Make Money Online

The One Essential Tool You Need to Brand, Market and Manage Twitter

Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by Michael.

How I Use MarketMeTweet to Brand, Market and Manage Twitter

Hi Everyone,

Today, I want to introduce you to my new, favorite Twitter Application.

Last August I did a Twitter Tips Post explaining how Twitter was sending over 100000 visitors per month to my sites. That post has gone on to be one of the most widely read posts at IncomeDiary.com, but you know Twitter and how to make the best use of it is always evolving.

Twitter and the micro-blogging phenomenon is the BIGGEST single change I have seen during my time online. TWITTER is no GOOGLE but in terms of how it has gone mainstream and impacted everyone’s lives it is right up there with Google. Internet Marketers were amongst the first to embrace Twitter – but these days, just about every celebrity, news program or business of any substance has a Twitter element to it.

That is why I consider what I am going to talk about today – MarketMeTweet – as the single biggest Twitter Application to come out in recent months – certainly one of the most useful and innovative.

MarketMeTweet is the creation of two good friends of mine – Alan Hamlyn and Tammy Fennell but as I am sure you appreciate, I am not promoting this product because they are friends. I am promoting this product because in my opinion it is the best Twitter Application out there and also currently one of the least expensive. Currently for a one time fee of $40 you get a tool that easily beats any of the other alternatives out there. (Some Inferior tools compare at over $188 to buy and have a monthly recurring subscription)

Normally I shy away from posts promoting an individual product but frankly this Twitter Application really is worth making a song and dance about

In this post we go into quite a bit of detail of how to use MarketMeTweet and get the best out of – a sort of step by step guide.

No matter is you are low level user of Twitter or a heavy user, this tool will make Twitter easier to use, more valuable to you and save you time.

I know a good number of readers have already invested in this product – this post will hopefully also act as a good primer for you, so you can get the best out of MarketMeTweet.

Finally, on the subject of price Alan and Tammy have deliberately priced this application at a very low price – so that they may build up a strong army of users as soon as possible. But I also know they are planning to increase that price in the near future. I am not saying in the next 24hrs or even the next week, but you can expect that within the month MarketMeTweet will no longer be available at this low price. (And I shall have to update this post then)

So without being too Salesy – now is the time to invest in MarketMeTweet.

Naturally I earn a commission should you buy via my link (can’t really believe anyone does not realize that) – but just in case you did not, I wanted to make a full disclosure. That said I don’t think I have ever given a piece of software as glowing a commendation as I am doing here for MarketMeTweet.

To our Success

Michael

PS: Just in case you are not following my IncomeDiary Twitter account – you will find it here:
Twitter.com/IncomeDiary

How I Use MarketMeTweet to Brand, Market and Manage Twitter

What Is MarketMe Tweet?

MarketMeTweet is a marketing tool that equips with Twitter management ability. As far as I can see it’s the first of it’s kind, so I had to give it a chance. Here is how I set it up for Income Diary.

I’ve determined people who would truly benefit from this tool fall into 5 categories:

• Internet Marketers
• Very Niche-Based Businesses (Realtors, Chiropractors, etc)
• People who want to keyword target and track progress
• People who want to add more high quality followers
• People who want to increase their brand exposure

Reply Campaigns

When I started using this tool the first thing that drew me to it was the Reply Campaigns. So here’s how I have set up mine to look. As you can see I’m showing you an image for the word “Wordpress Theme.” So I can track multiple keywords and even filter out unwanted terms using ‘Negative Keywords’, and also have ready-to-go reply templates. The first time I did this I got 5 responses within an hour, and 3 of them wound up asking me for advice and then came to my blog. So it’s definitely something that engages people.

Branding

This is the only tool I’ve found that does this, and it kind of blew my mind. I am able to set it so that my tweets now say “via IncomeDiary.com” with a link back to my website. Before this all my tweet’s said “from web” or “from Tweetdeck.”  And as soon as I tweeted from my own brand people started asking me “Hey, how did you do that!” I won’t say it doesn’t have a few steps you need to follow, because essentially what it’s doing is allowing you to create your own application while using MarketMeTweet to do it, so you do have to go through Twitter.com/apps, but they do make the steps super simple. I call this “passive marketing.” Takes the pressure off having to tweet a link every single time!

