I golfed in High School, and loved it.  Golf takes talent, desire, and a dedication to develop your craft.  Form time to time I watch Golf on TV, and am familiar with quite a few of the pros names.  So who is Louis Oosthuizen?  If you never heard of him before, you aren’t alone.  He’s a 27 year old golfer who was unknown before this weekend when he won the British Open Golf tournament.  He drove the ball well, sank a few amazing putts, and was very well composed in the midst of the pressure.  I didn’t watch the whole tournament, but watched enough to get a good feel for his skills, and learn that his nickname is Shrek.  One thing that stood out was the red dot on his golf glove.

3 Takeaways from South African Champ on Golf, Business and Life

If you have a moment watch the champions interview below. Or see it here.

The red dot on his glove got me thinking.  Did you catch what he said there? He has a tendency to, “get carried away by thinking about a lot of things.”

He said he needed, “a trigger to get back in the moment, compose…focus on the shot and forget about everything around…”

When asked about telling sharing this day with his 6 month old daughter one day, he glowingly replied, “I’ll probably try and ge…a DVD…and show her the whole thing.”

Essentially he’s:

• Aware of the potential of distractions that exist and can keep him from his goal
• Has a built in “trigger” to help him focus and play within himself
• Playing for something more than himself.

Wow, applying that to growing my online business and having balance in life, here are a few takeaways I’m considering:

• The importance of having focus in business and marketing activities.
• The awareness that distractions are everywhere, it is critical to build in (and reinforce) “triggers” to remain focused
• Playing for something bigger than myself.

What takeaways did you come away with? Chime in below.

Technorati Tags: inspiration, perspective

Some of these marketing and continuing education courses are expensive, and should be considered investments. A couple weeks ago, a post here discussed Factors to Consider When Purchasing Marketing Education Products.  It was suggested that the post may be the most unpopular one on this site, not because the information is bad, rather, it contains practical ideas that aren’t so flashy.  Crazy stuff, like thinking through your purchase, seeing it as an investment, etc. But that is just how we roll here…  If you have taken the time to determine if a course is for you, went ahead and made the purchase, the next question for me is, what is the best way to consume the information and apply it to your business? Here are a six tips I find useful.

6 Tips for Making the Most of Your Internet Marketing Education

One – Schedule – Put It On Your Calendar

I find I get more out of a course when I:

• Decide to prioritize it scheduling time to go over the course materials.
• For webinar or teleseminar delivered content, put them on my calendar and commit to be there.
• Allocate an additional 15 minutes a the end of each session, and spend 15 minutes strategizing possibilities of how the information can be applied to my business.
• Assign deadlines for the low-hanging fruit identified in strategy session.
• Allocate time to review suggested materials to prior to the next webinar.

If I am unable to attend a live webinar, I reevaluate my commitment in light of other projects, and then schedule time to listen to the replay, assuming it is available in a timely manner.

Benefit: With these approaches in place, I get to “application” aspects of the course much faster than without.

Two – Review Before Reading

I didn’t like studying growing up… it was just to SLOW and boring for me.  Years later I learned the value of tricking myself into learning.  It’s pretty straight forward.  Before reviewing materials for the next section, I review the notes from the previous session, including the strategy brainstorming session.

Benefit: I find myself going into the reading/studying time with more excitement, and it prepares my brain to receive the information in the next section or session.  Thanks to Dave Ellis for reminding me of this technique.

Three – Muscle Reading Exercise

I have only done this once since learning this from Dave Ellis, and it helped tremendously.  It is pretty simple idea, and it goes something like this, with a notebook, a pen, and the course  materials:

• Scan through all the materials in order.  No more than 1 -2  seconds per page.
• Write down things that caught your attention on a page in the  notebook.
• Write the text, section header, or chapter, and be  sure to include the page number.

Benefit: What I ended up having is a list of things I’m interested in.  I  found that absorbing the information was easier and faster when  I covered the materials in detail. Maybe it was a fluke…so far I’m pleased.

