Author Archive | Claudette Spence

Can you really get 50,000 visitors to your blog in 30 days or less… and do it without lists, without JV partners, without name recognition and without advertising?

Jane Smarts was a brand new blogger who knew she would have to do something different to get visitors to his brand new blog.

And to put this in perspective in case you’re not a blogger yet, getting 50,000 visitors in your very first month is akin to winning the lottery – it rarely happens and when it does it can pay off big.

So what did she do? We broke his methods into these steps:

1. Choose a niche you’re passionate about. Jane chose corporate consulting because it’s closest to her heart, and it’s also what her company does.

2. Make some quick posts so it appears as though your blog has been around for awhile. Jane already had 10 or 15 posts from previous work that she could immediately publish. Hopefully you already have some content written, whether it’s articles, an ebook, etc.

Break whatever you have down into blog posts and post them. If you don’t have content already written, it’s up to you whether or not you take this step. By having content already on your blog it appears as though you’ve been doing it for a while, but posting inferior content that you rushed to write is never helpful if someone should actually want to read it.

3. Do your research. Jane researched what kind of blog posts take off in her niche, and which get the most shares on social media. Her research showed that she needed to write really long posts – between 2200 and 3000 words, and she needed to use mixed media that included bullet points, video, images, sub headlines, etc. Her research also showed that “how to” posts or posts that people can apply to get results were the most popular.

4. Apply what you learn. Once she did her research, Jane knew just what to do and she did it.

5. Think about distribution. You can write your posts according to what your research finds works best, but that still won’t initially get your article in front of people. Even the most shared blog posts in the world have to first be seen before they are shared, and if you have no traffic to begin with, you’ve got to find it.

What Jane did was tailor her first post specifically to the audience of a social news website that she read everyday. By tailoring it to that specific audience, there was an excellent chance they would appreciate it and share it.

6. Write amazing content. Jane spent 3-4 days writing her initial post. That’s right… 3-4 DAYS, not hours. Make your content great.

7. Use what contacts you have. Don’t have any? Get some. Jane started the ball rolling by having a handful of friends give her post a bump so that people would begin checking it out. The post was good, it took off, the rest was history.

8. Capture email addresses and ask for social shares. Be sure to place your opt-in box on every page, both in the right hand column and again at the end of the article. And ask your readers – if they found your post helpful – to share it via social media.

9. Rinse and repeat. Jane found a formula that worked, so she did it again and again, each time focusing and targeting her newest blog post to a very specific distribution channel.

You might not hit the 50,000 mark your first month, but if you follow these steps you could very well hit it within 2 to 3 months, even in a smaller niche. Imagine if you capture just 10% of that traffic – that’s an email list of 5,000 who you can now invite directly to every new blog post you make. Not a bad way to get your blog rolling…

You’ve got a new product or website, but you’re stuck for a tagline.

Should you spend a lot of time thinking up the best possibility? Surprisingly, no. There is a simple shortcut to writing the perfect tagline that will grab people’s attention and let them know immediately that your product is right for them.

So what’s the shortcut? Believe it or not, it’s letting your customer write your tagline FOR YOU.

First, a few things you should know about the perfect tagline:

1. It needs to accurately articulate what it is that you are offering, and it needs to position you positively with your target market.

2. It’s got to be original. Whatever it is that you’re selling, odds are there are plenty of others selling something similar. By being original, you can stand apart from the crowd to get noticed and remembered.

3. It’s got to be concise and precise. Memories are exceedingly short and the competition to be heard is getting tougher every day.

Now then, keeping those three points in mind, what do your clients tell you about your product or service? Better still, what do they tell you about the problem your product or service fixes? For example, career coach Julie Jansen helps people to find their ideal work. What do her clients frequently tell her when they’re in her office? “I don’t know what I want, but I know it’s not this.” That became the title of her book.

Another career coach kept hearing, “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up!” She resisted using the phrase at first because her clients WERE grown up and she thought it might offend them. However, once she added it to the top of her website, she immediately experienced a dramatic increase in inquiries.

Two young software designers were showing a venture capitalist how their software worked. The investor suddenly exclaimed, “That’s so simple, my mother could do it!” Bingo! Their tagline was born.

