Before You Choose a Mentor are YOU Prepared?

Before You Choose a Mentor are YOU Prepared?

I was reading a post that Tim Castleman posted in the Cult of Copy about Mentors.  The following is quote from Tim.  “You’re not just paying for access.  You’re paying for the last 4 years. The mistakes, the successes, the behind scene stuff that no one talks about (cause it’s not sexy but it makes a ton of money). You’re paying for the “Don’t do that, do this.”

No matter what profession you decide to take up or are involved with, you need someone you can turn to.  You need someone that you can have an open dialogue with. You need someone that will tell you what you NEED to hear, not just tell you what you want to hear.  But I caution you.  “Be Prepared” for what you will receive from your Mentor!

The Preparation

Things that you should be aware of about yourself.

1.  You need to take a long hard look into the mirror and decide who and what you are made of.  What I am trying to say is this.  Is your mind and heart open for personal growth?  Are you willing to listen or will you argue?  Questions are ok, but some information that you receive should not be debated.  After all, your mentor has already walked the walk.
2. Are you willing to open up and speak the truth? – Example: When you are asked how much money do you make, there is 2 scenarios.  1 – You tell your colleagues and friends what you think you make.  2 – Reality is your local bank & grocer knows what you really make.  Don’t get me wrong, financial information is a private thing.  My point is this – Whatever information you tell your Mentor, their response will be based on what you say.  If you tell them what you think they want to hear, (bragging, inflated results, etc.) then their answer will be based on that.  You give them half-truth information, and then you will receive half-truth recommendations.  When you apply those half-truths, you will not receive the results you actually wanted.  So be willing to bear your soul so to speak and speak the truth with your Mentor.
3. How committed are you? – Are you just lurking around? Or are you participating?  Any worthwhile event is nothing less than Hard work and Determination.  In my younger sports years, I realized the only time that I got hurt was when I gave less than 110%.  Since then I have applied that work ethic in my life.  It has made all the difference in the world.
4. The Price! – With any worthwhile endeavor, there is a price to be paid.  What is the price that you are willing to pay?  Is it Time?  Is it Money? Is it effort?  Is it opening your heart and mind to personal growth?  I don’t claim to know the price you will pay.  That is entirely up to you.  Your decision.  Decide what that price will be.  A price must be paid.  You must give something up in order to have what you want.  Are you willing to pay that price?
5. The Balance. – When establishing your foundation of your endeavor, you need to strike a balance in your life.  Balance yourself in all areas.  Financial, Physical, Family, Spiritual.  Develop your plan of action to include all of these.  You will find that productivity will be greater.  Ideas will become clearer.  Relationships will thrive.  Inner peace will become self-evident.
6. Don’t Fear! – As I have always said, “Fear and Faith cannot reside in the body at the same time!”  Fear will hold you back.  FAITH will drive you forward.  Which do you choose?
7. The conclusion. – I am one that in the past that has not had much personal growth with “Sugar coated” responses to questions about advancing my career.  My greatest growth has stemmed from getting answers to questions that basically gutted me like a fish.  (I set those ground rules with the Mentor before I asked the question)  Did I always like the answer?  Not always.  Did it make me mad?  Sometimes.  Did I do what they suggested? 90% of the time. (Wished I would of done the other 10% at times)  My point is this – Be willing to keep both ears open and listen.  It may not make sense at the time, but it will in the long run.  After all, You asked them to help you.  Your Mentor should have your best interest in mind during counseling.  If not, then it is time to trade up!

These are just a few of my thoughts to help “Prepare” you when it comes time to look for a Mentor.  If you have these basic ideas established before you choose, the learning curve with your Mentor will be shorter and more productive.

The Bottom Line – All of this is said and good, but without this last piece of the plan, the above will be of no use to you.  You must have ACTION on the information that has been given you!  Will you get it right all the time? No. Will you be farther ahead if you did nothing?  Yes.  Will you have learned something?  Yes.  (Good or Bad you will have learned something)  Will you take the next step? That is entirely up to you.  The trail of Success is defiantly an Adventure.  Enjoy it!

To your Great Growth and Success!

Lary Heller

Tagged As: personal growth, Tim Castleman

Need a Interactive Calendar?

If you are looking for a calendar to interact with your web page,  I have found one that is pretty good.   It is called http://www.localendar.com . This calendar has 3 options.  1 is FREE (which is the one I am using) and 2 other paid subscriptions that give you more flexibility.  Their pricing seems reasonable.

