Intro
The Law of Attraction is a very alluring idea. Think about it, visualize it and it will be yours. It’s like a genie in a lamp, ready to grant wish after wish. We hear success story after success story of how one man got rich just by thinking about it or how some woman found the man of her dreams through positive thinking. I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but that just isn’t how it works.
When I was little, I changed imaginary careers as often as I discarded old toys. One day I was a scientist playing with a chemistry set and the next day I’m yelling at my dolls to stop the presses ‘cause I’ve got a big scoop. Twenty years later I find myself working at a 24-hour news station, writing news and producing scripts. The Universe has a funny way of making the stuff of child’s play into reality. Could I have become a scientist? I doubt it, since I can’t tell the difference between a quark and an electron and science didn’t hold its interest for very long. I believe my passion for writing at an early age steered my life into the direction it’s in now.
That’s how manifestation works. It isn’t a cure-all by any means but it’s definitely a way to achieve goals and fulfill dreams. If you put in the work of course.
The following chapters will outline the various myths floating around the Law of Attraction. We’ll sort out the crap and learn the most effective way of using our mind to attain our deepest desires.
Chapter Names
Chapter 1: Manifestation – If you build it, will it come?
Explaining the basics of the Law of Attraction. The origin of the idea and some examples of popular sources like The Secret.
Chapter 2: Myth – Wishing and Hoping is Good Enough
Thinking really hard about a pile of money isn’t going to magically make it appear. Setting a goal then getting up and going after it are two entirely different things.
Chapter 3: Myth – Obsession vs Attraction
Obsession borders on mania. Single-mindedness about anything is never healthy. Being well-rounded yet focused is key.
Chapter 4: Myth – You’ll be Swimming in Money in No Time
It takes time. It may takes years but having a goal in life and moving forward will eventually get you to where you want to be. Be patient.
Chapter 5: Myth – It’s Foolproof
Sometimes it just doesn’t work. Wishing for a hunky George Clooney lookalike to sweep you off your feet may not be the right way to go about it. Adjusting your thoughts and having the correct focus is important to turn them into reality.
Chapter 6: Myth – No Sweat Results
Wanting to lose 20 pounds isn’t going to happen just because you’re thinking about it. You need to push yourself to take the necessary steps.
Chapter 7: Myth – Positive Thinking = Manifestation
You don’t always need to think positive to achieve manifestation. It’s a great plus of course but the Law of Attraction is a different animal altogether.
Conclusion
Nothing in life ever comes easy but the first step towards getting the most out of life starts in our minds. We have to know what we want and we have to know that we deserve it.
Many people take for granted the power of manifestation and forget that we have to give as much as we take. Spreading goodwill and positive energy should be on everyone’s to-do list.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Click on the links below or under the header to see the articles for each magazine.
Internet Marketing TNT
Small Business CEO
Healthy Wealthy n-Wise
Internet Marketing TNT
Small Business CEO
Healthy Wealthy n-Wise
5 Ways to Turn Negative Social Media Feedback into a Positive
I once went to the wedding reception of a college friend. Everyone I knew in college was there. The evening was going well as we enjoyed wonderful food, great wine, and dancing.
Halfway through the night my friend’s uncle decided a toast was necessary and staggered up to the DJ’s station. While dancing awkwardly to Men Without Hats the entire crowd stopped to listen in horror as my friend’s uncle gave the most brutally honest toast imaginable. Unlike my friend’s uncle, negative social media comments can’t be tackled and dragged off the dance floor.
Likewise, businesses are no longer dictating but rather listening and conversing with their customer base. By opening your company up for this conversation you also leave the ability for consumers to complain – loudly and publicly. What should you, as a company, do then? Below are five ways to turn that negative feedback into a positive experience.
Identify:
Being able to identify the intent of the negative comment should be the first step. Does the commenter have a legitimate complaint about your service or product, and is he/she looking for a solution? Perhaps a suggestion in the form of constructive criticism is how the commenter decided to express his/her concern. Last, there are individuals that have no legitimate reason for complaint and have decided to troll or spam their message through the social media venue.
Humanize:
Try understanding where the commenter is coming from instead of deleting or being overly defensive. Humanizing the response adheres to the guidelines that social media is a conversation first and foremost – rather than a way to espouse misplaced hostility. An understanding response takes the wind out of the criticism and gives you the opportunity to spin the comment in your favor.
It is always necessary to deal with a straight forward problem. Whether the message is highly personal or a general friendly clarification depends on the scope of the problem in the public’s eyes.
Conversely, others may perceive the way your company does something a certain way as a problem. This should still be addressed with an explanation of why those actions are done in that specific way. A customer pointing out a suggestion through constructive criticism should always receive a response. Although you usually can’t implement the proposed suggestion, letting the customer know you are listening is the key.
The only time a response is not warranted is when an individual leaves a trolling (unseemly) comment. These people are not actively looking for a response to a problem nor have any ideas on how to improve your business. By replying you will only manage to fuel an ongoing slanderous fire.
Promptness:
The ability to promptly address a problem serves two purposes:
1) It shows the commenter that you are attentive to their needs.
2) It lessens the time in which the commenter can continue to complain without any response from the company’s side. A great way to quickly and efficiently follow any and all mentions of your business is to set up a reputation monitoring dashboard using Google alerts. Marty Weintraub has laid out the ground work to monitor your social media by showing you how to make an excellent monitoring dashboard.
Involve your Audience:
The best defense is a good offense. Allowing your customer base to address their concerns directly to you can stop many complaints through public social media sites. Sending out surveys to a small group of individuals within your customer base and creating white papers from the data will serve as reference points that customers and you as a company can use to confront problems and questions. This new approach goes one step past the frequent questions and answers and makes the customer feel more involved.
Do not delete:
Finally, it may seem very tempting to sweep all the negativity under the carpet, but your customer base will notice that trend far quicker than you may think. Depriving your customers from being social on a social media site seems rather pointless, does it not? Learning to embrace negative comments and turning them into opportunities to show customers that your company cares can’t be accomplished by deleting and pretending the comments, and the problem, never existed.
As social media continues to improve and define the way in which we interact with each other, both in B2B and B2C, people will have to adapt and learn how to best approach problems in such a public forum. If you have any additional advice or stories of how you combated a negative comment I would love to hear about it.
About the author
Jordan Knox is NuRelm’s new social media specialist.You can email Jordan Knox at Jordan@nurelm.com.
Halfway through the night my friend’s uncle decided a toast was necessary and staggered up to the DJ’s station. While dancing awkwardly to Men Without Hats the entire crowd stopped to listen in horror as my friend’s uncle gave the most brutally honest toast imaginable. Unlike my friend’s uncle, negative social media comments can’t be tackled and dragged off the dance floor.
Likewise, businesses are no longer dictating but rather listening and conversing with their customer base. By opening your company up for this conversation you also leave the ability for consumers to complain – loudly and publicly. What should you, as a company, do then? Below are five ways to turn that negative feedback into a positive experience.
Identify:
Being able to identify the intent of the negative comment should be the first step. Does the commenter have a legitimate complaint about your service or product, and is he/she looking for a solution? Perhaps a suggestion in the form of constructive criticism is how the commenter decided to express his/her concern. Last, there are individuals that have no legitimate reason for complaint and have decided to troll or spam their message through the social media venue.
Humanize:
Try understanding where the commenter is coming from instead of deleting or being overly defensive. Humanizing the response adheres to the guidelines that social media is a conversation first and foremost – rather than a way to espouse misplaced hostility. An understanding response takes the wind out of the criticism and gives you the opportunity to spin the comment in your favor.
It is always necessary to deal with a straight forward problem. Whether the message is highly personal or a general friendly clarification depends on the scope of the problem in the public’s eyes.
Conversely, others may perceive the way your company does something a certain way as a problem. This should still be addressed with an explanation of why those actions are done in that specific way. A customer pointing out a suggestion through constructive criticism should always receive a response. Although you usually can’t implement the proposed suggestion, letting the customer know you are listening is the key.
The only time a response is not warranted is when an individual leaves a trolling (unseemly) comment. These people are not actively looking for a response to a problem nor have any ideas on how to improve your business. By replying you will only manage to fuel an ongoing slanderous fire.
Promptness:
The ability to promptly address a problem serves two purposes:
1) It shows the commenter that you are attentive to their needs.
2) It lessens the time in which the commenter can continue to complain without any response from the company’s side. A great way to quickly and efficiently follow any and all mentions of your business is to set up a reputation monitoring dashboard using Google alerts. Marty Weintraub has laid out the ground work to monitor your social media by showing you how to make an excellent monitoring dashboard.
Involve your Audience:
The best defense is a good offense. Allowing your customer base to address their concerns directly to you can stop many complaints through public social media sites. Sending out surveys to a small group of individuals within your customer base and creating white papers from the data will serve as reference points that customers and you as a company can use to confront problems and questions. This new approach goes one step past the frequent questions and answers and makes the customer feel more involved.
