Posts filed under 'Small Business Success'
Do you want to make more money doing what you’re already doing? Do you want to serve more people doing what you love?
Do you want to love the life you’re living?
One way to achieve all this and more is to be known as an authority in your niche. Here’s the direction I recommend you go to be well seen and well heard so you can be well known and well paid.
You need to be a VIP with VIP ~ a Very Important Professional with Valuable Intellectual Property, AKA Valuable Information Products.
“Why this path?” you may be wondering.
Because once your expertise is out of your head and in physical and digital form, you can contribute it to the world. That way it can generate leads and income.
Content may be king. The question is what content? Before we can create content that others will find valuable, we need to know who those others are who we want to attract and serve.
We may need to create and share clear, concise, and compelling messages and to know where to put them so they can be easily found by those looking for us. Before we can we write messages that leave a trail of breadcrumbs that lead to our door, we need to know who we want to talk to, who we want to attract, who we want to serve.
So start by building a strong foundation. Here are a few questions I suggest you answer.
Who are our ideal clients? Think of 3 categories:
- ones we love to work with (our passion) and who love to work with us (their passion)
- ones we’re expert at helping (our expertise)
- ones with whom we make the most money (income)
What problem(s) do they have that you solve for them or help them solve?
How do you do that?
What results do they get when they work with us and how do they benefit from those results?
What makes us, what we do and how we do it unique so people would be crazy to work with anyone else?
In the coming weeks I’ll be blogging more about what you can do to be a VIP with VIP. I’ll be offering tips, tools, techniques, and strategies you can use. I’ll be creating Success Activities you can do quickly and easily. And I’ll be offering programs to help you get unstuck, overcome Marketing Resistance Syndrome, and take the next steps that help you take yourself, your business, and your life where you want to go.
And remember, if it’s got to get done, let me help you make it fun!
Fun is a prerequisite to excellence.
Play is the behavior of enlightenment.
P.S. If you want to be known as an authority in your niche, join Mari-Lynn Harris and myself every Wednesday 2-3 pm est on BlitzTime. It’s the coolest place to meet like-minded people. We gather on the phone to network, build relationships, and learn how to do what it takes to become well seen and well heard so you can be well paid. Click on this link. You’ll land on our event’s page. You’re in the place to register for one or more calls for ”How to Be an Authority in YOUR Niche.” Your first 2 calls are free! Try it. You’ll like it!
Tags: Become an Expert, BlitzTime, Develop Your Audience, Effective Communicating, Independent Service Professionals, Information Marketing, Marketing for Professionals, Marketing Resistance Syndrome, Strategies for Success, Take your business to the next level, VIP with VIP
April 28th, 2010
Hello all you ISPs (Independent Service Professionals) ~ I’m curious… what’s keeping you up at night? What’s got you stuck? What do you wish you knew or knew how to do? If you could wave a magic wand, if you knew you would succeed, what would you do next?
I have a hunch… if you’re like me and other ISPs I know… we know where we’d like to be, like to go, and we even know our next few steps… and yet sometimes because we can’t see clearly through the fog or the bend in the road beyond those next known steps and we can’t guarantee they’re the right steps or we’ll do them right enough, we freeze and spin our wheels. Does this sound familiar?
I’ve decided I can only see so far down the road ~ like how far headlights illuminate at night isn’t the whole road yet I drive on. Just like I drive with faith that the road continues and the next part will be lite up when I need it, the next steps will be revealed when I need to know.
Like that scene in Indiana Jones when the big ball is rolling after Indiana, he’s standing at the edge of a cliff, he’s told to step out and he does… the chasm was an illusion. He stood on solid ground and kept walking.
What if it’s that easy?
Tags: Become an Expert, Independent Service Professionals, Marketing Resistance Syndrome, Strategies for Success, Take your business to the next level
April 23rd, 2010
My buddy Jim is a member of the First Collaborative Credibility Cluster, the very same CCC I’m in, the very same one that’s one of many brainchildren of Russell Cox, who’s… you guest it, another member of CCC#1!
