December 31, 2005

Protect Yourself And Your Business for 2006...

First I'd like to wish everyone a very happy, safe, enriching and prosperous 2006!

Wow, what an awesome year it's been! So many great things and people for which to be thankful. Here's to even better times in the year to come!

Prepare and Protect Yourself AND
Your Business for 2006!

With the new year only a couple of hours away, I figured it'd be good to write a post about preparing and protecting yourself and your business during the upcoming year.

There's certainly a lot of false and conflicting information floating around the Internet these days - as well as a lot of scams. So how do you bypass all the nonsense and get right to the truth, right to the real nitty-gritty?

And how do you avoid those many business opportunities that look good, but are actually scams, pyramid schemes, ponzi schemes and who knows what else?

Well, it's actually quite easy. You just go right to the leading authority on MLM and Network Marketing - the authority that web marketers know and trust, the MLMWatchDog!

Find the latest news and alerts on scams and complaints, as well MLM World News. Find information on MLM myths and lies, a very large directory of MLM companies, the Bill of Rights for MLM Distributors, and oh so much more.

MLMWatchDog, which is operated by my friend Rod Cook (the WatchDog, himself), is the no-nonsense place to find all your answers.

Have questions? New to Network Marketing, MLM or Affiliate Marketing? Changing companies? Want to know the real payout? Want to know if it's a pyramid scheme? Was your distributorship terminated? Was your downline switched? The Watchdog covers it all.

The MLM WatchDog's goal is to serve, inform and protect you, the distributor! It's an Internet source that is completely unbiased (The Watchdog doesn't belong to any companies or accept any advertisements from companies), so you can be sure it's the real deal.

Remember, knowledge is power. Increase your knowledge and you'll increase your income!

So what exactly does MLM WatchDog do?

MLM WatchDog stops scams, pyramid schemes, ponzi schemes, gifting programs and odd pay plans that steal money from your pockets!

As we all know, the world wide web can be a breeding ground for scams, pyramid schemes, etc. And virtually any loser can "claim" to be an expert. The MLM WatchDog tracks down and stomps out scam artists and companies that are doomed to fail.

More about Rod Cook...

Rod Cook, the MLM WatchDog, has also written books on Binary compensation plans, Matrix compensation plans, Stair Step compensation plans and Unilevel compensation plans.

Rod is considered the ultimate MLM "marketing" and consulting inside information source, studying over 1,000 compensation plans, product and recruiting systems every year. Rod has been featured on ABC's 20/20, CBS's 48 Hours, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.

Attorneys General, the FBI, federal marshals and other regulatory agencies have also greatly depended on him as an MLM reference source when seeking truthful analysis and information. So be sure to visit the MLM WatchDog site and bookmark it for future reference.

Happy New Year Again!

December 24, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
Here's to a safe and wonderful
holiday season for all. :)

December 17, 2005

SQUIDOO! - Because Everyone's An Expert On Something!

There's something totally new that's just come out of Beta... and it's definitely very cool!

It's called SQUIDOO... and basically you can set up what they call a "lens" on a particular subject, area, etc. And this so-called lens can point to a "Lensmaster's" blog or website, or BOTH! ...Uh, can you see the potential here?!?

Anyway, Lensmasters will be paid a share of the ad revenue generated, as every lens carries Google Adsense.

And from what I gather, Squidoo is owned by Seth Godin, a well-known author and Internet Marketer. So I think this one's going places for sure.

In my overall opinion, SQUIDOO is actually one of the coolest things to come along since blogs themselves! And if you're uncertain at all about how setting up a lens could impact your monthly income, then all you have to do is take a look at one of my own lenses...

TheLensMaster.com

-As you can see, these lenses give me yet another FREE way to advertise my businesses! And not only am I able to list my websites and blogs on each lens... I can also have my RSS feed posted and updated right to my Squidoo lens. Cool.

So go ahead and set up your own lens. Just go to squidoo.com...you can set one up totally free.

Additional information:

-WHAT'S A LENS?

A lens is a person's (lensmaster's) view on a particular topic he/she cares about. More specifically, a lens is a single web page that is filled with information and links that point to other web pages, updated RSS feeds, or relevant advertising.

WHY SHOULD I BUILD A LENS?

There are a few reasons why you might want to build your own lens:

• Share your knowledge: When you know a good deal about something, it feels good to share it. Plus it's good to help other people discover what you may have found out the hard way.

Increase your profile: A popular lens will give credibility to the Lensmaster and reinforce your role as an expert. It can also make you the go-to person for those looking for help or information in your area of expertise/experience.

Increase your traffic: You can point your lens to your blog and to your website. In addition, lenses have huge credibility with search engines, so a lens should increase your website traffic, even for people who don't visit your lens.

• Lenses are free to make. Squidoo says they will never charge a fee.

DOES SQUIDOO MAKE A PROFIT?

According to their FAQ's section...

Yes, Squidoo is an old-fashioned corporation, with real employees
and investors. We're not legally organized as a co-op, not in the sense that
we've got granola all over the floor or that we are owned and controlled by
volunteers.

Instead, we've structured the organization so that we're in a
partnership with our lensmasters. It's a co-op in the sense that the more you
give, the more you get. All lensmasters with traffic get a pro-rated share in
the income that we get from the Google AdSense ads that run on every page, for
example. In addition, a rotating slate of lensmasters is invited to participate
in the panel that chooses the charities that get the money from our charity
pool.

We divide up the money we receive in a very public way. First, we
pay our bills. That's direct out of pocket expenses like rent and servers and
salary and benefits expenses (our CEO doesn't take a salary, and neither does
our board of directors).

Then, with no other deductions, we pay 5% of our post-expense
revenue directly to the charity pool, 50% directly to our lensmasters and retain
the rest to pay off investors and employees. Don't quit your day job yet, but
you should know that as we all grow, our goal as a co-op is to pay as much money
as we can to our lensmasters and to charity.