Do not delete:
Finally, it may seem very tempting to sweep all the negativity under the carpet, but your customer base will notice that trend far quicker than you may think. Depriving your customers from being social on a social media site seems rather pointless, does it not? Learning to embrace negative comments and turning them into opportunities to show customers that your company cares can’t be accomplished by deleting and pretending the comments, and the problem, never existed.
As social media continues to improve and define the way in which we interact with each other, both in B2B and B2C, people will have to adapt and learn how to best approach problems in such a public forum. If you have any additional advice or stories of how you combated a negative comment I would love to hear about it.
About the author
Jordan Knox is NuRelm’s new social media specialist.You can email Jordan Knox at Jordan@nurelm.com.
Understanding Depression
Over the last fourteen years I have worked with a number of clients who believe themselves to be suffering from depression - as if it were an illness like cancer or heart disease. Depression is not an illness, it is a construct of the subconscious mind, a product of an ongoing addiction to useless thought and, although its effects are very, very real in people's minds, depression is an illusion.
By pure chance, I bumped into Dr. Peter Breggin in Dublin about two years ago. The New York based, world renowned psychiatrist was in Dublin assisting with the promotion of a book by Drs. Michael Corry and Aine Tubridy entitled 'Depression - an Emotion not an Illness'. On the day in question, they were presenting their perspective on depression to a representative group of senior psychiatrists and the Irish Minister for Health. Having worked with people who suffer from depression, I can fully appreciate the layout of the doctors' book - it is organized in chapters under a variety of headings which include bullying, sexual abuse and post traumatic stress disorder. You might wonder what subjects like this have to do with depression. The answer is simple - they are the root cause.
Whilst it is my intention to cover these specific areas - together with subjects such as fear, panic and suicide - and their effects in detail in further articles, the main point that I want to make here is that depression is a reaction. To quote Breggin directly 'depression is not a hardware problem, it is a software problem'. In other words, it is our thoughts and thought processes that create depression - not something that is fundamentally wrong with the machine. As such, pouring drugs into the sufferer may dampen down the symptoms but it will not treat or deal with the root cause. Breggin asked a small group of eminent psychiatrists - I was privileged to be present - how you would react if, having a problem with your PC, you wandered down to your local PC expert who, having taken the box from you, turned it on its side and poured a carton of yoghurt into the PC's cooling vent! Obviously, you'd be horrified - you'd run out of his workshop as fast as your feet would take you. But his analogy was striking and simple - pouring drugs into people that are thinking the wrong thoughts is, at the very least unhelpful.
What is worse is the growing trend towards electric shock therapy - having fallen into disrepute, the prescription of this treatment is again on the increase. On enquiring of Breggin how this dangerous treatment is supposed to work, I was informed that the electric shock is designed to kill the dysfunctional brain cells! How does it know? I have had clients who, in the past, had been subjected to this abuse, the net result being that they had become calmer - not through any miracle cure, but through a greater level of docility and resignation. I am aware of sufferers of depression committing suicide following such treatment just as I am aware of a statistically significant increase in the suicide rate of sufferers who had been prescribed certain drugs during advanced clinical trials - their deaths were quietly left out of the documentation as presented to the FDA in the US.
My point in delving into these murky waters is to try to encourage you, should you perceive yourself to be suffering from depression, to look in the opposite direction. Don't look outwards for help, look inwards. As I said, depression is a reaction. The subconscious is an expert in the art of reaction - the normal subconscious spends all of the normal person's adult life reacting not to what is going on but what it thinks is going on. Let me explain. If I were abused as a child, that abuse would have been indelibly impressed upon my subconscious - I would have been conditioned to, at the very least, feel bad about myself. I would have learned to feel, perhaps worthless or guilty. However, as I became an adult, my subconscious stopped learning. It's the same for everybody but, in my case, I would be carrying very heavy childhood baggage - baggage from which there is no escape because the normal adult subconscious dwells in the past - it is my childhood experiences that createmy daily adult reactive behaviour. The result of carrying this baggage will manifest itself differently for different people. Some will turn into abusers themselves, some will exhibit apparently unrelated forms of inappropriate behaviour, some will withdraw from reality and become depressed.
I give this an example to illustrate that depression has a psychological cause - even clinical or chemical depression, although I will deal with this separately. Drugging yourself up to the eyeballs won't cure the cause - only you can. Whilst most of my clients are normal healthy people, all of my clients receive similar advice. If you want to live your life free from whatever you perceive is holding you back, you have to recondition your subconscious - the part of your mind that was conditioned, generally speaking, during your formative years. This can only be done by you - you may need help and support and quite a lot of it - but, at the end of the day the only person who can be responsible for your own state of mind is you.
In order to recondition your subconscious, you have to learn how to access it. In my view, this is best done through a daily program of meditation - there are other methods that I have used but I believe meditation to be most powerful. If you are suffering from chronic or deep depression, your initial foray into meditation should be guided - obviously by someone who knows what they're doing and why you're doing it. If you have lived with depression for most of your adult life, the road may well be a long one - but it's a road that arrives at a wonderful destination of clarity of mind, peace, contentment and happiness.
About the author
Willie Horton has been a Personal Development expert since 1996 - working with top leaders in major organizations. An Irish ex-accountant, ex-banker, published author and keynote speaker, he travels the world, from his home in the French Alps, enabling people "live the dream". All his work - including his acclaimed Personal Development Workshop - is now online at http://www.gurdy.net
By pure chance, I bumped into Dr. Peter Breggin in Dublin about two years ago. The New York based, world renowned psychiatrist was in Dublin assisting with the promotion of a book by Drs. Michael Corry and Aine Tubridy entitled 'Depression - an Emotion not an Illness'. On the day in question, they were presenting their perspective on depression to a representative group of senior psychiatrists and the Irish Minister for Health. Having worked with people who suffer from depression, I can fully appreciate the layout of the doctors' book - it is organized in chapters under a variety of headings which include bullying, sexual abuse and post traumatic stress disorder. You might wonder what subjects like this have to do with depression. The answer is simple - they are the root cause.
Whilst it is my intention to cover these specific areas - together with subjects such as fear, panic and suicide - and their effects in detail in further articles, the main point that I want to make here is that depression is a reaction. To quote Breggin directly 'depression is not a hardware problem, it is a software problem'. In other words, it is our thoughts and thought processes that create depression - not something that is fundamentally wrong with the machine. As such, pouring drugs into the sufferer may dampen down the symptoms but it will not treat or deal with the root cause. Breggin asked a small group of eminent psychiatrists - I was privileged to be present - how you would react if, having a problem with your PC, you wandered down to your local PC expert who, having taken the box from you, turned it on its side and poured a carton of yoghurt into the PC's cooling vent! Obviously, you'd be horrified - you'd run out of his workshop as fast as your feet would take you. But his analogy was striking and simple - pouring drugs into people that are thinking the wrong thoughts is, at the very least unhelpful.
What is worse is the growing trend towards electric shock therapy - having fallen into disrepute, the prescription of this treatment is again on the increase. On enquiring of Breggin how this dangerous treatment is supposed to work, I was informed that the electric shock is designed to kill the dysfunctional brain cells! How does it know? I have had clients who, in the past, had been subjected to this abuse, the net result being that they had become calmer - not through any miracle cure, but through a greater level of docility and resignation. I am aware of sufferers of depression committing suicide following such treatment just as I am aware of a statistically significant increase in the suicide rate of sufferers who had been prescribed certain drugs during advanced clinical trials - their deaths were quietly left out of the documentation as presented to the FDA in the US.
My point in delving into these murky waters is to try to encourage you, should you perceive yourself to be suffering from depression, to look in the opposite direction. Don't look outwards for help, look inwards. As I said, depression is a reaction. The subconscious is an expert in the art of reaction - the normal subconscious spends all of the normal person's adult life reacting not to what is going on but what it thinks is going on. Let me explain. If I were abused as a child, that abuse would have been indelibly impressed upon my subconscious - I would have been conditioned to, at the very least, feel bad about myself. I would have learned to feel, perhaps worthless or guilty. However, as I became an adult, my subconscious stopped learning. It's the same for everybody but, in my case, I would be carrying very heavy childhood baggage - baggage from which there is no escape because the normal adult subconscious dwells in the past - it is my childhood experiences that createmy daily adult reactive behaviour. The result of carrying this baggage will manifest itself differently for different people. Some will turn into abusers themselves, some will exhibit apparently unrelated forms of inappropriate behaviour, some will withdraw from reality and become depressed.
I give this an example to illustrate that depression has a psychological cause - even clinical or chemical depression, although I will deal with this separately. Drugging yourself up to the eyeballs won't cure the cause - only you can. Whilst most of my clients are normal healthy people, all of my clients receive similar advice. If you want to live your life free from whatever you perceive is holding you back, you have to recondition your subconscious - the part of your mind that was conditioned, generally speaking, during your formative years. This can only be done by you - you may need help and support and quite a lot of it - but, at the end of the day the only person who can be responsible for your own state of mind is you.
In order to recondition your subconscious, you have to learn how to access it. In my view, this is best done through a daily program of meditation - there are other methods that I have used but I believe meditation to be most powerful. If you are suffering from chronic or deep depression, your initial foray into meditation should be guided - obviously by someone who knows what they're doing and why you're doing it. If you have lived with depression for most of your adult life, the road may well be a long one - but it's a road that arrives at a wonderful destination of clarity of mind, peace, contentment and happiness.