An author wanted to write and speak about male-female communications. With the room full of people, she laid out a scenario in which they were all trying to communicate with the opposite sex but having difficulties. One gentleman yelled out, “Can’t she see I’m watching the game?” And her tagline was born.

If your tagline captures exactly how your ideal customer feels, you’ve got it right. As you can see, you don’t need to place pressure on yourself to find the perfect tagline – instead, simply listen to your customers.

To learn more, read the book: “POP! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title and Tagline” by Sam Horn. Then go improve the tagline for your product so you can sell more and serve more.

There may be no faster way to create a great product than by interviewing an expert in your niche. You set a time for the interview, prepare a few questions, record it, and possibly get it transcribed. Total time? Maybe 2 hours, tops.

But exactly what is it that you, as the interviewer, need to do to make the interview great?

To put it another way, how do you ensure that your listeners are going to stay riveted by the interview and be thrilled that they took the time to listen to it?

Here’s 17 indispensable tips for conducting a memorable podcast interview:

1. Have fun with it. If you’re all stressed out about doing this interview, odds are it’s not going to turn out well. You’ve got to relax and have a good time. Laugh. Joke a little. Smile. Did you know people can HEAR if you’re smiling? It’s true. And the more at ease you are, the more comfortable your guest will be, too.

2. Do some research. Know the person you’re interviewing, and by all means know something about the topic.

3. Confirm the details with the person you’re interviewing. This includes time and date, length of the interview and how they will be communicating (phone, skype, etc.)

4. Forget the umms, errs and ahhs. Please. If it takes you a second to think of the word you’re looking for, so be it. Don’t fill that time with incoherent sounds.

5. Do use the highest quality equipment possible. You can have the greatest interview ever, but if the sound quality is terrible then no one is going to listen.

6. Don’t ask yes or no questions. “Do you like to play tennis?” “Yes.” Have you been playing for long? “Yes.” Do you win every tournament?” “No.” How dull can you get? Always ask open ended questions that cannot be answered with simple yes’s and no’s.

7. Listen. I mean really LISTEN to the answers your expert is giving you. Your audience can tell if you’re just playing along rather than being fully engaged. So engage. Be prepared to ask spontaneous questions based on what you’re hearing. The best interviewers aren’t afraid to pursue new avenues and unearth new discoveries.

8. Don’t just ask “what,” also ask “why” and “how.” Learn everything you can from the person you’re interviewing. Go in depth and find out the reasons behind the reasons.

9. Remember that you are the interviewer. Don’t try to steal the show and don’t talk over your guest. You are there to elicit information, they are there to share their expertise. Don’t try to fill both roles yourself. If you do, you’ll annoy your guest and irritate your audience.

10. Don’t ask more than one question at a time. “How do you propose to do project A, and while you’re doing it do you also run the xyz program, and how do the two integrate into your discombobulator?” Sheesh. Think of your poor interview subject and just ask one question at a time.

11. Don’t say anything like, “I wanted to ask you…” or “My next question is…” Or even, “How are you?” Get to the topic at hand and keep the interview moving. Please.

12. Prepare your questions ahead of time. This will ensure you don’t get stuck for something to ask. Prepare follow up questions for each question. Or if the purpose of the interview is to teach a task, you and your guest might prepare an outline of the steps you’ll cover. In either case, this is a guide to help you along, not something written in stone. Be flexible.

13. Don’t keep your guest in the dark. Let them know beforehand what to expect and any pertinent details they should know. Offer to send them the questions you plan on asking. Thank them for participating. You should thank them when they agree to the interview and again in any conversations or correspondence you have both prior to the interview and after the interview.

14. Show your enthusiasm for both your topic and your expert guest. Enthusiasm is contagious, so share yours liberally. Your guest will appreciate your enthusiasm, and your audience will be more engaged.

15. Remember who your real VIP is – it’s not your guest and it’s not you, it’s your audience. You are doing this interview for them, so your first priority is to get your audience great content they want or need.

16. Relax. It’s not Mars-landing science, it’s just an interview. Don’t get stressed – think of it as an adventure.

17. Make mistakes. Look, you’re going to make them regardless, so why not put it on this list? You’re going to trip over your tongue, forget what you were about to say, or mispronounce a word you use all the time. It’s okay. Fix your mistake, smile, laugh, and move on. Your audience will love you MORE for the mistakes you make.