On their blog, they published that recently an agreement was reached with Twitter regarding branding, but make sure your brand name does not violate Twitter’s terms & conditions. (No affiliate links, pornography, etc) Twitter does have the ultimate say in what brands are approved, but I haven’t had any issues in this regard.

Scheduled Tweets

I’m a busy guy and yes, I do sometimes forget to Tweet. So is pretty cool. I can schedule my Tweets for up to a year in advance and there’s no limits which I found refreshing. Here is one I’m setting up to Tweet out during Underground in DC.

Location Targeting

This is a neat tool, and I spoke to the people at MarketMeTweet and apparently it’s going to get really awesome very soon. Right now I can filter my targeting for followers based on language and country, but soon I can do it for city too. I see major potential for marketing events in this way.

Unlimited Updates

This is something I’m really picky about. I really hate it when I buy something and then a week later new features come out and they’re like “Upgrade… for a fee.”  MarketMeTweet has made a public promise that all updates to the desktop version are going to be free of charge. Since I bought it I’ve already had 3 updates come my way, each one better than the next, so I do have to give the tool Kudos for that.

Management Suite

So like many people I have been a “Tweetdeck Junkie” for a long time. It’s comfortable, I’m used to it.  However, the fact that MarketMeTweet has a pretty decent management side is a MAJOR plus in my book because it was a bit exhausting to have marketing and management in two different tools. This is something that they have said they are going to be adding more functionality to as well.  I was able to get some ‘inside info’ that in April, version two will be released (free to everyone who already has version one, but at a higher price to anyone who wasn’t bought) and this version will be a management juggernaut.

OAuth Secure

I’m not an overly technological person, so at first I didn’t understand the relevance of this, but it didn’t take me long to find out that Twitter is really changing their rules VERY soon. June of 2010 to be exact. What does this mean? If apps don’t follow Twitter’s rules, they will be suspended. That’s going to admittedly be a sad day for some tools I have grown to like, but I’m pleased that MarketMeTweet is totally Twitter Compliant. If I spend money I don’t want to see it cease to function!

Bit.ly shortening

I like bit.ly because I can track clicks, so this a neat little extra that I use regularly and it’s conveniently located as both a shorten button and a stats button.

All in all I give this tool high marks. Is there room for improvement? Sure, but the fact that MarketMeTweet actually took a call with me, listened to my suggestions and made a commitment to keep improving free of charge? Well that’s certainly worth $39.99 in my book! You can pick up yours at MarketMeTweet.com/newtool

PS – As you know I make my living promoting products I think are worthy and I use affiliate links. They do have an affiliate program for this so if you wanted to sign up to help spread the word, you can do so here.

Twitter Tools – a Comparison

OK, so as you can tell I am a big fan of MarketMeTweet – but what other alternatives are out there?

Well I do detail some of them here but I have in particular has success with the following tool in the past:

Twitter Adder ! – which allows you to Find and Engage Like-Minded Twitter Followers & Automate Twitter Posts. You can buy one Profile for $55 or unlimited profiles for $188.

Some more useful tools:

TweetDeck – the leading browser for the real-time and social web, allowing users to connect with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace

SocialOomph.com – formally called: TweetLater. SocialOomph.com is a service that provides free and paid productivity enhancement services for social media users.

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How I Monetize My Blog and How You Can Too

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by Michael.

How You Make Money From Your Blog

Hi Everyone,

This weekend I shall be attending Ryan Lee’s Continuity Summit in Stamford, Connecticut and next week I shall be in Washington DC for Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar

But before I go I thought I’d produce both a quick video and a blog post to answer one of the most frequently asked questions I receive – which is: ‘How Do I Monetize My Blog?’ or ‘How Can I Monetize My Blog?’

Believe it or not, some people, even now, don’t fully understand how I monetize this blog.

I still get people wondering why I don’t accept advertising!

This video explains one strategy I use when it comes to putting Interviews on this website, but there are other methods such as list building, ecourse and endorsing offers from other Bloggers. In addition I have also expanded on some of what I say in the video in the post that follows (It was just going to be a transcript of the video – but I got carried away and added a good bit more)

As always I look forward to your comments.