Coming Soon To SQUIDOO: Earn a royalty for you, your organization, or your favorite charity.

December 7, 2005

MLM and Network Marketing Training Experts...

MLM and Network Marketing Training Experts

Here's a list of some really excellent MLM and Network Marketing traininers. This list is a definite a must-have for any marketer, so I wanted to be sure to post it here for everyone.

These can definitely show you all you'll need to know to make your home based business the great success you want it to be. So with no further ado, here they are...

Randy Gage
RandyGage.com

Jim Rohn International
JimRohn.com

Jerry Clark
ClubRhino.com

Michael Clouse
Nexera.com

Andy O'Bryan & Josh Hinds
AudioMotivation.com

Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire.com

John Fogg
GreatestNetworker.com

Art Jonak
MLMPlayers.com

Tom Schreiter
FortuneNow.com

Networking Times
NetworkingTimes.com

December 4, 2005

Hot Prospecting Ideas...

I was going through my email archives and came across this little gem from Big Al's "77 More Hot Prospecting Ideas" series. It's Tip #70 and it's always been one of my fav's. In your MLM home based business you'll find that little things like this can make all the difference. :)

Tip #70: How to get your distributors to achieve their monthly volume...

Just tell your new distributors this Big Al short story, and they will instantly see the value of doing their minimum volume on a monthly basis...

"A young couple, John and Mary, went out to dinner about three times a month. This little luxury cost them about $100 a month.

-After a few years of this luxury, John and Mary became fat."

"Another young couple, Ted and Alice, invested $100 amonth into their part-time business.

-After a few years they quit their full-time jobs and retired to travel the world."

November 29, 2005

The Big Red Button...

The Big Red Button



Want to put the Big Red Button on your blog or website? Click here!

November 15, 2005

Search Engine Keywords - What Do People Search For?

Have you ever wondered what people searched for on the Internet? What if you knew exactly what words they typed in when using the search engines and how you could earn more money with this knowledge?

If you're marketing a product or service via Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising for example, it's extremely beneficial to know what the most popular search terms are for whatever you're marketing. This knowledge can help you get more targeted traffic to your site, and thus, make more sales!

There are two really good tools that can give you an edge. The first one is a keyword suggestion tool, or what Overture calls their, "Keyword Selector Tool."

This tool will help you figure out which keywords you may want to bid on. It will show you precisely how many time a particular term was searched for on Overture during the previous month, as well as give you examples of related search terms you may also want to use as in your PPC marketing as well!

Example Search Terms:

Internet marketing - 342,848 searches
home based business - 564,369 searches
make money - 152,683 searches
mlm lead - 66,541 searches
affiliate program - 169,300 searches
blog - 342,458 searches

Another really handy tool is Overture's View Bids Tool. With this you can simply type in a search term and it'll show you the bid amounts for a particular keyword or search term, as well as all the listings for that term.

Search Term Bid Amounts:

Internet marketing - maximum bid:$2.11
home based business - maximum bid: $1.82
make money - maximum bid: $1.50
mlm lead - maximum bid: $7.86 (ouch!) -The next highest bid was only $2.27
affiliate program - maximum bid: $2.15
blog - maximum bid: $0.31

As you can see, these tools can really help you make informed decisions on your marketing and help increase your overall profit, while minimizing your advertising costs at the same time.

Overture supplies these tools so that you, the advertiser, can pick the keywords that are the most targeted for your product or service. This generates more revenue for Overture, and more qualified clicks for you.

And you don't have to be an Overture customer in order to use the Keyword Selector Tool or the View Bids Tool. Anyone can use these.

So the next time you're running your pay-per-click advertising campaign, be sure to utilize these free tools. They could certainly add more money in your pocket for free.

November 13, 2005

More Blog Traffic...Google Launches Blog Search

Some good news - Google has now launched a blog directory and search engine. It's located at http://search.blogger.com and is called Blog Search. With this new tool you can search blogs all over the web, which could easily mean a bunch of extra traffic and readers to your blog.

If your blog publishes a site feed and pings an updating service like Weblogs, then people should be able to find it in there.

What is Weblogs.com? It's a ping service owned by VeriSign, Inc., which automatically notifies subscribers that new content has been posted to a website or a blog.

Weblogs.com is the original pinging service and it receives millions of pings every day from blogs all over the world at the moment they publish new content. So make sure you ping your blog each time you post!

November 8, 2005

MLM Leads - The Best MLM Leads Companies

Get A Larger Wave of Prospects
MLM Leads - The Best MLM Lead Companies

Do you want more customers, more distributors and more sales in your home business? Of course. We all do.

So, in order to achieve this you'll need to know exactly which MLM leads companies have the best leads for your MLM/Network Marketing home business.

So which ones do? Well, here's what the renowned MLM Network Marketing expert, trainer and author, Doug Firebaugh, uncovered regarding MLM leads and MLM lead companies...

MLM Leads

That is the sound of music to my ears. Why? Because I worked MLM Leads for nearly 8 years, and have had great success with them. And that's why that I have a pretty good understanding of what really makes a good MLM Lead... and what does not!

In the pursuit of finding these Top 15 Network Marketing Lead Companies, there were some requirements and considerations that went into the mix. An MLM lead is only part of the MLM Lead Success Formula.

There were 5 things that we looked at when we were considering MLM Lead Companies.

What are they?

1) Quality of the MLM lead...

The quality of a lead is everything. There are some great-looking websites out there that are totally rocking in appearance, but we found that the quality of leads (when we called them) was less than what you should expect in an MLM lead.

-Beautiful site, great-looking logo, lousy leads.