Jim wrote a post at Community and Business on the CCC’s shared community website. Jim’s got a great sense of humor and he loves puns. In this post he’s asked, “What is the Web 2.0 Refrigerator Magnet?”
Great question, Jim. And I’ve got an answer for you…
Ah, Jim, there will always be a place in the world for ‘old fashion’ marketing! The answer to becoming known as an expert in your field or an authority in your niche is not an either/or, yes/no answer. It’s “Yes, and…” You want what I call a “HI-5 Marketing Message.” Imagine you could ‘Hi-5″ all your ideal prospects and clients in all your communications with them. Imagine you could deliver a message that’s Heart-Inspired, Integrated, interactive, Internet and Information-based.
How does HI-5 messaging relate to Web 2.0? For Jim’s post, the key word in the explanation of what a HI-5 message is Integrated. An integrated message platform weaves together traditional media channels with ‘old’ Web 1.0 tools, techniquest, technologies, and winning strategies with the new Web 2.0 and the coming Web 3.0 ones.
I want to get back to answering the question Jim asked in his post: “What is the Web 2.0 equivilant of the refergerator magnet?”
Hey, I think this is a great question to ask the LinkedIn community. We’ll get great ideas. And we’ll be building the web of links we’re weaving in Web 2.0.
By the way, in the spirit of taking a HI-5 message to the next level, I’d trade my refrigerator magnet in for:
- a bumper sticker with a URL that’s easy to read from the car behind
- a series of Tweets and re-tweets
- a conversation in Facebook or in your vibrant online community
- a continued asynchronous dialog among members of our CCC and anyone else who wants to participate
- a banner ad on your site and those of your strategic alliance partners and raving fans
- a real time conversation…
- on the phone, of course, as we live thousands of miles apart.
- We’ll record our conversation so we can turn it into
- a podcast which we’ll submit to podcast directories so anyone can find it and listen to at their convenience.
- an audio on each of our websites and our community groupsites.
- We’ll also transcribe the audio track and turn it into an article, a blog post, an e-book or e-course.
- a YouTube video of two or more someones who looks like a present day average Joe or Jane. In fact, they’re wearing T-shirts with the refrig magnet’s message on the front and back, with logos, of course.
- First this person goes to their mailbox to get and open the envelope with a refrigerator magnet inside, then
- Then he walks to their refrig where they place the magnet.
- Then she walks to their computer and looks at the banner ad, the blog post, and clicks on the audio play button to listen to the conversation.
- Then they walk to their car, T-shirts clearly visible and read-able, they get into the car, and as the car drives away with them waving, the camera zooms in to focus on the bumper sticker.
- What’s the bumper sticker say? You guessed it. The same message that’s on the magnet!
So, all of the above are my suggestions for the Web 2.0 equivalent of refrigerator magnets.
What are your ideas?
And what about your suggestions for what would appear on those magnets, bumper stickers, T-shirts, titles, and such?
Here are a few of mine:
“Want to make more money? HI-5 your audience.” www.MarketingToYOURworld.com
“Want to grow your business? Trade your refrigerator magnet in for a bumper sticker.” www.MarketingToYOURworld.com
What’s your HI-5 marketing message? Share it here and you’re building your audience. in Web 2.0. In fact, you’ve made your Web 2.0 refrigerator magnet. Now pass it on wherever you’re communicating with YOUR ideal clients and prospects.
“Whether you’re doing business around the corner or around the globe, take YOUR message to YOUR World!” www.MarketingToYOURworld.com
Tags: Develop Your Audience, Hi 5 Marketing message, Information Marketing, Internet Marketing, Web 2.0
December 21st, 2009
So you want to be well seen, well known, and well paid for doing what you know and love to do, right?
Maybe you call yourself a professional, maybe a consultant, maybe both.
Anyone can declare the same. All you need is some qualifications: experience, credentials, a degree (not necessarily related to what you’re doing now.)