I use predominately Word Press for my sites and I was looking for a calendar for a Non-Profit group that was cost effective and would allow some interaction.  You can either have a link to the LoCalendar.com site (which displays your calendar) or (my Fav) placing an IFrame in a page on your website.  Note: I had to change the width and height to fit it into this page.  (I prefer to keep them on this particular website.)

Here is a link for comparisons between different calendars. – http://www.localendar.com/calendar/free-calendar-features

While Searching the Localendar site, I found several different styles to choose from.  Everything from a Real Estate, Church, Organizations, Pin calendars, and many more.  You also have clip art to enhance your calendar’s appearance.  In the paid versions, you have the ability to upload your own photos or clip art.

If you are running Word Press,  Localendar.com also has a WP plugin so you can place a widget on your sidebar.  The widget has several options, one of which is a small calendar that has (click on the date) popup windows for a brief description of the event.

On the main calendar, if you click on an event, a window pops up that will have options to download into your calendar (outlook, Ical, Yahoo, Google).

Overall it seems to be a good fit for this particular use.

Here is a link to an active Calendar – http://troop579.org/calendar.html

Feel free to click on several of the events to see the interaction. J

Have a Great day!

Tagged As: word press

Dynamic QR Codes Review

QR Codes & Dynamic QR Codes

To start, we have to ask the question, “What is a QR Code?”  Answer – QR is an acronym for “Quick Response”. (QR)  A QR code is a two-dimensional code that can be scanned by a smartphone that has a camera built in.  By scanning the QR Code with your Smart Phone, it will automatically bring up a website, document, video, pictures, or other information that is linked to the QR Code.  QR Codes have become mobile friendly.  For example – If you are at the electronic store and see a QR code for a big screen TV,  you can scan it and it will produce further information about the TV right on your phone!  Quick and easy information that you can take with you to view at a later time.  How cool is that?

QR codes are just now showing up on more and more items.  There are so many great uses for QR codes.  Where do we start?  Whether you are a business, church, school, sports team or even in Real-estate, there are unlimited uses for QR codes.  Most QR’s used today are a “static” QR code.   This means 1 code, 1 link that never changes.  This could lead into hundreds of separate QR codes for each item that you would want to share.

 Dynamic QR Codes

This leads me into what is known as “Dynamic QR Codes”.  One code, multiple information links that change according to your information schedule.  Scan the code with your Smart phone and get a link of what is current.   Scan it again at the scheduled time and the information will have changed.

Dynamic QR codes easy on Environment

What would you say if you had information or an advertisement that you have out to the masses (that you have already spent money to have printed), and could change your ad to have new updated information in a matter of seconds? All they would have to do is re-scan the original QR code and they are up to date!  Printing cost down.  Postage cost down.  Information is UP!

Put Dynamic QR Codes to Work for You!

Use on:   Business cards, marketing materials, posters, storefront windows, websites, documents, agendas, table top adds, flyers, signs, refrigerator magnets, bulletins, T-Shirts, programs, window stickers.  I am sure that you could come up with even more places to use your QR code!

Dynamic QR Codes in my opinion is an up and coming trend in marketing and advertising!  I believe that with the rise of “Smart” Phones and consumer awareness, that Dynamic QR Codes will have a major play in sales and information. Be Ready and Be Prepared!

To get more information and an example of a Dynamic QR Code, just click on this link.

Tagged As: QR code

Why Content Curation Adds Rocket Fuel To Your SEO Efforts!

Content curation seems to be all the rage nowadays. In fact, most businesses now use content creation as a standard marketing tool to increase their search and brand visibility online. Like so many folks seem to say; “every online business is now a publisher too”. Whereas most enterprises used to restrict themselves to creating manuals, brochures and perhaps a motivational book (10,000 Secrets to Flaming Corporate Success!) or two, loads of online businesses are now creating entire resource centers in the hope of ranking well on their favorite Google SERP.

Well, this isn’t a bad thing. Content curation actually does a whole lot for your SEO efforts. In this article, I’ll try to explain why.

1. Goldmines Get Noticed

As an increasing numbers of users find that your content adds value to their lives, they link to it and reference it across the web. This is a great way to organically improve your SEO rankings without resorting to mass linking, keyword stuffing and other shady techniques.

A general rule of thumb is to curate content that includes the keywords you optimize for. The easiest way to do this (outside of black hat) is by creating content about your field of expertise. As you build up appealing content that appeals to a broad user base, you’ll find that people reference you in their content creation efforts, boosting your search rankings.