That is why we actually had people order leads, and why we called them! And we called more than one bunch of leads as well. This at least would give us a feeling of consistency... or a lack thereof.

The MLM Lead companies we chose were highly consistent in their quality of leads, and in their having people who truly were looking for a business.

It took us 7 months to complete the research on MLM leads.

2) Training of working the MLM Leads...

Many of the beautiful sites offered no type of ongoing training, and that was something that really needs to be be a part of any good MLM leads program.

There were some that had online training, as well as CD's and training series you could purchase. That was good, but the ongoing live training was the best idea, and we found many MLM leads Companies that did just that.

Training also includes: scripts, presentations, the handling of objections, follow-up, closing and other MLM leads topics. There are some HOT MLM leads sites out there that truly delivered on this quality of MLM leads training.

3) MLM Leads Support...

The support factor was key. Once the MLM leads were purchased, was there some support in case of need?

Most had email support. Some had live phone support, and some had live instant message support. There were sites that offered no support, and if you had a challenge with your MLM leads, then good luck.

The support should be somehow resolving issues that arise, including bad MLM leads, wrong numbers or emails, and general problems.

The MLM leads companies that we found to be the very best did have a support system. There should also be some sort of guarantee as part of the MLM lead/Network Marketing lead program.

4) Targeted MLM leads...

Many companies had different types of targeted MLM leads, including: company specific leads, live TV leads, local leads, gender specific leads, product specific leads, area code specific leads, among other MLM leads.

Targeted MLM leads are the favorite of the Networkers I've talked to, as it gave people a more focused lead, and a more targeted impact.

5) Pricing of the MLM leads...

This was a huge factor in determining many peoples' decisions of where to buy their MLM leads/Network Marketing leads.

But to be blunt, you get what you pay for. There are many cheap Network Marketing, home business lead companies with cheap leads... but here's a warning:

Be careful!

Ask if you can try maybe 15-20 leads to see if they're worth your money. Many companies give free Network Marketing leads away to try.

Understand that a great MLM lead may cost you several dollars, too... and rightfully so!

INFERNO Secret:

An MLM lead purchase is NOT a purchase, but an investment in your business. One good MLM lead can produce tens of thousands of dollars in volume and revenues. If you understand that, then the pricing should not be as important as the quality and training of the Network Marketing lead company.

And of course, REPUTATION had a lot to do with the selection as well. Some companies that came across really well, when checked on, did NOT have a very good reputation for MLM Leads and service.

The Best MLM Leads

Here are the Top 2 MLM Leads companies:

1. FastMLMLeads
2. TrafficOasis (you'll need a referral for Traffic Oasis)

And as Doug Firebaugh adds, "There ARE other good MLM lead companies out there, depending on what you are looking for. But these we found as far as research, were the better ones, and some were beyond exceptional.

MLM leads are a great source of NEW BLOOD for your business. You can find Gold mine after Gold mine, in a good Network marketing lead and great MLM Leads..."

Who is Doug Firebaugh?

Doug Firebaugh is an MLM Network Marketing expert trainer, speaker, and author. Over a million people read his MLM Network Marketing training newsletter every month. His MLM Training Network Marketing Success Resources website is: PassionFire.com

November 5, 2005

What is The Secret?


Have you heard The Secret? Do you know what it's all about?

Soon the world will know, but at this point, no one will reveal The Secret.

To find out more, I suggest you watch this...
What Is The Secret. Then get your friends to this blog so they can find out about it too. You can also simply email this post to them.

How To Get Your Prospect's Instant and Favorable Attention

Having a bit of trouble talking to your prospects?

Do they just kinda sit there and stare back at you while you're speaking? ...Like nothing's really getting through to them at all???

Then take a look at the article here by my friend "Big Al" Tom Schreiter. It'll not only show you how to get your prospects undivided attention, but how to keep it!

Since prospects choose to remember only certain bits of your presentation, you'll find this information very helpful.

It'll show you how to use "soundbites" so that your prospects remember what YOU want them to remember! So with no further ado, here's today's free Network Marketing advice from my friend Tom Big Al Schreiter...

How To Get Your Prospect's Instant and Favorable Attention

Politicians use it. Newscasters use it. Advertisers use it. Shouldn't you?

What am I talking about? I'm talking about "sound bites."

What are sound bites? They are just little bits of the conversation that stand out in the prospects' minds - and these bits of information are the only things prospects remember.

Here is an example of a sound bite.

When George W. Bush senior was running for president a few years ago, he made a long campaign speech to a group. One of the things he said was: "Read my lips. No more taxes!"

This small part of the speech was reported in the news for several days. Everyone knew the phrase, "Read my lips. No more taxes!"

Can you remember anything else from that long speech? No. All you can remember was the sound bite, "Read my lips. No more taxes!"

Commercial advertisers know the power of sound bites. They work hard on catchy phrases, repeat them often, and then hope that sound bite will stick in your mind. Some examples? "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should."
"Things go better with Coke."
"Burger King: Home of the Whopper."
"You deserve a break today."

What is interesting about the above examples is that all of them were created over 20 years ago! We still remember them.

Sound bites are a great way to communicate. Prospects will choose to remember only bits of our presentation. Make it easy for your prospects. Give them catchy, easy-to-remember sound bites that create a desire to purchase your products or to join your opportunity.

Let's get started with some real life examples of sound bites that I enjoy. It's easier to get the feel for sound bites by experiencing them.

Weight loss tablets.

1. Use these tablets to lose weight while you sit. Enjoy watching your favorite television program while excess pounds are just melting away.

2. These herbal fat burner tablets will burn away excess pounds - even while you're eating!

3. If you want to lose those extra pounds, don't spend your day suffering and being hungry. Instead, use Product X. It's like having will power in a tablet.