More and more people are doing just that as they are laid off.
That means you’re swimming in a crowded Red Ocean of competition. There are many consequences of playing in this arena. Consultants chase business, winning clients is more difficult, and your piece of the pie is smaller. People want to bargain with you about your fee. You end up customizing what you offer for new clients. You know the drill.
What’s the alternative?
Swim out into a Blue Ocean. In fact, you can create your own Blue Ocean where you become known as an expert in your field. You get treated as a VIP, with all the perks. Business chases experts. People trust experts because they’re known as experts. Experts get to charge more, and people don’t expect a bargain.
Here’s the thing. While anyone can be self-declared professional or consultant, you can’t declare yourself an expert. Well, you can. Without much in your court that validates your declaration, I’m just not sure how credible others will find it.
What does it take to truly be recognized as an expert? Others need to say it’s so. Your clients, peers and experts in your field, the media, people with authority deem you an expert.
How do you win their endorsement? How do you become more visible, credible, valuable and, eventually, you become more profitable?
Have you ever heard of Milgram’s Law? The marketplace will blindly believe the words of an expert. You must be perceived as an expert.
Who’s an expert? Milgram says it’s someone who’s an author. While an author does have instant credibility, I believe today we have other options.
You can become a VIP with VIP ~ a Very Important Person with Valuable Intellectual Property. Turn your expertise into physical, tangible information products. It can be text, audio, video or multi-media. It can be physical or digital. You can offer it for free or a fee. There are many other criteria by which you can describe your Valuable Information Products. The important thing is that they exist. The evidence of your expertise then speaks for itself.
So what’s a consultant to do? Click here to discover 10 Blue Ocean Strategies I propose you implement to transform yourself into an expert in your field.
Here’s the thing. While it takes only a moment to read each strategy, becoming known as an expert isn’t instant pudding. You’ll need to invest time, energy, expertise, and maybe some money to implement each. Do consider working with someone who’s an expert at turning consultants into experts and expertise into Valuable Intellectual Property. You’ll achieve the coveted status more quickly and easily, with less wasted resources, than if you make the journey on your own. I’m here ready to extend a helping hand. All you need to do is ask.
The rewards of being known as an expert in your field is well worth the effort it’s going to take to get there. It’s the quality of your journey as much as the destination, so as you take one step after the other, remember to do so with a joyful heart. “Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down in the most delightful way.” If it’s got to be done, make it fun. Your vibration serves as a homing beacon. You attract what you vibrate in harmony with. You get what you put your attention on whether it’s what you want or don’t want.
So keep your eyes on the prize ~ you being known as an expert in your field and enjoying the perks that come with the status.
Tags: Become an Expert, Information Marketing, Information Products, Marketing for Consultants, Marketing for Professionals, VIP with VIP
December 4th, 2009
I’m still reading Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. My business partner and friend, Russ, had been recommending it for a while now. I’m glad I am. It’s one of those pivotal books for me.My dear friend and business partner, Russell Cox, has been talking about Blue Ocean Strategies for some time. He brought it up again during a recent conversation with Rick Hadsock, the third in our team.
What’s a Blue Ocean and why is it important to you and me? “Blue oceans are defined by unknown, and therefore, untapped market space, demand creation, and the opportunity for highly profitable growth.”
This is compared with Red Oceans which represent all industries in existence today in which “industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Here, companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. As the market space gets crowded, prospects profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cutthroat competition turns the red ocean bloody.
“Although some blue oceans are created well beyond existing industry boundaries, most are created from within red oceans by expanding existing industry boundaries. In blue oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules are waiting to be set.
“It will always be important to swim successfully in the red ocean by outcompeting rivals. Red oceans will always matter and will always be a fact of business life. But with supply exceeding demand in more industries, competing for a share of contracting markets, while necessary, will not be sufficient to sustain high performance. Companies need to go beyond competing. To seize new profits and growth opportunities, they also need to create blue oceans.”