About the author
Willie Horton has been a Personal Development expert since 1996 - working with top leaders in major organizations. An Irish ex-accountant, ex-banker, published author and keynote speaker, he travels the world, from his home in the French Alps, enabling people "live the dream". All his work - including his acclaimed Personal Development Workshop - is now online at http://www.gurdy.net
Prosperity Paradigm: Knowing What We’re Really Worth
War, poverty, corruption, hunger, misery, human suffering will not change in a monetary system. That is, there will be very little significant change. It's going to take the total redesign of our culture and values. -Jacque Fresco
Think of it. If one cell in your body survives and succeeds at the expense of the entire organism, it will soon no longer have the organism in order to succeed off of, and it, alone will die. And this is what is happening with the old consciousness and energy on our planet. The way the system has been set up for all of us is no longer being accepted because we are waking up to our worth.
The fear paradigm has been presented to humanity for ages. It asks us to turn over our power to an authority, an outside power. It is a world where few have power, benefit, and truth. We’ve lived it and tried it and it is failing all of us. We are still at war. We are still sick with disease. We are still hungry and hoping for the truth: that love and life are the most valuable currency.
Without the success of the entire planet and all its beings, you and I cannot succeed either. And without the knowing of self, and achieving of success within the self, then the world will not succeed either. It starts with YOU.
Shifting the way we think about our personal worth starts by “Knowing Thyself”. You are infinitely rich in potential. You don’t need money in order to achieve anything of worth. Don’t ever forget that anyone who has ever changed the world, like Gandhi, left a legacy of fulfillment like Dr. Martin Luther King, or found freedom like the forefathers, did so by started with what was inside of them, their thoughts, and you’re a walking bank of them right now.
When do we begin to value ourselves, and the planet over profit? It’s already happening. A visible conscious shift is underway within today’s consumer. We are getting connected on issues like saving the planet, we are interested in organic food, holistic healing and yoga, we want to help each other regardless of nationality or religion, we are getting involved, we want to use our power to create healthier more meaningful lives.
And think about the things that really have value and meaning in your life. The things that bring you joy. Your unique experiences. Your first kiss. A smile from a stranger. That hug you needed when you felt down in the dumps. How about when you paint, sing, dance, write or draw? Creativity is really what we value because creators are who we really are.
Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, postulates that in order for the economy to thrive, it has to radically evolve. It is going to have to put, as financial guru Suze Orman puts it, “people first, then money.” Because of the Internet, and the age of information and awareness, companies and governments are forced to become accountable, transparent, socially/ecologically responsible and they are answering to us, the people. And we are eager to go green and give back. We want products that are by the people, for the people.
The destructive economy is dying of its own unsustainable accord and the creative economy is emerging. You can join it by shifting your consciousness within, to you.
As infinite potential, our consciousness contains all the collective components necessary to not just merely survive this life, but to thrive in it. Life is a gift, not a test. Life thrives on the bottom of the ocean with no sunlight, plants grow out of the cracks of cement, our entire pale blue dot of a planet swims in the midst of chaotic deadly cosmic sea. There is always a way for life to be prosperous, beautiful and joyful regardless of the outer circumstances. That is because the value of life comes from within, where the divine lives.
Now is our time to embrace this and shift the current economy to something that serves and values all of us. Until every man, woman and child is clothed, housed and fed, and until we restore our lives to the natural emergent harmonious cycles and systems of nature, which is the enemy of profit (scarcity) because ALL life is abundantly prosperous. Prosperity is the natural state of our unlimited ability to create an abundance of anything we desire.
Once we shift our consciousness from being currency centered to being connected with our true inner worth, which also means being connected to each other and the planet, we can begin to construct a world that eradicates war, poverty, corruption, suffering, hunger and separation.
Lets start being aware right now that we can set ourselves free to create an economy that we deserve, one that places the value of people and the planet first. Because we are, and always have been, abundantly wealthy in the one currency (or energy) that never loses value, can be bought or sold Health Fitness Articles, or that is scarce; LOVE. And love is what we are all really worth.
About the author
Sky Sheridan is founder of the conscious Ad-venture, Called2Create. Find out how to empower your thoughts, feelings and beliefs about yourself, others and the world by clicking here: http://www.Called2Create.com and awaken your creative capacity and infinite potential now.
Think of it. If one cell in your body survives and succeeds at the expense of the entire organism, it will soon no longer have the organism in order to succeed off of, and it, alone will die. And this is what is happening with the old consciousness and energy on our planet. The way the system has been set up for all of us is no longer being accepted because we are waking up to our worth.
The fear paradigm has been presented to humanity for ages. It asks us to turn over our power to an authority, an outside power. It is a world where few have power, benefit, and truth. We’ve lived it and tried it and it is failing all of us. We are still at war. We are still sick with disease. We are still hungry and hoping for the truth: that love and life are the most valuable currency.
Without the success of the entire planet and all its beings, you and I cannot succeed either. And without the knowing of self, and achieving of success within the self, then the world will not succeed either. It starts with YOU.
Shifting the way we think about our personal worth starts by “Knowing Thyself”. You are infinitely rich in potential. You don’t need money in order to achieve anything of worth. Don’t ever forget that anyone who has ever changed the world, like Gandhi, left a legacy of fulfillment like Dr. Martin Luther King, or found freedom like the forefathers, did so by started with what was inside of them, their thoughts, and you’re a walking bank of them right now.
When do we begin to value ourselves, and the planet over profit? It’s already happening. A visible conscious shift is underway within today’s consumer. We are getting connected on issues like saving the planet, we are interested in organic food, holistic healing and yoga, we want to help each other regardless of nationality or religion, we are getting involved, we want to use our power to create healthier more meaningful lives.
And think about the things that really have value and meaning in your life. The things that bring you joy. Your unique experiences. Your first kiss. A smile from a stranger. That hug you needed when you felt down in the dumps. How about when you paint, sing, dance, write or draw? Creativity is really what we value because creators are who we really are.
Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, postulates that in order for the economy to thrive, it has to radically evolve. It is going to have to put, as financial guru Suze Orman puts it, “people first, then money.” Because of the Internet, and the age of information and awareness, companies and governments are forced to become accountable, transparent, socially/ecologically responsible and they are answering to us, the people. And we are eager to go green and give back. We want products that are by the people, for the people.
The destructive economy is dying of its own unsustainable accord and the creative economy is emerging. You can join it by shifting your consciousness within, to you.
As infinite potential, our consciousness contains all the collective components necessary to not just merely survive this life, but to thrive in it. Life is a gift, not a test. Life thrives on the bottom of the ocean with no sunlight, plants grow out of the cracks of cement, our entire pale blue dot of a planet swims in the midst of chaotic deadly cosmic sea. There is always a way for life to be prosperous, beautiful and joyful regardless of the outer circumstances. That is because the value of life comes from within, where the divine lives.
Now is our time to embrace this and shift the current economy to something that serves and values all of us. Until every man, woman and child is clothed, housed and fed, and until we restore our lives to the natural emergent harmonious cycles and systems of nature, which is the enemy of profit (scarcity) because ALL life is abundantly prosperous. Prosperity is the natural state of our unlimited ability to create an abundance of anything we desire.
Once we shift our consciousness from being currency centered to being connected with our true inner worth, which also means being connected to each other and the planet, we can begin to construct a world that eradicates war, poverty, corruption, suffering, hunger and separation.
Lets start being aware right now that we can set ourselves free to create an economy that we deserve, one that places the value of people and the planet first. Because we are, and always have been, abundantly wealthy in the one currency (or energy) that never loses value, can be bought or sold Health Fitness Articles, or that is scarce; LOVE. And love is what we are all really worth.
About the author
Sky Sheridan is founder of the conscious Ad-venture, Called2Create. Find out how to empower your thoughts, feelings and beliefs about yourself, others and the world by clicking here: http://www.Called2Create.com and awaken your creative capacity and infinite potential now.
Discover True Happiness within You
People derive happiness from a myriad of sources. A particular incident may be of little significance for you, but it can bring an abundant amount of joy and ecstasy for others. It is really difficult to define happiness as different individuals interpret the meaning of happiness differently. Broadly speaking, it is the satisfaction you receive from performing a task that provides you immense peace of mind and impetus in life. True happiness is not derived from favorable circumstances only. It is all about maintaining the same degree of joy even in the face of most adverse conditions. The state of wellbeing is a highly subjective and personal issue.
Whatever may be the condition, an individual can be a lot happier when he or she preaches the message of God or motivates others to satisfy their life objectives. Hence, true happiness lies within you. All you need is to locate your natural abilities and qualities and utilize them for that reason. There are certain elements that can assist us in finding true contentment in our lives. Just read to discover the path.
The task of discovering happiness begins with the understanding of your personality and intended purpose in life. Drive all your efforts towards knowing yourself. It would come in handy while steering your energy and resources in the direction of attaining your desired objectives. The major cause of resentment or hostility is when individuals do not know who they are and what they seek to achieve in life. Therefore, take vital clues by observing people with erroneous belief or attitude that takes them further away from true happiness and life goals.
