Well, here in the Ozarks I am watching it snow this morning… beautiful!  I am very thankful that we didn’t get much ice.  After last years storm, we went 11 days with no electricity!  I am not cut out for that!!  My heart goes out to those that are without power today….

With this snow day, and not much to do, I find myself working on my newest niche. And I can not say enough:

GET A PLAN!!

Something…anything!

Write it down and map it out.

If you are familiar with working online, dealing with websites, autoresponders, lead opt-in pages…..It can get very overwhelming.  If you aren’t careful you will find yourself working on part D when part A, B, n C, haven’t been completed.

Make a plan.  A simple step, by step map of what you need to do.  If you don’t you will find yourself wasting time and running in circles!

So, go—now!!!  Map it out!!!

Please, don’t think…”Well, I have done this before!  I don’t need one!”

Ha~that’s what I said and sure enough, I found myself working on my e-book when I hadn’t yet completed all my opt-in forms and autoresponders!!!  Who on earth was I going to market to with out the golden list???

I LIKE working on my e-books, that’s why I jumped ahead!  I had to almost start over because I had lost my mind set as to what all I intended to put in the opt-in and such.  Again, you may be quite the pro at this, but if you are even slightly apt to get sidetracked like I am…..

So~with plan in hand, I regroup and dive in again.  Don’t sweat the small stuff~you can always change course, tweet a couple of things and keep right on going!

((With a plan!!))

Seems my post were going into my drafts and not posting, therefore, not being sent….

Well, if it’s not one thing, it’s another!!!

Hopefully all is back on track and I will be posting the drafts later this week!!

Chin up…don’t let the little things slow you down!

I ready this article and was going to post some highlights from it, but with permission from the author, I decided to post the entire thing.  It’s just to good!

Will Twitter Save Your Business?
by Jessica Swanson

Last Monday, one of my neighbors proudly announced her determination to learn the “secrets” behind marketing on Twitter. She thinks that Twitter will save her business.

Ironically, the very next day, one of my clients reported to me that if he only understood how to “power market” on Facebook, his business would catapult to the top of his industry. And three days later, I noticed a small business owner complaining in a forum that he will never succeed until he has unlocked the keys behind YouTube marketing.

Enough is enough! Without question, new media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) are wonderful places to market your small business. Obviously, I market my own business through every single one of those platforms.

Believe me, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, there is absolutely nothing magical or supernatural about any of the new media platforms. They are just platforms. Nothing more, nothing less. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are simply ways to spread awareness about your brand.

Mark my word, there will always be another “amazing” platform that will supposedly “save” you and your business.

But, before you tap into any marketing platform, you need to understand the basic philosophy behind marketing. You need to know “how” to market your business before you even dip your toe in the pool. Because if you don’t understand the basic tenants behind good marketing, Twitter won’t do a thing for your small business. Even if you spent eight hours a day with 2 million followers, you wouldn’t get anywhere if you went about your marketing in the wrong way.

Marketing platforms come and go, but understanding how to market will never go out of style.

Whether you are marketing on YouTube or running an “old-fashioned” ad in the newspaper, the same rules of good and solid marketing apply. You use marketing platforms as a way to drive your prospects back to a webpage, landing page or blog in which they give you their name and email address in exchange for free information from you and your small business.

You might offer a downloadable ebook, a special report or a 10-part audio class. It isn’t the format of your offer, it’s the offer itself that is important. Your offer must be perceived as a means for your prospect to better their life or solve a particularly stubborn problem. You want your free offer to be utterly irresistible.

Once you have obtained your prospect’s information, you can begin the task of building solid and significant relationships with them. This is when you are able to send your prospects’ additional educational materials, helpful advice and important resources that will position you as an expert in your industry.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube marketing are only effective if you use them as tools to drive traffic to your landing page or blog. Newspaper classifieds are only effective if used as a tool to drive traffic to your landing page or blog.

So, yes, in essence there is a well-kept secret on how to effectively tap into the power of new media. Learn the basics of marketing. For if you understand exactly how to market, you will always be ready for the “next great marketing platform.”

——————————————

Jessica Swanson, “The Shoestring Marketer,” has helped entrepreneurs, all over the world, explode their businesses using cutting-edge, proven and completely FREE internet marketing strategies. To receive your FREE Marketing Kit,  which has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, just like you, learn the exact techniques for marketing their businesses for NO-COST, visit: http://www.ShoestringMarketingKit.com

Wishing each and everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

shay

I know we are smack in the middle of the busiest holiday season, but don’t stop.

