November 27, 2006

Home Business Today Quote of the Week...

Home Business Today Quote of the Week:

"The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice."
George Eliot (1819-1880)

November 26, 2006

How To Enhance Your Blog...

The AWeber Blog:

Why should you publish a blog?

Blogs are a great, easy way to publish information in a timely manner. As a result, their popularity has skyrocketed.

However, to make blogs a really useful tool, you have to get people to come back and read regularly.

It’s just as true for your blog as it is your website that someone may take a look at what you’ve published and say to themselves, “This is interesting,” only to disappear, never to visit again.

Prevent this from happening to your blog by letting people know when you’ve published something new.






Keep Your Blog Readers Coming Back

RSS is offered by many blogging services as a way to syndicate information, but currently RSS is still a little too advanced for most web users.






We offer our RSS Feed Broadcaster to help our customers to syndicate their blog articles to nearly anyone interested. This feature converts your articles from a standard RSS feed into an e-mail template to send to your subscribers as your blog is updated.

All your subscribers need is an e-mail address. You just need to add a standard AWeber sign up form to your blog and set up your feed broadcaster.

How to set up this feature:

First, you can review the video tutorial we offer...

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Bush Is The Decider - Koo-Koo-Ka-Choo...

I am the Egghead, I'm the Commander,
I'm the Decider, Koo-Koo-Ka-Choo!

George Bush meets the Beatles. Funny, funny stuff. Just go here to listen to it. It's classic.

And many thanks to Paul for sharing. Your songs and lyrics are great, my friend!

I'm The Decider (Koo-Koo-Ka-Choo)

I am me and Rummy's he, Iraq is free and we are all together.
See the world run when Dick shoots his gun, see how I lie.
I'm Lying...

Sitting on my own brain, waiting for the end of days.
Corporation profits, Bloody oil money.
I'm above the law and I'll decide what's right or wrong.

I am the egg head, I'm the Commander, I'm the Decider.
Koo-Koo-Kachoo.

Baghdad city policeman sitting
Pretty little targets in a row.
See how they die when the shrapnel flies see mothers cry.
I'm Lying...I'm Ly-ing...I'm Lying...I'm Ly-ing

Yellow cake uranium, imaginary WMD's.
Declassifying facts, exposing secret agents,
Tax cuts for the wealthy leaving all the poor behind.

CHORUS

Sitting in the White house garden talking to the Lord.
My thoughts would be busy busy hatching,
If I only had a brain.

Great Email Signature Files...

Great Email Signature Files

Adding a signature file to your outgoing emails can be an easy (and free!) way to grow your business. It's definitely a great way to generate more web traffic to your website or blog.

In addition to generating more web traffic, signature files are also very useful for building brand awareness/brand recognition - especially if your site is a good information source.

Many people bookmark websites they find from signature files. They're also more likely to buy from you if they've bookmarked your site, as it means that they generally trust your information.

Basically, signature files are a free and easy way to promote your online business or home business without offending those who read your emails!

Want a good email signature that will aid in your home business marketing? Here's some good stuff from Tom Schreiter (Big Al) that can help you out in that area.

Great Signature Files...

A cheap and easy way to send people to your home page is to use attention-getting signature files. Don't use boring signature files such as:

The world's best home-based business opportunity with lifestyle enhancement features. Go to
http://www.boringopportunitypage.com/1234/id=j2kt4

Now, that's bad.

Instead, use your imagination. Make a signature file that creates curiosity and interest. Here are some examples:

  • Click here to see a picture of my wife's stomach.
  • Click here to see a picture of my boss' face when
    I told him I quit.
  • Click here to see a picture of the new car I won.
  • Click here to see the strange check I got in the
    mail.
  • Click here to see why my neighbors think I am weird.
  • Click here to see what I do on Tuesday afternoons.
  • Click here to see why jobs stink.
  • Click here to see why my neighbor is jealous.
  • Click here to see my "before" and "after" picture.

See the difference? And all this is free. Yet, of all the emails that I personally receive, only 50% use a signature file. Time to make a signature file or improve the current signature file, right?

Can Viral Videos Grow Your List?

Can Viral Videos Grow Your List?

The AWeber Blog:

Viral videos are watched by millions of people. While many are created purely for fun, interest in their use as a marketing tool is alive and growing.