If you want to learn more without (or before) reading the book, click on this link. You’ll be taken to a website from which you can download files about Blue Ocean Strategy ~ a few summary slide presentations,
The best files start with Blue Ocean Strategy. Start with them.
Enjoy and happy sailing!
Tags: Become an Expert, Information Marketing, Marketing for Consultants
December 3rd, 2009
Once again Patricia Weber offers excellent suggestions in her blog post, How to Prevent Your Business from Death on the Vine.
Below you’ll find her original post with my comments in italic wherever I insert them.
In times of plenty, when there is more certainty and confidence, businesses may have the luxury of customers or clients showing up on their front door step. These are not necessarily those times for many businesses. But just because there’s no crowd at your front door right now, you must continue to bring people to that door step.
1- Maintain a focus on your prospective client’s problem or pain. Even difficult economic times are NOT about you. In sales and marketing, it is always about the customer. What is your customers most prevalent problem? What do they want to avoid or what do they want to get? Keep that at the heart of your message.
When you talk to your prospects, focus on the results you will deliver to your customers and how they’ll benefit from those results. Another way to think of it is, “How will working with you improve the quality of your customer’s business and their life.
2- Plan to drip on your prospects. Tougher economic times usually can mean longer decision making cycles. You must plan to follow-up more than before. Before what? Well, before the internet. The International Marketing Association reported an average of 6 contacts with a prospect before they moved through the “know, like, trust” cycle to buy. With the onslaught of television, radio, direct marketing, and internet advertising, the time line is now between 6 and 21 times.
I’ve heard many times that many a successful person will actually say ‘no’ the first time or two just to see if you are confident enough to follow-up again.
Once you’re conversing with your prospect, consider ‘no’ as a request for more information. And when you deliver, tell them ‘what’ and ‘why.’ Remember to save telling someone about the ‘how’ for after you’ve been hired.
3- Drip with purpose. Business graveyards fill up quickly without purpose because, people aren’t interested in you! Plan to be systematic with reasons that prove you were listening to them. Something personal like a birthday, something that shows you were listening, like their interest in red wines, fine valid business reasons that are purposeful in connecting.
What are you finding is working to keep your company, your business, alive as the economy in general continues to remain stuck in many areas of the world?
Thanks, Pat for reminding us that we can contact a prospect or a customer for either personal or professional reasons. The purpose of staying in touch is to let them know you care. You’re building relationship. You’re helping them get to know, like, and trust you, so when they’re ready to buy, you’re who they want to do business with.
So drip, drip, drip with a purpose. And enjoy watching your business flow.
November 9th, 2009
So, you know in your heart of hearts that a large part of Marketing Resistance Syndrome can be linked back to negativity: negative beliefs, negative self-talk, negative behaviors. I know when I first discover negativity around anything I tend to get down on myself ~ making myself feel even worse.
Here’s something written by Brian Johnson in his Philosophers Notes that is turning my thinking/feeling around. I hope it helps you, too.
Big Idea – Vernon Howard : Detecting Negativity Is Positive
“Encourage yourself by remembering that any detection of negativity within you is a positive act, not a negative one. Awareness of your weakness and confusion makes you strong because conscious awareness is the bright light that destroys the darkness of negativity. Honest self-observation dissolves pains and pressures that formerly did their dreadful work in the darkness of unawareness. This is so important that I urge you to memorize and reflect upon the following summary: Detection of inner negativity is not a negative act, but a courageously positive act that makes you a new person.” ~ Vernon Howard from The Power of Your Supermind
Powerful.
Vernon reminds us that the (often not so) simple act of observing our own negativity is a POSITIVE event.
Why? Because most of the time we’re TOTALLY unaware of when we’re off! We can’t change something within ourselves we aren’t aware of, eh? Having the ability to more and more consistently SEE the negative aspects of ourselves is like turning on a flashlight in a dark room. We need the light of awareness to do the clean-up.
So let’s remember: “Detection of inner negativity is not a negative act, but a courageously positive act that makes you a new person.”