I got out my trusty calculator and did a little math. Assuming you make your own information products, what would it take to earn $100,000 in a year if you work with affiliates and pay them 50% commission?

$47 Ebooks: You’d need to sell 355 of these a month, or 12 per day.

$97 Teleseminars and Webinars: You’ll be selling 172 seats a month, or 5.7 per day. Think no one would pay that kind of money for a teleseminar? If your information is timely and valuable, they’ll line up for it. For example, stock market and forex trading advice would fit this category.

$197 Audio Courses: You only need to sell 85 of these a month, or 2.9 per day. Now who’s going to pay $197 for an audio course? Actually, a lot of people. The trick is to make a big promise, record on a library of CD’s, and make sure you fulfill that promise. Example titles might be; 7 Days To Speaking Confidence or perhaps Improve Your SAT Scores by 33% In Two Weeks or even How To Become A Master Pick Up Artist Practically Overnight.

$497 Video Courses: I know what you’re thinking – who’s going to pay $497 for a video course? The truth is, many people have paid TWICE that amount. Sample title? How about… How to Generate a Six Figure Income in 90 Days. Oh yes, and to earn $100,000 a year using affiliates at 50% commission, you’d only need to sell 33.5 a month. That’s practically one per day.

Now then – would you rather make 12 sales a day, or 1 sale a day? Are you ready to step up and start selling big ticket products?

And by the way, other products you can sell for $497 and MORE are…

– Home Study Courses (video, audio and written material)
– Online Study Courses (video, audio and written material, plus it’s more interactive and more likely to actually be used by the buyers.)
– Seminars and Workshops
– Group Coaching

So let me ask you a question: What if you put on a killer online study course and you charged $997 – how many sales would you need to reach that $100,000 mark (assuming all sales were made through affiliates?) Just 16.7 per month.

Or what if you charge $2,000 for your seminar – you’d only need 100 attendees to make a $100,000 payday.

Or if you charge $300 a month for group coaching – you’d need just 55 members.

And in any of the above scenarios, what if you didn’t use affiliates? What if you made all the sales yourself? Then of course you’d only need half as many sales to make just as much money. So in the $997 product example, you’d only need 8 or 9 sales a month to generate a $100,000 income.

If you’ve been paying attention here, you might have noticed I left out one major possibility. Do you know what it is?

Recurring subscriptions or membership sites. 355 members paying $47 a month yields $200,000 – half for you and half for your affiliates. Can you retain 355 for the full 12 months? You’ll have to offer killer content and incentives to come close.

One more thought – what if you do a combination of the above? Perhaps you choose two things, or three or four. Then instead of earning $100,000, you’re earning $200,000 or more.

I’ll let you in on a secret: We tend to get so bogged down in day to day thinking that we forget to step back and look at the big picture. And so is it any wonder that we think small, instead of thinking in numbers like these? You can indeed attain these marks and more, but the first step is to think the thoughts and the second is to believe you can do it.

And you already know the third step – take action on a massive scale and don’t stop until you reach your goal.

Need some serious cash in a flash? Assuming you already have a customer base, here’s what you can do:

1. Identify your best customers. If you have only two lists, one of prospects and one of people who have actually made a purchase from you, then of course choose your list of buyers. But if you have a list of repeat buyers or customers who have made large purchases from you, then you want to choose that list. Whoever your best buyers are, those are the ones upon which you want to focus your efforts.

2. Talk to these people. You might call some of them if you have phone numbers, or more likely you will send them an email or survey. Identify what they most need and most want right now. Some things they might need, and other things they might want. What you’re really looking for is the one they both need and want.

3. Based on what you learn, create a high value offer with a matching price tag. In other words, you’re going to offer tremendous value and charge accordingly. This won’t be for all of your customers, but then again you’re only targeting your very best customers with this offer.

4. Make the offer to your valued customers. If you’ve done this correctly, you should see a nice cash infusion into your business, and this entire process can be done in less than a week.

Social media platforms offer a great way to create new connections and strengthen existing relationships. Here’s 10 simple ways you can engage people on social media to develop more meaningful, and potentially profitable friendships and partnerships.