4. Why not lose weight while you sleep? Enjoy a good night's sleep while your body dreams away those excess pounds.

5. Try our calorie-killer weight loss tablets now.

Chocolate Breakfast Drink

1. Instead of cooking and cleaning breakfast dishes, why not have a delicious breakfast shake? It only takes 20 seconds to mix and you'll only have one dirty glass and one dirty spoon!

2. How about breakfast for only 80 cents? And you'll be getting thin on chocolate!

3. Instant breakfast that's faster than a microwave.

Long Distance Telephone Service.

1. Make money every time you make a long distance call.

2. Make money every time your neighbor picks up the telephone.

3. Earn money while you sleep when other people are talking on their telephones.

Nutritional Product.

1. You will be the only person awake and happy at 9:00 a.m. on Monday mornings.

2. This product will make you feel like you are 16 years old all over again - but with better judgement!

3. You will be the only person at work who doesn't have to take a nap at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.

4. When you come home from work, you won't feel like watching television. You'll feel like dancing!

5. We call this the "nap buster."

6. Instant energy in a capsule.
7. Attitude in a bottle.

Water Filters.

1. All water is recycled. This unit just takes out other people's contributions.

2. Chlorine is great for bleaching clothes, but not for our stomachs.

3. Great tasting water for just three cents a gallon!

4. Now you can taste clean, clear water. You won't have to worry about those little unidentified objects floating around in your glass.

Fiber Product.

1. This is perfect for pizza lovers who hate eating rabbit food to get their daily fiber.

2. Results you can experience in just 24 hours.

3. For hemorrhoid sufferers. You'll never have to say "Ouch" again.

4. The perfect diet supplement. Just take it 15 minutes before you eat and stop worrying about weight problems.

Skin Care.

1. Makes your skin look so good, you'll never have to wear makeup again.

2. Will make your skin look like it is 16-years-old all over again, but without the acne.

3. Your skin will look so smooth, everyone will want to touch it.

Are you getting the feeling of how sound bites can work for your business?
All of the above examples were for products. It's easy to come up with three or four great sound bites for every one of your products or services, right? Simply pass on these sound bites to your distributors and watch your retail sales increase. But what about opportunity sound bites? Wouldn't it be great to have plenty of opportunity sound bites for prospecting and presentations?

Let's try a few.

1. It's like getting an extra paycheck in your mailbox once a week.
2. It's like having a paycheck from a part-time job, but you don't have to go to work.
3. We call this the "boss silencer."
4. This plan is called "winning the lottery."
5. You won't have to plead and beg for a day-off from the "almighty boss." Now you can take off any day you choose.
6. You work 50 weeks a year for the company - and you get only two weeks a year for yourself. Does that seem fair?
7. How much time do you get to spend with your spouse and children after work?
8. You got married to have a family. Wouldn't it be nice to get more time to visit them?
9. Now you can get a $300 raise and you don't even have to ask your boss.
10. Does your boss laugh every time you ask for a raise?
11. Can you talk to your boss tomorrow and get a $300 raise?
12. Can you imagine no bills to pay and still having money in your checking account?
13. Here is your chance to send your mother-in-law a postcard from Bali.
14. If you were your own boss, how much vacation time would you choose to take?
15. Who makes more money, the employee or the boss?
16. Who has more fun, the employee or the boss?
17. Every day while you sit in commuter traffic, I bet you say to yourself, "Wow! This is fun!"
18. Our parents told us what to do. Our teachers told us what to do. Now our bosses are telling us what to do. When is it our turn to choose what we want to do?
19. It's just like being a rock star. You write a hit song and collect royalties for life. Now you can sponsor some people and collect bonuses for life.
20. There are two groups of people in the world: those who get a word-of-mouth advertising bonus check in their mailbox once a month - and those who don't. Which group would you like to be in?

Now it's your turn. Why not come up with some great sound bites for your next presentation or meeting? Your downline is waiting for your tested, winning sound bites. This is an excerpt from the Fortune Now Leadership Newsletter by Tom Big Al Schreiter. If you'd like to read some free back issues, go to http://fortunenow.com.

November 3, 2005

Secrets To Marketing Your Business On The Internet...

I finally decided to get this information recently and I must say that's it's been incredibly helpful. I guess that's because it's been the #1 best-selling Internet Marketing course online for more than 7 years running.

This all-new version contains all the information needed to start, run, and build a successful online business. The unique step-by-step layout of the course contains in-depth information on:

  • 100's of hot-selling product ideas
  • Secrets to designing web sites that sell $2.4 million per year
  • How to rank #1 in the search engines
  • Turning leads into lifetime customers with email marketing
  • Writing killer ad copy that sells!
  • Free and low-cost online classified ads that produce sales
  • Building a HUGE responsive opt-in email list - FAST
  • Dominate your market using affiliate programs
  • Making sales instantly with online auctions like eBay
  • How to accept credit cards online

Plus...

  • Expanding your business to reach international markets
  • Getting links from 100's of high-traffic sites
  • Getting traffic from discussion lists and newsgroup promotions
  • Viral marketing
  • How to get 1,000's of subscribers to your newsletter
  • Sales strategies like price setting & bonuses
  • Advanced promotions that increase sales 400% (or more) in 24 hours
  • NEW tips & tricks that make banner ads profitable (again!)
  • How to spend less than 20 minutes per day running your business
  • Sources of FREE advertising and traffic

And that's just the tip of the iceberg...

It also contains 2 beefy, three-ring binders, 3 CDs, and 4 guides containing over 1,300 pages packed with the exact tested and proven fast-growth strategies that Corey Rudl had personally used to turn his own one-man business into a $7.6 million enterprise - all on a shoestring budget.

You can check it out here. There's also some really great video testimonials on the site. Be sure to watch them. So far this one's definitely worth its weight in gold.