Bonnie’s closing comment: if you like what Brian said, you might want to subscribe to his PhilosophersNotes. –> Like CliffsNotes. Only shorter. And cooler. (And a *lot* more inspiring. 
) You’re busy. Books are heavy. Get PhilosophersNotes.
You can get the little notes for free – they’re great. If you want you can subscribe to getting the more indepth mp3 and pdf of each author and book he covers. For now, I’ve only been getting the emails. Someday, when I’ve automated everything, gotten my teleclasses going, and created the Valuable Information Products on my plate I probably will subscribe to the whole package… certainly before the price goes up again…
In the mean time, may you enjoy your creative journey to Shatter Your Marketing Resistance.
By the way, be on the lookout for announcements that it’s time to register for the teleclass! My goal: by the end of August… Yahoo!
Tags: Information Products, Marketing for Professionals, Marketing Resistance Syndrome, Strategies for Success, VIP with VIP
August 3rd, 2009
This post is my comment to what Hans van ‘t Riet posted on the LinkedIn Group, “Inbound Marketing for Marketing Professionals.”
The title of his post is The TRUTH about Online Marketing! The Comfortable Illusion vs. the Uncomfortable Truth. Here’s what Hans wrote:
The Comfortable Illusion —– The Uncomfortable Truth
Remarkable advertising sells —– Only remarkable products are bought
You can target consumers —– Consumers might target you
Claim & seduce the market —– Honesty invites good customers
Marketing is about control —– You never have control
Your time, place, message —– The consumers time, place, content
Push hard enough and it works —– You need to work very hard to get pull
He also asked a few questions and made a great suggestion:
What are your take aways when you read this? Do you have other examples which underline this further? Please let me know here or even better, let me invite you to join this and other interesting discussions/news like this in our Strategy, Marketing & Innovation Forum by clicking below link: http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=1899487
Of course, I had to agree with Hans. I started what I thought would be a short comment. Half an hour later I was still writing. So I said to my VIP with VIP self, “Bonnie, this is good stuff. All professionals who want to be well seen, well heard, and well paid need to read this. Go add it to your blog right now. And then really polish it and submit it to a few article banks, like selfhelp.com, ezinearticles.com, and biznik.com. You’re an Information Marketing and Business Development Specialist. Model what you teach.”
So here’s my comment to Hans’ post:
Hans, thanks for being so honest. I know there are people making lots of $$$ online, many of them selling their products promising we can do the same ~ promising us instant success, no less! If only we’d buy and follow their proven method. I wish it were that quick and easy. As The Web Woman says, “Success on the Internet isn’t instant pudding.”
Because we all want a quick and easy path to success, we are vulnerable to thinking this guru or that product is the answer. We buy, maybe we read and/or listen. Then we find ourselves back where we started ~ suffering from Marketing Resistance Syndrome. If you’re feeling confused, overwhelmed and intimidated by what to do next and how to ‘do it all,’ welcome to MY World.
Maybe you’re uncomfortable promoting yourself and your product, maybe you don’t think you know how to language your message so ‘they’ get it, maybe you want to turn your knowledge, wisdom and experience into information products and don’t know where to start, maybe it’s how to package and price what you’re offering so your prospects KNOW you’re the right person for them.
The good news is these are obstacles we all face at one time or another. The difference between those who succeed and those who flounder? Those who persist and make continuous progress turning their dreams into reality are willing to overcome any obstacle that appears in their way whether it’s real or imagined. How? their dream, their passion, their purpose, their vision for a better future for themselves and their clients/customers is so BIG they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
THIS IS HUGE! The attitude of “I CAN & I WILL!” assumes there is a solution ~ probably more than one, or two, or three. The challenge then is to find and implement one.
This is a much smoother path to success than what happens when we wonder, “Can I? Is there a way?” Why? because implied in those questions is the possible no. Then you have to convince yourself there is.
Having worked with thousands of professionals and spoken to thousands more, I’m convinced there are a first things we each need to do before we start another new marketing project:
* Shatter YOUR Marketing Resistance.