To Our Success

Michael

PS: Attending seminars and masterminding with fellow Internet Entrepreneurs has given me the biggest return on investment of anything I have done in my online business. There are always more ways to improve our businesses – and I am looking forward to returning home in a couple of weeks, with even more ideas, which of course I will share here. I also hope to get the chance to do a blog post or two as I travel – and of course you can always keep up with the latest goings on at Twitter.com/IncomeDiary

PPS: By the way I am looking forward to meeting a good number my readers in Stamford and DC. It will be a Blast!

How I Monetize My Blog – The Video

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How I Monetize My Blog – Expanded

Today I wanted to share with you a method I use to monetize my sites.

Ingredient No1: INSPIRATION

For example an INTERVIEW with a successful Internet Marketer

For an interview I have three main ways to monetize:

1) You start with the interviewee’s product. For example if it was Ryan Lee that I was interviewing I’d recommend one of his products. Additionally if I found there was a good number of conversions for the offer I may later do a special feature / promotion on the blog / to the list (but that is for later)

2) In addition in just about every blog post I will include links to other worthwhile products that I recommend. As a lot of my readers are bloggers it naturally makes sense to include some Blogging Related products here. That is why you see me promoting: Blogging To The Bank by Rob Benwell and Blog Mastermind by Yaro Starak

I have also discovered that some people only every seem to buy cheap products while others will always opt for the most expensive option – partly I believe because some people believe the more you pay, the more value you get. For this reason the two products I suggest are at different ends of the spectrum when it comes to price.

3) Create a comparison page or comparison chart. I cannot do this for every product but were I can, I have found it makes a big difference to conversions. My page on Blogging Resources is a good example of a comparison page.

You can have a comparison page for just about every product type – e.g. foods, tools, fitness equipment, website hosting etc

In most comparisons you will also want to make a recommendation or promote one option over and above another. If you can offer your readers a ‘coupon code’ for your recommendation then you will have a lot more conversions of the type you want

A great example of using a ‘coupon code’ is when people use my Coupon Code “Retireat21” to get their first month of hosting with Hostgator for just 1 cent!

To give you another example – I found a great Twitter tool so I created a post on how to drive traffic with Twitter and featured that product and others on it.

This is an example of discovering something that works from a Blog Post – and then making a bigger feature of it elsewhere on the site.

Every-time anyone asks me about Twitter – I direct them to that page.

How Else Do I Make Money?

Well of course I have an email list, people who have signed up for the IncomeDiary.com eCourse or one of the other optins within the site. I have covered Email List Building and Auto-responders in detail in this post, so will not go into great detail here – just suffice to say there is something magical about sending out an email to your list and seeing a $1000 or more turn up in your commissions account within a few hours.

If you look at IncomeDiary.com in detail you will see that it is designed to help people to take positive action in their online business TODAY.

It is the “No Leakage Rule” applied — this website does not have a Blog Roll or anything like that. At IncomeDiary.com I have concentrated on delivering outstanding value – value that encourages people to join my lists / follow me.

This is perhaps my strongest recommendation to you – that you deliver value first and the money really will follow. A lot of people struggle with writing posts that can take several days to put together (such as researching a list) but if you are committed to doing that on a regular basis you will get the visitors and many of those visitors will join your email list.

Once you get on the IncomeDiary.com email list, you will receive a series of emails (eCourse) via an Autoresponder. You’ll get like day one, day two, week four, week five and various other Free reports which produce income via affiliate commissions. Make sure to read Email List Building and Auto-responders in detail to be fully conversant with this and in particular how to email and NOT email your lists. No one likes a Spammer.

Also, and this is most important get yourself a reputation for delivering value and benefit – that means people are more likely to read your emails when you get them and take action.

One thing that has been very successful for me has been to promote other peoples products as the go through the Product Launch Sequence. You will often find that there are reports and videos with great value in them given away in the launch. Even if people don’t but the product people will get value from these free reports / videos and if you do it right, people will thank you.

VERY IMPORTANT: Only ever promote a product you would buy yourself and only a product from an individual you know and trust yourself.

It makes me cringe when I see some people promoting several different offerings from different Marketers every week – some even promote more than one offering in a day! I hate to say it — but there really is not that many great products around – so frankly finding more than a few offers per month to promote is difficult. (Anyone who is promoting more than that I think must be going for QUANTITY over QUALITY)

Talking of Promotions and Product Launches – it is nice to find products that pay you a recurring commission every month, for as long as a customer remains a member of the program. This applies not just to membership websites but also to some software products, indeed one of my nicest recurring incomes comes from promoting some software.