1. Acknowledge. It’s no accident that this is #1. Comment on your friends statuses and posts. Reply to their tweets. Interact. Acknowledge when they say something bright, funny or helpful. The fastest way to engage others is to meet them halfway.

2. Like and retweet. Maybe you can’t respond to everyone, but it only takes a second to give a like on Facebook or retweet on Twitter, and it makes the other person appreciate you all the more.

3. Don’t tell – tease. Next time you post a new article or blog post, don’t tell all. Instead, simply post a teaser that gets your readers wondering what the post is about. And don’t forget to add the link – the better the tease, the more clicks you’ll get.

4. Play caption-this-photo. Find a weird/strange/bizarre/humorous photo, and then ask your friends and followers for funny captions.

5. Offer weird trivia and facts about interesting things. For example, “To keep food from freezing, Eskimos use freezers.” or “In the 1830’s ketchup was sold as medicine.” Here’s some weird facts that will get you stated: triviachamp.com/Weird-Trivia-Facts.php

6. Variation on #5 above – ASK weird trivia questions. You can do this one of two ways: Either ask a question they can find online, such as; “How many dimples are in a golf ball?” or “What is the only domesticated animal not mentioned in the Bible?”

The second way is to ask a trivia question they cannot find online. Example: “How did I earn $674 in one day when I was 12 years old?” Or if you’re good at research, you can find something online that’s obscure, such as; “About 100 people choke to death each year on what common object?” (Answer: A ballpoint pen.)

7. Play “who-said-it.” Post a quote from a movie you’re watching and ask people who said it and what’s the name of the movie they said it in.

8. Update your photo. This works better on Facebook than on Twitter, because on Twitter the photos are so small to begin with. But on Facebook you can post a new photo everyday if you like, and because people notice photos before anything else, they’ll notice yours.

9. Play “fill-in-the-blank.” You make a statement but you leave one or two of the words blank. This way your followers and friends can complete it. HINT: Always make the statement about THEM, not about you. Try to use potentially humorous subjects. For example: “I like to ___ while I’m ___.” or “In bed, I often ___ while thinking of ___.”

10. Ask. Ask for thoughts, opinions, help, advice, etc. People love to be asked and will take the time for surprisingly thoughtful responses. NOTE: Be sure to THANK them!

Employ a few of these social media engagement strategies, and become someone that consistently creates new value and interesting content that attracts people deeper into your circle of influence. 😉

As an online marketer, there are 3 kinds of speed you need to focus on to be successful.

The speed of your customer service. If a customer emails you today, you need to answer today. If you can’t, hire a virtual assistant. If you can’t do that, then at least set up a help desk that lets customers know what hours you work, so they know when you will be getting back to them.

Your website speed. How long does it take for your website to load? For every second added to a website’s load time, the conversions decrease by a shocking 2% to 7%, and page views are reduced by 1% to 2%. That’s per SECOND. In addition, Google factors in loading speed when determining the ranking it’s going to give your website. I’m not going into a technical tutorial here, so I suggest you Google how to make your site load faster and take it from there – or suffer the consequences.

That sounded dire. Sorry. I’m eager to get to my third point, and that is:

Your own speed. When you have a great new idea, how long does it take you to act upon it? When your customer gives you a brilliant new product request, do you begin today? Tomorrow? Or do you put it off until never? When you’re in the shower and you have a brilliant thought on how to increase subscribers, do you put it into action now? Or will you “get around to it?”

I’ve found that if I don’t act within 24 hours on a new idea, I will almost certainly never act on it. In addition, if I do act but I wait until I get it perfect before rolling it out – it gathers dust and becomes a total waste of my time and resources, along with an almost imperceptible blow to my confidence and self esteem.

I have a theory, and it’s this: Each time you have a brilliant idea but don’t act upon it, you’re one step closer to dying the death of a thousand cuts. Sure, one or two is no big deal, but they add up. Pretty soon you’ve got a long list of brilliant ideas that never saw the light of day, and your business is stalling.

Speed to paramount to success. You almost can’t have one without the other. I encourage you; take something you’ve learned or thought of today, and begin work on it RIGHT NOW. Outline what you need to do to get this idea off the ground, and then do the first thing on the list. When that’s done, cross it off and do the second. Have it done by tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.