Start with believing YOU CAN!!! YOU WILL!!!
* Look at what you’re already doing and give yourself credit for those things. Then ask yourself, others you trust, and maybe even an expert or two, what you could do to make it better. I’ll share A simple example: what’s your email address? If you nave a domain, yet your address ends in aol, yahoo, gmail or the like, you’re hurting your professional presentation. Contact the company where you registered your domain name and have them set you up an email box that looks like this: YourName@YourDomain.com. That’s so easy.
A bit more challenging to set up a way for you to receive emails sent there. For example, I use Outlook so I had to set up Outlook to check my email box, bonnie@marketingtoyourworld.com. Notice I said only a bit more challenging. Either the customer support person at the domain registration company, or your web master, or a friend will help you do this. All you have to do is ask. For someone who’s done this before, it’s a very quick and easy task.
Then next time you get your business cards printed, change your email address. Go change it on your website, blog, all social networking profiles immediately.
You may think it’s only a small thing. And in one sense it is. Yet every little thing you do to build a solid, well-crafted and integrated brand is one more brick in your solid foundation. It’s one more thing you can feel good about doing. And taking action is one of the best ways to Shatter YOUR Marketing Resistance!
* Learn more about the “new-to-you” marketing tools and techniques.
While there are lots of them, there are only four, yes 4 ways to share and receive information… Yes, you read that right. Here they are: text, graphics, audio and video. Everything, yes everything you hear about uses one or more of these four to communicate: blogs, webinars, websites, articles, podcasts, ezines, e-radio… all new words used to describe unique ways of producing, packaging, and delivering information. I
* Develop a strategic plan to achieve your desired business outcomes.
It’s not instant pudding AND it’s not ‘one size fits all.’ If you know you don’t have the expertise to evaluate your current marketing / media mix, STOP! Before you choose the next thing you start, before you dive into the deep end ~ again ~ waste precious time, money, and energy, and worse ~ feel even more disappointed, frustrated and overwhelmed than before, spend the time and, if necessary the money, to evaluate what you’re already doing, how to optimize these, and what is the smartest, best, most powerful thing or things that are best for YOU to learn, do and master next.
A few things done well ~ woven into a Hi-5 Marketing Strategy ~ one that’s Heart-Inspired, Interactive, Integrated, Internet and Information-based ~ will produce far better results than many things done poorly, haphazardly, without focus of purpose.
And remember, marketing alone isn’t enough to produce the success of your dreams. While you are developing the strategic plan and taking daily actions to do what needs to be done, take the time to look at how you run your business. You want to have a solid business infrastructure with tested and proven processes for things like practice management and customer care so you can easily take exceptional care of new clients while treating your existing ones like gold. And remember, to look at your systems and procedures for managing basic business functions like finances, administration, human resources,legal and such.
In addition, it’s time to turn your expertise from words you repeate day in and day out into information products. Your clients and prospects would LOVE to take you home, learn from you at their convenience, and share with others how you’re helping them. It’s time to become known as an expert in your field.
The best way?
* Become a VIP with VIP ~ A Very Important Professional with Valuable Information Products.
You’ll be amazed and delighted at how easy this is to do and what it takes to market these products… when you develop a plan that’s right for YOU, your style, your budget, your current skill level, your available time and energy.
What I’m saying makes sense, doesn’t it? If you know in your heart you need to stop and build a solid foundation before adding anything new to your marketing, STOP! Take a deep breath, let it out slowly. Do that again… maybe a few times. Know there is hope. You have what it takes. KNOW THAT!
If you know that’s what’s next for you and know you can’t do it alone, find a coach, a specialist, a strategist who can help you evaluate, plan, and then execute a well-crafted marketing strategy. Everything you do from there will turn out far better, and produce far better results. The time, money and energy you invest in the big picture will more than pay for itself in the results you get. I promise!