Four – Getting Visual with Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is something I’ve been doing for some time.  Recently I started doing it as I go through various courses.  Sometimes with computer software (MindJet, and just started testing out The Brain), but also with just pen and paper.

For me, pen and paper allows the creativity to  flow smoother when not having to deal with a keyboard and  mouse.
Here’s how I do it:

• Create an initial topic with an oval, it might be a chapter, or section of the course.
• Create links to subtopics that are connected to the main topic.
• Use stars or colors to highlight important points.

Once the mind map is complete, I make a secondary mind map  reflecting the action items and priorities of applying the information just learned.

Five – Notebook

Simply, a place to jot down important information about what it is I’m studying.  Recently I’ve combined this with my business journal  (lesson one).  As a wise person once said, “Writing it down helps crystallize thought”.  If the course is serious enough to invest time (an money), it is serious enough to write it down.

Six – Develop Goals

Not everything you learn in a course will apply to your business.  “Eat the meat, and spit out the bones.” When you see the meat, write it down, explore how you can implement it, and then put a time-frame on implementing it.  Consider ranking goals so that the ones that have the greatest impact while requiring the least amount of effort are at the top of the list.

Bottom line, I find I get out of a course what I put into it. These tips have served me well.  What are your thoughts on this?  How can I help?
Photo Credit: MOOby

Technorati Tags: internet marketing lessons, internet marketing tips

Last week’s post talked about services you can use to market online that don’t cost anything. If you missed the post it is here.  We live in an age of great opportunity online.  However, a business (hopefully) reaches a point where they need to invest in paid for tools.  Actually, any serious business needs to invest in tools, the reason for that is that it holds them accountable.  Free is great, but if one of the content sharing blog sites goes down, as a consumer other than leveraging social networks to commiserate with other free users, you don’t have many options.  Paid services are on the hook.  If customers aren’t happy the can pick up the phone and talk with someone who can help.

3 Services I Would Buy If I Had to Start Over Marketing Online

At some point as your online business grows, you’ll need to start investing in tools that will help your business grow.  Below is a list of 3 services I’d invest in if I had to start over again and what they cost.

1 – Domain Name

This is important for two reasons. 1) Control, 2.) Branding.  You own the domain name and that is a key element of your businesses brand.  Branding is re enforced when the address visitors are sent to is yours (as oppose to that of Blogger, WordPress, etc.).  Having a name that your business can call your own is a key fundamental.  And is worth the investment.

Investment: ~$10 depending what type of domain, you buy. Go with a .com if at all possible (I buy domains here).

2 – Website Hosting

This is space on a server somewhere on the internet that holds the files that make up a webpage or website.  Things such as HTML pages, images, email accounts, an more.  The advantage here is control.  One of the challenges with free services is that users are often limited in what they can put on the site (plugins, code, etc.), when you have a hosting account, there are virtually no restrictions of this type.  I would choose hosting here.

Investment: ~$4-$25 a month, depending on provider and plan selected. Note: Many hosting companies show per month pricing, but require you to purchase a year (or more) in advance to get that pricing, and then bill you annually.

3 – Email Service Provider

One of the most important assets you can start building early on, in my opinion, is an email marketing list.  There are many reasons for this, one being a controlled communication channel for those who have indicated they want to hear from you.  By default it is a more intimate relationship than those who might find you or your company on free social networks, and as with other paid services you have someone to call if there are any issues with the service.

Investment: ~$19/mo usually limited to the number of subscriber or sends per month.  The service I recommend for this investment is Aweber, (up to 500 subscribers), and offers student and non-profit discounts.

Bottom Line On Paid Services

Not every business is ready to pay for services out of the gate.  Sometime after an online business starts making sales, they should invest in tools that help them gain more control and put them in a position for future growth.  The services listed here are the ones I would use if I had to start over again.

For other recommendations see the recommendations page.