I guarantee; you’ll become addicted to speed and your business, your confidence and your income will thank you.

Hint: Do the Opposite and Success Will Be Yours!

Is the Internet easy money? A lot of people seem to think so, which might be why we see Internet businesses come and go faster than feathers in the wind. And sadly, while it takes a lot to succeed in business, it really takes very little effort to fail.

But you can turn the tables and give yourself a head start by NOT doing the following:

1. Bringing nothing new. You see what someone else is doing and you copy it. FAIL. Unless you do it faster, better, cheaper, stronger, more effectively, etc.; you won’t make a dent in the market. You’ve got to differentiate your business by either offering something new or something vastly improved.

2. Not prioritizing. If you’re obsessed with trivial things like getting your latest article perfected – rather than focusing on the big things like making sales – you’re going to fail. Decide what’s most important to making your business a success (aka: getting new customers and taking care of your current customers) and spend your time and resources on those activities.

3. Doing everything yourself. Sure, you’re lousy at building websites, but who wants to pay a pro, right? So you spend 4 weeks building a website that frankly looks like it was made by a junior high student doing just enough to get a barely passing “D” grade. Forget about it. Hire outsourcers to do the things you stink at, and focus your efforts on what you do well.

4. Pleasing everybody. You’ve got a product that everybody needs and wants, and you’re going to sell billions of them, right? Probably not. First of all, how do you reach a market of “everybody?” Second, when you try to appeal to everyone, you generally wind up appealing to no one. By targeting your product or service to a specific group of people you vastly increase your odds of success.

5. Not being obsessed. If you’re laid back, working now and then when you ‘feel’ like it, and wondering where the truck full of cash is hiding, then guess what: It’s not coming. You’ve got to put in long hours in the beginning of your business to make it succeed, and if you don’t then you’ll never have a business – only a money sucking hobby that annoys your spouse and wastes what time you do spend on it.

6. Changing course repeatedly. Hey, you were going to write great content about fishing and promote fishing related affiliate products, but you just bought this great course on how to sell backlinks, so you’re going to do that instead, except there’s this other course on how to make a killing servicing the Forex community… STOP! Choose your business model and then strap on a pair of blinders so thick you can’t tell if it’s daytime or nighttime.

Once you’ve got those blinders on, the ONLY things that get through are methods and tools that help you on your present course. Anything that could divert you off course is totally, completely irrelevant and will be shunned and ignored to the full extent of your laser focused abilities.

7. Thinking the universe will do it for you. Yes, you’ve watched The Secret a dozen times and read all the latest books on manifesting your destiny. Now all you need to do is sit back and visualize your success 24/7, and it’ll happen because you’re just that kind of guy (or gal.) Get a grip. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to be because you MAKE it happen, not because the Universe owes you a debt of gratitude for you being, well, you.

8. Being a cautious genius. You’ve got a good idea of what to do, but there’s just a few more things you need to learn before you take that first real step because you’ve got to get it just right. After all, in school it was all the studying that got you the good grades, right?

Well guess what, this isn’t school and studying won’t even get you out the door. Yes, you need to know what you’re doing, but no, you don’t need to write your doctorate before you take action. There are times when you need to throw caution to the wind. If you’re procrastinating, if you’re scared, if you’re “not quite ready,” then it’s time to stop preparing and start DOING.

9. Clutching pennies so tightly they scream. You go with the $1 a month hosting because it saves you $9 a month. Then your website crashes the day of your first launch, and there’s no phone number or online chat to get a hold of anyone.

In fact, reading the fine print on your web hosting site, you discover that they only accept correspondence via carrier pigeon, and then only on the third Tuesday of the month. Yes, you need to watch expenses. No, you do not need to cut corners so badly you ruin your own business.

There is an exception and it’s this: If you happen to have a lot of money sitting around gathering dust, you can hire people to perform most of your online marketing tasks for you. You’ll still need to determine the course of your business and guide it in the right direction, but what you spend in money can save you in time.

Then again, having a lot of money to throw at a new venture is often its own recipe for failure, so beware and be careful if you plan to employ this method.