October 27, 2005

A Beginner's Checklist to Promoting an Online Business

Want A Totally Smokin' Business?
Get the Checklist

Beginner's Checklist to Promoting an Online Business

The Internet is full of hyped-up promises of the 'ultimate' marketing secret that will singlehandedly skyrocket your business to instant success.

Naturally, this is ALL it is: hype. There's no single 'secret' that will magically transform a fledgling business into a powerful money-maker. Instead, every business owner is responsible for testing and refining various techniques until he or she has developed a solid, effective base that produces the desired results.

What works for one business may not work for another! Likewise, another business may have poor results with one method, while others experience great success. Here's a quick checklist of some of the more popular -- and completely free -- marketing techniques to help you build your online business (note: this is a 3-part series).

PART 1: FREE ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUES

1. Build and use your own opt-in list of targeted and interested prospects. Offer a free newsletter that provides fresh, interesting, and relevant content. You'll receive feedback from your readers about what's important to them, and over time they'll come to know and trust you. Your products, services, and even recommendations will then be taken much more seriously because you've developed credibility with your readers.

2. Contribute to newsgroups or discussion boards. Establish yourself as a helpful member of a community. Other members of the community who come to know and respect you will often refer you to others.

3. Niche directories or search engines. Find all the highly-targeted directories and SE's for your market, and then work to get listed. You'll be surprised at how many niche sites there are! Good places to start looking are yahoo.com and dmoz.com.

4. Build your link popularity. For example, you can trade links with other businesses in your market so that you can 'share' each other's traffic. Most of the major search engines take link popularity into consideration when ranking your site.

5. Endorsed mailings to other lists. Find the editor of a great newsletter, and offer your product or service to him for free in return for a review or an endorsed ad to his list. Endorsements from the editor can far outperform regular 'ads', since they come from someone they know and trust (the editor).

6. Testimonials. It's fine for you to say that your product or service is wonderful... but there's far more 'punch' when someone else says it! Testimonials show prospects that you have happy customers and helps them to make the decision to buy.

7. Use autoresponders to follow-up with your prospects. It has been proven time and time again that autoresponders can dramatically increase your profits! They're also great time-savers, saving you from following up with each prospect manually.

8. Ad swaps. You can get extra exposure for 'free' (no out-of-pocket expenses) by swapping ad space with another editor that caters to your audience. Plus it's a great way to put 'remnant' ad space to good use.

9. Join a webring. Link to other sites like yours and build an online 'community.'

10. Offer coupons or gift certificates to entice visitors to make a purchase *now*.

11. Make good use of referral marketing. Ask happy customers to refer prospects to you. Many people are so busy these days that they're willing to rely on a trusted friend or contact's advice -- it saves them the time necessary to do all the research themselves.

12. Write and distribute articles in your area of expertise. This is a great credibility-builder! People who appreciate what you have to say are much more likely to check out your business. Another 'bonus' is that articles are often archived on websites for visitors to refer to time and time again.

13. Become an 'expert'. If you like to write and have the time to do so, consider partnering with a high-traffic site within your niche market and offer to write a regular column or article. You establish credibility and get exposure; your partner site and their readers get great content.

14. Use a 'Recommend-It' or 'Refer-A-Friend' script. These scripts let visitors send your URL to friends. 15. Make it easy for others to link to your site. Consider adding a 'Link to Us' section where you provide the

HTML that visitors can simply cut and paste to their own web pages. Again, this helps to build your link popularity (see point #4).

16. Hold contests. For example, every month you could give away one of your products to a lucky subscriber or customer.

17. Use a signature. Also known as 'sig files', a signature is a brief blurb about your business along with your URL and/or contact information. Put a signature on every piece of email you send out, as well as on any message board posts (if appropriate).

18. Give away a quality free eBook or report. eBooks and reports can be excellent viral marketing tools. You can even offer them as a 'premium' to other businesses within your niche, so that they can give it away to their own customers or subscribers.

This is an effective way to build a network that will willingly promote your business for you! More on promoting free eBooks and how they can help you can be found in the article, '10 Quick Tips on How to Create, Distribute, and Profit from Free eBooks'.

Hopefully this has given you a few helpful ideas on how to market your online business. In the next installment of this series, you'll read about several marketing techniques that may cost you money, but that can be worth the investment many times over. The final installment is all about marketing your online business in the 'offline' world! Stay tuned.

About the author: Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical guide to building a business on a beginner's budget. It's a proven hit with beginners, for the down-to-earth style and loads of instantly usable tips! For details, visit:
http://www.ExclusiveInfoProducts.com/obb
OR request a series of 10 free reports to get you started:
mailto:businessbasics@workyourleads.com

October 23, 2005

The Hottest Prospecting Phone Tips

The Hottest Prospecting
Phone Tips

Be Up-beat!
Here's a truly excellent article from my friend Tim Sales of MLMBrilliance and Professional Inviter...

The Hottest Prospecting Phone Tips

The first of the 13 hottest prospecting phone tips I can give you is to be up-beat :-)
Now, what does that mean? The word upbeat means to be full of optimism or cheerfulness.

As a phone tip, your actions, the tone of your voice, what you talk about and how you respond to your prospect's questions and comments should be full of optimism and/or cheerfulness.

Why would you want to be cheerful and optimistic to your prospect? Why not be the opposite – negative and sad? Because people (your prospect) enjoy talking with, being around and working with people (you) who are cheerful and optimistic.

Now, let me warn you about a common mistake. DON'T BE TOO FULL OF OPTIMISM AND CHEERFULNESS. Before I explain this…please know that I didn't make this rule, I only observed that it's there! Around me and when you call into the office, I urge you to be as happy as you can be!

But if you're considerably more cheerful and optimistic than the person you're talking to, you are at a different level than they are and this will make communication more difficult.