3. Being Shallow Pays Off

Most curation sites, by dint of the very human need to classify things, are well organized platforms that have a relatively shallow internal linking structure. Google crawlers love that stuff. In Google treated information like a pie, then easy-to-crawl site architecture would most definitely be the filling. Mmmm… Pie filling..

4. Frequent Updating = Frequent Indexing

By producing content on a regular basis, you’ll develop a site that’s being updated fairly frequently. Google gives you brownie points for consistently posting unique content by getting it’s crawlers to index your page more frequently. Create a dynamic page and you can rest assured Google will add dynamism to your rankings.

Create targeted landing pages that are focus on specific content attributes like optimized keywords or author biographies. This will help your site get indexed faster and will also ensure that you rank well for highly refined searches.

6. Geeks Can Be Cool Too

Jargon is bad, yes. But wait! Are you confusing jargon with trending keywords? Believe me, there’s a massive difference between the two. Don’t be afraid to use them if you see usage patterns emerging during the course of your research or even in user comments and references. Keyword analytics are also a great way to identify trending words and phrases that will help you optimize your suite towards that golden SERP spot.

7. Google Love Your Long Tail
Niche traffic can be your best friend, especially when they flock to you in large numbers. If your content creation is suitably diverse, you’ll find that you can attract lots of long tail traffic, all of which contributes positively to Google’s opinion of your site.

Note the obsequious references to Google. Learn from them.

While Baidu might help you in China, and Bing might give you a run for your money in the wonderful world of long tail, Google is what’s going to drive the most traffic (and business) to your content rich pages.

Sources

http://www.heronacademy.com

http://esalesdata.com

http://www.mmaglobal.com

About The Author
Linda Mentzer is a published author and senior marketing manager for an information management company that has helped sell thousands of software products on a global scale. With over 11 years of experience in electronic marketing techniques, Linda has authored articles for several leading business journals, worldwide.

Tagged As: Auto, Draft

Using Pinterest to Market Your Business

Pinterest is the big buzz word at the moment in social marketing.  I ran across this article on Mark Austin’s Resell Rights Weekly website.  Hope you enjoy

Using Pinterest to Market Your Business (link)

If you’re a small business owner, then the Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/) statistics ought to grab your attention:  More than 10 million users, 70% women, and 2 million Facebook users daily. Those are some impressive numbers if you’re looking to find a market for your goods.

Here’s how it works: Users can set up “boards” to store all the images they find in their daily surfing. Cute puppies, home décor ideas, fun crafts for kids, and recipes are some favorites among the Pinterest devotees. When you pin an image, that image is linked to the original page you found it on, so others can check out that great new way to store wrapping paper, too. Those other users can also re-pin your image to their own boards, thus spreading the word far and wide.

This kind of viral sharing is – in large part – why companies are so interested in using Pinterest as a part of their marketing plan. And why you should be using it as well.

But before you run off and start pinning stuff, you need to consider whether or not your business would be well-served by Pinterest. Since this social network is almost exclusively visual, it stands to reason that you’ll fare better if you’re a seller of cute, crafty stuff. Etsy sellers are ideal – digital product sellers…not so much.

That doesn’t mean digital retailers are out of luck though – we’ll cover how clever sellers of digital goods are making use of this wildly popular social network in a later lesson.

Of course, as with any social media, relationships are critical in your efforts to expand your circle of influence.

Like any social media outlet, Pinterest is all about who you follow – and who follows you. When you log into Pinterest, you will be greeted by a variety of pictures pinned by those you follow. Lot’s of browsing available at the click of a mouse – and you want to be on as many pages as possible.

How do you do that? By being a good (and strategic) follower.

Just like with Twitter, users on Pinterest tend to (1) follow those who other, well-known users follow, and (2) follow back. That means if you identify the heavy hitters in your niche and follow them, there is a good possibility they will follow you back. There is also a good possibility that some of *their * followers will find and follow you, thereby further increasing your reach.

Because repinning is the currency of Pinterest, you can expect your new followers to pin and repin your pins (as you will theirs). This gets your site and your products in front of more people. Not to mention the positive effect it will have on your backlinking campaigns.

Speaking of followers and backlinking, it’s probably time to talk about how Pinterest traffic can help – or hurt – your website. So let’s talk about branding.

Branding is the process by which you let readers know – in no uncertain terms – exactly who you are and what you stand for. You do this by consistently using the same social media profile picture, by carefully researching and using your most import keywords in critical locations, and by linking all your social networking accounts together.