The question is, can viral videos work for marketers? And if so, how well do they perform compared to other list building tactics?

The team over at Marketing Experiments put viral videos to the test. They created 28 videos, published them to YouTube and Google Video, and measured views, clickthroughs and subscribers generated.

Take a look at the report.

They also give a couple examples of videos that they created for the test.

The testers conclude that viral videos can be an effective addition to marketing efforts, and provide some guidelines for implementing viral videos in your marketing mix.

November 21, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I want to wish everyone a very safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. I'll be out of town on vacation (woo hoo!) until Sunday, so I may not have any time to post anything new here until after I get back.

So until then, here's a funny Thanksgiving clip from Mad TV. Enjoy!
And have a happy Thanksgiving!!! :)

Mad TV - Thanksgiving Phone Call

November 17, 2006

Home Business Today Quote of the Week...

Home Business Today Quote of the Week:

"Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

November 15, 2006

Voicemail And Answering Machine Marketing Tips

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Voicemail & Answering Machine
Marketing Tips That Work

Want more prospects to actually leave their contact information for you? Here are some good and simple marketing tips from Tom Schreiter (Big Al) that can help you accomplish just that...

To encourage prospects to leave their name AND telephone
number, include this phrase as part of your message:

"Please leave a telephone number and the best time
to call you back. I'll call back and ask you which
free samples you would prefer from our product line."

On your personal voice mail, you can leave this message
to get more prospects from your friends and relatives
who call you:

"Hi, I'm not home right now. Please leave your name
and phone number and I will call you back. OR, if
you are calling to get a copy of the free book, "How
To Get Rich Without Winning The Lottery" -- please
leave your mailing address also."

If it is the right time in your friends and relatives'
lives, they will ask you for the book. Now, that creates
hot prospects.

November 11, 2006

405 The Movie

I came across this rather entertaining clip on my friend Dave Robison's blog, On the Road with Dave. Dave's got a cool blog, so you might just want to check it out if you haven't already!


BTW, Dave, how was the driver safety course? ;)

405 - The Movie

November 6, 2006

Home Business Today Quote of the Week...

Home Business Today Quote of the Week:

A man said to the universe: "Sir, I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "That fact has not created in me a sense of obligation."
Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

November 4, 2006

How To Fix A Wet Cell Phone...

Got A Wet Cell Phone?
Here's How To Fix It...


If you've ever accidentally (or even purposefully) gotten your cell phone wet, or dropped it into a liquid (one of the main phases of matter whose shape is usually determined by the container it fills) and would like to fix it, then you're in luck. Thanks to WikiHow, a wet cell phone doesn't necessarily mean a dead cell phone.

Here are some great tips on how to fix your cell phone if it ever gets wet or water-logged.

How To Fix A Wet Cell Phone

1. Remove the cell phone battery - Removing the battery is is one of the most important steps. Electricity and water do not mix, and cutting power to your cell phone is the crucial first step in saving it. Next, remove the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card; some or all of your contacts could be stored on your SIM card, along with other important data.

This could be more worth saving than the cell phone itself. SIM cards survive water damage fairly well, but some of the following steps are unnecessary. For example, don't heat a SIM card. Just dry it off and set it aside until you need to connect your cell phone to your cellular network.

2. Dry your cell phone - Obviously, you need to remove as much of the liquid as soon as possible in order to prevent it from getting deep into the phone and damaging it. Use a towel or a paper towel to remove as much as liquid possible.


3. Allow your cell phone to dry out - Of course you don't want to ruin your cellular phone or lose the phone numbers stored in your phone book, so you need to let the cell phone dry out completely.

Don't try to put the battery back in until you're sure the phone is completely dried out. Doing so would risk damaging the cell phone with a short circuit.

To expedite moisture evaporation, you can leave your cell phone in a bowl of dry rice. The rice will draw any moisture to itself, and thus, greatly aid in the drying process.

4. Heat your cell phone - Apply enough heat to your cell phone to cause the water to evaporate without water-logging your digital screen. One of the best things you can do to save a cell phone is to set it on the back of your computer monitor or TV screen (over the heat vents). This is usually the perfect temperature needed to dry and fix your wet cell phone, and the convection action of the heat vents will help carry away the moisture in your cell phone.

Just leave the phone on the heat for at least 2-3 days. Another option is to leave it overnight in the oven on the "warm" setting.