What say you? Chime in with your ideas and suggestions below.
Image Credit San Drino

Technorati Tags: domain names, Email Marketing, hosting, recommended

We live in an age of great opportunity when it comes to marketing online. There are many free services online to take advantage of, to market with and make money, but if you are getting started which ones should you use and why? Below is a list of services I would use if starting over. I was faced with this question recently when talking with a friend, and decided to put this post together. The information shared here is geared for those new to marketing online. This information would have saved me a LOT of time if I had it years ago.

8 Free Services for You To Get Started Marketing Online Today

1.) Gmail – Communication

There are many free email services out there, but none are as well received as Gmail (Googlemail in other parts of the world). Google hit it out of the part with a simple user interface on a reliable platform. When you have a Gmail account it is also your Google account, which ties into many other Google services that can benefit your business in many ways, one being SEO. (open an account at gmail.com)

2.) Paypal – Payment

The ability to send and receive payment online is important. Paypal is the behemoth for doing just that, and while not perfect is the service of choice for secure online payment. (Paypal.com)

3.) Clickbank – Find Products to Sell

If you don’t have an established business, and want to learn the ropes marketing online, affiliate marketing is a great place to start. This helps you to focus on developing a highly coveted skill of creating targeted traffic to your sites. Yet, you still need products to “sell”. Clickbank provides products spanning many different markets.

Not having to deal with product creation, customer service, and other issues will save you a lot of time. Use this service to find products you want to sell on your site through ads, recommendations, and reviews. (Get started at clickbank.com)

4.) Business Blog – Publishing

A blog serves as the mouthpiece for your business. Good news is, you can have a blog in under 5 minutes by using one of the free services found here. The blog is the main website where you will drive traffic and links and share relevant Clickbank products.

5.) Mailchimp – Email Marketing

An email marketing list is your first and most important asset. It is important to use a service that specializes in delivering email. Mailchimp is the only reputable email service provider I know of that has a “forever free” option (500 subscribers, up to 3000 emails/mo). They also have an upgrade path as your list grows. They are at Mailchimp.com.

6.) YouTube – Traffic

I think this is the sleeping giant of free online properties for marketers. Many think you need to create videos to have a successful YouTube account (which ties into your Gmail/Google account created in step 1.) It’s actually a social network, and you don’t even have to have videos to have an account that drives traffic to your site (learn more here).

Here is a case study on YouTube for traffic. Get started (with your Google account) at www.YouTube.com.

7.) Twitter – Publishing Links

Twitter serves as your social tool to share blurbs and random 140 character snippets that those in your market would find interesting. More than that you can publish links to new new content on your blog. Twitter also offers a “widget” which allows you to share your Twitter tweets right on your blog.

Tip: Review the targets presented in 3 Rules of Using Twitter for Business post.

8.) Facebook Page – SEO

Facebook pages (formerly fan pages) are great for social interaction on Facebook but also show up on search engine results pages. While it makes sense to use it as a long-term strategy to engage your market, if you are getting started, having as many inbound links from sites the search engines trust (Facebook) is going to help you.

Tip: Be sure to put the entire link to your blog in the page description box.

Here is a great article by Mari Smith entitled 21 Creative Ways To Increase Your Facebook Fanbase. You might also consider these Facebook apps for business to juice your page.

These are the resources I would use if starting from zero today. Questions? Comments? Feedback? Chime in below.

Technorati Tags: free services, gettin started online, making money online

Sometimes it makes sense to step back and review what is important in life.  It doesn’t matter if you have an online or offline business, or looking to get started with a new venture, in the throws of our entrepreneurial passions sometimes those people that are most important to us are the ones we are tempted to forget about or under-appreciate.  The consequences of a long journey down this road can be extensive, and life-changing, usually for the bad.

