The Silent Avatar Speaks

Following on from my previous post about how to create a site with credibility, here are some avenues you can explore to check out whether a site is legitimate.

1. Find out when the domain was created
Go to Whois. Here you can enter a dot com domain name and find out when the domain was first registered. Using a bit of common sense you can marry up claims and testimonials (if they are on the site) to establish if they are bona fide. You can also check other domain names (and get some information) by visiting AllWhois

2. Google the site name with “scam” added.
This should turn up any information regarding the site being a potential scam.

3. Check Contact information
Check to see if the site has contact details and email and/or phone them to see if the phone is answered or the email returned.

4. Use these tools to get more info
By clicking on the above link you will be r-directed to NetworkTools.com. Enter the domain url and then select Ping, Lookup, Trace or Whois. Using any of these tools will give more information about the website.

5. Look for a Privacy Policy
Responsible website owners have a Privacy policy with contact details for site visitors to contact the company (business0 regarding privacy issues.

6. Does the site look professional?
Often if a site has been thrown together in a slap hazard, unprofessional way it should send alarm bells ringing. Broken links, images missing, miss spellings all point towards a site that doesn’t have a professional behind it. Be wary!

7. Use common sense
If a website is offering a service or product/s which sound too good to be true – it generally is.

8. Google it
Google the domain name and see how many references Google has to it, and what the search results are saying about the site

Have you found any other ways to determine if a website is legitimate or not? Post your find in comments.

I’m the silent avatar and I have spoken

Tags: General 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 Tips, Business and Management, General, Tools For Your Business by the silent avatar
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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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Internet Marketing newbies are those who form the largest portion of those who fail to make a living on the internet. This article is to help newbies not only survive but succeed and ultimately make a living online. If you are a newbie, chances are, these characteristics describe you.

Does this describe you?

You dream of making a lavish, full-time income on the internet, mostly on autopilot. This allows you the freedom to live the kind of lifestyle you desire without financial worries.

You are on many, many lists. Every online Marketing guru has your name and email address on their lists. As a result, you get bombarded with emails from these guys everyday crammiong your inbox and dutifully making sure you read every one of them in case you miss the next big “Aha!”.

You are on the internet everyday trying to figure out how to run a successful online business. You probably learn new things almost daily. You are constantly watching videos, listening to audios or reading e-books learning the newest money-making system on the internet.

You buy more info-products, software, scripts, systems, ‘how-to’ methods etc than you actually use. As a result, you have tons of PLR, MRR and RR e-books, the latest software and scripts, memberships to all sorts of programs that promise to be the silver bullet that answers the basic question, “What Must I Do To Succeed On The Internet?” sitting in your hard drive gathering virtual dust.

The combined effect of these characteristics is information overload and analysis paralysis. In other words, you hardly take any action based on what you already know or have in hand.  Your’e a bit like a dog chasing it’s tail. You donlt feel as though you have enough information to be successful, so you keep taking in more information, and this very process keeps you away from realising your goals.

You may think this article isn’t relevant to you because you do take action. If that is so then why are you not succeeding beyond your wildest dreams? And why is there such a high failure rate (some say as high as 95%) among internet marketers?

The reason is that ‘take action’ is far more than just putting up a webpage, setting up your autoresponder, writing some articles, bidding on keywords in Adwords, advertising on Craigslist or even creating your own product. All these are necessary but the way to big bucks online is far more than that. Here’s what to do:

Firstly, reduce the number of lists you’re on. This was the single best thing I did to free up my time and the worst thing about doing it was the time it took to do it! I was a list builders dream! But all that’s in the past. Don’t worry about losing out on the latest information – you already have enough information to put yourself on the path to success if you just use whatever you’ve got now instead of perpetually reading, studying and learning the so-called latest method in internet marketing. Do you think the gurus got to where they are by constantly reading e-books without doing actual marketing? Nope!

Secondly, spend your time such that it gives maximum returns everyday. Reading e-books, watching videos and listening to podcasts are good but they don’t make you any money in itself (not to mention it takes half a day for some videos to download). Website design and creating graphics do not make you money by itself. All these activities are essential but if you spend too much time on them, you drastically minimize your income potential. You must proportion your time wisely between that which actually makes you money and that which does not.

Thirdly, focus on taking action, one step at a time. Every Internet Marketing project involves roughly the same steps:

• Find a profitable niche
• identify keywords
• create your own or find an affiliate product
• create your website with a lead-capture form
• drive traffic and
• track your progress

Thereafter, build a relationship with those who subscribe to your list through a series of emails. Do not merely shove offer after offer down their throats but be personal and give good tips and contents that would benefit your subscribers.

Most Online Marketing gurus say that making money on the internet is not rocket science. Actually, it’s true. The steps above are simple but if done regularly, will produce results sooner or later. It sure beats all the hit-and-miss efforts that so many newbies make, that result in ultimate failure. Online success comes by doing the right things the right way.. consistently.

In an upcoming post I will gop through the steps above one-by-one showing you how to do them.

Until then.. any comments? This blog is about helping YOU! and if you have a question related to this blog post or not.. just ask it!

I’m the silent avatar and I have spoken

Tags: Affiliate Marketing, General, Internet, Internet Marketing by the silent avatar
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