The great thing about most of these offers is that there will be a special introduction price – e.g $1 Trial for the first month which allows people to try out a product before making a serious financial commitment. AWeber Offer a $1 Trial which has proved very successful for me.

NB: Please note I do not promote “forced continuity” — This is where people are not fully aware of what they are committing to.

Forced continuity is a big NO, NO. Fortunately that is becoming less of an issue and most sellers make everything clear in the sign-up process, but in the past it has been an issue.

For this reason I make sure to only promote offers from ethical, reliable, honest marketers. And you should of course do the same.

6THMHX8UG65X

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20 Things Every Internet Entrepreneur Should Own

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by Michael.

Entrepreneur Essentials

Hello Everyone,

It has been a while since I did a LIST – so here is one for you

20 Things That Every Internet Entrepreneur Needs

Most of us work from home offices – or maybe just a corner in the bedroom, but one thing I have been thinking recently is what items of technology (old or new) could we not live with out?

This list contains the obvious ones – but I hope it also contains some things that some people will have forgotten. I was speaking with a friend (who is quite successful) the other day and I was surprised at some of the things they had not considered – in particular Disaster Planning.

I mean he had virtually no back ups (back-ups of websites, back-ups of PC, back-ups of Email Contacts etc). In addition they had never considered having a fireproof safe or an off-site location for back-ups.

Now I know not all of us need these things – but it is too easy when you don’t work in the so called ‘normal’ office environment to miss out on some essential Admin tasks.

Another note — Home Office Insurance – How many of us have it?

Question 1 – What have I missed of this list?

Question 2 – What one item (apart for a computer) could you not do with out?

Let me know your thoughts

Also — thank you to everyone who commented on my last post: The True Story Of My Overnight Success – I am touched. Thank you.

best wishes

Michael

#1 Dual Monitor Display
	I remember ages ago reading that having a dual screen can increase your productivity by over 29.7% and would have to say, since implementing this into my home office, it’s made a huge difference! I would always be flicking back and forth between lots of different things and now I can just manage so much more. More Information
* * * * *
#2 Business Cards
	Business cards are one of those vital things all entrepreneurs and business people should carry at all times. It amazes me how often and where I get asked for a business card, from waiting in line at the airport to having my hair cut. When people ask for your card, there basically showing an interest in your business and what you can offer them. More Information
* * * * *
#3 Whiteboard
	I love to brainstorm ideas, having a whiteboard is a huge advantage for this. I use to have to do it on small sheets of paper and everything got kind of messy. More Information
* * * * *
#4 Logitech Laser Mouse
	Over the last few years I have had dozens of mouse’s, all pretty much rubbish! Last year I decided to go for a wireless one because the cable always was getting in the way or wasn’t long enough for where I was work. Since using a Logitech Laser mouse I have been so much more productive, it may be such a small thing but it really does make a difference. More Information
* * * * *
#5 Flip Camera HD
	I got my first flip camera for free when I entered a blog contest as a favour to a friend. Last year when I was in NYC interviewing Gary Vaynerchuk I was having trouble with my video camera and I asked Gary what he used to video his web TV show and he told me he used his Flip. So like any good entrepreneur, I had a back up camera which was my flip camera and I got it out and used it to do the whole interview. Once I had finished I was able to straight away use the devise to upload to Youtube! More Information
* * * * *
#6 Backpack With Laptop Sleeve
	I travel quite a lot and there’s nothing worse than having to carry an extra bag through an Airport, you already have enough stuff and I usually want to buy more. Having a sleeve in your backpack just seemed like a no-brainer to me! More Information
* * * * *
#7 Digital Camera
	Another thing I use often is my digital camera, it usually gets the most action at seminars and events, taking pictures for blog posts. More Information
* * * * *
#8 Mobile Phone With Internet and Email Access
	One thing I think we can all agree on is that we love email because it typically means money. The only down side is that checking email seems to be constantly on our mind and when we are around friends and family, they don’t seem to appreciate us constantly going off to our computers and checking. Having a mobile with email access is vital people! More Information
* * * * *
#9 Alarm Clock and Phone Charger
	I know your probably thinking, but we live the internet lifestyle, why do we need an alarm clock anymore? We still need it, weather its for our early flights abroad or to get up in time to meet a client, talk to programmers or to make sure we are up in time for lunch. More Information
* * * * *
#10 Printer
	I typically don’t print much but love to be able to see my work on paper, call me old school but it helps! Another obvious reason is printing of those e-tickets! More Information
* * * * *
#11 Bin
	If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly writing lots and ideas down, my table easily get’s in a mess and I know when it’s a mess, I don’t work so well. Having a bin just makes it easy for us to keep clutter free. More Information
* * * * *
#12 Microphone/Headset
	I like to work when it suits me, it’s one of the many perks of the job. However, my family don’t seem to appreciate me working late at night with loud music or talking to programmers on Skype which makes a head headset a no brainer! More Information
* * * * *
#13 Desktop Backup
	Desktop backups are a must for everyone, we have all lost things in the past and wish we could get them back, this little box makes sure that doesn’t happen! More Information
* * * * *
#14 Fire and Water Proof Safe
	I don’t ever think my house will catch fire or get flooded, however I would be dumb not to at least protect some of my most important things from it. Great for keeping backups, passwords, money and other important documents. More Information
* * * * *
#15 Ergonomic Office Chair
	Considering we spend all our working hours behind a computer on a chair, I would say this is one of the more important items I have in my office. Having a good work chair allows you to work longer which allows you to make more money! More Information
* * * * *
#16 Universal Plug Adapters
	As mentioned above, a lot of us entrepreneurs travel a lot and without universal plug adapters we wouldn’t be able to work while travelling, a vital piece of kit you should all have! More Information
* * * * *
#17 Filing Box
	I know a lot of us don’t write much down or print much these days so we can get away with such a small amount of filing but it is important to do! Keeping good records is important and without one, we wouldn’t be able to do that. More Information
* * * * *
#18 Good Lighting
	It may sound such a minor thing but it helps! A well lit work area does make a great difference to your productiveness as you can see more clearly and focus better. More Information
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#19 Surge Protector
	Another essential for all of us, we all have so many devises and pieces of equipment that charging is often on our mind, having a surge protector takes that worry away. More Information
* * * * *
#20 Expandable Trolley Case
	Getting everything you need in a case is hard enough, trying to bring it half way round the world is another thing! Having a great trolley case makes travelling a breeze. More Information
* * * * *