Imagine that you just won the lottery and you are jumping up and down and screaming with cheerfulness. You're standing next to someone who just got fired from their job. The two of you are very different in your mood. You will just annoy this unemployed person. So what's the “right” amount of cheerfulness – for any prospect?

Optimally, use slightly more optimism and cheerfulness than the prospect is showing you.

How would you know if you're being too optimistic or cheerful? As always you must observe the person you're talking to. Remember, you're interested in him or her and the reaction they're having about you.

If you're someone who's been following my newsletters over the past year, this may sound a lot like Communication Quality #Four - Use the right amount of assertiveness. But it also looks a bit like, #Six - Ensure your body doesn't distract the prospect and #Nine - Communicate at the prospect's level of understanding. The truth is that there are many communication qualities this prospecting tip is similar to because it is part of the basic underlying issue when you talk to prospects.

Join me on October 19 and I'll discuss how you can be up-beat – even when you don't feel like it! I'll also discuss how to tell if you're being too upbeat… or not upbeat enough.

In addition, I'm going to answer a lot of questions and “cries for help” from people who have written or called into the office and asked – I have quite a backlog.

I am so grateful to you for submitting your questions to me. I do wish I could answer them directly back to you – but that would be cheating everyone else out of learning the answer. It would also take every minute of every day just to respond. :-) So I'm going to answer many of the top questions people have about the industry and how to succeed at it. Please join me at MLMBrilliance.


About Tim Sales: In 1989, near the end of an 11-year tour with the US Navy Underwater Bomb Squad Team, Tim answered an ad in the Washington Post newspaper that led him to his first and only network marketing company. Five years later his network marketing income rose to over $150,000 per month with over 56,000 people in his organization. His most noted contribution to the Network Marketing Industry is the Brilliant Compensation presentation. In addition, Tim is a teacher at the university-affiliated Network Marketing Certificate Seminar sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago . To learn more about Tim, visit his MLMBrilliance website.

October 20, 2005

Big Al... Hoo Who Is Big Al?

Big Al...Hoo Who Is Big Al?

If you run a home business, be it Network Marketing, MLM, or otherwise, then chances are you're already familiar with Tom Schreiter.

But just in case you aren't, and have somehow missed coming across one of the few people who's expertise could help launch your home business into the success stratosphere, here's a little bit about Big Al.

Who is Tom "Big Al" Schreiter?

In a nutshell, Tom Schreiter (a.k.a. as "Big Al") is one of the most successful and influential Network Marketers of today. He runs the Fortune Now! website and publishes the widely-celebrated weekly newsletter, "Big Al's Recruiting Newsletter."

Tom Schreiter is undoubtedly one of the richest sources of home business information and tips that a Network Marketing or home business professional could come by. And his tips definitely produce results.

So if things like learning how to recruit more people into your home business, and making your home business a success are on your list of top priorities, then I highly suggest subscribing to his free newsletter.

Hungry for Success?

Just to give you a taste of how Tom Schreiter's Network Marketing and MLM knowledge can help you and your home business, here's a quick look at this week's newsletter, along with some of the many free home business tips you can get on a regular basis:

In this issue . . .

1. Put testimonials on your business cards?
2. "Cheap" coupon prospecting - cool idea.
3. Big Al "live" workshop schedule.
4. Over 800 great headlines - FREE !
5. I stunned my wife with my brilliance . . .
6. Where are we?
7. Fat Boy Report.

-------------------------------------------------------

Put testimonials on your business cards?

Use the empty back of your business card for testimonials. It's different. Your prospects will notice the testimonials.

And, why not put testimonials in your signature file at the bottom of your email messages? If your testimonial is too long, write a teaser headline and direct the reader to a link to your testimonial page.

Want some examples of teaser headlines for your signature files? Try these:

* Click here to see a picture of my dog biting my . . .
* Click here to see how much weight I've lost this month.
* Click here to see my "before" and "after" picture.
* Click here to read my daughter's opinion.
* Click here to learn why I turned out like my mother threatened.

-------------------------------------------------------

Get seven examples of ways to sponsor new distributors, taken directly from the '103 Ways & Places To Sponsor New Distributors' manual.

Simply send a blank e-mail to: liz3-15187@autocontactor.com

-------------------------------------------------------

"Cheap" coupon prospecting - cool idea.

Turn your business card into a coupon.

Instead of printing a paper coupon, make your entire business card a coupon. Instead of having your company logo, address and other boring data on your business card, do this:

Make a strong offer for your product or opportunity.

For example, your business card could say:

* $5 off Super Vitamins.
* First-time customers only! Get ...
* Free admission to business seminar.
* Present this ticket at the door.
* Free audio report:
* How to get an extra paycheck every week.

Business cards are cheap, cheaper than printing cheap-looking paper coupons.

So when your next prospect asks you for a business card, give them your business card coupon with an offer they can't refuse.

-------------------------------------------------------

Big Al "live" workshop schedule.

Attend a "live," interactive workshop to learn how to get more distributors fast, how to sponsor rejection-free, and how to find and create new prospects easily.

* Rotorua, New Zealand October 27, 7pm to 10pm
* Houston, TX November 10, 7pm to 10pm
* Tampa, FL November 11, 7pm to 10pm

To register online, go to http://www.bigalseminars.com/ or call (281) 280-9800.

Remember, I conduct "live" workshops almost everywhere -- Moscow, Tucson, Richmond, and even Saskatoon! So if you have an interest in having a Big Al workshop when I travel in your area, just fill out the form at the bottom of this page:

http://www.fortunenow.com/liveworkshops/index.htm

-------------------------------------------------------

"Four Strange Insights To Build Your Network Marketing Business."