You’ve likely already done this with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and the process is much the same with Pinterest. Completely fill out your profile, including your URL, a keyword-rich description, and your logo or profile picture.

Next, create boards that make sense for your business, and use keywords where you can. Install a “pin it” bookmarklet in your browser, and use it often. Fill your boards with pins that speak to your audience, and which will help establish you as the go-to Pinterest page for all things [insert your industry here].

Consider connecting your other social media profiles to your Pinterest. You can link Facebook and Twitter, for example, so each time you pin a new item, your Facebook page is updated. This will help draw followers in from other social networks, and increase your presence in all of them.

Finally, add Pinterest links and pin-it buttons to your site, and encourage your visitors to share what they find there.

Earlier we discussed the issue of building relationships by following the big names in your niche. But there is more to Pinterest than just following (and being followed).

Like other social networks, there is a lot of interaction that takes place on Pinterest.  Aside from just repinning, you can also comment, “like,” “share,” email, and embed pins on your blog.

Commenting and liking serves to open a conversation and encourage further interaction – including questions about your products and services, your website, and your other interests. Think of it as building a client base, one conversation at a time.

Liking, sharing, and embedding pins on your website will all help you find more followers and draw traffic (and sales) back to your site.

Just remember, as with all social networks, it’s important to be genuine. Simply repinning, liking, and sharing all sorts of random pins just for SEO purposes will quickly get old. And your followers will notice.

Instead, use the service thoughtfully and strive to make real connections with others in your niche. Just like your Twitter followers and Facebook fans, it’s best to grow your Pinterest circle organically. Don’t rush it – you’ll see much better results in the long run if you put some thought into how you use Pinterest from the beginning.

Earlier we were talking about how Pinterest is best suited for sellers of cute crafts and food bloggers. You might think as a digital retailer you’re left out of the Pinterest crowd. After all, a picture of an eBook isn’t very enticing, is it?

But there * are * things service providers, information marketers, and even affiliate marketers can do with Pinterest to help build their business.

Video – You don’t see a lot of it, but you can pin videos on Pinterest. I can’t think of a better way to turn a how-to video on YouTube into a viral marketing tool. The key? Keep it short and as entertaining as possible.

Infographics – The Internet * loves * a good infographic, and if you’ve got one that shows how to use your product or service then Pinterest is the perfect place to share.

Headline graphics – Got a compelling blog post you’d love to share? Whip up a quick graphic of the headline and a fitting photograph and pin away. Just make sure the title really is compelling, like “14 Ways Bloggers are Driving Traffic with Pinterest.”

So you see, you don’t have to be an Etsy seller or home décor pro to use Pinterest to grow your business. You just have to think a little creatively.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about how you can use Pinterest in your business. So, are you on Pinterest? (http://pinterest.com/)

Tagged As: Facebook, social network, social networks

Start Your Internet Business

36 Things You Need to Know Now!

When starting you internet business, there are a few things that you should know up front.  “Start Your  Internet Business – 36 Things You Need to Know Now!” is a book that every Internet Marketer should read.

Here is  a video that gives you a recap.

Tagged As: book, business, Marketer, recap, Start

Product Drop Saves you $$$!

“Product Drop Can Save You 100′s Of Dollars A Month!”

How much do you spend every month on an average for Internet Market products? Is each purchase $7, $17, $27, $47?  Out of 400 surveyed, 45% said they spend $50 or less each month.  17% say they spend over $100!  Do you fit in this category or are you spending a lot more?  These products are not your run of the mill info/resell items.  These products have been scrutinized heavily and tested before you even see them.  Most are only available here

Product Drop Over Delivers!

A New website called “Product Drop” is now available for new membership.  I have been involved with Internet Marketing for a almost 2 years, and I have Never seen a website that offers so much and over delivers!  This is not a typical monthly membership site.  Once you have signed up, you have instant access to Quality internet business tools.  Reports, plugins, web themes, how to video’s, audio’s, all this and more from IMr’s that have paved the way and walked the walk to assist you in your quest for an Internet business.  The beauty of this site is every month they add more information, more IM products.  All for the same monthly fee!

Cost vs. Value

Product Drop surveyed 400 people.  The question was “Which is more important to you?  Her are the results.  35% want to reduce the amount they spend on infoproducts,  64% want to get more value for what they spend.  Almost two-thirds of respondents said it’s more important to get more value for the money, than to reduce the amount of money spent.  Everybody wants to spend less on infoproducts, but not if they have to sacrifice the information they receive.  What would you choose?