Never fall a prey to apprehension because it destroys your zeal and motivation. Anything that destroys your motivation can create an obstacle to your contentment and ultimately, goals. Never hesitate to utilize your unique qualities given by God. Make your heart the abode to unlimited truth and love.
Avoid negative thoughts and words. You should not allow other pessimistic persons to induce negativism into your life. Overlook their opinions like nothing happened.
It is advisable not to divulge your ambitions or objectives to everyone. Some narrow-minded people may work against you and create impediments on your path without your knowledge. However, it doesn’t mean that you must be tightlipped. You just need to be careful with the plans to your objectives. As a matter of fact, allow your positive actions to speak on behalf of you in the majority of cases and stay down-to-earth.
True happiness results from constant self-reformation. Therefore, always try to improve yourself by adopting new approach and capacity. You can learn meaningful things by interacting with people you meet or dealing with circumstances you confront. Adapt to performing tasks in a better manner whenever necessary.
Meditation can have a consoling effect on your mind, body and soul. So , take some time out of your hectic schedule to meditate and provide yourself something to rejoice. True happiness resides inside you. You just need to adhere to certain principles in your life to bring it outside.
About the author
Mr. Sanjay Joshi is a SEO Expert, providing MK Ettington Books.
Whatever may be the condition, an individual can be a lot happier when he or she preaches the message of God or motivates others to satisfy their life objectives. Hence, true happiness lies within you. All you need is to locate your natural abilities and qualities and utilize them for that reason. There are certain elements that can assist us in finding true contentment in our lives. Just read to discover the path.
The task of discovering happiness begins with the understanding of your personality and intended purpose in life. Drive all your efforts towards knowing yourself. It would come in handy while steering your energy and resources in the direction of attaining your desired objectives. The major cause of resentment or hostility is when individuals do not know who they are and what they seek to achieve in life. Therefore, take vital clues by observing people with erroneous belief or attitude that takes them further away from true happiness and life goals.
Never fall a prey to apprehension because it destroys your zeal and motivation. Anything that destroys your motivation can create an obstacle to your contentment and ultimately, goals. Never hesitate to utilize your unique qualities given by God. Make your heart the abode to unlimited truth and love.
Avoid negative thoughts and words. You should not allow other pessimistic persons to induce negativism into your life. Overlook their opinions like nothing happened.
It is advisable not to divulge your ambitions or objectives to everyone. Some narrow-minded people may work against you and create impediments on your path without your knowledge. However, it doesn’t mean that you must be tightlipped. You just need to be careful with the plans to your objectives. As a matter of fact, allow your positive actions to speak on behalf of you in the majority of cases and stay down-to-earth.
True happiness results from constant self-reformation. Therefore, always try to improve yourself by adopting new approach and capacity. You can learn meaningful things by interacting with people you meet or dealing with circumstances you confront. Adapt to performing tasks in a better manner whenever necessary.
Meditation can have a consoling effect on your mind, body and soul. So , take some time out of your hectic schedule to meditate and provide yourself something to rejoice. True happiness resides inside you. You just need to adhere to certain principles in your life to bring it outside.
About the author
Mr. Sanjay Joshi is a SEO Expert, providing MK Ettington Books.
Twitter Training - Getting started with Twitter
Twitter is just another example of the light speed at which communications are catapulting forward, and corporate America (as well as home business online marketers) should do our best to keep up. Social Radar, a research group reporting on activity and trends in social media, ranked Twitter number one in June 2009. Close on their heels were iPhone, Google and Facebook. Yes my friends, there were more "tweets" (140 character exchanges on Twitter) than there were searches on Google.
The Basics
Let's start with the basics. What is Twitter? Twitter is a text only platform that launches discussion and banter with a basic question, "What are you doing?" The answers must be 140 characters or less and are sent via the web, mobile texting, instant message and or a variety of applications.
Because Twitter combines elements from many applications in the digital world, many say it was the logical extension of what had developed electronically thus far. For example, Twitter uses some of the elements of instant messaging (IM), some of chat rooms, some of blogs, and of course, it is actually a member of the entire social networking family of sites. It's like a chat room in that it is an open forum, like instant messaging in that tweets are bite-sized core thoughts, like a blog in that it allows for moment to moment updates with people of your choosing, like a website in that profiles can (and should) convey a specific "feel" and or character, and definitely a social networking site enabling fun or passionate communication either continually, or in whatever timeframe fits each user.
Real Time Marketing
But what is it really? Depends on who you ask. To some, Twitter is a fun escape from the doldrums of the job, home life or commute; to some it is a way to feel close to friends, family and associates (divided by schedules or geography); to some it's an instant communication and information dissemination device; and most importantly to home business professionals like you, Twitter is the one of the most powerful, real time marketing system now in play.
But, before we go any further, get it out of your head that Twitter is mysterious and complicated. It's just a communication vehicle that allows people and companies to deliver bite-sized messages...in 140 characters or less. And where all the people are - is where those who are running a business from home need to be too.
But, you ask - isn't Twitter just a big waste of time? Well, yes and no. Is TV a waste of time? Is listening to radio a waste of time? What about surfing the web, flipping through a newspaper, reading email, talking on Skype, checking Facebook or cable news? The answer to all of the above is - yes... sometimes - and sometimes not. Like all media, people can choose what they want from Twitter. All media can be engaged for fun, relaxation, education, major announcements, public relations and access to breaking news. It doesn't matter what peoples' intentions are. All you need to remember is that millions of people live on Twitter, giving you millions of opportunities to reach them!!
Unlike traditional media however, Twitter can also be used for advice, personal branding, feedback, directions, self or business promotion and marketing.
Twitter 101
So, let's get started. It's simple. Just go to twitter.com. This homepage is laid out very clearly. Click the green button on the left which says "join the conversation." At the top of the next page, you'll see "create a free Twitter account." Fill in the required info here. Select a user name (you cannot have the word "twitter" in your user name), create a password and add an email address. Then type in the distressed text exactly as you see it in the "Captcha" box, and click "I accept - create my account."
Immediately you are taken to a page that already has you email address filled in - and asks for your password. If you type in your password, the system automatically sends a message to everyone in your contact list inviting them to follow you on Twitter. If you want every single person in your system to receive this email, then fill in your password and allow Twitter's automatic email invitation to run. This can take a few minutes. If you DO NOT want Twitter to send an invitation to everyone in your contact list, do NOT fill in your password! Just go to the top right and click "skip". People who have both business and personal contacts in their computer may not want one group or the other to be included. You can always have one Twitter account for personal use, and one for business.
After the invitation has run, or you have clicked on "skip," you are taken to your new Twitter homepage! At the top of the page is a box with a live curser that poses the ultimate Twitter question - "What are you doing?" Type in a bite-sized update (remember, 14 characters or less) about yourself and hit "update." You've just completed your first tweet!
Follow Me
Now it's time to find some people to follow. For home businesses and online marketers, we suggest you begin to "follow" everyone currently in your business. You can find them by typing their name or their email address into the search bar. When you find them (be careful - often there are multiple people with the exact same name!), click "follow". Normally, those who you select to follow will follow you in return.
A good way to expand your following is to check out Twitter account of others you know - or people whose tweets you find interesting. Check out their followers. When you mouse over their name, a brief bio or description comes up. If you like it, begin following them. Chances are, the people they are following will be like-minded. Next, check out some groups and search for individuals who may be good prospects.
Another way to find people you may want to follow is to visit search.twitter.com. This is actually a Twitter site, but it provides more options for finding people. When you get to this site's homepage, click on "advanced search," and quite a few options come up that are pretty self explanatory. Similar to how you can add information in a Google search by adding the plus sign (+), you can fill in more than one of the search fields for more specific results.
Remember, with Twitter, you are always in complete control of who you communicate with, when you receive updates from people you've chosen, and on what device all of this info arrives. You can turn Twitter off for a big meeting or private dinner for example.
Before you can accelerate you business using the Twitter platform, you need to use it a little and get a feel for how it works, what kind of tweets you like, and some Twitter etiquette. This can happen pretty fast thoughFree Reprint Articles, so dive in and get started.
About the author
Peter Grundner, a top advertising and marketing professional for over20 years, is now a full time Home Business Entrepreneur and founder of www.myedconline.com & www.how2succeedonline.net
The Basics
Let's start with the basics. What is Twitter? Twitter is a text only platform that launches discussion and banter with a basic question, "What are you doing?" The answers must be 140 characters or less and are sent via the web, mobile texting, instant message and or a variety of applications.
Because Twitter combines elements from many applications in the digital world, many say it was the logical extension of what had developed electronically thus far. For example, Twitter uses some of the elements of instant messaging (IM), some of chat rooms, some of blogs, and of course, it is actually a member of the entire social networking family of sites. It's like a chat room in that it is an open forum, like instant messaging in that tweets are bite-sized core thoughts, like a blog in that it allows for moment to moment updates with people of your choosing, like a website in that profiles can (and should) convey a specific "feel" and or character, and definitely a social networking site enabling fun or passionate communication either continually, or in whatever timeframe fits each user.