I wrote this special report in 1995 to introduce my Fortune Now Newsletter for Leaders. Many of you asked to see it again, so here it is. Simply go to: http://fortunenownewsletter.com/ and make sure you read the part about how the "crying baby" crushes the dreams of the alleged potential leader. :)

-------------------------------------------------------

Over 800 great headlines - FREE !

Two years ago I ran a contest for readers to submit their best headlines. Over 1,000 readers sent me their very best ideas. In turn, I sent them Big Al albums, CD's, etc., as prizes.

After a bit of editing, we now have over 800 great subscriber-submitted headlines.

Would you like these 800 headlines?

I am passing them on to you free. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to: liz3-45156@autocontactor.com

And we will start sending the headlines to you in batches of 50 at a time. I am sure you will find at least a few headlines that will make great first sentences for your presentation. Do it now.

-------------------------------------------------------

I stunned my wife with my brilliance . . .

I only speak one language, English, barely. Some people have asked me if English was my second language. That's embarrassing.

My wife, Susan, speaks three languages and can't understand why she has to continually correct my English. After all, English is only her third language.

But it takes lots of work to learn English. To prove it, I gave her a small gift and said:

"Since there is no time like the present, I will now present your present.

"Wow! She was quiet for a whole five seconds.

-------------------------------------------------------

Fat Boy Report.

Since I lost one pound last week, I asked my neighbor: "So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how do I look?"

She answered: "Like a 747."

Guess I have a few more pounds to go.

So here I am with fellow fat-boy, Walter Seward, having a light snack:

http://www.fortunenow.com/fatboyreport/bigal_waltseward.htm

More next issue!

- Big Al

October 15, 2005

7 Surefire Ways to Get Leads for Your MLM Business

Need To Heat Things Up A Bit?

Here's a really good article by Kevin Nunley. It'll certainly give you some great ways to get more quality leads for your MLM business.

More quality leads, you say? Isn't that what we all want? Heh, you bet it is! So read on...

7 Surefire Ways to Get Leads for Your MLM Business

After you join an MLM business, it's usually smooth sailing for a few days or weeks. You have plenty of leads--well, you have your family and friends--but those leads don't last forever. When you've exhausted your list of leads, what do you do?

The lifeblood of your business is leads. If you don't have interested prospects to email and call, then you don't have much of a business. So the question is, how do you get leads beyond your family and friends?

There are many network marketers out there who have more leads than they know what to do with. They get to the point where they don't have to look for leads at all--the leads come to them. How are they able to pull this off?

Let me tell you, it's not with some simple conjuring trick. They use a variety of lead-pulling techniques that anyone can use. Here are a few of the top lead-getting techniques used by network marketers:

1. Content - Put up a website that not only has information about your business opportunity and products, but also features content that people search for, such as articles, free tools, business and marketing tips, etc.

Many of the people who end up in network marketing do so by accident. They didn't go searching for an opportunity; one just sort of fell into their lap while they were searching for useful information.

Just because people don't go searching for your opportunity doesn't mean they aren't interested. If they come to your site because they did a search for information on a certain topic, or free marketing tools, what does it matter? They are still at your site where they will have to view information on your product or opportunities, along with what they were actually looking for.

2. Dangle the Carrot - Once you've drawn visitors to your site with free content, you have to get their information so you can follow up. You've already led them this far; you just need to dangle the carrot and lead them a little further.

The carrot could be a free report on email marketing, an e-course designed to help them start their own business, or an e-book on how to build a website. Make sure it pertains to the content they came searching for. That way, since they wanted to see what your content was, they will also want whatever freebie you have to offer.

Here's the trick. They have to give you their contact info--at least their name and email address--in order to get the freebies. And as soon as you have that information, you have leads!

3. Create a Newsletter - The promise of helpful information sent directly to you on a regular basis is a tempting offer for most Internet users. So why not create your own? You don't even have to write all the content. You can ask other authors if you can use their articles, so you don't have to spend all your time on the newsletter.

But sure to include information about your products or opportunities in each issue, but don't display the ads too prominently. Otherwise subscribers will think your newsletter is just one big ad. To get subscribers, use the methods above. Draw visitors to your site with free content and then offer the free newsletter.

4. Buy Your Leads - One of the easiest ways to get leads is to buy a leads list. Of course, this is also one of the most expensive. But it works well if you have a good lead source. Ask other network marketers who use this method to point out the best sources for buying lists.

Make sure the lists you're buying are of people who have truly expressed an interest in getting information. Otherwise, you'll be wasting your money because they will delete your message without bothering to read it. What's more, you could be accused of sending unsolicited email.

5. Offer an Email Course - You can turn yourself into an instant MLM expert, as well as promote your opportunity, simply by offering an email course via multiple autoresponders. If you don't feel comfortable writing your own course, find a good copywriter to do it for you.

Make sure the course is not just a bunch of sales letters. They have to contain information your prospects really want. Pitch your products or opportunity briefly at the end of each course letter, or mention it occasionally in the body text.

6. Talk About It - Never pass up an opportunity to talk about your business or products. I don't mean talking to people while you're standing in line at the grocery store; you don't want to annoy people. But there are plenty of other ways you can talk about your business.

For instance, you could give a presentation on starting your own business to local groups or on talk radio. The subject of your business is bound to come up, but don't force it. Establish yourself as an expert by talking about business and marketing related subjects, and when people find out what you do, they'll automatically be interested.

Save your MLM pitch for private conversations with participants or prospects who contact you later. You may also find many opportunities to talk about your business in chat rooms and on newsgroups. These are places where people who want to talk will, so throw the subject out there and see who responds.

7. Rank High - Use pay-per-click search engines to their maximum potential. Choose keywords that will get you ranked high so you can get people to your site. But don't just focus on keywords about your business.

Use keywords that will draw the people who want to sign up for your newsletter or take advantage of the free content on your site. Let your newsletter and content do the selling.