10. Screwing your customers. What’s important is making the sale, not making the customer happy, right? Wrong. Refunds, bad reviews and disastrous customer service will ruin your business faster than termites will eat tree houses in the tropics. Take care of your customers, give them more than they expect, thank them and then ask what else you can do for them. Remember: No customers = no business.

11. Failing terrifies the stuffing out of you. Maybe you shouldn’t do ____ because you might fail. (You fill in the blank.) Guess what – failure is GOOD. Without failure there is no success. The only person who has never failed is the person who has never attempted anything in their life. Do you want to be that person? No. Then expect that you will fail now and then, and when you do, you’re going to pick yourself right back up and keep going.

There you have it – 11 ways to fail or succeed. The choice, my friends, is up to you.

(You Just Don’t Know It Yet)

Think you don’t have anything to share? Think again. Your life experiences along with what you’re learning can make great content. All you need to do is take notice of it, seize it before you lose it, and transform it into an article, blog post or video.

For example, what mistake did you, one of your clients or one of your colleagues recently make that others can learn from? Everyone likes to hear about other people’s boo-boos, and it’s always cheaper and less painful to learn from others’ mistakes rather than our own. So keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll find a ton of content with this idea alone.

While you’re looking for mistakes, keep your eyes open for success stories. What did they accomplish and how did they do it? By learning from the success of others we can find vital clues on how to create our own successes.

Sometimes the real story isn’t in the success but in the challenge they overcame to reach that success. If you or someone else discovered a new way to break through an obstacle, it’s guaranteed that other people will want to hear about it, too.

Has someone given you a terrific piece of advice? How did you use it and what happened? Or have you discovered a new tool with a benefit too good not to share with others? Then you’ve got great content in the making.

Maybe you’ve got a unique solution to a problem others are having. This kind of content is so good you can sell it. Or perhaps you’ve got a story about something that didn’t work at all – others will want to know to steer clear of it.

The real trick to creating great content is simple – look for it. As you read, work, interact with others and go about your day, always keep a lookout for things to share on social media. Keep a notebook in your pocket and jot the ideas down and you’ll find they rapidly multiply into more than you can even use. You’ll never be stuck for great content again because you’ll see it truly is all around you.

Your logo represents your business and serves as a signpost to the world. It’s not just a luxury – it’s a necessity and a business asset. In fact, if you don’t yet have a logo then you’ve got to ask: ‘Are you serious about your business or not?’

Here are 9 reasons to consider getting your own logo as soon as possible:

1. To promote your business. Logos project your business image to visitors, customers and future customers. A well designed logo says you’re serious about what you do.

2. To give you credibility and professionalism. When prospects see your logo on your websites and social media, they associate that logo to your business and even begin to look for it.

3. To make you more memorable. A business name only goes so far in triggering memory. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. And a catchy business logo makes you and your business far more memorable. After all, what’s the use of being seen if you’re not remembered? Of two similar businesses competing for the same customers, the one the customers remember is far more likely to get the business.

4. To clarify what your business does. Business names can sometimes be unintentionally deceptive, vague or simply unclear when it comes to the types of products or services your business offers. For example, Blue Rabbit Racetrack could be a place where blue rabbits race, or perhaps cars, horses, dogs or even people. By adding a Greyhound to the logo, it instantly becomes clear that Blue Rabbit Racetrack is for racing dogs.

5. To look bigger and more established. Like it or not, people tend to think a logo means you’ve been around the block and you’re a “real” business.

6. To attract new business. Because you look and ‘feel’ more professional with a logo, prospects tend to trust you more.

7. To brand yourself. In the eyes of prospects, John Smith without a logo is just John Smith. But John Smith with a logo is a company – and thus appears more stable and trustworthy.

8. To increase your business’s value. If you decide to sell your business one day, having a well-rounded package that includes marketing materials, graphics and a professional logo increases your business’ perceived value.

9. To attract venture capital. See #8 above.

How do you get a logo designed? You can Google logo creation and get hundreds of companies vying for your business. Most charge in the $100 to $300 range, while others charge far more. I remember reading years ago that the U.S. Postal service paid a million dollars for their (then) new logo.

You, on the other hand, do not need to spend $100 or a million dollars. There are many reputable free and low cost logo creators online that can get you up and running with all of the benefits we’ve talked about above, and they are just a quick Google search away!