Real Time Marketing
But what is it really? Depends on who you ask. To some, Twitter is a fun escape from the doldrums of the job, home life or commute; to some it is a way to feel close to friends, family and associates (divided by schedules or geography); to some it's an instant communication and information dissemination device; and most importantly to home business professionals like you, Twitter is the one of the most powerful, real time marketing system now in play.
But, before we go any further, get it out of your head that Twitter is mysterious and complicated. It's just a communication vehicle that allows people and companies to deliver bite-sized messages...in 140 characters or less. And where all the people are - is where those who are running a business from home need to be too.
But, you ask - isn't Twitter just a big waste of time? Well, yes and no. Is TV a waste of time? Is listening to radio a waste of time? What about surfing the web, flipping through a newspaper, reading email, talking on Skype, checking Facebook or cable news? The answer to all of the above is - yes... sometimes - and sometimes not. Like all media, people can choose what they want from Twitter. All media can be engaged for fun, relaxation, education, major announcements, public relations and access to breaking news. It doesn't matter what peoples' intentions are. All you need to remember is that millions of people live on Twitter, giving you millions of opportunities to reach them!!
Unlike traditional media however, Twitter can also be used for advice, personal branding, feedback, directions, self or business promotion and marketing.
Twitter 101
So, let's get started. It's simple. Just go to twitter.com. This homepage is laid out very clearly. Click the green button on the left which says "join the conversation." At the top of the next page, you'll see "create a free Twitter account." Fill in the required info here. Select a user name (you cannot have the word "twitter" in your user name), create a password and add an email address. Then type in the distressed text exactly as you see it in the "Captcha" box, and click "I accept - create my account."
Immediately you are taken to a page that already has you email address filled in - and asks for your password. If you type in your password, the system automatically sends a message to everyone in your contact list inviting them to follow you on Twitter. If you want every single person in your system to receive this email, then fill in your password and allow Twitter's automatic email invitation to run. This can take a few minutes. If you DO NOT want Twitter to send an invitation to everyone in your contact list, do NOT fill in your password! Just go to the top right and click "skip". People who have both business and personal contacts in their computer may not want one group or the other to be included. You can always have one Twitter account for personal use, and one for business.
After the invitation has run, or you have clicked on "skip," you are taken to your new Twitter homepage! At the top of the page is a box with a live curser that poses the ultimate Twitter question - "What are you doing?" Type in a bite-sized update (remember, 14 characters or less) about yourself and hit "update." You've just completed your first tweet!
Follow Me
Now it's time to find some people to follow. For home businesses and online marketers, we suggest you begin to "follow" everyone currently in your business. You can find them by typing their name or their email address into the search bar. When you find them (be careful - often there are multiple people with the exact same name!), click "follow". Normally, those who you select to follow will follow you in return.
A good way to expand your following is to check out Twitter account of others you know - or people whose tweets you find interesting. Check out their followers. When you mouse over their name, a brief bio or description comes up. If you like it, begin following them. Chances are, the people they are following will be like-minded. Next, check out some groups and search for individuals who may be good prospects.
Another way to find people you may want to follow is to visit search.twitter.com. This is actually a Twitter site, but it provides more options for finding people. When you get to this site's homepage, click on "advanced search," and quite a few options come up that are pretty self explanatory. Similar to how you can add information in a Google search by adding the plus sign (+), you can fill in more than one of the search fields for more specific results.
Remember, with Twitter, you are always in complete control of who you communicate with, when you receive updates from people you've chosen, and on what device all of this info arrives. You can turn Twitter off for a big meeting or private dinner for example.
Before you can accelerate you business using the Twitter platform, you need to use it a little and get a feel for how it works, what kind of tweets you like, and some Twitter etiquette. This can happen pretty fast thoughFree Reprint Articles, so dive in and get started.
About the author
Peter Grundner, a top advertising and marketing professional for over20 years, is now a full time Home Business Entrepreneur and founder of www.myedconline.com & www.how2succeedonline.net
From One Marketing Coach to Another: 5 Steps to Convert Clients Like a Pro
As a marketing coach, I’m sure you talk to a lot of people about what you do. You network, you have one-on-one meeting, you offer free sessions. But, it’s hard to get people to sign up. Does your conversion rate match the amount of time, energy and money investing in all this talking?
It’s not you or your coaching service. Rather you’re not saying it in the right way. To inspire people to take action there’s a very specific sequence of events they must experience before they will take that step into change.
See + Feel + Hope + Believe + Inspire = Step into Change
This formula can be used in any form of your marketing: feel sessions, one-on-ones, and written marketing materials.
First off, your prospects need to see there’s a problem. We often don’t recognize a problem until someone points it out.
Here is where you have to identify you who you work with and exactly what they are going through. Be specific. How does the challenge they are experiencing affect their everyday life? Draw a picture here so they can see the challenge.
Once they see there is a problem, they have to feel the pain of the situation. Since change is uncomfortable and we resist it, if we are numb to the pain or comfortable, there’s no reason to change. Your prospects must feel the pain they are experiencing before they will change. It’s simple, the pain of change must be less than the pain of staying the same. Then, and only then, will they take the next step.
Ask them about their situation. How does it affect them? What does it stop them from achieving? What will happen if they didn’t make that change?
Don’t worry. You won’t leave them feeling that pain. The next step gives them hope. Hope is an important element because it allows them to see it doesn’t have to be this way. It can be different.
To help plant hope, talk about the benefits you offer. What will they be able to do differently? What will they get? What will they be able to achieve? These are usually direct answers to how their challenge is affecting their lives.
Once the seed of hope is sown, they must now believe it is possible to make this change. If they don’t believe it, they will never be motivated to take the next steps. At this point, you want to offer a few examples, case studies, testimonials of other people. Once they believe, they will say, “if others can do this, maybe I can too.”
Now, you’ve got them to see there’s a problem, to feel the pain of that problem, you’ve planted the seed of hope, and helped them believe they can make this change. But, you’re not done yet. Here is perhaps the most important point that is also left out the most. At this point, your prospects aren’t sure what exactly to do. To move into action they have to know what to do. Otherwise, there’s no change. Here you inspire them into action, by telling them what to do. This is your Call to Action. This needs to be very specific and very simple next steps. Your Call to Action can be saying “yes” and signing an agreement, or to give you a call, or to sign up for your newsletter. You have to know what you want them to do, then ask them to do it.
This is a very simple 5 step formula that your prospects must go experience to one degree or another. Once you guide people through feeling each step, your on-the-fence prospects will gladly turn into highly motivated , high paying clients.
About the author
Kathy Jo Slusher-Haas is a certified Marketing & Business Coach who specializes in working with certified coaches to develop a self-propelling business structure that allows them to be successful and make a good living doing what they love coaching.
It’s not you or your coaching service. Rather you’re not saying it in the right way. To inspire people to take action there’s a very specific sequence of events they must experience before they will take that step into change.
See + Feel + Hope + Believe + Inspire = Step into Change
This formula can be used in any form of your marketing: feel sessions, one-on-ones, and written marketing materials.
First off, your prospects need to see there’s a problem. We often don’t recognize a problem until someone points it out.
Here is where you have to identify you who you work with and exactly what they are going through. Be specific. How does the challenge they are experiencing affect their everyday life? Draw a picture here so they can see the challenge.
Once they see there is a problem, they have to feel the pain of the situation. Since change is uncomfortable and we resist it, if we are numb to the pain or comfortable, there’s no reason to change. Your prospects must feel the pain they are experiencing before they will change. It’s simple, the pain of change must be less than the pain of staying the same. Then, and only then, will they take the next step.
Ask them about their situation. How does it affect them? What does it stop them from achieving? What will happen if they didn’t make that change?
Don’t worry. You won’t leave them feeling that pain. The next step gives them hope. Hope is an important element because it allows them to see it doesn’t have to be this way. It can be different.
To help plant hope, talk about the benefits you offer. What will they be able to do differently? What will they get? What will they be able to achieve? These are usually direct answers to how their challenge is affecting their lives.
Once the seed of hope is sown, they must now believe it is possible to make this change. If they don’t believe it, they will never be motivated to take the next steps. At this point, you want to offer a few examples, case studies, testimonials of other people. Once they believe, they will say, “if others can do this, maybe I can too.”
Now, you’ve got them to see there’s a problem, to feel the pain of that problem, you’ve planted the seed of hope, and helped them believe they can make this change. But, you’re not done yet. Here is perhaps the most important point that is also left out the most. At this point, your prospects aren’t sure what exactly to do. To move into action they have to know what to do. Otherwise, there’s no change. Here you inspire them into action, by telling them what to do. This is your Call to Action. This needs to be very specific and very simple next steps. Your Call to Action can be saying “yes” and signing an agreement, or to give you a call, or to sign up for your newsletter. You have to know what you want them to do, then ask them to do it.
This is a very simple 5 step formula that your prospects must go experience to one degree or another. Once you guide people through feeling each step, your on-the-fence prospects will gladly turn into highly motivated , high paying clients.