Book Review Options Not Obligations by Marc Warnke

What Marc Warnke shares in his book Options Not Obligations is not only refreshing, and inspiring, he actually helps the reader walk though practical application to keep things in perspective.
Some of the hightlights include:

• Marc Warnke was an alcoholic
• Introduction of the term “Family First Entrepreneur”
• Discussion of the false ideas about wealth
• Provides practical ideas to help the reader “get to ONO”

Opportunities of reflection throughout the book:

• List how you could improve your life by cutting your TV time in half
• Make a list of items you have buyers remorse for and write the negative impact it has had on your life
• Write your Eulogy

Sometimes it’s good to step away from SEO, PPC, Conversion tactics, Email Marceting, and eCommerce, and get down to the why’s behind the what’s of your life and business.  Marc Warnke helps the reader do just that.

I put a little video together describing the book as well.  You can also find the video here.

Technorati Tags: book review, family first entrepreneur, life planning, marc warnke

It’s hard to keep up with the constant changes in the fast paced Internet Marketing industry.  More books would be written about Internet Marketing if they wouldn’t become obsolete as soon as they were printed.  However, Missy Ward and Shawn Collins (of Affiliate Summit fame) have put together a collection of quality and timeless information from 88 different experts in the internet marketing industry that stands the test of time.   This is a good investment; especially if you are relatively new to marketing online. Here’s why.

Video Book Review Internet Marketing from the Real Experts

Update: Missy Ward just informed me that the net proceeds from the sales of this book will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  Excellent!  See her post here.

Don’t have time to become an expert?  This book understands!  It’s broken down into 3 Minute lessons from 88 different internet marketing experts so you can learn what you need to know and implement it as soon as possible. Need to learn about  Email Marketing (one of my passions), then head over to the email marketing section (one of 11 sections in the book).

I decided to turn on the camera and share a little about this book (Please pardon the “Play” button right on the center of my face…).

If you can’t see the video for some reason, go here.  If you are interested in getting a copy Amazon is selling it right now for about $14.93.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing lessons, internet marketing tips

Recently I put up a website on a brand new domain.  Wanting to get the site indexed in Google quickly, I used a special formula I’ve been using for a while.  In fact, the site was in the Google index in less than 24 hours.  First, let’s agree on how we determine if a site is in the index or not, by performing the Google search for your domain:  Visit Google.com, in the search box type your domain name (no www, quotes, just the name).  If there are no results, or your site name isn’t in the first position, you are not in the Google index. 

3 Step Formula for Getting a New Site Indexed in Google in 24 Hours or Less

Let’s be clear, getting a site indexed is the first step to ranking well in the search engines, and simply means that the search engines (in this case Google) are aware of your site.  The site is in their index (database), which is different than getting your site ranked high on the search results pages for keywords you are targeting (much more complex).  To get indexed, one could certainly submit a URL to Google for consideration, and while that is a good approach, I think I have one that may be faster.

1 – Search for Other Sites in Your Market or Related Niche

• Go to Google.com
• Search for blogs in your market: [keyphrase] blogs
• Select one of the sites in the top 10 listings that you feel looks professional, that has comments, and readers you feel might benefit from content on your site.

2 – Comment on Related Post

• Find a post that you would like to comment on. Tip: Locate a recent post already having a decent number of comments on it.
• In the comments section, add your name in the “Name” field.  Some would argue this is a place to put your targeted keyphrase, in this instance the goal isn’t link building, the goal is to get your site indexed.  Do not put your keyphrase in here because comments that do this are often dumped in the blogs spam bin, or ignored altogether by the person approving comments.
• Email: Many blogs require your email address in order to comment. This is good because as they often notify you when either your comment is approved, or when someone else comments on the post.
• Add a comment; preferably one that continues the conversation or asks another question.  Bottom line here, make the website owner happy to approve your comment.

3 – Include Your URL

Before submitting your comment, pay close attention to the (often optional) “Website” or “URL” box.  This is the place to put your website address.  When the comment is approved, and the search engines see it, they will be curious, and go visit your site as a result of the blog comment.

That’s it!  Your done. 24 hours from now perform the Google search for your domain (described at the beginning of this post), and see if your site isn’t indexed.