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Underground Scholarship, Internet Marketing Discussion and Forced Continuity

Posted on 27. Jan, 2010 by Michael.

Hi Everyone

I have three IMPORTANT updates that I wanted to let every one know about today.

1) Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship to Yanik Silvers Underground Seminar

Are you a Young Entrepreneur aged 13 – 23 or do you know a Young Entrepreneur aged 13 – 21?

I am very pleased to announce that my RetireAt21.com website has partnered with Yanik Silver to offer: Scholarship Attendance To The 2010 Underground Online Seminar for selected Young Entrepreneurs aged 13 – 23

A Scholarship includes Free admission to Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar® 6 to be held at a top-secret location in Washington, DC on March 12-14, 2010. ($3,495 value) plus a host of other benefits – check out link below for more details

You can find full details of the Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship here

Yanik offered scholarship’s last year for the first time and at least 5 of the scholarship attendees were readers of mine. I would love to meet even more readers at this years event.

2) Internet Marketing Discussion

I was very pleased to see some very interesting and considered comments following my “Are You Frustrated By Internet Marketing” post last week.

It appears I struck a bit of a nerve. Of course getting comments is not unusual, but what impressed me was the quality of comments and indeed the ‘discussion’. I had not mentioned it before, but one of my goals for IncomeDiary.com in 2010 is to have more DISCUSSION and interaction between readers.

Andrew mentioned THE HYPE you find with Internet Marketing and there was much agreement about that point – especially with regards to just how much (or little) effort is required.

I was also thinking that a lot of my readers are aware of my own personal lifestyle choices with regards to Internet Marketing and traveling etc. I am now fortunate enough to be able to do a fair amount of travel, doing fun stuff etc while at the same time earning a very decent living. But what is perhaps not so clear is just now ‘hard’ or diligently I do actually work whenever I am in actually at work. Indeed I would go so far as to say that even when I am relaxing I am always thinking of what I see or experience in terms of Blog Posts, Business observations etc

A long post on one of my blogs (e.g. A Top List) can actually take several days to research and put together.

