or home entrepreneur.

There’s good reason that Alexa does not rank website unless they are in the top 1000,000 as below this you really aren’t getting enough traffic to warrant being part of their statistics. So unless you are considering throwing a LOT of money at advertising and branding, don’t worry about having a high ranking,

Your goal is to drive a steady stream of people to your website to give you an income, or increase your “authority status”, through your blog, articles and  comments posted back to your website.

To produce a website and not consider how it is to be marketed is just plain stupid.

The time money and effort to produce a website is for naught unless you promote your website.

So how do you promote your website?

This will depend on the type of website (which I will discuss later) but at the least all website owners should be doing the following:

1. Using their web address in all of their emails, along with their tag line.  I wrote about it using email signature sometime back. Review the post “Quick Tip – Using Email Signatures“.
2. Using their web address on all stationary – including business cards, letterheads, with compliment slips, invoices, brochures… In fact anywhere you can put your web address – put it! This includes all electronic stationary as well.
3. If you have a motor vehicle have a magnetic sign made to put on the side of your car (or if you’re really committed get the car sign-written with your website details. Driving around as much as we do this is a great way to advertise your website. Just think of how many people can see your mobile advertisement!
4. If you have a shopfront your web address should be clearly visible from the street.
5. If you have a product tag, your website address should be on the tags, labels, stickers (whatever)

It takes time for something new to sink into people’s consciousness. Repetition is the key. Whether you website name is reinforced through a variety of means doesn’t matter.

Let’s now look at specifics…

[Read more →]

Tags: Advertising, Blogging, Business Tips, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Newsletters, Online Business, Promotion and Marketing, Traffic Generation, Web Development 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 Tips, Business and Management, Internet Marketing, Traffic Generation by the silent avatar
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Just What is a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan includes a list of actions needed to accomplish marketing targets. It can be for a product, a service or a brand. There are marketing plans for short term goals – 1 year, and long term goals – five years.

A marketing plan might be part of an overall business plan, and a good marketing strategy is the basis of a well-written marketing plan.

Why does a Business Venture necessitate a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan is an invaluable tool for guiding a small home based business owner to organise their marketing efforts. It ensures a systematic technique to creating products and services to meet and gratify customers’ needs.

How to write a Marketing Plan
Drawing up a marketing plan is not difficult. Focus on the goals and the efforts needed to achieve them.   Your goals need to be stated clearly in the marketing plan.

Remember that a good marketing plan sets clear, realistic, achievable and measurable objectives. It should consist of deadlines, a budget and allotment of responsibilities.

Marketing Plan Outline
A basic marketing plan outline may comprise of these topics:

Current Market Analysis
Depict the current market environment which your business is in. This analysis can later be used as a benchmark to fine-tune the marketing plan in the future.

Define your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and also the PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) analysis tools, write a short description of the current product or service available, the marketing benefits and barriers the business could come across. Contemplate the threats posed by competitors and also consider other factors that could affect the business in the year to come. This may aid in the formulation of strategies in the future.

Target Market
Every product or service needs a market. This explains why customer analysis in marketing plans is essential to its success. The product could be directed at the online market as well as the conventional offline market.

It could be targeted at the general public or it could be aimed at a niche market. For an online market the analysis should include reasons why people shop online.Once a target market is selected, write a target market profile based on demographics and include selection yardsticks.

Marketing Objectives
Express your business’s marketing goals for the coming year. The targets should be specific, realistic and measurable to asses the marketing progress. Avoid vague statements like, “Increase indoor sales” Incorporate specifics instead – “Increase indoor sales by 25%.”

Strategies to Achieving Objectives
If the marketing goal is to boost indoor sales by 25% then a strategy has to be developed to meet this end. For example, there could be special a promotion for walk-in clients. This promotion can be marketed via an emailed weekly newsletter to clients. The strategies should be detailed and cover the 4P’s of marketing -

• Price
• Product
• Place
• Promotion.

Marketing Budget
Putting into affect marketing strategies to fulfill marketing objectives costs money and it’s just plain stupidity to think that you can have an online presence and just by the mere fact that you are online and have been indexed by the search engines you will have a successful business.

There’s a saying… spend some money to make some money. Create a breakdown of marketing connected expenses associated with the strategies. Have a look at the numbers and decide if it is too much. Do not be afraid to lower or revise the budget until a feasible figure is achieved – and then make sure you stick to it. Don’t be tempted to buy yourself the latest “toy”.  You are growing your business so you can have as many toys as you want.. but only when your marketing has paid off.

Bear in mind that a marketing plan should remain a constant process throughout the life of a company.

Revise your marketing plan at least every 6 months, and for goodness sake… track where your results are coming from! Analyse, analyse, analyse!

I’m the Silent Avatar… and I have spoken

Tags: Business Tips, Business and Management, Internet, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Advertising by the silent avatar
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