NOTE: make sure to remove the cell phone battery first!

5. Test your cell phone - After you've waited 3 days, make sure that everything is clean and dry. Then, reattach the battery to the cell phone to see if it works. If your cell phone does not work, repeat step 4. If it still doesn't work, take your cell phone to an authorized cellular dealer as sometimes they can fix it.

Alternative: The Alcohol Soak
To save a wet cell phone, you can also soak your cell phone in alcohol. Alcohol is hygroscopic (absorbs water from its surroundings). This process will dissolve the water in the cell phone. The water will then flow out of the cell phone, and any remaining alcohol will evaporate.

NOTE: Alcohol will not harm your cell phone, but may disrupt glue (from stickers and such). Use 95% alcohol, NOT rubbing alcohol, which is 50% - 70% alcohol by volume. And use it outside! Also, be sure to remove the battery first. After you've soaked it in the alcohol, leave your cell phone outside for a day or two to dry.

How To Fix A Wet Cell Phone
Additional Tips and Warnings

Additional Tips:
• Don’t put the cell phone battery on for at least 3 days or longer if your digital screen is foggy.
• The best way to dry out your wet cell phone is to place it in front of an air conditioner or air conditioning vent. Cold air won’t damage your cell phone (hot air can warp, or in extreme cases, even melt plastic), and air from an air conditioner will evaporate water quickly.
• Warm air from a reverse-cycle air conditioner works even better. If you dry your cell phone in this way overnight, it should be fine by morning.
• Use a hairdryer set on "warm" - it doesn't melt your head, so your cell phone should be safe as well.
• Use a food dehydrator to dry out the cell phone.

Warnings:
• Don’t heat the cell phone battery or it could leak battery acid! If you use an oven or hairdryer, make sure to remove the battery first!
• If you use alcohol, be sure to do so outside, and do not apply heat in any form - not even the gentle heat of a monitor. Do not hook up the cell phone battery until the alcohol smell dissipates.
• Do not apply heat to your cell phone other than mentioned above. You don’t want to melt or burn your phone.
• Even if all these steps are followed, minerals dissolved in the water can precipitate on solder and cell phone component pins, causing corrosion or shorting. The component pins are packed so closely together in a modern cell phone that even minor corrosion can create a short circuit, rendering your cell phone inoperable.

How to Create Superstars In Your Downline...

It's Not Easy Bein' Green

As Kermit the Frog is known for singing:

It's not easy bein' green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer bein' red or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that.

And while that may be true - that being green may not be so easy, making green, on the other hand, can be. Just read this from Tim Sales...

How to Create Superstars In Your Downline

"I am new to MLM - and I already feel like I am spread too thin. My downline (small as it may be now) will continue to grow and I will not be able to give them each unlimited access to my time as is the case now. However, I want my downline to feel fully supported. How do I focus my training & maximize my time?"

The real underlying question I see is, "How do I train my downline so I can retire?"

Pretend you have a young son. He doesn't yet know how to tie his shoes. You are taking him somewhere and as you're gathering up your items to leave you look down and see that his shoes are untied. What do you do?

You see, if you tie his shoes, the job will be done and you'll be on your way out the door quickly. But you will have to continue to tie his shoes every time they're untied. Why? Because you didn't invest your time in training the boy how - you expended your time by doing it for him.

In the Brilliant Compensation DVD I make a statement that is the secret to wealth - and the answer to this person's question:

Wealth is hidden from those who must do it all themselves. Wealth exposes itself to those patient enough to train others.

With that thought fresh in your mind, I'll finish the story of the boy who needs his shoes tied.

If instead of tying the boy's shoes you teach him to tie his own shoes; he will not learn it immediately, so the immediate result is that it will take longer. But in a few days (or weeks) he will learn how to tie his shoes. Then, he will be able to do it on his own and you won't have to.

So, if every time your down line calls you with their shoes untied...and you tie them - you've only expended your time and will continue to spread yourself too thin. Instead, invest your time and train them so that they will never have to come to you with that question again.

The second part of the answer is, don't answer people's questions below your front line. Every person you help below your front line is like inheriting a new front line because you will teach everyone in your downline that you have answers that the people in between you and them don't have! If you do this you will never have "time" and you'll NEVER retire.