About the author
Kathy Jo Slusher-Haas is a certified Marketing & Business Coach who specializes in working with certified coaches to develop a self-propelling business structure that allows them to be successful and make a good living doing what they love coaching.
Websites Designed to Sell Homes
There are two parts to converting online leads: first is having engaging tools to convert visitors into leads – to capture their information; second is working the leads from the time they engage to the point of sale through a follow up system. You have to have a plan for both!
Converting hits into leads
Let’s address the first part: converting visitors into leads. Gone are the days of the brochure-type website—consumers don’t care about you or your credentials! Instead they want, no, they expect more information and interactivity. A good website is one that’s built to engage your visitors and convert them into leads. In fact, it’s much like staging a home.
You stage a home to make it more inviting and attractive to buyers, and capitalize on the fact that they’ll save time and money by not making the changes themselves. The same is true for your own website. You want them to find your services inviting and attractive, and convey that you will provide them with time and money-saving tools and services to help them in their home search.
As Realtors, we often recommend that our sellers remove the clutter, pack away the family photos, throw on a fresh coat of paint (in a modern color) and accentuate the positive aspects by drawing the prospective buyers to those things. The same concepts apply to your website.
The novelty of websites has worn off so you can’t get away with that busy website with a 50-item navigation menu, 8 different bolded or blinking fonts and colors, and 20 pictures of your dog. I’m not saying personalization is a bad thing, but the reality is today’s consumer is seeking information. If they see that your website doesn’t have what they need, or is difficult to use, they’ll surf to the next site.
Websites shouldn't be an afterthought
For many agents, their website is an afterthought— a necessary evil—and it shows. After all, you’re “not in the technology business, you need to be out there belly-to-belly with your customers.” True, your time on the computer should be focused on moneymaking activities, but don’t let that be an excuse for a poor website, since your website can be one of your most productive and most profitable prospecting tools in your arsenal.
Not only that, but your website is a reflection of your personality and your professional style. Clutter on your website says you’re trying to do too many things at once. It says you lack focus and direction. An outdated graphic design, mismatched colors and old images (uh, em: your college photo) say that you’re not proactive or creative. Your image becomes that 70’s house that the fix-and-flippers are dying to get their hands on at discount rates.
Is that hitting home? Again, think staging. Your website should be designed/staged to sell. It should be modern, clean, and uncluttered with a clear path to the information they are looking for. That way you come across, organized, focused and fresh.
Little time, Big impact
Since you only have a few seconds to capture their attention and get them to click, images are one of the easiest ways to make a huge impact on your conversion rates…it’s like that fresh paint. Your key lead generating tools (those with sign up forms) should always be prominently displayed with a powerful image that tells the story without having to read more than a couple words.
If you provide an IDX search of local properties (with a form to sign up) it should have a picture of a home or a for sale sign with the words Property Search. If you offer free reports, they should also be visual images, telling (in 10 words or less) what they will get when they click.
Now, before you trash all those articles you’ve labored over, there is still a place for them.
Your interior pages, such as dedicated Home Buyers or Home Sellers sections, should be well organized and well thought out. Your objective here is to build up your credibility by providing valuable content to guide them through the buying or selling process. Visual content plays into that, but in this instance, they are added to enhance the story and create a better flow.
Cross marketing formula
Cross marketing within your website is an easy and effective way to increase your conversions. Use this 2x3 formula: every tool (including articles) and every page on your website should promote two other lead-capture features within your site. In addition, each page should have three ways to get to that feature through a combination of links, hyperlinked images and ads.
For example, if you offer a list of the top 20 things first time homebuyers need to know, it should be peppered with opportunities to view properties and to join your newsletter. In this way, you are guiding them through your website without being intrusive. In essence, you’re showing them around and turning on the lights as you go.
Now that you’ve cleared a path for your customers to walk through and removed the distractions, you can turn your attention toward maximizing your search engine efforts.
The right link for the right page
If you are going to spend the money to run ads on Google or Yahoo or any other sites, make sure that your offer tells them exactly the result they will get when they click on the ad. And, more importantly, when they click on the link, make sure it goes to the exact page and place where they can find or sign up for that information.
In a search engine environment, this is absolutely critical because consumers have so many choices of links to click on. So, if your ad teases a free report or a daily email of listings, the link should go directly to the sign up page for that report.
Whether you’re evaluating website providers or building it yourself, these tools will help you develop a more effective strategy for capturing leads. Once that’s in place, you can tackle the next step of developing follow-up systems to nurture those relationships into sales.
About the author
Verl Workman is the national technology speaker/trainer that stands out as #1 when it comes to showing companies and their sales associates how to make money using today’s technology.
Converting hits into leads
Let’s address the first part: converting visitors into leads. Gone are the days of the brochure-type website—consumers don’t care about you or your credentials! Instead they want, no, they expect more information and interactivity. A good website is one that’s built to engage your visitors and convert them into leads. In fact, it’s much like staging a home.
You stage a home to make it more inviting and attractive to buyers, and capitalize on the fact that they’ll save time and money by not making the changes themselves. The same is true for your own website. You want them to find your services inviting and attractive, and convey that you will provide them with time and money-saving tools and services to help them in their home search.
As Realtors, we often recommend that our sellers remove the clutter, pack away the family photos, throw on a fresh coat of paint (in a modern color) and accentuate the positive aspects by drawing the prospective buyers to those things. The same concepts apply to your website.
The novelty of websites has worn off so you can’t get away with that busy website with a 50-item navigation menu, 8 different bolded or blinking fonts and colors, and 20 pictures of your dog. I’m not saying personalization is a bad thing, but the reality is today’s consumer is seeking information. If they see that your website doesn’t have what they need, or is difficult to use, they’ll surf to the next site.
Websites shouldn't be an afterthought
For many agents, their website is an afterthought— a necessary evil—and it shows. After all, you’re “not in the technology business, you need to be out there belly-to-belly with your customers.” True, your time on the computer should be focused on moneymaking activities, but don’t let that be an excuse for a poor website, since your website can be one of your most productive and most profitable prospecting tools in your arsenal.
Not only that, but your website is a reflection of your personality and your professional style. Clutter on your website says you’re trying to do too many things at once. It says you lack focus and direction. An outdated graphic design, mismatched colors and old images (uh, em: your college photo) say that you’re not proactive or creative. Your image becomes that 70’s house that the fix-and-flippers are dying to get their hands on at discount rates.
Is that hitting home? Again, think staging. Your website should be designed/staged to sell. It should be modern, clean, and uncluttered with a clear path to the information they are looking for. That way you come across, organized, focused and fresh.
Little time, Big impact
Since you only have a few seconds to capture their attention and get them to click, images are one of the easiest ways to make a huge impact on your conversion rates…it’s like that fresh paint. Your key lead generating tools (those with sign up forms) should always be prominently displayed with a powerful image that tells the story without having to read more than a couple words.
If you provide an IDX search of local properties (with a form to sign up) it should have a picture of a home or a for sale sign with the words Property Search. If you offer free reports, they should also be visual images, telling (in 10 words or less) what they will get when they click.
Now, before you trash all those articles you’ve labored over, there is still a place for them.
Your interior pages, such as dedicated Home Buyers or Home Sellers sections, should be well organized and well thought out. Your objective here is to build up your credibility by providing valuable content to guide them through the buying or selling process. Visual content plays into that, but in this instance, they are added to enhance the story and create a better flow.
Cross marketing formula
Cross marketing within your website is an easy and effective way to increase your conversions. Use this 2x3 formula: every tool (including articles) and every page on your website should promote two other lead-capture features within your site. In addition, each page should have three ways to get to that feature through a combination of links, hyperlinked images and ads.
For example, if you offer a list of the top 20 things first time homebuyers need to know, it should be peppered with opportunities to view properties and to join your newsletter. In this way, you are guiding them through your website without being intrusive. In essence, you’re showing them around and turning on the lights as you go.
Now that you’ve cleared a path for your customers to walk through and removed the distractions, you can turn your attention toward maximizing your search engine efforts.
The right link for the right page
If you are going to spend the money to run ads on Google or Yahoo or any other sites, make sure that your offer tells them exactly the result they will get when they click on the ad. And, more importantly, when they click on the link, make sure it goes to the exact page and place where they can find or sign up for that information.
In a search engine environment, this is absolutely critical because consumers have so many choices of links to click on. So, if your ad teases a free report or a daily email of listings, the link should go directly to the sign up page for that report.
Whether you’re evaluating website providers or building it yourself, these tools will help you develop a more effective strategy for capturing leads. Once that’s in place, you can tackle the next step of developing follow-up systems to nurture those relationships into sales.
About the author
Verl Workman is the national technology speaker/trainer that stands out as #1 when it comes to showing companies and their sales associates how to make money using today’s technology.
Search Engine Optimization and The Magic Fairy Dust
There is only one thing that all webmasters agree upon...they all want to be at the top of the search engine results for search terms that will drive traffic and consumers to their website.
The truth is that the search engines are like our childhood game of King of the Hill. Only one person can be at the top of the hill and the top of the search results. Only ten websites can be on page one of the search results. When a new website moves into the top ten, another must be removed.