Bonus – Bookmark the Blog Post

If you want to supercharge this, consider using one of the top social bookmarking services like, Digg, Delicious, or StumbleUpon, and bookmark the post that you just commented on.  These sites are constantly crawled by Google and doing so can accelerate the indexing process.  The site owner will be glad you did it too.

Was this useful? Have other ideas? Please chime in with your comments below (be sure to include your website in the proper place.
Image Credit: Teo

Technorati Tags: google, google index, google search, keyphrase, optimizing for search engines, search engine marketing, seo strategy

For many, there is lots of excitement in looking ahead to a new year.  2009 has been an exciting one, and 2010 will likely have lots of changes, filled with highs and lows, when we get there it will be fun to look back on as well.  I’m in the “excitement camp” when thinking about 2010.  Some might say it is just a manifestation of the entrepreneurial optimism disease, but I believe 2010 will be a breakout year for many… Perhaps even you?  As I was planning for the new year, I thought I’d put a summary together of the things I’ll be keeping my eye on.  Am I missing something, want to chime in, or are you opinionated? Join in with your own thoughts just below the post.

8 Trends Online Marketers Should Plan for in 2010

Google Will Continue to Mix it Up

With a rash of announcements earlier this month (discussed here) you can be sure they will continue to innovate and develop technologies to serve searchers relevant content and continue to organized the worlds information in 2010.  Things to look for?  I don’t have any “inside information” to share, but here are the areas I’ll be looking out for.

• New ways to reach mobile searchers
• More changes that will impact pay per click customers
• Better integration of Google maps with mobile phones (interesting to see how Garmin and Tomtom will respond)

Real-Time (Search) Becomes Prime-Time

Real-time search is something Google introduced earlier this month as well (read more here), and is certainly a huge part of their future.  Look for real-time search populating more search engine results pages near you in 2010.

Twitter Less Popular Yet More Critical

The popularity curve of twitter reached its peak in 2009.  2010 will have those who “get Twitter” stick with it and make it work for their business.  I think the user of Twitter and other social media should be held in balance with other priorities, but if Google is serving real-time results from Twitter (previous section) in their search pages, you know it must be worth looking at (for some a second time).  2010 won’t match the growth of new Twitter accounts as seen in 2009, but it will become more important and relevant for those who understand the value of such immediate results.

YouTube Grows in Features and Popularity

Google continues to develop this property, and may very well be on a course to make it a profitable venture in the near future.  2009 they offered the option to sync Google (Gmail/Friendconnect) accounts with YouTube accounts.  This not only helps tie everything together for social search, but also makes it easier for users who prefer to have one identity to tie all their social activities to.  Active Youtube users will continue to benefit in search results as they build social activity on Youtube.  Iin 2009 I found that traffic from YouTube.com out pulled Google search results nearly 3 to 1 (case study here), there is no evidence this trend won’t continue.  Look for tighter hooks into social sites from YouTube (already have “Autoshare” feature), and better tools for video publishers to get the word out.

Email Marketing Grows as an Essential Tool

Do you have a list?  Are you building a list?  Having an email list is essential for any online business.  There are many reasons to have an email list as a part of your email marketing strategy, perhaps I can share one concept here.  For those who are active in social media, when any of those services become unavailable (they aren’t perfect), you’ll here screams and sounds of horror on the social web, like when Twitter went down earlier this year.  As these services continue to become more critical, so does the impact of their downtime.  Don’t let those sites control your ability to communicate with your readers, build a subscriber list.  Not sure where to begin?  Consider any of these services here, or here (aff links), there is also a free version (entry level) for this service.

Making Your Site Easy for Mobile Readers

I recently read an article on SmallBizTrends.com from Lisa Barone on mobilizing your site.  She has some great tips and recommends services to help make your site prettier for mobile browsers.  I recently installed this WordPress plugin by the folks at Bravenewcode making MarketingProfessor.com easier to read for iPhone/iTouch/Droid users, they continue to upgrade the product, with a recent update supporting the latest version of WordPress.