So How Much Work Is Required Per Week To Realistically Earn A Full Time Living As A Blogger?

Well, I think it actually depends on NICHES’s but I would say that most ‘full-time’ bloggers like me work at least 25 – 35 hrs per week. OK, there will be times when I work less than 10 hrs per week, but that is only because I have invested time and effort into future posts in previous weeks. There will also be weeks when I put in 50 hrs plus, usually before I go of on a trip somewhere.

In my own spirit of Removing The HYPE, I will be spending more time in future posts discussing the work element.

My good friend Bernadette Doyle is an Internet Marketer that I really look up to and she runs a 7 Figure Business while working just 3 days per week. In Bernadette’s case this is because of necessity – she is mother to two Young Children (and even Nannies need days off). If I have it correct in addition to her 3 work days I believe Bernadette schedules two days at weekend to be with her Children Full Time (Bernadette works from home, so she sees her Children every day, but the weekend is dedicated Children time) Additionally she has one day a week dedicated to “Me Time” – when she goes to Spa, Dancing etc. The remaining day is a floating day I believe that allows her flexibility to catch up on things etc.

Actually Bernadette’s example is one that I am trying to emulate.

Overall, I think it would be better that Marketeers made this WORK thing much clearer to people, where more realistic about what kind of effort is required. Afterall:

There is no such thing as a Free Lunch

One other comment in that post that got my attention was from Felix

Felix makes the case for delivering value first – and then attempting to sell a product. Something I agree 100% with.

Felix also made the point that ……….

If you are not willing to put in the work, your fairy tale bubbles will burst as soon as you stop hustling

Thank you Felix – that is exactly the point I was trying to make above

Additionally Felix says:

If a lot of value is being delivered for free, how much more will you receive if you buy.

Felix does say to take his comment with a pinch of salt so I am not 100% sure what point Felix was making here. If the point is that paying for something will no necessarily improve the return then I personally cannot agree.

Firstly, if you pay for something then in ‘theory’ you are being more serious about your business and more likely to take the required action to succeed long term.

But even more importantly in my opinion, I have not ever met any successful marketer or business person who does not invest in themselves on a regular basis – in terms of training etc.

I find a lot of wannabee Internet Marketers suffer from Poverty Consciousness – never buying a product (but often ‘borrowing’ someone elses product or looking for “freebies’ generally)

Of course, I am not for one second suggesting Felix is one of these people – far from it. What I am saying is that if you ever really hope to make it BIG online then you will have to invest in yourself in terms of buying courses, attending workshops, seminars etc.

I remember one particular very successful online marketer once explaining to me that he would invest $2000 in a Home Study Course that would provide him with just one good idea and be happy about it.

Of course, the important point here is to decide wisely on what products, courses, seminars to invest in — and in the coming weeks as mentioned previously that will be one of my focuses

3) Forced Continuity

My good buddy Ryan Lee made an interesting post on forced continuity over at his blog recently. As always, Ryan (himself the Continuity King) gives us lots to think about – but what I found most interesting was the actual wealth of comments the post got.

Do you know what Forced Continuity is?

Well, definitions do vary – but to me Forced Continuity is when a marketer often offers something free or low cost on a Trial Basis (Capturing your credit card details as they do it) that then continues to bill you each month thereafter at the higher cost and the reason it is FORCED is that the Marketer does not make this clear in their marketing, or if they do, then it is such small print as to be almost unnoticeable. What is more the process of canceling this ’subscription’ can be a nightmare afterwards. (Difficult to locate cancellation pages etc)

Now let me be clear – I am a great fan of Continuity – it is an excellent business model and one that has been used long before the Internet existed (I don’t remember, but my Father was just telling me about the Book Clubs that used to automatically send you a new book every month after an introductory offer). What I am not a fan of is deceit and scamming people.

Ryan is a great example of someone who does Continuity correctly. People will want to cancel subscriptions – but don’t make unhappy customers out of them by making it difficult to cancel etc.

I am already noticing a lot clearer offers when in comes to Continuity Recently – and this can only be a good thing

A word of personal advice – do not join any subscription service without first also being clear on how you going about canceling the subscription later if you wish.