Large Inventory of Products

As Product Drop continues to grow, you’ll undoubtedly find that our inventory will far surpass any other site on the ‘net, because we’ll have a superb selection of products that are meant only for your eyes. You won’t always be able to resell them, but you WILL be able to consume them, learn from them, and profit from the ideas.

Here’s What To Do Now:

We did everything we could to make this a FANTASTIC offer for you.

As soon as you sign up for Product Drop, you’ll get instant access to everything.  Yahoo Pipes, Self Publishing Secrets, Make Membership Sites, Best Free Quality Traffic You Could Ask For, 48 Hour Products, Traffic And Leverage, 7 Minute Articles, Membership Site Tactics, Zero To 6 Figures Webinar, Affiliate Domination, and How To Get Massive Traffic And Extra Profits.

And, MUCH, MUCH, MORE!

Are you ready?

• Click here for Product Drop information and how to Join NOW!

Best Wishes!

Tagged As: information, Internet Market products, Product, Product Drop, Product Drop Saves, Quality, site, Value, Value Product Drop

Exploring the World of Mobile Marketing

Exploring the World of Mobile Marketing

Exploring the World of Mobile Marketing

Tagged As: Bluetooth, Exploring, information, mobile device, mobile marketing, phone, SMS Messages, SMS Messaging, technology

3 Things Your Facebook Fan Page Must Have To Drive Traffic

3 Things Your Facebook Fan Page Must Have To Drive Traffic

Having a custom Facebook fan page is one of the surest ways to earn more likes and drive traffic. In Facebook where appearance is everything, good-looking and well-designed customized pages earn more credibility, interest and yes, likes over a haphazardly put-together page. But where do you start and end in customization?

1) Images
The visuals of your Facebook fan page should present a clear idea of what your page is about. Customizing the visual elements of your Facebook fan page should start with your profile photo. You can stick to your business or product logo or get more creative by coming up with a Facebook-specific design. If you’re just starting your business, stick to colors that are pleasing to the eyes but are memorable enough to be associated with your brand. Once you have chosen a photo, edit the thumbnail so it would capture the most important details of your image.
You can also customize the photo strip of your page – those series of photos found on top of your page – to expand your visual branding. You can attempt to create an illusion of a continuous image throughout the strip, although the order of the photos may not always work to your favor. Better yet, try a series of related and themed photos that define your page or expand on your messaging without needing to rely on the order in which they appear.

2) SEO
Yes, Facebook fan pages should be customized and optimized with keywords that would attract the search engines. Facebook uses its own search engine, and often prioritizes Facebook pages on search results. If you’re not sure of your keywords, you can look at similar pages by industry, locality or target market to get an idea of their top words. Apply these keywords strategically throughout your page.

Key SEO areas:
· Page Name

· Page URL

· Info Box

· Regular updates on related topics

Again, one of the best ways to improve your rankings is to have a good number of premium and useful links to and from your Facebook fan page. Growing the number of links should remain organic, but you can take advantage of your non-Facebook online presence to earn instant links. So make sure that you provide back links to your official website, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube channel and other online properties. In the same way, make sure you link back to your Facebook fan page from all of these accounts.

3) A Fan-Gated Landing Page
One of the most powerful custom Facebook fan page approaches is creating a unique landing page for non-fans. It’s called a lot of names like fan-gated page, a welcome tab, a reveal tab – but whatever else you call it, the goal is the same. With a landing page, you can directly address non-fans with a specific call to action that will encourage them to like your page. Of course, a simple request may not always cut it so make an irresistible offer. By liking your page, make sure that they get something valuable or at least interesting in return. You can give out a free report, a special discount, show an interesting video about their interests, and many other possibilities.

Unfortunately, creating a landing page like this would require quite a bit of programming know-how. It’s great if your organization has an in-house Web team or a third-party developer, but if you’re running a small business, you might have little choice but to do it yourself. The good news is that there are applications and special software that simplifies the process of creating a custom Facebook landing page. Take your pick, implement the new landing page and get handsome returns in no time. For more go to http://www.likepagemaker.com/

Tagged As: Drive, Fan, idea, image, series

One Minute

How much time is in a minute?

What Can you do  during that Minute?

Click Here> One Minute

Enjoy!

Tagged As: Click, Enjoy, Minute, nbsp, time