October 9, 2005

11 Powerful Marketing Tips...

Polly Want A Marketing Tip?

OK, how about 11 of them! My friend Bob Leduc shared some really excellent marketing tips here in this killer article. And trust me, you don't want to thumb through this one! :P

11 Powerful Marketing Tips
by Bob Leduc

Each of these 11 marketing tips is based on a marketing strategy or tactic proven to boost sales. How many are you using?

Tip 1: Your customers buy your product or service to feel a certain way after their purchase. Keep this in mind as you develop your ads, web pages and other sales tools. Use vivid word pictures to dramatize the pleasant feelings your customers experience when they use what you are selling. It intensifies their desire to have it and motivates them to buy now.

Tip 2: Continually test new advertising and marketing methods...and old methods you never tried before. A good guideline to follow is to allocate 80 percent of your budget to proven promotions and 20 percent to testing new things. Most businesses using this formula keep growing regardless of changing market conditions and intense competition.

Tip 3: Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. Don't be surprised if your short ads generate a higher response than long ads - giving you a bigger return for your expense. One of the most effective ads I ever used was only 11 words.

Tip 4: Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

Tip 5: Active, stimulating words and phrases keep prospects interested in reading your sales copy. Look for dull passive words and phrases and replace them with active ones. For example, change a phrase like "...it's practical and inexpensive" to "...it's fast, easy and you save $99".

Tip 6: After telling prospects what they gain when they buy your product or service, tell them what they lose if they do not buy it. Most people fear loss more than they desire gain. Customers want your product or service so they can enjoy the benefits it provides. But they will want it even more if you remind them of what they lose by not buying it.

Tip 7: You can eliminate any last minute hesitation prospective customers may have by announcing a pleasant surprise near the end of every selling procedure. For example, add an unexpected bonus to each transaction immediately before the final action that completes the sale.

Tip 8: You can boost your total sales volume and your average size sale at the same time by combining 2 or more related products or services into a Special Combination Package. Set the price lower than the cost of buying each item separately. This "special deal" will motivate both procrastinators and bargain hunters to buy now.

Tip 9: You always need to find new customers. But don't overlook the sales you can easily get from your existing customers. It's easier to get more business from them than it is to get any business from new prospects. Follow up with your existing customers to get more sales of the same product or to offer them additional products and services.

Tip 10: How would you react if you got a personal "thank you" from a business several days after you spent money with them? You'd feel good and probably want to do more business with them. Give that same feeling to your customers. They will reward you with more business - and a flood of referrals.

Tip 11: Convert your customers into publicity agents. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them can produce sales you would never get with any amount of advertising.
How many of these 11 marketing tactics are you using? How many have you overlooked? You are losing sales if you don't use all of them.

A tad more abour Bob Leduc: He spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. Find out about his highly effective low-cost marketing methods at: BobLeduc.com

September 30, 2005

Customers Are Prospects Too...


Are there some hot, hot, business-increasing techniques that you might be overlooking? Then you'll want to read what Bob Leduc has to say in this article...

Customers Are Prospects Too!

Your customers already know you and trust you. It's easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Their business is also highly profitable because there's no advertising expense involved.

Here are 3 ways you can increase the income you get from your customers. All 3 are effective for marketing online and/or offline ...and they cost little or nothing to implement.

1. UPSELLING -- You don't have to wait until after making a sale to increase the income you get from a customer. You can start while the customer is in the process of buying for the first time. It's called "Upselling". Here's how you can use it.

Collect the ordering information from your customer. Then casually offer them an opportunity to upgrade to a better quality product or service -- or to add another related item to the order. Include a special price that's ONLY available if the customer accepts it NOW.

It's surprising how receptive a customer is to an attractive offer when he or she is already in the process of spending money. Most businesses I've surveyed report about 50 percent acceptance of their upselling offers.

TIP: You can even include upselling offers on your web site. For example, I recently ordered a software upgrade at a web site. After selecting the item a pop up message asked me, "Would you like to add (item) to your order for $(special price)? This price is only available if you order now." It worked. I answered, "yes".

2. BACKEND SELLING -- Many successful businesses make most of their profit from backend sales -- selling other related products or services to customers who previously bought from them. Once a person buys from you it's easy to get them to buy again.

If you don't have other products yourself, look for companies with products or services related to yours. Make an arrangement to offer their products to your customers for part of the profit.

On the Internet you can sign up with an affiliate program offering products or services similar to your primary product. Just announce the program to your customers and include your endorsement. The affiliate program handles everything else and pays you a commission.

3. REFERRAL SELLING -- PLUS...Do you have a system to get referrals from satisfied customers? If not, you're losing a lot of profitable sales you could easily get.

One way to get referrals is with a brief Customer Survey. Send it by postal mail, email, fax or post it on a web page.

The one I use asks only 3 questions:

  • What did you like best about our product (or service)?
  • What can we do to improve the value of our product (or service) for you?
  • Who do you know trying to solve (state the problem you solved for your customer)? Or: Who do you know that wants to (state the benefit provided by your product or service)?

The first 2 questions focus attention on the benefits you provide. Your customer is more likely to volunteer referrals when they're thinking about the value of those benefits.

You'll also gain something from the answers to the first 2 questions. The first question often generates a response you can use as a testimonial (with your customer's permission). The second question may provide an early warning of a problem you need to solve -- or alert you to an opportunity you can exploit.

Start using Upselling, Backend Selling and Referral Selling to get more business from your existing customers. You'll produce highly profitable sales without spending money on advertising.

More about Bob Leduc: Bob retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information... Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards". Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time) Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133

September 29, 2005

Just Saying Hello...

Hello from Florida!

this is an audio post - click to play

September 28, 2005

Caught By The Camera!


Greetings from Aaron!
Here's a
photo of me without fire.
Say cheeeeeeeeese! :)