I hope you enjoyed this post – I normally try to make my posts specific to one topic (and actually I usually recommend that) – Today is the exception with multiple topics.

I look forward to your comments as always

To Our Success

Michael

PS: You can find full details of the Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship here

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Are You Frustrated By Internet Marketing?

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Michael.

Alternative Title:

Why I Attend Seminars

Hi Everyone

I get a lot of feedback and emails from my blogs. Most of it is very positive and encouraging – but occasionally there are some less positive comments. (I even had someone refer to me as a ‘retard’ last week) I accepted a long time ago, that I am not going to please everyone and not everyone will like me. Come to think of it, that’s a business rule that could have well been included in my recent list of 21 Rules For Business blog post.

Anyway, last week I sent out a promotional email for Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar It is not unusual to have some un-subscribes after a mailing – but one in particular that I received last week got my attention. In the reason for un-subscribing they said:

Fed up with all these people trying to sell me things, I want to make money not buy things.

I was surprised and saddened – I mean how can anyone in business hope to make money without spending some money on their education?

As I thought a bit more about this email, something else occurred to me – that this comment was in fact a comment made out of Frustration. In fact this person is most likely trying very hard to be successful online but for whatever reason not having the breakthrough they hoped for. (Either that or else they are already so successful they don’t need to educate themselves anymore!)

I like the Wikipedia definition of frustration:

Frustration is an emotional response to circumstances where one is obstructed from arriving at a personal goal

I am not sure I can help this individual but I do know from the emails I get a fair number of my readers experience frustration.

I think too many people have been ’sold’ on the idea that making money is easy, requiring little investment and almost no hard work. Often the people being ’sold’ are desperate, in debt, working in jobs they don’t like and even quite depressed.

I am not going to give a lesson on handling frustration here but I will give you my personal strategy for handling those frustrating moments by asking myself on simple question:

What Have I learned From This Situation?

Even if you are BROKE, you have learned how to be Broke – and if you know how to be broke, then you should be able to reverse engineer so that you are not broke!

Another great question to ask is:

What Can I be Happy About Right Now?

Not an easy question to ask in really tragic situations but most times in business there is something that you can be happy about – even if it is only that you are taking ACTION about being Broke, or you have learned away to not do something.

I know that many of us don’t find it that easy, especially if we have had a lifetime of conditioning otherwise. Where we are right now in our lives is the sum total of all our decisions up to now. If we are to experience a better outcome then clearly we will have to make some new decisions.

What New Life Changing Decision Are You Going To Make Today?

Finally on this point, almost every major breakthrough in my life has been preceded by some moments of frustration – when you accept that frustration leads to breakthroughs then I find it is much easier to handle.

Why I Attend Seminars

For me personally, all the big breakthroughs have come at seminars – it is being around other like minded and ambitious people that makes the difference. If I had not attended seminars then I would never have been able to brainstorm with people like Yanik Silver, James Schramko, Ryan Lee and Alex Jeffreys. Being able to do that is Frankly worth far more than the price of admission to any seminar.

I appreciate for some of you it is a financial stretch – but if you can do it, I really believe that Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar can be life changing, as it has been for me. Indeed it was attendance at last years event that allowed me personally to move up to being a 6 Figure Blogger. (Remember The Starbucks Effect I discussed in this POST)

I have had more Ah-ha Moments and breakthroughs from frustration at seminars than anywhere else.

Finally, on the subject of seminars, I have to say that not all Internet Marketing seminars are equal — indeed, there are some dreadful seminars (better described as “Pitch Fests” ) that often offer free or low cost admission that I plan to discuss in a future post. That said, even at some of these Pitch Fests I have made some awesome connections and got ideas for my business – ideas that I would not have got if I had stayed at home. When I do that post I will reveal my personal strategy for deciding what products to invest in for my education – and which ‘teachers’ to avoid.

I also plan to discuss mentoring, coaching and Mastermind Groups (another ’secret’ of my success) in a future post. If you have any questions related to that let me know.

Also, I would really love to hear what frustrates you about Internet Marketing or business in general? Or what your solutions are for handling frustration? Let me have your comments below.

To Our Success

Michael

PS: Just as an afterthought — I also know some of you get upset when people un-subscribe. Please don’t. What interests someone today may not interest them in 6 weeks or 6 months from now. Get over it

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