For any given search term at any given time, there are only ten web pages on page one of the search results, and there are millions of web pages that did not make page one, who may or may not catch a few stragglers from the search engines.
How Can A Website Break Into The Top Ten?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an industry that has sprung up around the concept of helping their clients improve their rankings in the search engine results.
When you talk to SEO professionals, they generally point to a two-pronged approach to search ranking optimization. A website owner needs to optimize their on-site real estate for the search engines, and they need to build inbound links to their website.
On-Site Search Optimization Challenges
The trick with on-site search optimization is that you must cater to multiple audiences on your website.
* You must provide simple navigation and an attractive interface to the human visitor;
* You must provide good sales copy to your human visitors, for the purpose of converting them from shoppers to buyers;
* You must provide text copy for the search engines to read; and
* You must optimize your content to help the search engines know what topics and keywords they should pay attention, so that they can give their users the right web page for the right search terms.
A web page that draws good search rankings is useless if the web page cannot convert the human visitor to a buyer. Many website owners get caught up in the process of optimizing a web page to get it to the top of the search results, and they forget that the human visitor knows where the Back Button is in his or her browser. Once your visitor has hit the Back Button, they will go to someone else's website and buy from them, instead of you.
Most website owners have the alternate problem. They consistently convert a significant number of visitors to buyers, but they have to rely on various forms of paid advertising to get visitors to their websites, since they do not rank in the search engines.
I recently spoke with an individual who spends $1,000 per month on pay-per-click advertising to get targeted traffic to his website. He said he consistently earns back his money, but he was still looking for a better way to get ranked in the search engines, so he joined my client list.
On-Site Search Engine Optimization Basics
According to the search engine companies, there are more than one thousand calculations that determine how well a website will rank in their search engine result pages (SERPs).
The Google engineers are fond of saying that if you build your website for human beings instead of search engines, then your website should rank well in their algorithms. To a certain degree, this is a good strategy.
Think about how magazines are constructed:
The Table of Contents shows story titles, brief descriptions, and page numbers telling you where you can find a story.
On the story page, the title will be in big, bold font. Sometimes, the magazine will include a brief blurb about the story, in italics or font that is a bit bigger than the story font.
Pictures support the story with captions that further develop the story, by describing the picture.
Major subsections of the story have their own subheadings. And, the primary body of the story is in regular plain text, with only an occasional bolded or italicized word or phrase.
By analyzing the title and other large text on the page, a person who is flipping through the pages of a magazine can quickly assess the story content and make the decision as to whether they want to read the full story.
In the most simplistic way, this is how the search engines analyze a websites' content to decide which web page will best serve their users' needs.
Off-Site Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Basics
Since the inception of Google, and with Yahoo and MSN recently, the number and quality of links pointing to a website play a significant role in determining how well a web page will rank in the search results.
I have heard people suggest that as much as 75% of the value given to a web page in the search results is based solely on the number and quality of links pointing to a web page. I tend to believe a more conservative number (50.1%) will apply.
Inbound Links Are More Important Than Page Content
To prove this point, type "click here" without the quotes into Google, Yahoo and MSN and check the Adobe pages that come up in the search results: #1 in Google, #2 in Yahoo, and #1 in MSN. When you pull up those pages, search the page to find the individual words "click" or "here" in the text of those pages. They are not there. This has happened because millions of people have linked to these Adobe pages with the embedded anchor text, "click here".
Next, let's analyze those specific web pages from the perspective of each of the search engines:
* Google's #1 result - (Google PageRank 8). Links to this web page: according to Google (31); according to Yahoo (nearly 12 million); according to MSN (6,400).
* Yahoo's #2 result - (Google PageRank 10). Links to this web page: Google (15,200); Yahoo (700 thousand); MSN (32).
* MSN's #1 result - (Google PageRank 8). Links to this web page: Google (0); Yahoo (2.9 million); MSN (778).
On Google's top result, they show 31 inbound links total for that web page. But, Yahoo claims that there are more than 12 million links to this page. That is a huge difference.
On Yahoo's #2 result, MSN gives 32 links, Google gives 15,000 links, and Yahoo claims it has 700 thousand links! That is another huge difference between the link counts from the search engines.
On MSN's #1 result, MSN shows a strong link count, but still nowhere near Yahoo's 2.9 million links. But, how does a web page with zero links in Google get a PageRank 8?
What Do These Numbers Mean?
Google has always said that they will never show us all of the links that we have pointing to our websites, because anything we can see in the public search results, our competitors can see also. So, for me it really is no surprise that we cannot see all of the links that point to Adobe pages, or to the links we have created that point to our clients and ourselves, by querying the search engines.
Also, the sheer numbers of inbound links do not rule the roost. Google's #1 result (PR8) is actually shown in Google, before Yahoo's #2 (PR10) result.
The Proof For Link Building Is In The Search Engine Rankings
Recently, a fellow who works as a SEO "professional" told me that be believed my link building system was a sham.
I showed him that on the top 51 keyword phrases we use to market our original commercial website, we had 11 number one results, 31 top five results, 34 top ten results, 47 top thirty results, and 51 top 100 results within the Google search results. Additionally, it was shown that only three of those results competed with fewer than one million search results according to Google, with the remaining 48 pages competing with one million to 533 million pages.
Ole boy tore up Google trying to track how it was possible for me to have accomplished what I claimed. He finally concluded that since Google would not show HIM how I was able to rank so well in their search engine results, then I must have been lying.
According to Yahoo, we have over 12,000 links from third-party websites. According to our site statistics, we received traffic from more than 16,000 unique web pages during 2006. And Google still swears that we only have 42 inbound links to our website!
Magic Fairy Dust
My nemesis concluded that since HE could not prove through Google how I was successful in getting good search rankings, then I could not have accomplished such results by the methods I claimed.
Okay, I admit it.
I used the exact same method that Adobe used to get to the top of Google's search engine rankings. I have a pocket full of magic fairy dust. Whenever, I do not like how my websites rank in the search engines, I sprinkle my magic fairy dust on my modem.
If you don't like where you are ranked in the search engines, then I suggest you forgo the search engine optimization companies altogether and instead run over to the corner store to get your own magic fairy dust. You might have to shop around a bit, but it is out there.
About the author
Bill Platt is the owner of the link building service at LinksAndTraffic.com.
The truth is that the search engines are like our childhood game of King of the Hill. Only one person can be at the top of the hill and the top of the search results. Only ten websites can be on page one of the search results. When a new website moves into the top ten, another must be removed.
For any given search term at any given time, there are only ten web pages on page one of the search results, and there are millions of web pages that did not make page one, who may or may not catch a few stragglers from the search engines.
How Can A Website Break Into The Top Ten?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an industry that has sprung up around the concept of helping their clients improve their rankings in the search engine results.
When you talk to SEO professionals, they generally point to a two-pronged approach to search ranking optimization. A website owner needs to optimize their on-site real estate for the search engines, and they need to build inbound links to their website.
On-Site Search Optimization Challenges
The trick with on-site search optimization is that you must cater to multiple audiences on your website.
* You must provide simple navigation and an attractive interface to the human visitor;
* You must provide good sales copy to your human visitors, for the purpose of converting them from shoppers to buyers;
* You must provide text copy for the search engines to read; and
* You must optimize your content to help the search engines know what topics and keywords they should pay attention, so that they can give their users the right web page for the right search terms.
A web page that draws good search rankings is useless if the web page cannot convert the human visitor to a buyer. Many website owners get caught up in the process of optimizing a web page to get it to the top of the search results, and they forget that the human visitor knows where the Back Button is in his or her browser. Once your visitor has hit the Back Button, they will go to someone else's website and buy from them, instead of you.
Most website owners have the alternate problem. They consistently convert a significant number of visitors to buyers, but they have to rely on various forms of paid advertising to get visitors to their websites, since they do not rank in the search engines.
I recently spoke with an individual who spends $1,000 per month on pay-per-click advertising to get targeted traffic to his website. He said he consistently earns back his money, but he was still looking for a better way to get ranked in the search engines, so he joined my client list.
On-Site Search Engine Optimization Basics
According to the search engine companies, there are more than one thousand calculations that determine how well a website will rank in their search engine result pages (SERPs).
The Google engineers are fond of saying that if you build your website for human beings instead of search engines, then your website should rank well in their algorithms. To a certain degree, this is a good strategy.
Think about how magazines are constructed:
The Table of Contents shows story titles, brief descriptions, and page numbers telling you where you can find a story.
On the story page, the title will be in big, bold font. Sometimes, the magazine will include a brief blurb about the story, in italics or font that is a bit bigger than the story font.
Pictures support the story with captions that further develop the story, by describing the picture.
Major subsections of the story have their own subheadings. And, the primary body of the story is in regular plain text, with only an occasional bolded or italicized word or phrase.
By analyzing the title and other large text on the page, a person who is flipping through the pages of a magazine can quickly assess the story content and make the decision as to whether they want to read the full story.
In the most simplistic way, this is how the search engines analyze a websites' content to decide which web page will best serve their users' needs.