And if you’re ready to Shatter YOUR Marketing Resistance, sign up now for my upcoming teleclass series. I guarantee you’ll be transformed from the reluctant marketer to VIP with VIP! You can do it! Yes, you can!
Tags: Branding, Hi 5 Marketing message, Information Marketing, Information Products, Marketing for Professionals, Marketing Resistance Syndrome
June 24th, 2009
I’ve been thinking about the subject of this post for a long time.
I just read a great article in a great newsletter by Maria Marsala, CEO of Elevating Your Business, and am finally inspired to the point of taking action… ah, this comment of mine perfectly ties my post to the topic of her newsletter’s article So What’s Holding You Back? Which Excuse Is it?
I’m going to “Just Do IT!
When I evaluate someone’s mixed media tapestry, one of the things I look for is a dynamic balance between inbound and outbound messages.
An outbound message is one you send out to members of YOUR World who have granted you permission to connect with them. In other words, an outbound communication is one you send to your list, like an email, a newsletter, or an ezine.
An inbound message is one you put out into The World for anybody to find if they’re interested in andlooking for what you’re sharing. When people see or hear your message, they come into YOUR World to find out more. For example, advertising is inbound, as are all links to your website. Blogs, articles, and podcasts that are well designed for SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and are posted to online directories area also inbound messages. People search for what they want and if what you’re offering shows up high enough on their search, they’re inbound to learn more.
So what does this have to do with Maria’s article on excuses?
I really liked her article and her newsletter. Great value throughout the newsletter ~ otherwise I wouldn’t have known that Wayne Dyer has a new show on PBS ~~~ Thank you, Maria ~~~
“Did you see the latest Wayne Dyer PBS (Public Broadcasting Station) Special? It’s called “Excuses Begone” It is excellent, just what I needed to hear. Before you watch it take out a pad because I’m sure you’ll want to take notes. Click here to find Excuses Begone on your local station.”
I appreciated her honesty, transparency, and authenticity:
“The show was just what I needed right now as I go through some trying times. The show helped me realize that a good deal of my trying times is due to the fact that I’ve gone back to living my excuses. The last time I was in this space, I wrote an article about excuses myself.
“It’s this week’s tip. May it help you as much as it did me.
Stay positive and be confident,
Maria”
And I appreciated the article which I copied below.
Here’s the thing ~~~ I had to copy and paste all of the above into my blog post instead of simply copying and pasting the link to where I found the article.
This would have saved me time ~ copying a link takes way less time than copying and pasting all this content.
And, from Maria’s perspective, she would have created a powerful inbound message for others to find.
And here’s the good thing ~ because the newsletter is a private, outbound media, search engines don’t find and catalog it to offer in future search results. That means even though Maria has included the exact same content in two places, the search engines don’t consider it double content. Double content is when you post the exact same content on several different websites.And that’s good because you get penalized for having double content on the web.
So, the point of this part of today’s blog post is: If you have valuable information whether in the form of a tip, an article, or a link to another valuable resource (yours or someone else’s,) share it with people on your list AND with the rest of us out here in The World who might want to become part of YOUR World.
In other words, yes, include the info in your newsletter AND put it out into cyberspace for others who are hungry and searching for you and your expertise.
It’s a win for everyone. We who are looking for get what we need. And you get to be well seen and well heard so you can be well paid. And aren’t those both great reasons we’re here sharing our messages.
So, share your expertise every way you can.
No excuses! Just Do IT!
Thank you, Maria, for motivating me to write this post and for your valuable article.
And now, Maria’s article ~~~>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So What’s Holding You Back? Which Excuse Is it?
Summary: Want to be happier? Start to remove all the excuses you use… and gain more time and energy too!
I’m not sure what the history of “excuses” is, except to know that a majority of the time excuses equal some sort of self-dishonestly.
They’re part of what we thought we “should do” vs. being a “must do”! Excuses come from us not being able to take our own “no’s”. They’re what we say to people so that we “don’t hurt their feelings”. Excuses are what we say so that others don’t hurt us. Excuses are part of what we’re tolerating in our life (that which draws out our energy and squashes it)!