Working from home is a challenge and when you find yourself being pulled in different directions, do a quick check up.  Don’t put your business on the back burner, but don’t put your family there either.  You need to maintain a balance.

The best way to handle this situation is to put in less work, but make sure that it is focused work!!  Give yourself an hour or two and really apply yourself!!  If you need to get up a little early, it will be well worth it.  Do what needs to be done!

If you do this you will be amazed at your work output and still have plenty of time for your activities!

Remember: Quality Focused Work!

And lastly

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

If you are using a social site like Twitter or Facebook to help marketing yourself then I have some a great tips!

#1 SocialOomph

This is a FREE site, (for the first level) that can help you organize your FaceBook post and Tweets!  If you are like me, I sometimes get on the different sites to update and then find myself staying for hours.  Now, I preset my Tweets to send through out the day and forget about it!

Usually I try and do the days tweets the evening before so that cuts  my time on Twitter by quite a bit.  My formula is something like:  2 or 3 personal tweets, 3 quotes, 3 links to information, and a couple of retweets!  I try and average about 10 a day, give or take!

Also, you can schedule to automatically follow any one that follows you and send them an automated “Thanks”.

Since I have started implementing these two tactics, my Twitter followers have steadily increase, without much work on my part.  Just giving out valuable information and being nice!  And every so many days I will spend time searching out keywording in Twitter to see if there are any interesting people that I want to follow.

# 2 Another great application is Tweetdeck.  This enables you to keep FaceBook and Twitter on one page.  The best thing I like about this is that you can see if someone mentions you on Twitter and easily respond!  Which is great because this is about building relationships!

So, if you aren’t using these, give them a try.  They are both free and can greatly help you in the social media area.

Hope these tips help!

I was pondering the many avenues that a person can make money with online.

• Blogs
• Affiliate Traffic
• Membership Sites
• Sales
• Ghost Writing
• E-Books
• on, and on

Then that got me to thinking about all the different marketing techniques that can be employed.

• Article Marketing
• Social Media Sites
• Google Adsense
• Pay-Per-Click
• Banner Advertising

I am finding that some people get caught up in trying to make money in every avenue with each marketing technique all at once.  If you have been at this for years, then maybe it will work.  But, trust me….for a beginner it won’t.

You need to spend time learning and mastering one area, seeing results, and only then moving to the next thing.

Don’t spread yourself to thin.  Learn one thing and learn it well.  Then add to your knowledge….now, that’s good old common sense.

Again, this is for people, like myself, who may be building a business on a very tight budget.  IF you can outsource, then by all means, get help.  But, if you are like me, and it’s just you and the keyboard….then remember, it’s gonna take some time to build your web presence and your list.

It will happen, don’t give up!!  Just keep doing what you know to do, and learning the rest!  Good Luck!

busy.  It seems the messier the day is, then the busier I get.  Maybe it’s because there is nothing else to do, so I get done everything that I have put off, but busy I am today!

Read on http://nicheologyprofitletter.com/ by Paul Evens…he really has some good, motivating post.  One of his latest focused on the last month of 2009.

Maybe this hasn’t been your year, or maybe it has be a faboulus one for you and your business.  Whichever it is, celebrate what you have accomplished!  And remember, you still have the rest of the month to end with a bang.

He listed some things that you can do, even in the waining hours of 2009, that can help your business.  It’s all common sense, keep doing what’s working for you right up till the end, and then in January 2010~kick it in gear and keep doing it!

Don’t put the brakes on, don’t stop cause it’s the holidays….keep going!  The holidays have really fueled my passion as to why I do what I do.

I love being able to stay at home, love my hours~love it all.  Doing what I do, helping others~it’s a thrill for me.  And if I need to kick it in ~ to make it work, or work better ~ then you better believe I am kicking this thing it!!

I am not going to give up ~ settle for less.  You don’t either!

Now is the very best time to GO FOR IT!

Whew, I have been working on landing page generators, opt-ins, well, a little of everything today!

I must say, there is quite a lot of little things to all be tied together. I am so glad that I have the time to research and implement all of the things I am learning!

It’s exciting to say the least!

I must recommend Aweber for your autoresponder!  It has been so easy to use – I have been very impressed.  If you are in any way serious about building a good list, then please check them out!

Well, back to the grindstone!!