Off-Site Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Basics
Since the inception of Google, and with Yahoo and MSN recently, the number and quality of links pointing to a website play a significant role in determining how well a web page will rank in the search results.
I have heard people suggest that as much as 75% of the value given to a web page in the search results is based solely on the number and quality of links pointing to a web page. I tend to believe a more conservative number (50.1%) will apply.
Inbound Links Are More Important Than Page Content
To prove this point, type "click here" without the quotes into Google, Yahoo and MSN and check the Adobe pages that come up in the search results: #1 in Google, #2 in Yahoo, and #1 in MSN. When you pull up those pages, search the page to find the individual words "click" or "here" in the text of those pages. They are not there. This has happened because millions of people have linked to these Adobe pages with the embedded anchor text, "click here".
Next, let's analyze those specific web pages from the perspective of each of the search engines:
* Google's #1 result - (Google PageRank 8). Links to this web page: according to Google (31); according to Yahoo (nearly 12 million); according to MSN (6,400).
* Yahoo's #2 result - (Google PageRank 10). Links to this web page: Google (15,200); Yahoo (700 thousand); MSN (32).
* MSN's #1 result - (Google PageRank 8). Links to this web page: Google (0); Yahoo (2.9 million); MSN (778).
On Google's top result, they show 31 inbound links total for that web page. But, Yahoo claims that there are more than 12 million links to this page. That is a huge difference.
On Yahoo's #2 result, MSN gives 32 links, Google gives 15,000 links, and Yahoo claims it has 700 thousand links! That is another huge difference between the link counts from the search engines.
On MSN's #1 result, MSN shows a strong link count, but still nowhere near Yahoo's 2.9 million links. But, how does a web page with zero links in Google get a PageRank 8?
What Do These Numbers Mean?
Google has always said that they will never show us all of the links that we have pointing to our websites, because anything we can see in the public search results, our competitors can see also. So, for me it really is no surprise that we cannot see all of the links that point to Adobe pages, or to the links we have created that point to our clients and ourselves, by querying the search engines.
Also, the sheer numbers of inbound links do not rule the roost. Google's #1 result (PR8) is actually shown in Google, before Yahoo's #2 (PR10) result.
The Proof For Link Building Is In The Search Engine Rankings
Recently, a fellow who works as a SEO "professional" told me that be believed my link building system was a sham.
I showed him that on the top 51 keyword phrases we use to market our original commercial website, we had 11 number one results, 31 top five results, 34 top ten results, 47 top thirty results, and 51 top 100 results within the Google search results. Additionally, it was shown that only three of those results competed with fewer than one million search results according to Google, with the remaining 48 pages competing with one million to 533 million pages.
Ole boy tore up Google trying to track how it was possible for me to have accomplished what I claimed. He finally concluded that since Google would not show HIM how I was able to rank so well in their search engine results, then I must have been lying.
According to Yahoo, we have over 12,000 links from third-party websites. According to our site statistics, we received traffic from more than 16,000 unique web pages during 2006. And Google still swears that we only have 42 inbound links to our website!
Magic Fairy Dust
My nemesis concluded that since HE could not prove through Google how I was successful in getting good search rankings, then I could not have accomplished such results by the methods I claimed.
Okay, I admit it.
I used the exact same method that Adobe used to get to the top of Google's search engine rankings. I have a pocket full of magic fairy dust. Whenever, I do not like how my websites rank in the search engines, I sprinkle my magic fairy dust on my modem.
If you don't like where you are ranked in the search engines, then I suggest you forgo the search engine optimization companies altogether and instead run over to the corner store to get your own magic fairy dust. You might have to shop around a bit, but it is out there.
About the author
Bill Platt is the owner of the link building service at LinksAndTraffic.com.
5 Useless Internet Marketing Tactics You Should Avoid
Knowing what doesn't work can sometimes be more important that learning what does. Here are some things you should avoid when marketing your web site.
It's easy to get confused with all of the various ways that you can be marketing your web site. Over the years I have tried just about every one and have learned some things along the way. Here's some real time and money wasters that you can safely avoid doing.
1. SPAM Don't waste your time on trash
You don't like getting spam in your email do you? Neither does anyone else. Don't send unsolicited commercial emails to try and promote your web site or product. (Out of all of the things listed here, I have never gone this route and won't).
You risk getting your site shut down if your Internet Service Provider gets enough complaints. You can also be "blacklisted". This means your email can be labeled as spam and be blocked by a lot of service providers.
Spam is stupid and a very poor decision for a business to make.
2. Free For All (FFA) Links
There are some sites which let anyone list a link to their own site. Sometimes you are required to put your own FFA link page up on your site. This tactic does not work. The only people reading FFA sites are other sites looking to post their own link. It is totally untargeted towards any potential customer.
Additionally, some search engines will penalize you for having FFA links on your site. They basically equate them as being garbage and not something a legitimate site would do. I can't say I blame them.
3. Banner Ads
Once upon a time (in the late 1990's) banner ads were very common and fairly effective. They don't work very well at all anymore. I have read statistics that the click through rate is down to a mere percent of what they used to be.
You will have a much more effective chances of getting a visitor to your site by having a legitimate endorsement. You should also avoid having banner ads on your own site unless it is for your own products. Why on earth would you want to be sending people away from your site when you could be earning a higher profit if they stick around?
4. Classified Ads
Online newsletters commonly offer low priced classified ad spots. You can pay a few dollars and have your 4 to 5 line ad listed at the bottom of some newsletter when it gets sent out.
Generally these ads don't work too well. I don't read them. Do you?
5. Anything That's Not A Solo or Top Sponsorship Ads
As a follow up to the classified ads, it is worth mentioning that not all ads are bad. You should try for a more prominent ad if you are going to go the newsletter route.
I recommend the Solo Ad or as second best, the Top Sponsorship Ad.
A solo ad is just that. Your ad is run all by itself. You have the reader's full and undivided attention to your ad. The downside is that you will be paying top dollar so you want to track your results. If the ad was profitable, then keep running it until it is not anymore.
A top sponsorship ad is the very first ad in a newsletter. These can be pretty effective. They are a good alternative if you don't want to take the plunge to buy a solo ad.
When it comes down to advertising in a newsletter I stick to either solo or top sponsorship. Otherwise I don't even bother.
Knowing some of these tips can help you to avoid wasting your valuable time (and money) on ineffective marketing tactics.
About The Author
Nick James is a true example of a self made success. He offers the inside track in every aspect of internet business creation and development. Visit his website at www.nick-james.com.
It's easy to get confused with all of the various ways that you can be marketing your web site. Over the years I have tried just about every one and have learned some things along the way. Here's some real time and money wasters that you can safely avoid doing.
1. SPAM Don't waste your time on trash
You don't like getting spam in your email do you? Neither does anyone else. Don't send unsolicited commercial emails to try and promote your web site or product. (Out of all of the things listed here, I have never gone this route and won't).
You risk getting your site shut down if your Internet Service Provider gets enough complaints. You can also be "blacklisted". This means your email can be labeled as spam and be blocked by a lot of service providers.
Spam is stupid and a very poor decision for a business to make.
2. Free For All (FFA) Links
There are some sites which let anyone list a link to their own site. Sometimes you are required to put your own FFA link page up on your site. This tactic does not work. The only people reading FFA sites are other sites looking to post their own link. It is totally untargeted towards any potential customer.
Additionally, some search engines will penalize you for having FFA links on your site. They basically equate them as being garbage and not something a legitimate site would do. I can't say I blame them.
3. Banner Ads
Once upon a time (in the late 1990's) banner ads were very common and fairly effective. They don't work very well at all anymore. I have read statistics that the click through rate is down to a mere percent of what they used to be.
You will have a much more effective chances of getting a visitor to your site by having a legitimate endorsement. You should also avoid having banner ads on your own site unless it is for your own products. Why on earth would you want to be sending people away from your site when you could be earning a higher profit if they stick around?
4. Classified Ads
Online newsletters commonly offer low priced classified ad spots. You can pay a few dollars and have your 4 to 5 line ad listed at the bottom of some newsletter when it gets sent out.
Generally these ads don't work too well. I don't read them. Do you?
5. Anything That's Not A Solo or Top Sponsorship Ads
As a follow up to the classified ads, it is worth mentioning that not all ads are bad. You should try for a more prominent ad if you are going to go the newsletter route.
I recommend the Solo Ad or as second best, the Top Sponsorship Ad.
A solo ad is just that. Your ad is run all by itself. You have the reader's full and undivided attention to your ad. The downside is that you will be paying top dollar so you want to track your results. If the ad was profitable, then keep running it until it is not anymore.
A top sponsorship ad is the very first ad in a newsletter. These can be pretty effective. They are a good alternative if you don't want to take the plunge to buy a solo ad.
When it comes down to advertising in a newsletter I stick to either solo or top sponsorship. Otherwise I don't even bother.
Knowing some of these tips can help you to avoid wasting your valuable time (and money) on ineffective marketing tactics.
About The Author
Nick James is a true example of a self made success. He offers the inside track in every aspect of internet business creation and development. Visit his website at www.nick-james.com.
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