Excuses come back to haunt us unless we look at them as gifts from clients or friends or even ourselves. Have you ever received an excuse for “something” and thought — Is that person kidding with that excuse? Why didn’t they just say NO? OH! … I am doing the same thing to “so and so”.
Say NO!!! Sometimes saying “NO” to someone means saying “YES” to someone even more important — YOU!
What can you do when you give someone a “no” that they don’t accept? Take the time to think about what type of answers you can give and things you can do to protect your boundaries so that you can raise your standards. Check out these Top Ten Lists about boundaries. They are just wonderful! “Things to say pleasantly when people attempt to invade your boundaries” by Coach Diana Robinson, Ph.D. www.topten.org/public/BG/BG1.html and another wonderful Top Ten by Coach Dennis Tesdell www.topten.org/public/BN/BN1.html
Integrity Lesson
This month, write down all the excuses you hear yourself giving others and giving yourself. Look for the patterns. Are you not setting boundaries? Are you setting boundaries and the person isn’t listening? Are you setting boundaries and you’re not enforcing those boundaries? Or what other patterns do you see.
And remember: Yes, No and Maybe are all complete sentences.
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© 2009 Maria Marsala is a Strategic Business Advisor, Speaker, Author and former Wall Street Trader. She supports and teaches high-achieving, big thinking business women to expand their businesses strategically and get results — faster. See where your business is leaking profits. Take our Business Check up today at www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com
Tags: Email marketing, Information Marketing, Marketing for Professionals, Strategies for Success
June 6th, 2009
You know how NOISY it is out there, don’t you? If you’re like me, you’re always receiving incoming messages via email from people you know and even those you don’t know, AKA Spam.
You can’t switch on any kind of media, surf the Web, go to the grocery store, or drive your car from one place to another without being bombarded with advertising.
The trouble is, you as a professional, author, entrepreneur, or business owner ~ someone with a message ~ also need to get YOUR message across, don’t you?
So, how do you spread the word about YOUR message out there in a world that is absolutely saturated with messages?
How do you make sure YOU’RE SEEN and HEARD above the din?
I believe there is a very effective way to get people to listen and even buy what you have to offer. But it means embracing a new approach.
You’ll find out what that is in the article “Cutting Through the Noise So You Can Be ‘Well Heard’”: http://www.publishingcoachweekly.com.
The article was written by Your Publishing Coach, Diane Eble. Diane, Russell Cox and I are going to be co-teaching the interactive teleclass program “Design Your Village” that starts Thursday June 11, 3:30 – 4:30 pm Eastern.
Why would you want to design your village? The village is the infrastructure upon which you build your online community.
Today, having a list of email addresses is no longer enough. While having a group, like yahoo groups, is better, Web 2.0 and Social Networking have been around too long. People are too used to connecting and communicating with others to settle for less.
And now with online software platforms like CollectiveX, Ning, and iGroops, you can build your own online community.
An online community is the perfect place for like-minded people can get to know, like and trust each other. And CollectiveX is the perfect platform for members to come together to learn, collaborate, co-create, and more in the spirit of cooperation.
A Groupsite powered by CollextiveX is also the perfect place for an instructor and students to gather to share supporting class materials, new ideas, questions, and to share with others the projects they’re working on for feedback and praise. That’s exactly why we have our own Groupsite for our class Design Your Village.
If the Design Your Village program sounds like interesting, remember we start on Thursday, June 11. There’s an early-bird special going on through midnight EST on Monday, June 8th, so check it out today!
More about that here: http://www.designyourvillage.com.
The next time this program will be offered is late September, 2009.
Having your own online community is a great way to be well seen, well heard, and well paid. And isn’t that what we all want!
So visit http://www.designyourvillage.com and decide for yourself if you’re ready to have your very own online community. You’ll be glad you do!
Tags: Collaborative communities, CollectiveX, Design Your Village, Develop Your Audience, Groupsites, Ning
June 5th, 2009
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