Marketing Automation – Competitive Advantage

Leverage is the most powerful thing in business.  Technology is a tool to provide leverage.  There are many great tools out there to help online marketers leverage their content and value to the community in a personal but automated way.  Small business online marketers who invest, not only in the tools, but in the process of integrating the tools into their business to sell their products and services, will be in a position to leapfrog competitors.  Here is an account from earlier this year of how marketing automation is used with another site I operate.  Many get started with a less expensive service such as this one (aff link- pardon the audio).  If you don’t have tools in place, and have an online dimension to your business, consider subscribing to a service that makes sense for you.  If you have one, commit to integrating it’s use in your business.

Consistency and Discipline Remain Prized Virtues

The web can be an amazing place, it can also be a huge time waster.  Understand your enemy in the New Year, and strive to eradicate it.  Ideas on how to do just that can be found here, here, and here (goals).

What Say You? Lots of great opportunities in the new year, what is missing from this list?  What will you be particularly focused on?  Enter the discussion below.
(Photo: NdevilTV)

Technorati Tags: getting started marketing online, internet marketing trends, online marketing strategy

It’s almost upon us again, a new year.  Many take this opportunity to evaluate past successes and failures as they plan to move forward in the new year.  A new friend of mine made a comment that got me thinking.  Greg was suggesting that for those trying to do anything significant, there is an enemy.  Since my mind is in planning mode for the new year, his comment struck a chord.  Is this going too far?

Your Most Dangerous Enemy in the New Year

There are many enemies for the online entrepreneur.  Some are technology related such as a website going down, a spammers, hackers, etc.  Others could be competitors or an emerging technology that takes your solution off the table.

After my friend Greg unknowingly (well, he’ll know when he reads this) lodged this idea in my mind, I’m convinced it is the most dangerous enemy in the new year, for YOU and for me.

It’s not a new enemy.  In fact, it has likely been busy with us all in the last year, and years prior.

The single most dangerous enemy in the new year is distraction.  Distraction will take your day in the wrong direction, will prevent you from achieving your goals, and will take time you can never get back.  …if you let it.  I could go on, but I’ll save it for the comments.

Your turn: What are some of the other ill effects of distraction?  How do you overcome them (or not)? What other enemies do you see in the new year?  Am I on target, off base, or somewhere in between by calling out this as the most dangerous enemy? Chime in below.

Technorati Tags: getting started marketing online, online business, small business marketing

On the heels of Twitter going down last week, this week the news is of a popular free service not going down, but closing it’s doors altogether.  Popular with many online marketers who use social media sites like Twitter, tr.im URL shortening announced it is closing it’s doors.  And there’s bigger news, yesterday Facebook Acquired Friendfeed.   These trends are interesting indicators of what is going on with social media services, online businesses must be profitable or their doors will close.  Take note, this serves as a wake up call for anyone serious about building a lasting online business, count the cost and choose wisely.

Free Services Can Be Costly for Online Businesses

Last week Twitter went down (why I didn’t care much) and more than a few people were upset about it, even as I write this, there are complaints that Twitter is slow.  Now with tr.im URL shortening service closing up shop, (thanks to Michelle MacPhearson for her post on this) and a sense that other such services are not far behind (cli.gs), online marketers should pause and ask some questions.

• Impact: What impact would there be to your business if all the free services on the internet went away?  Not only the services you use but those used by your market.
• Cost: What would it cost your business if these services go away, consider that against what it would cost you to invest in a paid service (or purchased software that you can host yourself and get support for).

Free Services Will Always Be Around – Some Are Worth Paying For

No doubt there are other free URL shortening service you might consider, just count the cost of using these (here is a paid service for URL shortening and another one I use on this site) but there are some services for your online business that are just worth paying for.

Which Ones Are Worth Paying for? This is an important consideration especially for Internet Marketing newbies.  Email List Management? Hosting? Coaching (information products about your market)?  Chime in with your thoughts in the comment boxes below.
*Image Credit Mijori

Technorati Tags: friendfeed, online marketing strategy, twitter for business